forum Kingdom of Spirits (4/4) (CLOSED)

Started July 01, 2019 by @ShadeStar

tune

"Oh, my stars. You are so unbelievable," she informed him with an exasperated eye roll. "I fall next to you twice and now you won't let me forget it. I mean, the first time wasn't even my fault!"

He acknowledged her point with a dip of his chin, before firing back, "And what of the second time?" They trickled out of the area alongside the crowd, and Nathan's vision snagged on a table of refreshments. Nudging her slightly toward a cup of water, he scanned the view around him again in a paranoid manner. Being caught with this girl would certainly do more harm than good.

Aureole looked up at him briefly. Was he not supposed to be here? She decided not to ask. "I was - I was breathing too fast. It's already embarrassing enough without your comments."

"Drink the water," he instructed, firmly. A wrinkle appeared on his face, joking gone, as he questioned, "Why were you breathing so fast, then?"

Rolling her eyes, Aureole pointedly took a small sip of water. "Because that's what happens when I panic. Obviously."

He delicately raised an eyebrow, stating, "You panicked enough to lose your surroundings and fall?" He planned to hold out the conversation until at least she finished the cup of water. "Or did you faint?" Nathan sternly inquired.

"Oh, my - okay, no, I didn't lose my surroundings. You see, sir," she began as though talking to a small child, "when too much oxygen gets into one's brain, their body tells them to slow down by forcing them to slow down. Also known as passing out. I did not faint."

"Whatever you say," Nathan rolled his eyes, unconvinced. "But either way, ma'am, you better drink that. Otherwise I'll keep annoying you, and we both know you'd hate that."

"You're not annoying me," she muttered, though she took another sip of water. "I don't need water, this is really unnecessary."

"Well, you have the cup in your hands so you're not going to waste it," he lectured, much like a parent. Again, he checked his wrist for the time, habits never dying. A thought floated across his mind so he asked, "How are you going to vouch for the girl tomorrow, anyway?"

"I wasn't planning on it. It looked like she was trying to steal the - the - oh, you know, the fire-thing. I didn't want to come back tomorrow, but since I'm forced to, it seems like she should be in the dungeons," she explained thoughtfully, looking down again.

"The… Everflame, you mean?" An amused smile toys on his lips, quickly replaced by a frown as the predicament he's in dawned on him. Nathaniel was planning to blatantly lie to the king… oh gods. He swiped a cup of water for himself, as well, before downing the entire thing.

"Yes… are you alright?You seem worried," she observed, looking up at him briefly before returning her gaze to her water. Probably none of your business, she thought, shaking her head slightly.

Shortly, he replied, "I don't know how to convince the king she's innocent." He ran his hand through strands of perfectly styled hair, confessing, "I don't even know if she's innocent. All I have is a bit of background - that's nothing in a court."

"Well, then why did you offer to testify for her?" Aureole asked confusedly. "I understand the desire to help, but trying to help without any real plan is just… not smart."

"Yes, I've noticed," he snapped rather harshly. Gentler, now, he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lash out. The problem is I don't know. It was a split-second decision and I…" he averted his eyes, sighing. "I don't know."

Aureole gasped quietly, looking down and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's fine, I - I understand, I just - sorry, I can't control my words sometimes. I should go, I'm being really stupid," she told him uncertainly, running a hand through her hair nervously.

His eyebrows shot to the roof. "You're stupid? I created this mess and somehow you're dragged into it, too." Regret lined every feature of his face until Nathaniel straightened, determined. "I suppose I'll just have to crash and burn, tomorrow, then. If you don't show up I can make up an excuse."

"Wha - no way. I'm not going to let you fail in front of a king. What if you're beheaded? No, we have to put together a case, we need more information, maybe a motive?" She began, pacing and deep in thought.

Nathan's face drained of all color as he pondered. "Could I really get executed for standing up for a girl I met in a market plaza?" He leaned against a wall, finally murmuring, "The biggest issue is that we don't have enough evidence to support a realistic case. We're also on a time crunch."

"Okay, first of all, I'm going to be really mad if you get executed, so don't do that. But maybe we can figure something out. Maybe she has relatives, or - wait, what exactly are we trying to prove? That she wasn't trying to steal the… fire-thing?" She asked, tipping her head thoughtfully.

"Yes, I think." He buried his face in his hands, giving a quiet hysterical laugh. "We don't even know what we're trying to prove, oh gods." Emerging from his cupped hands, he agreed, "But yes. This would be a lot easier if we were able to talk to her beforehand."

"Great, so we're basically dead. Fun. So, all we have to do is make it out of the country by tomorrow, and they can't kill us," she told him, slightly panicked.

Eagerly, he jumped on the bandwagon. "You're… right. We're completely doomed. Where do we go? Do you have money?" He shook his head at his own stupidity. "I'm sorry for bringing you into this, I truly am."

Aureole placed a hand on his arm. "No, no, it's fine. It really wasn't you. It was that stupid guard. Maybe we should fake our own deaths? It worked last time, I'll just need a new alibi…."