The Hardened Heart

Cyric frowned when he saw what appeared to be a knocked out gardener. He looked her over and spoke, "What do you think happened to her, Marcus?"

Marcus

Marcus walked over to her and examined her. "She hit her head. We should take her somewhere to rest." He wasn't satisfied with that, and he would be having a talk with this girl later. It wouldn't bode well for him if Cyric's plans got out to the Elves and Dragonians.

Rebecca came to in the hallway as she looked up and saw the prince carrying her.....somewhere. Luckily she wasn't bleeding but she did have a bump on her head and she was rather dirty. "Well this is brilliant of you Beck, knock yourself out so you don't get noticed and it turns out that they either pity you or dislike you enough to actually do something about it. When the maids see this....." The girl chastised herself as she imagined what the teasing and questioning she'd be getting from her co-workers and roommates later.

The gardener licked her lips before moving her hand to let the prince know she was awake. "Hello Sirs." She greeted with humility as she realized she couldn't bow to them and was thus breaking protocol....again.

Marcus

"How do you feel," Marcus asked when he saw the girl he was carrying was awake. She looked weak to him, and he reasoned that a head injury could be quite dangerous, he'd be concerned if she looked absolutely fine. It wasn't bad though, she had woken up pretty quickly, after all.

Rebecca swallowed before speaking as she found her throat to be a bit dry. "A bit...sore Sir, the back of my head hurts a bit more then the rest but it certainly isn't something I'm not used to." She answered, making sure not to make eye contact as she would with an equal, but still feeling awkward with being carried. "Would it be rude if I asked him to put me down, would he be suspicious of me if I could easily walk?" The girl asked herself as she looked back up at the Crown Prince and studied his face carefully for a second, trying to figure out which excuse would work best on the man so she wasn't caught and punished for her lies.

"Thank you Sir, for not leaving me in the garden." The calculating gardener said as she looked away from his face again so as not to make eye contact. "Even though I bet this would have been a lot easier for the both of us if you had....."

Marcus

"I certainly couldn't leave you in the garden," Marcus said. He wasn't even looking at her as he walked, he was concentrating on how best to approach the situation. As he reached a room where there was a bed, he set her down on the bed and closed the door. "What were you doing before you were injured," he asked, wondering how long it would take before she'd admit to hearing the conversation between him and Cyric.

The Gardener looked at the Prince carefully as he asked her the question, forgetting protocol and the rules for a second. "I'm dealing with the intelligent Prince of course, how long would I have to lie until he gives up? Or would he just get the answer out of me using someone else... How would the truth work out if I told him? It probably would just end in me taking lots of oaths and possibly being put away." Rebecca reasoned as she licked her teeth for a second before nodding.

"Originally I was doing my job tending to garden seventeen. It was going well as I trimmed one of the bush's, but then I realized that you and Prince Cyric had entered the garden so I tried to crawl away without being noticed so as not to disturb you, but I tripped and I suppose that's when I hit my head on the rock and passed out." Rebecca explained as she tried to make it sound like she hadn't heard the boy's conversation but had been knocked out before it.

Cyric looked over at the Gardener curiously. He hadn't said anything in the conversation, but he knew she was lying partly. He heard a slight commotion after his and Marcus' conversation ended, so he knew she was awake then. He said nothing, however. She probably just didn't want to get into trouble.

Marcus

"Listen, I don't mind if you heard what we've said," Marcus said, getting straight to the point. "I just don't want it getting out. It's not really meant for other's ears." By others, he meant the Elves or Dragonians, but he didn't want his father hearing about this either, the man thought Marcus was odd enough already without all this plotting around marriage and alliances.

"Well he's certainly....upfront." Rebecca realized as she heard the Crown Prince's request. "I suppose it would be rude of me not to be honest in return." The Gardener decided as she looked up at the Princes.
"Of course I wont your highness, the last I thing I want is to be responsible for a war Sir." She said as though it were simple, of course inside she was still worried that she was doomed either way so she might as well not waste time.

"I think we can trust her. Only a fool would reveal any information that could lead to people's deaths," Cyric told Marcus confidently.

Marcus

Marcus looked over at Cyric, wondering how badly Cyric thought of him to make him voice an opinion like that.. I always feel so unusual when addressed as sir, I guess I'm used to Cyric's rudeness. I never have much to do with the servants anyway, Marcus thought, looking back at Rebecca. "Good, I'm glad you've been so accomidating. We'll leave you to rest," he said, and opened the door, walking out without another word.

Rebecca held back a sigh of relief as she heard Cyric vouch for her. She looked up and was rather surprised to see Marcus walking away without a word. "I guess he is a bit cold just like everyone said....it suits his appearance I suppose." The Gardener thought as she remembered his expression in the garden.
Then her gaze turned back to the younger Prince, the one that could of possible helped her. "Thank you Prince Cyric." The girl said as she managed to bow, even while in the bed.

"It's no problem," Cyric told the girl with a shrug, "He wouldn't have punished you anyway. Just be sure not to tell anyone of our plan." With that said, he nodded at her and left. He felt like sneaking out or something.

Marcus

Marcus walked on, not waiting for Cyric, retreating into his room. "I need to find a way to spend time individually with each princess while ensuring Cyric gets his time with them as well. I could just rely on him to meet with every girl 'by chance', but I don't know if he can be fair and not focus on only a few girls... what am I saying? Of course he'll try to get close to them all, if he didn't I'd swear it wasn't him."

Elala held her face in her hand in her boredom, swirling a finger through her naturally white hair. Both the Princes had left the room, leaving the Elven and Dragonian princesses alone. Given this chance, the majority had immediatly gone into discussion, debate, and just plain gossip about the man so many of them wanted to forever spend their lives with. Even though they hardly knew the prince. How...Irritating. She thought to herself.

Chantel looked around, with both of the main guests gone, and everyone else having engaged in conversation, the red-headed dragon slipped from the room, walking down many hallways quietly and cautiously until finally reaching the main entrance. Chantel stood up straight, putting on a confident, I-know-what-I'm-doing face on, in hopes of avoiding questions of her exit. She drifted to the carriage, having made it past the guards fine. It's been two weeks... She thought to herself, able to feel the weight of her father's sword in the bag that should've only contained the materials needed for mending tears and adjusting maiden's dresses. And it burned to be weilded in her hands for just ten minutes. She looked around, slipping around the back of the carriage before removing it from her bag.

Cyric smiled as he saddled his horse. Unlike many princes, he liked do this himself instead of having others do it for him. He was rather proud of his disguise. He was wearing peasant clothing with a brown cloak wrapped around himself and a hood obscuring his face. The only sign that he was a prince was the sword he had strapped at his side.

Cyric led his horse out of the stables and past a courage. He was, however, surprised to see a woman with a sword, and a finely made one at that. He spoke, "That is finely made. I haven't seen one like that in this country."

Marcus

"I suppose I can't keep from making another appearance soon, I've been gone too long," Marcus muttered to himself and left his room. He would have to spend time with the princesses, but he'd prefer not to entertain them all at the same time, he didn't like crowds.

"Thank you for this fine meal your Highness, it was truly splendid. But I would ask of you that you allow the Princesses to see their rooms and rest a bit after traveling such a long way to be here." Ardal requested after the feast was finished. Noticing that some of the girl's under his care looked like they needed a bit of time alone.

The King

"Yes, of course, I'll have our servants show you all to your rooms. And again, I must apologize for my son's rudeness, but I'm certain you all will love him when you get to know him," the King said, though he was lying. He was certain that none of the princesses would ever come to love his son, but that wasn't a big issue, after all, the imminent marriage was only symbolic, love wasn't necesarry.

Servants appeared and began leading the different people to the guest rooms, where they would be staying.

Chantel jumped with a start, having not expected the one on the horse to see her. But she knew if she acted nervous now, he might question her right to have it, so she again put on that confident expression, acting like she had every right in the world to be out here, ignoring her duties. "Indeed." She said, turning to aknowledge his prescence. He looked somewhat familiar, but at the same time new to her.

--

Elala set her glass down, rising to her feet and following a servant girl down the hallways of the Kingdom. It wasn't long before they reached her assigned room in the castle, and she turned to smile politely and thank the girl before entering her room. She left her door open, liking how open the room felt to the world, and sat in a chair by the window. Her belongings lay on her bed, she would unpack them later, feeling only a need to think at the time as she stared out the opening and into the world below.

Cyric smiled at the girl and looked her over. He spoke, "You don't look like a Princess. More like a servant. Are all Dragon servants armed? That's a strange custom, though not one without its uses."

"The main maid of the kingdom." The red-head corrected him, not liking the term 'servant'. It made her feel low, and less an individual to be thought of as one out of a whole. "And no, they aren't." She eyed the sword hilted on his own person with seemingly unnatural bright green eyes. "For a custom that you find so strange, you appear to have one yourself." Chantel commented, giving a half-smile. She briefly wondered why this one was speaking to her, on their horse, they appeared to be going somewhere.

Cyric chuckled, "Indeed, though I am no maid." He pushed back his hood and bowed to her with a grin. He continued, "I'm Prince Cyric. I'm simply sneaking out of the castle to have a good time."

Grajan

After seeing his room and posting some guards on duty outside the princess's rooms, Grajan headed outside of the castle walls. The place was too small to hold his true form anywhere without damages being caused, and he needed to stretch out. Once outside and a good deal away from any walls, he held his hands around the orb on his chest and began to glow. His silhouette began to change and morph, growing much larger and changing shape, until he was a gigantic lizard with wings, scales all over his body, and horns. "Much better," he growled, stretching his legs and wings before letting out a loud roar.