forum Kingdom of Spirits (4/4) (CLOSED)

Started July 01, 2019 by @ShadeStar

tune

He delicately raised an eyebrow, stating, "You panicked enough to lose your surroundings and fall?" He planned to hold out the conversation until at least she finished the cup of water. "Or did you faint?" Nathan sternly inquired.

"Oh, my - okay, no, I didn't lose my surroundings. You see, sir," she began as though talking to a small child, "when too much oxygen gets into one's brain, their body tells them to slow down by forcing them to slow down. Also known as passing out. I did not faint."

"Whatever you say," Nathan rolled his eyes, unconvinced. "But either way, ma'am, you better drink that. Otherwise I'll keep annoying you, and we both know you'd hate that."

"You're not annoying me," she muttered, though she took another sip of water. "I don't need water, this is really unnecessary."

"Well, you have the cup in your hands so you're not going to waste it," he lectured, much like a parent. Again, he checked his wrist for the time, habits never dying. A thought floated across his mind so he asked, "How are you going to vouch for the girl tomorrow, anyway?"

"I wasn't planning on it. It looked like she was trying to steal the - the - oh, you know, the fire-thing. I didn't want to come back tomorrow, but since I'm forced to, it seems like she should be in the dungeons," she explained thoughtfully, looking down again.

"The… Everflame, you mean?" An amused smile toys on his lips, quickly replaced by a frown as the predicament he's in dawned on him. Nathaniel was planning to blatantly lie to the king… oh gods. He swiped a cup of water for himself, as well, before downing the entire thing.

"Yes… are you alright?You seem worried," she observed, looking up at him briefly before returning her gaze to her water. Probably none of your business, she thought, shaking her head slightly.

Shortly, he replied, "I don't know how to convince the king she's innocent." He ran his hand through strands of perfectly styled hair, confessing, "I don't even know if she's innocent. All I have is a bit of background - that's nothing in a court."

"Well, then why did you offer to testify for her?" Aureole asked confusedly. "I understand the desire to help, but trying to help without any real plan is just… not smart."

"Yes, I've noticed," he snapped rather harshly. Gentler, now, he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lash out. The problem is I don't know. It was a split-second decision and I…" he averted his eyes, sighing. "I don't know."

Aureole gasped quietly, looking down and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's fine, I - I understand, I just - sorry, I can't control my words sometimes. I should go, I'm being really stupid," she told him uncertainly, running a hand through her hair nervously.

His eyebrows shot to the roof. "You're stupid? I created this mess and somehow you're dragged into it, too." Regret lined every feature of his face until Nathaniel straightened, determined. "I suppose I'll just have to crash and burn, tomorrow, then. If you don't show up I can make up an excuse."

"Wha - no way. I'm not going to let you fail in front of a king. What if you're beheaded? No, we have to put together a case, we need more information, maybe a motive?" She began, pacing and deep in thought.

Nathan's face drained of all color as he pondered. "Could I really get executed for standing up for a girl I met in a market plaza?" He leaned against a wall, finally murmuring, "The biggest issue is that we don't have enough evidence to support a realistic case. We're also on a time crunch."

"Okay, first of all, I'm going to be really mad if you get executed, so don't do that. But maybe we can figure something out. Maybe she has relatives, or - wait, what exactly are we trying to prove? That she wasn't trying to steal the… fire-thing?" She asked, tipping her head thoughtfully.

"Yes, I think." He buried his face in his hands, giving a quiet hysterical laugh. "We don't even know what we're trying to prove, oh gods." Emerging from his cupped hands, he agreed, "But yes. This would be a lot easier if we were able to talk to her beforehand."

"Great, so we're basically dead. Fun. So, all we have to do is make it out of the country by tomorrow, and they can't kill us," she told him, slightly panicked.

Eagerly, he jumped on the bandwagon. "You're… right. We're completely doomed. Where do we go? Do you have money?" He shook his head at his own stupidity. "I'm sorry for bringing you into this, I truly am."

Aureole placed a hand on his arm. "No, no, it's fine. It really wasn't you. It was that stupid guard. Maybe we should fake our own deaths? It worked last time, I'll just need a new alibi…."

Nathaniel was intrigued, "Last time?" He then thought, absently, "Though such an excuse would most likely not work for someone like me."

Aureole scoffed. "You have to know the right people. And be convincing. Which I'm generally not. But I can be. You seem like someone who would be able to convince people you're someone else and revise your identity entirely. Excellent."

"…I don't think you're a very good judge of character," Nathaniel finally concluded. "Your plan- how do I word this? It's not something I'm very keen on going through with?" He scratched his head, doubt manifesting in his eyes the longer he thought.

"Oh, my gods, I'm just rambling. You were supposed to stop me. This is what I do when I'm nervous. Come up with extravagant plans that are completely ludicrous. It's a coping method, I guess. But I really don't know what to do, and I'm honestly just slightly sc ared," she explained extremely quickly, gesturing wildly and pacing around the table.

One of the guards from earlier, the first one, walked up to Nathan and Aureole. She took a deep breath and spoke to them ,"Um hello. I'm sorry about my fellow guard, but if you want to talk to the girl your defending before the trial you can come earlier like in the morning. Just ask one of the guards and they should take you to her. If she's awake by then that is."

Javier watched the conversation silently. He didn’t see any of the commotion, only the people watching the situation, so he didn’t have anything important to add. He kept his hands in his pockets, looking around for someplace to go.

(Heck sorry I was on vacation but I have Returned!)
Aureole looked to Nathan out of the corner of her eye before nodding. "That would be great, if you could show us the way?"

(Nice)

She gave them a nod and a smile, "If you three would follow me, I'll show you to where she's being kept."

"Thre - oh, of course," she nodded, turning to see Javier. "I'm not sure if he's - I don't think he's investigating this case, but if he - if you - I mean - right, yes," she cut herself off, pinching the bridge of her nose and shaking her head at herself.