Bond Between Sisters

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

For a moment it sounded like Finn was trying to tease her in a way but he said it too. That he loved her. By the time he pulled their hands away, her cheeks were painted red and it felt like she forgot how to breath. Slowly a smile spread across her lips before she let out the breath that had been stuck. She watched him closely yet she still hadn't expected him to kiss her. Her heart practically jumped out of her chest as her eyes widened but in a pleasant surprise. Though it was short, Neva couldn't help the giddy smile growing on her face from it. Her thoughts had been rather stuck on that moment so when Finn started talking again, she almost missed it. "Huh?" Neva knew she heard something before he cleared his throat but she wasn't sure what it was. Not that it mattered since he added more and she sort of guessed what it was that he said before. "Of course! I don't want to go back until I get the full experience." Neva nodded her head some as she spoke, her mind already thinking about what kinds of food there could be. It'd be her first time trying something outside of the castle and she had to admit, she was pretty thrilled about it. Or maybe it could just be because it was Finn's place, either way she was thrilled.

When he started naming off some of the soups on the menu, Neva couldn't help but giggle quietly when he mentioned the mushroom one. It wasn't one that sounded tasty anyway but she also wasn't that much of a picky eater. Only for certain things. "Hm." Neva thought for a moment about the options before nodding more to herself than anything. "I'd like to try the chicken one in a bread bowl. It sounds pretty tasty right about now." Though the turkey leg did too but she'd just save that for another day. She'd be back for sure, maybe with Kendra next time as an outing they could do. The mention of a sweet wine made her think again before she let out another hm. She'd never really been fond of wine though that could have been because all the ones she'd tried were bitter or had terrible after tastes. A sweet one just might be the one to hit her sweet tooth that Finn just loved to point out. "Sure, I'll try some of the wine too. If I like it, we'll have to make sure Kendra tries it too when we bring her back." Because Neva knew that when it came to sweets, most of the time the girls had similar tastes. "If you're going to get the order, can I look around a bit while I wait for you?"

Tristan Doherty
​

Kendra still had some very valid points with her words, points that Tristan would have to think more seriously about. Maybe becoming the duke wouldn't be such a bad thing because at least he would have the resources. She was certainly right about how they were mostly stuck up and thought doing work was beneath them but Tristan wasn't that type of person. It was almost funny how she already figured out he didn't care much what others thought about him. Which was another -although minor compared to keeping the topic off of him- reason why he smiled down at her as she seemed shocked by the offer. He didn't move though as he would make sure she'd get to see something in town today. "We won't get caught so I don't know." He spoke in a teasing manner with a light shrug before he helped to hoist her up to her feet. "Now you're starting to get the idea." He chuckled when she reiterated not getting caught, placing his free arm atop of hers before starting to guide them towards the exit of the garden. They passed a few nobles that were too lost in their own conversations to bother seeing what was happening elsewhere. Other than that, it was an easy enough task to get onto the main walkway that led to the stairs they'd need to go down. As they continued on, Tristan stole a glance her way when she asked a few questions almost back to back before letting out a small laugh. At least it wasn't about him personally.

"Yes it's the bakery I'm helping to build, I'm just going to check in to see how the progress is coming along." Even though he really wanted to actually see if he could help out, he knew he likely wouldn't be able to with Kendra there. "As for the other shops, it is in the merchant's distract so there's all sorts of shops in the area. A smithy, a few seamstress shops, a shop that just sells fruits and vegetables, an armory. You'll see when we get there." As they neared the bottom of the stairs, Tristan turned them to the right where it would be a straight shot to the side gates leading out of the castle. "I know some of the shop owners by name but I wouldn't count it as being well." Tristan shrugged again at the comment but wasn't phased by it either; he liked to keep his private life exactly that, private. "Oh, there's also a flower shop across the street from the baker that has some beautiful flowers that usually don't bloom around here. They aren't rare, it's just that they're brought over from the neighboring continent."

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

“Coming right up Ma’dam” he smiled, now having the order. It was just like Neva to think of including her sister on things, even when they had been miles apart for so long. “You girls can have anything from here any time.” he added, getting out of his chair. Before answering her questions he looked at her before checking the surroundings. It was a pretty quiet day and no strange figures were out in about that he could tell. “Yeah.” he reluctantly agreed. It would have made him more comfortable if he was around while she looked about or it was closed. Peculiar people wander in all the time and can blend in easily. “Just pay mind to who you talk to and I’ll be out in a bit. Shouldn’t be more than Five minutes or so.” he gently squeezed her shoulder before heading off in the back were all the food was prepared. It was mostly where Finn spent his time if he wasn’t behind the bar. Before rounding the corner and going out of sight, he glanced around one last time to make sure everything was fine and nothing out of the ordinary stuck out. It was the same as the last time he surveyed, must have just been super paranoid. 

“Cook.” Finn called our as he rounded the corner. An older lady was busy away baking up a storm, but she stopped when she heard the familiar voice and turned around to look over the boy. She was never pleased with his weight or anyone’s for that matter of fact. Everyone was as thin as a rail in her eyes. “Oh, stopping by for some lunch Finny?” she asked, wiping her hands on her apron as she closed the gap between the two of them. “Yeah, I was wondering if I could get two of your delicious bread bowls one with cheese soup and other with the chicken?” he asked politely, not wanting to cross the women. She was like a stern grandmother to him and never wanted to get on her bad side.  “Oh, for you and your lady friend?” she winked, as Finn only stood gaping at her. They had only been in the tavern ten fifteen minutes to and yet news was traveling fast about Neva. “Oh, everybody knows. Char is putting up a fuss after she saw the way you went after her. Oh, and that kiss.” The older lady gave him a mischievous smile, like I bet you didn’t think anyone saw. It caused him to turn a shade of red. “I’ll bring it out to the two of you. Not a word more. Now get out.” she said sternly, giving him a push towards the door. There was one stop before he could get back to Neva and that was at the bar. It was the busiest part and no one had the time to stick their noses in his business while he was getting what he need. It was a pint for him and he snagged a glass and the bottle of wine. It was fruity and sweet, just like he promised. It tasted just like biting into strawberries as it was a lighter pink wine. Once those were in his hands he headed back to the table to put their drinks down. Looking around, he wondered where Neva had gone off too. Hopefully a drunk hadn’t scared her off or anything. There was always one of them lurking around.

   
 

Princess Kendra
​

It made her feel a bit foolish with how many questions she had about everything. It was weird being so sheltered from that aspect of life when it was right over the wall and for most common knowledge. It was the one he had been helping, interesting. She would get to see some of his hard work. Apparently there was more than just the bakery too for her to see. That was exciting. A flower shop as well, perhaps she could persuade a detour to there and a few other shops. With his love of plants she didn’t think it would be too problematic to get him to stop over at the floral shop as well, that would be enough for her if it was even just that one shop. The more time they killed out there the less she had back at the castle to spend just waiting until the opportune moment to sneak out undetected. “They hold up here well?” she asked, a bit surprised that the flowers could make the journey and stay alive and well from a neighboring continent, probably just had to be in the right hands not to end up dead. “Must be a very experienced florist?” It would be nice to see something different from what was around here, even if it was her just stealing a glimpse from a far. 

Getting out was just as easy as he described. Everyone was too busy wrapped up in their affairs to even notice the two of them making their way towards the side gate. Not one head turned in their direction. It put her at ease, perhaps since she never went against anything she was told no one suspected anything. That was a big difference between her and Neva. Her sister never backed down from a challenge, at least never when they were younger. It could have changed now. Doubtful, many letters described how she was arguing with mother and father to let her return. Anything, she was probably more bull headed and up to challenge others she thought was wrong. “How long before we get there?” she asked, curious how long of a walk it was. They were already pretty much out of the gardens and on their way out. Two guards were posted at the side of the gate and she hoped that Tristan really wasn’t bluffing when he told her that he could get them through, she was excited now. For the plan to fail would only make the night drag on slower knowing she was so close to doing something interesting for once.
 

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

Neva's smile grew at the mention of her and her sister getting whatever they wanted here. She was fairly confident that Kendra would like it here since just the little bit she'd seen was so cozy. Minus the waitress but now that that had been cleared up, Neva didn't mind her either. Her eyes followed him as he stood and in turn looked around them when he did. There weren't any knights currently so it didn't seem like she'd get caught. When he finally agreed, Neva stood up with a growing smile before giving his hand a gentle squeeze. "I probably won't talk to anyone anyway so you don't have to worry about that. I just wanted to look around a little." She spoke in the most reassuring way that she could to try to ease some of the worry he must have felt about it. It wasn't like she could get lost in the tavern or anything so it should be fine. She gave him a bright smile and watched him head into the kitchen first before she situated the chair back where it belonged. With that out of the way, she turned and decided to go along the wall first so she could get a closer look at the intricate fireplace in the middle of the back wall. Her hand traced along the top as her smile came back more gently this time. The whole place just screamed Finn's name and even though she hadn't wanted him to leave the castle, she was a bit glad he did. He was able to get this and live a better life than what could have been trapped within the walls.

Her thoughts were interrupted when something hit the bottom of her foot and a rowdy cackle of laughter ensued near. Glancing down, she noticed it was a small dart of sorts and as she picked it up a tall burly man stumbled over to her. "Sowy, miss. 'e missed 'is mark by a looooong sho-hic." Clearly the man was drunk but he still held his hand out for dart. "It's all right. What are you playing?" Neva couldn't help her curiosity as she noticed the paper lined on the wall with a couple of similar darts sticking out of it. There were three other men, equally as burly as the first though unique in their own rights, that were eagerly waiting for the dart to come back. "Tis darts. Ya jus aim 'n throw th' dart. If ya get th' tiny target lots, ya win. Wanna try? We play fer coin but since ya don know 'bout it, first games free." He made a motion for her to follow him before making his way back to the others. They were quick to wave her over and one even mentioned giving her a bag of silver coins if she could manage to get the bulls-eye even once. With a quick look to their table, she didn't see Finn back yet so she figured it wouldn't hurt to try it out. One of the less drunk ones -if it was possible- told her a better explanation of the game before giving her the three darts and telling her to go ahead and try. The first one landed in near the bulls-eye, almost barely making it which surprised each of the men. The second was near the same spot and the third one landed dead center. There was some cursing and some shouts of surprise but most of it was all in fun. The bag of silver that was promised was handed to her and another bet was made to see if she could do it again.

Tristan Doherty
​

The question of the flowers caused Tristan to nod his head before letting out a small laugh. "There's three florists that work in that shop actually. Two of them are from the neighboring kingdoms and the third is from here. They work really well together to make sure all of the plants they have are well kept and whenever they sell any, they extensively say how to care for them. Not anyone can just buy one of the flowers from the other places." He explained easily enough as he thought about a time where he had witnessed the refusal of the sale. The man had wanted a bouquet but he wasn't even planning on caring for them much. Just give it to a girl and hope she knew how to care for them properly. No, they were very strict florists which was rather unique in its own rights. "They're all very friendly people though so I'm sure they'll like you." He added as an afterthought before a sly grin formed on his lips. "They aren't picky about who they like." The tease being something he'd likely tease her about pretty often; not because it wasn't common -since everyone had their own types they liked to be around- but more because it was a way to keep her down to earth and not so focused on staying proper. Or at least from what he'd seen it was since it had resulted in her teasing back.

"The walk itself only takes about half an hour to get to the main city and from there another ten minutes to traverse the streets. Overall it won't take long but I doubt you'll notice since you'll be looking around as we go." He hadn't meant that one as a tease since it wasn't her fault that she never got to go out, or he assumed it wasn't. When they neared the knights, Tristan held up a finger to tell her to stay quiet without saying it aloud. "Gentlemen." Tristan called to them, causing the two to straighten right away from their slouched positions. Only one of them looked at Kendra instantly before a questioning hm escaped his lips. "It's fine, we won't be gone long." Tristan said quickly, the two knights looking to each other before back to Tristan when he let out a small laugh as he started guiding Kendra passed them. "You both owe me, remember? Unless you want me to tell your wives about-" quickly both knights waved their hands at him and situated themselves against their posts again. "Nope, we didn't see anything did we Roy?" One said, gaining the other to shake his head quickly back at forth. "We're even now then, just don't bet on anything if you play cards with me again." Tristan called after them as they were brought to a smaller, cobblestone set of stairs. Once they were about halfway down the stairs, he glanced at Kendra for a moment. "See? Easy."

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

It wasn’t long before he picked her out of the crowd. It seemed she was getting chummy with some of the drunks playing darts, or it was the other way around. That was the things about taverns, even when you plan to keep to yourself you usually end up with a drunk chatting with you. It seemed that she was enjoying herself, so he kept his distance and watched as she threw the last dart and it land dead center. Pretty impressive for just learning and the men thought so too as he heard their roar of voices over everyone else. It wasn’t until he saw the bag of coins get handed over did he raise an eyebrow out of surprise before laughing. That probably had all of them shocked. Takin his ale in one hand, he sauntered over catching the last bit of the conversation and hearing the bet being placed. “What is going on?” he asked, announcing his presence. The men came often and he never had any problems with them so there was not anger in his tone, just surprised that he was gone for maybe five minutes and she had ended up playing darts with some drunks. There was a goofy smile on his face as the whole scene was hilarious and a certain nurse’s voice rang through his head on how wrong it was for a princess to be seen with these sort of men. 

“You going again? If so I’ll put around of beers on that you can do it again. Anyone up for that sort of wager?” he eyed the men, wondering if anyone would bet against him. A free round was probably in store for them anyway because it seemed it Neva was enjoying herself. “After that there be no wagers. Girl needs some food in her belly. Look at her, thin as a rail. Do they fed you were you come from?” The cook chimed in before anyone could take Finn up on his offer and she placed the two bread bowls on the table in front of Finn.  An unwanted hand away wandered in and she smacked hard until it went away. The drunk recoiled as the older lady glared at him. Finn only smiled and laughed quietly. Thankfully, he had never gotten on her bad side. “I expect plates to be empty, if not I take it as an insult.” It was only a ploy to make people eat more. Finn looked to Neva and shook his head behind the cook’s back so she knew not to worry over finishing it. The bark was worse than the bite, if she liked you. As far as he could tell, she was hanging around longer to get to know Neva more. “Well is there a bet happening or what? I got things to do in the back!” she furrowed her eyebrows, looking at them like get on with the show already. 
 
 

Princess Kendra
​

That wasn’t going to be let go, her being picky with the company she spent her time with, she just knew it. A retort was almost out her mouth when he began telling her about the walk a head and she swallowed her words before he even notice she was going to say something. It was just going to have to wait for later she guessed as she was absorbed in what was to come. Not a bad afternoon was a head of her and she was getting jitterier as they got closer to the gate. She nodded in agreement and did the turning a key motion in front of her lips to let him know she wasn’t going to say anything. She was just interested in seeing if he could pull it off. Pretty risky, if the king knew she didn’t know what sort of thing would happen. Not many must go through this gate because the knights were slouched comfortably against their post. That was until they heard Tristian address them and then they straightened in a fashionably matter of time as they approached them. 

Naturally, one’s eyes immediately darted to her as he made it clear he was uncertain she should be leaving. For a moment, she didn’t think it was going to work as the two exchanged concerned looks. None the less, he pressed on, guiding her between the two of them and through the gate. Owe? What did they owe him? Oh, and the plot thickened and Tristan threatened to share some details with their wives. Kendra curiously turned to look behind her to see the two knights waving their hands and Tristian falling silent. Kendra focused on the stairs ahead and bent down a bit to hike her skirt up a bit to keep from tripping down the narrow stairs. She caught the one saying he saw nothing and smiled. A success and she was impressed. “Well I wasn’t aware you had dirt on them.” she chuckled, fining the whole thing amusing. “Must have pretty scary wives because they turned the other way pretty quick.” she giggled, imagining them being scolded.  

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

Neva's eyes went from the guy that was gathering the darts back up to Finn the moment she heard his voice. She beamed a little bit as she walked over to him before motioning to the bag of coin now tied to her belt. "I got a bulls-eye on my first play through so I won a bet. One of them missed the board-" clearly not the one pointing to the guy gathering the darts, "-and it landed near my foot instead. So they asked if I wanted to play, I couldn't help it. It looked fun." There was a small pout behind the giddy expression before she turned to look at the darts being held out to her again. "C'mon, lass, one more go." The lesser of the drunks said from where he sat before downing the rest of the ale. Though Finn's suggestion brought her back to look at him in some surprise when the men cheered at the bet. One opened his mouth to add his own two cents but paused when the cook came out and spoke up instead. Neva watched the woman bring the food and she had to admit, it looked better than it sounded. Though her eyes didn't stay long as she looked down at herself for a moment. Was she that thin? She thought she was rather healthy and she knew it couldn't possibly be she didn't eat much. "No, I eat plenty where I'm from." Which she had been rather close to saying the castle but she caught herself before the word slipped from her tongue. She ended up giggling a little when the woman smacked the hand away from their food. She hadn't even been introduced to the woman officially but Neva liked this woman.

"You won't be disappointed, trust me. It looks so good." Neva commented even after Finn had shook his had for her not to worry over eating everything. Truth be told she probably would since she was rather hungry. But the cook was right, again, and a couple of the men slapped the table near in agreement. "Should we bet some'm for is she misses?" One of them whispered to the other, causing the man to shrug lightly. He happened to like the idea of getting ale if she got it. "Round's on me if she misses!" The lesser drunk man slammed his hand onto the table as he stood -and almost wobbled over in the process- to motion for her to go again. Neva looked at Finn again for a moment before the smile on her face grew and she couldn't help it. "Okay, one more." She lined up the same way she had done the first time and took aim. The first one landed dead center in the bulls-eye, already gaining some shocked cheers from the drunks around her. The second landed in the larger circle near and the third again found its way to the center, knocking the first one off of the board in the process. The men were shouting something about getting drunk until sunrise because of it as Neva walked back over to stand beside Finn. "I guess it doesn't matter much that one fell?" She asked him curiously, not quite understanding how it worked except to aim for the center. Not that it mattered much since one of the men was already off to get drinks for everyone, shouting something about the cook, Neva, and Finn getting a pint also; it didn't matter that Finn already had one in his hand to the drunk. "Are there other games that can be played here?" She added as an afterthought, not even paying the drunk all that much mind since he seemed cheery enough. Instead, she started leading the way to the table with the food.

Tristan Doherty
​

"The wives aren't all that scary...most of the time." Tristan said with a chuckle, already imaging how they'd react to hear the news of what happened with the men. It wasn't that it was terrible in its own right since they weren't cheating. They were just gambling away some of their hard earned coin on fights and blaming it on being underpaid. Among other things, but none of it was necessarily a terrible thing. What they owed him was because they had beat him into one of the fights without him knowing about it. He still fought -and won- which got them a fair chunk of coin but they had owed him for doing it. But he didn't explain that to Kendra since he wasn't quite sure she'd understand that. The walk itself seemed to have gone by a lot faster than he had first estimated given how it wasn't all that crowded at first and the pace they were walking was good. Soon enough they found themselves in the town and Tristan was already guiding them to where the shops were located. Anyone could tell that they were getting closer as it was getting louder and busier by the seconds. Carts being pulled by donkeys filled with rations or clothes were going to and from the market and all sorts of people, commoner to noble, lined the streets. There were some stands here and there between the actual shops that sold random things and tried drawing people in with their pretty words.

Tristan didn't stop until they had made their way to the middle of the district and made a motion first to one shop in particular. Half of it was knocked down and there were some men lining up brick after brick as they laid it down to set up the last of the walls. "That's the baker's shop I told you about. Brick cost a pretty coin but he didn't want to risk having it burn down again by going with something cheaper. The owner's goods are popular enough that he'll make profit back in no time. They got a lot done though since I last came here since they're already working on the last wall. Over there is a clothing shop, one that's for fruits and such, the armory, and the rest of the shops down that way." He pointed to each of the shops as he spoke and then pointed to the road leading to the right. Then he turned Kendra to face opposite of the baker's shop to show her a building equally as big with various flowers lining the front. Green was the main color that could be seen inside but there was still a variety of colors as well ranging from dark shades to some of the brightest anyone might imagine on a plant. "And this is the flower shop I mentioned, though I guess it isn't completely flowers they sell. A lot of herbs and leaves for medicinal purposes are sold here too, for those that know what to do with them."

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

It didn’t take her long to master it, which didn’t surprise him. Every time she nailed the bullseye his proud smile grew and he cheered her on with the other men. Definitely some talent there and it made the Cook’s words true. “Impressive. Its best she is going off to eat now or you’d men would have nothing to bring home to your families.” the cook laughed, waving them off playfully before heading back into her domain. Finn held his mug up for the man to see he was alright, but he didn’t pay any mind and was off before any protest could be made. Finn looked down and shrugged it off. In time he probably would wish he had a pint in his hands. “Ah, it depends.” he shrugged, not really into the whole gambling thing, unless it was in good fun like it had just been. “Some say it don’t count and needs to stick in there until your turn is over and if it doesn’t your throw wasn’t good enough. Really all depends on who you’re play’n with. Those gents are pretty relaxed even when they’re not playing against a woman. It’s the big gamblers that get touchy.” he stated as they made the short walk back to the table. Since her hands were full with their plates of food, he waited for her to settle down first before taking the bottle of wine to pour her a small glass. If she decided she liked it she could always have more. “A few of the men play cards.” he answered, taking his seat from across from her. The walk here had him hungry and the smell of food only made it grow. Taking up his silverware, he took a big spoonful of his soup. It was delicious as usual and a little moan escaped his mouth. “There is a few styles of card games.” he expanded, readying for another bite. “I can show you a few show, but I’m not really the gambling type so I only know the few.” he shrugged, taking another bite. 

“How is it?” he asked, once he saw her take a sip of the wine, wondering if he picked one that she would like. Many found it too sweet; so he was pretty sure it be to her liking. Tearing off a piece of the bread, he dipped it in his soup before stuffing it in his mouth. It was the best part of the meal, but it was also very fulling. Lucky for him, he had brought his appetite. Glancing around the room then back to her he smiled. “Well, let’s hear it. What do you think of this fine establishment.” he laughed, taking a swig of his drink. It was the first time she had seen the join and he really wanted her opinion on it. Fresh pair of eyes on it all, even though he thought he did pretty well. It wasn’t the easiest getting off the ground, but it was definitely worth it. Now business was booming and some nights it was hard to keep up with the flow of traffic going in and out. The meal was finished and he leaned back letting his stomach digest a bit before he decided to do anything else. There was no more room for desert, but if she wanted any she was more than welcome to it. “You have enough room for some desert?” he asked, stretching his arms out behind and resting them on the back of his head.

Princess Kendra
​

Kendra laughed along with him. She was sure the wives weren’t scary to most, but their husbands. What they had done for them to be in debt to Tristian she wondered about. Figured it wasn’t her place to ask and didn’t want to pry into other’s business as well. Nosy people were annoying, but she knew it was hard not to inquire about things. It took some will power usually. This time around she could distract herself with her new surroundings. Their pace was pretty good and they made it into no time. The closer they drew to town the louder it grew. People busy making trades and bargaining for a better place. She continued walking until they were in middle of it all. Kendra looked at everything with a curious gaze, she knew enough from books what was happening as the two of them passed along things. There were donkeys hauling carts with their master in front leading the way. Other Nobles were even about, though she did hope they took no notice of them. 

Kendra came to a stop and along slide of Tristian and eyed the fallen building. All the men were putting their back into it, trying to get it back up. It was nice to see a community of people working together. Kendra’s gaze followed his finger as he pointed out each shop, telling her a little about each of them. There plenty of shops and she guess more to their right. Kendra felt him turning her around and let him do so as he pointed out the other shop they had been discussing earlier. It was all just as he had described. Flowers of all colors were lined up in the front of it, with quite the variety, though she didn’t know any of them by name. It seemed to be mostly greenery on the inside, but he also expanded on that, explain that it was full of herbs and leaves that could be used for medical remedies. “It’s busy.” she said, doing another twirl around to check the place out after all the information was give. “I like it.” she added, turning to face him once more. “Well, what is first on the tour? We are taking a closer look, right?” she asked, hoping that they were not to return so soon. The castle would be so dull and boring after seeing all of this the first time. Not to get a proper look at any of it would drive her mad.  
 

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

Neva nodded her head now and then as Finn explained a little about the types of men that usually played. She'd have to remember to stay away from the other types, if she could even pinpoint the heavy gamblers from the rest. The way she figured, they'd be a lot less peppy as the men she was just around. The walk back to the table was short and even less so to situate the food properly in front of them. Her eyes glanced to the wine for a moment before looking to Finn with a curious gaze when he mentioned cards. As much as she was hungry, her curiosity was getting the better of her as a large smile spread across her lips. "Oh, you should teach me! I bet it'd be a good time killer while we're on the road." Neva tried to make it seem like she was actually thinking about things they could do in their downtime but really, she just wanted to learn because it sounded interesting. Not that she'd ever gamble -or really knew what gambling was to be honest- but it would still be fun in its own right. Glancing to the food and then the wine, she decided to try the wine first as one of those 'just in case' type moments. Only she was pleasantly surprised when she took the first sip and was met with a delectable taste that was sweet even to the aftertaste. She ended up taking another sip thinking she hadn't tasted it right before laughing quietly.

"It's actually really good. It's a shame there aren't any like this in...uh, where I'm from." A small blush crossed her cheeks when she caught herself right before she mentioned the castle. It was a good thing they were far enough away that no one could hear them over the chatter of the tavern. Picking up her spoon, she started with a small bite of the soup first and then a piece of the bread to try both. Again, she was pleasantly surprised by how different it tasted from the food in the castle. Not that the cooks weren't good, because they were. It was just that this was different than what she was used to and had a unique taste to it. Before long, she noticed she was already halfway done with the soup and a larger smile was on her face. "I really like it, Finn. It's got a very friendly atmosphere, it's well built, the food is really good. But most importantly, it screams you no matter where I look. Makes me wish I could have come here when you were first putting it together so I could have seen how it started too." There was a small pout but it was mostly in good fun before she went right back to her food. It wasn't long before she finished it all like she told the cook and leaned back with a content smile on her face. Only it didn't last when she felt the hood slipping so she quickly sat back up to pull it down more. "Dessert? There's always room for dessert." Even though the wine was sweet enough to count as a dessert, Neva wasn't one to pass up the chance for sweets. "If there's something small I'd love to try it. What...actually no, how about you surprise me?"

Tristan Doherty
​

Tristan kept a watchful gaze over Kendra as he pointed things out, just so he could gage her reactions. She seemed like a curious little mouse that just found cheese for the first time. Not that he'd say it but it was pretty cute. His smile on grew when she pointed out the obvious of it being busy. "Of course you like it, who wouldn't? Everyone comes from all over to visit these streets since there's stuff from all over and not just regarding the flowers." He commented with a chuckle, placing a hand on his hip as he looked around them. Where would be a good place to start? His mouth opened to say something but before he could, an arm wrapped around his neck and someone pulled him into a headlock. "H-Hey, what-" he paused hearing a deep, throaty laugh before instantly knowing who it was. "You know, that's cheating Rhys." The dark tan, strapping man with a thick beard and no head on his hair just laughed again before slowly letting go. Tristan stumbled a little from the sudden release but he was quick to get his footing back. "You should always be prepared for anything." The man's deep voice boomed a little as he couldn't help but to chuckle still when he saw Tristan roll his eyes some. "Yeah, like how you were prepared for your shop to burn? Stubborn old fart." Shaking his head some, Tristan turned his attention to Kendra before pointing to the larger man.

"This is Rhys, best baker in these parts and also the one that everyone's chipping in to rebuild his shop. Despite how scary he might look, he's really just a scaredy cat." Tristan dodged the playful hit the older man tried throwing his way before laughing himself. "Better to stay away from danger and feed the bellies of those brave enough than to end up in the belly of some beast." Rhys tried countering, which just earned him another roll of Tristan's eyes. So he decided to try to turn the attention off him by making a motion to Kendra. "This your girl?" The question caught Tristan off guard and caused him to cross his arms over his chest with a small huff. "Not 'my girl'. She's a friend and her name's Anna." He couldn't very well say 'Kendra' since he wasn't sure who out here knew the princess' name. It was good he was quick to think on his feet at times. Rhys gave her a polite bow of his head since he was accustomed to dealing with nobility most of the time. "When my shop's rebuilt, you'll have to bring her along some time. I'm working on some new recipes so everything will be revamped by then. But I don't want to keep you from your date, so play nice." He could hear Tristan calling him an old fart again but he ignored it as he turned to head back to help the workers once more. Shaking his head slightly, Tristan ran a hand through his hair before giving Kendra an apologetic look. "Well, that takes care of one place at least. How about we start over there and end with the flower shop? And for Rhys, just....ignore him. I do half the time since he likes to poke fun a lot."

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

“You know it was too risky!” he reminded, knowing very well she had wanted to come here multiple times and it was today the first time he broke and agreed. “That also reminds me we should be getting back. I’m packing it to go. That way we have a little treat for us on the way back.” he smiled, but he gave her a stern look to show his mind would not be changed on this. Also it worked out better to take it to go, that way he could enjoy some once he digested a bit more. Taking their empty plates in one hand and his mug in the other he looked at her. “You can come back if you wish. See where all the magic takes place. Cook, Agatha, would love to give you her recommendation. Just steer clear of her cranberry tart. That is. . . .well its required taste. That is nicely putting it, but it’s cooks favorite so she’ll try and get you to take some.” he laughed, hearing the woman trying to see the pastry already. “Super bitter” he threw in, just in case Neva was going to go against his advice and give it a go. There was fair warning. 

There were two handkerchiefs tied and sitting on the center table when he came in. Cooks was already one step ahead of him, as usual, and had their desert packed away. A few cherry tarts, along with the cranberry he spoke of, chocolate covered biscuits, and some cheese and bread for a hardier snack. “Didn’t think you’d be off without me send’n anything along with you?” she laughed, putting her hands on her hips. “You’re too thin boy to miss a meal.” she added, pushing the food closer before she collected all the dirty dishes. Finn wrinkled his nose and he looked down at his body. “I like to think of myself as lean and muscular.” he countered, only to receive an eye roll and a scoff from the older woman. “Thank you.” he said, giving a small hug. “Not for try’n to fatten me up.” he added, pulling away and taking his food. “It be about a month at top and I’ll be back. Do me a favor, make sure the place stays standing while I’m away.” The older lady did a deep belly laugh as she waved them away. “I’ll do my best.” she smirked, turning back to her responsibilities. “Ready?” he asked Neva, once he had rounded the corner and out of the kitchen. 
 

Princess Kendra
​

The older burly man she saw, but didn’t expect to come over to them. The two shared a father son sort of relationship a bit, but on the very playful side. A side of Tristian that he didn’t really show too often she was guessing. Especially since she never had seen him interact with his father in that way. They both like to make jabs at each other and it caused her to laugh lightly as the bantering continued. Kendra had already put together who the man was from the direction he came from and the snarky comment about the gentlemen’s shop. Tristian only confirmed what she figured. Kendra smiled and was about to introduce herself, but it seemed the two hadn’t given up on poking fun at each other and she just watched amused by it all. Once it was turned back to her she couldn’t help but blush as the comment. Wrapped up in exploring the new place she hadn’t thought about what other thought of them out and about. That it may have appeared that they were more than friends. The idea was squashed by Tristian without her having to put any of her own two senses in on the matter. “Yes we’ll have to be back when you reopen.” she said, making a commitment that she didn’t plan on keeping. Not because she doubted the man’s talents, but because she was going to be far from here, if the plan went over smoothly. 

The man left as quickly as he came, off back to work. Leaving the just the two of them once more. “Ah, he seemed nice.” she shrugged, taking off in the direction he pointed to, still keeping at his side. Kendra had no intention going in any shops since she had no coin on her. There was never a need for it since she wasn’t allowed off the castle grounds. There was a little shop full of sweets. Children had their noses press against the glass as she heard them discuss what they wanted. One was even saving up to get a bar of chocolate for him and his sister. It made her wish her sister was there. Their nose too would be pressed up against the window at first, but they would indeed invest in a quite a bit and knowing Neva, she would get enough to share with the kids. There was a fabric shop that some women had come out with giant hats. A trend that Kendra never go into. “Well I see the sweet shop and the one that sells fabric. Any in particular that I might over look?” she looked at him, before turning her gazes back to the shops and all the people.
 

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

Neva knew it had been risky but she still pouted a little anyway at not being able to see it in the beginning. The fact of the matter was she was lucky to have the chance to see it at all really. It was a well worth it risk even today to come here but boy was she glad she did. When they came back, she'd definitely be coming here more often too even if she had to sneak out to do it. It'd be worth it. "Aww, we have to go already?" Neva's pout came back again as she slumped forward a little on the table, resting her head in the palm of her hands. Why did time have to go quickly when she was actually enjoying herself and not when she had to study history? It wasn't fair! The pout changed rather quickly to a smile though when Finn continued as if he was reading her mind in a way. She was close to commenting on that when he mentioned a cranberry tart she needed to stay away from. Right after he answered her unspoken question about it too, causing her to stick her tongue out a little. "Nope, I'll definitely be staying away from that then." She certainly wasn't one for things that were too bitter, which was probably a given considering how much she liked sweets. As much as she'd want to be polite and try it, she also didn't want to put herself through that torture. When Finn got up with the dishes, Neva looked around one more time to just soak in everything. It really was a beautiful tavern and she really couldn't wait to show Kendra; this would have to be one of the first stops they made when they came back.

With a nod to herself, she stood up slowly and pulled her hood lower again to make sure it wouldn't fall. It was starting to get a bit more crowded than it had when they first got here. That meant that it had to be closer to the evening now which meant that it was closer to leaving. Her heart was starting to race at the idea of them finally setting out and really, it couldn't come sooner. There was a pep in her step and a smile on her face as she headed over to meet Finn halfway when she saw him coming out of the kitchen. "No but you're right about heading out anyway. I'll have to prepare my room in a short amount of time so I can set it up when we get back before having to go to supper." Which was something she was not looking forward to; how was she supposed to eat when she had eaten just now? She supposed it didn't matter much since she could just use that as an excuse and say she isn't feeling well...but that might bring mother to send a nurse to her room. No, it was certainly best to make herself eat to give the impression everything was fine. Giving Finn another smile, she wrapped her arm around his and followed him out of the tavern. "What kind of goods did you end up getting?" She asked, making a motion with her free hand to the handkerchiefs he had. Whatever it was could be saved for when they needed a little boost during the castle escape tonight.

Tristan Doherty
​

"Yeah, he's nice but he's got that devious side that likes to sneak up on people." Tristan thought about the first time he encountered the man when he was younger; even back then he was still trying to rough play but now he wasn't as bad. As they neared the first shop, he had to wonder if Kendra would want to go inside any of them but it didn't seem like she did. So they just did as most people did: window shop. The first store it was a little hard to do with all the kids staring in awe at the sweets being displayed. Tristan even saw a couple that he wouldn't mind picking up for the trip back but he also thought better of what could be done with the coin he brought. Some herbs to work with would be handy to practice with instead of just reading about it. The fabric shop that was next was typical with the types of women walking out of it, nothing fancy at all. Her question caused a small 'hm' sound though his attention did end up going back to the sweets shop. All of the children were still huddling around talking about what they were saving for. His fingers touched the pouch of coin for a moment before he stole a glance Kendra's way. "Hold that thought for a sec." He held up his finger as he reiterated 'one second' with his mouth before walking over to the kids. They didn't even care that he was near until he pulled out the coins for each of them so they could all buy something, though he did give an extra one to the kid saving for his sister too.

As they all scurried into the shop, Tristan walked back over the few steps to Kendra before glancing back around. Truth was he was a sucker for kids, not that he'd openly admit it. Not babies because they drove him bonkers with all the screaming and crying some did but kids those age, definitely. "So there isn't any that are terribly exciting to look over really, save for the flower shop. So I guess I can just point them out and tell you a little about them?" He went right back to her question before taking her arm in his to start guiding her once more. They passed a shop that sold sacks of wheat, barley, oats and rye, a butcher, a spicer -though the supply was usually just pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, liquorice, and many different types of sugar-, a draper, a candle-maker, and the smithy before reaching the end point of the flower shop. He briefly told her of some of the other shops that weren't in the area; mostly the fish merchants, chaucers and cordwainers, cobblers, goldsmiths, drapers, and carpenters. This was the city of the castle so of course there'd be a bit of everything here while most places certainly didn't have as many shops. Once he thought he mentioned everything, he was just about ready to suggest going into the flower shop. He still had a little coin left on him so he could still buy a couple of herbs or something for her if she wanted something. Only the thought slipped his mind when he noticed behind them a group of four knights heading towards them. They were likely on their way back to the castle it seemed since each of them were carrying something in their hands.

"So, I was going to suggest going in there but that's not going to happen. We have to go." Tristan made a motion with his head so Kendra could turn around to see the knights as he spoke. Thankfully they paused outside of the smithy and started looking over their weapons as they talked with one another. Though one of them was actually looking in their direction and leaning forward a bit as if trying to get a better look. "Okay, no we need to go. Come on." Tristan quickly reached out to take Kendra's hand before gently pulling her until she followed suit. There was a shout from the knight that had been staring so Tristan figured he'd just have to take the back way to get to the castle and probably one of the secret entrances to get in. Well, he'd figure it out once they were closer. "Don't look back no matter what they say, Kendra. He couldn't have gotten a good look so as long as we make it back before they do, there's no way they'll be able to say you were out of the castle grounds." He spoke between breaths as they ran, a grin on his face despite how much trouble they'd get into if they were caught. Well, more like how much trouble he'd get into for taking her out. It was worth it though to see a different side of her that no one else saw.

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

“Sounds like you’re going to be busy girl.” he chimed, smiling when she wrapped her arm around his. This time, he didn’t keep it up like a proper escort, but lowered his hand to find her and the held it, giving it a tight squeeze. The dinner rush was already beginning and the tavern was beginning to come alive as more people came inside. It was the perfect time to be leaving. Leading the way, he weaved through the people, most getting out of the way for the owner. Once they were out the door he and looked down at the handkerchiefs. “Agatha, the cook, had already packed it a way so I didn’t really get to choose.” he shrugged, bummed because he knew those cranberry tarts were hiding away in there. “So be careful when choosing what tart to eat.” he laughed, knowing Neva wouldn’t like to hear that, a game of Russian roulette in a way. He grinned as they made their way on the path they had come. 

It went slower this time, for him. It could have been since the food was still settling and he was moving, which aggravated his stomach or it could be that they were so close to start the next chapter of this plan. The plan was always focused on getting Kendra, but Finn had never thought what would happen after that had gotten her back. “Neva?” he asked, about ten minutes of their walk left. “What are you and Kendra going to do once your back?” he looked at her, curious if it had crossed her mind or had just getting her sister been then only thing that she had thought out threw. “I mean what would make the King and Queen let her stay and not send her away? This time keeping you a tighter leash so you do not get in the way again?” They more he thought, the more this plan of theirs sounded terrible. “As long as that . . . “ he looked over at her with a very serious face. “You’re not thinking of going after that thing right after we get Kendra back? Are you?” If it wasn’t already in her head he had put it there now and was sort of kicking himself for it, but it needed to be addressed anyhow.
 

Princess Kendra
​

Kendra furrowed her eyebrows confused on the wait, but it was answered quickly as he handed out the coin to the children. The children’s eyes light up when they received the coin. All were in a bustle and hurry to get inside, not before they thanked him. It was sweet of him to do it and it caused her to smile as she even noticed he gave the one saving for him and his sister an extra bit of money to bring her home something. She was too busy watching the kids dart around inside the shop looking for their sweet of choice, that she didn’t notice he was returning to her side until he went back to answering the question from earlier.  The linked arms as the tour started up again. Fish merchants were a surprised to her, though she was happy enough to avoid that area. Fish was never really her favorite smell. He told her a bit everything and what they did. It was interesting enough and she didn’t imagine it to be as big with so many shops to choose from. It was near the castle, in a way it did make sense there was plenty here. Their trip was nearing an end as they were coming up on the flower shop again. Perhaps they could stall by talking to the baker once more or visiting the flower shop. It was as if he had read her mind when he told her what he was going to suggest, but for some reason he wanted to leave now. 

“W-why?” she asked, turning in the direction he had motioned at. There was a group, eight or so of the King’s knights standing outside the Smithy. The knights could easily recognize her since they had been assigned to her and the Queen to guard plenty of times. “Oh, no.” she sighed, as she noticed one had taken an interest in them. Looking away her heart sank as she figured they were done for. Tristan would, well she didn’t know really what would happen to him, but it wouldn’t be good. The consequences for her would be to coop her up and watch closer than ever, never being able to go around the castle without a knight by her side, just like it was in the beginning. Back when the King took extra precaution over everything and anything involving the princess’s safety. It would make tonight escape impossible ever and even more difficult for Neva to reach her. 

She was standing motionless, freaking out, luckily Tristan was fast on his feet as she felt his hand take a hold of her and start guiding them away from the knights. That was enough for them to start pursuing the two of them, one hollering her name to get her attention. On his word, she refrained from looking back. It made sense, but he knew it was her and it would be a race to get back to the castle. It was hard to keep up with him, between the dress’s skirt getting in the way and the shoes threatening to slip off she was dragging behind him. The restricting corset didn’t allow her to get enough air and it was causing a stinging sensation around her ribs as her body fought with it to expand for more air. “Tristian –“ she had to stop to suck in a deep breath of air before continuing. “Are they following us?” she asked, between gasps of air, resisting the urge to check for herself. They were taking a different way back, or at least she thought, she didn’t know the way she silently prayed it was shorter because the corset was killing her.

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

As much as Neva had been wanting to comment on his two cents, she was too distracted with how he held her hand. Somehow it felt different this time, likely because she was starting to fully realize just how much she cared for Finn. It caused a sheepish smile to grow on her face and all other thoughts were lost to her. At least until he mentioned not really knowing what was inside the packed bags. "So smell it first before I eat it, got it." Neva decided that had to be the best way to go about it since she didn't know what those cranberry tarts looked like. She did know that they had to at least smell somewhat like cranberry...right? Boy did she hope so because if she got a bite of one of those, she knew it'd end up being a terrible day. Or maybe she could just convince Finn to take little bites to tell her it was safe to eat. Not that she wanted him to end up having to eat something he didn't want to. No, smelling would definitely have to be the answer. Neva was mostly confident she'd be able to pinpoint which ones would be which. Being a sweets addict, she had a keen nose for pastries and tarts. She had been lost in thought thinking about the best option to figure it out that she hadn't even realized how far they had gotten before hearing her name.

"Hm?" She looked up at Finn curiously though it was a little hard to do so as she had found it more comfortable to rest her head on his shoulder. The question brought her gaze to look forward again as she hadn't even once thought about what would happen once Kendra was brought back. Finn had a very valid point in thinking her parents would attempt to send Kendra back once more to keep her safe. Only this time, Neva wouldn't allow that to happen. "Go after it?" Neva paused in her step to stare at him in surprising, having not even thought about that as being an option either. "Well..I never thought about what would happen once we got back with Kendra. I know for a fact I wouldn't allow my parents to send her off again, not after everything we're doing to get her back to us in the first place."[/color] Even if it meant going against their orders, Neva would fight to keep her sister close. With an inaudible sigh, she started walking leisurely once more in the direction of the castle. "That creature hasn't once tried to come at me again, so I'd never considered going after it. It'd actually be a good way to make sure that father and mother don't send Kendra away again. Showing them that we got rid of the creature I mean. But...that's not something I'd want to drag you into. You're already doing so much and the thought of you getting hurt...it makes my heart ache. I don't want to put you in that situation. I'll probably just ask Kendra what she thinks when we get back together and then go from there."

Tristan Doherty
​

Tristan could hear it, the sound of more of the knights shouting before the clanking of metal starting after them. He had gotten them a good head start though so he was fairly confident it would be fine. He could feel that Kendra was dragging a bit and cursed the fact that women wore such outrageous dresses. Really now, what purpose was a corset or even the weighted material of the dress itself? It seemed absurd to him and he for one would never want his daughter -should he ever have kids- to wear something like that. Not that he'd have a say in it and why the hell he was thinking about that now of all times was beyond him. Shaking his head slightly, he stole a glance over his shoulder when he heard his name. It gave him enough insight to see Kendra was struggling more than he thought she was. His eyes looked past her and at first he didn't see anything past the corner of the houses. After a couple moments though, three of the knights could be seen rounding the bend and shouting out his name as well as Kendra's. "Doesn't matter that they are, they're too slow." Tristan replied coyly, his eyes darting around for the house he'd need to cut through. The second he spotted it, he gently tugged Kendra to the right and went into the house. There was a shriek of surprise from the half naked woman that had been ready to start laundry before a curse of Tristan's name.

He simply gave her a grin before dragging Kendra through the house and out the back door. "That was one of the wives of the knights you met earlier." He explained quickly to Kendra as he guided her up a grassy slope; he kept the pace a little slower and held his other arm out to her in case she needed to use the extra support. Once they were both up, he looked down the cobblestone path both ways before jogging across from it and coming up to a seemingly dead end against the stone wall of the castle. Tristan released her hand to start running his fingers along the stone until he felt a small dip in the rock. Pressing lightly, the stone seemed to move as a secret door was revealed leading them inside the castle. "Quickly now. This leads to the kitchen so the cook might catch us but the most he'd do is smack us with a loaf or something." Tristan said as he motioned for her to go first and he'd follow after her. A grin was still widely spread across his lips as he found the whole situation rather exhilarating really.

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

Definitely was kicking himself for putting ideas in her head about going after the creature. Neva thought she could defy all odds and he loved that about her, but he believed that the King would rip the two sisters apart as once before if he though Kendra was still in danger. No matter how much of a fight Neva put up, he doubted that she would be able to take on the King’s guard. “Well, just keep it in mind on what you should do after we get her back. You running off with the old servant boy in middle of the night to get your sister back will not set well with anyone. They might just not listen as well because of that.” he reminded. Their plan was quite foolish and they’d both reap the consequences when they returned, whatever that might entail. “Just because that ugly creature hasn’t shown its face doesn’t mean it isn’t lurking around, waiting. You did something to it. Pissed it off.” he added, he knew all of this was something she knew, but it was to make his next statement stand better. The fact was, she was going nowhere without him, especially while that thing was out there and he wanted to make that clear in case she wanted to try something stupid later on to protect him. “You’re not going after that thing without me! So just get that out of your pretty little head.” he said sternly, meaning every word of it. No way in hell was he going to let her march off with Kendra to take on, well they didn’t know what it was, but she wasn’t going after the beast alone. He pulled her into a tight hug as he kept moving making it easy for them to both stumble, as he did a couple of times, but never fell. “I’ll sit on you if I have to. Promise me you’re not going to do anything stupid without me.” 

“Neva!” he exclaimed, laughing as he started spinning in circles, sort of dancing with her. “Promise me.” he said, still laughing looking down at her. “Don’t make me get it out of you with tickles.” he threatened, a mischievous grin on his face as he was tempted to tickle her one way or the other. He didn’t. Instead he reached around her waist with one hand to keep and brought her in close while he quit spinning. With the other hand he pulled the hood down so he could see the blue hair that he loved so much and so he could play with it. Finn tucked most of it behind her ear and played with then ends. “Seriously, don’t leave me.” he said, his tone light and more in a begging way. He kept his focus on her hair, not looking up at her for a bit. Slowly he didn’t and he forced a smile, but he was genuinely worried that she might try to leave him behind for his own safety. That would just drive him mad if something happened to her because he wasn’t around to protect her from the dangers. 
 

Princess Kendra
​

“I’m pretty slow.” she added, concerned that she would slow them down too much. Both their names were being called now. She didn’t know how many were closing in, but she could hear the clinking of the armor behind them. It definitely wasn’t the way they had come there were houses around them and she was being lead straight to one of them. “Who’s house is this?” she exclaimed as they reached the door. A surprised scream from a half dress lady doing the laundry made her jump. The Lady had regain composure quick enough to curse Tristian. “Sorry.” Kendra said for the both of them, giving the lady apologetic look as she was pulled along through the house. “She didn’t seem very happy with us.” she said, giving a glance back at the house of the knight they had passed earlier before tackling the sloppy grass ahead of them. It took both of Tristian’s hands to help her up and she was grateful that he had offered them; otherwise it would have taken twice as long to get up the hill if she hadn’t fallen over and rolled back down. That was a very valid possibility as she was ready to pass out. 

Kendra followed down the stone pathway to the wall and pressed up against it with her shoulder as she watched Tristian feel the stone. She wondered what he was doing, but didn’t waste her breathe asking. Instead she focused on catching it in the brief moment of down time, which was too short. The stone moved to reveal a door that lead inside the castle. Looking to it and back to him she noticed the grin on his face. “Are you smiling?” she asked, heading through the door in a tunnel that was dimly lit by a glow that came from the end of it. Must have been the kitchen he was talking about. “Are you enjoying be chased by knights and darting through people’s homes uninvited?” she giggled, the whole thing had been sort of fun, incredibly reckless and unlady like, but amusing all the same. It caused her to grin sheepishly as well as she walked down the hall, hoping that he didn’t see it. 

The kitchen was empty for the most part and they got through undetected and went to a main hall. She was still flushed from all the running, her cheeks a bright pink. “Well I best get to my room before I’m found looking like this.” she gestured to her dress that was quite a bit dirty on the hem from all the running and her hair that was wild and messy now. “Pretty hard to deny I was running from the King’s knights looking like this.” she giggled with a giant smile on her face. “Thanks. That was probably the best time I’ve had in years.” Eleven to be exact, but she wasn’t going to give him those detail. Flashing him one last smile, she turned to head to her room. Once in there she stripped out of her dress and put a new one on, putting that dirty one off to the side. Then she let down her hair that had pretty crimps in it from being in braids all day, she decided to keep it like that for the time being. Twenty minutes had gone by before she was checked on by the king, acquiring about her day and the dress. An excuse was already thought up about it and she blamed it on a puddle that was in the gardens she accidently went through. There were a few more questions, but he left without any evidence that the two of them were off the castle grounds.
 

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

"I wouldn't have to 'run off' if they would have just listened in the first place." Neva grumbled as a pout grew once again on her face, not liking the fact that Finn was pointing out very valid possibilities. If anything, Finn might end up in the dungeon and she locked away in her room. As much as she knew it was a possibility -a very high one- she also knew there was no way she'd allow that to happen to Finn. Her eyes drifted to the ground when he brought up another point: the creature had to still be out there, lurking and waiting for the opportune moment. Neva had certainly pissed off the woman when she used the ice to burn the woman's skin. Her hand came up to sheepishly scratch the side of her face before her eyes turned to Finn in surprise. "Wha-ah, hey. Finn!" She wanted to comment about going off without him but him pulling her so close was rather distracting. More so given how they almost tripped since they were still walking too. Her nose wrinkled at the idea of him sitting on her before she started laughing when he started spinning them around. "Fiinnnn!" As much as Neva didn't like the idea of him putting himself in danger, he was technically doing it now by coming with her in the first place. That alone put her at so much ease and honestly, she would rather him be with her too. The threat of tickles caused her to curl her arms to her side with mumbled protests between laughing. Who could say no to him when he was so dramatic that it was cute? Certainly not her.

Neva's mouth opened to speak but stopped when she was pulled close again, only this time without the tripping thankfully. Her eyes scanned his face to try to read what he was feeling while he moved her hood low. Finn was just about the only person -not counting Kendra- that didn't seem to think her hair was a bad thing. It wasn't like she had a choice in the coloring of her hair, though to be honest she actually liked it. What she liked more was the way he seemed to love playing with her hair. That was just one of many things he did that soothed her worries almost instantly. Taking a small breath, Neva glanced to the side for a moment as if she was thinking about his request. Of course it didn't help that a cheeky grin spread across her face which probably gave away her intentions right away. She brought her hands up to wrap around his neck while her gaze went back to him still with a smile. "I promise you that I will not go after this creature without you." Neva spoke softly since they were so close, one of her hands shifting slightly so she could trace her thumb in small circles against his cheek. Her eyes dropped to his lips for a moment before going back to his eyes. Without thinking too much about it, she lifted up her feet some so she could give him a tender but quick kiss. "I would never be able to leave you and I'm pretty sure you know that already. I honestly don't think I'd be able to function very well if you weren't around. My mind would always end up wondering what or how you were doing instead of focusing on what's in front of me. Most importantly though, you're like my better half in a lot of ways and...well, I still want to be selfish and keep you all to myself." A blush started growing by the end of her words so her eyes dropped to try to avoid his, mainly to try to get herself back in check.

Tristan Doherty
​

"Me? Smiling? No, why would I be smiling?" Sarcasm dripped from Tristan's tone as he followed her into the passage. The door closed on its own behind them so he just kept himself near her while trying hard not to chuckle. "You seem to have been enjoying yourself just as much." He teased her instead of directly answering her since he knew that in itself would tell her he was quite enjoying it. A little challenge here or there like this was what kept a man's blood boiling so to speak. Or maybe it was just his because he liked situations where adrenaline coursed through him. Not that he openly showed it often since he was more the laid-back type but it was there. As they came upon the kitchen, Tristan's eyes darted about and was a little surprised to find hardly anyone there. Must be close to dinner so they were probably bringing the food to the dining hall. It mattered little since that meant luck was with them and the knights there would just seem crazy when they tried saying he and Kendra were in town. Hearing Kendra's voice, he paused in his step to look her over before giving her a small nod. He probably needed to figure out where his father had been the whole time so he could say he was on the opposite side of the castle so it was a good time to part ways.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself, m'lady." Tristan emphasized his words the way the stuck up nobles would and bowed to her in a dramatic way. He couldn't hold the pose though since he ended up laughing as he straightened. "See you at dinner." He gave her a wave and turned to walk in the opposite direction of her; he couldn't deny it had been a pretty exciting day, not just for the fact that they had gotten chased through half the city. It felt like he should have tried talking to her sooner because he rather liked her the way he saw her today. He'd have to see about trying to get her to come out again in the near future just so he could actually take her into the flower shop. As he started thinking more about it, he started whistling while he walked down the hall. Best to figure out where his father was first and foremost before he got too lost in his thoughts.

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

The grin caused him to be weary, that she was up to something. Those thoughts dissipated as he finally heard what he wanted to, that she wouldn’t leave to go after the creature without him. It was enough to ease his mind, though his thoughts were completely elsewhere as their lips connected for the second time that day. His eyes closed as all his senses concentrated on that brief moment their lips were joined. They didn’t open until she pulled away and started speaking once more, elaborating on why she wouldn’t leave him behind. All of it made him feel better about setting out after her sister that night. “Hey, hey, don’t look away like that.” he said, as his hand that was still entangled in her hair slid down under her chin making her look back up at him. “I like hearing those things. So don’t shy away like you said something wrong.” he told her, with holding the urge to return the kiss with one of his own for now. He massaged the bottom of her cheek and jawline before temptation got the better of him and he returned her kiss with a bit of a deeper one. It lasted a bit longer as he closed his eyes and enjoyed it before pulling away. “Alright, let’s get you back to the castle before they notice you missing.” he whispered, as he kept his face relatively close. Keeping one arm around her waist to guide her, he started back to the kingdom. There wasn’t much left to their little walk. In no time they were back at the gate that lead back into the gardens. “Guess I’ll be seeing you after dinner.” he told her, giving her a kiss on the head before parting ways and holding her hand as long as he could. 

There wasn’t much to do, but stay undetected, which wasn’t very hard. Many were used to seeing him around, so they didn’t pay much attention to what he was doing. His horse had been saddled up with a few bags of necessities and no one looked twice as he removed him from the stable. There were still room for two people to fit on and some space for her things. Hopefully she hadn’t packed too heavy, which a tossup that she had. The horse was grazing off to the side, tied to a branch so it wouldn’t wander too far. Finn was stretched out on his back in the grass looking up at the stars trying to find constellations. He never found them, just sort of made up his own looking them. Part of him thought it was just a hoax and that astrologers really didn’t see it in the stars, just claimed they did because another had. I mean it was really hard to tell another what stars you were looking at. A whine from the horse snapped him out of his thoughts as he looked around in case someone was coming. It seemed like no one was around so he lay back down, but listened for any movement. If it was anyone, probably just Neva.
 

Princess Kendra
​

Appearance was mandatory for dinner and she was expected to make it, otherwise they would send someone to check on her. When you’re name is announced every time you entered a room it was hard to get out of these little commitments, even when no one really paid any mind your presences was there. Kendra picked at her food, not having a much of an appetite. Her stomach had the butterflies and she was just eagerly waiting for when she could be excused from the table. The food, salmon, wasn’t her favorite either. So she pushed it around her plate as if she was eating it. “H-huh?” she looked up from her plate when she was addressed, not knowing what was going on in the conversation. It drew everyone’s attention as it was thought rude for one not to be listening and participating at the dinner table. “S-sorry.” she said, putting her napkin down at the side of her plate. “I’m not feeling well.” she added, feeling she had to give some explanation why she wasn’t listening to them drone on. One person piped up and it got under the princess’s skin as the young duchess referred to her as unlady like for gallivanting off the castle grounds and perhaps how she was feeling was due to that. “Lady Ann, one not to be so gullible to believe every rumor going about the castle. A stroll in a beautiful place such as the gardens hardly unlady like and for in fact on the castle grounds.” her eyes had hardened and she was truly over with this place. The table fell quiet. It was out of character, to them at least, for her to act so bold.  “May I be excused? For I am not feeling well.” she asked, turning her attention to his majesty who gave her a nod of approval, but a concerned look. 

Only ten minutes or so had passed before a servant was knocking on the door, acquiring how she was feeling. There were three packs on her bed. One filled with extra change of closes, second food, and the third maps, letters, and a dagger she snagged of a knight that wasn’t paying attention. “D-don’t come in!” she ordered, seeing the door knob turn as she was half way in her breeches. “I’m changing into my night gown and going to sleep, just need to sleep it off.” she was frozen, hoping that was enough to convince the woman to leave and it was. There was a reluctant ‘alright’ before she headed on her way. With a sigh of relief she finished pulling up her brown breeches and put on her royal blue jacket over it. It was the heaviest of her clothes that went with the brown pants. A dress would just get in the way and today was proof enough of that. Two of the bags went over her back and the other over one shoulder. Now she was ready. The stable boy would tattle on her, so she would need to make the trek on foot until, perhaps, she could buy a horse. She hadn’t much experience riding one so it wasn’t really a concern of hers. The hall would be empty with everyone still at dinner, the knight paced at night to keep from falling asleep. All she had to do was time it perfectly. 

Pressing her ear up against the door she waited until the familiar clinking of armor and heavy foot-steps. It was right outside her door before she heard him walk away. Taking in a deep breathe, she opened the door to find it empty with the guard further down the hall to her right. There was a secret passage across her room no one thought she was aware of. It was only if a dire reason should have arisen it was to be used. They could get her out of the castle as quickly as possible. It was a long winding passage way that was cold and damp. She thought it would never end when it came to a door that she pushed open to reveal the forest. “Yes!” she whispered, fumbling for her map out of the satchel that was hanging from her side. “Nooow where am I?” she asked, stepping out of the passage and into the night. The insects were a buzz and it smelt dewy and good. The smell of water always comforted her and put her at ease.
 

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

Neva started to feel more nervous when Finn brought her gaze back to him despite her wanting to hide. His words did little to quell her blush and just made it darken some. She watched him closely, forgetting what it was she wanted to say about it because of what he was doing. She was surprised when he moved to kiss her again, only this time it was a very different kiss than the two they had shared so far. Neva felt herself almost melting into him as she returned the kiss, her hand roaming into his hair unconsciously. A whine of disappointment left her lips when the kiss ended before her eyes shot open in surprise. The blush seemed to be a permanent thing currently so when he suggested going back, she couldn't argue. At least she'd be able to get rid of the red hue and let her heart settle. "Y-yeah, the sooner we get back the sooner we leave again." Neva nodded her head in agreement, giving Finn a smile before leaning against him slightly as they walked. As much as she didn't like the idea of parting now, she knew that what she said was true; they'd be leaving sooner than she thought and that in itself kept her from pouting. By the time they got back to the gardens, she felt the disappointment growing but gave Finn a nod anyway.

"I'll see you soon." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze when they didn't have a choice but to part ways before quickly making her way to her room. It was rather good timing too because right as she was putting her cloak under her bed with her bags, a knock was on the door stating it was time for dinner. With a heavy sigh, Neva left her room and headed to the dining hall to sit like the 'good girl' she was. The couple hours it took for dinner to come and go, along with the concern from her mother when Neva didn't eat much kept her busy enough. Finally when everyone was drinking wine and starting to chat, Neva excused herself from the table after giving a kiss to her parents' foreheads. They didn't seem to mind her going off since she often went to sleep earlier; or they thought she did anyway. Night was the best time for her to practice undetected so it had been a habit she trained herself for a long time ago. The second she was in her room, she closed the door and rushed to grab her bags. There wasn't time to change so she was glad the dress she wore was one more designed for riding than the normal dresses. Not that it mattered since she had some breeches and a tunic she could change into later. The coin she won earlier was tossed into the bag with the jewels and her change of clothes before the bag was tossed over her shoulder. The food bag was grabbed next and then her cloak was put on, the hood going low. The very last thing she did was set up the bed in a way that made it look as though she was sleeping on her side.

Taking a deep breath to calm her rapid heart -not that it helped any- Neva left the room and went straight for one of the secret passages further down the hall. It only took a few minutes to weave through the castle and then the gardens. Her pace started to pick up just a little as did her heartbeat, more than just a little thrilled about what she and Finn were about to do. In a way she was scared but at the same time, the thought of leaving the kingdom and exploring the outside was exhilarating. She couldn't stop the smile on her face, more so when it grew the moment her eyes landed on Finn. For a moment she felt the urge to not interrupt whatever it was he was thinking about as he stared at the sky. Only a moment though. Neva started tiptoeing now as she figured she might as well try to sneak up on him again. Just because it didn't work earlier didn't mean it wouldn't work now. When she got close enough, Neva jumped the rest of the way so she could bend over Finn when she landed. A grin was on her face as she gazed down at him, her hands resting on her thighs to keep her properly up. "Well don't you just look comfy like that. You sure you're ready, hm?" Neva asked in a teasing manner, crossing her arms over her chest in a playful way by the end.

Tristan Doherty
​

Tristan had managed to stay out of the old man's hair for the rest of the day until dinner. He hadn't even been questioned as to where he had gone since it was assumed he was doing what the king asked him to do. Or asked his father to ask him what to do. Only this time he had actually gone ahead and spent time with Kendra instead of watching over her from a distance. It was quite different and he still happened to like what he saw more than what he normally did. Only during dinner it was so hard not to grin with how she was acting. Kendra was certainly livelier when she actually spoke as openly as she did to the snippy woman. Good for Kendra for growing a pair, so to speak. Tristan sipped on the wine some as he watched the young princess excuse herself before his eyes went to his father. The old man had a concerned look on his face before looking Tristan over expectantly. "What?" So much for actually enjoying the night for what it was. The question caused his father to give him a look that said all he needed to know. A heavy sigh escaped Tristan's lips as he set the glass down and stood up. Without bothering to excuse himself -and not caring that it would seem rude- he left the table and then the hall altogether. His father wanted him to keep an eye on her because he was worried; not for her safety but for his own. If she wanted to be left alone or to sleep, she should be allowed to. Why did Tristan have to babysit her the whole time?

At some point during the walk to her room, Tristan stopped and turned around to head back. Only he couldn't because he was a little curious to see if she was legit not feeling well or if she was fibbing to leave the table sooner. So he ended up continuing on until he reached the hall of her room; only he stopped this time because he saw Kendra in not so womanly clothes leaving her room to enter the secret passage across from her. Tristan stared at the entrance for a moment, his mouth half wanting to hang open in surprise. That passage led out of the castle to the forest surrounding it. His eyes darted to the way he had just come from before turning to look down the hall again. The knight that was 'watching' the hall did a terrible job at doing, well his job. An irritated sigh escaped Tristan's lips before he turned to run in the opposite direction he had come from. He continued through the halls of the castle until he reached the exit, narrowly avoiding some of the servants waltzing about. Some cursed him for moving quickly but he said nothing; his thoughts were on trying to figure out just what Kendra was thinking. He knew where the passage led and knew the fastest way to get there too. "Sorry, no time to talk!" Tristan called out to one of the female servants as he neared the stables, the woman having been close to asking him something. He didn't even hear what she mumbled as he ran into the stables to his horse.

It only took a couple of minutes to ready the saddle before he climbed up and gave his horse a quick pet down her mane. "Come on, Kai." Patting her mane next, he lightly kicked the horse's side to get her moving as swiftly as he wanted her to. She let out a quiet whinnie before starting at a trot and jumping to a sprint when she was out of the stables. The stable boy shouted something about having just groomed her but it was lost to Tristan. He was thinking about how lucky he was to have kept his blade with him like normal; how lucky it was for Kendra that it was him watching over her and not someone else. He was just going to make sure she was all right but he wasn't going to force her back to the castle if she didn't want to be there. He knew too well how it felt to be caged though maybe she was worse off than most thought. Letting a small curse leave his lips, Tristan guided his horse to the right as the forest came into view.

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

A few more minutes had passed before he heard the soft footsteps in the grass. There was a small smile on his face as he knew Neva was on her way to sneak up on me. Thanks to the horse and it’s warning she would not be able to. His eyes closed and relaxed as they came closer. Once she spoke his eyes opened slowly as he looked up at her with a grin on his face. Neva was towering over him with a playful smile that caused him to laugh. “Well I had been waiting for some time now.” he replied. It had been quite some time, but he was not serious. “So I thought I would nap for a while.” he smirked, looking up at her with her arms crossed over her chest. He stuck his tongue out playfully before rolling over on to his feet swiftly, pulling her into a hug. “Trying to sneak up on me again?” he teased, tickling her, before pulling her in closer. He gently kissed her forehead before taking the bags from her. Her held them in one arm as his other hand took Neva’s to and he guided her over to the horse. The two bags were secured along with the rest and the horse was untied. “Are you ready?” he asked, the horses reigns in his hand. Their quest was about to start and his stomach turned in excitement and worry. The horse whined again and stomped its hooves in the ground. It was a bit strange and out of behavior for the beast to do so, but Finn didn’t think anything of it. 

Hoisting himself up first he extended his arm out to Neva to give her a helping hand on to the horse. The animal had settled now that they were about to be on their way. It was as if the horse shared the same excitement as them. Once she was on the horse he waited for her to settle before he gave the horse a small kick in the side to get it moving in a slow trot. “Best be out of the Kingdom or near the border by sunrise, that way we have a chance to get out of here before they raise the alarm.” Finn looked back at her while he spoke, taking one of her arms to wrap around himself. Neva was sitting on the back of the horse so he had more control over the beast, it was larger than he was use to riding so it could handle the bags and the pace they wanted to keep. Only time would tell if they noticed her missing in time to try and do something about it. Fin would rather be as far away when they notice that the princess was no longer in the safety of the castle with her knights. “Just let me know if you need me to stop.” he added, giving the horse another nudge in the side to get it to start galloping away, leaving the castle behind them. By morning, if he road like how’d he like they’d reach outskirts of this kingdom and be on the edge of the one Kendra currently resided in.
 

Princess Kendra
​

The map was no use as she could not make out any of it in the night. Not well enough to get her going in the right direction. None the less she pressed on waiting for the moon to come out from behind the clouds to try again. The night did not scare her as it would other women. It was sort of calming be the only one out there. No more rules or false smiles. It was just her and nature. There was already quite some distance put between her and the castle. She could no longer see the opening of the secret passage and that put her in higher spirits. The moon no longer was hiding. There was a small opening that the light shown through and she pulled out the map once more. It was easier to see now and she could make out where she needed to go next. There should be a road to the right that she would have to travel alongside as it was too dangerous to walk it. Folding up the man, she stuffed it back in the bag as she started heading in the right direction. 

It seemed like it was going just fine when she heard a branch snap behind her. Quickly, she looked to where she thought she heard the sound come from. Nothing was there, so she turned and started in the direction she was headed, this time a bit faster. It was likely only an animal, but it was still unnerving and something told her to get out of there. The road shouldn’t be that much further, but she could hear the rustle of leaves behind her and it caused her to look over her shoulder a few times. It was starting to creep into the back of her head that she was being followed and it was making her jumpy. The crunching of leaves became more prominent and closer and she started to run, thinking something was pursuing her. Kendra had made if a few yards, but she could still hear the thing following after. While looking over her shoulder to see if she could spot what was following behind her, she tripped. Her foot caught under a stick and she fell hard, her hands keeping her from face planting. A rabbit shot out from behind her and went running in front of her. “A rabbit?” she groaned, sighing heavily looking at her dirty scrapped hands. They stung and there were a few cuts from the twigs she landed on.

 

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

A small pout formed underneath the grin when Neva realized she had failed -again- one sneaking up on Finn. How did he always know?! It wasn't fair but she was making it another goal of hers to be able to do it one day. "Oh please, you weren't waiting that long mister. This is the right time we were supposed to meet up." Or was she actually late? Neva had thought she left with ample time but maybe she really hadn't. Her thoughts were interrupted when she saw him sticking his tongue out and opened her mouth to say something to tease him about it. Only it was lost in a quick fit of giggles when he pulled her closer to tickle her. Quickly her arms shot to her sides in an attempt to stave off any further attempts even as he grabbed the bags from her. "I'm more than ready. Not only will I be getting my sister back but I'll be getting to spend time with you where we don't have to train constantly. So it'll be nice." Neva spoke with a smile on her face, not even thinking about what kinds of things could actually happen while they were out in the world. It was a vast, open place full of mystery and wonder to her and she couldn't be more than thrilled to see it for once. Neva kept back to give him the proper room to get onto the horse before taking his offered help to climb up behind him.

"Thanks." Neva wasn't new to riding horses but at the same time, she wasn't used to riding for long periods of time. This in itself was going to be an interesting feat but she wouldn't complain about it. She hummed quietly with his words, already leaning herself against his back so she could have both arms around his waist comfortably. When the horse picked up its pace again to a gallop though her grip tightened slightly but not enough to be a hindrance. "I've set it up where it looks like I'm sleeping in my bed, so I don't think the alarm will be raised until morning when Jenna comes to check on me. That gives us plenty of time to be able to get to where we need." Neva spoke confidently, leaning up so she could speak into his ear without having to yell above the noise from the hooves. She was thinking about reasons why she might need them to stop but most were put to the back of her mind as soon as she thought of them. As much as it might be helpful in a way -at least some of them- she didn't want to be a hindrance to Finn just because she wasn't used to riding. So she didn't say anything on that and just rested her head against his back once again. Even above the sounds of the horse, she could hear his heart beating against her ear and it sounded so soothing to her. Taking a small breath, she turned slightly to look behind her to get one last look at the castle; only her eyes caught sight of something else that caused her to be a little confused. What was that shadow that she just saw? Or was her imagination just playing tricks on her? Staring at the spot that seemed to be getting smaller didn't help so she mentally shrugged it off as her being tired before going back to resting against Finn.

"Do you think she's all right?" Neva asked after a few minutes of silence, her eyes watching the scenery change around them as the horse ran. The 'she' Neva referring to was of course Kendra and she just assumed that Finn would know that. The hood had long since fallen to her shoulders at this point and her blue hair whisked behind her.

Tristan Doherty
​

Sifting through the familiar grounds of the forest was easy enough but finding a princess in the dark wasn't. By the time he had come across the exit of the secret passage, no one was in sight. For a moment Tristan felt like cursing until his eyes landed on the tracks Kendra left behind. He gave his horse another comb through her mane before lightly kicking her side to get her into a trot. Following her tracks seemed easy enough given how she obviously didn't know how to hide them. Or maybe she just didn't care? Either way the question of the day was: why the hell was she out here in the middle of the night in the first place? Alone for that matter. Things couldn't possibly be so bad in the castle that she'd want to run away like this. Maybe there was a marriage arrangement she didn't like, or a noble that kept making indecent passes at her. Whatever the reason, it wasn't enough to go out in the middle of the woods where who knew what kind of creatures lurked at night. Okay, well Tristan knew and just about anyone that hunted knew but that wasn't the point. Tristan was close to letting out an aggravated sigh when some birds flew off rather quickly away from the direction he was going. He stared for a moment after them before his horse whinnied uncomfortably.

"There, there, it's all right Kai. Probably just a fox or something. Nothing to worry about." Tristan said in a soothing voice, coaxing the horse to continue on. It wasn't too much longer before he heard rustling in the trees and twigs snapping quickly ahead of him. With one hand on the hilt of his sword, he urged his sword to go a little faster. There was a thud sound ahead followed by a familiar voice, which caused him to relax just a bit. "A rabbit is the least of your worries this deep into the forest, Kendra." Tristan called as the horse slowed to a trot until it reached where the princess was on the ground. His eyes glanced around them for a moment suspiciously before he climbed down and patted Kai's side lightly. "Just what exactly are you thinking, running off in the middle of the night? Do you have any idea what might happen to you out here or what animals lurk here?" Even as Tristan spoke, one of the first things he noticed was the position she was in. That meant she had to have fallen, which meant there might be cuts somewhere. So his eyes went to look around him briefly before spotting the leaves of a plant that would be good for cuts. Plucking off a leaf, he brought it over and knelt down in front of her before holding out one hand. "If you're hurt, let me see."

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

Time was on their side and if Neva’s trick worked they would be long gone before anyone could really do anything about it. Finn could feel her head nestle in his back and it made him smile. Knowing how stubborn she was, he would just have to make pit stop for both their sakes since she wouldn’t want to hold them up because she was slightly uncomfortable. The horse was a good excuse, that it would need rest. It was all planned out in his head until her question snapped him out of his thoughts. Kendra’s will-being never really crossed his mind since she was in a different Kingdom and now harm had come to her yet. It was just a speculation, but he believed she was fine. “As long as she is in the castle I don’t see what harm would come to her. Sounded like she was under lock and key by your description.” he shrugged, not really knowing the answer to the question. “Besides, only the three of us know about her power. So why would the demon lady even bother?” he asked, hoping that would put her mind at ease. All the attention should be on them and that was an eerie thought as now they were off and away from their safety net. 

The horse was a bit uneasy he noticed as he did not have to do much to keep his pace. There was some whinnies from him also, but for the most he kept on at full pace. It was a good and bad thing. They were making it there in great time, until the poor animal tired himself out. Pulling on the reigns a bit, he slowed the beast down patting on the side of the animal. It fought a little, but reluctantly it followed suit. “That is odd.” he patted the side as the horse went into a slow walk. “We don’t want to tire ourselves out.” he said calmly, giving it a bit of a nudge so it would go into a trot and not a heavy gallop. “Bit odd for the old boy. Must be spooked by something.” he said, his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing jumped out at him though. It was only them and nature as far as he could tell. Finn only let the horse go a bit faster. Being sure he didn’t go into an outright sprint so they could keep this pace for some time and they did. An hour or two had passed. “You need to stretch?” he asked, wanting to stretch his own legs for a bit, but would keep pressing on if she was alright.  
 

Princess Kendra
​

A sigh of annoyance escaped her lips as it only had been around ten minutes and she had already fallen flat on her face. She could hear the horse trotting up, but she wasn’t worried as she heard the familiar voice of Tristian. Pushing herself up, she sat on the ground as he dismounted his horse. “It’s not nice to sneak up on people Tristian.” she retorted, brushing her dirty palms off on her breeches, which caused her to wince in regret as they were fairly tender. Kendra had no intentions on answering his question, the less he knew the better. Otherwise, he would haul her ass back to the castle and she would be cooped up and scolded for making attempt at running. Looking over her hands, she paid no mind to what he was doing as when his guard was let down she was going make a mad dash to try and escape him. There bits of rock she picked off and a few scratches. It was certainly going to be tender for a while. Once she reached a river or lake she would use her powers to clean it out nicely and hopefully that would help the healing processes be speedier. Assessing the damage that was done she didn’t notice him kneeling down in front of her until it was too late. Her arms came closer to her body as she scooted away from him and out of reach, not that he couldn’t get to her if he really wanted to, she was still sitting on the ground. 

“Not going back.” she said serious tone, keeping her hands to herself. She eyed his hand and the other that was holding a leaf before bringing her gaze back up to him. “I’m going home and that is that.” she stated flatly, trying to read him if he was going to let her go or not. A few birds took off in a panic and close to their heads. Kendra put her arms around her head to protect herself as a few more animals had taken the birds lead and also fled the area. “What is with these animals?” she asked rhetorically as she scanned the brushes and got to her feet. She figured Tristian and his horse had frightened the rabbit, but now she was not so sure. There was nothing her eyes could tell was lurking. It was too dark really to make anything out that was far away. “I’ll clean these when I get near a stream.” she told him, flashing her palms at him before turning away to press on. If she had any luck, he would just go back and forget this every happened. Feed into his lazy side and not deal with the stubborn princess that was on a crazed adventure to get home. More noise came from moving brush, but she reckoned it was more animals moving around.
 

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

Finn had a very valid point on both accounts; no one knew Kendra had powers like Neva did, which meant that she should technically be just fine where she was. The only one who was really in danger doing this sort of thing should be Neva. She wasn't worried about it though, she felt confident in her powers now and with Finn near she felt like she could do anything. Plus Kendra was under some heavier lock down than Neva was. "Yeah, you're probably right. Plus the demon lady hasn't actually tried again so maybe she gave up after her failed attempt?" That thought was a laugh but it helped to ease a tiny amount of growing worry inside of her. Her eyes kept watching as the scenery changed quickly passed them, the horse hurrying away from the castle. She hadn't even realized how far they had gone until she felt the horse slowing down and the wind not biting as hard. Neva shifted slightly so she could peek over Finn's shoulders to look ahead of them curiously. What was odd? Before she could ask out loud, Finn was already answering a bit and it just made Neva wonder more. Maybe she had actually seen something moving when they first left. What could have spooked the horse so much that it was already tired?

"Um...sure, if you think it's fine to take a moment's break." Neva definitely wasn't going to say she wanted the break but she did. It wasn't even all that long really before they headed out and already she felt sore from the ride. Some rescue mission this was going to be if she stayed sore and they had to stop constantly. Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she slowly threw one leg over the side of the horse and slid down facing away from Finn. It was an attempt to hide the flash of relief on her face before she faced him again with a small smile. "I never thought it'd be so beautiful out here. There's so much more than what's in our gardens and I have to say, they don't compare to what's out here." She commented as her eyes looked around them again, her smile growing since she was able to actually see this. Sure she was aware of it from reading books but reading something was nothing compared to seeing it. A twig snapped some distance away from them and caused her to look in that direction in surprise. "H-hey, Finn." Neva took a step backwards to be closer to the horse but her eyes didn't leave the spot they were staring at. "You don't...think anything's out there, do you? Like it's just a rabbit or a squirrel or something?"

Tristan Doherty
​

Tristan's eyebrow rose when all she started with was 'not going back'. The same way she seemed to be eyeing him, he did the same to her as he wondered what was going on in that head of hers. "Home?" He repeated, his tone calm and not at all showing how surprising it was to hear in a way. Clearly that meant that she really wasn't King Merek's daughter by any means; which also made sense why no one knew anything about her and she kept to herself. The second the birds started flying off, Tristan glanced to them and almost instantly put his free hand on the hilt of his sword. Something wasn't right and whatever that something was, they were scaring off the animals rather quickly. Tristan scanned the tree lines even knowing it wouldn't really help since it was so late into the night. Nothing could really be made out in the darkness surrounding them. A sigh escaped his lips when he heard Kendra's voice again and slowly tore his gaze away to look back at her. The first thing he was met with was some light bloodied hands from the tumble she had. It was only a quick flash before she started heading off once again like that was it. With a roll of his eyes, he put the leaf into his mouth and started chewing it while he reached out to grab the reigns. The horse followed along more than willingly as he moved to follow Kendra.

Once he was caught up with her, he took the leaf from his mouth and with his other hand reached out for one of hers. "The stream's quite the distance away on foot, Kendra. By the time you get there, this could get infected or worse if you don't put something over it." He made a motion to the leaf concoction before he started rubbing some of it onto the palm of her hand that he held rather firmly in his. "If you don't want to go back to the castle, fine. Don't go back. But you being out here in the middle of the night, alone, isn't going to help you at all. What would you do if a bear comes at you for being in its territory? Or worse, a cougar? I bet you don't even know how to fend them off at all do you." The last bit wasn't so much a question as it was a statement. He took a moment to stare at her face before going for her other hand in an equally forceful manner; he wasn't being tough about grabbing her, just enough so she couldn't try to wiggle out of his grasp and run away. At least not until he was done applying the leaf to the second hand. With that out of the way, he ended up looking her over once more before bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck lightly. "Get on the horse, Kendra." His tone was gentle as he made a motion to the beast that waited patiently beside him. "I'm not going to force you to go back to the castle but I'm also not going to just let you walk around like this alone. Tell me where you need to go and I'll take you there."

Cethin
​

Cethin sat comfortably on a wooden chair outside of the small hut he had taken residence in; it was deep enough into the woods outside of the town where he wouldn't be noticed and close enough where he could have easy access to the town and even the castle on certain days. He had grown accustomed to watching over the blue-haired princess from afar; taking notes of any signs of them letting up their guard for another chance at her. Naturally none of it came, though over the past couple of years they had certainly gone lax. Today, he had watched her sneak out of the castle and go to some tavern in the middle of town with the owner of the place. From what Cethin had gathered over the years, that had been the servant boy that interfered with his lady all those years ago. How easy it would have been to just go in and take care of him but Cethin couldn't do that. That could potentially ruin any plans Lilith might have at using him for something in the future; which likely meant killing him herself for interfering in the first place. The whole thing had been entertaining to a point but most days were spent like they were now, wallowing away in the cabin with a good wench or training to pass the time. Most of the time was spent with this woman in bed after the princess had gone into the tavern early in the day. Now, the wench was passed out wrapped up in his bed sheets and he was outside.

The night air was perfect for sitting outside like he was, just smoking a pipe and enjoying the night for once. He had to wonder if he'd ever be able to actually do something more useful than just sitting around babysitting. As he took another deep puff, his eyes glanced to the side when he heard the distant shuffling of feet and twigs breaking because of them. Noisy little buggers, not understanding the concept of stealth in any means. Still, they were stupid and listened to Cethin without question so they were useful in their own rights. The goblins of these woods were shorter, with dark brown skin that helped them blend into the tree lines. Most used axes as weapons but this one in particular preferred a bow, as he was more the scout than the others. To the untrained ear, jumbled hoarse words spewed from the creature's mouth as it neared Cethin but the man understood what was being said. The princess and that servant boy had fled the castle and were now currently somewhere in the woods. Based on the direction they were heading, it seemed like they were going to Merek's kingdom. That wasn't certain but the goblin mentioned it anyway. For a moment Cethin just stared at the creature, causing it to become a bit nervous in the ensuing minutes of silence. Eventually Cethin shifted so he could sit up and blew the smoke right above the goblins head.

"Capture the princess, alive. Make sure she's unharmed but the other one doesn't matter. Bring her to me." He gave out the orders in a quiet, monotonous tone and only moved to lean back when the goblin nodded his head. Quickly the creature disappeared and only then did Cethin turn slightly to let out a soft whistle. A couple seconds went by before an all white feathered bird flew to his side and landed on his shoulders. "Bring the message to m'lady." Cethin spoke quieter since he heard noise coming from inside the hut, knowing the wench was awake now. He quickly pulled out a parchment and ink to write what the goblins told him before giving it to the bird. With the parchment gripped tightly in its claws, the bird flew off high into the sky to find its true owner. Not even a couple moments went by before the wench opened the door and gave Cethin a wry smile. "Come back ta bed, would ya? I've a treat for you." She spoke in a seductive tone, drawing Cethin's eyes back to her to see her standing naked and posing for him. With one last puff from his pipe, he got up with a growing grin before following the woman back into the hut and closing the door after them.

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

Finn didn’t bother hiding the fact that he was happy she took up the offer, riding a horse at that pace took a toll on anyone’s body. Once off the horse he went to patting its side, keeping it calm as she spoke. There was definitely more to it than the gardens. He turned towards her and away from the horse with a smile. “You should see it in the daylight.” he recommended, smiling at how she was so impressed with it at night. In the day she would most likely be blown away. “Mountains are pretty special to see too.” he threw in, smiling because once all of this was over he could take her wherever she liked. The horse grew restless and started stomping it’s hooves in the ground once more, letting out loud whinnies. Finn had to grab on to the reigns to keep it from leaving them behind. The ordeal with the horse caused him to miss the twig snapping and only became aware of it she spoke up, a bit spooked. The horse and her discomfort was enough of a sign to get them the hell out of there. Things just added up that whatever was creeping around wasn’t good for them. 

“Neva get back on the horse.” he told her, putting an arm around her before stepping in front to get a better look at what she was looking at. Finn curse the dark because there wasn’t much he was able to make out. He only dared to take a few steps closer where she had heard the sound. An attack would be hard to detect in time in this lighting and he wasn’t in the mood to take chance. Wild life tended to steer clear of humans, unless they were spooked by a predator that was more dangerous than them. “I don’t think it is an animal.” he said, turning back to the horse. “Whatever it is, it be best we just don’t cross paths with it.” he told her, heading back to the horse, but looking over his shoulder often as he had an eerie feeling of being watched now. He went up to the horse and nodded towards the front of it as he situated the reigns. “Up front this time, that way I’m blocking you.” he told her sternly, giving her a nudge in the direction so she would do so. Neva never liked putting her life over his and he could see how this may cause problems. “Please.” he begged, his eyes going into a puppy dog look that was filled with a bit of panic. There was no way he was going to get on the horse unless she did as he asked.
 

 
​

Princess Kendra
​

Kendra didn’t make it far before Tristian caught up and took her hand firmly. There was no reason to try and wriggly free as his grip was tight enough to show he would not back down from bandaging her hand up and so she let him. Being scolded of a maybe infection cause her to wrinkle her nose as she was being reprimanded for her actions. “Is that your spit?” she asked, leaning in and remembering seeing the leaf in his mouth earlier. A few times her hand flinched away, but that was just because it was tender and the gunk he had put on her hands caused it to sting slightly at first.  More scolding was to come as Tristian pointed out that there was obvious dangers in these woods. Out of annoyance she sighed, rolling her eyes at him. “I’d figure it out.” she stated, watching what he was doing with her hands. The idea was to follow the road, which would scare most beasts away until she came up on the Avereso River and follow that back to her kingdom. With the water at her side, she would have been fine. It was a bit trickier than Neva’s power; she needed a body of water to really do anything. The moisture in the air wasn’t enough, but when she had water beside she could do wonders. Not on command, most of the time when something big had happened she was overly emotional about something that had transpired. Tristian had finished up the other hand and now was looking her over and she reciprocated in the same gesture, looking him over as well. 

“Tristian, this isn’t a little one hour ride. I’m going to my kingdom.” she spoke calmly, and put her hand over her chest when she spoke of what was hers. It needed to be made clear that this was a bigger commitment that he thought. “And y-you would get in trouble for aiding me and not just a little slap on the wrist.” she crossed her arms over her chest, looking at him suspiciously. Kendra didn’t think he was one to play tricks, but she didn’t see what was in it for him, more of a headache than anything else. A horse would be nice and though she hated to admit it she would love that he came along. Ten minutes in and she was already getting jumpy over a rabbit. “You’re not taking me back?” she reiterated, taking a few steps towards the horse. Mounting it was easier now that she was in breeches, something the Queen had never allowed her so called daughter to wear. “I’m trying to get to the kingdom of Milikor and meet up with my sister, Neva.” she told him once he was on the horse and they were both adjusted. For the time being, she refrained from putting her arms around him and supported herself. “Why are you willing to help?” she asked, it had been eating at her since he offered. Sure, he was kind and helped the baker, but this was different. “No one else would have.” she added, knowing very well the consequences that she would have endured if it were someone else other than Tristian that had found her out this far in the forest.
 

Lilith Giese
​

The girl’s description of her two faces had been given to every knight in the kingdom. Another attempt on the blue hair spoiled brat would have to wait. That night only proved how beneficial it would be to have those powers, it made her more determined to get them for herself. Being that everyone knew about her, she fled along with the other twin. The one they wanted to be safe, so they sent her away instead of keeping an eye on her with the other one. Poor parenting was in her favor though, so she kept an eye on the girl. Only when she could, they kept a close eye on the lass. The King of Merek never let her make a big appearance that wasn’t at court and even then there were armed knights around every corner. It never became laid-back as the ones back home did. That wasn’t surprising. When you’re protecting someone else’s goods you tend to take more care of it than your own. All of it made it difficult to keep an eye on the little chicklet and she depended on whispers and on occasions, sneaking in the castle. It was simpler than one would have thought, but then again they weren’t looking out for the two face monster the children had seen years ago. 

The venturing out to the shops had reached her and she had been keeping a close eye on the girl. It was a giant scandal that was buzzing through town that the princess had tried to make a run for it with a man or they were sneaking away to do not so lady like things. Lilith didn’t care for the rumors, but had just wished she had been there to seize an opportunity, though one presented itself that night. Kendra was making a run for it, alone. It was hard to maneuver through the brush without making a sound, not that she was refraining from making such noises. The princess was growing frightened and would trip up soon enough, which she had, but a pesky nobleman had gotten in the way. Did these two just keep men in their pockets and released them to just inconvenient her? The servant boy had not been forgotten and she very well had a plan instore for the weasel. Lilith was about to take care of him and stepped forward to do so, but stopped with the princess pulled away. It seemed she might get rid of him for her and she wouldn’t have to get her hands dirty and draw attention to herself with a missing noble. A flock of birds were spooked by her and she had to duck away as both of them had grown suspicious. The man wouldn’t let up as he pursued the stubborn princess and gave aid to her wounds, very minor ones. What happened next caused her to wrinkle her pretty face as he offered to bring her home and reluctantly, Kendra accepted. Her hands were getting dirty with this one, but she figured it best to wait when they were no longer in the castle’s shadow. No help would come and one human would easily enough be dealt with. To keep them from suspecting of being followed she kept her distance. The animal’s jitteriness was enough of a warning sign something wicked was on its way.  
 

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

Neva's eyes tore away only briefly to look the horse over in concern before going right back to the spot. Didn't horses have some sixth sense or something to always know when something was wrong? Her father mentioned it once but she'd never actually witnessed it before until now. When Finn told her to get on the horse, she didn't do so quite yet but not because she wasn't wanting to listen. More because her feet weren't quite listening to her in the moment. Her hand went out to try to stop him from getting closer but that was about the extent of her body moving right now. "Finn." Her voice cracked a little as she called to him, more nervous now than she was when they first left the castle grounds. The second he was within reach when he came back, Neva reached out for his hand to hold lightly. She nodded her head in complete agreement to try to avoid any confrontation with whatever it was that was out there. What she didn't agree with was what he told her to do. Quickly she shot him a half glare mixed with a worried look when he suggested blocking her. Her mouth opened to argue it but there was some hesitance when he pleaded with her after. She hated when he did things like this, starting from the very time he risked his life for her and her sister. If anything were to happen to him...shaking her head to rid the thoughts, a heavy sigh escaped her lips before she finally brought her gaze back to Finn.

"Fine." The word barely came out as a whisper since Neva was still close to arguing with him about how he shouldn't be doing that. It was on the tip of her tongue even so biting back was a little difficult. Turning to the horse once again, Neva grabbed the saddle and hoisted herself up to get situated. Only it didn't work out quite like the way she had planned. Another branch snapped, this time much closer to them and caused her head to snap to the new side it came from. "Finn-" Neva was about to point out that she saw movement but it all happened too quickly. Brown creatures a little more than half the size of Finn ran at her, frightening the horse onto its hind legs as it whinnied. Neva already felt like she was falling off as it was but that wasn't what caused it; her hair was yanked hard and with a cry from the pain she was dragged off of the horse to the ground. There was another creature looming over her, snarling down with its sharp, dog-like teeth. Its golden eyes were filled with a rage that Neva had never seen before and every now and then its pointed ears twitched whenever there was sound. Neva's eyes darted to the hand that was reaching out for her again before letting out a small scream. As she backed away from it, she raised one of her own hands and concentrated quickly on what she wanted. Frost swirled around her hand briefly then went to the air and formed the shape of several small barbed icicles. The creature didn't seem to know what they were so it still stepped closer to her.

Neva only hesitated a moment before sending the icicles straight for the creature; they lodged into its head and chest, instantly killing the creature and causing an array of angry cries from the rest of them. That was when Neva looked around and noticed there were several others that had them surrounded. "Finn?" Neva's shaky voice called to him as she forced herself to her feet despite her body's protests. She only got about halfway standing before she felt another tug and brown arms wrapped around her to keep her down. Panic started to sink in as the grip reminded her too much of that demon lady's, sending her almost instantly into the nightmare she was trying to forget. "F-Finn!" Teary eyed, Neva fought to keep a hold of herself as the ground beneath her was slowly glazing over with frost; as much as she wanted control over her powers, being panicked gave her none.

Tristan Doherty
​

"'I'd figure it out', yeah okay." Tristan rolled his eyes as he mumbled quietly at her response, so close to just rolling his eyes. He got the impression she was stubborn earlier but this was a whole other level of stubbornness. Where it stemmed from, he couldn't even begin to understand but hearing her say 'my kingdom' gave him a pretty big clue. For a moment, he stared at her in awe as he placed his hands on his hips to digest the information. So clearly that meant some of the rumors about the princess were true but not all of them. It also explained why Merek was so overly protective of Kendra that he wouldn't let her outside or do much of anything. There wasn't too much time to think on it so he pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind and shook his head. "No I'm not going to take you back, I'm not the kind of guy that forces people to do things they don't want." Tristan got enough of that from his own father, he'd never want to put that onto someone else. Tristan kept an eye on her as she walked over to the horse, giving her a nod to show he was being serious about not taking her back. Once she was on the horse, he climbed up after her and situated himself with the reigns in hand. Where she was going along with the question that followed caused him to glance behind him for a moment but he didn't say anything at first. Instead, he lightly patted the horse's mane and that was enough to get the horse moving.

"A few years ago Merek told my father to tell me to keep an eye on you since the guards were sometimes too lax for his liking. That's the reason why I know I won't get into trouble for helping you but that's not the reason why I'm helping you." Tristan started quietly but loud enough to hear over the steps of the horse. "You and I are very much alike in the fact that we're both caged in our own ways, Kendra. I hate the feeling but there's nothing I can do about it since I'm the heir to the dukedom. You, on the other hand, have a chance at breaking free of the cage and have a home you can go back to it seems. I like seeing the side of you I did today, so I figured that you'd be more...well, you if you go to wherever it is that you want to go to. That side of you is a lot better than the quiet, timid princess that just listened to His Majesty without question." Tristan shrugged his shoulders lightly at the end of his words, his eyes glancing around them all the while that he spoke. Kai seemed to be a bit more relaxed now that they were on the move so that was at least one less thing that Tristan needed to worry about. "This sister of yours, where are you meeting her? In Milikor itself or somewhere near the border of the kingdom?"

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

The dirty look didn’t make him change his stance. Arguing wouldn’t help them at this time, so he just kept up the pouty look as she battled with herself if she was to listen. “Thank you.” he sighed, once she agreed and helped her on to the horse. Holding on to the reigns to steady the animal, he left one hand out in case she needed it to help hoist herself up. Only what happened next caused the horse to buck out of fright and Finn lost control over it. His name had barely made it to his ears before the animal had knocked him over in the process and he heard the loud scream and a thud from Neva crashing to the ground. Another scream was let out and he got on all fours and started crawling in her direction, the horse long gone by now. The foul smell of the little buggers reached him before they did. He was stumbling to get to his feet before one launched off the ground and on his back. It slipped it cold arm around his throat and began to squeeze while the rest of them let out an angry howl. One was already dead, which only maddened and riled them up more. All Finn’s attempts to unsheathe his sword were foiled with the goblin’s foot as it kicked his hand away. The lack of oxygen triggered his knees to start buckling and Finn let them so as he purposely landed on his back. 

The goblin let out a wail of pain as Finn scrambled away gasping for air. Neva was calling him and he turned to where he heard her voice. A dark brown vile creature was trying to drag her back down and she was panicking. The ground now had frost on it. She was losing focus. “Neva.” he called out, unsheathing his sword. He was going to cut down her attacker when a sharp pain ran up his leg and all the way up his back forcing back on his knees. Finn cried out in pain as he was pinned on his back a jagged knife still stuck in his leg. His sword was brought up and it went straight through the goblin’s stomach which caused more hollering and shrieking from the crowd. More challenged him this round and as soon as he pulled the sword out of the body he was in a battle to keep it. One larger than the rest was wrestling to gain control when Finn saw its eyes light up with a different plan as it eyed the sword. It turned the sword so the sharp side of the blade facing him and it started to push down. Chanting began as had turned into a battle of strength as Finn had to fight to push the blade away from his throat. Dirt was being tossed and rocks in effort to make him lose his focus.
 

Princess Kendra
​

It felt like her privacy had been betrayed as she was not aware more than knights were assigned to watch her and without her knowledge. What had he all seen? Was her practicing her power still a secret. His next words were a compliment twisted with an insult and it stung more than expected. Timid little princess following orders, is that what she had become? She sat there brooding on the back of his horse with her arms crossed. All the times she snuck away replayed in her mind as she tried to remember if anyone had followed. The chance more than her sister knew about her powers caused a deep fear to grow in her gut. What if she knew? That night still gave her nightmares and had her wake cold and drenched in her own sweat. The question snapped her out of her trance as was now pondering on how she was to find Neva. “I don’t know.” she mumbled, a slightly blushing. The more he found out about her plan the more he probably figured she was an idiot. “There was no time to send a letter stating I was going to meet her half way. So . . . She does not know I’m on my way to meet her and Finn.” she said, shifting uneasy. “Can’t be that hard to find she does have bright blue hair.” she added, shrugging it off a bit. 

“You were spying on me?” she changed the subject, trying to get to the bottom of her question without out rightly asking it. There was a bit of venom in her tone as she was not happy. “You know, you can still get in trouble for helping. I’m not supposed to be leaving the castle grounds at all and you’re aiding me and frankly giving me a chance of being more successful at getting home, which I’m not allowed to return to yet.” she added, though winced when she had. Why was she spilling her guts to him? For some reason, that she couldn’t pin point, she just trusted him. “That whole garden thing and going into town was that just you . . . watching me? Just keeping tabs on me or something along the lines?” she asked, wondering how far this role the King had given him went. Just to watch out of her physical wellbeing or was he also reporting back to the King on what she was doing. Were there more that were to watch or was it just him. It all was making her blood boil. Knights around the clock were enough, even if relaxed. Not telling her was just the cherry on top. “How long?” she asked, after a bit of digesting his answer.
 

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
​

The creature's hold was unrelenting, even as Neva started struggling against it; Her heart was racing, her breath ragged and shallow. The tears she felt prickling her eyes fell when she closed them and tried gaining some measure of control again. Hearing Finn's voice caused her eyes to open quickly as her head shot to the direction it came from. The horse was long gone and it was easy to find him in the midst of the creatures. "Finn!" She shouted his name, wide-eyed as one of the creatures jabbed a knife into his leg. All too quickly it was reminding her of what happened that night and she desperately didn't want a repeat of it. The struggling against the creature became worse, the frost beneath them growing and crystallizing the ground more heavily. The creature seemed to take notice of it this time and loosened its grip in confusion. It was just enough for her to finally free herself from its grasp and rolled until she got onto her knees. It started at her again with a louder snarl as the creatures all around shouted in anger again. There wasn't time to try to use her power so instead Neva rushed at it to try to take its sword from it. The struggle that ensued ended up with both of them on the ground but it was obvious that the creature was physically stronger than her. Her arms were pinned above her head forcefully but it also didn't last very long. The frost had grown stronger, circling the ground beneath her almost instantly when she was being held. With every sob from Neva, a small stalagmite of ice shot up from the frost.

After the fourth one getting too close to the creature's leg, it jumped off of Neva and stared at the ice curiously. It was hard for Neva to get her body to listen to her but she fought hard for at least that much focus. Some kind of chanting was drawing her attention even though she knew she should be worried about what that one close to her would do. A larger version of the creature was pressing into Finn's blade and the other creatures were cheering it on. It was too much. The thought of what could happen if that thing overpowered Finn, the fact that he already got hurt -again- because of her. The tears that fell grew heavier and as they did, the frost shot out in a curved line towards the creature facing Finn. She fought hard to rid the thoughts of what would happen if he died, she didn't want to think about it; she couldn't. Finn meant so much more to her than he probably realized. One of the smaller creatures pulled out a knife and licked it, thinking that maybe it could just take care of the problem while the bigger one had Finn distracted. "No..." Neva felt her voice crack, eyes widening again as she placed a hand on the ground to push herself up. Fear, anxiety, worry, hate. All sorts of emotions swelled inside of her as she looked from the smaller creature that was inching closer to the bigger one. The frost beneath her hand cracked underneath her, the cracks continuing swiftly down the line leading towards the bigger one. Neva didn't notice any of it though, her thoughts were solely on the what if's swirling around.

"No...no, no, no. NO!" Louder and louder her voice got until she screamed Finn's name, her hands coming up to grip her hair tightly. Stalagmites made of thick ice started to shoot up from the ground, one claiming the creature near her while the rest followed the line of frost on the ground. The closer they got to the larger one, the sharper the point and the faster it traveled. Several stalagmites pierced through the creature's body, a few in the upper body while the others went through its arms and legs. Screams of anger mixed with shock resulted from the rest of the creatures as they stared and started to back away quickly. A jumbled mess of what could have been words were sprouted from a couple of them before they rushed off into the woods once again. One by one they vanished into the darkness out of fear of what they saw. Neva herself dropped to the ground on her side, her eyes heavy and unfocused but not from the tears. The ice wasn't melting and instead stayed firmly where it had sprouted up from. "...Finn..." His name was barely above a whisper, her body close to just giving out on her entirely as it felt drained.

Tristan Doherty
​

Tristan let out a heavy sigh when he got the answer he had hoped he wouldn't hear. How was it that Kendra planned out this whole ordeal to run away but she missed one of the biggest steps? What Kendra added just caused him to shift to stare at her for a moment even as the horse continued on. "Seriously? She doesn't even know you're coming?" He repeated with a hint of annoyance on his tone though it wasn't completely directed at her; just mostly. "And just how exactly were you thinking of 'meeting her halfway' when you don't even know what's halfway? For all you know, those two could be taking the side road that cuts through the forest of Ihr. Or they could be taking the main road, staying in villages or towns or whatever." He paused from his little rant when he repeated the blue hair part in his head. That made him slightly confused but he shook the thought from his mind. "Just because she's easy to pick out in a crowd doesn't mean you'll be in the right crowd to find her. This world is a lot more vast than you think, Kendra." Vast and full of all sorts of creatures that Tristan fully believed existed. Humans couldn't be the only beings out there besides animals; ogres, goblins, dragons, he believed all sorts of creatures existed out there just out of the human's eye. Of course that resulted in several scoldings also since whenever he read about them instead of what he was supposed to, he usually got caught. But he wasn't going to mention that to her since she seemed jittery enough as it was. Best to let her think it was just cougars and bears around these parts.

Then there was the question of 'spying' on her that made him snort in more annoyance. He was quiet all the while that she spoke, wanting to make sure she got everything out that she wanted to say or ask before he would answer. She sure was being rather open with him despite the irritation she felt towards him. How interesting. "First of all, you need to get something into that stubborn head of yours: I don't do anything I don't want to do." He paused, making sure that she heard that part loud and clear before continuing. "Watching you is a pain in the ass, especially since there's been quite the number of times where you just up and disappear. It was almost 4 years ago and I did it because I was told to but it was troublesome because it cut into the things I wanted to do. Recently I only did it when the knights were too lax to do it themselves well. But going into town was something else entirely. If it were normal circumstances, I would have just taken you to the gardens and left you there so I could go into town myself to do what I wanted to help the baker. You showed me a side of you that piqued my interest and I wanted to see more of that side. I took you into town because I wanted to." Tristan emphasized the word though whether she believed him or not was irrelevant. He knew the truth and that was mainly what mattered.

"It has nothing to do with the orders from Merek and quite frankly, I don't even think he cares that I've been watching over you along with the knights. Not once has he come to me asking about what you're doing or how you're feeling. The only time I speak with him is when we're all together in the groups like breakfast this morning and talking about stupid things like the hunt." Wow Tristan was talking a lot more than he was used to and he wasn't even sure why it mattered so much. Giving Kendra the wrong impression was just something he didn't want to happen, so he was trying to make sure she knew the truth. "Right now too, I'm helping you because I want to. If I get in trouble when I get back, so be it but it would be worth it. More so if I get to know more about the real Kendra."

 

[SparkleBreaker]

Finn Kreger
​

Dirt and stone hit all over his body, one particular sharp stone nailed him in the cheek, cutting him and causing him to wince. The goblin had the greater advantage as he got to use his weight and muscles against Finn as he pushed down harder. The chanting continued, but none of it was breaking his concentration as he was holding his own, for the time being. There was an ache in his arms that grew stronger the longer the two were battling it out. The vile beast gnashed its teeth together as it bent over the sword more to increase its odds. It was starting to win. The sword inched closer to his throat and his eyes grew large with fear as it became very clear he might now walk away from this. The creature knew it too as it wore a proud grin as if it had already won the battle. Finn was still giving it his all and not getting distracted by the vermin until he heard a familiar voice in distress call out no. 

It wasn’t his best decision, but he turned to where he heard Neva, giving the goblin even more of advantage. He had to make sure she was alright and she was. Something, someone had all her attention as he followed her gaze to the goblin that was inching closer to him, a knife at the ready. Her cry grew louder and he did his best to push his attacker off him, but was not winning. Suddenly the creature let out a cry of pain as stalagmites pierced through its body. Finn was able to push the fiend off and over him. His body was flooded with relief as the rest of them were scared off and they were no longer in danger. The relief didn’t last long as he heard a body dropping to the ground and saw Neva pale and on her side. Panic took over and he rolled on his stomach and began to crawl only to be stopped by the pain in his leg. He groaned, but swallowed the cry his body wanted to let out. The dagger was still stuck his leg. He heard her calling his name and looked over to her. “I’ll be right there.” he told her, holding eye contact for a few seconds. Then he sucked in a huge breath and held it while he removed the knife that was preventing him from moving. His body recoiled in to the fetal position as he did his best to regain his composure. Tears came to his eyes, but he had not time for them as he needed to get to her and look strong. 

“Neva?” he said his intention to keep her awake as he crawled over. There was no way he was standing on the leg at this point. Finn crawled right up to her and pulled her upper half close to him so her head was in his lap. “Neav?” he said, bent over her and running his hands through her hair. “Stay with me. Please, please, please stay with me.” he urged, more like pleaded. There was panic in his voice as he continued combing through her hair the other and now cupping her cheek. “Neva talk to me. Don’t leave me right now.” he was going to lose it if she did. There was no way he could carry her to safety right now and those vile mongrels would be back, probably in larger quantity and stronger. Not that was really bothering him or worrying him. He just wanted to know if his best friend, the person most special to him in the world, was going to be alright. This had never happened in training and he didn’t know what was happening to her. 

 
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Princess Kendra
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A bit of guilt consumed her when she accused him of spying, but she had to figure out if he knew about her powers. Since he mentioned her successfully ditching him, she knew he had no clue. The King not asking wasn’t a surprise. She wasn’t his kin or next in line so he only dealt with her when he needed to in the public eye, but that wouldn’t mean he didn’t want reports if she was doing anything fishy. “Sorry.” she apologized” looking down slightly out of embarrassment. “It’s not really something someone wants to hear that they’ve been watched without their knowledge.” she added, swallowing the uneasiness that was evident in her speech. “AND it is very evident you do as you please.” she added, rolling her eyes behind his head. The last bit of his spiel repeated in her mind ‘More so if I get to know more about the real Kendra’. It caused a sensation in her stomach that didn’t happen often. Nothing really gave her the butterflies anymore and it was nice to feel it again. The all out in the air let her relax a bit more as she looked around and enjoyed what was around her for a bit. There wasn’t much that she could see, but she soaked it what she could as she prepared to counter his rant he had earlier on how she was going about things. Sucking in a giant breathe, she let it out as she was ready to give her counter argument. 

“Just so you know smarty pants, I’m working with what I got.” she sighed heavily, glaring at the back of his head. “Neva, my sister, didn’t exactly divulge her master plan of rescuing me. There was no way those two would make it inside the castle undetected, which meant it been all for nothing. My sister, I truly do love, but she does not understand sometimes that she cannot do as she pleases. Something the two of you have in common. And I’m growing quite tired of playing pretend. . . I miss my home too.” Her voice was growing shaky towards the end of the sentence and she paused to regain her normal voice once more. “I only got the letter yesterday confirming when they’d head out and there was no way of telling her my plans because honestly I never thought it would come to this. Thought my parents would break and bring me home.” The thought of them not breaking and letting her come home sort of riled her up some. It was something she was struggling to forgive them with, sending her away. “I’m aware the world is vast and this is just like looking for a needle in the haystack, but it beats sitting in the castle like some damsel in distress.” It was all out now and she felt better for it. His cockiness and tone of annoyance had slightly gotten under her skin earlier.
 

 

[pyreshadow]

Princess Neva
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Neva could hear it, the shuffling of something on the ground and what she thought to be a voice. It was far away though, too far away for her to actually hear it. She tried to move even just a little bit but her body refused to listen to her. This time it was an entirely different reason than the fear she felt earlier. She'd never lost control of her powers like she had now so this likely was the consequences of it. Or at least she thought it had to be since it never happened before. She heard something closer to her this time and glanced to the side to see nothing more than a blurred outline of someone. She knew it had to be Finn though since no one else called to her the way he did. There was no resistance when she was pulled into his lap but she had to fight rather hard to keep her eyes open. It only got harder when he started combing through her hair so tenderly. At least she could hear him more clearly now than she could earlier when he was so far away. She knew he was safe from that creature too, that he wasn't going to die...but then there was that knife that had been stabbed into him. If that wasn't taken care of sooner rather than later, things could be so much worse than they are now. Neva opened her mouth to say something but ended up swallowing to wet her throat first.

"...rry..." The word couldn't even be heard by herself so she doubted Finn would be able to hear it. Taking a deep breath, she turned her head slightly and reached out with one of her hands until she could take a hold of his hand on her cheek. "I'm sorry." A fresh set of tears trickled down her cheeks as she held onto him as much as her body would allow; it wasn't much but it was better than what she could have done earlier. 'B-Because I k-kept thinking of that nightmare, I-I couldn't help. I froze and c-couldn't move and because of it you almost..." It hurt just thinking about what could have happened if those stalagmites hadn't shot up from the ground. "I don't...I don't want to lose you, Finn. I'm sorry." The frost beneath her was slowly starting to grow again but not nearly as much or as fast as it had earlier. "Your leg...we need to get your leg looked at..." Neva's voice trailed off a little as her vision darkened and her body was giving in to its tiredness. "I'm so sleepy though...too much power at once...I think..." Neva forced her thoughts to be voiced as best she could as her eyes closed, more than just a little ready for sleep to come. It wasn't the time or the place but she couldn't stop it from happening. She was struggling and fighting with every bit of energy she had left but it was useless at this point. "Sorry....Finn." It was the last thing she remembered saying before she felt herself starting to pass out.

Tristan Doherty
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The ensuing silence after his talk didn't bother Tristan in the least; quite the contrary as it helped to still some of the thoughts floating around in his mind. Well, not so much thoughts but more like questions that kept popping up. Seeing as he had no answers for them, he pushed them to the back of his mind and just focused on where they were going. Her apology caught him off guard but he didn't turn to look at her this time. Instead he listened to what she had to say at first before letting out a small chuckle. "Better you hear about it now than later down the line from someone else and end up more pissed." At least she heard the truth from Tristan himself, which was a big deal in itself. Most people wouldn't come clean about something like that or they'd try to hide it in some way or another. As another round of silence ensued, Tristan changed the direction the horse was going as the trees were starting to get a bit further apart from one another the more that the horse walked along. Hearing Kendra take in a breath, he let out an inaudible sigh as he had a feeling where this was going to go. He didn't stop it from happening though and just listened quietly to what she was saying. A chuckle escaped with the name she called him and he was half tempted to turn around to stare at her now. He didn't though, but he was growing curious about this sister of hers now. It caused another laugh from him when Kendra compared the two of them in a way. The smile faded rather quickly when his thoughts started to wonder exactly why her parents sent her away in the first place.

"Kendra." Tristan resisted the urge to sigh again as he thought about exactly how he should word what he wanted to say. Technically she was doing exactly what she compared Tristan and her sister with doing: whatever she pleased. But she was at least aware of it to some degree so there wasn't much he could say about that. For a couple minutes, he didn't really say anything as he just kept his gaze fixated on what was in front of them. It wouldn't be too much longer now before they reached the main road and from there it'd be easy enough following the road to the border. "So we start by visiting some of the bigger towns then." Tristan finally started, deciding it best not to bring up anything else that had been talked about for the time being. "We can ask the townsfolk if they've seen anyone matching your sisters description and if they haven't, we tell them to keep an eye out. That way if she does happen to pass through and someone notices, they can let her know where we're heading. That might help to make things easier since we could just spend a day or two in each town as a precaution before going on to the next one. Eventually we'll come across her and this guy traveling with her. Then you can go back with them to your kingdom and live happily like you wanted to." Only it might not be such a happy ending like Kendra was hoping for. "What makes you think your parents won't send you back when you go home though? Something must have happened if they wanted to send you all the way here."