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Post by Markus Everglade on Aug 26, 2012 23:16:51 GMT -5
CAST OF CHARACTERS
The Royalty of Everglade
Markus Everglade, Age 16/17: The protagonist of the story. Unusually handsome, which comes through despite the fact he has blue hair. The crown prince of the country named for his family. He’s engaged to Princess Rose.
Elaura ‘Laura’ Glasswater, Age 16: The daughter of a famous general in a neighboring country to Everglade’s. She got sent away when she was only five, and has lived with Markus’s family in the castle ever since. Quickly became his best friend, and now serves as his bodyguard and as a solider of Everglade.
Rocelin ‘Ross’ Rainbird, Age 17: The youngest of three brothers, and the son of a lord in Carina. Also Markus’s body guard and a solider of Everglade.
Ketra Everglade, Age 18: Markus’s elder sister. Rather a snob and a bit cold, but she truly loves her brother. She and her father fight constantly, and she even lives in a different city than him and refuses to marry anyone he has chosen for her.
Rose Time, Age 17: Markus’s fiancée. She is a princess, and is proud of it, but runs away and dresses as a maid in order to meet Markus before the wedding. Ill tempered.
Raythor Carpenter, Age 16: A Calthan thief who is traveling with another thief and saves the princesses Rose and Ketra. He agrees to protect them for a little while.
Juliet ‘Dash’ Shine, Age 16: Raythor’s partner in crime. He taught her how to steal, but her unusual speed certainly comes in handy. She is quite beautiful, but tends to dress in feminized male clothing. Anella Nightheart, Age 16: A shy girl who grew up raising horses. She has a stutter, and brings her friends Kayle and Blade along with her on the quest after she receives her invitation. Moonlight affects her strangely.
Kayle Windflora, Age 17: Anella’s rich friend who is supposedly serving as her entry into higher society. She thinks about boys and little else, and would like nothing better than to set up Anella with a rich man.
Blade Ghosttail, Age 18: Not human, actually a species of element controlling wolf called elementists. He’s the prince of the elementist shadow kingdom and, though he is the second son, he is going to inherit the throne, due to the rather complicated inheritance system in his country. Anella’s loyal friend. Kylara Waterwind, Age 18: Maria’s “dutiful” handmaid. From the desert country of Caltha. She has quite an interest in myths and legends of her home.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:33:30 GMT -5
Maria, Age 19: A lady of Caltha with a great interest in getting closer to Markus. Of the Kylara/Maria duo, she is both the more level headed and the more sarcastic.
Rea Greatly, Age 18: The queen of Carina. She becomes the catalyst that causes the cast to meet by proposing what she dubs a “quest” to Laina. Took the throne at a young age after her parents died.
Dione Klara (Thayet), Age 18: Rea’s extremely testy bodyguard. Married to Rea’s other bodyguard, James. She was rescued from an abusive home by Rea, and is thus fiercely loyal to her.
James Klara, Age 20: A body guard and Dione’s husband. Actually was a large womanizer before he married but is loyal to Dione, probably due to extreme fear. His main function is to stop Dione from killing random people who piss her off.
Gabriel Goldensun, Age 17: Rea’s mild mannered personal blacksmith. The elder brother of a healer who works in Rea’s castle, Isabella. He is the member of Rea’s inner circle who is actually on the outside of things.
The Whitestars
Kenetari Whitestar, Age 18: The daughter of the duke Sabbath Whitestar. The family is heading a plot to take over Laina and she is the real leader of the revolution, despite the fact she is mentally unstable; mainly because she could kill pretty much anyone in one on one combat. Lydrion’s lover and the sister of Jason and Benvolio.
Lydrion Archer, Age 18: Basically Kenetari’s last resort assassin. He is very skilled at finding people, no matter how hard they try to hide. He used to be a truly decent person, if a sickly and skinny one, until something in his past drove him to use his talents for Kenetari and into her arms. Hailed as a child finding hero in Laina, and he really gives the Whitestars a good image.
Jason Whitestar, Also 18: He and Kenetari are not twins. He was old enough to remember her first coming to live with them, and he has decided she is probably a bastard daughter of his father’s. Though they fight, they are actually fairly close and he doesn’t resent or hate her for what she is.
Benvolio Whitestar, Age 10: The youngest Whitestar. Adores both his siblings and his father. His mother, Janine, died in childbirth having him so he never met her. Always has his cat, Runner, draped around his neck.
David Catshadow, Age 19: One of Rea’s elite, he works for General Davon Porthe and is also part of the Whitestar army. Kenetari is using threats against his family to make him work for her.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:33:46 GMT -5
Minor Characters
-Sabbath, the Whitestar sibling’s father. Obsessed with the Phoenix Myth. - Tobias and Peregrine: Elementists generals forced to work for Kenetari, so she doesn’t kill their daughter. -Nightshade, said daughter. A powerful fighter in her own right. -Pallas, the Archer childhood pet. A light elementist very useful to the Whitestars. -Maya, the master lock picker and spy. Works for the Whitestars. -Saria, the bubble headed bastard warrior princess. Rea’s sister. Prologue:
Heroes
The halls were empty by the time Elaura Glasswater came home. Her light brown hair stuck to her face, glued by sweat, and she pushed it carelessly behind her ears. No matter what she did, it seemed that there were always a few strands that escaped from her low ponytail and they always did their best to bother her. She sighed, wondering why she didn’t just cut it, and started toward the familiar set of stairs that would lead her to her bedroom when something out of place caught her eye: a mirror, full-length and rimmed with gold that had never been there before. Nothing around it had changed. The floor was still solid stone, the stone walls were divided into oblong shapes, and the tapestry of the rearing blue and white stallion was untouched. The window to the left of the mirror was, as always, the only source of light in this back hallway and it did not provide much of it. All the same, the mirror stood out and nearly seemed to glow. She stood before it for what felt like a long time, just studying it, her tired brain having difficulty rationalizing why she was so interested. Laura didn’t even have a mirror in her own room. She looked as she expected to after practicing her archery for hours. Her white tunic, with dark blue trim on the cuffs of the sleeves, was dirty, and there was a short tear at the bottom of her leggings. Her wrist guards were undone, but she had left them on and ignored them out of exhaustion. Her quiver was half empty, thanks to her losing the arrows in the woods. Her skin was, if possible, a shade of gray. Even her dark green eyes looked impossibly tired, the circles beneath them deep. Laura tapped the mirror on a whim and found that she, suddenly, could not move her finger. Her own eyes confronted her, looking softer than they usually did. But they also weren’t set in her own face anymore. The face reflected in the mirror wasn’t, for that matter, even a human face. It looked like some cross between that of a wolf and a fox: it was the color of orange fox fur anyway, it had black front legs and though it was normal-sized it seemed to be floating at her eye level. Though she wasn’t especially tall, that really wasn’t normal. This wolf-fox had fiery wings too, and though they weren’t moving, she suspected he could have gone higher if he chose. Laura started, realizing she’d also decided that the wolf-fox was a “he.” He had a flame symbol on his forehead, which was yellow, orange, and red, just like his wings. He
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:34:05 GMT -5
also seemed to be… smiling. “One more time. It’s only going to take one more time.” The reflection of the wolf-fox told her. Her finger jerked back so hard that it started bleeding when it ripped off the glass. Beyond this motion, it seemed she still couldn’t move. “He is right for you, you know.” The image changed and she saw herself in her boyfriend’s arms. Jack was smiling widely, his tousled brown hair over his eyes, and she felt something in her shift. “The two of you can fix all that has been done.” She lowered her eyes and found herself whispering “yes.” Laura and the wolf-fox had one more thing in common: the cat’s head shaped necklace she always wore, the one Prince Markus had given her. The image in the mirror changed again and she saw the prince smiling at her too, holding out his hand. He was her best friend and always had been, even though she was only a soldier in his father’s army. He had never treated her as anything less than an equal, but his father…. “Do not listen to him, my Laura.” The wolf- fox returned, his canine features somehow sympathetic now. “Though you may want to, for the prince speaks well when he wishes to, it will not end as prettily as his words.” Jack was before her again, with a wound in his chest so large it could be nothing but fatal. She recoiled, actually managing a step back this time. “To prevent this, I need you to trust me.” Laura nodded her head. As soon as she did, it felt as though her insides were being sucked out through her chest. She put her hands over her heart, trying to keep whatever it was inside her, but a black, inky substance slipped through her fingers and funneled into the glass. Laura, dazed, tried to pull it back. Whenever she touched it, it became smoke in her hands and her body became stiffer and stiffer. She dropped to her knees, her entire body shaking. When it was over, the wolf-fox’s face returned and he opened his mouth to speak. Laura didn’t give him a chance to start. Her fist shot out, shattering the glass and scattering it all over the floor. She didn’t feel the cuts or even hear herself cry out. All she knew was that she’d gotten rid of the smiling animal who had told her that if she continued trusting her best friend, her boyfriend would die. He’d even ripped out what could only be her soul for her cooperation.
Markus Everglade slammed his fist into the wall. He kept at it until his knuckles bled. It accomplished nothing and it hurt like he could barely believe, but somehow it made him feel better. After all, getting angry at his father was a useless effort. Pummeling this wall actually accomplished slightly more than arguing ever could, as it tended to calm him down. Afterwards, he would be in a far better state of mind to walk in there and try and talk his father out of punishing someone he hated most in the world. Markus might feel lost without Laura, but his father was always lost in silent - or sometimes not-so-silent - rage whenever she was even in the same room as them. He wiped the blood from his knuckles, straightened his crown, his hair, and his clothes, and then went into the throne room looking as dignified as a fifteen-year-old could look. There was no one else there, which was always a bad sign. Even Laura’s father, the king’s steward, was not present. This made him swallow. There were very, very few people in the world that King Audrion Everglade considered friends and John was one of them. If he was not being allowed to argue Laura’s case, there was probably a
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:34:25 GMT -5
war worse than the one currently raging in Carina imminent in this very room. “I didn’t expect you until three.” His father looked through him, sharp blue eyes on the door behind him. “You know why I’m here, father,” Markus tried. “I do not. The matter with Elaura is settled.” “I don’t see how it’s fair to settle anything involving a fourteen-year-old girl by sending her to war.” “She’ll never even see the battlefield, Markus. She’s going to work in a medical tent away from the front. No harm will come to her.” “She’s fourteen and she’ll be alone in a foreign country. I don’t care how many people in the court are talking about how she’s a demon, or that she broke an expensive mirror and you have to silence both rumors somehow. It just isn’t fair!” “Markus,” Audrion stood up and Markus stiffened, “the choices I make don’t have to be fair. They have to be right for Everglade. Elaura already attracts too much attention through her connection to you. You are engaged, might I remind you, and excessive concern for her is completely improper. Whether or not she does or does not go to Carina should not be your problem. More importantly, she must be sent away until these rumors quiet. She might as well be trained as an expert in stiches and make herself useful while in exile.” “Then send Jack with her.” “Out of the question.” “Then let me go.” The words hung in the air between them. Neither moved a muscle. Markus eventually and very awkwardly crossed his arms, his nails sinking into and withdrawing from his flesh. His father would drag this out as long as he could, Markus knew that. He’d just never been much of a fan. He also knew his father had really taken nothing he said into account before that sentence, and that it was that sentence that would end this conversation. Markus straightened again. “Everglade is my country too, and I want to fight for her. This isn’t just about Laura.” Audrion began to walk past him. “You are my heir, Markus. I will take no action that puts you in danger.” “She’s my best friend.” “Immaterial. It is admirable that you want to fight for your county, Markus, but the best decision you could make for Everglade is to preserve your own life. Staying away from that girl is a close second. You know how important your marriage to Princess Rose is, especially under the current circumstances.” “I know.” He let out all the air in his lungs. There was the sound of a door opening and closing, but he didn’t react to it, at least not visibly. His father was probably right, in the end. That didn’t mean he was going to give up.
It had to be about eight at night. Given that Ross was supposed to have met Markus, Laura, and Jack at six, he could probably be considered late, but that was really only a technicality. They might not buy into the ‘I was late because I had a date’ rule that voided lateness after it was announced, but he did, so his conscience was perfectly clear. She had been pretty good-looking too, which really just made the rule all the more fair. Naturally, it was what he deserved, since he was no slouch himself. He had long, dirty blond hair- girls liked his hair- and quite soulful - if he were to
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:34:40 GMT -5
give them a fair description - gray-green eyes that were the trademark of his noble family, the Rainbirds. If not for Markus’s presence, he would probably have the heart of all the girls in Castle Imperia, not just most of them. Oh, Markus was a pretty boy, Ross would give him that, but he had two things going against him. The first was his engagement to that princess none of them had ever met, who Ross thought Markus was stupid for being faithful to, but he was devoted all the same because it was “for peace.” The second was his hair. Markus might be tall, muscular, and gray-eyed, but he also had straight, light blue hair. There were quite a number of girls who could not look past that. Really, once one got used to it, it wasn’t even a flaw, but Ross preferred the ladies to not latch onto that fact. “Ross.” Laura grabbed his shoulder and slammed him into the wall. “Where have you been?” “Easy,” Ross laughed. “You’re going to open all those cuts again if you aren’t careful.” “You’re two hours late. Are you aware of that? I think you are.” Ross grabbed her wrist and flipped her around, winding her arms beneath his and joining his fingers behind her neck. “She was really pretty, Laur. Really pretty.” Laura stomped on his toes but he didn’t let go. She let out a long sigh. “We can’t ask you not to be you. Let’s go now, though.” Markus and Jack chose that moment to walk into the hall. Both gave them long stares. Ross just kind of let Laura go. “You two are really strange, do you know that?” Markus raised an eyebrow at them. “I think they go beyond strange. I have never seen any of the other knights in training practice that particular move,” Jack laughed. “Try not to permanently disable my girlfriend, won’t you?” “Oh, I want her to be perfectly functional, trust me.” Ross grinned. Laura punched him in the back as they all went into the library and still found time to close the door behind them. “And that move is actually known as ‘having two older brothers.’” “Then I think I’m glad I have sisters.” Jack sat down in the biggest chair in the room, leaving room for Laura. She obligingly sat next to him, crossing her arms and watching Ross suspiciously. Markus just leaned against a wall. “So, Blue, what are we here about?” Ross asked, sitting in a chair backwards. “We’ve largely discussed it already - we arrived here on time - but we’ve decided to join the war effort as soldiers,” Markus said. Ross saw Laura’s eyes lower, just for a split second. He brushed it off. “I’m in. My brothers are already on the front lines; they’ll help us if we can find them.” “Wait…that’s it, you’re just in? You don’t want to think about it?” Jack blinked. “Ross is like that, Jack. He probably made up his mind before he even got here.” Laura rolled her eyes. “You want to go just as badly as Markus, don’t you?” “Hell yeah. I’m a knight…a knight in training! I’ve got to go out there and do heroic shit or I’m not worthy of this badge.” He held up his soldier’s badge, with Everglade’s stallion on it, with pride. “For Everglade! We’re going to be heroes.” “Told you.” “So I see.” Jack looked incredibly amused. “Then we should work out the practical details. It’s not going to be easy getting
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:35:36 GMT -5
out of here or traveling without being seen, especially with me in the party. We’re also going to need to figure out how much food and how much money we’re going to need for the four of us.” Markus kept talking. Ross was sure it was interesting and all, but the prince and Laura were going to handle this whether he helped or not, so there was no reason for him to be bored by “the practical details.” Ross shifted his attention to how they were going to hide Markus’s hair. Maybe they could ink-dye it, but Blue would hate that. He never let his hair even feel dirty; he washed it constantly. Ink in it would make him miserable beyond all reason, so Ross decided against that. They could slap him in a helmet, but those things were pretty hard to see through, and Ross guessed Markus was also against hat-hair. He snapped his fingers. “Hey, where’s that giant cloak Laura made you for your last birthday?” He was pretty sure he interrupted something, because they all jumped. “ It’s in my trunk,” Markus recovered. “Why don’t you go get that, Ross?” “What do you want it for?” Jack asked. Laura glanced at him plaintively. He amended, “Not that it isn’t lovely, because it is.” He patted her knee. Ross darted into the hallway before Markus could resume talking about food stores. If he remembered the cloak’s size right, it would go right over all of Markus’s hair and probably hide most of his forehead as well. The prince never wore a coat - he never got cold, it seemed - but Laura had insisted he have one that actually fit him all the same. The old one was too small, so naturally, she had gone in the other direction. He strode into Markus’s room carelessly, jerked the cloak from the trunk, and left. Ross started back to the library, whistling cheerfully. A blonde walked past him, her eyes down. He stopped and turned. She was new. “Hey, beautiful, how long have you worked here?” “Just a week.” She turned her head and gave him a little smile. “You’re Samantha’s boyfriend, aren’t you?” Ross tried not to grimace. “Boyfriend” was such a strong word, but hey, at least she’d reminded him of what his new conquest’s name was. “We have been seeing each other. Are you two friends?” “You could say that.” She held up the bundle of laundry she was carrying. “I’ve got to go, but it was nice meeting you…?” “Ross Rainbird.” He smiled. “I’m Maya.” She nodded and scurried away down the hall. Ross went back into the library smiling. He tossed the cloak at Markus, who jumped again and went back to his seat. “I love this castle, man.” “Well we’re about set to leave it, so I’m going to need you to pack. Laura and I are taking care of everything tonight; we leave an hour before the sun rises tomorrow.” He put the cloak on and let it engulf him. Markus snorted. “Well, at least this covers my hair.” “Also part of your face. Score.” “Yeah, we can’t have people seeing that.” “Oh no, they might just faint from all that sexy.” “I should have made it bigger,” Laura commented. “Then we could cover your whole face.” Markus took both sides of the hood and pulled them together. “Yeah, I could probably get used to this. It smells kind of like you in here, Laura. Like those lemon
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:35:54 GMT -5
things you eat all the time.” “Lemon drops, Markus, lemon drops.” She got up, ruffling Jack’s hair. “We’ll leave the professional to ready the horses for us.” “You make being a stable boy sound so exciting.” Jack reached up to kiss her. “I’ll see you in the morning. Good luck stealing from the kitchen.” “I’m considering it back payment. Goodnight.” She kissed him back. “Goodnight.” He looked at her adoringly. Ross kept in a sigh and opened the door, waiting patiently for Jack to go out first. They started back toward the soldiers’ hall. Ross kind of hoped Jack wouldn’t try to make conversation, but he probably would. Jack was all for getting to know Laura’s friends. He was the most recent addition to their little group. Ross on the other hand, in the interest of strengthening the ties between the Rainbird family branches in Carina and Everglade, had been sent to the Gladian capital, Imperia, every summer to train to become a knight as soon as he could hold a bow. Markus, Laura, and he had essentially grown up together. Jack had come to Everglade’s castle as a stable boy and slowly befriended Laura, staying respectively distant from the titled boys. Ross had been fine with that, but now that Jack was with Laura.... “So….” Yep, there it was. “You two seem to, uh…wrestle a lot. You and Laura, I mean.” Ross had a brief image of holding Markus in a headlock and smiled. “Oh yeah. We didn’t get along so well until Markus actually started letting us hit each other. After that, the verbal aggression stopped and we moved on to shoving each other into things. Good times.” “Wow. How do you find time to hit on her through all of that?” “Oh, I make time. You’re lucky, man.” “I know I am.” He put on that goofy smile again, veered off down a different hallway, and then called back, “Goodnight, Ross.”
Markus abandoned his shoes in the library and set off with Laura barefoot. Seeing that, she shook her head but didn’t comment. She might be able to walk softly, but Markus had never really been good at it. It was the best precaution he could take and, besides, the stone felt kind of interesting against his feet. “You never asked me about it.” Her eyes darted at him. “About what?” He kept his voice at a whisper, looking up and down the hall. “The mirror.” “Oh. Well, that’s no big deal, really. I don’t even know where that thing came from, for one, and I don’t think my father does either, despite his reaction.” It got darker around them as they descended a flight of stairs. The places where the servants spent most of their time usually did not have a lot of windows. His father had no plans to change that, not in his lifetime. “Besides, if one of us is secretly a demon, I’m pretty sure it’s me, not you.” “I’m not so sure about that, Blue.” “What do you mean? I’ve known you since I was six, and you’ve always been quite without horns and a little spiked tail.” Laura managed a weak laugh. “I saw this… wolf-fox in the mirror. It talked to me, told me not to trust you or Jack would die. When I agreed it sucked black ink out of my body and tried to talk to me again, so I punched out the mirror. That’s how it broke.”
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:36:15 GMT -5
Markus wanted to say something intelligent or comforting. Instead, he said, “Huh?” She bit down on her lip. “That’s pretty much the only sane answer anyone could give. I know I have nightmares a lot, and that they are often about wolves. I know that I sleepwalk and stay up too late and sometimes forget to eat but…this was real, Markus. I’ve never felt anything like that before and I know it was…real. That it actually happened, crazy as it sounds.” “I believe you.” He shrugged. “You don’t lie to me.” “How can you?” Laura stopped, looked up at him. “I barely believe it.” “Because I know there are a lot of things in this world that we can’t understand, especially not me. I’m living proof: my mom has red hair and brown eyes, my father has black hair and blue eyes, but I was born looking like this. There is no explanation anyone can think of or is willing to provide…but it happened. I’m here. How is your wolf in the mirror that much more insane?” He grimaced; knowing that he’d just delivered one of what Ross called “his little speeches.” He was about to apologize when Laura hugged him. He put her arms around her comfortingly. “Laura, even if you are actually the emissary of the devil, it doesn’t matter to me. You’re always going to be the shy little girl I made that stupid grass sword for when we first met.” Laura let him go, but her laugh became more genuine. “That is a little extreme, Markus, but I’ll take it. And you’re right, I don’t know what that thing was, but that doesn’t mean it was out to destroy me or that it wasn’t real. It told me mostly helpful things….” He waited, but she didn’t elaborate. They went into the silent kitchen side by side, heading for the shelves of food that wouldn’t perish too quickly. “Are you…worried something will happen to Jack?” Markus asked, after a silence filled mostly with shoving bread in the large sack they had brought. “Of course I am. I’m worried about all three of you. Ross and I may have been training for a few years now, but we’ve never been in a life-and-death situation before. Any of us could die, and that is nothing to take lightly. Worry won’t stop me, though. Everglade is my country too, and I’ll be proud to fight for it, even under these circumstances.” “At least we’ll all be together.” Markus said with some sort of forced brightness. He put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry that my father-.” “Your father is not you. You don’t have to be sorry for anything he said or did.” She patted his hand. “We should hurry if we’re going to be ‘heroes’ any time soon.” “You’re right, we should. Heroes never die in battle, after all.” “I hope all the fairy tales you read aren’t wrong about that.” Markus chuckled. He hoped so too. He really, really did.
Markus shook himself, the memory bouncing out of his head. He was supposed to be concentrating, not remembering some little event from weeks ago. Not when he was on the verge of his first real battle, and responsible for bringing his friends with him into danger. Running away from the castle to join his own country’s army had been the rashest decision he’d ever made but…he found he couldn’t regret it. It didn’t seem fair that he was the prince of Everglade and he’d never even risked a hair on his head for his
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:36:31 GMT -5
future kingdom. Now that Everglade was at war, fighting to save their close ally Carina, he’d refused to wait until he was sixteen to officially join the army. After all, Everglade was powerful; there was no way Dragoon’s army would last against them for a whole year. He secured his hood over his hair just a little more thoroughly, his eyes wandering down the line. It was going to be a while before their lieutenant came by to make sure they were able-bodied enough to fight, and he might as well know what the other soldiers looked like at attention. Of course, directly beside him stood Laura and Ross, just like always. Ross kept whispering comments about the few women in the line and what their best feature was, his blond hair flopping as his head moved, his eyes flashing with excitement. Laura kept rolling her eyes whenever she overheard his little comments, but otherwise paid him little attention. She was still wearing the cat necklace Markus had given her on her eighth birthday, and still dressed in the white-and-blue tunic of an aspiring Gladian Knight. Both of them had their bows and quivers on their backs, and he his aging sword on his belt. What had changed was Jack, the brunet on Laura’s other side. He kept touching her and whispering things that made her smile, and kept looking up at her with adoration. They’d been courting for almost three months now. Markus looked forward. That had absolutely nothing to do with him as long as she was happy with Jack. “Of course Laura has the best chest. I have no idea where those came from, she was skinny as a stick for as long as I can remember,” Ross commented to him cheerfully. “Do you often stare at Laura’s chest?” Markus’s expression shifted to one of horror. “Yeah, don’t you?” “No, Ross. I’ve known her since she was five.” “Pfft, I’ve spent every summer with the both of you since I was nine and I still do it. You’re just finicky because you want to be all loyal to Princess Rose.” “She’s my fiancée, I’m supposed to be.” “You’ve never even met her; she could be a total hag. You know that, right?” “I don’t care if she’s a hag, Ross, marrying her is what’s best for my country. That’s all that matters.” “We all can’t be as lucky as I am.” Jack agreed with a wide grin. Laura flicked his arm affectionately. Jack had always liked Laura. Markus just never thought she reciprocated those feelings. “Name?” The lieutenant glared down at Jack without much humor. “John Redfoot…Jack, if you will, sir.” He bowed his head. Markus had always disliked the fact that Jack technically shared the same first name as Laura’s father. “Specialty?” “Lance, sir.” “Then I assume you can ride?” “Quite well, sir.” Jack nodded his head. “No wounds or sicknesses? You are sixteen?” “No and then absolutely.” “Wonderful. Go and get your weapon and shield over there, they’ll tell you what to do next.” The lieutenant moved on to Laura. “Name?”
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:42:13 GMT -5
“Elaura Glasswater.” She methodically rattled through the questions, lying at the end just as Jack had. None of them were sixteen. “Same orders,” the lieutenant said finally. He moved before Ross. “Name?” “Rocelin Rainbird. I think my brothers are here already with the Carinian army?” Ross put on his brightest smile. He always liked to say something else distracting when he said his real first name. Otherwise, people tended to start laughing. The humorless army official did nothing of the sort. “Ah, yes. They told me to expect you. I’ll send you straight back to the Carinian archers and let them deal with you.” Ross nodded but he didn’t leave, watching the lieutenant stand before Markus. “I’m going to need you to remove that cloak.” “Sir?” Markus hedged, keeping his eyes lowered. “I assume you speak the common language, soldier. Lower that hood at the very least. Name?” Markus closed his eyes but nodded. He was going to get them all in trouble; he knew he was. The prince raised his head, met the lieutenant’s eyes, and slipped the hood down. All around him, the remaining lined up soldiers dropped to their knees and the man before him widened his eyes and placed his fist over his heart. No matter how careful they had been, there was no way to hide Markus’s light blue hair forever. Even without the crown, he was branded as the prince of Everglade wherever he went. “Markus Everglade.” He gave his name and swallowed. “I suppose you’re going to turn me into my father, aren’t you?” “Do you order me to, sire?” The lieutenant asked. “What?” “Do you order me to? You’re the prince of my country, my liege, so I am honor-bound to follow your orders as well as your father’s. If you order me to send you back to Everglade, then I must. But if you order me to allow you to fight, then that is what I must do.” “In that case, I order you to allow me to fight for Everglade.” Markus felt relief wash through him. The lieutenant looked faintly amused, and Markus supposed his initial feeling that this man probably never laughed had been a bit hasty. It just took a lot more than a name like Rocelin Rainbird.
Markus stepped back just in time to receive only a nick on his face from his opponent’s sword. He slashed back, forcing himself to keep his eyes open as he killed the warrior in front of him. Markus trembled, watching the enemy soldier die before his eyes. He reached up, rubbing at the blood running down his face, breathing hard. That had been the third person he had ever killed, and the most gruesome death he had caused this week. He hadn’t seen his friends in just as long, and every second he didn’t have his mind on the battle, worried if they were still alive and, if they were, if they could ever forgive him for bringing them here. He turned quickly, barely avoiding having his arm crushed by a man with an extremely large mace. Markus raised his sword and struck at the man’s arm before he could drag his weapon out of the dirt, and someone else shot his assailant in the neck before he could strike again. It only took a second to recognize the rather distinctive Gladian training arrow sticking out of the corpse’s flesh. “Laura? Ross? Is that you?” Markus called, praying for an answer as vehemently
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:42:35 GMT -5
as he could in his head. There wasn’t, for once, anyone else around and he half wondered if he was crazy. “It’s me!” Laura’s voice answered above the din. She raced along beside Jack, who was riding a well-armored horse and holding a bloody lance. “Ross is with his brothers! The platoon is being overwhelmed, so I hoped I’d find back up here!” “I’m back up!” He stood up a little straighter, gathering his courage. “Let’s go!”
“Ross, we can do this if I can take out the archers back there.” William Rainbird, a taller, battle-scarred version of his little brother, scanned the battlefield quickly. “I just need you to cover me, okay?” Ross felt his stomach drop. So far, he had not been asked to do anything of significant weight. He’d just sat back here, between his war-hero brother Will and his bulky, consummate solider brother Everard, firing off occasional arrows and very possibly hitting something along the way. Being personally in charge of his brother’s safety - that was a little much, especially when the platoon was apparently about to be completely taken out. Everard gave his shoulder a hearty grip. “The two of us can handle this, Ross. Just keep your eye on Will and don’t let anyone touch him. We’re all going to be fine, I promise you.” “Alright.” Ross forced a smile. “I’m ready when you are, Will.” His eldest brother nodded and took off at a run, sword raised and ready. Ross raised his bow as fast as he could, his heart racing faster and faster the closer Will got to the other side of the battlefield. Everard’s bow twanged beside him, seeming to match up with his heartbeat, making the horrible nightmare of thoughts in his head all that much worse. Ross actually shot someone dead and something broke in his head. His shots matched his brother’s and he let this new fire run through him as quickly as it could. “Good job, Ross, keep going! Will’s almost there - we’re going to win this!” Everard shouted. Ross nodded. He was only half paying attention. He didn’t see the look of sick, nauseous horror spreading over his brother’s face as something happened out on the field. He just kept shooting arrows and keeping the fire in his veins flowing. It wasn’t until the fog in his brain cleared and he realized that it was Markus, Laura, and Jack taking out the other side of the field and winning the battle for them, and not Will, that he looked at who he was supposed to be protecting. There was an arrow protruding from Will’s throat, one with the distinctive crimson feathers of a Dragoon bowman's weapon. Ross ignored Everard’s shouts that he stay where he was and wiggled out of the larger boy’s grasp. He never knew what it was that kept him alive as he ran across that field, but he never stopped to question it either. All he knew was that he was at Will’s side without a scratch on him in under a minute, and that the arrow was out and he was trying his best to staunch the bleeding. He didn’t know how long he sat there, pressing and pressing on his brother’s frayed throat, but someone eventually grabbed his shoulder. “R-Ross.” Markus’s voice was trembling, more than Ross had ever heard it do so before. “You...you’ve got to let go. Will died a while ago, Ross. You’ve got to let go.” “No he didn’t. I can fix this, I can. I was protecting him; no one should have hit him!” Ross rambled. “I don’t want to have to pull you off, Ross.”
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:42:58 GMT -5
“Just give me a second…just another second, just to fix this…!” Markus’s strong arm held Ross against him, his other hand moving to gently close Will’s eyes. “This isn’t your fault. None of this is your fault.” “He always thought he was so invincible.” Everard stood behind them, the quieted battlefield suddenly clear behind him. “He was such a hero. Such a god-damned stupid hero.” “Heroes always die,” Ross said bitterly, before he sunk into sobs against Markus’s shoulder. He felt wet drops against his hair and realized that Markus was crying too. Markus, who refused to cry over anything where anyone could see him, who always tried to be the perfectly emotionless prince. He’d always failed at that, at everything except crying in public. Ross punched the ground, screaming in frustration, letting his shrieks block out every other sound around him. Soon he felt Laura’s arms around him too and felt her tears sink through his clothing. Why didn’t Ross ever think about anything before he acted? Why didn’t he think about how people died in wars? There was such a thin line between hero and martyr and he hadn’t even seen that. He hadn’t seen what really mattered. He hadn’t seen that he couldn’t protect what was most important to him, and he’d been stupid to think that he could. Yet even during what was probably the worst moment of his life, his friends were still there to help him. Heroes might die, but his friends would always be there when they did. It would always be the three of them against the world.
Chapter One
Good Luck Charm
Raythor knew he should have just kept walking. He didn’t have the best of luck in really any aspect of his life, and stopping to try and help a seemingly unconscious girl was just inviting trouble. What if she didn’t need help, or didn’t want it? What if something terrible had happened to her and, when she woke up, she thought he had done it? They weren’t likely to believe him over the word of this fragile looking girl and he had no desire to go back to prison. She did look fragile though. Almost as skinny as Raythor was, and just as pale. Her hair was golden blonde, loose around her shoulders and rather long. Her back was against the wall, these two close together houses made an alley he frequented when he was trying to hide, and her arms were drooped to either side of her hips, wrists to the sky. He didn’t know if that indicated some sort of disease or not. What he did know was that, no matter how much his brain screamed at him to get out of there and never look back, he was going to try and help her. “Hey,” Raythor said, trying to raise his voice. He didn’t really talk much, and when he did speak it felt a bit awkward. Like his vocal cords were rusty and they resented him for the imposition on their time. “Hey, girl, you ok?” She lifted her hand and rubbed her cheek with the side of it, blurring the dirt and wiggling her nose like a rabbit. An odd, yellow, diamond shaped necklace bobbed around her neck when she moved. “Wha…?” She blinked up at him with wide, sky-blue eyes.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:43:18 GMT -5
“You ok?” He repeated mechanically. She drew her legs in to sit cross legged, watching him. “I think I’m starving to death.” Her voice was matter of fact. “I haven’t eaten in two weeks.” “Here,” he rummaged through the saddle bag, his makeshift carry all, and pulled out a loaf of bread. She looked at him suspiciously when he held it out but he didn’t let his expression change and eventually she took it. When her fingers brushed his, he drew his hand away like he’d just touched something hot. She gave him an odd look. “Something wrong?” “Nothing.” “All right then,” she stared at him, apparently studying him, for a minute longer before wolfing down the bread. Raythor couldn’t help but be reminded of his dog. “Is he yours?” She asked staring now at the big, black wolf hound mix pretty much sitting on Raythor’s left boot. “Yeah. Thunder.” Raythor nodded. Thunder wagged his tail furiously at that. Raythor patted him absently mindedly. “He won’t hurt you. He really can’t do anything useful.” “Hurting me would be useful?” The blonde girl inquired. Raythor shrugged. “If you were attacking me, then yes. Somehow I don’t think you have the strength for that right now, however.” “Yes…” She agreed, lowering her eyes. “You… you pretty much saved my life. Thank you.” “Hm,” He restrained a grimace. If that was true, that meant he was responsible for her until she was somewhere safe. “Do you know how to steal?” “What?” She blinked at him. “Take things that aren’t yours,” Raythor said dryly. She adopted an expression that seemed unsure whether it wanted to imply that he was a smartass or just smile. He turned up one corner of his mouth very slightly. “You kind of need to know how to survive without a job.” “Could you teach me?” Those big blue eyes of hers met his hopefully. Raythor hesitated. Saying no would basically be condemning her to death. She clearly had no money, no family, was probably on the run. Exactly like he was. “On one condition.” “Sure,” she said cheerfully. Tension seemed to have leaked out of her body and she slumped forward just a little. “Anything.” “Don’t ask any question about me that you don’t absolutely have to. I’ll grant you the same curtsy, if you want.” She smiled. “Thank you, I’d appreciate that. My name is Juliet Shine.” “I’m Raythor.” “Raythor what?” “Just Raythor.”
****
Princess Rose put the finishing touches on the portrait of her brother with a long sigh. She enjoyed painting, but after days of pretty much doing only this activity, it got old. She supposed her parents had a point; she really shouldn’t have tricked all the
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 18:50:26 GMT -5
guards into thinking there was an invasion so that she could go into town, but that didn’t mean they had to confine her to her room for an entire week. That seemed incredibly excessive and frankly unjust. She chucked her paintbrush at the floor, leaving a spot of color among many similar other spots, and moved to collapse on her bed. It didn’t help this was such a boring room. It was so princess-like, with frills and jewelry and more than one mirror and brightly colored walls. She stared out the window and willed for something to happen. There was a sharp rap on the door. Rose didn’t even sit up. It was probably just her dinner. “Come in.” “Princess Ketra to see you, my lady,” a young, nervous looking palace guard said. Rose smirked at him and he flinched. “T-Their majesties said it would be alright for her to visit.” “I’ll bet they did. Thank you so much, Clarence.” Rose rolled over, looking at Ketra upside down. The guard practically bolted from the room. “I hear you’ve been causing trouble again, Rose.” Ketra Everglade stood in front of her bed, arms crossed, looking amused but still managing to resemble a particularly stern eagle. “I just needed a little fresh air. No harm in that, is there Ketra?” She stood up and began putting away her paints and brushes without much feeling. “I did come to tell you something, this isn’t just a friendly visit,” Ketra continued. Rose just nodded her head a few times in response to that. It was probably some boring thing about the Carinian war, now that Everglade was in it she had been bombarded with updates like she was marrying the country rather than the prince. It wasn’t like she’d ever even met the prince, for that matter; due to Bloodroot’s stupid custom that the bride and groom not meet until their wedding day. She was going to find the ancestor of whoever had thought that was a good idea and have them executed when she was queen of Everglade. “Markus left Imperia- all of Everglade, actually- and joined the war effort.” Rose’s heart dropped to her shoes. “What?” “They’re not entirely sure where he is, but he left a note to that effect. He wanted to help, I suppose. It’s… very like him.” “So they don’t know if he’s alive?” Rose asked. Ketra shook her head. Rose felt herself most painfully torn in two. Ketra was her best friend, they’d been friends for years and Markus was Ketra’s brother. But that brother was Rose’s forced fiancée, one she didn’t know if she could ever love let alone like. Wouldn’t it be convenient if he was just killed in battle? Heroically, of course, she could grant him that. “No. They don’t know much of anything except he’s gone.” “Your father must be fuming. You running away permanently to live in Treekal, him in a dangerous battle…” She paced restlessly; passing the picture of Markus Ketra had helped her paint years ago. She kept it covered more often than not. He was a handsome bastard, she would give him that. Markus’s features were soft, and there didn’t appear to be one harsh line in his face. He seemed to be of a normal weight, at least from what her shoulders up picture indicated, and he had a sweet smile and… she had no idea why she was thinking about this. “I… hope he comes back.” Ketra let out a long, strained sounding breath. “So do I, Rose. So do I.”
****
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