"I like him," the girl said quietly to her brother, not far from her. She got several stares as she examined the horses for sale at the best stable in the large city. She did, after all, stand out quite a bit. With her long lavender hair, bright red eyes, and obviously elven ears, it was hard to not stand out.
Her brother just sighed; he didn't want to stay in the city long, yet she insisted on choosing a horse that she liked for it's personality, along with ability. "Do you like him for his personality, or his ability?" His blonde hair was short and slightly spikey, his eyes were blue, and, despite his ageless face and ears, he didn't attract many stares compared to his sister.
"Both, as a matter of fact." With that, she turned to the stable master and said, "I'll take this one." She handed over the gold and began leading the blue roan mare out of the stable. Her brother got his black-and-white paint gelding he had already paid for and followed, but they were both stopped short of the door by three soldiers standing in the way.
"We are looking for two elves by the name of Osaka and Cain. You seem to fit the description, so I have to ask you: Are you two Osaka and Cain?" The man who had spoken was obviously the leader of the group-despite his young age-by his demanding demeanor and three black stripes on his right sleeve, white adorned with deep blue. He had black hair and emerald green eyes; he didn't seem to stand out much at all in this city. He acted like he was going to take them in no matter their answer, so the lavender-haired elf got her Quarterstaff ready as the blonde drew his rapier.
"My name is Osaka, and this is my brother Cain," she said casually, and the three soldiers drew their swords, as ready for a fight as the elves. "Slow down, boys. If you must take us in, don't we have the right to know on what charge?"
"Who said there was a charge? The Queen is looking for you. Now, unless you absolutely don't want to go to see the Queen, is there any reason for a fight?" the leader said, then added, "My name is Sentu." He held out his hand to shake, but quickly retracted it; he had remembered something…Elves are a very formal people. As he didn't know anything very formal, and he wasn't about to bow to them, he just stood relaxed, waiting for their answer.
"Why? Why would the Queen want to see us?" Cain asked cautiously. He never was one to trust anyone easily. Then again, neither was Osaka; Cain just openly showed it.
"She seems to think you are here to vouch for the Queen of the Elves." Sentu gave a look of great confusion when Osaka burst out laughing.
"Us? Vouch for the Queen of Elves? If your Queen knows our names, it's a wonder she doesn't know why we are no longer in Ariden."
"Ariden? You come from that far to the North? But still, Queen Tatiana would like to see you. Are you willing to come? Or must we tell her the elves have refused an audience with her?"
Osaka and Cain glanced at each other, then Cain spoke up. "Alright, we'll come." They quietly and swiftly followed Sentu to the palace, not speaking at all along the way, although their hands moved quite a lot. They were using the elven hand talk, like sign language, only for just elves. Why did you agree to go with them? Osaka signed to her brother.
We had no choice. If we had said no, they would have attempted to take us to her anyways, and I didn't want to cause a scene. Dead bodies tend to cause a scene.
What about Mai? Can we leave her alone for so long?
You were the one who said she would attract too much attention if seen with me.
Osaka sighed, and from behind her, Sentu stiffened. Had she noticed him watching their interaction? All he knew was that they must be using some kind of signing to speak to each other without him and his men hearing. Although it interested him greatly to learn about the elves, he did his best to keep quiet about everything, especially the many questions he wanted to ask them.
Noticing Sentu behind her, Osaka decided to make conversation. Once she was done hand-signaling it sounded too quiet for comfort. "Hey, Sentu, was it? How old are you exactly? I've seen few humans and known the proper age of none of them."
Surprised at hearing Osaka's voice, Sentu stumbled over his words. "I, uh, I'm 18. I-I know I'm really young to be in my position, but I'm supposed to be really good at what I do…I guess…Ah, if I may ask, how old are you?"
Osaka smiled and said, "Only 18? I'm over 500…and Cain has seen more than a millennium." She laughed when she saw Sentu's face at this. "What, didn't think we could get that old?"
"No, I mean, yes, I mean…" He took a deep breath and said, "You look good for your age."
Laughing slightly, Osaka said, "Why, thank you, Sentu." She was silent for a second, then as they came around a corner, said, "Is that the palace? It's huge!"
Sentu stood up a bit straighter and looked very proud of the palace. "Welcome, Osaka and Cain, to the palace of the great city Hiro, in the land of Lyrain." He was very formal when saying this, but then relaxed and said, "This is the palace of my mother."
"You're a prince?" Osaka asked, then realized she must have sounded rude. He just didn't seem like a prince. He acted too…laid back, too relaxed to be a prince. And he was out patrolling the city with the soldiers, not to mention being a soldier himself.
"Kind of. I'm the child of the Queen's lover before she was Queen, or married. Then she married a noble, and had a son with him, making me last in line to get the throne, and giving me a lot more freedom than my brother." He dismissed the two soldiers under his command, who, as Osaka just noticed, were much older than him, and led them towards the throne room.
As Sentu held open the door for Osaka and Cain to enter, he said, "Just to warn you, the King is a bit…eccentric."
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