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Somewhere in the world (Candira and runawayninja)

Candira smiled, masking her reasoning with the excuse Lionel had just handed her. "Breakfast sounds amazing right now," she said with a grin. "Rafe and I were thinking that if everyone's feeling up to it, we could move on our way to the count's abode today. We'll just get packed up and replenish supplies before we leave Windfall. How does that sound?" She asked, tilting her head curiously as Lionel and Nora exited the room fully dressed and nicely groomed.

Nora smiled and nodded. "It's alright with me. I don't mind priestess chores, but I think it's better to leave while we're still relatively safe."
 
Lionel nodded slowly. "That's a good idea. But yes, let's eat first. I imagine we're all feeling the effects of the previous night." Lionel slowly went to Nora's side and took her hand in his as they left the room and walked down the stairs towards the main hall.

Rafe, behind them, next to Candira, kept smiling and grinning like some mischevious fey or spirit, unable to contain himself as he looked at Candira. "Aren't they cute...?"
 
Nora was a little surprised that Lionel wanted to hold her hand, but she smiled the instant he did and squeezed his in return. She fell into step next to him, smiling brightly at him. Now that he was with her, he was apparently all in, and Nora was loving it. She walked with him toward the kitchen.

Candira smiled at Rafe and nodded. "Adorable," she said, leaning in to kiss his cheek. She whispered, "Good work," And then took his hand and followed him.
 
Lionel got them all plates and drinks since he was in an incredibly good mood today. He smiled, if only faintly, but it was an improvement over his constant state thus far. Breakfast was some eggs mixed with potato and some bread. It was a little sparse because the cooks were having trouble focusing after the party. Lionel just gave a soft smile. "I'll secure us some provisions on our way. Northshire Castle isn't too far, but we'll likely spend a night on the road."

Rafe sat down and started to eat, taking in the bread especially. There would be a lot of energy to be gained from the bread and the potatoes. The egg was to make the potato more palatable. "So, how did last night go for you two?" He grinned devilishly.
 
Nora smiled at Lionel, glad to see that he was in such a good mood. It only added to hers. She watched him as he left to get them plates and helped get everyone some food when everything was said and done. They'd all gotten to sit down together when Lionel mentioned supplies. "That sounds alright to me," Nora said.

"Okay, we'll leave it up to you then," Candira said, taking a big spoonful of eggs. She just about spit them out at Rafe's rather forward question. So much for class. She supposed he should be applauded for coming this far without saying anything though, considering the hard time he'd been having earlier. Then again it was a perfectly innocent question. Ah, tact. Candira just carefully ate her eggs, determined to stay out of this line of questioning.

Nora just smiled softly, blushing a little, chewing on her bread while she let Lionel field this one.
 
Lionel closed his eyes, looking annoyed by the question, but he looked like he was attempting to remain calm. "The night was very pleasant, thank you." He quietly went back to eating, attempting to withdraw himself from any future questions.

Rafe grinned and continued to eat, seemingly pleased with himself for some unapparent reason. He smiled and snickered a bit before he started to calm down. "So...I'm curious. If we leave without telling anyone, how will we know when to come back? I mean, presumable the capital will send a messenger of some kind, but they'll come here right?"

Lionel quietly spoke. "I've spoken with the abbess of the castle, she'll be the only one who knows and she'll send someone to let us know."
 
Nora shot Rafe a rather bland look as he snickered and nudged Lionel a little with a smile. She wanted him to be happy again. "Last night was very nice, thank you for asking," she said, as if to deaden Rafe's questions about the matter.

Candira shook her head, staring at him and smacked his shoulder lightly as if to say, "Really?" Instead she kept eating, listening to their plans. "It will be to our advantage to have the abbess on our side," Candira said with a nod. "The longer they think we're here the better," she said softly. "I'm sure that Lionel's thought it through." She smiled encouragingly and then leaned against Rafe a little.
 
Rafe looked at his food thoughtfully and then began to speak up after a bit of silence. He looked at them and then finally spoke. "And what do we do if they find us there?"

Lionel stopped eating for a moment before continuing to chew and swallow. "Then we protect Nora with all we can, flee if we must, but our mission is the priority. The only further place I can think of that might be harder to find us is the Northwall area, but I'd prefer not to travel the frozen wastes if we don't have to."
 
Nora frowned, thinking over the situation they were in because of her. Talk about drawbacks to being a princess. Endangering all your loved ones because of your position? One that you had no say in receiving? Oh, yeah. Sighing, she shook her head. "It would be a lot easier to plan things out if we knew who was after me. Or at least what they're trying to accomplish..."
Lionel would protect her--of that she had no doubt. But she had always secretly hoped that he would never really have to.

Candira seemed to pick up on this mood and frowned. "That is a problem, but it's one that we can't do much about at the moment. I'll see if any of my contacts can shed some light on the situation, but I'm not sure how much help they'll be," she said with a frown. "In any case--you can rest assured that we'll all take care of each other. No need to worry, Nora," she said with a smile.

Nora smiled softly, but it did little to assuage her fears.
 
Lionel finished off his breakfast and looked at the others. "I'm going to go secure our supplies." He stood up and moved from the table, patting Nora on the shoulder and smiling at her before he left.

Rafe looked down at his food again, slowly eating. "Well...I guess I've talked enough today." Rafe chuckled a bit and got up, ruffling Candira's hair a bit. "I'm going to pack up and get our stuff to the horses."
 
Candira smoothed out her hair after Rafe ruffled it and smiled at him as he left to get the horses. Nora smiled after Lionel as well before she turned to her protector and finished her breakfast. The two of them set their plates aside at the same time, looking at each other.

"You realize none of this is your fault, right?" Candira said, tilting her head.

"It is one thing to know. It's another to feel."

Candira frowned and watched the princess, remembering the words of the god of death. She was merely a pawn. Why was Candira such an important piece? "I understand, that your position comes with guilt. Mine does too, though probably not quite as much. But you can't let the guilt get in the way of your judgment."

Nora simply nodded, obviously deeply in thought. "Be honest with me, Candira. Who do you think it is?"

The redhead frowned, looking away. "Someone close to you...I'm not sure yet, but I just know it's someone higher up...whoever it was influenced the decision to send you away. Your father has nothing to gain by doing so. Your brother is already next in line...but I don't know David well, either...It's not clear just yet."

Nora frowned, sighing softly. "I suppose I'll just have to wait."
 
Lionel had their horses taken care of and the gear and food for their journey loaded onto the horses. Meanwhile, Rafe was packing up their belongings and loading them onto the horses, the two crossing paths. Rafe smiled a bit at Lionel who looked at him questioningly. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing." Rafe grinned a bit. "Its just very cute to see you two together, it's like a story."

"If you say so..." Lionel replied wryly.

"Oh come on Lionel, you were all happy this morning and now you're claming up? Nora was really happy to see you happy and just because I act a little immature, you become Lord Grumpington again. You like her, just be happy that you have her. It's not a big deal that other people notice."

Lionel could only raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Lord...Grumpington? What the hell? Why do you act like that? Aren't you a noble, if a displaced one?"

"Because I didn't get to act like a child, ever. I didn't get to just say what's on my mind and make people laugh. Now I have that chance and Candira loves me for it."
 
Nora sighed softly and leaned back, collecting their dishes to take back to the kitchen with Candira. "It's very stressful, but I'm doing my best--that you must realize." She frowned and carried the dishes as they walked along.

Candira helped and smiled softly. "Well, let's try and focus on the positives...like how a certain priestess I know kissed the brains out of Lionel last night and then disappeared," she said with a grin.

Nora laughed. "You too?"

"Of course, me too! I want details, woman!"

And so began the girl talk.
 
Rafe looked at Lionel after a moment of silence between the two. "So, why are you so serious and guarded all the time? What comes from that?"

"It's just how I was brought up. I take pride in my professionalism and it tends to deter potential attackers. Its just a part of who I am, just like you're who you are."

Rafe thought about it for a moment before replying. "I suppose I understand. Just know that we're on the same side...I guess we had a bit of a rocky start..."

"I understand." Lionel replied. "And...you're right. I suppose Nora did me some good opening me up."

Rafe grinned and pat him on the back before going to look for the women so they could get on their way.
 
Nora felt much better when she started talking to Candira as though any normal woman might to a friend. It was nice to know that she could still feel like that, even if she wasn't entirely normal. She told Candira how she and Lionel had confessed their love in the garden and what that had led to. She left out key details, but told her how good it felt, and how happy she was. Even when she was stressed, knowing that Lionel actually had feelings for her kept her just happy enough to go on.

By the time they neared the men, the two of them were talking about various priestess duties that they missed--it was a nice cover story for what had been discussed earlier.
 
Rafe smiled a bit when he saw Candira approach and he walked to her. "We're ready to go...are you sure you're well enough to travel? I don't want you to get moving and then you get worse." He walked to her to see if she needed any help.

Lionel smiled and walked to Nora, helping her onto her horse, appearing to still be her knight and guardian.
 
Nora smiled and gave Lionel's hand an extra squeeze as he helped her onto her horse. They appeared to have the same relationship as before, but it was nice to know that he had deeper feelings for her. She got comfortable in the saddle and held out her hand for him.

Candira chuckled at Rafe's concern and hugged him a bit. "I think I'll be fine. If I need a break, I'll say so, I promise. But as long as you're with me, I'll be alright." She winked and kissed his cheek, heading toward their horse, no sign of infirmity anywhere on her.
 
Rafe quickly mounted the horse with the same ease he had displayed before and he helped Candira up on it. Waved goodbye, the four set off for the lands of Count Hadrian.

As they went, Lionel seemed in good spirits. He liked being so close to Nora and he couldn't stop draping his arm around her. His mind was awash with thoughts of her, unable to stop thinking about life together with her. He smiled a bit and looked down at her. "I can't wait to return to the capital with you..."

Rafe noticed the two love birds, but only momentarily. He kept looking about, around the fading plains as they came close to the edge of a forest. He looked like he was keeping watch, but Candira knew him well enough by now that he wasn't just keeping watch for bandits or brigands. Something was on his mind. Rafe felt unsafe beyond the walls of the Windfall.
 
Candira smiled and hugged Rafe from behind as he guided their horse out of the castle. She'd always enjoyed being close to him like this. It was funny that the two of them seemed like a wiser couple--they'd only been together a few days before Nora and Lionel. But the feelings were strong and certainly present. She spent a little while mulling this over before she began to notice Rafe's unease. And when she noticed it was very apparent. She smiled softly and kissed his neck just a bit. "What's wrong?" she murmured, close to his ear so he could pretend that everything was okay if he wanted.

Nora smiled at Lionel as he told her he couldn't wait to go back with her. Every time he put his arm around her like that she felt at peace and so safe. For the first time in a long time, the way he looked at her didn't confuse her--it made perfect sense. And she loved every touch and every smile she got out of him. His words made her smile even brighter and she looked up at him with a smile. "I can't wait either...but as long as you're with me, I'll be okay no matter where I am."
 
Rafe looked at Candira and smiled a little, shaking his head a bit. "It's nothing. I was just thinking about that stranger we came across before. The beast man that looked like a Lynx." He sighed in frustration. "I could swear I've seen him before, but I haven't any idea where...it's...really bothering me. I feel like I should know him."
 
Candira smiled and kissed his cheek softly. "Well, I can't help you to remember, my dear. But I can tell you this: The less you think about it, the sooner you'll remember," she said softly, hugging him a bit. "But it is strange that he would have been around these parts, isn't it?" she asked, leaning against him lovingly.

Nora stayed in her own little world with Lionel, only coming out of it now and then to guide their horse. If only things could stay so peaceful around them. If only they could be together like this always...She leaned back into him as they entered the forest and decided that it might be best to actually try and focus a bit in here, if only for the horse's sake.
 
He smiled more and his face relaxed. "You are a fountain of wisdom. You're right, I'll leave it alone and maybe the answer will come to me." He leaned back against her. "We're going to have to sleep in the woods tonight, or that's what Lionel says."

Lionel looked down at Nora. "I don't think there's a coaching house on this road. Are you going to be ok with striking camp in the woods tonight?"
 
Candira smiled and pressed another light kiss to his cheek. "Eh, I'm used to it. Honestly, it's kind of a surprise that we had any place to stay on the way out. This time, though, make sure you don't wander out into the rain. I don't want to get sick again," she teased.

"So you mentioned before," Nora said, looking up at him. "I don't have much choice in the matter. But I think I can handle a few nights without 'proper' lodgings. I won't break," she teased. "I do have a request though," she said softly.
 
Rafe nodded slowly as he leaned against her. "Don't worry, I don't think that will happen again." He smiled softly as he leaned up against her. "I wouldn't mind though, if you promise to take care of me." He looked at her and then kissed her lips softly. "I liked it, a bit. You know...you're cute when you worry." He grinned a bit and whispered softly. "And you look very nice in your priestess outfit..."

Lionel nodded softly and smiled softly, leaning to her to listen. "What is it? Ask anything of me..." He was being quiet in case her request was a personal one.
 
Candira smiled back as he told her not to worry, chuckling as he told her he wouldn't mind being out in the rain again and getting sick. She smiled and kissed him back, laughing as he told her she was cute when she worried. "Thank you, I think?" she teased, hugging him. Blushing softly at his next compliment, she looked at him as he leaned into her. "You think so?"

Nora felt her whole body tingle as he leaned into her, his attention completely hers. She smiled up at him and leaned back into him. "I want to stay with you tonight. I want to stay in your arms and wake up there."
 
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