I'd Steal the Moon for You...

[Vyncent Schwarz]

He smiled at her brightly as she caught on to this little part of his plan. "Don't panic about it Rory. People do this all the time - I bet if we tossed him a silver coin or two he wouldn't even bat an eyelid, but it's easier for us if nobody knows we're leaving or where we're going." he shrugged to her, leading them out of the inn and down onto the cobbled streets. The streets were bustling by this time with traders, sailors and all manner of people coming from or to Cressa, or simply just passing through like they were. The sun shone pleasantly above them; it was one of those warm and breezy Autumn days, just as the leaves were beginning to turn, and the salty scent of the ocean was on the air.

Phoenix stretched as he arrived outside, smirking back at Rory before setting off to lead them through the town at a brisk pace that was just a little slower than everyone elses', so they didn't look too out of place. He was still aware that, although Rory had better walking boots, she wouldn't want to put too much stress on her feet right now. At least they were getting a lift for a lot of the way (hopefully). "To get to Angel's Peak?" he asked as he glanced to her at her question, "We should be there by early afternoon. I'll explain what we'll do after that when we're on the cart. But at the foot of Angel's Peak is a tiny village - this is where the cart will stop, 'cause it's delivering supplies to there." he informed her, falling silent then to walk.

It wasn't long before they reached the gates of Avangarde again, but this time they were bustling and hurried, carts leaving from the gates on one side while others were already moving back inside from Cressa, ready to be loaded once more. "That's the cart we'll be taking." he muttered to her in a low voice as he pulled to a stop; they didn't look suspicious by any means, with the number of people gathered there already. The cart he was motioning to was rather large, filled with haystacks although there was a clear space at the back which hadn't been nearly big enough to get another bundle of hay into it, so they'd fit easily. He doubted the old rider would notice them talking if they kept their voices down.

He moved next to the cart, pretending to look interested in what the others from Cressa were bringing in, watching the rider out of the corner of his eye as he readied his horse. Any second now.

[Angel ♥]

"I suppose if we won't be in the way then it isn't too bad. They would be going to Angel's Peak anyway, so we won't be putting them at any kind of disadvantage." She nodded in agreement with him. As long as she could reason this so that they weren't doing anything wrong then it was fine. She also had to be a little bit selfish and think about what was best for them aswell. If they hitched a ride on a cart it would be far harder for anyone to follow them, especially if no-one knew that they had ridden on the cart. Rory would have done practically aything if it meant that Phoenix could get away from the White Knight's, even if that anything was immoral or against the law. Plus, she really was happy that they wouldn't be walking all day...her feet hurt enough now without being subjected to mile after mile of walking.

Her gaze danced around as he lead her through the bustling streets, so much happening that her gaze couldn't stay in one place for very long. Most of the people seemed to be traders heading for Cressa, either hiring carts or packing their wares up to transport them to the capital. There were a whole manner of things, traders with aeromatic spices and exotice herbs, and those with fine clothing. Others had cured meats, ales, trinkets, weapons, jewellery, books, potions and many other different things. Traders much come from all over Avalas to bring such a variety of produce to one place. The again, with Cressa being the capital many nobles lives in or around there, and they would be the ones who would spend lavish ammounts of money on the more luxurious of products.

She looked around as he stopped, her gaze falling on the cart that he said that they would be catching, nodding a little. "They hay won't fall on us, will it?" She asked, tilting her head at the cart as she lingered next to Phoenix, not quite sure why they couldn't just get on now and hide; she didn't fancy running with how much her feet were hurting her.

[Vyncent Schwarz]

"Nono, they tie the hay up to make sure it stays in one place. That way it won't slide off the cart or anything like that..." he smiled to her lightly as he watched the rider mount the cart and take hold of the reins of his horses; it would be much easier to get on unnoticed when he was at the front of the cart and couldn't see them sneaking on. Which explained why he slipped his hand into hers and led them rather quickly through the crowd as the cart creaked and began to roll forwards, Phoenix catching up to it in seconds. The gates around them were too busy for anyone to notice or even care that they were sneaking onto the cart, and he grabbed hold of the back of it to hoist himself up in no time, while it was still moving at a snail's pace. He helped Rory up next to him with a secure tug, stepping over the back of the cart into the space left between the hay-stacks, smiling lightly.

There really was quite a lot of room, now that Phoenix looked down at it; they'd be able to sit here quite comfortably for the duration of their trip. They might even be able to lie down a while, he had a feeling that Rory might want to catch some extra sleep while they had a chance. Hell, even Phoenix was feeling sluggish and tired today... though that could have something to do with the lack of chicory outside Cressa. He really would miss his hell-brew, if nothing else about the slums apart from the people in it. He kept hold of the princess's hand to help her into the cart, already kneeling down in it and half leaning against the bundles of hay towering above them.

He caught the eye of a small child as the cart began to pick up a little bit of speed, the boy holding onto his mother's hand and smiling brightly at them as they snuck aboard. Phoenix winked at him dashingly, as though it was their little secret, and the boy gave a sort of amateur wink back, before walking off with his mother.

[Angel ♥]

She nodded to him as he told her that the hay wouldn't move, still eyeing it dubiously; she hoped that they had tied the hay up properly because she didn't really fancy getting squashed under all that hay. She blinked as Phoenix tugged her forward, moving to follow after him as she realised that the cart was moving. At least it wasn't moving too quickly, and it was rather easy to keep pace with it, even though she limped ever so slightly. The hard part, however, seemed to be actually getting onto the cart, and she didn't think that she would have managed it without Phoenix tugging her up, the Princess practically falling up into Phoenix's arms. Well, at least she got onto the cart and hadn't fallen off...

She kept hold of his hand, seeming wobbly as she followed him into the soace between the stacks of hay, unabalance because of the motion of the cart. "I can't believe that we just did that..." She murmured as she finally sat down, glancing up at the hay, as if to check that it wasn't going to fall on her, before shuffling to sit more comfortably, stretching her legs out in front of her as she leant back on her hands. They had made it! They were on the cart and on their way to Angel's Peak!

The back of the cart wasn't particularly comfortable, the rocking of it rattling her bones, but none of that bothered her as she looked around. They were on their way now, really on their way, heading far away from Cressa and everything she knew. She felt a pang of nostalgia at that though, smiling softly as she turned her gaze to the Cressan walls and the palace within them. It was odd to watch her home grow further and further away, but, that wasn't her home anymore was it? The only problem was that she didn't quite know where her home was right now.

[Vyncent Schwarz]

"There's always a first time for everything." he chuckled as the cart picked up speed and trundled out of the gates of Avangarde, heading onto the route that they'd been on the previous night, heading further and further away from Cressa. He turned to sit with his back against the hay, legs dangling comfortably over the back of the cart as he watched Cressa slowly get smaller as they travelled. He too felt a pang of nostalgia at the idea of leaving the place; he'd never been to Angel's Peak before in his life or anywhere further than that, so as far as adventure was concerned, he was as game for it as she was. He smiled at her brightly, tucking his arms behind his head as he leant back against the hay, seeming surprisingly comfortable with the rocking of the cart, something in his eyes telling that he might have done this once or twice before.

"Okay... once we get to Angel's Peak, we'll stop for a rest and to get some extra supplies or something in the little village. If you think you'll need it or anything we'll even stay there for the night; that might actually be better, really..." he paused for a second to think, "See, the top of Angel's Peak is s'posed to be really famous for its beauty, and you said you'd like to see everything... I dunno if you'll be up to the climb, though. It's up to you, if you want to stay and look, we'll stay." he smiled.

"But I want to get us on a route that will take us almost to the borders between Avalas and Marmosia, to a place called Ilyria. You might have heard of it, it's the next large city nearest to Cressa..." he shrugged, "They say it's the most well known city for it's architecture. It's s'posed to have huge pointed towers made of white stone that can be seen even from far away, all kinds of sculptures, stuff like that." he murmured. "So if you wanna take that route, that's where we'll head. I figured we could find out what to do next once we're there?" he offered her with a light smile, quickly getting used to the movement of the cart as they travelled.

[Angel ♥]

For Rory the adventure had begun as soon as she had stepped out of the castle for that first time, and since then it had never stopped. Since her first escape from the castle their adventures could probably fill a whole sequence of novels. She had run away from the castle, been resuced by a thief, Phoenix had been stabbed, she had been captured stealing the cure, Phoenix had almost been hung, he had rescued her from the palace and they had escaped from the White Knights. Some people would think that was enough adventure to last them a lifetime, but not for Rory and Phoenix. Oh no. They were out on the road, with the whole world to look forward to and nothing to hold them back.

She listened to him carefully as he explained the plan, dragging her gaze away from the landscape to look at him. She nodded in the appropriate places, smiling to him faintly. "Sounds good to me." She told him, thinking over everything he had said; he didn't seem to have left anything out. "I would like to climb to the top of Angel's Peak, there would be no sense in missing out on that view after going all that way, and we don't know if we will ever get another chance." She murmured to him, tilting her head back a little as the sunshine poured down on them, warm still even though autumn was starting to take hold. "We will just have to wait and see how my feet feel. They should be alright because I won't be doing too much walking today."

Her eyes lit up with interest as he started speaking about Ilyria. She had heard of the city, of course, and she had seen paintings of certain parts of the city, but it must be better in real life. She just couldn't imagine the sheer size of those white towers. Apparently the one in the center of the city was so tall that the clouds sometimes gathered around the top and the only way up was by magic. "I would love to go to Ilyria. I've heard so much about the architecture, it would be nice to see if for myself." She nodded and smiled, seeming excited by the prospect of visiting the city.

[Vyncent Schwarz]

"Then that's where we'll go." he smiled to her warmly, settling back against the hay and watching as Cressa began to shrink slowly away from them. It would be forever before they stopped seeing it at all; the sprawling kingdom was so enormous it would constantly seem on the horizon; he could still see the ribbon of water that was the Great River glittering as it ran through the city. He too was excited about Ilyria, though not so much for the architecture. Sure, that seemed interesting, something he'd never seen before and something he never thought he would see, so he was psyched up about that. But Phoenix was more interested in the treasures they might find there, the people they'd run into. To him entering a new city could be compared to opening a new book; you never knew what to expect.

"If you want to sleep on the way to Angel's Peak, Rory, don't think twice about it." he told her with a smirk, brushing his bangs out of his eyes and letting his gaze trail away from Cressa and Avangarde to the countryside around them, "We'll not reach there until at least noon, and I plan on having a rest for a little while anyway." he shrugged relaxedly. He was tired now after his initial wake-up call, and let's face it; Phoenix wasn't exactly a morning person anyway, was he? He'd slip back into old habits soon enough, and for the first few hours of the morning travelling with him would be like walking around with a puppet. Talking just... wouldn't happen, and he'd most likely walk as though he was on strings as well!

"Oh, and if you get hungry, there's food in the bag." he murmured, stretching and nodding down at the leather bag which he'd set down next to them. Then, as if to make a point about the 'having a rest' thing, he folded his arms and tilted his head down, looking as though he was happily going to fall asleep in the back of the cart.

[Angel ♥]

It would be perfect, Rory would spend their travels marvelling at all the sights and she would be too distracted to notice Phoenix taking advantage of a different city. They were so different that they wen't together rather well, didn't they? Their personalities sort of balanced each other out. Phoenix was confident and outgoing whereas Rory was more reserved and shy, and when you mixed all that up together it just balanced out. Rory could try and talk Phoenix out of doing something too daring and Phoenix could try and talk Rory into coming out of her shell a little. Opposites could sometimes be good for one another, couldn't they?

"Alright then, but I want to watch everything! Maybe I'll sleep if I get tired later." She nodded to him. Once she was awake she found it difficult to go back to sleep, plus she was excited about this whole travelling business, as soon as her excitement wore off then the tiredness would probably start to creep in, but until that point she was happy watching the world trundle by. She also wanted to watch Cressa fade into the distance, feeling as though she were leaving something behind, that she had forgotten something, but she wasn't quite sure what. Maybe this was just what it felt like to leave home?

She glanced back at Phoenix as he laid down, smiling to him gently before turning her attention back to the path that was growing longer and longer as the cart moved. Eventually her gaze flickered back to the ocean, the Princess happy to just sit and watch the world go by.

[Vyncent Schwarz]

Phoenix had only been intending to rest his eyes for half an hour or so, but he must have dropped off to sleep at one point because when he woke up (because of a particularly large dip in the road that the cart had rolled through, making it jolt unpleasantly) the sun was high above them and he didn't recognise the countryside around them at all. He smiled lightly, stretching as he woke up and feeling a lot more well-rested as the sun played over his cheeks and through his hair. He hadn't even had a nightmare this time, so things had to be improving! Brushing his bangs out of his face, he shuffled to sit up a little, rolling his shoulders and peering around them. The ocean had disappeared from view some time ago by the look of it, since they'd headed inland, and now the countryside was in full bloom around them.

The landscape was fairly flat around them at the moment, as far as he could see, fields spreading away into nowhere and the odd house popping up as they travelled, from some farm or something equal to that. Although by the way the road seemed to bend in front of them he guessed they were about to go down a gentle hill, and he could just see the point of something beyond that as he turned to peer at the front of the cart. They had reached the slope in no time at all, and Phoenix found himself smiling as he saw what the point had been.

Angel's Peak sprung out of nowhere in the countryside, as though it had been plonked in the middle of it by some bored god, or as if it had risen out of the land completely of its own accord. It could quite easily be considered a cliff; a truly enormous, pointed slab of stone that loomed into the air in the middle of the flat plains at a prominent angle, large enough for a village to accommodate itself quite nicely, nestled in it's shadow. It was like a little mountain, and Phoenix betted that it must get a great deal of attention with the number of climbers that wanted to pay attention to it.

"Whoa..." he mumbled to himself as he looked beyond the peak, where the road looked as though it became a lot more uneven, leading into mountain ranges and forests and all manner of other things. At least they'd be on a cart...

[Angel ♥]

As the morning grew late and the sun rose higher in the sky Rory's own tiredness started to creep up on her, making her eyes heavy. Her attention of their surroundings was waning now; all the fields looking the same after a while. As it grew warmer in the back of the cart Rory moved to lay down and curl up, just planning on resting her eyes for a moment, doubting that she could sleep with the irregular rocking of the cart. However, as soon as she closed her eyes and tucked her hand under her cheek she was asleep, irregardless of the motion of the cart. It was obvious that she hadn't had enough sleep last night, otherwise she would never have been able to take a nap in the middle of the morning. Then again, at least she would feel better when she woke up.

The unpleasant jolt of the cart as it went through the dip didn't wake her, neither did Phoenix as he moved next to her. No, what woke her was the sound of his voice, that dragging her up from her slumber, waking up her senses. She groaned lightly as she woke up, tilting her head so that her hair fell into her face in an attempt to block out the light that was shining on her face. She wasn't particulalrly comfortable, but she was warm and sleepy and right now she just didn't want to wake up, even though she had no idea where she was and why the room was shaking like it was.

Eventually her memory trickled back to her and explained the shaking; they were still on the cart. She must have fallen to sleep. She scowled just a little as she stretched out, limbs stiff from yesterdays walking and from sleeping in such an uncomfortable place. She still looked half asleep as she finally sat up and opened her eyes, blinking dazedly at Phoenix, as if to ask him if he had been saying something to her. Her hair was ruffled up at one side from sleeping, a stick of hay having fallen into her hair here and there during their journey.

"Are we there yet?" She questioned before hiding a yawn behind her hand, absently running her fingers through her hair as her gaze shifted out of the cart and to their surroundings. Her eyes swiftly picked out what must have been Angel's Peak, all the sleepiness swiftly leaving her now as she gasped lightly. It looked so out of place there amongst the flat fields that surrounded it. Plus, because it was the only notable feature on the landscape it seemed huge, in fact it must have been huge! How strange it must be living in a village with that great hunk of rock looming over you.

"Wow...now that is a spectacle..."

[Vyncent Schwarz]

He smiled at the sound of her voice, turning his gaze from Angel's Peak to look back at her, brushing his bangs out of his face. He couldn't resist a light chuckle at the way her hair was all ruffled up; so he wasn't the only one who'd fallen asleep! "It certainly is..." he nodded lightly at her comment, putting one hand on the side of the cart as they reached the gentle slope to stop himself falling into the hay because of the downhill motion. "We should be there in less than half an hour, by the look of it..." he murmured, glancing back out at the large cliff and the bustling little village below it. The road was beginning to widen as they reached the bottom of the slope onto the flat land, and other carts, travellers and horses could be seen drifting to and fro around them, from others intending to trade at the village.

It seemed Angel's Peak wasn't just a spectacle, it was a cross-roads for all kinds of places, which was understandable - it was a landmark in effect, and if you visited it first before heading to a different location you could be sure you were on the right track... it wasn't exactly easy to miss, was it? Phoenix sat up a little more and stretched as they drew closer to the place, rubbing his eyes. "We'll get out of the cart a few minutes before we get into the village, just so we don't surprise the poor old man driving this thing." he laughed softly, moving to delve into the bag; he was getting kind of hungry now, even he could admit that. "You want any food, Rory?" he offered with a light smile, taking out what would have been breakfast from the inn, choosing an apple and some bread. That would be enough.

He sat back to lean against the hay and eat his lunch, watching the road they'd just come from wind away back towards Cressa, and all of their problems. It had only been a day but he was already feeling so much better after having left the city. He wasn't a slummer out here, he could be anything he wanted to be. More than that, so long as he had a couple coins in his pockets, he wasn't judged. Cressa was different. If you were born in the slums then that's where you were going to stay. It was how it had always been.

[Angel ♥]

Less than half an hour? That was good, she couldn't wait to stretch her legs. She didn't mind traveling by cart, it was much eaiser than walking, but sitting still for so long did leave her limbs feeling rather stiff. She arched her back as she stretched out, her joints cracking. Once she was done stretching she tugged her hair brush out of her bag, briefly brushing out her hair so that it was all in place and neat again, looking slightly bemused as she pulled the straw out of her hairbrush. "Have I got straw in my hair?" She asked him, scowling ever so slightly as she attempted to check her hair. She couldn't walk around with straw in her hair like some rural farm girl! Rory could be such a snob at times, couldn't she?

She glanced to his bag as he mentioned food, as if trying to remember what she had packed into there this morning. "I think that there should be another apple in there, could I have that please?" She asked with all her typical politeness, smiling to him as she packed her hair brush back away. She was a little bit hungry, so an apple would be plenty for her. She had had breakfast earlier, so she wasn't too hungry, and at the palace she would only have had a light lunch, so an apple would be plenty.

She followed his gaze as if looked down the road, easily able to guess what he was thinking about. He would be thinking about everything new that awaited them in the city, and everything that they had escaped from and left behind. "Do you think anyone will recognise me here?" She asked, playing with the charm around her neck as she always did when nervous. "The charm won't run out, will it? It won't matter that we've left Cressa?"

[Vyncent Schwarz]

"Hm? Yeah, sure." he nodded lightly as she asked for the other apple that had been in the bag, leaning forwards to delve into it for a second before bringing out the apple, passing it over to her with a smile. Then he sat back to eat his own lunch, glancing up at the sky this time to watch the few clouds that were about float lazily across the skyline. They really were free out here, weren't they? Phoenix was just finishing the apple as she spoke again, his gaze flitting from the sky to her face, and then down at the charm she was playing with. Then he grinned and chuckled to himself. "No, Rory, I don't think anyone is going to recognise you." he promised her with a light shake of his head, "The charm isn't like a spell, it doesn't have a time limit on it or anything. Just 'cause we've left Cressa it should still work fine, so long as you're wearin' it."

He reached over to lift the charm up and observe it, making its ruby surface glint in the light. "The only way someone could know who you are is if you took it off, or if there was a sorcerer about who casted an illusion-breaking spell and it happened to fall on you." he shrugged, "But I don't think we'll have to worry about that very much, especially if we keep getting further away from Cressa at this rate." he smiled to her as if to reassure her; he couldn't blame her for being nervous, especially when the charm didn't make you feel very hidden. After all, it would still be her whenever she looked in the mirror. That had to be pretty unnerving.

It wasn't long before Phoenix had finished the rest of his lunch, the thief clambering slowly to his knees to stretch his stiff muscles and peer around to the front of the cart. He was startled to find just how close Angel's Peak had gotten, it was almost on top of them now! Soon they were close enough to the village which was bathed in the shadow of the cliff to see houses and people and even the tiny specks of figures starting to climb to the top of the Peak, and he decided it was about now when they should think of getting off. Without a word he closed and buckled the leather bag again, slinging it onto his shoulder. "Ready, Rory?" he smiled to her, now crouching down in the cart, already prepared to get out.

[Angel ♥]

She thanked him as he passed her the apple, rubbing it on her dress for a moment to clean it before biting into it. It was still fresh and crunchy seeing as they only got it this morning; she doubted that she would be able to make herself eat fruit once it was over ripe and soft. Ick, she would rather go hungry, thank you very much. Hopefully they wouldn't have to face that situation though, and they wound find somewhere to stay that was reasonably comfortable when the winter set in and the snow fell. She would bet that even the most hardy of travellers hung up their walking boots as soon as the snow began to fall. No-one was stupid enough to travel in the winter.

"Well, I'm not going to take it off. I even leave it on when I sleep." She smiled to him, seeming reassured by his comments. "And I hope that we are fortunate enough not to run into a sorcerer who decides to put an illusion breaking spell on me...at least that seems very unlikely." She nodded, watching him as he examined the charm. It did look a little out of place with her outfit, red wasn't really a colour that Rory favoured, which was why she kept it tucked away inside her dress most of the time. She figured that keeping it hidden also stopped anyone guessing what it was and getting suspicious of them. It wouldn't be good if people realised that Rory was hiding who her identity.

She finished her apple just as he stood up, tucking the charm back away inside her dress before she carefully moved to follow him, looking worried as she looked down at the ground. "Um...I think that I am. How do we get down while it's moving. We'll fall!" She bit her lower lip in worry, looking up at him. This was going to be harder than it first seemed.

[Vyncent Schwarz]

"We're gonna jump!" Phoenix told her brightly as though that had been obvious, the thief shrugging and smiling at her as he stared down at the moving floor below them, "It's alright, Rory, I've done this hundreds of times, it's easy. Here, take my hand and just don't let go, I'll do the rest." he chuckled, leaning over to take her hand and tug her gently next to him, straightening up. It wasn't as though they were going very fast anyway, was it? Phoenix had leapt from a carriage being drawn by a galloping horse, this was easy in comparison. "If you fall, I'll catch you, I promise." he smirked to her, shifting the bag on his back for a moment before making sure he had his balance and that there were no dips or bumps in the road that would put him off. With that done, he flashed her a grin.

And then he jumped.

It wasn't a long distance to the ground and the thief landed typically easily on the road, kicking up dust around and wobbling forwards for a step or two with the momentum. One of his hands was still in Rory's while the other was safely on her shoulder just in case she did happen to fall; at least the next cart passing them was still a few minutes away so they'd not have to run out of the way or risk being trampled by horses. But they had done it! All that was left was to walk into Angel's Peak and they could find the pathway to Ilyria and begin their journey there. And the thief had to admit that he found himself rather excitable at the thought of it.

"Are you alright?" he asked lightly as the dust around them began to settle, glancing to the right to look at the cart which was still trundling along as though nothing had happened, and beyond it to Angel's Peak.