DrowsyPangolin

When the Flames Die

Jezin chuckled when Thomas mentioned that he had an off day. "I suppose everyone needs a break every now and then. You'll get to enjoy the feast, at least." When asked about Sophia, Jezin replied quickly and without hesitation. "Left side, third row, middle." He pointed directly towards the princess' current location. It was obvious he'd been keeping track of her the entire time, even if he'd seemed distracted. She was still sitting next to the young man she'd met at the feast, and it seemed one of her servants had joined her. A faint look of distaste crossed the bodyguard's face. Eva. She had been a servant of the royal family for a few years now, but he still didn't trust a Tauran. She'd never given him the slightest reason to question her motivations, but still, some wounds didn't fade easily.

When the Flames Die

Jezin smiled when the knight made his way over to him. "Yeah, let's hope not." He looked around the stands. He could hear murmuring, even where he stood, about drawing the tournament out for another day. The mention of the feast reminded him of Lexine's warning. His fist clenched by his side. Surely no one would try anything... He shook the thought, looking up towards Thomas. "Yes, I imagine the princess will want to attend, she's been trying to deliver her mother's gift since we got here." Jezin forced a laugh. "I imagine you and the rest of the Order of the Thistle will be in attendance?" He threw a glance back to the spear he had left leaning against the post behind him.

When the Flames Die

Sophia stood up and clapped when Thomas was declared the winner, but Gareth was right, it was odd for them to call the fight, even if it had drug on for some time. Still, she was glad the knight had avoided serious injury. "Yes, he did. But you're right, I don't recall them mentioning a time limit... oh well." She looked across the field towards Thomas and smiled. Her yellow eyes drifted over the fairgrounds until she found Jezin. She still worried he'd get hurt. The thought then hit her. What if he had to fight Sir Thomas? Her heart sank at the thought. She was shaken from her train of thought by a hand on her shoulder. "My lady, I've been looking for you." She turned to see a woman with grey hair and bright orange eyes; one of her servants. "Oh, Eva, what's wrong?" "Nothing, nothing milady. Just thought you might like some food." The woman smiled and held out a loaf of bread. Sophia took the bread with a smile. "Hey Gareth, are you hungry?"

Jezin had started to speak, but before he could Lexine had walked into the crowd nearby. Something was different about her. Exactly what that was wasn't plainly obvious yet. The fight had drug on for a while, but Thomas had been declared the winner. He was impressed by the man's skill, though a bit disappointed that the match had been called off prematurely. Still, he understood why it had. If they took too long it'd be nightfall before long. He gave the knight a congratulatory nod.

When the Flames Die

Hey Larfleeze, if we're going to skip Sightles' and Quad's fight I think that means we're up next.

When the Flames Die

Jezin's face curled into a frown as Lexine commented about the danger to the court, and by association Sophia, was currently facing. He brushed his hair from his eyes, wondering for a moment just what kind of threat lay in waiting. Politics were not his forte, but if they placed the princess in danger he'd need to make an effort to pay more attention. The bodyguard placed one hand on the hilt of his sword. He quietly regretted his registration in the tournament. If he was wounded he'd be far less capable of doing what he actually was here to do. He shook his head. It was too late to back out, so he'd have to make an effort to be careful in the upcoming matches. He looked over at Lexine, a certain seriousness in his eyes. "If anything happens, Sophia is my first priority, but if I can do anything mutually beneficial to our goals... I will." He looked over the stands, now more distrusting of the faces that dotted them than he had been before.

When the Flames Die

Jezin immediately noticed Lexine's nervousness when he asked the question. He listened when she gave up what information she could, but quietly wondered what exactly was keeping her from telling more. He understood her reasoning, though. Sometimes one's obligations had to be kept a secret for the sake of the objective. Regardless, whatever it was she was trying to do seemed to be in the best interest of someone, if not the population at large. The bodyguard nodded, pondering her reply. "I understand what you mean. I wouldn't have you compromise your mission for my sake." He pulled his helmet off, brushing the sweaty hair off of his face. The sunlight had been beating down fairly hard against his brightly polished armor. Though Lyok had been quite hot, it was also significantly more arid than Keilaudrin. He wasn't used to sweating so much. The bodyguard mentally checked off what he had learned about the woman. She was foreign, she was trying to follow someone, allegedly for their own good, and she was in the country under questionable circumstances. Still, she had a great many secrets to keep. "I imagine this man you're retaining is the Karl Leid you mentioned earlier?" He had put two and two together rather quickly, but hoped to learn a bit more about the nature of the woman's business here, if not anything more specific.

Sophia nodded when Gareth made his observation about the bird. "That's right, I wonder what it could be?" She watched as the combatants fought below them, hoping the bird wasn't a sign of something to come. The princess glanced over to Gareth, who seemed to have his eyes locked on Thomas. She could see the concern for the man in his eyes, and hoped somehow he could come out victorious. She noticed that the knight had removed his helm. Maybe her observation about the armor was true. It seemed to be more of a hindrance than anything. She folded her hands in her lap. "He doesn't seem very used to that heavy suit of armor." She thought Gareth had probably noticed the detail as well.

When the Flames Die

Jezin remained blank-faced, looking briefly towards the princess across the field. "Maybe so. I'm glad she's able to." He looked over to the woman beside him. Despite her steady stream of questions, he knew very little about her. He lifted himself up from his leaning position against the post and leaned his spear against it. "Miss..." He tried to remember the name she had said to Thomas as he left. Lexine... Tristan, that was it. "Well Miss Tristan, you seem to have learned a bit about me. Why don't you tell me about yourself?" He was curious as to what the woman's story was. All he knew was that she came from somewhere up north and had traveled a bit. Surely she had a story or two to tell.

When the Flames Die

Jezin frowned when Lezine spoke about the continent's issues. It made sense, he supposed. People were never content with what they had. He seemed a bit confused when the woman began laughing. He didn't fully understand what she meant by the difference between them. He had always been prideful, as long as he could remember, so the thought of a person having no pride was baffling to the bodyguard. He followed her eyes to the stands when she asked her next question. There she was, the princess he had sworn to protect. He thought over the question. Lexine was right, from an outside perspective the fact that they had no backup of any kind seemed unnecessarily dangerous. His eyes drifted to the ground as he thought. Finally, he spoke, his voice somber. "No, that's not pride. It may have been at first, when I joined the Palace Guard, but my motivations... changed." He scratched his chin. "I always fought for myself, for my pride, but this is different." He took a deep breath. "When I was in the Palace Guard, there was an assassination attempt. We were outnumbered, but still I fought. I didn't know why. I had no idea why I was fighting so hard for a family I barely even knew. I killed all but one of the assassins, but he broke through the door. He ran towards Sophia, but I managed to stop him just before I reached her." His face was blank. "I looked up, beaten and bleeding, and saw her there. That's when I knew. Here she was, a young girl who'd never asked for any of this, terrified and crying. If I hadn't been there she'd have died, through no fault of her own." His eyes glanced up to Lexine. "After that I knew what I had to do. I would be her shield. I would protect her to the farthest extent of my ability, even if that means I have to die for her. Regardless of my mission, she will stay safe."

Sophia looked over to the hand on her shoulder before smiling sweetly, the sunlight glistening on her yellow eyes. "Thank you, Gareth." It seemed they both had a lot of worries. She appreciated Gareth's comfort. The nervousness faded. She saw that Gareth had noticed the bird circling above them. The princess watched it carefully. "I wonder what it's doing?" The fight had started. Thomas seemed to be having difficulties with his heavy armor. Sophia couldn't help but notice that the man seemed uncomfortable in the bulky suit, perhaps he wasn't accustomed to it?

When the Flames Die

Sophia looked up into the clouds again. "Oh, nothing in particular." The statement wasn't true. There were a million things going through her mind, but none of them would be particularly interesting to talk about. She worried for Jezin, she wondered how the feast later would go, she wondered if she would make a good impression on King Bard. A tinge of nervousness crept into her stomach as she thought about meeting the monarch. It wasn't her first time meeting a foreign leader, but usually she traveled with one of her sisters or a group of diplomats. She felt the king's entire perception of Lyok now rested with her. She desperately hoped she wouldn't be a disappointment. She continued watching the sky, noticing a hawk circling through the clouds. She glanced over towards Gareth, wondering if he had the same definition of 'nothing'. "Dreams sometimes become realities." She didn't think when she said the words, they just seemed to naturally flow from her.

"Ah." Jezin said. He had very little knowledge of Estovet's geography, so asking her exactly where she came from would be pointless. Wherever her home was, the woman sounded as though she was well-versed in the world, and likely had seen some interesting things in her travels. Lexine mentioned that Keilaudrin normally was a far less peaceful place than it currently appeared. The bodyguard remembered Thomas' words about the kingdom. It was the second time someone had mentioned turmoil within the country. In the back of his mind, this fact made him nervous. "Yes, I've heard things haven't been going so well as of late... why exactly is that?" Surely they were safe as guests of the king? He was becoming less and less sure of Keilaudrin's stability, but at least for the moment the place seemed to be holding up alright. After a pause, Lexine asked him why he fought in tournaments. It wasn't the money. He'd never been particularly poor. Even before his career with the military his family had accumulated a fair share of wealth. He thought about the question for a few moments. "Really... it's pride I suppose. What good is skill if a man cannot prove it?" He thought about his words. Pride had been the reason he'd started fighting in the first place.

When the Flames Die

A warm breeze blew through the stands. Sophia's long dark hair fluttered about, the single white streak shining like lightning against a night sky. It was a nice day, briefly the princess wondered why anyone would want to fight when the weather was so nice, but she decided such things weren't for her to understand. She noticed Gareth seemed to have gotten lost within his own thoughts for a moment. She sat quietly for a few seconds, watching the young man with curiosity. She straightened the circlet that sat on her head and smiled. "Thinking about something?" She asked, curious as to what was on the half-elf's mind.