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"Serenice huh? Lovely little name that is. Almost doesn't fit someone as um...dangerous as you I suppose?"

Falconer coughed and smiled weakly, looking up at the crazed expression present on the young woman's face above him. He lifted his head up as much as he could, getting a visual on the position she had forced him into, before letting it fall back to the earth with a somewhat soft thump.

"You know," he drawled out slowly. "I usually have to pay lots of money to get women to do this to me. Although none of them looked as nuts as you do now. More...shocked or disturbed at what they were about to do. Crazy, its like they think I'll infect them or something."

"So I am weak?". Her voice was lower now, almost a purr, promising dark and delightfully painful things to occur to his person in the immediate future. Falconer was almost brimming with excitement.

"Weak? Did I say that? Weakening yes, weak no. Slight suffix there, don't know if you noticed. Most people are dreadfully blind to the language sometimes, its infuriating. Not that you care, you look like you're about to go all feral on me. Look at you with your fangs and...wait a minute"

Tilt of the head.

"Fangs?"

When'd it get so cold?

Blink, blink.

"Oh. Oh no you don't."

Instincts, bred and born upon countless battles, mana drawn thousands of times. This, he knew all of. Even in his exhausted and rusty state, he could still conjure up something powerful enough to keep her away.

Sides, He thought to himself. Who the ******** has ever heard of defensive magic being used as a weapon?

"Next time you hold someone down, grab hold of their arms. Or at least rip out their tongues. You never know when they might do something like..."

Fingers wiggled. His mouth open and spoke of ancient words, words of power and magic, drawing upon his mana as he constructed a barrier to form between the two. This was a basic shield spell, taken and bastardized by what was easily the most insane student to ever stumble upon it.

It was more than enough to keep away one weakened girl.

"This. Boom."

The shield convulged together into one point, one tiny ball of packed and concentrated mana, before shooting upwards into the belly of Serenice and sending her flying away from his body.

Falconer quickly got to his feet, drawing the knife he had used to cut the bread and griping it before him, eyes on Serenice the entire time.

"I know this might not look like much, but lady I still got my magic. And if all fails..."

He waved the knife about.

"I can use this to give myself access to one of the most powerful items in the entire world that'll boost any magician's power. Blood."

Falconer's eyes narrowed, his voice lowering as his expression shifted from jovial to deadly serious.

"Talk. Now. What on earth are you and why should I even consider travelling with you for another minute? You saved my life for what, to keep as some sort of meal token? Sorry, but not my agenda today. Unless of course, you're sick of my presence, in which case words are no longer needed. Kill me if you will, but know this: I will break you. Every little piece of you, I promise you that. I do not go down without a fight."

First it comes on quiet creeping slow
Clever words and phrases only stain
I remain so
Lost and buried under
Everything that I need
When all I want is you
For well over an hour, Lilith stood at her corner and sang. If there had been some else to watch her things ( Pomme did not count, since Lilith presumed she was watching her and not the money ) she would have danced as well, but she had to be sure to keep her eyes on what money was dropped into the bag near her feet. To make up for it she moved around, slowly strolling from one side of the corner to the next to entice others to come closer to her.

After two hours, Lilith decided to stop to avoid straining her voice. If she were to damage her vocal chords then half of her way of finding income would be dashed, not to mention her singing ability was one of the things she prided herself on. She completed her music with a final song, pushing her high notes far into the air. For a few seconds she held it, note piercing yet not shrieking, and then came to a close.

Some nearby clapped and a few others tossed her a few coins. It wasn't much, but considering the times it wasn't surprising they had so little to offer. Lilith picked up her bag and held it out towards some of the crowd, silently trying to persuade them to open their pockets up a little bit more or to get those who hadn't offered anything to give. When people finally began to disperse, she tightened the strings to the mouth of the bag, put her harp away and looked around.

Lilith left her corner with the intention of getting something to eat. She weaved through the crowds and visited vendor to vendor. On her way she spotted a familiar red head. Not Pomme, but Mira. Lilith was aware Pomme was there, but if she wouldn't announce her presence, Lilith would play along and continue on without looking.

"Look at this, I've found a scurrying mouse." Lilith mused as she stretched her free arm out to bar Mira's path.

"His fault you say? My my, do continue"

Hidoi stepped into the room, surveying his prisoners with a dark smile upon his face. He had changed out of his armour into a more simpler style of dress, cloth pants and shirt, showing off just how young the man really was. Numerous scars, caused by weapons and magic alike were displayed proudly as Hidoi calmly took a seat at one of the tavern's tables, turning it so he could properly view all its occupants.

"Hello there, I'm Prince Hidoi of the Mei'q Valuk. I suppose you could think of me as the man in charge around here, having personally led the army that conquered this tiny kingdom. I've battled against some of the best men and women your nation has produced in generations and as you can see, I have come out the victor every time. Except once. The one man who has ever defeated me, to out-smart in the field of combat, the man you all call Falconer has escaped me tonight. Right from under my nose.

As Hidoi spoke, his voice softened and darkened, until it came out as barely as whisper, and yet all those present could hear him clearly. He stared each in the eye, before continuing.

"Now. I know one of you here is responsible for letting in the whore that got that man out from my dungeons. I can understand your reasons for the actions you have carried out. You want to protect your queen no? What better knight to have by her side than Falconer? He represents everything your nation fights for, preserving what little integrity your little b***h of a queen has. A national hero.

Hidoi sneered, his face turning ugly as he all but barked his next words.

"What a fool! He fights to protect his queen, a lady who enters a throne bathed in years of blood! Your crown has committed acts of war so great and terrible that your previous cabinet was deemed unfit to fight against us in this war. Imagine that, warriors so bloodthirsty, so harsh, so cruel that they were banned from fighting! Your nation is responsible for the destruction of the ancient city of Rivvil! You have caused the deaths of thousands of people! All for what? A boy with a sword and a girl who thinks she could be queen. Is it worth all this? Is it worth the lives of all these people? Because tonight, I am going to offer you the same treatment your kingdom has offered the people's of this world for the past century or so. Tonight, each and everyone of you will be brought back to the castle for...questioning. And I will be present at each of these interviews of ours. To gather each and every little piece of information from each and every one of you. I'm sure your queen would approve."

He whistled and gestured to the guard, remaining where he was seated as they converged on the helpless people.

--

'HA! AHAHA! I do not believe I just got away with that! Me, against a lady who nearly ripped me into two little Falconer bits! Oh dear God I am the bluffing king!'

Such joyous thoughts sang through the mind of Falconer as he maintained his angry face, developed over years of card games in the fields of war. The knife remained where it was as he all but danced on the spot out of sheer relief.

"Wait a minute"

The dancing fun time thoughts died instantly, before more pressing matters settled in.

"You didn't answer my question Serenice. What are you? My salvation yes, my protector...debatable. Regardless you're clearly not human. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. It could be a very great thing, depending how you look at it, and I tend to see things in a very positive light. So, in whatever diety's name, face, underwear whatever, what are you?"

First it comes on quiet creeping slow
Clever words and phrases only stain
I remain so
Lost and buried under
Everything that I need
When all I want is you
As if hearing her thoughts, the sound which escaped Mira's mouth sounded awfully similar to a mouse squealing. An eyebrow hidden behind her mask arched upwards as the redhead backed herself up into a wall. If that was how the girl reacted to danger then Lilith would have to train it out of her. People continued to pass the pair by, some casting curious glances but otherwise leaving them be. Lilith lowered her arm and tilted her head, the only sign of curiosity as her mask concealed the upper half of her face. For a moment Lilith considered giving Mira a bit of a teasing comment about meeting her ( this was one of the commonly traveled roads of the city, after all ) but dashed it as the other straightened herself out.

Lilith spared Mira a nod when she suggested going over to a stall. "Hm, you did, did you? Lets see it, then." She made a gentle wave for the younger one to lead the way. Then, without warning, she moved to gently smack Mira on the shoulder. "If you always act this skittish in a crowd you'll mark yourself to get mugged."








Time was passing by less than peacefully. So many people, such as poets who spent their entire lifetimes writing music, sang about the beauty and peace which followed after war. So why was it that before him there was little of the thing? Instead of birds and people dancing together in the streets, disruptive citizens made it continually difficult for him to keep a peaceful hold on the city. Soldiers were doing their best to avoid using lethal force, but with some of the citizens still fighting, it was growing much more than difficult.

After a few months had passed, the violence drawled back down and left a tension in its wake. It was more favorable than new citizens ready to leap at military throats- or even each other's. Tension was easier to deal with than outright violence. On one of the days when he felt secure enough to take five seconds for a break, a servant came in to deliver his brother's desire for him to come down to meet him. Lacking both energy and desire, Gidel cast the servant off and spent more time slumped in a chair with his face hidden behind interlocked fingers.

Only when he felt some minute bit of energy restored did he finally push himself from his chair and make the winding journey down to meet his brother. The bags under his eyes spoke of the amount of energy and time he'd been putting forth to ensure Mei'q Valuk succeeded to consume what was left of Erion. Even with his energy sunken, he strode the halls with the same air of royalty and command as before. So long as his people knew he had the strength to do the work, it mattered little to him how heavy the bags under his eyes were. All in all, a certain princess needed to be found so Gidel could leave back for home and leave the newly conquered lands to his brother. Although Gidel wanted to be sure the reigns were handed over as peacefully as possible, he was left with a mixture of feelings. Foremost he hoped to get as many problems fixed before Hidoi was left to bare them alone and he also wondered if his brother was ready for such heavy duties. The once-Erion land was not a small piece of geography and the people were remarkably stubborn. Twenty years ago Gidel was certain they would have given up much easier.

"I'm here." He announced simply as he strode into the room his brother was in. He took a moment to give the panicked occupants a full look before moving to the seat Hidoi was perched in. Hidoi was in much more casual clothing, as Gidel was still dressed in some fashion of fancy military costume. There was more clothe than armor in his dressings, but if he had to fight it would do. "Hmm. Indulge me, little brother."

First it comes on quiet creeping slow
Clever words and phrases only stain
I remain so
Lost and buried under
Everything that I need
When all I want is you
Silently, the princess-bard followed the younger girl to a stall she'd been in a moment before. The merchant gave Mira a strange look, and Lilith stared at him for a moment before she cast her gaze in the direction Mira pointed in. Stepping forward, Lilith's eyes rested on a rather plain looking necklace with seven stones hanging from its leather leash. They varied in size and looked about the width of paper. As she pressed a finger to it, much to the merchant's dismay, she discovered it was much sturdier than she anticipated. Despite the simplicity of the design, the stones did have a nice shine and color to them.

If she were to be honest, Lilith felt the necklace was rather plain. However, she didn't have access to the treasures ( or what was left of them ) within the castle or any money to buy anything more elaborate. For her knowledge of precious materials, this item was priced well, considering the natural inflation that came during such an economic stress on the country and how much money they had. The more Lilith studied the necklace the more its appearance began to grow on her. It was a bit plain, certainly, but it was sturdy and the glimmer of the jewels were bright and vivid despite their humble design.

"Hm. Beautiful. It would work. It will work." Lilith decided aloud as she pulled her hand back and looked to the merchant. "But it's too expensive."

That single comment began about half an hour's worth of haggling with the merchant. The client and merchant battled back and forth with words and prices, Lilith asking for extremely low prices with the merchant sticking to the one already indicated. Throughout the half hour the two slowly began to change their numbers, Lilith silently impressed with the merchant's wit and determination to get as high of a price as possible. Unfortunately for him Lilith had spent almost as much time training for a physical battlefield as she had for a verbal one, and by the end of it she'd successfully wrestled his price down to more than half. Victorious yet not being obnoxious, Lilith used some of the money she'd made that day and what she normally carried to pay for her half. Once Mira paid, the necklace was handed over and Lilith turned to Mira. Without a word, she reached over Mira's shoulders and tied the necklace around her neck.

"Hold it until we get home." She stated before she gently pushed Mira on the back to start moving. "My sister should be there so we may as well grab some dinner to take with us." Without a stove or oven it was difficult to maintain any sort of food stock. Bread bought on discount would likely be what she would buy for dinner, much like every other day.

Pomme was following Lilith and Mira as they both entered in the shop. The knives thrower had to admit that she did not like the look of it. What could the Princess be doing in such a place? There was barely enough money for them to be living on and they were trying to save to cross the lake. Was she trying to spend money on futilities? What kind of money could she be spending?

As she heard Lilith speak about a necklace, Pomme had to master all her self control not to burst inside the place and drag both girls out. What the hell was the Princess doing? If only Serenice was there! Pomme did not know the Princess as well as the vampire, yet she had expected that she would not be the kind of throwing money out on a whim. The woman clenched her fists. Leaning against the wall, she waited until both Lilith and Mira came out of the shop.

As they both stepped out, she removed her hood and stepped away from the wall, without a smile on her face.

"Charlotte! What do you think you are doing?" She crossed her arms, looking at both as an angry sister who would scold her younger syblings.

"Do you think we have the money to afford such a frivolous expense!?"
She pointed at Mira's neck then turned to the younger girl.

"And you Mira, don't you think you should have stopped her?! You know the situation. I thought you were more reasonable."

She looked back at Lilith, held her gaze, then back at Mira. Although her tone was angry and annoyed, she was not shouting and was very serious. In her eyes there was also something strange: she looked almost more hurt and disappointed than truly furious.