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Forum Thread

Bring down the Prince of Shadows

Forum-Index Roleplay Bring down the Prince of Shadows
possumboy
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Trainerlevel: 32

Forum Posts: 221
Posted: Mon, 20/06/2022 18:03 (2 Years ago)
Lizzie had eventually been revived, leaving as quickly as Ellia would let her. Ellia had explained that one of the House heads had brought her there-Paradox. He’d saved her life for the second time now, and she was starting to resent how quickly that count was tallying up. She couldn’t be in debt to a House head! As she limped across an alleyway wall towards the house she was supposed to be delivering food to, she debated over it. On one hand, he’d done something she never thought that a House head would have the spine for, on the other hand, he could use this against her. Lizzie vowed silently she’d stay on her guard even more from now on. She wasn’t loosing her grip for some stuffy aristocrat.
RainRipple
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Trainerlevel: 62

Forum Posts: 277
Posted: Tue, 21/06/2022 03:48 (2 Years ago)
As the night wind picked up, Paradox walked hurriedly towards the location he'd heard mentioned, turning his cape inside out as he went. He couldn't leave it somewhere, and it's presence might help conceal his identity further, but the navy-to-silver gradient was definitely too eye-catching to leave it as it was, especially with the moon shining so brightly. Despite the state of the world, the sky never seemed to change, though birds were rarely seen nowadays and the rain, upon the rare chance it came, could be a little... corrosive.

Keeping to the shadows of the alley, the young man glanced down to his left, a wider lane that managed to remain full of shadows. He knew a group of soldiers mixed with mercenaries was hiding hardly a twenty second sprint away. For a moment, he wondered if he hadn't followed in his father's footsteps and gone insane. He was risking everything for a woman he hated. However, despite his esteem for his friend and leader, he knew Ezan's methods of disposing of people he disliked weren't the most tasteful, and he was unwilling to let Lizzie fall into his hands. Perhaps he was just unwilling to allow all of his efforts from two days prior to go to waste.

Paradox slipped silently into the darkness to his right, trying to keep his footsteps as muted as possible. One wrong move and he would be discovered. One wrong everything would crumble. Ahead of him, he just barely noticed a small figure with a pronounced limp moving his direction. She blended in almost perfectly with the night; no one would have seen her unless they knew exactly what they were looking for. Forcing himself to maintain his slow pace, the aristocrat held up a hand in greeting and warning. You're in danger. Please don't try to kill me.
Quote“Cause You make mountains move,
You make giants fall.
You use songs of praise, to shake prison walls.
And I will speak to my fear, I will preach to my doubt;
You were faithful then, You'll be faithful now."
-
"Faithful Now," by Vertical Worship
possumboy
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Trainerlevel: 32

Forum Posts: 221
Posted: Wed, 22/06/2022 00:03 (2 Years ago)
It was easy enough to hear Paradox. He wasn't as stealthy as he thought he was, and Lizzie had advantages in those sorts of things. She stopped moving. Lizzie may owe him, but she still didn't trust him, so her hand rested on her gun. "What exactly do you want?" she asked without looking up. "Unlike you, there are families who go hungry and are waiting for me."
RainRipple
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Forum Posts: 277
Posted: Wed, 22/06/2022 00:20 (2 Years ago)
Paradox didn't know what he'd expected. At least the woman hadn't yet stepped on his foot again. "That's all good and well," he growled. "But if you keep going, they'll be waiting quite awhile. I suggest you find another path to wherever you're headed, unless you particularly fancy taking on a large group of armed men under direct orders to bring you to Lord Ezan." He was about to continue when a shout from behind him made him tense. His attempt at remaining unnoticed hadn't quite succeeded, it seemed.
Quote“Cause You make mountains move,
You make giants fall.
You use songs of praise, to shake prison walls.
And I will speak to my fear, I will preach to my doubt;
You were faithful then, You'll be faithful now."
-
"Faithful Now," by Vertical Worship
possumboy
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Trainerlevel: 32

Forum Posts: 221
Posted: Wed, 22/06/2022 00:32 (2 Years ago)
Lizzie stopped, and her jaw worked as her mind raced. Could she actually believe what he was saying? She knew that she had...seven warrants out for her arrest and the town guards would jump at the chance to take her in, so the idea was plausible, but she hadn't heard a word from her informants, and Ezan had never tried this before. Still, she had to take this seriously. "So what would you suggest I do?"
RainRipple
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Trainerlevel: 62

Forum Posts: 277
Posted: Wed, 22/06/2022 00:42 (2 Years ago)
Panic flared in the noble's chest. If they saw him with her, everything he'd strived to build up after his father's lack of sanity had burned the respect for their family to the ground would cease to exist. He would certainly be thrown in jail, if not executed, his duties would be transferred to another Head, and Caprice's relationship with Ezan might be caught in the fallout. That couldn't happen. "Run, for one thing!" he hissed, bolting forwards and grabbing her hand as footsteps began to drum towards them from somewhere down the alley.
Quote“Cause You make mountains move,
You make giants fall.
You use songs of praise, to shake prison walls.
And I will speak to my fear, I will preach to my doubt;
You were faithful then, You'll be faithful now."
-
"Faithful Now," by Vertical Worship
possumboy
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Trainerlevel: 32

Forum Posts: 221
Posted: Wed, 22/06/2022 00:51 (2 Years ago)
Lizzie stumbled, nearly stumbling with her injured leg. She'd never expected him to take her along, or to have her safety in mind. What was wrong with him? What was wrong with her for not breaking away? She didn't protest, just followed him. She may hate him, but hey, what could she do? He saved her. He kept saving her. That was getting really, really bad.
RainRipple
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Forum Posts: 277
Posted: Wed, 22/06/2022 01:30 (2 Years ago)
Paradox tore down the alley, trying to allow for Lizzie's limp as much as he could whilst maintaining a pace fast enough to keep them ahead of the soldiers. What was he doing, what was he doing, what was he doing? If anyone looked at his actions, they might draw the conclusion that he actually cared for this woman. Darting into a side street, then another, then another, the sound of their pursuers gradually faded behind them. From what he had heard, Lizzie had many accomplices; with luck, that was all Ezan would assume him to have been when word reached him of the thief's escape.

Finally, he paused in the overhang of a rackety building in the outskirts of the Dregs, dropping her hand. "Now," he said once he could speak without his words being interrupted by heavy breathing. "Do you have any safe houses I could see you to? Or does the stray recoil from the concept of amicability?"
Quote“Cause You make mountains move,
You make giants fall.
You use songs of praise, to shake prison walls.
And I will speak to my fear, I will preach to my doubt;
You were faithful then, You'll be faithful now."
-
"Faithful Now," by Vertical Worship
possumboy
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Trainerlevel: 32

Forum Posts: 221
Posted: Sat, 25/06/2022 05:57 (2 Years ago)
Lizzie glared at him, not saying anything at the moment. Her injury was burning with pain, but she bit her tongue to keep from making any noise . After a few beats of simply trying to catch her breath, she said, “First of all, shut your mouth, poodle. Secondly, yes, I do have one. But if I take you there,” she said, straightening up, “You have to agree to some things. One. You tell no one about this. Two. You make no further efforts to contact me after this. And Three, you stop insulting me. Otherwise I’ll leave you behind with clear evidence that you assisted a wanted criminal.”
RainRipple
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Forum Posts: 277
Posted: Sat, 25/06/2022 06:51 (2 Years ago)
The young man gritted his teeth, anger flaring in his eyes as he stared down at her. He ought to have predicted this; how foolish of him to so brazenly assist this pathetic excuse for a citizen of Wolfshire. The moral status of outlaws was lower than dirt, and he didn't doubt her claim that she wouldn't hesitate to expose his lack of judgement on her behalf. What, can the thief not handle a sharp word or two? he wanted to spit, but he restrained himself. "You hardly need to stipulate those first two; I have very little interest in either. To never have to encounter you again almost seems a kindness your conscience would render you incapable of doing for me."

He paused scathingly for a moment before continuing. "I see no reason to malign you if you are able to maintain your civility towards me. If you can hold your tongue for the remainder of this interaction, then so will I. Think you can manage that?" Again he prevented himself from tagging on any slanderous titles, though he felt she deserved to be labeled with names worse than he was willing to stoop to. Ice burned in his stomach and flickered in his silver gaze for a couple moments after he finished his words, but it faded as he regained control of himself.

Paradox couldn't recall another soul who possessed this power to infuriate him so. Perhaps that was the danger of dealing with the lower classes, though he had encountered no other commoners with such an ability. Something in him then recalled how Lizzie had looked lying on the cot in the apothecary, unconscious, pale, and limp, and again set the odd, terribly unwelcome ember of concern dancing in his mind. Clenching his fist and maintaining a blustery sarcastic tone in his voice that wasn't half so strongly present in his heart, he asked, "Furthermore, how do you define insults? I may be inclined to wonder aloud if your leg is holding up, but perhaps my taking that into consideration would offend your tender sensibilities. In an effort to adhere to your request for no further deprecation, I will therefore assume you are more than up to taking off at a sprint at a moment's notice." The young man glanced away, scanning the streets with eyes that hid a sense of confusion growing within which he was quite unwilling to address in the moment. He added, "It is just well. It would be bothersome if our friends caught up, you couldn't run, and I was unaware."
Quote“Cause You make mountains move,
You make giants fall.
You use songs of praise, to shake prison walls.
And I will speak to my fear, I will preach to my doubt;
You were faithful then, You'll be faithful now."
-
"Faithful Now," by Vertical Worship
possumboy
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Trainerlevel: 32

Forum Posts: 221
Posted: Sat, 25/06/2022 22:18 (2 Years ago)
Lizzie continued walking. "Alright, Mister Fancypants, you've got yourself a deal. Though I apologize if the accommodations aren't to your liking," she snapped sarcastically. Everything in her wanted to leave this man far, far behind, but she'd told him she'd take him to the safehouse. Lizzie may be a liar, a scammer, a thief, and a scoundrel, but she never went back on her word. For the most part. This was one of those exceptions. Not long after, she came to a crooked house that seemed to be leaning against the others as if it were nearly going to fall over. "Welcome to the Crooked Kingdom," she said shortly. "We'll be safe here."
RainRipple
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Forum Posts: 277
Posted: Sat, 25/06/2022 22:53 (2 Years ago)
This was so stupid. Paradox knew it would be dangerous to return to the Arcturus estate immediately, what with the men who had chased them likely now scouring the streets all over the city for Lizzie, but his pride and patience both seemed vulnerable if he continued to be in her presence. There was no real option to the contrary, but it was still undesirable. He would have to just speak to her as little as possible; once he got the pleasantries out of the way, despite how unpleasant they may be, he intended to give barely any further words to her. When they'd interacted, he'd mostly been irritated and harsh, and his usual cold and quiet demeanor had taken a backseat. It wasn't that he cared what she thought of him, though, not at all; certainly there was no part of him which desired in the slightest for her to see what his personality could be when her fire wasn't burning away at his ice. At least, that was what he told himself.

"Lovely. I suppose that's the most that could be asked for."
Quote“Cause You make mountains move,
You make giants fall.
You use songs of praise, to shake prison walls.
And I will speak to my fear, I will preach to my doubt;
You were faithful then, You'll be faithful now."
-
"Faithful Now," by Vertical Worship
possumboy
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Trainerlevel: 32

Forum Posts: 221
Posted: Sun, 26/06/2022 21:26 (2 Years ago)
"You're lucky the people who live here will have more respect for you than I ever will," she snapped. "But nonetheless, they're some of the kindest you'll meet. Try not to look down on them too much, alright?" Lizzie took a few steps forward and knocked on the door in a series of complicated knocks. The door opened a crack to reveal an older woman who looked out anxiously. "Emerald Fox?" she whispered nervously, and Lizzie nodded, clicking her teeth twice. "Come in then," the woman said, her demeanor relaxing as she let them in. The inside of the house was large, but cramped with families, all looking dirty and haggard, some barely skin and bones. The old woman noticed Paradox and stood up straighter as some of the other families stood up quickly in alarm. "Sir," the old woman said quietly, casting her eyes down. Lizzie held out a hand. "Calm down everyone, he's with me. Though I wouldn't say he deserves that kind of respect." She turned to Paradox and whispered, "I am trusting you right now. If you say one word of this place to Ezan-" She was interrupted by a child's excited shout of, "Emerald Fox!" Three children came running up, throwing their arms around Lizzie as she laughed. "Geez, you three are getting so big! Bet you'll be taller than me soon." She ruffled their hair and let them take her hands, all of them talking over each other at once as Lizzie listened patiently.
RainRipple
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Forum Posts: 277
Posted: Mon, 27/06/2022 02:58 (2 Years ago)
Paradox entered the building, clearly distracted by the appearance of the families taking refuge in the rickety old building. There were so many of them, and they all looked like a puff of wind could knock them over. Slightly absently, he nodded to the old woman upon her address of him, not entirely realizing what he was doing. Never before had he acknowledged such a pauper a polite way; usually he ignored them. The people all seemed to adore Lizzie. He could tell they trusted her, depended on her. Perhaps someone who could be seen in such a light by so many starving, desperate people had some good to them.

"I don't think I have much of a choice..." he was muttering when the children appeared. His mind blanched. Lizzie... was the Emerald Fox? Of course. Of course she was. The one time he'd chosen to help a commoner, they turned out to be only one of the most violent and dangerous criminals in Wolfshire. What was more, she had made it extremely clear that any report made of her would immediately result in his incarceration and likely execution as well. He was trapped in a room with one of the sworn enemies of the Heads of the Noble Houses, and any exhibition of his fury would backfire faster than he could blink.

But somehow, that just didn't seem right. Lizzie was violent, brash, and fiery, yes, but her personality didn't entirely fit with the crimes he knew her to have committed. She'd been on her way to deliver food to a family when he'd intercepted her, and here she was being fawned over by children, who, so he'd heard, were usually good and pure judges of character. He, meanwhile, was well aware that she saw him as the antithesis of everything she fought for, yet she had gone this long without making any clear attempts to kill him. Ezan had been the source of all the reports, come to think of it. Certainly, though, the king wouldn't have lied. Would he have? When the young noble thought about it, he wasn't so sure. Besides, as much as he got the sense she would slit his throat if she knew that he was thinking it, there was also the fact that the thief was quite small. It felt hard to believe that she could really be that harmful. In a way, her height was even slightly endearing. Her eyes were, too. Something told him he probably shouldn't be thinking that, though he wasn't entirely certain what it implied.

"That won't be especially difficult for them," he stated, his voice devoid of most expression. However, subtly, against his will, there was a slight tentativeness in the edges of it, the sort that might indicate a person testing whether or not a joke would be received well by the other party.
Quote“Cause You make mountains move,
You make giants fall.
You use songs of praise, to shake prison walls.
And I will speak to my fear, I will preach to my doubt;
You were faithful then, You'll be faithful now."
-
"Faithful Now," by Vertical Worship
possumboy
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Trainerlevel: 32

Forum Posts: 221
Posted: Mon, 27/06/2022 17:00 (2 Years ago)
Lizzie gritted her teeth and was about to retort angrily when she noticed that the children were giggling, so she managed to stop herself from snapping back. "That man is funny, Emerald Fox," one of them said quietly, and Lizzie looked down at him with a smile. "I suppose he is a little funny, isn't he?" She muttered under her breath, "Just wish he was a little nicer." Unfourntanetly, she hadn't counted on the little girl in front of her's acute hearing, as she piped up, "He's not nice!" Lizzie was startled and scratched the back of her neck, embarrassed. "Well..it's just that, he doesn't understand what has happened to us in the Dregs. How brave you are." The little girl's face lit up. "Yeah! Me and my brothers like to play pretend that we are knights that give everyone food and get rid of all the monsters." "Why don't you, Charlie, and Emily all go and keep playing that game?" The children seemed to consider it, before nodding in unison and running off to play. Lizzie sighed, watching them go with a smile. "Even with all they've gone through, they're still so kind to everyone." She turned to him, looking slightly anxious, though she didn't know why, and she hated that she did. "I didn't mean what I said, you know. Just sort of..blurted it out. Sure, you're obnoxious and arrogant and you probably have never really given any of us "commoners" a second glance, but...You saved my life. Multiple times." Lizzie looked up at him with a faint smile. "Maybe you aren't.. completely horrible. You just haven't really seen things before." Lizzie didn't know where this was coming from, and her brain was screaming at her mouth to shut up, but she just kept talking. "You see things as an aristocrat, a politician, a man born into wealth most of us could only dream about. Paradox, when have you ever looked at the world around you as just yourself?"
RainRipple
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Forum Posts: 277
Posted: Mon, 27/06/2022 22:40 (2 Years ago)
Paradox watched the children silently, expression purely observant and containing no real hostility, the perpetual chill in his gaze even somewhat reduced. His own childhood was distant; it may as well have belonged to someone else. Ever since his father had begun to lose his mind, it had been clear that the Arcturus House would fall to Paradox the moment he came of age, and his mother had relentlessly prepared him for that duty up until the very moment of her death. There was no point in exhibiting kindness. It was not an admirable trait for a high-ranking aristocrat, and he cared not whether or not others saw him as compassionate; the fact simply was that he was not a sympathetic or understanding person. Of all people, did this thief think he should be? As he turned from the children to listen to her words, he noticed a small smile playing on her face, and for just a moment, he wondered if it wouldn't be worth it to try to be if it might make her smile.

When had he seen the world as himself? What an odd question. He blinked cooly and said, "I see the world the only way I can; as an aristocrat and as a politician. That is me. It is who I have always been. I serve my king and my state, and perhaps fulfill my own interests through that. I wouldn't label myself as horrible, nor would I call myself benevolent. The honor of my House is my only goal, and I will do what I must to garner it. I have seen more of the world than you might think, and up to this point it has served to confirm me in that pursuit." Silently, he added, By standing here, I am in direct violation of everything I am. Perhaps it would be more accurate to ask when I've seen the world as someone other than myself, and to that, I would answer that this is the first time, because the way you keep making me think cannot be me.
Quote“Cause You make mountains move,
You make giants fall.
You use songs of praise, to shake prison walls.
And I will speak to my fear, I will preach to my doubt;
You were faithful then, You'll be faithful now."
-
"Faithful Now," by Vertical Worship
possumboy
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Trainerlevel: 32

Forum Posts: 221
Posted: Tue, 28/06/2022 03:38 (2 Years ago)
Lizzie snorted. "The honor of my house. Really, do you ever listen to yourself? It's honestly kind of sad." She shook her head. "When you don't have to worry about going without food or sleeping on the street, I suppose you have other things to worry about, huh?" She tipped her head thoughtfully. "I guess I never really thought about it that way. We are really in different worlds?" Lizzie suddenly realized that she was staring at him, and looked away quickly, embarrassed. This was getting awkward, really, really fast. Why was she staring at him for crying out loud? Obviously, he didn't care about how different her life was from his. He wouldn't care. Right?