Kayin watched from a distance, deciding that Crystal wasn't one to be crossed. He waited silently, sitting on the grass with his legs crossed. He carefully peeled his last orange and divided it into its segments, then ate them one by one.
A fae flew down, stole an orange slice, and hurried off faster than the speed of light to share it's little treasure with other fae. Satsu came out holding two more books and a little cloth filled with hot mini muffins and a large Cinnamon roll. He was inside for about two hours, he then got back on his steed and took off for the castle.
Kayin got up when the fae took his orange and watched as it sped away. He turned to see Satsu coming out of the cottage and followed him yet again. It was cooler now, the trees providing some shade as the sun began its descent. It was still relatively high and it was still warm, so Kayin unlaced the front of his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. He still had to keep his cloak on, to blend in and keep from being recognized.
(I thought I replied to this, so sorry!) Satsu kept hearing the sounds of Kayin's horse behind him, but just dismissed it as forest creatures running about as he went along. He stopped beneath a tree and climbed into it, grabbing an apple for himself, and one for his horse, before carefully getting down. His horse getting spooked as he tried to get down, from a loud bang from off somewhere in the forest, ran off. "Ah NO! Phillip! Get back here!" He was teetering back and forth, trying to keep his bad balance.
"I cannot believe I'm going to do this." Kayin gave his horse a nudge and shot after Satsu. "Come on, Ade, just a little bit faster." Ade whinnied and sped up, hooves pounding on the ground. "Right, Satsu. Give me your hand," Kayin said, reaching toward him.
Satsu reached down wildly, not even noticing who it was, or how they knew his name as he fell onto his horse. "Oh Kayin! Hello. Thank you. I was wondering who was following me." His cheeks were tinted a pastel blue as he gathered his sense and sat there. "Now to find my steed."
(sorry, we had a long weekend and tons of snow so I had to shovel all the time and I didn't have a chance to get on)
"Instead of that, hows about I take you to the castle. Then, I will find your horse and bring him back by tomorrow. Free of charge." Kayin nudged Ade and she started forward, trotting in the direction Sastu was originally going.
Satsu sighed as he looked back into the forest. "I don't trust most of the creatures in there. You'd need to be a knight. He'll be dead by tomorrow, I'll bet my heart on it. Poor Phillip…oh well. I'll buy another later, and take the thrashing I'm sure to receive."
"A knight? I somehow doubt that. The forest seems friendly enough. Maybe not to you. You seem timid. Alright, you should hold on," Kayin said, wrapping Ade's reins around his palms and whispering to him to go.
"Maybe during the day, but during the night it's a different beast. Good as gone." He shrieked a bit, and hugged Kayin tightly as the horse shot off like a bullet. He situated himself as he got used to the horses rhythm, arms locking around Kayin. He huffed a bit, but didn't say much, lucky enough to get a warning. As they rode on, the pair got strange looks from the townsfolk, for a prince in an assassins arms was a strange sight to see. When the prince wasn't dead, that is.
"Okay back there?" Kayin asked, a grin spreading across his face at Satsu's yelp. "I'm gonna go faster," He said and dug his heels into Ade's sides, making her speed up substantially.
He gasped and buried his face into Kayin's back. It was obvious he didn't go very fast on his horse, using Phillip more for leisure rides then anything else. He ducked down, as the houses and people flew by. A few kids waved at him as he sped on. He just tried to keep his stomach out of his throat.
Kayin reined Ade in. "Too fast for you?" He looked back at Satsu. "Do you want me to slow down?" Ade cantered to a stop and turned in a tight circle.
(ohhh I'm so sorry I got wrapped up in grades and catching up. I'll get a response to this asap!)
(dw about it! i know how it is. school sucks)
"No no it's fine just…not used to it." He said softly. "Crystal may protect the creatures during the day, but when she sleeps at night. Wolves and terrifying shadowy beasts as tall as the trees, move in too hunt. It's a very different place in the dark. I've been sneaking out of my castle to see Crystal for years. And still the warnings remain ringing in my ears."
"Interesting." Kayin nudged Ade again and she started through the forest once more. "I promise you that I will find your horse. By tomorrow. And if you don't mind my asking, who is Crystal?"
"You don't know her, and you're an assassin?" He sat up slowly, clearly shocked. "I thought everyone knew our cities ex-queen and most powerful healer. You see a long time ago, when she was as young as a sapling. These are her words not mine. Her sister ruled these lands. It's why we have Wallbreaking day. We had strict and high borders, and Lilliana was cruel, and torturous. Anyone said one bad thing about her, then they'd end up killed. Crystal escaped the walls, after being tortured for startign a rebellion, one breath of life left in her lungs. The fae took her in, and healed her. Taught her magic. She became pregnant after falling in love with a fae, and soon after the Collision of Power war happened. Crystal won, but now she's retired. And the family tree has become a large confusion of branches. Her daughter, Marianna, now lives…elsewhere. Crystal has lost track."
Kayin laughed. "I'm not from here, love. I'm an elf. Well, half-elf." He tucked his hair behind his ear, revealing slightly pointed ears. "I was. . . I left my parents at a young age and was trained by an underground assassin. I don't know much about politics or anything like that. I just try to survive. I know a lot, but not about things of that nature."
"Ah. That explains it. A traveler. You're lucky. My parents don't particularly like elves or, anyone. Really." He gulped as they slowly approached the castle gates. He cowered down again, already expecting quite the thrashing from his mother for loosing the horse and arriving with a stranger. At least he had managed to have a few of the items they asked for on him, so it wouldn't be a total loss. (Wasn't your character agender?)
(genderflux, so it changes, mostly between agender and demiboy)
"I don't know about lucky. I suppose it doesn't matter much if they like me or not," Kayin said wryly. "The castle is beautiful," he said softly, then felt Satsu shrink down behind him. "Are you scared?"
"They beat me. I told you this in the bar. It's why you're killing them for me." He said simply, as the gate lowered slowly. "And it does matter. You may not even live till tomorrow. Depending upon how much they care to spend resources to find you. If you're worth their time or not. Probably not." Suddenly the door opened and there stood the king and queen, adorned in jewels and galliant clothes. "SATSU WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? Where is that weak thing you call a horse? Who is THIS?!?!?!" His mother screeched out, as he slowly got down, and immediately his arm was roughly grabbed and he received a rough slap across the face. "We'll have to wait another 10 years before he can leave the castle again dearest." His father replied simply, as Satsu got dragged in by the ear, him dragging his heels.
"Yikes," Kayin muttered under his breath, following Satsu, not sure if intervening would cause more trouble. "I'm sorry to inconvenience Your Majesties." He pulled the gold button off his cloak and dropped it into his boot. That certainly didn't need to be noticed by the king and queen.
The king looked up and down Kayin after Satsu had disappeared inside. "Hm yes well. What happened to his horse? He was buying important items from in the city we need for his training. I hope he wasn't seeing that stupid old wench Crystal. We can't kill her since she's protected by laws we can't change, no matter how we look at the possibilities…Oh. I seem to have said too much. What does it matter anyways, you're a traveller. Of elven decent, I can tell by the ears. You've come far. Why are you here, I might as well ask. Caroline will wonder." His voice was heavy, every word weight with a cannonball of seriousness. The type of voice you'd imagine smog and dreariness having, it all very flat and tired.
Kayin cleared his throat and touched his ears self-consciously. "The prince has asked me to be his servant," he ad-libbed, pulling his sleeve down to cover the scars on his arms. "If that's alright with Your Majesty, that is. I. . .stole his horse and released it into the woods, and the prince has deemed that the punishment should be becoming his indentured servant for a period of time, as well as give him my horse. He has also asked me to go retrieve his horse from the forest for him."