This Cinderella Wears Boots

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OOC: Tags to @Whim !


Arca.

Ugh! If there was one thing she hated more than the itchy dress she was wearing and this inconvenient engagement to a certain Lord Hickenbottom (cause like geeze, what sort of name was that!? She so did NOT want to become Lady Hickenbottom!) But the bad name aside, she most certainly did not want to get married! Especially not now! And not to someone she never met!

Sure, she could say she wanted to marry for love, but realistically she had never much dwelled on marriage, nor love. In fact, growing up with all brothers and being treated to more of the freedom they were allowed over most young ladies in her position, had her frowning at the actual position her mother had wed into, and now what that meant for her.

It was called her 'duty' to honor her parents decision, and that's what is expected of all ladies. Marriage by choice was a luxury for the lower class, because they did not marry for money, but other things. But those who were more prestigious deserved control of their legacy, and the idea of that stung at Angel's pride.

After living so long under her own rules and stubborn, near wild behavior, she wasn't used to this collar she was about to wear, and itching at her frilly, lacy wedding dress, her mother gave a light slap to her arm.

"Stop itching, Angel, you'll snag your dress."

"Oh no, we wouldn't want that!" Angel went on with a sarcastic roll of her eyes.

"No, we don't," her mother clucked. "Besides.." and here, she sighed and smiled at her daughter's reflection in the mirror. "You look beautiful. Just as I did on my wedding day.." she went on, delicately fixing a flower that was askew in her hair. Then, smoothing down her long veil, that went from her head, cascading down her shoulders and laying in a wake of lace past her dress's bustle, she then rested her hands on Angel's shoulder before giving her cheek a quick kiss.

And at that, Angel made a face, rubbing off the lipstick she imprinted. It only made her smile all the more.
"Sorry," she went on, blinking past tears in her eyes. And as Angel continued to rub at the lipstick smudge, she looked at her mother in the mirror before turning to her with an exasperated expression.

"Are you crying?" And she removed her mother's hand from her face where she was brushing back a few tears. "For real?"

Yanking back her hand, her mother sighed and smiled while shaking her head.
"Can't a mother be happy for her only daughter? This is a big day and I.."
And soon she was having trouble taking, apologizing as she tried to brush more tears away.

Angel, sighing, moved to pull the kerchief she had stashed between her chest and handed it to her mother.
"Here."

And her mother took it graciously, and blew her nose loudly into it after dabbing away her tears. Holding the kerchief to her chest, she continued to admire her daughter, which made Angel shift uncomfortably.

"Mom, please.." she said, brushing away her mother's oncoming hand as she had tried to fuss over her daughter's attire yet again. "Look... you got me here already, haven't you? Can I at least have a few minutes to myself? I feel like i'm going to scream, as if I'm being suffocated or something."

"Oh, that's just your nerves dear!" Her mother assured her, finding more tears streaming from her eyes. Angel wasn't sure there were enough kerchiefs in the world to help clean up her mother's messy tears, but held back any comments. She already gave her mother a hard enough time, and thoughs he felt guilty for having her cry over her aversion to this, she felt even more awkward now that her mother was crying out of joy.

But eventually her mother conceded, and Angel found herself left alone in the room. Flopping down onto the nearby sette, her gown poofed around her like an ivory cloud, and as she noticed her reflection in the mirror, she scowled at it, and began to make goofy faces. That was, until the bells began to ring, and ring to the tune of marriage.



OOC: I'm going to stop right there, but I intend to have Angel try to make an escape, but to make this post more digestible, I figured to stop here and I'll pick up to her 'escape' in the next post so feel free to introduce your character to the city now in whatever means you'd like :D
I'm still leaning towards Angel scaling downt he wall or sliding down some rope or something and doing an epic sort of get away, poofy dress and all!

[Whim]

Arca was a sight for sore eyes. Ewan had traveled for weeks since the alchemy-gone-wrong obliterated his home, and turned him from a grown man into a scrawny boy. He traded the remnants of his possessions for food, and a wagon-ride from Cerenis to Arca. Now his clothes were threadbare and filthy, his supplies were starting to spoil, he had a very large and very hungry wolfhound as a companion. The guards barely paid him notice as he and Shaggy slipped through the gates. Ewan still wasn't accustomed to going barefoot. He cringed with each step through the muddy streets, made narrow and claustrophobic by the tall houses, and seas of enormous grown-ups. Adults.

He traveled all the way to Cerenis to illegally purchase some closely guarded alchemical formulae to catalyze his spell. It was a stupid idea. It all went wrong. Everyone he knew was in La'marri, La'marri was on the other side of the country, and a boy and a dog with no money can't travel far on their own. Ewan's growling stomach and sore feet pushed those thoughts from his mind.

A sleepy little tavern called the Last Drop came into view, just on the border of the city's cobled districts and the seedier outskirts. The inn was loud and smoky, and Shaggy whined when he had to wait outdoors. Even if he was a boy again, Ewan was too old to expect any charity. Shyly, he padded up to the bar where a burly youth dispensed drinks. He had to climb one of the stools to get attention.

"I don't suppose you need any, um, any help? I haven't money for room and board and-"

"Ain't a charity, boy, and just what could you do for us?" the barman tisked in annoyance. The man was roughly Ewan's former age, and a lackwitted commoner at that, but the boy's confidence quickly dissolved.

"I-I could help clean? Or I can even cook some? I'll work HARD, I promise. M-my dog could hunt rats or—"he began to babble a list of other nonsensical suggestions. He backed away in defeat when the barman was appearing to have none of it.

The man's express softened, "Look, boy, muck the stable and you can have the loft for the night. And when you're done," he added with suspicious emphasis, "whatever remains of the kitchens."

Ewan again wished he had shoes when the man took him to the stable behind the little inn. He'd never cleaned a stable before, but it seemed simple enough and he nodded eagerly as the man, Gawain, explained it. The chore was a lot harder and a lot more unpleasant and he sweating by the time he finished laying fresh straw, and dealt with the mess of half-a-dozen animals. Gawain returned later in the evening with the cold remnants of stew and a bone with scraps of meat clinging to it. Shaggy yipped expectantly as the boy raised the bone to his lips, prompting a groan, "Fine, FINE, it's yours..." he passed the bone to his traveling companion, and drank down the stew and soggy vegetables.

The straw bed he was given was prickly, but no worse than what camping in the woods offered. The boy was soon fast asleep, and woke the next morning to the sound of wedding bells...

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She was draped in a way she could see the window open, and with each echoing toll of the bell, she felt the walls moving in closer, and her palms warming with sweat. Peering over at herself in the mirror, and accessing how ridiculous she appeared in lace, fresh flowers, and ivory- she heard the creak of foot steps approaching in the hall.

"Angel?"

It was her mother.

"It's time."

Panicked, Angel froze where she was, before leaping to her feet and feeling her heart hammering. As the door knob turned, she backed away, and felt her hip hit a nearby table. Turning, she barely had a chance to grab the vase of fresh flowers before they toppled. But at the sight of her mother coming in, she dropped the vase, and the porcelain shattered, and the water spread, dragging the flowers into a chaotic heap.

"Angel? Honey, really, this is not the time to be fooling around."

Angel cringed. She felt trapped, uncertain what to do, and despite her legs feeling useless, she found herself soon being guided from her little tower down the winding stairs and towards the church. And at the sight of so many people, she felt her heart leap into her throat, nearly choking her. And then she felt her mother's comforting squeeze on her arm, her father soon joining them and the church exploding with music as she was walking down the aisle. But the second she saw her husband to be, grinning from ear to ear with his hair, greased and slicked back and shinning with the reflection from the church candles, was enough to make her panic.

And somehow she made it all the way to the end of the pews where her groom stood, and numbly, she stood before him, hearing people whispering at how beautiful she looked with those flowers in her hair, and woven into her dress too! nd her eyes began to scan the crowd, the voice of the priest becoming lost to her- And by the time she was asked a question, the priest found herself repeating it.

"Angela Lovette.... Do you?"

Gulping, she turned away, going pale as she looked from priest to groom-

And soon she was moving away, very, very far away and as fast as her legs could carry her. There were gasps as the bride rushed down between the pews and bolted out the door. And it wasn't until the bride was in the streets did someone yell, "Catch her! Catch that bride!"

[Whim]

Ewan stirred to the sound of church-bells. He slept better than he thought he would on a bed of straw. Probably, he realized, because Shaggy had curled around him. He rolled to his feet, making a wretching nose as he brushed stray bits of shedded fur from his clothing. "Ugh! You could've asked first!" he pouted, narrowing his gaze at the dog, who yawned lazily in reply. He guiltily acknowledged Shaggy was much warmer than a threadbare blanket, but still an unwashed dog.

The boy set about feeding and watering the half-dozen animals as instructed. Drawing water from a well was hard with his small body, but the dull ache in his muscles was oddly satisfying. It wasn't all that bad, really, and he'd earned food and shelter for another night... but how was he going to make it to La'marri like this?

Lugging the heavy bucket of water back to the stable, Ewan was nudging the door open when he heard shouting and frantic footfalls. The boy turned to see a panicked young woman, younger than he USED to be at least, dashing through the streets like a frightened animal. She looked about as comfortable in the frilly dress as he was shirtless, filthy, and barefoot.

"'You alright?" the waif asked, mixed curiosity and concern falling over his face. He still wasn't entirely used to his squeaky voice. It made him cringe.

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The bride paused for but a moment, chest heaving with every breath against her confining, ivory dress. It had more frills than the king's crown, or so she felt, and looked down at the young child and his dog.

"Alright?" she laughed, but the sound was broken, and stopped abruptly at the sounds of people rushing out the door of the church. She moved to run, but turned to yell back at the child from over her shoulder, "Do me a favor and never get married kid. You'll regret it the moment you say I do." And soon she was disappearing, heading straight for the barn the boy had spent the night. And she made no hesitation in pushing open the door just enough to squeeze on past,and as she slipped within, her train lingered, and soon got caught on a nail. And a second later, there was a rip, and the woman in the ivory dress was gone, leaving nothing but a small, strip of her dress behind, waving lightly in the morning light.

And once inside the barn, Angel looked in every which way for the best hiding spot,- but when her eyes came upon a horse she got a better idea and was soon working on untying his rope. She was totally going to use this horse to make her get away. A horse, after all, had more legs than she and could offer a faster get away any day!

[Whim]

Ewan trudged behind her dog in tow, slowed by the bucket he was lugging along. The strip of cloth caught his eye as he neared the stable door. Not thinking much of it, he tore it down, and nudged his way inside. It was the girl again! The unhappy bride was... stealing a horse? He carefully positioned himself between her and the entrance, perhaps unwisely as she could surely trample right over him.

"I'm SUPPOSED to be looking after these horses, y'know. If I let you take that one they'll make me pay for it or-" he looked down at his threadbare clothes and blushed, realizing how stupid that sounded, "-well they'd throw me on the street or turn my bottom red. Not that I care to stick around here to mucking stalls forever."

He chewed his lip, turning suddenly pale. Was he being stupid? He wasn't a wizard confronting a little girl he could turn into a toad. He was a boy confronting a horse thief. If she was desperate enough to steal a horse, and she looked desperate, she might not think twice about keeping him quiet too! "Just who did you get stuck marrying, anyway?" he asked gently, trying not to alarm her as scritched Shaggy behind the ears. The dog made him feel safe, at least.

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Angel gave a snort at the sight of the kid.
"You'll move aside if you know what's good for ya." And as she gave the reins a yank, the horse took a few steps outside of the stable. "And don't worry about my affairs." And she was quick to mount the horse as she hastily pulled up her train and bustle and bunched them up behind her on the saddle. "You're too young to understand. Now move aside before you get hurt."

[Whim]

"Wait!" the boy called out frantically, skipping back a step and raising his hands in hope she'd not trample him. A half-formed idea was coming to mind, and straight to his mouth before he could think it through. "I- I can help you! I gotta out of Arca, too, 'n back to my old school, but I don't got food or money. I'm NOT a stableboy! I'm- I'm a mage! Really!"

Granted, Ewan didn't know what he could do to help or entice her, yet. He looked up at the girl, taking a moment to gauge her reaction and regain his composure. "Everyone's gonna notice a girl in a dress like that anyway. You're not gonna get awful far unless you've got spare clothes under those frills."

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Angel snorted, but the boy had a point. And even as desperate as she was, she wasn't heartless. Running over a kid wasn't exactly going to help her situation, but she jerked a thumb behind her before saying, "Get on the horse. We can run as far as the horse will take us. Or, if you prefer, I'll have to run you over. Your choice kid."

[Whim]

Well, it was now or never. The boy darted to the side of the horse and did his very best to scramble up the saddle. It didn't go very well at all. He was too short. Ewan awkwardly clawed at both the saddle and stirrups, and lace and frills of the rider's dress until he made it onto the animal. "Sorry! Sorry!" he gave her a look caught between an apologetic cringe and an impish smirk.  "So... we ride like the wind 'n out the gates? I- well I hope Shaggy can keep up," he cast a look down at the dog. He felt a pang of guilt.

Then came footfalls of a large man, or a small man in heavy boots. The stables adjoined the nearby inn. A portly rednosed man in a matching coat strode into view. "Who- that's my horse!" he bellowed.

"Quick!" the waif hissed, grabbing onto Angel's midsection. Ewan's heart was pounding and somewhere in the back of his mind it occurred to him this was a terrible plan. He should've been more level-headed and reminded her horse-thieves have much less freedom than young brides, or tried to steal clothes to disguise her, or anything.

(ooc: I hope I'm not moving too quickly with this scene. Let me know if you wanna slow things down!)

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Once he was saddled, she gave him a smirk.
"To the gates and beyond." And about his dog, her grin only grew, and her confidence never once left her. "He'll keep up. If anything, an animal is always reliable." But their conversation was cut short when the man hollered. Angel cringed and clutched the reins.

"Hang on!" And with a sharp kick, the horse practically leaped into action, flying past the red nosed man and was out the door. Once on the streets, Angel.could see the crowd had just passed the barn, oblivious she had been there. So she was quick to direct the horse back the way she came and gave another sharp kick to its side and soon the pair were flying past the church and towards the small stone bridge that arched over the river. And it was only when she was nearly out of sight the search party saw the tail end of her dress and exclaimed.

"There she is! Follow that horse!"

But their words were lost as the horse rushed on, hooves thundering and the wind whipping through their hair. And Angel was almost laughing as they neared the end of town. It couldn't be this easy to run away from her own wedding... Could it?

[Whim]

Ewan held on for dear life as the horse went thundering through Arca's muddy streets and over the bridge. Shaggy was running alongside them, tongue lolling. He looked like he was having the time of his life chasing them, though that was probably true of him chasing anything. The mob wasn't far behind: a mixture of wedding guests, a horse-deprived man, and onlookers inclined to join in. Fortunately the gate was in sight! Two guardsman lazed in front of it. They might be able to make it... or the guards might see the commotion and bar the way.

The boy turned to his companion, "I wanna try something. Its a old spell, and I don't know if it'll work. So be careful!" The boy hadn't gotten any magic to work well since the accident, but they couldn't chance being trapped could they? And so he started to hum an old song, evidently one in the language of insects or so his master told him.

Meanwhile, a young guardsman was preparing to drop La'marri's western gate when he heard a buzz and a tickle in his ear. A mosquito? He swatted it with his gauntlet, striking true, but the hum of the insects only grew louder as a swarm seemed to appear out of the ether. Swatting the air, both guardsmen abandoned their post as the swarm grew too dense to ignore. The two fugitives however, barreled right through the swarm and cleared the gate.

The horse slowed to a trot as their pursuers were out of sight for the time being. Ewan would've been grinning ear to ear that it sort-of-worked if he wasn't busy spitting out bugs. He wanted it to be bees, but maybe mosquitoes were for the best. He looked over his shoulder and back to the disheveled bride. "Tho what'sth your-" he spit out another crumpled insect, whiping his mouth on his arm, "-so what's your name? I'm Ewan, by the way."

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Angel was releasing more colorful words than a lady ought as the insect swarm clung partially to the pair as they plowed through it during their retreat. But once they crested the hill, made a turn at the fork and disappeared into the nearby woods, the horse slowed up and Angel was starting to shake the trapped mosquitoes from her garb.

And ugh, there just had to be one stuck there, as she ignored the boy's comment for a moment and said, "Hey kid, keep those eyes closed for just a second," and before he could protest, she basically mashed a hand over his eyes and used her other hand to open the front of her dress to release the damn mosquito tickling her boobs! Hopefully the boy didn't get a peak, but considering he was younger, perhaps it was time for him to learn female anatomy? He'd learn about it someday, anyway! Though she'd rather it not have been her!

So once her shirt was adjusted, she removed her sweaty hand from his face and tossed a look at him from over her shoulder.

"Angela Lovett, that's my name," she told him, matter of factly. "But most call me Angel. But don't let that nick name fool you, I'm anything but."And at suhc a comment, she gave a fluff to her hair, and fussed over the veil that was hang hanging out from her flower ladened locks.

[Whim]

The world went black as the girl clapped her fingers over his eyes, probably straightening her dress. "I wasn't gonna  peak! And what would I wanna look at YOU for, anyway?" he pouted indignantly, blushing. Being treated like a brat trying to catch glimpses of her naked was just humiliating. But he probably shouldn't have insulted her! "And sorry! I meant- I just meant you startled me. Sorry the bugs, also."

They'd made their way down a bumpy cobbled road along a stream, green with scum and algae from the rainy seasons. It hopefully wasn't well traveled. Tall grass and scrubby hedges obscured them from view. "I've never met an angel before. Maybe some DO steal horses?" he gave her an impish smirk "And now that we've stole one together I don't suppose you can tell me what sort of awful husband you're running from and where you're goin? I don't even know where we are now."

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Angel shot him a look as she reassessed the child.
"Heh, that's right, you're still just a kid. And girls have cuties," she teased back. And when he apologized about the bug, she grew quiet and thoughtful.

"So you conjured them? Like.. with bug magic or somethin?"

And when he went on with his cheesy notion of Angels stealing horses she simply laughed.
"Well, now you can say you have! And as far as my husband to be... I'd rather forget him, and the whole wedding. I've already just made myself out to be a criminal. And disgracing my parents like that..." And though she felt guilty for it, in the same breath, it also made her feel alive.

"Anyways, don't worry about it. And as far as where we are, you needn't worry about that, too. Just know we're out of the city."
And far away from that church!

[Whim]

He cracked a tired smile at her teasing. "I SAID I was a wizard!" Ewan replied as haughtily as a small child could. "It was supposed to bees, anyway, but its a spell I learned in La'marri to call animal spirits 'n stuff." He looked down at the wolfhound trotting beside them; he must have some magic left to summon bugs and attract strange dogs. That was a good sign. Being a kid might not be so bad. Being an ordinary kid with no money and a dog as his only friend was what scared him.

"I'm not a kid. Well I guess I am one now" he sighed faintly "But I was a grown-up before I had an... accident. I wanna get to La'marri to see if my friends can fix me." He let that hang in the air as they walked. There was nothing but fields and scarecrows for miles and the odd raft drifting down stream.

The pair certainly turned the heads of more than a few teamsters drifting goods to the city... well, maybe not the boy.

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"Ain't that the same as bug magic?" she retorted with a smug grin. "And don't get all sore on my kid, cause it looks like we'll be stuck together, like partners in crime." Though when he went on to explain his plight, Angel laughed- and loud.

"Good one kid. I had a wild imagination when I was your age. It made my parents quite mad, and that was the fun part of it. But don't think that'll work on me, alright? If we're to run away together, you have to be at least somewhat honest."

Cause asking a kid to be one hundred percent, even she knew, was impossible!

[Whim]

"Well I'm GONNA be sour if you don't believe me!" Ewan pouted in reply as she started laughing. It was a dumb idea to tell her anything about his problems. But she was right, he didn't have anyone but her at the moment, and wasn't going anywhere without her.

"How bout I do another spell? I'll- I'll grow a flower for you," the boy splayed fingers, tongue jutting from his mouth and concentrating on stamens and stepas, and were carpels just another name for pettles...? Soon enough a foul-smelling blob of moss, root, and detritus formed in his palm. It was supposed to be a tulip.

"Ugh!" he threw the slimey glob over a hedge with a sheepish expression. "Well, look! I AM a grown-up, and a wizard, and I ain't changing my story. Now where are we gonna go?"

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"Yeah, yeah, grown up," she repeated with a roll of her eyes. "And keep that sludge magic away from me! Not that I mind a good roll or play in the mud, whatever that was you conjured smelled foul!"

Shaking her head and glad they were on a horse and on the move meant the smell did not linger. So once it passed, she gave a shrug.
"Where we gonna go?" And she tossed her head back with a laugh. "I haven't a clue! But anywhere seems better than here."

[Whim]

"I meant adult," he blushed. He felt enough like a kid at this point he couldn't really argue further. "We could go to La'marri. I got a little- a sister there. That's if you've really got a mind to run away and not look back."

"But really we'd ought to get you changed and rid of the horse. I bet the guard's healing all sorts of stories about a deranged looking bride riding down this way," he couldn't help but giggle, realizing how bad off they were. He started scanning the road for farmhouses. "What do you think they'll do if they catch us, anyways?"