Where 'two'? (Shazzi!)

[Lion]

Thorn rolled up the sleeves of his mid-thigh length coat and pulled his collar as he treaded through the underbrush.  In the midst of the darkening sky, he could see the shape of light in the distance; lamps being lighted.  Soon he was out of the wood and into the secluded village.  "A safe haven..." or so tip the informant had given to him said.  Well, it had better be, he thought grimly.  He would surely need the safety; at least for a while.  A bar brawl gone wrong had him on the run and had killed the wrong man in the process.  He was simply at the wrong place at the wrong time.  No, matter.  What's done is done.

He walked into town from the shadows and wrapped the coat tighter around him.  So this was La'marri?  It seemed a quiet enough place to start anew, or at least make a normal enough life while trying to escape from one's past.  It was cool enough, this transformation of evening, and though Thorn was born into the heights of Hyoite, he relished warmer temperatures.  These cool winds were not nearly as cool as the snow, however.  This was good enough for him.

He headed straight towards the first tavern he saw. The Moonlight Flower?  The name amused him.  It didn't seem like a place that would have such an effeminate name.  Usually taverns were gruff places, where men came to drink and shady fellows looked for selling their shady products, be that illegal or bootlegged goods.  It didn't seem like such a place.  When he strode in, Thorn was met by more than a dozen pairs of eyes.  They didn't seem annoyed but rather welcoming and friendly.  He certainly wasn't expecting this.

Thorn shrugged off their gazes and walked towards the counter where he asked the bartender whom he assumed was the owner, "Excuse me sir,"  The moon elf turned towards Thorn in full attention.  "A friend of mine told me you had a room waiting for me."

"Ye name, sir?"

"Blackburn."

The owner pulled a book out from under the counter and flipped through a few pages.  After a few moments, the elf nodded his head and said, "Aye.  Here be Blackburn.  Oooh, the master suite too."  He laughed an annoying, light-hearted chuckle.

"Thank you.  Now hand me the key, please."

"No can do, sir.  The room's taken already."

"What!  How can that be?  That room was reserved and paid for.  Who could have taken it up?"

"The room was taken up by a young blond-haired lass with a trunk or two and a large bag of gold."  He looked at the book once again.  "Err- Last night I think."

"Well then, just give me another room," Thorn said impatiently.

"Nope, can't do that either, sir."

"And why the hell not?!"

"All booked up."

"Well, we'll see about this!"  Thorn slammed his hand down on the counter, though not loud enough to permeate through the room's chatter, and marched up the tavern stairs.  Immediately the elf ran around the counter and called after him, saying that he couldn't come up the stairs without a room.

In the purest irritation, he strode down the hall of rooms with the owner following close behind with incoherent protests.  He found it quite easily for there was a plaque with the term 'Master Suite' carved into it placed directly above the door.  Thorn made a fist and knocked on the heavy oak door that echoed through the hallway.  "Open up!" he called out.

The little elf swooped down under his arm and and stood in front of the doorway.  "Sir, sir. Please calm down, you'll disturb the other guests."

"I don't give a damn.  Now move aside."  He continued to knock against the door, this time with a gentler knuckle tap but persisted to raise his voice, "I said to open up!"

[Anonymous]

Alea had been sat on the windowsil of the master suite in the tavern that went by the name of The Moonlight Flower. She was just simply thinking of everything that had happened to her in the past two weeks. Her parents deaths - not that she had ever really been close to them, then being told she was to be Queen, then being told she was having to marry a man she had never met so that the lands could have a King, then finally her not taking any more and running away. Ending up here. Then she heard a loud knock on the door, or rather a thunder on the door closely followed by a shout from someone who sounded rather angry stood outside. A puzzled and worried expression on her face she flipped her legs onto the floor and stood up. As she did so her long wavy blonde hair flying in the air. As she walked over to the big door in the suite she was staying in she could hear a lot of arguing going on outside and an extremly worried look passed over her face. Turning the door handle she opened it and looked straight into the face of a furious looking man.
"Um.. hello there. May I help? "
She asked.
Her voice trembling as she looked from the owner of the tavern, who was looking exhausted from the effort of trying to stop the man to the man before her who wasnt looking even remotely happy at that moment.
"Im Alea by the way if it makes any difference"  
She added, a bit more of her usual confidence in her voice this time as she spoke.
Then she stood, her brown dress swaying as she did so, waiting for any one of the two to reply. She managed a smile at the tavern owner who seemed to be trying to mouth to her that he was ever so sorry about the disturbance.

[Lion]

He certainly wasn't expecting so young a woman to answer.  He had expected a much older woman to do such a conniving act.  Well, he thought optimistically, at least she might not be that much trouble.  From what he could see in her youthful face, she was at most eleven years his junior.  At least she won't be bad looking when she grows up, he added.

Suddenly, there was a blast in his mind.  There was a plethora of colors that emitted from her aura like a dynamite explosion that staggered him so.  In all of his travels, hers was the strongest he had ever seen.  He clenched his eyes hard and saw his mind clear and then came the visions that followed with starting to read someone's aura.  This was strange.  Her aura was muddled and could not read her clearly.  It was as if her memories were trapped in a heavy mist that was too think for even him to read.  Running...  Death...  Was that an argument there? was all he could catch from the turmoil of memories.  This had certainly never happened to him before.

"I hardly care who you are," he answered rudely, trying not to let her invulnerability to his reading bother him,  However, the aggravation was written plainly in his misty gray eyes as he stared down at her.  "But I would very much like to know just what you're doing in my room.  All the trouble to journey here and all I wanted was a night's rest and I come here to discover that my room's been given away.  How in the hell that happened, I don't think I'll ever understand."  Inside he was fuming.  How could this happen to him, a psychic, who could have possibly foreseen it.  Perhaps he had too much to drink the previous night...  His head was kind of dizzy.

Little did he know, that the little elf that stood behind him had turned red in irritation.  Cursing in a language Thorn had never heard before, he turned on him and said in a calm tone that strained with annoyance, "S-sir!  P-please, calm down.  I just remembered that we do have an extra room available if you'd like.  I'll be willing to charge half price if you'd only calm down."  It seemed the anger that the elf possessed dissipated as quickly as it came and was replaced by a trembling that caused him to stutter.  The owner looked at the girl and pleaded, "I'm so s-sorry miss for the inter-eruption.  This way Mr. Blackburn."

Thorn sighed grimly and struggled to tear his eyes away from Alea's turquoise ones.  They seemed to be just as troubled and in a tumult as her aura.  The challenge of figuring her out made his spirit rise causing him to smile.  He turned around and followed the owner who was obviously relieved at having handled the situation rather well, at least according to him.  He led Thorn around the corner of the master suite to another directly across from it.  He pulled the out his great key ring and unlocked the door.  As he delved into the dusty, dreadfully unused room,  Thorn gave the owner a dirty look.  Fearing another outburst the elf quickly left him to himself.

The room was suitable enough for Thorn as well as the building's shape of the top half of a capital 'H'.  He walked in and lifted the curtains from the window, letting in the moonlight.  Searching in his pockets, he found a few matches and lit the few lamps in the room, completely illuminating the thick wooden walls.  "That's much better," he said to himself, observing the room for a final time.  He sat down on the bed and began to remove his jacket, revealing athletically strong arms, thick with muscle.  He took off his boots and only when he was about to pull his shirt over his head when he noticed that his window was directly across from Alea's, the small building's volume only separating them at a distance of about fifteen feet.  Immediately his face turned cherry red, for he saw her looking in his direction, or at least he thought he saw her doing so, but nonetheless had closed the curtains on the window with a certain quickness.  Why he had reacted in such a way baffled even him.

Thorn walked over to the bed and sat down trying to shake the memory of the past events from his mind.  Despite his efforts, he could not get the memory of her troubled eyes out of his mind as he slept.  This is silly, he thought.  I don't even know the woman.  But then why do I feel like I must do something?  I suppose I could apologize to her in the morning.

[Anonymous]

Alea looked up at the man standing there, waiting for his answer but he seemed to be inspecting her and looked rather puzzled. She wasnt quite sure why though. She had only answered the door. She didnt dwell on it though and quickly pushed it out of her mind.

"Well theres no need to be so rude about it sir." She replied to his rather rude comment on not caring who she was. She looked at his grey eyes that seemed so angry as he spoke. "I am sorry. I didnt know that this room was taken. " She said, shooting a small look at the tavern owner who had said nothing to her about her room being taken once she had asked for a room and shown some of her money to him.

"Dont worry, I wasnt doing anything anyway." She said to the obviously terrified elf who was now stuttering as he spoke.
Alea looked at the man who she suddenly realised she didnt know the name of as he sighed and followed the elf unhappily around the corner. Though she caught a small smile from him as he went.

Alea shut the door once everyone who had been gathered outside the room had left quietly and she walked over to the window she had been sat on before. Feeling a little bit, quite a bit, bad about what had just happened. While her thoughts filled her head she smiled and gazed out of the window. Watching some curtains of the room opposite being pulled up and then realising, much to her embarrassment, that it was the man she had just met. She quickly closed her curtains before turning and looking around the rather massive room that was all hers for the next few nights. Sighing she went over to the bed. Her head filled with everything that had just happened.
She quickly got changed out of her dress and replaced it with a nightdress before laying down in the extremly comfy bed and pulling the covers over her. Before drifting into a sleep. A very unsettled one at that.


Alea awoke early in the morning and got changed into a different dress that was a light blue colour, one that went well with her eyes was what she had been told back in her old homelands, Teraseena. The events of the night before still going round her head as she opened the door of her room and walked down the corridor, around the corner and ended up infront of the door which she assumed was the mans from last nights. She knocked on the door as loud as she could before waiting patiently outside, not sure why she was there really. Just feeling she should at least know the mans name.

[Lion]

The thought was pestering him all morning through breakfast since he woke up early.  Thorn didn't think that the kitchen would be open at seven in the morning but once again the elf owner's strange customs of business running.  Once he had come downstairs and asked about the kitchen hours, the owner replied that they opened at five in the morning: eggs, ham, sausage, bacon and all were all available to order at this early an hour.  Hmm, and I suppose giving away people's paid rooms is just another one of his strange customs too, he judged as he frowned maliciously.  His conscience begged to him to forget about the whole incident and move on with the time he was going to be here.  He consented.

After getting his breakfast, and instead of sitting down at one of the tables to enjoy it, thought he might take it up to his room while it was still hot.   Once again his conscience got the better of him: "You might as well bring Alea up one too after the way you treated her, a rude bastard you were."  He ordered another plate of the same meal and as soon as it was made he wandered up the stairs.  As soon as he would drop his plate of at his room he would do the same for her.

But he did not expect to find her standing in front of his door.  He furrowed his brow and approached her as silently as he could.  Leaning into her ear while still a good distance away, he said in a much gentler voice, "Good morning, Miss--er, Alea, was it?"  He looked down at one of the plates that were burning his hands pretty well and handed her one.  "Here," he continued, "I wanted to--um-"  Wow, this was going to be more difficult than he thought.  He was never one to apologize for any of his actions, even if they were against the fairer sex.  He tried for a final time, "I'm sorry for disturbing you the way I did the other night and this is one of my ways of doing it.  So, uh- here.  I'm Thorn Blackburn, by the way."  He did notice the way the blue dress heightened her eyes, the only things he had come across that could baffle him.  And though the thought distressed him greatly, he could not help but flash his animal-white teeth in a friendly smile.

[Anonymous]

Alea had been waiting for the man to open his door and jumped a bit when he appeared from behind her. She spun round and then smiled a bit. "Hello, Alea Gold." She then looked at the two trays he had in his hands and was just about to ask why he had two when she was handed one. She took it gratefully for she hadnt eaten since the morning the day before. "Thankyou, it was very kind of you to think of me. " She smiled again and then looked at him as he tried to mumble an apology. She shook her head. Her blonde hair flying as she did so. "There is no need for you to apologise. If anyone should be it should be me, I took your room." She finished off her sentence and then looked at her hands that were now burning from the hot plate she held.

"Do you.. er.. want to come and eat breakfast with me in my suite?" She mumbled. Looking down at the food as she did so.
For once in her life she was actually not very confident at all, actually if you just looked at her and watched her then you would never have any idea that she had any confidence in her.
She looked at him, her cheeks going slowly a pinkish red colour as she waited for a reply. Even more so as he smiled. A big smile as well.

[Lion]

"Well, seeing as all's said and done, I suppose it doesn't matter who's at fault anymore," he answered with a certain positiveness.  Maybe this optimistic thing wasn't so bad after all?  It certainly was easier to do than holding a grudge and having to remember who had offended him every day.  Usually, he would just stop caring after six or seven weeks of plaguing his enemy until they learned their lesson never to wrong him again.  Unless of course he deserved the treatment then most likely he would see reason and accept the damage rather than focusing on plotting just revenge.

Thorn assessed his actions and decided they were where they ought to be, no reason in holding onto something as trivial as this.  When Alea invited him into the suite, he certainly noticed her face grow a shade of red from embarrassment.  Abruptly, his mouth altered from a smile to a great outburst of laughter.  What it was that amused him could have slipped the mind of someone else, but Thorn often laughed at things no one else would.  But his laughter was not filled with contempt of her shame but rather, simply the joy of laughing.  Her embarrassment slightly amused him.  Finally he assured her, "There's no need to be embarrassed about a breakfast invitation for it was in good intention and I would be honored to eat with you, Miss Gold."  He still laughed under his breath and turned to follow her to her suite.  He was surprised at himself,  this was perhaps one of the first times he was being considerate and nice.  Well, for a person like him that was.

The dreams and visions of the previous night nonetheless continued to beleaguer him.  This heightened his curiosity every second, so it seemed, for his ability could bring nothing clear to him about girl.  Nor her past nor even a figment of the near future as he so often had been able when reading auras.  Based their habits of thought, conduct, convictions, honors, trusts, and lies, Thorn could form quite an accurate prediction about a person of what they were going to do next, but Alea completely eluded him.  He decided to take up the charge in an a way not even he expected.  As they got to the door he asked in slightly charming way, "Miss Gold, what brought you to La'marri, if you don't mind me asking?"

[Anonymous]

Alea smiled and nodded as he said that there was no need to worry about any of the nights activitys the night before.
But her smile disappeared quickly as he burst out laughing, as to why it didnt take her long to figure it out for she knew she could feel her cheeks burning, and even more so now. She nodded as he said he would be honored to eat with her but didnt seem able to speak just then.

She reached the suite door and opened it, walking she then turnt round as she heard Thorn speak again. The embarrassment seeming to go down a bit now. Then as his words hit her she seemed to freeze. Could she tell him? What if he had heard about her lands? What if she knew someone from Teraseena? Oh and there was always the fact that there would be a reward for anyone who found her and she didnt really know him well enough to tell if he was the type who would run for a chance to gain the money that would be up for her capture - or return in Teraseena's eyes.

But for some reason even though this thoughts were filling her head and being joined by more and more each second she nodded, to show that she would tell him. "I would rather tell you inside." She said before showing him in and pointing to the table on the other side of the room where she put her plate down. But she didnt sit down but stood. "Thorn.. have you ever heard of a land that goes by the name of Teraseena?" She asked him, her voice almost shaking for this was one thing she had never told anyone since she ran away.

[Lion]

A grin of smugness appeared upon Thorn's swarthy face, when she consented to trust him.  The way she spoke caused him to consider that maybe the information she was about to share with him was indeed too dire for ears other than their own to hear.  What could she be hiding? he wondered.

He wandered in casually, trying not to seem to anxious to hear the information as a child is to open his gifts on his birthday.  The master suite wasn't exactly what he expected but it was a hell of a lot more elegant than his room.  Howbeit he wasn't a picky fellow, his room was sufficient enough.  Although, he thought feeling his eyes turning green, that cot isn't near as comfortable as those plushy pillows look.  And that goose-feathered mattress, as fluffy and more comfortable than hardened cot springs...  But she interrupted his growing envy when she spoke.

He listened intently, trying to remember anything pertinent to Teraseena that he had heard of. Teraseena?  Teraseena?  The name didn't ring a bell in Thorn's mind that was dull as of now.  He had been curious and intrigued as to what Alea might be hiding about her past but he undoubtedly wasn't expecting her to be so open.  So much for learning to expect what was usually unexpected to those who didn't bear an ability such as his own.

Shocked at his own dumbfounded mind, Thorn replied with a certain assurance, "No, I don't believe I have."  Then there was an abnormal amount of concern growing in him that he could not comprehend.  He was surprised at himself that he would even care about a someone he didn't even know very well.  He did not show it, though, and simply asked with curiosity, "Why do you mention it?"

[Anonymous]

Anger suddenly rose up, not much but a little bit, inside the princess as she saw a smug grin appear on Thorns face. "Dont grin like that when I am about to tell you what I am" She snapped. Walking off to the window, where she saw on the seat by it. Looking out.
"Teraseena is my homelands, my parents lands. Well it was. Im the Teraseena Princess Thorn. " She paused briefly. Looking down, wondering if she should really go on but she decided that even if they did find her because Thorn told them of her whereabouts she wouldnt return.
"My parents never really cared about me. No thats a lie, they did but they were too busy to care for me so the maids did. While they ran the lands. Then my dad died, not long ago. I had been forgotten, I was simply used when they needed me, not as a daughter any more. So my mother died shortly after. She couldnt bear life without my father." She paused again, to wipe off some tears that had fallen down her face.
"I was heir to the Teraseena throne. But I didnt want it. Not after I had seen what it had done to my family. Driven them apart until the daughter was forgotten. I always said I would care for any family I had, but I knew that if I stayed I couldnt. " She looked at Thorn, tears in her eyes now properly before continuing. "Then my parents people decided they needed a king.. a husband for me in other words. That was the end. Thats how I ended up here. I ran away ok? Im a runaway. Now you can laugh. A runaway princess." She said. Turning away from him. Leaning her head against the window.

[Lion]

Thorn did not laugh.  There was not a singular look of amusement written on his face anywhere.  For once he was serious or at least serious enough for someone like himself.  This was after all a very serious situation that required the utmost sincerity.

Thorn had affixed his eyes on her words, not allowing his mind to stray with thoughts but focusing his absolute attention.  When Alena was finished he remained silent.  A princess?  Hmm no wonder she could afford a room like this and her fancy dresses, he thought in the process.  It didn't come as a complete shock to him, for he had an indistinct feeling for the fact.

He was not absolutely sure that she should be telling someone like him, who, as mercenaries tend to do, would work for the highest bidder, capable of performing some of the most painstaking tasks.  Thorn was a man who enjoyed making money and investing in prospects that were promising enough.  But it was all the same to him for he had held no loyalties to anyone; if someone payed him well for one service but another offered more he would simply trade places.  Some might call that treachery, however Thorn could see no difference in trading one task for another if it meant getting paid more.  He was a businessman after all and this specific business was not a place for a one to coddle morals.

Finally deciding to speak, Thorn stood from his seat, and asked solemnly, "A princess?  So that's why you're here.  That's not entirely surprising, but it was a little unexpected."  The colors that once were a confusing abstract portrait now began to formulate a slightly better, however even that wasn't enough to clear his mind.  Then he considered this moment as an opportunity, opportunities were finding a way to pop up all over the place these days and with every opportunity arose the chance to make a little money.  If Alena was a princess, who had run away from the people of her own kingdom, would they not stop at nothing to find her and drag her back to her homeland?  They could be willing to pay top dollar to anyone who was willing to bring her back--but wait!  Thorn considered himself one of the best, who should be paid accordingly.  It would take too long for a bunch of peasants to come up with nearly enough money to assume his services.  A princess would have a lot more money than he could hope to gain from a bunch of peasants.  Why not offer her protection?

Pulling out a cigar from his coat pocket, he said before lighting it, "Alena, how do you think the chances are of them finding you here?  I don't think it would be wise for a princess to wander around an unknown area unprotected.  Why, the next person you meet could very likely be someone who tries to accost you or take you back to your homeland.  How about letting me help you?"

[Anonymous]

Alea looked at him and listened. "There are chances that they will find me, they will search the world if they have to in the end. But the chances arent high right now as you are the only person who knows where I am currently. But soon, as I have told you who I am I must leave. For I cannot trust anyone enough to know they will not inform my parents people where I am. " She said before listening to the rest of his sentence.

Shaking her head she looked at the man with raised eyebrows.
Honestly why was it everyone assumed that as she was a girl of such a young age she was unable to care for herself and that she needed a bodyguard. "Thorn I am not some five year old that needs to be accompanied all the time. I managed to get here ok so why cant I manage on my own anymore? The only thing I have to worry about is you telling someone where I am. But as I said before that I wont have to worry about either soon as I will have to leave." She spoke quickly. Wondering why exactly it was that the man she didnt know very well wanted to care for her all of a sudden.

[Lion]

Now Thorn laughed. It was honestly one of the funniest things he had ever encountered. He had never expected to run into such a wonderfully straight-forward princess cliché, strong-willed bullheadedness by royalty, demanding independence and establishing self- when he knew well enough of the terrors that stalked these lands that wouldn't be afraid to pounce on unsuspecting travelers no matter what you were: peasant, noble...or princess. The prospect was so amusing to him that it took him a while to regain himself after the moment passed. Holding the cigar between his vicious teeth, he said, "Now you're right about a few things. For one, you're not a teeny five year old because if you were, you would bug the hell out of me right now. And I'm sure you can very well take care of yourself--when you're by yourself that is."

He paused for a time, taking a puff of the cigar and sitting a considerable distance away from her, crossing his legs negligently. "If what you've said is true, that I'm the only one you've told then you have little to worry about. I'm a rather trustworthy fellow...for the right price. But what will you do when you leave here and then someone else asks you who you are? You tell them and then have to move again, tell a few more people. Before you know it, the news of your secret spreads around faster than you can imagine. Then you'll have to pack your bags and keep on running. Trust me, you'll be quite exhausted by the end of it all, if it ever would end.

"And even if you choose to lie about it, or simply refuse to talk to anyone, there will be those who have certain abilities who could figure you out without even needing to say a word. And those people, more money hungry than I am, would ruthlessly capture you. Hold you hostage until they find some conniving way to contact your parent's people and ship you back to Teraseena, getting rich off of you like produce," Thorn pressed on, trying to think of every possible way to convince Alea to hire him. Not that he cared a thing about her, he had just met her after all. Though he didn't want to admit it, he was desperately in need of some form of pay and he was too proud to clean kitchens. He didn't bring much with him and most of his money was spread thin in banks in various places. It seemed like a good idea to try to get her to hire him... But maybe there was more behind it. Thorn didn't like to seem women of young or old in any kind of potential harm and the thought would have distressed him greatly if he dwelt on it for more than a moment's notice.

"Of course, that's not all that could happen to you, Alea, if you choose to wander alone. There are always wild animals and beasts about that wouldn't hesitate to rip you shreds, excuse the visual. Vampires, demons, (were)wolves, giants, cannibalistic psychos and many other unnameable dreads," he finally finished, taking a final drag on his cigar before putting in out in his uneaten eggs that were now cold. He didn't care anyhow, he hated eggs. "Out of all the things that I just said could happen to you should you decide to pull this out alone, does it really sound like a bad idea to hire me as a bodyguard? I won't ask for much, if you're worried about that as well. I'm more than an adequate defender and could use my mind's eye to detect a potential thread quickly. And besides, it's always better to have some company around when traveling if you still want to leave La'marri. So are you still adverse to my offer?" he asked, cocking up an eyebrow and giving her a friendly smile that spoke faintly with a fair cynicism.

[Anonymous]

Alea watched the man while he laughed and then stood as she listened to him. "I will not tell any others. I was stupid to tell you. " She simply answered to Thorn. Waiting, but not having to do so for long, for him to continue.
Alea froze as he carried on explaining. It was true, she had to admit. There would be some that would have the abilities to know about her and more without her speaking. She quickly shook herself out of the nightmare she had fallen into. Hoping she hadnt mad her slight panick obvious to the man.
"I have made it this far on my own. Im sure I can manage to continue on my own. Animals or not. Bodyguard or not they will still attack. "
Alea replied without thinking. Pressing her case against the idea of the bodyguard. "Normal people round here don't have bodyguards. Me having one would just attract attention."
"Thorn. I will consider your offer but dont get hopeful. Chances are I will just leave alone. "
She then sat down on a chair. Looking at him with her turqouise eyes. Waiting for a reaction or another lecture against her view and points of not hiring him. As she thought to herself in the silence the way Thorn had pressed it seemed as though he was really in need of money or he cared for her. She was going more for the first than the second option there.