Royalty

Midnight

Quickly exiting Catherine's room, Rilla found herself making her way briskly down the hall. She felt a pair of eyes on her but didn't bother to check. All she saw of the person was a blur of brown on his head as she passed and smelled the scent of bitter herbs. She knew who he was. She had heard stories of him as a child. Nostradamus, the vision seer.
He made predictions so accurate many people sought after him for guidance-- yet many still saw him as a fake. Until Rilla saw his skills in action, she didn't know what to think of him.
She felt his presence fade as she hurried past. She needed to get out of this castle. The drama was already too much for her to handle.
Finding her way to an open archway, she welcomes the familiar outside as she passes through. She felt her worries fade away as she walked about the castle grounds. Willow tree branches hung low to the ground this time of year and flowers of every variety grew in great abundance. It made her miss the forest yet she knew that she needed to get out of there. The Paegans have been getting antsy-- and getting antsy made them violent.

Taking a deep breath, she lets a faint smile grow on her face as she passes by the willow tree. Her fingers reach out and delicately brush the branches as she walks. They flutter gently at her touch.
A small breeze blows past and she welcomes it with open arms. It certainly made this dress seem a lot less tight.
From behind her, a voice speaks over the wind. "You really do like being outside, don't you?"
Blinking, Rilla turns to find Francis striding over to her. He wears a faint smile-- one that is surprisingly sincere and his eyes search hers in a way that reminded her of Catherine. Yet his searching was out of gentle curiosity. She blinks and nods, disconnecting their two gazes momentarily.
"It reminds me of home. The woods spread far and wide from where I came from." She smiles a bit and watches the willow tree as the breeze shakes its branches from side to side. "My mother and I used to go out and collect flowers all the time..." Memories flash into her brain.
Faint breeze, long grass swaying to the side. The top flutters past her nose and earns a laugh from her. The laugh is contagious and spreads to another. A woman.
Dark hair, sparkling eyes. A smile that could silence a thousand men. Sunshine, lilacs, the smell of the Earth.
She pushes those memories away and turns back to the future king. "What was it you wanted?"

Francis stops beside her, bouncing on the heels of his feet a bit and clasping his hands behind his back. "Well, I figured since you're being forced to stay here on account of my father I would at least take an attempt to know you better than as 'The witness of a murder'." He says. His smile widens a tad, revealing sparkling white teeth. Teeth that reminded her of the woman. She pushes the emotions farther back and chuckles a bit.
"How kind of you." She says, sarcasm lacing her voice in a way that made the sentence much more of a pleasure to hear. Francis gestures to the garden around them.
"Care if we walk and talk?" She shakes her head and the pair begin on their way. "So, first off, how on Earth did you survive in those woods? The Paegans normally don't take kindly to other people." Rilla raises an eyebrow.
"You don't think I'm a Paegan? After what I did to get them away from you two?"
Francis shakes his head at her, his blonde curls swaying a bit. "No. You don't behave like them. Paegan's are cruel in their ways. You don't have that cruelty about you. But that still doesn't explain how you could stand to put up with them or  how you knew that incantation."
Rilla thinks quietly to herself for a moment, taking in the grace of the outdoors.
"A Paegan helped me once-- long ago. I was on the run and she took me in-- hid me and kept me safe from the other Paegans. She taught me the incantation that saved us. However once I had left her side and began my survival on my own... The Paegan's weren't so willing to abide by me staying there." She clasps her hands in front of her. "I managed to gain the upper-hand with them. Some guards were stirring up trouble," She casts Francis a quick side glance. "I managed to lead them astray. The Paegan's owed me a favor. That night in the forest, I called that favor in."

He asks her. "Was it worth it?" He casts a quick glance at her left hand, bandaged thoroughly and clasped beneath her right. He remembers that night in clear detail.
"It wasn't them. Out there in the woods." Both boys look up, startled, as a light yet gruff accent drifts down from the trees above. It was dark, the only light to see by being the light of the moon. And as the crowds drifted slowly away, the moonlight illuminated a figure sitting quietly on a branch above them. Her legs hang limply over the branch on either side and her hands rest quietly in front of her on the smooth bark of the birch tree. Slowly, she lifts herself up to stand nimbly on the branch.
"The hell?..." Bash grasps Francis' shoulder tightly and steps back, pulling his younger brother to safety. This woman was an anomaly at best-- and if she were a threat and Francis were to die... Who would take his place on the throne? Certainly not him. For he was only the bastard son of the King and his mistress. The girl's face was hidden by a cloak of fur, the only part of her face visible to them being her pale skin and lips. "It was a guard... And I'm sorry I couldn't stop him."
Francis frowns. "You feel guilty-- that's why you chose to reveal yourself, then." Bash shoots him a look that quite simply told Francis to shut his damn mouth. However he knew the young blonde wouldn't listen either way.

The girl's lip twitches slightly. "Well, yes and know. Of course I feel guilty. I couldn't stop him and I watched that poor boy die at the hands of a devilish man. But I'm doing the right thing and I'm telling you about what I saw. As a witness to the crime, I figured I should submit my evidence to the future King who will one day order those guards." Both boys frown.
"You know who we are?" Bash hisses, another warning to his brother. His hand tightens on Francis' shoulder.
"Well of course." Taking a running start, the girl leaps from the branch, ducking into a roll. As she stands, she dusts off a few leaves as the men give her a quizzical look. "I could tell who you were from a mile away. Your clothing and your stature alone are enough to give me the impression of just who you are." There is a slight swish as the boy with the pale green eyes steps forward, raising a dagger to the girls throat. She holds up her hands, seemingly un-phased. "Easy there, Lover-boy, I haven't got anything on me but my fists."

Bash frowns and Francis hisses. "Bash she's a witness. We need her." Hesitating only a moment, Bash slowly lowers the dagger with a low mumble of approval.
The girl raises her hands to her hood, slowly pulling it down to reveal her face. If she wanted these royals to trust her she would need to give them a reason to. They needed to see the way she looked-- and notice the way she acted. She knew already that they were studying her with great concentration. Her deep blue eyes shine under  the light of the moon and her deep red hair tied back with fronds of ivy glimmers and waves as if it were made of flames.
"It isn't safe for you here-- not at night. You should go." She says. Both boys look her over, wondering if they should trust this girl. Sebastian knew after these short few minutes that she understood the way these woods worked. As did he.
"She's right Francis, we need to leave." Francis turns to him and frowns, opening his mouth to speak only for the resounding snap of a twig to cut him off.  All heads snap around.
She could see their cloaks fluttering as they walked. The Paegans.

Their shadows move quietly around them as they grow closer. Hushed mumbles  filter the woods around them and Francis hisses worriedly to Bash who holds a hand to his lips. Francis doesn't cease his hurried ramblings and she whips around hissing angrily. "You'll do very well to shut your mouth if you don't want to be killed!" She takes a shuffling step back and Bash looks around in worry. The girl straightens up and takes a deep breath, showing a flare of confidence.
"They will take what is theirs, not yours!" She calls out to the shadows. The murmurs become slightly more angry yet the shadows seem to slow a bit-- she had instilled hesitation.
"Draw your sword!" Francis murmurs, drawing his own from its sheath. The girl sighs and takes a sharp step towards Bash, delicate fingers snatching the dagger from his hand.
"I'm going to need to borrow this, Lover-boy."