Fantasy Drops of Ember (with TheDarkButterfly)

[TheDarkButterfly]

He followed after her, carefully shutting the door behind them and plunging them into a deeper darkness. "Just keep going forward." Knight told her softly, his voice echoing slightly in the enclosed space. "You'll reach a door that will open out into the woods outside the walls of the city. From there we'll be able to make it to the base. Then we can take a hot bath and a rest."

He gently put a hand on the small of her back, lightly pushing her forward. He wouldn't mind being about to get back to his room so he could remove the mask. While it was very much necessary, it wasnt very comfortable.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

When the door closed, the darkness that extended beyond them was almost overwhelming. She squinted into the darkness, suddenly clammy hands squeezing onto her knife. If someone was waiting to ambush them, it'd already be too wait. Knight's whisper from behind her almost made her jump. She gritted her teeth against the annoyance and lifted her chin up, trying to portray how suddenly not nervous she was! She nodded at her companion's words and went to take a step forward, but the hand at the small of her back stopped her -- or would have, if he wasn't pushing her forward.

She sucked in a deep breath, trying to ignore how that hand felt. Familiar and more than a little calming. And in the darkness, those feelings seemed to multiply. It almost drew her back to that moment in the garden... She mentally shook herself and started forward. Thankfully, her eyes were starting to get used to the dark and she could get by just from putting her hand to the wall.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

They walked through the darkness for what seemed like forever but really had only been a couple minutes at most. The door they reached in the darkness led out to the woods surrounding the castle city. Knight paused a moment, getting his bearings, before picking a direction and starting to walk into the woods.

He lead her in silence for quiet a while, seemingly in a random direction. Then there was a faint light in the distance that they were heading toward. Soon they came upon what looked like a tiny village nestled in the trees. People came out to greet them and Knight smiled in relief.

A woman with short cropped chestnut hair and almost amber eyes came up to greet them. She looked like she knew how to fight. "I see you were successful." She said to Knight and turned her attention to their guest. "You've had a hard couple of days. Welcome. Walk with me and we'll get you cleaned up as we talk."

The woman led Cinder away from the gathered ground of people, Knight staying behind to talk with them. "My name is Amelie, but please, just call me Ame." She opened a door to one of the houses, letting Cider in first and following her in. There was a steaming bathtub in a corner, guarded by a screen from the rest of the room. "Go ahead and wash up there. I'll get you some real clothes. Would you prefer pants or a skirt?"

 

[Shy2Infinity]

Even with her eyes getting used to the darkness, she still stumbled multiple times. To the point that she was starting to wonder if she should grab onto Knight's shoulder, just so she wouldn't trip and fall onto her face. She decided to walk closer to him and grab onto him if she was certain that she was about to stumble. It was a fair compromise to herself, even with the awkwardness. By the end of their trek, she found herself gripping his arm anyway, if only to keep herself held up. She was gasping for breath, exhausted by all of the events that had happened that day. Her legs ached, quite unused to long treks after two days of nothingness.

When they finally reached the end of their journey, she felt an abrupt surge of relief so strong that it made her stumble. Still, the sight of the people coming to greet them made her wary. But the smile on Knight's face made her want to loosen up.

She reluctantly pushed the hood of her cloak back and noticed a woman coming to greet them. The woman spoke to Knight and then turned to her, giving her no time at all to study her. At the offer to follow her, she hesitated and side eyed Knight. But he didn't seem too worried. She let out a puff of air and without much thought, followed after her. As the cloak fluttered around her legs, she paused, abruptly realizing that she should probably give this back to Knight. But with the woman not stopping, she shook her head. Later, she promised.

As the woman introduced herself, she nodded. "Cinder." Even as she gave her name, she suddenly wondered if these people might already know her. "I see you were successful," all these people were in on Knight's mission to bring her back. They had to know about her more than she was aware of. She wasn't sure how she liked being known to such an extent. As Ame followed her into the house, she carefully eased the cloak off of her shoulders. She studied it under the light and frowned. It would likely have to be washed, but she doubted that Knight would care...

"Pants," she answered immediately. While, yes, she was uncomfortable in dresses it was also because she needed form fitting clothes that would allow her to move around easily enough, and preferably not get snagged on branches or the like. But another thought had already snagged her. Once again, she considered a lock of hair between her fingers and, entirely impulsively, she held out a hand to stop the woman from moving. "Um, I have something to ask."

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

Ame paused a moment, looking at her. "What is it, hun?" She figured that the one before her was probably about her own size, making it much easier to find something to fit Cinder. There was a couple of shirts and pants she could spare for now, and later they could dig through some of the stores they had to get Cinder her own clothes to wear. "If it's about something to eat, it's in the works now and will be ready as soon as you're done with that bath there. I'd get in quick. The water will cool off fast." Ame added. "Soap is right by the tub and the towels there on the table behind the screen." She gestured slightly. "I'll bring some underclothes along too."

 

[Shy2Infinity]

With Ame's attention on her, she hesitated. Maybe it was a bit too much to ask for right now, considering all Ame was doing for her now. She considered her knife, pressing a finger lightly to the edge. Not hard enough to hurt but hard enough to feel the prick. "No, all of that's good and all but..." She looked up and gestured to her hair. "I was hoping that maybe you could cut my hair? Really short. Like boyish length?" She gestured vaguely towards the Kingdom. "Everyone in the kingdom has to know what I look like presently, and the Queen will probably have her guards looking for me," her lips twisted bitterly. "I want to be completely unrecognizable. I hope that's not too much trouble."

She'd already decided, perhaps ever since Knight had saved her. She was going to join them and see this through to the end, but not for them or anything of the sort. She wanted answers and she was aware that she couldn't do that alone. There was also a point where she was aware that she needed more formal training... She was an assassin, not a fighter. But that would come later.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

Ame paused a moment and then smiled at Cinder, tugging on her own short-cropped hair. "Too much trouble? Cinder, my dear, cutting hair isn't trouble at all. Believe me, the boys may be surprised at first, but they respect a girl who can kick their ass, short hair or no." She winked lightly at her. "The real question is: how short do you really want it? My length or a little longer? My teacher always had her's cropped right to her head. I personally never liked it that short, but this length still makes it harder to grab onto during a real fight."

She pointed to the tub. "But first, you need to clean up a bit. It's better to cut clean hair than dirty. And I won't take the blame if it's not perfect, ok? I'm a fighter, not a hairdresser." She laughed lightly.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

She decidedly liked this person, Ame. She had the air of someone that could fight and wasn't even rude about it. However, the woman's words about the boys drew her attention and she huffed, sticking out her chin somewhat haughtily. "I don't care about them, I just want it all gone." Of course, then Knight's appearance decided to wedge itself into her mind and she couldn't help but imagining his reaction when he noticed her. A mask would probably be hiding his face once again. Would surprise play out behind that mask? Disgust? Hell, maybe he wouldn't even recognize her! That was kind of what she was going for.

"Your length," she decided and her lips quirked slightly. The only reason she'd had her hair so long to begin with was as another type of weapon to seduce the prince with. She wanted him to perceive herself in a feminine way, give herself an allure that he couldn't resist. And yet, despite that she'd only gone to seduce and murder him... She'd had something resembling fun with the tyrant prince. That was a dangerous thing, in her line of work. She'd almost stopped herself from going through with it.

The faint smile faded from her lips and she nodded. "Of course." Her attention turned towards the bath and stars. Was it possible to salivate at the thought of simply bathing? But it wasn't so simple to her. Those two days in the cell had not been kind to her. She was caked in dirt and her hair all matted and tangled. Her muscles still ached from the trek and she worked her feet over to it, hoping that the thought of a warm bath would put some more pep into her step.

She was more than relieved to shove the ratty dress off of her shoulders.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

Ame quietly left Cunder to bathe in peace a momebt, taking the time to gather clean clothes and an extra knife to cut Cinder's hair with. She stopped a moment to chat with Knight, learning of his new nickname granted to him by Cinder. After they talked a moment longer and than Ame was back off to give Cinder the clothes and a new haircut.

Knight watched the warrior woman go a moment before he turned to his own given home to change into his proper attire that had been given to him after he had first come to this place. He took the time to remove the mask where no one could see his face, letting the skin beneath breath a moment before washing it and patting it dry. Then the mask was back on and he sat on the bed, carefully exchanging the black boots to the white and silver-trimmed ones that matched the outfit. They had certainly decided to make him a symbol of the the revolution. He sighed softly before standing and slinging the white cloak around his shoulders, fastening it on the right shoulder with a silver rose brooch so his sword hand was free of the fabric. With outfit complete, he truly cut a striking figure, seeming almost etherial or having walked straight from a legend.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

She wasn't sure how long she sat in the bath, sinking in the water up to her chin. On her aching muscles, it was a balm unlike any other. And yet, she was also forced to think about rather unsavory things as she saw there. Things like the dying prince, the Queen, the simple fact that she had far more questions than answers. It all made her so jittery. She ultimately decided to get on with bathing herself and force the thoughts from her mind. She wouldn't be able to answer her questions by being idle, after all. She discovered that there were all sorts of different markings upon her body that hadn't been there days before. Like the rope burns on her wrists that were still, against all odds, turning purple despite the ointment Knight had given her. Or the bumps on her feet that were sore to the touch, likely from the long trek.

She put a hand to her cheek, feeling for the bruise there that had happened when she got too snippy for a guard.

Cinder sighed and continued on with her bath. Afterwards, she soaked in the bath until the water was cooling and Ame had come back. She languidly blinked at the woman. It was clear that she was very much enjoying a nice bath, and she was not prideful enough to hide that.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

Ame chuckled lightly. "Feel better, Cinder?" She set down the clothes and pointed at a chair. "Go ahead and get out wrap up in that towel there. Then I can cut your hair real quick and then off to dinner and a warm bed! How's that sound?" She smiled at Cinder for a moment before turning to give Cinder some privacy. "I'm afraid there's not much we can do about those bruises other than making them a little less painful, but good food and rest will heal them up quick I'm sure." Ame folded her hands behind her back.

"So, any questions so far? Hopefully, I can answer any of them."

 

[Shy2Infinity]

"Much better," she mumbled. If only she could stay in the bath forever, but that was impossible. I wouldn't mind dying from too much bathing... Just two days locked away in a prison cell, with no bath and very little food, had given her a different perspective on things. Still, she had to get a move on. Heaving herself up, she crept out of the bath and immediately regretted it for the chill that sucked away her warmth immediately. Biting her lip against a sudden shiver, she hurried to grab the towel and pat her hair down and then wrap it tightly around her chest. The mention of food brought with it a sudden emptiness in her stomach, and she bit her cheek all the harder. Food sounded amazing right then. And the mention of a warm bed also sounded great.

She struggled between wanting to fall onto a warm bed and wanting to eat until she was full. She swallowed thickly and tried to focus on the last thing Ame had said. This would be the perfect opportunity for her to get some answers, at the least. "I do have a few, I guess." Cinder grabbed fistfuls of hair between her fingers and scrunched them up, wringing out as much of the water as she could. "How long has this rebellion been at work? Or at least this village in particular?" She couldn't help but thinking not long. After all, how was it that the Queen or the prince had never discovered this place and wiped it out?

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

"It started after the death of the King. That is when the kingdom started turning and the Queen revealed her true colors. It's also when the Prince seemed to have lost his mind." She sighed slightly. "After that, we started to gather people together and started building this place. We've been able to escape notice so far, but rescuing you was our first big stunt for the revolution. I'm sure things will get a lot more difficult now that we've revealed ourselves. It was thanks to you that we were able to get started. Bringing down the Prince was a major obstacle. The biggest hurdle will be the Queen." Ane sighed again. "I'm of the belief that there would be no need for this revolution if it weren't for the Queen."

 

[Shy2Infinity]

She couldn't stare the woman in the eye then. Maybe she'd been truly oblivious, but she couldn't remember ever hearing about this rebellion. All she'd focused on for the last couple of years was assassinating the prince. That was all that mattered to her. With a sigh, she rested a hand on her unbruised cheek. "I'm decent," she answered almost as an after thought. She genuinely believed that the only reason she'd been able to get close to the prince was because they were soulmates. As an assassin, that'd been her most closely guarded secret for years. She kept it secret even from the ones that taught her the trade.

Now that she thought about it, she didn't think she'd ever been aware of the Queen's two faced nature. But it made too much sense.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

Ane turned to her and took out her knife. "Alright, ready for a haircut?" She came forwards and pushed Cinder to the chair before carefully starting to slice away the locks on her head, shortening Cinder's hair to about the length of her own. "I joined the revolution near the start of it. Me and a few others had served directly under the King before he had passed and the Queen took over the Kingdom. I had met the Prince a few times, but only briefly. He had never struck me as the tyrant he had become."

 

[Shy2Infinity]

As Ame came forward with her knife in tow, Cinder had to force herself to not get prickly. Her hands twitched and she hugged them to herself. If she had something bad in plan, she'd have already done it. The thought helped to reassure herself somewhat. Perhaps to reassure herself further, she stuck her chin up and nodded. "Uh-huh." As Ame pushed her to the chair, she sank down into it. Her shoulders were somewhat stiff as the woman sliced away lock after lock. She fidgeted somewhat, shifting her gaze from place to place without moving her head. Ame's words stuck out to her and she couldn't help tilting her head slightly.

"I was a child when the King died, quite suddenly." She clenched her jaw together. She hadn't realized just how bad it was back then, being a child and all. "I think he was a nice man though. I remember that he used to throw extremely extravagant parties for the prince and invite all the children and their families in the kingdom." Yes... Even she'd gone to one. And the memory of that...

Badump. Badump. Putting a hand to her heart, her hand curled into a fist.

She decidedly said nothing about Ame's latter point. She and the prince were around the same age and as they grew up, she was unfortunate enough to see those changes first hand. But then again, Ame had personally met him more than once. The urge rose to ask her about the prince, about what he used to be like. But all that would do was put unnecessary regret on her. The prince was dead and gone and if it turned out that there was something more to his tyranny than she thought, then she'd deal with that when she got to it. Instead, there was a far more useful question to be asked.

"Have you ever met the Queen?"

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

"Once, long ago. When she and the King had first married. She didn't seem so bad then, but I'm sure she was hiding her true self from everyone. The King would have never allowed her near the Prince otherwise. He was a rather doting father." There was a slight sadness in her voice, but she was smiling. "He was a good man and a good King. It's a pity we lost him so soon."

Ame finished with her cutting and put away the knife. "I must say, short hair is rather striking on you Cinder! I didn't cut it as bad as I thought either." She laughed.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

It was true. Perhaps if the Queen had shown her true nature to the King, he would have refrained from marrying her. Maybe if the Queen and King had never met, this wouldn't be happening in the first place, but all that thinking over 'what ifs' were for nothing. It didn't matter in the first place. All that mattered was what was going on now. She nodded along to Ame's words, biting the inside of her cheek.

Perhaps she'd been so distracted with the questioning that she hadn't noticed the locks of hair pooling on the floor, because when Ame pointed out her short hair she realized that there was a startling lack of weight. Curiously, she brought a hand to the back of her head and felt for her hair. A smile twitched at her lips that she tried to push back. Standing, she bowed her head to the woman. "Thank you, for everything really. I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for you all."

Realizing that she was still clothed in little more than a towel, she picked up the clothes Ame had gotten her and stepped behind the screen.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

Ame laughed again. "Thanking me? I wasn't the dashing one that swooped in at the last minute and rescued you from the clutches of the guards! Save those thanks for the heroic Knight!" She teased lightly. "But seriously, you're the one that was able to get this revolution truly started. You gave us a solid platform to work from. We should be thanking you." She glanced at the door. "Next is a good hot meal. I suppose that may be plenty of thanks from us at this point, eh? And don't you worry Cinder. Everyone here's friendly, even if they are rough around the edges. And if you need to show some of those block-head men what for, just hit 'em where it hurts." She winked at Cinder. "Worked plenty well for me."

 

[Shy2Infinity]

She didn't bother to answer Ame's first point. It was true after all. Before everything was said and done, she should probably thank Knight but there was something about the thought of that... She couldn't help being nervous about it. Her heart quickened at the mere thought of it. Everything Ame said was making her feel strangely put on the spot. It was one thing to thank someone, but it was another thing to be thanked yourself. "I'll keep that in mind," she finally answered. She patted down her pants, feeling far more comfortable than she had been in that dress. Cinder stepped out from behind the screen and rested one hand on her hip. The thought of eating some good, hot food was making her salivate.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

Ame opened the door for Cinder and ushered her out before leading her towards a bigger building with smoke trailing quietly from its chimney. "I'm sure Knight's waiting for us. Everyone would love to meet you too." She said pleasantly. "We have a little house all ready for you as well. It'll be yours from now on."

Ame opened the door to the large building, letting the warmth wash over them before she led Cinder in. There were many tables scattered through the large room they went into, many filled with various people drinking and eating. Knight sat quietly in a corner away from the rest of the boisterous crowd, the others giving him the distance. The man stood out like a sore thumb, decked out fully in white as he was. He raised a hand in greeting and took a swallow of his drink as Ame led Cinder over, ignoring the curious stares for the most part. Introductions could come after Cinder was fed and rested.

"Knight." She said in greeting as they reached the table and a younger woman swooped in with a tankard for Ame and a question of what Cinder would like to drink.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

She followed Ame out hesitantly. When she'd first come to this village, she probably hadn't given much of a good first impression with her dirty rags and such and while she hadn't thought about it then, she had now. And now she'd drastically changed her appearance. What would the others think? What would Knight think? Despite her reservations, the promise of food was almost enough to override that bit of self-consciousness. She hadn't taken much time to study the place when they first got there, what with her exhaustion, but she tried now. It wasn't long before she noticed that their destination seemed to be a large building with smoke trailing from the chimney. A mess hall, maybe?

When the door opened, a blast of warm air hit her and she sucked in a deep breath. The hunger hit her all the harder as she sampled the many scents from within, and she had to resist the urge to cradle her stomach.

As they set foot into the room, she could feel the curious stares on her. She rolled her shoulders up to her ears and tried not to let it affect her too much. They were just curious, that was all. And she was unfortunate enough to find, that hardly helped at all. As Knight came into sight, she tried to figure out what he was feeling despite the mask. She could hardly see much of his face, and she suddenly realized that she didn't like that. Why continue to wear a mask among your allies, people that you supposedly trusted? Was he trying to hide his identity even from his own allies?

Sinking into a seat, she started to tell the younger woman that she'd like just water, out of habit, but she decided against it. "... Sweet tea?" Though it was meant to be a statement, she couldn't help sounding it out into a question.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

The woman nodded at her request and darted off again, agilely dodging patrons as she went. Knight looked Cinder up and down a moment and then smiled. "The long hair was nice, but the short hair is cuter." He told her lightly, blue eyes sparkling beneath the mask. He took another drink as the woman returned with Cinder's drink and a tray filled with slices of meats and three hot bowls of soup for the three of them. She placed them all in front of them and was off again to serve the others.

Ame took no time to start digging into the meats as Knight took a spoonful of his soup. "Eat first." He told Cinder gently. "Then we can talk a bit. I'm sure you're starving. And don't worry about manners here." Despite his comment about disregarding manners, he kept his own up clearly marking himself as at least nobility. Manners was pretty much ground into his very being at this point.

 

[Shy2Infinity]

She was starting to flush as Knight looked her up and down, her shoulders tensing. It was like she was waiting for a shoe to fall on either side. When he ultimately spoke, her face became aflamed. "I-I didn't do it to be cute, or anything like that!" Biting down on her cheek, she looked away. Her heart was once more beating quickly and there was an odd kind of warmth filling her veins. No matter how she tried to keep her gaze pinned elsewhere, however, she could practically feel his playful gaze on her. Thankfully, the younger woman had brought back her drink and she was able to hide her flushing face in the drink.

The drink was so cool and refreshing, it didn't take long for her to forget about Knight's words. She blinked down at the bowl of soup, wondering if she should rouse herself to question Knight, but him telling her to eat stopped all thought. She was already feeling light headed from lack of good food, it didn't take much reassurance for her to dig in. The first spoon full make her eyes flutter shut, nearly groaning in absolute pleasure.

 

[TheDarkButterfly]

Ame and Knight shared a smile at the groan before quietly going to their own meals. The hall was lively, with much eating and drinking. It was a place to rest after missions and work for the resistance. There were a couple that was a little rowdier than others, but there were no signs of any fights breaking out at all. Knight finished first and quietly went back to his drink as Ame continued to happily eat. He watched the others in the room, relaxed but alert all the same.

Ame finally finished and pushed her empty bowl aside, before draining half her tankard in one go and leaning back, sighing contentedly. "Aaaahh, nothing beats a hot meal and a cold beer."