Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Flight from Castle Paldwyn

She took the handkerchief.
"Thank you... Yes, I'm L-Lady Marianne... Good to meet you, Sir. I'm sorry you had to come find me. If only my parents hadn't insisted on visiting another country! Now I have no idea where they are! They're probably dead!" Marianne shouted, shaking from crying. She covered her face with her hands.
"Those people... Do you have any idea who they were?" she asked, recalling a few things from the previous night. Chaos, disorder, it was all a blurry flash by now.

Catherine of course allows Adelbard to pursue the depressed noblewoman. She moves to the other, somewhat unfamiliar man and goes to accept the berries from his grasp. "I do hope these are edible." she muses to herself. Poisoned berries, after we went to all this trouble to escape. That'd be sad. she merely shrugs and examines one before popping it into her mouth. Satisfied that she doesn't instantly die, she flashes a smile towards Fredrick. "Thank you for these, Sir... I am afraid I have yet to know your name. Though, I am sure you know of my identity. I am Catherine, daughter of the--" she cuts herself off, pausing for a moment before continuing her introduction. "f-former monarchs."

"I'm Fredrick, Fredrick Augustine" he replied as he started the fire and placed the hares on it. "I'm am aware of my employers...in which they owe me money" he said as he got up and looked at her. "I'm a mercanery if you haven't notice" he added in still looking at her

Catherine's smile waned for a moment. She questioned how she would pay him for a moment, getting a bit concerned. Is he hinting at something? How am I supposed to pay if... She exhaled a sigh and smiled once more. "Pleasant to meet you." she looked over to Rose. "I should probably share these with her. Excuse me." She wandered towards Lady Rose, extending her hand, berries within them. "Would you like some? You must be hungry."

"Thank you for such kindness..." The woman takes only one and eats it, giving the other woman a tired smile. She sure was dead tired, but she was still a Noble. Which meant she must be respectful to others at all times- Even if they were being hunted like the deer of the forest.

Adelbard can't easily sit down in his armor, so he remains crouching. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance for true, my Lady Marianne." When she buries her face into her hands, he reaches out to pet her on the back. "Worry not, noi sierre, worry not. I'm sure they're healthy and hale. You must be strong for them, yes? We'll find them." His hand slides from the girl's back, though he gently touches her chin to lift her head up. "Ah... it was Duke Bruander and his wife the Lady Annisse. Bruander's the brother of the late king. I... did not realize they had enough force of arms behind them. And I never thought they'd be capable of this... this barbarism." The knight pinches the bridge of his nose and lets out a long sigh, though he's quick to regain his composure. He straightens up and adjusts his armor, then extends a hand to her to help her to her feet. "Come, my lady. Shall we return to the clearing? We're at risk here away from the others, and they need my protection as well."

She looked at his hand for a moment, then took it, standing.
"Y-Yes, Sir. Thank you..." she muttered. "I'm still really sorry about you having to look for me. But could you do me a favor? Could you tell me more about this Duke? What do you know about him? And his wife, too."

Adelbard assists Marianne to her feet, and keeps hold of her hand as he guides her back towards the clearing at a more leisurely pace than she'd left it. As he walks, he answers her question. "I am from Beauvralde, my lady, so I don't know the man personally. T'is known well that he bends to his wife's every whim... I've no doubt this was her idea." He assists the girl over a fallen log, his armor clanking as he steps heavily through the underbrush. "The king levied heavy taxes upon his vassals in the court... perhaps she wanted to be rid of them."

She nodded.
"Do you know anything else about what happened? I would like as much information as possible, if I may."
Marianne looked around as they walked, thinking of questions to ask. She'd switched from extreme sadness to curiosity, wanting to find out as much as she could.

Adelbard is a little confused by the girl's sudden change in demeanor, though he certainly prefers the curiosity to the despair. "It all happened so quickly," he muses. "There was naught to indicate that the evening would be any different than a normal court dinner. I sat next to Lady Catherine, as always..." The knight trails off, trying to piece together the hazy and hectic happenings. "The duke and king were conversing, though I couldn't hear them clearly. They were getting agitated... finally it looked like Brendel was done speaking with Bruander, and Bruander made a gesture of some sort, and then... that's when the chaos began." Marianne had been witness to it personally, and the knight isn't exactly ready to relive the bloody details. He'd fought off the duke's soldiers that had stormed in from the kitchens, carved a path through them to help Catherine escape, collected others like Rose and Marianne along the way. It had been a bloodbath. Adelbard sighs and casts his eyes down. They approach the clearing again, and the knight leads the girl over to Catherine and Rose so that she might have some of the blackberries to eat as well.

She looked at the blackberries. As much as she loved blackberries, she wasn't hungry because she was still a little scared. She figured she'd be hungry later and just sat on the ground, still tired not only from the chaos and lack of sleep, but running and crying so much as well.

Catherine's eyes moved to Marianne. "Ah, welcome back. I trust you are feeling better?" She offered a gentle smile to her, much different from her once sarcastic and aloof behavior towards her.

Fredrick turned away from the noble and started to tend the Hare's on the fire. He poked the meat's with a stick he found and said "Breakfast shall soon be ready". In his mind, he joked that the noblewomen won't eat the meat after seeing how the one acted as she ran into the forest and came back.

She nodded, stood up, and curtsied.
"Thank you, and I'm sorry for my behavior earlier, ma'am..." she said, just loud enough to hear. She kept her head down as well.

Adelbard is quite hungry as well, though he doesn't plan on eating a thing until the women have had their fill. He nods his thanks to Fredrick. Now that they're all back in the clearing, the knight folds his arms over his chest and takes up his protective position near Catherine. "Have you thought about what we should do, my lady?" he asks her. "Dortsmouth is just a few hours' walk from here, but no doubt Lady Annisse's men already occupy it. We need horses, supplies for travel... if we can reach the ocean, we could flee to Beauvralde for your safety, but Annisse has strong presence along the coast. It would be dangerous... and once we leave Indar's borders, we likely will never be able to return..."

"Why need supplies to travel if you can live off the land" Fredrick said looking at the knight. "If you are willing to...trade I can procure some horses from the town since I doubt those men know my face and if they did, I'm only a merc who fights on the paying side, so they are most likely gonna wave me by" he said as he crossed his arms thinking that these people are desperate to get out and will do anything to be free from this occupation.

After listening to each of the people, her eyes closed, the feeling of hopelessness washing over her. She gathered her thoughts before raising her head, eyes opening. "Why would we come back? It is clear that we do not have any hope of taking back the crown at this time, or any time in fact. We have two warriors, and three ladies. That is not a menacing group in any way, shape, or form." She sighs, hand going to her forehead to massage her furrowed brow. "I'd rather we avoid Dortsmouth, seeing how likely that traitorous wench could catch us there. I'd prefer to travel slowly and safely rather than quickly and recklessly."

"This is one of the reasons Lady Annisse usurped the throne without struggle. You give up too easily. We're not a menacing group, by far, but we could find allies. How about travelling to a country that was in alliance with your Father? They must listen to the daughter of the now deceased King, yes?" Rose spoke, her gaze focused on Catherine. She wore a smile as she continued, "of course, that is a mere suggestion. It is up to you, but I advise choosing a choice that doesn't seem like you've lost all hope."

Catherine's gaze went to Rose, silent for a moment. She forced herself to smile, nodding. "Well stated, Lady Rose. I thank you. But a possible ally that would help us fight against them..." she was deep in her thoughts, trying to form a sort of rough plan for them to act upon.
((Aka who are their allies, adelbard?))

Adelbard shoots Fredrick an incredulous stare. "T'is perhaps fine for one man to live off the land, but our number is too great for that. I worry not about poaching in these particular woods, for they belong to the Fourniers, and I doubt that Lady Annisse worries too much about poachers just yet... but as we move through the land, I doubt lords and ladies will take kindly to fugitives poaching their woods. And do you expect to sew us bedrolls and smith us a cookpot?" He raps armored knuckles against his breastplate then heaves a long sigh. His silver armor bears blue, white, and gold lacquer upon all the edges, as well as elegant filigree in the more decorative areas. "We shan't be able to keep to the deep woods forever... when we take to the roads, we will need disguises... and my armor is, ah... not exactly surreptitious. Neither is my cloak. If my armor can be traded for what we need, then so be it." The Beauvraldi's heart aches at the thought of leaving behind his armor, which had been a gift from his mother when he left for Indar.

Catherine's pessimism makes the knight bow his head low and fall quiet. He doesn't agree with her, but he also isn't about to disagree with his liege lady--her word is law, as far as he's concerned. "T'is true that Master Fredrick shan't be recognized in Dortsmouth, my lady," he does say. Thankfully Rose talks a bit of backbone into the heiress, and Adelbard shoots the woman a thankful smile. "There is always House Perringer. They've long supported your father, my lady... but their lands lay west across the Bleak Strait, and the dreadlords of those waters would prove difficult to deal with... though perhaps not impossible. They are not unreasonable..."

(Feel free to just make stuff up I don't have much of a plan beyond this point really so if you have a good idea, feel free to set it up.)