Medieval, Kingdoms of Ardania and Derangia - Repowered

"Oh.. uhm... of course Princess," Lyra agreed. She always hated these formal situations. They were so awkward for it. The elves were no where near as formal as these humans. And keepers were never felt the need to get treated better than their people.

She went and walked ahead as Candy had gestured. Once inside, she stopped by the door to wait for Candy to come in and lead the rest of the way.

"Are we there yet?" Clarice whined, despite it having been her idea to head anywhere in the first place, "I'm getting bored."

It wasn't like she had anyone else to blame. It was also setting a bad example for the child... but that apparently didn't occur to her.
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"I'm not leaving my stuff free for any thief!" Vivace snapped, wondering why the girl was complaining, anyway. They were outside, it wasn't like a shut door was going to cause a problem. Still... the market district? How the hell had she failed to notice a temple there?
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"You're a fox?"
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"Tha's not an explanation..." Dragon whined, poking Polly harder, "Where're we goin', anyway?"

Valery paled. She didn't want to be arrested, and while working for this country wasn't really her goal it did help her in her own goals... Friiiiiick. She wasn't happy about this.

"Alright I'll be dang mercenary..." Valery practically growled it and so nobody else would have heard it but Alice and the Guard. The guard rolled his eyes and left at this point.

Candy nodded and followed Lyra inside, also motioning for Alice to follow should she be inclined. She glanced at Milano and Lance again on her way in, giving them a light smile before turning back towards Lyra.

Once inside, she began to lead Lyra to the Throne Room.

Alice chuckled at the dwarf, lightly patting her shoulder. She wasn't every enthusiastic about it, but she'd still accepted the proposal. "Don't worry, if we don't go to war, I'll take you out to find some dragons instead, alright? And you can be one of the first out there to face them if we do." She hoped that at least cheer her up a little bit, as eager as the dwarf seemed to fight.

Alice nodded to the guard in thanks, before standing up straight again. She was about to ask the dwarf if she needed help getting to the mercenaries guild when she saw the the princess and the elf were leaving. "Lily, help miss Valery if she needs it."

Alice then walked after the two, catching up to them in the throne room.

"Are... we?" said Lolly, turning to look at Seraphi.

Seraphi frowned, turning to face her adoptive daughter and her girlfriend. She hadn't actually taken this path to the capital city before, so she couldn't be sure... Wait. There it was! That was definitely it, the forest gave way and she could see the capital city in the distance.

"Almost," she confidently replied, "And don't ask like that."

----

"What if you forgot something you need, or something?" Ariselli replied, with a frown. But... she guessed that wasn't too much of a concern at the moment. "But... I guess you're right... anyway, are you ready to go?"

----

Rosalie smiled, putting her parasol aside given that they were now indoors and it was no longer necessary. She gently took Natalie's hand in hers and the curtsied. After all, it was the proper way to go about things. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Natalie."

She was quite interested in procuring some new clothing. She had a lot, but more would always been nice... especially if it was exceptionally frilly.

Lyra quietly followed behind her, not sure what to say further. Though, she couldn't help but to glance at the maid trailing behind them. Then quickly turned her head away in a bit of a huff. She really disliked this maid for some reason.

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Meanwhile, in Milano's room, Lance paced whilst his sister sat on her bed. They had both finished eachother their stories. It had left them frustrasted, shamed, and a little angry. Lance hit his fist against the wall in his frustration, "Daaamn it, how could I let him get away with this?!" He cursed himself through clenched teeth.

"D-don't do that brother!" Milano quickly stood and grabbed her brother's hand, noting the knuckles now scraped and bloody from the stone wall, "You shouldn't beat yourself up over it. There was nothing you or Miss Alice could do..."

"Alice...?" Lance questioned, allowing Milano to fuss over his hurt hand and treat it, "You mean that maid? What does she have to do with this?"

Milano flinched, she didn't mean to let Alice's name slip but it had, "Uhm.. well... she was the one who found me after he..." Milano gulped, unable to get the word itself out, "A-anyway, she tried to confront him and she got beaten really badly."

"I see..." Lance sighed, he could sympathize with the maid. Afterall, he himself tried to confront the bastard. It didn't pan out well however. He didn't bother to question why a maid would bother confronting a knight. Instead, he sat there quietly, letting her continue to treat his hand.

After meeting with Candy's Mother, the queen, Candy had gone to her room with Alice. After cleaning up, they walked together to meet Lyra, to clarify a few points and maybe prepare for the night and the next day.

Boy tomorrow would be a long day...

Once Candy and Alice had walked into the room where Lyra was sitting, Candy greeted Lyra, "Hello, Lyra!" she was wearing more comfortable clothing, having intended to not make this last meeting of the day too formal.

Candy wasn't particularly good with details, though, and was really tired during their meeting with her mother, and so really everything hadn't processed well for her. She wouldn't show it of course, and intended on taking to this conversation for information for herself, yet pretending she already knew what was going on.

Lyra placed down the book she was skimming through. These humans had such odd tastes in literature. These stories of poor homely women going into the arms of of big strong knights always left a bad taste in her mouth. Probably from how cheesy they were. She only picked it up to take her mind off what the Queen had discussed anyway.

Why did she so easily agree to return to deragnia territory and escort that fool of a maid? She must have bumped her head harder from those two falls than she thought. She wasn't looking forward to meeting her childhood friend again. It has been a year since she had last seen her and she honestly didn't know how to explain her absence.

It was then that the princess came in, Lyra quickly stood and smiled to greet her, "Hello princess Candy, what brings you here?"

Alice entered the room shortly after her princess, standing next to the door attentively, acting as a guard, as well as also wanting to discuss what they had decided on earlier further. She did not regret volunteering for the trip to Derengia, but she was.. displeased.. to say the least about the elf coming along. Firstly, they had not gotten off on the right foot.. so journeying with her would be awkward to say the least. There was also the fact that she could travel faster on her own, and also that she did not want to put foreign royalty in danger.

But in the end, she wasn't given much choice in the matter, so it was pointless to complain about in any further. As she stood to the side, Alice pulled a piece of paper out of her apron pocket, looking it over. She had written down gear and supplies they would need during the journey, as it would take a least a day to make it to the Derengian border.

She had a sinking feeling of dread about the whole trip. Hopefully she'd be wrong and everything would turn out fine.. but she would stay on her guard just in case.

----------

Natalie blushed at the formality, admittedly unused to it. Sophia smirked at the exchange, before going over and looking at some fabrics. She shopped here for things to make dolls all the time, so she knew her way around just fine.

"Is there anything in particular you're looking for?" Natalie shook off her embarrassment, looking eager to assist her new customer. Maybe she'd get a new regular.

"I was hoping we could discuss a little further on what we discussed with my mother," Candy gestured to the seat, "Don't feel the need to stand on any kind of ceremony, you may sit and relax," Candy moved to sit in a seat on the opposite side of the table from Lyra, so that they could sit and face each other.

"Alice, you may sit as well, please," Candy, while she enjoyed certain aspects of being a princess, for this meeting she wanted things to be easy going.

---------

Jack was a happy man. That mage bought ALL his potions! Hell yes!

"Alright! With this money in hand, I can finally get away from that bar for a while... but where to go next? ...Actually, where am I? This castle sure is big," as he walked the hallways unsure of where he was exactly, he overheard a conversation, "Oh? Is that the princess' voice?" he thought to himself. This should be good, no? He stood with his back to the wall so as to make it look like he was just relaxing, as he listend in to the conversation.

"Can't ya tell?" Makoto asked with a small grin, ruffling her tails. "Or don't ya get foxes 'round here? Kind of a shame if ya don't, because we're awesome."

Makoto walked on in silence for a moment, before continuing, "Oh, when ya can see better, I'll show you my animal form. I look a lot cuter, if you can believe it!"

"Oh, alright," Lyra complied, taking the seat across from Candy. Now that she was getting a good look at the princess without bothersome comments from maids or politics in the way, she had to admit that the girl was really pretty. She felt somewhat captivated by it. But no, this wasn't the time to think about that. The princess had things to discuss with her, "So where should we start first in our discussion?"

Alice seemed to hesitate for a moment, then allowed herself to relax a bit, going over and taking a seat as well. They were deep within the castle anyway.. so at least she could take solace in that very few attacks could take her from surprise in here, as any guards would know first and then alert the castle as a whole. Alice looked significantly more feminine when she was calm, sitting cross-legged with her hands resting on her lap.

It was a little weird for her, but she could deal with it. As the two royals began to determine what they would discuss, Alice let her mind wander a bit, thinking back on Milano and her brother. By now, he probably knew of both Gawain's actions and her own retaliation. At least he would know his sister wasn't alone here, even if he most likely didn't particularly like her butting in on their affairs.

Hopefully his wounds had gotten taken care of, either with the medicine or something else if it wasn't enough. It would be a shame if the cuts ruined his 'handsome' face. that thought made her remember something Gawain had said to her about 'ruining her pretty face', and she shivered inwardly.

It would be a lot better if she just focused on the conversation instead.

Candy sighed. She smiled knowing that they were both ok with things being more comfortable. She sat down across from Lyra and kept her legs together, straightening out her clothing for a moment.

Then she was asked what to talk about. Well, lets see how much she DID remember? Alice was going to go on a trip to Derangia, and Lyra was going, right? Ok, so she remembered that much- oh hey wait a second.

"Well," She began, "It's about this trip my mother asked you and Alice to go on. I'm... wondering what you intend to do when you both get there,"

"Well, I guess I'll try and get an audience with the Queen," Lyra answered, scratching her cheek slightly, "We're friends so I think she'll allow it... hopefully...."

The elf didn't have alot of confidence in this. She wouldn't be surprised at all if her old friends hated her guts for never saying good bye. It would be pure luck if she was even allowed back into Derangia borders. Let alone anywhere near the castle. Then again, these were all just her assumptions. She didn't really know what the Queen would do or how she felt about Lyra's leaving.

"You're friends with the queen?" Candy asked, a little surprised, "Well that's very convenient!" Candy was fairly relieved. But, she was still worried about other things.

"So, do you think you can convince her to call off the war before it starts?" Candy didn't really understand war, but she could see nothing to be gained by war, whoever was responsible.

"Well, I can't make guarantees," Lyra said making sure nobody got their hopes too high up. She didn't even know if the queen still liked her after all. What she did was an admittedly dicky move, she should have at least said good bye, "But I can at least try and talk to here."

"Would it help if I came? I could show how willing I am to help," Candy's smile definitely showed how naive she was.

She could help, surely! A princess visiting could mean a whole lot more than any lesser representative, even if it wasn't traditionally what was done.

Alice nearly spat out an answer, and while she was able to hold that back, her body still went taut as a bow at the princesses' suggestion. Allow her to go on a trip to a potentially very hostile kingdom? Over her corpse.

"My princess, while this may overstep professional boundaries, you said this in an informal meeting, yes? Then, as your friend, no, you will not be coming with us on this trip. While it will show your willingness to help, if those Derengians turn their backs on us, you will be a prime target. There is already one royal going, and that's already too much of a risk."

Alice looked over at Lyra, unsure how she would take the suggestion, but hopeful that the elf would agree with her, despite the rocky start to the acquaintanceship.

Lyra looked between the maid and the princess, slightly conflicted. It would be nice to have her as company instead of being alone with that brutish maid, then again she knew the dangers involved, though she still trusted her friend not to kill them on sight. Decisions, decisions... well... considering the Queen's attitude whenever Lyra wanted to play with other little girls their own age, it might not be the best idea to bring anyone with her. But the maid at least was required to come for whatever odd reason, "I'm inclined to agree Princess Candy, as much as I would love your company... it may be in our best interest if you stay here."

It was then that an idea came to her, "Well if you're worried about us, then maybe we can bring another arm or two. Aragnia has warriors to spare I assume?"

"Well..." that wasn't at all what Candy had thought about. Actually, and she'd never admit this, it hadn't occurred to her that things would be dangerous for her to go.

"Sure, I'll get a mercenary who will help you on your way, since I don't think I'd be allowed to send any knights," she may not be very quick to figure things out, but she knows that a knight sent would be met with hostility and even possibly seen as an act of war. She'd been taught politics her whole life after all.

Alice looked visibly relieved. She had been afraid that Lyra would disagree for a moment there, but it looked like she did have a good head on her shoulders, despite her.. disagreeable attitude. "I'm sorry, my princess, as I would enjoy your company as well, but your safety is first in my priorities."

So now she wanted to send a mercenary with them. Well, at least they'd be less threatening then, say, an armored guard. And it would be good to have an extra blade, just in case they had to flee or fight.

"I don't have any issues with that, as long as you choose someone who.. may not appear overly threatening. As much as I want to.. prepare for the worst, I also want to hope for the best." Which meant they had to at least seem like they were playing nice, looking defended enough to be respected, but not too threatening to cause any sudden hostility.

Well, that was easier than expected. She'd figure the princess was the type to put up more of a fight. Well, in any case, hopefully whoever was coming would be better company than the maid. She dreaded this mission a little less with this thought in mind.

"If that's settled," Lyra continued, moving the conversation along, "Is there anything else we need to discuss? Like what we should do on the off chance my negotiations fail?"

"We're going to the castle to see the queen," said Polly. "Then I guess we'll head back to my quarters and figure out what to do with you,"

Lily, who had once again entered the room unnoticed, decided to take that moment to chime in.

"So, when are we leaving?" she asked. "I mean, I can only presume that I'm going with you since every adventuring party needs comic relief. Not to mention you'll probably want another bodyguard,"

(Sorry, forgot to add Lily into my last post)

Lily's sudden arrival didn't even surprise her anymore. "We'll be leaving soon, I'd guess. As soon as possible."

"As for if the negotiations fail..." Alice leaned back forward in her seat. "We get out of there as fast as we can. One of us has to get back here and alert the queen that our relationship with Derengia has gone hostile." It would be unfortunate if things went that far, but she honestly didn't think people who were willing to team up with the dragons again would hesitate in attacking them if they were indeed their foes now.

"That is why I am coming, as well as the mercenary and now Lily. With all of us together, we can at least make sure you get back Lady Lyra." Alice leaned back again and sighed. "I"m not doubting your fighting abilities if that is what you are thinking I mean. It's already been established you are royalty, so we must keep you safe. So if this ends badly, you run."

Candy frowned. Negotiations wouldn't end this badly, would they?

"Surely they'd let you leave if you're there peacefully, right?" Candy frowned heavily, "More importantly, ALL of you need to get out of there, not just Lyra..." Candy was very worried about the odd implications Alice seemed to be making. It doesn't make sense that they'd attack Lyra, who isn't part of their country, or Alice who's only a maid, or the mercenary since they'd just be a bodyguard. And who would ever attack Lily aside from Alice? Not that she ever seemed to mean it, but that only strengthened her view.

"I'm sure you'll all make it just fine," Candy added.

"Princess Candy is right, you shouldn't be risking your life for me, especially since I am the least likely one to get harmed," Yes, deep down Lyra knew her old friend wouldn't hurt her, no matter how she had wronged her by leaving without a word. Though, the same could not be said for the maid, the mercenary, or the Jester. Though there were ways of talking those three out of harm's way. Even if she'd prefer not use her powers on the Derengian Queen. "However, if you really fear for my safety, we should stop by my clan's keep. They live relatively close to the Deregnian Castle. If anyone can keep me and the rest of you safe, it would be them. But we must be sure they are prepared first."

Alice frowned for a moment, looking slightly irked, before letting out a sigh. "It's not as if I plan to throw myself upon the first blade we see." She only wanted to keep the elf out of harm's way for the sake of her kingdom, regardless, and less for.. well.. actually keeping the elf safe, as cold as that sounded. For the safety of the princess and her people, she'd be willing to do just about anything. "I am fully capable of keeping myself safe, as well as protecting others."

Plus, there was Lily coming along, and she knew her friend would have her back. As odd as she was, she knew she was a decent fighter when given a couple of knives. Plus whatever mercenary they got was bound to have some sort of useful skills.

"I don't know if we'll need a whole company backing us, but it would ease my mind if we at least let them know of our plans before we go rushing into a potentially hostile area with elven royalty in tow." Perhaps she was a bit over-paranoid, but she'd rather make all the preparations they possibly could.

Still, she could see all this talk was unnerving her princess, and she turned to look at her, smiling softly. "I'm sorry I made you uneasy. We will all be fine, this I swear."

Candy disagreed with the idea of taking a number of soldiers of any kind. To begin with, they couldn't spare soldiers from their castle, so that hadn't been an option to begin with. But it had been her to suggest that bringing any soldiers would only make things go badly anyway, which took the idea off the table. Elven soldiers were supposedly stealthier, though, but even that wasn't the best idea in Candy's mind...

Finally Alice managed to say what she really wanted to hear. Alice promising they'll be fine is what made the whole thing OK... sort of, at least. Her expression softened and she looked at Alice, "Alright... I trust you," Candy said, before standing up.

"You two should probably discuss what you'll need for travel, I'm going to head to bed now. Goodnight to the both of you," Candy curtseyed before heading to the door.

Jack was already on his way away from the door, walking along like he was just passing by without having noticed anything. Candy, of course, wouldn't think anything of it.