forum For one thing to be born, another must die; that is how the stars are born, that light up our night sky. // OxO // OPEN

Started July 01, 2019 by @croccin-champagne

tune

"I will do my best to locate the book you seek, Highness Elara." it nodded, and in a curling wind of somewhat nauseating smoke, it vanished.

"Ro, my bag?" Elara said, wasting no time at all as she turned back to the other Guards. Roman tossed a duffel bag to the Princess, who quickly pulled out her hoodie and jacket, tugging them on one at a time before slinging the bag over her shoulder.

"You poor thing. Have fun trying to get away from the Golem, Magpie." Roman teased, earning him a pebble to teh forehead as Elara started off.

"I'm an Acacius, avoiding people is what we do." She called back, pulling her hood up and shooting Roman a grin, before she was gone. She made her way quickly through the palace, and was outside the wall surrounding the palace in no time, the familiar bustle of the city a comfort as she headed for her destination.

Adrian searched the vast stretch of library halls, and it realized that this… would be somewhat difficult. It started to search in all the most obvious places, and quickly came to the conclusion that there were no obvious places. Everything was haphazard, completely out of order, which absolutely wouldn't do. The library didn't seem to have an order other than "cram the book onto the nearest shelf when you finish reading". Adrian would have to do something about that if it was ever going to find that book.

It had taken over three hours to fully rearrange the library, to set up categories and fix shelves, rearranging all the books for easy access and negotiating a directory with the Head Librarian, who didn't seem too keen on the new system. Adrian couldn't possibly see why, it was easier, more efficient, and above all much easier to manage and prevent fire hazards than the previous on, but it managed to convince the grumpy elder of the logic it assumed was plain as day, but maybe not to humans. Adrian didn't know. The Head Librarian actually seemed impressed and claimed such a reorganization would have taken months, but Adrian reassured the man that it truly wouldn't have if the man could have just done his job like he was supposed to, and left the room to pass on the book to it's mistress.

"Highness Elara! I have your book!" it called, having teleported into the closest proximity it could manage, about a yard away. "I would suggest putting it in the A-D section of Unconventional Magics in the left wing when you've finished reading, unless you plan on keeping the book. In which case, there'd have to be an order placed in for a new copy, but that is unimportant for the moment." it handed over to Elara the reasonably thick, dusty old volume of secrets and whispers.

Elara had been relishing in the unconventional peace. This was her happy place, slipping through crowds of bustling people, occasionally nicking a coinpurse and dispersing the contents between beggars, and greeting people she didn't get to see all that often anymore. The palace may have been her new place of residence, but the city itself, more specifically these streets, were her home. They were where she'd grown up, and she missed them. Missed more than just them, but she was trying not to think about that.

She was in the middle of chatting up a group of men outside a tavern, some of them old acquaintances of hers, and the others new additions to the guild they were part of, when her name was called, following that blasted title. "Fucker." The curse slipped from her mouth as she turned, ignoring Greg's confused noise. And then a book was being handed to her. The exact book she hadn't been able to find. She stared down at it for a few moments, and expression much like shock, mixed with something close to excitement, before finally gathering her words. "You shouldn't shout that ou' here." She said, looking up at Adrian. "It's just Elara, when I'm not at the palace, since ya refuse t' call me it there. But-how'd ya find this?"

"As you wish, Highness Just Elara." (This is gonna be a running joke just roll with it) it said. "As for how I found the book, I simply organized the library a little and located the volume. It would have been easier if that slackoff of a Head Librarian had taken the liberty to keep the library in good shape in the first place."

She couldn't help the snort that slipped out at that, but managed to muffle the sound with a fist. "What can ya expect from someone only there for the money?" There may have been a slight, almost imperceptible hint of bitterness in her tone. She waved to the men she had been talking to, stepping away to start down the not-as-crowded street, at a pace that made it obvious she was waiting for Adrian to follow. "It's kinda cool ya found it though. I've been lookin' for it since I was first allowed free-reign o' the palace."

"If I may, what did you want it for?" Adrian asked. It stopped dead in it's tracks. Golems didn't ask questions, they followed orders. They did as they were told. They didn't inquire. They didn't second guess.

B̡̨̖̻̣̰͚͎͓̼̙̮̘̪̟̫̩̤̋̐͆̎͟͠͡
̄ͦ̎ͭ͐̒ͮ͂̉́̈̀͗̄̒̽͑ͫ͝҉̖͉̺͎͙̠̦̙̞ ̞͙̤͇̤͍̙͑̏̂̉͒̐̊̅̇ͦ͊́́͡Ŗ̴̫̫͓̮̰̱̭̦ͧͩ͊̄̽̆͑̾̊̽ͬ͢͢͟
̼̮̯̱̄ͪ̇ͨͤ̒ͫ̍͋͒͢͠͞ ͊͌̄ͩͯ̆̓̔̓ͬ̍͏͞͏̡̠̙̦͉͇̬̱̬͞ ̺̦̥̖̳̠̠̣̣̯͉̹̀ͣͥͥ́̀O̶̝̞͇̭͚͍̠̟̮̫̰͚̯̱͑͒ͨ͋̌͐͜ͅ
̸̴̙̬̣̳̞̖̭̰̜̩͉͐͑ͮ̾͂̈̌͑͡͠ ̐̃́ͮ̄̃̓ͯͩͯ͐͂ͧ̏̌̀ͯͧ͏̘͍̗͚̮͕͓ ̷͑̎͆̉͊ͯ̿͗͐̎̉̑̌̐̀ͧ̀͏̛̯͙̟̣͓̠̘͖̤͙ ̃̄͐̋ͪ̍̋̋͊̉ͤ͐͋̌ͦ͌̚͟͝͏̶͕͕͔̕ ̷̡̻̲̬̘̯̩̟̟͇̲ͪ̆͒ͨͭ́ͭ̋̾̌̃͛͌̀ͅK̩͈̝̞͚̬̱͙̊̽̈́͛ͤ̏͛̌ͫ̿ͬ́̚͜
̔̾͗̇̈́ͨ҉̨̣͓͍̝͇̣ ̶̗̺͍̖͍̥̩̳̙̘̙̓͐̀͗ͩ͂̔̑̇ͦ̍̊͐̂ͦ͟͜ ̧̩̤͇͙͉̳̤̄ͪ̊́̐̏ͯ͑͟ ̪̩̪̘̜̬̦̘̺̌ͯ̐ͤͧͩͪͩͤ̿̃͡͝ ̸̯̼̣̹̜̗͚̮̺̳͎̹̮͔̙̳͍͈̀͛ͤ̃͌̽ͭ̃͆͛́̐̀̏̓ͬ̀́ ̡͈̫͉͚̖͇̯̜̋̇ͧͭ̍ͬ̿͗͢͝ ̴̘͕̯̹ͪͥͥͯ̋ͤ́̂̑͆̎̀ͫE̛̯͎̘͓͔̤̩͔̻͖̟̦̞̥͚̋͊ͯ̉̈͒̂̔́̉̔͑̓ͩ̓̊̓̐͝͡
̸̵̰̞̲͙͒̈́̌̈́ͯͨ̾ͨ͟ ̷̧̙̮̠̩̹̳̳̺̪ͣ͗͒͒̽͊̇̽̈ͬ̐̊̓ͨ́̕ ̫̣͔̺͈̦̣̲͆̄̋ͪ̌̍́̿͜͠ ̴̸̰̦̺͔̺̝̞͕̙̻̝͔̥̲̃̂ͮ̆̎̌͑ͭ́̅͌̆̃̒ͮ̂͋ͥ ̵͉̳̤̼̙̰̖̪̠̙̺̠ͮ͐̓ͧ̎ͯ̄̓̓͠ ̧̨̠̟͙̪̰̙̞͈̲͉͖͈̺͎̠̖̼ͬ̋͌̄͟ ̛̻͕̺͈͍̳̣͖̮͔͇̟͓̍͆̈̈́ͬ͊͊̀̏ͪ̇̃͗̎ͫͤ́̚͘͡ ̽̆́̓̽ͣͭ́̑́ͥ̉̎ͪ҉͓̮̤̹ ̵̸̺͇̹͚͕͔̞̖̩̠͔̱̩̤̺̖̜̙̀̈̓̉N̷̡͈̠͖̞̥̦̻̭̗̻̝͚̝̙̞̦̲̏ͫ͒͒́̏̉́̆̉̉̽̃

It was b̷̧̞͈̻͖͖̳̯̻̙̉͑̾̂̍̒̈́́̅͛̎̾͌̉͂̀̀͘͢ͅr̸̲̟̹̬̫̬̻̤̫͑̌̒̊ͫͦ́͛͞͞o̶̡̨̧̻̜̦̗͋̅ͮͬ̍̒̑͒ͪ͛̈ͫ̇̆̈̄͂́̚ķ̸̌̈̊͏̗̣̫̰̯ȇ̶̢͓͍̜̗̳͇̥͙̩͈͍͚̱ͧ̊ͮ̎ͮ̆̊͟n̵̹͖̝̜̪͓̤͇̮̬̱̬͉̲͉̤̞̩̺͛̓͆ͦͧ̒̍͒̔͒͛͋.

Adrian began to hyperventilate. It couldn't do this, it was against everything it was ordered to do.

b̷̧̞͈̻͖͖̳̯̻̙̉͑̾̂̍̒̈́́̅͛̎̾͌̉͂̀̀͘͢ͅr̸̲̟̹̬̫̬̻̤̫͑̌̒̊ͫͦ́͛͞͞o̶̡̨̧̻̜̦̗͋̅ͮͬ̍̒̑͒ͪ͛̈ͫ̇̆̈̄͂́̚ķ̸̌̈̊͏̗̣̫̰̯ȇ̶̢͓͍̜̗̳͇̥͙̩͈͍͚̱ͧ̊ͮ̎ͮ̆̊͟n̵̹͖̝̜̪͓̤͇̮̬̱̬͉̲͉̤̞̩̺͛̓͆ͦͧ̒̍͒̔͒͛͋.

E̶̳͉̼̼͈͉̫̱̗̬̺̺ͤͬ̑͊͜r̸̰̪̫̜̟ͪͣͬ̎̎̏ͫͦͪ̈͆̋ͣ̀ͫ̾̒͠r̬͉̻̲̹͖̫̜͔͎ͣͣ͋̑ͧ̇̿̃͐̏̅̾̌͑̅ͤ̚͘̕o̵̘̗̪͇̞͔̜̥̯̻̮ͫ́̔̏̌̾̈́ͣ̓̔̎̔̓̈̈ͫ͛̔͆́͘͜ͅr̴̴̻̩͖̰̰̙̱͉̥̥̹̎̈́̔̉̂̈́̎̊̄͛̉̓ͣ̎ͫ̿̚ ͇̪̞̋̀͌͛̅ͣ̑̌̅̕͡i̵̡̬͓͈̹͋ͩ̃ͣ͂̐̓͘͞n̨ͬ̓͂͋͏̬̬̜ ̨̨̰̦͉̜̜̯͔̤̮̠͍̗͖̟̩͉͉̪͔̅̈́̍ͬ̆ͦ͂͆̓ͣ̃͐́͟͞t̹̘̺̘̜͓̰̝̱̳͓̟̗̭͒͐̐̏͑ͨ͆ͥ̒̒̋ͭ̕͢͢͡h̶̅̓ͫ͌̆͟͏̡̤̪̠̱̣̪̖͎ͅe̸ͫͪ̑̏͘҉̸̛̘͓͍͕̪̰͇͎̭ ̧̨̦̳̈́ͬͣ̚͡͡ͅͅŝ̵̤̘͙̹͚̹͍̻̃̿͗̿ͥ̿̄͂̂̾͆̐ͥỷ̸̢̛̜͇̪̙̟̯̬̘͎̹̖̬̝̬̋̓̈ͦ̇ͧ̓ͫ̍͆ͧ͆̽ͤ̀̕ͅs̓̾ͧ͌ͩ͊͛̃͌́͏͏̛͕͖̗̞͎͍̹̘̮̜͍̬ṭ̶̛̻͈͙͙̯̏͌̀ͨ̄ͦ̈̐̍͘͟͝ͅe̴̳͓̳͍̯͔̱̣̺͐̿͂͆̓̒̆͌̐͗͑ͮ͛ͥͮ̚͝͡m̧͚͚̟̝͈̰ͪ̿̇ͤ͐̍̒̃ͮ̾͐ͨͦ̀̕͜ͅ.̴̡͙̤͓͎̱̫̹͇͖̰̮̜̙̳͔̦͓̞͚̓̌̔ͥ́͜͡ ̴̶̛͕͕͎̼̮̼̱̪̮̺͔̓ͨ̿̋͗͌̐͗ͯͦ̿M̧̢̝͇̗͕̤͛͐̓ͪ̓̎ͤ̈͜i̸͍̜̻͚͉̣ͣͯ̎̄ͣͣ̽̂̎ͤ̏ͤͪ̒͆́͒̉̚̕͜s̸̃̾̀̄ͪ͗ͫ҉̵̙̹̩̩̻͇̯͖̘̲̮̖̬̤̲̖͞͠ͅt̵̶̵̲̮̗̥͙͖̞͖̳̮͖̆́ͩͤ̐ͪ͑͗ͮ͂ͭ̔̓́͌̾͜ͅą̸̶̻͇͕̲̟̹̖̝͍͊͊̂ͭ̽̔̉ͨ̏̿ͤ͞͡ͅͅk̖̠͕̘̈́ͬ̀ͣ̆̋̈ͬ̈ͯ̚͘͡͡e̷̢̯͎̩͇̱̲̘̪̝̜̮ͩ̈̐̋̒ͩͣͣ̑̉̒͊ͯ͜.̢̼̬̫̣̰͇͖̫̠̯̗͇̩͖̹͇̝̆͂͒ͪ̔͗͒̚͜ ̡̢̼̲͇̞̦̟̥̳̳̯͍̠͖͖͍̙͓̲̻ͫ̆̃̿͆́ͫͪ͑̋̇͋ͭͣS̓̅̆̊̽̋͢͟҉̨͍̳̳͖̩͍ḩ̶̴̢̖̼̖̥͙͓ͥ̄̉̉ͥ̇̓̉ͭ̃̽̆͞oͯ͂́ͮͦ̓ͯ̊ͤ͏̛̟̤͎̟̭͈̩̜͟͟u̵̵̡͙͎͓̟̩͕̪̎̆̀͌̒͛̓ͥ͆ͥ̅́͝l̴̢̬̭͚͉̻̠̈̋̇̉ͩͤͭ̆̂̇͐d̶̠̠͈̹̳̟̘͋͛̊̾ͭ͒͆͌ͅn̟̟̺͇̲̬̙̗͓̫̬̗̰̠̹͇̥̏̃ͥ̋ͭͨͩ̇͗͗ͣ̈́̀̀̕͜͡'̨̧͖͙̣͈̤̳̮̗̠̪͂̅͋̓͗͋ͯ̓̔̃̈́̔ͤ̐̐̃̚͢͝ţ̨̜͍̫̦̠́͆ͥ͗ͥ͌̈́̎̒ͥ́̌̚̚̕͡ ̛̪̣͎̜̝̣̥̊́ͧ͐ͧ̿ͣ͡h̫̯̻̠̱͔̻̞̪̬̗̤̝͍͐ͯ̓͆͢͝͝aͭ͆ͮͣ̈́͛̋͌̿͌̇̂̍͐̉̎̍҉҉̜̘͚͘͟v̸̛̫̩͓̟͇̓͋ͣ̊̔̑ͪͨ̆̿͜͞ě̴̴̮͙̱͖̻̝͓̙͇̖̼̓̓̉̍͌͋͒̽ͣ̀ͨ̓ͫ͋̅̀͆̄̀̀͜ ̳̦̟͙̮̼͔̬̫͓͕̫̲̹͍͓̱̬̽̌̔̇́̀͟t̷͉̖̥͒ͪ̋̔̊̀ͪ͌̃ͯ̍͞r̵̨̛̲̥̪͓̭̻̻͔͖̜͇̺̪̲͖̟̮̺̎͑̒ͮ̾̾̈́͌̓̀͝ų̷̶͈͉̺̮̗̙͉̟̼͚̯̠͇̍̊ͪ̓͊̑̓̃͑́͟s̴̢̢̬̥̬͚͈̘͖̙͔̘̮̤̞̠̠̮͖͗̾ͣͫͥͭ͐ͭ̇̎̊̈́͒̆̔̎ͩ̚͢͠ͅtͧ́͐̔̉ͧͥ̒͂͗̓͜͏̡̛̤̥̮͖̯͔̜̬̤͙̙̤̀eͨͯ̈͏̵͈̘͉̭͖͉̣̦̦͍̰̲̩̗̺̭d̸̵̩̭̜̻̫͇̤̱̲͉̫̞́ͨͬ͆̄ͮ̾̒̾ͬ͂ͬͭ̎̎̃͐ͫ̚͜ͅ ͩ͋͆͐͐̽̋ͭ̆̂́̇̋ͭ̈́ͧͯ҉̴̸҉̖͔̙͍̯͖̩y̴͕͖̪͕̠̰͍̖̟̫̞̠̹̳̯͙̣̠̦̎ͫ̄ͣ̈́̐͗̑̇́͜ō̖̺͎̝͖͙̪̣̩̪̦͚͎͇̝̝̰͔ͨ̑ͬͫ̽̄͛ͯ̄͑ͥͨ͋ͮ̈́ͤ͡ú̵̸̸̢͎̟͔͎̜̣̤͙̗̩̼͉̂ͪ̈̄͑̈̽͆ͣͥ͋̓͆̏̊̀ ̨̛̭̠̻̭̩̤͍͓͉̺̲͔̹̙̐͗̾̏͆͛ͪͯͬ͋̍͆͆͋͆́͟͝͡ṯ̟͕̯̦͎̣͉͈̣̯͉̎ͯͮ̾̾̾̂ͩ̈̅̿̍̅̂̄̓̽̾͠͡o͚͖̞̪͈̗̎̏ͮ͊̇ͤ̆ͫ̄ͧ̊̿ͧ̀̔̊̆͠ ͌ͬ̊ͩ͑ͫͨ̄͏͓̣̪̲̻̲͉ͅt̯͓̬̼̙̺͈̣̜̭͚͛̈́̃ͦ͑͑ͪ̆͗̒̍͘͟h̡ͮͩ̃͑ͫͭ̿͢͝͏͕̱̟͔̫͖̝̹͎͓̱̜iͩ͋̏ͨ͛̍̌̏͒̿̔ͭ̅̓̑́͆̓҉̡̟͍̗̩̬̬̦̻͙̺̩̲͢s̨̟̞̦̦͎̠̯̟͇̜̱͔̜͈̞̫̮͛ͥ̃̅̓̎ͬ͂͐͗̒ͤ̀ͧͪ̚͢ͅ ̨̧̭̠͖̠͖̫͎̺͇͙͎̋̈͌͂ͩ̓ͫ̽̎ͅj͌̐̏ͣ̇̌ͪ͑͐ͫ̍ͮ̽̓̑̍͑̕͏̥̠̭̰̖̠͎͎͎̳͕o̶̶̢̥͚̥̜̖̪̖͍̣ͦ̋̆̐͆̓ͭ̔̔͛ͦͣ̔̏̚̚̚bͮͧͥ̓͆̃ͫ͏̢͉̦̰̲͉͙̜̗͓̭̭̗͇͇͚͡.̷̧̨̝͉͇̫͎̥̫̼̝͚͓̱ͧͣ̇ͦ̃ͩ̑͆͆̈ͬͣͭ͆͗̑́ ̴̧̗̼̻̹̖̻̐ͮͪ̀ͮ̋̽ͪͬͬ͒͂̿ͦ̎͒̓W̡̛̯̬̬̖̩̙̝̤͎̼̫͖͉̟͍̼̭̘̅̈́̈́͆̇͋͞ǒ̤̠̲̟́̅ͪ̃̇́ͣ̽͝r̷̨̡̪̫̬̙͈̮̠͔͎̖̗͂̂͑̏ͫ͜ṭ̷̶̜̘̰͓̠͓̘̝̭̹̠̱̫̫͊̾ͧ͆̽ͥ͐ͩ̀̋ͪ̈́̌͂̕͢͞h̛̘̹͕̭̫͖̹͕͙̟̔ͫ̀͛͜͠l̛͖̟̩̺͔̥̮͉̼͕̰̳̹̟̙̋ͯ̿̏̑̿̄̽͑̀̚͞ě̛̠̟͎͎̹̩̰̭͉̤̱̖̯̩͍͓͓̮ͦ̅͒͗͋ͨ͂̎͐ͣ̆ͦ͑̀̚̕ş̷̨̫̮̥̬̩̙̞̪̫͚̗̥̰͉͙̹̘̦̉̈́ͭͦͮ̿ͫͦͤ͟s̢̨̛̮̣̺͈̖̟͇͓̙͈͚̙ͫ͛ͮ̽͐̆̐ͭ̓͛ͪ͐̈́ͪ͋̾ͯ̓̚͠.̢̧̥̠̖͉̫̘͙̲̯̍ͤ̿ͮ̈̇ͨ̃̋͗͗̀̇

It was completely, utterly b̷̧̞͈̻͖͖̳̯̻̙̉͑̾̂̍̒̈́́̅͛̎̾͌̉͂̀̀͘͢ͅr̸̲̟̹̬̫̬̻̤̫͑̌̒̊ͫͦ́͛͞͞o̶̡̨̧̻̜̦̗͋̅ͮͬ̍̒̑͒ͪ͛̈ͫ̇̆̈̄͂́̚ķ̸̌̈̊͏̗̣̫̰̯ȇ̶̢͓͍̜̗̳͇̥͙̩͈͍͚̱ͧ̊ͮ̎ͮ̆̊͟n̵̹͖̝̜̪͓̤͇̮̬̱̬͉̲͉̤̞̩̺͛̓͆ͦͧ̒̍͒̔͒͛͋.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that, sorry, sorry, sorry." it held it's head in its hands, voice cracking and distorting. "Didn't mean to, I'm sorry!"

Elara's steps faltered as she looked back at him, her eyes widening slightly. Why was he-the question. It was such a normal thing, but for him, it was obviously not. "Woah woah woah, hey." She said, taking a few slow steps towards him, and then closing the distance the rest of the way, her brows drawing together in a slightly worried frown. "It's fine, alright? Totally okay, don't worry. You don't have to apologize."

"I'm sorry…" it repeated this a few times more, and then there was a sudden clicking noise as it stood back up to full height. "My apologies, Highness. A reset has refreshed and updated my objectives and behavioral patterns. I am sorry to have alarmed you. The maker has decided that questioning and criticism are perfectly allowed, due to your frequently rebellious nature, and also as to avoid any system crashes in the future. The maker sees it as perfectly alright for me to offer input." it said slowly, rhythmically, and not in a good way. (Adrian 1.0 had become Adrian 2.0, it can now sass the heck out of Elara with no regrets lol.)

It started walking back to the palace, escorting Elara by her arm to take her with it. "It's not safe in the streets, Highness. We're getting you back to the palace."

"Frequently rebellious-as fuckin' if." Elara tugged her arm from Adrian's grip, quickly wiping the worry from her face as she did. Her hood had fallen at some point, revealing her diadem still in place. "I ain't done out here, and I ain' in the mood t' deal with fake-ass royalty." It was noticeable, just how little she actually sounded like a Princess, especially out here. "Feel free t' head back yourself." Huffing, she turned on her heel to continue down the street in the opposite direction.

"Highness, I wouldn't advise that. You have an 83% chance of death out on the streets even with previous experience of survival in rugged terrain." it said desperately, grabbing ahold of her, but with more force this time so she couldn't possibly escape.

Despite that, she continued to struggle against his hold, shooting a glare at him. "An' I grew up out here with a 96% chance o' death. It ain't new, asshole. Now let go." What she was gathering was that somehow, all the time she'd survived out here meant nothing, now that she was a Princess. And that just pissed her off more.

"Actually, your chances of death would have been significantly lower since you weren't royalty, and hardly noticeable. You were incredibly insignificant, and really still are in the grand scheme of things. You hardly affect anyone's life." it said, continuing to lead her back to the palace with it's iron grip.

You hardly affect anyone's life. Her struggling paused for a moment at that, something flickering across her features. Of course he wouldn't know. Her father didn't, so the Guard specifically created by someone who had no clue wouldn't either. "Royal blood don' suddenly make me important an' significant." She spat, resuming her struggling, with an almost wild desperation. "I have somewhere t' be, so let me go!"

"Don't." it said firmly, eerily. "You are the sole heir to the throne. Stay alive and you can fix everything wrong with this pitiful city, with these pitiful people. Risk your own death and you'll fall into the shadows, unimportant, just a silly little girl who wouldn't do what was needed to keep herself safe." it growled. They were nearing the front gates now.

"Helpin' someone I made a promise to is worth the fuckin' risk." She shot back, her mismatched eyes flashing angrily. His words struck a deeper cord than he realized, faults and fears and worries, that stemmed from a development she hadn't been ready for, or given time to acclimate to.

"One person rarely matters. You're a special case, that doesn't mean others are as lucky. Relationships, and maintaining them, are beneficial to mental health but I highly doubt this is worth it." it growled, leading Elara back inside with a lack of sensitivity, quite the opposite in fact.

She is worth it. More than I am. Elara never stopped her struggling, despite the fact that she was very obviously wearing herself out from the wild thrashing. The restriction was starting to get to her, panic closing up her throat and keeping her from speaking. Freedom, whether something as small as movement or as big as her ability to govern herself, was important to her, after all.

"Goodness, you've not caught on that it's useless to keep up your wriggling, have you? I'm following my orders, you know, I'm doing what's best for you as dictated by the maker." it said coldly. It said everything coldly, it's time never changed, but this made ice run along your spine.

"The maker can suck a-" She cut off as her voice wavered slightly, shaking her head. She had never had a Guard do anything like this, even the ones that really took everything seriously. And they had all been easy enough to scare off, leaving her with a whittled down number of Guards she could stand, Guards she trusted. And she absolutely couldn't stand this one.

"A what?" Adrian seemed to challenge her, an intrigued eyebrow raised.

"An egg, a dick, I don' give a shit, long as you fuckin' let go o' me." Elara snapped, scowling. "We're already inside the gates, what am I gonna do? Bolt as soon as ya let me go?"

"There is a 100% chance that that would be your first move, yes." it said. Sometimes there were advantages to being a cold calculating bastard, such as the ability to deadpan sass anyone and everyone.

"You'd just fuckin' grab me again, so wha's the point." She muttered, glowering at the ground. Her struggling had considerably lessened, not entirely because she'd given up, more because she was wasting energy by throwing so much of it into getting away.

"We really need to work on your speech mannerisms, Highness." Adrian said. It was rather irritated from listening to the unrefined, peasant class jargon that spewed from her mouth. It let go of her arm, but it was clear that next time she tried anything, the golem wouldn't hesitate to break it. "Elara, you and your been ordered to see your father in the throne room. I'm afraid you're not going to be able to stay in this city much longer, we've received terrible news. You'll be filled in on more details later, but I've been told to get you and… uh, it." a Guard of Elara's, Trevor, appeared to be out of breath. He was a weedy looking fellow, but good natured and friendly enough, as well as bad at arguing with Elara's suggestions so he was easy to slip away from.

"There ain't nothin' wrong with my speech mannerisms." Elara said, turning her glare up to Adrian as she stuffed her hands angrily in her pockets. Her right hand closed around something in them, as she turned to look at Trevor. "There's always somethin' new, ain't there? Too bad I ain' fucking leavin' the city." The last part was muttered to herself, as she nodded to the Guard and started off, not waiting for Adrian.

"W-well, it's rather more urgent than that. Something about, er, shadows, my lady." he stammered. An annoying mannerism, honestly, but you could live with it. Adrian followed, keeping up with their pace no matter how much it wavered, quickened, or slowed.

"Fuckin' a. The Shadows, right?" She looked over at Trevor, raising a pale eyebrow. They were a threat, for sure, but she wasn't too concerned about her own safety. It was the safety of the people she cared more about, specifically certain people. The exact people that were the reason she wouldn't leave the city without knowing they'd be fine.

"I don't know, Elara, you need to talk to your father about this. And stay with your golem." Trevor said, cowering slightly, bracing to be slapped upside the head. "She will be fine with me. I shall protect her." Adrian nodded.

"By the gods." Elara muttered, scowling once more. She released whatever she'd been holding onto in her pocket, slinging her bag around and digging through it. As she pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen, scribbling something down on it, she continued talking. "I can fuckin' take care o' myself. Look, take this t' Roman, will ya? The note, and this." She pulled a smaller bag, unassuming and at the same time seeming important, from her own, handing it and the paper over to Trevor. "He'll know what it's for."