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Post by Jisui on Dec 23, 2018 1:17:42 GMT -5
Carl Whitemane.
His last name belonged to that of a hero. His first was that of a legend.
"It must be tough, living up to that name."
Was it? He had never thought so. A name was a name. Was a name something you had to live up to?
"You're going to be great one day, with a lineage like yours. Your father is a great man."
Great? What was "great"? Carl wasn't sure, but perhaps the one thing he could agree on was that if a person could be "great", his father was certainly great.
"Let's sneak out already, Dad's going to be talking for forever!"
Ah, wait... that was a recent memory. Focus.
A hooded young man garbed in a black cloak stood in the middle of a busy plaza, downcast eyes glancing up and surveying the bustling crowd. Racamgi was as busy as ever it seemed. No... perhaps even more than usual. Obsidian orbs looked up to a large screen, where the majority of everyone's attention was focused on. On the screen, a large man garbed in heavy armor was in the midst of shaking hands with a dignified looking older man with long black hair that was streaked with grey.
His eyes snapped away, trying to find any sign of long black hair in the packed crowd.
Where had his sister disappeared to this time?
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Post by SlvrNight on Dec 23, 2018 21:06:36 GMT -5
The city of Racamgi. One of the most influential and powerful city-states of the current age. Its survival of the Eight Hour War was a testament to the strength of its military and leadership. Years ago the leader of its military, Veslir Orwep, rose to power and became the new Emperor of the city. Fortunately, Racamgi did not turn into a military state and had actually become more prosperous after he took power. Veslir Orwep knew that he could not apply the same method of thinking to serving the people as he did to the military.
Racamgi was also one of the territories that was fully welcoming to both humans and akma. It, in fact, encouraged mingling between the two groups in as social gatherings, schools, relationships, and more. The Emperor and his advisors did their absolute best to prevent any form of official segregation. Unfortunately, they could do little to forcefully change people's way of thinking. No matter where one lives, there will be some prejudice from individuals who choose to hate and fear those different from them.
Of course, what was going on now was yet another step in the right direction.
For years the kingdom of Jin and Racamgi had been at peace with one another. Very few conflicts arose between the two territories and whenever they did, they were often resolved quickly by those in charge. But on this day an alliance between the two of them was made official for all to see. The large screen in the center of the bustling metropolis showed King Tael Whitemane and Emperor Veslir Orwep shaking hands, having come to an agreement on the terms of the alliance.
Needless to say, it was a momentous occasion. Especially during these times, where the conflict between the akma-hating Order of the Golden Cross and the anti-human Infernal Heralds was raging on. One territory with a human ruler was shaking hands with a nonhuman ruler. One of the goals for the alliance was, in fact, to pool the resources of the two nations to put an end to the conflict between the two extremist groups sooner than later.
In the crowd stood a woman with dark turquoise skin and large gray horns. Her long crimson hair fell to the middle of her back while her black coat was wrapped around her body, fastened by three silver buttons. She wore deep red jeans and black shoes with silver laces and brown soles. Her orange eyes, with slit pupils, looked at the large screen above. The gears of her mind turned, processing what was occurring and doing her best to try and predict how things would go from here.
Elliana Vethelot was conflicted. She had great respect for Veslir Orwep, for he was a nonhuman who managed to rule over such a powerful city-state effectively. She may have disagreed with some of his politics, but she would never say he was a poor ruler. On the other end was King Tael Whitemane, who she was quite familiar with. And, while it was difficult for her to admit, Elliana had respect for him as well. He was one of the few humans who fought for equal rights between humans and akma, and he had not backed down from those policies no matter what threats and assassination attempts were thrown at him. Plainly said, he had surprised her and broken her expectations completely.
What to do...what to do. If this alliance worked as well as these two rulers were hoping, things were about to become significantly harder for her.
Elliana grit her teeth, frustration building up within her. If only there had been more people like these two then she wouldn't be in her current position. She'd be able to live her life freely. But unfortunately that wasn't the case, and likely wouldn't be for quite some time.
Who was she kidding? Her life would never be like that. Despite what her goals were, despite how noble her intentions, she would be seen as a monster and would be given a fate fitting for a monster.
But that was the future, not the present. She would drown in those thoughts another time.
Elliana's eyes looked away from the screen, scanning the crowd for a moment. They briefly stopped on a young man in a black cloak, who seemed to be looking for someone. She narrowed her eyes at him and cocked her head.
Was that the prince? Curious. Why was he here instead of at the talks with his father? Come to think of it, the princess wasn't at the talks either... Had he lost track of her?
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Post by Jisui on Dec 26, 2018 14:38:15 GMT -5
The noise of the surroundings were loud enough to drown out even idle thoughts. As the two rulers turned to address the crowd, a few scattered words from the magitech projection screen were able to be heard over the deafening murmurs of the crowd.
Momentous day. Brothers and sisters from this day forth. Shining future.
A thunderous round of applause and cheers rose out from the citizens of Racamgi. The annals of history would log the exact words of the speech, but no one would be able to quite describe the distinct feeling of hope that arose at that moment. There was not a single person who was able to tear their eyes away from the screen.
All but one. The cloaked young man smoothly maneuvered around the crowd, eyes darting about for any signs of a particular someone. As he continued his search, his path took him on a direct collision course to Elliana. His attention was split, eyes staring at a particular spot in the crowd before he was merely inches away from the woman. He should have collided straight into her.
As if moving on auto-pilot, moments before the collision, the young man smoothly spun around the crimson-haired woman before continuing his path. It was so smooth of an action, it was almost unnatural in a way, like the movement of a ballroom dancer among a crowd of farmers.
Suddenly, as if catching sight of something, the young man's eyes snapped to the left, where he began moving as quickly as he could through the dense crowd of people.
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Post by SlvrNight on Dec 29, 2018 20:51:51 GMT -5
Elliana wasn't quite sure what to make of what just occurred. The man had practically been on a crash course towards her, but moved around like water and avoided her. Of course she was glad that he hadn't ran into her, but at the same time she found the movement strange. At the very least, it was a shred of evidence that the prince wasn't a lazy slob who simply rested on his laurels and bathed in his royal privilege. A normal person wouldn't have been able to move like that at all and would've simply rammed into her.
Then he suddenly darted to the left and moved even faster. Had he found who he was looking for?
Truth be told, it was none of Elliana's business. She wasn't here for that. In fact, with the two rulers having come to an agreement, her presence here was completely unneeded. Racamgi and the kingdom of Jin would now be working closely together to help deal with the "extremists" and their conflict. At least she knew as soon as it happened, hopefully giving her some time to figure out what to do with her comrades to deal with the inevitable problems that came from such an alliance.
She glanced once more in the cloaked man's direction.
Perhaps...
The akma woman suddenly found herself heading in the same direction.
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Post by Jisui on Dec 29, 2018 22:18:37 GMT -5
Elliana found herself trailing the young man for a good ten to fifteen minutes, twisting and turning throughout several clumps of people in the process. The concentration of citizens progressively from tightly packed to slightly more free-form and sparse, as the two eventually found themselves in a more quaint street lined with cafes and restaurants. There were still a good amount of people moving about, but it was scarce enough so that you could at least hear your own thoughts.
The cloaked man glanced about in several directions, before frowning and giving a heavy sigh of defeat. He stood there for a few more seconds, as if pondering something, before nodding his head and turning towards a nearby cafe.
Bewilderingly, Elliana could only watch as the young man moved his way to an open table, quietly muttered an order to an approaching waitress, and ended his grand adventure at "The White Petal Cafe".
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Post by SlvrNight on Dec 30, 2018 0:31:39 GMT -5
Elliana raised an eyebrow at this, leaning against the support pillar of a nearby shop's balcony. There was no way in hell that this guy was hurrying around just trying to find a place to eat, even if he was looking for somewhere in particular. Was that a meeting spot? Or had he just given up and decided to kill some time there instead? Maybe he had actually spotted her instead and was sitting there until she got bored and decided to move on?
Well, unfortunately for him, she didn't exactly have a lot of time to waste.
The cloaked man suddenly heard the sound of the chair in front of him being moved. If he looked up, he would see an unfamiliar woman with gray horns, crimson hair, and turquoise skin sitting there.
She decided to get the first word in herself, propping her head on her right arm and leaning to the side.
"So. What's the prince of Jin doing scurrying around in such a rush? Clearly not to see the sights of this city since you barreled past everything on the way here. Lose something?"
Her lips curled into a smile, showing her sharp teeth.
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Post by Jisui on Dec 30, 2018 2:38:02 GMT -5
A sharp intake of breath was heard as Elliana sat across from the hooded man. Not a sound of surprise, but the sound one makes after releasing a great strain of tension all at once. After taking a slow, deep breath, the man glanced up to look at the akma woman.
Shockingly blue eyes, the shade of pale ice, greeted Elliana and studied her with a measure of guarded curiosity. The prince of Jin hesitated for a moment before responding in soft undertones.
"No... well, yes." He paused for a second, thinking of his next words carefully before continuing.
"I had given up what I was looking for about ten minutes back. But, to think I was this careless..." His voice trailed off, the prince playing with the hem of his cloak and glancing around at their surroundings carefully. There was no point in secrecy at this point. Drawing his hood backwards, the leader of the Infernal Heralds was able to see the cloaked man's features for the first time in detail since she had begun tailing him.
He was a young man perhaps nearing the age of sixteen, with pale skin and short black hair that fell to his nape. His hair was combed down neatly, with bangs framing a sharp-looking pair of ice blue eyes. Underneath his traveling cloak, he wore a sleeveless dark blue shirt with an unbuttoned black vest over it, and a silver necklace around his neck with a sapphire jewel in the center. The prince had beige jeans on with a moderately large leather pouch tied to his side, and black boots that looked fairly well polished.
To any uneducated person, he looked like an ordinary, if not well-dressed young man. To anyone who was reasonably informed, it was obvious who the young man standing in front of Elliana was.
Carl Whitemane, heir to the throne, prince of Jin.
The waitress suddenly returned with the prince's order, taking one glance at the table and cautiously placing two cups of jasmine tea on both ends, before scurrying away elsewhere.
He had thought of as many scenarios as possible before arriving to this. There was no way he could have contacted any authorities without Elliana discovering. Continuing his search for Ilya was also not a feasible option while being tailed. However, it didn't seem like Elliana was keen on doing anything while people were around. In addition, if anything did happen to him in a congested area, it was possible that no one would notice.
The safest option was the one in plain sight.
Perhaps he was being paranoid, as always. But one look at the akma woman sent a shiver down his spine for some reason that warned him of one thing.
Danger.
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Post by SlvrNight on Dec 31, 2018 22:03:55 GMT -5
One of Elliana's stone eyebrows rose. Hm. The prince looked fairly...normal. He had the potential to be a very handsome man in some years, but there was nothing really extraordinary about his appearance. Save for those piercing blue eyes, as if they were made of ice.
"Well whatever you were looking for must have been important for you to be scurrying about so quickly with no real consideration for how obvious you looked to others."
Elliana's smile simply widened and she chuckled to herself.
"You can relax though. Seriously, I don't have any intention to hurt you. It's just rare that I get to meet and interact with human royalty, especially one that tolerates my presence."
Her expression then darkened slightly.
"Of course, just because your father feels one way, doesn't mean you do as well. If my presence bothers you, if I make you feel unsafe, just say the word and I'll be on my way."
The smile returned.
"Of course, I'd also be willing to help you find whatever you're looking for. I've been to Racamgi several times before and I have some time to kill. Plus, another pair of eyes certainly wouldn't hurt, yes?"
Just what was this woman's angle? It was entirely possible Elliana was being genuine but, at the same time, with Carl being a prince it was likely smart for him to keep his guard up. Very rarely did someone go out of their way to help someone with a high position and expect nothing in return.
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Post by Jisui on Jan 1, 2019 21:01:10 GMT -5
"...Don't suppose I have much of a choice in the matter, do I?"
The words had a decent amount of trepidation in them, but little more was able to be gained from reading Carl's expression. It was almost unnatural in a way. There was hardly any fifteen-year old boys who wouldn't have been terrified in the situation he was in. It wasn't as if Carl was totally expressionless, there was a look on his face that probably resembled something akin to discomfort. But it was all too muted, as if there was a constant air of disconcerting calmness about the boy.
It was true that there wasn't much of an option at the moment however. Carl sincerely doubted that Elliana would simply "be on her way" if he declined.
...He wondered, what was his father do here?
His father... he was able to see the good in anyone. He would most likely be striking up a chat with Elliana by now.
Carl shook his head loose of the thoughts, and glanced back at the akma woman.
"You might want to finish your tea. Finding Ilya will take the rest of the day."
Ilya Whitemane brushed a lock of her light blue hair away from her face, and pouted.
There were several things that could have been better at the moment, and none of them were her fault.
First, Carl had not met up with them, as they (she) had decided.
Two, Racamgi was slightly bigger than she had thought, and she was (probably) lost.
Three, everyone was staring at her, most likely due to her unique hair color and astonishing resemblance to the crown princess of Jin.
...The last one was actually probably her fault. Nevertheless, she would never admit it.
A young woman with light blue hair stood in the middle of what appeared to be a shopping district in Racamgi, glancing around the area with confused looking obsidian orbs. She was garbed in a sleeveless, knee-length dress which was a dyed a shade of royal blue, with white lace around the waist, along with black leggings and traveling boots. Her hair was long, falling down to her waist in a long ponytail held up by a simple white ribbon. Around the princess was a white silk cloak that was proudly emblazoned with the insignia of Jin. The main thing that completely prevented her from completely maintaining the look of a dainty princess was a black leather belt around her waist, around which there was a longsword carried in a smooth wooden sheath.
"...Maybe I should ask for directions?"
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Post by SlvrNight on Jan 2, 2019 16:51:29 GMT -5
"...Don't suppose I have much of a choice in the matter, do I?"
"Ha! You always have a choice. It's just entirely up to you whether dealing with the consequences of it are worth it."
She grabbed her cup of tea and brought it up to her lips.
"But you're right, I should finish this. Gonna be busy helping you look for this 'Ilya' girl."
Elliana proceeded to chug down her tea in a few gulps, wasting no time at all with it. She did greatly enjoy the taste but felt like she didn't really have much time to savor it. The akma woman was very much used to time being of the essence, to having to get things done quickly and move on to the next. But there was a question that she had to ask first, simply out of curiosity.
"So who is this girl anyways? A friend? Secret girlfriend that you're hiding from your dad?"
She wore that same devious smile as before as she asked.
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She had been tracking the girl for some time. It was a simple thing, really. She had spotted her wandering alone, away from the talks between her father and the emperor. Of course, it was natural for a teenager to be bored of such an event. Usually they wanted to actually be doing something, something exciting and interesting. Sitting in a room with high-ranking officials from two nations discussing the details of a type of partnership was, by no means, exciting. Truthfully, she was pretty sure King Whitemane himself didnt find it exciting either.
She expected at least one of the heirs to sneak out. She was simply thankful she had managed to see her before anyone attempted to kidnap the girl. Of course, attempting to kidnap an heir of the Whitemane throne on this day, of all days, would be both genius and stupid. It would likely be easier to capture one of them since they're out of their home territory of Jin, but doing so on such a momentous day as this would likely bring the full wrath of both Jin and Racamgi on that poor fool's head.
The woman looked down from her perch, down from the rooftop of the building, and continued to watch.
...The princess seemed to be looking for someone. Or maybe she was lost. Had she ever been to Racamgi before? The woman had no idea.
A chill briefly crawled over her body at the thought of going down into such a densely populated area to help. Maybe the princess would figure it out?
Hopefully.
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Post by Jisui on Jan 2, 2019 21:12:47 GMT -5
"Ha! You always have a choice. It's just entirely up to you whether dealing with the consequences of it are worth it."
"..."
The prince stared downwards for a few seconds as if processing the words, before glancing at his cup and raising to his lips. The soothing scents of spice and lemon rose to his nose as he took a slower drink in comparison to his unlikely companion. Absentmindedly, Carl realized that it was a nice day outside. The sun was peeking through a formation of lazy clouds just enough to provide him with a comfortable warmth, and there was a cool breeze running through the street that seemed to relax his mind. It would have been a good day to read.
Elliana's words seemed to snap him to reality, the young teenager's face subtly shifting through several different facial expressions upon hearing her teasing. Eventually, he seemed to settle on slight worry. The prince hesitated a moment, as if unsure whether to say his next words, before he reluctantly responded.
"...No. My twin sister, Ilya."
The one item that had steadily become more available over the years was information, and Elliana probably knew better than anyone else. Despite King Tael's attempts to protect his family, there were probably very few people who didn't know of the Whitemane twins due to their father.
Ilya Whitemane. Princess of Jin and a prodigy in combat. It was rumored that she could currently defeat half of the Jin soldiers even at her young age. But more importantly, if information spread that she was wandering alone, away from the protection of her father and guards...
Carl stood up from his chair, with all thoughts of reading vanished from his mind. He looked back to Elliana while pulling his hood back over his head to avoid the recognition of any citizens.
"To quote her verbatim..." He began with slight exasperation in his tone. "Let's sneak out already. We could be shopping in the east district."
True enough, Carl and Elliana were close to the east district from where they were. Their options were most likely either going to the east to wait for her, or searching for her in the sprawling metropolis that was Racamgi.
Alright, so Racamgi had probably changed since Ilya had visited as a child.
That didn't mean that she was strictly lost. After all, how hard could it be to find the east district? This area was full of shops, so she had to be getting close. Heck, she was probably almost there! There was no need to ask anyone after all then.
Humming a popular tune, the young princess began casually strolling down the Racamgi street, ignoring the various looks of confusion that she was getting from the citizens. The main question in their mind were mostly shared for the most part.
Why was a person, who was clearly a tourist, going to the west district, a residential area?
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Post by SlvrNight on Jan 4, 2019 23:38:27 GMT -5
Elliana had to put considerable effort into hiding her disappointment. Despite her teasing, part of her was truly hoping the prince was on some secret rendezvous with a hidden partner. Would've been more interesting and, besides that, it might've given her some dirt on the kid. But it was fine.
There was still time for that to happen. Neither of them could see the future after all.
But this was interesting regardless. She was going to get to meet Ilya Whitemane. She was developing into a rather skilled swordsman, if Elliana's information was accurate. If so, then there wasn't as much of a reason to be worried about her safety. She'd likely be able to handle herself against most would-be kidnappers. Emphasis on the word "most" of course.
"Let's sneak out already. We could be shopping in the east district."
Ha, of course. They wanted to sneak out to go shopping in the foreign city. To see the wares offered in a different culture. It was predictable, but she couldn't fault it. What the akma woman was really thinking about was whether they should head to the eastern part of the city and just waited around for Ilya to arrive, or go looking for her themselves in the sprawling city.
"Before we head off..." Elliana started. "A question. Have you guys ever been to Racamgi before? As in, actually walked around it and gotten an idea of the place? We can head to the eastern section of the city and browse the marketplace while waiting for Ilya but, at the same time, if she isn't familiar with the city at all it's very possible she has no idea where the hell she's going."
Her flame-colored eyes narrowed at Carl.
"And a bustling metropolis, regardless of its sterling reputation, isn't really a good place for a princess to wander around alone."
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She was going to the residential district.
She was going to the residential district.
Why? What possible reason could she have for going that way? Meeting a friend? Secret admirer? Lost as a fish on dry land?
The woman wasn't sure yet and, therefore, wasn't sure if she should intervene. Hopping down to stop and question the princess would draw oh so much attention to her that it would be downright embarrassing.
For now, she would move to another rooftop and continue to observe her. Using the shadows of the tall buildings and high rooftops to conceal her presence.
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Post by Jisui on Jan 6, 2019 15:07:52 GMT -5
"When we were children." The prince answered succinctly, glancing over at the akma woman. The details had become hazy in his mind, but it had been a trip with father and mother disguised as a political visit. It was maybe... ten years ago? There was seldom a chance after that to visit the city, due to the risk involved due to the conflict between the Infernal Heralds and Order of the Golden Cross.
"My sister is the type to move before thinking." Carl muttered knowingly, placing a small amount of money on the table before beginning to walk out of the cafe.
"We were both in the central district to start, and I noted that most of the routes in the south had been closed off, to prepare for our arrival."
It had "The northern district is the military district. Even Ilya would have noticed that, if she went that direction. That would leave..." The prince's voice trailed off as the pair stood just outside of the cafe, brows furrowing as he attempted to recall the city structure of Racamgi from a book he had read.
Ilya had either correctly gone to the eastern district, or mistakenly gone to the western one, a residential area.
Racamgi was just too sprawling of a city, Carl thought grimly. They needed a better way to find her rather than a blind search.
Hm. There were a few more houses in the shopping district than she realized.
The princess breathed a sigh of defeat, and glanced at her surroundings with a frown. Not for the first time, Ilya wished that that Carl was with her. There was little doubt that her brother would have had them in the shopping district by now. But Ilya had never been the type for self-pity. Live and learn, so they say.
Swallowing her pride, she eyed a random passerby, and began her walk over to ask for directions.
"Captain, we've confirmed that the heirs are in the city, and isolated."
"And their locations?"
"Princess Ilya is in the residential district. Unfortunately, we've been unable to locate the prince, other than reports that he was seen heading to the eastern district."
"He always was apt at hiding. The princess first then. Be wary, you know what she can do. Go."
"At your will."
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Post by SlvrNight on Jan 9, 2019 23:44:08 GMT -5
"My sister is the type to move before thinking."
Ah. So the princess was headstrong it seemed. Perhaps she felt like she had something to prove? Well, being the princess of such a powerful land...it made sense. An heir to the throne of any land seemingly being weak was never good. It planted doubt in the people and made their enemies scheme more freely. That wasn't saying such a quality was without faults though. Both the prince and princess were far too young to learn from their less positive qualities just yet, so the princess would likely be getting herself into trouble every now and then.
Especially in foreign lands, where such transgressions would likely not be forgiven as easily and others were more willing to take immediate advantage of them.
Regardless, from what Carl said it seemed that there were two likely directions his sister had gone.
"So either east or west then. Granted, that narrows it down by about half the city but that's still a lot of ground for just two people to cover."
Elliana stroked her chin in thought as she left her seat and followed the prince out of the cafe.
"Well, let's look at it this way. The marketplace is a large open area. Unless she's hiding in one of the shops, she should be pretty easy for you to spot right? Doesn't she have ridiculously bright blue hair? Could probably spot her a mile away."
She paused for a moment, thinking further.
"We should check out the marketplace first then. Do a quick sweep, pop our heads into the shops, if we don't spot her that way we'll go check out the residential district."
The akma woman cocked her head to the side with a smile.
"Unless you have a different way of going about it. I'm open to ideas."
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The princess had been wandering for quite some time and it was clear to the woman that the princess was beginning to realize she was in the wrong area. She stood from her spot on a nearby house's roof and was about to intervene, but stopped herself once she saw the female heir approach a random passerby. Hopefully for directions.
If this person wasn't able to help, then she'd step in. She'd prefer to let Ilya manages things on her own, but this wasn't exactly an ideal situation to do so.
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Post by Jisui on Jan 14, 2019 21:32:26 GMT -5
"Yes, you're correct. If you've seen my mother, Ilya's hair is the same shade."
Another quick, terse response without much fluff to the words. Looking at Carl, it was impossible for Elliana to tell whether his brisk behavior was because of his worry for his sibling, or just his natural personality. Stoic? Emotionless? Neither were completely accurate. It was just difficult to read anything at all from the young prince. It was even harder to grasp what was genuine in their conversations.
No... if there was anything that could have been discerned as genuine so far from him, it would have been the flash of worry that crossed his face when they had been talking of Ilya.
The prince in question brought out a small device with an embedded green crystal in the middle, his fingers slowly running over the smooth metal. If only he was able to reach Ilya indirectly... she must have either left her's behind, or forgotten to charge the geist crystal before leaving.
There really was only one option then. Like Elliana had suggested, they'd have to sweep through the east and west sections.
Glancing at the akma woman cautiously, Carl gave a tentative nod in response to her plan, gesturing towards the direction of the eastern market. Without much else to go by, the pair began walking away from the cafe, towards the eastern marketplace. They had made it maybe a block further before the uneasy silence was broken by words Carl had been holding in for the past thirty minutes.
"Who are you?"
"Thank you!"
Sending a large farewell wave to show her appreciation towards a reasonably confused Racamgi citizen, Ilya turned around with a renewed sense of hope and gleaming smile.
So! She had been going the completely wrong direction the entire way. Embarrassing, but a minor setback. Really. At least the locals had been kind enough to point her the right way. Another painful round of walking, and she would be reunited with her brother in no time at all.
But alas, rarely did things go to plan. Just a few paces east, and a flutter of brown capes had completely surrounded her.
The princess blinked in confusion, before glancing around at the newcomers. Dark green cloaks, insignia of Jin, longbows strapped to their back, familiar frowns of discontent... it was the Jin Rangers.
Surrounding the province of Jin, was a dense forest that had existed before the Eight Hour War. It was a daunting, thick woodland that had kept the country safe from potential invasion countless times. Patrolling the forests were Jin's elite scouts and first line of defense, the Rangers. It was usually a name that caused Ilya's face to break out in an uncontrollable smile. It had always been her dream to join their ranks as a child.
There was no such smile on her face at the moment, as Ilya immediately understood what their presence meant.
"It was mom, wasn't it?" The princess muttered, getting no immediate response from any of them.
The tallest one stepped forward and removed his hood, revealing an older man in his 40s with cropped brown hair, a rough stubble, and a stern look in his eyes.
"Please, follow us back to the palace, princess."
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