1x1 RP between Silenia & MORBiDUS
((because I am so creative with titles today. :sweat: ))

A young prince is accompanied by a hired body guard in his travels across kingdoms. Everything has gone smoothly, that is, until the prince decides their journey is to take a new twist.

The guard and prince escape their original roles to partake in mindless adventure.

(( I would hope this is a suitable starting/starting point.))

"Your highness..."

The greeting came from the mouth of a rather shady looking man, one who might remind you of an eel. He took a deep bow. He was sly and seemed much more befitting of the castle slum's, yet his robe was rich, elegant. This man was the well-paid adviser to the royal family, one who stood down to very few authorities. One of those whom he was forced to stand down to, though, was prince Rainer. The very prince he stood in front of now, and addressed. "...After extensive search, we have found you your escort."

Escort, the prince knew, was another word for body guard. Rainer had never requested a body guard. Not any more than he'd asked to be part of the Royal family. Alas, the prince would soon be faced with the facts: his birth rights, even if he considered them more of a curse, were inevitable. "Well, send this man in then," the young prince sighed, rather boredly. The adviser slithered back behind doors, to bring forth this suggested 'escort.'

Rainer's deep, blue eyes slit like two sapphires as he awaited the entrance of their found man. He felt powerful, even perhaps a bit self righteous here, sitting delicately on his throne. He had some suspicion over the adviser's loyalty, something everyone else in high power seemed to be ignorant to. In result, Rainer had already garnered some distrust for whoever he'd brought for a traveling gaurd.

Evan waited outside the room until the Royal Adviser, a shady looking man, would come and get him, so he could be introduced to the Prince himself. Prince Rainer, the oldest son of the King, the man he was supposed to be guarding during his travels.

The doors opened and the Royal Adviser nodded to him. "His Highness, Prince Rainer is willing to meet you." Evan looked at the man. It was perhaps not the kind of man people would suppose was the Royal Adviser, but he was nonetheless. Sly, shady looking, but with robes almost as expensive as those worn by royalty.

He had been surprised how easily the man had hired him. He had asked a few questions - name, age, experience in escorting people - and without even checking if the information he was given was indeed true, he had hired Evan.
Not that Evan was about to complain. After all, he would be paid quite well, and money was almost as important as birth in this Kingdom, some considered it even more important.

He quickly nodded back to the Royal Adviser. "Yes, sir."
As soon as the man before him turned back to the throne room, Evan followed him.
Once he stepped through the door, he bowed deeply.
"Your Highness."

Rainer shifted in his seat ever so slightly at their entrance, before rising to his feet. As he took few graceful steps forward, the adviser stepped back and into the side shadows of the room; out of sight and out of way. The prince kept a straight face as he circled slowly around his new body guard, studying him from head to heel.

"What might my escort's name be?" Rainer asked, his expression never faltering. He held himself in a way that all royalty seemed to adopt, with a sort of smug highness that was above that of their peers. His decorative and rich blue robes trailed behind him as he took the few steps back towards his seat.

From the corner of one's eye a broad, heavy sword could be seen, resting on a mantle near the prince's throne. Due to his own swordsmanship, Rainer felt no need for this body guard. Yet, the prince's china white skin held no roughness to it, his hands not tainted with the experience of battle. To anyone else, it would be easy to see why he needed some form of protection. The prince was a bit more ignorant to his own downfalls, however.

"...And when are you ready to leave?" Rainer added, his voice strict, commanding, yet still acquainted by that sort of softness a gentle soul had.

Evan felt slightly uncomfortable by the way the Prince looked at him, studied him while walking in circles around him. He took a few quick looks at the Prince, but made certain it would not seem like he was staring at him.
He noticed the Prince was probably slightly younger than he was, although only a few years, two or three perhaps. His eyes had a deep blue color, his skin was pale, china white and probably, if he could touch it, extremely soft.

"What might my escort's name be?"

He heard the Prince's voice, strict and commanding, yet with a certain softness to it. The skin on his hands and face - as no other skin was visible, hidden from the eye by his decorative, rich blue robes, which were clearly extremely expensive - bore no roughness or scars, so unlike Evan's own body. He had been part of many fights, and some of the marks of it were visible to the eye, like the scar that crossed his left cheek.

"...And when are you ready to leave?"

Evan realized he should respond immediately now, before annoying or even angering the Prince.
"Evan. My name is Evan Daggerhand, Your Highness." He bowed again. "And I would be ready to leave whenever Your Highness would like to."

(( I did not really intend for this post to be this lengthy, at least not so quickly. :sweat: Sorry in advance if I just laid down a book on you..! ))

"Evan Daggerhand..." Rainer repeated, playing around with the syllables of his name on his tongue. It was no name he had heard of before, but it was clear this man was well experienced in his battles.

"..In the hour, then," The prince said. The adviser came out from his hiding, wanting to protest against his highness's decision. Even if the sly man couldn't wait for Rainer -- someone he considered an obstacle in his own path for power - to leave, he knew he would receive hell from the king if he allowed him to depart so soon.

"Your majesty, I must ask you to wait till morn at l-" Before the adviser could finish 'at least,' Rainer had shot him a cold glare, which silenced him quickly. Even with all the power the adviser had, with all the suggestions he could give to turn the family's heads, he couldn't go against Rainer's word. Once the prince was sure about such a thing, it might as well have been set in stone.

As the prince had willed it, few servants came from their selective spots along the walls of the room, bringing forth with them preparations for the upcoming travels. One of the key things they'd handed him was his sword, one which there was no sheath for, for it was too large. Rainer picked it up easily and then set it down by his side, no doubt such a weapon would require two hands. He walked off behind a curtain rug which hid the hall to another room, servants and even a couple guards following him. It left Evan and the adviser near alone in the room, to await his return. The adviser seemed nervous, panicky, as if trying to devise any plan he could to convince the prince to stay longer.

The adviser slowly handed Evan over a heavy sack of gold, half of what he was due to be the prince's body guard. "And the other half if he makes it back," The adviser promised. He had been considering giving Evan a little something extra if he was to kill the prince, but because of all the commotion as of recent, he didn't have time to negotiate such serpent's deals.

When Rainer re-entered from behind the rug, he was clad in more flexible robe. It wouldn't offer much for armor or protection, and left his stomach open and bare. It appeared to be designed more to display the more appealing side to being royalty, the riches his kingdom held. It would do nothing for camouflage amongst commoners, yet that didn't seem to be the goal. Blue, silver and off green feathers adorned his shoulders by means of a short cape. The prince himself could easily have gone for a more practical attire, as his current might have offered movement but no shielding. Yet, he figured, that was the purpose of the body guard.

The prince picked up his sword and slung it over his shoulder. It was a wonder he could carry yet alone fight with it, and one could only assume it was lighter than it looked. There was a strap on his back that could offer to hold the heavy blade if need be, the closest thing to making up for the lack of a real sheath. Rainer walked passed Evan and out of the room, one of the servants that'd trailed behind him stopping beside Evan. "You should follow the prince," The servant suggested, considering Rainer had apparently not given any real direction.

A handful of guards trailed out after them, and they'd accompany Rainer and Evan to the boundaries of their kingdom's city, but no further. Considering the prince's decision on departure had been so abrupt, there was really no good bye committee, nor did he want to bid the king and queen farewell. Although Rainer didn't care to publicly display it, he'd grown loathing of this castle, and his family; many of whom were quite corrupt. They couldn't bring themselves to mind, either, for they expected the prince back in due time.

A group of castle maids came up alongside the group, offering them both any supplies or trinkets they might desire for their trip. Rainer ignored them, but left his body guard with the option of taking what he wished. As they reached the castle's gates, a stableman drew close with a pair of horses.

"For his majesty and his guard," The stableman said, giving a slight bow. He was unable to bow any deeper for fear he might loose the reins of the horses. The terrain outside of the kingdom's boundaries wouldn't allow them to ride the horses any further than it, but they could prove useful on the way there. The horses were packed to the brim with supplies for the journey. Part of the challenge of this entire travel was that they would have to continue most of the way on foot, and the horses would only provide helpful to carry their things; things they'd have to ditch when they gave up their steeds.

Rainer got up on his, no one offering him help to do so in case it would be insulting not to let him do it on his own. He'd already strapped his sword to his back so that he could ride. He and Evan would have to continue through the busy city yet still, before they would reach the wilderness.

"You may address me as just Rainer," the prince said to Evan, quietly, so that no one else might hear. He didn't care for or need his royal title, and was quite sick of hearing things like, 'your highness,' 'your majesty,' or 'my prince.'

((That's fine. I don't mind))

He heard the panic in the Advisers voice when he tried to convince the Prince it would be better to stay until morn before leaving, and smiled slightly. After all, the man couldn't go against the Prince's orders, but if he followed them, he would have a problem just as well.
With one single glare, Prince Rainer had silenced the man, turned his back on him and prepared himself for the journey.
So much for power, Evan thought amused.
At the same moment, the servants handed the Prince some things he would need, one of them a huge, impractical sword.

Only a few seconds later, Prince Rainer went behind the rug to what was apparently another room, accompanied by most of his guards and servants. He and the Royal Adviser where almost the only people in the throne room, except for the two guards next to the door.
The adviser walked towards him, handed him a big sack of gold and told him he would receive the other half if the Prince would return.
Evan looked at the man, almost certain he had meant to make some serpent's deals but didn't because there was no time. He slowly nodded. "Of course, of course."

Perhaps a minute later the Prince left the room behind the rug, dressed in other clothes. They clearly gave the impression of a wealthy man, but gave him no defense at all. Nonetheless, the prince looked beautiful in them - but they would more than likely attract robbers in the wilderness they would have to travel through. Evan resisted the urge to shake his head. While the prince appeared to be an intelligent man, he clearly did not realize what dangers he attracted this way.

The prince picked up the large sword and slung it over his shoulder, then walked past Evan and left the room. One of the servants told him to follow the Prince.
As if I didn't know that, he thought annoyed. He had merely waited a few seconds, because he didn't want to annoy the guards by cutting of their paths.

As Evan followed the Prince and some of the servants, he had been lead to two of the most beautiful horses he had ever seen. Clearly they were meant for royalty, and hopefully they were as well-trained as they were looking. He waited until the prince had mounted his horse, then packed his sack of gold at the horse and got up at it.

They rode from the castle gates towards the busy city which started only a few meters away from the castle walls.

"You may address me as just Rainer," he heard the Prince say, and replied immediately.
"Yes, my pr... Excuse me, yes, Rainer."

They rode through the city at a fairly slow pace, for the streets were packed with people, children and adults, castle servants on a duty, farmers there to deliver their goods, all kind of people could be seen on the streets of the Kingdom's Capital City, Yasam.

((I hope you don't mind me thinking up a name for the city))

((I don't mind at all~ It's a good thing that you did, I am horrible with names for places. :sweat:))

Rainer would have laughed at his escort's near stutter of speech, had the time and place been appropriate to. Instead, he refrained himself, as was proper of a 'prince'. He had long wondered if he could ever truly drop the title, or if such a thing would be stuck with him, regardless of where he went or what he did. Part of the reason the prince had so willingly gone on this travel - despite that he had been forced into the quest and not chosen it of his own accord, was because he hoped that in the lands beyond his kingdom, none would consider him of royal descent. Of course, the naive prince had no experience or idea of what it was to be a commoner, and would perhaps bite off more than he could chew with these aspirations.

The small departure group gathered a few stares and in some cases even small crowds from the city's people. The packed streets had been forced to clear way for them, even if it took a while to do so. Although many of the people in the city seemed loyal to their crown, as they neared the edges of Yasam respect began to falter greatly. The people closer there were those with growingly unsuccessful farmland, or smaller business owners; and although they were unable to do much more than give dirty stares for fear of execution of imprisonment, they were very clear of their dissatisfaction with the state of things.

Rainer felt that anyone with half a brain could see a revolt awaiting the kingdom, although not till the far future. Even in some of the smaller state cities there'd been word of small rebellions in the past. Yet, his father - the king, seemed completely ignorant to the possibility. The prince had always blamed the adviser and his team, who blinded judgment to get their ways. Although Rainer would refuse to fall with this kingdom when such a time came, he also seemed to refuse the idea of being first heir to the throne; even if one might have thought that gave him power to help fix the kingdom.

When they reached one of the many tollbooths that marked entrance or exit to the ever expanding walls of Yasam, the guards stepped off. This was as far as they would go, handing any duty of protection over the prince solely to Evan. One of the guards, apparently speaking for them all, wished them both luck and a sted fast journey. Rainer did no more than nod, he had held their words with no sincerity, and the two rod on. There was much farmland beyond the gates of Yasam, and although there were many small villages on the way, it'd be a while before they hit the next major city. The prince, as well as he hid it, was rather eager to leave the reforms of civilization. He'd left the kingdom in the past, although had never been permitted to be alone on such journeys. To Rainer, this was a new opportunity.

"Its at least two days travel before the edge of my kingdom's boundaries," Rainer mentioned, even though he assumed for Evan to be well aware of the fact. 'My kingdom,' had rolled off the prince's tongue quite smoothly, as if such a thing had been rehearsed a thousand times in his past. Yet, to him, it still felt unnatural, gritty to his mouth.

((I am not too great at them either, but as long as the names don't sound too ridiculous...))

Evan was glad Rainer didn't react at his mistake, but wondered why the prince had asked him to call him by just his given name. Of course he too had heard the rumors that said the prince didn't want to be royalty, but if they were true, Prince Rainer would be in for a hard time. In just the short time since he had met him, it had become clear that while this man was intelligent and not too arrogant - at least not for a royal descendant - he had no idea what being a commoner meant, whether a citizen, a villager, hunter or farmer, or perhaps one of the many soldiers, adventurers and bounty hunters the Kingdom had.

While Evan thought about commoners, he noticed the streets being busy, even busier than usually at this time, and realized the news of the Prince's departure must have spread quickly. This, of course, wasn't uncommon. Yasam was one of the biggest cities in the Kingdom, with a big underworld, if one knew where to look. News and rumors were always available, especially if one was prepared and willing to pay for it.

They proceeded through the crowds and neared the Southern edges of Yasam, which was a part of the city Evan knew well. Quite a few of the inns and pubs in this part were run by the Black Hands, important people in the local underworld and Thieves Guide. If you knew the right things, you could get in contact with pretty much everyone in those places. You could order a theft, hire a kidnapper or assassin - as long as you knew the 'passwords', knew the code and were willing to pay well.
It was the shady part of the city, and therefore also the part where the drunk and homeless hung around, and the place were owners of smaller businesses lived and where the poor farmers slept overnight after delivering their goods to the city.

The crime scene and underworld did well in this City of Wonders, as Yasam had been called in better times. But others, the poor citizens, those without jobs and therefore without money, the unfortunate farmers and fishermen and hunters, were less lucky. The city had been at the edge of rebellion more than once during the past twenty years, and the only reason it had never happened was the proximity of the Great Castle, which was visible from every part of the city, and therefore the proximity of a large part of the army.

No matter how much they hated the King and his reign, the citizens also feared him and his might and power. If he wanted he could crush them all without even as much as a second though - or at least that was what the rumors said.
But for all this fear, Evan knew there would come a time when even that, the huge - and only partly justified - fear of the King, would no longer be enough to keep those living in poor circumstances from standing up against the oppression.

Many of the other, smaller cities had already done so, and while only so few of those stories reached the King at Yasam's Palace, and even less of them reached the civilians in Yasam City, it meant something was wrong with the King's reign of fear, power and oppression, and no matter how long it would take, certainly a time would come when even those living in Yasam would gather the courage to stand up against the King.

They reached one of the tollbooths marking the edge of the grand city, and Evan realized that from thereon, he would have the sole responsibility of Rainer's health and safety. While one of the guards wished them luck, he mainly heard relief and insincerity in his voice.

"Its at least two days travel before the edge of my kingdom's boundaries," he heard Rainer mention.
Your Kingdom, he thought sarcastically. It is no more your Kingdom than it is mine. It is the King's and, more likely, the Royal Adviser's Kingdom.
He simply nodded at the message however, although he was almost certain it would take them four days at the very least - or they would no longer have horses at the time they reached the boundaries, but merely wild beasts, exhausted and unable to use in any way - except perhaps as food.

Rainer had hoped they were to make it to the next major city within the last half of their day, but as night fall came about it was clear they'd fallen short. Despite that it could have been protested that they would continue on by light of the moon, the chances of being ambushed by bandits only increased in the dark, and the horses were growing weary. The two would undoubtedly have to be side tracked by taking a overnight pit stop in a nearby village. The village could be seen vaguely in the distance.

The prince felt a tossing uneasiness in his stomach as clouds rolled over the half crescent moon, momentarily blocking out its light. At times like these, Rainer deducted, the feeling of having 'all eyes on you,' wasn't a pleasant one. His uncertainty didn't calm itself much as they were greeted by torch light in the village, perhaps if only because his paranoid suspicions also strongly rested on Evan. Rainer found it troubling to attempt to trust someone who'd been hired by such an untrustworthy man as the adviser.

Because the village was small, it appeared to have only one inn, which fronted as a tavern. The prince considered simply falling asleep with his horse before ever entering the beaten building. Rainer stepped off his stead and lead it to the old tavern's makeshift stable, tying it securely to one of the posts. He had to question whether his horse would even be there in the morning, although the thought did not appear to trouble him too much. Rainer started to remove some of the necessary items off the horse to take with him, although left some of the more valuable ones. He tied what he could to his belt, or hid smaller pouches away on his person, as to avoid having to carry them by hand. The prince was used to having people do these sort of things for him, yet he hadn't been so pampered as to become completely dependent on them. He expected Evan would do the same with his own treasures, as a form of loss prevention.

Rainer didn't have much to say to his body guard, so they moved on towards the tavern/inn in relative silence. They entered, to a rambunctious group, and an obnoxiously loud pub. Many of the rough, drunken looking men grew silent at their new guest's arrival. It was very, very clear how out of place Rainer was, his wealth sticking out like a sour thumb amongst those who could barely afford their evening drink. Conversation started up again as Evan and Rainer started to move on, but many stares did not leave them.

The inn keeper was different than the bartender, and located further back. She was slightly plump but barely enough to really signify that they had enough money to keep themselves fat. She was one of the only woman in the pub, and too old for even the drunkest of man to find her particularly attractive. Because of the similarity in age, it could probably be presumed she was the pub owner's wife, which in turn, probably made the inn her husband's as well.

The woman had been sulking to herself behind her counter, not having even really realized Rainer approach her, having been so preoccupied. However, her face lit up and her entire demeanor changed when she did notice him, assuming this was their lucky break, having someone who was clearly of wealth come to stay in their inn. "Welcome to our humble keeping, Sir knight!" The woman said, with forced enthusiasm, anything to gathered Rainer's favor. She'd more than likely denounced the prince as a knight from what she had deduced from his sword, and the royal crest he bore on a piece of jewelry. Although his general attire probably should have given her a different idea, the prince wasn't about to correct her.

"I'd like a room," Rainer announced. It felt odd having to ask for such things, being so used to just having them handed over to him without ever needing to. She nodded and paused for a second, clearly devising some plot to rake as much money out of the prince as she could. The price she then requested was outrageous considering, but to the kingdom's fortune it was really nothing. Even with the high price she'd more than obviously just made up, Rainer didn't have a coin that was worth that low. He'd already withdrawn few gold ones from his own wallet before coming in, to avoid causing more of a scene by showing them off, and handed them over.

The woman snatched them up greedily, and then studied them carefully, as if she couldn't believe her eyes. Rainer was amazed at what simple coins could cause a person to act like, yet of course, he'd never been without them. The prince was growing impatient, wanting to get out of the disgusting atmosphere of the pub. He leaned over the counter lightly, dropping another coin into her dirty hand, although he refused to touch it. "More if my horses are well and fed in the morning..." He mentioned. Rainer, in all honesty, wasn't enjoying bribing this woman. She nodded her head in understanding though, and he knew it'd be easy to recognize which horses were his and Evan's.

The inn keeper gave Rainer a key and called to a younger lady to show him to his room, well she went to go show the money she'd made to her husband. First, she slyly pocketed one of the coins for her own use; something that in any less corrupt town would get this woman stoned to death.

The prince left Evan to do as he pleased, whether he wanted to follow with him, get a room of his own room or stay amongst the pub crowd being completely up to him. Rainer followed the shy girl up stairs and to what was probably considered one of their best rooms, although he found it rather distasteful and small. She looked like a younger more petite version of the inn keeper, presumably their daughter. After showing the prince his room she quickly disappeared back to her own quarters, probably avoiding the pub crowd.

Rainer was far from happy with the room as he sat down on a rough, hay bed. "I'll sleep lightly tonight.." He said to himself, the fear of being robbed or worse, killed in his sleep not being anymore reassuring. The notion of having traveled on through the night seemed all that more appealing to him at this point, feeling more threatened by some of the drunken men downstairs than he had by the thought of roadway bandits. Not to mention, their stench had slowly been drafting upstairs and was becoming rather unbearable.

((Sorry for the general lack of interaction between our characters so far. :sweat: I plan to change that sooner than later ))