"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.
Finding Emmeline didn't take too long for Ace, he had learnt a bit about her and made an educated guess as to where she might be. (Actually, he just followed the trail of roses that vendors now had.) Ace saw her looking at some stuff as a merchant presented some finer things to her but she seemed only politely interested. Ace walked up to her and leaned against the post of the stall. "So," he began, crossing his arms. "I have a hot meal prepared for the two of us at an inn down the road. The issue is that they have only one room available. I booked it, but I was considering the fact that we can perhaps try the other inns and try getting a room for you there?" he asked
Emmeline smiled softly as she sensed her traveling companion approach and gave a polite nod to the vendor before looking at him. “Oh, that doesn't seem like much of a problem to me.” she shrugged. “Though it would be a shame to waste a warm meal… we can talk about our options as we eat. I just hope you won't mind if I'm a little blunt with some of them.” she winked with a playful smirk.
Externally Ace scoffed and smirked. Internally he was going through a crisis. Never once had he ever interacted with a person to this extent. Now his…companion was underhandedly teasing him. Ace didn't know how to feel.
"Well, chérie, shall we head to lodgings for the night? It's very long and there is much to do." He smiled and looked at her, eyes shining in the candlelight.
“Bien sûr.” Emmeline giggled, looping her arm around his as if they had done it several times. “Lead the way, mon ami. Cher will follow us to the stables.” she commented casually. “Though I have to admit… it’s always a pleasant surprise to hear you speak French. Where did you learn it?” she asked, trying to keep a normal conversation going to distract him from her touch.
Ace opened his mouth to respond but frowned. He stayed silent momentarily, still frowning, then slowed his pace. "I…I can't remember." He said quietly, furrowing his brow as he tried to think. It wasn't as though he was fluent, not at all, but he had the faintest memory of someone using French terms of endearment. Were these Cade's memories? But Cade didn't use any French. It had been some time since he had been connected to Cade, and keeping their old memories apart was getting harder. Ace's mind ran as he went back and forth in this loop trying to determine the answer to Emmeline's question.
It wasn't until he stumbled on a crack in the road that he broke out of his silent trance. Ace shook his head as if to shake out the uncertainties before looking at Emmeline with a fake smile. "Here we are, I stumbled on this crack as I was walking to come to meet you." He opened the door and held it for her. As he locked eyes with the barkeep, he gestured for two meals and took a seat, gesturing for Emmeline to do the same.
Emmeline raised a brow at the uncertain pause and the quiet confession. She knew Ace, and Arlo, was a special case but it still felt odd to her. “It's alright.” she assured softly, patting his arm in a way that she hoped would be comforting.
She walked with him in silence, barely managing to keep them both upright when he tripped. But she smiled when he opened the door for her and walked in, nodding politely at the innkeeper as they sat down. “So, what do you have in mind for tonight's… arrangement?” she asked, bringing up their previous topic.
Ace furrowed his brow in thought and laced his fingers together. He chewed on his lip as he ran through the various scenarios. "Well, I have met my quota for the month so I can scout the inner city and plot a path for us to use in the morning. I can come back and rest on the chair by the window so as to not disturb you." Ace rested his chin on his hands and smiled softly, looking at the crackling flames. "It has been some time since I was awarded the chance to sleep, I wonder if I still remember how to dream?" he murmured.
Emmeline nodded thoughtfully at the suggestion of scouting but frowned when he mentioned the fact that he didn't get to sleep much. She almost understood why between his job and how the magic between him and Arlo seemed to work… but it still didn't seem healthy. “Everyone dreams, even if you don't remember it.” she pointed out softly.
“If you insist on taking the chair, then I can enchant it for you so it would be more comfortable.” she offered before batting her eyes at him. “But I do not mind if you wish to share the bed. It must have been even longer since the last time you slept in one.”
"My dreams normally consist of what Arlo does in the day. I sleep when he is present and vice versa. I appreciate your offers. I will scout and if I return to see you awake, we can make arrangements then." Ace offered. Their meals had arrived and Ace dug in.
“That makes sense,” Emmeline nodded, “but doesn't your body also need more rest than just the few seconds it takes for you to… switch?” she asked once the person bringing their food had left. “Which reminds me, I wasn't able to play that little prank on Arlo because he… woke up quicker than I expected. I was only able to catch him and help him back on the horse.” she admitted, feeling that it was unnecessary to mention that things had actually worked out better that way.
"You misunderstand. When Arlo is controlling the body, I am asleep inside. I can't try to force a switch nor can I control it. Whatever he does, I am able to see, it comes like a dream to me. That's how I know many things that happen when Arlo is around." Ace hesitated, he trusted her far more than Cade did but even still he wasn't sure exactly how much he should tell her. He thought back to their conversations and could only recall one moment when she was untruthful. "There are…conditions for our specific condition." he chose to trust her at the moment, after all, they were striving for a similar thing.
"Arlo can use magic to separate our body so that we can be present at the same time. That's how we were able to speak the last time. The consequences of that are that it takes a lot of energy from him which means he goes to sleep longer. The longest time was 3 days but that's a different story." Ace sighed and poked at the now empty plate with his cutlery, the scratching sound of metal against wood was reminiscent of his early days practicing his sword work. "I can use magic to block Arlo from seeing everything I do in his dreams. That's why I am able to…urge him… to do certain things by altering the story a tad."
Emmeline nodded slightly as he explained a bit more about the magic that Arlo used but found it more interesting that Ace was able to influence Arlo through their dreams. “I did suspect that was what happened when he said he would speak with you about what I said. Though he did not let me witness it.” she shrugged, not really bothered by it since it had been a personal matter for them. “But, I do understand. Your… duality is not a complicated thing for me to grasp but it is a duality up here only, n'est-ce pas?” she asked, placing a finger to his forehead. “I was talking about this.” she explained bringing her hand against his arm. “Le corps. Pas l'esprit. Does this not also need rest?”
"I'm unsure. It's never bothered me before. It might be an advantage of my contract. After all, he needs his work done. His knight cannot be tired, it must be ready at all moments." Ace shook his head, his hair falling into his face. He used a leather band on his wrist to tie it back. "Any how, i should get to scouting. The inn is slowly getting quieter which means that the knights are going to be out soon for patrolling. You should go up to the room and rest while I'm out." He looked at her and slid a room key in her direction.
“I suppose that makes sense.” she agreed thoughtfully. Of course, it didn't mean that she liked that as a fact… true, when she occasionally animated an inanimate object to help her with something, it didn't need sleep as the magic sustained it. But it was still an inanimate object, not a person.
“Merci, mon ami.” Emmeline smiled as he passed her the key. “If I am not awake when you return, the chair will be enchanted for you. Otherwise… we’ll talk when you get back.” she smirked with a teasing wink.
Ace stood up and bowed dramatically. "I shall see you soon." He smiled and walked out of the inn, pulling his hood up and snapping his face mask into place. Walking inconspicuously along the side of the road, he made sure to stick to the shadows and when he saw a spot with no lights, he ducked into it and climbed up to the tops of the building.
Casting a quick silence charm on his boots, Ace walked along them to reach the castle gates. Once he reached the bridge, he jumped down and used the underside to get across and onto the main part. Ace stayed down there for a while, waiting for the guard shifts to change, and gathered intel. Once the shift exchange happened, Ace climbed up the sides of the walls and ducked into the main city.
(Do you want to have an interaction between them or do you want to have a timeskip to the morning? I'm good either way)
