Flashback Poisenous Revenge {Ninus}

[Ronan Dugal]

Ronan gave a simple nod to Ninus' instructions before he watched the man leave to talk to the housekeeper. "You should rejoin the party, ms. Carlston." Ronan nodded slightly and offered his arm to the woman, who promptly ignored him and strode past him. He smirked at her back and followed her into the other room. A circle of chairs and couches was formed around a table in the middle, which was filled with all sorts of little biscuits and nibbles. With most space occupied, Ronan made his way through the middle of the circle, past the table and stood in front of a couch that seated the two women from before. "Pardon me, ladies. Mind if I join you?" He smiled his trader smile at the both of them and they eagerly moved aside to give him enough space to squeeze in. As soon as he sat down, both women moved closer to him, their knees touching his and their shoulders 'accidentally' brushing against his. He noticed that quite a few of the women were fluttering their eyelids at him and smiling at him. He also noticed that Millie Carlston was not happy at all with his presence. He smiled at her as well. "So, ladies?" Ronan looked around at the dozen or so women sitting in the circle. "What are we celebrating?" Ronan spoke as he leaned back against the couch, where he was immediately joined by the two women sitting next to him. "Just a get together. Tea party." The woman on his left spoke as her hand rested on his shoulder. If she nodded, her nose would touch his cheek and he could feel her breath on his neck. "Aha, is that why you wondered if we were the companions you were expecting?" This drew a round of giggling and women hiding behind their tea cups or napkins. "Let's try this again, ok? What are we celebrating, ladies?" Ronan smiled broadly as he looked around. "Well, Millie's husband recently died and she inherited everything. So we thought we'd come around and help her mourn." The round of giggling that followed told Ronan enough. As Ninus knocked on the door there was mumbling from inside. After a few moments a woman came out carrying several pillows and blankets from the room. "Asleep? Really? Do you think I have time to sleep?" She pushed her way past Ninus with the clean linen she was carrying and walked into the next room. "No, ser, no. Always working. And never thanked for it. Not once. Especially not now, with that woman being alone here now." It was obvious that this woman was not the lazy type, as Millie had described, but rather the hard working, never thanked type. She worked every day and nobody ever said thanks. She probably didn't make a lot of money either for this job. "Is there anything I can do for you, ser? I'm sure it is business, since all the pleasure is sitting downstairs eating cake and cookies and drinking tea." She spoke from out of the bedroom she was working in.

[Ninus Aurellius]

The Prince of Rats Ninus blinked, a bit taken aback. The lady of the house had described this woman as lazy, when she was obviously anything but. He went into the room and helped her sort the linens, quietly aiding her at her job. "My poor buzzing bee, never thanked, always moving." he said sympathetically. "Come, I must ask thee a few questions of thy former master. A man who passed away quite recently, and the reason for which thy mistress dances upon his grave. Was he a cruel creature, deserving of the death brought upon his head? Can you speak of how he passed? His death is important to me, my visitor of flowers. My companion is downstairs, questioning the birds that flit and twitter around thy furniture." he took her hands, stopping her from working. They had been so close with the last one. Perhaps the poisoner worked from here, or was here at this very moment poised to take revenge on the mistress. That would eliminate thoughts that the poisoner was hired by the mistresses, and bring him closer. They were hot on his trail. Ninus prayed and hoped he would be in this house, or at least drawn here by their presence.

[Ronan Dugal]

Ronan looked around the circle of women. None of them seemed to mind that they were celebrating the death of a person. It seemed odd to Ronan that they all agreed that it was a good thing to celebrate something like this. "This mourning strikes me as a little too much fun to be serious." Ronan spoke softly as he nestled himself between the two women he shared the couch with. The circle grew silent this time. Ronan noticed they weren't giggling and all of them did their best to avoid looking at him. The only person who stared openly and hatefully at him was Millie. So Ronan focused on her. "Ms. Carlston, you don't seem too unhappy by the sudden death of your husband..." It was as if the room seemed to hide from something. And then it exploded in Ronan's face. He had often heard other men talking about a woman's rage but this was the first time he was the primary and only target of it. Millie burst out in anger and shouted at Ronan, waving her arms as she complained about what a pig her husband had been and how he had never been interested in her. That she had just been a trophy for him. How she had to take care of everything every time he messed up. Her anger took her further and further as she continued to shout in Ronan's face. The rest of the women all cowered behind one another, doing their best not to listen. "He just kept eating! And always getting it on with other women. In front of me!" Her tirade had brought her up on her feet and her hands were shaking as she turned them into fists. Her voice rose in volume as she continued to speak. "I don't care about him anymore, the pig! I'm glad he's dead. I'M GLAD I KILLED HIM!" A collective gasp went through the circle of women as Millie finished her words. Ronan stared at her, together with all the other women in the room. Only then did Millie realize her mistake. She seemed to calm down somewhat as she bent forward towards the cakes and cookies on the table. Her outfit already revealed a lot of her breasts when she bent over Ronan couldn't help but shift his gaze from her face downward. The next moment the knife that was used to cut the cakes whirred past him and plunged itself into back of the couch, right next to Ronan's cheek. Millie turned around and ran for it, closing the door behind her as Ronan managed to recover from the initial shock. "Excuse me, ladies." He managed to take his imaginary hat off to the group of shocked women in the room as he half jumped-half ran past the table of sweets and towards the door. He crossed the hallway to the main entrance as he yelled as loud as he could for his companion. "Ninus! NINUS!" He crashed into the front door in his haste and jerked it open. In the middle of the street, Millie was removing the long skirt part of her dress, which seemed to come of way too easy for that type of clothing. As soon as she noticed Ronan she let her hand flash out towards him, throwing another knife in his direction. Ronan threw the door shut as he ducked behind it. The knife planted itself with a dry thud in the wood, a little bit below where Ronan's chest would have been if he had been standing up. "Ninus! It's Millie!" Ronan shouted as he got back on his feet to open the door once again.

[Ninus Aurellius]

The Prince of Rats Ninus' head jerked up when he heard the loud cries, then Ronan's roaring. The wife had admitted to her guilt...but that didn't make her responsible for the other poisonings. Not yet. He had to find where she had gotten them from. If she made them herself she was smarter than he gave her credit for. Ninus looked at the housekeeper. "Stay here, my lady. Please." he told her, then tore out of the room. They couldn't let her go, but he didn't miss the knife shivering in the couch as he passed. He would have to be careful. She would run out of knives eventually but that required them not losing her, and cornering her in a dark area. They couldn't fight her on the streets, not with the knights. Ninus saw Ronan rip open the door and he spotted another knife. "Stay your hand, my knight. We must track her carefully, she risks being caught by the knights." Ninus told him, watching Millie strip down in the middle of the street. He took Cricet off of his shoulder and set her down. He snapped his fingers and pointed to Millie. Cricet hopefully would understand what he wanted her to do. It would take some time for her to get into position. For now Ninus needed to stop her. He knelt behind the door and ripped open his poison kit, taking out the brass syringe and emptying it into a vase of flowers. He rinsed it with oil and drew from a small vial. "I must be close to our tigress to put her into slumber." he said. "Quickly, ser, draw her attention. My servant does not tarry, but they must have some time. We cannot let the knights have her. I cannot."

[Ronan Dugal]

As Ronan opened the door once more, he heard Ninus coming down the stairs behind him, ordering him to stand down for now. He watched as Millie took off the corset she had been wearing. Underneath her whole official attire, Millie wore a simple beige shirt and pants, very common clothing that anyone could wear at any day of the season. "Track her carefully? How are you going to track her once she blends in with a crowd?" He carefully popped his head around the door to see if Millie was still there. Ninus was messing with his kit and the syringe he had used before. Ronan wondered how many people had died because of that strange device. In the street Millie looked left and right trying to make a decision. "Draw her attention? She's throwing knives, Ninus. She aimed for my heart." Ronan exclaimed as he pulled himself up on the door and looked once more at the woman in the street before carefully slipping out into the open. "Millie. We don't want to hurt you. We just want to talk." The woman jumped up and looked at him, her hand flashing to her outfit, probably to pull out yet another knife to throw at him. Ronan raised his hands as he slowly edged to her right, trying to block her planned route of escape. "Millie, please. There's no need for this. We just want to ask a few questions and then we'll leave you alone." The knife twirled between her fingers. "Don't move!" Ronan stopped his slow shuffling to her right. He could feel his heart beat in his throat. His palms were sweaty and he could feel the beads of sweat running down his arms and his back. Where was Ninus and what was he up to? Ronan hoped that whatever he had set Cricet up to would pay off, as Millie's knife started to slow down it's twirling motions. "I don't want to answer any question. The pig deserved it!" Ronan raised his hands a little more, so they were above his shoulder, a little but out in front of him. "I understand, Millie. He wasn't a good husband. We're not here for you. We're here after whoever sold you the poison that you used. He killed my friend, Millie. My best friend died in my arms, Millie, because of this man. And other people died as well. Suffered through the last moments of their lives." Keep talking. As long as she was listening, she wasn't throwing any knives in his general direction.

[Ninus Aurellius]

The Prince of Rats Ninus scowled. "She has no infinite supply. But the knights will have been summoned soon, and I cannot lose a trail to the clopping of hooves and the noose." he snarled. He eyed the kitchen....there must be a back door leading to the alleyway. Enough to try and sneak up behind her, or at least distract her until the rats got there. He gripped the syringe and slunk to the kitchen, carefully opening the door while Ronan spoke to her. He had to put her down quickly. Knock her out and drag her somewhere. He bit his lip as he slunk around the corner and eyed Millie shouting at Ronan. That was when he saw Cricet, looking quite the frightening sight. She bared yellow fangs and growled, ruffling up her fur and attempting to be a quite frightening distractios. Cricet made false lunges at her, snapping her jaws and snarling. Ninus crept closer, and close to Millie, his footfalls as silent as he could make them, and lunged at her himself when he was within striking distance. He sunk the rather thick and painful needle just above her collarbone, depressing the plunger and leaping away out of striking distance. He watched her closely...it would take a few minutes to have its effect, and now he was exposed.

[Ronan Dugal]

Ronan watched as the rats formed a half circle around Millie, verbally attacking her with their snarls and growls and puffing themselves up as much as possible to look more intimidating. Millie backed away from them, towards the house once more, with Ronan on one side, blocking part of the road, the rats on the opposite side of the house, blocking another part of the road. He saw Ninus sneak out a side alley and did his best not to look at the man. "Millie, please. We just want to talk, that's all. Just put the knife down, we'll talk and then we're gone forever." Ronan watched as her knuckles turned white around the knife's handle. When Ninus jumped on her back and stuck the needle deep in her shoulder, Ronan couldn't help but cringe at the sight. Surprised, Millie didn't move for a moment before she started to turn and strike at Ninus with her weapon. But he had already backed down again. Like a wild animal, Millie looked around and spotted Ronan. "Liar. You're all liars!" She moved her arm back and lashed out, letting go of the knife as it spun towards Ronan. He moved as fast as he could, turning his chest sideway and stepping towards his left. The knife passed through the area where his throat had been just a moment ago and where his upper arm was now occupying the space. The knife cut through his sleeve and flew past, only nipping at Ronan's flesh but hurting him enough. With his hand he covered the wound as he bit down on his teeth to prevent himself from crying out. He saw Millie turn around as her arm lashed out a second time, throwing one of her knives towards Ninus and ran straight for the wall of rats, past her last target, taking a leap and jumping over them. As she landed she stumbled but managed to keep herself from falling and continued to run. With his hand on his arm, Ronan followed her, keeping his distance so he could dodge any more daggers thrown his way. The cut on his shoulder was thumping with his heartbeat and he could feel how his hand was starting to get wet with his own blood. The cut itself wasn't too bad but the running he was doing wasn't making it any better either. Before Millie reached the main road, she started to lose balance and slowed down until finally she fell face first to the ground, throwing up a small cloud of dust around her body. Having had enough knives thrown at him for one day, Ronan slowed down and kept a safe distance form her as he looked around for Ninus. "That went better than expected, no?" He groaned and sucked in a sharp breath as his shoulder spiked with pain.

[Ninus Aurellius]

The Prince of Rats Ninus was forced to hit the ground when the knife was thrown wildly for him. Luckily she missed the mark, and Ninus scrambled to his feet in time to see her fall on the ground. "Swiftly, ser, one will have called the guards by now." he told Ronan, seeing the cut on his arm but noting it as a flesh wound and not too serious. He ran to Millie's side and knelt by her, checking her pulse. She was quite fine, though unconscious and a bit bruised by the fall. He grabbed her under her arm, grunting. He was skinny, and not quite accustomed to grabbing fully grown women. "To the house..." he growled under the strain of trying to lift the unconscious woman. He didn't quite want to resort to dragging her along the cobblestones. He wanted her, ideally, tied up in the bedroom. Ninus was taking no chances this time; he would interrogate her and interrogate her well. If she was the source of the poison, he would kill her swiftly and quietly. If she had gotten the poison from somewhere, he needed to know where. This other poisoner was obviously not at all discriminating in who he murdered. He urged Ronan to help pull her into the house. He would have to place the area on lockdown, the girls couldn't be allowed to leave. Nor could the housekeeper.

[Ronan Dugal]

Ronan was a little more cautious when it came to approaching the fallen woman. Her knives had stung him and he had become more alert about them. Casually using Ninus as a guinea pig, he let the man approach the collapsed woman. When she didn't seem to react to anything Ninus did to her, Ronan moved closer as well and helped to pick her up. Throwing the other arm over his shoulder, he helped Ninus to lift her off the ground. With Ninus still suffering from his previous injuries and Ronan suffering from his more recent injury, the short trip back to the house was a little torment for the both of them. Ronan set his wounded shoulder against the front door and pushed, grunting as he got the door open. With Ninus' help he managed to get the woman back inside, out of sight from any guards that would show up later. As the guards entered his thoughts, Ronan started to work on a good excuse for the scene they might have caused. Rather ungentleman like he dropped Millie on the ground in the hallway before turning to the front door, peeking outside before closing it. There had been nobody on the street but he was sure some people had been looking from the windows covering the sides of each street. People yelling at each other usually drew that attention. "Where do you want to put her?" He turned to Ninus for a moment before once again lifting Millie up from the ground. He hoped whatever Ninus had done was neither permanent nor about to stop working. He would also have to talk to the women in the side room and make sure none of them tried to run or make a scene before they had settled things properly here. He needed some answers from Millie and he wasn't going to leave until he had them.

[Ninus Aurellius]

The Prince of Rats Ninus considered where to put Millie, and settled on the kitchen. He barred the back door and guided Ronan to put her on the table. He grabbed cleaning rags and stripped them into pieces, tying her ankles and wrists to the legs of the table. They would hold taut, and with the way he had her spread-eagled there was little chance of her getting enough leverage to escape. She was caught, and caught finely. Ninus held his ribs a moment, breathing in slowly as the old injury protested. "She shall not free herself. She is caught, ser knight, and our rabbit shall squeal loudly in protest upon wakening. But I shall pry truth from her lips, be it with a gentle hand and a soft word or knives. If I have to loosen her tongue by making her skin burn and her eyes go black, I shall." Ninus growled, eyeing the unconscious woman. He looked back to Ronan. "Please, thou must calm the tittering birds in the room. With no jessies to hold their feet, they may fly and tell this story to whomever they meet. This must not happen and I lean upon you thusly." he told him. "The maid, poor creature, I shall need her. If you can summon her to my side, and if I gain an ally then in her revenge against a creature so cruel to her, her tongue may be loosened quicker. Maids have ears to the ground, and upon the walls."