Tales of the Betrothed (closed)

[V I V L I O N]

a d e l e x v a n a d i s
Bodyguard To The Prince of Zuleidi

Adele had her arms crossed over her chest, casually leaning against the walls as they waited for the group to move out. She couldn't help but laugh under her breath as Miya told Adora to not talk. At least the blonde wouldn't have to put up with listening to the 'all-knowing' princess. No wonder why Jean and her had constantly played pranks on the Shasta girl while they were growing up. Then again, it had always been that way. For as long as the blonde could remember, her charge had always had a cruel sense of humour...


---

Light foot falls echoed around the stone hall ways of the Zuleidian castle. Physically, she was drained from her morning training. As her daily schedule called for, she had been up since dawn, having started with a group run on the beach, followed by further warm ups. Then it had been an emphasis on defensive manoeuvres with rapiers for the rest of the morning. Over all, it had been productive in her mind. At a cost there were now an array of fresh and fading bruises, mixed with a few cuts here and there, littering her forearms. But no matter what, you would never see the good natured expression slip from her face. Further more, there was a new bounce to her step thanks to the excitement she had for that day's afternoon break. Jean had asked to see her and had said that he had a surprise. Though they generally did end up playing together in her free time, it was rare that he actually asked to see her. A bright smile danced across her lips as the blonde easily made her way through the maze of hallways to the spot where they had agreed to meet. Adele knew she was slightly early. She blamed her over eager pace.

Moving over to the balcony that looked down upon an enclosed courtyard, she leaned against the railing and instinctively began to try and straighten out her blouse. It was wrinkled from wear and far past saving. Realizing that it was a lost cause, she quickly moved on to the next problem. She untied her hair and ran a hand through the sandy strands, getting rid of any knots. Then, with practiced ease, Adele hastily braided her hair before tying it off once more with her red ribbon. She rustled her bangs to make them fall naturally as she cast an anxious glance around, hoping that no one (especially Jean) had seen. Despite her training and tough exterior, she was still a teenage girl with silly crushes and a need to impress them.


---

Jean had known for a while that his personal guard had developed a little crush on one of the young sailors. She acted differently around him, whenever they went to the docks to swim or go fishing, or play hide and seek behind the barrels. She had that sparkle in her eyes whenever the sailor boy came around and he would smile so brightly whenever he saw her. The Prince thought that the boy was horribly ugly and could never understand what Adele saw in him. He didn't know if she knew that he spied on them sometimes.

The sailor boy came around so often in those days that Jean couldn't help trying to formulate a plan to prank him as he did with everyone else. It was a bit of a dilemma, because he had the slightest tinge of fear that the girl would be upset with him. Obviously, it wasn't important enough to stop him. Adele had played a part in almost all of their pranks, but he thought it best that she didn't know about this one. It didn't matter, he thought, because she'd find it hilarious.

That morning was the day of the big event. After some lazy swords training on his part after breakfast, he'd explained to Adele that he wanted to meet her today, somewhere private, elsewhere in the castle. A pigeon had already been sent to the sailor boy, holding a message that told him to sneak into the courtyard to see her (in Jean's best imitation of Adele's handwriting.) He offered to feed the Queen's dogs that morning, didn't do it, and conveniently forgot to lock their cages.

He was a little bit late... Jean wouldn't meet Adele before the sailor boy climbed into the courtyard as 'she' asked him to. He seemed more kempt than usual, with a sea blossom in his hands like in those Shasta plays where the hero proclaims his love for the maiden on the balcony.

"Adele, my sweet," He'd say, as Jean rolled his eyes somewhere hidden behind a balcony on the other side of the courtyard. "You know I've always--"

That was his cue. Like Jean wanted to hear any of that cheesy stuff. The Prince had a small barrel in his hands and grimaced when he pried the top off. The smell of raw meat and its blood stained his nostrils and he gagged and held his breath. Crouched behind the pillars of the balcony railing, he cocked the barrel back and tossed its contents down into the courtyard, aiming for the poor boy down below.
Somehow, elsewhere in the castle, the Queen's dogs couldn't resist the smell of delicious meat. Imagine a horde of twenty little yapping dogs storming through the castle on their way to the source of that smell.


---

The moment she heard the sound of someone approaching in the court yard below, her hands fell quickly fell down on the railing of the balcony for support as she leaned forward curiously. Her blue eyes eagerly waited for, who she expected to be, Jean. Though, if it were possible, her expression lit up even more as none other than Tristan stepped out into the opening. His brown hair glinted in the mid afternoon sun and his equally wide smile had her biting her lip in only the way that he could make her. Thanks to her training regiment and the time spent with Jean, it was always difficult for Adele to become close with anyone; even more rarely, someone of her own age. But what had been unheard of, and nearly unthinkable for the young body guard, was finding someone that she liked more than the person she had been raised with since birth. And yet, there was Tristan.

He was three years her senior and a local favourite due to his sailing abilities. From a young age he had taken to ships and began to make a name for himself in sail boat races amongst the youth as soon as he was old enough. And though he may not have been an intellectual by the castle's standards, Adele knew that he had a good head on his shoulders. Further more, he embodied many of the traits that she prided herself in, including being courageous and having a sense of adventure. It would be a complete understatement to say that she admired him. The moment she looked down at him, she was able to completely forget about the prince. She didn't even think to question why the sailor was there, at that specific place, when she was supposed to be meeting Jean. All the blonde wanted to do was to let the other speak, as he clearly had something to say. He seemed to have spent more time on his appearance that day more than usual, as he wore his best sailor uniform which had obviously been pressed. And not to mention the sea blossom in his hands. That had definitely not gone unnoticed.

Adele rolled onto the sides of her feet and began to play with her braid apprehensively as the boy below opened his mouth to speak. But she already knew what she wanted him to say. Ever since they had met down at the docks there had been a spark. To the sailor, she wasn't just the prince's shadow, as so many others seemed to view her. He made her feel like she was her own person and that she could do anything she wanted. They spent nights down at the sea side where he would tell her stories of his travels and the kingdoms he had been to. And he swore that one day he would take her. Honestly, she wouldn't have needed much convincing to leave Zuleidi with him. He treated her better than anyone else and genuinely seemed to understand her. And every time that Jean and her were down at the docks, the blonde longed to catch site of Tristan just to see him smile. It was just an added bonus that he didn't mind her callused hands considering his were in the same state.

As the words began to fall gracefully from his lips, she didn't notice that she was beginning to lean forward in anticipation of what he was going to say next. It was all right in her mind. However, everything soon took a turn for the worst. In one instance, she was looking at the sailor, but then there was suddenly a flash of crimson. Her eyes opened wide in horror and a loud gasp was heard as she shot a hand up to cover her gaping mouth. The smell of gore suddenly overwhelmed her as she took in the sight of Tristan covered in blood and raw meat. Without thinking, the blonde tossed herself over the railing and grabbed a hold of one the posts, allowing her to slide down by a few more feet before she dropped down onto the stone. She grimaced at the rough impact but quickly pushed the sudden shots of pain in her legs to the back of her mind.

Turning quickly to the sailor, she reached out towards him. "Tristan, are you al-" Before she could even finish her sentence, he flinched away from her hand as he attempted to brush off the blood. Adele retracted her hand and looked at him with a pleading expression. "Please, Tristan, I am so sorry." There was no need to explain the situation. The two already knew who the villain behind the prank was. The young prince was infamous for his pranks and generally, she was right by his side. But she had put her foot down when it had come to Tristan. The female had absolutely refused to even think about hurting him. She should have known better than to think that would have made the sailor immune to any pranks. As the two shared a glance, the blonde knew that they were thinking the same thing; she should have protected him.

"I hope you two are happy together." He didn't have to say anymore. The look of disappointment on his face killed her enough. The last thing she ever wanted to do was to betray him, and though she had played no part in the prank, there would be no convincing Tristan of her innocence.

As the sounds of a pack of approaching dogs began to grow louder, Adele looked around desperately for some way to help the sailor get out safely. She nodded her head towards one of the doorways that was more narrow than the others. "Go. Leave." The blonde said stubbornly, trying to hide the emotion in her voice. He opened his mouth as if he were about to say something. However, it seemed that words had run dry as he just ended up letting out a quiet sigh, before tossing the blossom to the floor and running off in the direction that she had pointed him towards.

Quickly taking post in the same door way, she dropped down to her knees and held back the onslaught of dogs as they came running. A grunt escaped her lips as more and more dogs pushed back against her arms, some even going as far as snapping at her arms trying to get past the only barrier that was in their way. Luckily, some had stopped to fight over the pieces of meat that laid on the courtyard floor. But when it was all gone, the animals had smelt the blood and they would not rest until they had satisfied the lust. It was only when Adele was sure that Tristan had a big enough lead, that she dropped her arms, the mutts rushing past her sides, knocking her back and forth.

When they were gone, the guard slowly pushed herself up onto her feet. Her clothes were smeared with blood, a mix of her own and whatever animal had been slaughtered and had been used for a stupid practical joke. The blonde moved to the middle of the courtyard and spun around, looking up in search for Jean. "Jean-Baptiste Laurent! Come out and show your face for once, you coward!" She screamed, making sure there would be no way he couldn't hear her. "I hate you! Why couldn't you let me have this one thing for myself?!" Adele angrily brushed away tears with the palm of her hand. "You couldn't just let me be happy for this one time! You can't stand the fact that someone could be happier than you! Or even better yet, you can't stand the fact that I could be happy without you being the reason why!"


---

Giggling wildly behind the columns, the young Jean-Baptiste could barely look at the scene that he'd created in the courtyard. It was so painful to watch, but in the funniest way possible. That sailor boy of sixteen, who didn't have one blemish on his face or one crooked tooth in his mouth, was now covered in meat juices and lukewarm blood and parts of some animal that he didn't know. It would've taken him weeks to get the smell off of his skin. It wasn't like he didn't reek of fish anyway.

Being a boy of thirteen at the time, the Prince was a very ugly, skinny little kid. He had red blotches on his face, freckles on his nose, shaggy blonde hair, and a bit of a snaggletooth. Adele looked no better, mind you. She looked like a boy and hadn't quite grown into her ears yet. She was short, too. She climbed down that balcony with the quickness of one of those little yappy dogs that were about to spoil the day.

Jean hadn't expected them to try to eat the boy, just ruffle his feathers a bit. They were such small creatures that he didn't expect them to cause so much damage. The Prince covered his mouth with his hands to stifle his hysterical laughter. He had to wipe the tears from his eyes. Somewhere on the first floor, there was a whistle and the dogs retreated in its direction. Now, Adele had been left in her lonesome. Her face was a sour mix of anguish and anger and the screeching sound of her voice ruptured the silence of the Palace, gaining the attention of everybody who could hear it.

After a few moments trying to compose himself after being surprised by Adele's screams, hiding his laughter the best as he could, but failing to keep a smile from his face, he stood. Revealing his hiding place on the balcony, Jean waved down at his Guard, as if nothing had happened.

"Adele Vanadis, what in the seven hells are you screaming about?! Shut up!" There was no way in the world that Jean would have met her downstairs. She could beat him up, especially since he couldn't choke down his laughs. "That was funny! Did you see his face?! Oh, shut your yap, if he really likes you, he'll be back!"

...and she wouldn't stop screaming at him.

"Adele!" He shouted back. By that time, other members of the staff of the palace were hanging out of the windows to get a glimpse of what was going on. "If you hate me so much, then go away! If you are not happy, then I don't want you here! Go! Shoo!"


---

Adele didn't care about the attention she was attracting due to her screams. She would already be getting in trouble for the missing meat that Jean had undoubtably taken from the kitchens, along with the mess in the courtyard and the fact that the Queen's dogs had been let loose on a wild rampage. Though everyone would know it had been the work of the jester prince, the responsibility lay on her shoulders. She was his personal guard and thus, any foul action on his part might as well have been her own. And because the prince could not be punished (despite maybe a brief scolding), she was the next best thing. If she were going to pay for his actions, she felt like she at least deserved to be able to let her thoughts known.

As Jean finally showed himself, the blonde rooted herself in place and glared up at the other. She knew he wouldn't dare come down to the same floor as her. He was smart in the sense that he fought like a coward. Understanding and accepting the fact that he could never win a fair physical fight, he would prank anyone but always from a safe distance. And yet, the expression the young prince wore was as clear as if he had been standing right in front of her. There was no remorse in his actions. He felt no guilt what so ever. The smile forced an scowl upon her face. "I saw his face clearly and it was not funny!" She snarled as he claimed that he would be back if the sailor truly liked her. "He won't be back because he'd have to put up with you! And no one would willingly want to be around you!"

From behind, Adele could hear the sound of approaching feet. The steps were heavy and the blonde knew what would soon be coming. No matter if Jean wanted her there or not, she'd have to leave. Swallowing back everything else she wanted to shout out, the guard seemingly collected herself and raised her chin as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked over her shoulder back at the Captain of the Guard and let out a short sigh. Taking the time to shoot one last disgusted look at Jean, she followed after the Captain as he led her out of the courtyard with a firm grip.

The sad part was that she knew by tomorrow morning she would have forgiven the prince. Pulling pranks was a part of his nature. She believed that he didn't have any ill intentions. The blonde knew that she may have been lying to herself, but it didn't matter. She couldn't leave him. He was the only person that ever stayed around for long.


---

Adele pushed the memory to the back of her mind as she was soon addressed and told not to speak either. Holding up her hands defensively, she shrugged her shoulders. "Understood." In all honesty, she wasn't even in the mood to talk. All she wanted to do in that moment in time was to possibly get into a fight and let out some anger and that giant worm was looking like a pretty nice target. But it seemed like she wasn't the only one who had violence on the mind. With a rather curious expression on her face, the female watched as the Dradecuian guard led a drunk outside, quickly followed by a blood curdling scream. Normally, she would have been terrified by such a display but desperate times called for desperate measures.

As the other guard walked back into the common room and cleaned off her sword, Adele could only think of one word to reply to the question put forward. In a nearly deadpan tone, she raised her eyebrows, "Terribly." The blonde then nodded her head to the door and used her hands to usher to the door, "Shall we head out?" It wouldn't be a lie to say that she was impatient. All that was on her mind was to get out into the underground city and find some way to rescue Jean and hopefully, recover the King and Queen of Dradecus in the process. After all, the life of a guard is always about putting someone else's well being before your own, no matter how painful.

(( written by // rada han et hood ))


" I will not bow. I will not break.
I will not fall. I will not fade.
I will take your breath away. "

[Rada Han]

Trouble in the Streets!

The girl Aurelia would see no more light until she reached her destination. When the common room had been cleared of Royals and anyone else who wasn't in on the grand scheme of things, the girl was carried through the back door, wrapped in her bed sheets by the innkeeper's wife. Spartan was nowhere to be found, but his son and his friends were busy preparing to make quick work of the rest of the group.

Dradecus was a shady place. Just because the sun was out didn't mean the people were any different. This time, half the city had formed a network with each other, not only for money, but for the well-being of their city. The Royals, the monster--- the people wanted them gone. Unfortunately, not many of them knew exactly who they were looking for. After all, many of the people who lived there were dim-witted, poor, and sheltered. They couldn't distinguish one pretty girl from the others. Aurelia was evidence of this.

When she had gone from the building, the Innkeeper made an appearance once again, this time in an alarming way. He seemed to be bleeding from his mouth and stomach, stabbed several times. He stumbled into the alleyway and fell, groaning in agony. "Run..." He shuddered. "RUN!!!" ...and collapsed, lifelessly. It was at that moment that the rest of the people in the alleyway panicked and ran in the direction of the Royals, or whoever had remained in that area that matched the description.

Mysterious men had been hiding out of sight. When the group fled, they blended with them so it was difficult to see who had lifted up Kora and carried her away with the crowd. The man Aine had been talking to, took her hand and yanked her around, wrapping his arm around her body and held a dagger to her neck. He dragged her into the darkness. On the other side, at exactly the same time, Bashirah was taken the very same way.

The Princes were also not safe. If Lucian did not turn around soon, he would get a swift blow to the head with a merchant's hammer...

[Ariiadne]

all my life i've been the slave of consequence
wondering how this - life could be so in tri cate
__________i wanna rewrite my heart
█████████__and let the future in--------[♥]
________i call out -________________is anybody listening?
it's like i`m diving into emptiness (____________but at least )
____there`s something beating in my chest
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The longer she stood there, the more people she observed take their leave. Everyone seemed to have such vast reserves of energy and endurance, even after all of their toils and travels. The Gradian princess, on the other hand, though she stood in the lobby then, couldn't have been more unwilling to go anywhere or do anything. She remained practically statuesque at the window pane. The most she moved was when she began to undo her braid as he hair continued to dry, so that it would not be too wavy. Her deep black tresses fell freely against her back, some half-hearted, atypical curls snagging her shoulders.

Bashirah had shown no previous signs of interest (or much life, for that matter) until familiar heavy footsteps cascaded down the stairs. Much to her surprise, Kunal, too, seemed to be imbued with this perpetual pool of energy. Her brother wordlessly got a quick drink from behind the bar and abruptly left the building, as if with some purpose in mind. Bashirah's head barely tilted in perplexity. It was odd that he would not even say but one word to her upon departing. Bashirah stared at the door for a few moments after it had slammed shut. Everything, however, had thus far been unusual, so she tried not to dwell so much on it. She had turned her attention away again for only a minute or two before the faerie exited the inn as well. Bashirah once again gave the door a strange look, as if it had some direct part in the craziness, and finally willed herself to take a hesitant step towards it. Perhaps there was something desirable beyond it that she did not know about. Whatever it was, or wasn't, she was determined to find out.

Allowing some time to pass between the last two departures, Bashirah eventually found herself on the outside. She regretted it almost as soon as it occurred. Bathed and in her new clothes, Bashirah stood out, even more than she would have in her old, ratty outfit. In fact, those garbs would probably have made her fit in with the dank, dirty surroundings that much more. Shooing her discomfort away, Bashirah looked casually about, trying to figure out what she was going to do. She hadn't exactly planned past this point. Should she find Kunal? He obviously left to seek some sort of solitude... though she could not fathom what kind he intended to find out there. There was a dull drone from all of the people dwelling in the Underground. The air, heavy and recycled, was hard to take in at times. Having only stood in the threshold for just a few moments, Bashirah received more odd looks from passersby than she initially expected. Unable to tolerate it much longer, the Gradian princess decided to distract herself with a little walk. Maybe she would run into Kunal on the way back.

Her poor judgment for taking to the streets of underground Dradecus alone could have sprouted from a few different things. Her exhaustion might have played a part in it. Or it could have been the ignorance a sheltered life had forged within her. Whatever it may have been, common sense, or just instinct, had turned off in her mind. Bashirah joined the wayward masses as they traversed the streets. She wandered aimlessly. Her motivation found fuel in the mere detail that everyone else had done the same.

Bashirah did not get very far.

Having made it only a few yards away from the inn from which she'd come, Bashirah whipped her sights behind her when the screams sounded. There, the innkeeper staggered, blood dripping from his mouth and body. Visible shock painted itself on Bashirah's features.

"Run..." he gasped. "Run...!"

It all happened so quickly. Bashirah could hardly comprehend it. She had just left there not but three minutes before. The people became a mob, running and screaming from the scene as the innkeeper finally collapsed. Stampeded, Bashirah tried to dodge the oncoming deluge of frantic Dradecans. Despite her efforts, shoulders and elbows rammed into her, tossing her around. The Gradian felt bruises form.

"Kunal!" she screamed over the madness, hoping that he hadn't strayed far. He never did. She shouted his name again, a tinge of worry and fear strumming her vocal cords. "Kuna--"

Someone rammed directly into her back. Bashirah fell harshly to the pavement, the wind completely knocked out of her as everyone continued to run around her. Covering her head, Bashirah put up a petty defense against the seemingly inevitable trampling. But it seemed salvation was close by. A strong hand grabbed hers and pulled her up from the street, through the people, and to a small pocket of alleyway that was not completely full.

The gratitude and relief was shortlived, however. Before she could even catch her breath, Bashirah was thrown against a brick wall, and as her eyes clamped shut from the pain, a cool metal tip was placed against her throat.

"You stick out like a sore thumb, you Gradian b***h," her assailant spat haughtily. Bashirah's eyes gradually opened, only to be met with blurry shadows. That did not stop her, however. With what strength she had left, she roared and swung her arm as forcefully as she could at the silhouette's head and actually managed to hit him pretty good. He stumbled back momentarily, allowing Bashirah to attempt an escape. Legs weak, head pounding, the princess did her best, almost making it out into the open before she was tackled. Furiously, he pinned her down. They both breathed heavily for a moment. Reaching into his jacket, her attacker took his time in bringing out a damp cloth and forcing it over her nose and mouth. There was little resistance before Bashirah passed out.

[K33LA]

『 кυиαℓ ѕα'ιя мαнαραтяα 』
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx▶ ▷ Prince of gяα∂ιυѕ

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xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx❝ Without нσиσя I am ṉøτhïṉģ｡｡｡❞

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"Aine!" Kunal yelled in surprise as the beggar man suddenly grabbed her. Kunal's hand reached out to take hold of her in a vain effort, fingers missing her by an inch. He saw the faerie princess' eyes widen in shock, disbelief playing on her face. Kunal took a great step forward and swung one of his big hands in another attempt to retrieve her, yet the man melted into the shadows with Aine far quicker than he managed to react. "s**t!" he cursed, heart racing, a pang of shame rippling through him. Before he had much time to think, things began to further fall apart.

Run! RUN!

From the nearby inn Kunal heard a man shouting. Racing back around the corner he and Aine had turned past only minutes ago, Kunal arrived just in time to see a swarm of people erupt forth from every direction. What had happened? The prince was too dumbfounded to react, and the thought that more of their party was at risk failed to cross his mind. It was terrifying, in a way - there was clearly blood, though from who he could not tell, and people were being pushed, trampled, and tossed aside like garbage. It was not until a familiar voice reached his ears that he came surging back to reality.

"Kunal!" came the faint voice of his sister. Suddenly, his sense flared back to life, heart pounding in a wild manner. Instantly the Gradian's eyes scanned the swarms of people furiously, looking for any sign of his sister. From what he could tell, she was clearly in trouble.

How on earth could I have been so stupid? Why did I leave her alone? The thoughts raced through Kunal's mind as he began to run, pushing people out of his way in droves. He called for Bashirah frantically, repeating his blaring call in short intervals. Although it had only been a short time in reality, Kunal's world seemed to run at a slower pace. It was almost as if he was outside of his own body.

Moments later, someone jumped on his back. Surprised, Kunal remained as still as a statue until a second person tackled him from the front; try as they might however, the shorter men were unable to overpower him. Kunal roared and threw one of them off him, attempting to wrestle the remaining man from his back. In a heartbeat, more were upon him, jumping from the most ungodly of places. One by one they leaped upon him like a pride of lions trying to take down an elephant. Kunal tried his best to resist but soon found that they overwhelmed him in sheer number. His steps became heavier, his swings became less frequent, and eventually he toppled to the ground as they piled atop him. Buried beneath them, the Gradian prince felt a small pinch at the back of his neck and he fell unconscious.

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[Rada Han]

a t r i p i n t i m e

↘ all is lost again



In the Belly of the Beast: Part Two





About an hour after Jean arrived in the belly of the beast, they were all having a grand old time. They were well off, the people who had been eaten. The monster had also eaten a bread merchant and a fruit merchant, so they could've survived for a while if the monster wasn't going to digest and s**t them out.

During his time there, the Zuleidan prince had discovered a few interesting things. Apparently, they'd already tried to band together and beat the snot out of the walls of the pit, assuming that they'd somehow injure the monster enough so that it would either die or spit them out. That didn't work. Apparently, the more they punched, kicked, and poked holes in its walls, the more sand poured in. It didn't take long for them to stop doing that.

The Guard who had been eaten along with Jean had some interesting testimony as well, after he stopped sobbing in the corner. He said that the monster never tried to pass through the iron gates and never appeared when a group of armored soldiers walked the sands. Wherever there was a gate, the monster did not pass. "It might seem crazy, but... I don't think the thing likes metal. It must've only gotten me because of him."

There was talk of the entire city moving underground and other grim subjects, but that heavy mood was cut by the loud voice of Ashcroft, the King himself. "Please, let's talk about something less depressing than the fact that we're going to die."

Suddenly, there was a violent shudder, much more intense than the one felt above ground. This shudder could be felt on the underground as well, a minor quake that lasted not more than ten seconds.

The people in the pit seemed to know exactly what it meant, because a group of them, including the Queen went to join them.

"Here comes another one!" Someone shouted, and they were right, because right after the tremors ceased, a body dropped down from the monster's gullet into the arms of the group of people who came to catch it. The figure was wrapped in what looked to be a bed sheet, but blonde hair spilled from an opening.

Jean stood from his place in the sand. Up until now, he had been unusually quiet. When the Queen pulled apart the sheet to reveal the face beneath, the Zuleidan rushed over, immediately, eyes wide and alert.

"I know her. I know her!" He knelt at her head, looking down at her face upside-down. There was no mistaking her. "Aurelia," He muttered, and placed a sandy hand on her delicate face, then repeated her name once more, louder. "Aurelia, wake up!" Then, he cocked a hand back to give her a swift whack to the cheek.

[Angst Werewolf]

xxxxxx ♨ Chαndαr Hαrí
{{ The Gradian Smith Mercenary }}
"Haters will hate. It's the price one pays for being perfect."

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Location: The Dradecus Underground

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As much as Chandar Hari didn't like Dradecus, he had to admit that it was good to be back in civilization. It wasn't anywhere near as bright as Gradius (in fact, it was downright dreary), but of course, these poor people that lived here just didn't know what they were missing. The traveler thrust his shoulders back as he sauntered through the streets. He'd been traveling for years, and had only been back to the homeland once to drop off some of the gems he'd aquired in his travels. While the other nations were indeed interesting to visit, Chandar found himself thanking the gods repeatedly that he had been born and raised in Gradius. To live in other places was just disgraceful.

He turned down one of the darker side streets, one hand on his sword. It was a work of art, and Chandar had slaved over the anvil for weeks to make it. The hilt was gold plated with several rubies and diamonds set in a flame pattern that snaked from one side to another. The blade was about half as long as his arm and the tip was made of diamond. The sheath was another masterpiece- high-quality leather decorated with thick gold stitching and inlaid with obsidian stones. Part of him hated to get into fights, since there was always the chance of the weapon breaking or the leather being stained with blood or other unsavory fluids. But sometimes, you just had to stab people to get them to understand that he was Gradian, and he was better.

Fools.

The handful of shady characters in the ally stared as he passed by, but Chandar stuck his nose in the air and kept walking. If they knew what was good for them, they would keep their place and stay out of his way. But it seemed that this lot was particularly stupid- two large, hulking men stood up and blocked the exit to the ally. Chandar scowled. "Out of my way," he snapped, adjusting his armored tunic. Like his weapon, it was decorated in bright golds and reds; there was even a ring of fur around the neck. The thugs ignored him and one folded his arms over his chest. "Them's some purty jewels you got thar," one slurred, pointing to the earrings that hung from Chandar's ears. The smith rolled his eyes and waved at the two in disgust. "I thought I told you to get out of my way, did I not?" The thugs only smirked.

Well, if they weren't going to aknowledge his superiority, then he'd have to force them to do it. He drew his sword slowly, taking a moment to savor the sight of his craftsmanship. The thugs pulled out their weapons; one had a pair of daggers and the other had a hammer. They stared each down before Chandar lunged forward and swung at the large one with his sword. That one backed up and the Gradian jerked his elbow backwards, slamming the short dagger-wielder in the face as he tried to stab the smith in the back. "Ow! You piece o' s**t, you broke my nose!" he howled, but Chandar just smirked. The nose was indeed broken, and there was a steady trickle of blood running down the man's face.

Perfect. Chandar grabbed the man's face with his left hand and his eyes narrowed in concentration. For a moment, nothing happened, but then, a quiet sizzling sound could be heard. The thug let out a laugh; the one with the hammer joined in. "What're you tryin' to do? Suffocate me?" But, suddenly, the sizzling sound increased and the man screamed and began to claw at Chandar's arm. Unfortunately for him, the arm was clad in iron and his efforts did nothing. "You should have listened to me, you piece of filth," snarled Chandar and his victim let out a gasp as and went limp. The Gradian let him go and he hit the ground, clearly dead. The man's skin was shrivled and had turned a dark brown, as if it had been cooked; all his body cavities had caved in, leaving him nothing more than skin in bones. All the moisture in the man's body was gone, instantly vaporized at Chandar's hand. His control of fire that all Gradians had extened only to controlling temperature, but was still a deadly ability, if not as flashy as traditional fire manipulation was.

He turned sharply to glare at the hulking man with the hammer. "Do not disrespect me! Understand?" he asked, pointing his sword at the man's neck. The thug was frozen and made no move to go after Chandar as he stalked away, treading over the dead man's body and making a point of breaking the corpse's wrist and neck with his boots. Once out of the ally, he took a moment to resheath his sword and pulled an apple out of his pack. He did enjoy fruits of all types and varieties, and now seemed like a good as time as any to have snack. There was a commotion further down the street and Chandar ran a hand through his short white-blond hair. While he'd been in Dradecus, he'd heard some talk of Bhegin being burned and something about a giant monster. But he didn't really care- if it didn't involve Gradius, then it wasn't his problem.

The shouts were getting louder and Chandar was starting to get concerned. Whatever was going on down there sounded serious, but the smith-turned-mercenary didn't feel like changing his course. There was supposedly a jewel merchant on the other side of town, and Chandar figured dropping by to see his goods wouldn't be a bad idea. He was fairly close to the stampeding mob when one shout in particular caught his attention. "Kunal!" Chandar slammed to a halt, eyes wide. Any Gradian worth their weight knew that name, but what on earth would the royal children of Gradius be doing here?

But surely he was hearing things. They couldn't be- An answering shout caused Chandar to drop his half-eaten apple in surprise. This was impossible. Absurd! But he couldn't just stand by and do nothing, not now. He drew his sword and made his way into the crowd, pushing the natives out of his way. For a moment, the crowd parted and Chandar caught of glimpse of a man being ganged by at least half a dozen men. The Gradian let out a shout of shock- it had been years since he'd been home, but there was no denying the Gradian heritage of the man. And if that was the prince, then... "Hey! Get off him, you scum!" he barked. How dare they attack a Gradian- and a noble at that! Oh, heads were going to roll.

Unfortunately, Chandar didn't get close enough to do much of anything. Two more attackers came flying out of the mob and slammed into him; the three went down in a heap and rolled into a side ally. Chandar snarled and kicked out furiously, trying to free himself. They didn't seem too intent on killing him, since after nailing on in the gut, they scampered off. Chandar cursed loudly and snatched up his sword from the ground where he'd dropped it. Things had gotten even crazier in the streets, and the smith realized he'd lost track of the man-that-could-be-Prince-Kunal. "No!" he shouted, fisting his hands in anger. Not only was he now covered in filth, but he'd possibly just witnessed the kidnapping of his country's royalty. This was terrible.

Who's gonna save the world tonight?
We're far from home, it's for the better,
What we dream, it's all that matters,
We're on our way, united-
We're gonna save the world tonight!

[V I V L I O N]

a d e l e x v a n a d i s
Bodyguard To The Prince of Zuleidi

Just as they were actually about to head out, everything suddenly went to hell. The blonde's gaze shot towards the entrance of the inn and saw the keep stumble out, blood gushing from deep stab wounds in his abdomen. He uttered a quick warning but it was already too late for the group. Suddenly, everyone in the alley way began to rush towards them, hands outstretched with make shift weapons at the ready. Quickly, Adele unsheathed her sword, and immediately tried to spot all of the royals but their faces were soon lost in the swarm. Her eyes widened as she heard desperate cries as, she could only imagine, the royal children were being grabbed.

The Zuleidians gaze shot to the royal that was nearest her, Lucy, prepared to tell him to run and seek shelter. However, that was when she noticed a man rushing behind him with a hammer in hand. Taking action in to her own hands, she lunged forward and blocked the strike using the flat of the sword. The attacker was taken a back having thought he had had his target. Using this moment to her advantage, she twisted her wrist, her blade spinning around and sending the hammer flying out of the other's hand. Closing the distance between the attacker and her, she wrapped a strong an arm behind his neck and held her blade to the exposed skin over his jugular. Her teeth were barred, blood lust clear in her eyes. She had been irritated before this mess but now, this was just the last straw.

However, as she looked into the man's eyes, all she could see was pure fear. This was hardly his fault. He was just scared like the rest of these people. No one knew what was going on and they were all just desperate to try and find a way to fix all of this. But, she knew that she couldn't just let him go so that he could find another weapon and attack once more. "I better not see your face ever again." Adele growled, before hastily reaching around and providing a one fluid slash to the back of the merchant's calves, rendering him useless for the time being. He fell to the ground, a loud scream erupting from his lips. The man would survive. There was no point killing the people of an already crippled nation.

Turning to Luce, she shoved her sword into his hands. "Stay near me. Do what you need to do to protect yourself." The blonde began to push through the crowd in a flurry of blocks and right hooks. She tried to look through the gaps in people for any sight of another familiar face. As she scanned, Adele was suddenly blind sided and shoved into a nearby brick wall. "What is with everyone shoving me into walls today?!" The guard took in a deep breath and smashed her head against the person who had her pinned against the small. Clapping her hands together casually, she looked to the side as a girl stumbled out of an alleyway before being dragged back out of sight.

Adele blinked as the face she had briefly caught a glimpse of was suddenly processed by her mind. With wide eyes, she burst out running and sped around the corner, just as the Gradian princess grew motionless underneath her attacker. The blonde came to a stop in front of the two, looking on with a disgusted look. She waited until the Dradecus citizen looked up towards her before she raised her leg and brought about a round house. However, instead of there being the satisfying feeling of her foot coming into contact with bone, all she felt was a searing pain of a blade cutting through skin.

Quickly pulling her leg back, she bit the inside of her lip as she pulled out the assailant's dagger from the top of her foot with a sickening sound. The blade had easily been able to cut through the leather of her boot due to the speed of impact. The man looked up at her with a toothy grin, knowing that he had at least done some damage before the guard brought down her fist and the hilt of the knife on the side of his head. His body fell to the side as he was knocked unconscious. Slipping the bloody blade underneath her belt, she pushed the Dradecuian roughly off of Bashirah. Adele knelt down beside the princess and only took the time to make sure that the female was breathing before using all of her strength to prop her up, and lift the woman on to her back. It took a moment for the Zuleidian to adjust the other in a way that she could actually carry the taller woman, before she looked back to Lucy expectantly. The sounds from the main street were becoming louder with every passing minute. "We need to find somewhere safe. We can meet up with the others later." Her tone was urgent as she looked down the seeming vacant alleyway.


" I will not bow. I will not break.
I will not fall. I will not fade.
I will take your breath away. "

[Luna Leska]

﹙ Ａυʀɛℓɩɑ ❀Ｐʏʀʀσƨ ﹞

xxxx↪ ＊↘↘ тнε яσγαℓ мαɪ∂ σƒ ɢяα∂ɪυs

xxxxxx﹛ ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ。﹜ xx↪x❀
ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ↘ｌocation: The belly of the beast.
ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ↘ｃompany: Prince Jean & The other victims of the beast.
ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ↘ｍ ood: In shock, Relieved, Optimistic
ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ↘ｉnjuries: wound to her side which is in the process of healing.
ｃａｇｅｄ ｉｎ ａｍｂｅｒ ｓｈｅ ｓｉｎｇｓ ｅｔｅｒｎａｌｌｙ↘ｏoc:
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXⒸLunaLeskaXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
____________________________________________________________

They were faint images, first many people cloaked in dark colors...then there was no one and then there was the shadowy image of that, the monster. During her capture the young maid had managed to fall in an out of consciousness becoming only vaguely aware of what was happening, hearing faint whispers and cries and then the roaring shutter of a beast. Like before...everything had become dark. She could not feel the sudden downfall of her light and petite body as it descended down the monsters gullet or even when she was caught in the arms of several individuals.

Aurelia had become unaware of the fact, she had just become a meal for a beast of unknown nature. Wrapped in a white sheet and gently embraced by what felt like motherly arms...Aurelia almost wanted to believe she was dead and that she was just hallucinating such things. But when a voice called out her name repeatedly with concern, and the warmth of a rough but gentle hand caressed her cheek, the young woman's eyes slowly began to flutter open. Groaning softly as she began to awake, Aurelia found the voice she heard to be a familiar one.

Before that same hand could brush across her cheek with a whack, the young maid was gazing up at a distort Zuleidan prince, who until now was considered dead. It took Aurelia a moment to really realize her situation or comprehend the prince in front of her. Raising a hand slowly out from under the sheet that covered her, Aurelia placed it ever so gently upon Jean's cheek gazing into his eyes for a moment. Was she really dead? Had she joined this man in the afterlife? Glazing at him still, Aurelia took in consideration of his warmth and his breathe. Surely a dead person would need no reason to breathe. Her rosy colored lips parted as she spoke softly with a light and gentle smile towards the Zuledian royal.

"Prince...Jean?...you're alive?...or am I dead?"

She questioned sitting up slightly and turning her body towards him to get a better glance at the man. He seemed unharmed for being devoured by a monster...realizing her hand still rested upon his cheek, Aurelia pulled it away quickly. Blushing out of embarrassment for displaying such affection of curiosity and concern towards a royal member. She relieved to see that he was indeed alright, the maid felt compassion for Adele for losing someone important to her, so now when Jean sat before her very eyes, Aurelia couldn't help but think of the soldier woman and how happy she would be to know her prince was in fact very much alive.

Turning attention from the prince she glanced around the foreign territory with great shock. Just where were they? In some kind of dune? Perhaps a sand pit? No the smell was too horrid for something such as that. Aurelia took a note as well of many others who laid captive in the as of unknown territory to the maid. From the looks of them they all came from different walks of life. Some appeared poor with their tattered cloths, others appeared almost noble...including the woman who Aurelia had just noticed sitting at her side.

An elegant lady, with pale and glowing skin, dark black flowing hair that could have even shamed the darkness of the undercity of Dradecus. Just where were they? And who was this woman?

Glancing back as Jean, it was all more comforting to ask these nonstop questions to someone of familiarity.

"W- Where are we? What is this place?"

The maid stared into the princes eyes hoping he would be able to answer her. It would be a lie if she said she wasn't scared, but the slight shiver in her body displayed it. And all while she awaited her answer, Aurelia was trying to figure out what had just happened to her.

What had happened? Her mind tried to recall but it seemed impossible to think straight, she recalled being in the Dradecus inn along with everyone. The bath and the...the Keeper's Wife! It was all coming back to her, the herbal drink...the cloaked men, the monster...wait...the monster...it was the last thing she saw before she awoke to Jean. Could she have been?

"We are inside that beast...aren't we?"

Aurelia had come to realization of her whereabouts...but if she had truly been consumed by the monster along with these others...why weren't they dead?

____________________________________________________________

[Insanity Renaissance]

ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ I s a y comes out right
I can't love w i t h o u t a ʇɥbıɟ
No one ᴇᴠᴇʀ knows my n a m e
When I p r a y for sun, it suıɐɹ


╔════════════════════════════╗
║████❚❚❚ ℳιγαηα ❖ Жεℓƒσяиѧї❙❙ ███x║
╚════════════════════════════╝

⟹ ❡✯ ❴ δяαδεͼυϛ βσδγɢμαяδ ❵

I'm so ʞɔıs of w a s t i n g time
But n o t h i n g ' s moving in my ᴍɪɴᴅ
Inspiration c a n ' t be punoɟ
I get up and fall but...xxxxxxɪ'ᴍ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ❦

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Miyana nodded to Adele and herded the group outside, looking around at the crowd for a good place to start. In all honesty, the best place to look would be for traumatized people drowning their sorrows in a pint, or huddled in a corner crying for their mothers, as there was a considerable chance they witnessed an attack. However, those kind of people were a dime and a dozen in the slums, and you could see them wherever you looked. Another concern then occurred to the half-elf; pickpockets. While she herself could merely remove any roaming hands trying to get into her pockets (literally), the royals were another matter. In fact, she was sure some of them didn't even know what a pickpocket was. However, it seemed as if fate would have something else in store for the group of royals.

For the first few moments Miyana saw the oncoming stampede of panicking people, ready to attack the cursed royals in a massive wave of panic, she could do nothing but mentally shout profanity in several languages. The rush swept the frail girl away, separating her from Lucian and Adele. People charged and knocked the girl over, and large feet crushed her hands and kicked her chest, cracking a rib. Suppressing the urge to cry out in pain, she could feel the adrenaline rush into her system from the injury and from the chaos about her. The pain was pushed away; she could suppress it until combat was done. Right now, it was time to play.

Managing to stand up just in time to see Aine get taken away, Miyana felt a strong hand roughly grab her shoulder as a stranger prepared to attack her. Without so much as warning, the assassin spun around, a long blade coming from the sleeve of the free arm and going straight through the man's ear canal, killing him instantly. Then the blade was retracted, and her katana was drawn, crossing blades with a dagger a dirty, older man wielded. For a moment, there was a confident smirk on the man's face, but the smirk quickly melted away into a look of pure terror when he saw the expression that Miyana wore.

She was smiling.

The look on the silver-haired girl's face was that of an innocent young girl. The smile was warm and blissful, and her eyes seemed to have none of the malice that she displayed in combat. There was nothing frightening about the smile, and it peaceful, as if she was having the best time of her life. What made the sight so frightening was the reason behind the smile. It wasn't one of the fake smiles she always wore in the presence of others, but a smile from the heart. Because she was truly happy. Peace... love... money... anything else that brought happiness upon others did nothing to stir the heart of the assassin. She lived for one thing, and one thing only; the chaos of battle. It was her home, her place of birth, and her final resting place. For she was the Blade Mistress. The Flower of Carnage. Koyaanisqatsi.

As the man's confident battle-stance faltered, an opening appeared. Miyana seized the opportunity, drawing her blade across his jugular, ignoring the blood.. She moved quickly and gracefully, as if she were a dancer. Still radiating nothing but joy, the half-elf sent a dagger into the skull of a man charging towards her, quickly retracting through the thin, yet strong thread attached to the base of the small weapon. It quickly disappeared into her shirt again, and the assassin quickly dove out of the crowd, gracefully climbing up the side of a building. Katana away, Miya's chain-blade slipped into view as she followed Aine by the low rooftops. Before the grubby man was able to meet with his comrades, however, she leaped right in front of him, visible as a figure but only a figure, as the darkness surrounded her. The man skidded to a halt, glaring at the heterochromatic.

“Move 'an I'll kill 'er, Blade Mistress!” He rasped, blade held at Aine's throat as she looked about with fearful eyes. But Miyana wasn't listening.

“Koyaanisqatsi,” She said softly, looking at the man as she began to twirl the chain her her hand, the blade slowly picking up speed.

“Wha?” Aine's kidnapper replied, confused. However, his grip on the fairy princess did not lesser by a hair.

“Koyaanisqatsi,” The red-eyed girl repeated, louder this time. “It means 'crazy life, life in turmoil, life out of balance, life disintegrating, or a state of life that calls for another way of living' in the Hopi language.” She smiled. “It was nickname someone gave to me. Don't you think that life in Dradecus can be described like that?”

“Wel-” The man was cut short when he suddenly realized what he was doing- letting himself get distracted. “I ain't sayin' nuthin'! Take 'nother step there and I'll slit the lad's throat!”

“Really?” She asked, her tone innocent. “I don't think you're the position to make such a claim, seeing the condition of your legs?”

“What conditio-” His eyes darted down to his legs, only to see they were fine, and he then realized his mistake. Before he was able to fix his gaze on the figure, it was gone. Fearful, he darted about, but even his eyes which were built for darkness saw nothing. However, he heard a voice. “Close your eyes, Aine.” And all he saw was the tip of a blade before it went into his skull in one smooth motion. The man's arms went limp, dropping the fairy, and his body fell to the ground as dead weight. Holding her foot on his head, Miyana removed her katana from his head with a small grunt, her rib beginning to act up. Ignoring the blood splatter on her own face and clothes, the half-elf grabbed the hand of the fairy girl, pulling to her feet.

“Ma'am,” She spoke, her tone soft, wiping the blood of the fairy's face with a clean cloth. “We need to move.” Still holding the girl's hand in her own, she began to weave through the narrow alleys of Dradecus, the ones frequented by only a rare few. The city was a maze, and she was its master. There wasn't a street she didn't know in the city. 'I need to find Heron.' Miyana thought, beginning to worry about her princes. Lucian should be fine; he had Adele looking out for him. Heron... she had no idea where he could be. Hopefully, far from here. However, something in her gut told her that the attack on the royals wasn't an isolated incident. She had to find him, quickly. But first, she had to drop off the royal she was dragging around. Still, she couldn't put her finger on the reason she saved the fairy. But there was time for moral debates later.

Coming into a larger alley, nearby the one of the angry mob, the assassin-turned-guard spotted a dirty figure shouting and shaking his fists. Judging from the appearance (despite the dirt), the cocky attitude he radiated, the fact that she was feeling already irritated... the silver-haired teenager suspected it a Gradian.

“Excuse me, sir,” She called out to the stranger, forgetting she looked like she had slaughtered a few people as she swung her blood-stained chain blade in a carefree manner. Which she had. “You wouldn't happen to see another Gradian around here, would you? Like your prince, Kunal? Or perhaps your princess, Bashirah?” The girl smiled. There was a high chance they were captured, and if Lucian and Heron were captured, they'd be where they were. And the Gradian would have only paid attention to another Gradian. It's how they worked.


━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

I'm ǝʌıןɐ, oh y e a h
B e t w e e n the good & bad's where ʏᴏᴜ'ʟʟ find me
buıɥɔɐǝɹ for h e a v e n!
I will ғɪɢʜᴛ, and I'll s l e e p when I die!
I live! My life! ɪ'ᴍ ᴀʟɪᴠᴇ ~


「ʟᴏᴄᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ✦ An Alley」 「ᴄᴏᴍᴘᴀɴʏ ✦ Aine, Charmander, Emmy, Anna, and Remus」 「ᴍᴏᴏᴅ ✦ Extremely Confused?Happy」「ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs ✦ Heron is unharmed! FREAKING WONDERFUL. And ignore Aine.」「ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ ✦ 869 words」 「ᴏᴏᴄ ✦ o wo woo! Miya post.」

[Rada Han]

a t r i p i n t i m e

↘ all is lost again



In the Belly of the Beast: Part Two





"Is she hurt?"

"She's a halfie, innit?"

Jean's expression of worriment changed into a bright smile of relief when Aurelia opened her eyes. She seemed dazed, almost as if she had been drugged prior to being eaten. The Queen herself pointed that out.

"Look at her eyes," She observed, calmly. Penelope was a clever woman and the only one wittier than her charismatic other half. The elf proceeded to help unwrap the girl and discovered the wound that had been wrapped up, still leaking a sickening shade of pale red through her clothing. Summoning some of her own magic, the Queen made quick work in patching up that wound as if it were never there. Her suspicions arose, but she did not speak of them yet.

Meanwhile, the Zuleidan didn't mind that the maid had touched him. Unlike the Gradians, to touch someone wasn't something to be ashamed of. He did not even recognize her embarrassment. He was actually kind of glad that he didn't have to slap the daylights out of her. "You're alive," He said, the smile never leaving his dirty face. Turning his head to look at the others in the pit, it was almost like a small village had been swallowed. "We all are. Well, except for that guy. He fell on his head on the way in."

For a moment, Jean had been struck silent by Aurelia's wide-eyed stare. He had lost his words. Leave it up to a Prince not to know how to react to a someone in the throes of panic. His problem-solving ability had a brief hiccup as she stared right dead into his eyes and he didn't know what to say until she spoke again.

"Yeah, we are. We're in the belly of the beast, it seems... Except there aren't really any tissues or strange liquids. Just.. sand, rocks, and bones. It's less like a stomach and more like a... More like a..."

"A cage."

Interrupting Jean's explanation of their surroundings, a voice silenced the crowd and put everyone's thoughts into words, at long last. Ashcroft, who had been sitting against the sandy wall had stood and stepped over to them. "It's like a cage. A holding cell for until we're needed." The man's hands were in the pockets of his pants, which were covered in sand as they all were.

"Yes, my love." Said the Queen, whose brows were furrowed as she took her hands from Aurelia's side. "Something tells me that if we die, it won't be here." Then, her attention shifted back toward Aurelia. She spoke to her gently, like a doctor would to a patient. "What happened to you, child?"

Completely fascinated with the entire scene unfolding before him. There were the Igalios' and their display of intelligence that they were known for, with chimes from common people that were taken into consideration as if they were equals... He learned from this, but there was one thing on Jean's mind.

"If you're here, what happened to everyone else? What about Adele? Is she alright?"

[Angst Werewolf]

xxxxxx ♨ Chαndαr Hαrí
{{ The Gradian Smith Mercenary }}
"Haters will hate. It's the price one pays for being perfect."

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Location: The Dradecus Underground

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Chandar was quite upset with himself at the moment. Thanks to some worthless thugs, he'd lost track of the young man he suspected to be Prince Kunal. Oh, if his father knew about this situation, he'd have him stoned out in the streets for his failure! "And I would deserve it!" Chandar howled, throwing his hands up in despair and ignoring the mob. "I have failed my country, my family, myself!" The Gradian went on for another good minute before one of the stampeding citizens chucked a rock at him.

This, of course, stopped the Gradian's rant, if only for a moment. "How dare you! I am not some animal that you can just stone to death!" he screeched, shaking a fist at the back of his attacker. To think that such lowly scum had managed to get a hit on him. The smith muttered some choice words un his breath as he rubbed at the bruise growing on his temple. This day was just terrible.

He had resumed trying to brush the dirt off of his tunic when a voice caught his attention. Instead of the mindless shouting that had been the norm for the past couple of minutes, this person was actually speaking normally, though they did have to raise their voice to be heard over the general chaos. Chandar frowned and looked up to see two young women making their way over to him. The one who had called to him was splattered with blood and still had her weapon out; the other was a tiny little thing and looked like she was simply being dragged around by the swordswoman. But one thing was for sure- they weren't Gradians.

Chandar crossed his arms over his chest as the two neared him. He figured they would ask for directions or some coin or something that he could simply brush off and ignore, but that was not the case. "They're both here?!" he exclaimed, almost dropping his sword in surprise. Oh, by the gods, this was horrible. "I saw a young man that I thought to be Prince Kunal, but the crowds got in the way. And I was attacked! Me! A Gradian! Those worthless pieces of scum must have been covering for the thugs attacking the Prince!" Chandar paused and turned to stare at the young bodyguard. "What are their Highnesses doing here? Why are they not in Gradius?" he snapped, as if Miyana was completely responsible for the whole fiasco.

But this was not the time for questions. If the royal children were here, then they were most certainly in danger. And Chandar would eat his sword before he allowed anything to befall them. "But there is no time for questions!" Chandar exclaimed, cutting off the young woman before she could answer him. "We have royalty to save!" He may have failed to rescue Kunal from whatever had befallen him the first time, but now he could redeem himself. He would not fail this time- he was Gradian, after all.

With his resolve renewed, Chandar turned back to the mob. He doubted the muggers/kidnappers/whatever could have gotten very far, and now he had backup. Yes, they weren't Gradian, but they would have to do. With a grunt, he ran back in the direction he'd been aiming for originally- with any luck, it was the right way. And it seemed that the gods were smiling on him at that moment. After shoving a handful of unfortunate citizens out of his way, he saw it- Kunal being tackled by several men. Much to his alarm, the royal wasn't moving. Had they killed him?

"You! Get off of him!" he shouted, dashing towards the attackers. If the sword-wielding young woman was following, but he didn't care. Chandar was so pumped at the moment, he felt like he could have taken down a ogre with his pinky finger. As he approached, several of the thugs jumped to their feet, drawing their weapons. The first to run at the Gradian was met with a sword to the arm; with a twirl that bordered on over-dramatic, Chandar delivered a swift kick to the man's knee before swinging back around and cleaving his arm off at the shoulder. The thug went down and Chandar turned, snarling like a rabid dog, to the next one.

This one came at him with a mace, and after parrying several hits with his sword (and one with his arm- that was going to bleed for a while), Chandar disarmed his foe. He grabbed the man's neck with his left hand and slammed him against the wall. "Where is she?! Where is Princess Bashirah?" He wanted answers, and this one looked as good an informant as any. "Like I'd tell you!" replied the thug, spitting in Chandar's face. Chandar's eyes narrowed; and then with a muffled boom, the man's body shrivled, the skin cooked and the corpse dry as a desert. The Gradian tossed the body to the ground and flicked some blood from his armored hand. Thanfully the man had already gotten a cut from a previous fight- it had made his job all the easier. "Princess Bashirah! Where is she?" One of the thugs bolted at the sight of the corpse; the others were looking rather wary of the sword being pointed at them.

"Now. You will release the Prince you will tell me-!" Chandar didn't get any further in his speech; from behind him, an attacker jumped on his back, knocking his sword from his hand with a foot, and sending the two down to the ground. The Gradian cursed loudly, partly at being caught off-guard like that and partly because he was, once again, covered in filth. "Get off me, you worthless piece of- OW!" Ugh, knees to the gut were most unpleasant.

Who's gonna save the world tonight?
We're far from home, it's for the better,
What we dream, it's all that matters,
We're on our way, united-
We're gonna save the world tonight!

[Sierra The Captor]

тαкє α ℓєαρ σf fαιтн.

ï ќṉøώ ώε'll ṃαќε ïτ.

Anna "Annabel" Crowbers. 21 years-old. Laelie Bodyguard.

No. her princess’ words were too kind. Far too kind of words for a commoner like her to accept. She knew she lacked in a lot of areas. She knew that she had very few experiences as a bodyguard as compared to the others who have outdone her in the art of swordsmanship for years and years while she herself had only been practicing for several months before the announcement of the Unity Pact. Her thoughts drifted elsewhere, and she didn’t even notice that she and the princess were close, far too close to her comfort yet she didn’t object. Strangely enough, she did not mind the embrace of her princess. If anything, it was a comfort to know that beyond this journey there is still someone to support her and encourage her and mend her insecurities. Anna returned the hug, if hesitantly, her hand slowly behind Princess Aine’s damp back.

Their eyes met for a second, her princess’ soft, sweet words melted her like butter. It was gentle, endearing as the princess decided to conclude their conversation with locked lips. Anna stared wide-eyed for a second, before closing her eyes and returning the kiss as well. Song, slow, and lustful for more…

The kiss was broken fast. As Aine composed herself of what happened, so did Anna. She shook her head, unable to believe that she, the bodyguard, who had sworn to the Queen to protect her innocence, had kissed the princess out of sheer lust. She did not listen to a word Aine had said about her leaving in search of Pricne Kunal. Instead, she stood there, naked, wet, and all the more confused.

...

After the bath, Anna clad herself in a robe before she donned her cleaned armor, resting herself in the room as she placed her outfit to the side let the air dry the moisture on the fabric. She sided her wet, white hair as the droplets fell on the floor in uneven intervals, combing it with as much gentleness as she could, trying to make out of what really happened in the bath. She knew for sure that the princess had probably kissed her out of confusion, after all, amidst all this chaos of a journey there was not much warmth left for her to hold on to. Prince Kunal was not much of a support for her, and the others would simply deem her as too innocent and immature to understand her completely to give her much commiseration. Anna was the closest to familiarity that the princess could find, and perhaps such action on a being familiar to her might not insinuate as much of a controversy as it would have done with anyone else.

Ugh.

Why is she trying to make sense of this situation? It was not the fact she actually disliked it, but the possibility perhaps the guilt of actually liking it might have placed her in a bad predicament. She liked men, and the Queen would not have placed her as Princess Aine’s personal bodyguard if it was the latter. It was uncommon for most faeries to enjoy just the opposite sex, and she thought it was safer for someone with ‘unique’ orientation like her. A possible emotional attachment to the princess was out of the question in order to preserve her innocence, and Anna should treat that former event as nothing but one confused moment in time.

Dressed in her usual armored garb, Anna wore her gauntlets, the last of her accessories, and proceeded towards the exit. She didn’t feel the need to enter the common room. Too much chatter, false assumptions and plans that might or might not be needed considering the unexpected events that have happened for the past few days. Every time they assumed things could not go wrong, nature then proved them otherwise. Besides, she needed to collect her thoughts to herself for the time being before they decided to start on a search warrant for the Zuleidan prince. And their next journey to another kingdom, on which Anna knew to be Shazgard.

After making way for the stairs and avoiding the people in the common room, Anna eventually found herself outside of the inn, suddenly feeling uneasy of her solidarity. This was odd, because she was usually the lonesome type. Perhaps the frequent acquaintances of the others have led her to become somewhat attached, even though, so far, she had not bonded with any of them. Or the fact that she was not used to the dark night life of Dradecus, and the underground, no less. Either way, she could feel the hairs of her arms stand on end. She didn’t know why.

Until now.

Once she neared the alleyway, she could hear the footsteps on the pavement getting quicker closely behind her. From her view, she could see that she was not the only people who decided to venture outside of the inn. Turning around, Anna’s burgundy eyes were wide eyed with horror at the sight of the innkeeper stained with his own blood, from his mouth to his clothes, leaving a track of blood from behind him. “R-run…” he mumbled breathlessly. One last repeated yell from him to retreat and he collapsed lifelessly beside her “W-what…” she paused, and the Laelie bodyguard soon found herself avoiding a stampede of frantic Dradecans towards her. Alarmed, Anna’s form dispersed into dusts, turning her human form into her true faerie form as she floated atop the panicked crowd, wavering slightly at the gush of wind from the running stampede. She had forgotten she was lighter as a faerie, so she would likely waver just by minor strength.

She returned to her human form in a crouching position. Just as she was about to stand, something hit her back. She cackled at the sheer force of that strike and was pushed hastily against the ground, her hand pushed against the ground just in time to cushion her fall. She felt the weight of a body behind her, and a sharp edge from beside her neck. She could only blink and crank her neck enough to see the side profile of a disheveled man staring straight through her.

“S-s-stay down,” he mumbled gingerly “J-just stay down, okay!” there was more aggression to his voice. In spite of his efforts to subdue the Laelie bodyguard, Anna could tell he was very inexperienced with his knife from the way he held the tip of it, and Anna was not about to take crap from a terrified sissy. Anna’s figure materialized and dispersed, causing the man to stumble forward, confused by the sudden disappearance of the guard. Unknowingly his head was pushed face forward on the ground, hearing a crack and blood seeping through his nose. Anna held his head, a sword drawn on her other hand. The man whimpered. She let go of his head as he daren’t move his body case he thought she would injure him in some way. He was fortunate to have targeted someone a tad merciful as compared to the other guards, and Anna herself was fortunate that the man was no more than a fearful scoundrel. If he had targeted Miyana, she doubted the man would’ve been alive.

Irritated, Anna could only let out a silent growl that her wound was starting to sting from that recent ambush. Her body materialized into a faerie again, fearing that perhaps others will surely target her considering her odd clothing. She drifted dozily in the air as she entered a larger part of the alleyway, spotting a group of mob and a few people just a few yards apart. It was hard to distinguish anyone in such darkness, though Anna could tell tidbits from squinting her eyes with as much force as she could that the mob was surrounding itself around one man, and from the looks of it, an unarmed man. If it was anything Anna despised the most about a fight is a fight that is unjustified. Anna squinted again and saw that he was much, much taller than the other mob, in which Anna could only recognize as Prince Kunal. Thankfully there was another man who came just in time to the rescue, though from his constant rant about the whereabouts of the two Gradian royals and his inability to maintain his weapon in his hands tell hers her that he was either deficit…or more likely an idiot. Another two figures she saw as Miyana, and the other, petite and radiant blue.

The princess.

Anna didn’t wait for an invitation. As soon as his sword was out of his reach and stumbled to the ground, Anna transformed back in her human form, jumping on the attacker like a prancing tiger, grabbing his shoulder and smoldering his face with the dirt that she had grabbed quickly on the ground with her other hand. The man gasped for breathed as dirt entered his mouth, feeling an unpleasant lurch as her fist met with his gut. He fell on the ground, groaning, unable to remain composure. She stared at the man named Chandar, looking breathless “Oh, damnation,” she murmured, as more of the mob charged her with swords drawn in the air like screaming barbarians.

[0o0gizmo0o0]

x x x x x x x x x ✗ K o r a x Z h a d d a g h

From where she sat, Kora observed the other royals as they gathered together near the door. Resting her chin into the cupped palms of her small hands, she wasn’t entirely sure if she should go with them or not. The bath had been refreshing, true, but she still felt exhausted. While her body was tired, her mind was restless, and she was sure that any form of true sleep would be beyond her reach if she chose to stay behind. While her sister had insisted that she stay behind, Kora in no way felt compelled to agree to the request, and actually did not know what to make of the change in attitude from the other princess of Shazgard. Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to imagine what had transpired in her homeland. Rumors held that it was the safest place to be in these dark times, and that gave her some small measure of reassurance. She just wanted to go home, and let all of this become nothing more than a bad memory.

Kora was pulled from her thoughts by the sudden sounds of violence erupting in the streets just outside of the inn. She sat up straight, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, as she looked toward the door and listened a bit more carefully. Suddenly, a mob of people rushed into the inn, hell bent on capturing the royals. Kora cried out in fear and surprise, as she suddenly felt herself lifted up over the shoulder of a man to be carried off. She was too stunned by the sudden course of events to react at first, but did not waste any time once she regained her senses. Acting out of nothing more than pure survival instinct, she bit down hard on the man’s ear, tasting blood, as it was the only place she could reach from the position in which he held her. The man screamed in pain, loosening his grip on the princess. Kora took her chance when she saw it as she squirmed away from the man’s arms, and drove a very decisive knee to his abdomen. As the man fell to his knees, clutching his stomach, Kora turned as though to try and run and hide. Before she could do so however, she felt a pair of strong arms grabbing her from behind, and pulling her arms back in a painful manner. Her limbs thrashed about wildly as she fought against the tight hold that trapped her, kicking out and even leaving the ground completely as she tried to slip free, but to no avail. The man behind her only laughed, and teased the other who still lay gasping on the ground, “Now I know you’ve gone soft Ruck, letting a tiny thing like this get the drop on you.” He easily lifted the squirming Kora up off of her feet to emphasize her small stature.

Ruck sat up, clearly enraged as he stated in a heated tone, “I’m not soft. Little viper’s faster than she looks.” The man holding Kora only chuckled and replied, “Whatever you say. Just gather up the other rats.” Kora’s eyes suddenly went wide, as Ruck stood back up, drawing his sword as he appeared to be ready to bring down the other royals. She doubled her efforts to escape the grasp of the man that held her, grinding her teeth in determination. “You won’t touch them!” she hissed, as she brought a foot down on the instep of the man behind her. In a moment of pain and shock, he loosened his hold on Kora, who took advantage of the opportunity to take the dagger that hung on his belt. The feel of a weapon in her hand was completely alien to her, but she was desperate to do whatever she could to ensure the survival of both herself, and the others who were still in danger. Kora could only remember being this terrified once in her life, and she had never thought that she would feel this way again. Terrified beyond the abilities of words to describe, she was grateful for the instincts that had helped her so much thus far.

She lashed out at Ruck, who ducked back as he hissed a string of curses under his breath since she had managed to create a deep gash on his left cheek. He swung his sword at her, a killing intent clear in his eyes. Stepping back, she managed to avoid most of the swing, although it still managed to graze her shoulder slightly. She suddenly felt a heavy blow to the back of her head, and almost instantly Kora was knocked out cold, as she slumped to the floor in a crumpled heap. Both of the men stood over the unconscious girl, as Ruck tried to wipe away some of the blood that flowed freely from the gash on his cheek, staining his beard and dripping down his neck. Looking at the smear of blood on the palm of his hand, he was enraged that the girl had managed to make him look like a fool. “The little b***h... she’ll pay for this!” he said, as he tightened his grip on his sword and raised it over his head with the intention of ending the life of the small woman on the ground. The other man proceeded to catch his arm, staying his hand from slaying the girl. Some unspoken argument took place between them, before Ruck hissed in anger, and stepped away from the scene. The other man waited only a moment, before gathering up the unconscious princess to leave the inn.

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

“I don't believe in fate or destiny.
I believe in various degrees of hatred, paranoia, and abandonment.
However much of that gets heaped upon you doesn't matter -
it's only a matter of how much you can take and what it does to you.”

[Nihilatus]

@ALL WORK :: no play

R E M U S || A B B O T T has entered the storyboard
▷ Zuleidi ASSASSIN traveling salesman
COMPANY: Sonya, Remnants
LOCATION: Dradecus
INJURIES: none
INVENTORY: small trinkets, scimitar, one of Sonya's blades

The debacle was over almost as soon as it had started. Few injuries were sustained barring matters of pride and self-worth, as shown in Sonya's display of sudden compliance. The upholstery in the room was ragged from the rampant running ruckus and the furniture, obviously handcrafted, was scattered about with only a few pieces broken beyond manual repair. Remus, with an attention unwavering, watched the woman's movements, ensuring nothing too unexpected or sudden was to occur. “Call me blind again and I’ll cut out your eyes!" Remus recalled her threat, word-by-word, picking at everything she had to say piece by piece to ensure no detail was left in the dark. The woman spoke as she backed away from the assassin, and when he found her at a sufficient enough distance, he sheathed his blade, but kept the dagger he had retrieved earlier in his one hand. “I’m exactly who I claim to be, I’m a merchant. My name is Sonya. The real question is: who are you? The liar is the first to doubt the truth. You must’ve known I had no coin to pay you when my horse ran into the city, and yet you stay. I can’t believe it would be out of charity, so what holds you here?”

Remus did not pay much attention to her words that followed, noting her statement of alternate payment. Instead, he pandered her words closely and carefully. It was a silent, still moment before he finally spoke. "Why you wished to do away with me is clearly none of my business, nor do I care to know. Obviously you perceive me as a threat, and since you ask these questions, you don't know why. As it were, you lash it in the darkness both literally and figuratively." He twirled the knife around in his hand. "My name is Remus. I'm a merchant that dabbles in the selling and production of poisons and herbal poultices." He rubbed the knife faces up against a table nearby to do away with the dirt and grime. "I am also an assassin. The reason I stuck with you was because you presented yourself as a merchant with viable wares and posing as a guard would allow me to stay within closer proximity of my target." What he stated wasn't necessarily the whole truth, but it did give the Seafolk an opportunity to come clean.

He turned his attention to Sonya, stashing the knife in his bag and taking a mental note to find a suitable sheath for it. "I care not who you disclose this information to." Even if the information were to become widespread, Jean was missing and nobody knew who his target was. He simply stated his name and chosen professions, followed by a declaration of intent that Sonya had so wished for. Had the information been told to authorities, Remus would simply disappear within the vast network of the Bastards. "Your payment is not necessary. Your secret regarding your blindness shall be safely kept so long as you no longer interfere with what I do or how I operate."

The Seafolk motioned to exit the room. "As entrepreneurs, our business here is done." Just then, from beyond the door, the sounds of a riot, surpassing the noise generated by the entry gate, erupted spontaneously. Chaos, shouts, calls for the princes and princess' heads on pikes; in every perceivable manner, it was an angry mob. "Hrm. It would appear as though they seek the royals." Remus took a moment to conceive a plan of action. "They might or might not have seen us entering with them. In either case, it wouldn't be safe to exit." The shouting and mayhem became almost overbearing. He turned to Sonya. "I present you with two possible courses of action. Either try blending in with the crowd and leave the kingdom as soon as possible or stay here and feign ignorance. You are, after all, just a merchant, correct?" With those words, Remus put on his eye-obscuring goggles, opened the door, and disappeared into the mass of angered citizens.

It wasn't long before Remus came in contact with one of the would-be kidnappers, a merchant, foiled in their attempt to steal away one of the princes, gash in their calves (the man that attempted to kidnap Lucian). Blood began pooling around the man's legs, and the man himself was barely conscious. The assassin looked around and dragged the man away to a rather secluded area, away from the public eye and into the washroom, leaving behind a rather conspicuous blood trail intentionally.

The man was sat up against a wall. "M-m-m-momma? Momma? Momma izzat you? I wanna... I wanna go home, momma..." The man was racked with fear. He wasn't a professional. He was forced into cooperating, into attempting to kidnap someone. Remus, however, was simply tired of playing games. He hated not knowing. He drew his blade and made eye contact with the obviously afraid man. "O-o-oh my... G-god? God..." "Who are you working for?" The man was still panicking. "A-a-afraid. I'm... n-n-not even... married yet... too soon... too soon..." Remus sighed. The blade tip then touched the surface of his skin. "Look, I'm going to count to three and then you're going to start losing fingers. You're working for somebody and I want know who." "B-baby? Baby girl izzat you? I'm home... I'm home... I'm home..." The man chuckled.

"One." The chuckling turned into light laughter.

"Two." Remus held his blade against the man's little finger, but the man kept laughing.

"Three." The man lost his little finger to a single swipe of Remus' blade, and the man let out a shout of pain. Then, the man looked up through bloodshot, teary eyes.

"Y'still haven't figured it out, Remus? I blew it."

The assassin reeled back slightly, then held the blade to the once-afraid man's throat. "You will talk. I'm done playing around. Who are you? How do you know my name? What do you intend to do?"

"You're really ********' stupid."

"Talk!" Remus' once-calm demeanor began giving out. "I'm a dead man, Remus. No matter how much you cut me up, no matter how much information you manage to squeeze out of my dying breaths, I'm a dead man. You will be too." The assassin took off his eyewear and stood aghast. "I like that look on yer face. Jus' like a lil' b***h. So whatcha' gonna do now? Sit there and s**t your pants?" "Why did they send a Child?" The bleeding man laughed. "Now you're gettin' somewhere. They sent me to make sure we did what we do best."

"Chaos." "And apparently you haven't even completed your goddamn assignment yet. Y'see, the public view of 'The Children Under Izar' is we're terrorists. We terrorize. I'm trying to maintain status quo." "But why you?"

"Because I'm the life of the party." The assassin immediately knew what that meant; the man's job within the organization was to either start riots or to spread misinformation.

"So you started-" "I just told 'em that royal blood makes for some pretty good treats for a sandbeast, y'know? But that's where I ******** up. I wanted only the princes of Dradecus dead. The damn elves all assumed every royal had to die. So I took manners in my own hands... and I got stopped by some Seafolk chick. Now here I am, jus' waitin for the death sentence for failin' my task." Remus took a moment to let everything sink in. "You said I'm a dead man as well. What do you mean?" The bleeding man laughed out loud. "Your job was to kill Jean and disappear. Don't think we haven't been watching you just jerk around. You had plenty of opportunities to kill the man. Now, I'm not sayin' they'll be sendin' assassins for you... it's just that everyone knows you let some damn monster eat your target."

"The difference between me 'n' you... I..." The man inhaled deeply. [******** up, and coulda done better. You..." Another breath. [******** up, but it was... outta your control." He chuckled lightly, in the same manner as before. "Y'see, we're both failures, but on different boats. My legs are gone and you lopped off my finger. I'm useless. You... you still have a job." The man's eyes finally cast down. "Momma? Momma... izzat you...?" Remus sheathed his blade and left the man where he was.

Re-entering the commotion, the assassin looked about for familiar faces. It was then, he spotted Miyana dealing with another would-be captor. He watched from afar, watching as she dealt quickly with the man threatening to slice another's throat. Putting his goggles back on to obscure his face, he worked his way slowly to the teenage girl. In a matter of moments he found himself stepping blood. "Hail, Miyana."

[amethyst jo butterfly]

αιиє ¢няιѕтαℓℓє

Laelιe princess

Engaged to: Kunal Sa'ir Mahapatra, Prince of Gradius
Current crush: ..........

╔═══════════════════════════════════════════
Aine cried out in surprise as the man suddenly grabbed her helpful hand harshly, dragging her into him. She found the edge of a knife being held against the pale blue skin of her thin neck. Her voice escaped her, as the man she once would have gladly helped, began to forcefully drag her away from Kunal's side. Her wide innocent eyes pleaded with him, as his reflection sank away from sight. she reached out her thin small hand, their fingertips almost touching for abut a brief moment.. She then gasped as he was struck down harshly. Even the mighty and 'perfect god' Kunal did not have the strength to save her, nor his sister. Oh gods in heaven above! What fate awaited her now? Was he off to strip away her clothing and take that which was not his to take? Would she be killed? Or worse yet... Would she be trapped in a magic jar, for some collectors fancy? Just what had she done to anger the gods so? Was she being punished for giving her first kiss to Anna.. Anna.. Dear sweet, most likely now confused Anna.. But why would the gods so harshly punish her for such a innocent thing? To hell with the rules her parents and culture of the outside world had set before her! She found her despair turn to anger as she wiggled against the man's taught grasp of her, trying to rend herself free..

When a soft female scent she could not place caught the edge of her nose.. She blinked, she could not place whom the scent of blood and flowers belonged to.. when with the grace of a cat Miyana landed on the earth before them.. Just how, and why.. Oh well, it mattered little.. Aine was relieved to see her fiancee's body guard.The scent of blood and death clung to the silver haired beauty who was smiling joyfully at her and her captor. Aine wore a frightened look on her face as the blade of the man bit into her skin, causing a small cut to form on her pale blue skin, and bleed somewhat dripping down her neck. Damn.. She was easy to wound! he threatened to kill her.. Grrrr.. Aine felt her anger rising.. How dare he threaten to kill her! Princess of the fairies! The beautiful moon child! How dare he! She blinked as Miyanna gave the man a second name to refer to her by.. Koyaanisqatsi.. Koyaanisqatsi, Aine found herself trapped by the darkness the young beauty now bore as she stood there smiling at them.. she felt her heart skip a beat, and a soft blush decorate her face.. Miyana ordered Aine to close her eyes.. Aine obeyed without a word, squeezing her eyes shut. She felt the splash of the man's blood against her face, as his dead body dragged her down to the earth roughly.. She coughed, somewhat sickened.. To be so close to death.. Oh gods.. And to know that she was the cause of his death.. Oh gods above.. It was enough to drive her to madness..

She felt Miyana grasp her hand and begin to drag her away, after she wiped her face clean. Aine followed after her as she dragged the fairy princess forward. Soon they found company, another Gradien fellow with short spiky blond hair.. who, appeared to be looking for Kunal. Aine blinked as Miyana asked him where Kunal was. Aine could find him, and easily at that using his scent. "Miyana.." She breathed at last her voice re-found. "I can find him easily, using his scent.." She assured the half elf, squeezing her hand trying to get her attention. Anna then came into the scene, being chased by a large mob of people wielding many a weapon.. And they were soon joined by Remus as well.. who hailed the young woman respectfully.. Anna! Her dear Anna was in danger. Aine quickly gave Miyana a kiss on the lips. After all, was it not expected? For a princess, to kiss her hero on the lips after rescue? It was her duty to do so.. But, the kiss did contain a hint of hidden lust, that Aine was unaware of.. "Thank you for the rescue.. Now allow me to take care of this situation.." She had to save her Anna! She was tired, and angry at the gods and the world.. She have had quite enough of the madness.

Enough was enough, as she calmed herself gathering the wind to her side. She growled.. The was another reason she was called the moon child.. for much like the moon above she had a darker side.. A much darker side.. A side that until now had been shackled and sleeping deep within her soul. enough, was enough.. She was done with being the perfect pacifist.. If the gods wished for her to shed blood.. Then she would! She stared at the oncoming horde as she gathered up as much wind as she could, and then threw up a thin hand sending a massive wall of wind at them roughly. Knocking all of their pursuers to the ground. She growled deeply, her lust for blood not satisfied. She cracked her neck, as she took in a deep breath, ignoring her lust for the moment a a bit of blood leaked from the edge of her nose. It had taken allot of energy and strength for her to use her wind spell out of violence.. And she felt her body already begin to wain. she managed to compose herself, for the moment, refusing her body the moment of weakness it craved. "Kunal is this way." She stated simply. "If you three will.. Please.. Follow me. Hurry now.. We haven't much time!" She shrank down into her original height, her beautiful wings bursting through the new clothing she wore, and she fluttered forward following Kunal's scent which was carried on the wind.

════════════════════════════════════════════════╝

Current location:An ally was in Dradecus
Current mood: Angry
Current company: Miyana, Anna, Chandar, and Remus
Occ: sorry for the wait
Current injuries: slight cut on the neck