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Somewhere in the world (Candira and runawayninja)

((Mighty sexy for a priestess in a convent :p I hope she doesn't catch Rafe's eye...))

David smiled softly, putting on his good-natured face for the sake of his sister. "Nora, she is one of our vassals, she will accept it. And we are compensating her very well...if nothing else, Lionel will be with you, he'll keep you safe."

Lionel looked at Nora, his face softening up a bit for her sake, sense she had commented to him before about him looking too serious...but he wasn't good at not looking serious. "Your majesty, I'll be at your command..."

David nodded slowly. "They're here, let's not keep them waiting much longer. You'll have an answer from her before long."
 
((lol, just pretend the huge gap in the pants is not there. It was the best picture I could find))

Nora shrugged, knowing that she was trying her brother's patience. She hated how confident he was in this entire plan. And she didn't like that they might try to strong-arm Candira into all of this. But she just shrugged it off. After all, there was nothing she could do about it now--that much was evident. So she shouldered her pack and walked with Lionel and her brother. At Lionel's words she turned to him and smiled. "I'm not worried about that, Lionel. I know you'll protect me." One of these days she'd get him to smile, damn it.

Just then, Lady Candira was announced, and she was seen in the court for the first time in years with...someone else. How interesting he was. Who was he?

The redhead bowed her head and curtsied respectfully, showing years of practiced grace and ingrained manners. "It is a pleasure to see you again, your majesties. I have answered your call. What is it you wish to ask of me? I am at your service."

She only hoped that Rafe was catching on like he had before.
 
Rafe bowed deeply. Very deeply, to show his honor and respect for the family and he kept his eyes downcast as Candira spoke, prostrating before her to show that he was subservient to her. Perhaps not the custom of this count, but Rafe wasn't unused to politics and manners in court. He was the son of nobles from his own home.

David smiled softly, his genteel manner showing through. "My good Lady Candira, you have been a very loyal and noble figure to this court. And we understand the tragedy that befell your lands in the previous conflict. As you know, we are taxed in just about everything, food, coinage, weapons...the war tries us all, but our father feels it is best to hold our position. Still, a few weeks ago, the prime minister was assassinated, poisoned. It looked like he would pull through, but he succumbed just last night, and our father fears for the safety of his only daughter. He wants her moved to Windfall Castle, a convent, for the next three months, at least. He wants her well protected, but moved in secret. Your lands are far from court and should the assassin prove to be a traitor, no one would know you. So you are to go to Windfall as pilgrims and travelers going to honor Dima. If you should perform this great service for the royal family, we would do well to remember your lands in your absence, and we will have...reconstruction efforts there put as a primary priority, was well as seeing a great boon finds its way into your treasury. Not that we would assume something so vulgar in your motivations, but the importance of the Royal Princess cannot be understated..."

Lionel sized up both Candira and Rafe, but especially Rafe. This stranger had a particular look to him and after David spoke, Lionel spoke up in the Germanic tongue of Rafe's home. <You have the look of a man of Hesse about you, stranger.> Rafe was truly shocked at this, but, fearing they might see him as a danger and a liability, he spoke in return. Hesse was one of the rival kingdoms in the previous war, though there were no allies in this war, so Rafe was still suspicious to Lionel.

<The Landgraf of Hesse was my home...but no longer. Lady Candira...> Rafe motioned to her so that she would know he was referring to her. It was polite. <...is my benefactor and my liege-lady now. She saved my life and I am in her debt and in her service as a knight.> Lionel still eyed him suspiciously, but he nodded his head to Candira.

"My lady, I trust your judgement. If you say this man is worthy of service to the crown, then he shall be accepted as such." Lionel was looking to Candira for approval for Rafe. Considering what was at stake, it was not an insult, it was a matter of security to Lionel.
 
Candira thought that maybe he was overdoing it just a little, but she was surprised at the way he simply fell into it. Perhaps there was something more she didn't know about him as well. Still, she held her own observations to the side, merely shrugging them off. She listened to Prince David as he spoke and nodded. "I thank you for your remembrance of my service, your majesty." It was a bit presumptuous of them to just assume her cooperation, but in the long run, she supposed that it only made sense. And in any case she would not refuse their request. "My people would greatly appreciate any help that can be afforded them. Though we are recovering, progress is slow. The reward promised is one I shall not forget. However, the safety of the princess is my priority." She nodded to Nora, who only smiled.

She noticed Lionel looking at Rafe and supposed it was only natural that he should do so. She would have to explain his presence anyway. And while she had no idea what the two were saying, it was clear that Lionel was checking him out. When they spoke the language of Candira and the Capitol once more, the lady spoke up. "Rafe is a knight who has sworn himself to me. I trust my life to him," she said, nodding to Lionel. "I will be looking forward to your help in this endeavor as well, Lionel."

He probably didn't remember her, but last time she'd been to the capitol they had met as well. She'd been impressed with him, but found his seriousness to be...annoying. Poor Nora.

At this point, she looked to the princess and spoke to her, since no one else had. "You have my word, Princess. I will see you safely to Windfall Castle."

Nora nodded, polite as a princess should be. "Thank you, my lady. For the remainder of the trip, you may address me as Nora. All of you may. Thank you for your service. And you as well, Sir Rafe." With that, she bowed and looked to her brother. "When are we to leave?"
 
David nodded slowly. "If you have all the things you'll need, then you can leave immediately." David smiled and hugged Nora for a long moment. "I'm going to miss you...please stay safe." David looked at Lady Candira and smiled softly. "I choose you because I believe in your ability. Keep her well."

Rafe looked at Candira. "I don't suspect we need anything more in the capitol...are we leaving straight for Windfall?"
 
Nora hugged David tightly and lingered there a little because she was getting a little choked up and needed to pull herself together. "Be safe, brother." She smiled at him and then let him go, turning back to the Lady and her interesting knight. My he was handsome...And that was not the right strain of thought.

Candira smiled. "You needn't worry, your highness. I suspect the princess is a lot more resilient than you're giving her credit for." She smiled and address the concerns of leaving. "Certainly. We need only to collect our things and then we'll be on our way." With that, she curtsied once more. "We shall not fail. I will send you word when we arrive at our destination."

With that, she stood straight and held out her hand for the princess. Nora took it like a lifeline and held tight, the two women bonding once more. With that, they were off toward the merchant's home.
 
Lionel walked alongside with them, his eyes constantly darting back and forth along the road as if he expected something to happen to the group. He kept his firm, stoic pose as he walked, but then he attempted to stop it as he realized that itself might make them seem more than just pilgrims.

Rafe was looking at Nora. He had never seen such attire before. "So...is that the uniform of a priestess of Dima?" He inquired softly. It didn't seem very pious to him.
 
Nora blinked and turned to Rafe. "Have you never seen it before?" she asked, tilting her head. "I suppose the temples are pretty rare...Yes, this is the traditional garb of a priestess of Dima. Lady Candira wore it once, as well," she said, revealing an interesting part of the woman's past. "She and I were trained in white magic at the same temple of Dima."

Candira smiled and turned to Rafe as well. "Yup. And little Nora here's one of the best white mages ever trained at that temple."

"Lady Candira is modest, but she's actually one of the best as well. It's another reason my brother trusted her, no doubt."

The redhead merely shrugged and frowned at Lionel's suspicious behavior. "Um, Lionel? How good are you with horses?" She asked, as they neared the merchant's home.
 
Rafe looked between the two women curiously. "I had no idea Lady Candira knew royalty so well..." Rafe looked at Candira. "Or that you had been a priestess at one point...I suppose I should ask more questions and speak of myself less."

Lionel looked at Candira and nodded slowly in his stoic manner. "I know enough to ride...haven't done a lot of riding, but I'll manage if we're going to ride."
 
Nora smiled. "Lady Candira has been many things. She's a fascinating woman." She smiled and turned to the woman in question. Yes, this would be an interesting trip.

Candira chuckled at Rafe's observation and shrugged. "It never came up." She smiled and then turned back to Lionel. "Good. Once we get our things from my friend, we'll rent two horses. You will ride with the princess. Give her the reigns if you're unsure of yourself. Rafe can ride with me."

Nora nodded. "Alright then. Lionel and I shall wait for you here. Please hurry back."

Before long, the had arrived at the merchant's home. Candira walked with Rafe so they could get their things.
 
Rafe helped Candira get their things and to lead the horses out to the front, smiling a bit as he pet and nuzzled the animal he had chosen to ride. "M'lady, if you'll let me take the reigns, I've been riding long and hard for a good deal of time, I can do just about anything from horseback. Slept and ate in the saddle a few times even."

Lionel took one of the animals and helped Nora up onto it before climbing up before her, securing an arm around her. His face turned only the faintest bit of flush at being so close to her.
 
Candira watched as Rafe pet and cared for the horse he'd chosen. Smiling, the woman thought it would be best to give him some horses when they returned to her lands. She smiled and helped him pack the saddles. "Well, then, I'll leave everything to you. Just let me know if you get tired and I'll take over. Not that I doubt your ability to ride in your sleep," she teased. She chuckled and gestured for him to climb up first.

Nora blushed just a little as Lionel climbed up behind her and took hold of her. She'd never been this close to a man before--excluding her brother of course. But he didn't really count. "Is everyone ready?" she asked, holding the reigns of the sweet horse they'd saddled up. He wouldn't give her any trouble, of that she was certain. "Shall we?"
 
Rafe nodded and expertly guided his horse at a light pace out of the city and along the main highway towards Windfall Castle. They would certainly not reach there in a day. "There's a coaching house along the highway we should reach before or close to nightfall." Lionel advised them. Lionel knew the road well and he had gotten to know the routes to and from the capitol as per his task of protecting the palace and the royal family. Lionel looked down at Nora. "Are you comfortable...Nora?" He had to pause, not used to addressing her with such familiarity.
 
Candira held onto Rafe as he took them out of the city, the pretty woman leaning ever-so-slightly against him. It wasn't necessarily on purpose, but she wasn't going to pull away unless he said something. Being so close to Rafe was nice. She only hoped he felt the same way. "Alright then, we'll watch out for the place." She smiled and hoped Nora was holding up okay. After all, it was the princess who had the most to lose in every sense by moving to the Windfall Castle.

The princess seemed to be doing fine. The pretty brunette had managed to stop blushing after a few moments of riding, guiding the horse alongside Rafe's. She smiled at Lionel's knowledge of the roads. That was her bodyguard for you. Always prepared. And that was a good thing as far as she was concerned. She hadn't really been expecting him to ask her anything of the sort, but when he asked if she was comfortable, she found that she was.

"Yes, thank you. I'm fine, Lionel." She smiled and turned back to glance at him over her shoulder. "It's kinda nice to just hear you say my name for once," she said with a chuckle. "Different, but nice." And with that, she turned her attention back to the road.

Candira chuckled. "I wonder if he'll learn to lighten up a little," she murmured to Rafe. "He's always been the serious type since I met him."
 
Rafe smiled softly and looked at Candira, letting her lean close to him. "Hard to read that man, but..." Rafe gave a soft frown as he reflected back. "You get the feeling we're amidst some kind of political game here? I mean...the prince, I know I shouldn't speak ill, but he seemed...too genteel." Rafe spoke low so has not to be heard by any other except Candira.

Lionel looked down at Nora and nodded slowly, giving perhaps the barest glimmer of a smile. "It is different, but if I called you Nora all the time, it wouldn't seem so nice because it would be commonplace."
 
Candira kissed his cheek and smiled softly. "Yes, I thought about that as well. But I cannot refuse the request. And if Nora is involved, I must protect her." She smiled, though it was mostly a disguise of their conversation. "We'll have to talk more about it later. It's kind of hard to do it now, don't you think?" That said, she stayed close and just leaned against him.

Nora didn't see the smile, but if she had, she would have cherished the memory since it would have been the first time she'd seen him do it. She chuckled at his statement and glanced back once more. "I suppose that's true. But I think you can afford to say it a little more than never." She chuckled and kept the horse on course. "Tell me, Lionel, does it make you nervous to think of me without a title?"
 
Rafe nodded and kept his horse moving and on the road.

Lionel shook his head softly. "It would be disrespectful...you are...the Royal Princess, I am your family's retainer." But her question certainly throw him off for a second. "Nervous...? N-no, certainly not. More like...I'm unfamiliar for this level of relating with a noble. I don't talk directly much to people above me. You don't make me nervous..."
 
Candira hummed a little for Rafe and herself. "So, would you like to know about my time as a priestess?" she teased.

Nora shook her head. "I don't think it would be disrespectful. Once in awhile, it's nice to know that people still think of you as a person, instead of a symbol, you know? Or maybe you don't...It's sort of difficult to explain." She sighed and shrugged. "Anyway, I'm glad I don't make you nervous." She kept the horse moving and yawned a little. "I didn't sleep at all last night. Did you?" she asked.
 
Rafe got a rare and sly grin on his face. For the moment, he seemed to have forgotten what happened in the city. "Only if there's a naughty story in there..." He rubbed his chin playfully as if he were thinking about something. "Maybe...with another priestess..."

Lionel nodded slowly. "I did. I got all my sleepless nights out of the way when I was much younger, I spent a lifetime's worth of nervousness then. I didn't sleep the first day I was going to guard the palace...I didn't sleep much the entire week. I was terribly proud, and terribly nervous."
 
Candira laughed and gave his ribs a little poke. "Hey now. I'll thank you to keep your mind out of the gutter," she teased. "There are no naughty stories for me to tell. I was a model student. Of course there was an incident were I got a few spells confused and ended up putting our teacher to sleep. Some of the other girls gave her a fake mustache...It washed off, but she was so mad..."

Nora liked learning about Lionel. It was so strange to be so close to a person for so long without really knowing anything about them. "Is that so? It's hard to imagine you being nervous about anything," she said with a chuckle. "What would you be nervous about?" she asked, wondering which aspect of guard duty it would be.
 
Rafe smirked just a bit. "So...your mind is never in the gutter? Hmm?" He leaned close to her, wondering if she could honestly say her mind was perfectly pristine.

Lionel thought back, another minute smile creeping at the edges of his lips. "Well...being a houseguard is more strict and regimented than you might think. I was afraid of letting a wrong person through, of having to leave my post for some reason, of just...being caught doing something wrong that I didn't think of. You've never been nervous about something that seemed trivial?" It seemed he was loosening up some. He asked something about her.
 
Candira laughed. "Well now, I didn't say that," she teased. "My mind travels there as much as anyone else. It's a question of whether or not I say anything," she said, just inches from him. "For instance. I'm curious to know if you really can do anything on a horse." She let that settle into his head for a moment. "That said...I've never really had much experience with the sorts of things I imagine. That's all."

Nora smiled, trying to imagine what it might be like for poor Lionel. It really did explain a lot about him, now that she thought about it. She was glad, then, that he had a little bit of a chance to relax. His question made her laugh. "Oh, I'm nervous all the time. Sometimes I'll be nervous about napkin placement of all things. And that really is trivial," she said. "I will say this. It's going to be nice to get away from the political side of things for awhile, don't you think?"
 
Rafe smiled and whispered into her ear. "I wouldn't mind trying to find out...and I wouldn't mind making the sorts of things you imagine come to life, but you'll have to tell me what they are first." He gave her cheek a quick kiss. "I would love to know what stirs the dark rivers of your heart..." And he gave a flashy grin.

Lionel looked at Nora. He hadn't considered how much stress and responsibility had been placed on her. "I think you're right. This might be a little bit of a blessing in disguise...and I'd said the lady is strong indeed if she is nervous all the time but manages the grace and poise I have seen."
 
She blushed as he told her he wanted to try it. In her travels she'd never had much time to fantasize about things like this--nor did she really have someone to imagine doing it with. Now that she did, she realized, it was going to be a lot easier to do it. She had to laugh at his rather cocky attitude toward it all, though. She smiled at the kiss and leaned against him. "I don't know. I think it's only fair if it works both ways, don't you think?" She smiled and just let him guide them, enjoying the ride.

Nora didn't think much of the stress she was usually under until she was no longer under it. It usually worked that way. Her time as a priestess had been the most enjoyable time she could remember. There, the only stress she had to deal with came from her studies, and that was manageable enough. She'd even made friends there. Lionel's words, though, made her feel a little prouder of the way she handled herself on a daily basis.

"Oh, I don't know if strong is the right word," she said with a smile. "But I bet it would be nice to know someone thinks of her that way." She nudged him a little, playfully and looked back at him. "Just what kind of grace and poise have you seen?" she teased.

The area was still pretty close to the city, so thieves and the like would be far less prevalent. It was still alright to talk like this for awhile. But once they headed into the tree line, they would have to be more conscious of their surroundings.
 
Lionel's eyes looked about as they entered the new area, dense with trees, his eyes seeing a perfect spot for an ambush, even though it was likely no one knew about them here. But her playful question certainly took him off guard and made his face turn more than a little red. "N-nothing of such a nature, Nora! I only meant that...you seem to handle your position very well since you can still look and act like a princess while you feel such pressure..." He was fumbling a bit.

Rafe chuckled softly and kept his hands tight on the reigns. "It's been a while since I've had to share control with someone. But...if you want to hear my secret thoughts, I think I can manage to tell you...if you ask nicely." He smiled and shrugged his shoulders acting as though it were not a serious matter.
 
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