Leaves fell from trees and branches danced lightly as a light figure raced through the trees of the Wyrmwood, it was swift and sure, anyone looking up into the trees would have seen nothing but a blur, maybe even the hood that concealed its head. Not that anyone else was foolish enough to venture this deep within the woods. This person however, had a reason and as they pranced from limb to limb their hood came loose, revealing the soft facial features of a woman in her early twenties, her skin was of a greyish black and her long white blond hair flowed along behind her giving away her soft pointed ears.
She smiled as she saw a small clearing ahead, knowing she had finally reached her goal. She landed with a soft mildly perceptible thud on a tree branch just at the edge of the glade she looked around the clearing but saw nothing. The elf stared in disbelief at the glade for a moment before silently cursing under her breath, she quietly reached into a small pouch at her waist and took out a small glass vial containing a swirling silver liquid, then with one fluid motion she removed the stopper and downed the liquid. Suddenly her natural blue eyes changed to a swirling rainbow of colors, and she finally saw what she wanted.
The clearing was filled with a variety of woodland creatures munching on the grass that grew there, yet although the sight was stunning in its own right, her attention was held by a single white deer that stood in the center of the glade, its eyes trained on her "I've got you now" she smiled as she removed an intricately carved bow made of bones from her pouch and pulled the drawstring, as she did so an ethereal arrow formed in her hand. The elf trained the arrow on the deer it definitely sees me, so why doesn't it run? She thought to herself doesn't matter I suppose, once I claim this kill the children will finally have food for a full year atleast she took a deep breath and steadied her aim.
"Princess Andraste, you do know that only those of the royal bloodline are allowed in the Wyrmwood right?" a harsh voice sounded beside her, she screamed as the voice startled her causing her to jump and fire the arrow into a nearby tree. Andraste fell from her perch and landed with a splash as she fell into a patch of mud "such a fitting place for you, your highness" the voice sounded behind her this time and Andraste jumped to her feet to face it "you really should learn not to sneak up on people, master Brinn" she smiled at the hooded figure before her.
"And you should learn to keep your cool under stressful situations, my pupil" Brinn replied, his voice remained harsh and raspy "and the last time I checked, sneaking up on people was my job"
Andraste smiled at the man, he could be cold and cruel at times but she knew he was a good person deep down in the darkest crevasses of his soul. "That may be true." She admitted "So, gonna tell me why you're here?"
"His majesty is holding a special meeting, he expects all the nobles and councilors to attend" he replied, disgust painting his voice
"Why?"
"I do not know, and that troubles me" he looked away from her and sighed "I do not like not knowing things"
"Understandable" she nodded " knowing things is your job after all"
"Exactly"
"Well then, we'd best get a move on shouldn't we?" she stepped forward and removed her dirty hooded cloak revealing the tight fitting brown leather pants that wrapped her legs as well as a matching corset which hugged her chest leaving her belly bare. She stretched her curved lithe body and motioned to her master "Race you to the edge of the woods?"
"All these years and you still fail to understand the difference between racing someone and following them" he grinned as he vanished in a blur
"Hey, no fair!" she shouted as she took off behind him.
Princess Andraste shifted nervously from foot to foot, she was now wearing a dress, something she has despised her entire life. She stood in a large throne room, the high grey cobblestone walls were adorned by portraits of the past rulers of the kingdom. There was a long table in the middle of the room which was currently filled with all the seated noblemen and women of the land who were all busy chatting amongst themselves, seemingly forgetting they were in the presence of their princess.
They were anxious to know what this was about, and so did she. She glanced at the empty throne behind her and sighed, she spun on her heels and exited the room through the door behind the large imposing throne. She Stumbled as she almost collided into Brinn "Not like him to be late…" he said as Andraste stormed past him, she paid him no attention as she continued down the narrow corridor. Brinn stared as she vanished from his sight. It didn't take long for him to deduce the reason behind the meeting, once he had returned to the castle. He knew what was coming, and he knew he would possibly have to make a tough decision.
Andraste passed by tens of doors along the sides, until she came upon a door at the end of the tunnel, she gently eased it open and entered into a small study from behind a large bookcase. She looked around the room, there were books strewn across the floor then her eyes rested on the only chair occupying the room, on it sat a large man wearing exquisite golden robes, he held a golden jeweled crown in one hand and a piece of paper in the other, he looked at her and despite the haggard expression the man wore on his face he somehow still managed to look intimidating. "Hey there little sis" he mumble
"What is the meaning of all this?" Andraste gestured at the room her voice was tainted with worry, in all the years she'd known her brother she had never seen him so weak, and vulnerable. The man waved the paper at her and she walked slowly over to him and took it and read silently. "Oh no!" Andraste gasped as she fell to her knees and clutched the letter. She closed her eyes as they started to stream tears.
"He killed her" she heard her brother say, his voice was strangely deadpanned "that monster murdered her, he and I had a deal"
Andraste stared up at him as he spoke, her face written in confusion "what of the knight you sent to secure her safety, what happened to Lucien?"
The king sighed heavily as he lowered his head into his palms "No word. The last letter he sent said he was on the outskirts of Avrym's domain...that was five days ago"
"We need to ready or armies." Andraste's voice cracked as she spoke "This bastard cannot be allowed to get away with this."
"No, it doesn't matter anymore" he replied coldly as he stood and placed his crown in place, brushing away some of his hair revealing his small rounded ears. As Andraste looked at him she thought she saw a look of fear, but she quickly banished the stupid thought
"What?" she choked "YOU'RE JUST GOING TO LET HIM GET AWAY WITH MURDERING YOUR DAUGHTER?" The king completely ignored her words as he walked towards the exit "I'm afraid that after this meeting, it'll no longer be my problem to deal with" he whispered under his breath. She couldn't see it, but his face was riddled with worry. Andraste took one last look at the letter in her grasp before crumbling it and following after her brother, swearing to herself that they were going to have a proper talk whether he wanted to or not.
The king sat upon his throne and glared at the nobles gathered in the room, he felt a hand grip his shoulder and he looked up to see his sister smiling at him, her tears were gone and she had an air of confidence about her. Though the two weren't siblings by blood, they had always had each other's backs, for nearly thirty years they have been inseparable, and now he felt that was about to change. He smiled back at her as she made to walk away to join the nobles, but he grabbed her hand "stay" he whispered. Andraste nodded without looking at him and brushed off his hand, that was when he realized he was right, she would not be with him this time, if his nobles didn't kill him now...…his sister would. The king gulped as he scanned the room for Brinn's cloaked figure.
Not finding any clue as to his location he cleared his throat to address his people, he severely doubted he could best the nimble Elf in a fight. "First of all, I thank you all for answering my call" he began, watching as they stiffened and stared dumbly at him. He had taken advantage of all these people, and he knew he would pay the price today.
"I know it was a bit short notice, but the matter was too urgent -"
"What the hell is the meaning of this, Roland?" A voiced cried out from the table of nobles, cutting him off "I had important matters to attend to and not only do you call me here at such a time, you also have THE FUCKING NERVE -"
There was a flash of silver as something raced through the air cutting off the voice. It was then followed by shrill scream. The nobles looked at the old man who was now clutching his face. He opened his mouth to speak but was instantly cut off by Andraste.
"The next person to interrupt this meeting will leave this room missing a tongue." The king gulped as he heard her words. He rose his hand and spoke once more "As I was saying, I'm terribly sorry for calling you all here at such an hour, but I'm afraid I had no choice. As I'm sure you're aware, there have been rumours circulating the kingdom over the last six months, stories about how you nobles have been sending assassins to villages on the outskirts of Traliseth to kidnap young girls."
"Permission to speak, sire?" A young man spoke up from the group. He looked at the king, but they could all tell his words were directed at someone else.
"Granted"
"Those rumours have been nothing other than, well...rumours." he paused before continuing "you had us all investigated by your Spymaster, Lord Brinn that is, and as you're aware, and I am sure.....those investigations yielded no results whatsoever"
"You being found innocent does not prove the rumours wrong" the king took a look at his sister through the corner of his eyes "it just means that someone else was behind it"
"Pardon?" His confusion was echoed by everyone else in the room, including Andraste. "What do you mean by that brother?" She asked as she looked down on him. The king looked at her and shook his head, her eyes were cold and he felt like she was going to cut open his throat after his next words "I'm ashamed to admit the rumours are indeed true" he paused and then continued before anybody had the chance to react "In fact.....those assassins were sent out by me, and were led by none other than Brinn"
Before he had even finished talking, the nobles were shouting and demanding answers. They wanted to know what he had done, as well as why. In the uproar they had all forgotten Andraste's threat, all but one man who was trying to leave his seat before she noticed him. The nobles, realising that he had no intention of answering them then started to rush towards him on the throne, but before the got close Brinn's cloaked form fell Infront of them from the ceiling. He stretched out his hands, showing the throwing knives between his fingers "Who dies first?" He asked sneering.
The nobles gasped as they backed away slowly, Brinn glanced behind him and saw Roland running through the back doors. Brinn knew the king wasn't afraid of the weaklings before him, so he figured he must have been running from his sister. Brinn had been the one to teach her everything she knew, and as a result he was afraid of what he would have to do if they fought. Without looking at her he sheathed his knives and went after the king.
All of this had happened before the princess had even finished processing the information she was just given. She didn't notice any of the events that had just transpired.