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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Oct 29, 2009 16:45:51 GMT -5
"...I don't know." he shrugged, looking at the floor and sighing as she bombarded him with her logic. He could just slump to the floor at this moment in time, and sit there, and stay there until everything got easier again. He actually put his hand on the wall when she released it, as though to keep himself standing. "It's not that easy, Rory. Me and Chris haven't exactly gotten off on the right foot here. I don't like him, I can tell you that honestly. And I'm pretty sure that he feels the same way about me. I'd not feel right stayin' with someone I know I don't want to be around." he shook his head softly, although you could hear his argument dying as he spoke. He just didn't have the strength any more, he was too tired and too fed up to care. "...Alright." he said after a long while, as if resigning himself to not really having a choice. "When do we leave?" he asked, looking up at her again.
He smirked a little as she said she could take care of herself, reaching out to ruffle her hair up in a rather affectionate manner. "I'm actually startin' to believe you now, Rory. You've done enough on our little adventure to merit tellin' everyone you can take care of yourself." he agreed, moving from the wall and walking off down the corridor back towards their room.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Oct 29, 2009 17:02:15 GMT -5
"I don't know what happened when you met last night, but you've not really given him a chance yet. He's a good person." She told him as he said that he didn't like Chris, seeming as though she honestly didn't understand what there was to dislike about him. Chris had been the only person at the palace that had ever treated her like a normal person and seen past her being the Princess, he had been her only friend. It was strange for her to think that he and Phoenix didn't get along, it left her feeling as though she had to chose between them, which was something she wasn't willing to do.
"You'll come?" Rory brightened the moment he agreed to go with her, smiling to him brightly. "I don't know when we'll leave, probably as soon as Chris arranges a carriage...but...I don't want to go out looking like this..." She trailed off and touched her fingertips to her cheek, her eyes widening a little as she realised that she had left the room looking...well... as though she had been in a brawl. Oh, she was such a state, what would people think?
The Princess pouted at Phoenix as he ruffled her hair up, smoothing it out as she turned to follow him back to the room. "I think you're the only person that believes that I can actually be left alone for five minutes and not fall apart."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Oct 29, 2009 17:32:06 GMT -5
"Rory, he punched me in the face." he told her bluntly, as if to make a point here and now that this angel-faced Chris wasn't all she thought he was. He motioned to his split lip as if to clarify. "I didn't get that from jumpin' out of a cart, y'know." he shrugged, glancing over his shoulder just before they wandered into the room to tilt his head at her and smirk, for the first time since he'd woken up seeming the slightest bit cheerful and roguish. "Sorry Rory, you got nothin' on this." he winked to her, motioning to the map of bruises and grazes on his face, and his torn up knuckles, as if he was winning some contest of their's of 'who could look the worst'.
"Besides, you still look beautiful. You will always look beautiful." he grinned at her, far too aware of the compliment he was giving, and that Chris was in earshot. Well, he didn't feel like himself at all, so he may as well force out some of his old quirks in the hope that it would revive some of his charm so that he didn't feel so down. Ugh, he really hoped that they got to wherever they were going soon, he really couldn't be doing any more travelling. Especially not with a hangover.
"How far away is Handel, anyway?" he asked as he shuffled back into the room, sighing to himself and finally moving to open the curtains and look out at the breezy, yet sunny day. It didn't seem to bother him or hurt his eyes anymore, at least. Once he had given the street outside a good look, as if to check where they were and to find his bearings, he moved back to the basin, to re-plait his hair. It only took a few seconds, but when he looked up he already felt more like himself.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Oct 29, 2009 18:13:51 GMT -5
"He punched you?" Rory couldn't hide the surprise both in her voice and in her eyes. "He did that? Really?" Never, in all the time she had known Chris, had she ever known him to have a violent streak. She had never even known him have crossed words with anyone, or to even snap at anyone, so him hitting someone seemed out of the question. If it wasn't Phoenix and he didn't have a split lip then she wouldn't have belived that the story teller would have been able to hit anyone. She had no idea what had happened, or what Phoenix could have done to provoke him that far.
She was distracted from her thoughts as Phoenix told her that she was beautiful, her cheeks flushing pink under her bruises. Chris, however, didn't quite seem so pleased with the compliment, turning to shoot a brief glare at Phoenix before his expression returned to neutral. He would have to try to get along with the man, for Rory's sake, but he couldn't help but hope that the man wouldn't be staying with them for long.
"Handel is around a day away." He responded, turning his attention to Rory, gesturing to the parcel on the edge of the bed. "I bought you a dress, I thought that you would need something to change into. I'm going to go and find a carriage...would you like me to bring you any breakfast?" He questioned, Rory shaking her head. "No thank you, I'm not really hungry. We will wait here for you, ok?"
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Nov 2, 2009 7:23:42 GMT -5
"Yeah, really. Think nothin' of it though, I gave as good as I got. And after bein' stabbed, gettin' knocked about a bit doesn't bother me much." he shook it of as he walked into the room, returning Chris' obvious glare with a rather charming smirk. He might have to try to get along with him, but Phoenix didn't have any real intention of doing the same. He didn't mind if Chris didn't like him. And he really didn't mind if he acted like he didn't like him - that just made it easier to return the feeling. But nevermind that. He winced a little at the news that it would take another whole day to get to Handel. It really never ended, did it? He was still in two minds as to whether to just walk away again and try to find his own way, rather than staying around this noble.
He turned back from the window as Chris left to go and get the carriage, glancing at the parcel and quirking a brow, resting his hands in his pockets. "I'll wait outside." he told her softly, sweeping to the door and moving to linger outside while he waited for her to get dressed, sighing and gazing down the corridor. He just wanted to go to sleep again.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Nov 3, 2009 19:46:08 GMT -5
Before Rory could say anything she found herself left alone in the room, watching the door as though she expected that Phoenix was going to realise that he'd left her on her own and come back. She spent at least a minute or two watching the door and waiting before she realised that he really wasn't going to come back in, sighing heavily as she looked around the room. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, being left alone, she didn't like it one bit. She felt...vulnerable, almost as if Phoenix might just forget about her if he wasn't there, and when she went to find him he would be gone. Since leaving Cressa, being split up from Phoenix usually meant that something bad was happening.
Changing was difficult. Peeling off the layers of clothing hurt, and cleaning her grazes hurt even more. When all of the dirt was gone her bruises just seemed even more vivid, and the grazes looked as raw and sore as they felt. She couldn't bear to look at the mirror for more than a few seconds at the time, eventually turning her back on it as she went to open the parcel. The dress was quite pretty. It was light purple in colour, simple yet elegant. The hem fell just below her knees, and it had long sleeves to counter the cold. The colour wasn't a great choice at the moment though, it complimented her eyes nicely, but it also picked out the purple in her bruises. She couldn't linger on that, there wasn't anything that she could do about the state that she was in.
She brushed her hair before heading out to find Phoenix. He seemed down, she needed to find a way to at least try to cheer him up, but right now she wasn't coming up with any ideas. "Phoenix?" She asked as she looked up and down the corridor.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Nov 4, 2009 15:59:15 GMT -5
Well Phoenix couldn't very well stay inside while she was getting dressed, she was modest enough as it was without giving her a heart-attack. He was patient while he waited for her to wash and get herself ready, leaning back against the wall and folding his arms, letting his mind wander. Where were they, he wondered. Not too far into Marmosia, he was guessing, probably one of the mining communities along the border of the Grand Mountain Range. He also wondered where the group of guards and the merchants were; they obviously hadn't caught up with them (yet) otherwise they'd be pretty buggered right now. If he wasn't already at rock bottom, he figured that getting caught by the guards NOW really would just drive him over the edge of sanity.
He'd started to pace up and down the corridor before she came out; lost in his day dream, looking up as she called his name. He'd been at the opposite end of the corridor, which was why she couldn't see him, and he smiled faintly as he walked up to see her. The dress was beautiful, it was true, and it flattered her completely, with or without bruises. Either way, she still looked prettier than he did with bruises. "Yeah...?" he asked, lingering by her now and brushing his hair out of his face. "You feel better now? I always feel better after I've gotten washed and look presentable after a hangover." he smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head and looking over his shoulder.
"You ready now? I think we should head downstairs, to go... wherever we're goin'." he gave her a weak smile, but fell quiet again afterwards, and turning as if to lead them down the stairs.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Nov 5, 2009 16:10:46 GMT -5
Something in her mind settled as she heard his voice, that flutter of panic when she hadn't spotted him dying away as he walked towards her. If he was leaving, he wouldn't just go like that, would he? Without saying goodbye? There was a quiet voice in the back of her head that said that he might, that whispered to her that he might just leave without saying goodbye so that she couldn't try to convince him to stay. No, she shook that thought away, smiling as she looked up at him.
"I don't really think that I look presentable, but I suppose that I feel a little better." She smiled to him weakly and nodded, glancing down at herself. Oh, she looked awful, but there was nothing that she could do about that. She just had to hope that her bruises would fade quickly and that the grazes would heal without leaving marks. "I also think that I am still hungover. I have a headache right here, and it won't go away." She sighed, rubbing at her right temple.
Phoenix looked so down, it was awful. She didn't know what she could do to cheer him up. They had been through bad times before, but there was always a point in the future where she could see things getting better, but right now she just couldn't seem to find anything to look forward to. "Don't be sad, Phoenix." She murmured eventually, moving to hug him as he turned away from her, looping her arms around him and resting her head on his shoulder. "It's not all that bad. Things will get better, we just need to give it some time and it will all work out. I'm sure of it."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Nov 6, 2009 16:31:14 GMT -5
He'd been about to respond to her; something to the effect of not being sad, and that she shouldn't worry about him, that he just needed a little time to adjust to all of this and he'd be okay again, when he suddenly noticed her arms around him. He simply stood there for a moment, having halted in his path of going downstairs, just looking down at her arms holding on to him, and feeling her head rest on his shoulder. He was surprised to find himself feeling relieved, as if this admission that they were in a bad situation, but it could get better was exactly what he needed. He'd been drowning in his own bad mood, but Rory had come to save him again... she just had a knack for being able to do that, didn't she? He smiled faintly, resting his hands over hers for a moment, heaving a deep sigh.
"You're sure of it...?" he asked softly, smirking and gently unlooping her arms from around him so he could turn and hug her properly, closing his eyes tiredly. They stayed like this for a minute or so, Phoenix taking a little time to recollect his thoughts. "Yeah. You're right." he muttered eventually, "I guess the last few days have just been kinda hard." he nodded, "We'll be alright. We just need a couple of days to sort ourselves out." he opened his eyes to look down at her now, looking a little better, at least, a soft smile on his face. "I'll try not to be sad, okay?" he chuckled a little.
He was actually rather reluctant to let her go, which was a weird feeling for him to say the least. He knew that Rory meant the world to him right now, that he'd give his life and everything else to keep her from getting hurt, but he'd never felt like he couldn't stay away from anyone like this before. He shook the feeling off abruptly. Must have been the hangover, surely, he thought as he released her, offering her his hand and turning to lead them downstairs again. "You should drink some water for your headache." he advised her lightly, "It'll make it better, I promise."
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Post by Angel ♥ on Nov 9, 2009 17:41:05 GMT -5
"I am positive." She assured him with a nod, slipping her arms around him again as he turned to hug her properly, letting her head rest on his shoulder again. If she told the truth, this hug helped to settle her own worries as much as she hoped that it would help to settle his. It was just another reminder that she wouldn't be able to do any of this without him, that she didn't want to do any of this without him. "The last few days have been difficult, but they are gone now. All that's gone and we're still here." She reminded him, reaching up to gently smooth down his hair. Phoenix had been through so much for her, how could she worry about herself when he was obviously feeling so delicate? She could worry about herself later, when he was feeling better.
Rory would, quite happily, have stood there with him all day. She felt safe with his arms around her, as though all their bad luck really had run out and that it was about time that their fortunes changes. The Princess was just as reluctant as he was to step back away from him, though she at least seemed a little happier now, nodding to him as he took her hand. "Water sounds good. I am never touching a drop of alcohol again in my life." She shuddered to him, turning to follow him to the stairs, pausing as she spotted Chris.
The storyteller had been stood there for a long moment now, his fists clenched rather tightly. He could surpress it, the jealousy that was clawing around inside of him. Hugging? They had been hugging? He didn't like this Phoenix character, not one bit.
He was, however, careful to hide his feelings as they turned to walk towards him. "The carriage is booked. It will leave in an hour. Is there anything that you need to do in the meantime?"
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Nov 13, 2009 18:17:23 GMT -5
"Yeah, we're still here." he agreed to her with a soft smile, sighing deeply as they turned to walk back down the stairs. He did feel a lot happier now as well, he wasn't afraid to admit that, smiling faintly as his hand closed around hers and they made their way towards the stairs. "Ahh, that's what they all say." he winked to her, grinning roguishly at her claim to avoid alcohol for the rest of her days, shrugging to her a little. "Maybe you should just never drink whisky again, would that be enough?" he suggested, although the conversation quickly died off as he realised that Chris was there. Had he been there this whole time? He'd seen the whole thing? He couldn't decide whether he felt a little bad for the guy, noticing the jealousy written all over his face and guessing instantly how he felt about Rory, or if he was relishing every single second of it.
He decided on somewhere in between, neither enjoying it or refusing to enjoy it as they passed him on the stairs. "An hour?" he murmured, glancing back to the Princess. "I dunno about you, but I'm getting something to eat and drink." he murmured with a shrug, before continuing down the stairs and into the tavern, the barmaid giving him a bright smile, having recognised them from the night before. Phoenix returned the smile rather cheerfully, moving to the bar to order something little, turning to Rory. "You want anythin'?" he offered while paying for his own breakfast, all thoughts about their bruises or the pain of the hangover and the cart gone for now. It was amazing what a hug could do, wasn't it? And with an hour to kill, he might be able to get some kind of bearing in this place.
The exhaustion would probably have crept up on him all over again by the time they arrived in Handel, he had no doubt about that, but for now he was relishing feeling awake and, although achiing and hungover, not that bad. He walked them to a little table big enough for all three of them to sit around (if Chris wanted to join them, that was), finally slipping his hand out of hers and taking a seat, leaning forward to look out of the window into the town. It was a grey, rather blustery day, sending bright orange and red leaves fluttering across the ground and around the road from the trees. He guessed it would get cold and wintery pretty quickly now that they were in Marmosia, but the one plus side of Chris being there was that she'd not have to suffer through the winter and the harsh cold.
The hour passed rather swiftly for Phoenix, his coffee and the rest of his breakfast arriving swiftly. The thief looked much, much more awake after drinking his coffee; after the chicory of the slums nothing quite hit the mark like it, and no caffiene at all was taking its toll, so this was like Heaven.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Nov 15, 2009 12:30:46 GMT -5
"Whiskey is the drink of the devil." Rory observed with a small pout. By this time her headache had faded to a dull throbbing behind her temple, but she was still feeling rather delicate. Bah, whiskey was a bad drink. Plus, she couldn't even remember half of last night, it all just disappeared into a drunken haze. Nothing too bad could have happened though, Phoenix had been there. He must have taken care of her, otherwise how would she have got back to the room? It was, however, questionable as to how they had ended up sleeping together like that, but Rory had decided to brush over that little detail. She was thankful that he had still been there when she woke up, and that he hadn't let her wander off somewhere and get herself lost.
She was drawn from her thoughts as Chris spoke, her grip on Phoenix's hand tightening ever so slightly, as though to say that she didn't want to leave the thief. It was obvious that Chris didn't like him, he was doing a terrible job at hiding his dislike, but the Princess didn't want to have to choose between them all the time. Plus, right now, she had no intentions of letting go of Phoenix's hand, no matter what he was planning on doing with this next hour, which Chris seemed to realise as he glanced down to their joined hands. They were much closer than he had first realised, weren't they? It would be difficult trying to get rid of Phoenix, and when he finally did leave, Rory would probably be rather down for a while. It had to be done though; thieves weren't proper company for a Princess.
The story teller turned to trail after them as they headed down the stairs and back into the bar, lingering behind them as they ordered their breakfast. He had already eaten. Rory, on the other hand, didn't seem sure if she was hungry or not, finally settling on ordering herself a little fruit, also taking Phoenix's advice and asking for some water.
They were all quiet as they took their seats at the table, Rory absently gazing out of the window as she sipped her water, while Chris's attention kept switching between Rory and Phoenix, as though he was trying to work out just what had happened since the Princess left the castle. Now wasn't the right time to ask about that, he would have to contain his curiosity until he could speak to her alone, then he would be sure that what she was telling him was true and so that she wouldn't have to worry about anything she said upsetting Phoenix. Little did he know that Rory would tell him the same story, regardless of Phoenix's presence.
After around half an hour he left to collect his things, returning just before their hours wait was up, carrying a heavy looking bag and wearing a thick travellers cloak, another cloak over his arm, presumably for Rory. "Well, if you are ready we should go. The carriage should be ready by now."
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Nov 18, 2009 12:04:40 GMT -5
Phoenix didn't have any possessions to go and collect (the things he had had were probably in an upturned cart by now, and he had no desire to try and track them down while those guards were still near enough, in his opinion, to cause them trouble) so he was completely ready even before Chris returned. The thief patted his pockets and drew out his money pouch, as if to check how much was in there - it had almost halved thanks to their drowning their sorrows the night before, but there was enough there for him to surivive on until he got the chance to walk through a crowded marketplace again. It would probably be in Handel, next, he figured, when he'd get the chance to slip through crowds of nobles and end up with a few coins for himself. He was going to start losing his touch if he didn't do this more often.
He glanced up as Chris spoke, tilting his head and rising to his feet, nodding lightly and resting his hands in his pockets. "Alright." he murmured, shrugging a little as if to say that yes, he was ready, offering his hand to Rory to help her up after tucking his money pouch back into the inside pocket of his waist-coat. Ugh, he was really wishing that he had just stolen that gem from the top of the White Tower. It was sparkly, and probably worth millions. That was the worst thing about his 'theft', he thought. He was the only thief to ever manage to get to the top of the tower, and he'd had ample opportunity to take the REAL gem... he could have had it. He had just chosen not to. Bah.
He didn't seem to think there was anything more to say to Chris, so he circled around the table and made his way to the door of the inn, throwing a bright, farewell smile to the barmaid, as if to thank her not only for supplying him with a great deal of whiskey, but also for putting up with him after he'd knocked it all back. He'd been right about the weather, wrinkling his nose a little as they got outside. It was a grey, blustery day, and it was quickly becoming cold as the clouds above them made the skies overcast. He hoped it didn't rain. Phoenix was smirking to himself as he looked around for this carriage - the last time he'd been in one was when he had kidnapped Rory from her own wedding, and the memory made him smile.
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Post by Angel ♥ on Nov 18, 2009 12:57:10 GMT -5
Rory smiled to Phoenix as he helped her up, admittedly feeling a little better now. She still, of course, hurt everywhere, and she was imagining that this carriage journy was going to be uncomfortable, but her headache had faded away. Phoenix was right, who would have thought that water would be such an effective cure? It made sense, really, she had heard something about alcohol dehydrating you, so it made sense really. She took the cloak as Chris offered it to her, quickly putting it on and fastening it, pulling it close. In all honesty, she prefered coates, cloaks were too billowy for her liking, but she wasn't going to complain; it wasn't as though she had her own money to buy anything, she had to rely on Chris and Phoenix to look after her...not that Rory really understood the value of money.
For a moment Chris looked close to reaching out and taking her hand, before deciding against it and turning to follow Phoenix. He doubted that she would be very happy with him holding her damn, he was surprised that she walked around holding Phoenix's hand if he was honest. Rory had always liked to be as independant as she could, it seemed out of character for her to trail around after the thief like that. He shoved his hands in his pockets rather moodily as he glared at the thiefs back. How had he managed to get so close to her in such a short ammount of time? He had known her for years but he doubted that she would ever be comfortable holding his hand, nevermind hugging like he had seen them doing earlier. Bah.
The carriage was waiting for them outside the tavern, the driver leaning back against it, quickly standing up straight as he saw them walking over towards him, guessing that these were the people that he was waiting for. "Herr Reiches?" He questioned, Chris nodding to him in confirmation. "Ja." Once that he was sure that he had the right people, the driver moved to open the door for Rory, casting a confused look at her bruises before helping her up into the carriage. He wouldn't ask, it wasn't his place.
"After you." Chris murmured to Phoenix, motioning to the carriage now that Rory was sat down. Well, he was a gentleman, and Phoenix was his guest, whether he liked it or not, he had to treat him properly.
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Post by Vyncent Schwarz on Nov 18, 2009 14:22:02 GMT -5
She wasn't the only one to think that this carriage ride wouldn't exactly be all sunshine and roses. Although Phoenix was looking forward to the carriage, considering that anything had to be more comfortable than sitting on the back of a cart for days, but he would probably be flagging by the time they came anywhere near Handel. He looked over at Chris as though he didn't quite know what to say - when people didn't like each other, sarcasm and contempt were usually the way they treated each other, if they even wanted to create the illusion of politeness. And if you didn't want politeness, you'd just rip each other to pieces. It really confused him that Chris actually sounded sincere, the thief lingering where he was for a moment, tilting his head and trying to decide what meaning he could get from his words.
Eventually he just figured that he was just a strange, polite nobleman, nodding and climbing into the carriage after Rory. "Thanks." he murmured - well, politeness may as well be rewarded with politeness, right? He looked around the carriage as he sat inside, offering Rory a light smile, brushing his hair out of his face and carefully touching a hand to the bruise he knew was on his cheekbone. Ugh. They must look like quite a pair, when people saw them together they'd think they tried to beat each other up, or that they'd been mugged or something. This would actually be preferable for Phoenix, actually. He'd prefer them to think they'd been mugged than know that they'd leapt from a moving cart to escape the border guards.
"I think you're right, Rory. Things are gonna start looking up now. I hope they are, anyway." he mumbled, nodding and smiling at her rather brightly, to say that they were tired and hungover and hadn't had a real rest in the best part of a week. The journey was almost over for a while, at least. He hoped, anyway.
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