Trash Panda

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

She definitely wouldn't follow the rules xD

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

While Penelope and Naida talked, Crow let his gaze wander over the buildings around them. The village was still fairly close to the heart of Brerra, so it was an odd transition between the border and the citadel. Looking at it, he was reminded of what the outer villages had been like before the fighting with Younis had started. He wished he could travel further north to see what had become of his homeland since he’d left to start training as Albin’s viceroy. The war hadn’t stopped in his absence, after all. He hoped his companions and the other peasants were still faring alright without him and Penelope. Based on the last letter he’d gotten from Hazel, it sounded like they were having a harder time keeping up with the battalions’ movements now that they weren’t receiving updates from the lieutenant about when and where each battle would take place. That along with Simon’s death meant that there were only two somewhat skilled fighters left to defend the villages, Rikki and Alistair, and even they couldn’t protect their people every time.

He was drawn from his thoughts at the mention of supper, turning away from his surroundings to meet Penelope’s gaze. As she took his hand in hers, he nodded. “And lunch,” he pointed out, falling in step beside her on their way to the inn. “I haven’t had a freshly cooked meal since yesterday, and that needs to change.” Almost as if on cue, his stomach chose that moment to let out a low growl, and he rested a hand on his middle. “Seems like all of me is in agreement.”

“No surprise there,” Naida snorted, walking along on his other side. She casted him a sideways smirk. “Pigs will fly before you’re ever full.”

“They won’t if I eat them first,” he winked at her slyly.

When they stepped inside the inn, Crow took another look around to see all the other people who were staying there that night. Like the last inn, this one was busy compared to the traffic lodges like these usually got during the winter months, but the crowds seemed a little thinner than they had been in Sarton. Most of the patrons were merchants and messengers traveling to and from the warfront, but there were also more peasants than usual lounging around the common space. He guessed they were some of the clever few who had managed to hide enough money from the tax collectors every season that they were able to afford to hide out at an inn until the fighting subsided.

As he and the two knights strode through the room, some of the peasants looked up at him. Their expressions were mildly intrigued at first, until they seemed to recognize him, and their eyes grew round as disks. The former thief felt a ripple of unease shoot up and down his spine, and he averted his gaze. Usually, he was right at home among other members of his social class, but this time, their stares made him want to crawl under a rock.

It’s probably because I’m not their equal anymore, he thought with a grimace. Most of his acquaintances in the inner kingdom had been supportive of his decision to become a nobleman, but he wouldn’t find the same approval out here. He was well aware of what the villagers thought of the upper class. They would assume the worst of him for choosing a cushioned life in the inner kingdom over a more honorable path, where one had to earn his or her wages with hard work and effort. Even being a criminal was more acceptable to them, because at least thieves were honest about their deceptive, unwholesome ways. Since they didn’t know the reason behind his choice to leave the outer villages, he already knew the peasants at this inn were going to be spreading rumors that his greed had gotten the best of him, and he’d been corrupted by the luxuries of the inner kingdom. It was far from the legacy he’d wanted to leave behind in the villages where he’d lived most of his life.

Eager to get away from their judging eyes, the viceroy hastened his pace slightly and opened the door to the tavern, letting Penelope and Naida through first before he followed after them. Unfortunately, the dining area was just as populated as the foyer had been, so there were only a few tables left that weren’t already hosting any occupants. “I see an empty table near the back,” he informed the knights, using his height advantage to pick out the most ideal spot in the room. There was one other large table closer to them, but at the moment, he preferred to have at least a semblance of privacy from the villagers. So, he started making his way across the tavern without waiting for either of them to object, beckoning with his hand for them to follow.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Pretty good, I think. My professor extended our deadline from tonight to Thursday night, which is nice because I definitely won't have everything that she wants done before tomorrow at the earliest.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Sorry it's taking me a little longer than usual to get a post up! I've been working on my project and also had a video call with some of my friends yesterday evening.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Sounds good to me!

~Bonsoir~

When Victoria asked if she scared him, Vail showed his fangs in a grin. “Perhaps, if I didn’t know whose side you were on,” he decided. “Although I wouldn’t come within two yards of you either way.” As much as he loved her, the suit of armor she had put on was the equivalent of wearing fire and feces to his kind. He despised the metallic odor, and even getting close to that much pure silver would have been painful. When he guarded her during the battle, he would do so from a slight distance, so the job would be bearable.

At the sound of a horn, he glanced out the open window. The Saints really were treating the upcoming battle like an all-out war though, to their credit, they needed to take such measures against the Wynters if they hoped to win. On an average night, most humans could only overpower a vampire if they were able to catch one by surprise or had the advantage of numbers. Or if the vampire hadn’t fed recently, as had been the case when Ray had shot him weeks ago. In this case, the army of humans was about to stand up against an entire clan of beings who were physically superior to them in every way. It was going to be an uphill battle, and it was to their benefit that Lady Diana had had the foresight to enlist the Moncouriers to help them win against their enemies.

He turned away from the window again when Ray entered the room. While the two humans spoke, he slipped on the gloves he had brought, listening quietly to their conversation as they headed downstairs. Victoria’s mention of ‘doing the worst’ flagged his attention, and he looked up at her with slightly narrowed eyes, wondering what she and her Saint friend had discussed and if it was something he should know about. At the end of the day, her safety was more important to him than anyone else’s, and he’d be damned before he allowed any harm to befall her whether it was planned or not.

When Ray offered a hand for him to shake, Vail hesitated briefly before he took it. He was used to the Saint sending glares his way, and he hadn’t forgotten that the man had fired a gun at him not long ago. The ability of humans to ‘forgive and forget’ astounded him. He supposed that since their lives were so short, most of them didn’t have the time or energy to hold onto grudges with the same vengeance that his kind was capable of. Whatever Ray had decided about him, it was clear that the gesture was an olive branch, so his tension ebbed away once he’d recovered from his initial flinch.

“I understand,” he assured him, shaking the hunter’s hand and looking down at Victoria. “She’ll be safe with me.”

Once he was alone with Victoria, Vail stood to the side while she mounted her horse. The presence of the steed along with the silver armor changed his perception of her from vampire slayer to knight, and he studied her amusedly from the ground. Keeping up with a stallion at full canter would be difficult, even for a vampire, but since he had just fed on Victoria’s blood a few hours ago, he was strong enough to manage it. So, when she asked if he was ready, he met her blue-eyed gaze and nodded resolutely. “Lead the way, my love.”

--

The instant Mikael stepped onto the Hygrace property, Peter had known he was there. The scent of a Wynter was one he would never forget as long as he lived. At the time, he had been in his study, writing a furious letter to be sent to the Crest estate, where he was sure his son had gone on his foolish endeavor to get involved in a conflict that had nothing to do with them. He was livid that Vail had disobeyed him. It had been one thing for his successor to get involved with a human woman, but it was quite another for him to tie the Hygrace name to a fight that could drag their entire family into the flames of war. His method of staying uninvolved was the only way they could avoid being attacked by the enemy clan a second time, and he was going to make it known that if Vail didn’t return to their manor by the following day, he would be stricken from his inheritance and disowned as a member of the Hygrace clan.

He had only written three quarters of the letter when Mikael’s sickeningly familiar smell wafted to his nose.

Immediately, Peter felt his breath catch in his throat, and he turned toward the door of his study in disbelief. “No,” he muttered to himself. It couldn’t be. There was no reason for the Wynters to touch his family when they had done nothing to them for decades. His pulse soared for a moment before reason kicked in, and he let out his breath in relief. There was only one Wynter on his doorstep. Most likely, the rival vampire had appeared to give him some kind of warning, not attempt to start a fight when he was severely outnumbered.

Composing himself, the Hygrace leader stood up from his desk and straightened his shirt to meet his guest before the maid even had a chance to alert him to his arrival. He strode downstairs and then to the front door, carrying himself with confidence as he planned to tell the Wynter that his family would continue to remain neutral in their conflict with the Saints. However, his plan became irrelevant as soon as Mikael opened his mouth.

Realizing too late that the Wynter hadn’t come in peace, Peter barely stumbled out of the way in time to dodge the first attack. “You’re insane!” he spat. “My entire clan is home right now. Do you really think you can kill all of us by yourself?”

“You’re all weak,” Mikael sneered. “I could kill every one of you blindfolded.” He lunged again, and the two vampires began to brawl. To Peter’s surprise, the Wynter was incredibly strong, and it didn’t take long before Mikael overpowered him. As he was shoved against the wall, he snarled, baring his own fangs. His blood roared in his ears, and he fought furiously against his enemy’s grasp to no avail. Part of him still couldn’t believe this was happening. As much as he loathed to admit it, his son had been right. The Wynters really had been plotting to kill them, and he had put his entire family at risk by not preparing them to fight.

Drawing a sword from his belt, Mikael grinned wickedly at his prey as he scrabbled against his iron grip. “This is too easy,” he purred, pointing the blade just underneath Peter’s jaw. “The Crest girl’s blood truly is special… All it took was a small sip for me to reduce you to this. Pathetic.” He chuckled as Peter glowered at him.

“Kill me if you really think it will give you some sort of peace for your murderous grandfather’s death but leave the rest of my clan out of this,” the Hygrace leader growled.

“How noble of you,” Mikael barked a laugh. “Oh no, Peter. I’m not just here for you. In fact, I think I’ll kill the others first, so you can listen to their screams before you die.” With that, he bought his sword down on Peter’s left leg. The blade was lined with the thinnest coating of silver, so it pierced the vampire’s skin and severed flesh and bone in one fell swoop. The Wynter let go of his prey and watched him drop to the ground with a scream, blood pouring from the amputated limb. “I’ll be back for you when I’m finished,” he announced casually, turning around and leaving Peter to watch helplessly as he ventured deeper into the manor to hunt down the rest of the Hygraces.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Got one done!

I had a thought. Since we were thinking that Regis would hurt Cas before he and Iris run, what if Regis catches him in the middle of trying to climb through the window?

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Either there were no other buildings around, or they were spaced just far enough away that they couldn’t been seen through the vantage point the window offered Caspian. He clicked his tongue softly in disappointment when he conceded that the only sight he could glean was that of the cloudy sky overhead. Although it probably didn’t matter anyway. If he’d been taken somewhere outside the capital, he wouldn’t be able to recognize any landmarks in the area. He’d never left the border walls before, because the high born district was vast enough to keep him occupied as a child, and when he was older, the war against the Scourge had kept all upper class citizens barred to their home city for the most part. Since Regis had appeared once, he was pretty sure he wasn’t in the capital anymore.

He glanced at Iris and merely shrugged when she warned him that she was going to be covering up the window again. That didn’t matter either. The brief glimpse he’d gotten of the outside world had helped him orient himself at least a little, so he could stand to sit in darkness for another day. Plus, just knowing that there was a window in the basement was enough. Now he had an exit point to use when he made his escape. He wouldn’t have to risk running into any other rebels in the house because he could just climb out of the room and make a run for it once he got outside. Just the thought of it hastened his heartbeat with anticipation, and he had to look away from Iris to keep from giving away his eagerness. Only when the basement was bathed in darkness did he risk looking up at her again.

“Okay,” he said noncommittally when she told him she would bring more water later. The part of him that had been raised to say please and thank you squirmed at his lack of appreciation for what she was doing, but he needed to keep an emotional distance so he wouldn’t be duped again. Even if it meant dropping his manners for a while, it was the safer thing to do as long as he was unsure who’s side she was on.

The prince tracked Iris with his eyes until she left the room. The instant he was alone, he reached into his pocket to retrieve the screw he’d hidden away, continuing his work on the rope around his wrists. Now that he knew he only had two days left before the rebels would kill him, he needed to act fast. Just a little more… he thought urgently, biting down on his lower lip as he sawed at the threads. Once these are off, all that’s left is to figure out a way out of this cell, and then I’m out of here.

--

Jacob paced drummed his fingers restlessly against the arm of his chair, watching the surveillance team sift through thousands of live camera feeds. It had been one day since they had discovered their prince was missing, and they were making steady progress on narrowing down his location, but every second that passed was another second their enemies had to torture or even kill the heir to the Aspirian crown. They needed to track him down as quickly as possible or King Atlas would veritably massacre his own security team in outrage.

Yesterday, they had obtained the footage from a camera on a building near the forest, which showed the prince and his company exiting the vehicle and venturing into the trees. At that point, he still appeared to be in good health and acting on his own free will. However, as expected, the angle of the lens hadn’t caught what had happened after they had wandered off. On a hunch, Jacob had requested the reel from a camera on the other side of the woods, one that belonged to the border guard who monitored activity at the edge of the city. Lo and behold, the footage revealed their missing link, and he and the other guards had watched in abject horror as the two missing terrorists carried the unconscious body of their future king to the trunk of a car.

What was even more frustrating to Jacob was the fact that there was always a soldier on duty to keep watch of the forested part of the border, but no one had raised any alarms when the kidnapping occurred. He dug a little deeper only to find that the man who had been tasked to monitor the woods had been asleep on the job. Naturally, he fired him on the spot.

Now, fifteen hours since then, he had been working with the surveillance team to pull up footage from the cameras that had been installed throughout the rest of the kingdom. They were searching for the beat-up vehicle that the rebels had used to escape, hoping to use it to narrow down the district that Caspian may have been taken to. It was the best lead they had so far, but after going through camera after camera for hours on end, Jacob was starting to get impatient. If nothing turned up in the next twenty minutes, he intended to leave and—

“I’ve got a hit!” an excited voice interrupted his thoughts. One of the soldiers had frozen his screen on a camera, on which the car they had been looking for could plainly be seen. The plate number was a match. “The vehicle is in the Bel Bicis district near forty-third street and fifty-second avenue.”

“Good work, soldier,” Jacob said, his eyes widening as he stood up from his chair. Reaching for his com device, he began barking orders, “We’ve narrowed down Prince Caspian’s location to the Bel Bicis district. I want scouts heading to that area immediately to figure out which building the prince is being held hostage in. Focus search parties around the intersection at forty-third fifty-second, but don’t limit yourselves. We’re getting close, men. We can’t let them slip away.”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Nah, I don't have any other plans for this part.

Also, I may not get another post up for a while. I need to spend a few hours working on my project today. I need to make about 30 pages for my construction document set, and I'm trying to get done with at least 7-10 of them or more in the next three days

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Naida isn't very good at being a knight xD She's good with a sword, but can't sit in silence to save her life

Also, hope you don't mind that I carried it forward!