Sword and Sovereignty {IC} {M} {MidKnight & Hannelorian}

[MidKnight]

She looked at the knife that was thrown near her then turned her attention at Alienor. "Nice throw." She said as she placed the town on the handle. She listened to Alienor and smiled, "About time." She said as she walked over to the table and grabbed the cup of mead. "I wanted to see your angry side and from the looks of it, this is a glimpse of frustration and annoyance." She sat on the table and takes a drink. "So you wanna know who I am?"

"I was born in a Warrior Clan in my village. The families have considered the first born child to be taken in as Warriors." She sighs. "Not your average barbaric warrior with a huge axe and wearing bear skin, Warriors from my clan were trained to be Elite Soldiers. We were also the Guards for our Lord but we do not heed their Officers commands. Our orders come from the Daimyo. Once we are fully trained and filled with knowledge, we begin our path to a Warrior's Death."

She sighs as she takes in another drink, the warm liquid helped with her tale.

"It means we stay as Elite Guards until we met our fates or the day we die. There has been no elder Warrior though if there is, they are either released from their duties due to their age or from their serious injuries. When the time for war comes, we answer the call and fight off Invaders. At that point, we learn lots of ways to kill a man. Where to stab, slice, maim. Their armor gave them a chance but after learning their weakness, it became very easy."

She reached for the chicken and a bread with cheese, making a small sandwich and takes a bite and drinks her mead once more.

"The men we served with were nothing but recruits or volunteers for the army, a job that pays to kill people...my clan does it for free."

She finished drinking her mead and her meal. She relaxes into the chair and sighs softly. "So to answer your question...that's who I am." She smiled. "A Sword....that has no problem killing people...unless they threaten to kill me first." She looked out the window and sees the group of bandits leaving the tavern, they must have had their fill of drinks and food.

[Hannelorian]

Alienor stood away from the windows, careful to be sure to remain unseen. "Was that so had?" The Princess asked in a softer, less angry tone. It seemed that at least having an answer did something to ease the anger and frustration that had been bursting at the seams. "An elite warrior. Well. That explains a lot." Alienor sighed heavily and moved then to sit upon the bed that been designated as hers. She pulled her legs slowly up and onto the soft structure.

"So then... are just waiting for the war to come to the land of your Masters... your Lord and Daimyo?" Alienor did not ask in a condescending or sarcastic way as she may have previously. Instead her voice remained soft, calm, genuinely curious. "To be called up into action? Why do you wander the face of the earth in solitude? It seems... so lonely." Alienor allowed herself to fall back on to the bed.

"I suppose some people prefer to be alone..." Alienor propped herself up upon her elbows and looked out over the room to her companion. "I can't say what you must think of me. Of my life. Perhaps there is judgment there. You wouldn't be wrong. No one needs to pity a Princess." She could have laughed, but she didn't, the thought was sad but full of unyielding irony. "You might just be more honorable than I have given you credit for. Might." That was arguably the closest thing to a compliment Alienor had to provide at this moment.

Her eyes fell upon her drink and slowly she roused herself to take it back into her hands and consume the remainder of it. It was a rather sweet embrace. Perhaps something of a relief after a long day, though the bath had done her some good. "It's better when we tell the truth, at least to one another for as long as we're on this journey together."

[MidKnight]

'All I have left...is my honor.' She thought to herself as she kept her eyes on Alienor while she was speaking. She wanted to answer the question she asked, was there another war for her to come? To be called upon back into action? She was hesitant to answer because there was none to be said, for her to hear anyways. The real answer lies within herself and only hers.

"Please have another round!" The young lord said as he raised his cup, drinking a large amount like the others. Rei and her fellow soldiers smiled and laughed as they drank for their mugs, enjoying the night's event. Music continued to play in the background and more soldiers entered the Tavern. Rei noticed the soldiers were the regular soldiers from the army and sat on the other side of the Tavern. The young lord noticed this as well.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, looking at the others.

Rei spoke as she wiped her chin. "They are regular soldiers for your father's army...they don't drink with us because of our statues, we are different."

"I thought being soldiers were the same?" He asked.

"No, they are paid to be in the army, we were born in a clan and bred for war." She answered as she paid the serving girl for another mug. "When war calls, we answer the call."

The others chuckled and laughed, drinking and eating their fill, one Elite Guard raises his mug, "To the War!" then suddenly and mostly the Elite Guards raised their mugs, "War!!!" and cheered in joy.

"You all shut up?!" One of the soldiers on the other side yelled.

"What's that?" One Elite Guard stood up from his seat, Kazu, he was bigger in size and taller than others. "You telling us what to do pup?" Another Guard tried to grab his arm, dissuading him from causing a scene but instead, Kazu pulled his arm away.

"I said you all shut up?! You think you're better than us?!" The soldier gets up from his seat as well.

Rei looked at the young lord, "My Lord, best you take a seat over here, you don't wanna get tangled in this mess, Kazu has a history of making things...messy." She smiled as she watched the action and drinking her mead.

Kazu and the soldiers started arguing which caused the other regular soldiers to stand up, the Elite Guards watched as Kazu was facing at least five regular soldiers on his own. The regular soldier attempted to punch Kazu in the face, whom dodged the punched and gave one of his own to his stomach along with a knee strike after. Then he strikes two more in the face before they tried to act on their own accord. Another tackled Kazu's waist but it was pointless as he was picked up and throw across the room like a rag doll.

The soldier lands on another Elite Guards table, causing their drinks and food to splash on their faces and uniform. The Guards grew angry and started fighting the regular soldiers. Soon the entire tavern was in a full fighting brawl. Rei was laughing as she watched the fight happen, grabbing the young Lord and pulling him away. "Time to go My Lord." She said.

Rei sighs softly and gets up, she walked over to Alienor and reached for her hand. "Here." She said as she placed the necklace she bought from the vendor. "Put the diamond in this for an emergency only." She showed her how to open the necklace, revealing the small compartment. "It's easy to tell the truth, but what can lie also helps in a long run." She said before walking over to her bed, "Please, get some rest...we have a long ride tomorrow and we have supplies to gather first, horses to buy and maybe some fresh clothes as well." She looked at the number of gems she had, "We can still get a quite amount of the rest of these, I'll visit the Jewelry Shop first thing in the morning." She laid on the bed with her hands behind her head, thinking of a quick way to get to the Celestial Empire.

[Hannelorian]

The Princess sighed softly and crawled into the bed that had been designated as her own. It was a pleasant change from the hard ground of the night before. The events of the days had finally caught up to her, and she found herself swiftly caught in the world of her dreams. But dreams were seldom the relief they could have been, or had been promised. It was filled with nightmares of the dead, of the cruelty she had witnessed, of the murder, the tremendous grief that accompanied the loss of her own people.

--

The Royal Palace in Drepei, the Dream City, Capitol of the Meridian Kingdom, affectionately known by the citizens as Palais des Montagnes, or Palace of the Mountains given it was built directly into the great and mighty cliffs of Etretat. The Palace stood as a testament to the ingenuity of the people of Meridian towering above the vast city beneath it. The enormous falls of Kjaerag and Mizen doting either side were breathtaking and a popular attraction to those visiting the city. Within those ancient and storied walls sat the Royal family, the beating heart of the Kingdom, a dynasty had ruled over her people for nearly eight hundred years. Those same walls were gilded with portraits of Kings and Queens, Princes and Princess, assorted other family members spanning those long generations. It was just as much a museum to the history of the great nation as it was a home and the center of courtly life.

The war with the Celestine Empire dragged on into it's fifth and most deadly year yet. For those who lived within the confines of the capital, one could hardly tell war was being waged at all. So protected were it's citizens. Though not all were immune from the heavy ramifications. The King and his advisers sat behind closed doors. Though for a moment that particular day they had briefly opened and Crown Prince Martinus had emerged quietly only to be confronted near immediately by the visage of his younger sister.

"You've been in there for over a day." Alienor, the eldest daughter stated rather short in her tone. "We are fighting a war sister." Martinus responded with a shrug of his shoulders, he paced before his sister, stretching his legs. "A war that isn't going well if you barely step foot outside father's study." She retorted and folded her arms. Staring at the great and heavy oak doors, Alienor approached them.

"You can't go in there." Martinus stated, almost commanding in his own way. A true Prince of Meridian he was turning out to be.

"Can't I?" Alienor turned back to face Martinus and only offered a wink before pulling the doors opened and slipping her way inside. Before her were her father and his most trusted generals. They stood around a large wooden table which was covered in maps, figurines representing assorted units and legions. All eyes turned their attention to the Princess. There were harried looks, angry looks, questioning looks.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" King Eldric asked as she stared directly into his daughter's eyes, almost like he were boring into her very soul.

"I want to know how the war is going." Alienor stated rather plainly, but matter of fact. "It is not the business of young women to concern themselves with such." Her father replied, a reply which Alienor would have none of. "Are these not my people too? Are they not sacrifice their lives for me just as much as they are for you? For their countrymen?" Alienor asked as she approached the table, laying her fingertips down upon it's surface, eyes gazing over the various reports and materials. It was all grim from what little she could see.

"Do I not deserve to know? Simply because you feel my constitution is weak? I can assure it is anything but. I am a daughter of Meridian. An Archambeaux so you will tell me." Alienor demanded, and it was this very fire that his father loved and nurtured. A fire which he longed to resent but as of this moment, this was his daughter, and his daughter was demanding the truth. The truth she had every right to know. "Alright." Eldric lamented. "Let's read her in." Over the next few hours Alienor became fully aware of every initiative, the issues, the casualties on both sides. The war was taking it's toll on everyone and there was no end in sight. A sad reality. One which informed Alienor's decision to simply go along with the arranged marriage, if it meant an end to the death, wasn't that something?

--

Alienor hardly slept that night. But that was nothing new to her. She hadn't slept well since she was finally made to understand the harsh realities of her world, of war, of the death literally surrounding her. Alienor had a tremendous responsibility, she was quite literally the vessel for peace.

[MidKnight]

Rei was awake and away from her bed. She was looking at a mirror, staring at her own reflection as she was braiding her long hair. She made a neatly tightly braided ponytail and dressed in her new clothes. She quietly walked out of the room and gently locks the door. While making her way to the main bar area, she noticed the bartender she met last night was cleaning the tables.

"G'mornin! Breakfast will be served shortly, do you prefer to dine in here or your room?" He asked while placing a chair down.

"In the room please, but my friend is asleep and the room is locked."

The bartender chuckled. "No worries, I have a specialist myself for occasions like that." He looked at a young girl who was carrying a tray of empty plates and cups. It was odd, Rei noticed everyone in the bar last night except her. Though she admit, she was tiny and impossible to see in such a large crowd.

"Your daughter?" Rei asked curiously as she watched the young girl.

The bartender gives a slight discomfort look on his face. "Orphan." He said while giving a heavy sigh. "Damn war took her father, then her mother couldn't bare losing her love so she followed his footsteps shortly. We found her in the woods a mile out, thought she left on her own accord but...we never thought of something like that." He placed the rag over his shoulder while resting his hands in his pocket. "So I took her in and gave her a job, she's earning her keep and I'll be damn sure she'll be in good health." The bartender smiled as she noticed the young girl walking over to Rei with a cup in her hands. "Would you like something to drink?" She asked holding the cup up.

Rei took the cup and gives a taste and smiled. "Orange juice." She said softly, she looked at the young girl and smiled once more before giving the girl a silver coin she had kept hidden.

She started her business with the jewelry shop, it took her a while to find the shop but the owner appeared a bit eccentric and weird. She managed to sell most of the gemstones for a hefty amount of coin. Then made her way to the stable where she had a hard time bargaining with the horse master but eventually made a deal and settled with a chestnut colored horse and an albino horse. She made her way back to the tavern until she saw a group of bandits standing in the square area of the town. She looked around to see a large number of men armed to the teeth.

"Tell us what you know old man...who walked through here in the past few days?" A tall man wearing a armored helmet, chest plate and greaves, he had shoulder armor and braces covering his forearms, shin and knees were covered too except his feet. It looked like the armor he stole from wasn't his exact fit.

"Please!" The old man beg, most of the witness were townsfolk and only watched in horror as their leader was being beaten. "I don't know who you are talking about!" She could hear his fists pounding into the old man's body.

"A young woman with shiny brown hair, walking with another person. We know they came through here, I can feel it." The bandit leader looked disgruntled.

Rei felt her hand on her sword, bracing the handle and gives it a tight grip. She lets go of the horses reins and walked out to the open. There she slowly unsheathed her sword and walked up to a bandit who was rummaging through a vendors groceries. "Where's the meat?" He demanded.

Rei was close and suddenly the bandits' head was flying in the air. There was a sudden scream as the bandit fell to the ground. It caught the attention of the bandits as they watched the man die in a horrible way.

"I-I-I-I recognized that sword!!!!" Another bandit said as he had fear take over his body. "It's him!!!" He pointed.

Rei looked up to the leader as she gives a quick swift move, removing the blood from her sword as she sheathed it slowly.

The leader laughed, "Him?!" He questioned, "That's a woman you idiot!!! Kill her!!!"

[Hannelorian]

When the Princess awoke the room was silent, the first traces of the sun peaking through the windows the shear curtain doing little to block it out. Though Alienor appreciated the subtlety of the morning sun. She recalled that while in the comfort of her home, the Palace, servants would slip into her room unheard and would rip the curtains open simultaneously to let a sudden and dramatic light pour in to the room, jarring her quickly from her sleep. At least this was natural, a slow progression to gently coax the young woman out of her slumber. Alienor threw her legs over the side of the bed and propelled herself to a sit along the edge. Her hands raised up and ran through her hair and then rubbed her face. The world was slowly coming into focus and Alienor let out a deep sigh, reminded of her fate.

The bed across the room was messy, but empty. "Always thinking about food." Alienor said softly and to absolutely no one, assuming the girl had disappeared in order to obtain food or a drink. Truthfully food was not what Alienor was concerned or even remotely thinking about. It was the thought of another day in this hell, the thought of her parents wondering if she were alive or dead, or someone would be sending some sort of ransom demand their way, and even then there would be no guarantee that their precious daughter were still alive. But here she was, alive and relatively well. Alienor and the prodigal daughter of feudalism, what a striking combination. What odd companions and yet it oddly worked, mostly anyway. They would need to work harder to understand one another if this was going to be fruitful in any way.

Standing up from the bed now Alienor felt the cool wooden floors beneath her feet, her toes stretching out quietly over the planks as she lurched forward, toward the neat pile of new clothes and she donned them quickly and quietly. It was only when she looked in the mirror that she realized she was still utterly recognizable. Well at least as someone who had been seen, perhaps not the Princess. Though that might be an easy fix. The young woman picked up the knife she had been given and stared at herself in the mirror for a long while. It was only at that moment that she decided, and pulling her hair into a long pony tail, Alienor reached back and sliced the area just above the ribbon that held it in place, a sharp knife indeed. Her once long hair was gone, and something of a subtle bob, hair falling down just below her jawline.

The peace of the moment was short lived as outside of the window one could hear a sudden commotion in the square below. Rushing to the casement Alienor looked down and sure enough a bandit without a head lay on the floor and Rei was not far away. "They found her." Alienor said with something of a startle. The easiest thing to do would be to simply hide, wait for Rei to take care of the problem but then again, one person against a group of that size could easily be overwhelmed. So, Alienor would do something rash, something stupid, and would probably regret it, or certainly be reprimanded for it later.

Looking around her, outside of the window there was a ledge that lined the small building, and Alienor in all of her wisdom slipped out of the window and carefully balanced herself along the ledge, moving quickly along it, not thinking too long about her balance, certainly not long enough to lose it, until she was able to find a lower edge of the roof line and pull herself up. "HEY" She screamed down to the scene below. "Looking for me?" Alienor winked in the direction of the enemy and began to run along the thatch of the roof, the buildings of the village tightly packed together, she could make the jump to the next. If they wanted her, they were going to have to work for it. And hopefully give Rei time to pick them off, one by one.

[MidKnight]

She held onto her sword with a tight grip, she posed sideways while keeping one hand on her sheath and the other above the hilt. She was taking slow steady breathes, watching her enemies movements. She counted the number of men, they outnumbered three to one. If they wanted, they could overpower her all together. But some of them seemed nervous or frightened to what the man had said, he recognized the sword, meaning he was there when she first attacked the group of bandits. She was sure the bandits on the horses died from breaking their necks, guess one had survived from the tragic event. She gave another quick eye to count the men, twenty five all together. If she had to die at this point, this would have been it, she would die in a street like a commoner.

"HEY"

Her ears perked up to see the woman standing on the thatch roof, how did she climb that was beyond her but from the framework of the building, it looked easy enough.

"Looking for me?"

Rei watched as she ran to the opposite of the roof. What was she thinking? Rei had though, she looked at the bandits as the leader growled in frustration. "Half of you after that bitch!!! The rest of you, kill her!!!" He yelled. Half of the group started to run in the streets to chase after Alienor.

'No!...I cannot let them take her!!!' Rei said in her thoughts. 'I'll kill them all...'

The other half charged at her and yet their formation wasn't their strong point. Rei saw multiple openings which made it easy to cut them all down. The first three made it obvious where they're gonna strike, she parried each of their attacks and sliced each one in their necks, the blood sputtered out as they fell. Another three with spears charged in three different directions.

She dodged by lowering her body, spiraling around one of the spears, pulled it towards her which stabbed one bandit while gutting his stomach with the sword, the third tried to thrust his spear at her, she managed to dodge the attack and grabbed the spear and stabbed the same bandit with it. She pulled her sword and did the same to him.

At that point, she cut the group numbers in half, the others didn't want to move again'st or attack her. They stood there in fear until she started running off, chasing the bandits that chased Alienor. 'This is my new duty!' She said to herself once again, 'This...is my charge!' She felt something in her heart that wanted to make sure Alienor stayed alive, she pushed herself beyond her limit.

She found several bandits trying to climb on boxes to the roof, she swung her blade, cutting off their legs as she ran past them, the two bandits yelled in pain and fell to the ground. She ran past the corner of the building and sees three more running on foot, she managed to catch up and slices two of them in the back, the third she jumped on with her sword pummeled into his spine. She screamed as she pierced the sword into his flesh, blood splattered on her face. She growled as the others caught up to her, shocked and surprised to see what happened. She gets up quickly and faces the group.

"You want the woman?....you'll have to go through me!" She posed sideways with her sword at her side, "I!....Yasui Rei, Guardsman of the Kurogin Clan, will not allow you to pass..." She gives a tight grip on her sword, "So who wants to die first?!"

[Hannelorian]

Reducing the number of initial combatants by half should give Rei enough time to defeat them. Alienor couldn't deny the woman's skill with a blade. She was merciless, but entirely effective. A part of her considered the notion that Rei could have defeated them all without hesitation, Alienor refused to take that risk and endanger someone else because of her. Rei had saved her life, even if she hadn't necessarily approved of the methods. Rei had sure she had food and shelter. That was a kind of grace that someone in their war torn land didn't need to show. And for the life of Alienor it seemed Rei was in it for the cause, rather than in search of a reward. It was baffling, and so Alienor would do her part.

Drawing half of the men toward the rooftops Rei could chase them and Alienor herself had no intention of being caught. She had what she could to give Rei the best chance of survival and victory, now this was on her. Alienor's feet carried her across the rooftops, it was like being a child and walking across the top of the garden wall. Balance was everything, and at speed it seemed that her balance had not failed her after all these years. But eventually there would be an end, and Alienor now had to focus on getting down and returning to Rei.

As she moved with only a couple of men behind her, her eyes scanned the streets below looking for something, anything to help. It wouldn't be long before she spotted a cart filled to the brim with hay. That would be good enough. Alienor stopped her movement, feeling her body jerk backward in response to the sudden cessation of momentum. She caught herself and slowly turned around to face the men behind her who too had stopped moving, at least for a moment as they realized they had their target within their grasp.

"I don't think so." Alienor flashed a bright smile and taking a step to the side she felt her body carrying her down the slope of the room and Alienor simply allowed herself to be taken off it, falling several feet into the cart that was below. Hay wasn't as soft as one had imagined. It compacted beneath her body and crunched as she scrambled to her feet to climb out of it and dash back into the streets in the direction from whence she came until she would encounter Rei once more. Trusting herself she cast her hand forward, allowing the knife she had held to fly through the air, whizzing past Rei and into the neck of the assailant in front of her. Had Alienor not just ended someone's life she might have been proud she hit so cleanly.

"We have to make quick work of this and get out of here." Alienor called to Rei, a soft smile spread across her face as she relieved a couple of throwing knives from the body of one of the dead not far away from them. "I'll try not to slow you down."

[MidKnight]

She felt the slight breeze of the small knife flying past her head. Her eyes watched the bandit in front of her die instantly. It was a clean hit. She kept a grip on her sword's hilt. Her eye reflected with the blade. Hearing Alienor's voice behind her, hearing her words of making this work quick. She knew this had to this quick and precise but with a large amount of bandits that surrounded them, Rei lowered her head, hiding her eyes as she positioned herself in a stance. Lowering her sword the side, facing downward.

Closing her eyes and takes a deep breath, she felt one of the bandits charging at her. She exhales slowly and raised her sword up and strikes the man. From his belly to his neck, the man fell and died. She parried another attack, killing each man with one blow to their body. She can feel the flow of her next move before her opponent predicts her next attack. She felt her body was in a trance to continue pushing with the flow, her sword barely covered in blood. The cries of pain sounded muffled in her ears, barely hearing their screams.

She stopped suddenly with the sword by her side. Crouching low and her head down, she was staring at the ground until finally, she took a breathe. Trying to a catch on her breathing, she looked over her shoulder. She cut down eight bandits, bodies covered in large gashes, incapacitated arms and legs. Her sword slowly dripping from the little blood it took. She stood up straight and gives her sword a swift wave, the blood flies off easily. Slowly putting her sword in the sheath, she looked around for a moment and seen the frightened faces on the bandits. Hearing their soft uttering words.

"What the hell is she?"

"A demon!"

"She's a witch!"

Their leader arrived behind them, he cuts down at least two of his own men. "You don't kill her now, I'll kill you myself!" He growled with a sword in his hand. The remaining bandits slowly stepped away from him, but they also kept their distance from Rei. In moments, the bandits started running in their own direction.

"Cowards!!!" The leader yelled. "Fine! I'll tear you from limb to limb!!" The leader looked fierce, wearing his armor covering his head to toe. He reached for another weapon behind his back, a mace. He laughed menacingly. "Once I'm done with you!" He looked at Alienor behind her, "I'll have my way with her." He chuckled before growling and pounding his chest. "Come on!!!"

Rei, standing there unmoved from his appearance nor from his behavior. She kept her hand on the hilt of her sword and watched her new enemy. During her time here, she thought finding a suitable foe like this one would be the chance to kill her. A way to bring her home so she can rest easy. But when she started this path with Alienor, she felt she needed to protect this woman, teach her, guide her. She was unsure if this would be a path for redemption.

She looked at her hand, she could see her fingers trembling but from what? Fear? She came across foes like this numerous times. Was it the responsibility? Her opponent charges quickly, she shakes off the feeling by grabbing her sword and swiftly strikes.

There was a sudden thud, there was a scream. The man's arm on the ground with the mace. Rei turns quickly at her foe, watching his next move. He moved quicker suddenly, she barely dodged the sword but didn't see the next attack. His leg rushed up and kicked her hard, she falls backwards into the ground but regains her composure. She stabbed the ground and kneels, she held her ribs where the kick struck. Rei looked towards Alienor and slowly shook her head.

"We will not leave until I deal with this brute." She softly said.