Snowtops

[Kirsui]

Casri enjoyed the last bits that she would be alone tonight. She had already reached Terryn's house, and she would be joining Kaden and Terryn again. She was glad her calmness had returned, and as strange as it was, the cold, wet hair was further calming her. She paused at the door, took a deep breath and opened it.

"Looks like I'll be doing that while you two train some more then. Maybe you could get her ready for a sparring match before I return and we can see how good of a teacher you are."

"He is good", she said with a faint smile when she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
"I would know, he taught me archery."
A rather amused expression came on her face.
"That is, when we were not running off somewhere to cause trouble."

She hung her cloak on the back of the chair she'd been sitting on previously, then proceeded to take off her quiver and put it next to her bow.

[blaqknoise]

"Looks like I'll be doing that while you two train some more then. Maybe you could get her ready for a sparring match before I return and we can see how good of a teacher you are."

Terryn was about to speak when Casri came in and beat him to it.

"He is good,I would know, he taught me archery. That is, when we were not running off somewhere to cause trouble."

"I've only taught her basic stuff Kaden. We'll have to save the sparring match for later when I've taught her more."

[epppe]

"I've only taught her basic stuff Kaden. We'll have to save the sparring match for later when I've taught her more."

"Gotta make sure she is actually learning and sparring is the best way to do it. Whatever I guess, she probably still needs to learn a bit more before sparring."
Kaden let out a loud yawn showing that he was getting tired.
"So is it time to sleep yet, you two have plenty of training to do?"

[Kirsui]

"Gotta make sure she is actually learning and sparring is the best way to do it. Whatever I guess, she probably still needs to learn a bit more before sparring."

Casri chuckled, but said nothing. She knew that right now she wouldn't be able to defend herself with the daggers, even less harm anyone with them. She would most likely just cause more damage to herself. But she was confident that she would learn.

"So is it time to sleep yet, you two have plenty of training to do?"

Casri shrugged and took the seat at the table, feeling more relaxed than she had been for quite some time. She wasn't too tired despite the fact that she had been travelling non-stop for so long. She suspected that her dive into the cold river had somewhat caused that, but she didn't mind. Right now she was content on just sitting down for a while, looking out of the window and not thinking about anything particular.

[blaqknoise]

"So is it time to sleep yet, you two have plenty of training to do?"

"The floor is all yours." Terryn replied.

Casri took a seat at the table again, sitting across from Terryn. He looked out the window for a few minutes before putting his arms on the table and leaning in towards Casri slightly.

"Remember once when we were throwing rocks at patrol troops, you picked up a rock that was a little to big and broke one of their noses with your throw?"

He chuckled a bit and leaned back.

"Why did we ever think that was a good idea?"

[Kirsui]

"Remember once when we were throwing rocks at patrol troops, you picked up a rock that was a little to big and broke one of their noses with your throw? Why did we ever think that was a good idea?"

Casri laughed, turning to look at Terryn with a mischievous smile.
"I believe we thought the sound the rocks made when they hit the armour was fairly impressive."

She paused, then laughed again.
"Was that not one of the times when I actually got caught?" she asked.
"I remember having to try explain father why I was running around like that as well as how the soldier had broken his nose. I think I told him that I had no idea how it happened, and that maybe the soldier had tripped or walked into a tree."

She chuckled.
"He did not buy the story, but what else could he do? They never caught you after all, so they only had me to blame for all the trouble, even though I suspect they knew I was not alone."

[blaqknoise]

"Was that not one of the times when I actually got caught? I remember having to try explain father why I was running around like that as well as how the soldier had broken his nose. I think I told him that I had no idea how it happened, and that maybe the soldier had tripped or walked into a tree. He did not buy the story, but what else could he do? They never caught you after all, so they only had me to blame for all the trouble, even though I suspect they knew I was not alone."

"I can't imagine your dress was the best clothing for all the running we did. I probably should have stayed with you and not run ahead, but I didn't want to get caught. It's a good thing you're the princess or we would have gotten in much bigger trouble."

Terryn sat in silence for a few moments before speaking up again.

"I wonder how things would have been different if I had stayed in New Westminster."

[Kirsui]

"I can't imagine your dress was the best clothing for all the running we did."

Casri laughed, shaking her head. She agreed with Terryn completely, but she hadn't really had anything else to wear - plus they usually had sneaked out while she had been supposed to study something that she considered "boring".

"I wonder how things would have been different if I had stayed in New Westminster."

Casri's smile faltered slightly.
"Sometimes I wondered that too", she admitted.
"Partly I am glad that you were not there though. Do not understand me wrong... I really did miss all the fun times we used to have. I am just glad you did not see what I had to go through."

She paused, cringing.
"Father decided it was time to begin introducing me to my suitors. I felt caged. Have you any idea how dull nobles can be? No sense of humour, full of flattery and empty words... And the only thing they really were interested of was increasing their ranking."

She sighed, giving an apologetic smile at Terryn.
"For a while I was mad that you left and I no longer had a way to escape my responsibilities as a princess. But father never told me the reason, no matter how hard I attempt to persuade him. I knew something happened, but he was stubborn."

[blaqknoise]

"Sometimes I wondered that too, partly I am glad that you were not there though. Do not understand me wrong... I really did miss all the fun times we used to have. I am just glad you did not see what I had to go through."

Terryn was about to ask what those things she had to go through were, but she quickly answered before he had a chance to ask.

"Father decided it was time to begin introducing me to my suitors. I felt caged. Have you any idea how dull nobles can be? No sense of humour, full of flattery and empty words... And the only thing they really were interested of was increasing their ranking."

"I'm not surprised." he replied, "All the Nobles care about is their money."

"For a while I was mad that you left and I no longer had a way to escape my responsibilities as a princess. But father never told me the reason, no matter how hard I attempt to persuade him. I knew something happened, but he was stubborn."

"You mean you never heard about the disagreement we had? I was under the impression that the entire city knew about it."

[Kirsui]

"You mean you never heard about the disagreement we had? I was under the impression that the entire city knew about it."

She shook her head, confused.
"No. No one would say anything when I asked. I could not even catch maids gossiping about it. That was very frustrating. Maids were a good source of information - when keeping in might that some of the things they said were not entirely true."

She chuckled.
"As I said, father was stubborn. It seems that since he decided not to enlighten me, he made sure I would not hear of it from other sources either."

She paused, giving Terryn a curious look.
"So... What did you disagree about? Or would you rather not tell?"

[epppe]

Kaden just listened as the other two were talking about their past with a look of slight surprise. He thought he was mean by assassinating people, but these two were hitting their own soldiers in the face with rocks and lying to their king about it.

Getting a bit too relaxed now though, Kaden closed his eyes and fell asleep. It didn't take long for to start having random dreams and also to start snoring as the other two were having their conversation.

[blaqknoise]

"So... What did you disagree about? Or would you rather not tell?"

"Well you've been trying to figure it out for a long time. It would be cruel of me not to tell you."

Terryn sat for a few moments figuring out where he should start.

"One of your fathers advisor's was killed while checking out one of the smaller villages, and we had no idea why. After weeks of investigation there were around 10 suspects who were thought to have killed that advisor. Your father wanted all 10 men to be killed just to make sure they picked the right one. None of them were going to get fair trials, they were just going to be killed. I challenged your father and told him that it was wrong. I said that if he killed all 10 suspects, then the people would think of him as a coward. I guess I went a little too far with some of the other things I said, and your father started to question my loyalty to him and to New Westminster. As a result, I was kicked out of the military."

[Kirsui]

Casri listened in silence, not moving her gaze from Terryn while he spoke. She had heard of the advisor's death, but her father had done pretty good job making sure she wasn't aware of the other things related to that.

"I guess I went a little too far with some of the other things I said, and your father started to question my loyalty to him and to New Westminster. As a result, I was kicked out of the military."

"That does explain why you suddenly disappeared", she murmured quietly.

She chuckled quietly.
"I heard of the advisor's death", she said. "And I heard when my father had 'dealt with the problem'. However, I did not know he was so hasty."

She sighed, giving Terryn another one of those apologetic looks of hers.
"I wish he had not been so stubborn sometimes."

She paused, then smiled.
"Though... I suppose had he not been stubborn and argued with you, we would not be here having this discussion, would we?"

[blaqknoise]

"Though... I suppose had he not been stubborn and argued with you, we would not be here having this discussion, would we?"

"Perhaps not" He replied.

"What happened at the castle? I can understand if you don't want to talk about it, so you don't have to."

[Kirsui]

"What happened at the castle? I can understand if you don't want to talk about it, so you don't have to."

She tensed, her expression changing to one void of all emotions. Then, she relaxed, her shoulders slumping slightly as she sighed faintly.
"It is fine", she said.
"You have the right to know."

She took a moment to gather her thoughts.
"My teacher was restless that day", she began.

"He met me when I had finished my lunch instead of waiting for me in the library where we used to have my lessons. I was surprised, it was so unlike him to make exceptions to our daily schedule. As we headed towards the library his behaviour surprised me even more."

She paused.
"You might remember, I used to have a fairly large balcony with a few chairs and a desk. My teacher requested that instead of the dimly lit, dusty library, we would take our lessons on my balcony. I saw no reason to object, it was a nice, warm day after all and I did not wish to be inside. His behaviour changed more frantic when we reached my room. He was literally jumping at the tiniest of sounds"

"Then we heard it", she continued, closing her eyes.
"A crash from the direction of the library. And then he made up his mind. I wanted to go investigate, but my teacher pushed me inside my room and locked the door behind us. He told me there was not much time as he walked to one of the walls, searching for something I was unable to see. He kept apologising, saying that he had not had any other choice..."

Her voice trailed off, and she swallowed.
"He... he pressed something, and suddenly the wall opened. It was a secret passage, one I had never known of. I stared at it, and there were suddenly a lot of questions I wanted answered... But he was already moving, and next thing I knew he handed me my bow and arrows as well as the travelling clothes I usually wore when I sneaked out to practice archery."

She tilted her head down.
"I... I was going to ask what was going on, but then the dragons came. I don't know how they managed to sneak up on us like that, but they literally appeared out of nowhere. I heard their roars from outside, and there were a lot of them. And... then..."

She swayed on her seat, apparently too caught in her memories. They were all blurred together, and she hard hard time telling them apart and explaining them aloud.

"The assassins found my room. I saw their faces... My teacher pushed me to the secret passage, yelling at me to run. He... He said he was so sorry... I ran as he had told me, and I heard how the stone walls crumbled behind me, making it impossible to re-open the door he had closed behind me. He... had told them, I know it now... And yet... He... saved my life..."

It was too much for her and she leaned her elbows on the table, burying her face in her hands. She was surprised that she had managed to explain this much. But the words had just come out, and she had been unable to stop herself. And now she was upset again, even though she had did her best to remain calm and not break down in front of others.

[blaqknoise]

Terryn stared down at the table as Casri explained from her point-of-view.

"So the teacher knew it was going to happen." he said finally.

He looked up and saw Casri's face buried in her hands, clearly upset about thinking back to the day.

"I'm sorry about what happened Casri. If I had stayed I could have helped... maybe things would have been different."

Terryn didn't know what else he could say, as his mind was busy thinking about the situation and trying to piece things together.

"The king was generally well liked. Why would someone want to do this? I doubt they did it just for the hell of it."

[Kirsui]

"I'm sorry about what happened Casri. If I had stayed I could have helped... maybe things would have been different."

Casri gave a slightly hysterical laugh at Terryn's words, but still refused to uncover her face. She wasn't so certain that Terryn's presence at New Westminster would've helped. In fact, she was quite convinced that if he had been there, he too would be dead.

"The king was generally well liked. Why would someone want to do this? I doubt they did it just for the hell of it."

"Who ever it was..." she said with a whispering voice, still sounding rather upset.
"What ever his reason... He planned it well... I do not know what he did to convince those dragons to join his cause. There were just so many of them."

She paused.
"I saw some of them when I fled. Black, red, blue... All colours, using their breath attacks on the defenders. When they realized I had escaped the assassination, a few of those dragons came looking for me. It was difficult, but I managed to hide, and the further I got from New Westminster the rarer it became that I saw anyone looking for me."

She sighed, then decided she was gaining nothing by hiding her face and finally let them fall limply on the table. She stared at her hands, not really seeing them. Her cheeks were slightly wet, though she didn't seem to be crying any more.

"So you see", she said quietly, "why I was not so fond of that dragon around here. If she returns and sees me..."

[blaqknoise]

"So you see why I was not so fond of that dragon around here. If she returns and sees me..."

"Yes, I can understand that. If you feel too uncomfortable here we can leave as soon as you want."

Terryn sat silent again for a few moments before speaking again.

"Sorry that I don't have much to say. This comes as surprise to me. I'm not sure what to think about it."

[Kirsui]

"Sorry that I don't have much to say. This comes as surprise to me. I'm not sure what to think about it."

"It is fine", she said tiredly, offering Terryn a faint, though slightly sad smile.
"I know it is a lot to take in at once. I suppose we do have time to think of it more later though. After all, there is not so much else to do other than moving along, staying alive and teaching me some fighting skills."

She fell silent for a moment, then yawned and glanced at Kaden.

"Following his example and getting some sleep might be a good idea", she said with a chuckle.

[blaqknoise]

"Following his example and getting some sleep might be a good idea"

"You're probably right." Terryn replied.

He stood up from his chair and stretched his arms out with a yawn.

"The bed is yours by the way. I'm just going to grab a few pillows from it."