Yes... this next section is but the first in the party's dealings with the Princess... they ended up [sarcasm] REALLY liking her! [/sarcasm]
More sections will come online as I finish them...
Part Two of the adventure from 1-30-4, known as...
Of Princesses, Politics, and Strange Chemicals in the Water... Part 1
Tess noticed Siabrey’s face squinch immediately at Lucius’ announcement that the Princess was arriving that day. As much as some small part of Tess admitted she would love to be in Siabrey’s place, she felt for the poor girl; a wandering mercenary versus the wits, charm, and wealth of a royal blood, the likely successor to the Imperial throne. The match seemed far too one sided.
However, Tess momentarily then saw Lucius’ reaction when saying her name, and saw a surprising amount of disgust emanating from his face. Tess knew that the Princess was far older than him, and it would likely be a political marriage, but she hadn’t expected absolute distaste to rise in his voice.
“I suppose,” he said quietly, “I should go to the procession as she enters the city.” He gave a genuine, saddened sigh, as Siabrey looked down. Momentarily, Tess saw him quickly lift his eyes back up... and they had a gleam.
A mischievous gleam.
Oh boy... this is never good when he gets that twinkle in his eye, Tess thought, remembering the hijinks in Kulloden the last time Lucius ran off to do something he thought was funny.
As Siabrey is too busy moping, I should quiz him about it...
“What are you up to, Lucius?” Tess asked, raising an eyebrow and stopping in the middle of the Temple hallway. She folded her arms.
“Well, Siabrey?” Lucius asked in his sweetest, most innocent voice, “would you mind coming with me to the parade? I’d prefer to have some company while watching a boring procession of elephants, beasts and jugglers.” He then gave Tess’ friend a wink.
Oh... that wink said that something is going on either before or after the parade... Tess snorted quickly.
Hmph... hopefully they’ll run to the Sune Temple instead of here! She watched as Siabrey’s face rose quickly, in a much better mood now that she would get to spend some time with Lucius. Tess, however, still was able to trace the thin lines of worry in her eyes... she was scared that this woman just might take Lucius from her...
“So you kiddies will be going to the parade then?” Tess asked. ‘Kiddies’ was only a relative term... Siabrey was actually three years older than Tess. The two lovebirds nodded, and Tess had to smile.
They are so into each other, it is almost sickening, her mind laughed.
“Run along then... just stay out of trouble!”
“Oh, we won’t get into any trouble... I’m refusing to sit in the noble’s boxes along the route!” Lucius beamed as he started to turn away.
What?! Tess mind snapped at the last comment. She was of very very minor noble blood... hardly much, but she knew enough that such a move could easily be considered an insult to the other nobles... not to mention that not sitting next to them would mean not being able to schmooze them for badly needed troops...
“Lucius?” she called after him, “are you sure you want to not sit with the other nobles? We are here trying to raise...” She stopped as Lucius raised his hand with a smile.
“Fair Tess, more than likely the Princess will have at least one gala, likely several, during her stay here in Irulas. Logically, she would invite me, as I am the object of her current pursuit. There can be plenty of ‘schmoozing’ and ‘elbow greasing’ then.”
A GALA? When... I need a dre... wait... I have the armor! Tess’ mind laughed. Her last major party event had been the Countess’ thank you banquet... before that it had been some time. And now, there was the possibility of attending an Imperial ball. A lazy smile spread across Tess’ lips as the pleasant thought went through her own head for a few seconds.
“When’s this... ‘gala?’” Shaun smartly asked, as it was fairly obvious Tess would like to know, but her mind was too wrapped up in daydreaming at hte moment to form a coherent thought.
“I don’t know,” Lucius grinned at Tess, who re-emerged into the conscious world slowly. “I’ll find out probably tonight. In the meantime, we’ve a parade to attend... maybe you can go and scout the city for information, and we’ll meet back here at dusk?”
“Sounds like a plan,” Tess said, her mind now refocused, but in a better mood. “Be careful you two... and Siabrey?” Tess reached into her pocket as Siabrey drew beside her.
“Remember... you are Lord Lucius’ bodyguard. Make sure he stays well,” she whispered, and handed Siabrey two of the same vials she had sent her the previous night. Siabrey grinned, stuffed them into a pouch, and mouthed quietly, “Thank you,” to Tess. Tess merely gave her a wink, and looked up at Lucius... who by his face apparently had seen none of the transaction.
After the two wandered back to their room to change, Tess turned to the rest of the party. “Well, you guys, I’m going to be heading out into the city, to try and skulk up some information.”
“I’m going to do the same... I’ll go try and find the Thieves’...”
Tess gawked at him, as did everyone else in the group. Thankfully, his voice was quiet enough that no one else heard. Shaun, rattled, cleared his throat and corrected himself.
“I’ll go try and find some friends and see if they have any information on Ilia or Rogar.” There were some slow nods around the group, and Tess mouthed silently to Shaun, “Don’t say that in public ever again!”
For Siabrey, the pain of putting on a decent dress to go to the chastisement service was nothing compared to the agony of donning her battle armor. Despite Lucius’ misgivings and sorrowful looks at her pain, she insisted on wearing it. She also intended on giving this ‘Princess’ a message... if she wanted to take Lucius, there would be a fight.
I will not let an uppity, palace groveling woman come in and steal my Lucius from me... not without a fight! her mind had been snarling since the news of Zoe’s arrival.
“Why? No one would be foolish enough to attack me in the middle of a parade, with the Imperial Guard all around!”
“I don’t trust this Princess,” Siabrey said with a grunt as Lucius put the back part of her breastplate on. “After what happened in Kulloden, I can’t trust anyone I don’t know.”
Heaven knows I would kill myself if me not being prepared led to something happening to you. Seeing he was upset, she turned with a wince. “Besides, I
am your bodyguard...” she winked. Lucius’ pained face changed to a grin.
“Well, you aren’t hurting that bad then, if you’re making wisecracks. That should be the last piece... you’re all done!”
“Hon... aren’t you going to wear your armor?” Siabrey said with some alarm as she saw him change from his drab travelling shirt to a blue silk one.
You were the target of assassins less than a week ago, my love!
“No... too stuffy and obvious. I’m going to wear this,” he pulled out a blue and yellow silk outfit, piece by piece, its tunic emblazoned with the yellow eagle of the Caladron family. It was the nicest outfit of clothing Siabrey had ever seen.
Well, he is from the richest noble family in the region, silly her mind chastised itself for the instantaneous question of “how?” It then turned to more serious matters again.
“Lucius, are you sure?” She clanked over to where he was standing, and with some effort to not wince at the armor rubbing into her still sore back, she gave him a hug. “I don’t want anything to happen to you...”
“Yes, I’m sure. We’ll be standing in the middle of the artisans, not the common rabble rousers that might be tempted to cause us trouble. There will be Imperial Guards all about the parade route.. and should someone shout for help, who do you think they will respond to faster? Someone they don’t know in armor, or a finely dressed noble?”
Your family armor is rather distinctive as a noble’s armor, Lucius, Siabrey’s mind retorted, but she decided it probably wouldn’t be best to push it. She knew he could be a stubborn boy when he wanted to, and it looked as if this was one of those moments.
“Okay,” she gave him a kiss. “Lets go... and don’t stray far from my side... I am your bodyguard after all.”
I want her to know you are taken... to know that it won't be a simple dance to come and whisk you off to the capital...
It took the two of them about an hour to find the main street through the center of the large city where the processional march was occurring. As they slipped through the crowds towards the front (it was rather easy, the people fell away from the person they saw in battle armor and the noble walking by her side), they realized something was different... and wrong.
There were no jugglers, no elephants, no carnival like atmosphere, at least from those in the parade (as for the revelers alongside loving their day free from work, that was a completely different story). Instead, there was a regiment of soldiers... clad in the red and gold of the Imperial Guard, composite longbows on their backs and longswords at their sides. They swept by in perfect formation, perfect step, their faces stone cold.
Quite impressive, Siabrey’s mercenary mind thought. It instantly did a quick tally of the numbers in the unit.
10 across and 50 deep... 500 men.
As they sat and watched, the elephants and the like they expected never arrived, instead coming around the bend up the street from them were more soldiers in ranks. The only minor entertainment, aside from the street hawkers within the crowds of people, was the small band across the way, which played martial music as the troops continued to march by.
Siabrey did a quick estimate, counting each regiment that went by, coming up with 23 units by the point where she stopped bothering.
“Lucius?” she said, her voice a little worried, “whats going on here? I thought the Princess wasn’t bringing any troops...” She looked up at her compatriot, who was grinning. “What’s to grin about?”
“She is smarter than I thought, thank Tarantor!” Lucius laughed. “I’m betting she heard what was happening and mobilized the local Imperial armies... how many have you counted?”
“23 units of 500... over 10,000 marching by in the past hour and a half... if we can only get her to commit them to retaking Holstean as opposed to defending Irulas...”
Siabrey’s train of thought was disrupted, as the music from the band across the way... likely full of conscripted and less than pleased bards, changed from a soft march into something loud, blaring, thundering, with trumpets roaring as if to try and split the sky in two with their noise.
Siabrey glanced at Lucius, who then pointed up the street. En masse, the commoners were falling to their knees, and then placing their foreheads on the ground... a full, groveling prostration. It was as a wave, as the commoners falling to the ground came close and closer.
Steel yourself, Siabrey told her body,
for she approaches! She is mortal, like all other women!
When the line reached Siabrey, she started to prostrate herself like the others, until Lucius’ arm caught her. To her surprise, he pulled her up to a simple kneel, as he was doing; one knee on the ground only. She started to open her mouth to ask why, but Lucius cut her off.
“You will kneel like a noble, not prostrate yourself like a commoner,” he said with a smile, and she suddenly realized the other reason he wanted her here besides her company...
He wants to send her a message too! He wants her to know he’s taken! He wants ME! Her heart melted with giddiness, and had she been alone with him she likely would have cheered and jumped up and down. As it was, she restrained herself to a large smile and staring deep into his eyes.
Lucius put an arm around her, and pointed with the other, as a figure on a bluish horse came around the corner up ahead at a trot. She was nearly Siabrey’s height, thin, with a darker skin tone than Siabrey’s copper, more brown than metallic. Her eyes were large and deep brown, offset by short black hair that was wrapped into luxurious curls. One her head, a platinum tiara gleamed in the sunlight, as its numerous diamond, emerald and ruby gemstones flashed light all around.
She turned, and spotted Lucius and Siabrey, alone among that side of the street at a noble’s kneel. He eyes first drifted to Lucius, and Siabrey saw a thin smile form across the woman’s face... a face that as she drew nearly looked ten years younger than her age.
As she drew alongside them, her face then turned to Siabrey. For a brief moment, there was a blank stare... then a look to Lucius of disbelief. Lucius tightened the pull of his arm around Siabrey’s shoulders, but said nothing to the woman who now towered over the both of them. The princess’ eyes flashed, her nostrils flared, and her lips curled into a deep, vile sneer directly at Siabrey’s face.
Don’t give me that look, wench! part of Siabrey’s mind, the combative portion, sneered right back.
If you do it too much I’ll wipe the sneer off your face with my fist!
Don’t do anything stupid! her more rational mind called,
Instead, stare right back at her... don’t move, don’t flinch... possibly even smile to drive home quietly and safely the point that you think she’s nothing more than a barwench in pretty clothes.
Siabrey’s face broke into a big, devilish smile, directly at the Princess. The royal’s eyes went wide with surprise, then anger. Before any quip could come to Siabrey’s mind, the woman had a riding crop out, and lashed her horse into a gallop, away from the staring contest she’d lost.
As the crowds slowly rose to their feet, Siabrey pulled Lucius close to her and gave him a kiss.
“Mmph. What was that for?” he asked with a grin.
“For helping me show up the wench,” Siabrey said quietly. Lucius burst into laughter, as the two slowly made their way out of the crowds, their curiosity at the Princess’ train (really an army) satisfied and their desires to tell her to back off partially fufilled.
“Well, hon, we’ll have to deal with her again... at the gala that will likely happen soon. Then, I’m sure, you might be a little more free to speak your mind,” he laughed, “as will I!”
“And what,” Siabrey asked, pulling him close as they walked into ever thinning streets, “will you tell her?” Her voice was a soft purr, as she knew his answer.
“Well... it will be a phrase that Shaun taught me.... ‘buzz off’ is how I believe its said!” The two shared more laughter as they made their way up the street. They were silent for a few moments, enjoying each other’s company more than words could say. Finally, Siabrey broke the silence.
“So... Lucius? Where shall we go now? The parade took shorter than we thought, and we’ve got five more hours till dusk probably.”
“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Lucius admitted. As they entered an intersection of two larger avenues in the city, Siabrey looked to her left, up one, and saw a large temple, with the figure of a woman holding a lyre in one hand, and a dove in the other. She felt in her pouch, and the two vials rolled around in her hands. She closed her eyes and smiled, a lazy grin that only those reminiscent about a very pleasant memory recieve.
“Um...hon?” she opened her eyes and pulled him to a stop, tugging him till he was facing the appropriate direction. “The High Priest said that was an appropriate location for hijinks.” Her grin conveyed a little more than mere mirth as he stopped dead in his tracked and then turned and stared at her for a few moments.
“Um... yes...” he stammered, “I think that Temple would be a good place to spend the afternoon... um... yeah... lets go... lets hurry!” he was already starting to walk brisky, pulling her along, giggling. Siabrey giggled as well, her heart alight at winning her first battle against her new foe, and now she was about to celebrate her victory with her love at the Temple of Sune...
