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The Hanged Man toiled in silence as they hurried to and fro with the baskets, allowing Voletta to pull him along by his armored hand. It trembled every so often. It was no secret to the girl that he was heavily scarred, especially his hands and arms, which caused him the occasional spasm or ache.

When she chastised him for his formality, he merely bowed his head. From the girl's birth he had attempted to keep some distance between them, to make it easier to do his grim task, and to turn a blind eye to the King's verbal abuses. But she was a gregarious child, and wriggled her way into his graces. Many's the time he considered leaving this place and continuing his eternal quest, for the King had done something too egregious, but now ... now he couldn't leave Voletta to her fate.

Even the knight, with his impressive fortitude, was breathing heavily by the time they were done. He drank greedily the water she gave him, then set it aside to follow her up towards the King's chambers. On the way, they passed the young Lord Dean Toud, whom the Hanged Man eyed carefully.

((Just in case you need an in ))

Voletta wouldn't be able to help but chuckle as she watched The Hanged Man practically devour the water with such need. He was much more burly looking than she was, and she was much more petite and slimmer than he was, so for him to look like he needed the water more than she did was a sight to behold. She took his hand once more, knowing he had no choice but to follow her anyway. She felt his hand quiver and shake, and rubbed the top of it in an attempt to calm his nerves. She knew that his hands had a habit of doing that, and whenever they did she usually did her best to help him keep calm. As a distraction and as a bit of fun, she would playfully smack his armor, before taking several steps back and sticking her tongue out at him before chuckling.

"Tag! Your it!"

She says excitedly before taking off in a sprint towards the kings bedroom. She laughed at this head start, and would eventually make it to the kings bedroom, placing her hands on her knees and desperately trying to catch her breath as she waited for The Hanged Man to catch up to her. Once he did, she laughed before opening the door and walking inside, still trying to catch her breath. As she bustled about the room making his bed, dusting, grabbing his laundry, and doing such other chores, a grim expression would come across her face as she turned to look him in the eye.

"Hey...Do you ever get tired of me...? You follow me twenty four-seven and wont tell me why...It's only natural you would get tired of my company at some point..."

Even she felt awkward at her own question, and almost immediately broke eye contact as she continued cleaning the king's bedroom.

Dean wasn't always treated with respect when he was in the inner walls. Many times he was made fun of or pushed around by Guards. He was called "Taint-Washer." Due to his very close following of the many family residents throughout the day. He would be called a "Bastard" or an heir of disgrace.

When The Hanged Man glanced at him coldly Dean Felt his heart slow down. If there was someone other than the king that was respected or feared would be The Hanged Man. This man was armed at all times so if you were stupid and wanted a fight this man would probably just look at you and kill you. So when Dean went into the chambers with the pair he was more than Way nervous.

Dean would finally kill the silence. "So...do any of you need any assistance for the rest of this morning? I am more than happy to help any of you." He put a kind smile and stood there postured up.

When she whacked his armor, it gave a dull clang sound. "Nay--V-Voletta!" But it was too late--she was already gone. Though her intentions were good, his face was like stone as he took off after her. His weary eyes fell upon Dean again. "Lord Toud," barked the knight, "go! Keep eyes on her."

Crow jogged as quick as he could--though burdened as he was by twenty kilograms of steel, he kept a swift pace. By the time he reached the doors he was panting hard. After looking around to see of the three if them were alone, he rounded on the girl. "Mistress, you can-cannot go running off like that. If your father knew you were out of my sight for even a moment ..." He cleared his throat. "And the king would tan my hide." He shook his head. Some of his hair had come loose from his topknot and now fell in disarray around his face.

The knight drew a deep breath through his nose and released it as a sigh. "Help her," he told Dean. As grim and stoic as his appearance usually was, right now he looked more like a frazzled matron.

"Yes sire." He smiled gleefully and helped scrub the mirrors and mildew of the murky chamber. "Sire where on earth have you gotten those pauldrons and greaves ser?...of course is you mind my asking." He said after he finished a moss covered wall. He got up and looked at the mess he cleaned up.

(Um, The Hanged Man?? Voletta doesn't know that she's the kings daughter o.o I found a work around though, but just a note for the future!! ^-^))

Voletta frowned at The Hanged Man as he scolded her, and she would pout a bit as she took to cleaning the floors. Her hair would fall in front of her face though, as she looked up and stared longingly at the outside of the castles walls through strands of her hair. She glances at Dean, and just watches him go inside the bathroom before standing up and whirling on The Hanged Man.

"I never see my father. He's usually down in the cellar taking care of the inmates and never seems to have enough time for me..."

She say's to him like it was matter of fact. The king had told Voletta that this random servant was her father, and then gave him a job that would isolate him from Voletta. Perhaps this would serve as a reminder that she didn't know who her true father was, and she would stare at The Hanged Man and fold her arms, looking at him with that look he knew all to well that meant she meant business.

"And you never have told me why I'm always being watched...It's not that I don't enjoy your company, but I never get any privacy unless I have to use the latrine...It just makes me wonder..."

She says, sighing heavily before returning to the cleaning of the room, folding clothes and putting them away as she shook her head in disappointment. Tears would be forming in her eyes and she would quickly wipe them before stepping back and taking one more look at the room. After deciding it was up to standard, she would walk away to help get the ballroom finished.

((Okay but It would be very helpful if you explain such things beforehand ))

(Okie!! ^-^))

Elesa would ride on the front of a small covered cart, driving a small donkey nervously as she tries her best to look for a safe place to look for help. She was told to ask for a stay at the Inn and to have someone help her carry her older sister to a room, but as things turned out, the child was far more than lost. If not for her determination and drive to help her sister, she'd have given up, parked on the side of the road, and curled up with Lilim to cry herself to sleep.

The child would drive the cart toward the only place that stood out to her. A large stone structure that surely had someone inside that she could ask help from. She'd guide the donkey to stop near the gate and climbed down, approaching the gate and trying the bars, finding them locked. She whimpered in discouragement, scared that any further efforts might just get her into trouble, but she had to find a safer place than a farmer's wagon for Lilim to rest in.

The child would wipe her eyes and take a breath to gather what little courage she could and she takes ahold of the bars again, "Hello?... Hello?!... Someone?..." she calls out timidly, almost afraid that she'd get an answer and that it would be less than friendly. Elesa would try the gate again, only to be reassured that the gate was locked and that she would not be getting in without someone letting her in. Lilim would moan softly from her resting place in the back of the wagon and shift slightly, having no choice but to stay sound asleep at the given time.

As she was making her way to the ballroom, she would nearly run into a servant in the hallway, stumbling back but catching herself as the servant mentions to her that there was someone at the gate with a wagon. Voletta just blinks and looks past the servant, staring down the long hallway before letting out a heavy sigh and wiping her hands on her dress. She nods and thanks the servant before making the trek to the front gates, standing behind the bars as she looks at Elesa. She seemed innocent enough. In fact, she seemed extremely nervous. She would smile at Elesa to help calm her down and show that she was friendly. She looks at Elesa through the gate before speaking up to her.

"Hello! Can I help you??"

She says, sounding chipper as she looks at the cart once again. At first she thought that it was just a delivery of some sorts, but when she heard the moaning coming from the back, her brow furrowed. She opened the gates and approached the wagon cautiously, before peeking in the back and noticing Lilim. Her eyes widened as she cautiously reached her hand out to touch the sleeping girl, only to feel that her skin was ice cold. She would begin growing worried as she hopped down and looked at Elesa, nodding.

"Do you need help? I can bring you both in to my room for now, but if you want to stay here without having to hide, you'll need to speak to his majesty and get work here...For the moment, I can try to smuggle you both in here so she has a place to rest. Does that sound ok?"

She says, looking at Elesa and anxiously awaiting her answer.

"Sir, not sire," the Hanged Man gently corrected Dean. The mysterious knight was no lord--he wasn't even landed, and had little in the way of personal property beyond his arms and armor. His gloved fingers trailed along the rim of his blackened pauldron. "... I can no longer recall," he said, though his voice was soft and strange, as if there was more to this story than he was letting on.

Voletta's huff made him fold his arms and look down. He couldn't tell her, of course. She had asked him so many times. The king had made it abundantly clear that if he did, his life would be forfeit, as well as hers. It wasn't worth it. He let her softly berate him, and when she had her fill and continued her task, he resumed his quiet vigil.

He followed her out to the gate and began inspecting the wagon, checking for weapons and contraband. His cold green eyes finally settled on the young girl. "Wh-who are you?" His face was harsh and bore an ugly scar, but his voice seemed ill-fitting, potentially diminishing his frightful visage.



"They sh-should go through the proper channels," he told Voletta. To soften his stern words, he added, "She will fare better in the infirmary, anyway." But he didn't protest too much. If the King found out, the knight and Voletta both might take a licking, but how was that different from any other day?

Elesa would grow slightly more discouraged as no one seemed to notice her and she backs away from the gate a little before seeing someone coming. The amount of relief washing over her when it was someone who looked like a maid instead of a squad of armed guards coming toward her was very calming for the child, only to have that nervousness return as the knight comes out with her. Elesa looks to the woman calmly, "Y-yes please... M-my Big Sis... She's..." she starts to say before Voletta makes her way to the cart and sees for herself and the knight inquires as to her identity.

The child would gulp nervously and moves her hand to the back of her neck, "M-m-m-my n-n-name is... E-E-Elesa..." she says timidly. She was a child after all and the knight towering above her like a giant frightened her. She'd look on nervously and blink as the woman seems to panic when she reached to touch Lilim, almost like she had misunderstood about Lilim's condition, "Uh... Um... Y-yes please... And th-thank you... I appreciate your help. And I'm sure Big Sis will appreciate it too." she says in a calm tone, bowing respectfully. She wasn't about to correct the woman on Lilim's condition if it meant she could get Lilim into a nice safe bed for the day.

The child would come clean about everything when the woman didn't seem quite so panicked, scared that if she corrected the woman now that she would be sent away. She'd take any help that she could get and tired as the child was, she'd do everything in her power to help out if she could. She'd wait to see what the woman would do to get Lilim out of the cart and would help in any way she was asked, but as a guest she'd wait politely to be told what she needed to do to help.

As the knight tells her it would be better to go through the proper channels, Elesa would nod again respectfully, "Anything... I just need to make sure Big Sis is safe until night... Thank you both so much for the help." she says as she starts to open her arms for a hug, but timidly stops and shifts to return to the Donkey, opting to give it some attention to calm herself down. The poor child's heart was in her throat by this point. The stature of the knight had really gave her a proper scare, calming as his voice may have been by comparison.

Voletta sighs as she looks at The Hanged Man. She would stare at him knowingly for a moment, before turning back around and climbing inside the cart. She would gently pick up Lilim and adjust her so she was carrying Lilim on her back, before climbing out of the cart and staring between The Hanged Man and Elesa. Eventually she just turns to The Hanged Man and purses her lips in a pout as she gives him the puppy dog eyes.

"Please?? We'll just take the two of them to my room right now. This way she can rest in somewhere warm, rather than outside in the elements! Besides it'll be safe for them! No guards will be down there since they're not expecting me to be there until after the soiree. So it'll be fine!"

She says to him, smiling before taking into consideration his comments about them going through the proper channels. She lets out a heavy sigh before looking at him, a pleading look on her face. After all these years, he would know that look meant that she was afraid of what would happen, and he might have been too.

"I know, and your right. But do you remember the last time I went to him and begged him to help strangers? He likes taking out his anger and frustrations on me as it is, more so than the rest of the castle staff...And if I ask him again it'll be worse than last time...at least this way I can potentially spare myself a night of torture..."

She says to him, before turning to Elesa and smiling at her once more to calm her nerves.

"Don't worry. We'll bring your sister to my room. There shouldn't be any staff down there, so you two can hide out down there until tonight. Then we'll have to move you somewhere else. My room isn't the most luxurious place, but it should to the trick. Cmon, I'll take you there!"

She walks with Lilim on her back and Elesa behind her, knowing that The Hanged Man would follow suit as well. She wouldn't go through the front entrance, but rather the food pantry. She would look around cautiously around both corners, before turning down a hallway and walking towards it. She would do this for several hallways, before reaching a wooden door. She would open it and quickly go downstairs, warning the last one to enter to close it behind them. It was dark and dusty, and they would have to go down several flights of stairs before they reached the very bottom. Once they were there, she would approach her cell/bedroom, and open the door before walking to the bed and gently placing Lilim on the bed, pulling the covers over top her in an attempt to warm her up. If Elesa was observant, she would notice the chains attached to the bed, as well as the ankle, wrists, and even a neck cuff. Though Voletta wouldn't say anything about it. In fact, she would briefly walk out to grab the blanket from The Hanged Man's room and come back, placing that over Lilim as well. She threw an apologetic look his way, but given how cold Lilim was, she would probably need it. She gave one more look to Elesa before sighing in relief.

"So what's wrong with her?? Is there anything else you guys need?"

Elesa would gasp and flinch slightly as the woman mentions being treated more harshly than other castle staff and even being subject to torture. A slave girl?... Elesa would start to shiver herself as her PTSD started acting up. The childs shivers wouldn't last long though as they started to move again and Elesa would follow the woman closely, doing as she said and staying quiet and moving quickly so as not to be spotted.

She would hug herself tightly as she was led into an area that looked like a dungeon and tighter still as the woman moved to place Lilim on the bed with what to her were very obvious torture restraints with clear blood stains on them. Elesa would clench her arms even tighter around herself and would start to shiver again, this time more harshly. The child seemed to be about to cry and was rather zoned out until she was spoken to, gasping and jarring herself back to her senses only to feel the tears running down her face.

Elesa would act quickly to clean herself up before replying, "I... I'm sorry... B-B-Big Sis Lilim has... Th-th-this condition... H-h-her skin... S-s-stays cold until... Mmmmm...." she begins before being unable to fight it any longer and her PTSD makes her collapse and huddle up into a tight fetal position, whimpering and crying noticeably, but silently. Her sobs noticeable by Voletta and The Hanged Man, but would sound like the squeaking of a common dungeon rat to anyone else.

The child would draw her hands around the sides of her head and her fingers would clench timidly in her hair. She was shaking like a leaf as she fought against the painful memories and tried her best to pull herself together, to absolutely no avail. Her fear was only made worse as she realized that she had lost herself to her fears again and began to worry what the knight and the maid would think of her after this. How were they to know Elesa had a severe case of PTSD and was a former slave herself? Elesa was too distraught to explain and she likely looked like she herself had gone crazy. She wouldn't be lashing out though, only huddling into a tight fetal position and crying her eyes out while shaking like a leaf.

Voletta's eyes would widen as she noticed Elesa start freaking out, and she would stare at her with a raised eyebrow before her eyes widened at Elesa's sudden collapse. She would rush over and help Elesa sit up, looking her in they eyes before looking at Lilim as well. She knew that The Hanged Man was going to follow her, and she just sighed as she crouched and grabbed Elesa comfortingly by the waist, picking her up and stroking her hair to calm her down. She would continue stroking her head as she carried Elesa up and away from the cell, all the way back to the food pantry. She would sit Elesa down and gently kiss her on the forehead. A bit forward for strangers she knew, but she was hoping it would be of some comfort to Elesa.

"On second thought, maybe the two of you can rest in here. I don't know what happened and I won't ask, but it seems like that room is giving you bad memories? I'll bring the pillows and blankets in here for your sister to sleep. I'll only be a moment."

She says, rushing out of the food room/pantry. It wasn't so much a pantry, rather it was a giant room filled with food. She rushed back down to her room and picked Lilim up, placing her on her back again, but this time grabbing the pillows and blankets, before rushing back up towards the pantry and going to Elesa. She set Lilim down on the ground gently next to Elesa, before placing the pillows underneath her and covering her with the blankets. She would get up and grab a glass as well as an orange, before squeezing the juice out of the orange and making orange juice. She would then go and walk around the many shelves, grabbing a chunk of cheese, bread, and some other fruits before going back to Elesa and handing her everything.

"Here. Why don't you eat."

She says sitting down next to Elesa and pulling her close, slowly stroking her head and humming a quiet melody to help calm her down. The bright sunlight that shone in the room would also hopefully help to calm her nerves, while Voletta continued hugging and petting Elesa until she calmed down. She would have to calm down eventually, and she would stay with her until she did. After some amount of time has passed, she would notice Elesa starting to calm down and would smile at her.

"It's ok...You have food in front of you, your friend next to you, and your sister sleeping safe and sound besides you...I don't know what happened or what you've been through, but it's over now...your safe..."

She says soothingly to Elesa, hugging her tightly to make her feel comforted. After she noticed that Elesa was calmed, she would smile at her and ruffle her hair a bit playfully while wiping the tears from Elesa's eyes with her thumb.

"Feeling better?"

The Hanged Man listened quietly to the little girl, arms crossed, then shot Voletta a resigned look. Finally he sighed and nodded. "Very well."

He helped her get Lilim out of the wagon, but let Voletta carry her. With his shield on his arm, he could help block prying eyes from spotting both strangers.

Once they were down in the dungeon and safely in Voletta's cell, he stood right at the threshold, keeping an eye on the hallways beyond. They were sparsely populated, so the group probably didn't need to worry about being interrupted.

Elesa's sudden breakdown made him purse his lips concernedly. He had his suspicions of what ailed her. He, too, was lost at times to the red fog of the past, though that had been many, many years ago.

The pantry was a much less isolated location, which made the Hanged Man worry. "Voletta--" But the girl had already made up her mind, and he trailed after her like a lost puppy. While the girl prepared something for Elesa to eat, the knight kept watch over the girl and her slumbering sister. "Come back to the present," he told Elesa. But her waking nightmares were not the ones of soldiers, so he did not know how to help her well. He detached his white cloak and draped it over Elesa's shoulders. It was far too large. "You are safe."

Voletta set down the food and resumed cradling the girl, and so Crow straightened up, keeping an eye on the pantry aisles. "... you can stay here for now. But--but later, w-we will bring them to my quarters. They will be safe there."