Nalewen (BearClaw X SirLostBoy)

[SirLostBoy]

He looked at her cautiously but have a not of agreement. He understood when she said the walls have ears. He stood up and followed her out; his hand flexing instinctively for his sword handle in case of a surprise attack. She was only a girl but her panther could still be a danger.

 

[BearClaw]

Aya felt her heart pounding in her chest, but she maintained a calm outer appearance. She just had to get him past the hill near the castle, then she could reveal herself and if it went south Durga could take him out and no one in the town would know anything and she could get back home quickly. 'You can do it Aya, Durga is stronger than him for sure.' She thought to herself as they walked.

 

[SirLostBoy]

In his head as they were walking he made note of every passage way and alley they passed. If things went down hard he needed a very quick escape plan. He guessed the panther itself might not be too much trouble but he couldn't gauge the girl's skills at all, nor could he notice any seeable weapons with her big cloak on. "If only I could signal Clarissa I could at least have eyes up top..." He thought to himself. But he shook his head; no point in thinking about things that weren't likely. He just needs on the people in front of him right now.

 

[BearClaw]

Aya retraced her steps from earlier that day and soon they found themselves out of the bustle of the town and nearing the castle. She led the way over a hill to the side so that they were hidden from anyone in the town. She turned to him and raised her hands to the edges of her hood, "I said I would reveal myself. So here goes." She said as she pulled her hood back, revealing the golden circlet that identified her as the Princess of Nalewen. "My name is Aya Vermont, daughter of the king and this is Durga." She said, gesturing to her panther.

 

[SirLostBoy]

"Well I'll be damned...." Artorius said with a sigh of surprise. "It seems the gods smile upon me today...," he murmured to himself as he chuckled and actually grinned a bit. "I thought the princess supposedly never got to come out in public... I'm guessing father doesn't know about this?" He asked as he walked towards her.

 

[BearClaw]

Aya took a step back as the man moved closer. "Um, no, he doesn't." She moved her hand to the blade hidden under her cloak. Who was he? Why did he seem so happy about who she was? She started getting nervous again, Durga picked up on this and began growling. Stepping in front of Aya.

 

[SirLostBoy]

He stopped as Durga in front of the princess. "I don't suppose I could get you to come with me peacefully could I? You wouldn't be hurt or anything. You'd be treated nicely," he calmly and as kindly as he could muster. His hand slowly reaching back behind him for his sword handle.

 

[BearClaw]

Aya shook her head. "I won't even think of going anywhere with you unless you tell me who you are. And what you want me for." She clutched the handle of her blade; if he tried anything she could pull it out pretty quickly. She had a good reaction time due to practicing with the castle soldiers. "Now I suggest you tell me who you are or I will let Durga have an early meal."

 

[SirLostBoy]

"No offense princess but I have fought much bigger creatures than your panther," he said as his hand wrapped around his sword handle. "Have you heard the name Archer before?" He asked curiously. He didn't know how much she knew or didn't know but maybe, just maybe, he could possibly get her as an ally.

 

[BearClaw]

Archer? The head of the opposing army?! This couldn't be him right? "I know of Archer... I have heard the soldiers speak about him... Why are you asking me this?"

 

[SirLostBoy]

"Well... since we're all being honest here I'm Archer... Now I know what you're probably thinking but I'm not the bad guy here so if you could come with me and we can talk about this like rational people..." He said calmly as he put his hand up in a slight surrender. " cmon whatdya say?"

 

[BearClaw]

Aya laughed, "How are you not the bad guy? You are leading an army against my father!" She shook her head, what was wrong with this guy? Did he honestly think she would go with him? "Why would I go with you?"

 

[SirLostBoy]

"Yes I admit I am fighting against your father but I don't think he has told you the whole truth ok?!" Artorius exclaimed. "Look if you come with me I can explain everything to you and why this has to be done. If you know the truth of what I do then maybe you won't see it as madness anymore," He said simply as he made slight move towards her.

 

[BearClaw]

Aya hesitated for a second before nodding, "Okay, but why can't you just tell me what's going on now? Why do I have to go with you for you to explain the situation to me?" She had agreed to go with him against what her mind was telling her. Her mind said that she should get away from him as quickly as possible and go back to the castle, but her curiosity was pushing her to find out the whole truth. She had always known her father was hiding part of the story, an army doesn't just attack and want the king's head for no reason.

 

[SirLostBoy]

"Because it isn't safe ok? I'm the most wanted man in the kingdom. My head is worth a small kingdom right now. Plus it is a complicated story that need some context so I need to take you there. Just trust me ok? Not many people get to hear this story...even people in my army don't get to hear this story...you need to hear this for yourself..." Artorius explained. He decided that is was best to leave out the part where his army would begin their siege of the castle at nightfall.

 

[BearClaw]

Aya sighed and nodded, "Fine, I will go with you to hear your story. But after that I am returning home. I have already been gone for too long. I'm sure someone has noticed by now..." She turned to look up at the castle, it looked so big from the outside... So inaccessible... She wondered if sneaking out had been the right thing to do, sure, she was going to learn something her father hadn't told her but then again maybe it was all just a plot to get at her father.

 

[SirLostBoy]

"Good, I can agree to that," He lied as he nodded in agreement and lead them away from the hill. This was war. There was no place for honoring promises he knew he couldn't keep. She was vital to their victory. He couldn't let her go no matter how bad he felt about lying to this girl who seemed to trust him. All he could do know is tell her the truth and how she stays willingly. "We will have to make a quick stop before we go. I have to meet with someone real quick. Just keep your head low and follow close." He explained as he lead them back into the market

 

[BearClaw]

Aya tilted her head and looked at him curiously, someone? Who could he be meeting? Someone from his army perhaps? She shook her head, it didn't matter, all that mattered was keeping her identity a secret from everyone else. She pulled her hood back up to hide her head and followed Archer away from the safety she knew.

 

[SirLostBoy]

They stopped at a local tavern near the edge of the town. "She should be here..." he muttered more to himself than her as he looked inside. "there she is." he said as he walked towards a young girl, about 5"3, long brown hair up in a ponytail, green eyes, and a longbow on her back. "Clarissa, I'll be back in a few hours. Some developments have happened. This could give us the edge we need." he whispered to Clarissa. "Until I get back I need you to act as commanding officer ok? Make sure everyone is in position, especially the siege men, we need them. If they aren't ready then this whole could go to waste." he explained to her. Clarissa nodded in understanding before giving him a small salute. "Understood," she whispered. She knew how important this was to him. this wasn't the time to fuck up she thought to herself. Artorius gave her a nod before making a sharp turn out of the tavern, his bright cape billowing out behind him. She smiled but then noticed a small hooded figure following him. She wondered whether this was the development he was talking about Who was that person though? She wasn't very sure what was going on, and after a few minutes of debating, she decided that after checking on the men she would see if she could tail them. For her finding her commander was easy enough; she was a good tracker that way. "Let's go going; we gotta move fast. It'll be dark soon and we don't want to be in the forest too long at that point." He explained to the princess as they walked past the outer gates of the city.

 

[BearClaw]

Aya stayed silent the whole way to the tavern and then stood back as Archer whispered something to a young girl. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but she got the impression that it was something to do with the war. This girl was probably a soldier or something by the way she saluted him. When Archer turned around again and walked out of the tavern, Aya followed closely behind. She stroked Durga's head to help her feel a bit safer. She had never been this far away from the castle, even before the war had started.

 

[SirLostBoy]

"We're very quiet back there aren't we?" Archer asked her with a curious chuckle. He wondered what her reaction would be. "Atarka get ready for our guest...." He said in his head to Atarka. "I understand," the dragon replied.

 

[BearClaw]

Aya sighed, "I shouldn't be here..." She murmured under her breath, her father would be extremely angry if he found out she had even left the castle grounds, nevermind gone off with the enemy. All she knew was that she couldn't turn back now, her curiosity had been piqued and she needed to know the truth.

 

[SirLostBoy]

" I need to ask you something.... What do you know of the kingdom's history? " he asked cautiously as they approached the forest. This was imperative to how he approached the next part. As they stood at the edge of the forest you could see something large moving the trees off in the distance.

 

[BearClaw]

Aya looked up at Archer, "It's history? Um.." All she knew was what she had read in the books in the castle's library, until today she hadn't thought that it was weird that there was more history about neighboring kingdoms than of their own. "I actually don't know all that much... There aren't any records of Nalewen's history in the castle library. I know that the war has been going on for 7 years and until today all I knew about the reason for the war was that a group of people started fighting back against the king for reasons unknown... I don't know anything about the kingdom before the war."

 

[SirLostBoy]

Archer sighed heavily. "I should have guessed that was true. So you know nothing of the island of Thassa? Or the dragonfall?" He asked sadly and somewhat angrily. Of course the King tried to erase his sins. This is why the revolution has to happen. He felt even more convicted in his cause now.