Fantasy 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐬 👑 medieval bodyswap rp

[femslasher]

𝓜𝓪𝓰𝓲𝓬... 𝓬𝓸𝓶𝓮𝓼 𝔀𝓲𝓽𝓱 𝓪 𝓹𝓻𝓲𝓬𝓮
femslasher and Cealen closed rp
OCs Pyre Pyrrhic and Lindor Sindri will be played by biwheels.
OCs Ryenne Nakev and Kaeda Arada will be played by cealen.

The Evil Queen had gotten everything she had ever wanted.
Everything went her way. Her queendom, after the death of her King.
Her daughter, the princess, ready to wed into a powerful alliance with a neighboring kingdom.
The only thing in her way was her own mortality, her fragile body, her lack of magic.

The Witch didn't go to her with trick up her sleeve. The Queen herself travelled to the woods to request a spell.
The end of the Witch's exile, in exchange for her powers. The most powerful magic known in all the lands.
The Queen gave the strands of hair, the flower petals from her mother's grave, the rabbit foot, the unicorn blood...
She put it all in the Witch's hands. She sat down, dignified, as the Witch completed the spell ritual.
Never once did she seek counsel or researched on whether the spell was right or not; her ego assumed the Witch needed her.
If she had asked, all her servants would've lied to her, in revenge. In hatred.
If she had researched, she would've found the spell name, Corpus Vortō, listed as an irreversable exchange of body. Not of magic.

The Queen is now in exile, in a body mangled from magic overuse, poisoned by years of dark magic, weak.
Powerless, and now without a key to her own city. Banned.

The Witch Queen, meanwhile, unburdened by her old body, struts back into the castle to claim her new life on the throne.
To stop her "daughter" from marrying an equally evil prince, whose father killed and pillaged his way to the throne.
For revenge, at first... and then, for the betterment of the people. Her people.
Having been evil, a pariah, exiled all these years... rejected, betrayed...

Magic may corrupt, but the throne is intoxicating. So many eyes on her, so much power.
How can she hide what she is, and make a difference?
Who can she trust?​

 

[femslasher]

Pyre // Queen Orym's castle, kingdom of Riressi.

It was meant to be, essentially, child's play.

If someone was given the chance to become royalty for a day, you typically wouldn't expect them to be taking every chance to escape into the sactity of their luxurious bedroom, hiding, fending off waves of panic. Fumbling over words, overwhelmed into silence in front of of maids and other servants eager to fulfill her every wish. Their mind hyperfocused on the tightness of clothes, the jewelry irritating their smooth skin, eyes itching from the powder on their rosy cheeks.

You would think she would be drowning in a smug sense of victory, walking through this deliriously vain world that was, suddenly, all hers. She had to wave away unbelievable amounts of gifts from other kingdoms, nobles licking her metaphorical boots in never-ending letters reeking of perfume. Yes, Pyre had stolen the one and only body that governed this kingdom-turned-queendom. Yes, she had tricked the most malicious mind the world had seen in centuries, treating her peoples like mere livestock. No one was good enough for her approval ─ from the richest man in nobility to the most penniless farmer, she was always one sentence too much away from sending them off to the dungeons. She had been the last wife of the oh so adored King, the King that once ruled over these lands with such sympathy. Or, perhaps, Queen Orym made everyone else seem so much more loving. Still, she was a symbol of hope. No matter the cruelty she showed behind closed doors, while making the real decisions and deciding sentences.

Still, she had crowds of delusional fanatics who endorsed her tight grip on the lands, forgiving her self-indulging and borderline malicious personality. All she had to do was wave nicely, throw fake smiles, and wear gorgeous clothing. Most citizens would rather fawn over pure evil, gambling a chance to stay on their good side, than rise against corruption and burn the castle down. They look to the castle as they sigh wistfully, wishing for a chance to be a lowly servant in a beautiful castle built off its people's relentless labor... all for one Queen. Who, to be perfectly honest, would never glance them a second look. Maybe it was out of nostalgia towards her late husband, King Dùghall.

Pyre was a trickster, who stole the crown from its rightful owner. And yet, ever since she first stepped in the castle in Queen Orym's body, all she could notice was how even in all her years of witchy evil she had never made people as miserable as the Queen had. The submissive workers, visibly shaking from too little food and too much work... the nobles flinching and apologizing when making eye contact... the citizens in her midst bowing so hard their back must ache, their head almost touching ground, until she walked back out of sight... maids offering to self-punish for any small mistake, crying if she forgave them, looking shocked at any thank you's thrown their way... her own daughter, the princess, not bothering to smile or be at all daughter-like with her... even the royal guards acted like well-trained dogs, erasing any trace of personality if she walked by. It all seemed so unnatural, and showed the true extent of the Queen's tyranny.

Not one for politeness, all these fearful people actually turned her relatively polite. They were akin to mistreated stray animals, and a hermit tainted by magic did not have it in her to kick them while they were down. It irked her, in a way. She had expected some sort of malevolent power play from herself, and instead was the nice one of the bodyswapping duo. And she was the well-known wicked witch of the forest. Dark magic ran through her veins. Her heart was not one to go soft.

How could someone like the Queen have so much comfort in life, and still maintain such a dark heart?

"You, maid," a young girl with messy brown hair stuffed into a maid bonnet gasped, and raised from her knees to bow at Pyre. She was sweating from washing the floors, something that only worsened when Pyre addressed her. How sad. "What is the weather outside, pray tell?"

"It's─ well, last I went outside, it was─ it is fairly cloudy Your Majesty, with a proper view of the sun," the girl stuttered. She shut her eyes in embarassment.

It must be a stressful affair for a member of royalty to directly speak to you. Pyre would've avoided causing such stress if only she knew how things really worked around here. It was taking longer than she had expected, with so many rules and such a huge place full of endless people working for her. This was still her first week in her new body and she did not possess the proper royal vocabulary. She didn't know the royal etiquette either. Nor did she know which people to ask advice from, the general daily routine expected of her, or where she could obtain a map of the castle so she could finally stop mixing rooms up when trying to find her own living quarters. She did not want to ask around more than she already had, to avoid suspicion... not many would suspect an exchange of bodies, but one could never be too sure. She would lose her head over this if anyone found out. If they could prove she truly wasn't the Queen, anyhow.

Either way, she was stuck like this until this body died of old age or someone found her out. What a strange golden cage to be in.

She re-read, for the hundredth time, the letter a gem guard (a royal guard of the highest rank, a maid thankfully reminded her) handed to her this morning. "Morning," she quickly came to learn, meant early afternoon in the castle. The Queen needed her beauty sleep and she had ─ according to rumors ─ more than once threatened to cut off pinky fingers in a red rage if someone dared to wake her before she was ready. This meant most of the events set up for Pyre were scheduled much later than necessary. This event was no different.

What a child the last Queen had been! This Queen, Pyre decided, would at least conduct herself like an adult and not some nitpicky toddler. She would get relentless migraines if she tried to maintain such an idiotic lifestyle. She would at the very least be awake alone in her bedroom, getting some well-needed alone time before swarms of maids came to dress her up for the day and pamper her with compliments, unnecessary apologies, bringing her tea biscuits until she lost appetite for breakfast. If she hadn't already. All the perfumes and tight corsets made her nauseous enough as it was.

Sharply breathing out at her angry thoughts, Pyre put more important things at the forefront of her mind: an extravagant ball a mere few hours away in carriage.
It took place in one of the more well-off neighboring kingdoms, the kingdom of Moryen. South of Riressi. Despite its wealth, it was hoarded by its king and mere pennies went to its people. Still, a predictable choice for a grand ball welcoming hundreds of royals from dozens of kingdoms. On top of practically every single noble in all the kingdoms, there to slobber all over the royals in a display of wealth and adoration. The last place she would've wanted to be, had she still been the same witch rotting away in her tent, with her moldy potions and anti-social attitude. Now she had no choice.

Her anxiety rose and she could hardly breathe thinking of it, yet as she looked around no one noticed. They were all too busy respectfully avoiding her gaze... she knew if she stared a little longer, they would start giving her wide, forced smiles, offering numerous options to satisfy her Highness. It would do her no good, and she would much rather face these stressful feelings on her own in this glamorous tea room overlooking her property. The teacups alone could be sold to feed an entire family for years.

She did not know how to handle herself in "her" own home, in "her" castle, without feeling faint from all the pressure. How could she handle a full-blown ball, maintaining conversations with the most powerful of royals, who certainly had already met her before and would be scrutinizing her to pieces? How could she ever memorize the order of ustensils used, what words were proper and which weren't, how to curtsy without tripping, how to mingle without shaking in her heels?

She was no royal. She was a simple witch who spent more time in her life with squirrels and birds than she ever did with people. The few people she did have relations with were the bottom of the barrel, the scum of the Earth, even to her. A few thieving kids here and there weren't too unpleasant, but they tended to run as fast away from her as they could, expecting her to curse them where they stood. She could not handle such a high-stake environment, especially not so soon in her body switch... she needed weeks, perhaps months, to fully get the handle on this deliriously difficult lifestyle. To really give into her role of Queen Orym, and not fumble or accidentally reveal herself. Her mind was racing with outrageously humiliating outcomes that could very well come out of this mess.

A low voice came from the balcony above the tea room, followed by an amused huff. "Now, what tomfoolery did our old friend Finrond get up to, down in Cyne?"

"Dreadful kingdom, that one." Another, much higher and younger voice came. It paused, she assumed to take a sip of a drink or a puff from a pipe. "He found himself someone to take care of that business of his, to hide the mistress. Some mercenary or other. The old chap brushes me off, but I know what I saw."

A handful of maids got up, visibly ready to tell off the gentlemen on the balcony above for disturbing the Queen's peace. She held a hand up in protest, and they went back to quietly scrubbing the floors and brushing her short hair into braids.

"I may have use of him as well, I'll tell you that much. Servants aren't willing to go the extra mile these days."

"Her," the younger lad corrected. "Blonde, muscular, scarred... from God knows what." She heard him step around on the balcony, but from this angle could not see him. He cleared his throat. "She gave me quite a fright when I saw her beside Finrond in town. He looked like a frail little boy next to her."

"Huh. Strange, those people in Cyne. Strange indeed. Barely a kingdom, if you ask me."

The voices got increasingly muffled as the two went back inside the castle, until all that was left was the sound of her maids and her pounding heart. The panic was starting to die down, and these two idiotic nobles gave her quite the idea to get her out of this conundrum.

"Maid girl," many girls looked up, even those much too old to be called "girl" anymore. She pointed at the one she meant, the one she had asked the weather to, and the rest looked back down at their work with flushed cheeks.

"Yes, My Highness," the girl said, brushing dirt off of her apron. "Your Majesty," she corrected herself, eyebrows furrowed. "My Queen, how may I aid you?"

"Find that Cyne mercenary girl. Send her a letter requesting she meets me..." she hesitated, unsure the typical way to do this, trying to think up an appropriate place. Nothing too public. "No, scratch that. Demand her presence at the castle for the most urgent matter. I have work for her."

"Cyne mercenary girl," the maid muttered under her breath, unsure. Still, she sent a glowing smile her way and bowed not once, not twice, but three times. "Consider it done, my lady." Once getting out of sight Pyre could hear an older maid scolding her for her not-quite-polite-enough phrasing, but the Witch Queen was more busy mentally planning out how she would discuss this delicate matter with the mercenary. A few minutes later a meek, high strung servant came to her, a pre-written letter in his trembling hand. He bowed. She looked it over, nodded ─ the boy deflated in relief ─ and proceeded to officialize it. She signed Queen Orym's signature which, days before, she had memorized and practiced late at night in the royal library... and stamped the royal seal on it, finalizing the process. She barely noticed the boy bowing out of the room with the letter, leaving to mail it as soon as humanly possible.

The mercenary issue still lingered in her mind. Each option seemed more precarious than the last.

Lie to her? The mercenary will think her insane, requesting such a nobody to teach her the ins and outs of the royal life.

Tell her the truth? She dared not think of what may happen. Would she tell someone? It's unlikely anyone would believe her, most would think her mad or trying to spout lies about majesty, even fighting on Pyre's behalf and waving it off as nonsense... yet, it was a notable risk.

She would omit the truth, and tell her if she earns her trust, Pyre resolved. And if she told someone, well, Pyre was the Queen. Anyone speaking against the Queen would face horrific punishment. She wouldn't maintain the "horrific" part of that, but she certainly could punish the girl to some degree, or pay her off. She couldn't confide in any of the maids or workers who have known her too long; it would be out of character and lead to endless gossip. She needed someone with nothing to lose, and everything to gain from this affair. Someone she could pay exorbitant amounts of money to learn how to be a royal on her behalf, and teach her. A neutral party.

This Cyne girl better be worth her weight in gold.

 

[Cealen]

Ryenne // Cyne, Kingdom of Riressi

The door creaked loudly, swinging open and hitting (more or so slamming) into the opposite wall. Ryenne always found that she didn’t know how much force she was putting into these damn things. The house felt warm, and Ryenne could see a little fire burning in the firestwad in the center of the room. A middle aged woman was sitting by the fire, busy with some menial task, before looking over at Ryenne’s way at the sound, giving a smile at her and getting up, walking over to Ryenne.

“Ah! Hello, Ryenne!” Everyone knew her name in Cyne, it would be more weird if they didn’t. “Is...there something you need?” She spoke with an excited tone in her voice, most likely knowing already what Ryenne was here for. Ryenne couldn’t blame her excitement.

“Hello…” Ryenne never knew how to match excitable people’s energy. So she stopped trying a long while ago. “How is...Veric doing?” The woman sighed heavily at the question.

“Better, but not great...he usually never gets this sick during wintertime, I’m worried it’s something worse…” Ryenne couldn’t help but find it sweet how worried mothers always got after their children.

“...I’m sure he’ll get through it, please don’t worry yourself. But still...here.” Ryenne jostled around her small bag around her hip, her armor clinking against one another as she moved her arms. Wearing armor all the time helped a lot with keeping warm, so it wasn’t like she was going to take it off anytime soon. She produced a few coins from her bag, holding it out in her fist waiting for the lady to put out her palms to collect them. She dropped down the coins into the lady’s outstretched palms.

“That should cover any medicine, right?” Ryenne had already counted before handing out the money, something that she just had to do to ensure everyone who needed it got something, at least. It felt kinda bad determining who “needed” more money and who “didn’t” need more money. The woman in front of her seemed about to burst out in joy.

“Oh, Ryenne, you really are an angel!!” She cried out happily, going in to attempt to hug Ryenne, but Ryenne did a quick maneuver away.

“Uhm...please don’t hug me, actually. Just...use it for what I gave you it for, that’s all I ask.”

“Of course, of course! Veric will be fine in no time, now!” It wasn’t out of greed that the woman was happy over getting money- it was really out of just finally being able to take care of her son properly, a sense of joy of finally being able to have some hope. Ryenne...felt happy seeing that, obviously. It was all...worth it, wasn’t it...Ryenne didn’t particularly feel too happy about the noble, who’s name she didn’t even try to remember, being the one who paid her that money in the first place. It’s the only way to get money out of those shitty nobles...Ryenne shouldn’t be thinking of those assholes right now, though. She should be enjoying seeing the joy in this mother’s face.

“Oh, I have to do something for you, definitely! It’s only fair! Is there anything you need, dear?” The woman, as usual, insisted on paying Ryenne back something. Ryenne felt so awkward accepting something, so she would do as she always did- give a polite “no thank you”, before walking away.

The cold air made Ryenne actually miss the usually hot dryness of Cyne. Her armor clinked as she walked through Cyne, seeing as it was the same as it always was. Augh. Had Ryenne really done nothing to improve anything here? It always looked the same, even now, even when she was a child, and probably even forever. Ryenne felt that creeping feeling of uncomfortableness spread out through her body, whenever she looked out and saw the state of Cyne. It was an uncomfortableness born from affection for her hometown and it’s people, that life was...like this.

What’s wrong with you. Stop thinking this way. Ryenne chastised herself. She had more work to do thank sulk all day. She heard the other townspeople saying hi to her as she passed by, with Ryenne not stopping to say hi back. She thought of who else she should check up on. Ah, maybe Krones still needs more fire wood, or Hari still just wants someone to talk to, or...many names filled Ryenne’s thoughts as she tried to figure out who she should attend to. Her feet were walking on autopilot, and whoever she saw first would be the lucky person.

She spotted it out of the corner of her eye, that color that made Ryenne sick to her stomach seeing it. It was the royal purple color of Riressi, the representation of royalty that they all liked to clad themselves in. This purple was more muted, it appeared, though- a messenger, it appeared like, with his messenger bag filled with letters to the brim approaching her at rapid speed. Ryenne, as much as she doesn’t want to, had to realize that the messenger was going after her.

“Greetings. I have an urgent message addressed to you.” The messenger spoke in a firm, stern voice, before handing a letter to Ryenne with an outstretched arm. Ryenne forcibly grabbed the letter, seeing that there was the seal of Riressi on it- a wolf, with its teeth bared and it’s claws out. Fitting for Riressi. Giving no care to preserving the deal, Ryenne ripped open the letter.

Salutiations Ryenne Nakev,

This is a message of summonings from her majesty, Queen Orym, to her castle in the capital, Lebury. Please attend to this summonings immediately, and receive counsel from her majesty. You are expected to come in a week's time.

Dated: 02/4/XXXX

Ryenne felt multiple emotions, staring at the letter in her hands, her hands gripping onto the paper somehow even more tightly than before. She felt mostly anger- the way she is given no information whatsoever, or even a choice not to go, and the fact that she’s working for the queen pig herself, Orym, was enough to send her off her rocker. Well, great, not only is Ryenne now having to deal with an evil queen, she has a full 3 days to even get there! What the hell took this messenger so long?! Ryenne sighed heavily, and as much as she didn’t want to go, she guessed she had to, because she wasn’t an idiot. She didn’t...want to leave Cyne though...there’s far too many people she still needs to help here! How could she just...abandon them?

“Uhm...excuse me, but I do have another important message for you.” The messenger spoke slowly and carefully, seeing Ryenne definitely be expressing some emotions right now.

“...What is it.”

“I am able to provide you transport to Lebury, so please do not be worried by the postmark on that.” Ryenne huffed. Well, she’s just expected to up and leave, isn't she,
truly?

“....Let me say goodbye to everyone and get ready.” She said with a heavy sigh.

\x/x\x\/

Kaeda // Moryen Castle- Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

Kaeda could swear stray dogs were treated even better than this.

He was being dragged down the long cellars of the dungeon by the scruff of the back of his shirt, two guards flanking his sides, with one holding his arms down- Kaeda guessed they ran out of handcuffs to put him in. Their breaths echoed off the walls of the dungeons, as they grunted as they all walked down the hallway together.

Kaeda was quickly back in his own cell...yet again, being shoved in by the guard that was holding his arms down with force. Great hosting here in the castle dungeons! Kaeda groaned, turning around to go and face his assaulters.

“Thanks for showing me to my room~.” Kaeda hummed in a song song voice that he knew pissed the guards off. One of the guards scoffed at him.

“You’ll be able to leave sooner if you fucking talk, actually, you peice of shit.” The guard sneered at him. Was Kaeda supposed to feel scared at him right now?

“I told you already, didn't I? Sheesh.” Kaeda huffed. “I don’t know where your stupid claymore is. Stop bothering me about it.”

“Yes, you do, like we are to just believe you blindly!” The other guard spat in a snively voice. Kaeda just shrugged his shoulders.

“I’ll get out of here eventually, so I don’t know why you’re even bothering both me and you doing this…” Kaeda gave a smug grin. The two guards gave an equally smug look back.

“Hehehe...you’re going under new supervision, you know. Good luck trying to escape then!” The guards spoke way too proudly of themselves. How exactly was having a new guard baby sit him going to do anything? Whatever, he’s too tired for this.

The two guards scurried like rats away, leaving Kaeda in his lonesome. Kaeda went and plopped down on his deluxe woodboard-and-straw bed with a raggedy blanket, it creaking loudly under his weight. Man, how could they even think someone like Kaeda would wanna steal some stupid claymore? It’s too heavy for him, anyways, and who cares about a boring huge sword?

Kaeda spread out his limbs, starting at the ceiling of his cell in a starfish position. He was soooo borrrreeddd. He needed to get out of here fast, and soon, at that matter. Ugh, he couldn’t even think of any creative ways to get out of here, his mind was too bored to let him have some imagination. Was he really just gonna rot away here? Nyrinn’s probably all tied up, or she would have done something by now. Kaeda groaned out loud, annoyed at his current predicament. Maybe whatever new guard he can annoy will be something to do, finally...

 

[femslasher]

Lindor // Tavern, Kingdom of Moryen

"You made a fine work of that meal. More ale, love?"

A pitcher was tipping near his glass, ready to refill it. "I shouldn't," Lindor replies, but the barwoman smiles indulgently as the liquid fills his glass anyway. He huffs a breath, not quite a sigh, and nods his thanks. She knows him too well already, and he hadn't even caught her name. Something ending with an "ette," he's fairly sure. Claudette? Violet? Miette? Hard to say. He always comes here a bit too late at night, before taking a final patrolling stroll near the castle and calling it a night. If he ever could call it a night in the end, often too busy to dare leave the next guy in charge. He was used to taking a quick nap somewhere quiet, usually somewhere embarassing such as the royal stables. The horses let him be, and ─ as though keeping watch for him ─ nudged him awake an hour or so later. It felt easier than making the trek back home, where no doubt his siblings would jump in his arms, request piggybacks, pester him into describing all he did at the castle, and try to play fight him. His father would insist he stays for a "quick" meal and his mother, always her eyes on the prize, would bicker with her husband on the matter. She knew the faster he slept, the sooner he could go back to work, hopefully in time for his next shift... all the pressure and the familial noises would, of course, make it only harder for him to drift to sleep. It must've been months since he last spent the night at home, and he wasn't too disappointed.

As much as he loved spending time with them, he knew his job was vital to the family. He couldn't risk disappointing the gem guards. He had worked so hard to reach gold rank as a royal guard, he couldn't handle the heartbreak in his mother's eyes if he had to announce he had been demoted to silver rank. Silver meant lower risk jobs, such as watching the dungeon, keeping servants in line, and generally spending time in dusty places with less than savory folks.

Silver guards weren't inherently lazy, but long-term silver guards... they tended to be smug, waste time instead of doing their duty, mock and belittle lower ranks, lick the boots of higher ranks, and generally be much too comfortable having "made it" as guards to actually do their job. They enjoyed their privileges a little too much, and often were children of nobles who paid their way into their rank for bragging points. He had not enjoyed his time amongst them. He didn't want to go backwards, only forwards, until he was the personal guard of Your Highness himself. He would be vying for being by the King's side, but His Majesty did not enjoy anyone being so close to him, even to ensure his safety. His son tended to protect him more than any other guard; special mercenaries from overseas, supposedly trained from birth in deadly arts, were also requested during big events. Dressed in blue, encircling him. Why he trusted strangers from other kingdoms instead of his own adoring people was beyond Lindor; still, they all needed to respect the King's choices.

That only left a shining spot next to Prince Finwe. A spot that ran through Lindor's veins. To protect the kingdom, and the royal line at all costs.

He let his now empty mug slam against the table. Yes, he thought, my great-grandfather was the past King's guard. By his side. So was my great-great-grandfather, and my great-great-great-grandmother, and so on and so forth. I was made for this. I belong in Gold, then in Gem, then by the Prince's side. Lindor's thoughts as he drank it made powerful adrenaline course through his body, making him feel energized, invincible to the world, and he did not realize how fast he was drinking until he lifted the mug once more to his lips, and it came empty.

The determination in his thoughts must have shown on his face, and in the noise of his mug on the table definitely caught some attention; a few people coughed and looked away as he met their gaze, assuming he must be working through some personal, perhaps familial, issues, lost in mixed emotions... to the contrary, he was more stable and goal-focused than ever before. He had been a tad shaky on his feet as of late, unsure if he would ever make it to the Gem rank. It had been more than two years since his last promotion, after all. But tonight helped soothe those hesitations. Lindor's shift that day had him truly feel like he belonged as a King's guard. He was reliable, resilient, catching multiple criminals, helping villagers in need one after the other, keeping track of anything unusual within the castle or worth improving... to the point that even his superiors said they were impressed by his achievements. He, Lindor Sindri, had impressed gem guards. They had verbally expressed it to him as well, something extremely unusual, as all ten of them were quite the stoic type. He needed that encouragement.

Still, despite admittedly deserving this moment of pride and an extra mug of ale that night, he turned a bit sheepish at his public display; he made a point to send friendly smiles to each table, all of which were returned. He knew them all, having helped each at some point or other. He was truly a man of the people.

Maybe it was a bit too late and he was a bit too tipsy to indulge in such mental gymnastics after a hard day. He was almost done with his shift, anyhow, having been given a quick break to eat and rest by his superior. He hadn't been here for more than 15 minutes and his absence would not greatly be missed, yet he couldn't help himself; he was already getting up. He was not the type to indulge into relaxation more than strictly necessary. Especially if it involved ale, as delicious as it was. Moderation in the good things in life was key. The barlady ─ Violetta? Barbarette? ─ insisted on him drinking some water before leaving. Her soft hand stroked his back as he drank, and he felt like a boy in bed at home once more, drinking some potion to help his fever. This woman, like his mother, was always so very patient with him. It was part of why he came by this often. He smiled, said his good night, and left.

Lindor stepped out and although he did not sway like a drunkard, he still took a moment to shake his head and blink away the last effects of alcohol. The night was cool on his warm skin and had a pleasant breeze to it. The stars were bright. A fuzzy cat, familiar although hard to recognize in the dark, came from who knows where and tangled in his legs, purring, before going back into an alley without a care in the world. He was still a bit out of it, and let out an amused chuckle, shaking his head, as he went back on his way. He was known to save all kinds of animals that were trapped or at risk of injury, as well as leaving bits of foods wherever he saw anything starving. He never really explains why, and truthfully doesn't really know himself either. He had a big heart, his father would say.

With each step he became more sober than the last. By the time he reached the stables he was fit as a fiddle. He patted his face with a cloth imbued with faint cologne to get rid of any leftover smell of ale. That was more than any silver guard returning to work after a tavern break did, at least. And they had much more than two mugs of ale, that was for certain. He wasn't sure whether to be appreciative or embarassed by how much of a lightweight he was; if he had drank two more, he would've been giggling like a little girl and ordered more food than he could eat. Thankfully, that had only ever happened with his father, on one of their camping trips to search for wild berries and mushrooms to make a soup with. He was still shy when his father brought it up. Not his finest moment, but it taught him not to get truly drunk willy nilly.

"Evening, guards," Lindor said with as much professionalism as he could muster. The two gem guards had been in heated discussions with a silver guard, next to the entry to the dungeons. A dreadful place, not one he missed much since the last time he ventured down.

"Evening, gold." The gem guard on the left said, leaning on the side of the dungeon wall. Her voice quieted the other two, who still seemed to be fuming at one another. "Ready for you shift, are you?" The gem guard on the right opened his mouth to give comment, but she raised her hand and gave a meaningful look. He huffed, arms crossed. He was the youngest of the gem guards, a fact that always made Lindor squint as he tried to wrap his mind around it... he had been trying to gain such rank since before this boy was even born, yet here they were.

"Indeed," His eyes went back and forth between the other two. "Any issues I may assist with?"

"We have a bit of a situation here. I was promised new supervision, gem supervision, for a troublemaker down there." The silver guard seemed agitated, something not uncommon. Old silvers were rather hot-tempered, used to getting things to go their way. It often made messy situations even messier.

"No promises were made, I reckon," the young guard argued. "There is much else for gems to do. We can't always tie up your loose ends."

"Enough," the other gem guard spoke, visibly tired. The debate must have gone on for quite some time already. She reminded Lindor of himself, when he tried to settle down disputes between his younger siblings.

His sympathy would either get him far in life, or drive him mad beyond recognition.

"I can spend my shift on it. Gems should not bother themselves with such matter."

"It would be a night-long supervision, nightly, until this man's sentence... it could take weeks, Lindor, I can't in good conscience."

He would also be in charge of an entire jail wing, the one this prisoner was put in, where only the most difficult of prisoners were put. The last level of the dungeons, deepest down. It had vermin everywhere and smelled rancid. He could only imagine how poorly the silver guards treated such prisoners... they were already brash enough with the two higher jail wings. He would be most certainly kept on his toes to ensure no one escapes. The troublemaker could very well use magic on him. Each night would be more difficult than the last, he was sure. He hadn't had the "pleasure" to go down that wing before, other gold ranks helping out instead. No wonder the silvers preferred to give that wing to the gems or the golds ─ they weren't used to doing real work, were they?

Yet, despite knowing how difficult the work would be and how easily he could refuse, all Lindor focused on was how this gem guard remembered his name... his name, amongst over thirty guards in the gold rank. The recognition reinforced his resolve even further.

"Please allow me. I have been running low on tasks as of late, I would be grateful for more." A white lie, to be honest. But he truly wanted this.

She looked at Lindor pensively, then at the other two ready to get back into loud arguing, then at the open dungeon doors.

"Very well. Move along, you two," the guard nodded at him with a sense of finality. The younger gem guard trailed behind her, and the silver guard went back into the dungeon without even thanking him. Or looking at him. Not that he expected any of that to begin with.

Soon enough he was left standing infront of the dungeons, tying his long hair up, steeling himself. Preparing to begin his most unusual guard shift yet. He blinked away the last of his fatigue, using some of that determination he had mustered in the tavern.

He was ready for this; the King's royal ball was coming soon, and if he worked enough this year he may help supervise it next year... as a gem guard. Protecting the King and the Prince. Wearing the blue Moryen emblem with pride, welcoming other kingdoms and protecting his own.

He was going to prove himself. No matter what mischief he had to stop. No matter how long the nights got.

***

Pyre // Royal carriage, Kingdom of Riressi

Everything finally was going according to plan, and the girl was above and beyond what Pyre expected.

She had an air of distrust, and emotional distance, about her. Unsurprising considering the circumstances. But what worked in Pyre's favor was that she was a protector of her people back in Cyne. According to her royal messenger, who asked around about her to find her location, Ryenne Nakev had a tendency to give money without asking for something in return. This means that she had people she cared enough about to work in almost any field, to provide for them. Money was what she wanted. And money was what Pyre had more now of than she could ever use. This Ryenne was a hundred percent the type of mercenary you could pay off ─ exactly what she had seeked. Even if she suspected something was off with "Queen Orym," all Pyre had to do was throw a few more gold coins her way to get her back in Cyne, mouth sealed, with regular payments for her troubles. What mercenary wouldn't be satisfied?

The Ryenne girl had taken notes of everything that Pyre had asked of her, and more or less accepted her weak excuses ─ that a) she needed someone to protect the princess, and b) she was required to memorize proper royal etiquette to be a proper guard. The deal was that first she would work for them at the ball in Moryen, and then back in Riressi for at least a month. She would have luxurious living quarters, more than enough money to use and send back home, and a well-fitted purple guard armor, with a purple cape, and the Riressi emblem. Ryenne could think of it as a vacation, if needed, a vacation where she simply had some homework to do. And someone to look after. Any Queen would want to protect her own and only daughter in a foreign kingdom. Nothing too strange about it.

"Rynne, fetch me a slice of cake." Ah, there it was. Her daughter's high-pitched voice. It felt like nails on a black board, or a big mosquito constantly buzzing around her ears. She was using the wrong name purely to annoy, she was sure. Rich children were unbelievably tiring.

"Now, now, darling," Pyre reprimanded, faking a somewhat motherly voice, "you're well aware we only brought bread and wild berries for the trip."

"She's supposed to be my dog, isn't she? If she truly values her job, she should jump out and run into one of these bakeries for me." She crossed her legs, playing with her long braided hair. "Only a failure of a guard would have trouble jumping back on. We aren't going very fast at all." She had her nose in the air, smug, expecting her mother to indulge her whims.

The carriage was, in fact, going at a fairly high speed. Only someone wishing to break their legs would go along with it... this must not be the first guard her "daughter" got rid of through her sordid demands.

"Enough of your nonsense. Behave like the princess you are, Elashor Dùghall." The use of her full name made the Princess' cheeks turn deep pink and look down, nodding. "We will be crossing into Moryen territory any minute now."

Pyre was now sharply aware of how difficult this job would be, and how even she could hardly handle a full hour in the company of the princess without pulling at her own hair in annoyance. She was akin to a toddler, although with more power over people than any toddler should ever have. She did feel a pang of guilt. She knew first-hand, in this new body, how nervewracking being in totally new surroundings could be. She didn't care too much about others, but even she wanted to make things as easy as possible. Ryenne was there to help her, in reality, after all. Witches always paid back their debt.

"Excuse her, Ryenne," Pyre said to Ryenne, leaning forward to whisper. "Ignore any outlandish demands."

It was still such a strange experience, talking to someone new in this body. She hadn't properly met Ryenne until they sat in this carriage; she was already in a guard outfit, her dirty blonde hair tied back, so Pyre did not get the chance to see her transformation, physically, from village nobody to high ranking officer. She seemed as tough as Pyre had envisioned, when thinking of mercenaries.

She also did not see the mental transformation; on the first weekend Ryenne spent in her castle memorizing and preparing for this event, Pyre had been dragged into numerous meetings for royal matters, most of which she didn't understand enough to do much more than nod, smile, frown, and answer vaguely. She had been too busy to have a proper introduction and left it in the hands of her maids and servants. Supposedly many different royal families meeting for the ball was a huge ordeal... another reason why she was incredibly grateful for a non-royal, non-noble neutral party being there to feed her information on what exactly she is supposed to be doing. She was excruciatingly tired of rich people and did not trust them with advice.

Hopefully Ryenne Nakev had learned enough in such few days to be of some help.

Or at least moral support, and someone to publicly blame if things went wrong. That, in fact, had also been discussed in the job contract; Ryenne was contractually bound to protect the Queen's reputation at all costs. Pyre needed to be able to rely on that, as strange as it made her feel to have such power over someone's actions. She reasoned that there was also a clause in the contract that, if it compromised Ryenne's morals or health, she could go back to Cyne with a certain amount of gold. Although, of course, much less gold than she would get if she is to stay the promised number of days. That made Pyre feel slightly less like a tyrant.

"Mother, is the Prince's color green or blue?" The question caught her off guard, and so did the dreamy look on the daughter's face.

Even thinking "her" daughter made her ill by now, with all her malicious traits. "The" daughter had more truth to it, anyhow, and she was not morally obligated to show kindness to this little demon. Especially as she was no young child, but a new adult freshly out of teenagehood. Queen Orym was a cruel woman to anyone, and although Pyre did not want to use cruelty, she would allow herself to be strict and a bit distant with the daughter.

"Blue," Pyre answered. "Although, as you know, it is the King's color."

"The prince will make a better King anyway, and I his Queen." A girlish giggle came out of her, and she tied a blue bow in her hair.

It came with such ease, Pyre had no doubt she had talked about her obsession with the Prince many times before with no issue... which only worsened the situation.

She had given the Princess the benefit of the doubt up until that point; they had only talked a few short times, and although she seemed snobby and full of herself she didn't think her as cruel as her mother. But now... she glanced at Ryenne, and furrowed her brows as she looked out the carriage. They weren't quite there yet, but they were starting to bypass more buildings than trees.

Attending this ball meant flipping a coin, betting on whether or not the Princess would begin an official courtship with the Prince. If they were to be wed, the Prince ─ and therefore the Moryen family in general ─ would be given access to Pyre's kingdom on top of his own. Which, no doubt, would please the King. The same heartless King who had destroyed centuries of peace in the kingdom of his so-called "friend" the very minute he fell ill and died... the same King with barbaric methods of keeping order in his kingdom, who hoards wealth for himself instead of providing for anyone outside of his main city.

Giving that same fate to Queen Orym's people... or rather, her people... and all from her daughter having the most unfortunate crush.

She needed a plan B, and fast. As well as, possibly, a plan C and D. The ball was such a major event and not much could keep two hormonal young royals from batting eyes at one another, not even a battle-scarred mercenary. If she simply ordered the Princess, as her mother, to stay far away from the Prince, it would only make her want him more. it was the stuff of fairytales, the classic "we shouldn't" attracting opposites to one another. And, Pyre knew, the King would be most pleased and push the two closer to one another the very minute he sensed her daughter's romantic affliction.

She would already be a fish out of water, staying close to her mercenary to whisper her what to do and how to do it.

Only two hours of carriage away to think herself out of this mess.

 

[Cealen]

Kaeda // Moryen Castle- Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

Kaeda had laid down there in silence, only hearing mice and rats scratch against the concrete floor and the drip of leaks that never would even get patched up to have some sense of passing time. The cell he was in currently was one of high security- Kaeda was being held in a solid brick, almost, with a heavy slab of a door being his entrance and exit of the cell, with a small, barred window on top. It was much harder to get out of here than the typical iron-barred cells he usually got sent down to. He’s just a petty thief, after all, he was never accused of doing something like this. Maybe that’s why his creativity is lulling a bit here, you can get too imaginative escaping out a cell like this. Kaeda would most likely just have to find a solution when he’s being taken out by the kind, kind guards.

He had attempted many escapes already. He had already gone through all the bobby pins he kept hidden in his hair, because no guard would ever go check there, and had broken out of his handcuffs- they never thought to buy newer ones without such weak locks- multiple times using those before, only to get captured by the guards again after a few moments. He didn’t know the layout down here, it was annoying, so he usually ended up running to dead ends. So now then don’t even use handcuffs with him anymore, hence why his hands were being forcibly held down by that guard earlier. Kaeda also getting held by the back of his shirt was another control factor that guards had to implement on him, because while they did sure like wearing armor that prevented Kaeda from employing the classic “crotch kick” he was very fond of, their heads allowed Kaeda to easily go and headbutt them from below their chin which knocked them away in surprise. So, they try to hold him back in any way possible, even getting two guards now to transport him around. He’s soooo famous!

Kaeda could sense movement from outside his cell. Call it instincts. He picked himself off the floor and wiped off the amount of crud that had accumulated on him by lying down, before going over to his little window and peering out it. Sure enough, there was someone there- definitely not one of the usual guardsmen that watched him. Augh, it was so hard to see out of this tiny damn window. Even though Kaeda couldn’t get a good look, it appeared that whoever was assigned to babysit him was definitely not a silver guard. Kaeda kinda had to know the different guard ranks, even though he found it stupid how easily the Moryen Royal Guard all color-coded themselves. Helped Kaeda out, though.

By the expert color coordination of the Moryen guard, Kaeda could tell this was a gold guard. Aw, what gives? They couldn’t get one of those fancy gem guards to watch over him instead, for how dangerous he is? Those guards from earlier sure made it seem like he was going to be watched under the best guard possible ever. Still, this was a rank above a silver guard. Maybe they’ll have more sense than the typical silver guard that just didn’t listen to Kaeda no matter what he said. These cells are supposed to be sound proof- probably so the guards don’t have some empathy for the prisoners- but Kaeda had long since found out that if you talked at a certain part of the wall that had a nasty crack on it, sound leaked through.

“Hi hiiiiii.” Kaeda hummed, loud enough for the guard outside to hear him. Gold guards weren’t used to dealing with prisoners, just the capturing of them, weren't they? Kaeda just had to appear friendly and wrongfully locked up here. Which he was.

“You’re here to babysit me, huh? Ok, here, I’ll give you a run down on your questions that I already know you’ll ask. I don’t know where the claymore is. Also I did not steal it whatsoever, I was only doing petty stuff, I’ll admit to that one. Ok, since you’re not a silver guard, you’ll have the obvious common sense and be able to tell I didn’t do it, right? Ok, so let me out? Please? I even asked nicely!” Kaeda knew this wasn’t going to work, but just one ounce of doubt and he was on the right path, at least.

“You know, they stuck me down here where they keep people like murderers and assassins, people who have taken other people’s lives. Meanwhile I’m down here because they think I stole some claymore and not only did I manage to hide a huge ass sword at the time of my arrest, I also managed to sell it off or something. I don’t even work that fast, let alone, sell off things. Why would I sell cool things for money? I don’t need it. Hmph.” Kaeda had no idea what he was going on about here, but just...he was kinda getting desperate here. It was worth an attempt at cozying up to the guard, wasn’t it, though!

“I’ve been here in the dungeons before, people know my M.O, yet I am still accused of this although I wouldn’t ever steal something boring like that. You agree, right? Unless you were given no information about me. Haaaah.” Kaeda leaned against the wall he was talking through, hoping the silent guard outside was just listening to him and not ignoring him.

~~~~

Ryenne // Royal Carriage, Kingdom of Riressi.

Ryenne is convinced that there is no hell, because she’s currently living in it.

Ryenne had gone and attended to her summonings, only to be tasked with...something more fit for a guard than a mercenary. Guards were lazy though, so maybe that’s why Queen Orym wanted Ryenne to go and play pretend guard to watch over her little demon bundle of joy that was the princess. Ryenne kept on mentally repeating to herself that the money was worth it- working such a long job was bound to have a good payment. If there wasn’t any payment...well, Ryenne would have a “kind” “”conversation”” with the queen pig herself.

Queen Orym was...certainly not what she had in mind envisioning the queen. Ryenne had to admit she had created probably such a terrible image of the queen in her mind that couldn’t possibly match up with reality, but she truly believed Orym would be a bit more...threatening? She just appeared to be incompetent currently, and seeing as Ryenne heard the maids gossiping under their breaths to one another about the queen, how she’s kind of “off” lately. They chalked it up to stress about the fancy ball whatever thing, Ryenne really could not care, but of course, Ryenne was not one to be trusting blindly in her. Besides, it’s not like Ryenne and her have been freely interacting until...today. This was probably all just a manufactured introduction that she had planned out far ahead already. Surely Queen Orym, the powerful queen of Riressi, would be able to put up a convincing front, one used in diplomatic affairs.

They were currently heading down to Moryen, where the ball would be held. Ryenne, honestly, doesn’t have the slightest clue about the other kingdom, despite living closer to its borders than to Lebury. She just never expected she would be able to travel around and be able to actually *see* other kingdoms either, ever. It was a bit nerve wracking, not only going into a totally different kingdom, but in this context, where she’s expected to be around probably a ton of nobles, all doing noble things. It made Ryenne cringe just thinking about it. At least the scenery was pretty outside, with undisturbed snow-covered forests lining the path into Moryen. It wasn’t like the scenery she was used to at home, where it just got cold, but no real snow. She sure was paying more attention to the scenery than the queen and the princess next to her, opting to avoid interaction with them the most she could.

Ryenne considered taking up the princess’ request, in all honesty, because being thrown out of the carriage would probably be better than being forced to stay here much longer. Ugh, she felt cramped in here, despite it being bigger than any wagon she took to get around. It was probably because everything felt...unfamiliar. She shifted uncomfortably in her Riressi armor despite it being specifically tailored for her, too used to the random scraps of armor she picked up during her times in Cyne. Ryenne couldn’t help but wonder what she had gotten herself into. And what’s in store for her.

She huffed, not really taking Orym’s words of concern to be sincere. At least she has the tact to tell off her demon daughter when needed to. The princess appeared to be much more excited than Orym was, and it was Ryenne who was supposed to protect her, not Ryenne protecting Orym. Judging by that certain tone in the princess’ voice, Ryenne was starting to suspect that she was really going to be satisfying Orym’s overprotectiveness in regards to the princess and the prince of Moryen. Parents can be like that, Ryenne guessed, so it was more to it then just “protecting” the princess. Ryenne knew there had to be something else if she was hired instead of someone else.

They were going to make a stop at the town coming up, a small border town, before they crossed into Moryen, for a little break, as they already were in this carriage for a while. Ryenne guessed that royals can’t go on too long without having absolute comfort. The minute the carriage stopped Ryenne rose up and quickly exited out of the carriage, actually waiting around for Orym and the princess to come out of there so she could escort them around rather than run away. Which she kinda wanted to do right now. Looking around, this town seemed to be one where simple lives were lived- the stores had nothing too flashy, but the fact that the stores actually had nice food and items for people to select from made it much nicer than anything down in Cyne. Another reason why Ryenne wished she could do more...things in general. Oh well.


The princess showed up next to her, and seemed to have taken notice of the stores as well, if that devious grin on her face meant anything. “Oh...of course! I must bring a gift from Riressi to the prince!” She seemed like she found the secret to winning over the prince’s heart. Wait, what were their names again? Ryenne should know this, shouldn’t she?

“Rynne!” The princess’s shrill voice was now being directed at her. Well, if the princess won’t learn Ryenne’s name, she won’t put too much effort into hers. “You must help me pick out a present for the prince!” Wasn't this town literally barely on Riressi territory, being a border town? How was she going to find something that screamed “Riressian” here? Shopping at least was an easy task, even though Ryenne was already begging silently for the princess to not cause the poor shopkeepers too much troubles.

“...Of course.” Ryenne said, only to be still stared at by the princess. Oh goody. “....Your Highnessssss.” Ryenne couldn’t hide the disdain she had in her voice whenever she had to use royal titles. The princess seemed satisfied and started running off to the stores, with Ryenne “hurriedly” going after her. Oh god, how was she supposed to protect this little shit?

 

[femslasher]

Lindor // Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

Not much more than two steps into the deepest layer of the dungeon, and a voice already started chattering incessantly at him. So much for sound-proofing, he thought, straightening his back with a sharp breath to re-center himself on the job at hand. Shortly after braving the dungeon doors, he was given the run-down by the previously complaining silver guard. He quickly read through the yellowing parchment with the names, reported crimes, and difficult tendencies of each person lining up the jail cells he would be managing for the following weeks. Most were here for offending the royals in some way; castle thievery, putting lives in danger, harming women or children, damaging royal property, not paying taxes for long enough, or simply saying the wrong word at the wrong time in His Majesty's presence. It was a mix bag of good people who did the wrong thing, and scoundrels without an ounce of empathy.

Sentences were thrown at him from all directions before he even made contact with this one... the suspected claymore thief. There was an entire paragraph on the parchment dedicated to him and his so-called mischievous predisposition. And how, well, chatty he was prone to be. He was referred to as "Kaeda," with no last name listed. Most of the offenses listed were minor, usually petty thieving or causing minor disturbances.

It was hard to keep track of what this Kaeda was saying, especially as the dungeons echoed and warped his voice. Still, Lindor managed to catch a few words here and there. He was right about him having more common sense than a silver guard; yet even a petty thief should know by now that a guard couldn't simply open the lock and let him go free. Buttering up the guards was a classic method, and a gold guard certainly wouldn't be swayed that easily.

By the time Lindor turned the corner to finally face the many prisoners, most sleeping on stiff beds, the guy did make a few good points on how difficult it would be to carry off and sell such a heavy, noticeable item. Now, facing him in his rather pitiful state, it seemed even more unlikely.

"Kaeda. Don't worry, I was given quite the list on you." His voice was polite, to-the-point, and he made direct eye contact, greeting him with a nod. He was of the mindset that as a guard, he had plenty of power over prisoners... and, in his position, he owed basic human decency to people trapped like mice as he watched over them like a hungry cat. Some guards would call him soft, but the way he acted actually reflected gem guards' values. It was easier to get information out of a criminal, or at least complacency, if you saw them as equal. It would be useless to make each-other's time here worse than it needed to be.

Lindor started the slow stroll along the dozen jail cells, looking for anything suspicious and keeping track of each prisoner. Something that would become a repetitive bore soon enough. Reaching the end of the line, he turned back around towards Kaeda's cell once more. "I believe I've heard of your shenanigans before. Please try not to disturb the peace too much this time around."

As he made the rounds once more, this time to take off his outer coat and put it on the table and chair where the usually lazy silver guards played card games and other time wasters to distract from their job. Instead of indulging in such foolishness, he dragged a chair towards the prisoners and sat down, staying sharp, arms crossed.

"Hey boss," a prisoner snickered from the cell to his left, toothless grin wide as his dirty hands grabbed at the bars. "Haven't seen such a fine woman on guard. What hair. What eyelashes." He made a rather disturbing laugh and slapped a hand on his knee, obviously amused at himself.

The prisoner to Lindor's right, closer to his chair, reached out with his hand to barely touch Lindor's hair. "He's more lady than my wife was." More laughter.

"Enough." He could very easily reach in there and twist their arms, teach them a lesson, but as disgusting as their words were he would not go against his own morals. He knew he should give them as few words as he could, as anything more said would be twisted for their own entertainment.

Lindor grit his teeth and pointedly dragged the chair to the other side of the prisoners, back near the stairs and Kaeda's cell. At least he was chatty, not grabby. And the nearest few prisoners were dead asleep, snoring and snorting endlessly.

It would be a long, long night.

***

Pyre // Royal Carriage, Kingdom of Riressi.

Pyre had a soul-crushing migraine. They hadn't even entered the castle of Moryen yet and still, she felt nauseous... with anticipation and with more than a little carriage sickness. Once out of the carriage the princess was already running off with Ryenne in tow, wanting a gift for the prince. This only made Pyre's head split in pain further, thoughts running wild in her mind. She needed an idea. Anything. Truly, anything would do. It wouldn't take the princess more than an hour to find something adequate to give as a present, and then they would be less than a nap's time away from the dreaded ball. She would be out of options at that point.

Where the princess ran into the shops, Pyre strolled leisurely inside. The shopkeepers, recognizing the royal seals, bowed again and again at both herself and at Elashor, whispering excitedly at one another. The ball must bring all sorts of foreign royalty to the shops in the area, something giddy young townspeople must fawn over every year. As for Pyre, she wished she was still in her old witch clothings, her potions in her pockets, protective jewelry around her neck... easily avoided, people only talking to her for business, or to shoo her away. Never had she thought she would ever miss being a hermit so much. What irony.

Hearing Ryenne barely hiss the royal terms out of her lips and dragging her feet, Pyre felt at least comforted by the familiarity. It was the looks she usually shared with fellow hermits as guards or messengers pranced about near the woods. Disgust, eager to see them walk out of eyesight. They truly lived in a completely different reality... leeches on the regular folks, on the working folks who earned them their wealth to begin with. Not being the only one disgruntled at all the fancy shmancy idiocy going around in her life helped. She thankfully didn't know Ryenne well enough to feel truly awful about relaying the role of royal guard to her; Ryenne would be paid extravagant, larger-than-life amounts, something that eased any remnant guilt about the situation anyway. It would give her, and her people, something to feed on for years if they used it wisely.

Being a few steps behind, Pyre was the one to notice before the other two did. Through the window, there it was: a wagon behind the store. No, not any wagon pulled by horses full of vegetables and grains and rolls of hay. She recognized this. It was one of the wagons used as a ruse near the woods in Riressi, often with a child coming up to nobles begging for coins, or asking to be led back to their parents... while the nobles' carriage was being ransacked and the women taken for hostage. They were an incredibly stupid group of thieves, taking far too many risks for very little reward, but whatever rewards they got was enough to keep them fed for another day. She had laughed with them before, laughing at what next antics they may do to trick rich people into offering money. They were getting more and more fearless, last she saw them.

Which meant it was bad news.

Of course they would hang around like vultures near small shops bordering the King's city. Of course they would do so with special vigor on the week of the ball, knowing nobles and royals from far and wide would travel in uncharted territories to reach the castle. How did she not see this coming?

The princess dying would solve many problems, surely, but it was definitely not part of her plan. And if that Ryenne got injured, Pyre would be on her own.

The store she had arrived in was large, and two or three stores kept open doors for the many travelers coming and going to see their wares. It made it even harder to make direct eye contact with Ryenne and signal the danger. Now, being in the store, she would be in even more danger if she tried returning to the carriage. They most certainly already had it pillaged by now.

Seeing two kids, who had been previously perusing the fresh bread, give each-other meaningful looks before sneaking out of the open side door onto the next shop... she knew there was trouble afoot. And she didn't know how well Ryenne could catch onto the ruse of the woods folks; would she feel pity and indulge them, ending up with an arrow in her neck and her hands tied? Would the princess ruin whatever protective measures Ryenne tries? She didn't have enough faith in the mercenary's skills yet. She hadn't seen her in action enough to rely on her.

A hand landed on her shoulder, and she turned around, her purple dress twirling as she did so. She looked like money. Like a walking piggy bank, truly.

"Say goodnight, miss," a voice said in her ear, and before she knew it a piece of cloth was put on her mouth and her vision went black. It was too fast for even her magic to object.

What an utter mess, she thought, before being picked up and thrown unceremoniously on the man's shoulder.

 

[Cealen]

Kaeda // Moryen Castle- Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

Kaeda already knew he would get believed for even a second, or even had a chance, really, but man, really no one was ever going to listen to him, no matter what he did, wasn’t it...Kaeda sighed and broke eye contact quickly with the gold guard outside, turning his head to the side. Kaeda had to wonder how much was written down about him on said list. It only contained the things he got caught doing, after all, not everything. Yet this gold guard was going to act all cocky and act like he knows Kaeda’s whole deal, wasn’t he?

Kaeda felt doubt at his own assessment of the gold guard, though. It was hard to really “assess” someone after seeing so little of them, also when they were in a situation like this. Kaeda had to be quick to judge people, determine who he can (somewhat) trust or if he should stay away from them. It was hard to do. The guard didn’t look at him with disdain, at least. Or at least, not as much. Kaeda can’t tell what’s going on in that gold guard’s mind. Kaeda had even less trust in any guards after dealing with so much shit from them the past few days, whether that be how he’s treated in here or the unending questioning he was on the receiving end of. Hell, he was in the maximum security cell anyways, he could tell that other guys were in regular iron bars ones further down- what did those guards make up about him? They must have fed whatever garbage they assumed of Kaeda to the gold guard.

“Shenanigans?” What a funny word. Kaeda wanted to laugh at him for using such a word to describe Kaeda’s problem-causing, but he held back his laughter. Not a smart move! Kaeda sank to the floor of his cell again, not caring too much about the filth and grime on the cell’s floor seeing as he was already so dirty. Ugh. When he got out of here he was going to jump into a river in joy. And hopefully get actual clothes again. Prison wear is so ugly.

The loud snickering of the other people in this jail wing made Kaeda want them to shut up. He couldn’t really understand what they were saying that clearly, but they were obviously annoying the gold guard outside, seeing as Kaeda heard a chair get dragged across the floor and more movement outside his cell. Awww, look, the guard likes him! Kaeda’s cozying up must be somewhat working, even if the guard acts like he’s immune to it. Kaeda is too powerful! He snorted behind the wall.

“There’s that “peace” I was “disturbing”, as you put it. Not very nice, huh? Heh…” Kaeda‘a voice trailed off a bit, thinking through his words carefully. He just needs to keep on pushing to convince….!

“This is how it’s always like. Get used to it.” Kaeda really never could, despite being over in the dungeons so many times. He got out too quickly before it would bother him too much, but other prisoners were so...brash...no wonder why he always wanted to work alone, making once in a blue moon exceptions if it was for something in particular. Other thieves would get confused and mad at him for not stealing money, since that’s boring, and other ruffians would be way too destructive. Where’s the fun in that! He also sure never wanted to work under a “boss”. He’s fine on his own. “You must see me the same as them, don’t ya?” Ok, maybe Kaeda let that slip through, he already probably knew the answer, anyways. Ugh. Why was he even trying to...? He shook his head to himself, annoyed.

“I’m tired of what all you silver or gold or gem or whatever guards are putting me through, honestly, that’s why I’m bothering you. Even though I know you’re probably not listening to me too much. It’s kinda loud in here, probably more outside, since this is supposed to be soundproofed. Maybe fix that if you’re sticking people in high security cells? Just a suggestion~.” He definitely had some annoyance in his voice, but it seemed like it wasn’t bothering him as much as it really did. “At this rate, I’m going to literally get charged with like, refusing to answer questions or stuff. Even though I am. They just don’t want to be embarrassed that they lost the damn thing. So they blame me, look good in the public’s eyes about capturing the thief, and then probably like, kill me or something while they secretly look for where it really is. No one will care then whatever did happen to me, anyways. I will just be paraded around as someone for everyone to hate, then forgotten about.”

Maybe it was a good thing the guard most likely wasn’t listening to him. God, how pathetic is he? He’s really telling all of this to some random guard? He’s just tired...he can pretend as much as he wants, but he really is stuck here. And he’ll be stuck answering endless questionings with even more threats, won’t he...jeez. If this guard doesn’t work, he’ll just try other ones, like he’s done before, and before, and before. He was hoping the fact that this one was a gold guard would work, but maybe he was getting his hopes up….When did he get so pessimistic? Being in this cell’s messing with his head!

Kaeda had no idea what else he could talk about, though. He sat in silence.

~~~~

Ryenne // Shops, Kingdom of Riressi

Ryenne had been peacefully looking over everything in the store, looking over the various items they offered. She didn’t care to try to interact with the princess at all, and she had noticed that Orym had come in, but didn’t heed too much attention to her. It seemed like the shopkeepers were fondly appreciative at the fact that nobles had visited their shop. It reminded Ryenne of when those nobles came down to Cyne way back when. Everyone rushed to accommodate them, hoping for just maybe an ounce of mercy or blessing from helping them out. The people of Cyne were raised on that principle, to be kind, and kindness would come back to you. Nobles definitely weren’t taught the same morals, if anything, though. Being around the queen and princess for any longer was sure going to remind Ryenne of all her wonderful experiences she had faced in the past, huh?

If the scream the princess made was any sign of anything, though, is that something was going on. Ryenne, assuming that the princess was just being as overdramatic as ever, returned her attention up to her to go and see what the princess was oh so scared at, only for the princess to dart behind her to use her as some sort of meat shield. Ryenne’s attention was quickly brought to the passed out Orym, who was dangling over one of the shopkeeper’s shoulders. Oh, great. Thieves, were they? Hoping to get some noble hostages? They definitely did not realize who they were messing with, though.

“...Excuse me. Do you mind letting her down? You don’t know who you’re holding, you know.” Ryenne spoke clearly and loudly, staring straight at the shopkeeper who was holding Orym. The shopkeeper whipped his head over, most likely not expecting anyone to object to his kidnapping. The two kids of the shopkeepers seemed to have vanished as well. If you can even call them “shopkeepers”, they’re most likely using this as a front.

“Huh…? You wanna go play hero, is that it?” The man chuckled, not taking her seriously- a common occurrence, Ryenne had found- before some sort of realization dawned on the man’s face. “Wait...I do recognize your voice...hmmm, where was it, again…” He seemed to be lost in thought.

“Spit it out already.” Ryenne had no patience to deal with this situation any longer, especially with now the princess shaking behind her and sobbing out nonsense. So much for being an evil and all powerful princess….

“Oh, I remember now! You’re Ryenne, aren’t you? Don't you remember me-“

“I don’t.”

“Well, ahem, it hassss been a while, after all…I didn’t recognize you, with you wearing that armor...you aren’t a part of the royal guard, are you, now?” The man was speaking with disbelief. Ryenne had made her disdain quite clear for the royal guard and royalty in general- seeing her in royal guard uniform must be absolutely bizarre. Ryenne sure wishes she didn’t have to deal with this at all. It would have been hilarious if Orym really did get kidnapped like this. Shouldn’t she be more aware of these sorts of things….?

“No. No. This is uniform for the job I’m currently taking on. You’re currently holding my client, or at least, one of them. The other is a sobbing mess behind me right now.” The princess made a dramatic gasp as Ryenne said that, but Ryenne just found it humorous to see the dawning realization on the man’s face.

“Wait...royal guard armor...these two people, then, are...Uhm.” The man quickly went and put down Orym unceremoniously on the floor, backing away. “Ahaha...apologies, apologies...I was under the impression that these were regular nobles...ahaha…Ryenne, I mean no harm, truly-“

“A bit late for that, isn’t it? You already knocked out Queen Orym.” Ryenne huffed, crossing her arms, as the man even seemed more scared out of his wits at Ryenne coming at him with name dropping who he just tried to take hostage of.

“I-It’s nothing permanent! We never harm any of our targets...this is only a mild knockout potion anyways as well…we’re just doing it because it’s the only way...to get money out of them, they keep on coming to our store and…act like they deserve everything...” Ryenne sighed. This is what happens when people like Orym and the princess are the people in charge...desperate people and thieves who need money to survive doing stupid things in order to do so. Orym getting knocked out like that was just karma for the pain she inflicted on everyone, truly, she deserved this. To see what she had driven her people to do. Ryenne did feel sympathy, but still, her job had to come first, no matter what.

“...Let us leave then. And please, if you have checked out the carriage we had come in, please return any items there as well, would you?” Ryenne letting them off the hook for this was the most mercy she could show. If there was an actual royal guard here, the man would have been in an entirely different situation right now. Most likely dead. The man fervently nodded his head, exiting out of the store through the back door. Ryenne sighed, now having to deal with a passed out Orym. At least the princess had seemed to come out from her hiding spot.

“T-They’re gone? Truly?” The princess quickly asked Ryenne, who responded with a nod. It was scary seeing the princess suddenly change back into her overly arrogant, confident self. “Ahem! What thugs, doing that to mother...you should have treated them more harshly. I’ll forgive you, though, as you did help mother. You’re not as idiotic as you look.”

Is that supposed to be a compliment? Ryenne would rather not be met with such false niceties. Ryenne went and silently picked up Orym herself, feeling like leaving her passed out on the floor was not a good move. She was light in Ryenne’s hold, but her dead weight made her a bit difficult to carry around. Jeez, now if Orym awakes, she’s going to be met with whatever resistance she had planned for her supposed kidnappers, wasn't she? How lovely, just the thanks she wants. Ryenne was happy though, despite her thinking of only negatives. The worse case scenario was if she had to attack the shopkeeper, which it thankfully didn’t escalate to.

Ryenne stood around in the shop before the shopkeeper returned, sweating profusely despite it being cold outside. Was he that panicked? “E-Everything returned to the carriage, Ryenne, again, apologies, apologies. We did not realize-“

“I know already, please.” Ryenne had to be thankful with how she was well known for her deeds, at least. She had been doing this for years- it was only natural that she had helped out hundreds of people at this point. She just wished...it was better. Even though she helped whoever this man was in the past, he still had to rely on holding hostages, so did she really…? No, there was nothing she could do beyond this. She left the shop without a word, not wanting to spend even a second more in the dreaded place, the princess, quiet for once, gods be blessed, following quickly behind her, as they approached the carriage once again to finally go to Moryen.

 

[femslasher]

Lindor // Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

This Kaeda guy was not running out of breath anytime soon, was he?

At least his siblings' chatter rarely got whiny... that was the only kind that grated his nerves. Still, he felt the typical endeared sigh come out of him at the flow of words, the hands gesturing frantically, and the eager look in this stranger's eyes as he slid down onto the dusty floors of his jail cell. Usually with his siblings he could wrestle laughs out of them by tickling, give them fresh food to distract, or say a particularly awful pun to get them out of their bickering, grumpy mood. He certainly couldn't do that to a criminal behind bars. All he was left with was his patience and basic common sense in dealing with such desperate pleas.

"If you want to tell me your story and all the ways you couldn't have stolen the claymore, your alibi that day, all of it, I'm all ears. I'll even take notes. But," he shook a finger in the air, "once I've heard it, I'd appreciate some peace and quiet. Or some more casual topics of conversation, at the very least."

What this prisoner said did have some merit, and Lindor wasn't the type to assume someone's sentence was true without proof and due diligence in the investigation. Still, he needed all the facts first.

Lindor crossed his legs, brushing off dirt from his gold guard's uniform, and gave a polite smile towards Kaeda. "The silver guards don't like jobs that require them to work, so thankfully you're into my hands now and not theirs. I have let out prisoners before to get some fresh air, brought better food than what they serve here, and eased sentences with the silvers before. I can make things a little easier. As long as the respect goes both ways."

He was on friendly terms with most guards and most nobles as well, due to his friendly predisposition. A difficult feat to achieve when you are a royal guard, whom are assumed to be task-focused and heartless during work hours. Most guards trying to play friendly would be seen as suspicious, trying to gain something out of it, perhaps information to help on a case. Lindor, for his part, simply knew that kindness was the best currency. His mother raised him right.

"If I am to believe you did not steal it, something I know the silvers are unlikely to do... why were you wherever you were arrested?" Thinking some more, another question came to mind. "Was anyone else suspicious around?" He fixed his hair ribbon, focused on the task of hearing out Kaeda. If he was to stand around aimlessly until the early morning hours, he may as well try to close a case. If Kaeda did do it, he may have had accomplices that he could incriminate to lessen his sentence. They could also help find the claymore through him, which would please the king more than anything else.

Although it was hard to believe any criminal, Lindor learned it was often good to assume the best and ask questions with that mindset. This way, the suspects were more likely to give unbiased accounts of what happened and stopped reeking of desperation as they talked. The obvious, sometimes, wasn't the truth. And he knew the silvers did not care much for the truth... they cared for a paycheck, and an easy answer, and an easy person to blame.

Now that Lindor was on the case, things may very well turn around.

***

Pyre // Royal Carriage, Kingdom of Riressi.

Pyre awoke in a fit of panic.

She hadn't expected being so easily taken out, by a thief of all things, to shake her to the core as much as it did. She was the untouchable witch of the woods, the one whom you feared not only by what spells she threw face-to-face, but what curses she put upon you once you left her grounds. She was so well-known it had been years since she had thought twice about whether someone might try something on her, whether she would be drugged, fought, kidnapped, or killed. She hadn't wondered about such possibilities due to how easily magic flew down her fingers at the very moment the hairs on the back of her neck raised up. By the time a knife was nearing her back, a hand reaching her mouth, or a spell was thrown at her she had already flicked her wrist and they were screeching in pain as poisonous vines came from the ground and entangled them, thick toxic liquids drenching them. She usually would release them not long after, and she would offer to sell them a potion to stop the poison. Most handed her coins and shuffled away in embarrassment, antidote in hand. The few who didn't she never saw again.

Her body never betrayed her because her body was magic itself. Her emotions were tightly connected to it. If she had been in her original body, and hadn't feared being discovered as a body snatcher, the man who made her unconscious would be burned to ashes, melted into goop, or worse. Whatever her magic instinctively went for in the moment, for survival. But she had for the first time in her entire life hesitated. She hesitated to use what was so innate to her, by fear of it affecting Queen Orym's body in ways much too visible. That it would, somehow, blow her cover and that in an instant she would lose everything she bargained for.

She missed her old life and her old body in painful ways but she had to admit living somewhere clean, eating fresh food, living with people, and having a body untainted by magic was a glorious experience. She could do without the fame and the gold and the fancy clothings, but there were definitely more pros than cons. Even her naturally pessimistic nature couldn't argue against that. So in the moment she chose a chance at normalcy, and with it the risk of being harmed... instead of choosing her life-saving magic and its usual consequences. Her sense of identity was split in two, the witch Pyre and the new Pyre. She hadn't realized how badly she wanted to hold onto this safety, the freedom of no longer living in exile, until she had to choose.

She betrayed herself.

Waking up, laying horizontally on the seat of the carriage, she gasped and reached out to grasp something, anything. This immense sense of powerlessness washed over her. She didn't realize her fingers were twinkling with purple flickers of magic and her hair was slightly floating in the air, electrifying with power, until she clenched them into a fist and shut her eyes to calm herself down. She immediately felt grateful that her gasp went unnoticed under all the noise the moving carriage and the horses' clapping hooves, and that the other two were occupied. The princess was telling Ryenne all about the gift they had, somehow, still managed to find for the prince. Despite all the chaos and the almost-kidnapping of the queen of Riressi. Some things were more important than others, Pyre presumed.

She gasped a few more times until she took a hold of herself. Once she started grasping around, both women's eyes landed onto hers.

"Oh, mother!" the princess' voice, as shrill as ever, came as she held both of Pyre's hands in hers. She had a mind to promptly remove them, but knew better.

"I tried to warn," Pyre mused as her eyebrows furrowed. "I saw the children, sent to distract you both while they..." at that, she looked around as if realizing the carriage was moving and they were already far from the scene of the crime. "What did you do with them, Ryenne, if I may?"

She was curious on how the mercenary ended up using her skills.

"Where are my manners... I need to thank you for what you did." Pyre, uncomfortable at owing a debt, took out her purse. She almost started to take out gold coins to give, but ends up giving the entire thing to Ryenne. "I was to wait until we came back, but here is your first payment. You can send it to your village if you like, or use it on yourself. After saving a queen, you should spend at least some on yourself."

She suddenly felt a bit out of place. She was here thanking and apologizing as Queen Orym, but here she was, the same witch who relied on no one... or usually didn't, anyway. It was an odd thing, thanking your rescuer when you are living as someone else. It felt more dishonest than anything she had done so far. She had nothing but empty gold to give but hopefully the gesture showed at least an ounce of genuine feelings. Everything about this felt off. She wasn't one to be overly sentimental or to put her life in someone else's hands. She thought the princess would be in danger, flailing like a headless chicken. Never herself.

She had no one to lose, and no one to care for, so it never made sense for anyone to try to help her. Now, she has people paid to care for her. What an odd situation. She straightened her dress and patted at her hair, re-doing a braid that had come undone. Poorly, certainly.

"Let me help you fix it," the princess insisted. Certainly still in shock from the thieves. Pyre didn't have time to be grateful before being stuck with grabby hands pulling too hard and fixing things a little too snugly. She must have a sour look on her face, but she smoothed it out with a smile when the princess pulled away, admiring her work. Unsure how to react, her hand raised up, then back down in awkwardness, then she reached up once more and patted the girl's head.

Awful. She needed to get better at this.

"Ryenne, have you memorized the information my... servants gave you the past few days? I'll be counting on you. I know it was rather short notice."

"What for?" The princess uselessly asked.

"None of your concern, dear. The Moryen ball is a big event, and I requested she prepared properly for it."

"Boring," she responded, just as uselessly.

Pyre still felt rather drowsy from whatever it was that made her lose consciousness so quickly. Her body also ached from being unceremoniously thrown about. Still, she needed to blink away the rest of the panic and the physical feelings and put her eyes back on the prize.

Having her life saved as a queen, when no one else would have lifted a finger for her as a witch, actually brought an idea to her mind. She was a lost cause, a throwaway hermit. She had wasted her body on magic and given up on all social relations, dealing only with the most desperate and untrustworthy of folks. No one in all the kingdoms would have recognized her if she hadn't put curses on so many people. She would have just became an old homeless woman on the fringe of society. They only recognized her because they perceived her a threat.

What if someone like her, a throwaway, was to be used to get in the way of the prince and the princess?

Maybe they could make a move on the princess and sway her affections... or leak rumors that would make the princess appear undesirable. They could be a long lost something or other... making a comeback into Queen Orym's life, and thus into the princess' life, stepping on any blossoming romances going about.

Hm, how interesting. An idea was slowly taking form in her mind.

Hopefully by the time she climbed up the royal stairs it saves her from the two royals marrying both kingdoms into a dark union... which could doom the next generations of her townsfolk, living under the Moryen's dictatorship. She would've never known one ball would be so important to her new reign as a queen. No, she would have laughed at the very thought. Yet it now meant everything... she was thankful the princess let her crush slip before they arrived at the castle's doorstep. Who knows what would've happened if their romance had started off and she had indulged it, even encouraged it, clumsy in her attempts to follow along with whatever went on at the ball. Information coming one ear and going out the other, unbothered. A recipe for disaster.

 

[Cealen]

Kaeda // Moryen Castle- Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen.

Well, actually hearing the guard respond to him sure made Kaeda feel even more pathetic. Wait, listening actually to what the guard was saying, was this guard actually trying to help him?! Ah, wait, Kaeda shouldn’t get too excited. He thought through it a bit, processing his options as the guard stared down at him through the window. It would be nicer if he was able to actually talk face to face in them. It was hard to be seen as an “equal” for as long as he was stuck in this annoying cage, even though the guard, but the tone of his voice, was trying to pretend they were equals. Of course, he’ll try to work with this guard, but the minute he appeared undeserving of the little trust he was placing into him, there would surely be some consequences. Kaeda just had to take the only chance he had, didn’t he? He’ll...put aside some distrust and secretiveness for now. Of course, only telling this guard what was needed.

“Huh? Why was I there? I was at work, you know! But I had no interest in that claymore, only stuff like...shiny stuff.” Kaeda really didn’t have any specific targets, hence “shiny stuff” being the descriptor used. Hell, he didn’t even manage to steal anything! He got caught before he ever stole anything! He should really have just been charged for trespassing, but he digresses, he knows no one is going to be believing him on that one. He should try instead to just convince people that he did steal something, but not the claymore. Kaeda decided to leave out the fact that he had broken into the castle multiple times before already. They’ll patch up his entrance routes if he tells them, and besides, he wasn't caught for those ones. No need to make himself get caught now.

“I was nowhere near where that claymore was stored, mind you, though. That was kept in the royal armory, I would never really go over there. I just know where it is too because the other guards said so when they were questioning me asking why I went in there. I didn’t even know back when I was running all around the castle before where any claymore was.” Even though Kaeda had continually insisted on that front, all the guards were convinced he somehow had knowledge of it.

“I work always alone, mind you. If you think I’ll go and start ratting out other thieves, good luck. I really didn’t notice anyone suspicious...I was just going around, and next thing I know, I have like 10 guards surrounding me all shouting where the claymore is and all. I really wasn’t near where the theft actually took place...at all.” Kaeda sighed, leaning his head back against the wall and staring at the ceiling. Phew. This still felt like an interrogation, despite not being one. Wait, it kinda was, wasn’t it? Well, having the benefit of the doubt that this guard wasn’t looking to go and sentence Kaeda to death, that already made it pretty different from the other questions he had gone through since he has been locked up here. Or at least...he hoped so, at least.

~~~

Ryenne // Royal Carriage, Kingdom of Riressi.

Ryenne was pretending to be very interested in the princess and prince’s love life or whatever. It seemed like the shopkeepers left a gift as a peace offering for trying to kidnap the queen and all, and that they won’t bother them next time they come to the town. Ryenne was at least happy they got what they came for. Saved Ryenne from having to hear Princess Whining. Ryenne was still just relieved nothing else had to happen, and that she didn’t have to rely on...other methods...so to say. The worst thing that some of these jobs could make her do was hurt someone. Usually not lethally, mind you, she isn’t an assassin, but sometimes...she would have to put in some more force, every now and then...Ryenne shook her head, dispelling the thoughts. She had no time to dwell on such things, especially with the queen still knocked out- well, now was knocked out, with her stirring awake and the princess running over to her for a lovely mother-daughter moment.

Ryenne felt awkward, shifting around and looking away at the pair. It was almost like she was intruding, despite them being...who they are, Ryenne had to guess they had some bond to one another. It was natural, wasn’t it, for royals to be the only ones to be interacting with one another- there was no outside friendship, and allyships between kingdoms like Moryen could be gone in a heartbeat. Ryenne doesn’t feel bad for the royals being so disconnected from society- they created it to be like that away from all their disenfranchised people, all the “others”, so they could live high above them.

She thought through her words carefully while trying to pick out what she should tell the queen. The queen would be angry at her if she told her she let them off the hook, wouldn’t she...she would demand revenge against those who “betrayed her'', if Orym’s actions weren’t any different to how they were in the past. People respected her out of fear, fear of knowing what would happen to them if they slighted her. Ryenne remembered hearing tales of the old king of Moryen being very lenient of how she operated her kingdom, not even wanting to cross her at the slightest in fear of Moryen’s safety. Didn't stop Moryen from turning into what it is now. How pitiful.

“They have been taken care of. You have nothing to worry about.” Ryenne decided to leave it up to the queen to decide what she meant, not wanting to get in hot water for not going by the royal guard code she was forced to listen through last week. She never wants to go through guard training ever again, she cringed even thinking about it. The princess nearly opened her mouth to explain what happened, but Ryenne shot her a look of “do not” and she seemed to get the memo, actually. Maybe she was a bit more grateful since she saw Ryenne get them out of there, meanwhile Orym was just passed out on the floor.

Ryenne looked down at the Orym’s offering of thanks and snorted. Royal or not, every rich person just thought every “thank you” could be conveyed through money, didn't they? It was funny, because Ryenne would usually get thanked in the way of a home cooked meal, kindness, favors...rarely in the monetary sense would she get thanked. Maybe Ryenne was being hypocritical, because she took the money right out of Orym’s hand, opening up the purse to see how much she actually was getting, making sure Orym was paying her fairly enough, but still, it felt almost like an obligation that Orym was giving her money rather than a gift. She even mentioned this was her payment that she was supposed to get later, huh? How typical. It’s not like she’s anywhere near Cyne to actually use this currently. As much as she looked out for them, she tended to want to watch over how the money was distributed, as people were desperate there. She just...has to make sure everyone gets a piece, and no one is too greedy that particular day. Ryenne hated thinking about them that way, but there was no way around it. She could have simply waited until she was supposed to get paid, and nothing would even change! Still...it’s bad manners to accept a gift and not say thanks, even though the look of annoyance on Ryenne’s face made it clear she wasn’t too impressed.

“Thank you.” She said flatly, not showing much gratefulness towards it. She would feel bad if it wasn’t Orym she was talking to. “And you do not have to show doubt in my abilities, you know. I am perfectly capable of over watching the princess during the ball.” Ok, maybe she was getting a bit snippy there, but she had to wonder how much she could get away with, slightly.

“Huh?? I’m getting supervised during the ball? You want me to be even more bored there?” The princess whined, and Ryenne just groaned internally, not wanting to instigate the princess even more.

“I will not get in the way of you and who you interact with there...I just am keeping watch.” Ryenne explained to her. She seemed to not believe her, though. Ryenne assumed she would have explained that to her already, Orym, but Ryenne guesses she has to do every single cleanup ever for the queen’s carelessness.

“Hmph! Ok, as long as you don’t get in between me and Finwe!” Was that the prince’s name? Good to know, as least. But what the hell does she even mean by that? Ryenne particularly doesn’t care for whatever happens in between them, even though Orym seems much more concerned. Ryenne still can’t figure that one out, as much as she tries.

 

[femslasher]

Lindor // Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen.

Lindor was feeling rather torn.

A lot of facts that the silver guards listed didn't match up. This Kaeda guy was a thief, no doubt about it, but he wasn't arguing against being a thief as those responsible typically do. He admitted he was there to steal shiny things, yes, but not a two-handed heavy royal sword in a castle full of jewels and gold crowns. And Lindor could acknowledge that point of view making some degree of sense ─ stealing something usually meant a) the person could use it to benefit themselves or someone they know, or b) they mean to sell it to the highest bidder and make a fine coin out of it. Grabbing such a heavy sword and risking a life sentence, or even death sentence, for it would mean there was a high personal benefit to taking that risk.

Lindor simply couldn't figure out what Kaeda would've gotten out of that deal.

He very well could have stuffed his pocket full of jewelry and gems, sneaked back out with much less scrutiny, selling it for wealth at any regular merchant. Yet the claymore was clunky to carry anywhere; it would bring suspicion walking around town with it; only a talented blacksmith would know it was of high value... and Lindor didn't know any blacksmith who would risk facing the King's wrath to own a stolen royal sword. Merchants weren't all that interested in buying weapons from thieves to sell for profit. Most weren't trained to notice sturdy swords from flimsy swords and would ask the same price as for any old poking stick. It would be a headache to figure out how to make a profit from such a stolen object. Even the most impulsive thief would think twice.

So doing it for profit wasn't a reasonable explanation for stealing the claymore. Option b made very little sense. What about option a, then? How could it have had personal benefit? He didn't seem like the fighting type, so using it in battle was unlikely. No neighboring kingdoms would ask a thief to steal a sword from an easy-to-anger King, of all things. Lindor had touched the claymore before, when they were putting all the weapons in a new weaponry room. It was heavy, and beautiful, but there seemed to be nothing too extraordinary about it outside of its connection to the royals.

Whoever stole it must have not cared if they ended up on the King's wrong side. They may even be the type to enjoy it, if they have some vengeful tensions with him. It seemed too personal for a small-scale thief to be anything other than the hired mercenary doing the job on behalf of somebody. Kaeda could be working for someone else... but, if he was, he would be showing anger at his employer for ending up blamed. He seemed more annoyed than angry, and much too used to being thrown in prison for petty thieving or things he didn't do, but was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The gears in Lindor's brain kept spinning and spinning, making connections. To be perfectly honest he didn't care much for a petty thief unconnected to the true reason the claymore was stolen. Lindor cared much more about royal property being returned to its rightful owner. The silvers might very well be wasting their time, and wasting a jail cell, on this one. They should be pursuing a completely different investigation, and Lindor knew if the gems had gotten involved they would've already called out this idiocy by now, getting the search for the real thief back on track. He thought he was simply offering help to be on guard's duty and boost his reputation on the job, but this may end up snowballing into a much bigger situation.

He had been silent for quite some time, nodding along and humming here and there as Kaeda spoke.

"Very well, I'll bite. You have made some fair points and I appreciate your honesty Kaeda."

He still had a few precious moments to catch up with his superiors, at this time of the night, as they were using this last hour to patrol the city one last time before retreating to the castle for the night. Once in the castle, Lindor wouldn't get to tell his concerns until the next night. This issue seemed like a rather urgent concern... something that could potentially help find one of the King's most prized possessions. They would understand his hurry on the matter.

"You may be right. Something seems... off, to say the least. There wouldn't have been much to gain from stealing such a heavy, hard-to-sell object, unless you worked for a noble, or a warring kingdom. And I'd wager that isn't the case." He nodded and stood from his chair. "Please stay put as I go discuss this with my superiors."

He walked away with firm steps, steeling his resolve. Climbing up the stairs to the next level, then to the first level, he couldn't help but notice that on both higher levels, every silver guard was either playing cards loudly with drunk laughters, or snoring with their hat over their face. He didn't bother to notify them of his short exit. Not that they noticed anything of importance, at this point... something that Lindor is sure has facilitated more prisoners escapes than they were willing to admit. Still, this time, he was grateful he didn't need to argue his way out.

He caught the youngest gem guard as he was walking with his hands held behind his back from patrolling the tavern's area, fighting yawns.

"Evening again, gem," Lindor said, stopping him in his tracks. "Could I bother you with silver business?"

"My shift is ending soon enough. Go right ahead," the boy said.

"I've taken over at the dungeons, and the man imprisoned for the claymore gave me discrepancies on the case. I strongly believe a further investigation in other potential perpetrators, perhaps a potential high-class employer of his or an unrelated party, could lead to the culprit and the claymore itself."

"The..." the boy coughed. He shifted his feet uneasily, voice squeaking. Odd. "The case is closed. By order of the..." he seemed to catch himself from saying further. "There will be no further investigation. The gem guards have sworn on the matter and the man will be facing death for what he did. We have no further business on the claymore." He visibly was trying to muster the strongest air of authority he could. It flopped pitifully, but Lindor indulged him.

"With all due respect, sir, that seems rather rushed. What with the culprit only being found the other night─"

"Golds should stick to what is assigned to them. Respect the law, please." The plea at the end softened his response, and he was more meek than determined. Lindor opened his mouth to comment, but the boy was becoming increasingly agitated. "I understand your deductive instincts, but I assure you, everything is under control. We are doing what is right by the King."

Lindor nodded and thought on his next words carefully.

"I understand, and I do apologize for any insubordination on my part. Thank you for hearing me." How humiliating to work under a guard half his age. Still, he should have been more mindful of how his words came across. He could only do what was assigned to him.

The boy seemed only more flustered by the apology, certainly still unused to being a high rank.

Lindor needed to find the words to convince this boy that opening up the case again would benefit everyone, guards, royals, nobles, and citizens. If someone is going around stealing, or hiring someone to steal, valuable royal emblems... then the kingdom of Moryen will be a mockery among other kingdoms. Our king will be without his trusty claymore, a weapon that has been owned by endless generations of past Moryen kings, and is surrounded by local folklore that empowers whoever sits on the throne. It's a valuable symbol of power unique to their kingdom. And for their king to be without it, at the yearly Moryen ball no less... it twisted something in Lindor's stomach. No matter the sitting king, Lindor's family, the Sindri, has served the kingdom for as long as there has been a kingdom. The first king of Moryen was served by a Sindri. They were practically brothers.

It ran through Lindor's veins, and he needed to get to the bottom of this for the kingdom's sake. No matter the arguments he would get into for it, no matter how many extra hours of work it needed, no matter how it would look on his guard record.

Lindor needed to do what was right.

***

Pyre // Royal Carriage, Kingdom of Moryen.

They had finally done it: they had crossed Riressi's line, onto Moryen territory.

Pyre had to admit it was rather gorgeous on this side of the border. Moryen was all pretty flowers and plants crawling up delicate, artful buildings. Riressi was all about sturdy, almost black buildings of stones, very similar to one another. It was severe and old-fashioned, with grand statues commemorating the royals' "greatest achievements." Numerous talking dragons and goblins had particularly dramatic statues around the main cities, due to being brutally slayed ─ and their peaceful territory stolen ─ by Riressians. Queen Orym would have said that no humans were harmed during the foundation of the kingdom, and so it was a peaceful affair. The fact that no magical creatures survived, and that this kingdom was now free of them, brought no guilt to her conscience.

Pyre wondered how Orym felt now, stuck in a witch's mangled body, every inch scarred by magic, surrounded by the very people she banned from her cities. Such thoughts would cheer up even the most heartless. To know that revenge was brought to such a cruel dictator, all under everyone else's noses, was oh so sweet.

Still, once more, Pyre needed focus. She couldn't declare victory yet.

As they crossed the border, Pyre couldn't help a faint laugh as Ryenne chided her for doubting her abilities... if only she knew how essential she was, truly, to a witch with restricted powers in a queen's body. Not that it was all that straight-forward to tell that truth to anyone, nevermind a mercenary. It hadn't mattered who was to be by her side, other than it needed to be a neutral and fairly capable person, with decent enough morals; Ryenne, thus far, has proven to check every mark on that list. The avoided kidnapping proved it even more, assuredly, but even without it Pyre was already as confident as one can be with a stranger by her side. It was a miracle she found a mercenary to replace the royal guard so quickly just in time for the ball. And as a definite bonus, she wasn't overly talkative, clumsy in battle, nor was she indulgent of the princess' more cruel tendencies. Pyre barely took the time to get to know Ryenne and was in no hurry to do so; hopefully by the end of the ball she would be knowledgeable enough and be stable enough on her own two feet as a "queen" to do her business herself, after all the practice she would get in Moryen. Pyre wanted to be cordial to the woman during her time at work, show thankfulness and whatnot, but she was not here to make friends or fool around. And once the job was over, the job was over. From what she could tell, that was exactly the way the mercenary wished for things to go as well. Simple, to-the-point.

Which was why Pyre didn't mince her words or wait any longer to set the improvised next phase of her plan.

Nodding, but otherwise ignoring Ryenne's other words, she changed the topic of discussion. "Daughter dearest," the words sounded as flat as she felt, "I will be stopping by the tavern road to deal with some noble business. The ball isn't until tomorrow evening, so I have booked us two of the finest rooms in the local inn. You should get some rest while I have some meetings of the highest importance."

"It's the eve of the ball, mother, I should be out socializing with the best of Moryen society, not cooped up in─"

"No more whining," Pyre interrupted. "The inn will be full of young nobility, and they will entertain you more than enough. I won't be long."

The carriage got more rocky as the road became paved, and the horses had to do a few sharp turns to reach Pyre's destination. The air, even in the carriage, was getting colder as the night got later and later. She needed to do this now, as the least guards were patrolling and people were stuffed into inns and taverns instead of strolling down the streets. By the time they had driven here, and she had gained consciousness once more, the sky was dark and the streets empty. Perfect for what she had in mind.

To prevent getting in more physical trouble ─ her limbs still aching from the shop ordeal ─ she knew she needed to request the mercenary's protection.

"Ryenne, it's getting rather dark and I am unfamiliar with these streets. Come with me, if you may." Having talked to her maids previously, she knew that the specific inn was heavily guarded and only high members of society frequented it. That was enough to reassure her the princess wouldn't get in too much trouble without Ryenne's guard. At least until they made their way back. The Moryens apparently offered them living quarters in the castle, but Pyre respectfully refused. She was hoping it would be a two-nights business and not lengthen into a week-long stay, as balls often do when foreign royals are involved. Rich people were lazier than she expected, wanting to rest before travelling back onto the roads. That meant the local businesses flourished as well, of course, from all the wealth being thrown about. So did thieves. No one in the villages benefited from this, of course, as the wealthy refused to venture beyond the beautiful city walls.

If she succeeded in preventing the worst, her kingdom could finally have villages that thrived as much as the cities did. Not full of poverty and disease, forgotten by the rest. She could make real changes and prevent others like her from abusing magic and harming themselves to survive. She couldn't save the kingdom of Moryen, nor any other, from the grasp of heartless people in charge. But hers was somewhat in her control. And that "somewhat" could be erased if she did well this week, forging powerful alliances with the right kingdoms, and stopping the wrong alliances from ever blossoming. Through this, she could even keep an eye on the Moryen kingdom and keep the threats of war from coming to fruition.

She wasn't completely sure of every step she would do on this plan. It was shaky on its feet. Still, she knew the basics and would have to improvise on the go.

The carriage paused near the tavern. It wasn't her final destination, but it was on the path of what she was looking for.

"We will see you in a few hours, daughter," she said as the door of the carriage was opened by the chauffeur, still heavily breathing in his hurry to do so. She thanked him, a gesture too polite to not earn her an odd look or two. She didn't pay it any mind. He fumbled with his words, bowed, and climbed back onto the front of the carriage to ready the horses for the princess' ride to the inn. The princess simply waved her goodbye. Certainly too tired from the travels to argue.

She wasn't exactly sure of the precise location, but she knew from word-of-mouth that it was supposed to be on the tavern road.

She may end up looking like a fool, a queen strolling down a street late at night to do forbidden business, but she needed to give this a try. It was her last hope.

 

[Cealen]

Ryenne // Royal Carriage, Kingdom of Moryen

Ryenne saw a sudden shift in building styles, which most likely indicated that they were in Moryen territory now. Flowers outside adorning the buildings, even during winter time? Ah, how nice this place already was in comparison to Riressi. Riressi looks like an evil kingdom from a story book, but Ryenne is aware that they don’t try to hide anything, Riressian royals. They found it fun to act the way they do, and that reflected through everything, like poison slowly creeping through every single vein of someone’s body. Ryenne wasn’t stupid enough to not know that even if all the nobles were gone, that Riressi would become magically better. It’s not like one person can ever fix the mess that is Riressi.

Hopefully the same doesn’t happen to Moryen… Ryenne thought, knowing that their new royals-in-charge were of the same cloth of Riressian royals. When they finally heard the news down in Cyne thanks to a traveller actually coming by, people were convinced that Riressi took over Moryen. While that “”””officially”””” wasn't the case, there was definitely some Riressian involvement, Ryenne can tell you that much, and she barely even knows the situation and what even happened. Not such a sudden change in morals and leadership can occur like that without someone else’s meddling. Most likely Queen Orym’s, and Ryenne was just sure she was going to act all unaware of her involvement in the current situation in Moryen, and act like she and the current residing king had no interactions with one another outside of formal events like this one before. Looking at Orym made Ryenne even feel more sick, that the fact that she had to help her, and work underneath her. Ryenne had dealt with much embarrassment over her work before, but never this much.

Listening to the princess whine even more made Ryenne want to jump out of the carriage again. Wait, is she going away? Oh goody. At least Orym was only just unbearable to think about, and didn’t act unbearable like the princess did. Ryenne was expecting Queen Orym to be this higher than thou high and mighty annoying woman, but she seemed to know how to keep up appearances. Like that was going to trick Ryenne.

She watched the princess ride off in the carriage, leaving herself and Orym behind. Can she stay at the inn forever? Please? No, that would be an attack on Moryen. The air felt nice and cool, and being out of that stuffy carriage certainly helped as well, as Ryenne stretched like a cat, her armor clinking as she moved.

“Hm...if it's noble business you’re attending to, do you only need me to walk you through the streets?” Ryenne raised a concern, not wanting to have anything to do with noble business. Or being made to meddle in them beyond passive observation. “...It would look bad on you, your...majesstttyyyyyy…to have me be constantly looking over you. People may take that as a sign of distrust, even though I’m assuming the role of a royal guard.” See, appealing to stupid noble social rules can get Ryenne out of sticking around places with tons of nobles! “Unless you just said that to get her highnessssss to not get her to ask questions. Please tell me what you plan to do. I can tell you have something in your mind, it’s evident on your face.” It was that strange determination on Orym’s face that made Ryenne doubtful of her intentions.

Ryenne had never spoken this much to Orym ever, but she just wanted to make it clear that Orym can’t fool everyone, especially her. “I think it’s fair for me to know what you’re doing, with me being someone you hired, remember. I’m not just simply a part of your royal guard, and I won’t ever be.” She spoke clearly, with no particular emotion showing in her voice one way or the other. She just wanted to...know.

 

[femslasher]

Pyre // Royal Carriage, Kingdom of Moryen

She slightly slowed her steps when a duo of drunkards swayed by them, coming out of the tavern. Thankfully those under the influence weren't the most aware of their surroundings, especially in these dark streets. If they caught a glimpse of her Majesty the Queen Orym, they would more likely than not chalk it up to one ale too many. If drunk people were more reliable, she may have hovered around the tavern, attempting to catch a boy with a nice enough face to help her with this tentative plan. But it had more dangers than not. She didn't know what ruffian she may run into once he sobered up the next morning ─ he could back out of the plan, or even betray her. Not that the betrayal would have a chance to truly harm her reputation; even the Moryen guards would throw him in jail for his insolence, and "lies," against a royal. She didn't want to abuse that power more than she absolutely needed to.

She knew only one place to find the most desperate: the dungeons. Somewhere where the men would have something to get out of it, other than feeling generally intimidated by a member of high society. She could sell freedom to the highest bidder, and any onlooker would be mocked if they tried to tattletale.

The mercenary was talking more than she had throughout the lengthy journey in carriage. It was understandable. Although more than a little irritating.

She held her dramatically long dress as she walked, her two front braids already getting messy from the trek and her short, luscious hair was tangled by the wind. It hadn't been much more than a few minutes but she was already losing her poise and feeling more witch than queen.

"My daughter is better off not knowing. We are headed to the dungeons, mercenary." She almost kept it at that, but knew curiosity would get the best of this cat. Her patience, after only just surviving a first week in this body... and after sitting in a carriage in a tight corset with strangers for hours, was running short. "My maids have advised me of a most shocking discovery. They didn't know it was notable at all at the time, of course. But I hired you for this special purpose."

She enjoyed letting the mystery hang in the air for a while longer. They were a few blocks away from the tavern now, bypassing alleys with hissing cats and houses covered in vines. The thin layer of snow on the ground was quickly turning wet and muddy. She was shocked at not having slipped to her death already, in these atrocious heels and her trailing dress. Perhaps she was more graceful than she thought of herself back then, sitting on the cold forest ground with twigs in her hair. Or at least as survival-oriented as a cockroach. You could put a witch in a pretty dress, but a witch would always be a witch, her past customers would tell her if they saw her now.

The dungeons were only a few minutes away.

"They found my husband's long lost son, Nieven." She paused to wipe her eyes, not for tears but for dirt making them itch. Still, it certainly added to the dramatic reveal and made it all the more convincing. Pyre was used to mischief and not telling the full truth.

She meant nothing bad of it, of course; there was only so much she could tell to a mercenary she hired a few days ago. If Ryenne earned her trust, she might divulge a little more on the topic. But, at this point, this was already a lot of information to give so freely when she could have hidden it all from the get-go. It would be helpful to have Ryenne on her side as she found a good enough actor to play the "lost prince" among the prisoners.

"He hasn't had an easy life, thus being thrown into the dungeons... and although I'm afraid it may be a trick, if it is him... then he is the true heir to the throne of Riressi, son of King Dùghall." She paused her walking to level a look at Ryenne. "Please keep this between us. I'll meet with my son, make sure it is him, and you will accompany us both back to the inn to prepare for the ball and introduce him to the world. Riressi has been without a proper heir for much too long." The princess, indeed, would not make a good choice for an heir. Even Ryenne must agree on that, surely. Hopefully they find common ground on the matter and she doesn't cause trouble while Pyre gets things sorted out.

They resumed the walk to the dungeons, Pyre's shoes soaked beyond repair. The weather didn't make wearing a simple dress inappropriate, but it was getting cooler than she expected it to as the night went on. She had half a mind to request Ryenne's guard coat over her shoulders, but being so pompous made her sick to her stomach. She instead focused on each step and gave glances to each alleyway, trying to remember her way around. Last she was here, it was to buy ingredients for potions on behalf of a client... and she was kicked out of the city ─ no, "gently escorted out by guards" was how they put it ─ for her magic scars and ripped clothings.

"I believed that would be the last I'd heard of it tonight, gold," a high-pitched voice came. It sounded irritated, and rather young.

Pyre looked up ahead and two men were in a heated discussion next to street lights. They were both wearing high-rank armors. One's cheeks were reddish and his voice squeaked and complained, while the other was standing with his arms crossed, nodding politely.

"I understand. Please forgive my intrusions, I am merely worried on behalf of the King's claymore. This prisoner being falsely accused could keep us from finding the real perpetrator... it is in the King's best interests─"

"I don't want to hear what you think is in the King's best interests. We needed a perpetrator, now we have one. If you find another culprit bring it to us and we will lock him in. Until then, leave this matter in the gems' hands, Lindor."

"I wish we could talk further on the matter." He seemed uncomfortable pushing, yet unable to help himself in his questioning.

The tension was palpable and as Pyre and Ryenne's steps got closer, bypassing them attracted both men's stares. Knowing she wanted to avoid suspicions, she belatedly latched onto the situation.

"Gold guard, I am Queen Orym of Riressi." She put on the most pompous airs she could muster.

"Good evening, your majesty," the man bowed, visibly taken aback. "Welcome to Moryen." He smiled at both herself and Ryenne.

"I am requiring some assistance in the dungeons... regarding one of your prisoners. May you direct me?" She did her best to appear put together, despite being exhausted and rather cranky. She may not need as much beauty sleep as a queen, but today had went on for long enough with all the travelling, almost-kidnapping, overthinking, and bickering. Any longer and she would soon lose her mind; she needed this business done and over with as soon as humanly possible.

"With pleasure, your majesty." He gave a curt nod to his fellow guard, who returned to patrolling, and began guiding their way to the dungeons.

With enough luck, this guard could direct her towards a prisoner willing to trade for freedom. If not, well... she would need a plan C. The ball was coming tomorrow whether she was ready for it or not, and she needed every weapon in her arsenal to survive it. She would need to use every bit of her newfound royalty privilege to make this plan work and not look like a complete fool for all to see.

 

[Cealen]

Ryenne // Kingdom of Moryen

Huh? Was Ryenne’s hearing broken or something? She was expecting Orym somewhat to have this whole dramatic reveal on her evil plans and all and how she was going to take over Moryen, or whatever, something evil-queen sounding to do. But...a long lost missing son…? What? Confusion was evident on Ryenne’s face as she somewhat stopped listening to what Orym was saying halfway through her tearful reveal.

Dungeons, too? Wait, was this long lost son or whatever some sort of criminal…? Would you really want to go and give a criminal knowledge that they’re royalty or something…? Ryenne had no idea what was going in Orym’s head to want to go son-searching in some dungeons...wait, if a criminal became in charge of Riressi, it wouldn’t be too much different from its current leadership. But huh, Ryenne has to teach him? She’s still learning herself, what...Ryenne was beginning to want to know why she was hired instead of a royal guardsmen more and more.

Ryenne opened her mouth to question her further, as she was supposed to do something relating to this long lost son, and desired any semblance of context, only to see Orym start instantly walking away towards the dungeons. She was pretty serious about this, huh...this definitely isn’t some strange trick she’s pulling on Ryenne...Ryenne shook her head, and quickly caught up with her, trying to read her face. Orym seemed to have a straight face on, showing no obvious emotion as she walked. Ryenne guessed she was trained for these sorts of things, to not let any sort of sensitive information be revealed even in the slightest muscle movement of the face. Ryenne would rather die than be subjected to royal customs, she felt like, so she wondered how this hidden secret prince of Riressi would feel like when he’s subjected to this.

It was unclear how Orym even found this out. It almost felt like she had recently come up with it. What am I even thinking, how stupid...of course she must have always had this idea in mind… Ryenne couldn’t reason it out in her head. It sounded like Orym wasn’t sure herself. Why so careless…? Couldn’t she simply request to see a prisoner by complaining to Moryen royalty, or something, if she was so sure? Why go into the dungeons...Ryenne made a mental note to not look anyone in the eyes while down there.

As they approached the dungeons, a rather loud argument was taking place. Out of reflex, Ryenne tensed up, used to being the mediator in any disagreements in Cyne. She did everything down there, didn’t she? Such is the life of a mercenary. These people should stop arguing about whatever it is that they’re arguing when Orym comes by, though. Maybe having some royal around wasn’t as bad. Ryenne’s opinion of Orym was still in the negative though.

The argument became more clear to Ryenne the closer they became. Ryenne was somewhat familiar with the order of Moryen guards- something she was briefed upon in her education of being a royal guard substitute. The two people arguing were high ranking ones, from what she remembered. Ryenne did not already like the Moryen guard by the fact that they had different ranks. A common thing, truly, but anything involving a hierarchy of power made Ryenne not like it inhrehently. Her concerns with the system were already showing clearly here, with the...gemstone, Ryenne thinks that’s right, guard refusing to listen to the...yellow...gold guard who was almost pleading to the gem guard. What a pathetic sight to see, but it’s something that will happen inevitably if you have a ranking system in the first place.

Ryenne was somewhat sympathizing with the gold guard, as it seemed like he was trying to help someone who was falsely accused, something that Ryenne had witnessed herself causing the downfall of many people before. Despite getting refused, he was still going, it appeared. Maybe this guard can be someone Ryenne can actually agree with, a rare occurrence with guard grunts-

...nevermind. The gold guard was revering the ground of the queen stepped on almost instantly when she greeted him. Ryenne could tell with that tone in his voice, although it should be expected. Making a bad impression of the queen of a neighboring kingdom probably wouldn’t be a good move. Still, did all guards have to act like that? Ryenne was reminded that she would have to act like that in public with Orym during the ball. No wonder why she felt uncomfortable at that display of reverence, because she would have to do the same in the future. Ryenne wanted to groan loudly, but alas.

Not even questioning Orym for a second before taking her down to the dungeons was also a sign that he was just going to pamper royalty no matter where they hail from. Ryenne was going to avoid talking to him as long as possible. More for the fact that she doesn’t want to expose herself as a fake guard to someone who can probably tell, honestly. Ryenne would only fool people who never paid attention to her in the first place, not actual guards, she reasoned. Great.

The dungeons were a hopeless place, Ryenne glancing around every now and then, fearful of seeing some mouse skitter across her feet. Not that she’s scared of them. It was a different atmosphere to the rest of Moryen- this place just felt like how Riressi always was. Hopeless and filled with desperate people. Ryenne couldn’t tell if she felt sympathy as she heard the prisoners around her, keeping her gaze to the ground to avoid eye contact. On one hand, these criminals have probably done atrocious things...but they were still usually from places like Cyne. A jail cell is a better home for some of these people, something that they prefer. Orym better be able to tell which one of these people is her son, as anyone would probably jump at the opportunity to get out of here if they were not of that variety.

They were going near some of the more higher-security cells, for the “true” criminals, ones that had committed unforgivable crimes, if the same system that was in Riressi was applied here. Most likely yes. Surely, though, Orym’s son couldn’t be around this part, because Orym would most likely not want to put someone like that on the throne-

“Heyyyyyy!!! Gold guard!!!! Are you back? Did it work? If you got refused, I told you so!” A loud voice was coming from one of the cells. Whoever that is, they’re addressing the Moryen guard currently escorting them, Ryenne assumed, so Ryenne broke her do-not-look up rule and brought her attention to the cell. She could see brown eyes staring out the tiny window of the cell, obviously trying to get a good angle as they were fidgeting around a lot, their eyes moving all over the place. They were very pushing up on the cell door to be that close to the window. Ugh, can they just ignore whoever that is…? Can the gold guard go deal with them?

 

[femslasher]

Pyre // Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

The voice sounded young and masculine, and on somewhat friendly, or at least conversational, terms with the gold guard. Pyre's interest was instantly piqued.

The guard seemed a bit flustered at such a loud display in front of royalty, and excused himself for a minute. She nodded indulgently as he turned around the corner to face what she assumed to be a particularly vocal prisoner. Soon enough he could be heard shushing the voice.

"I am taking care of an important visitor at the moment. I'll update you later, if you may." His tone did not welcome further debate.

Pyre took a glance at Ryenne, which only made the silence more uncomfortable as Ryenne was staring downwards, giving off a general air of irritation, glancing to her surroundings every now and then with suspicion and disdain. It made Pyre want to crawl back into the hole she came from that much more. She was growing tired of playing actress, feeling exhausted and out of place in the royal dungeons. Or, rather, a bit too much at home in it. This wasn't her first visit here, nor had she planned it to be her last... although, with her being a witch, they only let her stay for a few nights before throwing her back out to the wolves. She never did any major crime or law-breaking that could warrant a longer sentence or a hanging... and even if she had, the guards all knew she could use her magic to poof in a purple cloud out of there. They weren't nearly paid enough money to deal with magic-users, especially magic-users as physically affected as she had been, and with as dark a reputation as hers.

She was feeling feverish and full of unease at what her next move or her next words should be. It seemed so obvious to her as she planned it out in her mind, and yet... standing here in her heels trying to maintain her nose in the air like a properly confident royal, she instead felt like a street orphan caked with dirt trying on a stolen dress and makeshift earrings. Something that, yes, she had to confess to having done as a child. It wasn't a good feeling, especially not as an adult.

She knew her seeming queasy would, thankfully, most likely be attributed to the heart-racing situation at hand: finding her new heir.

Pyre didn't quite catch what the prisoner said back, but she did clearly hear the guard say, "I will be right with you as soon as I am done, Kaeda." He came back around the corner and bowed slightly, smiling a pleasant smile. "Thank you for your patience. Right this way, your majesty." He then offered his arm for Pyre to hold onto to guide them to wherever was a good place to talk. As she grasps his arm, she hopes the disgust at the gesture doesn't show too much on her face. She is not one for touch, especially not some high-strung male guard's touch. It was simply royalty customs, she knew that much, for guards to do such a thing with foreign royalty seeking guidance around a city. As far as she knew, it wasn't required that she particularly enjoys any part of it.

She knew she needed to jump on this moment, at the risk of it being the wrong choice and the boy in question to be a complete fiasco at the ball.

"Pray tell, guard, what is the full name of this prisoner you spoke with?"

The guard seemed puzzled at the request. "He would not say, I'm afraid. Kaeda is the only name we have on file." They were going a completely opposite direction than the jail cells holding in prisoners, onto a closed off area usually used for interrogations.

She was seated delicately onto the comfier looking chair, the one where a guard usually sits in to face potential criminals. "I may be searching for a man with such a name, of the upmost importance. Is he firmly convicted of a crime?"

The man's eyes betrayed his hesitation, despite his firm stance and overwhelmingly polite, controlled tone of voice. "He is suspected, although I am unconvinced." He seemed to catch himself belatedly. "Forgive any disrespect. It is up to the gem guards to make the final verdict, and their voice should be louder than mine in such matters." How pitiful. Can no man have his own opinions, his own decisions? Although, according to the tense confrontation she interrupted earlier, he did have some form of backbone. Easily crushed by those of higher authority, but a backbone nonetheless.

"I have a rather odd demand. Could my personal guard question the man, to find his name and judge his character? It is a one in a million chance, of course, but I cannot leave any stone unturned on the matter at hand. Meanwhile, we have much to discuss. If it isn't any disruption to your night, of course."

The guard almost said something ─ she assumed to refuse, pointing out that royal guards were the only guards allowed near the prisoners, by the usual law, or that it may be safer if he were to accompany Ryenne ─ but he quickly came to his senses and gave into the request. Her new reputation was even darker than her last, after all, and he would be in much worse trouble if he was caught disobeying such a high-ranking ally to the Moryen royal family. He escorted Ryenne out, opening the door for her. "Very well. Come to me if there is any trouble with him... he can be quite the handful." The pep talk wasn't met with much enthusiasm by the mercenary, who exited without more than a grunt in acknowledgement. The rusty door came to a close with a heavy thunk behind her.

A shaky sigh escaped Pyre, and she wrung her shaking hands together. There. She officially set the ball rolling.

Now was her chance to make her plea, and see if this guard could be an ally to this mess of a plan... or think her insane, and end up on the wrong side of history. If he disagreed, or went behind her back, he would most likely lose his job in his effort to remain honest with his superiors. And, then, she would go to the source directly: aid the prisoner escape, in exchange for playing the role of the lost prince. She knew living in luxury and pretending to be royalty would be something that few prisoners would refuse, and from what she was hearing this guy wasn't even responsible for the crimes he was locked up for. She didn't want some hard-hearted criminal, far from it. The lost prince needed to be more mischief than cruelty. Someone she couldn't necessarily fully trust, but knew had nothing to lose and everything to gain from a plan as sordid as this one.

"What is your name, guard?"

"Lindor Sindri, at your service." Sindri... what an unfortunate last name, with strong loyal connotations to the Moryen royals. Some in the neighboring kingdoms would in fact call each-other "a Sindri" to mean a bootlicker of a royal family. Or a particularly well-trained dog... hell, she knew a thief in the woods with a dog nicknamed Sindri. Although, here, the Sindri were held in high esteems by the people.

It took her aback, and made her question exactly how useful he would be. It'd be easy to expect him to tattletale as soon as she described what she needed of him and every rule he would need to bend to do so. But with the new royal family in charge having brutally forced their way into the city to steal the Moryen throne, perhaps this Lindor prioritized morality more than following the laws... she wanted to give him a chance to prove himself before going the harder route.

"I have reasons to believe my late husband's son is within these dungeon walls. The name Kaeda was one of the many aliases my servants have found him using, after he ran away from home. He was a bastard, of course, from a now dead mistress... but now, without a male heir for the Riressian throne..." she took a meaningful pause to wipe a tissue to her dry eyes, her shaking hands now coming in handy to prove her emotional display. "I have heard the Sindri to be a honest family. Please, young man. He is the only link my daughter and I have left of my dear Dùghall. Showing him at the ball tomorrow would mean more than words could say." She stared at Lindor, taking his hands in her own to prove her determination. He seemed flustered at such an intimate moment with one of the most fearsome leaders of any kingdom.

"My, what a shocking tale." He even put a hand to his mouth, the gears in his mind visibly turning and putting pieces of the puzzle together. "Your majesty, I will do everything in my power to find your husband's son. I promise it, on my gold honor."

"What a relief to hear those words. This is more sudden than I had planned, but my travels ran late tonight..." He smiled and bowed, dismissing her apology. Pyre's voice was getting flatter with disinterest, but she tried to keep her smile up. He didn't seem to notice anything off with her. Too overwhelmed by the whole mess slowly unfolding before his eyes, she assumed. He definitely didn't know what he was signing up for, but thankfully he was now signed for it.

She now needed Ryenne to get a full name out of the boy, so that Pyre can have a gasp-worthy moment of realization that it is her long-lost son after all. Paired with dragging the boy out for one-on-one time, explaining the how's and why's of the situation. Getting him on board shouldn't be that difficult. Anyone locked in a dungeon would want to wear the finest clothes and dine on the Moryen King's finest dishes at the ball, all for simply smiling, nodding, shaking hands, and making up a backstory to schmooze the nobility and the royalty. Easy peasy.

Or, well, "easy peasy" compared to a death penalty. Here Pyre was, in what should be easy enough for her, struggling to breathe in her corset, fumbling with her confident stare and fancy words, growing tired of the royal fantasy. Getting headache after headache, after merely a week or two of it. She wasn't one to talk.

This plan B had better work.

 

[Cealen]

Kaeda // Moryen Castle-Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

A visitor? Who would want to come down here, even? Even if the love of your life was down here, you sure wouldn’t want to still go down here. Maybe Kaeda didn’t understand because no one ever came to really visit him, nor did he see anyone get visited. Guards excluded of course. Jeez, and Kaeda waited patiently too! He sat in his cell the entire time listening to water dripping from leaks! It was so boring! And now the gold guard is just ignoring him...what did he even expect, putting some hope into some guard, huh…looking out the window, he still couldn’t get a good view of what the visitors even looked like, nor how many of them there were. Can’t they give these cells a bit of a bigger window…?

“Finnneee...have fun with whoever you’re giving the grand tour of the dungeons to.” Kaeda sighed, knowing that he really can’t stop the gold guard from doing anything. He went back and sat on his crappy bed, not having anything else to do. All he could do was be stuck in his head or annoy guards. Annoying guards was more fun than thinking about what’s really going to happen to him. He had a strange feeling though that the gold guard actually trying to talk to the other guards, as useless as it was, was actually going to do something. When did he get so hopeful?

He sat there bored for a while before sending movement outside his cell again. He could also hear the clinking of armor. So, not the gold guard? It didn’t sound like he wore any armor. Was it one of the silvers…? Kaeda went up the window, and looked outside, seeing armor that definitely wasn’t from Moryen. Hmm… it looked to be Riressian armor, judging by the purple...why is a Riressi guard over here?

“Hi…?” Kaeda greeted, unsure. The guard outside was sighing already.

“...Hello there, I guess. I was sent over to go and talk to you.” The voice responded, a feminine-sounding voice that was gruff and definitely did not want to be here right now. The way she was talking wasn't like a guard would, Kaeda could somehow tell, probably because he’s been questioned so much he knows guards usually talk to him with a lot more contempt than that.

“Ohhhh? I’m getting questioned by Riressi guards now, too, huh? What does a Riressian want with pwoor meee?” He made himself sound as annoying as possible, because Riressians went crazy over that kind of stuff. The guard outside made another sigh, more annoyed.

“I just want to know your name. Then you’ll be left alone. I heard enough of you already for a lifetime.” Oh, so mean! Kaeda only spoke a few sentences to her and she was already writing him off! Eh, typical, typical. This guard seemed to really not want to do this, so he’ll let that one slide, even though he hates usually people judging him so quickly.

“My name? Who’s asking, huh? The guards here already know my name.” Kaeda wanted to know who was sending some Riressian guard after him. Or at least someone who’s assuming the role of a guard currently, Kaeda was even more unconvinced based on how she was speaking to him further.

There was silence for a few moments, as if the guard was questioning on if she should name drop whoever is looking for him. “....Queen Orym is looking for you. She wants to know your full name.” Huh? What? The Queen of Riressi is now after him?! Hadn’t he pissed off enough royalty already?! Kaeda felt actually taken aback by the guard’s words. Also, not using “her majesty, Queen Orym” made it really obvious that this wasn’t a guard he was talking to, really.

“Uhm. Can you go tell her I never been in her castle, let alone anywhere near the capital of Riressi? I really have no idea what else she would want me for...and honestly, I kinda don’t want to talk to her? No mean intentions to your dear heavenly queen of course.” He definitely had mean intentions. The things he heard that she had done made any sensible person dislike her.

“...You don’t have to talk to her if you tell me your name.” The guard sounded awkward, like she was trying to reassure him, or something? Wasn't she mad that Kaeda didn’t want to talk to the queen?

“Hmmm, but I can’t remember my last name~!” Kaeda hummed in his annoying voice, throwing out a lie that no one would be able to really disprove. “That’s why there’s no last name listed for me~. I’m just a poor guy with no family whatsoever~.” Of course, any noble can kinda disprove that, but how would some Riressi guard know he’s lying out of his ass right now?

“...Hmm...I truly think the Queen is making me ask you for your name because she’s...looking for someone in particular. Can’t say who.” The guard was totallyyyyyy hiding some information behind those words. “If you say you really don’t know...that could be a sign of something…” Huh? He didn’t accidentally give the answer the guard was looking for, did he? He just didn’t want to drop sensitive information like that and screw over the one person who actually gives a shit about him, hence the lie.

“Well, whoever your dear queen is looking for, hope she finds them or whatever. And leaves me alone. Forever.” Kaeda realllly didn’t want to get into another mess with another royal family. Unless the Queen was about to free him or something. In that case, then he isn’t as stupid enough to refuse! Like that would happen.

The guard hummed, seemingly ok with his answer, as the clinking of armor indicated she was walking away from his cell. Man, what a weird day, getting a guard to actually listen to him, and now the Queen of a forigen kingdom he never even went into further than the border towns? Ah, it’s too late for this sort of stuff. Can the gold guard just disappoint him so he can go and sleep…

~~~

Ryenne // Moryen Castle- Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

What a weirdo that prisoner was. He seemed like he wanted to be as annoying as possible. Probably because he believed her to be a guard. She...put up a good front, right? Why does she care so much about what some prisoner thought of her? Still...this really could be that long lost son Orym was talking about earlier, somehow. He wasn’t annoying in the same way the princess was. He was just annoying in the way that he obviously did not like working with guards and other authority people. Can’t exactly blame him, can she?

Someone like that...doesn’t seem to be particularly dangerous. He still gave her information and didn’t appear to be heartless. Ryenne was considering lying to the queen at first, to prevent some criminal from overtaking the throne, that can be even worse than Orym, Ryenne shudders at the thought. Maybe someone untainted by Riressian ways like the prisoner was would be something better...and then she would have helped not only Cyne, but everyone, by finding this prisoner. Nothing would get better instantly, but just...better. Having things be somewhat better was good. Hmm...

She went over to the questioning room, accidentally slamming the door open again, the rusted door nearly giving into her push. Oops. The two residents of the room seemed to have noticed her right away with such an entrance, though.

“...Ahem.” She cleared her throat. “...The prisoner did not tell me his last name. Not that he refused, but he couldn’t, it appeared like...he really doesn’t know. He says he has no family, so...I’ll let you interpret that as you will. He’s annoying, but he’s alright, I assume. He insists he never has been to Riressi though. That’s all.” Ok, that’s enough talking for Ryenne now. She fell into her usual silence, and moved over to lean on the wall, so she would get pushed out of the doorway by what she assumes would happen next now that she’s back from Orym’s stupid errand. She wasn’t exactly excited for what she suspected Orym would declare next. At least the princess would get screwed over by this whole ordeal, it’ll sure be funny when all the attention is taken away from her for once.

 

[femslasher]

Pyre // Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

An orphan, or orphan enough to give her plenty of leeway. Oh, what a perfect lost price. Fallen right into my hands, she thought. Much easier than expected.

Pyre could have given a comically evil laugh right about now, if her sleep-deprived and stress-wracked body wasn't killing her right now. She had to settle with granting Ryenne a particularly pleased smile and further acting out her plan. "What an excellent job, Ryenne. It confirms my suspicions." She raised up from her chair, ignoring the gold fool's visible offer of an arm to grab. She had enough of this charade and needed to seal the deal. "My dear─" her teeth imperceptibly gritted at that, "─husband Dùghall was informed of his mistress dying, yet they never found the child. Kaeda was his first name. He never, of course, would have learned he was a Dùghall heir. Nor, if another family found him, would he know he was adopted." She opened the door for herself, as heavy as it was, impatient with all these rules of politeness when she was this close to solving her most unfortunate problem before the ball.

"Sindri, let me take a good look at this boy. If I am right... we will be bringing him home in the early morning."

"I must confess, he is facing a life sentence, potentially a death sentence─"

"What if I told you I can help find the real thief, with my own means?" Lindor stuttered into silence. "If you put another wrong man in, one who already faces a heavy sentence, instead of my heir for the next few weeks... if you do this, for the future of Riressi, then I will give you every privilege required to find the real perpetrator. It would strengthen my alliance with the Moryens beyond belief. Even prevent war."

"Your majesty..." the Sindri was deep in thoughts. Certainly considering the offer, and then drowning in vicious guilt at even considering such a thing.

"You can think on your feet, can't you, boy? Let yourself decide on the way." He had faltered a few feet outside the interrogation room, slowing them down. At this, he picked up once again the pace and seemed to shake himself back into his role as a high-ranking royal guard.

Pyre had almost achieved the impossible: making her way into a foreign dungeons to steal a prisoner and make him her heir. Her heart was beating faster than it had in over 15 years of living in wilderness as an all-powerful witch. She never thought she could be so antsy. The anticipation would drive her mad. Still, she felt alive in a way that was difficult to describe. Now if only she, as a royal lady, could pass by the tavern on the way to chug a few ales in honor of such an unlikely thing slowly coming to fruition... she would have to accept the reward of a luxury bed and a few sips of wine instead.

Now on with the theater, for just one last scene. And then the red curtains will come down and she will declare her plan a true success.

***

Lindor // Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

Anxiety was twisting at his stomach. Taunting him, replaying his words and his actions over and over in his mind.

What on Earth was that? Wasn't he better than this?

He thought that, with all his training and his dignity as a guard, he would know how to smoothly turn down an offer to break the law. Even coming from one of the most fearsome royal lineage... he had truly expected more of himself. It was with his tail between his legs that he guided the duo towards the jail cells once more.

He had to flip a coin mentally, and emotionally: help the Queen and what he now knows to be the Riressian heir ─ shocking, still, that such a loud mouth and a self-admitted thief would be in line to inherit a throne... he didn't have any ill intent and didn't sense any malice from the guy, but it was a shock nonetheless ─ or, as the very armor he was wearing swore him to, choose the path of the Moryen law and plead Queen Orym to instead bring up any concerns to the gem guards. To leave her son, whom he knows in his heart is innocent, behind bars. To put the essential Moryen-Riressi alliance in jeopardy. All of these heavy decisions put on his shoulders, him, a simple gold guard who is oh so close to getting promoted to the gem rank. A usually small pawn in the game of inter-kingdom affairs.

He could lose everything from this. He knew that. One way or the other, his job was on the line here. His mother, father, and younger siblings relied on that very job's financial support to live the peaceful life they were living. He couldn't make a decision that put them in any danger, or trouble.

On that line of thought, he also knew the very real threat Queen Orym held over the Moryen kingdom. Her kingdom was by far more powerful than Moryen, and she knew how to use that knowledge to her benefit. Moryen had undergone many destabilizing changes in recent years, and the newest royal family was still trying to prove they were a force to reckon with. Not just a common vacation spot for nobility and a prestigious yearly ball. War was a concerning threat from about one third of the nearby kingdoms. Every year, the ball was an occasion to make more alliances... as well as more enemies. Lindor did not want RIressi, of all kingdoms, to be an enemy of Moryen. It would prove to be catastrophic, as Riressi had twice the amount of allies and twice as much gold.

He was thinking like a true royal advisor, his father would say. Still, despite his revolutionary mind and preferring out-of-the-box methods, his father would definitely not approve of indulging Queen Orym's plan. Far from it. As for his mother, he could already hear her yelling at the very audacity of it.

He was growing dizzy from all this thinking. Their steps were mere seconds away from Kaeda's cell, and he was not any closer to making a decision.

He could already hear the usual whining from the cell. The previous guest must not have been pleasant for Kaeda, Lindor assumed, glancing at Queen Orym's tough-looking, rather unconventional personal guard. She did not have the usual air Lindor associated with royal guards... still, he knew her type and it wasn't all that unusual for a reigning king or queen to seek personal guards with a background in mercenary work, or even assassins from oversea. Or, perhaps, the guard training in Riressi was widely different than the guard training he received in Moryen. It was hard to tell, and useless to ponder over much longer.

He could see Kaeda's curious eyes in the small eye-level opening. It was a type of cell given only those who crossed royalty, of the highest security. As he went to open the door, the eyes moved out of sight to give way. Lindor bowed out of Queen Orym's way, yet as she stepped into the cell he looked up to get his first real look at the prisoner and observe the scene unfolding. What an otherworldly sight: the queen's classy dress and silky hair contrasting with the dirt and dust of the grey-colored cell. Colorful purples on top of dull grey walls and yellowed pillows. He couldn't help but hold his breath, unsure what would transpire next.

"Evening, Kaeda. I am the Riressian Queen." She took a curtsy, a strange thing to do towards a dirt-stricken prisoner. What a privilege, Lindor's mother would whisper scandalously. Getting a curtsy from a royal, and having a royal know your personal name as you lay in a dungeon cell. "This must be quite confusing for you, I am sure. But I am here with a good reason, an urgent reason." She put a hand up for Lindor, smiling.

The gesture didn't come with much explanation, but Lindor followed the context given. "Queen Orym has negotiated for your freedom... Prince Kaeda." The last term felt odd in his mouth, especially after their bickering interactions beforehand. Still, by the nod the queen gave him, it was what was asked of him. "You are to walk free by the morning, and attend the ball with your... family," he added last minute. It was hard to get used to.

"Yes, as you can see we have finally found you, the child my husband Dùghall bore with his late mistress. My heir. Thrown to the streets, like a dog," she said, taking Kaeda's face in her hand for a brief instant, eyes tearing up. "I've only seen you as a baby, but I'd recognize that face anywhere. We will make you into the prince you were born to me, I swear by it." She furrowed her brows, shaking her head. "Unless, of course, you would rather stay in this life of anonymity... in this dungeon. You are your own man now, after all. I am aware of your adoptive family, and of your mischievous nature, and although I am willing to embrace it all, I would understand your refusal, my child." She brushed off non-existent dirt from her dress. "You have until the morning to decide."

She had touched him too briefly for him to slap away, something Lindor ─ knowing the man's impulsive nature ─ feared for an instant. Surely he wouldn't be foolish enough to yell at royalty, hit royalty, or otherwise disrespect such a powerful figure... right? Either way, the moment was gone before he could have done anything about it. Lindor breathed out a small sigh of relief. Giving the rascal until tomorrow to make up his mind also meant Lindor will be left to answer any leftover questions, most of those Lindor knew no answers to.

"You may ask Sindri here any requests to prepare for your return home. You will also be granted a better cell for your last night here, of course." She gave a meaningful glance towards Lindor, whom nodded and bowed. Figures. Ah, well, if it was for a prince he would allow it.

She put a hand to her temple and her breaths became heavy with fatigue. "This has been an overwhelming night, please forgive me." She leaned onto Lindor, who held her... unsure what else to do.

"Of course, your majesty," he reassured her. He gave a glance towards her personal guard, who seemed not to quite do her job fast enough... if he was in her shoes, he would already be insisting they get a carriage back home for the night. Clearly she was running low on energy, and her words beginning to slur.

Before he knew it, he realizes he must have already made his choice. Unless Kaeda outright refuses, there he is, a gold guard going against his sworn duty. Answering to another kingdom. For the greater good of his own, of course, and with good intentions in mind. But... it was unavoidable. Inexcusable. He had already done the unthinkable. He felt waves of guilt once more, this time almost drowning him out. He had gotten caught in the moment, and the moment cheated him.

No, that was the easy way out of taking responsibility. However unconsciously, he had made the decision to follow Queen Orym's plan. Plain and simple.

Now, he needed to deal with the consequences.

 

[Cealen]

Kaeda // Moryen Castle-Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen.

It was silent for a while as Kaeda sat around. What else does someone expect him to be able to do in some boring jail cell? He was feeling even more desperate to get out now that the gold guard got him all riled up. He should try to get a name out of him next time he sees him, referring to him as just “gold guard” was weird.

More movement outside, and the clicking of armor again. Ugh, was that Riressi guard girl back? What more could she want from him? It definitely felt like...she was with more people, this time. The other visitors? Maybe the gold guard was with them...he went up to his tiny window again, only to be met with the gold guard’s gaze again. Wait, was that the sound of his door opening?! Was he going to be free, actually? He excitedly moved out of the way, not doing the “dart out” attempts he usually employs whenever his cell is opened even a millimeter.

...Oh. A woman walked in, definitely dressed in some fancy-noble wear. Wait, similar Riressian purple...hmm. Kaeda gave a look to the Riressian guard who had entered into the room with her. Didnt she say he didn’t have to talk to her? The Riressian guard broke eye contact with him, looking uncomfortable at the whole situation. He returned his gaze to the woman who walked in, guarded, as he always was when he had to interact with these royal types who actually can do something to him.

The woman introduced herself, affirming his suspicions. Why was she getting the gold guard to talk for her—HUH? What the hell was this gold guard calling him?!? He nearly backed away, hearing Orym then suddenly go on about how...he was...the past king of Riressi son…? What? He couldn’t form any coherent thoughts, what could have even caused this...lady...to think that?

Oh. Ohhhh no. He realized what led to this, in his confusion, as he half listened to the Queen’s monologuing, Not even on reflex backing away from her grabbing his face, even though he would have had some choice words if he wasn’t absolutely bewildered right now. Hard thing to make Kaeda be, he had to give her credit.

The guard. That stupid guard told her that lie he made. He just wanted to leave Nyrinn out of his fucking messes, ughhh...well, Kaeda definitely wasn’t even going to entertain the thought of actually being some long lost prince. He knew who he was. He also had no desire to be a prince or whatever, especially one from a completely different country than what he was used to. Gods, nothing can be more boring than being a royal, and going to little events where you’re scruntized for every single thing you do, and you get everything you want ever. Where's the fun in a life like that? Kaeda was going to drop the truth bomb on the tearful woman in front of him, but he realized something.

Ah...escape...this is the only way he’s getting out of this one, isn’t he? He’ll go ask the gold guard if he had any luck in preventing his most likely death sentence- something Kaeda obviously did NOT want- but he already knows the answer that will get him. So...who cares about some evil royal woman’s feelings? He’ll get out of here, go to her stupid ball, and then high tail out of there, free as day. The only reason why he wanted to go to the ball is because it’ll be fun how much annoyances he can cause there, and then he can leave, and Orym will be sad, he guesses, whatever, if she truly does think he’s the king lost prince of Riressi. He wasn’t stupid enough to be like “I dont wanna leaveeee...I wanna stay in a shitty cell and die~...” Ok, he’ll play along...once he gets his pounding he’s he of emotions trying to process all of this sorted out.

“Hmmm? Sindri?” Kaeda echoed at the name. Wait, was the gold guard a fucking Sindri? Oh man, this made this whole mess even more hilarious. A Sindri was trying to get him out of jail, huh, this entire time? Aren’t they too busy being the stepping stools for royalty to stand on? Ah, Kaeda shouldn’t be hypocritical and judge him based on his family lineage, but it was clear that this gold guard fit the descriptor of one with how polite his voice was and the way he acted. And he wasn’t enough of a blockhead like other Sindris to assume he was guilty instantly because he went against their beloved royals.

The Riressian guard finally spoke. “...Do you want to head out?” She asked the queen, who simply nodded her head. The gold guard moved away from the entrance of the cell, and the two Riressians exited out, leaving Kaeda with that information bomb. If you got reunited with a long lost prince, wouldn’t you want to talk to him more, other than just being like “Yep, the information I heard second hand is enough!” and leaving immediately because you're so tired. Kaeda was tired too. Maybe he’s experiencing some weird dream. Kaeda felt jittery, thinking about what he was going to do with that information.

“Ohhhh~. Mister gold guard, are you going to be my cellmate now? Don’t wanna leave the cell?” Kaeda hummed, looking at him now with a half-confused half-excited look on his face. “Can you believe it...ahahaha! This is going to be fun, I think! I’ll finallyyyy be out of this cell~.” Kaeda was way too excited for being someone who wanted to instantly back away from the entire situation a few moments ago. He just realized he wouldn’t have to do much politics before he’s out of there and had his fun. “Ohhh...I never get to go even close to those noble parties...hey, gold guard, how’s the security there, by the way?” Kaeda teased the gold guard, before he realized something. “If I’m a prince...and you’re a Sindri...that means you instantly now see totally different, right? Hm.” As long as Kaeda could just go to parties all day and never had to do whatever a prince actually does, he’s fineee with playing along with everything right now! How much can he get away with what he says to other nobles and how he acts...he can imagine the shiny objects they bring with them...ooooohhoooo..this was actually a good thing for Kaeda, even though it was born out of a lie!

“Can you tell me your name, actually? See, i’m going to be a good, nice noble and refer to everyone by their first name! Unlike...uhhh, what do I even call her...Orym? I can just call her by her first name, right? Anyways, she just refers to you as “Sindri”. I wanna know who you are past just some familial title, see?” Kaeda did want to know actually who this guard’s name was. Along with that other guard. “She told me to ask you any questions, so there's my first one!” Getting a better look at the gold guard made him feel actually equal to him for once, although he attempted to appear as so when questioning him. Kaeda will bring some excitement to his life, wouldn’t he?

“Oh yeah, I already know you couldn’t convince a gem guard to let me out. Duh. But...uhm...thanks...for that.” He sounded awkward even in his excitable tone, most likely due to rarely ever saying something like that. “You tried...at least...even if you did it for other reasons, it made me feel actually hopeful….you kind of lost out on this one, though, hahaha.” See, Kaeda was polite when he wanted to! It reminded him of Nyrinn saying he was so quiet and never talked other than “sorries” and “thank yous” when he was little. How much he had changed, she would say with a bit of a pained tone of voice...oh shit, right, Nyrinn...would maybe be there at the castle, right...what would he do if she exposes his lie?! Kaeda made a mental note to make sure his sister wasn’t there at the ball. Maybe she can become a Riressian princess next? Haha.

“Oh...second question!” Kaeda was all over the place in where he talked, going from sentimental to excited idiot in seconds. “How did Orym know I was her son or whatever she sees me as, by the way? Did you...or that other guard, tell her something about me in particular? Don’t gossip about me, you knowww~. It’s rude.” He just wanted to know why she picked him in the first place, when she sent that guard of hers down to his cell.

 

[femslasher]

Lindor // Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

Lindor was wracked with guilt.

His hand went to his hair, to untie the headache-inducing ponytail as he did after particularly difficult days. Instead, he brushed a strand of hair off his face and leaned on the wall, still in complete and utter shock at what he had allowed to happen on his watch.

The way the prisoner said his name was heavy with connotation, and Lindor was well aware of his family's reputation. That made him feel that much guiltier for not representing his family the way they deserved to be represented. He ignored the few harmless jabs thrown his way, but he could not ignore the questions that Queen Orym insisted Kaeda could get answers for through him. As if he would know what to say. How defeated he must look right now... although he had more than enough reasons to feel this way, any silver guard in his place would have simply shrugged, gotten a fresh ale and forgotten all about it by the next day. They were vultures, truly, and did not deserve being called officers of the law. And yet here he was, not much better than those silvers' usual antics.

He was too emotionally exhausted to entertain the Prince ─ my, what a heavy title, would he even get used to it? ─ and his usual shenanigans in the dungeon.

"My name is Lindor Sindri. I'm at your service for as long as you are in Moryen, your highness," he mustered with the last energy left in him, straightening his posture. "Forgive my shock, I..." he faltered. "I should not have done what I did. It betrayed my honor as a royal guard, and betrayed my family as well. It's a heavy sin, to let a prisoner walk free without trial. Still," he nodded at Kaeda's smug face and relaxed demeanor, "I secured your freedom at last. I admit it was my goal of the week, and here we are."

He put a hand on his face, trying his best not to tear up from the stressful few hours. It was hard to put into words how much was on the line. He would need to make peace with himself to continue his job, but he would be shaky on his feet for the next few days, coming to terms with this mess. It wasn't so much about his own pride as a man as it was about how he was raised, his family's aspirations, and his family's reputation. His family was everything to him. His community, as well, meant more than he could say. He prided himself in being a man of the people, out there bettering the kingdom. What was he now? A liar? A criminal?

"No gossip of the sort, sire," Lindor reassured him. "Your step-mother knew of a mistress, your mother, that King Dùghall fancied for many years. She only knew that the mistress died and the orphaned child was named Kaeda, later adopted by a family in Moryen, rumored to fall into a life of crime." It felt embarrassing to link a Prince to crimes to his face, but, seeing as he was only recently aware of his title, he may give Lindor a pass on that transgression. "When Queen Orym went on her trip to the yearly ball, she couldn't help passing by to see if the rumors were true." He paused, giving Prince Kaeda time to process what must be very emotional news. "The Riressian guard was first here to find a name, to see if you truly were an orphan ─ in the end, it confirmed both their suspicions. All the pieces of the puzzle fell into place, as you see."

He gave a glance outside the open door, realizing he had put quite a few of his duties on hold to deal with this situation. He forgave himself for that, knowing that the silver guards often took off for hours at a time on unscheduled breaks. At least, he had a good enough reason to do so. It was a lot of new information, and new burdens on his conscience, to process.

"This must be very difficult for you to swallow, Prince Kaeda. I will prepare your new cell for the night and─" he couldn't bring himself to mention putting another prisoner in his stead aloud, breathing out a slight sigh instead, "─escort you out to your family's Moryen inn tomorrow morning. I will do my best to provide adequate chambers in the meantime."

He had a good enough idea of where to start: there was a cell on the floor that was turned into a guard break room, something that Lindor, of course, was not the type to use. It was far enough from the jail cells that any hour spent there was spent in pure laziness. The entirety of the dungeons could escape, and any guard in there would be none the wiser. There was even a bed in a corner, something the previous guards used much too often during their shifts. Only Prince Kaeda had gotten them to actually patrol the perimeters regularly, seeing as he was a true escape artist and they had let out one too many prisoners escape the past few months. Some silver guards had even had their title threatened to be removed after the latest escape ─ not that it scared them enough to do their job on the higher levels of the dungeons... it only scared them into relegating the chores to a higher rank. Lindor knew for a fact they did not remember, or even look at, the prisoners' faces. And he knew for a fact that the royals hadn't met Kaeda face-to-face, as his trial hadn't yet happened.

It was, as much as Lindor hated to admit it, the perfect timing to play switcheroo with Kaeda and some other unfortunate soul.

"Excuse me," he bowed, closing the jail cell ─ even if he is a prince, Lindor could not risk him escaping from under Queen Orym's nose overnight ─ to go inspect the break room, and set things up as luxurious as he could for the night.

Then, it would be time to choose who to put in Prince Kaeda's stead.

***

Pyre // Inn, Kingdom of Moryen

Her new daughter was insufferable. Only in her mind could she complain of her in such a way, although she knew if she was to speak of it to anyone in the surroundings they would rightfully agree with the sentiment. Princess Elashor was an immature, dark-hearted, condescending, egoistical young woman. Despite being solidly into her adulthood, of mature age, she was worse than the loud-mouthed toddler of a noble. She was used to having servants and entertainers, and not even other members of high society were her equals.

From the very minute she arrived at the inn she realized everyone still awake had turned into clowns for the princess' enjoyment. She was seated at the most comfortable seat with at least ten men from nobility bringing her everything from various bottles of wine, to pastries, flowers to put in her hair, exotic jewelry and dresses the nobles seemed to have bought specifically for her expected arrival to impress her. Of course, nothing these noble boys could do would put them in Elashor's favors... only the highest of royals could even hope to satisfy her, if that was possible. What a close-minded, materialistic little demon. There was even a young man reading her stories and another playing a string instrument for her pleasure. Disgusting.

Pyre clapped her hands, and the scene came to a halt. The instrument stopped playing, the boy squeaked in the middle of his reading, and a few almost dropped what they were carrying for her highness to inspect critically. "Mother dearest, there you are! I was dying of boredom," she whined, her hand dismissing all the affection she had been receiving non-stop in Pyre's absence. "Ryenne," she greeted, as an afterthought. "Mother, have the mercenary prepare my bed at once."

Of course, she could not do such a basic life skill by herself. "Manners, Elashor. Asked her politely." Her distaste showed more clearly in her voice than it had thus far, enhanced by her fatigue and the dizzy weakness in her knees that led to her prompt exit from the dungeons. She had barely held it together on the way home and thanked Ryenne more than once, although the way back felt foggy to think about. She needed to fall onto her bed, prompto.

Elashor made a pout. Yet, knowing not to push her luck, she turned to Ryenne. "Guard. Ryenne. Please," her mouth curved unnaturally around the word, "make my bed." She gave a furtive glance towards Pyre, displeased but at least pretending to be obedient.

Pyre nodded in appreciation. Or, well, as much appreciation as she could feel for it.

She had done the worst of it, she kept telling herself. The worst part was over with.

She couldn't even begin to think of the ball tomorrow, anxiety rising to dangerous levels each time she attempted to. Instead she centered herself on the present and getting her daughter and herself to bed. Today was all that mattered, for now, and she had succeeded as well as she could have today. There were a few iffy parts here and there, as to be expected; yet overall she had survived without completely losing her face or blowing her cover.

 

[Cealen]

Kaeda // Moryen Castle- Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

Lindor Sindri, huh? Lindor...Lindorrrrr...Lindorrrrrrrrrrr...hmmmm...what’s a good nickname to annoy him with? Kaeda had to take this opportunity, you know! He gets the boss around the guard all he wants!! He kept on thinking about fun things he can do with his new found power. Of course, he’s a good boyyy! And won’t actually do anything that would affect anyone beyond mild annoyances. And the sudden disappearances of any cool things they may own. Oh, right, he got an idea for a nickname now!

“Hehe...I no longer have to refer to you as “gold guard”, Linny!” Kaeda said with a grin, hoping the guard enjoyed his new name. Huh, wait, Lindor seemed to be in the greatest anguish ever right now. Was he that upset at Kaeda being a prince? Hmph! Kaeda huffed when he found out the actually reasoning, though. Any talk about “betraying your family” made Kaeda think about how the rest of his family other than Nyrinn had completely pretended he didn’t know who he was, claiming that he had “betrayed” them. How? They kept on saying it was “bad” Kaeda was stealing from rich assholes who had more money than they knew what to do with. How is that “bad”? They acted like Kaeda robbed a homeless vagrant in front of them when they found his stash.

“...Can you stop it with that kind of “betraying” talk? It’s fucking stupid, you realize, right?” Kaeda sighed, knowing that his words were a bit more aggressive than he wanted them to be. He caught himself, reminding him to keep a cool face on. “...Haah. Sorry. I just get annoyed when people say stuff like that. You did what you did for a reason, even if you don’t realize why yet. Even though I dooooo~. You did this because it’s the right thing to do! So, you put your morals over some stupid laws! You believe in innocent before proven guilty, right Linny? So...if i’m really really actually guilty, you’ll be able to figure that one out, regardless of a trial, by my own actions, right?” Was Lindor even listening to him or was too busy sulking over betraying the Sindri name? Didn’t Lindor realize that was a good thing? Whatever.

Hmm, hearing what story led Orym to believing this nonsense that he was her long lost not-even-related-to-her son was a fun trip. Kaeda even wanted to laugh at it at some points because Lindor was speaking as if it was the gospel of truth. Was he that gullible? Maybe Orym should convince him he’s a prince next. He’ll probably believe it.

Hmm, so Orym really really wants to see me, living, physical proof, of her husband cheating on her with another lady? Hahahaha. Kaeda was thinking to himself about it and finding it even more hilarious. What reputation did Orym think she had? She was known for enacting the strictest punishments for even the most minor of transgressions. It’s the whole reason why Kaeda stays far away from Riressi in the first place, he knows this stuff! So yeah, sure she would be able to love a representation of her husband’s unfaithfulness. Who did she think she was fooling other than a blockheaded Sindri and dumb nobles? Also, she knew for years, but only came to check now? What about the year before that? And the year before that one too? And the year before those two? She just gives a shit about finding him now? Please…

It wasn’t like he was going to not play along with this for now, but he’d be stupid to think Orym just didn’t free a prisoner for no reason and only out of “good will”. She wanted something from him, didn't she? And he wouldn’t be able to get an answer out of her anytime soon, either, most likely...wait, was Lindor leaving Kaeda in this shitty cell?!? Whyyy! Couldn't he go around and help Lindor? He promises even that he won’t escape! Ugh, guess he’ll just spend more time in his lovely accommodations here, at least he actually has knowledge that he’s getting out of here soon…

~~~

Ryenne // Inn, Kingdom of Moryen

Ryenne wondered if that could have gone somewhat better. Really, leaving someone you claim as your lost kin in some dungeons with that information by themselves...didn’t sound like a good game plan, but what did Ryenne know? Maybe Orym was really about to pass out on the spot, especially with the eventful day they had today. And Ryenne was here thinking the ball would have been the more exciting event, not GOING there the night before. Ryenne was actually on Orym’s side about wanting to go in for the night, Ryenne always enjoyed getting the embrace of her crappy thin bed at home after a long day at work. At least that’s a better bed than they were sticking Kaeda on in that cell.

See, Ryenne will remember Kaeda’s name, but the princess doesn’t deserve that honor yet, even though she’s now making an effort to actually say her name right when asking. What an angel. Ryenne made a mental note to apologize for everyone who had to deal with her in their absence. Wait, those are nobles too! She retracts her apologies and is more baffled at how the princess convinced a whole group of noblemen to do her bidding. It was...almost impressive…

“Let me assist...her majestyyy…” She was never going to get used to saying these titles actually, “to her room, then I will come to help you, alright?” Ryenne wanted to go ask something of Orym, and it’s pretty much the best time to ask her since it was a time-sensitive question. She couldn’t believe she wanted to go somewhere with Orym alone for once over something else. Ugh, this stupid Queen and her stupid actions...

“Hmmm...alright. Mother, good night, please...get some rest. It has been a long day, after all.” It sounded like she was going to say something else, but retracted it, opting to take a more neutral stane. Maybe she was still reeling from the emotional state she was in back at the store and was about to say something kind to her mother. Oh, the horror in doing so for the princess.

She accompanied Orym to her room, a separate room from the princess’s one, because as childish as she loved to act, she was an adult. That Kaeda person looked to be about the same age as her, or at least, around so, but he had been staying in a cell for a while and wasn’t exactly in the best shape. So, who truly knows...Ryenne had to wonder what he was thinking about all this, just getting that information bomb then still left to sit at the dungeons. And being told he had to go to a ball the very next day too. Must be some whiplash.

Entering the room and ensuring the door is closed, Ryenne proceeded with her inquiry. “Uh…since her highness doesn’t know about this, how are we getting him over here tomorrow and dropping that information on her? I would rather not you act alone on this…” Ryenne had to deal with sorting this whole mess out, so she was sure going to attempt to mitigate anything that Orym may attempt to run off and do on her own. She has to keep the queen somewhat grounded, after all.

 

[femslasher]

Pyre // Inn, Kingdom of Moryen

The door closed with an oh so comforting thump. If she had been alone, she would have let herself fall with a dramatic flair to her knees, breathing out all the anxiety and fatigue that had been wrecking her body and mind. She did such a pitiful thing more often than she liked to admit.

Still, Ryenne's composed behavior, with the ever constant judgement at the tip of her tongue, and her Riressian guard outfit ─ wrinkled from the day's activities ─ stayed as visual and verbal reminders that Pyre could not indulge her childish habits quite yet. She needed to hold her head somewhat high, and respond like as much of a lady as she could muster despite her tangled hair, soaked shoes, and the muddy bottom of her royal dress.

As she was asked the why's and how's of getting the stand-in Riressian heir back here in the morning, with the princess not knowing the truth... Pyre's cheeks flushed and her hands wrung themselves in embarrassment despite herself. Well, she wasn't the type to think through every little detail. Usually throwing a potion or swirling her magic would tie up any loose ends in her previous plans. She hadn't realized how heavily she had leaned on her other abilities before. She very well couldn't put the princess under a spell without her fingers getting purple burns at the tips and perhaps even on her palms. These marks would fade after a few days, yes, but still be a problem near so many nobles, and even more near her observant mercenary companion. And if she was to re-use magic, in a last resort throughout the next few days spent in Moryen, these marks could become a permanent tattoo on Queen Orym's perfect body. "Tainting" her new body would do her no good and turn moot any benefits she had gained from this body swap.

She may have enjoyed being visibly herself, in all her magical glory, in her past body, tattooed in a strangely beautiful way, a way seen as mangled by most... but there was no denying that it earned her a lifetime of exile, destroying any life opportunities she may have been offered otherwise. She needed to enjoy and maintain this new lifestyle and use it as a clean slate, or her luck would turn rotten and she would be back to square one. With her head cut off as well, certainly.

Although she wouldn't let the mask fall completely, she couldn't help but let some of that perfection crack in front of only Ryenne.

Ryenne was so strangely familiar in how she acted and her stubborn values ─ more than one woman like her had come crawling on their knees to Pyre, begging for a potion to heal their relatives or neighbors. Asking about exactly how much magic they could do without ending up like her, as they needed to protect a young sibling or a lover. Seeking to find an enemy of their people, who had been extorting the poor and the old and the disabled as well but been forgiven by the King. These women were not merely morally good, but morally strong. They took action in their own hands. Their eyes stayed sharp but their mouths quivered as they talked to her, caring too much for their own good. They were the unsung heroes of so many communities. And yet, as people traveled to such and such kingdom, they only saw the King's or the Queen's main city, the shiny streets, the nobles, the merchants. Any smaller neighboring city or village was shameful to be found roaming in, lacking resources, ugly buildings with dirty people, working beyond their physical limits to survive. It made Pyre ill to think about, especially now that she was not at her post in her tent, awaiting the next pleading villager.

Pyre knew that women like Ryenne had to do unsavory things for the good of their people that often kept them up at night. They didn't get compensated or praised like a knight or royal guard might. They were difficult to work with. They gave everything and got nothing back.

Pyre hadn't been heroic, hadn't been tied to anyone or anything or any greater purpose. Still, she knew what it was like to be seen as worse than dirt. Her shoulders couldn't help but relax in non-noble, non-royal company. With someone who would spit on a royal's grave as easily as she would get a potion from a wretched witch. Miserable women always gave her the best company: no idiocy, no small talk, no boot-licking.

She took her shoes off, hissing at the pain in her heels, and walked with a much less proper posture to sit on the decadent bed. She never knew an inn, of all places, somewhere that had mice and insects crawling on a yellowed mattress, would have such luxury. Rich people truly lived in a different reality.

She slowly undid her small, messy front braids. Her hair curled but, somehow, was still silky. What sorcery is this? She repressed a chuckle. She wouldn't be surprised if she found a vial of some forbidden hair potion in the Queen's side table drawer, to be used every night religiously. Or did she truly, as the rumors say, wash her hair in the blood of her enemies? Despite being kept short, it sure was the topic of gossip among the maids.

She still felt like a child, not having thought things through. Ryenne was contractually obligated to go easy on her stupidity, right?

"I was thinking..." she tried not to let it show that she was thinking on her feet there, and hadn't had it in mind all along, "perhaps you can yourself go get Prince Kaeda prepared, physically and mentally, in the morning. Then, we can set a location to meet, somewhere to drink tea and eat. I will go with my daughter and by the time you both arrive, I will have told her whom is meant to meet us." She nodded at her own words, strengthening her resolve in the plan. "The curiosity of the meeting will keep Elashor from running off in a huff, as she is prone to do. Him looking the part will also soften her up."

She may need a few loose ends tied here and there, but already she had a few points figured out. Not too badly done for an exhausted witch.

"This must be dreadful for you. All of this." She waved around to the fancy bedroom, to this entire situation, to her job contract with Pyre. "I wasn't always..." she paused, thinking carefully on how much she could divulge. She had previously researched, in the royal library, how much the general public and even King Dùghall himself knew about Queen Orym. Not much was known beyond that she was the step-daughter of a high-ranking noble, and Dùghall took a fancy to her when they were young. "I wasn't always playing with nobles and kings, you know. I never thought I'd own a kingdom. I didn't even see Dùghall as a prince until he proposed." She didn't want to fake too many details, hating lies. Yet she was tired of wearing such a thick mask day in and day out... and these few details may allow her, in the future, to let loose a bit more in Ryenne's company. "I hated people like me, once. I'd call them vultures."

I still would if I could, she thought. I would have wrung Orym's little neck myself, with or without magic, brought her tyrant reign to an end. If I didn't end up in her body. If only you knew that she is already defeated, and not to be feared anymore. She shared a strange look with Ryenne ─ Pyre could never tell her these thoughts without sounding absolutely mad. It was isolating, being seen as the one thing you are trying to take down. Hearing herself, the past few weeks, made her want to vomit at times. Her end goal was harder to focus on when she was prancing about in dresses worth a regular person's entire savings, worrying about a ball and about her daughter's future. It was disgusting to any outsider, herself included.

She coughed, grounding herself back to the present. This warm, red and gold bed. The clean walls, the mirror, the glorious carpet. The mercenary's judgement. In this drowsy state, Pyre could almost believe this was all a dream and that tomorrow she would awake unshackled from royal constraints. Her brain hadn't even allowed her to think of the ball in hours, almost collapsing on itself the minute her plan with the heir proved successful. There was only so much she could take.

***

Lindor // Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

The Prince was... if Lindor allowed himself to be cheeky about the whole affair despite it involving a royal, well, then the Prince was all tucked in as tightly as a newborn and ready for the night. He had resolved to simply smiled a strained smile at the Linny nickname and the cursing. Not to play higher-than-thou, but it was hard to find comfort in hearing a chronic thief say that Lindor's morals over law behavior was a good thing. They lived in two completely different worlds. Especially when so much of Lindor's family rested on his gold title. His soon-to-be gem title, he may have corrected himself in a positive twit earlier in the night, but after what happened he should be grateful if he wasn't fired by the end of the ball. It was difficult to imagine this whole fiasco wouldn't be found out by the gems and that the blame wouldn't rightfully be put on Lindor. Any cheerful talks of a promotion were now out the window.

Of course, a thief who just realized he is a prince wouldn't really understand the gravity of this situation. Not that Lindor would be so brash to Prince Kaeda's face.

He had debated whether or not it would be biased to put the man whom earlier had tried to poke at Lindor into Kaeda's old jail cell. In the end he did so, after going through his history on file ─ the man was proven to have committed crimes against both women and children, something unforgivable enough to erase any guilt in Lindor's mind on the matter. Prisoners were moved from one cell to another fairly commonly, and he knew that the silvers wouldn't give it a second glance. Kaeda and the man had similar enough hair, and the same skin tone... that was more than enough for them to shrug it off. Especially after weeks of Lindor being on duty, their memory would be that much more flexible. As heart-breaking as it was to misuse his great work ethics, Lindor's squeaky clean reputation as a guard and his lineage as a Sindri would come in handy and help brush tonight's affairs firmly under the rug.

Prince Kaeda didn't take too long to stop pouting at being left in the jail cell once Lindor escorted him to his new makeshift cell. The bed was as comfortable as one of the local inn's luxury ones, the floors and walls were clean, there was even a mirror and a closet, and a small round table with two chairs. Lindor had went out briefly and brought back fresh bread, berries, soup, brie cheese, and wine on a platter. As well as a change of clothes; nothing as fancy as what Prince Kaeda would certainly wear to the ball, but something that nobles found fashionable as of late. It was the extent that Lindor could go without alerting suspicions.

"Here you are, your highness." He bowed slightly as he entered, although in a lazier fashion that he typically would around royals. "A meal fit for a prince, I hope." His smile was a bit more genuine at that, more genuine than it had been ever since Queen Orym stepped foot in the dungeons. He knew this man must be as confused as he was, although, of course, getting into a nicer cell must be a bit more enjoyable than worrying about being fired. Still, he couldn't blame him for enjoying it, nor for not understanding Lindor's guilt. As frustrated as he felt, all he could do was the job he was given.

Lindor had always wanted to be a personal guard to a Moryen prince, since he was a young child... but it was odd to do such tasks for a Riressian. What would he be expected to do once the prince left his care? Would that Riressian mercenary step in as his highness' guard? She already seemed to have her hands quite full with Queen Orym... Lindor would have a few hours of guard at the ball, as all gold and gem guards were required to maximize security. Perhaps he would get to see first-hand how this mischievous new prince settled into his role, something he wasn't sure whether he dreaded or looked forward to. No man in any kingdom could be blamed for feeling some level of curiosity, after being let in on such a huge secret. And risking his job for it, at that.

"I am at your service until the morning. I will be patrolling the other cells every few hours, but here is a bell to signal any wants or needs." The bell was turquoise, carved beautifully with swirls and flowers, something he figured would be better than some plain, rusty bell. "Ring it, and I will arrive within minutes."

If curiosity really did kill the cat, well, Lindor was already too involved in this scheme to pay it any mind.

He couldn't help himself... before Prince Kaeda truly assumed his role and became so vital in society, he wanted a casual discussion with this mysterious man. "This is all new to you, isn't it, your highness?" He asked, uselessly. "Being Prince Kaeda is a shocking new life to lead. Tomorrow will be very interesting for you, to say the least. Do not fear, I'm sure Queen Orym will prepare you well enough. Still," he held his hands behind his back, shrugging, "Let me know if there is any support I can offer, before, during, or after the ball." He alternated between wanting to act prim and proper for a royal, and acknowledging this was a new royal who did not have much of a support system throughout this chaos. How do you comfort a man who, overnight, will become one of the highest members of society overnight, far above someone as simple as you?

If his own life was a mess, with the latest events threatened the dreams he's had since he was a boy, then he could at least choose to focus on the other party in this situation. Despite being loud and full of trickery he at least was relatable to Lindor in his confusion. Lindor felt as a pawn in a game he never wanted to take a part in, and Kaeda was going from a simple life hopping from dungeon to dungeon... to inheriting a foreign kingdom from his long lost father.

That, at least, was some common ground.

 

[Cealen]

Ryenne // Inn, Kingdom of Moryen

It took Orym quite a long time to decide what she was doing, despite her already going ahead and enacting some parts of her plan already. Ryenne couldn’t help but become a bit slighted at the fact that Orym didn’t have a plan ready to go at all times. This woman ran a country, but didn’t even know how to keep a plan? Not that she was ever expecting Orym to actually be even slightly qualified as a leader. Nobles never were, no matter where they came from. It wasn’t just a matter that “because my parents were rulers, that means I will be a good ruler, too”, even though they sure liked to believe that. Ugh, she really got herself into messing with the political future of Riressi, huh, by helping Orym get some somewhat-related-to-her long lost son to go and be put right in line to inherit a throne, didn’t she? Just because he was somewhat related to Orym meant a thief could suddenly become a good ruler to lead a powerful country? Did they think their bloodline was blessed by something to instantly make them good rulers? One look at Riressi and you’ll be able to easily tell that isn't the case.

Ryenne had to keep on wondering if she should have just lied to Orym back there about the prisoner. But…someone always was going to inherit the throne no matter what, and that person would be the princess if Kaeda didn’t show up out of the blue. So...what can Ryenne even have done? None of what happens next is her fault, she kept on reminding herself, it was by someone else’s choice that led to whatever is happening in the future. Didn't make Ryenne not feel guilt over her…involvement…in things. Orym was no different- she had helped out plenty of other shady people before, and had done bad things before too. This...was no different, but it was. Usually she just helped cover the tracks of shitty nobles, but...this was a whole kingdom she was talking about here. Ryenne...just needed to keep on convincing herself that none of this is her fault, regardless of how she feels. It’s the only way she’s going to be able to sleep tonight.

“...You want me to play dress up for the prince?” Ryenne couldn’t have made her voice sound more bored at a certain task. “As long as you can sort out the princess before this, fine. I do not want to return to a mess I have to clean up.” Ryenne was trying to watch her tone, but she couldn’t help it. Whenever she heard the words come out of her mouth, she got even more angry at what she was being made to do. It felt far too conflicting on her moral sense to act like a good royal guard while doing things such as this. As long as she makes it clear her disapproval, it’ll keep her from feeling more guilt than she already is.

Looking at Orym getting comfortable in her room just reminded Ryenne of her own tiredness. Her body ached in her armor, no thanks to having to wear it and stand around for this long. Today has certainly...been a day, and she felt like she was made more to do then Orym running around in her little dress did, getting nearly held as hostage and being overall incompetent to Ryenne. She was brought quickly back to her senses hearing the words coming out of Orym’s mouth, whipping her head towards her as she couldn’t believe what she was trying to say to Ryenne. Was this some sort of joke? Anger flashed through her, quicker than a flash of lightning, making her forget about her politeness.

“It obviously is, no? And I’m only here because you hired me, your majesty. So yes, this is dreadfully awful for me and I cannot wait until you are done with whatever you even hired me for in the first place.” Ryenne sneered those last words, an angry glare on her face. She didn’t even watch her tone, seeing that Orym dropped her own usual tone saying these things as well. There was no even pretending from Orym that she respected Ryenne, so why keep up her own fake politeness and hold herself back? She’ll give Orym hell, she doesn’t care. Ryenne could feel her head start to hurt already.

“That’s great that you weren’t a royal before. Guess what? Now you are. You own a whole kingdom with people you despise and hate, and you can make them suffer as much as you want. I don’t give a shit about whatever noble-type you were before. Don’t try to separate yourself from who you are now.” She sounded pretty angry. “Did you think you’d be able to sympathize with me? Here’s the thing: you always were a noble, even before you became “Queen Orym”. You have no idea what it’s like to live anywhere else in Riressi. Stop pretending you do. I am not here to coddle you like the other royal guards and be like “oooh, you poor thing!”. You are exactly now the people you used to hate. You’re a vulture, now. Congratulations. Don’t ever try to garner sympathy from me ever again.” She spat, before turning her heel and exiting out of the room, slamming the door behind her now intentionally.

Ryenne walked down the halls of the inn with heavy steps, the wood creaking underneath her feet loudly as she walked. Ugh, she doesn’t want to even think about what now is in store for her for blatantly disrespecting the queen or whatever. She couldn’t just let Orym say that. It felt almost like Orym was insulting her as she spoke like that, how was she supposed to just ignore that? She would dislike herself even more if she did. Whatever tomorrow may bring, now, she will just have to see.

~~~

Kaeda // Moryen Castle-Dunegons, Kingdom of Moryen.

Well, this was certainly a cell upgrade! As far as Kaeda was concerned, he couldn’t leave, so this was still a cell, regardless of how fancy and homey it looked. Lindor will probably kill him if he tries to run away at this point after being like “you need to shut the hell up about being a family disappointment” to him. He even went and made this place look nice, was this how Lindor treated everyone who just he assumed to be a noble? How weird...why would Lindor just suddenly treat him so different? He’s still a thief, to him, isnt he? A criminal? Kaeda knew Sindris were bootlickers, but not this much. It made Kaeda feel uncomfortable, seeing Lindor suddenly change how he was treating him.

Kaeda was buzzing with excitement as stood in the room regardless, nearly looking like he was going to run off due to how high-energy he was currently. Wait, Lindor was giving him food too?! And GOOD food, not that mysterious slop the silver guards were feeding him?! Ohhhh….! Kaeda may have to keep up his lying act for longer than he thought, if he was getting good food out of this. Kaeda went and instantly grabbed a piece of the bread, ripping into it with a certain ferociousness, not holding himself back to eat “politely”. He was used to never knowing when he was going to eat next, so why waste any food or eat slowly? Someone can take away his food just as easily as he gets it. He has definitely had to fight over food before, but such was the life he lived. He did do this out of free will, didn’t he?

“Linny, thanks, mhph,” He said with his mouth full, bits of bread falling out of his mouth when he spoke. Not very becoming for a prince. He looked over at Lindor with an excited look in his eyes that had not left his eyes since Orym came here. “This is so much better than what you guards were feeding me before, really. I’ll eat everything!” Kaeda hated anyone wasting food. Hell, a lot of the food he ate was fruits with mild bruises on them that merchants threw out because they weren’t “pretty looking” enough for people to buy. Kaeda knows it sounds bad that he digs through garbage for food, but really, Kaeda would find perfectly fine food to eat whenever he went food searching. Of course, he’ll always sometimes steal some from the more richer merchants he saw, who walked around with gold head to toe. He bets he’ll see all the nobles waste food at the ball tomorrow. Ugh, and he’ll have to interact with those people?

“Oh,” Kaeda had noticed the wine. “I don’t drink, or at least, I don’t anymore. You can go and have it for yourself, I know guards love drinking, heheh.” He wished Lindor could just give him something else, but he’s already getting food! He shouldn’t push his luck further. “When you deal with annoying drunk thieves, you start to hate alcohol in general, you know, Linny. Not that I work with anyone anymore. The times I did were more than enough for me to last a lifetime. I would probably kill the other thieves if I saw them now. Not that I’m a murderer~. I just never drink anymore because I realize I kinda act like those idiots when I’m drunk. So, it’s kinda disgusting to me now.” Kaeda didn’t feel like this was that much sensitive information, unless Lindor wanted him to rat out his old partners in crime. So he was giving it out freely, but he usually never talked this much. He’s probably too excited at everything that has happened today that it’s causing him to act chatty.

The food tasted as good as it always did whenever Kaeda managed to nab something good in particular to eat. Or on the rare occasions where he would actually cook for himself. He was shoving food by the fistfuls into his mouth as he listened to Lindor. “Oooh, I have a Linny summoner now? I won’t use that, probably though. I’m passing out the minute you leave, honestly…” His body ached for a good bed to sleep on for once. Sleeping on that floor had done a number on him. It even hurt to move around more than he needed to. Hehe, the bell looked cool! He will take it as a memento for his trip to the lovely dungeons of Moryen castle. It was… jarring to think that he would return to the castle tomorrow as a prince, not a prisoner. It wasn’t fully hitting him yet, the fact that he would live a certainly very different life to the one he was living before. For now, at least. Kaeda gave himself a week max before he got bored, or found out for lying.

“Mmhm, yeah, it’s so weird to think about, I was just thinking about that kind of stuff...I wonder if anyone will say I’m like, fake or something? I don’t think I’ll ever be able to act like a prince, heh. I don’t even want to. Princes are boring.” Kaeda did have to wonder, even if he wasn’t thinking this was going to last very long. He was masking the truth that he was lying about all this to Lindor, of course, just saying that other people might think he’s fake. See? Hiding the truth in plain sight, and Lindor is none the wiser! “If you really want to help me, don’t bootlick me, you weirdo.” He felt a bit bad for calling Lindor a weirdo, but regardless. “Hah. Sorry, I don’t mean anything bad by that. It just feels weird and fake how you’re suddenly treating me so differently based on some title you suddenly know I have. I’m still just a random thief in a dungeon, you know. Nothing has changed, yet your attitude towards me has. Can you like, actually respect me as a person? Not just because I’m a prince now or whatever? If you can even call me one.” Kaeda was asking a lot, wasn't he? He regretted speaking on this matter already. He’s too tired if he’s being this… open. “That’ll make me more comfortable, you know. That’s the support you can give me, if you want to help me sooo badly. This whole thing is a big mess, hahaha!” Kaeda gave a cheeky grin, as if he wasn’t being serious in his words. Ew, even the idea of appearing actually as serious made Kaeda cringe inwardly. That’s too… weird!

 

[femslasher]

Lindor // Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

Lindor's heart stung a tad, hearing that he wasn't treating Kaeda as a person. Still, Kaeda's point reached him.

"No boot-licking. Right. Understood." He almost kept any further words to himself, but opted to share. To extend a bridge between them in these confusing times. "My guard title is everything to my family and I, so it's drilled in me to... boot-lick, as you would put it. To use the right terms, to do the right tasks. The respect I show towards royalty is my mother's teachings. The respect I feel for the everyday man, seeing everyone as equal, is my father's teachings. As you might expect it, it's hard to merge both in my daily life." He smiled, indulging the whole thing.

It was only fair. A male stranger used to a life of petty crime and being disregarded being turned into a main attraction would be particularly sensitive to being seen as his title, and not as himself.

"I might still slip here and there, your highness." He brought a hand up and clenched it, sheepish, having said the title faster than he could help it. "As you can see. Force of habit. Still, Prince Kaeda, you are the same mischievous, wrongly convicted prisoner I wanted to aid. No matter how I refer to you."

Him getting a prince out of jail seemed something straight out of his grandmother's romanticized fairytales. It was hard to not outright laugh in disbelief.

Somehow, preparing the prince's room for the night and having a honest discussion kept him from feeling alone in his distress. They may not be going through the same experience or the same risks when going along with Queen Orym's plan, but at least they were equally lost. Equally in shock at the sordid affair.

"Please use the bell if you need. I insist." He opted not to bow his way out despite the urge building. "I will see you tomorrow, to free you from here."

He hovered a bit longer, grabbed the wine bottle ─ to gift to someone else ─ then firmly nodded his goodbye.

The walk back to the rest of the cells was bleak, suddenly left with silence and his own thoughts. He didn't know whether he was exactly feeling better or worse. He felt more resolved, if anything, but he also had to steel himself for the next few weeks. Lying was not in his blood. Nor was conspiring behind the Moryen kingdom's back. It went against every moral he ever prided himself in. It went against anything he has been taught. There was a sense of existential crisis in it. A loss of his core identity. He shook his head. He shouldn't be so dramatic; he was still himself, still wanted to do the right thing. The fact was that this time the "right thing," for once in his career, went against the laws he had sworn to uphold. He still wanted to do the morally good thing in any situation. He still could, if he didn't lose his title from this mess. He had to admit he regretted and wished he could go back on his word... but he was a man of his word through and through. No need to waste time fantasizing about different outcomes in different realities. He was here now and needed to make the best of it.

Tomorrow he would do his job to the Moryen kingdom: taking care of its people. At all costs.

***

Pyre // Inn, Kingdom of Moryen

Her hair was grabbed. Thrown out of the tavern, yelling, trying to scratch her way back in to see her father. Other orphans stood crying, some already begging nearby adults near with a pitiful pout for some pieces of bread or some shelter. She was seeing red. She was seething. She was sobbing.

Her already magically scarred face gained bruised swirls of purple as she cursed the tavern's new owners, cursed them to misery, cursed them and cursed them and sobbing, the crowd gasping and older men grabbing her and throwing her back to stop her incantation but she bit them into releasing her and started running, her feet sore, her shoes stolen, she ran and ran into the forest with the magic burning her fingertips, staining her, harming her, saving her─

Pyre woke in a fit of twisted sheets and anxious yelping. Sweat was sticking her hair to her forehead and tears tracked her cheeks. She wondered if she looked even half as horrible as she felt, in this rich woman's body. She grabbed at a pillow and threw it on the wall as hard as she could. Feathers danced in the air, then settled.

Five servants knocked all at once and, not having been debriefed in now waking up Queen Orym in the morning, opened the door a slit asking if she was alright. She threw the other pillow at the door, and they squealed back outside. For once, she didn't try to be the better woman. These servants were leeches either way, most sons of nobles. She forgave herself for that one.

A softer knock came. She readied herself for a screaming match, but a gentle maid came in to ask if she needed help to get dressed.

"Enter. I am going out for breakfast shortly with my daughter... it would be," she sighed, "most helpful to have your assistance." The maids were always comforting to have around, even she had to admit. And she did not know how to put tight corsets and powder her cheeks on her own. She would end up looking like a ghoul, if she were to try. Not the best thing to gamble with on such a vital day.

The maid helped herself to her closet, flipping between dresses. "The morning of the ball, how exciting. Any preferences, your majesty?"

Pyre paused. "Something blue, please." She couldn't bear to view anything purple at the moment. Not after... no, she refused to think more on it.

"Very well. I have a true beauty, a blue dress with gold swirls. and the corset to match."

"Fantastic. Let's get on with it," she said. A bit harshly worded, although in a tone as nice as she could muster with her moody predisposition.

The result took her a bit aback. It was radically different from her last dress, which had been more... plain. Well, as plain as royalty could ever wear. Her face looked rejuvenated, her cheeks pink, her eyelashes long and fluttery. The dress twirled prettily around when she turned.

"Ravishing," the maid spoke, as if against herself. Pyre gave her an odd look, which flustered the maid into stuttering what sounded like an apology.

She had no more time to waste on vanity. She needed to get her daughter under control and, as Ryenne said last night, "sort her out."

"Maid, wake my daughter at once. Have her meet me in the lobby." She stepped out of the bedroom, the maid shuffling behind her. She paused. "Thank you."

The maid's expression must be unbelievably puzzled, but Pyre did not care. Help deserved basic common decency, even a witch knew that.

Stepping down the spiral staircase, she took in the disgusting view of many nobles trailing behind visiting royals that had found shelter in the inn, boot-licking to no end. So many smug faces and noses in the air. She held back nausea and sat herself in a cushioned seat near the door, awaiting Elashor.

This talk would be very... interesting, to say the least.

 

[Cealen]

Ryenne // Inn- Kingdom of Moryen

Ryenne was already awake, having gotten up the minute sunlight seeped into her room this morning. She had done what she always did- gotten up, done her stretches, got on her armor, ate (if she could), and then went out immediately to do her duties. She would feel too guilty if she stayed in when there was still work to be done. Only this time she was waking up in an inn, and put on Riressian armor rather than her own scraps of metal back home. She couldn’t believe she missed that dented piece of junk that probably couldn’t even save her from any death blows. She was going to melt this armor suit if she got to keep it after this. At least they let her keep her sword. It was the only thing that she owned that was actually worth anything, after all.

She had no desire to go and check on lovely Orym, even though she saw a mob of servants rushing to and from her room. Does Orym even need that much help, or even any help at all? Ryenne would get annoyed if she had people constantly waiting on her ass like that. They almost act like Orym isn’t a grown woman and can do things by herself. Maybe she really couldn’t though, seeing as unimpressed she has made Ryenne feel these past few days. Whatever, she can go and have a fun time with the princess. Ryenne will make her way down to the dungeons yet again. She didn’t even think to say goodbye to Orym before heading out of the inn onto the streets.

The streets were much more crowded than last night, with people opening up shops for the day, children running and chasing each other around, and other workers milling about the streets. It felt like Cyne, a bit, in a way, despite even the commoners of this city being well dressed too, not only the nobles. It felt nice, even if strangely familiar yet different. It was an odd feeling to have, when something feels right, but you have that nagging feeling that there's something you’re missing, a sense of… unbelonging. Ryenne felt a bit more relaxed as she walked, her head cooled off from yesterday with Orym. She was thinking it's a good thing to just…keep away from her for now, she wishes forever, but she even has to make Kaeda interact with her. She’ll be sure to apologize to him about that.

The air still felt cool out here, Ryenne seeing her breath form clouds as she walked, her armor clinking against her. She felt some eyes on her- people who saw her as a distinct “outsider”, never to belong here, clad in an alarming royal purple color. People thought she was a royal guard, which made her feel even more sick. Can she at least be seen here the same way she’s seen by her hometown, even slightly? She huffed out, picking up her pace, her armor clanking even more loudly as she went over to the dungeons.

While the other guards around town didn’t pay much attention to her- probably because of the ball- the guards outside the dungeons definitely would. Unsurprisingly, they did not let forgien guards just meddle around down there.

They were high ranking guards, the gem variant. But… they didn’t seem to be standing in one spot, lucky for her. They seemed to be more or less protesting the general area, leaving inside of the dungeon to the other guards. Ah, the took the easy way out, huh… Ryenne just waited for the guards to turn the corner before quickly running over to the dungeon entrance, entering inside.

It was as… “nice” as it was yesterday. Ryenne wasn’t expecting it to actually look nice in here by the time she came back, obviously, but she was reminded to never land in the dungeons. Kaeda was going to get moved to a different cell according to Orym, right? ...Hopefully Ryenne can figure that one soon. She walked in long strides, moving quickly through the dungeon.

She noticed some guards coming up. Ryenne slowed down and kept her distance, keeping watch of the guards out on the first floor, carefully, seeing if there was an easy opportunity to go and sneak past them. Only some silvers were around now, and they didn’t look too… attentive, staring off into the distance, not even talking to each other much at all. They seemed like they were half falling asleep. She could see the guard break room across the hall, as evident by the sign on the door- it looked like a cell? Oh, Kaeda was in there… she could see his eyes peeking out again even from here. Don’t the other guards wonder why a nobleman was in there? Whatever. It seemed to be still one of the high security ones, so maybe the guards weren’t aware of any resident in there. At least she was aware of where Kaeda was.

Using barrels lining the side of the walls for cover, she quickly went over there when the guards attention was captured by one of the guards beginning to go talk about a crazy prisoner or whatever. Ryenne was more focused on going over to Kaeda than listening to the guards. The wonderful, “alert” guards never even noticed her for a second. When she came over there, she could see Kaeda at the door again, and then clicking noises, then a hand grabbing her arm and pulling her in.

“...Wait a second.” Ryenne said in protest, and Kaeda looked at her with a confused look on his face. “Isn't this a cell? How are you opening it up from the other side…?” She glanced around. It looked definitely more like a proper room than that dump he was in before. Kaeda looked more like a prince now, out of that dirty prison tunic. At least he didn’t look as hopeless as he did before.

“Oh, yeah, it is, but I picked the lock! I have tools now to do that here. I got bored.” Kaeda hummed, way too proud of himself. Ryenne shouldn’t have assumed he wouldn’t do that. “But, uhm, why are you here? Is Orym with you?”

“No, she isn't. I came to prepare you. That is, if you want to.” Ryenne was already expecting a specific answer.

“What? To be a prince? Of course I do, it sounds fun!” Kaeda gave a grin, and Ryenne just sighed outwardly. He isn’t exactly a prince yet, of course… she just needed to remind herself about that…

“Alright, then… ‘m just here to make you more prepared once you meet the queen and the princess again.” Kaeda frowned. Was it something she said?

“Princess…? Huh? Oh right, there is one…how was I supposed to remember who was in charge of a foreign country, honestly…” Kaeda thought for a second, gears evidently turning in his head. “Ah, wouldn’t she be more in line to inherit a throne compared to me? Since she’s you know… not a bastard?” He sounded way too happy about that prospect than Ryenne would think he would be. Great. Time to explain how lovely Riressian royal policy is.

“No, you would inherit the throne, just on the basis of being a “prince”, not a “princess”. Sorry.” Ryenne hated having to point that out, but nevertheless, she was simply just a messenger. She didn’t create all those stupid rules monarchs made themselves follow. Kaeda looked visibly dejected for someone who found out they could inherit some major power.

“Aw. That means the princess is going to hate me, I think, because I stole her spot for the throne, didn't I… lame.” Kaeda huffed out, annoyed. “Well, you gotta protect me, then, whoever you are!” Ryenne felt a twinge of guilt at leaving Kaeda with so little information yesterday.

“You… can just call me Ryenne.” She stayed out, smiling lightly. Kaeda stared at her face for a while, before smiling back.

“Ok! So, Ryry, what are you exactly going to do to prepare me?” He said, and Ryenne instantly felt a song of annoyance ring through her body at the nickname.

“Can you just call me… Ryenne, please?” She said with a forced smile, and Kaeda laughed.

“Aw, but it’s fun! Come on, just let me!” Kaeda put on some puppy dog eyes as he looked at Ryenne, his eyes boring into her. Ugh. She couldn’t even tell him off because he was the *prince*.

There was movement outside the cell again, and the gold guard from yesterday entered into the room, most likely to check up on Kaeda. She saw Kaeda wave over to him.

“Ahhh, Linny! Look! Ryry came to visit!” He said in a singsong voice, and Ryenne audibly groaned. Does he give everyone an annoying nickname like this?

 

[femslasher]

Lindor // Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen

C'mon, just let me! The words drifted to Lindor's attention as he bypassed the half-asleep guards, and he hurried his steps. Most mornings he would've tapped them on the shoulder and woken them up, asking them questions about the prisoners until they blinked the laziness away. This time around he fully indulged it. Never in his life as a guard had he thought a silver guard's incompetence would come in handy, yet here he was, sighing in relief.

The voice was oh too familiar and as he approached, it got louder. He instinctively feared for the worst ─ did a gem guard sneak by and catch the prince? Did he escape and get caught by the wrong person? Is he breaking the law for fun, as he so often does? ─ but his held breaths came out into a sigh as he slammed the unlocked door open and saw the recognizable Riressian guard. Why and how it was unlocked was beyond him. Although... looking Prince Kaeda up and down, knowing his history, he knew the man had endless tricks up both his sleeves. If anyone could cheat the lock, it would be him.

He had only shortly left to have a quick nap and eat some food, not much more than thirty or forty minutes. Most likely thirty five minutes or so. How the man managed to create trouble in such a short time span was beyond Lindor... magic, perhaps, he mused. No, Kaeda's body seemed unmarked by the poison of magic, and as odd as it sounded Lindor hadn't smelled it in the air. It was only dealing with magical ruffians as a guard that he started to recognize that magic had a smell ─ it smelled somewhat of fire smoke, mixed in with lavender... and some spices that he couldn't describe. Once you dealt with magic once, you never forgot the feeling. It always made the hair raise on the back of his head. As for now, the air was stuffy but non-magical and there was no sign of mischief beyond Kaeda's voice.

That mischief was already more than enough to deal with.

His hand twitched for his weapon as he opened the door, his voice ready to call out reveal yourself in a tone of authority. The words die in his throat at the sigh of the purple armor and the strained expression on Queen Orym's guard's face.

Ryry came to visit, Kaeda's chipper voice came. Ryenne visibly cringed. Lindor's eyes flickered between the two.

What a circus. "Good morning, guard. I'm pleased you found your way back without much trouble... the silvers are fairly easy to avoid." He chewed slightly on his tongue, opting not to disclose his minor annoyance at her having sneaked in instead of calling for him, waiting outside. Truth be told, he hadn't set any limits in their last meeting or given instructions. No wonder she had shown up unannounced. It only proved further how vulnerable the Moryen dungeons were to intruders and escapists.

Once this madness was over with he would call for a complete reform.

"Here to escort Prince Kaeda to the inn, I presume? Hopefully this room," he gestured at the modified interrogation room, "was accommodating enough to please her majesty's expectations." He hadn't had much to work with. After a pointed pause, he clasped his hands together with an air of finality. "If that is all, I have duties at the castle to attend to. Send a messenger pigeon my way with any concerns; I, and most other guards, will also attend the ball tonight."

He didn't mean to be impolite, but he was more than ready to put all this behind him and restore his self-respect by completing a normal shift tonight. He had gone above and beyond, if he could claim so, and went against everything he was taught and that was expected of him as a guard. Now, he wanted to return to his usual tasks and make up for all the un-guardly behaviors he showed behind his kingdom's back. The less he had to talk to these people the better.

***

Pyre // Pastry shop, Kingdom of Moryen

Most of the baked goods at this pastry shop paled compared to what the Dùghall family was fed back home, but there were some items that were unique and flavorful enough to keep the judgmental princess in check on her red velvet chair ─ the shop clerk had squeaked at their arrival and, his forehead sweaty with effort, pulled out a pair of chairs and a beautifully carved table from seemingly nowhere ─ without too much complaining. Elashor's eyes were wide in curiosity as she watched Moryen nobility walk to and fro in the middle of the buzzing city. Even this early in the day, vendors, buyers, and families were hurrying up and down the streets. It was the first day of the festival, after all, one of the three days of the years when the kingdom got the most business and social opportunities. Everyone wanted to sell their very best and buy the very best they could, to show off to all the royal families milling about.

It only took one sympathetic member of such and such royal family to change your life's circumstances. Or so the average people liked to dream of. It wasn't Pyre's type to put the fate of her life in the hands of heartless monsters swimming in gold, for the off chance they might take pity on her soul.

How ironic. The mercenary would roll her eyes if Pyre said such a thing aloud, until her eyes popped out of their sockets... that woman knew so little about the situation it was borderline amusing, to be holding onto such big secrets. It was already getting old.

"Mother dearest," Elashor spoke, distinctly pronouncing each word for a dramatic flair. There we go again. "This is interesting. This food, this area of the city." She started off sounding girlish and naive. As she continued, her voice lowered into a calculating tone. "Why are we here? What am I learning from this?"

Hm. Seems that Queen Orym only did mother-daughter activities like this to prove a point or teach something... probably something about cruelty, how others are beyond them, how to manipulate people, etc. Did royals pay others to raise and love their children? Did they even try? Pathetic. Downright pitiful.

"Very perceptive, daughter." Elashor straightened her posture at that, like a cat basking in the spotlight. What a mild compliment to be pleased about. "We are awaiting a very important person. Not a noble, far beyond that." Elashor leaned her chin on the palm of her hand, intrigued. As she opened her mouth, Pyre interrupted. "We have much to discuss before he arrives." Another twinkle of curiosity in Elashor, and another timely interruption. "It isn't anyone you know or have met before."

A humming noise came out of her, as if she was trying to piece together a puzzle.

"He," Elashor said, naming the facts she knew. "And he's another royal. And I don't know him. How peculiar!" She was beaming. "Is he handsome, pray tell?"

Pyre cringed for all to see. "No, he is not."

Elashor deflated a bit, but still showed curiosity. "Unfortunate. Not that he could compare to the Moryen prince, mind you, but I do love having options."

Enough was enough. She needed to pull the plug on this sleepover-type discussion and begin the difficult discussion before the stand-in prince got here; Ryenne would become unbearable and glare at her throughout the ball if Pyre didn't handle "debriefing" her daughter before their arrival. It could get loud, ugly, and scare off Kaeda for good. It was in everyone's best interest to make this introduction as smooth as possible. Meaning, Elashor needed to have her uptight princess meltdown right now. Until she blew off all the steam she had and settled enough to think somewhat rationally as Kaeda arrived.

"Elashor, my dear. I'm afraid this isn't just some stray boy for you to play with." Pyre took in a shaky breath. As strict and confident as she tried her best to appear, the true Pyre was none of those things. She was a stray, suspicious, anxious, awkward in social situations. In confrontations, she threw a potion and disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. She didn't stick by to deliver some evil speech or play diplomat in high society. She twisted her shaking hands together. "It has come to my attention last night that you are not an only child. Your father's son, Kaeda, was said to be dead. He is not."

Elashor's lower lip trembled uncontrollable in a way too messy to be faked. It hung open. She blinked, again and again, in shock.

"Liar." Her voice was uncharacteristically feeble.

"Now, now, daughter." Pyre gave a weak smile, trying a bit too hard. "The proof is indisputable. And now, you have a brother. We have..."

"Liar!" Elashor's voice now squeaked, high-pitched enough to make passerbys fumble with what they carried and hurry away. "An heir? A thief, more like it!"

Pyre's eyes closed in defeat and she grew uncomfortable by the intensity in Elashor's eyes and voice. She wanted to escape this charade. She was tired of this child. The word thief rang in the air, and the truth in it gave Pyre further discomfort as she tried to debate her way out of a public breakdown. She did not handle stress well.

"Mother, I will not have it. I will not allow it. What do I have to offer the Moryen prince if not the Riressian throne?"

"Our throne, my throne," Pyre's voice was drenched in unrelated hatred that she struggled to restrain, "is not some Moryen boy's toy to do as he pleases. It is a family tradition. A source of pride. Your father would want it to go to his own son."

"He isn't your son, is he?" By the tone of her voice she already knew the answer.

"No. Back then were different times, daughter. Your father and I did not have a romance, but we had responsibility and did what was right for the kingdom." The words were impulsive and made up. It went unnoticed. "A kingdom that you oh so easily use as a bouquet to court some foreign boy."

The princess gasped in offense. Still, it shut her up and made her think. "I am the heir and I do as I please. I lived since childhood believing that."

"What a sad life to live," Pyre said with no trace of sympathy. None of the faked motherly tone made its way in the sentence. She was growing impatient.

Taken aback, the princess stood up and walked back and forth with her cup of tea daintily held in her hand despite her ongoing outbursts. "How am I to earn my place by his side, if this brother of mine is stealing all the glory? I will be a complete fool. My life is in ruins. In shambles. In pieces."

"Cease this nonsense at once. You will do as you are told, get along, and attend the ball together as siblings."

"The ball? He will attend," she let go of her teacup in a manner so precise Pyre was certain it was for the drama of it, "the Moryen ball with us? As a prince?"

The tears came flooding out of nowhere and her makeup smudged as she grasped at her hair, messying it, yelling and rambling on and on.

Pyre had held her back in the realm of rationality as long as she could. The few curious onlookers immediately ran out of sight, including the pastry shopkeeper whom had been awaiting further orders of baked goods or some more tea. Pyre took a bite of her lemon danish, grimacing at the sourness, and gave up debating the topic or calming down her daughter's emotions. Instead, she waited out the screams and sobs of the fully grown child in her hands.

Hopefully by the time the duo arrives she will have a somewhat presentable princess to carry out the next phase her plan. Hopefully.

 

[Cealen]

Ryenne // Moryen Castle- Dungeons, Kingdom of Moryen.

…The gold guard really did not want to be in this mess. It was obvious in the way he spoke, trying to be all-fake polite but truly showing that he wanted to almost forget that all of this happened. Ryenne could feel some amount of guilt for him, since this was all Orym’s idea in the first place. It was none of their fault, all the blame was on Orym for dragging so many outside forces into her own family affairs. She truly could have done this in a much better way… Ryenne was doubting she ever had a good plan in the first place, though. Ryenne mentally reminded herself to keep her anger in check, and that it wouldn’t do anything to fix the damage already done. She was praying just for the princess not to be another factor in this mess, and that she would be...somewhat agreeable. Bah, who was Ryenne kidding, finding out she was losing her spot on the throne for a bastard child of her father would make any reasonable person upset, even. She hoped the princess was having a meltdown right now that the Queen would have to deal with.

“...You wanna just… leave?” Ryenne heard Kaeda speak, and she glanced over to him, noticing the conflicted look on his face. There must be some gears turning in his head. “I thought, that maybe… nevermind.” He seemed like he had gotten his hopes up, or something like that? Ryenne, obviously, could not read minds, thought, so the inner workings of Kaeda’s thought process eluded her. He was speaking in a matter that was clear as day, though- he was disappointed, but not surprised. What was Kaeda thinking would happen? Especially with a Sindri, of all guards he could hope to get? They most likely talked last night, and Kaeda was having some… emotions left over on suddenly getting sort of-not really-ditched. Maybe it would have been better for Orym to just take him over to the inn yesterday… no, the princess meltdown that was surely to occur would have been even worse.

Ryenne was left to clean up the messes, as usual. With a sign, she shook her head towards the guard. “Sorry, we are not simply going back to the inn. ...If the prince were to appear at the ball tonight, it would be… in everyone’s best interest to have him be actually presentable, and prince-like, right?”

“What? Am I not good enough for those assholes?” Kaeda complained, crossing his arms. Ryenne almost wanted to agree with him, and not have to go through all of this, and just unleash an annoying thief on a bunch of nobles who didn’t know what was coming for them, but she knew that he definitely wasn’t.

“Won’t you feel more confident if you were more prepared…? So you knew what to expect going in there, so you’re not totally confused?” Ryenne tried to reason, hating this already. Ughhh. She did want to play dress-up for a prince…

“Hmmm…I guess so…?” Kaeda said, not entirely convinced. “But I’m good at fooling people already, hehe. Especially nobles! They’re really dumb.” He sounded far too confident in his words.

“Remember you are one too, now, you know. You’re calling yourself stupid.” Ryenne pointed out, and Kaeda seemed to have just realized that if his expression gave any hints, his confident grin on his face disappeared away.

“Ahhh… you’re right!! Jeez…” Kaeda sighed out, scratching the back of his head. “I’m not going to ever get used to this… do I really have to go and appear at the ball? Can't I just get introduced as a prince… later or whatever?” Kaeda already was trying to get out of this, wasn't he… Ryenne, again, can’t blame him, he just doesn’t want to be introduced in such a highly-critical environment. Man, she’s acting as a villain here, forcing him to do something he obviously is feeling a bit unsure of… this was all Orym’s fault, not hers, she just had to remember and keep repeating to herself.

“...Remember you are getting out of the dungeons if you go to this ball today. That was what Orym- her majesty, bargained you with…” Ryenne nearly slipped up there, catching herself in the last moment. Right in front of the gold guard, too… please don’t have her cover be blown, please don’t have her cover be blown… she cleared her throat, trying to reclaim appearances. “She is… I am not so clear what her intentions are, but it appears she wants you to appear at the ball for a specific reason, I would assume.” Ryenne obviously knew something was up for her to insist on the going to the ball point. Kaeda gave a frown, and thought for himself for a few moments before speaking again.

“Augh… fine, fine. I really just want out of here.” Kaeda sighed out, resigned to his fate. Ryenne… really did not like doing this. He looked up at her with an expectant gaze. “So, tell me, what are we going to exactly do?” Ryenne would like to know as well.

“Well… I was thinking it would be wise to go over some…” Ryenne searched for words to say. Ugh, she literally learned how to be a royal guard last week! How was she supposed to teach some thief now how to be a prince! “...expectations you’ll have in the way you act there… as you know, there are expectations for behavior that will be suspected if you don’t follow…” Ryenne glanced over to the Sindri. Oh, yes, yes! He would know what to do…! If Ryenne can convince him, that is…

“Maybe… it would be helpful if you helped as well in preparing him? To ensure that everything goes as smoothly as possible, yes?” Ryenne suggested, looking straight into Sindri's eyes to make him as uncomfortable refusing as he could. Come on, maybe Kaeda can help her out here…?!

“Ohh, really? You would help as well?” Kaeda asked, and Ryenne mentally thanked him for doing so. He probably… would feel a bit more at ease with someone he has been somewhat regularly talking to at least, compared to Ryenne, who’s a total stranger… and he did seem sad over the guard trying to ditch before. They were really laying on the pressure on him, weren’t they? Maybe.. Ryenne could whisper some words of encouragement over to him to help her out here…she moved over to lean over to him.

“Look, please. I have 0 clue what her majesty exactly wants from me here, I’d really appreciate anything. To prevent a total shitshow at the ball… it would help out both Riressi and Moryen for him to be as prepared as he possibly could… she’s trying to deal with her highness, currently, the queen, so I’m expected to have this situation dealt with as much as I could…” She whispered to him urgently, hoping for him to see where she’s coming from. Guilt tripping wasn't her proudest moment, but she was kind of desperate here. “Please, I have a feeling he’ll work with you more than he will with me, too. We just need to have him prepared for this ball, at least, that’s all. Anything beyond that, you don’t need to worry about, I promise you.” Come on, please just accept, and save Ryenne from this nightmare that she can’t wake up from already!