"Wake up you lazy good for nothing!"  Fleur awoke to the sound of the inkeeper's raucous and decidedly un-musical voice protesting her sleep.

[color=ed1c24]"What could possible be worth getting up this early for?  Is there a princess that needs saving?  A dragon that needs slaying? Are my pants on fire?"[/color]  Fleur rolled over slowly,  her head pounding from last night's libations.

"Well the damn castle's under attack!  So maybe on the princess thing,  don't be rediculous on the dragon bit,  and if you don't get up I'll light your damn pants on fire!"

Now that got her attention.  Rousing she quickly got dressed and fitted into her armor,  grabbing Hector from the corner she pause briefly to adjust her hair in the mirror,  you never knew right?  [color=ed1c24]"If you'd opened with that you decrepit old man we wouldn't be arguing right now."[/color]

"You've been here for weeks without doing a thing!"  He protested.  "When I hired you to save my grand-daughter I didn't think you'd be a lazy scoundrel,  filling her head with stories of glory."

[color=ed1c24]"What am I supposed to fill her head with!?  All I've got are stories of glory and...other things that I'm sure you'd protest even more!"[/color]  She made her way to the door of the inn with the old man in tow.  [color=ed1c24]"You're the one that agreed to free room and board as long as I liked as payment, so don't come crying to me now, besides I broke up several fights didn't I?"[/color]

She bid the man farewell,  with a rude gesture that will remain unnamed,  and headed towards the caste proper.  She saw guardsmen running about without any real direction.  She surmised quickly that it wasn't a full assault,  instead it was likely an intruder alarm.  Nasty things about nowadays and all,  so that didn't fill her with as much relief as you might imagine.

[color=ed1c24]"What's going on?"[/color]  She pulled aside one of the guardsmen she recognized from one job or another.  [color=ed1c24]"Where can I help?"[/color]  

"You missed the ceremony."  He responded,  he looked a little in shock,  understandable considering he was being attacked in what should have been one of the safest places in history.  "Where were you?"

[color=ed1c24]"You know what I think of ceremonies,  but I doubt they'd sound the alarm for deficit of my charming presence.  Get your head together boy and tell me what I need to know!"[/color]

The joke seemed to calm him,  Fleur had found that joking sometimes shakes a person from the horrors around them,  other times it pissed people off that one could make jokes a such inappropriate times.  It was hit or miss at best,  but joking had the fact that it was fun going for it, so there you go.  

"I'm not sure,  something about a man?"  His eyes lit up as he remembered something.  "Find Sir Lucius,  he's surely better informed,  he was in the throne room."

[color=ed1c24]"There we go boy!  Now try not to die ok?"[/color]  With that Fleur set off in search of Lucius.

[@Lord Zee]