Zephrun’s Imperium

Riva glared. "Have a guard accompany me, then, why don't you?" Darrin's arrow hit the knife, pushing it off target. "It's been a pleasure shooting at you, sir, but I'm afraid I don't have all the time!" he shouted, arrow still noched. "I'd be happy to shoot again, if needs be, but I'd prefer to get off of this ledge unharmed. You understand."

Darrin sensed movement. There, up ahead. Another figure, jumping. Well, it appears this is a popular thing to do at this time of night. Darrin smirked, drawing an arrow from his quiver. This target would be much easier to hit than that oaf of a king. He fired, then drew again, in case he missed.

Arvis raised his eyebrows. "What...?" As the woman turned tail and ran into the forest, the guard stood dumbfounded. Welp, that didn't exactly go as planned. His colleagues, too, were rather confused. "Should... should we go after her, sir?" one of them asked. Arvis shrugged. "I... don't think it's worth it. We got one, that has to be enough for the Raveness." "B-but... she could have our heads, sir. You've heard about old Vadim, ain't you? The stories... The Raveness messed him up good, she did." "Of course we've heard the stories," said the third guard. "But Vadim was a spy, he was. We ain't done none of that, we're safe. Don't you think this youngun's enough?" "It has to be..." said Arvis. He picked up the girl, swinging her over his shoulder. "Let's go back." @Vapor ------- Riva wanted out of the ballroom. Having the court see her like this was terrible for her image. And without her image... what was she really? She'd wiped most of the pie off her face by the time she got to the exit. But the guards did not let her pass. "Let me through," she growled. They paled, but did not back down. "I'm sorry, Lady Raven, but we have strict orders not to let anyone in or out." "Excuse me?" said Riva. She put her hands on her hips. "Do you know who I am? What I could do to you?" The guard trembled. "T-take it up with General Praetorium." He pointed. "Oh, I most certainly will." Riva marched up to the man she'd been pointed to. She recognized him from when she'd had to save Jassir from his bullying. "I demand to be let out of the ballroom to wash myself! Tell your guards to step aside." @The Ward's Guard

Rose's feet thumped against the cobblestones in a sprint. She didn't bother to look back to see if anyone was following her. After all, a part of her wanted someone to follow. A part buried very deep within her, yes, but it was there all the same. Her head was pounding and her vision was clouded. Whispers echoed in her mind, her breath coming deep and fast. Her run reminded her of another flight, one from the ruins of a prison disguised as an asylum; she had run for days and would have surely died if it hadn't been for her mother. Today though, she wouldn't be running for nearly as long; she was running to hide, not just to flee. After about ten minutes, Rose stumbled into an alleyway to catch her breath. Self-loathing twisted in her stomach and tears poured down her cheeks. Her hood was pulled over her face to keep anyone from seeing her while she sobbed. Why was she so bad with people? Her brother had been able to strike up a conversation with any bozo off the streets, but when Rose was around others she just... Oh, this was why she'd stayed in her room as a child!! Stuipid, stupid girl! Why did you take the partner job! You'd be better off on your own, you always have been. Well, she'd always been on her own. She didn't know about the "better off" part. She'd chosen bounty hunting so that she could avoid people. Kill them, in fact. How. How had she still ended up in a group and still managed to make an absolute monster of herself? She was a carnival attraction, a thing to poke and prod at. Why couldn't people just leave her alone! Treat her like a human being instead of seeing her oddities, her strangeness. She hated it, she hated it all, hated everyone. Not for the first time, Rose felt the desire to die. To fade away right here in this alley, melt into a puddle and just... cease to exist. Nothingness. That would be good. Better than this horror show she lived in. She sobbed harder, forehead resting on her arms. Perhaps she would stay here and die. Sit and just wait for the elements to take her. After all, she had nothing to live for.

Darrin cursed quietly. It appeared it was time to make his daring escape. Stupid! he thought to himself. You had to take the harder shot, didn't you? Stars, why couldn't you have waited until the king was actually asleep! Or, hell, actually, I don't know, gone into the room so you couldn't possibly have missed? But then, he couldn't have done that. That would have required patience and that wasn't really something that Darrin possessed. As a mercenary, his recklessly high risk tolerance often came in handy. In this instance, however... Well. He'd be lucky if he didn't end up in the Raveness's dungeons tonight. Thankfully, luck - unlike patience - was something he did seem to have. Darrin leapt from the ledge he stood upon, cape flapping as he fell to a balcony below. It would probably be best to leave as quickly as possible; he certainly couldn't blend in, what with his bow and arrow, and guards would be pouring into every hall and every exit in the moments that followed. Think fast, think fast... Darrin thought, eyes scanning his surroundings for a spot he could jump to. It was then that he heard a woman scream. Another curse tumbled from his lips and he spun around to find a serving girl standing just outside the doors to the balcony. He had two options: Either silence the girl or escape faster. The former option wasn't very chivalrous though and she'd most likely drawn the attention of guards anyway. And so, throwing a kind smile the girl's way, he leapt once more, to a small window ledge. Now how to get all the way down...

Pebbles? Rose hadn't even noticed them. When she did, she paled and they immediately dropped to the floor. The world was spinning, her breath echoing in her ears. Two times in what day? What the storms was going on?! "No," she whispered, shaking her head. "I can't." With that, she sprinted away, shoving Jahora away.

"You stay out of it, Kieran! The only reason I'm here is for the money, you know that full well." "And you." Rose ignored Kess's apology. In her anger, pebbles around her feet began to tremble. "You wanted me to tell you my past because you think it would help me. Well, here I am, still as messed up in the head, still as much of a monster. What makes you think you have any right to know where I come from? To humiliate me in front of everyone!" The pebbles had risen off the ground and hung around her, in a sort of shield. They shook vigorously in the air.

"Oh?" Rose released Kess, walking up to Jahora. "And what about pointed teasing, hmm? Just. Leave. Me. The hell. Alone. Please. And maybe don't go grilling someone for their past next time you meet them."

Without hardly thinking, Rose swung around and grabbed Kess by the front of her shirt, pulling her roughly forward. Her hair was frizzy, and her eyes - still tinged red from crying - were wild. "I don't suggest you egg me on," she growled. "I don't think it would be very good for your health."

Rose scoffed. "Maybe I don't want to be liked." It was a pitiful lie, but it was also the first thing that came out of her mouth. She would defend the statement no matter how stupid it was.

Rose sighed. "That doesn't mean you're mine..." The anxious young woman kept her eyes on the ground, arms folded in a sort of self-shielding way. She felt like hiding or running away from the group and into the woods. Just... fade away from the world. Either that or whip around and strangle one of the people in the group. Hatred. That was what she felt. Hatred for the fear they made her feel. Being forced to tell her story, like an animal in a cage, forced to do tricks for entertainment. She was a creature to them. To everyone who saw her powers. Sure maybe Jahora shared the ability to move things beyond what should have been possible, but in many ways, that only made it worse; even among other magical kind, she was still an outsider.

If you give an Inquisitor a spike...

The guard - a man named Arvis - haulled the young girl back. It didn't matter that the girl was a child. One didn't question the Raveness' orders. Plus, they could probably use the girl to get the real culprit. Arvis's colleagues passed him, running towards the other cloaked figure, but he knew there was a far easier way to do this. He hooked his arm around the girl's throat, producing a dagger. Though he had absolutely no intention of harming the girl - whatever the Raveness did would be traumatizing enough - the threat would likely not go ignored by the other figure. "I WILL harm her!" he shouted. "I suggest you come with me right now! By order of the Raveness!" @Robin Custos

Rose did not give Kess the privilege of eye-contact, choosing instead to walk in long strides, heels pounding into the ground. "You're not my friends," she hissed.

Riva's small squad of guards awkwardly climbed through the window on Riva's orders, running into the night to follow the woman who had foolishly defaced the Raveness. They caught a glimpse of two figures - one significantly shorter than the other - running towards the forest. "Hey, you!" one of the guards called. A tall guard at the head of the group with a particularly long stride caught the smaller one by the arm, wrenching her back forcefully. @Robin Custos @Vapor An indignant Raveness made her way to a lone noble at the edge of the room. "Your handkerchief, please," she said tightly. Maverick paled, awkwardly proffering a white piece of cloth. "Uh... O-of course, Lady Raven." Riva ripped the cloth from his hands and stormed off to clean herself up a bit. An ornate "D.O." was embroidered on the handkerchief.

"Blimey!" Nicolae exclaimed. "Oooh, the Raven's not gonna be happy 'bout this, oh no. She's a dangerous witch, that one. I pity the fool who struck her. Bettin' those screams'll be heard all over the castle come the morrow." ------ A handful of nervous guards scrambled over to the furious Raveness. "Follow her," Riva growled, face red with rage. "I want her hide." The guards paled and a chorus of, "Yes 'am," followed. They began rushing to the window where the culprit had escaped. "You fools, QUICKLY!"

Riva had a secret: She was absolutely no good when it came to combat of any kind. Quiet wars with potions and bribes? Oh, she did well, very well indeed with that sort of fight. But anything athletic - the art of assassination, hand to hand combat, sword fighting, or merely dodging a simple slice of pie - was out of her range. And so, both Biana's projectiles found their marks. The Raveness gasped, utterly aghast. She'd been hit. Hit with... food! Her face twisted with disgust and she wiped a piece of splattered pie filling from her face with a long-nailed finger, seething. "You dare..." she began. She didn't finish the statement, instead going for a growl. The dragon of a woman marched in her heels towards the idiot who'd done this, holding up her skirt so that she could walk with longer strides, but in her tight hobble dress, walking at all was difficult. There was no way she could follow, especially out a window. But she could not let that woman escape without any consequence. "GUARDS!" she shouted. @I think I am here.

Nicolae smirked grimly. He was an incurable flirt and had been for as long as he'd been in the palace, but... there was something different about Eleanor. She was certainly no serving girl; her gorgeous gown, prim posture, and done-up hair could tell you that much. But more than that, she was genuine. Everyone had a mask at court, that was just how life was in Mendahar. And yet, Eleanor didn't seem to have anything like that. She was just a gentle young girl, thrust into a harsh new world, but willing to face it and hide away her pain for the good of an alliance between her kingdom and theirs. It was honorable, but unfortunately, Nicolae knew full well that her honor would go completely unrecognized by her betrothed. It just seemed so unfair. Her delicate little heart could be so easily crushed beneath Ivian's coldness. Maybe Nicolae couldn't do anything about Ivian himself... but if he could help this young woman, he would do so.

He furrowed his brow. "Aww, darlin'." A faint smile touched his lips. "I'd be offerin' a hug, but I don't think that'd be proper in my position."

There was a pause. "No." Nicolae hung his head. "I'm supposin' not." The serving boy sighed. The truth was, his king was rather lacking in the traits that would have made him a good husband. Or, in Nicolae's own opinion, even a good person. Part of him was rather angry with himself for taking a position directly under the king. How selfish was that, joining with a bad man so that he could have a decent life? But then, even if he was to somehow "fight" against the king's leadership, what could he possibly do? He was just Nicolae, the gangly gossip. "Now, look here, miss," he said, his resolve hardening, "I'mma be honest wit'cha, this place ain't exactly a carnival and your husband-to-be prob'ly ain't what'cha lookin' for. But I can promise you, miss, as long as I'mma here in the palace, I'll be makin' sure you're far from miserable."

"Nooooo, siree," said Nicolae, shaking his shaggy head of hair. "In fact, he-" Then he paused and realized just who he was talking to. "Aww, shoot your Majesty. I didn'a realize 'at... Stars almighty. I'mma sure he'll be likin' his own kids, miss, you don' 'eed to worry. Needs an heir, after all, don't he, now?"

Nicolae shrugged. "She's a young'un, she'll be fine." He paused. "How'd she even get in here, huh? Our king don't like kids, oh no."

"Oh, milady!" Nicolae squeezed Eleanor's hand. "Are you alrighty, miss?"