The Knight

[Sky Jade]

OOC: Right now, I'm just looking for a female to play the princess in this thread. Please PM if interested. More spots may be open later.

IC:

Rose patted the mane of Silver as they trotted slowly along the forest path from Menthail, the capital city of the Greeta Realm. Her raven hair had been cut short and hidden beneath the silver helmet she wore. Her silver chest armor was curved to support her ample chest properly and a rose marking on her right shoulder. The armor she wore was very light, but durable enough to see her through a few battles. There were already a few notches on her leggings to show the number of enemies she had killed, about 25 in all. The enemies she had killed were only a few orcs that had tried to attack her small battlion of knights during training excerises. She thought back to why she was even out here on the road in the first place.

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Rose had been summoned before the king on an important mission which he wanted her to undertake. The king trusted Rose very much as one of his most prized Knight captains in the whole army. She knelt before the King as she listened to his orders.

"I have recieved word that there has been strange trouble happening in the neighboring kingdoms. I wish for you, Rose, to go forth and find out what the cause of the trouble is and do what you can to prevent it from spreading. I know our allies would never do something that would put their people or ours in trouble. May the Gods protect you my knight."

Rose bowed her head for a moment.

"I shall do as M'lord requests my liege. I will do what I can to protect our people, my men, and make sure nothing takes our future."

She lifted her head once more and stole a glance at the princess. She wasn't sure why, but she had began to develop feelings the princess over the past few years. She had left presents for the princess every now and then, but she doubted that the princess actually knew who they had been from. And suitors had been coming for the princess's hand in marriage ever since she had turned the marrying age of 18 over a year ago. She gave a smile and a nod to the princess before she took her leave, leaving on her mission.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Princess Isabelle sat beside her father as the knight bowed before him, and listened as he went on about something or other happening with their allies.

Really, politics didn't interest her. She enjoyed reading, especially all those old, dusty tomes left over from the old Wizard. She wondered why her father hadn't replaced him. Oh well. She had managed to mumble a few cantrips from those books, and surprised herself when they worked. She had no way to know that making them work like that was unusual, or that if her father knew what she was doing ....

She stifled a yawn. Knights were boring too, she decided.
"I shall do as M'lord requests my liege. I will do what I can to protect our people, my men, and make sure nothing takes our future."
Indeed, she thought. Take our future. Always the noble sentiment.

She saw that the knight was looking at her. Curious. The female knight looked back down quickly, but Isabelle had seen her look in her direction.

What was her name? Had she met her before? No. Just one of father's many knights. Being a girl, she hadn't even been one of her suitors, which nearly all of the single male knights had tried to be at one time or another.

Suitors, another boring group. All talk, flowers, candies. Well, except for the one anonymous suitor. She didn't know who he was, but his little gifts made her smile every time she got one. A necklace, a ring, a vial of perfume ... even a box of candies and a flower, which normally she found so ... common. From him, whoever he was, it was special.

The knight smiled and nodded at her, and the princess smiled thinly in her direction, more to keep up appearances than anything else.

 

[Sky Jade]

Rose sighed and shook her head gently. No, there really wasn't any way possible that she would be able to get involved with the princess. The journey would take awhile, possible several days.

"I am dreaming this time, aren't I Silver?"

The horse nodded his head for a moment as they continued down the road. She looked up at the dying light, the clouds turning a pinkish-purple color to signify the sun was about to set. She wondered if the princess recieved the letter she had left with one of the servants before she left. Even if she did, there wasn't anything to keep the princess from getting a suitor during her absence.

Though she was only acouple of hours ride from the castle, she had been delayed by making sure her own knights were squared away with everything to do in her absence. She smiled spotting the waterfall which was a distance from the road, a good place to camp and clean herself for the night. She let Silver wander while she set up camp and then slipped into the cool water, her armor and undergarments stacked on the shore. She closed her eyes as she thought back to the letter.

Dearest Princess Isabelle,
I am sure by the time you have recieved this, I will have left the castle for a short while. I have otfen watched you from a far and near, mesmerized by your beauty. I have often imagined what it would be like to feel your soft skin beneath my fingers or feel my lips against yours. I hope that one day we shall be able to meet face to face. As much as I hope this will come true, I fear that that day will come when you have choosen a husband. It is getting late, and I must go. I wouldn't be able to go very far, before needing to make camp, but wish me a safe journey.

The letter was signed with only a rose.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

She sighed again, rolling from her back to her belly, reading the letter for the tenth time.

Dearest Princess Isabelle,
I am sure by the time you have recieved this, I will have left the castle for a short while. I have otfen watched you from a far and near, mesmerized by your beauty. I have often imagined what it would be like to feel your soft skin beneath my fingers or feel my lips against yours. I hope that one day we shall be able to meet face to face. As much as I hope this will come true, I fear that that day will come when you have choosen a husband. It is getting late, and I must go. I wouldn't be able to go very far, before needing to make camp, but wish me a safe journey.

She wished her Admirer had signed the letter with something other than a rose. Too cryptic. Who was he? She smoothed her long, red hair down, and signed again. She blinked back a tear of joy in her deep, green eyes, and tried to imagine him. He had to be 6 feet tall, muscular, with long, flowing blond hair and a beard -- trimmed neatly of course.

She squirmed on her bed, rolling again onto her back as she read the letter for the eleventh time.

" 'I have often imagined what it would be like to feel your soft skin beneath my fingers or feel my lips against yours.' Oh, my love! Oh, I will not choose a husband before meeting you. Safe journey, my brave, strong love!"

She sighed again, placing the letter on a bed-side table. She looked out the window at the pinkish-purple sunset just beginning. She smiled at the setting sun, happy to have its beauty right now. Oh, everything made her happy now.

She settled her head back onto her feather pillow, and fell asleep with visions of her tall, blond Knight sweeping her off her feet and riding away into that sunset with her on his large, white horse.

 

[Sky Jade]

Rose enjoyed the bath and soon fell asleep after a light dinner of rations. She kept her sword nearby in case of an attack, but the night had passed by smoothly. She woke up renewed and refreshed, starting on her journey once more.

At the castle, Rose's small battlion of knights were the only one's which had been left behind to protect the castle. The king had three standing battlions of knights, and then the fighters who part of the local populace. The king had allowed Rose to design her knights armor, their shield's bearing a single rose over their family coat of arms, and a small rose over the heart on their breastplate. There was a little bit of complaining from the men, but they soon warmed to Rose when she proved that she was just as capable as them to be a Knight. She had left them instructions to kepp up training, and that's what they were doing. The courtyard was filled with the sounds of metal clanging together.

King Roland laughed as he watched the knights at work, an occansionaly cry for mercy being heard.

"Rose works her men very hard. If anyone can settle these rumors, she can."

The Queen smiled as she came up beside her husband.

"Of course she does. Though what of the other matter about Rose? How shall we deal with it?"

"Yes, yes, I know. Things have slowed down since our daughter started getting suitors, but I have heard rumors that Rose is still continuing with her affections."

The queen giggled softly for a moment.

"Is that so? Thouh would this course of action really be wise? Things would look bad for us if things weren't accepted."

"True....True..."

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Isabelle awoke late ... what reason to rise early? ... and went through her toilette routine. She kept looking at the letter, smiling and sighing.

When she heard the Clash of arms in the courtyard, her heart lept. Maybe her Knight was amongst them?! No, wait. He said he was gone. She sighed again, and decided that even so, she would watch them train, and Imagine.


"Father, Mother." She embraced both politely, and then watched the training, transfixed by the intense training routines they underwent.

She grimaced at each hit, cooed at each gallant maneuver. She blushed as she began to realize that the knights were showing off for her. Yes, they were making bold, grand movements hoping for a glance, a smile. She laughed softly at their antics.

She considered asking her father about the knights ... to try and find out if any were away on Quests. No, best not to. Never show too much interest in any of your suitors. One of her friends had told her that a long time ago. Make them work for every smile, every glance. 'hard-to-get' is how she described it. No, if she asked her father, then word would get back to her Knight, and he would know that she was thinking of him. No, make him work for it!

Idly, she wondered if her Knight were off fighting dragons, or trouncing ogres somewhere? She tried to supress a sigh at the fantasy of seeing him rescue her from the clutches of a large, ugly troll that intended to ravage her.

 

[Sky Jade]

The King and Queen hugged their daughter back gently, giving her a smile.

"Hello dear. We must go and attend to bussiness. Behave yourself and remeber, you have your studies to do."

The Queen gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead before she went off to the throne room. The day passed pretty quickly, as did the next few days.

Rose had managed to make it to their closet nieghbor, the Realm of Norve, and to the capital city of Macedonia. Once there, she sent word back to the king that the Kingdom of Russle far to the north was unsatisfied with their small amount of land and was planning on marching to gain more. They had sent a treaty aggreement to Norve, but it was refused. She also sent word to the princess that she would be returning soon, though she would be having to prepare for a possible war. She once more signed the letter with a rose.

King Roland was upset at the news of the possiblity of war, but he had somehow felt it was inevitable. Russle's land had been able to hold them for a time, but they couldn't manage their resources right. The castle was soon busy as the King made preperations for war, all the knights drilling even more.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Studies! Pfeh! Another boring thing to Isabelle.

Some reading, some history, some foreign language. Yawn.

She did find time to sneak into the wizard's lab though. Now these studies she enjoyed.

"Mufune Plika!"

A small ceramic cat appeared on the table, and Isabelle giggled happily. She grabbed it, but it fell into a fine powder as soon as she touched it. She sighed.

"Find your True Love?"

She gasped. The Spell she had been looking for! Oh, this was perfect. She would finally be able to find out who her Knight was!

She studied the spell for several hours, reading it silently over and over. It was simple, but she needed a mirror.

Several days passed, and Isabelle noticed, but didn't really notice, how the knights were drilling more often now.

She entered her parents' room secretly one day, taking the small hand-mirror her mother used to check her hair.

And she saw a letter, signed with a rose! It was from him!

She picked it up and read it ... and frowned.

Her knight was not doing anything but playing nicey-nice to their neighbors? Boring. But, at least she knew he was safe!


She returned to the Wizard's lab, and pulled down the spell-book. She reread the spell.

"Mirror. Got it. Stare into the mirror. Ok, that's me. Chant..."

"In thy depths show to me, True Love's Form ..."

The mirror clouded and she saw a face. She gasped in shock, and the hand mirror fell to the table.

"He is ... slight. No beard? A soft face? Big eyes? Who is he? Where have I seen him before?"

She remembered that one knight, who knelt before her father, and talked about saving their future, or something like that. No, wait. That knight was a girl. She sighed again. She had no more idea who her Love was, even though she had seen his face in the mirror ....

 

[Sky Jade]

Rose gave a shiver as a chill ran down her spine. The Knight, Sir Lancele Kohlhan, was the the knight who she had studied under and felt that she had some sensative to magic, able to sense when it was used on or around her. Not that it really helped much most of the time, at least nothing useful to her anyways. She frowned and looked around the woods as she gave Silver and pat on his neck.

"Did you feel something Silver? I think something strange is going on. Anyways, we are about home."

Time seemed to pass slowly on the journey back. However a shout went up at the front gate when Rose was spotted coming down the road, a large celebration prepared for her. It was more of a moral boosting than anything, but the King felt it was needed.

At the stables, one of the stable boys helped place Silver in the stalls where Rose gave the stallion a quick clean. She called for one of the servents, giving the young woman a small bag to give to the princess, a gift of a necklace with a ruby gemstone hanging from it as a pendent. As usual, the servent was given instructions not to tell who it was from.

She changed from the armor suit she wore into another one, a deep red color. She would have dressed in something else, but the King had asked her to wear armour as her normal attaire. She stepped into the banquet hall to be greeted with a warm yell from her battlion and claps from the other knights. The King and Queen smiled to Her as she knelt before them at the head table.

"Well done Lady Knight Rose. You deserve a rest and celebration for taking care of matters for us. Rest while you can and then prepare for what is to be done."

"Yes my liege and thank you."

She remained kneeling for a few moments longer before standing up and glancing to see if the princess was wearing her gift. She made her way to one of the knights' tables, soon laughing and talking with her fellow knights. She acted almost every bit as the men bit, though she still had her own charms about her.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

The Princess was 'studying,' actually just pining away dreaming of that Face, while her history book was open to a random page. The servent came in.

"Princess? You have ... another gift from your admirer."

She looked up, beaming.

"Oh, oh! Let me see!"

The servent gave her the bag. She looked at it for a moment, grinned at the servent, and then opened the bag.

Her eyes went wide, and she let out a soft squeal. It was a necklace, and a ruby pendant. It was beautiful, and she immediately put it on.


She was at the Head Table when she saw the girl knight enter the room. A wash of conflicting emotions hit her like a sledge-hammer as she saw her face clearly. There was no longer any possibility of denying it. It was the same knight she had found so trite before ... and it was the Face she had seen in the mirror.

"Well done Lady Knight Rose. You deserve a rest and celebration for taking care of matters for us. Rest while you can and then prepare for what is to be done."

Rose? Rose. Of course. She did know her name.

"Yes my liege and thank you."

She saw Rose look up at her, and she blushed deeply. She lowered her eyes, and yet let her fingertips graze across her chest, pointing to and then caressing the ruby pendant.

She could then hear Rose talking to the other knights, laughing and carousing. The sound of her voice made Isabelle's head and stomach twist in knots, and go swirling around the room.

Her blush deepened, and she wasn't sure what to do, or to think.

Was she the Admirer? She had seen her face in the mirror, right? No, no it couldn't have been! She looked down at the ruby pendant, and sighed once more. The timing was too perfect. She returned, and Isabelle was given this necklace. Twice, Rose had looked to her with ... what? A hopeful, questioning glance?

Isabelle was suddenly very uncomfortable and uncertain. She tried to focus on eating, but her mind, and her glance, kept returning to the girl knight Rose.

 

[Sky Jade]

The celebration went on long into the night, many of the knights getting drunk and rowdy. Servents brought in straw for the knights and guests who couldn't make it out of the hall and crashed there. Rose decided to retire shortly after the sun went down. She was a bit tipsy from the wine, but that was it. She gave one last look to the Royal table, bidding a good night to them.

She wanted to head to bed, but she was a bit too high strung, with the anticipation of battle coming up. She knew there was a chance that she would die, but it would be honor enough for her to die protecting her kingdom and her princess. She took a walk around the ramparts, talking to the guards a little before she just leaned against the stone wall, staring at the moon with her blue eyes. She stroked her fingers lightly against the smooth stone, sighing softly.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Isabelle had seen Rose leave the room. She glanced over to her parents, feeling conflicting emotions rise up in her again, and pound her in many directions at once.

"Father, I am tired. I ... I wish to retire for the night."

He smiled. "Of course, child. Sleep in peace. There ... there may be few enough nights of peace in the future ...."

Isabelle embraced both her father and mother tightly, then scampered off into the night.

She sighed quietly. The courtyard was dark and quiet. Guards milled around, but there was no sign of Rose. She ambled around the castle's grounds, looking up to the moon. What was she to do? She was confused now, and was unable to get her feelings under control. Her Love was a ... girl? It was simply nothing she had ever considered ... possible. She simply assumed that her Love was a brave, strong, handsome knight ... but Rose was those things. So ... why was she confused?

She looked up at the moon again, to see a figure on the rampart, silhouetted by the silver-blue orb. She sighed softly again, watching the Figure intently. She leaned against a nearby wall, feeling suddenly weak-kneed. She wished this whole thing ... had never happened. She wished she had not tried that damnable 'True Love' spell. If she hadn't, she would never have seen Rose's face in the mirror, and could still Pine over her fantasy Suitor.

 

[Sky Jade]

Rose continued to look at the moon a little longer, her fingers stroking lightly over the smooth stone. Her mind was adrift, running in so many directions. She wondered when, or if it would be right for her to continue to try and woo the princess like this. She knew that the King adn queen were aware of this, but like most everything else about her, they seem to be keeping it a secret. She also felt she should savor this time because she didn't know when she would have another relaxed moment. They would be moving out in a few days and she would have to be on alert.

She reached back for a moment and pulled her short hair back in a make-shift ponytail, but it didn't stay for long. She shook her head gently and moved along the wall, heading for her private quarters.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

She saw the figure pull its hair back, into a pony-tail that quickly fell back into ... hair. It turned, and Isabelle could now see that it was Rose ... as she imagined it was.

She almost called out right then, but felt the other guards around her. She followed her, walking along in the courtyard following Rose with her eyes to see where she went, and hoping (and fearing) that she would turn her eyes down to her. She wanted to talk with her ... wanted to avoid her. Wanted to get over her ... wanted to explore with her.

It was too much, and she stopped. Stopped and just watched Rose move along the ramparts. She sighed again, and suddenly felt very and truely tired.

 

[Sky Jade]

She stopped by the barracks to check on which Knights had managed to make it back. Only about six had, including her Luitenant who was sleeping. She gave a little smile for a moment and went to her private quarters, which was a small hut next to the barracks.

She closed the door, but she wasn't able to sleep. She pulled out a book and lit a candle, using it to read. The light shone through the crack beneath the doorway, flickering softly. The light died died down shortly, Rose fast asleep with her head on the open book.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Isabelle laid on her belly, re-reading Rose's letter to her. She still wore the ruby pendant, even though she was now in her sleep-shirt.

I have otfen watched you from a far and near, mesmerized by your beauty. I have often imagined what it would be like to feel your soft skin beneath my fingers or feel my lips against yours. I hope that one day we shall be able to meet face to face.

She shivered. It was amazing to her ... how could a girl write that about another girl? It really made her head spin.

She rolled over onto her back, feeling the ruby pendant slide up to rest on her throat. She re-read the letter again, as her eyelids began to close. Collapse. The letter came to rest on her face, as she drifted into a deep sleep.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Isabelle woke late the next morning, as she usually did.

Well, not quite as usual, because today her head pounded and her stomach was in knots ... and not from pining over Rose this time.

She hadn't even felt drunk last night, but the wine she had was certainly letting itself be felt today.

She glanced over at her night-stand, intending to read the letter again ... but it was gone! Panic overtook her, and she sat up way too quickly. A wave of nausea overtook her, and she barely kept lat night's dinner down.

She laid back down slowly .. and sighed in releief when she saw the letter lying on her second pillow. She always kept a spare pillow beside her in bed, never really sure why. But today, she smiled as she saw the letter, Rose's letter, lying on it as though it had gone to sleep there.

She picked it up, and read it several times through.

Rose. She smiled widely.

"Rose," she whispered to herself quietly. Yes, it sounded good to her ears. So what if she was a girl? She was a Knight, and Knights fell in love with Princesses. It's what all the stories said. Yes, even the women's stories that her mother read when the King wasn't around. She giggled softly. Some things didn't change.

=========

She sighed. Boring history. Why did she have to read about past wars? Wasn't she going to learn more than she ever wanted to know about war from this one?

Wars meant fighting. Fighting meant killing. Killing meant ... Oh no! It meant Rose could die! Isabelle didn't want that to happen! No, she had to tell Rose to stay in the castle ... maybe she could get her father to make Rose her special guard, that way she'd be here and not out there where the knigts were getting killed!

No. She was being silly. Rose would be in the thickest part of the fighting, because that's what knights did when they weren't falling in love with princesses.

Isabelle closed her book. She was being childish. She was old enough to marry. Old enough to have her own children. She hadn't seen her suitors in ages, because she had been putting them off until she could learn the name of her True Love. Now she knew it was Rose, so she had to find a way to arrange a secret rendez-vous. How does one do that? She shrugged. Time to study magic for a while, before father called her to lunch.

========

She was shocked when she arrived at the wizard's lab. There was a soldier turning the door-knob! But the door didn't open. He pulled, tugged, pushed, and nothing happened.

"Damn door."

The soldier pounded on it. Nothing. He kicked it.

"Shit!"

He danced around in pain, and limped away cursing.

When Isabelle was sure he was gone, she walked over to the door, and sighed. Father apparently found out what she was doing, and locked the door. Of course, it was only a matter of time. She never did know why the door was kept unlocked. The books inside must have been worth a fortune, let alone all the old potions, charms, Runes, wands, and other things inside.

She siged again, and almost walked off ... but decided for the hell of it to try the doorknob. It turned easily,and Isabelle gasped. How did that happen? The guard hadn't gotten the door to open even when he tried to force it!

Well, thinking about it in the middle of the hallway was a bad idea, so she walked into the lab and closed the door.

Isabelle sat down at the old wizard's desk, and opened the old book she had been studying the last few days. The book-mark was still at the True Love spell. She smiled happily, remembering how Rose's face appeared in the mirror. Even if she didn't recognize her at first. The spell worked.

Or ... did it? Maybe ... maybe it didn't work, and Isabelle now had a crush on a lady knight that didn't even know she existed?

She sighed again, and touched the ruby pendant that she still wore. She still had a Love who sent her this lovely jewel, and that was all that mattered. She could find out who it was in time. It was more romantic to pine away over a secret Love anyway ... even if she was pretty sure it was Rose.

She flipped the page. Another useful spell!

"Draw a Wound out of a Hero's Body."

A healing spell!

She carried a little case with her when she studied, at her father's recommendation, and she opened it up now. It had several sheets of paper, a small well of ink, and a pen. Not one of those big, awkward feather quills, but a practical pen made from wood. She actually liked it better than the fancy feather-pen father expected her to use at her desk. A fancy pen for fancy letters to fancy friends.

A letter! Oh how stupid of her! She would write a letter to Rose, and have her servent deliver it to her! No, no that would give away that she knew who it was.

Focus!

Isabelle felt like she was 12, not 18. She was a young woman, under pressure to choose a suitor and marry him. Him? Would they let her marry Rose? Another worry. What if her True Love could never be hers? Oh, that's how so many of mother's stories went. How sad.

Dammit, Isabelle! Focus!!

She blinked, shook her head, and took a deep breath. It helped, and she soon was reading the spell to heal slowly, visualizing everything it said to do, and told her to say.

She wrote it all down verbatim so she could practice it later.

She had a little spellbook that she had put togehter over the last 5 or 6 years, since she started sneaking into the wizard's lab. It was harder before last year, because the wizard spent most of his time in that room. Sometimes, even when he wasn't there Isabelle felt like she was being watched. Like he was looking over her shoulder amused at what she was reading ... but he was never there when she turned around.

Well, that changed when father fired him last year. Never did say why he let him go, but he told him to leave, and the wizard left, rather more sad than angry. She never saw him again, nor did she ever feel that strange feeling of being watched.

She closed the book, and was about to stand up, when someone tried the doorknob again. She grabbed everything she could, and hid behind the desk.

*POUNDPOUNDPOUND*

"Shit! Why won't this bloody thing open?"

Then silence again.

Isabelle packed everything into her case, opened the door quietly and saw no one in the hall. She ran out, and back to her room.

She sat back down, opening her book of Literature just as the King stepped in to summon her to lunch.

 

[Sky Jade]

Rose jumped awake at the knocking on her door. She cursed herself softly for having fallen asleep as she did and sleep so late. She took a moment to glance outside to see the morning sun was up before she moved to the door and opened it.

"Yes?"

One of the pages was there with a slightly scared look on his face. Rose wondered for a moment if one of the other pages had put him up to it for some sort of game. He was quiet for a few seconds before finding his voice.

"The..King..His Lordship wishes to see all the leaders for a War council."

"Alright, tell him I will be there shortly."

The young page nodded quickly and ran off. To be that age again, she thought with a sigh. True she had to do some work, but she didn't have to deal with everything that she did now.

When she entered the council room, all of the other officers where waiting on her. A large map had been laid out on the table and figurines were on it already. The King smiled to her for a moment.

"Good to see you sleeping beauty."

She gave a weak smile to the others as they chuckled softly before she took her seat at the table. The king pulled out a long stick and began pointing at the map.

"Alright, we will prepare to leave in three days for Russle. Here, We will be joined by King Rishard and his army from Macedonia. We will have about 15,000 men total to fight with. From the last bit of information that I recieved, Norve spent most of their resources in trying to hiring mercenaries to keep their land safe, but that backfired. The Mercenaries ended up digging into their supplies more than Nove liked and ended up leaving. Their standing army is about 10,000, plus whatever peasents they will be able to muster. They had already made attempts to invade a smaller country to their north and succeeded because they didn't put up much of a fight. If Norve is left to do as they please, then they will more than likely try to come after us."

Rose leaned forward a little to look at the map a little more. There was a mountain range to the North of them, at least several days travel. Beyond the moutains was a desert like region, pockets by little lakes. The area where Norve was situated didn't seem like the best place to have a kingdom, but Rose figured it would be able to survive if someone knew how to manage the desert. The map seemed to be cut off just north of Norve, so she couldn't see what the country they invaded was.

"Rose, your Knights will be in the lead, so use your best judgement in guiding the rest of the army. Accompanying you of course will be myself, and Merlin as well. I will have the Black Knight Brigade left here in the castle for protection. Any questions?"

Rose looked at the other officers for a few moments before looking back at the King.

"None? Then you are dismissed to make the preparations you need."

She left with the other officers, picking up a map of the area they would be going. This would take a little bit of time to plan. She hoped everything would go smoothly and she would be able to return safely.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Lunch was a grim affair. Her father seemed distant, and her mother had a look of sadness on her face.

Isabelle looked between the two of them, and sighed. The war, she imagined.

"Um ... father? When will ... When will the war start?"

He finished chewing the beef in his mouth, and washed it down with some wine.

"Well child, we leave in three days' time."

"The ... the entire army? Will the Knights stay here?"

She meant Rose's knights, but she still didn't want to reveal her hand yet. Her father frowned.

"The Black Knight Brigade will stay here. You and your mother will be safe."

Isabelle wasn't concerned for her own safety.

"Yes, father. But ... all the other knights will be leaving?"

Her parents exchanged glances.

"Do you wish to speak to your suitors before they leave for war?"

Isabelle looked down at her plate of food. No, she wanted to speak to Rose before she left. But she wasn't one of her suitors. She didn't know what to say, and the king sighed.

"Child, there is a chance that any of us could die in the coming war. I think you should speak to your suitors before they leave. You might well give them the hope they need to fight a little harder."

Isabelle nodded mutely. She would have to attend to an incessant crowd of paramours then. She had four that were Knights. One of them was a Black Knight, so she hoped he wouldn't be calling on her. He could see her anytime during the war.

Then there were the two merchants' sons. They were not around (thankfully. They were SO boring!) but could come by even during the war.

The seventh suitor was rather more devious. He was an apprentice wizard, and he showed up with no warning. She had actually been interested in him for a time, because of her rising interest in the wizard's magic.

Then, there was Rose. The one she wanted to speak with before she left. The one she couldn't ask about. She didn't know what was going to happen. She was even confused about feeling this way about the Lady Knight in the first place.

 

[yamanchunx]

Name: Dyne Roper
Age: 23
Height 6'1"
Hair Short black
Body: Tall, muscular yet still a bit skinny. Dressed in a tight tunic, almost like a ninja, with a face cloth over his nose and mouth to cover his face.
Other: not much is known about this character. He is very mysterious, and moves about like smoke, delivering strange messages.

When Rose entered her chambers, she started to gather her things she needed for the journey. She grabbed her sword, her pen and scrolls, a few books and all her other nessecities.
From the corner of the room where the window was, she heard a sudden gust of wind. She turned to hear, but then she saw a man sitting in the window. She gasped as she was startled and pointed at the mysterious man.
"who are you?" she asked.
"That doesnt matter, I've come to tell you an important message" The man looked at her with his bright blue eyes. He saw her immense beauty, and eyed her graceful thighs, he thopught to himself how perfect her breasts looked from this view. "I've come to tell you that you must not fall in love during the journey. Or else great misery shall come to you."
"What are you talking about?" cried Rose. But before the man could answer, there was a knock at the door. She turned to look at the door and then back to the man in the window, but he was gone. Rose felt frightened, and went to open the door.

 

[Sky Jade]

Rose frowned as the looked at the map on the small table in the Knigts' barracks. Trying to plan a stragety of attack would be difficult. She wasn't an expert on desert fighting, but she knew they would have to carry water. She would have to try and get some sort ofr route going between some of the lakes and they really didn't look that big. She was suddenly interrupted by a hand on the back of her head, rubbing affectionately. She blinked and reached back, smacking the hand.

"How many times did I tell you not to do that Lt. Fergin?"

"I can't help, I just enjoy seeing how you react."

Rose shifted to look at the dark gaze of her Lt. for a moment and giggled softly.

"I think you enjoy the pain from it. I have a job for you to do. Get me a list of supplies that the battlion is going to need for the trek in the desert. Nothing too heavy though."

"Desert? We're going to fight in the desert? But we haven't trained for that."

"Hmm...Well, then look up in the books or something. I've gotten to plan the route. His Lordship left the spearhead to us."

"Then I would let you down Captain."

Rose nodded to him before he turned and left. She frowned for a moment as her stomach growled in complaint and made her way to the kitchen. There she got a bowl of soup, a turkery leg, and some mead, taking it all into the banquet hall where she usualy ate by herself.

 

[Sky Jade]

OOC: Ok....Why did you just post here? This isn't not the best way of getting involved on Lit either. Was there some reason you didn't PM me to join?

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Isabelle had finished her lunch and asked her father if she could go. He had agreed of course, so she began to wander through the castle's halls. Now that it had been mentioned, she knew that later today, and over the next two days at least, she would be called upon by her various suitors.

She wasn't sure what to think. None of her suitors really ... captivated her. Not the way she was supposed to be captivated.

She walked absently into the banquet room, not really looking around very closely. It was a large, quiet room and made her feel like she was alone ... not in the middle of a bustling castle with hundreds of people all aware who she Was. She sat down at a table, and started thinking. She sighed again. Why did there have to be a war? Why now?

 

[Sky Jade]

Rose choose the banquet hall because it was some place quiet where she mull over her thoughts. So much was happening and it was definately going to take alot of strength to figure out. She had just lifted her goblet to take a sip when she caught movement from the corner of her eye. She almost gagged on her mead when she saw it was the princess. What was she doing in here? This wasn't exactly like the princess to do.

She took a few deep breathes to calm herself before looking towards the princess again. No matter how many times she saw Isabelle, she thought the princess was stunning. She blushed for a moment, wondering if she should approach her, taking a bite of the turkey leg as she watched her.

 

[shadowoftheheart]

Isabelle didn't know anyone was watching her. She sighed again, and gently ran her fingers across the ruby that Rose had given her (she thought). It was beautiful, and felt nice around her neck. She hadn't taken it off, in fact, since yesterday!

She streched, and yawned softly, more out of stress than fatigue. She had only just figured out who was her Admirer, only to discover as quickly that she was leaving the castle for War, and may never return.

"Rose," she whispered softly, "Will I ever really meet you?"

She shook her head to clear it. She still was confused. She really didn't know that it was Rose .. but who else would it be? No, this was silly. She was acting 12 again. She had to realize that many soldiers and knights would die in the war, and even if Rose came back to the castle, there would be too much sorrow for any real happiness to be felt here for a good long time.

"Rose," she softly sighed in whisper again.