A Princess, a Knight, and an Assassin Walk Into a Tavern...

Tollie

Nadia hadn't hurt her, but also hadn't seemed too pleased with her either, roughly escorting her down to the main hall, Reik in tow. As they walked she wondered about her companions, wondered how horribly this was all going to play out, wondered how Capt. West had fared with the men on the ground, as he'd only made it a few feet up after her when the other two thugs that had been seeking her found them, he having to drop back down to deal with them, she figuring the most helpful thing she could do was get in that window and out as fast as possible...only she hadn't come back out.
Luckily, she didn't have to wait long to find out, only standing in the main hall long enough to question Reik with her eyes, he just shaking his head seriously, before Clarity and Hawke were dragged in. Tollie experienced a moment of relief that they were alive, followed by an immediate pang at the sight of Clarity, part of her leg gone, the other part bleeding. She moved toward her, Clarity doing the same, but both of them were stopped by Clarity's being roughly detained, Hawke reacting to Clarity's treatment, both of them ending up more hurt than before; Tollie freezing in place realizing anything she did would probably just make things worse.
Then entered Duhningham, looking no more worse-for-wear than usual. And a bunch of her guys, though Tollie hadn't paid attention enough earlier to know if it was all of them...
Was it possible they had ALL survived? A small hope began to glow its way into her heart...
One that burst into life when Captain West walked into the room next. There were others with him, both on their side and with the Raiders, but she didn't really see any of them, experiencing that strange tunnel vision she seemed to have when he was around. Beaming, she moved toward him, her movement catching his searching eye, he smiling in relief as well.
He hadn't known what had become of her once she'd disappeared into that window and had himself convinced, when she didn't reappear after a few moments, that he'd sent her to her death. Prompting him to stop, mid-scuffle with the Raiders, and drop his sword, surrendering...much to their confusion and irritation, irritation that had gotten him some rough treatment on the way here. But it didn't matter, it had been the quickest way into the house at the time, and finding Tollie as soon as possible had become his only goal.
Whether people wanted him to or not, he felt responsible for the girl...he felt a few other things for her as well, but as 'responsible for' was the least alarming one, he was sticking with that for the time being.
Absorbed as they were in their own little reunion, they didn't even see Reik until he was already on him, West shoving him off himself automatically before even really knowing who it was or what they were saying – which turned out to be the wrong move as Nadia was on him in a second, coming to Reik's defense, knocking West all the way down so quickly no one even knew quite what was happening.
"Stop!" Tollie cried, running until she stood between the two of them, facing Nadia, West behind her beginning to get back up slowly. Nadia didn't even look at her though, keeping her eyes carefully on West, though she didn't look to be making any further moves towards him.
"Stop it!" She said again, turning her words on Reik who stood to the side of Nadia partway protected by her body, as it was clear Nadia was not interested in what she had to say.
"I HAD him bring me here to find you, you nitwit, and he's risked his life doing so, as have the rest of them. So could we PLEASE stop this pointless violence and deal with the situation in a decent manner?"
Reik folded his arms, as if seriously considering what she'd said, though she could see the twinkle in his eye. Looking over at West for a time he finally sighed, "Alright." Dropping his hands and nodding at Nadia who, much to Tollie's surprise, easily reached past her and knocked West down again.
Tollie dropped to help him up, looking back up at Reik indignantly to find him grinning over them, saying easily, "Sorry sis, but he deserved it."
Standing back up he smiled over at Nadia who grinned back at him briefly, before returning to the scowl that seemed to be her regular expression, looking over at the door where her men were still straggling in now and then.
Reik said something to her, gesturing at the rest of them, but she shook her head 'no', saying something in return.
"What's going on?" Tollie asked him after helping West yet again to his feet.
Reik scratched the back of his head uncomfortably, that worried expression from earlier back again. "Mistake or not, Raiders practice life-for-life, believing the only way to honor the death of a fallen comrade is to avenge his death." He shook his head at Tollie, "We've got to stand here until all her men are accounted for...just incase."
Alarmed, she looked back over at West, his face grim.
Had he killed that man he'd tackled for her out in the gardens? Had Clarity, had Hawke? Her eyes flitted over to them and then to Duhnignham, though she was pretty sure they couldn't hear enough to know what exactly was going on. It was a tense couple minutes for all of them though, Nadia's men continuing to enter in various states of injury, some supporting others, but none carrying the dead as of yet.
This wasn't right, they'd just been defending themselves, just been trying to save Reik...though I guess so had the Raiders. The only difference being that Nadia had asked her men to die...and it had been Tollie who had asked it of her friends. Oh, not in so many words I guess, but there was no denying that none of them would have been here, doing what they were doing tonight, if not for her.
As if to emphasize the direction of her thoughts, two of Nadia's men came in carrying a body, one at his hands and one at his legs. She wasn't positive, but she was pretty sure it was the man that West had taken down for her, she feeling West go tense beside her as if realizing the same thing.
But did it matter? West, Duhningham, Clarity, Hawke, it would be equally wrong for any of them to be executed for the sake of her and her brother.
Before anything else could happen Tollie said determindly, though quietly, "I take responsibility for this life." She felt West, Reik, and Nadia all look at her, though she stayed looking at the body.
"No." Both her brother and West said then, at the same time. West continuing, "Nooooo. That is NOT happening." Grabbing her arm subconsciously, as if holding on to her could somehow stop anything from happening.
Realizing no one else would even begin to hear her out, she looked to Nadia, which was an odd choice when looking for a listening ear, yet it seemed her only hope. Stepping forward, West's hand coming with her, she said, "As princess of these people I take full responsibility for their actions while under my care, including any punishments that may result from what they did while fulfilling their duties to me and my brother."
"No." West said again, pulling her back and slightly behind himself, "She had nothing to do with any of this and couldn't even have killed anyone if she'd wanted to. Sorry dove," He said back to her when he felt her displeasure at his words, "You are many things, but a killer is simply not one of them."
Tollie attempted to step around him to speak again, but he blocked her, she forced to say while tip-toeing to peek over his shoulder, "It doesn't matter who did it, but who caused it to happen, and that was myself..."
Reik speaking up then, "She's right," Earning himself a death glare from West before he continued, "AND as her elder brother, therefore holding higher authority than her, I take ultimate responsibility for all this..."
"No!" It was Tollie's turn to say, Nadia's alarmed look matching her own.
West sighing and speaking again, "Look, we all know none of this would have happened if I hadn't gotten you into this in the first place, so ultimately it falls on me to..."
"No!" Tollie cried again. All three of them beginning to speak over one another until Nadia suddenly held up her hand, silencing them all immediately.
Looking to the back where the man had been brought in she yelled something, one of her men dropping down beside the body for a moment before standing back up and yelling something back in return. She nodded, then looked over at Reik and shrugged before heading back through some double doors further inside the house, her men leaving their previous 'prisoners', and heading after her.
"Well?" Tollie asked, watching them all.
Smiling Reik said, "He's alive."
Tollie let out a sigh of relief, looking up at West and smiling, though he wasn't quite over the tension of the last few minutes enough to smile back. Though he did allow her to finally come out from behind him, she staying at his side though and grabbing on to his arm.
"What now?" She asked, continuing to watch the Raiders head out.
"Now?" Reik answered, that twinkle back in his eyes, "We eat and drink this whole mess behind us, Raider style." He shrugged, "That's how it's done, as one would never share a meal with an enemy. It proves we're all on friendly terms...like a contract of sorts."

So...they did. The Raiders feeding them and caring for their wounds as they were caring for their own, even mending Clarity's prosthetic and returning it to her, though she was unable to accept it back with any sort of grace or gratitude yet...it had been quite the low blow after all, Hawke having to accept it back on her behalf.
Nadia sat at the head of the great table, which was actually several tables they had strung together in a large open dining room. Tollie sat a little way down the table with Reik on one side and West on the other. With everyone just ignoring the fact that it was like one in the morning, they all began to eat and drink, and eventually...to talk.
Reik saying to her finally, after several long glances her way, "You look...different." His tone conveying that he wasn't quite sure how he felt about that yet.
On her other side West smiled knowingly into his food.
"And you look almost exactly the same." She said back, "I thought for sure we'd at least find you in some state of hunger or pain." And it was true. They really had looked a lot alike though he was quite a bit taller than herself and had a strong set of shoulders over his slim figure. Still, he had the same big expressive eyes and chestnut hair, though his had kept its little boy curl, much to his manly displeasure and every woman's delight.
"Nah." He smiled, "Nadia takes good care of me." He leaned back and stretched easily, smiling over at her, then turning back he said with mock displeasure, "Though I might have been like that if I'd staid in the care of those creeps this guy dropped me off with." Throwing a piece of food over at West as he said it.
"But I was only with them for a day at the most. They made the mistake of trying to hide me in the trees over here and Nadia's men found them out pretty fast. They took out all of them because they were armed and fought back, but me, tied up and helpless as I was, they just brought back here to Nadia."
"So are you a slave then?" She asked, whispering the word slave for some reason.
He laughed. "Nah. I told 'em what had happened best I could, and Nadia kept me as a 'slave' until she could verify that I really was Estavan's son. Only, by the time they got it figured out, I think..." He leaned into Tollie conspiratorially, "I think she got a crush on me, or...she wants TO crush me...sometimes I honestly can't tell." He laughed, shaking his head, as if either desire were equally reasonable. "Anyways, she said she couldn't take me back to my father until she was sure I was safe, and no one seemed to know why I had been taken or who was behind it.
"But, she also decided I'd be better protected as one of her own people. So that night I was officially made a Raider...or...we got married. I'm still not sure about that one...Our communication is very limited." He said, his arms crossed, his face thoughtful, while Tollie looked at him, her mouth gaping. Shrugging he continued, "All I know is, the 'after celebration' was pretty similar either way."
West choked on his food then tried to cover a laugh, Tollie gasping, "Oh Reik!" in horror.
Reik just smiled at her unconcernedly, "Oh no worries Toll, I'm having loads of fun! They're teaching me all sorts of stuff, fighting and the like. And Nadia.." He just shook his head, raising his eyebrows, his smile knowing. "We're having loads of fun too. Honestly, I hope I never have to go back..."
"But...but..." Tollie stuttered, somehow unable to process what her previously sweet innocent brother was telling her.
"See, the way I figure it, either I'm a Raider now, and therefore my moral code is completely different...I mean their Gods could careless, too busy sleeping with everyone themselves – or I'm married. So it's all good."
Tollie opened her mouth a couple times, but found there were simply no words.
"That's why they attacked you guys tonight, they thought you were more thugs coming after me. But instead it was YOU. Tollie I can't believe it! How'd you do it, I mean look at this crew you put together. You got this scoundrel, who, I hate to say it, is nevertheless world renowned. Then you got Duhningham, I mean, how on earth did you swing that? Besides that you got The Hero of Port Town, I mean, what?! And then there's that badarss chick...How did you even manage it?"
"Ummm..." Tollie found herself once again without anything to say as she actually hadn't had anything to do with getting any of them to help her, it had all just sort of came together and happened in spite of her.
Thankfully he just kept talking, sparing her from having to answer. Though it didn't take long for her to no longer be thankful.
"And how funny that you actually ended up getting to meet Captain West, I mean who would have thought, after all those years..."
Tollie suddenly went pale, realizing what her brother was about to say but somehow unable to think of how to stop it from happening...
Leaning forward so he could see West better he said, "She had the biggest crush on you for years and years..."
West smiled, cocking his eyebrow and suddenly becoming very interested in what Reik was saying, leaning forward himself and resting his chin on his hand. "Really..."
"Oh yeah, she had this wanted poster of you and everything." He laughed, shaking his head. He of course had no idea that Tollie STILL had feelings for Captain West and therefore didn't even think that he might be overly embarrassing her. West, on the other hand, knew better, not that he was going to interrupt this conversation for anything.
"You don't say." He smiled, glancing over at Tollie who had gone from white to red and was simply staring down at the table refusing to acknowledge either of them.
"Yep, but I guess we all go through our little things. You wouldn't believe how long I had it for the cook."
That got Tollie's attention. She looking up to say, "Ew."
He shrugged, "Hey, my options were limited. Besides, I've always had this thing for strong authoritative females..." His eyes naturally straying over to Nadia who cocked her eyebrow at him which Tollie assumed was the closest thing to a smile one could get.
"Whatever happened to that poster anyway?" He laughed, taking a drink and looking back at her.
Only...West and she knew exactly what had happened to it, proving that she also STILL had it as of only a few days ago...
Thankfully, Nadia said something down the table to Reik, he looking up and nodding before standing, finally ending the most embarrassing moment of Tollie's entire life.
"What'd she say?" Tollie asked as he stood.
Reik shrugged, "I still don't know most of the time, I've just learned it's always better to just come when she calls." And with a smile he left them, going to Nadia's side.
"What can I say," West sighed, leaning back and resting his head in his hands, "Your brother's a freak, but the good kind."
She wrinkled her nose, pretty much deciding to just disregard most of the conversation they'd just had. He looked happy and safe, and anything beyond that...she just wasn't going to involve herself with.
"On the bright side, if they really are married, that's a pretty good step towards a real peace with the Raiders that we've just never been able to reach before because of all the cultural barriers."
I guess that was true, she thought.
"So..." He began, sitting forward, that self-pleased smile in place again.
But she simply could not take anymore, standing abruptly she announced she needed some air and headed to a balcony on the far side of the room.