Fantasy The Five Kingdoms - The Fall of Sarthenfall - Ic

[Xanto]

Baxter Callahan​

"Princess Azalea sent you?" Baxter echoed giving an unenthusiastic look at the two guards interrupting his strategic meeting with a few other officers. What was new? The leader sighed, but not because the group was in the middle of discussing a rescue mission in the Midlands. Paul the guard discretely leaned toward Armand yelling under his breath so only he could hear. "I told you-," Paul paused immediately silenced by Baxter's fist in the air.

Perhaps Azalea thought she was sneaky enough; however, she should have thought twice about having the guards report to Baxter. That man was way too used to having a sly younger brother. Getting to the bottom of minuscule tricks like these were almost second nature to him. The fact that Azalea often acted on emotion, was a royal, and was probably messing with Nathaniel's property though made the situation momentarily more important than the rescue. Without hesitation, the rebellion leader excused himself from the meeting and swiftly exited the tent.

Baxter's footsteps hit the ground a bit quicker than usual, but his brows furrowed deeper as he approached the general's tent. "Search that tent top and bottom. There is only one entrance and exit," He commanded in a low voice so that no one in the tent would be able to hear the warning, "Azalea will scavenge to the last minute." That princess was too hard headed to let General Whitefield simply coexist with her on the same planet. Who knew if she accidentally misplaced an important strategic outlay or obnoxiously tore the place apart. Baxter's piercing blue eyes saw the tent's entrance from the distance knowing that if Azalea left from that moment forward he would be able to see her.

Raymond Callahan​

It didn't take long for Azalea to abruptly walk into Raymond with surprise written all over her face. In split second, Ray reached his hand onto the small of her back preventing her from completely falling out of the tent. Fortunately, she only stumbled back a step. Then his hazel eyes watched her facial muscles shift until it found just the right expression.

In no time, Azalea naturally sported her sassy posture and shot out a question that made Raymond smile a bit in response as she brushed past him with a smirk. Ray's eyes followed the confident woman while she explored the room for the first time. Though they managed to easily enter the General's tent, they were apparently trespassing for different reasons. Raymond just wanted to prank the man, while Azalea wanted to potentially blackmail him . . from the looks of things. All she wanted out of the experience was a dirty secret.

Raymond raised a brow and briefly tilted his head as the princess went on about the absentminded respect everyone was giving Whitefield. She had a point, though in reality even Baxter was a stranger to his people. All the rebels really knew was that he was a young father, natural leader, talented blacksmith, and Ezerisian. Probably no one even knew the truth about how Clyde came to be.

Raymond gradually rubbed the back of his neck snapping back to reality once Azalea flicked on the oil lamp and began rummaging through the General's desk. It didn't seem like anything would stop her from getting what she wanted. The guy silently observed her quick movement from one drawer to the next, while he slowly went over to each previously accessed drawer and put everything back in place. His hand grabbed a pile of papers and lightly tapped it against the desk when Azalea suddenly looked up at him. "Skeletons, alright," He uttered in a low voice coolly looking off to the side. It was a coincidence that she mentioned skeletons being in the closet. Ray knew it was a saying, but also knew that at this point it was true to an extent.

Clack. The light sound of more papers getting straightened out against the desktop faintly emitted just before Raymond routinely shut another drawer. Whitefield definitely had a plethora of reading material to take up his time. It was no wonder the man rarely spoke to others for the sake of friendly socialization.

Within a few moments, Azalea tossed a journal to the ground sighing in defeat. The calm guy shot a glance at his temporary partner in crime noticing her tense frustration at the journal on the ground. Two months and it still didn't hit him that he was basically with a queen. Could anyone really blame the man though? Probably not, especially now that she was looking for an ally's dirty secrets.

After shutting the final drawer, Raymond walked around the desk and picked up the journal. His eyes slightly hovered over the unique lettering that was consistent throughout the entire book. "He truly is not of this world," Raymond furrowed his brows trying to understand the words. His gaze then shifted back to Azalea checking to see if she was still frozen in frustration. However, relieving her stress became the least of his priorities when he heard Baxter say "minute". It was faint from the distance Bax was at, but there was no doubt the leader would have the guards come running toward the tent at any moment. Honestly, this was a very subtle clue that Ray was able to catch after hearing his brother's voice longer than anyone else. Other people could have easily mistook Baxter's voice for another person's.

"Well princess, there is one place you never checked," Raymond mentioned smoothly swerving by the desk as he walked over to the closet, "Maybe the skeletons are in here." His arm casually swung the door open revealing the five dresses Ray managed to smuggle in. Alas, the prankster would have to redo the deed since his older brother would likely have the area searched. Also, he didn't want to frame Azalea for something he did since she was the last person known to likely enter the tent. Raymond pulled open the sack he brought in before stashing the dresses in it as his eyes momentarily glanced at the desk Azalea stood at. Fortunately, he already cleaned her evidence.

Once all five dresses were put away, Raymond calmly stepped into the closet and casually put his hand out toward the princess. It seemed random, but he knew just the way out. "They may skip the closet as well," He said suggesting that Azalea try dodge the bullet with him. It probably seemed like they were just hiding till the last minute, or perhaps it seemed that Ray would lock the closet from outside in. Whatever it was, the man stood there waiting on the princess to make her decision.

Ms. Sparrow

 

[explosiveKitten]

“I know, I know, the metaphor is a bit of a difficult concept to understand, but it’ll make sense in time, I’m sure of it.” She pat his shoulder, gave him a reassuring squeeze then turned around to prepare for teaching him some more.

But Cale’s nervousness as he continued to speak seemed a little more panicked than usual. Admittedly, Angie found it was not hard to make Cale nervous, but he had grown to become more comfortable with her. When she looked at him, she noticed the bracing of his shoulders, like he was expecting her to whack him or something. Huh...

“... Yeah, you probably should try to get more sleep and maybe not spend all night bent over your workdesk. But who am I to tell you to get some sleep? I don’t sleep most nights myself.” She continues, taking her free hand and gesturing at the dark circles under her eyes, “Obviously. Even if we’re in a ‘safe place’, I rarely drop my guard enough to sleep a decent amount. So I really can’t tell you off for not getting any sleep... what’s got you so tense all of the sudden?”

Bakuyoshi

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore


Azalea was dumbfounded.

She shook her head in agreement at Raymond’s own observations of the old leather bound book. She stared at the cover, the memory of the mercenary coming to her mind suddenly as she recalled him tapping the book under his vest.

“The mercenary we came with, Harringoth was his name, he had this.” Her brows furrowed further, her tone full of concentration and confusion as she put the prices together, picking up the journal again and flipping through it. “He gave this to the General but why? What purpose does this serve him?” She flipped through it, noting how many pages had obviously been ripped out. “Who ripped out the pages and why?” Her brows furrowed further. Perhaps Cale knew something of the ancient language, though deep down she knew his expertise was with mechanics.

Azalea looked up from the worn-yellowed pages and faded ink scribbles, suddenly aware she was mainly speaking to herself. She glanced over at Raymond, curiosity and frustration still etched in her pretty, alight face before he gestured to the closet.

When he opened it, it was certainly a sight she didn’t expect to see in Nathanials wardrobe, the opened closet revealing a set of hung up, dainty dresses of all sorts of colors and frill. Azalea’s expression broke out in a grin, unable to suppress her laughter.

“Well,” Azalea said, recovering from her laughter, “At least they’re pretty dresses,” she said amusedly, chuckling slightly, the corner of her lips uptilted slightly.

Confused as he packed the dresses into the sack she guessed he used to smuggle in, she opened her mouth to ask just why he was taking back the prank until she heard them in the silence—footsteps—multiple and fast approaching. Azalea cursed like a sailor under her breath. She hadn’t expected Baxter to actually care of her snooping. Didn’t the man have better things to do then interfere? Somehow the thought made her feel nearly guilty if her heart did not beat with the adrenaline of her mischevious deed and thrill of getting caught.

Quickly she switched off the oil lamp, grateful Raymond had already erased the evidence of her snooping, though she was tempted to leave the General a rather informal note, she thought better of it.

Slipping the journal under her leather vest, where it was nestled tightly against her with the pressure of the vest, she turned towards Raymond as he finished packing the rest of the dresses into the sack. Azalea arched an eyebrow at his suggestion, knowing full well the possibility of them checking the closet was high. Her chest beat like mad, her eyes alight with a mischevious sparkle as she glanced back the tent entrance, noting the loudness of the footsteps. They would be in the tent in seconds.

Turning back and grinning ear to ear, a thin red eyebrow raised in amusement at Raymond’s suggestion of hiding, she glanced at the hand and briefly hesitated as a familiar memory resurfaced.

~~
That night, in keeping with the season, she taught them a Christmas jig. In this step, the lady put her hand to the gentleman’s, raised it to eye level, and they turned about each other. Karliah played Azalea’s partner, catching the gentleman’s steps easily.

“Break apart, turn around,” said Azalea, her skirts twisting with her. She winked at the girls, crowded in a black mass on the marble floor, turned to face Karliah again—

—and found herself facing Keeper.

“Oh!” said Azalea.

“He…sort of…cut in,” said Karliah, to the side of her. Her skirts still rippled from Keeper spinning her out. She blinked, her face lit with surprise.

Keeper took Azalea’s hands in his, sending a shiver up Azalea’s spine, before she could pull away. He lifted them just above their lips, keeping his eyes locked on hers the whole time.

“Ah, the holiday window,” he said, turning her about with ease. His cloak brushed the marble. “It didn’t seem right for you to dance it without a gentleman.”

Azalea’s eyes narrowed. Her temper flaring. She didn’t like being pushed around. Instinctively, she pulled her hands away.

“Karliah was doing just fine—” she said.

Lightning fast, Keeper snatched her hands back. He gripped them so tightly, Azalea inhaled harshly. Her fingers throbbed in his.

“You haven’t been looking for it,” he said. His voice was soft and low. His eyes bore into her, and she avoided them by looking at his neck, eye level for her. A muscle clenched in his neck. “You haven’t even been trying.”


“We have,” whispered Azalea, her cheeks flushing angrily. Her fingers pulsed in Keeper’s squeezing grip. “Let me go.”

Keeper smiled, gently. “Perhaps you could try just a touch harder?”

Azalea writhed her hands from his grip. They slipped from their gloves, which remained hanging in his long fingers.

“We have a few weeks,” she said.

Keeper, his eyes never leaving her, tucked the empty gloves into his waistcoat. For the first time, Azalea realized how dead and cold his eyes were. They had no light.

“So you do,” he said.

~~

“Aye,” Azalea said after her brief hesitation, her grin only faltering for her brief moment of hesitation before she took his hand, attempting to evade getting in trouble with him in what seemed like a very bleak hope attempt of hiding, expecting to be caught at any moment, in which she was full ready to flee. Her yellow-green eyes lit with mischief as she glanced at her partner in crime to see how he fared, and what his own plan was, silently hoping it wasn’t only to hide in a very obvious hiding place.



Xanto​

 

[Bakuyoshi]

"Oh it's nothing at all. Just think I need to call it, think on this whole sword thing. Plus I have deliveries to run. Have to ask Raymond or Baxter about flint and steel. And after that try out the prototypes. Meaning I'll likely be at the archery range for a bit. And by a bit mean till the banquet. Or maybe manage enough time to look into some fancy clothing. Whatever works I guess."

He just wanted to not mention anything. He wasn't sure why he remembered that in Angelo's presence. Maybe because Angelo was the one person that Cale felt he could turn to. Somehow for some ungodly reason Cale swore Angelo reminded him of his mother. Which made no sense. Angelo was a man. How on earth could a man remind someone of their mother?

"But uh yeah I'll do my stance practice at the same time as usual. For now it's time for some deliveries!" Cale shouted as he placed the rapier back where it belonged. Ready to begin his job yet again.

explosiveKitten

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

Was he lost? No. He didn't get lost that just wasn't really his thing. It was certainly possible though. But was it? He had so many maps. He couldn't find them for his life of course, but he had so many damned maps. Twice he was stopped on the road asking directions, and rather than giving it to them, he haggled them and promptly ripped them off and handed them a rather incomplete map. It wasn't being dishonest, it was simply the price for calling his suit a "disgrace to fashion". So the price went up. He would never cheat an honest man or woman out of anything.
The road was long, but generally kind to people like him. Even bandits could see that one less inventor like himself was a worse off world. And the ones who didn't see that were usually thick enough that he could talk his way out of it...or worst comes to worst, kill them.
Of course when one gets in trouble with Queen Lydia, especially when her jewelry is involved, it didn't matter what sort of fellow you were-only that you were a dead man if you stayed any longer. So off he went.
And now here he was, looking for this refugee camp so assassins would stop attacking him. He was no great fighter, and though he killed the first 2 with (in his opinion) a great show of skill, the third one almost claimed his life. And the fourth...well he had to hold his breath in that lake for almost 3 minutes before she went away.
Well it seemed that luck was with him today, as a Monastery came into view. What luck! But who were these here? He continued on closer, observing the people there. He didn't eye anyone particularly interesting until he saw the maid. For a second he wanted to call out to her like an old friend, but before he did so he tried to place where he knew her from. He simply couldn't. She had a striking familiarity to someone he knew, but he couldn't place where. It sat there at the back of his mind, but he shrugged, and strolled over, leaning on his cane and giving them a bow, tipping his top hat. Blackrose7

 

[Blackrose7]

As time went on, Annabel was done with harvesting the crops, and her gang was done with decorating the stone structure for the day.
'I guess I am done with my job for now. I should probably ask Daisy if she can throw some miniature logs at me, so I can practice with my sword. I can do some archery if I have some time to do that as well.' thought Annabel. She didn't want to be unprepared if the shades come to attack them, because every minute counts during an invasion.
While Annabel was thinking of her plan for the day, and was going to take a bath to clean herself from the sweat, dust, and dirt. She noticed that some old man was walking towards her, and he gave them a bow while tipping his top hat. '...Who is this guy, and what does he want?' thought Annabel. As she was about to say something to the old man, her gang ended up appearing, since they would head back to the rebellion camp.
"Who the hell are you, and what do you want with our boss?" said Sam.
He already had a hand on his sword, because Sam doesn't trust Jeod even when he is being polite. 'I am not letting this stranger harm Annabel if that is what he is trying to do here.' thought Sam, who thought that Jeod was pretending to be nice to Annabel.
Inheritance

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

He swung his hat back on his head, pretending not to be startled by the armed and probably dangerous man in front of him. He stopped in his tracks, and took a quick step back. "Swift. Jeod Swift." He said with a smile, hopefully his best. "Boss you say? Well then that's exactly who I need to be talking too!" With a flick of his wrist, he pushed the man aside with his cane. A light push, slightly forceful but not enough to move the man if he persisted in staying in the way. He started to walk by him.
"You now have me at a disadvantage ma'am, you know my name but I don't know yours..." He almost added 'but I believe we have met before', but didn't. Until he could remember exactly who she was he didn't need to be finding out familiarity, especially when she could be an enemy.
Blackrose7

 

[Blackrose7]

Annabel was confused when Jeod thought she was the rebellion leader, but then again. Who wouldn't confuse her as the rebellion leader when Sam keep calling her boss. "My name is Annabel Hollenbeck, and if you are looking for the rebellion leader. You got the wrong person, because I am the gang leader of Demonic Velvet." said Annabel.
Sam moved when Jeod was pushing him with his cane, but instead of staying there. He moved closer to Annabel, so Sam can keep a eye on what Jeod was doing. 'Can't trust him, since he could be a disguised shade who is trying to sneak into the rebellion camp. He then might attack us once he got what he need.' thought Sam.
Annabel wasn't sure if Jeod was looking for the rebellion camp, but if he was looking for that. She should probably tell him of where it is, as he doesn't know that the rebellion camp is nearby. "The rebellion camp is that way if that is what you are looking for, and I apologize for Sam's behavior. He doesn't trust new people, especially when they are near me." said Annabel, who was pointing of where the camp is at.
Inheritance

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

He took a step closer, but kept an eye on her guard. Just because she told him to stand down didn't make him less dangerous-he was still a man with a sword. His smile didn't fade when she told him who she was. Unfortunately her name meant nothing to him, he was sure he had never met her. But why did she seem so familiar? "I am indeed looking for it actually!" She said gang leader? Then why the maid's outfit...Had he seen her just strolling around the palace before his...incident...with the queen? No wait...wait...the Queen! How could he have not seen it sooner! She was a splitting image of the Queen. How strange.
He wanted to push into it more, but he didn't have the time. At the moment he needed to get situated, and get some stability before moving into this puzzle. Still, a quick start to it wouldn't hurt. "Has anyone ever told you that you look just like Queen Lydia? You share quite the resemblance!"
Blackrose7

 

[Blackrose7]

Annabel was triggered when Jeod said that, since she really didn't want them to compare her appearance to the Ezeris's king and queen. "OH MY GOSH! WOULD PEOPLE LIKE YOU SHUT UP ABOUT THAT? I DON'T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE HER NOR THE KING. JUST BECAUSE I USED TO WORK AS A ROYAL CASTLE MAID DOESN'T MEAN I AM RELATED TO THEM." said Annabel, angrily.
Daisy was clapping to this, because somebody has finally said that when Annabel isn't wearing her hood dress on in the rebellion camp. "Congratulations. You annoyed Annabel when she isn't wearing her hood dress on.” said Daisy.
Sam put the sword away once he saw that Jeod wasn’t going to hurt them. “Geez. Did you really have to say that to Annabel? Because almost every Ezerisian that we met has been saying that to Annabel, as soon as they get a good look at her.” said Sam.
Inheritance

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

He was certainly a bit taken back by the sudden force that all three of them had when they jumped on him, leaving his expression as a look of shock. "Oh I...uh...had no idea..." He staid stupidly. "I didn't mean it as an insult, I just meant you looked...I-I mean I guess you don't look like her now that I get a good look at you!" He let out nervous laughter. "Can I interest you in a trinket? If you want it I probably have it! It seems as though I owe you now!"
He did take a note of the sword being put away. That was one less thing to worry about. But the way they had all freaked out about this didn't sit well with him. He didn't know anybody who would get so heated being compared to royalty, so why were they? The fact that she worked as a castle maid there and got so heated also didn't sit well. He couldn't be sure of much, but he was certain she was no ordinary maid.
Blackrose7

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Princess Aurelie Beauchamp of Aubigine

​

Soon, Aurelie had finished eating. She still seemed awkward and uncomfortable in this whole situation. She didn't believe that she was cut out for this life, and she didn't believe that she could ever be able to. She was raised to be delicate and believe that she was nothing more than queen in name only. It wasn't something that was going to be easy. She had been trained to be seen and not heard throughout her entire life. It was not a habit that was easy for her to unlearn.

The only somewhat positive to being in this horrid camp was helping out with the children. She adored children and felt more at ease around them. She always saw them as such pure and innocent creatures. The one positive to her position was that she was expected to have children, and she was pleased with that. She hoped to be a better mother to her children than her mother was with her. She was happy to help watch the children. She was happy to help with the teachers and she was glad that she finally felt at least a little useful for the first time in her life.

Once she had finished eating, she began walking to the monastery. In the past two months since she had been here, she had found herself taking a little bit of solace there. As she walked, she noticed Anabel and her gang, as well as a man whom she hadn't seen before. She would have liked to avoided them all in general, but she was so lost in her own thoughts that she didn't realize how close to them she actually was.

Blackrose7 Inheritance

 

[Xanto]

Raymond Callahan​

Raymond smiled a bit noticing the mischief linger in Azalea's eyes when she held his hand. It wasn't much of a surprise that there was hesitation on her behalf before contact though. Perhaps hiding in the closet didn't seem like the best plan on the surface? Then again, if she did go out the only tent opening then Baxter would likely catch her anyway.

"Good choice," Raymond's hazel eyes briefly glanced at their hands before the realization hit that there probably was no proper way of helping a princess into a closet. Regardless, he was just being respectful since the step into the closet actually tripped him earlier that week. The things I get myself into. The magician once again thought to himself as his other hand gradually rubbed the back of his neck. At least he now knew that Azalea somewhat trusted him after the short time they've spent together. All she had to do now was step into the closet.

"Are you going to step in or-?" Raymond began before smoothly drawing her toward him and halfway turning her under his arm so she stepped just over the small hinderance and had her back against his front torso. In an instant, the magician's other arm shut the closet door just as the General's tent flap opened.

"Show yourself!" One of the guards yelled out quickly pacing about the room to check behind the General's desk.

Meanwhile, Ray stood directly behind Azalea with his hand still holding her's. If the guards found the General's closet empty then they could potentially figure that someone messed with Whitefield's belongings. So, the guy pulled out the General's spare shirt from his back pocket and casually swung it across Azalea's line of sight. At that same time, Ray tilted back slightly lifting Azalea off her feet as he spun them around once. However, by the time the shirt was out of Azalea's sight, they were by a tree trunk near the tent.

The trickster huffed setting the princess down releasing her hand in the process. It was unorthodox for any magician to perform a disappearing act WITH an observer. WITH. As in both of them vanishing and reappearing together.

"Hm," Raymond calmly walked from behind the princess stopping right in front of her, "Ya mind adding these to Aurelie's stash?" He indifferently tilted his head toward the sack over his shoulder, "She likes dresses, right?"

Ms. Sparrow

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

With the awkwardness of the situation climbing, he was sure glad that someone else came wandering into view. Her aura and clothing were much different than the three in front of him, but he didn't have time to really think of who this new woman might be. So instead, he simply called out to her without waiting for Annabel's answer.
"Ho miss! Fine day to be out walking don't you think?" Anything to break the awkwardness...
Blackrose7 SandraDeelightful

 

[Blackrose7]

Once Annabel calmed down, she was about to say something to Jeod, but he ended up walking towards Aurelie. ‘Should I tell him that it is alright, and that I am curious about the trinket?’ thought Annabel.
She wasn’t sure if she should tell Jeod that, or avoid the awkward conversation by heading back to the rebellion camp. Because Annabel already made it awkward by freaking out on him when Jeod said that she looks like the queen.
‘I should probably head back to the rebellion camp, since my jobs made me so sweaty.’ thought Annabel.
And so Annabel walked back to the rebellion camp by herself, so she can do just that.

Meanwhile, Sam and the other Demonic Velvet members saw Aurelie walking around the monastery area, so Sam called her out.
“Hiya rabbit princess. Are you heading to the monastery, since Annabel was done making that place spotless.” said Sam.
He actually wanted to know if Aurelie would pray in the monastery, since why would she be here.
Inheritance SandraDeelightful

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore


Azalea held her breath as Raymond closed the closet doors, keeping as silent as possible the moment the soldiers busted in to search for them. Scrunching her nose in distaste at the overwhelming smell of rusty copper and dirt the General carried on him, she tried to ignore how little room they had between them, her back against Raymond’s torso, attempting to shove her uneasiness into the back of her mind, knowing fully Raymond was most likely just as uncomfortable. Despite this, she held back the urge to rub her wrists, as if new bruises would magically form any second. Despite the uncomfortableness, she couldn’t erase the grin from her face. She hadn’t been in this much mischief for...too long, actually, she thought with a frown. Not the giant crisis looming over their heads, but the smaller things, like with her and her sisters. She smiled at the memories that swirled in her mind, the happy had warm ones.

Her smile faded as another dark memory hit her, and she realized the memory hadn’t been that long ago at all.

~~

Azalea hardly paid attention to the beautiful silver forest as she hurried through, hot temper speeding her steps. The girls had found a ring of her aunts, forgotten, and her only belonging that wasn’t packed away, the King reluctantly allowed them to hold unto the ring for sentimentality value for a few days.

The night before however, the ring disappeared after dancing. Azalea has awoken to the frantic searching of the ring and knew just the culprit. She descended alone into the pavilion while her sisters attended lessons. The stale, stagnant smell of the pavilion suffocated her, so different from the gardens. It felt dead. She shoved the silver willow leaves aside, click click clicked over the bridge to the pavilion.

Keeper lay balanced across the railing, between the arched sides of the lattice. His cloak dripped to the floor, a strand of midnight hair over his eyes. He looked like a black, serpentine cobweb clinging to the lattice. Only his long, gloved fingers twisted about.

They crawled and wound about a scarlet-colored web with uncanny dexterity, a needle dangling as he did so. He was playing spider’s crib with Jessamine’s embroidery thread. And while he played, he murmured a nursery rhyme:

“How daintily the butterfly

Flits to the spider’s place

Entranced by glimm’ring silver strings

Entwined with glist’ning grace.

“How craftily the spider speaks

And whispers, ‘All is well,’

Caresses it with poison’d feet

And sucks it to a shell.”

“Where is it?” Azalea stood in the middle of the dance floor, arms crossed.


Keeper twisted his hands, the string wrapping even more weblike about his fingers, involuntary her fists clenched.

“Ah, my lady,” he said, his eyes unmoving from his game.

“Where is it?” She snapped, her eyes narrowing.

Keeper gracefully leaped from the railing to the marble floor.

“Do you know why I am called Keeper?” he said. “Because I keep. You have known me thus long.”

“Give it back.” She demanded.

“No. It is the first thing I have that is your aunt’s. I will keep it.”

She suddenly felt suffocated. She felt the blood rushing through, her lips pressed into a razor thin line, white in color.

“Oh, no hard feelings, my lady,” said Keeper coolly. “I simply think you are not trying hard enough. Your aunt’s ring should give you all…encouragement.”

The hard, burning rage inside Azalea went snap.

“It won’t,” she spat. “Keep the stupid brooch. Keep the stupid pocket watch. Keep the gloves and whatever else you’ve stolen. You can enjoy them alone. We’re not coming down here again. We never should have trusted you in the first place.”

She swept around, skirts twisting hard against her, eyes searing, and strode to the entrance. Keeper laughed.

“One last dance, my lady, before I am never to see you again?”

Azalea turned at the entrance, eyes narrowed at Keeper. They burned his image into her mind, his hard, black form cutting against the soft silver, his sleek, rakish ponytail pulled back from his pale face. His empty eyes.

“I despise dancing with you,” she said.


She stepped on the threshold of the entrance.

An cracking-ice explosion seized the air. The silver rose bushes that flanked the sides of the pavilion shot up, black-thorned monstrosities, curling themselves around the lattice. They twisted over the entrance, and Azalea stumbled back before the thorns snagged at her skirts.

Light strangled out of the pavilion as the vines encased it. A new, weird yellow light sputtered to life on the ceiling, and Azalea gaped as hundreds of candles sputtered above her, pressed against the casement of the dome, all melted shapeless and creating eerie shadows.

Azalea spun about sharply.

“Open it up, Keeper,” she snarled. “Enough of your stupid games.”

“What a shame,” said Keeper, still at the side of the ballroom, smiling lazily, his posture relaxed with ease, “that you don’t care to dance. I’ve planned such a magnificent ball!”

Dancers burst through the pavilion’s thorn-shrouded lattice, sweeping tight circles with their partners. A gust of wind whirled over Azalea, and the dancers swirled past her in a twist of colors, chiffons and satins brushing her own black skirts.

The dancers were masked with ornate, gilded animal heads. A golden-furred jackal, and his lady, with feathers and a gold beak. Masks with eyeholes rimmed in gems and embroidery clung to the dancers’ faces. A masked ball. But it was never this. Not gilded beasts and opulent monsters.

In a garish whorl of colors and ribbons, the dancers settled into two long rows, packed so tightly their skirts bunched at odd angles. At the end of their aisle stood Keeper, straight and at ease. The candlelight seemed to make him darker, no highlights or shading over his black form. A twist of a smile graced his lips.

“Welcome, my lady,” he said, “to the court of Soris. Do you like it?”

Azalea glanced back at the entrance.

There wasn’t a way to escape.

“I ask you again.” Keeper’s voice was cold. “May I have the honor of this dance?”

“Snap your own head off,” spat Azalea.

Keeper gave a smart bow.

“I’ll assume that is a no, thank you,” he said, unfazed. “Still, I would advise you not to take this dance without a partner to lead you. It could be, ah…precarious.”

Keeper clapped his hands together, twice, and the masked ladies flicked their fans open in unison. Azalea stepped back.

~~

Much to her suprise, relief and slight confusion and irritation, she found herself snapped from the horrifying memory by Raymond as a shirt suddenly her field of vision. The memory that plagued her nightmares when Keeper himself didn’t. She jolted in suprise as she suddenly found herself lifted from her feet, and despite the precarious situation, her expression shortened to an indignant one as she felt herself spun around. Azalea her mouth to object to whatever was going on before the shirt was removed from her field of vision and she found herself by a tree trunk.

Azalea’s scowl shifted to suprise, blinking a couple times as she took in what exactly had happened, before it shorten to her usual spirited amusement, arching an eyebrow.

“Handy,” she remarked to Raymond as he moved to stand in front of her, a corner of her lips upturned and her arms crossed across her chest. She was tempted to ask him how he did it himself but judging by the way he covered her sight, she knew she’d get nowhere.

Her eyebrow arched further upwards in amusement as he mentioned adding a few more dresses to Aurelie's already large collection.

Azalea tilted her head back and let out an exasperated groan, though her now larger grin never faded, all in good humor she looked at Raymond with a mixture of exasperation and amusement, “Because she doesn’t have enough impractical dresses.” Azalea remarked sarcastically, her expression faded into a smug grin, her tone cocky. “I suppose she could use a few more inconvenient dresses, maybe I’ll get in her good graces,” she said with a sarcastic hopefulness, wiggling her eyebrows as she crossed her fingers sarcastically, “Wish me luck.” She said jokingly. Her cocky, spirited behavior matched her expression. Azalea’s bright green eyes danced with triumph and mischief, her face lit up in a magnificent grin, her posture full of confidence.


Xanto
​

 

[explosiveKitten]

“... yeah... just, don’t overdo it Cale, okay?” She said, watching him walk off after placing the rapier back with the other weapons. After a moment of watching him walk away, she sighed and placed the wooden practice sword on the rack as well. Slowly, she turned around to look for something else to do while she waited for her first actual class of the day to begin. Her eyes fell on a practice dummy, tipped onto the ground, and after a moment of thought, she shrugged an smile walked over to it, tipping it back up so it was standing up once again. She then drew her sword off her back sheath and began to do some exercises. Her mind wandered as her body went into autopilot...

Spoiler: Flashback

“Stupid, stupid, stupid...” the eight year old red head pouted, her tiny arms crossed over her chest. The light blue dress she wore blew in the wind, ruffling the lace trim along the petticoat and the frilly white collar itching her neck. All over the front of the dress was a giant red-purple stain, looking dreadful and will probably be a horror to try to wash out later.
“Stupid Papa, it’s just grape juice... he doesn’t have to yell at me.” She sniffed, wiping her nose as she tried to stop her sniffles. She was a big girl- Big girls didn’t cry.

She kicked a rock and wiped her nose again, watching the rock fly off and slips between the bars of her fence, and she was about to turn and walk away, but she heard something come from outside the fence-
“Ow!”
Wait- Someone was over there? Slowly, the little girl crept closer, her eyes wide as she peered into the thick underbrush outside of her iron-wrought fence. She blinked, trying to find the source of the noise, only for a scruffy, brown haired kid to shove his head out of the foliage and exclaim, “What was that for?!”

She squealed and stepped back, tripping over the back of her dress and falling onto her rump in the dirt. Another boy, this one blond and scrawny, appeared and said, “You scared her! That’s not very nice!”
“It’s not very nice to hit people with rocks either!” The brown haired boy retorted, rubbing his head and pouting.
Yet another boy, with hair as black as pitch and mighty shaggy, made his appearance, remarking, “I’m sure she didn’t mean to hit you.” This newest boy, looked at the young girl behind the fence with curiosity, “Did you?”

The young Angelique was confused. What were all these boys doing outside her fence? They all looked about her age- The brown haired one being maybe a little older and the blond a little younger.
“M-Me? N-No! I didn’t even know you were out there!” She stammered, flustered and confused. “What are you doing out there anyway?”
“We was playing hide-and-seek, and somebody got hit by a flying rock!” The pitch-haired kid stated, jabbing the brunet with his elbow, earning a yelp and a returned jab. “So we came to.. insti... invin... check it out!”
“Um, I think you mean investigate?” The blond chirped nervously.
“Yeah, that!”

Angelique was only getting more and more confused, but was having the most fun ever for some odd reason. She rarely ever had a chance to interact with children her age. And these three had just appeared outside of her little corner of the world.

“Soooo, Who are you? I didn’t know there were any kids living in this old place!” The brunet questioned.
“W-Why? Of course I live here! With my momma and... papa, and everybody else! I’m just... not allowed outside very often.”
“Well that’s mean!” The black haired boy exclaimed, apparantly outraged on her behalf. “Outside is much more fun han inside. More space-“
“More stuff to climb!” The brunet added, flexing his arms like he had big muscles.
“The open air.” The blond added.
“I knoooow, right? But I’m not allowed outside! It’s.. it’s stupid!” She mumbled, getting angry all over again, when she looked back up at these three boys and questioned, “Who are YOU?”

The black haired one opened his mouth quite eagerly to introduce himself, but the blond suddenly cut in with a gasp, “Hide!” And the three disappeared into the brush. She was about to question them some more when an angry voice shouted behind her.
“ANGELIQUE!” She flinched andturned, only to have her arm grabbed harshly by the source of the voice- Her angry father. “You know you’re not allowed outside! Get back inside!” And with that she was yanked back towards the manor.

She spared a look back in the direction of the boys, just in time to see the dark-haired one poke his head out of the greens and look at her curiously, before he quietly raised a hand and waved her goodbye. SHe barely lifted her free hand to wave back before she was shoved inside and the door was slammed shut.

“HaaaaAAAAARRRGH!” She shouted, suddenly forgetting to deepen her voice as she let out nothing but pent up frustration from a time long passed. She lifted her sword and with one final, decisive swing, smashed the practice dummy in half.

Her breathing heavy, she rested the tip of the sword on the ground and leaned forward against it, her forehead resting against the pommels she got her breathe back.

When she stood back upright, she looked back at the busted dummy and stared for a moment before remarking, “... Damnit Angie, you’re not supposed to destroy the dummies.”

 

[Xanto]

Raymond Callahan​

Raymond naively raised a brow when Azalea groaned in front of him. The facial expression that accompanied her sound confused him all the more even if it looked natural. Did I do something wrong? Quick thoughts began racing through his mind as he unconsciously bit his lip. It didn't take long for the princess's following statement to shortly clear up his understanding though. Thus, letting him relax and silently slide his hand into his pocket while he listened to Azalea continue on about her and Aurelie's relationship.

Aurelie and Azalea were two completely different princesses. By the way they interacted, Ray knew that they weren't exactly on the closest terms with one another. They just seemed to merely co-exist . . or at least that was what the quieter one did. Azalea just couldn't help but pick on the western royal.

Raymond laughed a bit and moved a hand through his hair after his partner in crime wiggled her eyebrows. She definitely lived up to the responsive redhead concept he first identified her as. "How did ya do that?" He asked lifting one brow after the next. It took a few moments before Ray could barely mimic what Azalea did though.

"Anyway," His gaze shifted to the ground relaxing the muscles that moved his brows before gradually focusing on Azalea's face again. There was a slight pause when he noticed her confidence at an all time high. Typically, the guy wasn't one to sense emotions. But this time Azalea's confidence was contagious. It was just too obvious for anyone to miss.

"You going anywhere?" Raymond asked tilting his head slightly toward Azalea, "I was just about to check the monastery and mess with The Hood." The Hood of course being Annabel. It had been two months and he still never came across that woman's face. Also, he hadn't walked into the monastery since day two of their arrival. What better time to check out the before and after progress than now?

Grumble. Grumble. A hand immediately shot up to Ray's stomach at the hungry sound it made, prompting an awkward smile, "Maybe swipe some bread along the way . . you in?"

Ms. Sparrow

Baxter Callahan​

Baxter exited the tent slightly annoyed before telling the guards never to leave their post at the same time. Then with a swift turn, he rounded the corner casting a suspicious gaze onto Azalea and Raymond. The two seemed to be having a decent discussion. Despite that, the rebel leader was still very suspicious and curious as to why the princess falsely summoned him.

Soon enough, Raymond caught sight of Baxter's figure in his peripheral vision. The younger brother's eyes shifted to the other's suspicious, cold stare that seemed to be more focused on the princess. It was a look that Ray never found amusing. In turn, he casted a mockingly suspicious look at his brother.

"Azalea," Baxter simply mentioned disturbed by how at ease she looked. It was almost as if she didn't realize the important projects he had to rush through all thanks to the ticking Shade time bombs on every inch of the grid he knew. No. Bax didn't say another word. At that point Azalea probably already knew what she had done wrong. Even if she might have not went inside the tent, taking up his time for a prank was unacceptable.

His glance then moved to Raymond. In which case the leader furrowed his brows in confusion. Wh- . . . is he mocking me? Without furthering his inner thoughts, Baxter turned the opposite direction and walked off. By this time the rescue mission meeting was probably over. The next thing on his agenda was to check up on the inventor.

Ms. Sparrow Bakuyoshi

 

[Bakuyoshi]

Cale was on a great start to his official day already. The first job was a little jog around the camp to deliver the newly repaired Crossbows. And despite the weight he was able to move around quickly enough to get a good amount of them delivered. And alongside that a warning to the archers to not use the Crossbow if it is showing any sign of degradation. Because he had to put extra resources in because he had to make new nuts just to even get their crossbows repaired. Which meant that he had to go through the process of re applying the pulley system to make sure they fired properly. And this was the second time he had to repair their Crossbows in the condition he found them.

OK now who am I missing? Got the archery team. The quartermaster got five crossbows from a request from earlier to improve them. Yet I'm missing someone, ugh who is- Oh gods Baxter. He had one that I need to deliver!" Cale exclaimed as he dashed from the Archery range in search of Baxter. At first was the most obvious place, his tent. Yet Cale found no sign of Baxter there and it left him wondering where Baxter could have- "Of course he's probably with the General! He mentioned something about a meeting. Maybe he's still near Nathaniels tent!" Cale rushed off in the direction of Nathaniels tent and to his relief there was Baxter. Looking at something and saying someones name. But Cale was not close enough to hear it.

"Commander Baxter sir! I have the Crossbow you requested. Went and replaced the usual Bone nut with a metal one as you requested. The pulley system is working and the beauty works like it was never broken. I'd dare say it is one of the best ones I made. But besides that has Raymond made mention of the plan he proposed to me this morning? In fact where is Raymond? I passed by his tent the earlier and I noticed he was nowhere near the forge." Cale paused for a moment realizing he was going on again. "Ahem, sorry. To put it in the most basic form Raymond proposed the idea of incendiary rounds for our current ranged weapons. The materials should be easy to get but I feel as though it would be good to come to you to request for any potential flammable materials if there is indeed any to spare."

Xanto

 

[Ms. Sparrow]

Azalea Eve Windfore

Azalea snickered, her eyebrows arching upwards further in amusement at Raymond’s sod attempt to mimic her movements, his eyebrows barely moving in the fashion hers did. Ray was an odd fellow, far more humorous then his brother and less mature then Baxter, and quite frankly seemed the someone she could get along with. She’d rarely met any gentlemen that actually had an actual personality in the palace. Gads they were all boring. Not that they cared for her opinion, most were interested in Violet and Karliah, due to Azalea’s blunt if not cold exterior to most people wanting to court her.

Still, she hadn’t forgotten Raymond’s words two months prior, commenting on which when he saw her dance by the lake that early morning. Though she tried too. Constantly, lest her cheeks turn red at her easily wounded pride.

Azalea’s expression had relaxed into somewhat of a smug expression, her gaze lazy with the corners of her red lips curved upwards. His next question threw her off, an eyebrow raising showing her only hint of suprise. “The monastery?” Azalea asked, more to herself then him, considering. What did he possibly have business doing in there? She pushed the prior nights dream out of her mind and smirked, shrugging off her brief pause, “Sure, better boff off to the monestary than sit around here all day and wait for the General.” She said, grinning slyly, her hand reaching up to touch the leather vest, feeling the journal underneath it, though hidden from sight.

Whatever the journal was, it was important. Important enough to keep it secret from everyone else she suspected, or surely she would’ve heard about it by now. Spying had became a frequent hobby of hers, and was getting quite good at it. Somehow a journal so old surely would never have remained such a tight-lipped secret if more knew...

Baxter’s voice jolted her from her thoughts, her name spoken with nothing of kindness, though despite her deep thoughts, she’d still found herself grinning considerably, as cocky and confident as ever. Until Baxter. His gaze was like an ice bucket had been poured all over her skin, her grin fading. There had been enough conviction in both his gaze and voice to say enough. There didn’t need to be words to know exactly what he meant. A warning. And a lecture. An yet...

Because she had no doubt there would be words later when he found out what she’d done.

For both her and hopefully Nathanial. She wanted answers.

Azalea kept her lips clamped shut, pressing thinly together and meeting the cold stare head on. She fought against the instinct to break it, until she could, only after a couple moments of her own nonrelenting hardened gaze, looked away, glancing at Raymond to avoid Baxter’s icy gaze, silently cursing herself for giving in. And suddenly found herself restraining a smile as she found Raymond painting a suspicious, rather humorous suspicious gaze across his own expression.

She glanced back at Baxter, relieved to find his back towards her as he walked away. Azalea let out a breath she hadn’t realized he’d been doing. She put her hands on her hips, staring after him with a scowl mixed with curiosity as she said, “Off putting how he does that,” referring to Baxter’s steely gaze, watching Baxter disappear from sight.

She found herself trying to imagine Baxter as a wee chit, and couldn’t.


Xanto
​

 

[SandraDeelightful]

Princess Aurelie Beauchamp of Aubigine

​

"Yes, sir, a lovely day indeed," said Aurelie looking to the stranger. Her voice was small and timid, the way it was whenever she spoke to anyone whom she had never met before. She only spoke with a little more confidence when she spoke with the others here, whom she had known for two months. She turned to Sam and said softly, "Indeed, I was. I am sorry to interrupt. I shall be on my way."

Blackrose7 Inheritance

 

[Inheritance]

Jeod Swift​

At the moment he wasn't quite certain now if he would be fitting in too well. He imagined he would need to wrap up business here and be on his way. "Farewell to you then..." He said with a tip of his hat. He turned back to the group. "Alright well what would you be looking for? Entertainment? Tools? I have paper and quills and ink-everyone could use that. Perhaps a new cloak?"
Blackrose7

 

[Xanto]

Raymond Callahan​

Raymond, still battling the seriousness of the situation, continued to suspiciously eye his older brother until they finally made eye contact. All he got in return though was a mildly grumpy yet confused walkout. Unfortunate. Ray simply thought to himself noticing Baxter's mood. It was natural for the younger brother to try lightening up the atmosphere, especially now that he had the ulterior motive of deterring from possible interrogation.

It didn't take long for Raymond's hazel gaze to shift to Azalea, catching her barely restrained smile. Once her eyes navigated themselves back to Baxter, her hands instinctively placed themselves on her hips as her face shifted into a scowl. At first, Ray kept his silence only raising a brow at the reaction the princess gave to the interruption. Perhaps he was used to Baxter's "off putting" ways even after being apart for more than a year.

"Hm," Ray slightly bent forward examining Azalea's expression, "Do that, and ya kinda look like him." The guy smirked talking about the expression of course rather than her facial features. It was just a joke! Though at the angle Ray stood at, he noticed a bit of a change. To be honest, he didn't closely scan Azalea's yellow-green eyes or fading scars since he complemented her dancing two months ago. But somehow those features evolved since the first time they met. "Ya look nice the rest of the time though," He mentioned almost smiling like a dork hoping it would make up for the joke.

With that, Raymond took his first step toward the monastery. The baker's tent was right on the way so it wouldn't be much of an issue. "If it counts for anything," The guy began casually glancing over his shoulder to check on Azalea, "He wasn't always like that."

Soon enough, the baker's tent came into view and Ray smoothly swerved around the princess sliding his hand into the tent before pulling out two pieces of bread. "Don't think it's my news to spread though," He stated taking a bite and holding out the other piece to Azalea.

Ms. Sparrow

Baxter Callahan​

Baxter was just silently making his way to Cale's station when he heard the voice he intended to meet with. As usual, Cale was quick to jump into the meat of discussion. This was not a problem though for the man who just wanted to plow through all his tasks. The rebel leader's eyes focused on the inventor reporting his fixed crossbows and pulley mechanism. At least there were a few people who wanted to make his life easier. Bax continued to listen to Cale's monologue nodding a couple times in approval.

That was, until the inventor brought up Raymond's disappearance. "I just met him. Heard nothing of his proposal yet," Baxter responded once he caught Cale's pause. After listening to Cale's explanation of his brother's plan, Bax nodded again, "The shed by the monastery has a handful of materials. Just enough to run a few tests. We will include flammable objects into our scavenge teams in their next round."

Bakuyoshi

 

[Blackrose7]

"Alright rabbit princess, and enjoy your time there." said Sam. As Demonic Velvet was going to leave the monastery, Jeod ended up trying to sell his stuff to them. "Is there a catch to this? We don't have any money to pay your stuff, Jeod." said Daisy. She was suspicious of what Jeod was trying to do, for there is no way that he would give his stuff away without something in return. "Do you have any clothes? Annabel was only able to bring three dresses with her, and they are all really long." said Jerry. "Bring out a red or purple outfit, Jeod. I bet that Annabel would look cute in that." said Thomas.
Sam and Daisy just stared at what Jerry and Thomas are doing, since they are clearly trying to get Annabel some proper clothes here. "...Want a notebook, quills, and ink. But that doesn't mean I am not suspicious of what you doing." said Daisy.
Sam remembered about the trinket, Jeod was trying to sell to Annabel, so he wanted to ask him about that. "May I ask about the trinket that you were trying to sell to Annabel? Because you didn't tell her what that was." said Sam.

As Demonic Velvet was shopping at Jeod's shop, Annabel did arrive at the rebellion camp.
'Ok. I will change my clothes at the lake so I can take a bath. I hope that it isn't the time for the guys to be taking their bath.' thought Annabel. Nobody said that a single person can take a bath at the lake when it isn't time for all boys or girls to do that. Annabel can also have the lake all to herself without nobody being around her as well.
She went to the lake eventually, took off her clothes, and was taking a bath in the cold water. 'So cold but it can't be helped.' thought Annabel. Once the water got a bit warmer, Annabel just took a moment to remember her life in the past. 'Mom and Dad would be so proud of me now. I was able to make some new friends, and be someone that they can look up to. I just wish that my parents were here.' thought Annabel.
SandraDeelightful Inheritance

 

[Bakuyoshi]

"Wait an actual Monastery!? Like a place to worship gods and the like!? Erm, I'll just go to the shed and grab the materials. i'd rather not disturb the sanctity of it. " Cale was seemingly shocked and nervous of the concept of religion. The idea of gods made him feel small in the grand scheme of things. Prince or not he always felt like that the few times someone brought up religion. So just being near a Monastery would've made him feel sick. And this was the first time he didn't talk that much.

"Have a good day sir, tomorrow I will be sure to report the resul- Oh gods I forgot. It'll be tonight. I think your training has helped and at the moment I don't think the secret should be kept from them any longer. I'm just not sure how anyone will take it. " As Cale spoke he pulled the proof of his secret out from his pocket, but holding it in a way that no one outside of him could see what was on the little disc. "I just pray I'll have something to come back to."

Xanto

----------------------------------------------------------



As Cale walked away he felt a mixture of emotions. Some he could identify and others he could not. But they were slowly boiling over. Maybe he needed a break at the moment. A bath or something may help or he could always squeeze a brief nap in. He just needed something to help him relax. But at the same time he had no time to do either thing. The camp was reliant on his skills. And he hardly was prepared to see the three other royals react to what he was. "You know what me. Just get your clothes from the tent. You need to get cleaned up for tonight. The hell sort of prince would smell like I do? He told himself as he made his way to the tent, unsure of how he was going to handle tonight. A bath would certainly help clear his mind and maybe a day of schematics could finally get him to change out of his inventors clothing. God knows they need to cleaned. So in spirit of changing who he was he got a pair of his better looking clothes. He remembers his cousin got these and called these his Negotiator clothes. Rarely did he wear them as he only wore them to look decent. Typically for making deals with clients and or just looking nice for a party. Key word being nice. They weren't worthy of being worn to a ball or some royal wedding. But they were nice enough to be considered good looking for normal parties.

Cale hummed to himself as he made his way out of the tent to the bathing area. He was positive it was time for men to be bathing. He even saw a few coming from there looking freshly bathed. "Just do what's needed and get out. God knows how bad Raymond will get it if I'm gone for that long." Cale muttered as he hurried in to get the cleaning started.