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Lucifer just smiled along as the king spoke, uncomftable with the fact that not only were the shackled man a prisoner of war, but he were humiliated for entertainment, cruel. Then the king began speaking to someone who weren't there, is he going mad, or were there truly someone? "Your highness, who were you addressing when you said "But maybe you were right", who were right? Me? The shackled man? You?" He hoped that his questions wouldn't have him hanged at the gallows. "Is there anything that I can help with, or shall I say hey to my student, or just find my room?" Lucifer asked.

Down the stairs of the Inn walked a slightly drowsy Aidan, with his gear and pack, still opened. He waved to Ezekiel, who gave a quick nod and dropped a small sack on the counter for Aidan. Aidan couldn't stop and waste time during the day to cook and prepare meat for a meal, so he'd have Ezekiel prep it every morning.

"Morning." Aidan spoke before grabbing the sack and shoving it deep into his bag, "Anything else happen last night while I was out?"

"Nothing, just the beatdown." He sighed and started putting supplies in a bag for Carmen, "Be careful out there, everyone's on edge this time of the year"

"You don't need to worry, I'll be fine, I always am." Aidan rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"I know, but if you go and die on me no way am I going to find a better supplier." He threw a light playful punch on Aidan's arm.

As he opened his mouth to reply, Aidan noticed someone else waiting on Ezekiel. Not wanting to make her wait, he swung his bag over his shoulder and said, "Right, well, I think I'm going to head out now. I'll see you tonight?"

Before Aidan could walk away, Ezekiel spoke, "Wait! I need you to do me a favor if you can spare half an hour?"

He stopped and turned, "I'm sorry but I really think I shoul-"

"Please," He cuts Aidan off, "Look I just need you to wait 30 minutes, eat your breakfast here while I prepare some meals. You're passing by the orphanage anyways right?"

"Ezekiel it would set me back almost an hour and I can't sp-"

"Aidan" He starts speaking in a loud whisper, "My shift is almost done and I want to sleep, I can't stay awake much longer, just take the meals with you and drop them off on your way out of town, please?"

He looked tired, and Aidan wouldn't mind staying in and getting another 30 minutes to eat and properly wake up. He sat at the bar and sighed, "Fine, but make it quick, I don't want to be set back too long and get caught emptying traps at night." He reached over and opened his bag.

Carmen turned her head to the individual that had approached. Offering a smile and a nod reaching as she wiggled one of her many rings. Careful to keep the Rose stamped ring from being seen. She extended her hand holding the gold and sapphire ring. It's gem alone the size of a large mans knuckle. It was not odd for her to be adorned in such trinkets though most of them had little meaning to her. She shook her hand to reassure she was offering it to the gentleman.
"I apologize to send you out of your way, but the place means a lot to someone important to me. I breaks my heart to see its name tarnished, as of right now this is the most I can do for those children"

She reached out with her other hand placing the piece of jewlary into his hand and closed it. Before turning on her heel for a moment a glimps of her rose handled blade could be spotted before the black fabric fell back to cover it.

"For your lost time, thank you again for the business"

She tugged her cloak to further cover her her face. Walking out with her proper posture and a glide to her step. Setting out her next stop would be to obtain a horse. Other wise the trip would lose them time goodness knows what the fox merchant could do.

"Is that all the information you can give me?" he questioned.

The four villagers gave nervous nods, as the prince sighed. "As much as I want to right now," Calvin murmured, as his fingers ran along his unsheathed sword, "I'm currently unable to continue to do so." The prince would then sheath his sword in an empty hold that rested to his left, and turned away from the kneeling four.

"But, since you've given me something I can attempt to manage to work with..."

Calvin walked along his room, until he eventually made it to a chest that had gathered with specks of dust. Wiping off the top, the prince would unlock the small chest, and dug about the sounds of clinking coins.

Eventually, the prince would hold four, small bags, with two of them resting in each palm of his hands. As he approached the four, the sound of coins emitted from the small bags, before Calvin stopped in front of them. "I will give you these rewards," he finished, as the prince painstakingly gave the small bags of coins to the villagers.

"Each of these hold many copper bits," Calvin informed. "There is no gold, nor is there silver, but be lucky and grateful that I've considered to have given you peasants something that may be worthwhile."

The four people gave surprised stares at the prince, as they tightly gripped the bags. "Thank-" Calvin cut one of them off, saying, "I don't need your pitiful thanks."

They only gave polite nods, as Calvin pointed toward the door to his chambers.

"Now, leave!" the prince ordered, as the villagers scurried to exit his room. "Before I reconsider my choice."

As Aidan sat down and took out his breakfast, he saw the woman walking forward, fidgeting with something in her hands. His first guess was a reward or payment of some sorts for taking the meals to the children, which he thought was highly unnecessary. Having already donated that much towards meals for the poor, he wouldn't let this woman, no matter how good-willed she seemed, pay even more for simply trying to preform an act of kindness. While good deeds were a hard thing to come across in these dark times, he couldn't help but be put off by the strange feeling this woman was giving off. There was something about her, something that felt friendly. If she hadn't been wearing colored robed, he would've thought her to be a nun or a holy figure of some sort.

However, everything changed when she moved her arm out and in her hand was a magnificent gold and sapphire ring. Aidan's jaw almost dropped, Ezekiel almost dropped a plate and his eyes widened in amazement.

"I apologize to send you out of your way, but the place means a lot to someone important to me. It breaks my heart to see its name tarnished, as of right now this is the most I can do for those children"

What? He couldn't believe it. This thing was probably worth thousands, and this lady just handed it over without hesitation! He could buy a house with this kind of money, he could retire early and live his days out by a nice lake somewhere, away from all the madness. Who was this lady? In a matter of seconds, she turned and walked out of the inn. Aidan stood there for a couple of seconds, this couldn't be real, could it? This was probably some sick joke, a prank? He waited for her to walk back through that door and say, "My apologies, It seems there's been a mistake, I've given you the wrong thing by accident!"

When nothing changed, and the realization that this lady hadn't made a mistake, he started walking towards the door. HIs walk became a jog and he almost bumped into someone on his way out.

"WAIT!" He called out as he burst out the door. He looked around frantically for a second before spotting her not too far from the door. "Wait!" He called out again, this time with less volume.

The lady seemed to stop for a second before turning around slightly. Aidan stood not too far from her, confused, trying to think of something, anything to say! He stood there for what was probably 30 seconds before he finally spoke.

"You must understand why I simply can't accept this." He waited for a second and continued, "N-Not that I don't appreciate it, I jus-" He interrupted himself, "I appreciate the generosity, in fact, I've never met anyone as giving and kind as you are... I won't ask who you are because you're clearly not any regular person, but I won't let you give me something this valuable for a task I can do in less than 5 minutes.

Carmen turned her head hearing the voice calling out after her the wind blew at the dark fabric giving a slight glimpse of her pale ocean blue eyes. Her face could almost pass for a finely painted doll she smiled softly before the hood fell covering her face once more. She raised her hand to refuse it back her other fingers still having simple gold bands, her palms were soft clean looking no signs of labour. Her stance almost proper as she lowered them back down clasping politely in front of her.

“It’s a trinket, materialistic things mean little to me. If you will not keep it perhaps use it to help those in a less fortunate situation, unfortunately I cannot stay in town long to see to things for myself. There is an urgency I need attend to, I still have yet to secure horses on such notice”

Her speech was polite and well pronounced having never journeyed far outside her tower Carmen failed to noatice such patterns in her behaviour. She gripped her hands a little firmly keeping one hand to cover her Rose plated ring. Was a foolish thing to wear when in hiding but it was the only trinket she truely treasured. A gentle smile on her red lips the bit of her cheeks that could be seen with dimples that deepened with the grin.

“You seem like an honest person, I am glad to see corruption has yet to claim everyone”

Aidan stood there as she turned around and raised her hand. As she turned, Aidan couldn't help but stare. She was gorgeous, her face was soft and her eyes were a deep blue. She looked fragile, almost as if she hadn't worked or seen any physical harm in her entire life. This only raised even further the question of who the hell she was. Before he could continue his thoughts, she began to speak;

“It’s a trinket, materialistic things mean little to me. If you will not keep it perhaps use it to help those in a less fortunate situation, unfortunately, I cannot stay in town long to see to things for myself. There is an urgency I need attend to, I still have yet to secure horses on such notice”

He looked down at his hand, the ring still laying in his palm, and closed it. He was about to speak before she had put on a smile and spoke once again, “You seem like an honest person, I am glad to see corruption has yet to claim everyone”

He couldn't help but give a weak smile, raising his eyebrows and scratching his head. Her smile was comforting for Aidan, but he knew that he couldn't keep her waiting for long, so he said, "Thank you, but if you really don't want it back, I guess..." he stopped for a second, as if to change his mind, "No, I think the orphanage can do way more with this than me" He put the ring in his pocket and finally let himself show a full smile. "Thank you, and good luck on your journey." He said before turning back and walking back to the Inn.

"Hm?"

Magnus cocked his head and frowned. Who had he spoken to? It was strange, but as he thought on it, Magnus realized that he couldn't recall speaking aloud, at all. In his memory there was just... an absence, wet and cold. Troubled or possibly even embarrassed by this lapse in clarity, the King said nothing.

Aware of a growing silence, Caspar interjected, his voice dry and imperious.

"The King implied that he was tired: I feel like that is sufficient instruction, for now. You should revise your subject matter and prepare-"

"Caspar," growled the King. "You do not speak for me."

The Steward sighed wearily.

"As you say, Sire."

"Show me the proper respect, cur."

Lucifer might see the flicker of annoyance that crossed the Steward's face, before Caspar turned about and bowed, stooping low and uttering his apologies.

The King did not bother to observe this, he had already moved on to Lucifer.

"And you - tutor. You may rest and recuperate this evening, but I would like you commence your duties in the morning. Caspar here will be your rendezvous, should you run into any issues. Now, you are dismissed."

Blood poured from the wounds that Grevious withstood, his body ached from war, war that waged against the King Magnus. The Tyrant of a king thought his enemies weak, but they had banded together for strength, even Grevious whose family were murdered by Magnus' hand, he was not going to let that stop him for his quest for freedom. Him, much like the rest of the rebel base, were suffering from battle wounds from a previous attack. Nine hundred strong before the ambush, they now stood at seven hundred weak or injured, many of the scouts and artillery were still healthy, but they seen first hand the destruction that flayed behind the hand of Magnus.

"A Tyrant, a beast with no leash." Grevious felt near defeated, his men had felt the same, a carefully planned attack was repressed by a few extra soldiers, the Prince's men. No war was to be won here. Grevious plopped himself in a chair, he had not been in his Lycan form, but his domestic human form, for the morale of the troops. A new plan was needed to be devised, and they needed to flee from the enemy, another attack was not withstand able. Grevious knew the rebellion would not last much longer without more support from the Kingdom of Ash itself, the other Kingdoms had little resistance because it was destroyed before it was formed. Grevious poured himself a glass of whiskey, holding his small glass, looking through the lips of his tent doors, he saw the humiliation of his people, of his troops, there was little that he could do for them. Grevious was a tactician and a general, but he was no leader, not one to lead a country or bring people upon his movement with his words, he was to brash and menacing, the Lycan was the muscle, and he needed a voice for the people. They were to move out of their position soon, off towards the mountains, where they could recover and fortify themselves, in case of another assault, the position in the mountains was a last option however, and they would hopefully show to the people that even in dire times, they were willing to fight. Luckily for them, the destination that they had in mind was were the old Royalties of Ash were buried, a tomb of monstrous size was not to be bothered by the royal guard, caretakers perhaps, but they could easily be converted or killed for the cause...

"Yes, now I will take my leave. I hope that next time we talk it's over a good beer or some wine, Magnus" Said Lucifer and bowed to the angry king, then walked out of the throne room. The door slammed behind him, though it were not his intend. He walked the picture and trophy ridden halls in search of his room. The He came to it. "Let's see if this is something to write home about" He muttered then opened the door, and walked in. The room weren't larger than a student dorm, it had a dusty bed, a worn desk with a stool, an a wardrobe covered in what Lucifer hoped were white wine stains. "Well it's better than a hole in the ground, so I take it" He said and took off his satchel, then putted it on the ground. He opened up it's flap, then crawled down a ladder in it.

He climbed down into a round room with the basic necesities, a bed, a firepit, and for him, an alchemy lab. From the roof hang loads of herbs and spices, all dried. He had cabinets filled with bottles with different colored liquids in them. On the floor were pelts of different animals, tigers, bears, wolfs. Up against the wall were a couple of barrels, his food reserve. Engraved into the stonewalls were bookcases, filled with fairytales, recipiece, strategies, alchemy, almost everything worth knowing about, were in those bookcases. He picked out on of the books, one named "How to not get your head chopped off by a king, by Gorn Dullahan". He laid down on the bed and began reading the book.

Carmen turned with a wave of her right hand baring the rose plated band, she continued on her way through the town. Her eyes scanning for the stalls where she soon stopped paying a couple of coins she had smuggled. Having pulled the small silk pouch from her bodice. Paying more then fairly for the horses and needed supply for the trip. The more she spoke and interacted the more village people were almost entrawled by the masked woman. In what was considered a dark time demonstrating kindness and care. A couple of people in turn themselves behaving more kindly. It was a normal effect she had after all there were still times she could make a nice man out of her father. Even though with time it had grown more difficult to do so.

Securing the saddle onto the horse packing the bags carefully she furrowed her brow slightly turning her head to the side. Her cheeks flushed the brightest hue of pink at the realization she had never actually ridden a horse, snuck out to feed them carrots a few times perhaps but she was never permitted to actually ride one. The steward often said it was because she’d be to fragile if thrown off. She gulped nervous holding on the the reigns, now was not the time to be a coward. If she was to be successful and do what’s right she needed to prove she was strong enough to survive and get past obstacles and face head on.

“Come on Car, this is why they don’t take you seriously”

She gripped the reigns and with a swift motion hoisted her self up on to the saddle, her pale shins sticking out part of her gown hooking in the saddle. She gripped gently focusing on keeping her balance letting it trot around a bit to get use to its movements. She nodded politely to the stable boy and awaited for her attendant to follow behind on his horse before setting off. It would be a long travel to the boarders she doubted there would be luck finding inns. Hopefully there would at least be a few spots to camp should they need.

When it came for the lamp-lights to be dimmed and the torches snuffed out, the King had been content; he had gone to his chambers and regaled it all to his physician: his armies were conquering lands in his name and even the dreary task of educating Carmen seemed to be progressing. For once, he had little reason to complain.

But such a delicate peace could not last long.

In the morning, when sleep still hung on the eyelashes of drowsy guardsmen, an elderly woman screamed and scrabbled from the princess's tower. Barrelling her way into the throne room, she clutched a letter in her hand.

“She’s gone your majesty!”

Four words were all it took to shatter that illusion of calm. Four words and a rose-scented note.

Caspar spoke for the whole room when he voiced his disbelief.

"What do you mean she's gone? Give me that."

He snatched the letter from the woman, before trotting over and placing it into Magnus's hands. The woman continued to wail.

“Her blade, and one of the trainers entrusted with her are also missing!-"

Magnus did not need to read the letter to become enraged. The mere suggestion that his daughter had escaped was already enough to set his blood simmering.

"Break her nose," he said, gesturing towards the maid. "No one is to barge into my throne room like that."

"Please, Lord! No!"

"And don't you dare scream, wench! Else we'll take the jaw, too!"

While one of the Royal Guard silently alighted the steps to carry out this order, Magnus turned his attention to the letter in his grip.

....Sincerely,
Little Rose

"That dog!" roared Magnus, launching out of his chair with uncommon speed. He glared over at the maid, who was now sobbing quietly, while blood gushed from her nose. "You say that her teacher left with her? Which one?"

"Gche fidin' wun," she croaked.

"The fighting one," offered Caspar, as a translation.

Magnus was visibly trembling with rage and as his anger grew, the chorus of dark-whispers grew ever louder, too.

Burn her, burn her, BURN HER!

They were pushing in on him, drowning him in their hate and soon the room began to warp and spin, as if the stones were as fluid as water. Groaning weakly, Magnus crumpled to the ground, prompting shouts and for guards to rush to his side. Gripping his chest and falling into subconscious, the King managed to spit out two words that would follow Carmen to the ends of the Earth.

"Find them."

Faize the whole time being with Carmen has stayed silently maintaining his invisibility

The wind whipped against his body, as his eyes gazed on the bloodstained ground before him.

"Greetings, again. I suppose that you're still searching?"

Prince Calvin gave a mere glance upward at the gray skies that surrounded his vicinity, as his fists were clenched tightly. The still air felt as though it scorched him, the breeze felt as if it was oddly freezing, and the ground felt as if it pierced him through his boots, while a light chuckle echoed through the area.

"Where are you?" Calvin questioned. "And how long will you continue this hell?"

"It was your fault that you messed with my friend, Prince Calvin," came the dull response. "So, you may face the consequences you deserve."

The prince's lip quivered slightly. "When I find you," Calvin hollered into the sky nervously, "you will rid of what you befell on me! Do you understand that?!"

"Maybe you should not have been so obedient, Prince Calvin. . ."

~

Calvin jolted up from his bed, as struggling rays of sunlight struck in his skin. His throat felt rather dry, as his own hand had been gripping his torso to the point where it left red marks. A growl escaped his mouth, as the prince listened to the sound of his door being barged open.

"Cal!" came a familiar, feminine voice, as the footsteps approached him. "I heard you scream, again! Did something happen once more?"

The prince cocked his head over to see the guard woman standing beside him, in worry over what happened. Calvin only gave a glare at her, before yelling in the woman's face, "What did I inform you when referring to me as Cal, Mieadov?! What did I say?!"

The guard gave a slight flinch at his yell, before she shook her head. "Ah, forgive me," Johanna murmured. "I was just concerned about your state."

Calvin gave a huff, as the prince stood up from his bed. "I don't need your worthless concern, Mieadov," the prince said. "So, you may be dismissed, seeing as though you wasted valuable time of protecting the castle!"

Johanna gave a sigh at the prince, as the woman marched toward the door. She'd pause outside of his room, and gave a single glance at the prince. Shaking her head, the guard left his room, with a gentle shut of the door.

Prince Calvin rubbed his head in slight annoyance. "That hell of a nerve with that woman," he'd mutter, as Calvin began to prepare himself for the morning.

The surgeon worked on Mr. Carjak, Two Bit, being he had an arrow shot into his leg, during battle things seemed to go away, but now being laid in a bed he could feel his nerves playing against him. The Makeup that he had over his eyes was gone with sweat and blood, most of his face covered in dirt. Quietly and patiently Carjak waited for the doctor to finish working before he could tend to his works, no heavy action. He hadn't had the faintest plan of leaving his dwellings after the ambush he suffered, and business will move along. The Merchant had his agents moving across the country as he stood in his room, though blood seeped through his dressings he grimaced going towards his water basin to wash and reapply his war paint, instead now putting on a white skull on his face, the teeth being fangs going down his top and bottom lip, with the the rest of the negative space, black. Carjak's hands laid behind him, wrists enveloped with on another, he stared outside watching prisoners be imported into stalls with two other dozen people. But by now his people should have money given to the Royalties within the country side, keeping the peasantry folk at bay, and keeping the men of the King''s army fed. At least as long as Carjak's supply lines are not taken out by Rebellion ambushes.

A rider came galloping down the hills over the valley to the west. It was a scout rider in light armour wearing a leather tunic and riding a plain brown horse with dark spots. He was holding the banner of his lord and king, as he approached the band of warriors on Kings Pass, all of whom were dressed as knights in noble regalia and riding horses of their own. The scout rode up to the band's leader, a savage looking duke from one of the nearby provinces who stood out as being somewhat different and less civilized perhaps than all the others. His tatted face, filed teeth, and blatant disconcern for body armor made the leading knight look more like a barbarian or warlord rather than a duke or nobleman.

"Vygoren, my lord." The scout addressed the brutish red haired warrior. "I saw Castle Ashdown, just one more mile ahead. We should be arriving within the hour." The knights were escorting large wagons carrying seized treasures and captured slaves. This made their journey slower, and offered more dangers from traveling bandits and rebels. But the knights were led by Calygarn, and Lord Calygarn had scouts and spies to keep his caravan forewarned of anything that might threaten their quest.

"Good, go ahead of us and announce our arrival. We shall make a grand entrance for the king, and bring glory to the crown." Vygoren smiled menacingly, his sharp blue dyed teeth like the mouth of a carnivorous reptile. His name would soon become another whisper in the wind, as legends spread of the Battle of Eastland and the last stand of King Estvikt, who had been beheaded by Calygarn himself.  The duke could think of nothing more satisfying. Like many lords before him, Vygoren's only concern was making a name for himself and moving up in society. His only other thoughts ran to Lord Thraen, his close friend and equal partner on the battlefield. Lord Vygoren had considered sending a scout back to check on his friend's illness. "Sir Axel, would you mind-" Vygoren was suddenly distracted by an object on the horizon.

There in the valley in the heart of the Mareshoe Mountains was a large castle. It was the legendary Castle Ashdown, built centuries ago by the Ashdown founders themselves. Once known for its grand walls, decorated hallways and luxurious hanging gardens, the fabled Castle of Ash Kingdom was now a place of neglect and ruin. Nevertheless, it was the largest castle in the whole kingdom, and it captured the minds of all who beheld its might. "There it is, the castle in all her glory." Vygoren quickly forgot about his friend Thraen and sent for one of the heralds. The scout from earlier had rode ahead of them, waving the flag of Prince Relbregh Ashdown for all to see. As the herald arrived with a drumset in his hands, Vygoren gave the order, and soon the band of knights would approach the castle under the loud sound of drums.

The guards at the gate would sound their trumpets, loud enough for everyone around the whole castle to hear as a band of well-fitted knights in shining armor presented themselves on horseback. Vygoren rode in front, keeping his back straight and his head high, as was customarily practiced by lords of his social status. The horses had been fed and groomed prior to their arrival, and Vygoren had made sure to it that all of his knights polished their weapons and armour beforehand. Image was everything, and even though the knights were tired and hungry, Vygoren and his men would not dare show any weakness before the kingdom or the king. As far as the country was concerned, the king's men were invincible, and Lord Vygoren certainly wanted to maintain that image.

Meanwhile...

The southlands were deserted and uninhabited, apart from the animals in the woodlands and a few scattered campsites where exiles and bandits had settled. Lord Thraen had just recently saved an elderly lady named Sebria from the wrath of Prince Relbregh, and although he showed remarkable heroism, both Thraen and Sebria were badly injured. Stopping his stolen new horse at a freshwater creek, Thraen unsaddled his steed and helped the old woman to unmount. She was barely conscious, but she held on to him and smiled warmly, hiding her pain. "What is your name young man?" Sebria asked as he set her down by the water. "I am Thraen Valour, m'lady." Thraen would let out a soft moan as he grabbed the broken spearshaft and yanked it from his shoulder. "Valour eh? Well Thraen Valour, thank you so very kindly. That was a truly noble thing you did for me back there. The townsfolk shall surely tell stories about you now." Thraen groaned as he pried the arrow out of his upper leg and fell down by the water. Sebria looked to him with concern before coughing.

A little blood spewed forth from the old lady's mouth, but she concealed it by covering her cough. As the former Lord of Ash began working on making a fire, Sebria would assist in grabbing some water and attending to their wounds. Thraen tried to stand back up after a minute, but the pain was too much. He knew it wouldn't take long for the news of Prince Relbregh's death to reach the kingdom, but in these conditions, pushing himself probably wasn't the best idea. Sebria scolded him for moving around so much and warned him to get some rest while she watched over the fire and kept a sharp eye on their campsite.

Back at the Castle...

Vygoren unmounted his lightly armored horse and handed the reigns to one of the stewards. His arrival being announced, he would rest his hand on his hilt whilst walking up the alabaster stone steps to the main hall. Once inside, the guards would all bow to him to acknowledge his military rank and superiority as he walked down the long tiled hallway to the kings hall and finally to the large arched oakwood double doorway just outside the throne room. His footsteps could be heard loudly as his boots hit the tile floor, and with his dark green cape flowing behind him, Lord Vygoren Calygarn looked menacingly like someone that most people and even some monsters wouldn't want to mess with.

Just then a tutor came walking out of the throne room past Vygoren, nearly bumping into him. Lord Vygoren would turn to look at Lucifer, who seemed to be somewhat troubled by something the king had said to him. As the two crossed paths, Vygoren scowled, his row of filed teeth showing like razor sharp fangs. He would neither smile nor greet the stranger before him, only making his presence known. By now, Vygoren was sure that he needed no introduction and that everyone in the kingdom already knew who he was. This of course was not always the case. Turning to look once more at the doors, Vygoren imagined himself becoming the King's Hand one day, and perhaps gaining enough wealth and fortune to build a palace of his own. Until then, he just had to settle for being one of the prince's lead generals. But he still presented himself with great potential, and great resolve.

Hearing that the king had retired to his chamber for the day, Lord Calygarn felt a huge crush to his ego. He was only a human afterall, and not a member of the royal family. Being quietly dismissed after hearing one of the maids shout something about the missing princess, Vygoren turned to walk away. Missing? Hmm. That's when he saw Johanna walking out of the prince's bed chamber. Johanna Mieadov was an important figure around Castle Ashdown and had served the royal family as a castle guard for quite some time. Vygoren and Johanna had trained together at the barracks and had served together for a while back when they were younger. She grew up to become a royal guard, while he went on to expand the kingdom. Lord Calygarn once had a childhood crush on Lady Johanna, but over time they grew apart and she was engaged to someone else. As the years passed, Vygoren's heart grew colder and more wicked. He ended up serving Prince Relbregh at the tower, while she stayed closer to Prince Calvin at the castle. Despite their differences now, they both served the same kingdom, and Vygoren bowed his head respectfully to Johanna as she passed by him in the hall.

That night, Vygoren and his knights would stay in different guest chambers around the castle. In the morning, he would put on noble attire and try again to have a visit with King Magnus, in hopes that the king would be pleased to see him. Little did any of them know what happened at Relbregh's Tower, as another lone rider in the night delivering the message had actually been seized by rebels, delaying the arrival of bad news. Lord Vygoren was almost certain that Lord Thraen would arrive shortly to accompany him. As he lay down in his guest chamber, Vygoren dozed off at the ceiling and fell asleep. Dreams of victory soon followed.

Carmen gripped to her horse as she rode for hours out of the capital taking paths through the forest. Wasn’t and idle spot to travel and considered dangerous part of the country side. Though was a risk she would take knowing half the castle guards would be deployed to look for her. Seeing no others in sight she reached up dropping her hood back off her head. Her pale skin and soft features fully exposed in the light peeking through the trees.

“I forgot hoe much this cloak itches”

She looked about seeing many of the trees and plant life were dieing her face reflex ting that of an almost sorrow. Her blue eyes watered slightly and took a deep breath pulling back such tears.

“Father, perhaps your the one shaming us all”

She muttered quietly to herself.

The groans and moans of his comrades was off putting to many of the uninjured soldiers, it took away from the morale of the Rebellion, and Grevious knew this. He took the bottle of whiskey once again, pouring himself a glass. The half blooded human dosed his throat again before standing up and going through the lips of his tent, morphing into the large Lycan beast that he was. His skin ripped and teared as new thicker skin took its place and fur covering that skin. Grevious threw on his coat and cutlass on his hip. Now in his Lycan form he could smell his surroundings to the exact detail. Or he would have a general idea what the smell would be associated with. Breathing in the air, he caught scents of war, blood, famine, and pain. The blood and infections within wounds, the faint aroma of a perfume, an odd smell for a battle encampment, as well they had not a many female soldiers that would be wearing such a sent.

"Corporal, get me a Search Party, I believe we have an enemy approaching." It could have just been a Gypsy lucky enough to find a fine perfume, but Grevious was not willing to take another attack from the King's Army, the Rebellion would surely be crippled and destroyed then. He, along with five other men on horses, trotted through the forested arena, going around widely traveled gravel roads towards Carmen, the scent that Grevious was picking up. As he ran through the bush, the scent got stronger and stronger, he stood up on two feet looking through the bushes to the surrounding area, he saw the Princess on the horse riding along the road, she was headed around the camp, but she seemed off putting to be in a forest, especially during times of war. Grevious' scouts then caught up, hopping off their horses to join the Lycan in watching the lady trot along on her horse. The wolf pulled his blade from his hip behind the brush, his eyes wandered around the woman's appearance, she was quite attractive, something of story book beauty, but now hadn't seem like the time to boast her physic. The rest of the troope with Grevious pulled out their blades, with a finger pointed towards the behind Carmen he had his men get in position for an ambush on her.

With everyone in position Grevious let out a fearful howl, "If you move we will act force upon you!" He meant this, he was a forceful man, he would cut Carmen down without even knowing who she was, if she continued riding, he would have his men sent on horses to peruse her, if she stayed Grevious would come out of the brush, weapon drawn with his teeth barred out.

Carmen gazed up looking around her seeing many sets of eyes her brow furrowed slightly looking almost frightened she took a deep breath. With a swift swing she dismounted standing in her dark cloak drapped over the red wine coloured silks. Reaching a hand to her belt holding the rose carved handle of her blade her stance more defensive then offensive. She didn’t aim to charge but as if she were waiting to block off attacks of another. She took another deep breath attempting sum up what courage she still had.

“I ask to pass through, there is urgency along the boarders”

She chimed in her soft voice the stern tone was definitely not something that suited her, but this was an important matter. If that outpost wasn’t soon investigated who knows what damage it could cause among the people and land. She stood firmly with her shoulders back and head high her posture proper to demand respect.

“I fear there is a possible threat to the people of Ash”