Castle of Fire and Ice //OxO, CLOSED//

Akira walked out of the fitting room, and into the room beside it. She opened the door, and closed it behind her as she entered it. She loved her room, a whole lot, compared to the rest of the castle. The amber, yellow, and red hues of the room perfectly meddles with and contrasted her being there. She hopped onto her bed, and stared out of her window.

The sights outside were beautiful. She could clearly view her garden from above, there, and she thought it was awesome. "This is the main reason I love being here, nothing else will change that for me." She said, softly. She took a little sketchpad out, and slowly began to draw the garden for the hundredth time. She would never show her art to anyone, but she was pretty good at sketch work.

Caspian sighed and followed her, pulling his messenger's hood over his face and following the landlady down the stairs to the main eating area-tavern-place-thing.

It was loud and noisy, and there were already many rowdy and half-drunk men staggering around. Caspian outwardly looked calm, but inside he was wary and ready for a fight. He slipped his hand inside his jacket to feel again the comforting weight of the long knife that sat there.

He sat alone in a corner, and soon a serving girl came and placed a jug of ale and some stew. He winced down at the food as she left. The ale smelled sour and nasty, and the stew had some sort of strange lumps floating around in it. Preferring not to know what the chunks of miscellaneous meat was, he put a bite into his mouth. It wasn't horrible, and as he hadn't eaten in a while, he ate the entire thing, not caring how it tasted, washing it down with the sour beer.

Akira dragged her pencil across the paper, creating gorgeous artwork. She drew the garden outside, and herself inside of it. She'd be there tomorrow night, she wasn't one for spectacles. She smiled down at the scene she'd created. She got up from her desk once if was finished. She danced around her room, making notes of her specific steps. She wanted to learn them just in case she had to dance.

She imagined the monarch and herself dancing around her garden and sighed. He didn't like the garden as much as she did, almost opting to remove it from the castle. His care and admiration for her prevented it from happening, though. She thought of him, and how he did so much for the kingdom inside of an office. It made her uneasy, and she didn't know how to feel about it. "Oh well, loyalty is something special." She said, softly.

Two beefy men came toward Caspian, crowding into his corner. They smiled down at him, both missing several teeth.

"Well lookie here," one of the slurred, and Caspian snorted in disgust. Drunk as a doornail. "We got us an errand boy, eh?" He leered.

The second man chuckled. "Aye. And he does look very pretty, don't he, in his fancy uniform?"

Caspian bowed his head, hiding the anger that sparked in his eyes.

"Oh, did we hurt the boy's feelings?" The first one jeered. The two laughed loudly, sounding almost insane.

Caspian stood suddenly, looking them straight in the face. "Leave me alone," he said quietly, a world of threat behind his words. His eyes held warning, and sparked dangerously.

The two men decided to leave him alone.

Sitting back down, Caspian continued to eat, ignoring the stares of the other people in the tavern.

Akira shook her head after her thoughts, and held a hand up. It was getting later, colder. She let a few sparks fly, before her entire left arm was engulfed in flames. "Much better, much better indeed." She purred, admiring the flames that surrounded her arm. "Fire's so special. It's free and can do whatever it wants until it burns out," She thought aloud. More fire grew on her, as it began to travel up her right arm as well. Everything was falling into the best form, she was proud to have known it that much.

She then tried to draw the flames back to her palms, failing in the process. As she drew it back, the flames fell off of her hands and into the floor. Luckily it didn't burn the tiling. She laughed. "Work, work, work!" She cried, wishing it would do something different for once.

(Skip to the night of the party?)

( Sure! Sorry I left so soon, I don't do weekends and school was called off Friday. )

Akira slipped back into that beautiful black dress. She made sure it fit her just right, for today was the grand ball. She was excited, you could say, but much more excited for the lonely stroll she'd prefer to have. She thought of the crowds, and she thought of the dancing, and shook her head. She was not into the thought of it, but the monarch thought it would suffice. She shrugged. "You girls can go and celebrate, too. Don't mind a little food, do as you please." She told her maids, which each got to borrow one of her dresses. She had a lot, what's a little giving?

The maids each giggled and they all went their own ways. Akira left the dressing area, and completely dragged herself down to the ballroom. The dress was light, and it wasn't the thing dragging her. Her spirit lulled, and seemed so tired. She yawned. "At least I've got my own company to attend to." She said, with a soft laugh.

(It's fine! I totally get it.)

Caspian sighed and pulled his gear on. He was hungry, not having had a bite to eat at the inn before leaving it, and he was tired too. He had spent the night reviewing the details for tonight, and he had to be very careful. His gear was hooded, black, and dark, and blended in to the shadows very well.

Shouldering his bag, he crept out of the woods, where his horse waited, and slid into a crouch. He had a clear view of the gardens from there, where the target would surely be.

Once Akira arrived at the party, she felt like she may have been late. She could have sworn that the thing started five minutes later, but apparently all the crowds were early. With a shiver, she joined the others. She stole a dance with the neighboring kingdom's king, before being stolen back by the monarch of the current kingdom at hand. 'Might as well have fun, right? That what they all say.' She thought. After a few more rougher dances, she walked towards the edge of the crowds. The door to the garden was so close, and she was going to escape the place soon enough.

After waiting for about two hours, Caspian's limbs were sore and painful. He didn't move from his position, but kept watch carefully. She should be out any minute now.

Akira finally had it with the population. She decided she'd leave at last. She stepped quietly to the gardens. Rainbows of flowers surrounded her, and she loved it. Their colors highly reflected her black and amber, but it was alright nonetheless. She found a little bench, the one she'd loved for so long, and sat at it. She observed the multitudes of types of flora, and she tried to name them in her head, giggling as she got one wrong.

There she is. Despite himself, Caspian stared at her for a moment. She looked so innocent and harmless… He shook his head. Never think that way.

He ran a hand through his hair before pulling his hood and face mask up. He dropped silently into the gardens and slid through them, making no more noise than a mouse, before stopping right at the bench she was sitting on, directly behind her.

This would be so easy… Just to kill her, to make the final blow… and yet, something stayed his hand.

Akira then noticed a fallen flower head from one of the branches above her head. She gently picked it up off of the ground, and put it into her hair. "What a beautiful day to be alive, here." She said, pleased by her possible appearance. She felt absolutely beautiful, and she knew that she was. Her smile grew even more, and her eyes shone as if they were diamonds. "The party and the garden are so vibrant.."

Startled, Caspian could only blink at her. What was the matter with her? Why… why would she say that?

He pursed his lips. Should he kill her now? It would be so easy, just a slit to her throat. She was totally unaware that he was there! He could do it now! And yet… something stayed his hand. He didn't know what it was, but he made no move to kill her.

He shook his head, pulling his hood tighter around his face. He was weak. He should be able to do this. Why couldn't he?

Akira relaxed even more further, placing her hands on both sides of the bench. She leaned back on it, and released an internal sigh. "Royalty, this life is harder than I thought." She said, quietly. A soft, soothing breeze flew through, lifting her hair just a tad. Suddenly, as the breeze strengthened, it ripped the flower from her locks of hair, returning it to freedom. She chased after it, she didn't want to let it go.

Caspian stepped from the shadows, after hearing that last part. "Well, then why do you put up with it?" His eyes sparked with amusement, and if he didn't have a face mask on, she would have seen him grinning.

Akira gasped, suddenly, and turned around. Oh well, forget the flower. She seemed to have been frozen for a little, before finally speaking to the other. "I don't want to, but I feel as if I have a duty to this kingdom, dear." She said, softly. She took a harder breath before continuing. "I feel as if it needs me,"

"Why?" He tilted his head. "What has it ever done to deserve you?"

His hand strayed to the long blade by his side. It would be so easy, just to kill her… but he didn't. She had a beautiful voice to listen to, and he was spellbound.

"It failed, a long time ago. So therefore, it needs someone adequate to revive it." She said. She smiled, a little bit, before realizing something. She was warming up a little bit. 'Not now, please not now,' She thought, as nervousness filled her expression.

Caspian raised an eyebrow. "I see. I admire your dedication, I really do. I'm the same way, I'm afriad. So, because of that fact, I must do this." He paused, then said something he hadn't said, ever. "I'm sorry. It's my job."

He pulled his knife from his belt and slashed down at her, guilt flickering in his gut. But the blade changed direction in midair, of some small seizure of his, and the hilt hit her head instead, to knock her out.

Akira's eyes widened, just before she felt air whooshing past her sides. She was most definitely falling. She raised her hand to interject something, but before she could, she felt the stones of the garden's main path on her face, and watched as her world went black. 'Who are you? Please, don't hurt me,' She said in her mind, before it, too, went silent.

Caspian glanced down at her, a flash of guilt running through him as she fell, before picking her up and carrying her bridal style away.

(Time skip?)

( Sure. Should I start off then, or would you prefer? )

(Doesn't matter to me! I can, if you want me to!)

( sure, I'd rather you start so I can respond better. )

(Alright!)

Caspian rubbed his face. He had just taken off his face mask. It had been biting into his skin, and now that no one was around to see him, he could take it off.
Well, there was one person around, but she was unconscious.
He slid his gaze to the ambassador, and pinched his lips together. He had brought her to his private cave, instead of killing her, although he didn't know why. The place was beautifully furnished, and completely secret to the outside world. He had rested her on one of the many couches that lined the cavern, without tying her up.
He was such a failure.

Akira's body may have been silent and limp, but her mind, however, was everything but that. It raced with bewilderment, fear, and other feelings she'd rather leave unsaid. She wondered exactly who took her, and she also wondered where she was at. The air around her was slightly cool, so she assumed she was outdoors. She groaned, in her mind, and yearned to at least meet eyes with her captor.

He would be in so much trouble if his masters found out… but then again, this woman was alluring, in a way he hadn't seen before. Maybe it was because she genuinely cared for the kingdom, which Caspian hadn't seen in a person, ever, including the king.

Akira fought to regain her consciousness, which she did quite well. She couldn't necessarily open her eyes, but at least regained speech. "Dear me, soul. At least tell me who you are before you take me off someplace," She mumbled, slurring her words up a bit. She really couldn't hold onto her awareness.