Fantasy A Tale as Old as Time IC

[BackSet]

"You may be wondering why I've called you all here." Aurora said to the gathered heroes. "Well it's very simple. I want your help in stopping Maleficent. She took over my Kingdom and killed my Mother and Father. And I would like her to die. But I can't do it myself. I could never do that. So instead I'm hiring you to do it for me. What's in it for you, you may ask? Well, for one, not living under an oppressive rule. For another, I'm a princess. I can reward you handsomely. So, you in?"

 

[GamerKitty205]

Ulla was pretty sure everyone here had already been prepared to fight an evil fairy for Aurora. But then again she was being given a chance to bail out, so she should at least contemplate the possibilities.

First, would she really be miffed if Maleficent continued to rule? Probably a bit, but she was technically a witch so she could probably work something out with Maleficent. She didn't really want to, but Ulla was more than willing to admit self-preservation was a higher priority than goodwill.

Next, what benefits were there to helping the princess. There was the lack of a evil ruler, but the handsomely rewarded stuff seems kind of... Trivial. Like she needs money, but she's well off enough without gold from the royal coffers. Also she enjoys working and not just being in the lap of luxury. Ingredients would be better, but she doubted the princess collected potion ingredients. Or bottled royal majesty.

Okay last, her casual life after this ordeal. Well if she didn't help it would be going in the trash. Last time she had been out for groceries the local village where making a pyre. If Ulla helped Princess it would at the very least prevent her from burning the next time she got groceries.

"I don't see any harm in it," Ulla said reply to a princess. Then a unfamiliar yet familiar voice, sugar sweet called, "No harm to you! Certainly to other people!"

Ulla turned to look at Trixie, blue and pink cotton-candy-taffy-hard-candy cat confection smiling at the assembled crew. Trixie normally did not talk. The cat's paws had a half eaten candy box held in it claws. That would explain it, the candy had a anything to human speech spell.

"Trixie that's Cannibalism." Ulla deadpanned. The cat finished the rest of the box and simply said, "Correction, Delicious Cannibalism!"

 

[animegirl20]

This was really turning out to be an interesting day for Eirwen. She was now in the basement of the tavern talking to a princess about bringing down Maleficent. Honestly, Eirwen had no reason to be involved she didn't need the reward. She looked around at the others and wondered what was going on through their heads and there was one person, in particular, she couldn't stop glancing at and knew she should. She didn't recognize him at first but after studying his face and hearing his name she thought she was going to faint. There was a reason right there. She can't be near him what if the Evil Queen found?! She had her own mess to deal with. She had been keeping her distance from him the min she realized who he was and hadn't uttered a word his way. Even though she wanted to say no part of her realized the right thing to do would be to help this princess besides she knew the feeling of being a princess in need of some heroes. "Fine, I'm in. But no reward necessary I don't really need it." Well her and Ulla were in just had to wait for the others answer. The rukus of the Tavern could be heard above them it was one of those wild nights and the men were drinking up.
FireMaiden
Pavan
BackSet
rivers and oceans
Jolly Roger
GamerKitty205

 

[Jolly Roger]

When a messenger arrived at her estate with news of an important mission from Princess Aurora, Ella's curiosity had been piqued. It wasn't every day that a royal contacted her for help. The payout for the job was likely to be quite generous. Assassinating an opponent of the kingdom was a much harder and more dangerous task than disposing of a lower ranking noble or general, and extra incentive was needed to ensure that putting her life on the line was worth it. To add to the intrigue, the princess's family wasn't known to have any major enemies. Who was Ella being sent to kill? While many possibilities swirled around in her mind on the carriage ride to the designated meeting place, none of them came close to guessing just how unique this request was going to be...

In the tavern, Aurora finished explaining her proposal. Ella tilted the brim of her hat downwards and turned her head away from the others gathered at the table, hiding her concern. This was more than just a simple job. An an entire land was at stake. Her target wasn't some well guarded politician or wealthy merchant, it was an evil fairy who single handedly conquered a kingdom. It would be her first time contending with someone with magical powers, ones which more than surpassed her own. She glanced back at the ragtag group of wannabe heroes at either side of her. It would also be her first time working with a team. They were an odd, yet capable looking bunch. Emphasis on odd, she thought to herself, staring at the unnaturally colored cat snacking on a box of sweets. Both the cat and the woman who was its apparent owner reeked of magic, so Ella was not at all surprised when the animal opened its mouth to speak. The next person to step forward had dazzling, sleek black hair and skin so fair and flawless that Ella wasn't certain if she could replicate it using a glamour. What the woman possessed in beauty she appeared to lack in common sense, for she declined the princess's offer of a monetary reward. Or perhaps she had her own considerable wealth...a noblewoman or another princess, maybe? Ella would have accepted the mission regardless of payment. The favor she would gain with the royal family after helping to basically save their kingdom was no small advantage. She was good at keeping a low profile, but even the best hitmen ran into trouble with the law every now and then. Surely Aurora would be willing to vouch for her innocence to the authorities, if the need ever came for it. However, Ella was also never one to turn down an opportunity to make a profit.

Ella faced Eirwen. "You may not find much use for the money, but I do. There's a strong chance most of us won't it make it out of this alive." Ella stated. "On the behalf of those that will, I'd like to know that our heroic struggles will not have been in vain. What are the exact terms of this "handsome reward" of yours, princess?"

 

[rivers and oceans]

Prince Casper Leonardo Astley

The Prince woke up as usual and spent his morning as usual. Attending royal meetings and having tea with his betrothed, Princess Celestia, among other activities that filled in the gaps of his boring and bland lifestyle. Although the Princess was proper and nice to speak to, it was almost like trying to speak to bland rice porridge. Very soft and lacking almost any personality. Of course, he'd never say that to her, that was most likely the way she was raised.

"You look lovely today, Princess Celestia, how was your tour of the castle? I hope that everyone treated you well." Casper spoke with his calm and well-mannered tone of voice, the tone of voice that was much like speaking to a scared rabbit of sorts. "Good," pausing to take a delicate little sip of her tea, making sure not to slirp or clink the china, "It was pleasant. The gardens were lovely." Her voice just a soft as her features, "Oh, that's good. Do you enjoy gardening or botany?" It was like this was their first time speaking or something. Of course they had spoken before, on several occasions actually, but it always seemed like he would always lead the conversations. His father, the King, had decided to set up a 'tea time' for them to get to know each other but it didn't seem to be going as swimmingly as his father probably wanted. It wasn't as if they were madly in love with each other anything, they were barely friends. "No, mother said the thorns would prick my fingers but they're aesthetically pleasing to look at I suppose.." Her voice trailing off as she maintained eye contact with Casper, his only reaction being a smile of sorts. "I see.. Well if you wore gloves that could prevent you from being pricked if you really wanted to." "Yes." Their conversation dying down and the atmosphere of the balcony seeming to grow thick in awkward tension.

Just as he was about to find some sort of excuse to leave early, like some diplomatic meeting or maybe his father had a heart attack, a butler came to deliver a letter. "I apologize for the disruption but I was told it was urgent, your majesty." Presenting the white envelope on a silver platter to the Prince, "Thank you for bringing this to my attention. You are dismissed." While he remained calm on the outside, he wanted to give the butler an informal hug for possibly giving him the opportunity to leave. Unfortunately, the letter requested his presence at a bar in the next kingdom over... later in the evening.. Meaning he'd have to stay the entire hour with his dear lovely bland-as-rice-porridge fiancé.

Eventually, time came and went and evening soon fell upon the kingdom. The letter only had initials on the bottom to signify the writer but if it was able to get through the castle security, perhaps it was legit. It wouldn't hurt to go but maybe it was some sort of set up. Nonetheless, Casper could handle himself. Since it was later in the evening and it took a few hour on horseback to travel between kingdoms, he'd have to stay the night in some sort of inn or he'd most likely run into bandits on the return.

Upon arriving at the tavern, Casper sent in a mouse to scout the area for him. Although nothing came back as suspicious, he had his hood on and his blade at his right side. His horse stood hidden in the distance but close enough to hear his whistle if need be. It wasn't until the past few years that the Prince began feeling extra cautious about his surroundings, this feeling of anxious never having been a problem before. Maybe it was just old age, who knew. I mean, I'm not that old... Am I? No! Of course not.. I'm not even 25 yet! Thinking to himself before returning back to reality.

Standing in the basement below the tavern, Casper stood off to the side with both arms crossed and scanning the room of the people that were also requested to join the task. Upon hearing the terms and conditions as well as this, "handsome reward" that the Princess Aurora spoke of, he was not necessarily intrigued by the reward aspect. However, it meant he would be able to possibly broaden his kingdom's borders from the wicked witch as well as delay his official marriage with Celestia, perhaps would be something to take on. "OK." Letting out a short response of agreement.