The second door led out into a hallway, which was small and slightly cramped, but not badly so. Just the small-ness of a hallway that was not often used, and that was fine. It was only a few more minutes before they came to another door, and Arabelle opened it. "And here we are. Out of the palace at last." she led them out, smiling faintly as she stepped into the sunlight.
Indigo followed, and soon had to blink to adjust their eyes to the light again. She found herself chuckling a little. Never in their entire life had they imagined working in the palace for such a short time, and then leaving under these circumstances. “Wow. Alright. Goodbye palace, you have a nice library.” She looked at the palace for a small moment, then turned to see what was ahead.
Arabelle smiled a little bit. The edge of the palace was surrounded by…well, nothing. Just empty space for a while, then a final outer wall, and then the rest of the city. That extra space was specifically for if the city was ever under attack. The palace was it's own separate, fortified area. She led Indigo across that empty space, and out through a door onto a deserted street. "I'll take you to where you'll be staying."
Indigo was quiet from then on, diligently following her guide. She looked around, just trying to occupy their mind for the most part. When they came to the street, they nodded. “Thank you.”
She nodded, and continued to lead Indigo along the streets, winding through them at a relatively quick pace. "You're welcome." she replied. "You did an important task." she did not say what it was. They both knew, and she didn't want to say it aloud on the streets, where anyone could hear.
Indigo made a small, indiscernible sound and followed, trying to keep up. As when she was with the rebels, she kept their head low and did not look at anyone except the half-Fae in front of them.
It took a bit longer before they reached the outskirts of town, where freed humans lived. It was a poorer area, but also somehow…nicer? Most fae didn't venture here, and the ones that did were usually kinder. Arabelle led her to a small house, pulling a key from her pocket and opening it up. "Here we are."
Indigo’s legs had started to ache, but they also found themself looking around more as they approached the outskirts of town. It felt almost familiar. She almost forgot to look at the house they came to because she was still looking around at the neighborhood.
When she did, they blinked. “Oh, this is perfect.” They had always liked the idea of living in a humble cottage, just her and her father.
Arabelle smiled a little. "Good, because this is where you'll be living for…the foreseeable future." she replied. "It might need a little dusting, but it should serve you perfectly well."
"That's alright. Not like I haven't dusted before." Indigo chuckled a little and ventured inside. Small and quaint; indeed, it was perfect.
It was also dusty and a bit dirty, with a few cobwebs in the corners to boot. "It, ah, hasn't been used in a little while." Arabelle explained. "But there's still furniture! It will probably need a good airing out, though." she strode over to one of the windows, throwing open the cover to let sunlight come streaming in.
“Mhm…” Indigo looked around, now able to better assess the state of the place as more light was filtered in. She hardly minded the dust and dirt, but decided to take a little tour to see the other rooms. They had come into a small entrance leading to a decently sized living and dining space. Indigo went through a doorway that led to the kitchen, then found a singular bathroom, plain bedroom, and an smaller, empty room that may have acted like an office space. They then went back to Arabelle, holding a hand to her chin. “Do you know of any pests?” They asked.
Arabelle shook her head. "Other than bugs that may get in, I don't know. I have the documentation for the house, but I did not bring it. I will have someone deliver it to you." she said, opening a few more windows to let in more air and light.
She nodded. "I would appreciate that, thank you. Other than bugs, I'm willing to bet that some mice or rats are hiding around somewhere." Indigo looked around and found a small side door that led to a small closet. An old broom leaned on the wall inside. Smiling a little, they took the broom and started sweeping, hoping to spot a stray cockroach or mouse scuttle by.
"Probably." Arabelle agreed, taking a step back towards the door. "I have to be on my way. The palace is going on lockdown. I'll let you know about the paperwork. It might be a little bit to get it to you, but that's normal for this area so you won't get in trouble for not having paperwork right away."
Indigo straightened and faced her, nodding. “Alright. “Thanks again, Arabelle. Thanks for everything.” She offered a small smile.
"You're welcome." she replied, returning the small smile. "Good luck with this." she gestured to the house. "I think you'll do just fine." and then she opened the door and stepped out, heading back towards the palace.
(feeling like we could skip, but we don't have to)
(we definitely could lol where do you want to skip to?)
(Well technically I would consider this “indigo accomplishes their personal goals” time but that’s probably a lot so idk)
(Well, where would you want to skip to?)
(skdfbg idk lol, that's why I asked)
(Disksndjwjs I mean, idk either. I could just keep going, maybe. Could do like a little montage of her progress with the house and stuff. I was planning to have her do something with rescuing Lee and her father but like. Very personal thing that they’re probably gonna attempt on their own, so idk how you could include yourself. Idk how far into the future that would be either skdksks)
(skdbskj uhhhhh well, we were planning on having Indigo like stick around for a while, and then after like 2-3 months is when Riven, brought back from the dead and fucked in the head, does his coup and then sends for her? So we just need something that'll fill those 2-3 months, whether that's a montage or a few little timeskips. I can always bring in Lor or Arabelle or a new side character to interact with her. I'm just not good at describing things when I have no character to work with, as we've established lmao)
(Lol alright. Then yeah, I would say that’s just enough time for her to establish herself and kinda live on their own, maybe even get a job? That could be something interesting we could do maybe, so that we know who they’ve become by the time Riven summons her. Maybe like an assistant for a Fae/ half-Fae scholar or something. I’m also thinking about the PTSD-side of things and how she deals with the trauma of being a former slave (hohoho >:)
(Alright! Yeah that could be interesting. I could be the scholar, then, so we could establish some stuff there? or whatever you want, idc. Sounds good tho!)
(Yeah sure! Could just be a mini-subplot, day-in-the-life kinda thing)
(yeah! so how do we wanna handle it?)
(Hhhhhhhh djdskjdskjdfkj)
(Lol I’m not good at proper beginnings, so I was just thinking I could post a thing were she’s right in the middle of their work or maybe she just arrived at the place where the scholar works, maybe a library or an academy or smth. Not sure of like, an overall plot tho)
(lol uhhm that works to me? Like just, a day in the life kinda thing??)