Legend of the Western Lands

The Elves Did What? (1)

Princess Lorelei, or Reia as she wants to be called, followed Ron and the others as they left the busy streets and made their way back to the inn Cale's group is currently staying at. Her cloak covered from wasn't standing out too much after they entered the festival area. Dozens of cloaked people alongside colorful costumes wandered the streets.

Cherry blossoms were thrown around like eco-friendly confetti. Cale had to take sudden detours to not get a face full of that pink surprise attack. The princess wasn't so lucky when a group of kids chased each other around, using her tall form as a human meat shield.

What surprised Cale was her reaction to the kids. The first few minutes he interacted with her showed a confident and arrogant woman that knows her position in the world. Her words were razor sharp, honed throughout the years of royal schemes and sneaky assassination attempts. Cale can't imagine that her marriage was anything but political, especially since the emperor was known to have 'accidentally' killed off a few of his previous spouses.

He expected a jaded but noble lady that will try to keep her distance from the common folk yet when the kids hit her bullseye in the face with the cherry blossoms, she just smiled at them. It was neither fake nor was it forced. The small part of her face that the hood couldn't completely cover, showed a beautiful smile directed at the startled kids. With a quick excuse, the kids ran away.

The princess soon returned her expression to neutral and huffed at Choi Han when the swordmaster slowed down to match her pace.

Ron slipped off for a few seconds to buy a quick dinner, and they arrived at the inn with the newly bought groceries. Predictably, Vicross was already there.

Eruhaben was still investigating his area which left Cale with the rest. Behind Lorelei's back, Cale, Ron, and Vicross agreed to play a game of charade.

(Choi Han has been instructed to stay quiet unless he ruins their fun. The kids made themselves comfortable on the bed, the only sign of their arrival being the slight crumple in the bedding as well as some suspicious bread crumbs materializing seemingly out of nowhere.)

"Your Highness.", Ron bowed slightly and carefully took her cloak. Vicross moved to make some tea while Cale just stood around, staring at the princess with a complex gaze. His red-brown eyes took in her clothes. They had seen better days, which didn't really surprise Cale as she was technically a fugitive.

With a graceful 'thank you' she accepted the steaming cup of tea from Vicross and contently took a sip.

She wasn't the most conventionally attractive woman, yet she carried her own charm. Golden hair cut short into a bob- he hid a grimace after he realized that the name Bob also means different things- and a large scar ran down her face, starting at her left ear, passing her chin, and ending at the base of her neck. It looked gruesome and painful.

Cale switched the target of his attention.

Ron stood slightly behind the princess, his eyes shining brightly in the dimly lit room.

Time to put on an act.

"Your Highness, how can we, just some lowly servants, help you in your plight? My heart can't take your sorrowful sight any longer." Lorelei sighed at Ron's words. Cale isn't sure whether it is because the butler's words unsettled her- they sure scared him- or if she heard those words too often and simply isn't expecting them to be actually able to help.

"I am thankful for your kind words, however, if you can't muster up the strength of an army to help me with my goal, I'm afraid that giving me some delicious tea- you have my compliments for your brewing skills- is all that you can do.", she sighed wistfully. Her eyes became sad and her shaking hands gripped the eta cup with less strength than before.