Atria memorized Farah’s name. ‘Dowling’…she had heard that name before, though it wasn’t familiar enough to dwell upon. And they had more pressing matters at hand.
“Well, Farah, what do you know about the princess?” She shook her hand, then dropped it, deciding to sit down on the edge of the roof to talk.
Atria herself knew little about the lost heir, but she had clues to her whereabouts. If they could find her, then whatever she learned from Farah would be what would help convince her to join the rebels.
Much more than I'd like to was her immediate thought, but instead, she said, "Not much. I've only seen her in passing with her mother a few times. It's not like she trains with us or anything. She's with the queen most of, if not all the time." While most of what she said was true, it was all partial truths. But the princess did spend the vast majority of her time by the queen's side. Farah could understand why she left.
Atria was a little discouraged to hear that Farah didn’t know much about the princess, she didn’t find it strange at all. What she had said made sense.
“Well, we’ll have to find something about her, before we go looking for her. Anything about her mannerisms, or her general demeanor will help to know.”
She looked up at her new partner, adding on, “We should start looking for info soon. Today if we can. Though I might have to change into different clothes, something less likely to get me killed.” A small grin appeared on her face at that one, like she was willing to play the odds of being killed for treason and impersonating a royal guard.
Farah took time and considered this. If she was going to pick up and leave in search of the princess, she'd need to gather up supplies for the trip. Her parents would find out that she was leaving whether she told them or not, so she'd need to get their permission. It would be less suspicious that way. And she still had to report back to the queen about the battalion's progress for the day. The queen!
Farah's eyes narrowed in thought before she rose to her feet. "I have an idea. But you are not going to like it and there is a very high possibility of it turning south."
“I like the sound of it already. What’s your idea?” She asked, happy that already Farah was proving useful to her search.
Leaning forward to hear her words, the devilish grin stayed present. Anything they had to help them find out more about the princess was something she would at least listen to. No matter how much she supposedly wouldn’t like it.
Farah laughed very quietly at the too-eager tone in Atria's voice. "Well… I'm going to turn you in," she answered, waiting for her newly established partner's reaction. "It's the only way I can think of to get you into the places I need you to be so we can have the best chance of finding L– the princess." Farah internally cursed for very nearly letting the princess' name slip.
Atria’s grin faltered at the idea of being turned in, even if it was to get information. “And how do I know you won’t leave me there? Or simply use the excuse of turning me in to really do so?”
She had pretended to be turned in before, but it had been by people she trusted with her life, and whom she had worked with for years. Doing the same thing with a total stranger sounded less appealing than drinking straight fish oil from the docks.
"That necklace I gave you is my most prized possession in all of Eisha," Farah replied plainly. "I won't leave you there. I wouldn't have sworn by the opal's fire that you could trust me if you couldn't." She sighed, reluctant to admit what she was about to say, but she needed this… alliance, of sorts. "I… I need your help with this. I can't find the princess alone, she…" Farah shook her head. "She's… difficult to find."
“….Fine. But if you even think about leaving me there, I’m selling this opal so fast you don’t know it’s gone.” Atria narrowed her eyes, hoping she wasn’t making a horrible mistake agreeing to the plan.
“If the princess was easy to find, she wouldn’t have evaded capture for so long. I know she’s hard to find,” She added with a roll of her eyes, her hand drifting to her pocket to check that the opal and the jewelry she had stolen were still with her. “If this goes smoothly though…I can guarantee I know where to start looking for her.”
It's even harder when she's avoiding you specifically, Farah thought. She tugged at the sleeve of her tunic uniform and prepared to head back down the stairwell, but before she could move, Atria's comment made her immensely curious. "Oh, really? And how, may I ask, would you have found out that kind of information?"
Atria grinned and winked, standing and heading towards the stairs. “I have my ways, soldier. Sometimes it pays to be part of the rebellion.”
She passed Farah casually, pausing by the top of the stairs, “Are we going to get me turned in right now? Or should we go separate ways and meet up in a little bit?”
"We're doing this now," Farah quickly answered. "If I don't report back for my battalion soon, the queen will become suspicious. But once we're inside the palace, I just need to nab a few things, and then we can escape out the back. Sometimes it pays to be a part of the royal military." She added the last part with a smirk. "I'll also need to get into my own room in my house. There are some things I need from there as well."
“Fair enough. I need to stop by somewhere too, I have things I need. As long as we’re quick, we should be out of the city by dark.” She said, slightly annoyed that they would have to stop two times after the palace, but knowing it would be necessary.
Atria needed to tell the rebellion where she was going when she made her stop, and she needed her things. Specifically her own clothes, and her bag. Those she couldn’t leave behind. Her friends wouldn’t be happy, but they wouldn’t know the full truth. If they figured it out, they’d come hunt her down and drag her back themselves.
Farah nodded. "We'd better get moving then. And… I'll need to tie your wrists again, for effect. The queen has become very paranoid," she revealed, using her dagger blade to tear off another piece of her tunic to use as a binder. "If she doubts any part of my story, we're both as good as dead. Luckily, I've been lying consistently to her for the past five years, and she hasn't suspected a thing in that area, so we should be safe."
Atria grumbled under her breath about the paranoid Queen as she pulled her wrists behind her back, allowing Farah to tie them. “Lucky for you I’m a great actor too. I’ll make the story convincing. Though I do have to ask…what has someone so goody-two-shoes like you been doing lying to the Queen? Hmm?” She grinned over her shoulder at her, nodding to her pocket, “Before I forget, am I going to be searched at the palace? I need to know if you have to take anything for safekeeping.”
"If I say I searched you, they'll believe it. We'll be fine," Farah responded. At Atria's question, Farah realized exactly what she'd said, and her eyes widened. Quickly, she shook her head and focused on resecuring Atria's bind. "It doesn't matter. Little things. Here and there. You know?" She nodded toward the stairs. "After you."
(Also, side note. I feel like this would be a good rp for the trope where one character gets hurt and has to take off her shirt or something so the other can take care of the wounds, and there are a lot of scars on her back, and the character who isn't injured says "who did this to you?")
(Ooo it totally is!! We’ll have to incorporate that!)
“Ah, alright,” She replied, pretending to be satisfied with that answer, though the glint in her eyes said she believed there was more to the story. “Ready to act all tough and mighty, soldier?”
Atria’s grin vanished shockingly quickly, replaced with an extremely convincing grit of her teeth and a scowl. The only way to tell she was acting was through her eyes. They still were full of mischief, that much was clear. She looked all the part of the pissed off rebel, who was ashamed of being caught, but very little of it was true.
"I wish you would stop calling me that," Farah hissed as she began to lead Atria back down the steps. She seemed impressed with the girl's ability to change emotions, but two could play at this game. Her features instantly became stoic again, and as the pair reached the ground floor, Farah was quick to spot her battalion patrolling the streets, most likely looking for her. "Here, we go," she muttered. "Are you ready?"
“Ready as I can be, when I’m getting turned in to the looney bin Queen,” She whispered back between her teeth, pretending to give her a hard time getting down the stairs. The real act would start when they reached her battalion. Up until then..she just had to convince herself she wasn’t going to die from this stupid plan.
"I promise you, you will be fine," Farah muttered in reply. "Trust me."
With that, she forced Atria out the door and into the street. Seeing her battalion at the end of the road, she started off towards them, practically dragging Atria behind her. It's an act. This is fake, Farah told herself as she donned a very intimidating expression. As the members from her battalion noticed her, their eyes grew wide with simultaneous shock, respect, and fear.
"Won't someone in this worthless group tell me why it is that I was the only one to follow through with our orders?" Farah's words were sharp and ruthless. "You all should thank your lucky stars I was able to catch her before she slipped away and disappeared forever." She tossed Atria out in front of her, making sure to stay closer to her than any of her other battalion members. "And that I won't be telling the queen about this." Every single battalion member heaved a sigh of relief at her words. "But I can assure you," Farah continued, her eyes narrowed and lips pulled tight, "if this happens again, each of you better expect a new assignment post. Or something much worse.”
Atria barely kept her comment to herself, only doing so because they had reached the street and her battalion. Now she kept quiet out of fake embarrassment and annoyance. “Maybe I’ll tattle on you to the Queen,” She teased finally, butting in after Farah’s words. Her voice was cunning and taunting, but her eyes were lit up with very real mischief. If she wasn’t working with Farah, she wouldn’t hesitate to throw the battalion under the bus, even if didn’t stop her death.
She huffed as she was drug around, though in reality she was glad she was. It kept her from getting antsy and ruining their cover.
If Atria was anyone else, Farah would have broken their nose, or worse. Instead, she knelt down and grabbed Atria by a fistful of her hair. She did so as gently as possible while still attempting to make it look realistic. It was a razor-thin line.
“Like hell you will, thief,” Farah sneered, letting go of Atria’s hair and grabbing her arm instead to pull her to her feet. “Let’s go,” she commanded.
Farah led the way, bringing Atria with her as the rest of her battalion fell in silence behind her. She kept a fast pace to stay out of their earshot, and once she was, she murmured “I’m sorry” very discreetly to Atria.
She let out a gasp when Farah grabbed a handful of her hair, disguising her gasp of surprise as gasp of pain. Still, she grinned devilishly as she was called a theif. To anyone else, it would look like she was simply trying to piss of the soldiers, especially as she hissed, “Try and keep me from doing so, soldier.”
Then she was yanked to her feet, and with surprising realism, she shuffled along with Farah, whispering in a faintly ticked off tone, “That hurt. You better be sorry.”
"I couldn't let you go without something that would have been too suspicious," Farah retorted. Briefly, she glanced over her shoulder disguising the effort of seeing how far out of earshot her battalion was by pretending to check on their pace. She turned back around and muttered as quietly as she could. "I'm truly sorry. I did my best to make it painless."
“It’s fine, you can stop apologizing. Instead you can get us out of the palace alive and in one piece.” She whispered back, the frustration gone. Atria was truly still worried things would go wrong and she would be locked in there to die. It was nothing Farah had done to make her as sick, just her own personal experiences and paranoia.
“Tell your sorry excuses for soldiers to walk faster. I want to get this over with.”
"I told you to trust me. I've been doing this since I was born. I know how to handle myself and a captive," Farah replied, but at Atria's ending remark, she couldn't withhold a small smile. However, it vanished as quickly as it appeared when she looked back again at her battalion. "The queen doesn't have all day," she snapped, and instantly they picked up the pace. Farah shook her head and made a turn down another street. Beyond the buildings of the city, the palace loomed into view.
With the pace quickened, Atria had to focus less on her act, but she still tried to come off as pissed. Even with her act, she couldn’t help but be impressed with the palace in the distance. She hadn’t ever been inside, and truthfully, she didn’t want to be. If she didn’t have to go there to start finding the princess, she wouldn’t dare step foot in the Queen’s lair.
“How long will this take, do you know? She asked, scowling at the ground to keep her act while speaking to Farah.
"Only a few minutes. You'll need to meet Her Majesty, be dismissed, and thrown into a prison cell, but since you'll be with me the entire time, the latter event will not be happening," Farah answered. "I don't expect the Queen to talk to you long. She'll most likely look at you, dismiss you, and then leave. Then we take a detour before escaping. Simple."
“Wonderful,” Atria answered simply, looking up at the palace as it got closer. She mostly trusted Farah to make this run smoothly. Mostly. She had just met the woman shortly ago, so trusting her with her life was a bit of a steep friendship curve. Still she couldn’t complain. Farah had gained her trust with the wonderful opal she has given her.
That opal meant more to Farah than Atria would ever realize. It hurt her to give it up, but it was a decision Farah had to make. Finding the princess was the most important thing on her mind at any given time of day, and to do so, she had needed to gain the trust of Atria. And what was proved trust to a commoner more than a valuable. The battalion finally arrived at the gates, and when the guards saw Farah, they didn't hesitate to let her pass.
"Lady Dowling," they both acknowledge her with nods of their heads, and Farah nodded back curtly before guiding Atria into the palace's entranceway.
(By the way, I'm sorry I'm not on as much anymore. My parents have decided that I spend too much time on my devices, so I'm not allowed to have them in my bedroom late at night anymore 🙄)
