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Post by Princess Anne on Jan 8, 2008 22:32:35 GMT -5
All through the night, Anne was having trouble sleeping. She tossed and turned all night long but finally, she sat up from the covers and looked around the dark room.
"No wonder I can't sleep. Its around the time I should start training." Anne quietly got up and gathered her short sword and the shield. She didn't bother getting too dressed up since it was dark out and she was gonna get sweaty and dirty anyways. She wore her standard training attire, a white tank-top-like shirt and dark gray shorts. She tied up her hair in the usual ponytail. "There's gotta be a forest or something around here somewhere."
Anne walked over to a very small forest right next to the Inn everyone was staying at and began to sword fight against her shadow, her only light was the bright moonlight. She imagined herself in the war again, quickly hacking her enemies into pieces. Eventually she climbed up a tree and hung upside down completely from it. Anne put her hands on the back of her head and began to do sit-ups in mid air, grunting somewhat loudly as she endured through her workout.
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Post by Dante Reach™ on Jan 8, 2008 23:06:32 GMT -5
Dante had quickly woke up in the middle of the night. He was breathing heavily and was on full alert. He looked at the clock and saw that it was still late. He had another one of his bad dreams about his family dying. He put his head back on his bed and was about to go back to sleep untill he heard a noise. He grabbed one of his knives then looked out the door and saw someone leave the inn. He quickly ran down the stairs and followed them into a forest by the inn. He climbed up a tree and saw that the person was hacking at a tree with their sword. Then the person had started doing sit ups. Who trains and this tme of night? He thought to himself. He strained his eyes and saw that it was Anne.
[glow=blue,2,300]Hey Anne what are you doing out here this late?[/glow]
He asked while sitting in the tree.
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Post by Princess Anne on Jan 8, 2008 23:22:39 GMT -5
Anne continued doing sits ups at a steady pace but gradually began slowing down. She looked up at Dante, still grunting.
"I'm training. I must train, I have to train!!" Anne said in a determined tone. She was at the point to where she felt sick to her stomach from all the sit-ups, so she did a quick backflip off over the branch she was hanging from and landed on her feet on the ground.
"I'm sorry if I was loud, I've just been doing this routine ever since I was young. I can't help it.." Anne wiped the sweat from her forehead, panting lightly. "What's going on with you, is everything okay?"
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Post by Elka on Jan 8, 2008 23:29:16 GMT -5
Seeing Anne leave, Elka got up as quietly as she could to try to follow. The other girl seemed to be expecting to be working hard, perhaps excercising, though at this time of night that seemed absurd. Trying to be silent, Elka slipped out of the room and crept down the hallway.
It seemed that the blue-haired man in the other room had already left; his door was ajar and moonlight streamed into the empty room. Elka craned her neck to see inside when...
CRASH!
...She tripped over an empty beer mug and tumbled down the stairs. Other people in the rooms around her peeked out to see what was going on.
"You okay there, lass?" one man asked, staring at her with amusement on his face.
"I'm fine," Elka muttered, pulling herself to her feet as Rolf trotted down the stairs, graceful as a panther. So much for stealth.
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Post by Dante Reach™ on Jan 8, 2008 23:33:49 GMT -5
Dante looked away from her for a second. He didn't want to tell her. He put a cheery expression on his face then looked back at her.
[glow=blue,2,300]Yeah I'm fine.....So tell the truth no one else is out here.....I know your a princess...Admit it.[/glow]
He said then jumped down from then tree then landed infront of her. He put a smirk on his face. She could deny it all she wanted. Dante did his studying and figured it out.
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Post by Fearn on Jan 8, 2008 23:41:22 GMT -5
Fearn sat bolt upright after hearing Elka crash. She wasn't usually a hard sleeper, but apparently was when allowed the comfort of a real bed, and hadn't heard anyone get up. Stalking out of the room, she saw Elka sprawled in the middle of the hall. Snickering, she skirted around the girl and her dog, and dodged out of the inn.
Noticing that the first light of dawn was just beginning to show, Fearn made her way to the stable, yawning and stretching as she went. "Hey, Aurum," she mumbled, playing with her pony's mane. "Let's go, I want breakfast."
Aurum grumpily submitted to being led out, saddled, and hopped, having been fed just an hour earlier. Fearn nudged her into a walk, and they began to make their way to Fearn's stash of food in the forest.
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Post by Princess Anne on Jan 8, 2008 23:42:40 GMT -5
Anne looked Dante right in the eyes, not holding back any regrets. It was alot easier to admit her identity than to fight it. He already knew just about everything about her and referred to her with her "real" name. She sighed.
"Yeah!? So what if I am? None of that matters now, I'm the only one left in my family. I might as well be just an average soldier. My title is useless. Enemies of my kingdom could still be out there, I don't want my bloodline to be entirely extinct... you know?" Anne crossed her arms and walked over to a large log, crossing her legs. "I'm more familiar with a warrior's life than a royal one, a princess title does not fit me at all."
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Post by Dante Reach™ on Jan 8, 2008 23:51:50 GMT -5
Dante sat down next to her on the log. He tryed to think of something to cheer her up. He usally wasn't so good with this kinda stuff.
[glow=blue,2,300]Well who says a warriors life can't also be a princesses life to? I mean you can't really start to be a princess unless you can defeat you enemys and to defeat them you have to be a warrior, Really though you shouldn't be out this late training...it can't be healthy should be getting sleep. You don't need to train when you got people like me and Pere to protect you.[/glow]
He said and smiled then flexed his muscles. He gave a small laugh then said under his breath.
[glow=blue,2,300]or at least when he's not drunk...[/glow]
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Post by Princess Anne on Jan 9, 2008 0:10:58 GMT -5
"Bleh! You and Peregrinus protecting.... me?" Anne blurted out loudly. After that, she started to crack up laughing.
"I'll let you be alone for a while, I'm going to go for a swim in that pond over there... If anyone's interested, tell 'em to come along. If Yelena or Elka is awake, let them know where I'm at so they don't get too rowdy... see ya." Anne casually walked away, swaying her ponytail. She was ready to wash all of the sweat from off of her body and cool off.
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Post by Fearn on Jan 9, 2008 0:13:51 GMT -5
Aurum ambled right up to where Fearn's cache was, used to going there a lot. Fearn slid off her back and rolled the rock off where the hole was, groaning with the effort. Inside she found spare clothes, a few furs, meat (excellent breakfast food... not), some stale biscuts, about 20 arrows, some missing fletching, and her bow. She snatched up the biscuts, and her bow and arrows on a whim, stuffing them in some pants, which she then stuffed in a bag.
Fearn led Aurum to a boulder to use as a mounting block, and safely on again, headed back for the inn. Bored, she started singing loudly, until she heard other voices cutting through her own. She stopped belting out Coventry Carol and listened, figuring out that they belonged to Anne and Dante. They and probably heard her, but not wanting to intrude, she kept her mouth shut and made do with evesdropping.
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Post by Dante Reach™ on Jan 9, 2008 0:17:25 GMT -5
Dante waved then laid back on the log and looked up at the sky. He was afraid to go back to sleep so he stayed awake. He got up and decided to work out like Anne was before. That would help him stay awake. He started doing push ups and clapped every time he pushed up. After his arms had done about all they could do he got bored and pulled out his knives then he carved a target on the tree. He started throwing knives at the target. He needed to keep his accuracy up. Dante saw someone...It was Fearn.
[glow=blue,2,300]Hey Fearn...You were evesdropping weren't you...Well Anne swimming in the lake. If you want to join her you can go ahead and do so.[/glow]
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Post by Elka on Jan 9, 2008 0:46:58 GMT -5
Elka slowly dragged herself up off the floor, red as a beet at her undignified tumble. Everyone in the tavern was awake now, all staring at her. "Sorry," she mumbled, slinking out of the tavern and onto the front steps. It was much quieter out here, and slowly the lights indoors began to turn out again.
Gloomily, she sat down on the steps, fooling around with some grass that she had plucked from the tiles. She was just getting ready to head back inside when Rolf suddenly leapt to his feet, staring intently at a spot about two hundred meters away. Elka saw nothing in the darkness, but heard a faint singing of some mournful song, terribly off key. As the voice drew nearer, she recognized it as Fearn's.
Suddenly the voice stopped, and Elka stood up, straining to see what was going on. She walked out onto the trail, holding onto Rolf's collar as if he were a guide dog. Eventually she saw that it was indeed Fearn, as well as "Knife" and the blue-haired man. Knife was swimming in a fishpond, Dante held knives, and Fearn had a pony. Maybe this wasn't the best time to intrude. Instead, Elka ducked behind a tree and listened to what they were saying.
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Post by Dante Reach™ on Jan 9, 2008 0:57:48 GMT -5
Dante threw another Knife and it almost hit the middle of the target. He heard a noise then looked he saw something moving. He moved over closer to whatever it was and saw that it was the girl that said he was creepy.
[glow=blue,2,300]Oh....Anne said if you want to go swimming with her she will be in the lake...[/glow]
He walked back over to the log and started throwing knives back at the target.
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Post by Princess Anne on Jan 10, 2008 16:42:28 GMT -5
Anne swam around in the water almost blindly due to the darkness of the night. She peacefully floated on her back and took a moment just to listen. Just because she was enjoying alone time didn't mean she would ever let her guard down.
For some reason, the environment seemed too quiet. There were no insects chirping at all. Anne carefully got out of the water, shivered due to the wind, then stood still, scanning the forest area with her eyes. Suddenly, she found herself dodging an arrow that had came from an unknown source in the bushes. It had barely missed piercing her heart. After rolling out of the way, she grabbed her sword and shield, immediately blocking 3 more lethal arrows.
"How familiar. That stench." Anne smirked. "Trolls." Anne was then struck with a large arrow right in her shoulder blade, causing blood to leak out quickly after the impact.
"It's the Steftlund princess! She knows the pathway to the sword!" one of the trolls roared out. "Obtain the map! She is armorless and vulnerable!"
Anne turned around, running at one of the trolls and skidded against the ground, kicking up dust to distract it, then promptly cut its head from its shoulders. The head smashed into the ground as another troll leapt out from the bushes, bounding over the head, and headbutted Anne. She blocked with her shield, but was still knocked backwards. More and more trolls began to charge towards her.
"I hope Yelena or Elka aren't out here, this is getting pretty bad!" Anne said, growing tired as she kept fending the beasts off of her.
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Post by Fearn on Jan 10, 2008 18:23:49 GMT -5
"Okay, Dante. I'm going to the lake as well, I think. See ya!" Fearn yelled over her shoulder. She kicked Aurum into a quick trot, looking forward to getting a chance to swim. "It'll be great, won't it, Aurum? We haven't gotten to swim in ages!"
Suddenly, Aurum stumbled forwards, nearly knocking the unobservant Fearn off her back. "What the hey?" the girl muttered, looking back at what the pony had tripped over. It was a oddly-shaped, deep footprint, too big to be a person's. Fearn swore and rolled her eyes. "I didn't even think they lived here anymore! Nasty little nguruwes."
Fearn wondered whether she should turn back, but hearing the sounds of a fight and a troll ahead of her yell something about a princess, she decided against that. Apparently Anne had become acquainted with the trolls. Pulling her bow and a few arrows out of her clothes (clothes she had taken out of the stash, not those she was wearing), she nudged Aurum into a full gallop.
Ahead of her, Fearn saw what she had been expecting: a bunch of trolls attacking Anne, and Anne attacking the bunch of trolls. Fearn grinned lopsidedly, and dropping the reigns for good, fired and arrow at a troll's head. He went down quite nicely, Fearn thought, proud of herself.
"Geronimo!" she yelled, as Aurum plowed into the group of trolls. Which probably wasn't the best idea, considering that arrows aren't very easy to shoot from a range of two feet, and unlike Anne, she didn't have a shield. But nevermind that. She was too busy trying to steer Aurum out of the mosh pit while still shooting, which wasn't so easy as it sounded.
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Post by Dante Reach™ on Jan 10, 2008 18:57:42 GMT -5
Dante had heard commotion and went to go check it out. He took his knife out of the tree then went to the lake and saw alot of troll attacking. He threw his Knife and it hit ,the troll that was attacking Anne, Right in his head. He ran over and took his Knife out of its head. Then he threw another blade into the throat of another troll. Then he ran over to help out Fearn who was fighting many trolls with a bow and some arrows.
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Post by Elka on Jan 10, 2008 19:03:55 GMT -5
Elka come very close to cursing aloud when she heard that Dante had found her. Still, it was not too big a deal, not nearly as bad as falling down the stairs in front of the entire tavern.
Seeing nothing exciting, she sheepishly turned around and was about to start walking back to the tavern when she heard a shout of some horrible voice, and then the sounds of a struggle. Fearn charged past on a pony in the opposite direction. Grabbing Rolf's collar and her handly little pocket-knife, Elka crept forward in the direction of the noise.
Reaching a clearing, Elka saw that this indeed was the pond that the others had mentioned, but it was surrounded by enourmous creatures that appeared to be trolls. Straining her eyes, Elka managed to make out Fearn on her horse, shooting madly, and Anne was hardly visible. They were definitely outnumbered. This time, Elka really did curse. She held her pocketknife uneasily in one hand, seeing as it would do nothing against the trolls.
Suddenly she had an idea. "Rolf, sic 'em!" she shouted, pointing towards the monsters. The dog looked at her for a minute, then charged after the trolls. She cringed as he leapt on a troll and it began striking at him. Angrily, she threw rocks at any troll she saw, not knowing of anything better to do to help.
Reason for Editing: Stupidity tax
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Post by Princess Anne on Jan 10, 2008 20:12:07 GMT -5
Anne gasped as a few of the trolls right in front of her collasped due to Fearn's arrow and Dante's knife. "Hey! You guys came, thanks alot! Hold the fort down in this area, I'm going to go kill off their leader!!"
Anne quickly got up and ran straight into a thick area of bushes where the trolls seemed to be coming from. She knew how trolls operated and they would no longer attack if their leader was dead. As she ran into a deep den that led into the ground, she temporarily wondered if that was a good idea since she had no armor on and the clothes she had on were not too decent looking...
"There you are, beast. You want my map? You'll get it if I have your head first." Anne had confronted the largest troll, the king of them all. She got into her fighting stance.
"Why has the princess of a fallen kingdom come to my quarters? Perhaps to show me a good time and give me what I truely desire?" The large, ugly troll scanned Anne's body up and down, but was way more interested in her ancient map. "We can share the riches and power of the legendary treasure together, my dear. But if we both cannot agree on something, you're destined to die, just like everyone else in your kingdom."
Anne ran at the troll fearlessly and stabbed at him over and over with her sword, but his fur seemed to be as hard as stone. After her final stab, her sword snapped into two. Anne growled and resumed her fighting stance.
"I'll tear your head off with my bare hands then." She glared.
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Post by Dante Reach™ on Jan 10, 2008 20:26:39 GMT -5
Dante nodded and watched Anne run off into the bushes. He looked at all the trolls that were left. It was time to start using his head. He felt into his pocket and felt that he only had a small mine on hand. He used his head and came up with a stratagey. He threw his knives in a circle. then he set the mine in a ceartain spot so the laser the mine emitted reflected off of each of the knives. He gave an evil smile. He started running from a group of trolls so that they followed him. Then when the trolls had ran into the circle of mines. Dante threw his last knife infront of the trolls so it made them stop.
[glow=red,2,300]You have the worst aim I've ever seen! [/glow]
He picked up the knife Dante had thrown then said.
[glow=red,2,300]I will kill you with your own blade...[/glow]
He started walking then knocked one of the knives out of place then the group of trolls that were standing in the spot exploded. Then the remaining knives that were in the circle went shooting in all directions. One stabbed a troll in the head, another in the heart, one in the leg, and another in the arm. He thought that he had killed most of them if not injured most of them. Then more started running out the bushes. Come on Anne I can't hold out here much longer.
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Post by Fearn on Jan 10, 2008 21:06:45 GMT -5
Aurum reared and nearly unseated Fearn again when the bomb went off. Fearn seized onto her mane to stay on, and nearly dropped her bow in the process. Shaking off the shock of the moment, Fearn dove back into the fight. She was displeased, however, with the number of arrows she had left. Already half were gone, and the trolls hadn't stopped coming yet.
"Nice one, Dante! Good idea, sure beats this!" Fearn shouted, shooting a runty looking troll with buck teeth and a sort of mohawk. "Take that, ugly!"
"Geez, I hope Knife kills their leader pretty soon. She hasn't come out in a while; you might want to see what's going on in there, seeing as you've got more appropriate weaponry for this situation," Fearn continued drily, shooting down another troll, this one larger and rather thuggish.
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