[Should Ruby start growling? :)]

The sleeping boy woke with a start. The sound of the door slamming open caused him to jump up and fall off the side of his bed. "Aww, man..." he mumbled, grabbing the side of his head which he hit on the wooden floor. Looking up and over the edge of the bed, Shrike saw the drow enter the room. "Oh, it's just you LiNeerlay. Got food?"
His eyes soon landed on the scimitar in her hand and he immediately put a hand on the dagger by his side. "What's going on?"

(probably)

The Princess had awoken with a start as well, and pushed herself back against the wall as LiNeerlay pointed the sword at her, and looked at Shrike. "I'll have the truth now. Who is she, really?"

Judy looked at Shrike, frightened, and then back at the Scimitar pointed at her.

"She's my friend, why?!!" replied Shrike. He had now gotten up to a crouch, preparing to tackle the hired 'bodyguard' in case she tried to do anything to harm his ward. Ruby crawled down to the princess' lap from her shoulders and started growling at the swordswoman before it. Shrike was worried that LiNeerlay would be a very skilled fighter and would easily be able to overpower him. But he was even more concerned for the life of his friend.

[Sorries :sweat: I gotta sleep now, Goodnight :hug:]

((Kk, G'night))

She pointed the sword, holding it a little steadier. "Because Kaland paid me his 2% to protect her, she's very well dress for some relative of yours, and word on the street is the Aranian Princess is missing. He father has offered the Title of Lord or Lady and a plot of land for her safe return, and the Nezerians are offering 30,000 pieces of gold for her delievered to Taarn alive. Now, the truth? Is she Judith Arana or not?"

Anara stared at the sword, stammering. She seemed to scared to speak, and she clutched onto Ruby for support, pushing herself as far against the wall as she could.

[Sorry it took me a while to post. I've been trying to over the past 2 days but it seemed like something always came up whenever I finished typing the first two sentences :lol:]

"You know, you're starting to sound crazy." Shrike stated, doing his best 'you're a crazy person' act. "Why would she be a princess just because she has nice clothes?! And why would a princess be travelling with some kid like me? Does she look anything like the Aranian princess?!" he asked, although he didn't really know what she would have looked like himself. His mind was now racing. What else could he say to convince the drow? "Look lady, like I said before, she's just someone who's visiting her cousin in Souel. There's no way she could be a princess and there's no way the princess would be all the way out here, right?"

((No problem))

For a moment, she looked like she believed them almost lowering the blade. Then, she tightened her grip and pointed it almost an inch from Judith's face. "And am I supposed to believe her cousin's the queen or something?" She eyed the dragon for minute, then looked back at Shrike. "I've heard you two talking about visiting the queen, and not just like swinging in trying to spot her. Why would she be here? To get help for Arana for her sick father, that's what. No, You're not talking you way out of this one, Dwarf. Now, for the last time, the truth, or I carve her up so that if she is the princess, no one else claims the reward."

Anora suddenly got a very determind look on her face. She looked at Shrike, watching to see what he would do next.

((Note, I'm not trying to make you feel like I'm forcing you to reveal the truth, or not reveal the truth. I'm just pointing out what LiNeerlay would know by now. If you can bluff her well enough to make her believe you [talking your way believably out of the Queen thing should do it.] Then she'll drop it. Or you can tell her the truth, and see what she does. :D))

[I know, but this is starting to get tricky :D I'm not as clever as how I make Shrike out to be and I could try to get him to convince LiNeerlay but I also want to see what she would do if she knew the truth. Argh, the choices, choices....Oh well, here goes? :XD]

"What? The queen isn't her cous-!" before he could finish, however, the little dragon lunged at the red eyed woman's outstretched hand, biting hard until a steady stream of blood came forth. Acting quickly, Shrike decided to follow suite, tackling the drow to the floor, trying to keep her from lifting her sword or moving her other hand.

[It's up to you princess! Go! Go! :illgetu:]

LiNeerlay screamed, droping the sword and clutching Ruby around the neck with her free hand. She had taken her free hand away to go for the sword again when Shrike tackled her, and she was sent sprawling across the room. Judith jumped to her feet, grabbing the Scimitar and pointing it, Shakily, at LiNeerlay. LiNeerlay, meanwhile, rolled left, pinning Ruby between her bleeding hand and Shrike's chest, trying to get the Dragon off her hand, while trying to get her other hand free of Shrike's grip.

After the drow rolled left and managed to pin the dragon and the young Talendaran down, Shrike kicked the leg that the drow was supporting herself on to get her to lose her balance enough for him to push her off. He quickly got up and pulled out his dagger, stepping a little closer to Judy while facing LiNeerlay. Ruby finally let go of the woman's hand and flew to the bedpost of the nearby bed, watching the drow like a hawk.

[LiNeerlay managed to pin Shrike down right? That's what I figured from what you said, like she squished Ruby between her hand and Shrike and Shrike was on the floor since he tackled form the side or something, right? :sweat:]

((Yes, that's right))

LiNeerlay jumped to her feet, her hair eschew, as she clutched her bleeding hand and glared at the two of them. Judith leveled the sword at her, much the way LiNeerlay had at her moments ago. "We didn't want to have to do that, but you left us no choice." She looked to Shrike for support.

LiNeerlay wrapped her hand in her shirt, glaring. "Well, what are you going to do now? Kill me? I don't think you've got the stuff. I have half a mind to turn you in to Taarn now, just to see if you really are the Princess."

Shrike was now unsure of what to do. After this attack, he wasn't sure if he could convince her that Judy really wasn't the Aranan princess. He wasn't even sure that they should continue being around her anymore. LiNeerlay did threaten them with turning Judy in to Taarn for the bounty. And who could blame her? 30,000 pieces of gold would be enough for most swords for hire to hand in their own relatives. Even if she chose to return Judy to Arana, it still would have put the princess in danger. He did have a promise to keep. It seemed like the drow might still have doubts about Judy being the princess. If he can't convince her then they really might just have to kill her. 'Aargh, Kaland! Why'd you have to get all the smart partners?!' he mentally raged.
"Look," the dwarf began, "I'm sure there's been some sort of misunderstanding. Visiting the queen was already part of our trip. Judy said she had something important to discuss with her majesty before we see her cousin." The boy did not move his eyes from the woman. "And if you're gonna ask why we attacked you, please try to remember that you threatened us first."

She glared at him. "That's another thing. Judy? What are the odds your friend has a similar name to Princess Judith Arana? If I could spot this, don't you think cleverer assassins and bounty hunters will too? And do you think they'll stop and give you a chance to talk THEM down?" She clutched at the hand wrapped in her shirt, whch was becoming red with blood from her hand. "Six Hells, that Dragon's fangs are sharp."

"I really don't see how Judy and Judith are the same thing." retorted Shrike. He smiled for a bit after hearing the woman complain about how sharp Ruby's fangs had been, then returned to a more serious persona. "I'm sure there are lots of people named Judy or Judith in the world. We aren't gonna be the only ones stopped by assassins and bounty hunters. Besides, if the princess didn't want to be found, wouldn't she change her name and clothes to something that would not give her away so easily? Judy's not the princess and we've got nothing to hide, right Judy?" He gave a quick glance at his companion holding the scimitar then returned his light blue eyes to the drow.

Judy's eyes hardened, and she nodded several times. "That's right. If we had something to hide, we could have done so a lot better."

LiNeerlay, looked at them both, now unsure. "Hmmm, well, I'll be glad when I'm done with you two. It'll be Kaland's problem in a day or two, and frankly if I could think your girl here is Judith, so could anyone with half a mind to listen to the people on the street discribe her. Weither you are or not, I'd do something about that." She turned to leave. "If I hadn't known you two, and seen you on the street, we'd probably be on the way to the Aranian capital right now."

Shrike let out a sigh of relief after LiNeerlay had left the room. After checking where the drow went, the white haired boy turned to Judy. "Now what?" he whispered. They were lucky that the persistent bodyguard had given up for now, otherwise things could have gotten ugly. For Shrike that is. He had experience with close combat and he was quite nimble, but his strength had its limits. If his opponent was really strong, the thief's tricks might not get him anywhere if he got pinned down like that again.
"Should we stay here or ditch her? She doesn't seem to want to turn you in for now but I don't think she believes whatever I just said." he smiled, but uncertainty was making him smile, not relief.

Judy lowered her voice as well. "Well, if we try to ditch her, she might think I am who she says I am. Besides, she's not exactly leaving, even after we attacked her, so she'd probably be upset if we left her. I think we should keep an eye on her, but I'm going to trust her for now."

She headed into the kitchen, and grabbed some of the food LiNeerlay had brought back. LiNeerlay, meanwhile, was properly bandaging her hand, occasionally shooting angry looks back at the dragon on the bed.

The young dwarf nodded in agreement and re-sheathed his dagger. He called Ruby to his shoulder but the dragon seemed to want to keep an eye on the drow as well, perking its head up whenever LiNeerlay shot it an angry look. Shrike decided to follow the princess to the food. This time, he didn't go for the food as quickly as he had before. He quietly examined his food before trying it since he grew a sudden suspicion that maybe the drow had drugged it or something. The hour seemed to pass by in awkward silence while they ate. Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. "So, are we going to get some stuff before we go to the palace or what?" he quietly mumbled to Judy.

She finished the apple she had been working on, though not for the whole hour, and nodded. "Yeah, I'm full. Wanna head out?"

LiNeerlay looked up from the seat she had sat in near the window. "I'm afraid I can't really do anything, with my hand out of commission, so you two are going to have to watch yourselves. I'll stay here and keep an eye on the room."

"Sure." replied Shrike. He got up and headed towards the door, waiting for Judith. Ruby followed after him making sure the drow had not moved from the window. The small red dragon landed on Shrike's shoulder but kept its head towards the red-eyed woman. Soon the thief and the princess were standing outside the inn's entryway. "So, where should we go to get clothes?" he asked the princess, staring at all the elves moving about the grand leafy city.

[It looks like you'll have to lead the way again :D ]

She followed him out, then headed down stair with him in tow. "Somewhere nice, but not to fancy. If both Taarn and my Father really have put bounties out for me, then I shouldn't spend to much, lest I draw attention to us." She started wandering the streets, looking for a place.

The great High Trees towering over them never seemed to stop amazing Shrike. Vegetation as rich as this was a refreshing sight to the boy, having come from such an arid land. "Hmmm...", began Shrike as he looked about. "How about that place?" The boy pointed towards rather large shop. There were a lot of people going in and out of it and the clothes on display weren't too expensive looking.

The princess nodded. "Sounds good."

As they stepped inside, a very robust woman waddled over. "Why, hello? How may I help you today?" She asked, in a rich, smoewhat highpitched voice.

Judith smiled. "We're looking for some new clothes. A few regular garments, and something fansy. We're going to be visiting the queen, you see, and we want to look our best." She tried to put an innocent tone in her voice. Despite her age, she did look younger then she was.

As Judy talked with the woman, Shrike kept himself busy by looking around the store. Vests, pants, shirts, hats, this store seemed to have what he could use. He only picked the clothes that looked similar to what he already wore. A light loose jacket, shirt, short pants and a hat to match. He would pass by the tailor's later on for custumizations to the clothes. He made his way back to back to Judy with his new dark red outfit.

She nodded. "Well, then please take a look around. We have quite a selection."

Judy bowed grasiously. "Thank you." She glanced over at Shrike, then down at the outfit in his hands. "Alright, that will do. Go make sure it fits alright, and have it adusted as needed. I need to find somethings for myself." She wandered off across the store.

Shrike watched as Judy walked off then headed for the dressing rooms. The clothes fit just right, not too tight and not too loose. He walked over to the counter and bought it with the few gold pieces he had left. He asked where he could find a tailor in the town and the store owner pointed him in the direction of a few nearby, although she looked at him with a raised eyebrow since he seemed too young to be caring about such things. His clothes were wrapped up in dark violet paper, with twine keeping the package together.
Shrike looked out the window. Two of the tailor's shops were indeed a building away but he thought it would be wise to stay with Judy until she was done instead of leaving her unguarded. He would visit the tailors' shops afterward.