If You're Not the Princess, Then--? [P]

[Sabes]

This is a private thread between @Sabes; and @upscalerat;



In a land far, far away, at a time long, long ago, a tower held a mage and a lizard for what seemed like forever. Though the lizard didn't mind its duty as a faithful pest-control pet, the tower was cold, lonely, and just plain unpleasant...but there was no possible exit in sight.
That is, until one stormy night, a knight in somewhat dull armor entered the castle, and caused a lot of commotion in the great hall and in the hallways too. After hours of fighting, this someone collapsed before the door to the prisoner's tower, with the key in his hand. Having fallen into the perfect position, the key that the rescuer dropped skidded across the stone floor and slid right under the door, allowing the lizard to bring the key to the prisoner.
After a few minutes, the "rescuer" regained consciousness, and looked up from his pile of blood and drool at who he thought was the princess, standing in the doorway that had been locked for so, so long. To his defeat, he saw that the damsel wasn't the young and drop-dead gorgeous princess he had been tasked to rescue and marry, happily ever after all! Utterly exhausted and dumbfounded, he gasped, "But if you're not the princess, then who are you!?"

Spoiler: Character Form 

Name:
Age:
Gender:
Appearance:
Personality:
History:
Other:

Spoiler: My Character 

Name: Sir "Crispy" Honeyhide
Age: 25ish maybe? They keep forgetting when he was born.
Gender: Male
Appearance:

Personality: Frustratingly Naïve, a dedicated hard-worker in fruitless tasks with a stubborn and spoiled child mindset.
History: Sir Crispy was born into a middleclass family in the township, but a very competitive and impressive older brother who went on to take a temporary seat at the Round Table. Seeing how their one son was so successful, they kicked Crispy out of the house to fend for himself and was banished from the family out of "tough love" until he can prove his worth. So, he set for the most impossible quest: to free a princess that was said to be held captive in an evil villain's castle. He might not have followed the directions very well, but he certainly got to a castle that was indeed holding a prisoner in the tower. Somehow, something goes awry to prevent his success yet again.
Other: May possibly be a vampire?

[upscalerat]

It could have been worse, Star regularly tried to tell herself. She could have been spending her years in some musty cell, or trapped in some eternal slumber that would completely prevent her from being able to seize any opportunity of escape. But instead, the mage had been locked away in a remote castle, with her every need fulfilled. Sure, she couldn't use her own magic; her staff, a branch of tree her height in the shape of a sheep herder's hook, functioned exclusively as a lantern, illuminating her surroundings with the lavender glow that subsisted in the hook. The castle itself managed to siphon her magic, and prevented her from using it; but in turn, there was a hot bath ready whenever Star wanted it, a kitchen that prepared and served food with little prompt, torches on the wall that went light and dark as she walked by... There were even books in the library for her to read and pass the time with.

Not that it mattered, as Star couldn't leave her tower- but whatever she wished for dutifully floated up and through her window. But that damn lizard. Whether by accident or as another reminder that she was here to be punished, Star could no longer recall; but it was always around, always annoying her, and always alive. Worse than all of that, it wasn't even of any help to her- the castle cleaned itself, so she had no need for an insufferable lizard to eat bugs; and it wasn't as though the lizard was eager to go get her help. Until, of course, the pair finally had a visitor.

Star had been sitting by the window, idly looking out at the rain. It was late enough that it was difficult to really discern anything in the landscape, but she had stared at it enough to be able to trace the lines with her mind's eye. That she couldn't actually see it was no problem. But then there was a sound- not one that sounded like thunder, but rather like blades.

After all these years, Star knew better than to get her hopes up about what was causing the commotion. But that didn't mean that she wasn't curious. And it also didn't mean that she wasn't prepared to be optimistic, she decided, taking a moment to slip on her (clean) leather boots, a purple cloak, and her staff. Upon a final consideration, the woman also slipped some of the technical books she had been perusing as of late into the pockets of her cloak, and made her way to the foot of the tower.

It was quite some wait for the source of the sounds to reach her. Star spent the passing minutes perusing her selection of books, and, upon realizing the lizard had come down the stairs with her, half-heartedly attempting to smack it with her staff, to no avail. But finally- finally!- a man rounded the corner, dropping a key, which the lizard was helpful enough to grab for her. With a frenzied grin, Star reached for the lizard, taking a few moments before she could grab the key, and brought it to the door with such eagerness that it took her several attempts to insert it into the keyhole.

Finally, after a few minutes, Star was able to swing the door open. On the floor in front of her, however, was a knight in bloodied armor, who Star could only stare dumbly at. Likely, he was equally confused by the image before him: a woman who clearly had a couple of decades under her belt, and who was primarily lavender. Her hair, long and straight, with a fringe on her forehead, was a shiny purple color, and her eyes were also purple, if darker. Her dress, too, was purple; a more muted and darker one than her hair or the light in her staff, but still. The dress itself was otherwise fairly plain- it reached a good ways below her knees, though nowhere near floor length; a slit on the left side of it allowed her full freedom of movement; and the bodice was loose fitting, entirely exposing her shoulders and collar bones under her cloak, and finished with loose, half-length sleeves. Between all the purple directly upon her and the purple light of her staff, Star wouldn't have been shocked to discover that her fair skin would look purple-tinged as well, though it was not, in fact, also purple.

After a moment, the knight spoke. Star blinked again- and understood. He must have heard about a damsel locked in a castle and came to her rescue, expecting the gratitude of king. Instead, he was likely to have a bounty on his head, if her crimes hadn't yet been forgiven. She offered the man a sly smile. "I'm still the one who was behind that locked door," she said, and swung the key around her finger. "But, you are correct. I am no princess, but a prisoner of this tower nonetheless- but, no longer, thanks to you. I suppose you have my gratitude, if not my hand in marriage. Now, I shan't be squandering this opportunity. You might want to not be on the floor should anyone come to check that the door is still locked," she offered, and stepped over him to begin making her way down the hall.

Spoiler: Star 

Name: Star
Age: Looks to be in her mid-late twenties; immortal, with a couple of centuries under her belt.
Gender: Female, she/her
Appearance: I couldn't find a picture that I was vibing with so I hope I did a sufficient job explaining her appearance in the post but if you got any question let me know
Personality: Bitter, selfish, power-hungry, intelligent
History: So she tried to destroy the known kingdom- who cares? It was at least a century ago, at this point, and really, she was just fighting back. When a hot new religion popped up that frowned upon magic and went on a crusade that ended up killing her mentor, who was also the man who raised her, Star went on a bit of a rampage. Well, maybe you can't call it a rampage if it was premeditated. Funnily enough, she hid in a magical tower during the crusades as well, which resulted in her life being spared. And sure, maybe she did go to a demon and bargain for their powers. And sure, maybe she would have killed the royal family- but they were just collateral damage. A shame that she didn't succeed at her task, and ended up locked in another tower, though. But... Is that still even the same royal family? Is that religion even still around? Star sure doesn't know.
Other: She is haunted by a lizard. She was once an all powerful mage, and now she is harassed by a lizard that she is incapable of killing.

[Sabes]

OOC- I wish I knew that I forgot to reply to this RP. :( But I am here now! Better late than never, I suppose... ;(

IC--Failing to scramble to his feet, the boy clambered noisily out of her way to allow the purple, glowing woman to walk through, into the corridor that lead to the rest of the comically massive castle. The poor knight was silenced with the pressure of his shock, but he managed to stutter out, "why, you bear the classiest color of royalty, my lady, you must be from kin with some recognition!" Incredulous, he cleared his throat before continuing, "I won't force you to take my hand in marriage, but I didn't slay beasts and brawny boys alike for nothing! If you're so mage-like, then wouldn't you like to return at least a tidbit of the immense favor I've done you?" Finally clamoring to his feet and dusting himself off, he added quietly in a hurt manner, "at least a name, by lords. By the by, if you were a prisoner, and I'm a murderer, then bounties ought to be out for my head!" Suddenly, the little lizard speedily slithered out and, in a flash, found itself up on the boy's arm, which failed to flick him off as the boy screamed. The lizard swiftly crawled into a crevice between the knight's armor, somewhere down the legs. "Lordy be!" shouted the boy, struck by both humiliation and fear. "Not the twigs!"

[upscalerat]

((No worries! Sounds like you've got a lot on your plate right now, anyways.))

Just moments after Star began to take her leave, she heard the knight loudly return to being upright and complain about her conduct. And while the mage had ever been the most polite, even she had the tact to offer some gratitude towards her rescuer. If nothing else, he might offer some further use to her- no point in burning bridges just yet. With a sigh, the woman turned around and looked down at the knight, slowly taking in the state of his wounds.

"My mother was a fish monger and my father sold them. I was born in a town that no longer exists, and this," she said, tugging at the skirt of her dress, "is simply the sheen of enchantment." Star paused for a moment, and scrunched her face up with the realization that the former mild protection her clothes offered was probably long gone, eaten up by the tower. "Well. At least what remains of it. Still, if my siblings ever carved fame for themselves, I shouldn't know. Quite frankly, I am penniless."

At least the man wasn't too hung up on bringing home a bride. She looked him up and down again, watching him dance as the cursed lizard tormented someone else, for once. "Don't mind him," she offered, after the knight struggled for a moment. "He's annoying, but has been harmless so far. Though... Perhaps you'll be able to kill him? It's worth a shot, if you can find him in your pants." This sentence was punctuated with a smirk.

"As for your request, I suppose it is a fair one. You may call me Star, sir knight. As for your wounds, I am able to heal them; however, it would leave you quite exhausted. Unless you intend to take your nap here, fellow criminal, I suggest we find somewhere more secluded to patch you up." And perhaps some other creature to practice on, first, the mage told herself. She knew that she was rusty- and the knight would probably not appreciate being healed into an old man.

[Sabes]

OOC-- Thank you for waiting so patiently for me!

IC-- As she smirked at him, the knight howled like an owl, hopping about and finally relieved himself of the slithery lizard. "Kill 'em?!" he replied to her request as he quickly and sloppily slid out his sword to swing it around haphazardly at the lizard. The little scaly thing seemed to dodge the blade at every last second, staring at the grunting knight as if it were mocking him. The knight found himself in a tangled mess within his armor, panting heavily again, staring at the lizard with exhaustion. "I see." As if to purposely stick it's tongue out at him, the lizard flipped the pink little fork out its mouth for a long moment before scampering up to sit atop the mage's shoulder, without her permission.
Attempting to straighten out, the knight said to Star, "Well, I'm obliged to allow you an excuse for my appearance as I say that I am Sir Honeyhide of Callahan, but I'm known as Crispy." Finally put together, he stood tall and sheathed his sword with a satisfying click. "Now, I do believe healing counts as a fair recompense. But there isn't a very secluded area here until we get away from this massive castle. Have you seen the thing? It's HUUGE!" His shot echoed down the chamber hall. Had he have any energy left, he would have set down the stairs to the rest of the castle by now to begin looking for a place to heal.

[upscalerat]

Star gave out a chuckle as she watched the knight struggle with the wretched lizard. Just as with her, he couldn't kill the thing; and before long, the knight had been defeated, and the lizard had perched itself on the mage again. She tried, as it ascended her cloak, to shake it off, to no avail; once on her shoulder, she tried to flick it off, but the little thing paid her no mind, moving away from her fingers seemingly on accident. Finally, Star sighed, gave up on the lizard for the moment, and looked at the knight again.

"Sir Crispy? I hope not a prophetic name, though I don't believe there are any dragons in my neighborhood, so you ought to be safe for now." He took a moment to put himself back together. Upright and not wrangling a lizard, Star could admit that he looked a great deal more regal than he had at, frankly, any moment before then.

She gave a glance down the hallway as he spoke, then turned back to him and shrugged. "I can't say I've seen much of what this place has to offer, no," she said, and nodded up at the previously locked door. "I suppose we can retreat to the tower, and camp out there. Hope that no one realizes that you've decimated an entire guard castle in the time it takes for you to rest up, and then we can be on our way, Sir Knight," she suggested, and held up the key the lizard had retrieved for her.

[Sabes]

"Smashing." Bloody Sir Crispy didn't seem to have the willpower to conjure up a better idea, but he did add, "though I worry we're not alone in this castle. They must have sent a messenger to an ally for reinforcements, maybe. That is, if you being locked up is important enough to send men to die from the likes of me and my sword." Entering the tower, he found himself a comfortable position atop a dust-frosted ledge by a large window sill that looked out to the muddy, rain-filled courtyard below. Excusing himself to partly disrobe, he began dismantling the lumbering hunks of metal that made up his armor. The dim light that permeated gently from the moonlight through the rainclouds seemed to be enough to reveal his wounds. After setting aside the majority of the armor set, his garments were obviously unpleasantly sweaty and bloody. Taking a long, deep breath to finally relax and allow the great feeling of relief flow through him, he finally said, "you know, I didn't want to marry anyone anyway. I just wanted a way out of the family's cottage. And this sure beats that. They have no idea what an amazing feat I just accomplished." He paused for a moment, his eyes shut in peace. "I can hardly fathom that I've done it!" Suddenly, he lifted his head, wide-eyed at the mage. "Wait, you did need to see the wounds in order to heal them, yes?" Dismantling his armor as he would in a nurse's ward could have been pointless if the mage could simply chant an incantation and let him rest--however uncomfortably--in his armor. Especially since he will most certainly need his armor in the case of an intruder or simply for the fact that they needed to get a move on very soon.
All the while, the lizard had been buzzing about, nagging the mage and stealing her little knickknacks here and there, just to put up a pesteringly happy game of chase.

[upscalerat]

Star could only shrug at the suggestion, after shutting the tower door behind them. "I've been here for at least a couple of decades. Perhaps they've forgotten what they've locked me up for? Or perhaps they think I'm dead? The food carried itself up to my room. I hardly knew that the rest of the castle was even extant, let alone occupied," she said as they climbed the stairs, and back into her room.

It was by no means a terrible place to have been locked up for so many years. There were windows, a bed, a washbasin and a looking glass, a small table and a chair, and even another cushioned chair next to a small bookcase, as well as a wardrobe. One might have even been happy to call the place a home had they been allowed to leave it on occasion. And Star knew that her situation could have been worse- but she also was aware that the accommodations were, in part, an attempt to placate her into the prison it had been.

The mage busied herself with the bookcase while Crispy removed his armor, seeing of there were any books she would have left in her haste that she would like to free from the castle as well, until the man spoke again, She turned to look at him: his situation was gristly indeed. "Seeing the wounds does help, yes. As for leaving your home, surely you could have simply left? Pledged to be a knight in some far off court, and not be pestered by your family?" As she approached, Star mindlessly swatted the lizard away from what it was doing, and snatching whatever object that it had grabbed onto from its grasp. At least for now, while she had a new annoyance to focus on, was a reprieve from the blasted thing.

Standing next to the knight, Star held her hand a short distance above one wound, and slowly moved her hand across the length of it. Her other hand gripped her staff tightly, and the light in it glowed a bit brighter. Star kept moving her hand until the wound was healed, then moved on to the next one and dealt with it in the same manner. She did this over each wound that she could see. "There, that ought to do it, unless you've any more you're hiding from me," she stated, and stepped back. The man was still dirtied and bloodied, but no longer dying, and Star seemed no less out of practice than the day she was locked up. "I imagine that you'll want to rest, now. I certainly won't be using the bed any further, and do you recall a door that we passed on the stairs? There is a tub in there, as well as a bucket for any personal needs you might have. Hm, I might need to stick around to warm the water for you, if you want a bath, or to wash your clothes; aside from that, I believe my debt to be paid."