She laughed and rolled her eyes as Kaven managed to get his hand caught. "Don't move anymore. You'll make it worse," she giggled. Slowly and carefully she began to untangle the two of them. Her eyes stared intently, unblinking as she concentrated on each knot and tangle.

She finally managed to get herself free except for her hand which had further entangled Kaven's. Out of frustration she pulled out her hunting knife and just cut them out of the last little bit. "You two are going to get me in trouble," she glared at the twins. "Go pet the pony, just mind his hooves and don't startle him!"

Zurna took Kaven's hands in her own. "I didn't cut you did I?" she asked now looking his hand over carefully. 'Hiss hand is so much bigger than mine,' she thought blushing again. 'It feels nice, warm.'

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed when she realized she was still holding his hand. But, she still did not let go.

"Blastich!" Zurna cried as the ice cracked beneath her feet. 'I didn't realize how big the stream was getting. I'm going to have to add that to the map when I get home.'

"Don't mo-" He took a step back and the ice broke. 'Too late.' With Janson moving about so much, Zurna was unable to keep her balance and not fell through the ice but was completely submerged in it. Gasping, she launched herself out and back onto solid ground.

She glared at him, her teeth already beginning to chatter. "Yes. Although I am usually not the one who ends up in the water."She reached her hand into her pocket and winced at the gooey sticky feeling she got. Pulling her hand out revealed broken shells and runny yolks. "Blastih," she cursed again.

"Well seeing as you have managed to get us both soaking wet and ruined my breakfast, would you like to come to my family's home? You would be welcome at our fire, unless you would rather catch the ague." Zurna stood shakily. The cold had already leeched all her heat despite the layers. 'I hope mama has some of the bark tea left. I have a feeling I'm going to be sick because of this. I feel like a drowned cat.'

Primrose inhaled sharply, startled by Harkness' presence. She stared at him wide-eyed as it slowly sunk in that he was apologizing to her.

"I am sorry too. I let things go too far and then got worked up over nothing." She looked down staring at her feet, feeling vulnerable. 'Why do I feel like such a child? This is my own home and I am a grown woman. He apologized. I apologized. Let that be the end of it.'

Moving over to Harkness she linked arms with him. "I see you found the gardens. I hope they are to your liking," she said giving him a soft, sad smile. "My father and his dragon are buried here. They died when I was very little," she told him falling silent for a moment. 'Way to make him feel bad, Prim. He probably thinks you're messed up in the head, especially if he heard you talking.'

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm telling you this." She made to move away from him. "I think I have disturbed you enough tonight. I will take my leave of you. If you want for food or anything, just let Janus know and he will make sure you are taken care of." Tears welled in her eyes as she tried to wish him a goodnight. 'Oh Kia, don't cry Primrose. Don't cry!'

"It may not clean it but it would be a start. Unless you expect me to ride back home looking like this?" she said motioning to her mud-caked hair.

"You go on ahead. I know it will take you forever to pick out an outfit," she teased. "I have my old room back. I trust you remember where that is. If you are feeling rather spry you can try to climb the terrace, I know from experience it will still hold. If not, then I guess you could always try the front door. I think Uncle may have forgotten about Russy and the cat incident." She smiled up at him.

"I better at least get some of this mud off me, or I'm doomed to spend my fourteenth birthday locked indoors," she said shuddering at the thought. As she did her head whipped about causing mud to splatter outwards and hit Ryuu in the face and chest.

Seeing it happen, Primrose gasped. "I'm sorry Ryuu! That one I didn't mean, honest." She winced at the state of his clothes. "You better head home and get cleaned up too. You look like a pig farmer," she informed him moving past him, headed for the stream and her horse. "See you too soon!" she called over her shoulder, splattering more mud about with her hair. 'He is going to kill me one of these days.' Looking down at the state of her clothes, she grimaced. 'That is, if Uncle doesn't kill me first.'

The moment he moved off her, Tiraris curled herself into a compact ball. She lay there silently listening with her back to him. Her body shook harder with the silenced tears. The more she listened the more she wished it was not so. Violently she began to shake her head from side to side. "No!" she cried out hoarsely. "You have to stop trying, Caden."

Her breathing came raggedly and her throat burned. "It does not matter that I love you with all my heart. Whatever I want is never mine for the taking. I can love you Caden, but I will never have you. You will be like everything else in my life, gone, dead, fleeting. It is not that I do not believe you to be strong enough. It is that I do not believe myself to be so. I am the monster here Caden. How can you not see it?"

She fell silent, once more curling herself inward. 'How can you not see that when I stand beside you I am inferior? What spell have I bewitched you with that blinds you from your true duty. Family comes first Caden, so why do you chose me?'

"No we are not the mischievous ones anymore. When I came back to Adela after my mother's death he stayed with his family in Jadenshine. I only saw him once more when I was fourteen and have not seen him since." She shrugged her shoulders as if to say that she did not mind. In truth she missed her friend very much.

"I have a new prank partner here in Ketra though. The son of one of my two servants. I will warn you to avoid opening closed doors. It usually means there is a bucket hanging precariously above, waiting to fall. She winked at him conspiratorially. Janus, my fellow prankster, lacks the creativity my friend had. But, he makes up for it with his timing." She laughed remembering past pranks.

"What of you? Are you much of a prankster?" she asked smiling crookedly and cleaning up the dishes.

"No my friend, that was but the start. One actually has to complete the job given to them to receive the rest of the spoils. You would not want to miss out on all that gold and silver, now would you? Especially, when you will be the one receiving all the profit on this." Her eyes belied none of the friendliness that her words silkily intimated.

"If you plan to use my name then you will do well not to tarnish it. Or have you already forgotten what the real Silverd'art is capable of? Perhaps I should remind you of the times I have killed men five times your size. Killing you would be like breaking an egg, messy but simple." She glared at him letting the words sink in. 'That is if he can focus enough to let them be understood correctly.'

"Now get your things. If you plan on getting paid then you are going to get your hands bloody," she told him walking out of the pub. 'He follows, then he will do the job. He stays, then I am done with him.'

She smiled softly at his words. "Thank you. You are too kind." She opened her mouth to continue when a net flew and landed on her head.

"Got you!" yelled the twins from the hiding places.
"Did you finish your chores?" she asked trying to untangle herself. The more she struggle, the worse it got.
"Aunt Z we fed the animals, cleaned up our beds, and helped mama with the moss! Can we go pet the horsey now?" said one twin.
"You look silly," the other giggled at Zurna.

Zurna looked to Kaven, her face a desperate plea for help. "The two of them are going to be the death of me," she muttered trying harder to get out of the net. "What did you two do? I'm worse than a fish in this thing!"

Slowly Primrose wove her way through the gardens. In the back of the garden, hidden by vines was a stone wall with a thick oak door. Pulling out a key from around her neck, Primrose opened it and went inside, locking the door behind her.

Inside was a small family cemetery. There were only two graves each marked by a stone statue of the buried individual. The larger of the two was that of a she-dragon. As Primrose walked by it she reached up and trailed her fingers along the stone snout and neck. "Hello Ustskel, I'm here to see father if you don't mind," she said to the dragon.

Moving on she came to the second statue. This was of a man sitting on a rock holding his sword and staring out in front of him. "Hello father. Sorry I've been awhile," she softly whispered. She became to pull moss and vines off the statue as she talked to him about her day, the children she taught, Janus' antics and Jain's care of her. She told the statue about Davis hitting her and Harkness saving her. "I could have done it myself, thank you very much." She continued telling him of Janus' flour prank followed by the wooden spoon duel and the fainting prank.

"He kissed me father. Mother always said my pranks would go too far but," she sighed. "It was just a kiss. Yet, it was more than that. The braggart stole my first kiss!" She sat before the statue pouting slightly. "I miss you father. Things were so simple when you were home. I miss mother as well but..." she let it fade not desiring to talk about things she had already lamented on a thousand times over.

"Tell mother I say hello," she finally said standing up again. "I should probably apologize to my guest. Goodnight father," she whispered leaning up to kiss the stone cheek.

Zurna's eyes widened and face flushed as he touched her hand. The blush only deepened as he squeezed her hand and spoke to her softly. 'Thank goodness it's dark in here. If he saw me blushing like a drunkard I think I would kill myself.'

"Maybe you will," she replied. "Although I hope not to understand from firsthand experience. I could scar you for life with what resides up here," she joked pointing to her head. Inside though she saw fire and blood. 'Best leave the demons of the past where they belong, buried and dead.'

"Are the dreams you weave person specific or do you just give a general dream?"

Primrose giggled as Rusger clambered around her and on her showering her in kisses. Looking up at Ryuu, she noted his miserable expression and felt guilty. 'I did that. I made him upset.'

She felt guilty, her desire to tease and prank was gone. "I am sorry as well. It is not fair to use that against you when I could have written you more myself. That was very cruel of me. I am sorry," she repeated slowly standing.

"Wasn't there a stream not far from here? Uncle's going to kill me if I come home looking like this," she said. Her smile had returned, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"Don't you like me anymore Ryuu? I thought we were friends!" Turning away from him she squished her way over to a tree and flopped down amongst its roots. Her knees curled up into her chest, her face hidden in her skirts. Her tiny frame shook as quiet sobs escaped her. 'Wait for it. Wait for it. Now cue the self-pitying.'

"I don't know why I bothered coming back to Serendipity. Nobody likes me here and nobody likes me in Adela. I'm just a pest that everyone tolerates. Even you," she pointed accusingly in Ryuu's direction, "don't care about me. I'm gone four years and you forget about me. You hardly even write anymore!"

'If Ryuu doesn't fall for it then at least Rusger will.' She smiled into her skirts. 'Kia I missed this.'

(OOC: Hey no worries, four days is hardly anything to get yourself worked up over. I really don't mind the wait ^.^)

Zurna was startled by his outburst. Her childish enthusiasm faded as she self-consciously curled in on herself. Her legs came up into her chest and her arms around them, her head lowered to rest atop them. Halfheartedly she listened to Kaven's explanation all the while blaming herself for her ignorance and stupidity.

When he finished explaining she apologized. "I am sorry if I offended you. We are simple people here, I have never heard of anything like that before. I did not know." She fell silent until she noticed his empty bowl. Quickly she rose and took it from him. "I will get you some more," she offered trying to smile before going over to the fire.

It took her longer to get more stew than it should have. Tears filled her eyes as berated herself for her stupidity and then for crying at the drop of a net. 'Pull yourself Z! He's no one. What he thinks is meaningless. You probably won't ever see him again anyways."

Quietly she returned to him and offered him the stew. "I have heard of the mind-body connection," she began trying to break the uncomfortable tension she was experiencing. "I did not think it was real, though. Are there many where you come from that believe this?"

She refocused her gaze on him, staring dully. Her eyes looked as dead as she felt. Her fight was gone, she had lost. It was a first for her, to give up so easily. In the past she had been through more stressful and painful situations both physically and mentally and had always won. To admit defeat now was worse than any humiliation her pride had ever undergone before.

By nature Tiraris had always been independent and self-sufficient. The environment of her childhood had only enforced and enhanced those attitudes until they finally drove her from the nest. Tiraris had no become an assassin because of her mother's cruel and cutting words or her father's absence and disappointment. She did not chose this profession because it gave her escape from her responsibilities and the long line of leering suitors. No, Tiraris had become an assassin to escape herself.

'Caden, can you not see? I do accept you. It is me that I cannot accept.' Her eyes blinked lethargically open and closed. That simple effort feeling too much for her. 'You hurt Caden! You hurt the one you claimed to love! You are a monster!' her mind accused. Her diaphragm spasmed as she fought to hold dry sobs back. She had no more tears left to shed.

"Monster," she whispered letting the word ring aloud and remind her of her true nature. "How can you love...?" her question faded off as her eyes closed and did not open again. The simple effort seemed so incredibly exhausting. 'So tired,' she thought. 'So weak,' her mind spat back.

All Tiraris wanted to do was curl in on herself. She wanted to find a dark corner and hide in it like a child. She wanted to be the little girl afraid of monsters under the bed, anything to get away from the monster that she herself was. 'Forgive me Caden, for I cannot forgive myself. I have only done what I thought best. If I have to hurt you to leave you then at least I know you are alive. After all, the dead feel no pain.'

Welcome!

So glad you found SotE. When I first found this site I also had a very similiar list and I have to say I couldn't be happier. ^.^

Good luck with starting up. When you feel ready, feel free to ask me to thread with you. I know my characters are limited right now but I am always open to new ideas/plots/characters.

Happy Writing!
GoblinFae

'Ah, so he did maintain the ruse that he is me. How, amusing. Well we can remedy that later,' she mused already thinking of a plan to put the gnome in his place.

A passing glare scorched the gnome as he ran off to chase barmaids. 'He gets told he earns all the profit on this one and then abandons me to all the work, predictable.'

She listened apathetically to the men's plights, already wishing she had not agreed on the temporary partnership. Coldly, she laid down the ground rules, no interfering, no backing out, no helping, and no backstabbing. The two men agreed quickly sporadically sending nervous glances Mort's way.

"Ya boss," Ed said shakily, "does he always stab and steal from his clients? I 'eard Silverd'art was an 'onorable one," snorting he stage whispered to Big Tom, "if ya can call an assassin 'onorable."

"Who said anything about the gnome being the one who does all the killing?" Tiraris smirked back. "If you will excuse me now gentleman, I have work to do." She rose gracefully from the table and attempted to leave until Big Tom grabbed her by the arm.

"What about the job?" he growled looking about apprehensively.
"It will be completed tonight. That is all you need know. The gnome will collect payment from you in the morn."

She tore herself from his grasp and made her way over to the flirting gnome. "Quit flouncing about. There is work to be accomplished," she barked at him, impatiently tapping her foot.

Lol welcome! I am also relatively new here. I hope you enjoy it here, I know I do. ^.^

When you get some characters and are ready to RP feel free to message me. I am always open to new threads.

Happy Writing!
GoblinFae

Tiraris could feel it. The tension was there but the anger was fading. 'No Caden! Hold on to it! Hate me for needing to, for wanting to kill Remina!'

She remained in her frozen position not even reacting as he butterflied kisses against her flushed cheeks. It was only when he pressed a bruising kiss to her lips that she reacted. Like a mad woman she began to fight him, her strength renewed. She screamed into his mouth, eyes ablaze once more.

He had her pinned too well though. All she managed to do was turn her head and break the kiss, she could not break any freer than that. She hissed at him baring and snapping her teeth at his face. Something feral within her was rising up. She did not know whether it was her now dormant energy, her primal fight or flight tendency, or something else entirely. All she did know was, she was pinned and she was furious.

She strained against him, arching her body up. But, try as she might, she could not dislodge is larger, heavier form. Giving a final scream, she went limp beneath him. Extinguished were the fires in her eyes and her soul. All her fight was gone, she could not win. Blankly, she stared into the space in front of her, not truly seeing. She was defeated.

'There you are pet.' She almost smirked when he threw her back and pinned her down. It was so close; soon she would win. She was only sorry that Caden would have to pay the price of regret for it. 'Come on Caden, get angry!'

She glared fiercely back at him. Her mahogany eyes  seemed to bleed to crimson as the fires of her angry glowed through. Her jaw was clenched tightly while the rest of her body remained tensed, ready to spring at the first chance she got.

She bared her pathetic human teeth right back at him before deciding on a different tactic. She closed her eyes, ignoring him and blatantly refusing to apologize. 'If I cannot see you, then you must be not there. Go ahead Caden,' she internally challenged, 'do your worst.'

Primrose was angered. Her face was a mask of stone, impassive and cold. "You go too far," she said to him. 'He's lucky I don't kick him down the stairs and break his neck for that.'

"Janus!" she called. Quickly the boy ran in looking to his mistress curiously. "Please escort Mr. Harkness to the guest quarters and see to it that he has anything he may need." She marched down the stairs, head held high. "No pranks Janus," she reminded him as he headed up.

Brooding she headed to the gardens. 'Time to have a talk with father, I think.'