“I slept very well.” Emmeline smiled a bit brighter, knowing that it was in fact still Ace. “Thank you for that. It may have helped.” she admitted as she sat beside him. “I know you said you would be here before I woke but it is still a surprise to speak to you now.”
“Merci beaucoup.” she nodded, accepting the plate of food. Though she giggled at the jest. “I have no doubt. You certainly are a gentleman. The test of your cooking will be a test of your claim.” she teased before starting to eat.
"I may not be liked by everyone but I never lie, or at least I try my best." Ace grinned. "I'm not certain how long I'll have but I plan to thoroughly enjoy my time. That being said, we need to reach the city before late or the doors will be shut."
Ace responded to her teasing remark with a smirk. "It's the first I've been called a gentleman. I wonder if I'll live up to your expectations?"
(I had an idea that Cade is recognised in Corona as being "Arlo's son" and Emmeline is the one to protect him to which she wants answers. Bu this point Cade will recognise her ability and usefulness so he'll know he'll need her help)
“I respect that. And try not to lie much myself.” Emmeline told him. “I may omit things or imply others or even use half-truths. But I don't like to outright lie…unless I have no choice.” she explained before nodding with a smile. “I plan to enjoy our time together then too.”
She hummed in contentment at the meal before chuckling. “You have so far. Though my definition may be different from what people traditionally expect.” she confessed with a shrug. “And the food is delicious.”
(Oh, yeah! That sounds great!)
"Did you learn conversation from the Fae?" He asked, only half-joking. "It's a good thing your words don't hold the same weight as theirs do over a person." Ace finished his breakfast and cleaned up his dishes before sitting back on the ground and leaning on a nearby tree. "I'm glad you enjoy my food, I am curious to know what your definition of a gentleman entails. It seems to be quite different from the common definition." As he waited for her response, he felt a presence in his mind and immediately put up blockers.
Hades. What do you want? he mentally glared.
Hades chuckled, I see you've met my quota for this month. I'm here with your next assignment. I need twice as many magical souls as you collected this time around. Though if you get me the soul of the girl in front of you, I may never need you to collect souls for me again.
Ace glanced at Emmeline. No. Absolutely not. Now go away.
(Did you have any ideas of how Hades would be connected to the Enchantress?)
Emmeline laughed a little but shot him a look of playful warning. “No, I learned from Maman. Now, if she learned from them… I wouldn't be surprised if her words could hold that kind of weight.” she shrugged, following his lead with her plate.
“I’m sure it is.” she smirked. “Most people I’ve seen who fit the common definition of a gentleman, I find them dull, pompous, and vain… with few exceptions.” she quickly added, about to continue her explanation before feeling a familiar surge of magic around Ace and her own shields raised instinctively. “Are you alright?”
(Honestly… not really. From what we have so far, they obviously had some deals in the past but how that happened: I don’t know. But I’m open to suggestions.)
Hades' voice died down and Ace shook his head to clear it. "I'm fine, thank you for asking. If you are ready, shall we move on?" Ace knew that despite not giving Emmeline any details, she had already gotten an idea of who his employer was. He was a bit on edge. Ace knew that Cade would be able to accept Hades' offer and if he didn't find a use for Emmeline, would not hesitate to hurt her. Ace knew how much they truly needed her help and Hade's constant remarks to give her to him were not going unnoticed. He needed to find a way to make sure Cade didn't hurt Emmeline, not even a scratch.
(Hmm What if the magic that was used to curse Cade and Ace took a bit too much out of the Enchantress and Hades trapped her in the underworld, aiming to use her power, combined with whatever lifeforce Cade and Ace sent to him, to escape his confinement to the underworld and become all-powerful? Maybe the Enchantress left her power with Emmeline so she is vital to his escape? (Kinda using the plot of Descendants 3 here) Idk just an idea)
“Si vous êtes sûr.” Emmeline nodded, quickly dispelling the campsite. “I am ready if you are ready.” she assured before glancing towards the sky. “How much more time do you think you have left?”
She had a suspicion as to who Ace and Arlo’s employer was… the thought was a just little too intimating to entertain for long. But the fiery feeling of the magic and the literal undead knight all but spelled it out. Though she would cherish her deliberate naivety as long as she could, until one or both of the boys confirmed it
(That could work. It could explain why Emmeline has such strong magic… well stronger than it should be at her age.)
Ace doused the fire and scattered the embers in the dirt to smother the lingering heat. He loaded his supplies into Lord's saddlebag and climbed on top. He waited for Emmeline to do the same before pulling out his map. He quickly looked at his surroundings for the right landmarks and determined the direction as he wrote more notes in the journal. He summoned an undead knight and waited for it to appear. "Welcome. I am tasking you with scouting our journey ahead. You will report to me at night when I summon you of what you've overheard or seen. Use shadow travel only." He lowered his voice and made sure Emmeline wasn't listening before bending down. "I also need you to keep an eye on both the lady and myself to make sure I do not try to hurt her during the day."
Emmeline rolled her eyes as Ace ignored her question but mounted Cher all the same, determined to keep an eye on Ace if or when ‘Arlo’ showed up. But the mental image did spark a rather mischievous thought that she couldn't help chuckling about. She waited until he was done speaking with the soldier before urging her horse alongside his. "You know, I never did show you his reaction to our conversation about me joining the both of you… but I'm thinking of letting him believe he fell off his horse when you switch again and I promise to show you that reaction." she smirked. "Don't worry, I'll catch you but… Hopefully, he'll just be embarrassed." she giggled again.
Ace looked at her a little suspiciously. "What do you mean he'll believe that he fell off? What are you going to do?" He slowed his pace a little to match hers and looked at her. "I'd love to see his reaction but how would you show me? Is it a spell of sorts?" Ace was confused, and a little concerned honestly. The sun was steadily rising and yet Cade had not appeared. He poked around in his mind to find him but was a little surprised to find that Cade had put up shields. He didn't even know Cade could do that.
"Calmez-vous, mon ami. I just assumed that falling off the horse was a possibility." Emmeline explained with a gentle smile. "So I would catch you beforehand but would place him face down on the ground. It's a simple levitation spell, no one would be harmed." she assured before chuckling at the questions. "Yes, it's magic. I… don't really know how to explain it other than it's a manipulation of light. It could be a simple still image or a slightly more complex moving image. Though I haven't managed to add sound to it… I can recreate sounds just not while casting the other."
(Hey, so I'm really sick right now and I can't think of a response. If you want we can do a time skip to them reaching the city or if you don't mind waiting a little longer, I can come up with a more cohesive response?)
(I'm sorry to hear that you're sick. Hope you feel better soon. I can wait unless you really want to do the time skip.)
(Alright, hopefully I'll be up for typing a response out later in the day. Right now I'm just going to go back to sleep)
(Just reply when you can. No rush. Health comes first.)
"I see, it seems interesting and I would very much appreciate this. I-" He groaned as a headache overcame him and he closed his eyes. "I think you're going to have to do this a bit faster than I thought you would." He snickered before his eyes rolled back and he began to fall off his horse.
Cade opened his eyes to see himself inches away from a rapidly moving ground and his horse neighing. He screamed in shock and scrambled to brace himself before he felt himself being pulled up and onto Lord's back properly.
The ‘switch’ happened faster than Emmeline had expected, originally thinking there would be more than a second in between Ace losing consciousness and Arlo waking up. But she still wasn’t going to let either of them get hurt and quickly caught her companion with her magic, pulling him back into the saddle and speaking soothing words to the horse.
“Are you alright, monsieur?” she asked once the horse and rider were safe and calm again.
Heart racing and chest moving dramatically up and down with each breath, Cade took a few moments to compose himself. Once his breathing returned to a normal rhythm and his heart stopped racing, he looked at Emmeline in silence, trying to form words. "I–uh– thank you, Emmeline, I do not know what I would have done had you not been here." He spoke sincerely. "I do apologize, normally Ace and I switch with the arrival and departure of the sun but due to our conversation yesterday night, I was far too exhausted to return when it was time. I do hope he was civil?" Cade knew that he was acting differently than what he did before but the fact is that Ace had convinced him to allow Emmeline to join them on their journey. He had told him about her situation and that Hades may have had something to do with it. With the magic of an enchantress, their plot for revenge might just be successful.
Emmeline managed to keep from smirking at what she was sure would have happened if she hadn't caught him, and continued to show concern as he spoke. “I am happy to help. Though you do not need to apologize for that. Ace explained that aspect of your situation quite well.” she assured before smiling softly. “He was very civil. I find I quite enjoy his company.” she admitted, noticing the change in Arlo’s attitude towards her. “I hope last night’s conversation went well.” she commented, admittedly fishing for information about what was said between them.
"I am glad to hear it. I will admit it is quite strange to be talking to someone else about Ace with such…freedom. As I'm sure you know, there is never anyone leftover quite that long to allow such conversations." Cade stretched for a few long moments and bent forward. The tie holding his hair broke and his hair fell into his face. He sighed and ran a hand through it. He faced Emmeline to answer her comment. "It went well. Although I could waste time telling you about it here, I think it would be better if we sped up our horses and aimed to reach the city before sundown where a warm bed and a hot meal would be waiting for us at an inn." Cade looked at her expectantly. He hoped his words acted as a reminder that they were supposed to reach the city the night before.
Emmeline nodded at the reminder of how she and Ace met. “Ah, oui. Ace takes his job very seriously and, no doubt, is very effective as well.” she agreed, suspecting that she may have been the first to be able to stop him. Perhaps even the first one to really talk with him. The thought was certainly a sad one but there was no way to change that fact. At least things were different for him now. She smirked at Arlo’s no-so-subtle hint about wanting to continue their journey and raised a mischievous brow at him. “Of course, you are in a hurry.” she acknowledged. “Race you there!” she quickly called out as she urged Cher into a gallop.
Cade rolled his eyes but allowed a small smirk to make its way onto his face. "I'm definitely going to win!" he called. As the pair raced through the trees, the sun slowly made its way lower in the sky. Cade had lost interest in the race a short while back and was just aiming to make it to the city at the very least. He knew that there was a small chance that they would make it into the main city but even finding a place to stay in the outskirts of the outer town would be acceptable.
Just as the edges of the outer town came into view, the loud tolling of a bell signified that the doors to the main city had been closed. Cade took a deep breath and exhaled loudly. He was a bit frustrated that they were seconds too late but the bustling of the town captured his attention. The sun disappeared behind the mountains but there was still an orange glow in the sky. The townsfolk began lighting their homes and some late-night vendors had small flames to light the remaining wares. Cade turned to Emmeline and gestured to the nearest vendor. "We can't get into the city now and there's no need for us both to go and get rooms for the night. I have no issues with finding our rooms if you'd like to browse Coronian wares?"
(Sorry for the late reply! I got immense writer's block and didn't want to abandon this Rp! Also, do you want to do the 1-room trope?)
(It's ok and YES! 1 room, 1 bed? 😏)
Emmeline had laughed at the call but enjoyed the race nonetheless. It did become less of a competition the closer they got to the city though she shared Arlo’s disappointment of missing the gate closing for the night.
“If you are sure you have enough time to do so.” she nodded, casting a quick glance at the setting sun. She trusted him to understand his… condition better than she did but she couldn't help worrying a bit about the potentially awkward situation.
(I'm not 100% sure how Ace and Cade would react to a 1-bed situation XD)
Cade swallowed hard and nodded. He turned his horse and lazily browsed the streets to search for an inn that appealed to him. The first one he saw, he recognized the barkeep from the last time he had visited in an official capacity. That was not good. Whether or not the man would recognize him, Cade didn't want to leave it to chance. He found a second inn but as he dismounted, a drunk man grasped his arm. "My, my. The King. My liege." He made an exaggerated bow and almost fell over. Cade pulled his hood lower on his face and grabbed Lord's reins. He hurriedly walked the horse to the next inn.
This inn was smaller than the other 2 he had seen. Cade tossed a coin to the stableboy and handed him the reins. Pushing open the doors to the inn invited the smell of warm sweet bread and spiced meats. Cade took a deep breath and felt his mouth water. He pulled his hood lower once again and walked to the barkeep. "Two rooms please, and two meals." He changed his tone and accent just slightly and kept his eyes locked on the floor. The barkeep's cloth squeaked as he ran it over a metal cup. "Aye, 'ah got two hot meals bu' only one room. Interested?" Cade clenched his fist and let out a breath. "You can't make room for another room?" The barkeep scoffed and threw down his cloth. "Take it, or leave it," he growled. Cade sighed and tossed a few coins on the counter. "I'll take it," he muttered.
Just as Cade walked out of the inn to find Emmeline, he felt that all-too-familiar headache and held the side of the building to steady himself. He sat down to prevent another fall and waited for unconsciousness. As he opened his eyes, Ace stood up and continued his journey to find Emmeline. It didn't take too long but he had left his horse at the inn so the walk was uncomfortable.
(Emmeline will definitely enjoy making them squirm! 🤣 or just play flirting with Ace even though nothing will happen)
Emmeline watched as Arlo rode off and dismounted, letting Cher walk beside her. She couldn't stop thinking about the consequences of him suddenly switching with Ace in front of someone who didn't understand. It didn't sit well with her, especially considering the possibility she didn't want to think about regarding his employer. If she was right… He loved playing games with people as long as the result was in his favor.
She managed to walk calmly through the town, casually browsing the open-air stalls and even selling a few of her own roses but didn't find anything that particularly caught her interest for purchase. It was a quaint place to visit but followed a similar layout to many of the small towns she had been to before so it wasn't hard for her to guess where the inns were likely to be.
