Nightshade Chronicles (1x1 w/ Cece and Kittyroid)

((Don't hate me! It was all I could think of! And it came so naturally! I'm almost as horrified as you are!))
 
(It's ok. Interesting)

Just as Larko began to undress, his servants busted in, speaking quickly and running around in a panic. "Alright, alright." He said, grabbing one of them by the shoulder, forcing them to look at him. "Tell me what's going on."

"The girl with the Hawk, she's returned but something's wrong. She's not dressed and she's wailing uncontrollably." The servant said quickly, pushing him out of the door and into the hall. Taking off, he followed the sounds of Natalia sobbing until he came to the conference room. He wasn't sure what to do besides gather her shaking body and hold her. Waiting until she stopped shaking and her tears slowed to speak.

"Natalia, what happened? Where's your Hawk?" He asked, not really expecting an answer, but needing to know how to help her. "Are you hurt?"
 
(You haaaaaate me. I am so so sorry. It disturbs me greatly, but I find near rape scenes easy to write, and they add an incredible dash of drama. I don't know, Natalia felt a little locked up. Actually, it's less the rape, more the attack... it's not good. o_O))


Natalia didn't notice who was holding her. She didn't notice who was speaking. She only heard one word: hawk. She burst into wails again, her chest heaving, her pants torn. She pulled her knees up, like a child, and sobbed for her hawk.

Finally she ran out of tears, and her breaths were so hectic that she couldn't continue. She slowly opened her eyes, her lashes glistening with tears. "I think he's dead," she whispered. "He was trying to protect me, but I saw him on the ground. So many of his feathers had been pulled out. That man was vicious. They all were..." She tried to curl up again, but found Larko's body in the way.

She frowned, then looked up. Slowly her eyes grew wider and wider, and her mouth dropped open. "Uhhhhhh..." she managed, before she looked at the arms around her and jerked out of them, only managing to hit the cold stone floor. It hurt badly, but she scootched back on her near, putting a great deal of distance between herself and the Prince. She was still staring at him, her tears gone, horror filling her face. Then she felt the cool air on her arms and glanced down to realize that the only thing covering her upper body was the thin, sleeveless covering she wore under her shirt, which had been removed by the attackers. She still had her pants though, even though they were torn. She stared down at herself in utter disbelief, the shock of the whole thing finally getting to her.

She looked back at the Prince, a blank expression on her face. She started to shake again, gently, then harder.
 
(No i promise you're good)
"Dead? Men?" He asked, jumping to his feet. He was oddly used to her shrinking away from him so he wasn't surprised when she scooted away from me. Looking at how scared she was, he walked into the hallway, motioning for one of the servants to come closer from the corner where they stood, huddled together.

"Uh yes sir?" The servant asked quietly.

"I need you to take miss Natalia to her room, i'll be leaving shortly." Larko whispered. Nodding, the servant walked over to where Natalia sat with Larko. "Natalia, you're going to be staying her for the rest of the night. I can't have you walking on streets this late at night. Especially after this." Touching her shoulder gently, he looked her in her eyes one last time before he left, heading towards Seka's room. Knocking, he waited for her to answer before peaking in.

"What are you doing up still?" She asked, looking at him skeptically.

"Uh, I think some one tried to attack Natalia on her way home and she lost her Hawk." He said quickly. "She thinks he's dead. I'm going to go out there and find him. Will you come?" Taken aback by all that happened in the last hour, she nodded, at a lost for words. Nodding, they ran down the hall way to the front, waving to the guard that guarded the gate. Making it down the street, they came to a spot where Natalia's ripped clothes and searched for her Hawk.

"Over here!" Seka called, leaning over a pile of feathers. When Larko walked over, she had placed her hand on the bird's belly. Taking a deep breath, Seka channeled her magic, bringing it fourth to her hands where she healed the little guy. Picking him up, she held him close to her chest and turned to Larko. "Any sign of the guy who did this?"

Shaking his head, Larko looked around one last time before ushering Seka and the Hawk back to the castle. "I'll find him, he's not getting away with this." He said bitterly as they made they're way back.
 
Natalia managed to hobble along with a servants help, and when they got to her room, she nearly fell over in relief. The fourposter bed with its welcoming red sheets and plush pillows drew to her like a siren draws a man into the depths. When she was offered a hot bath, to get the dirt off of her skin and to sooth her, she yelped a, "no!" She didn't want to be naked. The servant bowed shortly and asked if she needed anything. Natalia mumbled something about needing new clothes, and the matronly servant smiled gently and left the room.

She returned in a few moments with a long, soft shift that wasn't at all in Natalia's style, but anything was better than what she was wearing at the moment. The servant helped her change, as Natalia was still shaking, and her arms kept locking to her sides. The servant murmured pleasant words of no importance to calm the young woman, and finally Natalia's eyes started drooping. The servant helped her to the bed, brought up her covers and blew out the candle. She was just leaving when a faint, 'thank you" came from the bed. The woman smiled into the dark, replied, "your welcome, my dear," and slipped out of the door, closing it carefully behind her.

Natalia was asleep in moments, and only had one nightmare.


Azmakoda heard some disturbance down the hall, but she didn't really care. She popped another sweet into her mouth and looked around, thinking about small things she could slip into her clothes without anyone noticing. She could slip away while they were at a town and sell them. She smiled maliciously at her plan and bit down on the final candy, licking her slightly clawed fingers.

Dimitri considered leaving his room, to investigate the trouble -- it could have something to do with their adventure -- but he was already in a bath, his long legs sticking up over the edge of the tub. They never seemed to have a bath large enough for him, he shook his head ruefully at the thought.
 
They walked back to the castle in silence as Seka held the shivering creature in her arms. "Would you like for me to give this to her?" She asked, hoping he didn't answer. Like she had mentioned to Natalia earlier, she has know Larko since they were toddlers. Her family auctioning her off to the Queen like she was some kind of prize possession. Though she didn't actually live in the castle, she was here all the time, practicing her magic and studying all those ancient books they had locked away in the library. She had experienced all of the Prince's mood swings. Though he was usually evenly tempered guy, when he was upset, it takes a toll and he doesn't let things go. She wondered what was going through his mind. Especially when several minuets had passed and he still hadn't answered. Looking back at him, she noticed that his eyes were unfocused. He wasn't even listening to her and that never happened. He knew that she didn't speak often, even to him so when she did, he always gave her his full attention. Why was bothering him so much? She was probably just robbed, she should have just stayed in the castle like he offered. Rolling her eyes, she decided to take the hawk to her room, she would make sure he was ok and then bring her to the girl in the morning.

Larko couldn't believe that this was still happening on the streets of the kingdom. He couldn't focus on anything but how he was going to find the guy who did this. He thought about going to Natalia and questioning her but he felt that it was too invasive and did got the vibe that she was keen on having a strictly business relationship with him. As they entered the castle, he turned to ask Seka what she thought would be best on how to handle the situation but she was already on her way to her room. Smiling, he thought how nice it was that she was taking a liking to Natalia. They could be great friends in the future. Now back to whether or not he should go to Natalia. Walking to her room, he thought of all the things he could say to comfort her, coming up with next to nothing. Standing in front of the door, he raised his hand to knock but then let it drop to his side, sighing as he turned away and retired to his room.


(Concludes the first night!!)
 
(Concludes the first night!!)

Dimitri rose at five and went to the top of the battlements, where he stood with his eyes closed, listening to the wind and feeling the newborn sun on his face. Then he did something that completely freaked out the guard watching him: he jumped. His long legs rose up inside his robe, and then he was falling. Falling, falling, then with a painful ripping feeling, he was flying.

A great dragon swooped over the city, each wing easily sixty feet long. It's spiked tail thrashed the sky, and it's shimmering cream scales catching the light of the rising sun and reflecting it everywhere. Some took it as a bad omen for their trade, some that it a good omen for their crime. But it truth, all Dimitri was doing was stretching his wings. He hadn't flown in many days, and since the easiest and least messy transformation was done while he was falling, he didn't see that he would be able to Turn again soon. Riding across great swaths of land would generally mean that there would be no place high enough to jump from. He couldn't jump from a tree or the roof of a farmers hut. A mountain would be the best, but would Larko take them around the mountains in the way of their direct journey?



Azmadoka was sleeping peacefully, great snores like a dying wart hog emanating from her open mouth, until there was a great deal of flashing in her room, and her eyes flew open. She looked groggily around, trying to remember where she was, and then when she did remember, how the hell could tons of light had blazed into her room when the sun hadn't even risen properly. She gave up her search in a few seconds and flopped back down onto the drool-stained pillow.

Then it happened again. This time she was on her feet with her axe in her hand before the light was gone. It was coming from the window. She stomped over to it, glared outside, and saw a great white thing taking up too much space in the sky. What was that thing? A dragon? Yes, it was a damn dragon, flying around at a rude hour getting light in everybody's windows! What kind of city let a dragon fly around, waking everybody up before they should be woken up? Rude! She jerked the curtains shut and went back to bed, grumbling about idiot royalty -- not being able to control a stupid dragon.



Natalia opened her eyes slowly, shifted slightly, and closed her eyes again. She was in complete comfort. The memories from the previous night were far from her head, and only drowsy thoughts slipped slowly through her mind. She fell back asleep.
 
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Larko woke up the the soothing sound of his mothers voice, urging him awake. "It is time to start your journey." She whispered, running her freezing hand along the side of his face. Jerking at her touch, he sat up looking at his mother with wild eyes. Her once bright white hair was dull and her olive skin appeared washed out as she sat on his bed next to him. "You must leave soon, before the streets crowd." Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, he yawned, blinking away his dreamless night.

"I uh... mom, what are you doing out of your room." He asked, sitting up, reaching out to touch her arm. Just before he made contact, her image wavered and she avoided eye contact with him. "Mom, what did we say about using you magic?" He sighed, pulling back the covers and getting out of bed. Stretching, he turned his back to his mother's illusion as he dressed.

"I know Larko but I haven't been outside in weeks. I would like to see you before you leave but we can't take any chances." She said with a thick accent. "You will be gone for days, maybe a week. Is it a crime to want to see my son?" She said as she stood up and walked up behind him.

"Mother, you need to watch your magic use." He warned. "I know you've been sneaking in food you're not supposed to be having." Buttoning his shirt, he turned around and looked into her golden eyes, making sure that she was paying attention. His mother had a tendency to let her mind wonder when she wasn't hearing what she wanted to hear and with father gone, it was his job to make sure she was taking care of herself.

"Fine, i'll retire to my homey room in the darkest corner of the castle." She pouted, crossing her arms over her chest. Chuckling, he watched her illusion walk to the door as if she was going to leave and then disappear.

Seka checked on the bird one last time before looking out the window. Flashes of light had woken her up a few hours before and she had ran to the window to see what happened. She got to see a beautiful dragon flying around, knowing exactly who the dragon was, marveling at his beauty. Smiling sweetly to herself, she had prepared for the trip since then, packing some of the clothes she kept over here in a small bag. She thought about taking some food but she knew better, knowing Larko would have had that planed already. Wrapping the small bird up in a towel, she left, heading to Natalia's room to hand him back over.
 
Dimitri was standing outside his room, his eyes bright from his flight. He frowned as he saw Seka approaching with something wrapped in a towel. He walked to her and fell in with her stride, his steps being shorter than they normally would be. He frowned at the thing in her hands. "Is that a bird? Is that Natalia's bird? What happened to him?" Worry tinted his smooth voice.

Azmakoda swore at the servant that tried to come in and tell her it was seven thirty. She threw a boot at the door and rolled over. Cursing some more, she sat up and thunked her large feet to the stone. Then she swore even louder because the floor was cold. She drew up her feet and let out a string of swear words that would have horrified a sailor. She kept swearing as she set her feet down and carefully trod over to one boot, then the other. She shoved her shirt into her pants, slightly straightened them, jerked on her jacket roughly, pulled back her dreadlocks into a very thick ponytail, and attached her belt. She slipped her battleaxe into into it's loop and ripped open the door.
 
"Yes, she was attacked last night." Seka answered quietly. Not because she felt that Natalia's business needs be kept quiet, but because she wasn't expecting Dimitri to speak to her. Shortly after, they arrived at her door where Seka shifted the little bird in her arms and knocked. When she had one of Larko's servents send her some of Seka's less revealing clothings, noticing most of what Natalia had on last night was left, shredded in the streets. As they waited for an answer, Seka snuck a peak at Dimitiri, taking in his long, shiny hair and delicate yet strong horns, she noticed how attractive he was. Powerful and attractive. Quickly avoiding her eyes, she thought he looked at her and willed herself not to blush and turned away so that he couldn't see it.

(They would have horses corrects? Lol)
Larko walked down to the castle gates, talking to the guards and checking the supplies that he had brought requested as he waited for the others. Though he had wanted to see Natalia and tell her to stay at the castle, he didn't want to scare or embarrass her so he decided to wait to see if she'd show. This situation was very new to him, since he had known Seka for so long, he seldom had to think about what to say to her or the consequences of his words. They just had an understanding of their friendship that helped in their interactions. He wish he could say the same for Natalia. She seemed to never want to develop a strong friendship with him. Or any type of relationship with him to be frank. He wondered if she reacted that way to all men and if so, how could they avoid making her uncomfortable during the trip, that was, if she still wanted to go.
 
Attacked? By whom? Dimitri was about to ask these questions when he thought he caught her turning her eyes away from him. He sighed inwardly and closed his eyes. He did look strange. His horns always got stares. He hoped his curious appearance wouldn't get in the way of their friendship. She wasn't perfectly normal herself. Her long ears and green markings separated her from all but of her race. But still, she didn't have horns. Besides, she knew what he was -- that he was a dragon in the skin of a man. That's how he felt; more dragon than person. Yet he kept it hidden well. Sometimes, in moments of extreme emotion his calm manner would disappear and the beast would appear. He was secretly very strong -- a gift of his race -- and he could be violent.

If she had seen the dragon had realized that it was he flying around in the morning, then she might think him a monster. He would work to dissipate that appearance of him to her. He wasn't gifted at conversation, but he would try. "You are a shaman. And you are powerful -- I can tell. Where did you study?" He looked at her.



Natalia was shaken awake very gently. She opened her eyes and smiled at the woman who had helped her last night. "Good morning, miss. I thought maybe you would want to bath before you left." Natalia nodded and yawned.

"Thank you." She accepted the woman's help into the bathroom, where a hot bath had already been drawn. She woman helped her undress, not making a mention of the rough scratches on her skin, and guided her into the hot water. Natalia yawned again. "What time is it?"

"Seven o'clock, miss. I wanted to give you time to get ready."

"Thank you," repeated Natalia. "Please, call me Natalia."

The woman helped her bath, without protest, keeping her talking of light things so she wouldn't think of the scratches covering her arms and torso. When she was done the woman offered to assist Natalia back into the main chamber, but Natalia walked with strong strides, and said no politely. She looked around for her clothes and frowned. "Where are my clothes?" He mind rolled back on the events of the last night and almost collapsed., but the woman had run forward and supported her to the bed.

"Don't think about it, Natalia. Don't think about it. Natalia, look at me." Natalia's glazed eyes rose the to woman's. "If you think of it, it will drag you down. Here, get dressed." She walked to a chair by the bed had held the clothes that Seka had offered. The woman brought them to Natalia. "Come on, dearie, stand up."

Natalia stared in horror at the clothes she was supposed to wear. "I can't wear that!" she cried. "What happened to my clothes?"

"Most of them were not recovered, but the rest was damaged beyond repair. Miss Seka offered these."

"Seka? The shaman? But she wears..." Natalia blushed at the thought of Seka's clothes on her.

"Up, Natalia," insisted the woman. "There is no time for reservations. This is all there is. Now, hurry up."

Natalia put on the... clothes... that she had been given and stared in the mirror. She was wearing a short green shirt that was only about three inches past her butt, thigh high layered green boots with heels, a clinging green shirt that ended before her cleavage did and that showed about five inches of midriff, and fingerless green -- did all the things she owned were green? -- gloves that, despite huge oval cut out of it, covered her up to her upper arm. Oh, and a... thing that Natalia supposed was meant to be covering her shoulders, but stopped before the ends, and rose up to a choker.

She was beyond horrified. She couldn't wear this! She couldn't step past her door in these clothes! Who would even wear stuff like this? She was trying not to judge Seka. She had been kind enough to let her borrow her clothes. But really, there was absolutely no way she could fight in these clothes. She wouldn't last a minute. Her hawk would cut right through-- her hawk!

She whirled around to the woman, the huge leaves making up her skirt rustling. "Where is my hawk?" she shrieked in terror. He couldn't be dead, he couldn't.

Just then a knock sounded at the door and the only thought of someone that might know what had happened to her hawk in her head, she ran to the door, her breasts bouncing, and ripped open the door.



Dimitri stared at her. Was this the same refined woman that had been in the hall yesterday. She looked wild and... his eyes traveled downward and he frowned. She didn't look how she had. He had respected her choice in modest clothing and armor. Now she looked... well, she looked like Seka.
 
After approving all the horses and supplies, Larko waved over one of the servant who got him last night. "Did you find anything for Natalia to wear?" Puzzled, the servant looked at Larko with wide eyes.

"I uh, didn't know what to look for, or uh where to look." Frowning, Larko pursed his lips. His mind was so distracted by whether or not he should approach Natalia that he forgot to assign that errand.

"No worries. I will speak with the Queen." Larko mumbled, dropping the reigns to the horse he was working on and ran back into the castle. He ran at full speed to the south wing where the Queen used to sleep and busted through the door, alerting his mother who set her illusion to see him.

"Well what brings you here son?" She asked, walking to the bed and sitting on the edge, crossing her legs under her red, silk robe. "Is this about the girl who was attacked last night?" Not bothering to ask how she knew that, he nodded and walked to her seemingly endless closet.

"I'm looking for a few things she could borrow for the trip." He said, shifting through he fine silks, looking for something Natalia would wear.

"Well while you were sleeping, I gathered some things for our attractive and troubled guest." She said waving to the cotton satchel that sat by the door. "You forget son, we share the same mindset." Smiling, the illusion got up, walking towards him. Leaning down, she kissed my cheek except that he couldn't feel it. "Now go give it to her if you expect to leave on time son." Nodding, he waiting until she called her illusion back, then picked up the satchel and ran to Natalia's room. Once he got there, he saw that Seka had shared some of her clothing with her.

"Um, I think you might like these better." He said, looking away from her exposed skin and handing her the bag.


Looking at Natalia in her clothing didn't really sit well with Seka. Not that she didn't look good, she was definitely hiding under all those layers of hers, she didn't look like she was confident in what she was wearing. Seka was about to answer Dimitri's questions, blushing under his direct eye contact when the door swung open. Seka was just about to hand her Hawk over when Larko came running to them. Recognizing the bag he held, she looked at him questionably. She knew that his mother wore that satchel when she would clean the castle with the servants. She used it to hold her own supplies so that she wouldn't have to bother the servants for theirs. Looking back at Natalia, she looked her up and down again. She wasn't prettier than I was she? She thought to herself. After all her years with Larko and the Queen, she was never offered any of the Queen's clothing.
 
((Oh boy I love this. I keep reading the last two posts over and over and over. I think I'm blushing. :p)


When Natalia saw Larko approaching, she tensed and subconsciously tried to cover as much of her exposed body as she could subtly. She was infinitely grateful that he wasn't staring at her like Dimitri was. Yes, she had noticed Dimitri's gaze. She couldn't blame him though. The good thing was that he was frowning instead of smiling.

She snatched the bag, gasped a "thank you", spun around and slammed the door shut. Once inside she pressed her back against the door, blushing hotly. The Prince had seen her in an unclothed state twice. He was a gentleman about it, but it was done. There was no going back; no forgetting. He had dealt with her in her most fragile state, which was almost as bad as him seeing her nearly naked. She was supposed to be strong, a warrior. And she would be. She straightened her back and walked deeper into the room.

The woman wasn't there. Natalia looked around briefly and discovered her in the bathroom, cleaning up, but since the woman hadn't noticed her, Natalia left her. She stood in front of the mirror and gladly stripped off the things she had been wearing that were supposed to be clothes. She looked at her naked body, deciding that while she may have been more attractive, in a sexual way, in Seka's clothes, it wasn't her to be sexually attractive. So she opened the bag and pulled out a feminine tunic, following a woman's curves, but long-sleeved and high necked. She pulled it on, relishing in the feeling of complete coverage. It hung rather low, reaching her lower thigh, but that was completely fine. The pants were way too long. Whose ever clothes she was wearing, they were very tall. She rolled the pants up over and over until they rested just above her ankle. There were comfortable leather boots in the bag, also, and she slipped them on. They were a little loose. No problem.

She missed her heavy layers, the feeling of armor protecting her, but this was way, way better than what Seka had given her. She looked at herself in the mirror and nodded in satisfaction. She picked up Seka's things from the floor, folded them as best she could, and went to she door. She opened it, back straight, shoulders spread. She smiled broadly and bowed to the Prince. "Thank you, Your Highness. Your gift is much appreciated." Then she passed the clothes to Seka and bowed slightly. "Thank you very much for your kind gift."

Then she glimpsed the towel in Seka's arm and swept it up. "My hawk!" she cried joyfully, a slight touch of tears in her voice. She held the hawk close to her chest and closed her eyes briefly. When she opened them, they were shining with emotion. "How can I thank you?" she breathed to Seka.
 
(I think its pretty good too. Im about to add the list of forest creatures since we might hit see them soon>:D)

Taking a step back, Seka was caught off guard by her question. It was softly spoken but you could tell she meant it. "Oh, um, there's no need to thank me." She said, holding her hands up. "I just healed the little guy. He did the hard part by staying alive long enough for us to find him." Looking at the hawk, she reached out, touching the space just between his eyes. "He needs to sleep a while longer but he will be up and energetic by night fall." She explained, letting her fingers glow slightly, sending the little guy back to sleep. He was excited to see Natalia again but he shouldn't be moving around so soon. Her healing magic affected animals a lot differently than other beings, working slower and tensing up their little muscles. Looking at Natalia, she saw what the Queen had picked out for her. Though the Queen was kind and quick to act, she put much thought into every decision she made. She knew that though it seemed like a simple out fit, she wouldn't be surprised if the Queen spelled it, specifically for Natalia. Knowing that the Queen had already checked Natalia out saddened Seka. Larko focused so much on his kingdom that he never dated, and the Queen never brought it up. Seeing them both put this much effort in one girl was knew. For as long as she could remember, she was the only girl they needed.

Larko couldn't stop smiling. Seeing Natalia's face light up when she saw her hawk added to her in his mother's clothing let him see her differently. "Well I am glad that you are satisfied with the clothes. We will be leaving soon, ready?" He asked, holing out his arm for her to link to, then resting his arm at his side. Nodding a greeting to Seka and Dimitri, he waved his arm in the direction of the castle gates, letting them all walk in front of him before running his hand through his hair and following after them.
 
Natalia gently stroked her hawk's face with the back of her forefinger, looking at him so lovingly it was as though he were her child. She hadn't realized how much that hawk had meant to her until she almost lost it. She smiled at everyone, she couldn't help it. She was blind to any slightly unfriendly look Seka might be giving her. "Yes, I'm ready." She began to walk away, but then stopped and turned back around. "Your Highness? I need a sword." Then she blanched at the demanding way she had said it. She reached out a hand as though to pull the words back and said, "no! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it like that." She brought back her hand and bowed slightly as she said, "Your Highness, I would like to request a new sword. My old one was lost..." she paled.


Azamakoda was stomping around the castle. "Doesn't anyway serve breakfast around here?!" she screamed after minutes of fruitless search, her rough voice making it frightful. A servant that hadn't had either been ignoring her because he was scared, or, less likely, he hadn't heard her until now, hurried around the corner.

"Breakfast?" he stuttered. "You are one of the company of the Prince?"

Azamakoda glared up at him. "What do you think, numb-skull? Do you think a strange woman would be wandering around this stupid castle demanding breakfast unless she had a reason to be here?"

"Of course, of course." The servant bowed, but Azamakoda rolled her eyes and bopped him on the back of his head his her hand when he was down. He fell forward, crashing into her and knocking her off balance. She fell to the floor and called him many unkind things.

She rose, glowering, and yelled, "whoever your dad screwed to have you must've been a real dumbo to make someone so stupid sprout from her legs!"

The servant backed away, then ran. "Hey! OI! DON'T RUN AWAY FROM ME!" And she gave chase. That poor servant; he stood no chance. Azamakoda barreled into him and knocked him down, then started kicking him as hard as she could, punctuating each kick with a word. "YOU. DON'T. RUN. AWAY. FROM. ME."

The servant was curled up on the floor, sobbing, when two guards came ran up to Azamakoda and pulled her away. Azamakoda thrashed and cursed, but was dragged through the castle until they were in the dungeon. The two guards threw her into a cell, slammed the door, and said, "we'll let the Prince deal with you."

Azamakoda was not deterred. "I'm with the Prince, you @#$%&*s!"

The guards laughed as they walked away. "Yeah, right, like the Prince would travel with someone like you."
 
Letting the distance separate Seka and Dimitri from Larko and Natalia, Seka didn't know what to do with her hands so she intertwined them behind her back. "I studied and practiced my magic in the Queen's library." She mumbled, going back to the question he asked her earlier. Talking about it brought back so many good memories, she could even smell the dull musk the room had from housing so many ancient scrolls and journals. She used to read for hours, often missing meals in fear of not perfecting the spells and mastering the abilities. She knew that library inside out, not one book in there left unread, even the one's in ancient languages. "That is where I recognized you from." She blurted out, eyes widening when she realized how creepy that sounded. Just don't say anything, she thought to herself. Maybe he didn't hear her and she was hoping that was the case as they continued to the gates.

Looking at Natalia, he smiled. "Don't worry about it. You can borrow one if mine." With that said, he lead her to a large room close by, kind of hidden in the hall. Pressing what looked like a random stone in the wall and a door appeared and slid open. Stepping in, he waited for her to walk in before allowing the door to close. In this room, he kept his private collection of custom made swords, some he traveled far to get, others we're gifted to him. On each of the walls he had at least 10 on each wall, all different from each other, yet still elegant and deadly. "Pick which ever one feels best." He said proudly, just as he heard screaming down the hallway. "I'll be right back." He said before leaving the room where he over heard Azamakoda cursing at the guards. Following them, he waited in the hall for the guards to come out before approaching them.

"Some one like who?" He asked politely. The guards stopped in their tracks and all the blood drained from their faces.

"Uh.... well.. some one so troublesome Sir." The first guard said. "She attacked one of the servants."

"Huh, well from now on, if you have anymore problems with my 'troublesome' guest, I advise you to remember who you answer to soldier." Larko said, stepping closer to the guard. "And remember, not too long ago you were a troublesome person yourself but the Queen saw something in you and got you to where you are now. I don't like the way you were speaking to my guest, 'troublesome' or not and I will not tolerate it again." Looking into both of the guards eyes, her spoke clearly and slowly, making sure that they understood every word he said. "Now apologize and free her. We have a quest to fulfill." Turning around, the guards did just as told. Though Larko did not approve of Azamakoda's actions, he will not allow anyone to be mistreated in the castle. He will have to find the right opportunity to speak to her about her actions later. As for right now, they had a least 10 minuets to set out before the citizens hit the streets and that was one thing he did not want.
 
Dimitri walked his his hands behind his back, as he usually did, and when he saw that Seka did the same he was slightly amused. It was very unlikely that she did it to copy him, but whether or not she did, it was humorous. Then she said it. To say that Dimitri was surprised would be an understatement. He stayed silent for a minute longer, hoping she would continue with an explanation. When she didn't he looked down at her as they walked. "I didn't know I was in any book," he said mildly.




"Borrow one of yours? But..." She didn't want to borrow one of his. They were his! Again, the separation between them grew in her mind and when she followed him into the hidden room, she bowed slightly. Then she looked around, and her mouth dropped open. She slowly walked to the center of the room and turned in a hesitant circle. She had never seen so many swords in her life. And they were all so beautiful! Suddenly her old sword, which she had loved and thought fine, seemed cheap and boring.

Pick whichever felt best? Did that mean she was supposed to pick them all up, one by one? But she would get fingerprints on them! Then she reminded herself that they were weapons, meant for use, no matter how fine they were. So as the Prince left the room Natalia walked forward and lifted the first blade from the wall. She weighted it in her hand, carefully set the hawk down, and tossed the sword to the other hand without any doubt of possibly dropping it. She swung it experimentally. It cut the air with a whoosh, but Natalia replaced it. She went to the next sword. This was worse. She put it back quickly.

For some swords, she took some time, others she had barely lifted before she put them back. Some of the swords were mounted so high on the wall that she had to go up on tiptoes. She readjusted the pants thrice. She was about halfway around the room when she lifted a sword and it practically sang in her hand. "Oh yes," she breathed, and swung it. Several more moves later she was satisfied.

She slid the sword she had picked into the scabbard that hung directly beneath it's mount, admired the scabbard for a moment, attached it her her belt, then picked up her hawk and walked to the door. Suddenly she realized she didn't know how to get out. Which brick had the Prince pressed? She tested a few experimentally, quickly growing frustrated. Which stupid brick was it? She pushed ones high and low, to the left and right of the door, far and closer. Finally she pushed the right one and the stone slid back.

She sighed in relief and looked down the hall in both directions. Which way? She started down one way, then turned back. Wait for the Prince? No, he wouldn't think to come back for her. He would think she could get to the gates herself. Then she came up with something genius. She walked down the hall until she found the nearest window. She opened the pane and poked her head out, looking around. Ah! She knew where she was! Down the hall she went, completely confident. A couple minutes later she was at the gates.



Azamakoda spat in the face of the guard that unlocked her cell. "Told'ja." She stormed up the steps and stopped in the of Larko. "Your guards are asses," she told him flatly, then walked away, then turned back. "Uh... which way?"
 
"Uh well maybe not you in particular," She started, he had heard her and oddly, she was relieved. It could give her a reason to talk to him more about it as they rode. "Unless you're a bit older than you look." She said playfully. "The Queen has this book, so old that I had to wear gloves when I read it, anyway, it doesn't have a title and the author didn't sign their name but it speaks of these magnificent creatures. It spoke of the experiences they had in their true form as well as their human form in ways that leads me to believe that it is a diary or journal." She said, finding that she spoke with ease when she recalled some of her favorite books from the Queen's collection. "There's a drawing of one of these creatures in the back of the book and when I saw you this morning, I noticed a few similarities." Before she knew it, they were at the gates, servants walking up to them to take them to their horses which happened to be next to each other.

Without answering her, He headed back to the room which after sticking his head in, he saw that Natalia had found a sword worthy enough and made her way to the gates. Closing the door, he lead Azamakoda to the gates, arriving shortly after Natalia. "Alright, your steed is next to Natalia's" He said, motioning to the last horse in line as he walked towards the horse in the middle. After a minuet or so, he glanced around, seeing Seka and Dimitri already saddled and possibly engaged in conversation. Picking up his reigns, he tapped his foot on the side of his steed, letting him know that he was ready to go, the others following closely behind. Just as they exited the kingdom, the roads began to fill with the townsfolk. Sighing in relief, he lead the group down a well known path, aiming to make it to the only small village that was in between their kingdom and the Thermain's forest by nightfall. Bringing his horse to a even trot, he looked around him, taking in the tall, mossy trees and yellow- orange leaves that covered the ground. Looking back, he checked their formation which for the narrow, well traveled dirt road, wasn't all too bad. Dimitri and Seka rode a few paces behind Larko and Azamakoda and Natalia followed closely behind them. Pulling his horse off to a clearing in the woods, he waited for the others to join him before reaching in his bag that was latched onto his saddle and grabbed a small ration of food.
 
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Dimitri and smiled. "I am not the only of my kind, if that is what you were wondering." So, maybe she didn't think he was a monster? That was good news. "There aren't many of us, but we live for an extensive amount of time, so maybe you saw one of my nearby ancestors." He stroked his horse's muzzle, then stretched up a long leg and was on the horse in a moment. He looked at Seka when she was mounted. "What did it say about us?"


Azmakoda struggled badly to get on her her horse, but swore at a servant who tried to help her. Finally she got up, but by that time the horse didn't like her and probably didn't trust her. Guiding him was an absolute disaster, and as they headed out through the city Azamakoda jerked on the reins when it wasn't necessary and the poor horse turned into the assembling people. That didn't please her, the horse, or the people. An old woman shook her fist as Azamakoda tried to steer the horse out of the way of the woman. Azamakoda snarled at the woman, who drew back in shock -- then Azamakoda got the horse back in the center of the street and followed the others.

After a while she noticed Natalia's clothing. She frowned at them, then turned her frown to their wearer. "Why ya wearin' that? It doesn't fit you, if you haven't noticed."

Natalia coldly placed her eyes on Azamakoda. "Because I don't have my old clothes anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because they were... destroyed."

Azamakoda snorted. "What happened? Did you piss off a servant and it burned them in the fire?"

"No. I was attacked and the clothes were ripped off me," she said harshly.

Azamakoda's eyes widened and she whistled. "Really? What were you doing to get attacked?"

"I was walking."

"Ha! Yeah right! No , seriously, Nat, what were you doing?"

"I. was. walking. In the dark."

"That's all? Pfft, that makes no sense."

"Well," Natalia took a deep breath and tried not to speak through her teeth, "I am rather small,"

"Damn right! You're tiny!"

Natalia closed her eyes briefly. "I have a rather girlish body build, and when men see someone that size walking down a street in the dark, my might have an idea to attack that person." She was handling this conversation incredibly. She didn't know how she was able. All she knew was that she had determined to be strong.

"How many guys?"

"Three." Natalia's voice was tightening.

"And how far..." she kind of gestured at Natalia's body.

There, Natalia could take no more. She turned in her saddle and yelled, "it's none of your business!"

Azamakoda nodded, impressed. "That bad, eh?"

Natalia threw up her hands in exasperation. "No! Nothing happened. I got away before they could do anything more than take off most of my clothing." She shivered.

"So, who's clothes are you wearing?"

Natalia's eyebrows raised. She hadn't wondered that before. As everyone pulled up, she rode forward until she was next to the Prince. "Your Highness? I forgot to ask: who's clothes am I wearing?"
 
Refusing to answer Natalia with a mouth full of bread, he chewed slowly, careful not to choke. He waited until she has dismounted her horse and walked over to her. He knew that he might have been to close but he hoped that she wasn't afraid of him anymore. "Promise me you won't freak out." He said firmly, refusing to say another word until she answered him. As he loomed over her, he noticed that she was a so much smaller than him. Her face was smaller, it would probably fit in he palm of his hand if he touched it. Her eyes were a bit lighter than his, something he had just noticed, and compared to his sandy blonde hair, she had long, dark locks. In that moment, he noticed how beautiful she was and wondered if she knew that. Raising his eyebrow, he looked at her, whipping away some stray bread crumbs from the corners of his mouth. How embarrassing?

"Well I could tell you or I could just show you the book." Seka mocked. "I do have a question though, in the journal, they mention flying from high places. So like you did this morning, could you do the same thing if I grew a really tall tree or something similar?" It would be a lovely sight to see if that worked and it wouldn't take much of her energy to do it. She could make a tree the height of the tallest point of the castle with a wave of her hand, half asleep. Maybe she could branch off from the group while they ate and play with her magic. It has been a while since she's had some fun.
 
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