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

Started July 01, 2019 by @ShadeStar

tune

“It might be,” Cicada silently agreed. She looked back at the elf boy, “Now will ya tell me what your doing down here? Even a name might be nice.”

"I've already told you; we came to figure out why you're here." He pointed to the two behind him, as if they weren't dragged down into the dungeons by circumstance. "And I don't have a name from you, either," he said. After a pause, he conceded, "Nathan. Call me Nathan."

“Call me Cada,” she responded in turn. She closed her eyes and leaned back against the cell wall with a sigh, “I get that, but why bother figuring it out? It doesn’t effect you.”

He shrugged. "You still have my pocket watch," he said lamely. "Plus, you caused quite the commotion. It's not everyday that I know people being sent to prison. It's not everyday that I know people."

“Ah of course,” Cicada drawled a little on her words. She had almost forgotten about the pocket watch, it was most likely with her other possessions in the guards care, “I’m some form of entertainment. A unique scenario that you weren’t expecting. Total sense. I don’t have your watch on me, in case your wondering. The guards have it along with the rest of my belongings.”

"And the whole 'fear of having your head chopped off' thing," Aureole interjected in a small voice.

Cicada turned her head so she was looking at the fae girl, “The what now?”

Aureole looked up and quickly shook her head. "Nothing, just something Nathaniel and I were talking about earlier," she explained with a nervous laugh.

“Okay then,” Cicada drawled once again glancing back at the elf to gauge his reaction to her last comment. She wasn’t expecting a great one to be completely honest with herself, but she pissed off at the world and needed to let off some steam.

Javier watched the interaction in silence, still confused, but the more he learned the more he understood, little by little. He couldn’t shake the feeling of being out of place, perhaps because he was, he silently humored awkwardly.

"I- you're not entertainment," Nathan protested immediately. He floundered for a moment before composing himself. "I know you - at least a little bit - and it's very rare I actually know more about someone than status and name."

Cicada had a smirk on and laughed a little, "So it's cause ya like me? But really, ya are sticking around cause I'm one of the few people you know? The thief that took your pocket watch?"

"Are you willing to admit you stole it, and just hand it back for free?" he tried, glancing between Aureole and Javier for help. A bashful smile slipped onto his face, knowing that the chances were slim.

"I told ya," Cicada rolled her eyes. She could tell the elf was trying his hardest, "The guards probably put it with my other shit. But, I might let ya off your eight gold, if ya agree to help me get out of the situation I'm in."

Nathaniel resisted the urge to slam his head into the prison bars. "Of course," he agreed tightly, biting back the retort that he was trying to accomplish that in the first place. "But what can I do to help?"

"I don't know," Cicada shrugged as she took a deep breath. Another wave of pain had rolled over her body, and she just needed to ignore it at the moment, "What do ya have to offer? I probably can't bribe myself out of this one, but someone speaking about reputation and credibility might help. Spirits, ya could even offer a fake testimony."

He dipped his chin, debating the risks and the advantages. Lost in the calculations, Nathan turned to Aureole and Javier with a helpless expression. Did they dare? Did they hope the king would have mercy? What could they offer as physical evidence?

Javier lightly chewed his bottom lip while he thought, “Do we know where the guards put her things? If not I have a pocket watch of my own, we could see how similar they are. I don’t know how helpful that might be, but if it’s an option, I’m willing to part with my watch.”

"I'm not in here for petty theft," Cicada spoke to the other male outside her cell, "I'm here because I 'attacked' a prince of a foreign kingdom and am being accused of stealing the Everflame. Which I didn't do."

"He wasn't suggesting that you were placed in prison for petty theft," Aureole argued carefully. "Only that it could be possible for him to replace the watch with one that looks similar enough. Which could be useful if someone needed to take back Nathaniel's watch. Whether or not you keep your head is a wildly different story."

"I'm well aware of that," Cicada half snapped back, "But there's no need to take back Nath's watch to my knowledge."

"It's his watch, you twit. Of course he wants it back," Aureole said annoyedly before turning to Nathan. "Why, exactly, are we helping her, again?" She whispered.