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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 19:33:08 GMT -5
Raythor’s fingers closed over his shoulder and he winced. “If whoever… Queen of Carina or not… knows me, then they know how long I’ve been running. There’s no way they could have found us otherwise. The middle name is a taunt; it doesn’t even matter if it’s true. They found me and they are going to keep chasing me until they get what it is that they want from me.” Raythor turned his head, black hair shading his face. Juliet clenched her jaw. He was doing the ‘just let me die’ thing again. “Raythor, come on. All we know is that you’re being followed and, whoever the sky it is, they probably want to kill you because of whatever it is you’re running from. Why would I let you do this?” “Well first, you have no control over what I do and do not do.” He met Juliet’s eyes and she turned her head. She would not be intimidated by his stupid, blank expression into discontinuing the conversation. Not this time. “Second, I’m tired of running. I have to find somewhere… a town, an area, a country… to stay. And finally…” His voice lightened, just a little. “Whoever the sky it is, Dash? What the hell does that mean?” “It means hell in Illios… I mean Laina… who cares; you are not weaseling out of this. You’re a wanderer by nature, Raythor. I don’t believe that for a second.” “Honestly…” He sighed, as though the word were painful. “In Caltha- where I am from, look I told you something about myself- there’s a superstition that if you save someone’s life you are responsible for that person until the day they die.” Juliet let out a little involuntary gasp. That meant he let her follow him around because… “I know it’s stupid, but if anything happens to the princesses I get bad luck for ten years and I do not need any more than I already have. So I’m going to make sure she gets to her prince and her castle and her fairy tale wedding and the other one gets back to… I don’t know, spying on her brother. Then I’ll never have to see either of them again. Dasher took all of that in. “Fine. I’m going with you, but fine.” “I thought you would be.” “Raythor?” She squirmed in her chair. He looked up. “Yeah?” “Who are you?” “I’m me, that’s who in the sky I am.”
****
“Anella!” Kayle waved a piece of paper in the air, beaming. “Some man on a horse brought you this!” Anella shook herself, shutting the book she was reading and taking a moment to process the sentence. She blushed. “What man?” Her mother had said something about her cousin earlier… “Some messenger. I didn’t know him and he wasn’t attractive… never mind that. It’s the letter that you’re going to like.” Kayle handed the shy girl the letter, her eyes still gleaming. Anella glanced up at her, before slowly and carefully reading her mail. “What d-does a q-queen want with me?” Anella asked. “I don’t know, you’d think she would have chosen me or Mariah first… but you’re the one with the invitation all the same. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? I’m sure there
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 19:37:26 GMT -5
will be a lot of young royals there, that handsome Everglade prince in particular.” Kayle grinned. Anella fidgeted uncomfortably. “Would y-you go with me?” “I thought you’d never ask! Now, for the second-” “I’m bringing Bryant too… i-if I go…” Anella chewed her lip, thinking. Blade was right; she did want to do something, anything else, with her life besides raise horse much as she loved them. She had already resigned herself to never falling in love and never changing rank… but if she took this one little escape, wouldn’t that be alright? It wouldn’t be a betrayal to who Anella was to play faux noble just a little longer. “You simply must go Anella,” Kayle whined. “Because… I simply must, really. Think of all the available young men! And Prince Markus, Anella… haven’t you always secretly wanted to meet him?” Anella just smiled slightly, more at her own thoughts than at Kayle. “Yes. I’ll go.” This would probably mean introducing Kayle to the real ‘Bryant’ for the first time. She was going to enjoy that.
****
Laura slid a red covered book back into place, starting to feel just how long she had been kneeling in her joints. Whenever Markus won an argument, she and Ross were ordered to do menial tasks. She was always sent here to reshelf books in the castle’s library. Audrion tried to time it after a feast as well, when numerous mostly drunk nobles had been given the chance to fling the books around, which made it shift from irritating to horrifying. The thought of her struggling probably made him smile. He also knew she was illiterate. Laura sorted the books by color. She always took joy in this little, ineffectual dig at the king. Truthfully, it would end up being the bane of the next person to use the library but it made her feel a little better all the same. She pushed another red book onto the shelf, not paying much attention. The one next to it, an extra fat barely pushed in tome fell to the floor and opened. Laura sighed, reaching for it, before her eyes caught on the picture. There were six well drawn full color people, three male and three female. The first had red eyes, the second purple, the third white hair, and the forth green. The filth held her attention. She was a reasonably pretty girl with gray eyes, a dark dress and long, light blue hair draped over her shoulders: the same hair and eyes as Markus. Laura stared with frustration at the words, willing them to make sense. She knew it had to be important, but she couldn’t…” “Laur, we got a training drill, we’ve got to go.” Ross leaned in and jerked his head in the direction of the hallway. “Come on, we’re going to be late and if I’m late again Jared is going to give me like a twenty minute lecture.” Laura leapt up, abandoning the book open on the floor.
Markus stepped carefully through the dark hallways, shivering at the cold touch of stone on his bare feet. He knew Laura had spent the better part of her day color coding the books and he intended to fix it for her. After all, she had only been forced to do this because of him, so it seemed only fair…
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 19:58:33 GMT -5
“Hey Markus.” Ross gave him a joking salute. “I’m on guard duty, isn’t that wonderful? Where are you off to, to see your secret girlfriend? Is she pretty?” Markus just grinned, shaking his head. “I’m going to straighten up the library for Laura.” The prince looked up and down the hallway then started walking again, beckoning Ross to follow him. “Come on, you can help.” “What? That is not in my job description, for one, and I spent my day scrubbing these fucking huge pots in the kitchen… Okay, it might be in my job description, but I’m still a mighty knight!” “Ross, you’re always telling me that you want to repay me for convincing my father to let you live her rather than having to face your family after the war. Guess what time it is?” “Damn it. I should have known it would be manual labor. But if this is in the aid of Laura…” He smiled at the thought and Markus rolled his eyes. Ross thought about women at least ninety per cent of the time and himself the other ten. He’d been trying to get Laura to fall madly in love with him since the day they had met, but he was sure as hell doing it wrong. Usually he was a skilled manipulator of women and he’d kissed most of the other maids, and more in some cases, but he couldn’t manage to seduce Laura. Markus found that funny. “Just think- this could have been so much worse.” The prince opened the door to the library, yawning as he surveyed the damage. Not as bad as last time anyway. “Did she even have a plan here?” Ross raised an eyebrow. “She does it by colors.” He laughed slightly. He bent and made a pile of the books that hadn’t quite made it to the shelves, half listening for any sounds in the hallway. He didn’t want his father or Laura to find out he was doing this. Audrion would not be happy and Laura… Laura hadn’t found out yet and he wanted to keep it that way. “Hey, this girl has blue hair just like yours.” Ross picked up the book Laura had left open on the floor. “Wow. She’s pretty. I like this book.” “Is it a fairy tale?” Markus asked without much interest. He slipped a book onto the shelf. “Because then I’ve probably read it.” “Let’s see… this page is dog eared so someone definitely has. ‘From what we know of desert wolves, their power lies in the elements. Originally, it was assumed that these beings were centuries older than ourselves- but it is now understood that they need us to balance their powers. In a never ending cycle, six of our kind serve as holders of their power from birth until death. Because of their unusual feature, that death often comes swiftly and brutally. These humans who hold magic within their grasp, the elementi, also have the strength of a nation at the mercy of the fragile nature of their own mortality. Every time an elementi dies all desert wolves that control that element are left powerless until a new human host is found’.” Ross read out dutifully. He blinked. “Hey… you don’t think…?” Markus took the book from him, staring at the picture and letting the words blur together. “Someone must.” His fingertips ran over the folded corner of the bag. “I’ve never seen this book before.” “There’s a chance it was hidden in the back and somebody, and I’m not saying who, knocked it off the shelf when they were um… getting to know your cousin better. Who is very good looking, by the way. Just so you know.”
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:11:02 GMT -5
“Classy, Ross. Someone didn’t want me to see it….” Markus ran his hand through his hair and finished reading the page. Just a list of the six elements: Fire, Spirit, Light, Earth, Water, Shadow…. “Do you really think this what I am? I don’t have any magic powers.” “You have blue hair. Sometimes I ask myself why.” Ross shrugged. “This is a why. If it’s the right one that would make life easier.” “I’ll speak with my father about it later.” Markus shook his head. “Let’s get back to work.”
****
“You aren’t a killer. You won’t be able to do it,” the bartender said conversationally. He shined a glass as he talked. His patron glared up at him, hand tightening on his glass. “That face is not going to change my mind.” “Do you really think my sister is going to take no for an answer? She’s not exactly used to hearing that little word,” he said through clenched teeth. The bartended laughed. “You sound hilarious when you talk like that.” “I really don’t know why I talk to you sometimes, Bruce.” “Because we work for the same terrible bitch, Lord Whitestar,” Bruce said cheerfully. “It’s usually a bonding experience.” “I hate you,” Jason Whitestar said moodily. He rested his forehead on the bar with a sigh. Bruce kept shining the glass. “You won’t be able to do it.” “I know my own limitations.” He sat up straight again, taking a deep breath. “I can reason with her. Not as well as Benvolio or Lydrion but that’s beside the point. If she wants this girl dead, she has to do it herself.” He blew at the curtain of hair that always covered the right side of his face, at least down to his nose, without much success. Bruce shrugged. “She’s testing you. If Kenetari was going to kill her personally, she already would have done it already. Say what you will about her, she gets things done.” “Why is this girl my test? She’s not politically important, she isn’t powerful in any sense, and she can’t even get out a full sentence without stuttering… she isn’t Kenetari’s usual prey.” “So maybe it bored her and she shoved it off to you.” “Kenetari always has a reason to kill people; she always gets something out of it. This must have something to do with a vision of Ben’s. This girl must fuck something up that Kenetari doesn’t want to be fucked up. I just can’t imagine what, and if that’s true why she’s leaving it up to me.…” “Try asking Ben?” Bruce blinked at him. Jason cursed at himself inwardly. “The obvious, Bruce, that is what you are good at and what I so sorely lack. Thank you.” He dropped a few coins on the table and walked out of the bar, head down and covered by his black cloak. Two could play his sister’s little cat and mouse games.
Chapter Four
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:19:36 GMT -5
Jack’s Murderer
“There aren’t as many people here as I thought there would be.” Markus commented, blinking at the crowd gathered in front of Queen Rea’s makeshift letter accepting platform. He watched as Ross’s eyes begin searching for attractive women. “Fewer people to admire your charm?” Laura teased. “That,” he said firmly, “is a good thing.” Demetrius, of Rea’s kingdom of Carina, was a small village, probably smaller than the whole of Everglade’s castle. It was a strange location for a meeting place unless the queen was specifically trying for secrecy. Maybe she was. Markus didn’t know her that well, they had only met on a few social occasions but, like most of the continent, he knew her story. She had, after all, taken the throne in one of the more dramatic manners in decades. Both of her parents had died in the Carinian war, leaving the sixteen year old as the only legitimate heir. She’d taken the throne and immediately strengthened the ties between herself and Everglade, pledging her army to Audrion whenever he needed them, a very unpopular decision. Even though Everglade had saved Carina in the war, the Carinians did not want to be subservient to the Gladians. The only way Rea had kept her crown was through a speech revealing her secret husband’s name to the masses, and telling them how he had died heroically in the war. Carina would also belong to only itself as long as heroes like him lived and died within the borders, no matter how loyal they were to their allies. Needless to say, Audrion spent a lot of time keeping her happy and grateful for what Everglade had done in the war. Perhaps this was why Audrion had allowed his son out of Imperia so close to the wedding. Markus, Laura and Ross hadn’t exactly stayed around to question the king’s decision. “Come on, my sister sent word she would be coming from the east.” Markus turned and immediately ran into a girl going in the opposite direction. She got back on her feet, her face entirely scarlet. Behind her, her friend looked amused and then noticed Markus and just blatantly stared. Markus smiled awkwardly. “I-I’m sorry. I w-wasn’t watching w-where I was going a-and…” The blushing girl stammered, focusing on some point on the horizon rather than him. “It’s alright, I’m not broken. Are you OK?” “Hey! Anella!” Ross pulled the blushing girl into a hug. “Markus, this is my cousin, the one I’ve been telling you about?” He pulled back but left his arm around her shoulders, beaming. “We’ve known each other since we were little, even though we don’t get to see each other that much. I was hoping you’d come, Anella.” “It’s n-nice to see you.” Anella put on a little smile. “Anella, this are my friends Laura Glasswater and the most charming Prince Markus of Everglade.” “Just call me Markus,” the prince said. Anella’s eyes curiously drifted to his hair and she nodded. He inwardly winced. Surely he was in for days of these kinds of looks. There was a little cough from Anella’s companion. Ross let out a sigh and an eye roll and then grudgingly said, “This is Lady Kayle.” “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Kayle said admiringly.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:24:38 GMT -5
“The pleasure is all mine,” Markus said, with a generic smile. He tried not to look at Laura, who was doubtlessly restraining laughter. Laura knew exactly when he was using his prince persona. “I assume you are both here on behalf of Queen Rea as well?” “Oh yes.” Kayle smiled broadly. Markus made a mental note to avoid her as much as possible. True, it wasn’t a very nice thought, but now he actually had some room to escape… “You are too? That’s great, isn’t it Anella?” Anella mumbled something incoherent. “If you will excuse me, I have to go find my sister.” He pulled out another formal smile. “See you again soon.” Kayle kept staring at him. Markus inched closer to Laura. “Of course.”
Rose had been scowling the entire journey. Yes, she wanted to spend time with Markus without the bias of either their rank of their engagement but she absolutely loathed peasant clothing. The fuchsia skirt and the white blouse were possibly the most boring, plain garments she had ever allowed to touch her body. She sighed loudly. “Ketra-” “You refused to dress like a boy and you’re keeping your first name. No complaints,” Ketra cut her off lazily. “If I were him, I’d figure it out in about four seconds anyway,” Raythor commented. Ketra shook her head. “Markus is very trusting. He doesn’t know that Rose and I are friends, so if I tell him that she is merely a handmaid named for the princess he will believe it. If Markus believes it Laura and whomever else he chose to bring will accept it as well. No one else will be close enough to the issue to care enough to question it,” She explained calmly. “People rarely look beyond what they see.” “True enough,” Raythor agreed. “Was that a flicker of admiration, Raythor?” Dasher teased. “I respect intelligence. Why do you think I tolerate you?” Rose’s attention drifted out of the conversation. They didn’t seem likely to start talking about anything she cared about soon, so she took the opportunity to slip off her horse. She started off toward two girls; one who looked excited the other nervous. Rose looked back to make sure that Violet was still following Ketra’s horse and then put her travel-mates from her mind. “Hey, have either of you seen the Prince of Everglade?” Rose put her hands on her hips and regarded them expectantly. The excited one, who she recognized as some lesser Carinian noble, looked at her with distaste. Rose assumed this was based on her new fake rank and gritted her teeth with irritation. “The prince was just by here. Are you some sort of servant of his sister?” Lady Kayle moved her head so her hair bobbed, the little jeweled decoration in her hair becoming more apparent. “Yes,” Rose said. She had to forcibly restrain herself from revealing her true rank to this petty knight’s daughter. She could flip her stupid hair all she wanted then. “Tell your mistress that he went toward the east,” she said dismissively. Rose nodded and turned around to start back toward the others. She found herself staring into the nostrils of Ketra’s stallion.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:30:16 GMT -5
“The information is appreciated, Lady Kayle.” Ketra glared down at Rose. The younger redhead sighed and returned to Violet’s back. She quickly lost interest in Ketra and Kayle’s polite, formal conversation and let her eyes drift to Kayle’s silent friend. The shy girl was staring, mouth slightly open, at Raythor as though he were someone back from the dead. Rose raised an eyebrow. That wasn’t normal, as far as she could tell Raythor was not a people person. Did they know each other anyway? “Hey Raythor, that your girlfriend?” She asked bluntly. Raythor shook his head, only glancing at the girl. “No. We’ve never met.” “S-sorry… I d-didn’t realize…” The girl looked away. “It’s fine. I really don’t care.” “Raythor is not the best at caring,” Juliet chimed in. “Is it his eyes? Because they really look like ice to me sometimes, I swear.” “Y-yes, actually… I f-feel like I r-recognize them.” The girl swallowed. “We haven’t met,” Raythor repeated firmly. Rose opened her mouth to add in but she saw Ketra’s horse moving out of the corner of her eye and closed it again. She followed, putting the whole scene out of her mind.
“The queen has arrived.” A dark haired man in knight’s garb said to the crowd. “All those with an invitation, please greet her on this platform.” Anella saw the prince and his friends move forward and she clutched her letter nervously. The boy, the dark haired peasant with Princess Ketra… she had seen those eyes before, a long time ago, just for a moment. The ice in them was hard to mistake, she was sure it had been him. But she was also sure that he had no reason to watch her. Why would he? Sighing, Anella settled into the crowd of people before her. She found herself wedged between two girls, both black haired and a little older than herself. One had long hair and deep, toned skin and soft green eyes. The other, who was both shorter and had shorter hair, had darker skin and bright blue eyes. “Hey.” The long haired girl looked over at her. “You must have a letter too, right? I’m Kylara Waterwind and this is…” She looked suddenly pained. “Lady Maria.” Maria nodded airily. “I’m Anella N-Nightheart. It’s very nice to meet you…” She trailed off as Queen Rea began to speak. “My blessing and welcome to all who made it here today. As many of you already know, I am Queen Rea. All I require of you is that you give your invitation to my knight, Dione. I assure you all that the distance you came to get here will be worth it!” She smiled and stepped back, closely flanked by the dark haired knight. The crowd moved forward and Anella let herself be drawn with it. She’d lost sight of the prince and his group as well as the two Calthan women but it was hard enough to keep track of Kayle. There wasn’t time to think of much else. When she raised her head again, she was staring straight into the queen’s brown eyes. “Welcome,” Rea said simply. “Your m-majesty,” Anella stammered. She curtsied so deeply that her hand shot back and hit someone in the face. Her cheeks went crimson and she spun around, hoping it wasn’t the same boy she had run into before. It was.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:32:56 GMT -5
“Perhaps you hold some sort of grudge against me but I really don’t think so.” Markus rubbed his nose. He looked far more amused than he did angry. “I-I’m so s-sorry…” Anella swallowed, focused completely on her feet. She hadn’t spent more than a few seconds looking at his face, bit she could tell that he was probably pretty handsome and that just made her even more nervous and embarrassed. Did he have to be a prince, on top of all that? “It’s really all right.” He looked past her and nodded at Rea. “It’s good to see you again, my lady. It’s been awhile.” “Too long, I should think,” Rea said cheerfully. Anella tried to look inconspicuous. “I’m very glad you could make it, so soon before your wedding.” “I couldn’t be happier to be here.” Anella raised her eyes just in time to see the prince flash a bright smile. Markus gestured in her direction. “Rea, this is Ross’s cousin Anella.” “Oh yes. Will used to mention her.” Just a little bit of the life went out of Rea’s voice. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Anella. William told me you were the sweetest little girl he’d ever met and I’m sure he was telling the truth. Please just call me Rea, I’m going to encourage that we do not use titles on this journey.” “W-Will talked about y-you a lot too, Miss R-Rea.” Anella managed. She had a brief image of her late cousin, and his laughing lightly scarred face. William had always been his brothers’ leader and, whenever they came to visit, he’d lead them off on all sorts of adventures. Will had always seemed like a knight in a fairy tale, even when they were all little. Anella had loved it, and all of the boys. She’d cried for a week when they got the news that he’d died in the war. “He… h-he was a very good person…” “Yes,” Rea agreed shortly. “Well, I believe that is the last of my guests. We’re going to spend the night at the castle. We’ll start riding once everyone is ready.”
“Markus! Markus, over here!” Ketra called through the crowd. Markus turned just in time to experience the full force of his sister’s hug. True, his closest living relative was a practical, composed person but she had a soft spot for him and they both knew it well. “Ketra!” He hugged her back, laughing. “I missed you, K. Do you know how hard it is to be the only child for father to focus on?” She pulled back. “Well, it might not be that way for long.” “What do you mean?” He blinked, confused. Then he noticed the other people with his sister. “Hey, you brought some friends I see.” “Indeed. This is my handmaiden.” Ketra maneuvered a short redhead forward by her shoulders. The girl’s eyes went straight to his face and it looked like she was holding her breath. Markus sighed, cursing his hair. If there was one benefit to the castle, it was that everyone in it was already used to his aqua head. “May I ask for your name?” Markus tried politely. She kept her eyes glued on him, even making eye contact which was strange for a maid. Then she slowly scanned over his entire body. Markus felt his cheeks tiny slightly, which embarrassed him more. “Rose… for the princess,” she told him. Impulsively, he took her hand and kissed it. Rose blushed too, setting off her hair acutely. Markus felt a small sense of pride but he wasn’t quite sure why. “It’s my good fortune to make your acquaintance,” he said with his prince smile plastered on again. Ketra and Laura rolled their eyes. “And who are your other friends?”
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:43:44 GMT -5
“My name is Juliet Shine and this is Raythor Carpenter. We’re your sister’s protection.” The other girl said with a nod. The boy did not even pretend to care. “I’ll explain them later.” Ketra shook her head. The pair smirked in unison. “Come on, Markus, or the queen will leave without us.”
****
Markus listened patiently as Dione explained their room assignments, apparently chosen by the ranks they were supposedly going to be ignoring, and then followed the dark haired knight into the ‘boys’ corridor. He opened the unremarkable door to his and Ross’s room for the night and let his friend go in first. Ross did so gleefully. “This smells so much better than the knight’s quarters!” He overdramatically flung himself on the bed farthest from the door, with a resounding thud. “Yep this is good bed here, Blue. Damn good bed.” Markus laughed. “That’s the spirit, Ross.” He set his bag down on his bed by default and looked around the room. It was pretty nice in here. Bright, out of the way. Nothing fancy, but personable. It kind of reminded him of Laura’s room. “Do you ever miss Carina?” “Not really.” Ross shrugged, not bothering to get up. “I mean, you know why I left. Why would I miss that?” “Well… that sense of home, I guess.” “Imperia is more of a home to me than this whole damn country ever was. More importantly, you and Laura are more of a family to me than the Rainbirds,” Ross scoffed. He dropped his forehead into the pillow with a loud sigh. “You remembered the anniversary, didn’t you?” “You have been kind of quiet all day.” Markus made an apologetic face that he couldn’t see, sitting on the edge of his own bed. “This was kind of poor timing, wasn’t it?” “I wanted to come, don’t give yourself one of your guilt complex headaches. I’m just… done talking about how sad Will’s death made me, ok?” Markus tried to think of something comforting to say. He had a lot of apologies floating around in his head, but Ross did not seem like he either wanted or needed any of them. After all, nothing he could say would make all that much of a difference. Will was not coming back, no matter how much either of them wanted him too. He felt stuck until he remembered who he was talking to. “So, do you get a glimpse of those two Calthan women?” Ross’s head popped up instantly. “Hell yes I did, my friend, and they made me hotter than a forest fire. I mean, did you see the taller one’s chest? I thought Laura was well endowed but clearly I have not truly lived. Her friend had some great hips, now; don’t think I’m limiting myself to just the tall one. Maybe they’re sisters?” A dreamy smile spread across his face. “I like sisters.” “Yeah, I know you do buddy. I’m pretty sure the only sister you don’t hit on is mine.” “Only because Ketra is terrifying, otherwise I’d probably go there. Just so you know.” “Kind of figured.”
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:44:03 GMT -5
“Oh.” Ross snapped his fingers. “My cousin, the cute one with the nice body-” “Ross, isn’t going after your own cousin kind of pushing it?” “She’s my really distant cousin, it’s technically legal, but not where I was going with that. Anella is really nice, Markus. She actually reminds me of you in a lot of ways, but she is shy as all get out. She can’t even talk to guys and I’m fairly sure standing next to you and all your… you gave her a panic attack.” “All my what now?” “Never mind, we’re moving right along. The point is, you’re gonna like her Blue. I know she seems like this little country mouse but… she really isn’t.” Ross sat up, crossing his arms and thinking about it. “She’s like a wizard with horses, which I know are just about your favorite thing, and she dances like a goddess and she’s sweeter than sugar. She’s also got this… tactical mind, I guess? We used to play these war games when we’d go visit her and she would always win, like hands down and…” He trailed off, fidgeting again. Markus smiled. Obviously Ross was still attached to some of his blood family. “Well, I guess I’ll get a little time to see for myself, huh?” “I was kind of wondering if you would because… I want to make her less shy. If she could see that she can actually talk to boys, like she does to me and my brothers, I think she’d be happier. I don’t want her to die an old maid like she thinks she’s going to, Anella deserves someone crazy special. And not, by the way, me. In case you were going to make that point again.” “Well, I think if the famous prince of Everglade gives her more attention that he gives her titled friend, she might open up a little,” Markus conceded easily. Ross gave him an enthusiastic thank you and flopped back down, clearly not intending to move again for a long while. Markus shook his head and started taking his boots off. “Who exactly did you have in mind for Anella then, Ross, a demi-god?” “That’s a good start. She’s kind of a like a little sister in that no-one-is-good-enough sort of way, you know?” He laughed. “Uh huh, I know what you mean. Don’t worry, Ross, I’m sure Anella is going to find her demi-god one day.”
Raythor scratched his dog’s ears, staring into nothing. He had expected who ever had found him to confront or kill him by nightfall. There was no point or logic in waiting, unless they intended on some sort of psychological warfare. To be fair, there were probably people back in Caltha angry enough to take those kinds of pains. People who hated enough to draw out his suffering as long as they could. Maybe he deserved that, after all. He could never change what he had done. Thunder whined and pressed his cold nose into Raythor’s palm, which always meant he was hungry. Other than Juliet, the dog was Raythor’s longest lasting companion. He didn’t really let too many people get close and Thunder was just easier than people. Big as he was, he also didn’t have much use. He couldn’t hunt, wasn’t much for protection and he barked like an ear piercing instrument but… that didn’t matter either. Raythor had found him in much the same state he had found Juliet: starving, cold, lost and lone. He would care for Thunder as long as he lived but Juliet was going to have to be a different story. He might have to leave her behind sooner rather than later.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:44:26 GMT -5
Raythor sighed, closing his eyes and shifting his back against the wall. He had slipped out of his assigned room to feed Thunder but he also because he couldn’t sleep. As a perpetual insomniac, wandering had always seemed like a better option than just staring at the ceiling and that is all he would be doing on a night like this. He wished whoever it was threatening him this time would just get it over with. “S-sorry.” Anella looked at him with big, scared eyes. His hand went reflexively to his sword hilt and he watched her carefully. There was no way that she…? “I w-was just o-on m-my way back t-to m-my r-room, I didn’t m-mean to b-bother you.” “Did you actually know me? Back there, I mean?” Raythor kept his voice perfectly even, but his heart was pounding. He didn’t recognize her but she really seemed like she’d met him somewhere before and… that could mean so many things, not just her being behind the threatening letter. So many things that he had wanted for such a long time. Anella shook her head. His heart beat quieted instantly. “N-no, j-just the e-eyes. N-not you. I’m sure I-I j-just saw s-someone else with the s-same color.” “Probably.” He mentally dismissed her as unimportant and rummaged in his bag to find Thunder’s food. “People always tell me they’re creepy, anyway, so I guess they must be memorable.” “Oh, I don’t k-know a-about c-creepy. T-they’re just u-um… r-really, r-really blue I g-guess…” “Ice blue.” He nodded, settling in to wait again. “S-sort of… like w-water, a-actually, more t-than ice. T-that’s what I r-remember about the o-ones I s-saw, a-anyway.” She seemed to be struggling with this. Humoring her, he met her eyes. Blushing, she actually studied them for a little while. “Y-yes, they’re t-the s-same. A-always moving, I g-guess. T-they aren’t j-just the s-same though, y-yours look much more…” She trailed off, mustering courage he suspected. “M-much m-more k-kind.” He was so surprised that he almost had an expression. Kind? Him? She has absolutely no idea who he was and she was still ridiculously nervous. It was so charmingly ironic. “No one’s ever said that before. Interesting.” He hesitated, tapping his fist on his leg. “I’m uh… Raythor, by the way, which you probably heard. Raythor Carpenter.” “I’m Anella N-Nightheart. A-and about the e-eyes…” Anella’s mouth opened again and her lips hovered half way between ‘sorry’ and ‘you’re welcome’. She never did make up her mind, it seemed, she just gave him a very awkward wave without even raising her hand above the level of her hips. “G-goodnight.” Anella walked off quickly, sneaking a glance at Thunder who wagged his tail. Raythor was left wondering how he had even managed to think the word ‘charmingly’. He could say with almost one hundred per cent certainty that he never had before.
Rose looked blankly at the sketch she had just made and emphasized the scar beneath Markus’s eye with her charcoal. That was new, the only thing she hadn’t expected. He seemed nice, though. A little formal but all royals were in public; she would be able to see what he was really like soon. “You’re her, aren’t you?” Her roommate asked quietly.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:44:59 GMT -5
Rose looked up with confusion, registering for the first time that Laura was in the room at all. “Her?” She raised an eyebrow. Ketra had mentioned this girl to her before. Daughter of a general, abandoned to the care of a king who resented her and passed her off to his childless, unmarried steward. Laura had then grown up with Markus and Ketra, and had actually been legally adopted by John-the-Steward. Ketra rarely said too many negative things about Laura and had only hinted at her level of attachment to Markus. Rose had been quite, quite interested to meet her too. “Princess Rose,” Laura kept her voice level low. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, back ramrod straight, hands folded in her lap over the sewing she had apparently been doing. Rose, who was lying on her stomach and doodling, felt kind of sore just looking at her. “Does Markus know too?” Rose asked, not missing a beat. “No, and he isn’t going to figure it out. He’ll believe the lie you told him until you’re at that alter together.” She quite hesitantly dropped her eyes, apparently respecting their ranks. Rose liked that about her, at least. “I won’t tell him. He would treat you differently if he knew who you were. You’ll both have a better chance of falling in love with each other without that looming over you, so I wish you luck.” “Really?” Rose actually started. She had expected either hardcore jealousy or deep resentment. That was certainly what she had always felt about Laura. A lower class nobody who had spent the better part of her life with Rose’s fiancé? It would be insane if Rose didn’t feel that about her, especially when she’d had to steal the few minutes she had gotten with him. “He’s my best friend. No more and no less.” This she said rather pointedly. “I want him to be happy and I very much hope he can be happy with you.” “Markus seems pretty nice,” Rose said, trying to change the subject a little. “Yes. He kind of is Prince Charming, though he’ll deny it to his dying breath.” “No one is that perfect. I’m sure he has more flaws than this.” Rose held up her drawing and tapped the scar. Laura’s eyes fixed on it and Rose watched her face change. “That looks… so much like him. He’s had his portrait done before but none of them…” Laura shook herself. “You’re quite talented. And you’re right, he isn’t perfect. He tries so hard to be, but he’s human. He can’t be.” “Here, you can have this.” “I couldn’t possibly-” “You could possibly, I order you to.” Rose raised her head proudly. Laura adopted a little smile and took the paper from her. “Thank you.” “You can tell me all about him in return.” “Do you have several hours to spare then?” That little smile became a bit of a sarcastic smirk. Oh, dear silly Laura, she had no idea who she was talking to. Not yet anyway. Rose returned the expression. “Oh, I have all night.”
****
Markus couldn’t sleep. Usually, as soon as his head the pillow he was out for the next eight hours without question. In fact, he started thinking about sleeping at sunset because he enjoyed it so much. His brain could barely understand why he didn’t want to.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:46:40 GMT -5
It was just that something felt… wrong. It wasn’t just that this was a different room or that he was getting married in less than a week or even that Ross was kind of snoring. It was more like… being in the wrong skin. He sighed and sat up, staring blankly at the door. Ross clearly did not share his sense of foreboding. He was actually face down in the pillow and had trailed off midsentence before he fell asleep. Obviously Markus had overestimated how upset Ross was about the anniversary of Will’s death, if he could be that passed out. He supposed that was for the best. This was meant to be a fun trip, after all. Markus flinched with surprise. A blue eye was staring through the crack in the door, fixedly staring. The door creaked open a little more and a girl dressed in black stepped in. She studied him and smiled, extending a gloved hand. “Hello.” She looked at him expectantly. Markus didn’t move. She wiggled her fingers. “Come on. You must have been expecting me.” “Who are you?” Markus asked. He let his hand touch the floor, searching for his sword. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see that Ross still hadn’t budged. “Jack’s murderer.” A smile spread across the woman’s lips. It was a smug one, as though she felt he should personally understand her triumph. “Or, if you prefer, Kenetari Whitestar.” “What do you want?” Markus kept his voice as flat as he could and rose to his feet. He pointed the tip of his sword at her chest. She didn’t even withdraw her hand. “To make all of this easier on you. Take my hand here, and you avoid everything terrible that’s going to happen to you and your friends in the coming months.” Kenetari beckoned him to take her hand again. “I’m only going to give you this one chance.” “I don’t know what you’re talking about and I really don’t care. I don’t make deals with murderers.” She shrugged. “Suit yourself.” She turned and walked back into the hallway. Instinctively, Markus followed. Despite having only a few seconds head start, she was already almost out of sight. Markus sheathed his sword and took off at a run. No matter how fast he went, she seemed to be faster, winding through the halls as though she knew them by heart. All the while, she was singing something soft, and slow and mournful. He didn’t know if the song had words, or if he just didn’t understand them. The sound burrowed into his head all the same; seeming to come from every wall around him and to sync to every step he took. It was all he could do to follow the loudest echo. He couldn’t even see Kenetari anymore. Markus screamed her name and listened to his own voice bounce back at him, intermingled with her low, unstoppable melody. His bare feet slid on the stone floor and he fell to his knees, breathing hard. The narrow hallways seemed to go on forever and he’d gone so low down in the castle that there were only a few, narrow slivers of moonlight guiding his way. Markus let his head droop and he let out a long, shaky breath before returning to his feet. He saw her at the top of the next flight of stairs, caught in a shard of silver light, her ocean blue eyes almost pitying. Her lips, blood red even in the shadows, kept moving for a few brief seconds and then closed abruptly, as though she had forgotten the rest of the lyrics. She turned and began running again, he still far too many paces behind her for his comfort. Slowly, her silence began to unnerve him as much as her voice and he pushed himself just a fraction harder.
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:49:04 GMT -5
After what seemed an eternity, his feet touched snow and he realized she’d taken him outside. Markus drew his sword, raising his head with a wearied sort of defiance. “Please stop running.” Kenetari drew her own sword, smiling again. “Fine by me.” “I don’t want to hurt you. You deserve a fair trial for what you’ve done, despite my own feelings on the matter. Put down your weapon and we can end this peacefully-” “You act as though you are the one who has been giving me the run around. That’s cute.” She took a step closer and he went into a fighting stance, his eyes locked on her. “You haven’t even asked why I did it.” “I think the fact that you did is what counts.” “Jack was a Carinian spy. He knew a lot of things about what I’ve done and what I plan to do. More than I desired. The information was useless as long as there was something as distracting as a war going on, but after it there was the danger he would go to the queen.” “Jack was in Imperia after the war until he died.” Markus had no idea why he was playing along. She was clearly completely insane; there was no reason for her to be telling him this. No reason for her to show up in his room in the middle of the night, or to lead him out into the snow, or to play hallway siren. “I don’t think the information got through, Kenetari.” “No, it didn’t. He stayed in Imperia, because of your dear friend. I thank her very much for that, he felt like he couldn’t leave her. He felt like the message could wait. So I let him live until I absolutely had to kill him. After all, removing a piece from the board is a permanent decision. You can’t get it back once it’s gone.” Markus felt a little sick. A piece from a board? Did she think she was playing some sort of death chess and using other people as the pawns? Just how crazy was she? “He was a person, Kenetari. Not a piece.” “You are right. Humans give so many more variables than the tools of a simple game. They make choices no one can predict. That’s what I love watching most.” Kenetari was pacing now, leaving footprints in the snow. Markus kept his fingers tightly wrapped around the hilt of his sword. “He was a spy, he was hurting our cause and he had to die. That’s the simple explanation, the easy one. I think I’m going to give you that.” “You’re one of the Whitestars, aren’t you? The ones who are next in line to the Lainan throne?” “Yes, I am. The eldest.” “The people in Laina… they aren’t happy under King Ian’s rule. You’re stirring up a revolution, aren’t you? That’s what Jack died knowing, isn’t it?” “Yes, it is.” “What does any of that have to do with me? What did it have to do with Carina?” “Truthfully, little. Then, it could have ended the war sooner without Laina helping Dragoon invade but now it is irrelevant to all unallied countries. What’s truly important is that your little bleeding heart, once you are aligned with Bloodroot and thusly Laina as well, will not let sleeping dogs lie. You will be a perpetual thorn in my side until the day that I die and I know this. So I’m going to change it, whatever it takes. Isn’t it convenient that Queen Rea is taking you onto my grounds, where I can so easily do with you what I will?” “I’m a crown prince. You aren’t touching me without severe repercussions.”
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Post by Markus Everglade on Apr 9, 2013 20:49:31 GMT -5
“Oh, little prince, those were not smart words.” Kenetari moved forward quickly, attacking almost too fast for him to block. She pushed his sword so far back that it cut into the tip of his nose and it took all of his strength to get her to back up even a few steps. He wiped at the blood, his heavy breath curling visibly into the air. She was strong. She was really strong. Before he could really think of a strategy to try and work with that, she was attacking him again and he was on the defensive. Before Markus really knew what was happening, she had him backed against the castle wall, his arms pinned to the stone. She banged his wrist hard against the wall but he gritted his teeth and didn’t let go. If he lost the sword, he was dead, with it there was still a silver of hope he could get out of this. “Let go, you little bastard.” Her grip on his wrist alone became painful. Just the word clicked something in his brain and he shook his head, fingers firmly closed. He jerked his knee upwards, catching her off guard enough to get his left hand free. He tried it again, but she slammed her now free elbow into it making them both recoil. She threw him to the ground and his sword went sliding off along the slick under layer of ice, lying uselessly out of his reach. Kenetari put the point of her sword against his neck as he tried to stand, leaving him on his hands and knees staring at the snow. “Whose untouchable now, heir apparent?” A very loud, irate voice responded from the balcony: “Not you bitch.”
Ross woke up, shook himself, and automatically checked his “charge”. It took a moment of just staring at the jumbled mass of blankets for his brain to realize that Markus was not there. “Shit.” He sat up and started shoving his feet into his boots. “I am the worst guard ever and Laura is going to make me into a stuffed toy. Shit, shit, shit.” He started down the hallway, bumping into a wall as he tugged at his barely on left boot. “Markus? Markus, where the hell did you go you oblivious insomniac?” He crashed into another wall as he turned the corner. “Markus, come on, where are you? Mark…ura?” He stopped just short of running into Laura too. Ross was, however, touching her. He felt like this situation had already improved. “Markura?” Laura looked at him skeptically. “Sounds like Markus’s woman name. Is there a reason you’re calling Markus’s name in the middle of the night? Preferably one that isn’t going to make me want to hit you, if it’s at all possible.” “Maybe I was um… actually looking for Markura?” Ross tried. Laura rolled her eyes and shoved him away. “Where’s Markus?” “Uh… asleep?” “Really?” She crossed her arms. “You, the human log of a sleeper, woke up and put on your boots because the person you’re supposed to be guarding is safely asleep?” “Why can’t you just believe everything I say like all the new maids?” Ross asked despairingly. “Because I know most of what you tell them, and sometimes myself, is a lie designed to discover what they taste like,” she returned. “Where’s Markus?” “Would you believe that I have no idea?” “Yes. We have to find him.” Laura turned and started walking, expecting him to follow.
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