Political and Personal

[Tismri]

Tenel Ka watched as Rom ran along the palace walls after the assassin, distracting the man from his goal of killing her. With that over, she sighed and stood. Since she was out of bed now and Rom was busy, she supposed she should return to her normal life. She opened her wardrobe and dug through the enormous piles of clothing to find something suitable to wear today. She picked a fairly short dress with a flowing skirt. It had long been a favorite of hers, when she was a princess, though a few had disapproved of it after she became queen. Today she didn't care. She dressed and fixed her hair--which was in an absolute mess--and retrieved her tiara. She glanced over at the state her bedroom was in and felt her face flush. The servants were certainly going to be the first to know she wasn't alone last night.

[Max452]

OOC: You know, I was sorely tempted to have Tristan barge in and discover Tenal Ka in Rom's tunic, and then have him go chasing after Rom for sleeping with her. lol But sadly, I have no idea where Tristan is right now...lol. I think...someone else might be a good substitute for now...hehehe. Oh, and can I do whatever i want with the assassin, or do you have some plans for him?

Rom lept forward, tackling the assassin. The assassin pulled out a dagger, nearly slicing Rom's throat if the Ranger didn't possess the elven qualities he did. Rom dodged the blade, and the two began to battle it out.

***
Dastan thought he heard a commotion in the Queen's chambers while he was shifting into guard duty this morning. On the alert, and not caring if the Queen was appropriate or not, considering her life may be in danger, Dastan rushed into the room. "Queen Mother!" Dastan ushered in, his two swords at the ready. His eyes scanned the room, seeing it an a rather messy state. "Milady!" Dastan blushed from embarrassment as he found Tenal Ka in the process of changing. He quickly turned around. "Forgive me! I thought I heard a yelling!" He stammered out.

OOC: he he he =p

[Tismri]

OOC: Oh, hey, it's Dastan! That's random...I wonder where Allecia is. lol. And do whatever you want with the assassin. He was just an excuse to finally get Rom and TK outta bed. lol

Tenel Ka yelped and jumped into her wardrobe when her door crashed open. Dastan, a young man from Alagaesia who had decided to join her personal guard, rushed into the room. At least she appreciated that he had some fairly swift-acting guards to rush to her protection no matter what.
"It is all right now, Dastan. There was another assassin, but he is being...taken care of right now." She glanced out the window, but couldn't see Rom or the masked man anymore. She finished dressing and left her wardrobe. She approached Dastan.
"If you would be so kind, let the steward know what has happened and inform her I will be a bit delayed today."

[Max452]

OOC: Okay! Yeah! Its Dastan to the rescue! I figured that he turned good again once he realized that gably was evil! lol Yeah...where is Allecia...Allecia! Hey Allecia! lol

Dastan refused to turn around as Tenal Ka informed him of an assassin. "He's being taken cared of? By whom? Did Caedus get him?" Dastan asked, unaware of the presence of Romulus. When he heard the Queen Mother's voice was closer, he dared a look, and was thankful that she was dressed now. "Aye, milady. Would you like me to send someone here to guard you still?" He asked, knowing that she never did like guards fawning over her. "And, if I may, I would prefer that you do until this assassin has ben caught. Tristan would kill me if I had you hurt on my watch." He smirked, recalling his friendship with Tristan. The man was one of the few that quickly accepted his return to the Varden, but there were those that did not. So, to avoid those stares, Dastan asked Lady Nasuada for permission to join the Ismalians and to start over. Another reason that Dastan desired to be one of Tenal Ka's guards was because he believed in her, that she would establish the peace he longingly desired. She had already conquered the Emeralds' possessive powers, and if she was capable of doing that, she was indeed capable of establishing peace. However, his decision of coming to Ismalia was not easy. His mind thoughtfully gave him an image of a woman that he had fallen in love with. His heart sank. He had no idea where she was since the battle at Uru'baen. Which was another reason he left Aeglaesia. There was nothing that desired him to stay.

***
Romulus sat cross-legged across the hog-tied bloodied and bruised assassin. The man was struggling immensely, but it was all in vain. Romulus had placed a spell on the rope so that it was unescapable. He leaned against the palm of his hand, slightly amused with the sight of the man trying to become free. "Honestly, if you waste your energy needlessly, I won't get any information out of you. Maybe I should just let Caedus eat you, after all, I doubt the dragon appreciated the fact that you just tried to kill his Rider." Romulus squinted up into the sky, wondering if the dragon was above him. "Just tell me who hired you." Romulus returned his gaze to the assassin, who was trying harder to escape after the mention of a dragon eating him. Rom sighed. "You're going to hurt yourself more...oh well, I suppose it can't be helped...I'll just take you to the dragon..." Romulus feigned as he easily picked up the imprisoned man and began his trek back to the palace.

[Tismri]

Tenel Ka shook her head as Dastan questioned about the assassin. "No, another man went after him. I must have drawn some attention." She was careful not to mention that this man happened to be in her room when she was attacked. She wasn't sure how most people would react when they learned that Rom had spent the night with her. She had only told the guards that she would deal with him, not how.
She sighed impatiently when Dastan asked if he should send another guard to watch her while he delivered her message. "Really, Dastan, I will be fine. I can go for ten minutes without someone watching me. I have been dealing with these sort of attacks my entire life."

[Max452]

Dastan nodded, accepting Tenal Ka's explanation, but a bit suspicious. He had a knack for telling when people weren't completely truthful, and even though the Queen's story didn't make him highly suspicious, it did make him curious. People usually lied for two reasons: To get something or to hide something. He mentally shrugged it off, especially at the Queen impatient sigh. "As you wish, Queen Mother. But after those ten minutes, I will return to guard you." He informed her as he gave her a respectful salute and went off to find the steward.

***
Dragging the assassin back, Romulus had half the mind to kill him for trying to kill his beloved, but even in his anger, he couldn't bear Tenal Ka's disapproving, if a bit amused, look if they didn't get a chance to interrogate him. As he entered the courtyard, by hopping down the roof, the soldiers quickly gathered around them.
"What is this?"
"Who is that man?"
"HEY! Aren't you suppose to be in shackles!"

Rom groaned. Looks like he wasn't pardoned for his reckless riding yesterday. He sighed as he found himself shackled again, along with his prisoner, who ended up having to be towed in a wagon because they couldn't get Rom's enchanted ropes off him.

***
Dastan was on his way back from speaking with the steward when he heard the soldiers discussing something outside. Curious, looked outside and spotted the soldiers leading Romulus and another man to the prison. Dastan recognized Rom from the Varden. What was he doing here.
"Hold there!" Dastan ordered, and the soldiers stopped. "Romulus, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, hey Dastan." Romulus gave an embarrassed smile. "Well, at the moment I'm being hauled off to the jailhouse, but I was, uh, visiting Tenal Ka." He grunted when a man poked him in the side with his crossbow. "Do not disrespect the Queen Mother by speaking her name, prisoner!" A soldier shouted.
"What's going on?"
"Oh, well, Te--Queen Mother," He glared at the threatening guard, "was attacked this morning by this guy," he tilted his head to the gagged assassin, "and I went after him. But, uh, some misunderstanding occurred, and here I am." He showed Dastan his shackles.
Dastan nodded. The Ismalians were a testy bunch, especially since Tenal Ka had many assassinations attempts already. "Release him, he's a friend of the Queen Mother."
"But, sir! How do we know that he isn't in league with this suppose assassin?"
"He's a friend."
"He's already escaped custody before...we don't know how he escaped the Queen, but we fear her life may be in danger!" A soldier declared and explained to Dastan that the Queen had ordered them to place him in her chambers yesterday. Dastan gave Rom a questionable look. He was already in custody...with the Queen? He then noticed Rom's missing tunic. A humored smile came upon his lips. "Romulus...where is your tunic?"

***
"Milady!" A servant ran over to the Queen's chamber's, having learned about the attack and was sent by Dastan. "Are you all right? Sir Dastan has asked for you to join him near the jailhouse...the soldiers have captured the assassins." She explained to her, having delivered her message, "Would it please the Queen that we clean your room? Sir Dastan said that those horrid assassins had made a mess!"

[Tismri]

Tenel Ka waited a while, starting to become anxious when Rom hadn't returned yet. She was wondering what was taking him so long with the assassin. Surely he wasn't going to drag out killing him.
She glanced up when a servant entered the room, giving her Dastan's message. Assassins? What was the woman talking about? There was only one, unless...She caught the servant's last statement, and despite trying to hide her embarrassment, her face turned bright red, especially when she noticed Rom's tunic where she left it beside her wardrobe. Dastan, the idiot!
"Thank you for the message, I will go to the jailhouse now. And...yes, you may start cleaning." Well, there was going to be no hiding it now, anyway. Might as well get it over with.
She strode into the jailhouse and her eyes fell upon Rom, as well as a masked man tied in a rather ridiculous position.
"Ah, thank you for finding him," she said. "I am afraid when the assassin attacked, he went utterly berzerk and jumped out the window." She thought for a moment or two. "What should we do with him, Dastan? After the way he acted, I am tempted to let him roam free just so he doesn't try another suicidal attempt." She smirked at Rom the whole while.

[Max452]

Romulus' eyes brightened considerably when Tenal Ka appeared. His eyes widened briefly at the dress she now wore, liking how it clung to her and exposed her nicely formed legs. His eyes began traversing her figure before he felt a pair of eyes on him. Hiding the creeping blush, Rom turned to look to his right, where Dastan stared at him, an amused look on his face. The Ranger glanced away quickly, suddenly interested at a crack in the wall. He returned his gaze back at Tenal Ka when he heard her speak, raising a devious eyebrow at her.

****
Dastan found this whole situation amusing, and had hoped that Tenal Ka did as well. That message he should have alerted her of his newfound knowledge, as he knew perfectly well, that the assassin was not the one who had caused her bedroom to be that chaotic. "Hmm, I don't know, Queen Mother." He smirked at the couple, and was glad that he had ordered all the guards away, "I wasn't quite sure if you preferred to keep him in shackles or not." He smiled innocently, but noticed that Romulus seemed to get the reference and turned red briefly. "But, I'll let you handle that decision." He glanced at the assassin, who was knocked out now. "Oh, I had Romulus place a sleeping spell on the man, so, when you are ready, I'll be happy to help you with the interrogation."

"He should be willing to talk now. I may have placed the image of Caedus eating him in his mind...so, if you want, you can get him here to try get him to be...more cooperative." Romulus gave a dashing grin, after recovering from Dastan's remark, and getting to the matter at hand. He glanced at the assassin, who was very lucky that Rom had only beaten him to a bloody pulp.

[Tismri]

Rom's staring didn't escape Tenel Ka's notice as he stared at her figure. Perhaps, unconsciously, that was why she had chosen to wear this. Her face turned bright red at Dastan's comment and she turned her gaze toward the sleeping assassin. She cleared her throat, trying to stop thinking about Rom and focus on the matter at hand.
"Well let's get to it, then," she said. "The sooner we get him to tell us who hired him, the faster I get one more of my family away from me." More than a dozen faces crossed her mind at once as to who it might have been. This was the first time in a long while that they had been able to capture an assassin alive. She smiled briefly at Romulus.
"Thank you for not killing him," she told him. "You really have no idea how helpful it is that we have him here."

[Max452]

Dastan really wanted to burst into laughter as the Queen's cheeks went red. This was just too much fun. He really was glad that she had found someone. He had noticed since their arrival that she seemed...forlorn almost. And the constant suitors at her door seemed only to make her forlorn more. Which at first, he didn't understand why, until now. She had wanted Duke Romulus. Well, pleased that she was now happy, he only hoped the news of Romulus' stay would remain quiet. He had ordered the servant that he sent to speak of nothing that she found in the Queen's chambers. The servant, who was fond of the Queen readily agreed. Now, he just hoped that she wouldn't slip up until after the Queen Mother and Romulus made their relationship publicaly known. Why the trouble in all of this? To Dastan, it was simple. He wanted someone to have the happy ending that he never had. His mind reflected again on Allecia. He really had come to believe that the woman cared for him (even if it seemed as a friend), but alas, it seemed she had broken her promise of not manipulating him (no doubt she noticed how he loved her). Honestly, how could he be so stupid to think that she could love him? Shaking himself from thoughts only reserved for his lonely nights, Dastan focused on the assassin before him.
"Did you have to hog-tie him?" He asked Romulus, who just shrugged.
"He tried to kill himself after I captured him. It was a reasonable way to make sure he remained alive." The half elf glanced over at Tenal Ka, a softness in his eyes. "It took all my will power to not kill him, but for you, I refrained." He gave her a small smile, not carrying if Dastan saw or not. Besides, the man already knew, what was the point in keeping it secret? "Shall I wake him now?" Romulus, who was still shackled, bent down and released his spell over the assassin, but refrained from letting loose his bonds.

[Tismri]

OOC: Aw...poor Dastan.

Tenel Ka smiled at the tenderness Rom displayed, reminding her again of just why she had fallen for him. He would always put her needs before his own. Then she turned her attention back to the assassin as Rom moved to awaken him. She took a chair and sat down next to the man, staring at him with cold eyes.
"Wakey, wakey," she told him as Rom removed the spell. "I regret to inform you that you have thoroughly failed in your duty. But take heart; you may yet have some use."

[Max452]

OOC: Yeah...most of my characters are rather pathetic right now...lol Why do they have to go and fall in love with your characters, hmm? Look at what they do. That's what happens when you make them too well. lol

Romulus and Dastan stood at the ready should anything happen. Romulus, in particular watched the assassin like a hawk as the man awakened from his stupor. If he tried anything, Rom knew he would not hesitate in ending the man's life.

The assassin awake with a grunt. His eyes were wide for a moment, but then they narrowed in a hateful glare. He said nothing as he stared at the three individuals in the room.

OOC: Do you want to be the assassin? I really don't know what to say... =/

[Tismri]

OOC: Hmm...let's just sort of glaze over the interrogation, shall we? lol, because I don't know what to say either.

The interrogation took a lot longer than expected, and in the end both she and Rom had to probe the man's mind to find the identity of his employer. It was an aunt of hers, Tamara, who had ambitiously been trying to place her daughter on the throne for many years, even going so far as to manipulate clear policies and traditions. With this information, Tenel Ka sent Dastan to arrest the woman, eliminating her from the deadly political competition her family struggled with.
Once that was all finished, she led the still-shackled Romulus from the jailhouse. She gave him a rather coy smile.
"So, would you like me to inform the guards that you are free to go, or would you like to be my prisoner for a while longer?" she asked him.

[Max452]

OOC: Perhaps we should have a different interrogation....where's Tenel Ka's dad? LOL.

Romulus emerged from the assassin's mind, feeling satisfied of receiving their answers. He glanced at Tenel Ka as she easily began to make the necessary procedures to arrest the conniving family member. He was half tempted to go with Dastan and speak his mind to this Tamara, but thought better of it, if only for Tenel Ka's sake.

Dastan bowed to Tenel Ka, indicating that he would take care of Tamara. "I will let you know how it goes, Queen Mother." He glanced back at Romulus and then at Tenel Ka. "Here are the keys...see you later." He handed Tenel Ka the keys to Rom's shackles, a chuckle seemingly threatening to emerge from his lips. Before it did, however, Dastan went forth to do his duty, taking the palace guards with him.

After Dastan left, Romulus returned his eyes onto Tenel Ka, once again, appreciating her dress as they exited the jailhouse. He was quite relieved that they apprehended the assassin, who they left securely in the jailhouse, and the viper who dared to harm his beloved. They walked through the isolated courtyard now, seemingly heading back to the castle. Those thoughts were replaced by others at the sound of Tenel Ka's voice. A devious grin was placed on Rom's face. "Hmm," He pretended to think the question over, "I think..." He purposely halted before her, near a pillar where it was difficult to see them unless someone walked down the side hall of the courtyard, "I rather be the prisoner a while longer..." He slung his chained hands over Tenel Ka's head, resting them on her shoulders as he drew her close to him. "Although, don't expect me to behave..." He drew her in for a kiss, not caring if someone saw them.

[Tismri]

Tenel Ka's smile broadened as Rom put his chained arms over her head, and she leaned in to kiss him. The action left her momentarily breathless.
"Oh, I see you're going to be a difficult prisoner," she said. "Just don't think this is going to be earning any special favors from me." She put her lips to his again, her hand sliding up into his hair as she did. A moment later, a voice sounded from behind her.
"Tenel Ka, what are you doing?!" She jumped at the sound of the voice, breaking away from Rom and turning.
"Father!" she exclaimed. Her face reddened slightly. "I was just, ah...just..."
"Who is this man?" Prince Isolder demanded. "He isn't one of your suitors. I do not recognize him."
"No, he's not exactly..."
"What are you doing with my daughter? Explain yourself!"