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Post by Angel ♥ on Feb 20, 2009 17:11:28 GMT -5
Rory had slept well in spite of everything. The chill had crept up on her at some point through the night and she vaguly remembered wrapping the bandages back around her feet in an attempt to warm them up a little, but then her exhaustion had kicked in once again and she had forgotten all about how cold she was as the sleep took over. At a point after this she must have realised that she was very uncomfortable, though she had no recollection of moving at all. The Princess had shuffled so that she was curled up in the small space that they had to sit in, her head resting on Phoenix's leg. She looked much more comfortable laid like that, and if asked she would have to admit that it was a little warmer as well, being snuggled up to the thief as she was.
She hadn't woken yet, though she was starting to stirr, lifting an arm to cover her face in an attempt to hide from the light. The light would wake her up if she wasn't careful, and she wasn't ready to wake up yet. Her body still felt tired and her eyes were far too heavy to even attempt to open them. No, she was happy to lay and doze in the morning light, letting it slowly chase away the chill that had settled over her through the night. She was only vaguly aware of the motion of the cart, in her sleepy state that feeling more like a soothing rocking than the shuddering and jolting that it really was.
However, despite her best efforts her mind was gradually starting to awaken. The first thing that it registered was the dull pain in her feet, which had settled from the sharp pains she had been experiencing the night before to a uncomfortable burning. Then she felt the breeze on her cheek, moving her hair back from her face, and that was when she remembered that she was in the back of the cart, and that they were on their way to Ilyria, though her mind also reminded her that Phoenix would have woken her if they needed to get off the cart, so there was no need to worry. She also knew that he was close by, though she wasn't sure how she knew this. The one thing that confused her was her position. She was sure that she was supposed to be sat up...but...she wasn't? With a small scowl she moved her arm and let her eyes flutter open, blinking against the brighteness of the light.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Feb 21, 2009 12:52:38 GMT -5
It was a few minutes more before Phoenix even registered that Rory wasn't where he'd expected her to be. He'd felt her head drop onto his shoulder as he drifted off to sleep the night before, but that familiar weight wasn't there now that he was starting to come around properly. Although only a minute or two passed before he froze and looked down, seeming rather unnerved to find her head in his lap, the thief scowling slowly and pausing, mid-stretch, to wonder what the hell had happened. Oh no, oh crap. He hadn't done anything in the night, he was sure of it! So how-- Oh... wait... yeah. It actually seemed kind of logical that she'd curl up there with the motion of the cart and the cold that had crept over them. A soft laugh escaped his lips and he sighed, shaking his head. He'd thought he was in trouble for a second or two there.
He'd realised that she must be pretty close to waking up when she moved, even if she was still kind of dazed at the moment. The thief was in two minds about whether he should disturb her or not; he didn't know how much longer they'd be travelling, and she looked as though she could use the sleep more than he did. But then, apart from being accused of accosting princesses, there was the tiny problem of the fact that his leg was slowly falling asleep from being cramped in the back of the cart for so long, and he badly needed to stretch. Glancing around them, Phoenix decided he'd wait a minute or two more before speaking, and hopefully she'd wake up on her own.
But then he'd have the issue of trying to explain to Rory what must have happened during the night - he had no idea how she'd take it, especially considering that she'd been near traumatised at just waking up at the end of his bed after he'd been stabbed, of all things. Well, he supposed, he'd have to get it over with sooner or later. "Mornin', sunshine..." he smirked down at her, his voice quiet against the trundling of the entourage around them, "Comfortable?"
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Post by Angel ♥ on Feb 21, 2009 14:29:08 GMT -5
"Morning Phoenis." She murmured to him sleepily without looking up. His voice seemed disembodied as it floated down to her, sleepy confusion lingering in her eyes as she shifted a little and turned her head to look up in search of the source of the voice. Maybe she was still asleep and dreaming? That wouldhave seemed like a plausible answer if his voice wasn't accompanied by the noise of the creaking cart. She blinked up at Phoenix for a minute, as if she couldn't quite work out how he was all the way up there and she was all the way down there. Well, in her head there were only two possible answers. Either Phoeni'x had had some unfortunate accident in the night and he had had his legs chopped off, which seemed unlikely seeing as he was smirkng, or...well...or she was laid with her head in his lap.
Crimson coloured her cheeks as she realised just where she was laid, the Princess' eyes widening slighly as she swiftly sat up, looking rather horrified. How had she ended up there?!?! She had fallen to sleep with her head on his shoulder, hadn't she? That was vaguly acceptable, but waking up with her head in his lap? Oh dear, that wasn't acceptable at all. It was practially immoral! It was more than practically immoral, it was immoral! No decent woman would ever, ever, ever get so close to a man. Which meant that she was an indecent woman! What would her brothers say? They would be appalled with her behaviour (not that they wouldn't already have been rather annoyed at her for running away with the theif in the first place, but she didn't mind them being annoyed at her for that).
She rubbed at the back of her head akwardly, actually unable to bring herself to look up at Phoenix, which she knew was silly but she was unbelievably embarrassed. Her cheeks actually felt as though they were burning. "I am so sorry! I didn't meant to Phoenix, honest, I must have moved in my sleep...or...something of the sort!" She rambled to him, her words coming out so quickly that it was a little difficult to tell one from the other. At least it was Phoenix that she had fallen asleep on and not anyone else, she thought that maybe she could forgive herself for falling to sleep of Phoenix, because he was her friend, but if it had been anyone else her morals would have been tainted forever.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Feb 21, 2009 15:04:11 GMT -5
He was trying not to chuckle at her embarrassment; even if he'd expected as much from the princess, he'd never seen someone react so strongly to something that was quite obviously an honest accident. Luckily he managed not to laugh, seeing that this had had some effect on her, and he only smiled a little. Not that she'd be able to see it, since she wasn't looking at him. "Hey, it's okay!" he assured her, "You were asleep, and the rocking of the cart probably made you move and fall. No harm done, I've been through worse, I promise." he grinned, sitting up a little to stretch his legs and get some of the feeling back in them. He didn't want her to think about what had happened too much, Rory seemed the type to dwell on these sorts of things... besides, it was innocent enough, wasn't it? At least there was a rational explanation for it.
Phoenix quickly looked to the side of the cart to peer around and see where exactly they were, more for an excuse to change the subject than anything else. He didn't want Rory to feel more awkward than she undoubtedly did, even if he couldn't deny that it put a smile on his face. However he didn't even need to try to change the subject by the look fo it, the thief's jaw dropping as he shuffled to his knees and peered at the front of the cart in awe. The tall white tower which had seemed like nothing more than a matchstick the night before was so much closer now you could practically see the elegant birds that soared around it's peak, even if the rest of Ilyria was still concealed in a blur of mist and forestry. "Wow..." he breathed, craning his neck to look up at the sky, where the very tips of the tower were lost in the clouds.
"I guess we're a little closer to Ilyria than when we started out..." he mumbled, eventually managing to tear his eyes away from the white tower to look back at her. Well, if he was half-asleep then that had certainly woken him up. He doubted he'd be able to sleep any more even if it would take a little longer to get to their destination... which he thought rather likely, considering the tower, as colossal as it might seem, was still very far away.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Feb 22, 2009 7:42:17 GMT -5
Rory was quite simply shocked that she would do something like that, consiously or not. Though, she supposed that Phoenix was right. It was totally innocent, of course, and if Phoenix wasn't annoyed with her then she supposed that it was alright. She would just have to be a little more careful in the future, she doubted that he wanted to wake up again to find her using his leg as a pillow. Then again, she also hoped that they might have real beds to sleep in tonight. She ran her fingers through her hair, her blush having faded to pink as she finally looked up and smiled at him weakly. "Probably, I'm still sorry though. I doubt that you were very comfortable." She murmured to him.
She was glad when he changed the subject, turning her attention to the bandages on her feet as he looked around. She hadn't tied them very neatly, but bandaging was difficult when you were half asleep. She untied them to redo them, raising a hand to rub the sleep out of her eyes. The bandages were tied neatly again in no time at all, the Princess then glancing over at Phoenix, wondering what he was looking at. She would have had a look herself, but she feared that she would fall from the cart, and she couldn't see over the boxes of fruit from where she was sat.
"What? I can't see anything..." She pouted as she spotted the look on his face. Maybe he could see Ilyria? Oh! She wanted to see aswell. She carefully shifted so that she was on her knees, facing the front of the cart, using the boxes to steady herself as she peered over the front of the cart. She caught her breath, tilting her head back as she spotted the tower, unable to even see the top of it. It made her feel dizzy just looking all the way up to where the tower disappeared into the clouds. "How on earth does anyone get all the way up there?" She questioned. She couldn't even imagine what the view much be like from all the way up there, she would bet that they could almost see across the mountains into Marmosia.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Feb 22, 2009 11:48:54 GMT -5
"By magic, I guess..." he murmured softly as he finally tore his eyes away from the tower before his neck started to hurt, smiling over at her, "The people of Ilyria are meant to be scholars and mages and the like, aren't they? They'd have to be to be able to build somethin' like that in the first place." he nodded at the tower, narrowing his eyes to try and see through the thick layer of cloud to its top. "People in the slums used to say that there was a huge jewel at the top that got all charged up from the sun and gave the tower energy. But I don't know if that's true or not..." he shrugged, that thievish little twinkle in his eyes as he settled back against the crates. If such a jewel did exist then he'd barely be able to contain the urge to steal it. Because it was a treasure, and Phoenix was a treasure hunter. That was what he told himself and anyone who asked, anyway.
"We should be at Ilyria by the early evening I think... the carts must not be bothering to stop and feed the horses considering that we're so close." he murmured, stretching and settling down in the bottom of the cart again to look about. Luckily, it seemed that the crates around them were full of fruit, the thief squinting into a hole in one of them before shuffling to his knees to delve inside. "You hungry...?" he asked, smiling lightly down at Rory, "I didn't think to put any food away in Angel's Peak... but at least there's food here." he shrugged, drawing two apples out of the crates and offering her one, before frowning a little. He already knew that Rory looked down on his stealing, even if she tried to ignore it... hm... "If I put a coin in the crate in exchange, can we have them?" he threw her a dashing grin.
Without giving her time to protest, he reached into his waistcoat to draw out two bronze coins - more than enough for just two apples, and plonked them down in the crate among the other fruit before closing the crate again and settling down. No doubt whoever opened it up next would be surprised at seeing the coins among the rest of the contents, but that was their problem, not his. "How are your feet, this morning?" he asked, taking a bite out of the apple and pausing to eat, before speaking again. "You think you'll at least be able to walk far enough into Ilyria to find an inn, or will I have to carry you?" he smirked.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Feb 22, 2009 12:43:37 GMT -5
"Yes, Ilyria is the city of scholars and mages. I read something once that said that the whole tower was built by mages as an experiment to see how high they could build." She told him, her head still tilted back as she studied the tower, comparing it to the picture she had seen in the book. It was much more magnificent in real life. "Apparently it took a whole decade to build, and once they finished they realised that trying to keep the whole place warm and light took far too much energy, especially because they didn't put any windows in except right at the top, so they had a competition amongst themselves to come up with a way to fix that problem. The winning idea was the jewel, but the mage who came up with it wanted to remain anonymous." She explained to him with a far away look in her eyes, as if she found the story of the tower as exciting as the building itself. She thought that she must have caught that from Christopher, her tutor, he had always been the type to get excited about the story behind the picture.
She tore her gaze away from the tower to look down at Phoenix as he spoke, nodding to him as she rubbed at the back of her neck. Early evening, that wasn't too far away. They could sit and talk until they got there, or just watch the countryside roll past. There was no reason to rush now that they were so far away from Cressa, it was doubtful that anyone would recognise Phoenix and Rory had the charm, so no-one would recognise her. She even doubted that the White Knights would have bothered following him all the way out here. As long as he was away from Cressa no-one would know that he had given them the slip, people would assume that they had killed him for being disobedient.
She tilted her head at Phoenix as he took the apples from the create, smiling to him lightly as he put the coins into the crate. "I suppose that we can take them if you are leaving money for them. It's just like buying them, but without the seller knowing." She nodded to him, thanking him for the apple as he passed it to her. "I think that I should be able to walk, at least for a little while anyway. They feel much better now that I've had a chance to rest them." She nodded to him before biting into the apple. She wasn't telling the whole truth. She wasn't sure just how far she could walk. She wasn't even sure if she would be able get her shoes back on with how her feet had swelled, but she didn't want to bother Phoenix with any of that.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Feb 22, 2009 13:12:59 GMT -5
Phoenix couldn't help but smile as he watched her describe the story behind the towers, sitting back to listen and to watch her. She seemed so absorbed in what she was saying, it was amazing... could a book or a picture really make someone react that way? Phoenix had never been much of a spiritualist, after all, and he couldn't read, so he'd had no reason to really bother thinking about the stories behind things. A lot of the items he'd stolen probably had incredible histories behind them, yet he'd never bothered to find them out. He had a feeling, however, that this little quirk of Rory's would probably end up rubbing off on him. She had a thirst for adventure in her, he could almost feel it, and it was contagious. "All of that, just to see how high they could build?" he smirked and tilted his head back to look over at the tower again, before shaking his head and settling down to finish his apple.
"I'm glad you're feeling better." he nodded and smiled at her, glancing down at her feet. If he found out about the trouble she'd have walking then he'd not give her a choice in the matter; he'd make her rest and he'd carry her to the inn. It was easier than letting her do even worse damage to her feet. At least there'd be numerous inns in Ilyria, hopefully one that was near to where they ended up getting off the cart so they could go straight there. Even Phoenix had to admit that he was looking forward to somewhere warm with a bed, and he was used to the chill of the outdoors.
The thief smiled a little as the sun broke through the clouds overhead to bathe them in sunshine, Phoenix closing his eyes for a minute or two. He'd be quite happy just to sit here and wait for the world to slip by until they reached the city. It wouldn't be too long now, really, and he could always go back to sleep if he felt like it. Although getting too much sleep was probably a bad idea, and he'd end up sitting up all night if he wasn't careful. Perhaps it was best just to sit and talk.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Feb 22, 2009 14:36:56 GMT -5
The stories were what brought the places to life! That added that extra sparkle which made them stand out from the ordinary. Without a story it would have just been a really big tower. "Well, I think that there were a few practical reasons too. They could see for miles around from the top and watch for invading armies for miles and miles along the mountain range. Apparently you can see the top of the tower from certain places in Marmosia too, which was intended to intimidate them. But, above all it was just a group of mage's seeing who could build the biggest tower. Apparently in their minds size reflected power." She smiled as she told him, her eyes alive as she spoke. "I would love to see the view from the top, but my brother said that they wouldn't even let him all the way up there..."
In a town like Ilyria she would guess that there would be plenty of inns for them to choose from, hopefully within walking distance of wherever the cart stopped. She would feel rather guilty if Phoenix noticed her pain and ended up carrying her. He must be just as tired as she was, and the last thing that he would need would be to carry her while they searched for an inn. An affordable inn. Phoenix couldn't have too much money left anymore, and they needed to rent a room for a couple of nights, so they couldn't spend too much each night. She didn't even know how they would get any more money once they ran out...
Her eyes closed as the sun peeked between the clouds, tilting her head up a little to let the warmth settle over her cheeks, chasing away the lingering affects of last night's chill. She could still feel autumn in the air though, and the leaves on the tree's around them were starting to turn golden. "Autumn's really starting to come in fast now, soon the leaves will be falling from the trees." She commented.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Feb 26, 2009 16:53:03 GMT -5
"Well, they always said 'the bigger the better' right?" Phoenix smiled at her lightly and rubbed his eyes, though he seemed a little put out that they wouldn't even let the Prince of Cressa to the top of their gigantic tower. That meant commoners like him would have no chance... though he'd already realised that. Oh, well. He'd have to find adventure somewhere else in Ilyria. Knowing Phoenix, adventure (most often in the form of trouble) would find him without him even needing to look for it. The thief turned his attention to the countryside at her mentioning that Autumn would soon be in full swing, and he smiled. "I like Autumn..." he nodded, "The colours always used to look so vibrant, even in the slums." he murmured, settling back and closing his eyes again to let the sun beam down on them.
Phoenix didn't realise that he'd fallen back asleep until he stirred suddenly when the cart jolted, his eyes snapping open as he looked around dazedly. Whoa, when had he dropped off? He stretched and looked about to try and find where the sun was, seeming amazed when it was sinking down some way away from them... it was late afternoon at least. That was unusual for him to do, but then again his routine had switched around so much lately it was surprising he was still sleeping at night. Not that he'd manage to tonight, now. Oh well, perhaps he could take a look at Ilyria at night while the rest of the world was sleeping.
Stretching mightily, he became away of a fain noise somewhere in front of them, and when he looked up the white tower was so much closer it was unnerving, and he scowled a little. "We must be really near to the city gates..." he mumbled mostly to himself, unsure of whether Rory had gone back to sleep or stayed awake or... what. He felt rather bad for going and drifting off on her, and he hoped she hadn't been too bored.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Feb 27, 2009 12:37:56 GMT -5
Rory didn't mind that Phoenix fell back to sleep. Travelling must he as draining for him as it was for her, this was new to both of them afterall. The thief himself had said that he had never been this far away from Cressa before, which meant that he wasn't used to walking so far day after day. Rory had to admit that she hoped that they both became accustomed to this quickly, it would be unpleasant to feel as exhausted as she did now for the next month, or even longer. All this travelling and the lack of a good nights sleep took it's toll, so maybe they would both feel revitalised after a warm meal and a good nights sleep in a comfortable bed? That was what Rory was counting on anyway, if not she had no idea how she would keep up all this travelling.
However, even though she was tired, she had remained awake as he slept. She had dozed at mid afternoon, when the sun was high in the sky and it was pleasantly warm in the back of the carriage. The rest of the time she had spent watching the world roll by, enjoying the quiet, peacefulness of it all. She had even managed to pluck a little yellow flower from a bush which hung over into the road, spinning it between her fingertips contently as she hummed a lullaby to herself.
She glanced over to him as she noticed him move out of the corner of her eye, smiling to him lightly. "Afternoon Phoenix. You woke up just in time, I think that we will be there soon." She murmured to him, gesturing the tower that loomed over them. It was rather oppressive really. Up close the sheer size of it became apparent, the base of it probably as big as three or four farmers fields, the tower stretching up into the Heavens. It made her dizzy just trying to look right to the top, and the feeling that it would tumble and fall on them was lingering in the back of her mind.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Feb 27, 2009 15:28:28 GMT -5
"Hm...?" he looked up as she spoke, smiling slightly and brushing his red hair out of his face. "Afternoon, Rory. You alright? I didn't mean to drop off, must've needed the sleep." he apologised with a light shrug; he probably needed a lot of sleep considering that he rarely got enough of it anyway, but it was rare for him to nod off during the day. "Hope I didn't bore you, I'm not all that interesting while asleep." he smirked, sitting up a little and hiding a yawn behind his hand as he looked around, at least seeming a lot more awake now, especially as he followed her gaze to the gigantic tower that loomed over them... he couldn't even see the bottom, it was hidden by the throng of buildings and sculptures of Ilyria, but he could guess at its width just from looking at it. He shuffled to his knees to look around the cart to the road they were following.
"You're right." he nodded and grinned, "We're almost at one of the main gates now..." he murmured, "I think it'll be best if we lay low in here until we get inside. It will be really busy when we get there, so I doubt that the guards will be checking each cart very thoroughly. If we hide in here then nobody will notice us, and it'll avoid an awkward conversation with any guards that might be on the lookout for you. I doubt that they will be, since you're meant to be in Marmosia and you've got that charm, so they'd not recognise you anyway. But even if your feet are feeling better, I'm doubting that you want to walk anywhere when you don't have to, right?" he smirked at her.
He moved to sit down again as other carts and people started to appear around them; they should be at Ilyria in just a few minutes. Phoenix took no time at all to drag a few of the crates around them to make an easier place to hide. They shouldn't need to hide like this when they were far enough away from Cressa, but as it was it might be best to lay low for a while. That, and it was simply easier for them to ride straight into Ilyria than to have to walk and be checked out by guards.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Mar 1, 2009 7:29:12 GMT -5
"That's alright, don't worry about it. You must just have been tired." She smiled to Phoenix a little. "Well, you aren't the most thrilling conversationalist when you are asleep, but I wasn't too bored." She shook her head, tucking the little flower behind her ear now. If she had been that bored then she would probably have fallen to sleep herself, but she was generally used to being left to enjoy her own company, especially after her first escape from the castle. At least here the scenery was changing and she wasn't trapped in her room. She had spent most of the time watching Ilyria grow closer, watching as the buildings took shape and the tower grew, switching from this side to that as the cart wound it's way towards the city. The buildings were much more styalised than the ones in Cressa, almost all of them built in the same white stone to match the tower, parts of them painted blue to pick out certain bits of the architecture.
"I would prefer not having to walk for too long." She nodded to him as he suggested staying in the cart, it seemed the easiest way to get into the city. Otherwise they would have to walk in past the guards and risk getting interrogated about what their purpose was visiting Ilyria, where they had come from, and how long they would be staying. It was less hassle for them if they just stayed on the cart and hoped for the best, though if they were caught there she wasn't sure that the guards would be very understanding.
She shuffled to sit behind one of the crates as Phoenix shifted them around. She tugged her knees upto her chest, resting her head on them, pretty much hidden behind the crate now. She was fiddling with the charm that she wore as well now. She always got nervous when they were sneaking around, worried that they would be caught and someone would realise who she was...or not realise and both of them to be thrown in a dark prison somewhere; that wouldn't be very pleasant.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Mar 2, 2009 15:50:45 GMT -5
Well Phoenix definitely didn't plan on being caught any time soon, the thief tugging a few more crates about them as she sat down and became hidden by the bulk of the wares, eventually rearranging things (as quietly as he could manage, of course) so that they were practically invisible. Then he shuffled to sit down next to her, smirking as the hustle and bustle of the gates became louder and more defined around them. Soon they were right amongst the rest of the entourage that had halted to be checked over, part of the long line waiting to be let into Ilyria. "All we need to do is to keep quiet and we'll be fine, I promise." he whispered to Rory as he caught her playing with her charm, having noticed that she tended to do that when she was nervous. Not that they even needed to stay quiet with the noise around them.
Luckily it seemed that the line filed through pretty quickly - there must have been several points of entry to Ilyria, just like in Cressa, and they were entering through the South Gate by the signs and the symbols engraved on boards and notices that they passed. Pairs of guards would routinely check over carts with bored expressions on their faces, the odd one opening up a crate to see what was inside. Though Phoenix didn't think they'd have to suffer that treatment and risk being caught, since their cart was filled with fruit, and had suitable gaps in the wood so you could see what was inside. Suddenly the cart halted as the pair of guards moved to inspect the driver's wares, and a gruff conversation could be heard between guard and driver while his companion circled around the cart.
Phoenix sat perfectly still with practised ease, even closing his eyes as if to make himself less visible. He remained that way for a few moments until a grumble told the driver to 'go on through', and then they heaved forwards again, into the city. Easy! The thief found himself getting a tiny bit excited, however. The city that had been so far away before was right on top of them now, and judging by the busy voices and the rainbow of smells and sounds that mingled around them, it wasn't your quiet little town. He couldn't wait. "You alright, Rory?" he murmured to her once the cart had rumbled through the gates without suspicion, "We're inside, we can get off soon, 'kay?"
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Post by Angel ♥ on Mar 5, 2009 18:09:15 GMT -5
Sitting perfectly still and quiet was much harder than it sounded. Once you realised that you shouldn't move to make sure that you didn't get seen you realised just how uncomfortable you were, and of course, as always when you were trying to be quiet, Rory could feel a sneeze tickling at her nose. Why was it that as soon as you wanted to be quiet it was so difficult? She had spent most of the day just sitting, and it hadn't been a problem then. Maybe it had something to do with worrying about getting caught? That was probably it. Being conscious of everything, right down to how loudly you were breathing, made trying to keep quiet really rather difficult.
She breathed out a sight of relief as the cart started moving again, waiting until they were surrounded by the noise of the city before she finally hid her sneeze behind her hand. "Alright. The longer we are on the cart the less we will have to walk, so we might as well stay on it for a little while longer." She murmured to him, sitting up a little to peek through the gaps in the crates to catch her first glimpses of Ilyria. "There are so many people out there...we must be near some sort of market..." She commented, smiling as she glanced over at him, that excitement back in her eyes again now. They were finally here! And even her exhaustion couldn't dampen her spirits.
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