Sunflower

Star Crossed (Sunflower and Tsubasa)

Although the two were knights they had very different fighting styles. The knights of Wester were trained in the old ways of fighting, a style that one would only find in that particular Kingdom that held so close to the traditions of the old. It was an elegant and refined style, one that almost could be called dancing. The other knight had a style much like that of barbarians with short blows pushed by sheer force. It was typical of the style taught in Nander. It was sloppy and it left Kalon more than enough room to land hits of his own. Of course the knight of Wester was not immune, no one was, even the best of knights would always get hurt. His injuries were not like the other man's. The man was bleeding heavily from his side and unprotected leg. Unlike Kalon the other man fought with a large axe when his sword was knocked from his hands.

Kalon was pushed back and stumbled, falling onto his back. The other man brought his axe down with such a force that Kalon, who had rolled out of the way, felt a rush of wind. He had no doubt that the stone would bear marks of the man's blow. When he had fallen Kalon's sword had clattered to the loose stone. It was a risk, trying to get to it, that cost Kalon greatly. The other knight had brought down his axe once more, clipping Kalon's fingers. The severed digits were left on the ground as he gripped his sword with his non-dominant hand. It was awkward as he fought against the other man. Kalon's blood was warm and slick as it trickled down his remaining fingers.

A loud yell caught his attention and that of the other knight. Loria was rushing at them foolishly with the rake she carried held high above her head. They were bewildered for a few moments until she brought the rake harshly across the abdomen of the axe wielding knight. The man grunted but the blow did little but anger him. Loria yelped as the man hit the rake out of her hands and advanced on her. His blue-gray eyes were narrowed and he grinned with wicked intent. "What is a pretty...Your a Graceling!" he spat, finally catching the coloring of her eyes. Loria's eyes went to her brother. Kalon clutched his injured hand close to his body as he unsteadily gripped his sword. "Do you know what we do to Gracelings?" he asked, getting closer with his axe held tightly by his side.

She shook her head. Loria had left the Princess within the confines of the small gardening shed and she prayed to the gods that she would be safe there. It was only a matter of time before someone would come and help them. The man laughed. "If they're women we fuc--" his words were cut short by a sword to the back. Blood bubbled from his mouth as he tried to speak. Loria had seen many die in her visions but to see someone die in front of her was something else entirely. She doubled over once her brother withdrew the sword from the man's back. Loria lost what food she held in her stomach.

"The Princess...where is she?" Kalon asked, knowing that his sister was going to be fine.

With a shaky hand she pointed to the open gardening shed. The door was damaged from the man's attempts to enter. Kalon nodded and called out to the Princess. "It is safe, come out now."

"You're hurt, brother." Loria said as she looked at his hand with horror. "We need to get you to a healer right away!" They would not be able to reattach his fingers, there simply was no way to do that and even the graced healers would not even attempt such a thing.

"Let us get the Princess before heading to the healer--the King needs to be warned that they are closer than we thought." Kalon looked at his sister; she was pale and it looked as if she were going to cry. "He needs to know...and your vision...what was it?"

"You were going to die."

Kalon stiffened but he said nothing.

Their Younger Years (Magic&Sunflower)

Somewhere new...Fili found himself to be giddy; the idea of venturing somewhere that was unknown to his self and his brother was exciting. He finished the last of his milk before gathering the plates and taking them into the kitchen where he deposited them into one of the wash bins. He doubted that they would leave long before their mother would get back, as Dis always told her boys good luck. It wouldn't feel right to Fili if they left before their mother could tell them good luck. The boys were good hunters, not as great as their uncle but good enough to bring home a rabbit or two, or a bird. "Hey Kee, come help me in the kitchen!" he said, the boys still needed step stools in order to wash the dishes.

The blond dwarfling sighed as he began to stack the other dishes in the wash bin as well, their mother could tend to the dishes but he still wanted to clean up for her. Fili wiped down the counters, cleaning the flour mess that his mother had left behind. the rag he was using quickly became covered in paste and he was growing frustrated. He wanted to leave but he also wanted to make his mother happy by cleaning for her.
Dis had come home not long after, having a basket full of fresh herbs, vegetables and meat for a stew.
"Fili, here..." she said as she set the basket on the counter top (that was half way clean, mind you) and took the dirty rag from Fili. She kissed the crown of his head and ruffled her hair. "Thank you, son." she smiled, "Now you go finish getting ready, and go wash up and get your bows."

Bows usually weren't a Dwarf's first choice but for hunting it was acceptable, battle however, was something else entirely. She knew that Kili had a liking towards bows beyond hunting. Her brother Frerin had been the same way, aside from his love of his precious battle axe. Fili obeyed his mother as he ran to finish getting ready, "Kee come on, and let’s finish getting ready!" Fili grabbed his thick hooded cloak and another pair of boots that had been set aside for hunting only. They were warm; the inside was lined with the soft fur of a rabbit killed in winter.
Dis chuckled lightly after she finished wiping down the counter. "Thorin, where are you taking my boys?"

Star Crossed (Sunflower and Tsubasa)

The two siblings stood quietly against the wall as the Princess walked around the gardens. Loria suddenly fell to the ground; her brother hadn't reacted fast enough. She was lying still on the ground, her chest made no movements of rising and falling. It scared her brother, who had never truly seen her like this. "Loria!" he yelled, crouching down next to her, he opened one of her eyes by tugging down her lower eye lid, the magenta color of her iris greeted him but it was glassy like a doll's eye. Approaching the walls of the castle are men disguised as famers who have fled the country side. They are drawing near. Kalon had left his sister on the ground to go to the Princess. There was no telling what was going on, perhaps she was having a vision of some sort? He grabbed her arm and tugged her along. "Come with me Princess, it is not safe here." Kalon found his sister in the same position that he pulled her into, she wasn't waking. "Wake up!" he demanded, panic filling his eyes but not his voice.

They are on the walls! Run!

Loria was a prisoner in her own mind and body; she was forced to watch everything play out in the vision. Her brother had grabbed the Princess by the arm but before they could run to safety within the walls of the castle, or to call for more guards her brother had been cut down by a sword to the back. The Princess followed, her blood mixing with Kalon's on the stone walk way. Rarely were her visions wrong. They were going to die and she could do nothing to warn them...what was that? Metal on metal! Kalon had heard approaching feet, feet that were far too fast to belong to the gardeners. Whirling around to face the threat, Kalon pushed the Princess behind him, close to Loria, as he drew his sword and met the men head on.

As she began to wake a throbbing pain made her close her eyes tightly but she could hear a fight happening around her. Once her eyes were opened to the world she could see that her brother was not in the place that her vision had said he was in, he must have moved enough to avoid the fate that she had seen. Breathing rapidly, she sat up and grabbed her head. Her brother was fighting the men, soldiers of the invading army. They had been dressed as simple farmers of Wester. "Princess," she called quietly. "Come with me." Her head was aching and she wanted to cry out for the violence to stop. Loria seen far more violence than many thought, thanks to her visions. The garden was secluded from the rest of the castle and it often went unpatrolled. "We need to hide!" Loria whispered to the Princess.

Kalon struck one of the men in the abdomen with his sword. The man's blood soaked his clothes as he fell to the walk way and soon his blood pooled below him and in the cracks between the stones. Loria grabbed the Princess and pulled her along behind her. One of the invaders had caught sight of them and left the three-on-one match. His sword was gripped tightly in his hand as he walked quickly with the determination to kill the two women.

It was no longer safe in the castle. If her brother made it, they would be leaving with the Princess soon. Loria ran into one of the gardening sheds that were kept along one side of the wall, out of the way and out of sight. She closed the door and looked around for something to use. A rake caught her eye, "Find something, anything and if he comes in here you start swinging." she ordered the Princess. She could hear the man drawing near, his feet crunched on the loose stones just outside of the door.

Kalon was a bloodied mess by the time that he had dispatched of the men. Common soldiers were no match for the knight. Most of the blood that stained his clothes and skin belonged to the other men some belonged to Kalon as well. He may have been far more skilled with a sword but that did not mean he was immune to their attacks. His head whipped from side to side has he looked for the Princess and his sister. Both were gone and he could hear screaming--Loria's screaming--he followed the sound and found that one of the men in the group of five was hacking at the door to one of the garden sheds, it was being held closed from the inside by someone. Kalon's face darkened and he held his sword in both hands as he ran behind the man. This man was much more different than the others. He was skilled. He was a knight.

What was a knight doing here, he should have been with the rest of the invading army...

Kalon's eyes widened in realization, the army was closer now. That meant that the war was just over the horizon.

Set Me Free {Love Dove&Sunflower}

Cool!

Set Me Free {Love Dove&Sunflower}

:3 It helps that I can kick to about my head anyways...He won't stand a chance~

Thank you. :) Good night then! I'm looking forward to your post.

Set Me Free {Love Dove&Sunflower}

One moment Isard had been listening to the guard talking happily of the girl that he wanted to marry, the next the guard was face down with three of his fellow guard upon his back. Three more had been standing nearby with their weapons drawn, as if the man had been a danger to them. Isard made a deep rumbling noise in his chest, as if he were growling. The guards that had been standing by jumped at the noise; one even kicked the bars to his cage before they drug away the young guard. Isard could smell the man’s blood on the floor; they must have pushed his face hard into the ground. Things fell silent after that and Isard knew that the man was going to be executed. The King and Queen were never shy about asserting their power. In the quiet his mind drifted back to Alee, the guard had been on the lookout for anything about a female just like Isard.

Alee, she had been important to Isard. Not in the sense of a romantic importance, no they were bound by blood through their mothers. Isard and Alee had been born weeks apart and their mothers always allowed them to play with each other. Isard hoped that she would be alive still, and if she was he hoped that she would not venture too close to the castle, or any of the humans. There were many of their kind that often walked among the humans freely. There was little to distinguish them from the rest of the poor that went about their business; their eyes always gave them away.

The sudden and unexpected appearance of the Princess made Isard wary. ”What do you want…come to spit on me?” He asked before the bread was tossed at him. He hungrily tore into it, the way he stuffed it in his mouth made it easy to see that such foods were a luxury to him. He watched her for a small amount of time, amber eyes narrowing slightly. What was she doing talking to him and giving him bread? Was she asking to be killed, wait she was the Princess so she wouldn’t be killed either way. Punished perhaps but not killed. Isard stayed against the back of his cage, his legs were stretched before him to relieve the cramping that had set in from not moving. Her earlier words echoed in his mind and he answered her question truthfully. ”You have no idea, Princess, how correct your mother and father are to say that I am a monster.”

Oh they were right to tell their daughter he was a monster; Isard would love to see them without the guards, without anything. He may have been kept in a dirty, stinky cage for thirty years but he was just as much of a warrior as he had been in his younger years. ”But I could say the same about them…or you, but you seem to be different. Am I correct? You desire something more than the reputation they would give you, even before you begin to rule.” He knew the reputation of the King and Queen, he had fought against them and he would not doubt that they tarnished their daughters reputation already.

---

Within the outskirts of the city, three figures emerged from one of the side paths that many took instead of the roads. Two were tall, masculine figured clad in the dark, fur trimmed cloaks common of the farmers up north in the Kingdom. The third figure was shorter and could have been mistaken for a young boy rather than for a woman. They quietly walked with the smaller figure closer to the front. They had hoods drawn over their eyes. Not many cared to look in their direction, thinking nothing of them.

“Alee…”One of the taller figures in the back caught the attention of the shorter one in front.

“What is it?” The figure was definitely female, although her voice had a harsh tone to it.

“Should we be here? Our—“The man was elbowed in the ribs by his companion by his side; he gave a slight grunt but fell silent.

“Yes. We need supplies that we cannot make…and we need to find out if there is word of Isard.” Alee said as they walked to the center of the city where the market was. The trio moved carefully, it was always risky coming into the city given the fact that many thought of them as nothing more than the faint memories of those from thirty years ago.

Set Me Free {Love Dove&Sunflower}

Yeah, I wish she would have waited though. I may be 5'0 and he may be 6'6, but I'll be damned if he's going to fight for the baby. I'll bring him down to my level if needed...I'm the oldest of three, I'm almost 2 years older than my sister and 6 older than my brother.

I didn't know if I was going to add more to it. Give me about 10 more minutes and it'll be up.

Set Me Free {Love Dove&Sunflower}

I never thought that I'd be an aunt at 21...or that my sister would be a mom at 19. It works out though--the dad is a dead beat and I hate him but he doesn't get the baby. At least he better not, he hardly took care of himself.

My post is about half way done?

Set Me Free {Love Dove&Sunflower}

My pregnant sister and I share a room so I understand the stress thing ;_; In a few months I get to share a room with a baby as well.

:) I'm liking my post so far.

Set Me Free {Love Dove&Sunflower}

Stress is horrible D:

I'm working on my reply right now.