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Joing this either today or tomorrow!
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I pick my way through the snow-swallowed streets carefully, although I can’t feel any of the cold.
My mind revolves on what I was supposed to have done a while ago: Prevent Princess Whisper from escaping from the castle.
What I’m doing right now: Returning the princess to the castle, immediately.
Soon dawn will arrive and gloss the sky with clouds the color of roses. Soon the dark will scatter into the corners of the earth and I’ll be forced to run to the castle.
Returning empty handed will be rewarded by…punishment, in simplest terms, which I’m certain I won’t be able to bear.
Returning with the princess will be rewarded by restoration of all the things I’ve lost over the years.
I duck into a deserted alley and melt into the darkness against a pile of convenient crates. To all human and non-human eyes, I appear to be a tired young girl, my wispy black hair and drab gray cloak blowing in the wind. The type of child who’s hard to track down and hard to notice.
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After a moment of mentally searching through the kingdom, I find what I am looking for.
The tavern.
Desperate souls. Clocks. Magic. Fear. Light. Shadows.
And one frightened princess.
There is danger here, as well as powerful magic, although of course I’m not afraid. If the deity causing it did sense my presence and try to devour my soul, they wouldn’t be able to, mainly because there wouldn’t be one.
Decision made. I wait till the door of the tavern opens and then slip through (It’s tremendously annoying, but in my present state, I can’t interact with objects in the physical world). The princess is seated in the corner, whispering to a merchant. The merchant takes a red potion out of their satchel and starts talking. Whisper tilts the twinkling bottle, nodding.
I exhale sharply, remembering that I can’t hear them. Unless I…
My sense of sight vanishes instantaneously, replaced with a hubbub of sounds. I focus, and then I hear…everything.
“When should I drink it?” Whisper asks.
“Whenever you are ready,” the merchant replies, “We can’t leave quite yet, I would like to enjoy my meal first.”
“Do you have any more?”
No. No, no, no.
This could ruin everything.
I hear the clink of a utensil. “No, but if you can get me into the castle, I’ll make you another bottle,” says the merchant.
Now. Now is the time to act.
Just as I’m preparing my magic, I hear a voice that chills me to my very soul, and believe me, not many things scare me.
“Hello, Princess,” it says, matter-of-factly.
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@Spy – are you Darkling or Darkvine?
Not me having to comb through my old parts that I wrote on this because I can't remember what I said about it.
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A powerful magic user approaches the princess's table right at the same time I do. How interesting. They seem to be scared of the Ranger. I fiddle with the adjustments on the cloaking charm, turning it almost all the way off, but not before hiding my antennae and wings again. Now the charm should simply make me difficult, although not impossible, to recall.
I'd never admit it, but seeing Whisper here rattles me. She's far too close to the one target I took care of five-and-a-half years ago. I try to keep my work out of the city, and back then was the only time I haven't managed to do so… I didn't think there would be anyone in the Tavern who would have known the target. But here she is. She would have known who he was, had short conversations with him, even if she didn't know him personally…
I'm wondering if I should just turn around and leave, but I've already settled into my seat. Besides, it's fine. It was a sloppy job, but even though I was seen, nobody should have gotten any identifying features, just a shadowy figure in a dark cloak.
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I’m not Darkling or Darkvine, but I understand why you would think so.
@The Assassin, Just checking, when you said “powerful magic user,” did you mean me? Because 1, my charrie isn’t…powerful in the normal sense, and 2, she’s not actually at the tavern right now, which is why she can only use one of her senses at a time, and why I said, “mentally searching through the kingdom” earlier. If that’s a little bit OP, then maybe you know she’s there, you just can’t see her and she can’t see you at the present moment, because she can only use one of her senses at a time. That explains the part that you wrote. Or maybe she’s there as a sort of ghost.
***
I’m still trying to focus my mind on returning the princess to the castle, which is still jittery from the interruption. I briefly consider switching my senses again, but then decide against it. Some kind of conversation will doubtless start again.
Then, I hear footsteps. I hurriedly change senses. The newcomer seems slightly nervous, like they regret joining the table, but looking at them makes my head swim, like some magical force is trying to remove all memory of them from my head.
I don’t like that. If I lost control of my mind, I’d lose almost all of my magic. I might not even be able to return back to the physical world, much less to the castle.
I change senses again, and the swimming feeling goes away as inky darkness envelops me.
***
Hopefully more people post here, and this castle’s not dead.
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Oops, my bad! I forgot you weren't in the tavern. Just ignore that bit then! ^^
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So many people. This, just seconds before, had been a simple conversation. Me and Whisper. One my mind could handle.
Now, at least three people have joined us. The Ranger, standing still and calm. A young girl it seems, resolved and nervous. And someone else, but my fogged brain can't seem to see any of their features. This never happens in the marketplace. The people looking for potions stand in a line, orderly, quiet. They speak one at a time. Sometimes they interrupt, push forward, speak all at once.
But I'm always prepared for it. I was not ready here. I know Whisper must be feeling overwhelmed, but I can't think about her.
I curl into myself, my vision going black. I tremble, my breath coming in short gasps. I fall forward, banging my head on the table, but I can barely feel the pain through the fog in my mind. This blasted Oxen-Folk curse. Really wanted to keep us in line. Couldn't…they… I can't finish the thought, my mind scattering like raindrops on pavement. I try to push through the smoke, but I'm drowning in my own head.
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@A Spy, oops, my apologies! I just realized you said that you weren't actually in the tavern. My mistake! Just ignore that part about you being there.
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That's okay, it's a bit confusing. 🙂
@A Merchant, are you ~Amarillis~?
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I am very sorry that I haven't posted!
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I politely take the potion from the Merchant's hand. "Hello Princess, though you are not mine.". A Ranger sits down, leaningback in their chair. I nod at them, smiling slightly. Then their words seep in. I jump up, grabbing the merchant's hand, the potion shoved into the hidden pocket, on the underside of my cloak. Circling around the back of an adjacent building I stop. Straightening, I fret "Ah! More people has sat down.,..oh no. that wasn't very polite of me…no, no, no. I'm sorry for dragging you out here, I don't feel quite safe on my lonesome out here.."
"Had you not traveled from the castle to the tavern alone?".
I blush, hanging my head "I suppose your right, I guess I was to angered to realize all the possible ways I could get hurt…or worse.". The Merchant nodds, letting go of my hand. They reach into a brown stachel, and pull out a short, thin, silver dagger. The hilt znd handle made of a red maple wood. They place it in my hand, curling my fingers around the handle. " But what about you?" I say, handing it back. They shake their head " I'll be fine, I have others after all.".
"If you say so." I nod my head, turning. The moon shines bright, almost lighting a path. I walk up the road, and head back to the castle…
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I hear the screech of a chair being shoved back and the clatter of hasty footsteps.
Curses! I’m still utterly blind and don’t know what’s happening in the least.
By the time I’ve adjusted senses yet again, I’m just in time to see Princess Whisper leap to her feet and almost run out of the tavern, yanking the Merchant, who seems dizzy and overwhelmed for some reason, with her.
Apparently I’m not the only one who’s disconcerted by the Ranger’s sudden appearance, although it’s slightly rude to leave all of the sudden like Whisper just did.
I hurry to the door and wait an agonizing three minutes for it to open.
When I finally manage to slip through, the princess is nowhere in sight, neither is the Merchant, which is absolutely detrimental to my plans, since I can’t possibly manipulate their minds unless I can sense them in some way.
I glance up at the sky. The moon sails down from the endless blue, taking any last chance I could have had with it. The sun nibbles on the edge of the darkness.
I’ve failed.
I shut my eyes as I’m jerked back into the physical world. I’m back in the alley.
Fatigue, pain, and hunger envelop me, three painful sensations that I’m able to escape at night.
I sigh and fall into uneasy, dreamless sleep.
***
This castle must not die. @Runaway Princess, I suspect that you're Reuby Moonnight.
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@Merchant – I feel like I might have guessed this already, but Luna Silvermoon?
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Princess Whisper bolts, taking the Merchant with her. Now I'm intrigued, and it's just me and the Ranger at the table. I stand up, and face the Ranger.
"I'm going to follow them. I want to see what's going on. This is much more interesting than the meeting I had scheduled. You're welcome to come with me if you want."
Then I turn, without looking back to see if they're following, and shove out the same door Whisper took. The princess and the merchant are long gone, but I'm not planning on following them from the ground.
I'm gonna follow them from the air.
I take off at a sprint in the direction of the abandoned warehouse that I've been storing the Fluffles XVII in. It's a one-of-a-kind airship. While airships aren't that uncommon (there's a large cargo airship lumbering across the sky above my head right now), they aren't all that common either, but the Fluffles is special. I haven't looked back to see if the Ranger is following, but if they are I'll need to find a new old warehouse to stash the Fluffles in.
In a few minutes I arrive at the warehouse and clamber up a ladder on the side, pushing through a boarded-up window on the second story that I've designed to swing open. I come out the other side onto a narrow cast iron catwalk. Down on the warehouse floor below the Fluffles rests in all of it's magnificence.
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