Kade pursed his lips and watched her go before turning away, lips curling. He wasn't sure this would succeed, especially if Arin didn't show any of her leadership qualities. This would be even harder, especially since he was supposed to be working with hothead Martin.
Arin sat down on her bed and wondered how to get someone to teach her to read. She had never seen a use for it, but if she was to be queen, she needed, at the bare minimum, to know how to read. "Fuck." She mumbled, flopping onto her back and staring at the ceiling.
He flopped onto his bed and groaned. "Why do I have to do this?" He wondered. He was dirty from some earlier training, and smelled like death, but he didn't really care.
She sighed faintly, closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead. She had no idea what to do about all this.
(Do we want to do a timeskip, maybe?)
(probably! To when, though?)
(To when they get ready for the raid, maybe?)
(yeah makes sense. Want me to do it?)
(Yes, please! Unless you want me to.)
(nah I got it)
Arin started getting suited up for the raid. She wore chain mail and a leather jerkin, and a helmet that had only a nosepiece, that didn't cover her full face. She was dressed, as always, in pants instead of a skirt, though this outfit had a short, ragged skirt that draped to her midthigh, one side longer than the other and going to her knee. Absolutely none of the outfit was stylish, at least in the conventional way, but she looked like a badass queen, which had to count for something.
(Thanks!)
Kade was in his usual tight, deadly black armor, the thing Arin would have seen him in the first time she saw him. It was freshly cleaned and mended, though, which was good. He had weapons strapped to him, so many that he felt a little bit like one misstep and he would die very unpleasantly. But he was used to this feeling.
(np!)
(So there are two potential outcomes that I have in mind. Before I share them, do you have any triggers you would prefer I avoid?)
Arin moved to Ryke, telling him to stay at the camp so that he wouldn't get killed, then headed out of her tent, looking around the camp to figure out what to do.
(Nope! I'm good with anything!)
Kade stood in the shade of one of the tents, arms crossed. While everyone else was getting ready to leave, he was already done.
(alright! So scenario one: they lose, and Kade switches sides again and tells Jacos he was just going undercover. Why he does this, idk. Anyways, so Jacos forces Arin to marry him, thereby legitimizing his rule. And then he basically just…sequesters Arin away from everyone. His plan is basically just to get her pregnant so that their son will inherit the throne, so uh. Lots of trauma. But the maid that takes care of Arin gives her some sort of special tea so that she won't get pregnant, but like. Obviously it's all still very traumatic and yes. And at some point Kade comes in to see her and Arin is just. Broken. And he's like "fuck I have to get her out of here, this can't go on" and so he figures out some way to sneak her out and then they're on the run and eventually fall in love?? And then come back and manage to take back the throne)
(Option two: they win, and Arin is completely out of her depth as a ruler. She can barely read, man, and she's never had any formal training. So she's like. Struggling a hell of a lot and in desperate need of help, and all the noble families are doing all these political maneuvers and trying to force her into marriage to one of their sons. And then maybe Kade like tales pity on her and helps her, and then we get a lovely fake dating scheme so that the nobility stop throwing their sons at her?? And then "oops we were fake dating and accidentally fell in love, fuck–")
(Obviously option one is much much more traumatic and angsty, so it's up to you)
Arin looked around quietly. She had been given an axe to fight with, along with a shield, since she didn't have enough training for a sword and there was no time to teach her enough about the proper usage.
(Oof…. both of them are amazing…. I like the first option a bit better, if you're okay with that…..)
He yawned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. Jacos probably still thought he was looking for the queen, or trying to bring her back, and so he wouldn't be missed. Not yet, anyway.
(yeah I'm fine with that! i'm a psycho, I love torturing my characters lmao)
Arin swung the axe absently, testing the way it swung and handled. She also had a shield, which she held in her left hand, ready to use it later.
(Me too, let's do this!)
After pushing off from the post where he leaned, Kade strolled through the camp, nodding to the others who he passed. He saw many younger people, barely teens, and wondered if they could really do this with an amry of kids. Would they really win this?
(great!)
Arin frowned a little as she looked around, suddenly unsure. Was this even a good idea? What the hell was she supposed to do even if they won?
Kade spotted Arin, and some instinct told him to walk up to her. He didn't, though, just looked at her from across the camp.
She set the butt of the axe on the ground, leaning against it faintly and chewing on her lower lip. She sighed for a moment, eyes flickering around.
(Realized that during this entire roleplay Kade has never onced used his ability…)
They met eyes, and Kade let a smirk flicker across his face at her. It didn't mean anything, he just wanted to annoy her.
(ajdhdhgd woop)
She narrowed her eyes at him, mouth tightening faintly. She still didn't like or trust him, not at all.
(lol I didn't forget he had it or anything…)
He sent her a two fingered salute and a mock bow that he knew would annoy her.
(lmaoo)
She grimaced at him, looking away again and shaking her head a little bit.
Kade laughed. She really didn't like him… which he was okay with. The feeling was mutual. She was brash, annoying, and if she didn't learn to control her temper, would make a lot of enemies. If she didn't learn, she wouldn't be a good queen.