Kirra
Noble
Kirra Okunote - Queen's Rider Nadia Konnors - Rogue, Spy
Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.
Posts: 116
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Post by Kirra on Oct 7, 2006 0:46:47 GMT -5
((eek! So sorry for the wait...))
JASL: "Do they look like they need protection to you? Nevertheless, Queens must look out for their own. That's a notion of responsibility I don't expect you to understand at this point of time."
Jasl listened as her words softly snaked their way into his ears, and he ran his tongue around the inside of his teeth. This would be tricky to get out of, yet he must, with his life. One side of his mouth curved, as if in a mockery of a smile, as he spoke, oiling his words with faked sincerity. Even though he could tell it was posed almost rhetorically, he could not resist replying.
"Perhaps they may not seem it, but why else would they be in the Rogue?" he said, almost whispering. He was looking directly into her almost colourless eyes, and he watched her in case she decided to pull any other tricks on him.
Ignoring the rest of her statement, he had to wonder what she was thinking. How she took the responsibility that being Queen of the Rogue was. How much power she had. How much he desperately wanted that power, that position. How much he hated her.
"Betrayal, you say? Now that's interesting. Very interesting. Would you be caring to explain?" He looked at her again, this time, not at her eyes, but at her delicate features and fine complexion. She didn't look near as dangerous as she was. Now she sounded sweet, trusting. As if. Yet Jasl continued playing the delicate line he had strewn, what, if done carefully, if she didn't trust her Rogue's too much, could break her from her supporters.
"I'm sure you, as the fine example of a Rogue I've no doubt you are, are aware of just how much I prize loyalty, and what I do to traitors. Do you mean to say those others are betraying my trust?"
"Well," he had not other way to say it, "yes." Looking away, he took as deep a breath as he could take with her foot on his chest. "They've," he jerked his head towards the alley where Damien and Kiandra stood, "been betraying you. They wanted to make you suspect me, when really it's them. You see, I've been following them, and they've built up quite a lot of support. They were planning on killing you soon, and becoming The Rogue. I've been trying to tell you, but I, well I…" he stumbled, hoping to make his lie more complete, "I couldn't find you."
NADIA: Nadia could tell she wasn't needed here. Waiting in the shadows, she watched as Damien threw Tamas into a wall and punched him repeatedly. She watched as the bleeding Tamas ran into the darkness down the alley, no doubt to lick his wounds. Nadia doubted there would be trouble from him tonight. The Queen had Jasl under her foot, quite literally, and there was nothing to be done there, except to let them talk.
No, no one needed help. Every Rogue was doing well. Instead, she caught a flicker of motion from the corner of her eye, and she watched Riana run into the night. The girl was running fast, and didn't seem to be paying much attention as her boots thudded on the road. Making an impulsive decision, which probably wasn't the best in these times, Nadia decided to follow.
Nadia liked to call Riana her friend, and she wasn't about to leave her in the dark. Nodding slightly, she took off at a light jog, flicking a stray curl that dangled in front of her face. She headed towards the palace, the place Riana was sure to go. Where she stayed. Where she trained as a Queen's Rider. Riana could fight. A good thing in the night. Still though, Nadia had a sneaking suspicion something would happen, and that suspicion was correct.
Having stopped to rest a few times, Nadia slowed down when she heard voices, around the next corner. The palace was in sight, but Nadia could hear men, one with a gruff, gritty voice.
"Calm down missy. Now, tell me where the young Rogue Queen is, and we'll spare your life."
Nadia swallowed quickly. A challenge. More cronies of Jasl's, no doubt. And they had Riana. Checking quickly to make sure she had her small piece of mirror, Nadia quickly looked around the corner using it. Around ten young men were surrounding Riana, and one holding a kicking Riana.
Nadia wondered whether any of the other Rogue's would follow, putting her mirror away as she placed her hands on the ties that held her wrist sheaths in place. Quickly taking out both daggers, she narrowed her eyes as she started to form a plan in her head.
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Riana
Noble
Riana Pereira - Queen's Rider
Don't regret your mistakes...learn from them.
Posts: 70
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Post by Riana on Nov 24, 2006 0:17:26 GMT -5
[[Bring back the plot!!! lol, sorry for being gone]]
"Calm down missy. Now, tell me where the young Rogue Queen is, and we'll spare your life."
Riana fought his grasp, still flailing her legs. Her heels made contact with his shins many times, but it didn't seem to affect him at all. Suddenly, she cursed, although it was muffled by her captor's hand (the one that was still clamped over her mouth). He must be wearing shin guards, she thought with disgust. Gods, these rogues don't ever come unprepared, do they?
Her thoughts were interrupted when another rogue came and encircled her legs within his arms. There was virtually nothing she could do to escape now; and even if she did manage to make it free of her captors, there was eight others waiting to grab her again when she ran. And there was no possible way she could take them on alone.
"I'm lettin' go of yer mouth, missy," said the man whose hand was silencing her. "You're best chance of survivin' means ye tell us where the Queen is." As he had said, his hand slowly lifted off of her mouth. Riana knew better than to succumb to his hellbent wishes, and she quickly thought of a different plan. She drew in a great breath of air and screamed as loud as her lungs would allow.
She soon found out it was the wrong thing to do, for the man's hand came down hard on her cheekbone. Her scream stopped in that instant, and her chest heaved for air. Her mind was racing, and then she remembered her dagger. No...she could get it out, not with a man's arm encircling her torso. Goddess, she pleaded, please let me get out of this alive!
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Damien
Noble
Damien Selvian - Rogue
Posts: 138
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Post by Damien on Nov 25, 2006 0:35:24 GMT -5
Damien's head started to clear as he watched the malcontent run into the shadows. No doubt he'd be running to find his group of cronies, for a mutiny like this required more than a few persons. He looked to Kiandra, breathing heavily, and asked, "You all right, then?" Avelia seemed well enough with handling Jasl. He listened in on their conversation, trying to pick up tidbits of information.
"They've been betraying you."
That surely was a lie. It took quite a bit of control for him to not lash out at Jasl as he'd just done with the other boy. Damien wondered if the Queen had noticed his untruthful ways, and then he remembered that she wouldn't easily be swayed to see from the eyes of a mutineer. She was no naive girl, that one. But even still, he had to be prepared if things turned out for the worse.
His eyes scanned the group. Something wasn't right here; someone was missing. He went over recent moments in his mind over and over, and then he cursed. Mithros, Riana's gone, he thought. His mind was racing. Had she run off, or been taken whilst no one was bothering to notice?
His question was answered by a faint scream off to the south, in the direction of the palace. "D****t," he said under his breath. He waited a moment, his eyes on Avelia. Surely she could handle this on her own. But just in case...
Damien turned to Kiandra and put a hand on her shoulder. "Stay with Avelia," he told her. His voice told her he was not to be argued with. "I need you to trust me when I say that I'll be all right."
With that, he nodded to Avelia and took off running in the direction the scream had come from. He glanced down alleys as he went, hoping to spot someone...And he did. He saw the figure of a lone woman standing against the wall of a building. She seemed familiar, although he couldn't be positive in the darkness. As he grew nearer, he saw it was his friend Nadia, and she had two blades unsheathed in her hands.
"Nadia..." he whispered. Knowing that the particular situation they were in, he knew he shouldn't say any more than that. Instead, he looked around the corner of the building where they stood and saw a group of young men and Riana. Seeing her in the grasp of two of the men made his anger rise. He unsheathed two of his own blades and looked to Nadia. They couldn't take on these men without more help.
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Rhianna Kiandra
Royal
Rhianna of Queenscove - Squire, Mage, Wildmage Kiandra Tailor - Rogue, Seer NPC for Rogue Plot: Kyran Tierney - Rogue [uncertain rebel]
Injustice is not something easily tolerated, Freedom is not something easily won
Posts: 265
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Post by Rhianna Kiandra on Nov 25, 2006 18:34:14 GMT -5
“You all right, then?"
Kiandra breathed hard with her eyes on the ground, not caring about the street muck seeping into the cloth of her loose breeches. Her right hand glided across her left arm, probing the wound and causing her to wince. Raising her eyes to Damien, she gave a weak smile and a nod. "I think so, but Trickster, it hurts!” Shoving her foot forward to give her leverage, the young woman rose unsteadily to her feet.
"They've been betraying you."
Kiandra snorted it a typical Lower City fashion. She wouldn’t betray a Queen like Avelia, not when the last Rogue had been so lousy. Avelia had brought a sense of justice and necessity to their work, as crazy as that sounded. Kiandra hadn’t hit the cages in a long time, but with the old man who’d been unseated plenty of rogues ended up there night after night, what with the ol’ looby’s disregard for his people. It almost got as bad as that Kayfer Deerborn hundreds of years past. At least there had been no Shadow Snake this time around. The young woman shuddered at the memory of the old legend. She’d been told of it by one of her neighbors from her old home in the Lower City on the edge near Patten.
As she stood watching Avelia deal with the malcontent, Kiandra listened to her surroundings and checking the group of her friends and allies to make sure they were all safe. Just as a woman’s scream rent the air, Kia realized the Queen’s Rider – Riana? – was missing. This knowledge was backed by Damien’s curse.
"D****t."
Kiandra’s blue eyes froze on his face. “No,” she muttered, her elegant face crinkling in her determination. “You’re not goin’ after the mot on your own. I won’t let’cha!” Her chin jutted out and she wanted to pout like a four-year-old at his next words.
"Stay with Avelia. I need you to trust me when I say that I'll be all right."
Kiandra sighed, still watching her man with saddened and fiery eyes. “I know you can, Damien. I just don’t want you hurt more’n you are. And besides,” the determined look returned to her face with a bit of irony in it, “it’s not like I’ll be much help to the Queen with the arm I’ve got.” Her right hand still clutched the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
Moving forward as he went to run off, Kiandra kissed him and turned back to Avelia and the rogue she’d cornered. As Damien’s footsteps faded into the dark, Kiandra muttered fiercely. “Come back in one piece, you cracknob, or I’ll skin ye alive myself.” It was an empty threat, but the hope it held was real.
((meh, yup, I just finished Terrier yesterday.))
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Damien
Noble
Damien Selvian - Rogue
Posts: 138
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Post by Damien on Dec 26, 2006 21:47:27 GMT -5
Damien stood motionless, trying to think of something...anything to help free Riana. If he was clever enough, he could trick the malcontents into going to the wrong place to find Avelia. Or he could say that he himself had killed the queen, and now reigned supreme over the rogues of Corus. It was a stretch, and if they had a mage with them there'd be no chance of success. Having no powers himself, he couldn't even mask the lie.
But they had to act now if Riana was to live. He looked to Nadia, who stood motionless and silent like him, and whispered to her, "Cover my back."
Mustering his courage and taking a deep breath, the young rogue sauntered into the alley as if he hadn't a care in the world. "Gentlemen, is there a problem here?"
His eyes flicked to Riana and he acted as though he didn't know her. "If yer lookin' for the Queen, it'll do no good." He grinned wolfishly. "I've killed her myself already, and now you obey me or die."
"How d'we know yer tellin' the truth?" asked the burly man holding Riana's arms.
Damien laughed and casually sheathed one of his knives. He held up the other and said, "Because I slew her with this very knife. Cut her throat, I did."
"There's no blood on that blade!" the large man shouted.
Damien's grin vanished and he gripped the blade end of the knife between his fingers. With a quick snap of his wrist, the blade flew and struck the man in his neck. He yelled and tried to pull out the blade that had suddenly sprouted from his flesh. "There was blood on it then, and there is now. Anyone else care to challenge the king's judgment?"
The traitors all shook their heads, but they seemed unconvinced.
Her looked to Riana, who was now free from the man who'd been holding her. "Miss, come with me, please."
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Riana
Noble
Riana Pereira - Queen's Rider
Don't regret your mistakes...learn from them.
Posts: 70
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Post by Riana on Jan 15, 2007 15:06:48 GMT -5
"Gentlemen, is there a problem here?"
Riana's eyes flew wildly to try and see who the owner of the voice was, though she already knew who it was. A smooth tenor that held an air of command. Her captor turned to face Damien, his arms still tight around her body. She felt relief and terror both at the same time; relief that someone had come to save her, though there was a shadow of doubt that he would not be able to succeed in freeing her.
Nadia is with him, she thought, but the two of them may not be enough...
"If yer lookin' for the Queen, it'll do no good. I've killed her myself already, and now you obey me or die."
What?! Damien was plotting against Avelia all along? Had he been plotting this under all their noses -- under the noses of all the Rogues? That must have been quite a feat; spies can smell an inquisitive plan from leagues away. Suddenly she felt an anger well up inside her. Avelia was a good queen, from what she's heard, why would he want to overthrow her?
She saw his blade, glinting in the bright moonlight. He was trying to reason with her captor, but the burly man wasn't going to let her go without proof of the Queen's death. Damien's arm moved; there was the flash of steel and a thud right behind her. Her captor's grip loosened and he fell to the ground. Riana turned and saw Damien's knife sprouting from the man's neck.
She grimaced and retrieved the knife, letting the blood drip from the tip as the man slowly bled out. It was a sight she needn't see through until it was finished, and she turned to Damien. He said something to her, but she didn't quite make it out. His words sounded muffled to her. Am I in shock? she wondered absently as she padded over to Damien. She looked once over her shoulder and saw none of the malcontents were following.
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Kirra
Noble
Kirra Okunote - Queen's Rider Nadia Konnors - Rogue, Spy
Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today.
Posts: 116
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Post by Kirra on Jan 18, 2007 20:40:00 GMT -5
Nadia stood silent beside Damien, pressing against the building behind her. She could feel the roughness of the wood press into her back. It was real, oh so blessedly real, to bring her back to the situation. She absentmindedly traced the grain of the wood with one hand, stopping at a looped knot, for Nadia was thinking, thinking desperately. They had to free Riana, she wasn't even supposed to be involved in the mess that was the performance tonight.
Nadia could only think of one solution – a distraction. Her mind got hung up on that, for at the very time she shouldn't, she had led emotion grab hold of her. A distraction, what would be a good distraction. It had to send the men away from Avelia, as well. Nadia gnawed on her lip as she narrowed her eyes at the group of people. Did she recognize any of them? She couldn't tell, not in this pale light.
Almost about to move, Nadia noticed Damien was looking at her. "Cover my back," he whispered. Nodding, Nadia quickly glanced around the alley, to affirm that there wasn't anyone there, then watched as Damien sauntered out towards the men.
"Gentlemen, is there a problem here?"
Gripping her two knives strapped to her wrists, she pulled the straps to let them out. Feeling the familiar hilts in her palms, she felt more comfortable. She could defend herself easily, now. Although they could, and had taken lives, they were a comfort to her.
Wondering what Damien was doing, she knew he had to have a plan. He wouldn't go out there without a plan, even just a semi-formed one. Nadia hoped he and Riana wouldn't get killed – that no one she liked would get killed. Unfortunately, she was a rogue, so she knew in the back of her mind that someone would get killed eventually, yet Nadia still hoped it wouldn't.
"If yer lookin' for the Queen, it'll do no good.I've killed her myself already, and now you obey me or die."
Watching as he grinned wolfishly, Nadia quickly figured out his plan. Acting like King, they would not go searching for Avelia, and wouldn't need Riana anymore – hopefully letting her go, not killing her. Biting her lip again – Nadia was getting in a bad habit – Nadia hoped Damien's lie would work. The rogues did not look convinced, even after they saw a knife sprout from on of their comrades. Damien was quick, all right. Now they just had to hope someone else wouldn't show up and show themup.
Although none of the other men challenged Damien, Nadia could see it on their faces that they still didn't believe him. She was as sure of that as the grimace on Riana's face. She seemed to be in shock, seeming to believe Damien. Almost as well that way… it seems more believable. Nadia thought. Yet though she knew that, Nadia still wanted Riana not to believe them.
Even now as the drama played here in the streets as close to the Palace that the Lower City could get, a slim runner with dark wet spots on his clothes, could be seen coming closer. This would spell bad luck for the three loyal Rogues. It seemed as though they had flipped the wrong side of the coin that evening.
For as Tamas was coming closer, for as he had heard the commotion, Damien was spinning his lie. Nadia glanced towards the rest of the alley, and heard faint footsteps before she saw a dark shape running towards her. Nearly gasping as she recognized him, she swore silently several times, before pressing into the wood wall even harder. She had to stop him before he told the malcontents that Avelia was still alive. Stepping out of the shadows, Tamas skidded to a stop in front of her. Holding one knife ahead of her, Tamas noted it glinting in the moonlight.
"Be quiet," she ordered him. "Or I'll silence you otherwise." The quiet threat hung in the air. Hopefully Tamas would listen to her and stay still. It seemed that this entire affair was stringed together with hope – Jasl hoping that he would be the Rogue soon, Nadia hoping that Riana wouldn't get hurt, the loyal rogues hoping that Avelia stayed Queen – and was balanced with slim knives hidden in boots, strapped around wrists and hidden in clothes.
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Avelia
Noble
Avelia Sarael - Rogue Queen, Assassin
.:Inside my heart is breaking/My makeup may be flaking/But my smile still stays on:.
Posts: 69
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Post by Avelia on Jan 23, 2007 3:32:15 GMT -5
Avelia was not by nature a stupid woman, and what’s more, she was a fairly accomplished liar. When one spent as much time bending the truth as the Rogue Queen did, then one became extremely suspicious of anything that came out of the mouth of another. To untrained ears, Jasl might have sounded entirely believable, but then Avelia could not know for sure, it had been a long time since she had predominantly spoken the truth. To her ears, he sounded insincere, and Avelia did not appreciate insincerity. Of course, there was the whole matter of whether she felt that Jasl was significant enough to spend time killing, when she could be killing someone more important. She did not respect Jasl at all.
And she was not pleased about the way Jasl was attempting to undermine her authority, even now. She prided herself on knowing exactly what was going on in her Court, and the fact that he was even suggesting that there might have been something she had missed- "Perhaps they may not seem it, but why else would they be in the Rogue?" Well, it almost made her so irritated as to consider slitting his throat then and there. She should possibly have eliminated him as soon as she had heard the whispers of doubt in her mind as to his loyalty, but she had let him live, because conspiracy plots simply amused her and she might have welcomed a true death threat…they had not even come close to even wounding her yet, and she was honestly disappointed.
The explanation he had to give disgusted her. In all fairness to Jasl it was a carefully constructed lie, and it was even believable. The only problem was, Avelia knew exactly what was going on, and he wasn’t telling the truth. Had she ever mentioned how much she hated being lied to? Mithros-damned *******. She leant forward, the sharp blade of her knife pressing lightly against his skin. “I don’t like liars, Jasl,” she said, her voice sharp.
It was then that she heard a scream, ostensibly that of one of her Rogues, and quick as a flash she was off him, with a final, swift blow to Jasl’s temple that would at least knock him out. “But it’s your lucky day,” she said, as his head lolled to the side. It was now time to address this problem right at the core, and to do so she needed to truly enter the fray. Avelia sprinted down the cobbled street, arriving at the crowd of Rogues just in time to hear Damien claim that he had slit her throat. Her eyes narrowed.
She was not the type to trust easily, and she was fed up with the whole situation. There were several things that could have motivated Damien's claim, and honestly, she didn't like a single one of them. “That will be enough,” she said, softly, four knives out as she stepped into the light. She did not understand how she always had to be the one to fix all the problems. As a plan went, claiming to have killed her was ludicrous, because he could not have, and it would have raised problems when she turned up, obviously alive. Added to the fact that malcontents who wished to gain power rarely cared who it was that occupied the position, did not differentiate between one or the other. Honestly it was the easiest way to get himself killed. The other option, that he had claimed he had killed her because he wanted the throne was just as unsettling, and she wanted to get to the bottom of this.
Avelia was not feeling patient today, and her level of tolerance was almost nonexistent at best.
“All of you, explain yourself immediately before I kill the lot of you,” she said, her voice as blank as her eyes. And she would do so, too, if she had to, although her well-meaning defenders would be a terrible loss to her Court. One of the Rogues did not appear to like this idea particularly much and made to grab her, she had a dagger in his gut almost before he had moved. She was hardly as unprotected as she appeared, and even if the lot of them were turncoats she could escape through the roofs fairly easily, having the benefit of knowing the area. “I said now.”
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Rhianna Kiandra
Royal
Rhianna of Queenscove - Squire, Mage, Wildmage Kiandra Tailor - Rogue, Seer NPC for Rogue Plot: Kyran Tierney - Rogue [uncertain rebel]
Injustice is not something easily tolerated, Freedom is not something easily won
Posts: 265
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Post by Rhianna Kiandra on Jan 23, 2007 21:28:19 GMT -5
Kiandra watched Avelia handle Jasl from the shadows, intense blue eyes never straying from the scene before her. When the Rogue Queen moved off down the alley, Kiandra could do nothing more than grip her dagger in her good hand and follow and cat-silent feet. The blood from her injury was seeping slowly down her arm, but the bleeding was slowing down.
Hearing Avelia's threat, Kiandra knew she'd carry through with it...on everyone. Not just the rebels, but her faithful subjects as well. That was a scary thought, but if Avelia wanted answers, she ought to be given them.
Coughing lightly, Kiandra spoke up. "M'lady, I dun't know how this all began, other than whispers I heard two of these lads saying, a vision I had, and that Damien couldn't sleep." She blushed, but was thankful that the darkness hid her reddened cheeks. "As he left my ma's house, I woke and decided to follow him."
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Damien
Noble
Damien Selvian - Rogue
Posts: 138
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Post by Damien on Jan 24, 2007 19:56:26 GMT -5
Damien beckoned for Riana to give him the blade, his heart beating fast with anticipation. If this plan worked, they could all escape the alley and make it to a safe haven. He himself would probably take leave of the city. It would be the safest option, for he would be out of range of any prying eyes. Or at least...most prying eyes. There was a certainty in his mind that led him to believe that Tamas and his cronies had spies around Corus.
“All of you, explain yourself immediately before I kill the lot of you."
Damien spun wildly and gazed into the face of the Rogue Queen, using all of his self-control to hold back a string of curses from escaping his lips. Anger seemed to boil in his blood. He was almost out of this, damn it! Why, in Mithros' name, did she come? Yes, she probably heard the scream from Riana, but he thought that someone of her rank and profession would know better than to dive headfirst into unknown waters.
"I said now!"
He was too livid for words. His gaze flicked from Avelia to Kiandra, and his heart stopped. Her shirt sleeve was stained with blood, and it appeared black in the dim light. There was no time to help her now, for even taking a small step would probably mean Avelia's knife in his back. He grabbed his blade from Riana and unsheathed his other dagger. A brawl was going to ensue, there was no doubt of that.
"M'lady, I dun't know how this all began, other than whispers I heard two of these lads saying, a vision I had, and that Damien couldn't sleep. As he left my ma's house, I woke and decided to follow him."
Still fuming, he looked at Kiandra again, and then to Avelia. It was no lie, but with the events that had just occurred, the queen was going to be especially wary. He took deep breaths, attempting to calm himself. Perhaps using the right words would also calm Avelia, though it was unlikely. He stepped towards Avelia, knowing that she could knife him at any opportunity, and subsequently not caring. He was wearing protection under his clothing; she'd have to try amazingly hard to try and injure him.
"She speaks the truth," he told the queen, an air of disdain in his voice. He made no effort whatsoever to give her respect. "Couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a walk. I was jumped by an idiot. But you already knew that.
"I came down here, hearing her scream." He gestured to Riana and continued. "I had a plan. I was tellin' 'em you were dead, so as to save as many lives as possible. But then you and your egotistical self couldn't take the chance given to you to escape. You had to come down here. I was handlin' things just fine. And now we're outnumbered. You'd better have a plan, missy, 'coz otherwise we're not gettin' out of here alive."
Maybe it was adrenaline, or maybe a part of him had absolutely no repect for the queen. He knew he was her elder, and consequently he had called her 'missy' to make her remember the fact. It was hard to discern at the time what the motives behind his emotions were.
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Avelia
Noble
Avelia Sarael - Rogue Queen, Assassin
.:Inside my heart is breaking/My makeup may be flaking/But my smile still stays on:.
Posts: 69
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Post by Avelia on Mar 12, 2007 5:55:38 GMT -5
Even as the words had left her mouth Avelia knew perfectly well that she would not be killing any of her would-be saviours. It was a troubling thought, considering perhaps just a year back she would have done so without hesitation. In her position of responsibility she was become soft with age…perhaps it was that something within her enjoyed and envied the dynamics of her Rogue Court. Perhaps it was simply something innately sentimental that Gared had brought out and that she had not quite yet managed to quash. She should not have had any doubts whatsoever but she was simply too attached to be able to. She had to be extremely careful- compassion and emotional attachment was exactly what she had endeavoured, been encouraged to avoid for all of her life, and it was extremely easy to allow it to cloud her judgement.
M'lady, I dun't know how this all began, other than whispers I heard two of these lads saying, a vision I had, and that Damien couldn't sleep. As he left my ma's house, I woke and decided to follow him."
There wasn’t any visible acknowledgement of the words but Avelia was fairly certain that Kiandra spoke truth…not that there had ever been any doubt who were the true rebels in this escapade. But it was not Kiandra’s explanation she required, was waiting with ever-increasing impatience for. It was Damien’s.
He had to have known that she would never have turned tail and run. Self-preservation was an intrinsic part of every Rogue, that was true, but at the same time there was a certain level of pride that came with being renowned in one’s field. To run could completely demolish a hard-earned reputation and as such…there was no possible way she could have. If he had been in the same position, if it had been his comrades who were pulling off a half-baked, foolish plan in order to save her then would he have disappeared into the shadows? The situation was not the best, there was no denying it, but Avelia had made a life for herself by stepping into the unknown, daring to do what others in her profession deemed too risky to attempt. She wasn’t scared of those Rogues, and she would not relinquish her position to them. Not after she had put the Court through so much, not after she had been put through the wringer by the Court. Did Jakelonge mean nothing? It was her connection to the Rogue that had made her stay in one place for more than half a year, and it was her connection to the Rogue that had brought her to Gared.
"She speaks the truth. Couldn't sleep, so I decided to go for a walk. I was jumped by an idiot. But you already knew that. I came down here, hearing her scream."
She narrowed her eyes slightly but did not respond in any other way. The tone in which his account was delivered spoke as much as the actual words chosen- he was in the stages of self-righteous justification and in his position she would have given herself lip too. But understanding did not equate to appreciation, and at this stage Avelia was just so aggravated she felt like throwing numerous amounts of sharp implements at everybody and anybody, a sure signal for the Rogue bodyguard that simply refused to leave her alone to follow her example. For it would have been simply blind of her to remain oblivious to the rising tension in her Court and as such she had silently prepared.
"I had a plan. I was tellin' 'em you were dead, so as to save as many lives as possible. But then you and your egotistical self couldn't take the chance given to you to escape. You had to come down here. I was handlin' things just fine. And now we're outnumbered. You'd better have a plan, missy, 'coz otherwise we're not gettin' out of here alive."
She was not going to tell him she thought his plan was stupid. She simply was not. There was not enough time for the speech she wanted to give and it was only because of the malcontent’s stupidity and complete inadequacy with regards to fighting or tactics that they had reached this point. Turning her head so that her eyes locked with his for a fleeting moment she gave the slightest, curtest, most indiscernible of nods before letting loose a piercing whistle. The scene that unfolded was the sort that most would not see in several lifetimes.
Thirty Rogues seemed to simply appear out of thin air, emerging from shadowy alcoves and from behind walls. Several had apparently scaled the sides of neighbouring houses and were positioned with crossbows on balconies. Forming a vicious, bladed circle were an assortment of characters- burly tough ex-sailors with numerous tattoos, a small but deadly young boy with a fierce-looking hawk perched on his shoulder, young fit women in breeches and the perpetually drunk Rogue from the front table in the Dove who was terrifying in his sober intent. Far from outnumbered now, they wielded their sharp-edged weapons menacingly, waiting for a word from their unusually irritated Queen.
“Yield,” she said softly, although there was no mistaking the forceful command in her tone as she addressed Jasl, her eyes bearing a silent challenge to him, daring him to make even one false misstep. His fate was in his hands now.
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