"[color=FFB6C1][b]She's possessed father! I swear it. You should listen to her when she speaks to no one and stares at nothing.[/b][/color]" The eldest Princess of Adlan pleaded with her father, interrupting him in his study. "[color=FFB6C1][b]It's... well, it's frightening![/b][/color]" Her voice raised then and her father shushed her, he had asked her to keep her voice down only a few minutes ago when she entered the room and started speaking obscenities about the girl who had been taking care of his daughter for over six years. Eavesdropping around the corner, Ariella leaned in as close as she possibly could to the door which had not been fully closed. "[color=FFB6C1][b]Fine. If not possessed, she is certainly unwell. She was reduced to tears just the other night, saying her head felt as if someone was [i]hammering a nail into it[/i]! That's not normal father, even you cannot say it is.[/b][/color]" The king made an exaggerated sigh, "[color=778899][b]Sarina, dear, if it will make you feel at ease then I will send her to be evaluated by the priests. Okay? First thing in the morning, I'll have a carriage waiting for her.[/b][/color]" Horrified, Ariella leaned away from the door and felt her heart drop into her stomach. It was true she was unwell, the Princess had spoken honestly, but she couldn't see the priests. Even Ariella had begun to believe she had been possessed by some demon in the night. The priests would surely cast her out if they didn't decide to kill her first. Before Ariella could hear anything else, she took off running down the hall towards the servants quarters. Filled with panic, Ariella hastily grabbed a knapsack and rushed to her small room to grab anything of importance. A few changes of clothes, snacks she had stashed into a nightstand, what little coin she had left, and the purple hooded cloak and gold set ring that had been left behind by her parents. [i]CAAWWW[/i] Ariella jumped and nearly screamed when a raven appeared outside her window. She stared at it for a second, feeling uneasy about the way it stared back at her. Slowly, she turned to leave the room, hoping to forget that odd experience. [i]CAAW![/i] It was squawking at her again, and this time it began to tap the window glass with its beak. She turned back to look at the raven, now noticing that it clutched a small scroll in one of its talons. "[i]A message?[/i]" She thought, her heart racing as she opened up the window for the persistent bird. The large raven immediately dropped the scroll inside the window and then flew off into the night. As Ariella finished reading the message, her heart raced faster. Was this a trick? A ploy to get her alone in the middle nowhere? A test of her sanity? She bit her lower lip in thought, weighing her options. Unfortunately she didn't have enough time to think things through - she suddenly heard voices and footsteps coming down the stairs. Surely it was the other servants retiring for the night, but if Ariella wanted to leave the kingdom she needed to think fast. Being seen by one of the other servants with all of her belongings in a knapsack wouldn't do well in her favor. Surprisingly to herself, she made the snap decision that she would meet whoever wrote this letter at the tavern. Quickly, Ariella closed her bedroom door, [url=https://i.imgur.com/T6uyhzm.jpg]donned the purple cloak[/url], and put the scroll into her knapsack. With a deep breath for courage, she took one last look around her room and then wiggled herself out of her bedroom window. [hr] [h1][center]May 15th[/center][/h1] [center][hider=The Silver Crow Tavern][img]https://i.imgur.com/3gn3v22.jpg[/img][img]https://i.imgur.com/9aLKtes.jpg[/img][/hider][/center] It had only taken Ariella about a week to arrive at the tavern, but with no where else to go, she decided to take up a room there until it was time to meet her mysterious letter writer. Luckily she had thought to take her coin with her when she left the kingdom, but by the fifteenth of May she would certainly be broke. She could only hope this would be worth it and this person could make all her problems go away. Then again, anything was better than being "evaluated" by priests. To pass the time Ariella made friends with the tavern owner and workers. She even offered to help out with their daily chores every so often in exchange for a smaller room fee for the night. They got along well enough, but there was no hiding that they thought her an odd girl. She was still seeing things, just as she did in Adlan. The ghostly forms of those who have died would appear to her, sometimes speak to her. It was unnerving to her and to those around her who witnessed her strange behavior. She still had excruciating migraines, but the nice thing about staying in the tavern was that she could retreat to her room to be alone and unbothered by the silly demands of a Princess. "[i]It's all going to end today.[/i]" She thought, reassuring herself. It was finally May 15th, which filled her with both excitement and anxiety. Tonight was a busy night for the tavern, busier than most days she had been here, so she had been helping out by serving drinks behind the bar. Everything had been going fine, but then things got worse when a group of ruffians arrived and began shouting about the God Dionysus, pouring their drinks straight onto the tavern floor. It was typical, according the tavern owner, but it certainly put Ariella on edge. She felt bad for the girls who would be cleaning it up later tonight. Her concentration on the group broke as a burly man entered the tavern and sat down at the bar, asking for a drink. As fast as her hands could move, she made the drink and handed it to him. "[color=1E90FF][b]Bottoms up.[/b][/color]" She offered him a faint smile as he took the drink, though he seemed distracted by his own thoughts. Her eyes followed his which seemed to scan the tavern. Was he looking for her? Was he the letter writer? She was too afraid to ask. Before Ariella could turn her gaze back onto the man, her eyes locked onto a dark haired woman who entered the tavern alone. Ariella's blue eyes followed her, just as many of the patrons who she walked past. The woman was strikingly beautiful and walking in alone made her sorely out of place. Women didn't normally travel alone in these parts, especially so close to Haventis, unless they were mercenaries or ladies of the night and had someone to meet. "[i]An escort, perhaps?[/i]" Ariella thought, wondering if the girl would strip her cloak and make her way onto the lap of some man who had hired her for the night. Surprisingly she took a seat alone in a dark corner of the tavern. Feeling a slight ping of worry for the woman, Ariella left her place behind the bar and approached the woman with a bright smile. "[color=1E90FF][b]Good evening miss. Can I get you anything to eat or drink?[/b][/color]" She felt the obligation to befriend this woman, not wanting her to be taken advantage of by any of the ruffians across the room. It was certainly odd for a woman to be here alone, especially in the middle of the night, but Ariella wanted to make sure she at least didn't feel alone. [@Kitty]