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Post by Angel ♥ on May 29, 2008 5:48:21 GMT -5
Rory nodded to him as he darted off up the stairs, taking this chance to let her gaze slowly wander around the inn, looking from person to person. The people in the slums really were a jumbled mismatch of everything, weren't they? Everyone you looked at was different, and she could see what Layla meant when she said that fashion didn't exist in the slums. Everyone seemed to have their own little quirks, which was so different to the palace where everyone was expected to be the same. Individuality was viewed as dangerous because it was thought that individuals didn't follow the rules and individuals caused trouble, like the slum dwellers.
She tilted her head a little as she caught that conversation about her disappearance again, pretending to still be looking around as she listened. How could they think she had been kidnapped? She had gone to her room and they would know that she had changed, and there would be no signs of a struggle. They probably didn't want to accept the shame that their daughter had run away of her own accord because if they accepted that they would know that it was their fault she had run away in the first place. The idea of them sending a bounty hunter into the slums was worrying.
Phoenix returned before she could start worrying too much, turning her attention to him to smile lightly. "Hmm, I think that you would rather I covered my face up than the guards recognising me." She murmured as she swung the cloak over her shoulders, tugging the hood up over her head to hide her features. She followed him out into the square, seeming nervous to be outside again, especailly when they were looking for her.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 29, 2008 7:05:49 GMT -5
"I hate to say it but I do agree with you there." Phoenix smirked over his shoulder as she pulled the hood of the cloak up, pausing just a few steps down from the inn to think to himself. "First of all we'd better go and see Kade, to see if he's heard anything of your friend or knows where he might be. He's usually in the know about most things, so if your friend's somewhere in Cressa and has done anything remotely interesting and note-worthy, Kade will probably have heard about it." he murmured, turning to her. "Is that alright? By the time we've done that I guess they will have sent the guards out into the noble districts, but as long as they STAY there we don't have a problem."
Obviously, Phoenix wouldn't have heard the part about the bounty hunter that may be prowling around the slums within the next few days, and nor did he look like the type of person to worry if he had heard the news. In fact, for someone who may be caught, dragged away and hung for treason at any moment he seemed completely calm, turning to glance through the side street they'd came in from; he could already faintly hear Kade's voice, there was no mistaking him. He too had probably heard of the Princess's disappearance by now, although he didn't really care much about royal matters unless there was something in it for him.
"Hey, don't worry though." Phoenix rested a hand lightly on her shoulder, smiling reassuringly. "Everything will be fine, the guards won't even know we're there, let alone know it's you walking around." he laughed.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 29, 2008 7:19:20 GMT -5
She nodded at his suggestion of going to see Kade; that seemed to be the most sensible idea. They couldn't just go wandering about the slums listening out for news of her friend, especailly with the risk of guards and bounty hunters looking for her. She was starting to doubt that he was here though; her father disliked the man and would have done everything possible to make sure that he stayed away from the wedding, which probably meant that he had made sure that he wasn't in Cressa. She wasn't going to voice this opinion though, she was going to cling to the hope that he was here, because if he wasn't then she had no idea what to do. "Alright...but if my firend is here he will be in the noble district...so...what would we do?"
She smiled to him weakly as he rested his hand on her shoulder, nodding to him again. "I hope you're right...if we get seen you should just leave me though...because they would think that you kidnapped me and I don't want you getting in trouble because of me."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 29, 2008 7:37:25 GMT -5
"How noble of you." he chuckled at her suggestion that she leave him if they were found out, turning to walk through the side-streets to find Kade, "But I'm not going to leave you and let you get dragged back to a place you hate. In the slums you have to stick together. It's like some unwritten rule." he glanced over his shoulder and winked at her. He fell silent though when he realised her friend would be in the noble districts if he was there at all, a small frown on his face as he thought.
"If he is here, then we'd have to sneak into the districts to get you to him. No doubt he'll be as worried as you to find out you've been 'smuggled out of the palace' and now guards are hunting for you." he laughed, "It won't be easy, but if we waited until dark then we'll at least have something in our favour." he nodded eventually, "But if Kade doesn't know where he is, I don't know what we can do next. Leaving Cressa isn't even an option, we wouldn't get past the gates. Those guards wouldn't be fooled by anyone." he shook his head as they walked, midly surprised as Kade's large hand slapped down onto his shoulder, the older thief grinning down at them.
"Mornin' Red! Still got your friend with you, huh? Must be a record for you, that's the first time I've seen you with a girl two days in a row unless it's Layla, and that's only because you stay with her on occasion!" he gave his booming laugh, Phoenix smiling weakly in return. Brilliant, if he hadn't had to have spoken to Kade today anyway, he would have probably scarpered into the crowd.
"Good morning to you too." he rolled his eyes, a light smirk on his face, "Listen, we need a favour. Have you heard anything of an... um... damn. Rory, what was the name of your friend again?" he tilted his head.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 29, 2008 8:05:29 GMT -5
"And you called me the noble one." She rolled her eyes at him, shaking her head a little as she tucked her hair under her hood. He had to understand that he would be in serious trouble if they were caught, even if he wasn't accused of stealing her away from the castle, he was still helping her stay away from the castle, which was an act of treason in itself. They wouldn't understand that he was keeping her safe and making sure that nothing bad happened to her, they would see that he had stolen the Princess and hidden her away in the slums and that would be enough for them to justify taking his life.
"I suppose it would be safer to go there after dark. By that time they will have turned the place upsidedown and realised that I'm not there." She nodded slowly, "If he's not here I guess I will just...I don't know...have to stay here until I can get out of the city..." She sighed gently as she rubbed at the back of her head. "This whole blending in idea is hard though." She informed him, not mentioning that she was fed up of having to hide her face too.
Rory couldn't help but blush brightly at Kade's comment, looking up at him for a second before looking away again. Poor Rory wasn't used to such comments, and she genuinly didn't know how she was expected to react; hence her just falling silent and looking at the floor, leaving Phoenix to deal with the comments.
She glanced up again as he spoke to her, "His name is Christopher Reichs, he's an author..." She supplied with another little nod, looking hopeful as she looked up at Kade. "Have you heard anything about him?"
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 29, 2008 8:29:34 GMT -5
Kade thought for a moment, folding his arms and frowning in concentration before nodding a little. "I do know that name, that author has lived in Cressa for a while." he informed them, Phoenix having to hide the small tug of disappointment as he realised the person she was looking for was, in fact, in the city. This meant she could leave, and it would be as though they'd never even met. "Only..." Kade continued, shaking his head, "No, I'm pretty sure he left some time last week. Somethin' to do with the Princess's wedding, I think. They said he'd be returning in a few weeks time." the older thief concluded, gazing down at them again. "Does that help you any?"
Phoenix now had to equally hide the pang of hope he felt, although he did feel genuinely sorry for Rory - she'd looked so hopeful when she asked about her author friend, and now he didn't know what they could do. He would have to help her out of the city somehow, unless there was someone else within the city walls she could go to - a relative or something, that might help. "It helps to know that he was here, but now he's gone afraid it doesn't help our situation." he smiled at Kade, who shrugged.
"Can't help you there then, sorry Red." he shook his head, clapping the other thief on the shoulder once more before heading off with a call of, "See ya later, I got another job for you."
"Sorry, Rory." Phoenix glanced at her, "I guess he won't be back for a while... is there anyone else we could find? I know the slums weren't exactly your first choice of hiding places, so if there's anywhere I can take you, anyone else you know I'll be happy to get you there." he suggested.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 29, 2008 8:47:12 GMT -5
Rory was undeniably disappointed at the news, especially when Kade had almost made her think that he was still in the city. She should have known better than to think her father would have let him stay in the city, especially when this wedding meant so much to him that he was happy to risk his daughter's future happiness to create a family bond with one of the strongest noble families in Cressa. However, she had to admit that she wasn't totaly disappointed, because her friend not being here meant that she could stay with Phoenix. At least she wasn't on her own here, at least Phoenix still seemed willing to help her and wasn't going to tell her that he had done his bit and leave her here in the middle of the slums.
"Thank you anyway." She murmured to Kade and smiled lightly, before turning her attention back to Phoenix. "There's no-one else I could go to, they would all send me back to the palace. They all seem to think it's my duty to marry this man, apparently it will help Avalas prosper, but all it will do is make their family richer and give us another ally." She rolled her eyes, folding her arms over her chest under her cloak. "I guess this means I will have to stay here with you...if you don't mind that is..."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 29, 2008 11:06:34 GMT -5
"Your family really care about you that much huh?" he smirked at her lightly, leaning back against the wall to think to himself, folding his arms. "That must be awful, having nobody to turn to who won't rat you out." he murmured, brushing his hair out of his eyes and smiling at her last comment. "Of course you can stick with me, if that's really what you want to do. We'll have to wait until this friend of yours comes back to Cressa, perhaps. I know going from the palace to the slums is a huge step for you to take, so I'll try my best to fix this. And we won't get caught, I promise." he winked at her, finally moving from the wall to look around the large square; the ordinary market was just being set up now for the mid-morning sales.
"Seems we've got time to spare anyway, doesn't it? I have to go do that job for Kade in a little while, you can stay at the inn with Layla if you want to. It shouldn't take too long. But until then, is there anywhere you want to go? We'll be safe in the slums, at least for a little while." he murmured, cracking his knuckles absently and turning to look at her, a bright smile on his face.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 29, 2008 13:01:52 GMT -5
"It's not that they don't care about me. I know that they care, and they only want the best for me...but they just don't understand sometimes. They don't really understand that what they think is best for me is the opposite of what I want to do." She explained with a small smile, shrugging a little. She didn't hate her family or anything like that. She sort of understood what they wanted her to do and why...the only reason she had to resent them was that they had never understood her and they were willing to force her into something that she really didn't want to do.
She smiled to him lightly as he said that he didn't mind her staying with him. "It's alright, thank you. I think it will just take a while to get used to how different things are here..." She noodded slowly before looking over at him. "But, if you are free can we see is there is any henna in the market? So that I can dye my hair so I look less like...me?" She asked, tilting her head at him a little. "I'm tired of walking around with my hood up. If my hair is a different colour they will be less likely to recognise me." She knew that someo of the older women at the castle used henna's on their hair to keep it's colour as they started to go grey, so she could use those powders to dye her hair darker, maybe a dark brown, so that she wasn't as easy to spot in a crowd.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 29, 2008 13:19:13 GMT -5
"Henna?" he actually looked like he was going to laugh for a moment - henna was expensive and rare, especially in the slums, how the heck was she going to find and/or pay for it? Then of course, he realised what the hell he was thinking - she had the money to pay for it, and he had the connections to find the stuff. The thief almost rolled his eyes at himself, instead nodding at her lightly. "Okay, I know someone who might be able to get that for us. I'd advise you cut your hair as well, or something, but I'm not going to be that mean." he nudged her a little and turned to set off at a slower pace through the market.
He knew the person he was looking for, and he'd recently done him a favour so it would be easy to use this to his advantage and get the henna for less than it would usually cost him, perhaps even for free. He motioned for Rory to follow him as he spotted a familiar shadow and flash of gold in a side-street, moving towards it at the same time as a man walked out, the gold ring in one ear making it obvious he was a thief, since nobles wouldn't be seen dead in the slums. "Hey." Phoenix smirked at him, the other thief inclining his head slightly to show that he'd seen him.
"What do you need, Red?" he asked in a low voice.
"Some henna, if you can get it. I know it's rare and expensive and all the rest of it, but if you could do it this once we'll forget about the gunpowder and the stop-watch, okay?" he smiled, folding his arms. The man with the gold earring thought for a moment, seeming hesitant but eventually he nodded.
"Done. What colour do you need?"
It was at this point Phoenix turned to look at Rory, expecting her to know what colour henna she'd want.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 29, 2008 15:30:39 GMT -5
"Cut my hair?" She blinked at him, her eyes widening for a second before she shook her head. "Even if you suggested that I wouldn't be able to do it." She shook her head at him, reaching up to brush her hair back away from her face, as if to hide it away from Phoenix to make sure that he didn't get any ideas that involved chopping any of her hair off. Dying her hair was adventurous enough for Rory for today, thank you very much.
Her gaze flickered around as she followed after Phoenix, taking in the sights of the market. The slums were just filled with new sights, and everything here was so colourful. No-one seemed to care that the colours they wore clashed horribly, which made the slums seem like such a lively place, everyone here seeming so alive, chattering and laughing as they walked and worked, some people even singing! For people that had nothing they really were happy, or seemed to be.
She looking up at the man that Phoenix stopped, half listening to their conversation as she looked around, only looking to Pheonix as he asked what colour she wanted. "Oh, dark brown if you can please." She smile to the man; Rory was even polite to the thieves, bless her.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 30, 2008 7:48:10 GMT -5
The man with the gold ring in his ear admittedly seemed confused at the 'please', realising at once she wasn't originally from the slums; no slum-dweller spoke like that. He nodded in acceptance nonetheless, briefly smiling at them both. "You'll have it in a couple hours. Come back here then." he murmured, Phoenix nodding once in agreement.
"Alright, in a couple hours then." he murmured, the man throwing them only a small salute before whisking off into the side-streets, admittedly looking as though he was on some kind of a mission. Phoenix couldn't resist a smirk, turning to look at her again. "Don't mind Drew, he always did have a flair for the dramatic. He takes his job too seriously, but he's good at what he does at least." he chuckled lightly, "Well, there you go. Only two more hours of wearing that cloak, and you'll be like a new person." he winked at her, turning back to face the now bustling market.
"Shall we go and find what kind of a job Kade wants me to do? It better not be too far away from the slums, I might run into another rogue princess and then what would I be to do?" he sighed in mock exhasperation, smirking back at her and wandering back, away from the side streets. "But first, I'm getting hungry. Do you want anything to eat?" he asked.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 30, 2008 9:15:45 GMT -5
Rory did seem rather befuddled as the man saluted them and went marching off like that, arching her eyebrow as she watched him disappear into the crowd. "He really is rather dramatic, isn't he?" She murmured, grinning to herself a little before letting her gaze drift back over to Phoenix to smile to him brightly. "I know, I can't wait. I'm fed up of wearing this silly hood, it keeps messing my hair up." She pouted a little, "Being like a new person would be nice though." She nodded happily as she followed him through the bustling market, making sure to keep an eye on her money pouch.
"Food would be nice." She nodded, not feeling as nervous as she had been so she could probably face food. It was hard to worry when you were around Phoenix, and being outside and not being caught was making her relax. "If you find any more rouge Princess' you will have to start a collection."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on May 30, 2008 12:52:20 GMT -5
"A collection? Psh, I was grateful just to find one, thank you." he laughed to himself, pausing in front of a market stall which appeared to be selling bread, sweet cakes and other such things. "What do you want?" Phoenix smiled over at Rory, the vendor of the stall looking them over suspiciously as if he couldn't quite make out whether they actually had the money to pay for anything they bought; he already knew Phoenix was a thief, but in general he was pretty good when it came to paying for things with money. Then again, for a beautiful girl he tended to become more daring...
"Stop thinking those thoughts." Phoenix grinned at the vendor, folding his arms, "I can see them whirring around in your brain, old man. You have nothing to worry about." he assured him, the old vendor simply smirking in reply and going back to his work until they had chosen what they wanted.
The thief casted his gaze out across the market once more while he waited for Rory's answer, looking for Kade. The large man wasn't difficult to locate, but he had dealings with many people in the slums, some of which Phoenix didn't really take a liking to. While he didn't object to Kade's indiscrimination with who he worked with, he still liked to be out of the way until they were done with their business.
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Post by Angel ♥ on May 31, 2008 13:58:06 GMT -5
"Grateful to find me? I would have thought you were regretting it with all the trouble and hassle I'm causing." She smirked a little as she watched him. He really was an oddity, wasn't he? She would have imagined that he would be more worried about being caught with her rather than being happy to have bumped into her in the first place. Phoenix just kept on breaking her expectations, didn't he? She would have to keep an eye on him seeing as she could never second guess what he was going to do or how he was going to react to things.
She almost bumped into him as he paused by the stall, not have been paying enough attention to him. She stopped just in time, turning her head to look down at the stall, smiling lightly. "Can I have one of those?" She asked, pointing to a sweet pastry that had a jam in the middle. "I'll give you the coins if you want." She nodded to Phoenix, reaching into her cloak to get her money pouch. Well, Phoenix was helping her, the least she could do was pay a couple of coins for his breakfast.
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