The Runaway Bride? (Eris)

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

"Ooooohhhhhh." Kamrynn groaned. The rheum clung stubbornly to his eyes even as he rubbed it away. "Already?"

He sat up, cracked his neck to the left and right, then yawned. Getting to his feet proved difficult, his legs were reluctant to bear his weight, and sleep seemed so inviting.

Finally he stepped away from his bedroll to stretch. "You're... You're more than welcome to my bedroll, if you haven't brought your own." He said sleepily.

A few minutes of stretching brought him to full wakefulness. He reached into his horse's saddle bag, pulling out some of his travelling rations: A ball of rice with a bit of pork stuck into the center, wrapped in leaves to protect it during the trip.

As he bit into a breakfast hours earlier than he would have preferred, he occupied his shift with listening to the sounds of the forest, trying his best to attune himself to his surroundings. He had spent some time in the woods as a child, but he knew little of forest survival. Even posting a watch at camp was something he wouldn't have thought of.

The night passed slowly, there was little else than the sound of wind rustling the trees, or was it an animal? When the sun began to peak its head over the horizon, Kamrynn decided it was time to wake Eris and continue their march of death to the young Vanessa's forest hideaway.

He tip toed quietly over to Eris' side, her face looked troubled, even in sleep. It seemed unlikely that something as simple as a bad dream would trouble a woman so profoundly. He leaned over, lowering a hand to rouse her...

[Eris]

At first, Eris had no intention of accepting his offer of a bedroll. But after a moment’s consideration, she gave in to warm and soft appearance of the rumpled bedroll. With a mumbled thank you, she crawled onto the fabric. I shouldn’t really sleep… can’t trust him… but… Sleep claimed her a few minutes later.

Eris was a light sleeper – a characteristic she had developed during months of travelling on the road alone. Behind closed eyelids, snatches of scenes paraded themselves before her, flashing in and out of existence as soon as she tried to focus on a particular image. There was certainly a lot of blood and running… a whole lot of running. Running from that cursed house.”Leave me alone, you stupid girl. Let me die in peace.” A road getting narrower as she ran until it faded into oblivion. And then, there was her mother’s voice – biting, accusatory…

Suddenly, Eris felt a hand brush against her shoulder. It was like having cold water splashed over her face – instinct took over. She grabbed at the arm next to her, gripping it hard as her eyes flew open. She sat bolt upright, her other hand going for her dagger. It took her a few seconds to realize what exactly she was doing. Slightly dazed, she released Kamrynn’s arm, blinking a few times to clear away the chaos from her mind.

She felt herself growing angry at the man for waking her so abruptly. At least, that’s what she told herself. Mostly she was just angry with herself – for showing weakness, for being so easily provoked… She was also sick of playing the part of the concerned, innocent friend. It just didn’t sit well with her. But she would have to go on with the charade a little longer. She forced herself to be calm, smoothing her brow as she murmured, “Sorry about that.”

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

The sleepy haze fled Kamrynn the instant he felt Eris' death grip upon his wrist. He pulled back instinctively, his eyes widening as the woman sat up and her free hand shot towards the hilt of her blade.

Then she released him, and he stumbled backwards, falling unceremoniously onto his bottom. "Oof." He grunted, more than a little embarrassed.

"Sorry about that." Eris offered.

"No, my fault. I shouldn't have snuck up on you while you were sleeping.

They broke camp without a word, both were numb and tired, and Kam was more than a little distraught by Eris' actions; what could have caused the woman to be so skittish and distrustful?

Their ride to the villa was short and the sun was mercifully warm. Kamrynn's thoughts drifted to other, happier topics, and before they knew it, the cottage appeared at the end of the path -just where the map said it would be.

Kamrynn and Eris' dismounted to walk the last bit of the way to the building's front door. The horses busied themselves with the lush green grasses that carpeted the yard surrounding the villa.

The building itself was big, much bigger than Kamrynn had expected. Standing two stories tall with a solid brick construction, the home would have been impressive even located in the city. The shutters were all closed tight, save for a single window upstairs, and it looked as though a few wisps of smoke were leaking from the chimney. Someone was home.

A large oak front door stood at the top of a handful of roughly hewn stone steps, which Kamrynn took two at a time. He rapped heavily on the door.

No response.

He tried again, calling out this time. "Lady Vanessa?" There was still no response. Kamrynn turned questioningly towards Eris, then tried the door knob.

"Locked." He muttered, stepping back to look at the open window on the second floor. "I can probably climb up to that window, though. Unless you have a better idea?"

[Eris]

“No need to do any climbing,” Eris said lightly, digging in the satchel slung across her shoulder. She wondered briefly if it was wise to reveal her skills now. She didn’t want the knight figuring out what exactly it was that she did for a living. And a lady learning how to pick locks might prove a bit suspicious… But at the moment that was the best course to take and Eris figured that she could always deal with any misgivings the knight might have later.

She pulled out her hand form the bag, a thin hairpin held between her fingers. It had been a long time since she actually used the pin for her hair. Now it was simply a tool. She crouched down by the door, examining the lock. Though it looked intricate and was made of heavy metal, the actual mechanism looked to be relatively simple.

Eris inserted the pin into the keyhole, shifting it a hair-breadth to the left and right as she listened for a satisfying click. After a few minutes of jingling the pin in the lock, she heard the click she was looking for. Pulling herself up to her feet, Eris pocketed the pin and nudged the door with her hand. She motioned for the knight to enter, not wishing to be the first to fall into any traps that may await at the entrance.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kamrynn's cocked an eyebrow as Eris set to work on the door. Lock picking wasn't a common skill, but it didn't mean she was a criminal.

The lock fell to her deft hands in moments, and opened inwardly on its hinges easily. The home was dark inside. Eris nodded for Kamrynn to enter ahead of her.

Why me? He thought to himself. Wouldn't Lady Vanessa be happier to see her friend? But then he remembered that Vanessa was being actively hunted down There could be an assassin lurking in the house, or worse yet, a young woman's corpse. It was pretty reasonable that he should go first.

Kamrynn puffed out his chest, took a deep breath, and strode confidently into the cottage. He made a conscious decision to leave his sword in its sheath -it would make his position a whole lot harder to explain if he ran into Lady Vanessa with sword drawn after having broken into her house.

A few steps in now, he could clearly smell the smoke from freshly extinguished candles. He motioned for Eris to follow, then made his way to the table where the candle sat, the wax was still warm.

"Listen," Kamrynn called into the dark. "I know someone is in here, I am Kamrynn Sleightyr of the Syliran knights. Lady Vanessa, if you are in here, I mean you know harm."

A shadowy figure darted towards Kamrynn's side, and he spun around just in time to raise a defense. She was brandishing a cruel kitchen knife that impact harmlessly on the Knights gauntleted arm. He deftly snatched the young ladies hands and the knife dropped to the floor. She screamed and struggled weakly against him.

"Lady Vanessa, it's ok! I'm not here to hurt you! Eris!" He turned to his companion. "Eris, tell her it's alright!"

[Eris]

Eris’s dagger darted out in front of her the second Vanessa jumped out of the shadows. Choices, choices, choices. Of course, there was no way she could calm the woman down. She had never even seen her before. But this was not a good time to abandon her charade. She raised a calming hand, her other hand deftly sheathing the dagger before the woman could get a good look at it.

She needed to deliver her to the Iron-Hands and the best way to do that was to gain her trust.

“Vanessa, darling, don’t you recognize me?” Eris asked in the dimming candlelight, knowing full well that the woman couldn’t see her face clearly.

Still, her act was more from Kamrynn’s benefit that the lady’s. If she was smart enough to kill her fiancée, she was smart enough not to mistake a stranger for a friend. She would have to make it clear to Vanessa that her choice lay between life (or at least a better chance at life)and death and hope she would catch on.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kamrynn released the young woman so she could turn to regard Eris. Her heart soared at the thought of a friend coming to her aid, perhaps the knight truly was here to help her after all.

She squinted against the darkness, making out Eris' red hair and pale skin. It was no one she knew, that much was certain. She was about to denounce the impostor when she caught the expression on Eris' face. Her eyes widened and the color drained from her cheeks. Of the two intruders -this was the dangerous one.

Her eyes darted from Eris to Kammryn again and again, sizing up her situation. Her mind raced. The red haired woman was working for the Iron-Hands, that she was certain of, but what of the knight? He just stood there with a dumb, clueless expression on his face. Was it possible that the red head had pulled the wool over his eyes?

Probably, she decided, after giving Kamrynn another look.

Now the questions was, did the knights suspect her for her finance's murder? If so, she was better off trying to bribe the Iron Hands; but if they didn't know, she could oust the woman here and have her cut down -then hide in the city with the knights until the hands were routed.

The young Lady placed her bet. "Of course, dear. How silly of me to forget." Her voice dripped with sincerity and she smiled warmly -but scooted closer to the knight. Her own expression begged the question, What the hell is going on? S

Kamrynn breathed a sigh of relief when he was sure the situation had defused itself; then he remembered his purpose. "Lady Vanessa," He began, before any other words had been spoken. "Forgive me, but I have to ask and I must know the truth here and now -why did you flee from the city instead of coming to the knights? You must have known that no harm could come to you in Syliras under our protection, so why did you run?"

[Eris]

Eris let out a barely audible sigh of relief, glad to see that the woman seemed to have caught on. Now it was just a matter of dealing with the knight.

Eris saw the woman give her a sidelong glance before she answered the knight, speaking a slightly high voice. “Oh, but it was all just so terrible! People were looking at me as though I had killed poor Charles and I began to feel that I really was guilty. But I would never never never hurt him,” the woman’s voice broke on a rather convincing sob. She was giving a marvelous performance – Eris had to commend her on that. “Because I did start to wish that something bad would happen to him after he had that affair, but I would never really do anything about it… And I was so scared.”

The woman trailed off, staring up at the knight with teary eyes and an innocent and slightly frazzled expression. Like a deer staring down a hunter’s arrow… Only there is a rabid wolf hiding under the deer’s skin.

Eris didn’t want to act too rashly now. She had to find away to lead Vanessa away from the knight. The question that now rested before her was whether to do it by being partially honest with the knight or tricking him all the way through.

[Kamrynn Sleightyr]

Kamrynn listened eagerly to Vanessa's story and was easily taken in by her crocodile tears; he wanted to believe she was innocent, and in the end, people will believe what they want to believe.

Placing his hands on the young woman's shoulders, he tried to comfort her as best he could. She seized the opportunity, and wrapped the knight in a tight embrace, forcing more sobs.

"It's alright, it's alright." He assured her. "You're safe now. I've come to escort you back to Castle Stormhold, and you have my word that no harm will come to you. The knights will make sure that everyone responsible for your fiancé's death and your torment are put to swift justice. You don't have to worry about a thing."

That last statement, he wasn't so sure of. Even if he believed in Vanessa's innocence, the rest of the Order wasn't likely to. They were strict and militant, and they ruled Syliras with an iron fist -if they suspected Vanessa was guilty, even just a little bit- she was as likely to hang as the Iron-Hands were.

Now Kamrynn was conflicted; he had a duty to perform for the Syliran knights, but he had also sworn to Lord Valren (and now to the girl herself) that he would protect Vanessa's life with his own. Did that include from the Syliran Knights, as well? If she had been guilty, then all bets were off... but looking down at the sobbing woman in his arms, her beauty marred by red tear stained eyes... he couldn't believe he was guilty, and he couldn't stomach leading such a creature to her death.

By the gods, he hated making decisions. He looked to Eris, she seemed more worldly than he, and would probably have a better answer than he could come up with. "Eris, what do you think is the best course of action? Should we leave for the castle tonight, or maybe you have a better idea...?" He left the question intentionally vague. "Lady Vanessa's safety is paramount, of course"

[Eris]

“Certainly, Lady Vanessa’s safety is our foremost concern,” Eris said, nodding gravely and successfully hiding the smile that was beginning to snake its away across her lips. “But we shouldn’t rush the lady into anything, you understand. I’m sure she has things she needs to set in order here, dresses to pack, valuables to retrieve.” The part about the valuables was punctuated with a glance at Vanessa, who nodded her head vigorously.

“I say, I go upstairs with her to help her pack and you just wait here,” she said, tilting her head at the staircase.

“Oh yes! I would so very much like to gather some belongings. You wouldn’t mind, would you Sir Knight?” Vanessa asked, batting her eyelashes. The woman was picking up her cues beautifully.