[IC] An Unsettled Debt (LighttheDark and Pascal)

[Pascal]

The ship was called the Ocean’s Whore. It wasn’t a particularly beautiful name, but it wasn’t a particularly beautiful ship either. The massive vessel had seen some good days, but most had not been so kind to her, largely due to the black flag that waved high with the wind…or rather, the captain who had adorned the ship with such a flag in the first place. It was late afternoon, and had been a difficult trip for Kamron, but he had made it to the ship, and spoke to the captain, as he had been instructed. The arrangements were settled. He had a map with the position marked where the ship would be waiting. Once he had his cargo, he would take a skiff from the docks to the ship. They would provide him transport, no questions asked. It was the best deal he could get, and though the price was steep, it was necessary.

The once-small-time thief left the pier, and went back to the horse he had commandeered from a man too drunk to notice a few days before. He would ride to the castle, get the princess, and then bring her to the group who had tried to destroy his life. The Midnight Society, usually just called the Society, demanded the girl, and while Kamron would have never taken a job this big, he was out of options. They had some sort of magic, or religious text, he didn’t know. In any case, he was sick, and he was going to get worse until he delivered the girl. He had been stupid enough to wait a few days already, doubting that it was real. But already his hair was beginning to thin, and this think black vine was beginning to appear on the skin of his chest, spiraling out slowly, every day stretching further across his body. Soon, he would truly look like a monster.

The man made his way to the castle, and paid off a servant for information on when the princess would be coming and going. Ideally, he could catch her outside of the castle, because going inside of the place and getting back out again would be incredibly difficult. However, if there was no information provided that helped him to catch her outside and largely unguarded, then he would simply have to slip in as a servant and try his luck at that. Kamron didn’t know much at all about the princess. He knew that there was a younger brother, heir to the throne, and that she was around marrying age. He was pretty sure he would recognize her by her clothing, but he knew also that she was fair skinned and blonde...though that was about it.

[Light the Dark]

The princess Elionwy turned to the maidservant that was currently twitching with boredom beside her. "You can go back to the palace, you know." Elionwy commented, as she picked up another book to flip through. The advantage of having a younger brother now - the only advantage - was that her parents no longer restricted her to the palace. She couldn't come and go as she pleased, but she could go out now, provided she was only out for a few hours. Today, she had decided to spend them in the bookshop. Which this particular maidservant apparently found boring.

"Oh, no, I couldn't Milady." The girl said with a curtsy. Elionwy resisted the urge to shake her head. "You must have an escort."

"What sort of escort is one lone maid?" The princess asked. "Really, if I was in danger, do you not think I would have more guards?" The maid shook her head, indicating her refusal to do as the princess wanted. The blonde-haired woman held back a sigh, and returned to the books, trying to ignore her maid's fidgeting. Sadly she couldn't do so for long, and she snapped the book she was flipping through shut. "This one as well." She told the shop keeper. "I'll take this one with me, and the rest you may deliver to the palace." She nodded to the maid, who hastily dug out a small purse of gold coins, and handed it over to the shop keeper. "You will receive payment for delivery once you get to the palace." Elionwy turned on her heel as the man bowed, and left the shop, the maid following behind her.

She barely even got looks anymore, walking through the streets of the city. The people seemed used to her now - though they still bowed and curtsied, it was almost automatic as they went about their day. It had started to rain as they were in the shop, so even fewer people were out on the streets, which suited the princess just fine. Her shoes were not made for this type of weather at all - delicate heeled slippers, made of satin and lace. Elionwy lifted her blue silk skirt up a bit as she stepped carefully over a puddle, making sure to tread lightly. Her eyes flickered to a less populated side street. It would cut their time to the palace in half... which meant less time in the rain. "Let's go this way." She told her maid, and quickly started off on the different path.

[Pascal]

His information was short and to the point. The princess was with only a single hand-maiden, and was frequently in town on her town, in and out of local shops. It was like someone was purposefully making this easy on him. Either that, or he was being set-up in a bigger way than he could have possibly predicted. Kamron watched from the shadows as the princess left the shops. It was raining, which was another blessing on the thief’s plight. There would be very few people out and about. He couldn’t hear the conversation between the princess and the maid, but he saw the princess gesture towards a less occupied path, and he waited until they started down it to move up quickly behind. The sound of the rain helped to drown out the sound that he had made catching up to them, though he was still quite light on his feet. His boots, unlike the Princesses, was made for walking through all types of terrain. He caught up to them quickly, and spent a few moments debating how to take care of the maid before he proceeded.

When the thief acted, it was very quick. He rushed up behind the pair and grabbed the hand maiden, pulling her arm behind her back and pushing her up against the wall. He pulled out a small blade and pressed it gently against the woman’s back, and then turned to the princess. “If you scream, call out, or do anything sudden, I will kill your hand-maiden. Nod if you understand, but do not speak.” He directed, pulling on the woman’s arm slightly to make her call out, and hopefully get the princess to agree more quickly.

[Light the Dark]

Elionwy's scream died on her lips. She stepped back away from him one step, her foot splashing into a puddle. She barely noticed the cold water seeping into her shoe and stocking. The princess felt cold all over. Her eyes flickered from the man, to his knife, to her maid, and then back again. Elionwy swallowed, her hands tightening around her book. She didn't dare move, for she could not put her maid at risk.

It was her maid that broke the spell, the woman struggling a bit to free her mouth and yell, "Don't stand there! Run, princess! Guards! Guards!" Her maid was all but dead now, as far as Elionwy could guess. The second the maid had struggled, let alone yelled, it had been over for the woman. So Elionwy moving would not kill her maid.

Elionwy dropped her book, hiked up her skirts and ran. She ran blindly, not knowing which direction she was going but simply away - away from the man and his knife. Her feet led her away from the palace, Elionwy not noticing she was going farther and father away from anything close to safety. The rain picked up its pace as she ran, no longer a drizzle but a downpour. Her breath came in fast pants, her sight blinded by the rain. She had lost one shoe in her run, and not thinking enough to remove the other, ran on with one stockinged foot and one shod. It slowed her down, and as she dashed down a side ally, Elionwy tripped, sprawling on the uneven cobblestones, her hands and arms getting scraped in the fall. Her blonde hair had fallen out of its style, and she was soaked to the bone.

[Pascal]

The maid was the one to act first, yelling for the Princess to run. Kamron groaned—he should have realized that this wasn’t going to be easy. He hit the woman in the head, hoping only to knock her out, and then let fall to the ground as the Princess began to run. He couldn’t waste time checking to see if the nurse had actually fallen unconscious, or was, in fact, still living. No, his task was to fetch the Princess. She had a bit of a head-start, but he was able to keep up with her easily, and soon close the distance between them. Fortunately, she seemed to run the exact opposite way as help had been, and so they were let utterly alone. The woman tripped and fell to the ground as the rain continued to pour down.

Seeing her on the ground, he immediately closed the distance, and knelt down over her, pinning her to the ground. “You couldn’t just go along with things… could you?” He asked. “See… I really didn’t want to have to hurt you. I am sorry for what I am about to do.” He said, sighing before he brought his hand back and then punched her in the face. Fortunately, she would fall unconscious after only a single blow. He lifted up her body, surprised by the weight before realizing that her clothing was the cause. It was waterlogged, and she hadn’t even been wearing a proper cloak. He carried her with minimal difficulty towards the port, but he knew he wouldn’t get out of the alleys without someone noticing his catch. He changed course and brought her to a shop he knew, one which had a rather dubious back room, and broke into before he was spotted.

He placed the princess down by the counter, and then dealt with the owner, who came running down the stairs. He pushed a bundle of money into the man’s hand, and told him not to come downstairs until the morning. The owner looked at the money, and then nodded quickly before turning to go back upstairs, refusing to see or hear anything that was about to happen. Kamron honestly hoped that the princess would come to quickly, as he wanted to get moving once more. He grabbed some clothing that was good for traveling, including a pair of boots that were probably too big, and dropped them in front of her. If she wasn’t away, he would nudge her awake with his foot. “Hey, you need to put these on.” He unconscious and redress you myself.” He added, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

[Light the Dark]

She came to on a dirty floor, her head pounding, her soaked clothing (and her fear) causing her to shiver. There was a voice talking... Elionwy mind was all fuzzy, and she only heard the last part of what he said. "...redress you myself." She hugged herself, as if to hold her clothing onto her. "You...you will do no such thing." Elionwy tried to sound indignant, but all her voice sounded was weak. "I am not some common whore you can dress-up as you would a doll!" There, that was a little better. She glared up at the man the best she could. "I don't know who you are, but you will release me at once." She demanded. Once she was free, she would seek justice for the maid he had killed. Slowly, she forced herself to stand. Her head was swimming, and she felt like she might faint. Still, she forced herself to stand tall. "Had you wanted me dead, you would have killed me already. What is your purpose? Who sent you?"

It was taking all her effort to stand tall, though the way she shivered and the way her legs were wobbling showed more about her state then she would have liked. Her face, at least, was emotionless. Or so she hoped. She took a small step towards the man, her hand going to her side, where she carried a small dagger in her purse. It was not much more than a pocket knife, but it was all she had. Elionwy licked her lips. "Again. I command you to release me."

[Pascal]

Kamron should have known that this wouldn’t have been easy. Of course she wouldn’t simply put on the clothing and cooperate with what he was demanding. The girl’s voice was weak, and her demands were almost humorous. She said she wasn’t a whore, and yet, with the fancy dress clinging to her from the rain, she didn’t exactly look high-class. He stood with one hand holding a blade, and waited as she then demanded to be released. It was a joke. Even if he did release her, she was going to simply have him beheaded anyway. He wouldn’t have been any better off than if he just told the Society that he wasn’t going to obey their demands.

Her small monologue ended with her asking his purpose, and who sent him, though Kamron wasn’t distracted by her question enough to notice that she was going for the small dagger in her purse. “Looking for this?” He asked, pulling out the tiny blade that he had already removed from her person. Kamron tossed it to the side. “It doesn’t matter why. It matters that you do what I tell you.” He reached out and grabbed one of her wrists, and then twisted it around her back with her free hand. “If you do not change your clothing, I will change it for you.” He stepped forward quickly, pushing her against the wall. He still had a blade, and it was pressed gently against the woman’s back. He was told to bring her back alive, so the Princess did have that point at least. He didn’t want to kill her.

Instead, the man turned the knife a bit, and twisted it so that it began to cut through a bulge in the fabric. He dragged the knife down quickly, cutting her clothing and rendering it largely useless. He released her wrist, and spun her around so her body was facing him. He took the blade and slid it between the fabric and the Princess’ skin. “Don’t move…” He warned, and then slid the blade down, cutting the dress off of her completely. “Now you need to put these on.” He said, gesturing to the clothing he had provided. He stepped back from her, confident that she wouldn’t want to leave wearing that clothing anymore.