Snowtops

[epppe]

Kaden didn't know what to do now that he was in a house by himself with lots of shiny weapons and armour. He wanted to take some of the weapons since his were starting to get a little dull but became more curious of what the other two were doing. Taking a small stroll, he came up to where the two were at while Terryn seemed to propose the idea of gaurding her or something.

"I wouldn't really trust him to gaurd anything since the first thing he does is run away."
Leaning against a tree now, he was getting bored when there was only talking happening.
"Now you said you were leaving because there was too much attention here, meaning you are scared there's a chance someone might notice you over me and there is only one person currently I can think of that the king wants over me."

Pulling one of his blades out and began to inspect it, seeing that it was too dull to really cut anything.
"Give me a new shirt and blades and I'm sure I could fight off whatever comes your way princess."

[Kirsui]

"Let me come with you. I can't let myself allow you to go off alone. No offense, but you don't seem like you have much combat experience. You saw my stash of weapons. I can teach you to use some. Where ever you plan to go, I can help you get there."

Casri stared at Terryn with wide eyes, but before she could answer, Kaden came out. Her gaze fixed on him when he spoke.

"Give me a new shirt and blades and I'm sure I could fight off whatever comes your way princess."

Casri's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Are you threatening me?"

She glanced between Terryn and Kaden, realizing then that the two of them knew... Or at least they thought they knew.
"The princess is 'dead'", she said quietly. "Assassinated during the attack to New Westminster. That is the official story, it is what people think happened."
She hesitated.
"There were assassins, but the princess escaped using one of the secret escape routes. Her teacher... gave his life to seal the route shut..."

She clenched her hands into fists, trying to calm herself. She had been careful not to think what had happened, and now all of it was threatening to come back to her mind. She took a deep breath, telling herself that there would be time to process the memories later.

"That leaves me with one question..."
With a quick movement she had drawn her bow, pointing an arrow at Kaden.
"How do you know who I am, Kaden? As I said, I am 'dead', and only a few know what truly happened... The king, some of his highest generals... and the assassins that were there to kill me."

[epppe]

A grin formed on Kaden's face when it seemed that the princess distrusted him and pointed her bow at him. Pointing his index finger at the arrow, a lightning bolt came out and cracked the arrow in half.

"Silly Princess, I've probably killed most of the assassins that came after you."
Kaden then crossed him arms and went back to relaxing against the tree.
"Now for knowing that the princess was alive, I've had the number two highest bounty on my head from what the assassins told me. The only person I could think of that would come before me is someone from the royal family before the new king. After a bit of investigating by me, it wasn't hard to figure you were still alive."

Pushing himself off of the tree and walking a bit closer to the two, Kaden kept the grin on his face still.
"Now how bout it? all I need is a new shirt and a couple of new knives and I'll be able to protect you easily."

[Kirsui]

Casri was startled when Kaden broke the arrow with a lightning bolt. She stared at the pieces that fell to the ground for a moment before lowering her bow. She couldn't look at Kaden with the grin he had, and instead tilted her head down so that the shadow of her hood was covering most of her features and the expression of defeat that crept on her face.

"Now how bout it? all I need is a new shirt and a couple of new knives and I'll be able to protect you easily."

She clutched her bow tightly, still refusing to look up.
"And if I refuse...?" she asked instead, her voice barely louder than a whisper.
"What do you plan to do if I refuse to have you with me?"

[blaqknoise]

"Give me a new shirt and blades and I'm sure I could fight off whatever comes your way princess."

"I think you're asking the wrong person."

Terryn listened to Casri and Kaden, and wasn't sure he trusted him enough to go with heri. He did have a large bounty after all.

"And if I refuse...? What do you plan to do if I refuse to have you with me?"

"I think that'd be a wiser choice," Terryn interrupted, "You have the largest bounty, he has the second largest bounty. I think the one way for him to get his bounty off his head is to capture you and return you.

[epppe]

"You have the largest bounty, he has the second largest bounty. I think the one way for him to get his bounty off his head is to capture you and return you."

Kaden laughed at Terryn's suggestion the he would just collect the bounty on her head.
"If I wanted to do that, I would have taken her by now. The reason I want to gaurd her is because many powerful people will be after her, people who would be fun to fight with."

He wondered if the new king would actually send out his best assassins after her or if he would keep everything quiet and not make it a big hassle.
"But I guess whatever though, I only fought off a dragon by myself since mr. runaway here thought he was too cool to fight. Oh, and don't worry, I won't turn you into the king."

[Kirsui]

"-- many powerful people will be after her, people who would be fun to fight with. But I guess whatever though, I only fought off a dragon by myself --"

Casri remained silent for a moment before she let out a small sigh. She would let Kaden think what ever he wanted of the brief encounter with the dragon. She was fairly sure that the dragon had, for what ever reason, let Kaden go.

Which ever way it was though, she mentioned none of her thoughts aloud. Instead she took a deep breath before slightly lifting her head to sneak a glance at Kaden from the shadows of her hood.
"This is not a game, Kaden", she said seriously.
"To you it might be fun. For me it is a matter of life and death, and frankly, I have no intention of toying with my life - nor let anyone else do so."

She paused, before lifting her head up completely so that her face was not so shadowed as before. She was wary, but hid it well under a cold mask.
"I do not like you Kaden, and I trust you even less. I do not want you with me."
She smiled bitterly.
"But I can not stop you either, can I?"

[blaqknoise]

"But I guess whatever though, I only fought off a dragon by myself since mr. runaway here thought he was too cool to fight. Oh, and don't worry, I won't turn you into the king."

"I could've helped fight it off, possibly causing more destruction to the town than there already was, as well as possible innocent deaths. The dragon was after you and no one else anyway. You somehow managed to fight it off though. I saw you split Casri's arrow with a little shock, so it's obvious that you know some magic, where I on the other hand do not."

"I do not like you Kaden, and I trust you even less. I do not want you with me, but I can not stop you either, can I?"

"We should probably go back inside a figure something out. Aimless wandering probably isn't the best idea."

[Kirsui]

"We should probably go back inside a figure something out. Aimless wandering probably isn't the best idea."

Casri held back a frustrated sigh. All she wanted was to get going, but it seemed she was robbed of that possibility. She made sure her frustration didn't show on her face as she nodded.
"You are right", she admitted.
"Besides, out here we do not know who might be listening."

She eyed Kaden warily for a moment before she walked inside Terryn's house. She sat down on the table, placing her bow beside her against the wall. She waited the other two to come in with a calm expression, her hands on her lap.

[blaqknoise]

Terryn followed Casri inside and sat in the seat across from her. She still seemed uptight and quiet. He figured she might relax a bit he she remembered who he was. He also realized they'd probably need a map or something to plan out their next move.

"I'm surprised you don't remember who I am," Terryn said as he got up to look for his map, "we used to hang out a lot when we were younger."

[Kirsui]

"I'm surprised you don't remember who I am, we used to hang out a lot when we were younger."

Casri's gaze turned to Terryn when he spoke. She seemed a bit surprised by his choice of subject. She watched him in silence as he searched for something, then sighed slightly.

"You look familiar", she admitted after a moment of silence. She turned her gaze at the desk.
"I have trouble recalling faces from... the past... For the past few weeks my only thought has been how to keep myself alive and hidden."
She chuckled un-amusedly, recalling Kaden's words when he had informed he knew her identity.
"A lot of good that did though."

[blaqknoise]

"You look familiar, I have trouble recalling faces from... the past... For the past few weeks my only thought has been how to keep myself alive and hidden. A lot of good that did though."

"What if I said we used to throw rocks at patrol troops? When they ran after us would run into the forest into a little hole we found, then we'd cover ourselves in leaves and sticks until they gave up."

Terryn found the map sitting on a little round table near his weapon stash and walked back to the table where Casri was sitting.

"I also taught you how to use a bow when we were in our young teenage years."

[Kirsui]

"What if I said we used to throw rocks at patrol troops? When they ran after us would run into the forest into a little hole we found, then we'd cover ourselves in leaves and sticks until they gave up."

Casri sat silent for a moment as he pondered Terryn's words. Now that she thought about it, she remembered throwing rocks at patrols with someone. A smile crept on her face. She remembered getting caught a couple of times, mostly because she had been too slow to run. Her father had been angry, and her smile transformed into a grin when she remembered that she had given the king the widest puppy-eyes she could manage, fluttering her lashes innocently as she asked why she would do such a thing.

"I also taught you how to use a bow when we were in our young teenage years."

Casri blinked, her gaze focusing on Terryn. She examined his face for a brief moment as recognition flickered in her eyes. She was still grinning.
"And you would say something along the lines that a blind man with no arms would have a better aim than I."

Her smile faltered.
"It was not quite the same after you left, you know", she said.
"Father barely let me out. I sneaked out with the bow when I could, not that he was all too happy about it. He claimed it was 'not something a princess should bother herself with'."

She fell silent, her gaze dropping on the desk again. She clenched her hands on fists, fighting to keep her emotions on check. She succeeded, somewhat, but thought better not to look at Terryn for now.
"...I bet father would be glad I disobeyed him now though..."

[blaqknoise]

Terryn noticed that Casri began to smile, so he figured that he had triggered some memory.

"And you would say something along the lines that a blind man with no arms would have a better aim than I."

"Which is why I said no every time you wanted to shoot apples off my head." He replied with a chuckle.

"It was not quite the same after you left, you know. Father barely let me out. I sneaked out with the bow when I could, not that he was all too happy about it. He claimed it was 'not something a princess should bother herself with'."

Casri then went silent. Her head bowed and her fists clenched. He could see now just how upset she was about the whole situation.

"...I bet father would be glad I disobeyed him now though..."

"I was surprised when your father kicked me out. I guess over the years I had tested his patience and that disagreement must have pushed him over the edge. Don't blame yourself for his death Casri. Even if you had been the most skilled bowman in the entire world you would have little chance against what I assume was a league of assassins."

[Kirsui]

"Don't blame yourself for his death Casri. Even if you had been the most skilled bowman in the entire world you would have little chance against what I assume was a league of assassins."

Casri sighed.
"Three", she said with her gaze still lowered.
"I only saw three. They were the first ones to arrive, sneaking in using who knows what passage that was unguarded... Or perhaps they just killed the guards."

She shook her head.
"Either way, I did not remain there to see if there were more of them. Their surprise was lost when they realized I was not as unprotected as they thought - despite the fact I was only with my teacher."

She laughed sadly.
"And to think of that the old fool never cared to tell me that he knew some magic", she said fondly. "It did save me though..."

She closed her eyes momentarily, gathering herself. It would do her no good to keep dwelling on her memories right now, when there better things to concentrate on.

Such as...
"Did you find a map?" she asked, calm enough to finally lift her gaze and look at Terryn curiously.

[blaqknoise]

"Three, I only saw three. They were the first ones to arrive, sneaking in using who knows what passage that was unguarded... Or perhaps they just killed the guards."

"Still. There was very little you could do."

"And to think of that the old fool never cared to tell me that he knew some magic", she said fondly. "It did save me though..."

He wasn't too sure who this teacher of hers was. He or she must have been an addition to the castle after Terryn had left.

"Did you find a map?"

"Yes, it's right here." He replied as he spread the map out on the table. "So, this is where we are, right... here. Where did you plan on going from here?"

[Kirsui]

"Yes, it's right here. So, this is where we are, right... here. Where did you plan on going from here?"

Casri leaned closer, eagerly looking at the map. It was very similar to the ones she remembered looking at in New Westminster, and she quickly identified locations even before looking at the names.
"I think I said before that Kelast and Daishtan are out of question", she said.
"So it would be either Sondista or Ythus... Unless they have managed to track me enough to determine I was heading this way. If that is the case, and they arrive here and find me gone, they would expect me to head South."

She paused, tilting her head slightly as she thought. Then suddenly, she chuckled.
"To be honest, I have no idea where to go", she admitted.
"I do not know what I want to do, other than hide for the time being."

[blaqknoise]

"So it would be either Sondista or Ythus... Unless they have managed to track me enough to determine I was heading this way. If that is the case, and they arrive here and find me gone, they would expect me to head South. To be honest, I have no idea where to go. I do not know what I want to do, other than hide for the time being."

"Well, we could travel to Sondista from here, stay there for a few days and then go to Yuths and stay another few days. After that I don't see where else we could go other than Valowira. That place is mostly inhabited by elves though, so I don't know if they'd like us being there. On the other hand, no one would think to look for you there."

[epppe]

Kaden stood next to the tree for a little while as the other two headed back to Terryn's house. When he did start walking to the house, it seemed to take forever to reach it. He got to the house and opened the door to notice that the two were talking about their past together.

"Whoops, I hope I didn't interrupt anything." he said jokingly before seeing a map in Terryn's hand, "Oh are we planning a vacation now?"

[Kirsui]

"Well, we could travel to Sondista from here, stay there for a few days and then go to Yuths and stay another few days. After that I don't see where else we could go other than Valowira. That place is mostly inhabited by elves though, so I don't know if they'd like us being there. On the other hand, no one would think to look for you there."

Casri nodded, thinking of what Terryn had suggested.
"That is true", she agreed. "Also from Sondista -"

"Whoops, I hope I didn't interrupt anything. Oh are we planning a vacation now?"

Casri blinked, then looked at Kaden with a blank expression. It completely escaped her how he could take this all as just one big joke.
"We are planning how I can keep a hold of my life", she replied icily.
"Your attitude is definitely not helping."

She sighed. Travelling with this guy would no doubt be a pain... But, that was in the future, and she didn't need to worry about it right now.

So she turned back to the map.
"Once we reach Sondista, we can also see what the situation is like. If they do trace me here, and manage to follow there, it might be possible to catch a ship and sail to Ythus."
She frowned.
"Though that would be just as risky as continuing by land, considering the amount of dragons that the king somehow has managed to get on his side."