Chains

Caledonia Se Celtra~

Cal glanced at the sun that was rising in the distance and, with a sigh, stood to her bare feet. Her mother would have a fit if she wasn't home in time for breakfast. She bid the beautifully sparkling river a silent goodbye and hurried off of the bridge, ducking into the dark trees of the surrounding forest. Her slick, raven black wings were tucked closely to her back, screaming to be stretched.

Caledonia sighed and shook her head, her white hair falling down onto her shoulders. Something moved to her left, her stone-colored eyes shooting over in that direction. Her long, slim fingers shot to the dirk on her hip. A rabbit shot out of the underbrush before going down into a burrow. With another sigh, Caledonia relaxed and continued her walk.

Walking through a clearing with the warm sun on her back, a large shadow caught Caledonia's attention. It was almost like a giant bird. She looked up slowly, a gasp leaving her lips.

It was a man! A man with large wings that shined like gold. He looked like a rebel, even with the royal wings of the Alera's kingdom. Knowing the dangers of rebels, Caledonia ran the rest of the way through the clearing, feeling a bit safer in the protection of the forest. However, she didn't stop. She kept running until the stone of Cetra's outer wall was visible. Caledonia squeezed into a large crack in the side of the wall from recent battles, finally feeling safe as she walked the streets of Cetra, her home.

*ugh*

I'm a little lost. Could someone bring my character in, please?

*Just put you're character somewhere in the city. Everyone's going to meet up at the palace when the rebels kidnap, Cal.*

Hsaiash

The servant girl watched her target from a tree. He was obviously a rebel, but... no, there was something else. The way his clothes were slightly distorted in the back area hinted that he had something hidden beneath his shirt. Perhaps-

Wings ripped through the back, and Hsaiash grinned to herself. I knew it. A royal. Why he was disguising himself as a rebel slave was beyond her, but it wasn't as though it mattered. Now that she knew what she was dealing with, she could more easily take him out. Hsaiash pulled out her crossbow silently, getting ready to shoot.

And then he pulled the light around him and vanished. She cursed mentally. No matter, he had a companion he'd be meeting up with in Flanour. The assassin didn't have a horse so as to keep up, but she knew this way well enough. It wouldn't be too difficult to meet up with them there.

She dropped lightly from the tree and took off.

Barid Devdariani

There was a nervous rustle of metal on metal as the princess’ two guards stood before Barid’s father. The middle-aged captain of the guard had his face in one hand, blond hair falling messily about it. “So, say again. The princess has been missing for how long now?”

One of the guards spoke, keeping his eyes downcast as he did, “At least two hours, sir. Maybe more.”

Oser shook his head, “And you tell me now.” He looked up, straight past them to where Barid was standing beside the door. “You can learn from this too – you make a mistake this big, don’t try to solve it on your own. You’ll only make it worse.”

Barid nodded, but his father’s attention was back on the guards, “Try looking outside the castle now. She’ll probably be in the city somewhere. Tell any man who isn’t doing anything on your way out to help find her.”

The guards nodded, one of them glancing at Barid on their way out of the room, “Guess that’s you, kid.”

Once outside the castle itself, Barid headed straight towards the slums, knowing it was one of the most likely places the princess would be, if she hadn’t slipped outside the city. This was a point where he was thankful for his father’s moral teachings – people here were more likely to speak with him than they were with other guards. Slaves and the poor generally didn’t trust anyone who wore the very uniform Barid himself was.

The slums were lined with street-sellers, many of them con-men, most of the others working with the local thieves to take the valuables and coin-pouches of anyone who stopped to look at a stall for more than a few minutes. The bright colours of patchwork awnings lit up the otherwise gloomy street, although this merriment was rarely displayed on the faces of the locals.

Barid tapped a stall-owner on the shoulder, a man he knew well and mostly from the sort of business he had to deal with now, “Have you seen her?”

The merchant paused in checking his wares, scratching his beard in thought, “The lady? Sorry, sir, not for more than an hour. Perhaps she’s in some sort of danger?”

The guard shook his head, smiling, “I doubt it.” He left the merchant to go back to his business, resolving to search closer to the gates – maybe someone there had seen her.

Kazuya(Kaz):

Laughing, Kaz tilted his wings, spiraling through the sky. Exiliration swept through him, he couldn't help it, the sky called to the innocent child within him. The child he would never be again. Invisible to all he indulged in the urge to swoop and soar.

Golden wings shone softly with a light all their own. In the early morning light it wasn't noticable, but at night the wings acted like a beacon. It was a good thing. Kaz thought wryly. That his wings and powers hadn't woken until days before his escape.

The wing buds of a young royal were easily hidden, they didn't grow to full length until they were ten or eleven, around the same time they came into their powers. If Kaz had had his wings as a child, he would have been dead within the week.

His flight evened out as he swept high over the city walls. There were the slums, the grey marble was covered in dirtstains. The crafts district was simple grey stone. Followed by the the gaily painted houses of the merchant quarter, sharp contrast to the utilitarian feel of the military and academy districts. Last came the scattered manors and wide parks of the noble quarter. Each small palace a work of art.

Beyond all those was the palace, carved and polished rose gold stone gleaming in the sunlight. Banking Kaz circled above the castle, before diving towards a small wooded park. He landed softly, without a sound.

An hour later he strode out of the park and stopped beside Tyr. The other boy was on foot having stashed the horses outside the city. In silks and velvets of deep blue and sea green, he looked every inch the young noble. If one overlooked the hard gleam in his eyes, and that his sword was definetly not for decoration.

Like Tyr, Kaz was dressed in the height of fashion, but he was a study in black. Black trousers, black boots, black gloves, sleeveless black tunic, and a black cloak thrown over his shoulders.

Anger and anticipation had darkened his eyes from a bright ruby to garnet rimmed in amber. His face, so clearly of High Aleran ancestry was hidden behind a shock of messy golden hair.

Tyr arched a dark brow, his short black hair made him look older than he was. "Well?"

Smirking Kaz jerked his head towards the crafts quarter, on the rivers edge. "We're in luck, Her Ladyship isn't in the castle. She's over that way."

"Well what are we waiting for? Lets go bag us a hostage." Tyr didn't question Kaz's ability to locate those of high blood, whether Aleran, Cetran, or Elantrian. It was just another one of Kaz's many secrets. He'd none his bond-brother longer then enyone, but Kaz never let anyone past a certain point.

Turning the two stalked off towards the craft district. A pair of hounds inexorably following a scent.

*Bond-brother/bond-sister is a term coined by slaves, indicating those you've known for a long time and gone through many hardships with.*

name- Destiny

age- 18

gender- Female

class- Slave

appearance- Long black hair with a single thick bright red streak on the right side in front. She has slightly olive skin and violet eyes. She usually wears a torn scarlet red dress. She is about 5"4, athletic build, with cherry lips.

personality- Unusual, Quiet, yet sweet. She often gets scared those around her will hurt her, she tries to avoid conflict but will stand up for herself if necessary.

history- When she was 5 she was abandoned by her parents, only to be taken in by an abusive family that agreed to feed her but in return she must be their slave. As a result she is very self conscious and hates herself. She has never really felt love and as far as her heart tells her...it does not exist.

powers- Images she creates in her mind become seemingly real for the person it is directed towards, the weakness is it sometimes shows her memories, giving them the advantage of using those against her invoking pain and causing her to flee.

abilities- Hand in hand combat, Thieving

other- up for love

Hsaiash

The assassin pulled the brown hood of her cloak over her head and strode out of the park. She'd stashed her crossbow under a low ornamental bridge. The city was a good place to work at close quarters anyways.

She slowed down as she approached the road. There were only two people there at the moment, and one of them was her target.

"Well?"

"We're in luck, Her Ladyship isn't in the castle. She's over that way," the target said, jerking his head in the direction of the river.

"Well what are we waiting for? Lets go bag us a hostage."

Hsaiash's eyes narrowed. A hostage? Why on earth would a member of the nobility need to capture a hostage? Bah, it wasn't for her to ask such questions. That could only lead to curiousity about things that were no concern of hers, and that inevitably lead to trouble.

She placed one hand reassuringly on the hilt of her knife and followed them. They were still the only ones on the road, so she stuck to the trees. It would be far easier to do her job in a crowd, or if the target was alone.

Barid

The guardsman continued on his way through the slums, knowing he was far more likely to get information out of one of the people princess Caledonia usually associated with outside the castle than an actual Citizen.

"Have you seen Caledonia?" He asked one man. The man bore the scars of a freed Core, and Barid wondered briefly what on earth he was doing in Flanour. Shouldn't he be on the borders...or with the Mador?

The Core's eyes narrowed as they locked with Barid's. It seemed the man was reading Barid's mind, or at least trying to. Definitely not from around here. Barid thought. Any local in the slums, while they might treat the guards with frosty silence, would at least recognise Barid, which this man clearly wasn't. "No, I haven't." The Core said, "If you'll excuse me."

He pushed past Barid, who dropped his hand to the hilt of his sword, about to reach out and grab him when someone cleared their throat behind him, "Mister Devdariani?"

Choosing to ignore the Core for the time being, Barid turned to see an urchin before him, an escaped slave still living in the capitol. Technically, Barid should have dragged him away long ago, but because he couldn't let himself put an innocent child on the scaffold, he'd come to a mutual understanding with the boy. "I saw her, just a little ago. She's this way, c'mon."

Barid sighed in relief, grateful again for the help he was able to get from the lower classes - even if it was just to set the princess in the line of fire of one of her father's lectures. He followed the boy towards the craft district, careful to keep an eye on him as he wound through the crowd.

Destiny~

Destiny worked her way through the ever growing crowd, she had decided to sneak out of her house for a walk...after all lots was on her mind. She walked through the town, there was an awfully large crowd.

All of a sudden she tripped on a rock, looking up she saw a man.

"Hello pretty lady..." he smirked evily at her.

Backing up she opened her eyes wide, "Uh..hello..?"

"How about I take you back to my place and you provide me with some services for awhile."

Glaring up at him she simply said "I don't think so."

"Could be fun...you should follow orders of people above you."

Hsaiash

The assassin had moved out into the crowd to mingle now. Lots of people, lots of noise... lots of things for everyone else to pay attention to besides one run-of-the-mill slave. Good, very good. It was going to make everything much easier.

"Could be fun... you should follow orders of people above you." The greasy voice caught her attention.

As a good slave, Hsaiash had always been taught and for the large part always believed that one should never cross a citizen unless your master tells you to. But... people like this guy, they were hardly even people, much less citizens, right? And the look on that girl's face made her wince.

Don't let yourself get distracted, she thought. Keep your mind focused on the target. If you lose this, you're dead. All the same, she decided to see if the situation progressed any. If that man tried anything, maybe she could test the sharpness of her blade against his throat.

These thoughts passed through her head in a fraction of a second as she walked by Destiny, hood pulled up.

*All right I'm going to have everyone swept up in the kidnapping. this should bring us all together. Also if Barid has been Cal's bodyguard for a long time, he would know Kaz from when they were little.*

Also at first Kaz is going to be very antagonistic towards Cal*

Kazuya(Kaz)-

They were on a river front street, when he finally spotted her, not crowded but not deserted either. Kaz halted, in his mind he compared the child he had known to the woman she had become. The same long night dark hair, the same slate gray eyes. The same perfect groomed appearance.

Snarling, Kaz signalled for Tyr to fall back and raise the myst. Tyr's magic worked with illusion, only the very strong could see through it.

"We have to surprise her so that she drops her guard. Kaz thought wryly. "Well that should be easy enough."

Kaz strode towards Cally, she was staring into the river, lost in thought. Skipping stones across it's surface. She raised her arm to throw, and he caught her wrist in a bruising grip.

She glanced up to yell at him, but the words died on her lips. Kaz smiled, but it didn't disguise the hard glint in his eyes. "Hello Cally. It's been a long time." He used the nickname guaranteed to irritate her.

Wide gray eyes stared up at him, he really was much taller then her now. "But, but you're dead."

"Dead?" Kaz echoed. "Not quite yet." He pulled her against his chest, pinning her wings, and binding her magic. It was a weakness only another royal would know.

There was a shout as a guard came bursting through the myst. Kaz dimly recognized it as Barid, Cal's shadow. Tyr met him sword for sword, buying Kaz time. After the guard came a pair of girls, one of them covered in blood. They stopped to gape at the scene before them.

Kaz cursed as he stopped Cal from struggling. Shouting, he called out a long the mental path. "Now Scia! Gate us now! Get us out of here!"

White light filled the street. Catching everyone inside the myst. Then the world fell away. When his senses returned Kaz was standing in the town square of Freehold. The rebel town was hidden from anyone not in the resistance, and the shields around it stopped anyone from getting in or out, without permission from a rebel leader.

Distracted Kaz failed to dodge Cal's kick to his shin. Wincing he let her go, since she was already trapped. Barid, disengaged from Tyr and jumped protectively in front of her.
Kaz ignored the girls who had been dragged along and glanced at Tyr, he had several long cuts on his arms and face.

Chuckling, Kaz brushed hair out of his face, so the pair couldn't doubt who he was.
Red eyes gleamed angrily. "You've gotten better with a sword. Pity, since Tyr's my bond-brother I'll have to take it out of your hide."

*As stated above if a royal's wings are bound they can't use their powers, this is a secret known only to the Union's royal families.*

Destiny~

The man moved towards her and took a hold of her arm. She looked down, allowing her bangs to cover her face...she knew if she protected herself she could be punished for assaulting someone higher up in society, if she didn't she would be raped.

She followed closely behind the man, a tear dripping down her cheek, "What kind of man are you? Preying on people of lower class, I have done nothing wrong."

The man looked behind to see her head down, "And you will continue doing nothing wrong...you wouldn't want to be punished would you?" His voice seethed venom, his grip tightening on her.

"The one to be punished should be you..." she mumbled.

The mans head snapped to face her, his hand striking her across the face, "Why you ignorant slave!"

She brought her hand to her face, and turned towards him...

((Assuming the bloody girl is Hsaiash... correct me if I'm mistaken))

Hsaiash

The assassin cleaned off her knife quietly a ways away from where the other civilians would find the man's body later. Now, on to the target...

Uh-oh. Hsaiash cursed mentally as the target grabbed his hostage, apparently a member of the royal family. It's now or never! I never should have stopped to kill that man!

She leapt forward even as the man's companion brought forth a mist using his powers. Even with her enhanced senses it was difficult to see... She saw a dark figure stumbling alongside her and recognized the girl from earlier, the one the creep had been taunting.

Before she could even think about doing anything, she heard a pair of swords clash, there was a flash of white light, and suddenly everything was gone. Then-

There was something solid under her feet. She blinked at her surroundings.

This was not the craft's district.

She hadn't prepared for this sort of magic, but Hsaiash didn't hesitate. This was a desperate situation, but she could still end her target's life. She could still carry out her mistress's bidding.

The assassin threw the knife in her hand at Kaz's head. Her aim was almost perfect due to her gift. If he didn't move in time, her mission would be complete.

**Slyver, Cal's hair is actually white Sorry, I just noticed that you said night dark hair**

Caledonia Se Celtra~

Caledonia couldn't hold the surprise from her face when her kidnapper reveled himself to her and Barid as Kazuya. The Prince Kazuya of Alera who had been rumored to have died. She didn't have time to study his much older face for to long, a scream sounding from her mouth when Barid and Kazuya lunged at each other, swords drawn. A knife glinted in the sun-light, flying through the air where Kazuya had been only a moment ago. It landed only mere inches away from the two sparring young men, its metal shining in the sun. Caledonia could hardly make it out, but she was sure that the seal of Alera was on the hilt, burnt into the leather.

Cal's attention was drawn back to Barid and Kazuya, seeing a bit of fire conjuring in Kazuya's palm. Without thinking like a normal person would, she jumped on Kazuya's back, pinning his wings against his back with her body as her arms hooked around his torso tightly.

*sorry, just ignore this if it's bad! i've got to hit the sack*