[Daren]

((Not bad, I liked it.))

He hated having to explain a lot of the odd actions done by himself and the woman they had encountered. The burning of the corpse and the reason why she killed her companion in the first place. He was drawing at straws that she wasn't strong enough to transport two people in the manner she had chosen to escape in. That gave him a fair idea as to how strong her powers really were. She'd be a pest if anything if they crossed paths again. Something told him that would be sooner rather then later. But if she were smart she would leave them be knowing that what he had done to her companion and the quick work he had made of her minions were just samples of what he could really do if he so wished.

Once they were on the move again he felt a little easier. It was good knowing that they were headed somewhere she would be safe at the least, he wasn't expecting a overly warm welcome for himself, than again why would he. Odds were it was a light elf town if it was marked as safe for Emily. That was all fine with him so long as no one tried anything overly stupid. But aside from his thoughts on the next safe spot out of the Queen's reach he was stuck on who would hire someone to try and kidnap Emily? Sure he had his thoughts that it might be Felix, but at the same time he didn't think that even Felix would stoop that low. He could always be wrong though.

For now he just had to keep his eyes open and make sure anyone they crossed paths with he checked to ensure they weren't some puppet trying to lure Emily with her gentle heart. The only downside to all of this was that they still had a good while to go before they came close to the town they were headed towards. Though the upside was it was a larger town so they could at least finally stock up on supplies and maybe finally get away from all of the death and corpses they had been surrounded by out here.

"Are you ok?" He had to finally ask seeing as Emily had been rather quiet after they had met up again. He didn't expect her to be pleased with his actions or methods but they needed to be done to ensure they were spared a little trouble later. Maybe he should have left her with the other two, he could have followed them to whoever they were reporting to and then he could have dealt with the issue there.

[gremlin]

There were so many questions left unanswered and despite trying to calm herself she continued to fill her head with nonsense. All that she wished for was to know who had hired those two, she had already assumed why they had been hired to capture her and why someone would desire to have her in their possession. If they were not with the Queen then who could it possibly be? When Alton spoke it startled her causing her to jump a little, looked over at the other unsure of what to say. "I'm as alright as one could be right now, I'm sure that once we can finally rest I will be better." She said then returned her gaze to the road ahead.

Once they finally reached their destination she could finally rest, sleep sounded awfully good right now. She had slept so poorly recently and tonight she would get no rest. Though it was not as if she could rest easily with what had happened and knowing the dangers of their journey. It would be hard for her to close her eyes for more than a few minutes even with Alton keeping watch, it was not as if she could not trust him with her life... She was just frightened by all of this and confused.

It seemed that they had traveled quite far during the night, Emily was surprised that she had managed to remain stay awake for so long. The sky above was now a variety of colors, light pink, purple and orange, and the sun was beginning to lift itself higher into the sky. Emily reached for one of the bags strapped to the side of her horse, she searched for a moment then brought our the map. Carefully she opened it and noticed that they were only a few hours now away from their destination. "We will be there soon if we continue," she said then began to fold up the map again. "Just three hours... perhaps more than that but it isn't that long."

Then she placed the map back into the bag. Before she looked up from her bag she saw a sudden blue light to her left, Emily looked up quickly but as she did there was nothing there. At first she thought that perhaps it was Felix spying on her, though she remembered that she had broken his device and it did not glow blue. "Did you see that?" She asked the other then looked back at him, when she received a puzzled look she shook her head. "Never mind, I am exhausted."

----

"No, she has yet to arrive. Why are you so interested in knowing this?" A woman asked, in front of her an orb floated and as it's master spoke it glowed brighter. "Is that really any of your concern?" The man asked then he sighed. "I simply wish to know if she has arrived safely yet, is it a terrible thing to be concerned for the woman that I love?" She paused for a moment then laughed. "You are so nosy, when will you ever give that poor woman enough space to breath? Leave her be, she can stand on her own feet and is not as naive or stupid as you believe she is."

This appeared to strike a nerve in the man. "I know what is the best for her, I know her far better than you know her or will ever know her. Watch yourself, Cambria and show some respect for your King." He hissed and this caused more laughter to escape from the woman. "King? You are not a king, not yet anyways. Leave my home at once you damn fool, I will not allow you to bother me further!" She raised her hand towards the orb and shooed it away. "Be gone before I break this damn thing!" The man cursed at the woman then spoke in foreign language, then the orb fluttered away and left her be.

[Daren]

It was easy to tell Emily was beyond tired, but there was nothing he could do to remedy this. Nothing short of slipping her a herbal mix or some form of potion to force her to sleep or at least relax. If they didn't make it to this so called town soon he was going to have to force his hand to do just that. If she stayed up for too long she would be useless if they found themselves in any sort of situation. They couldn't afford that, on the same note no rest meant that she could get no training in and there was the chance of her falling ill causing further issues and complications.

But the thought of having to force her to rest at some point or another died as she spoke up saying they had a few mere hours left to get to the next town. That was some of the best news he could have heard all day, surely she would rest there or at least relax. If she was still uneasy about what had happened before he could offer to give her space, they didn't have to rush and leave a town that was large enough to hold its own against the Queen. Besides there was always something he could find to occupy himself with.

About the time he was going to speak up saying that they should keep moving then to make the best of their time, Emily seemed to ask if Alton had seen anything. This worried him a little, maybe she was worse off then he thought. She seemed to dismiss it as her being tired as well, so long as she didn't complain about seeing anything for the remainder of their trip he wouldn't fret of this issue. "well... lets get going before you start talking about seeing unicorns eh?"

Of course there were unicorns but the odds of them running into any where about as off the wall as her asking if he had seen a light. But the remark he had made was just a joke. She needed rest and they both knew it. Three hours, if all went well they could make it to the town before something bad happened, or before someone found out Emily was out here.

Luck indeed did seem to be with them, at least for a little while. They made the last few hours of the journey with no mishaps and without stopping. Getting inside the town seemed to be another story though... indeed it was a larger town and it had a good number of guards posted to protect it's walls and gates. It was also very clear it was a light elf city... This still never bothered Alton at all, so long as Emily was out of harms way he could care less if he ever entered the town. Maybe the other thought he had was he would rather not enter if it meant he was going to be watched around the clock and questioned as to what he was doing.

[gremlin]

Alton received a look when he teased her, Emily shook her head a little then returned her gaze to the trail ahead. It seemed that the rest of their journey to their destination would go undisturbed and eventually they finally made it to the town. She was expecting a grand, large place but was still surprised with what she saw before her. The gate was closed in front of them and quite a few guards stood outside of the walls of the town, Emily could not tell how tall the walls were just by simply looking at them but she knew that they were as not as tall as the castle inside. She could see it in the distance towering over the village below it.

Emily lifted herself off of her horse and then taking the reigns in her hand she slowly walked towards the entrance of the town. As soon as they had come into view the guards became alert and their eyes were on her and Alton. Once she stood close enough a guard approached her and questioned what her business here was. "I was told to come here by my fiance," she said and saying that Felix was her fiance left a bad taste in her mouth. "Felix, he told me to speak with Cambria." The guard looked over Emily for a few moments then his eyes wandered over to Alton. "And him?" He asked then looked back at her. "My companion, he has traveled with me all of his way and has kept me out of harm." She said then smiled at the guard. The guard seemed to hesitate at first, perhaps thinking over the information that he had been given then he turned to the others and commanded them to open the gates.

"You both may enter, but you will be escorted by some of my men to the castle." He said then stepped away from Emily, the guard wondered over to two other men and told them to escort Emily and another two guards wondered over to them to take their horses. Once the horses were taken Emily thanked the men and then turned to Alton. "Looks like we have finally made it." She said relieved that she could finally get some rest, then she followed the two guards inside.

Inside the town Emily suddenly felt a weight being lifted off of her shoulders. Behind her and Alton the gate closed and as they made their way towards the castle they drew the attention of many people. Emily tried to avoid making eye contact with anyone but every so often she looked up out of curiosity. During their walk she saw a variety of different races and it made her even more curios. Light Elves and what she believed to be High Elves, there were even a minority of humans here.

Finally they came to another gate and a great wall that surrounded the castle. When it was opened they stepped into a massive front yard, then ahead was a staircase that lead up to the castle. Along the way were many trees, bushes, fountains, even small homes perhaps built for the guards and their family. Emily noticed a small ponds with bridges built across them and a variety of other things that made this seem like paradise.

When they approached the staircase Emily paused for a moment to look up in surprise. It did look rather massive from afar but up close she realized just how long and tedious it really was. When one of the two guards looked up at her questioning why she had stopped she pushed herself to continue, about half way up the stairs was a flat surface and as Emily tried to make it up the other set of stairs she collapsed. She fell forward against the stairs and used her hands to stop herself from falling face first against them.

One of the two guards rushed to her side and Emily refused his hand. "I'm fine," she said then stood up straight by herself, Emily knew that she was being a bit stubborn but insisted that she could walk the rest of the way. It wasn't until now she realized just how thirsty, hungry and exhausted she was. She told the guard that she could make it but even when she said that she was unsure.

[Daren]

Even as Emily explained to the guards that Alton was her traveling companion through all of this he had to admit he was a little shocked they took her word for it. Though there could have been a number of reasons they did so. Still he thought it was foolish seeing as the Queen had ways to make people say and do as she wished and also had control of some of the most powerful spell casters in the realm. A mind control spell was hardly complex to cast.

Even though they were being let in the gate and it was just a few guards escorting them, he had to admit he felt uneasy being here. The mix of races hardly eased his thoughts any. If anything it made them worse. If Emily was staying here for a few days or so to recover herself he was not. Being nearby sue, but to stay in the protected walls was asking for trouble, at least for him. Emily might have been avoiding others that were looking at them, but Alton wasn't. Just glancing at the small crowd he could tell the thoughts that crossed quite a few of their minds.

Nothing that he could really blame them for thinking. Dark elves were hardly welcome anywhere thanks to the Queen, of course there were other reasons as well but the Queen and her forces didn't help matters any. It was probably a matter of time before something went wrong or he ended up being accused of some act that he didn't commit. Even the guards seemed to keep a watchful eye on the both of them as they walked, not that mere guards worried him... they could be dealt with if they attempted something so bold.

But as they walked he kept any of his thoughts and worries hidden and to himself as he always did, no point in making Emily question why he seemed to be bothered being within the city gates. Though it was a similar ill feeling to the one he had back at Felix's... even if he thought staying within the walls was a good idea he wasn't sure he could stand it that long. He needed to find out what was causing these spells where he felt almost weak being near certain areas.. it would not do well to find himself in such a area and be forced to fight.

This thought was disrupted as Emily seemed to fall forward. She caught herself and went about her normal way of being stubborn as she rejected any help to stand once more. "Keep this up your going to confuse the hands among the grounds." She seemed to question what he was speaking about, but he shook his head a little at her questioning look. She'd understand if they kept going to castles along this trip, maids and guards alike were use to jumping at a pins drop if a royal member needed help or wanted something. Though he did speak in a bit of a riddle this time around and with her overly tired state it surely didn't help.

But he was doing anything to keep his mind off of his own current state that was growing worse each passing moment they were in the city walls. He needed to make sure she got to whoever ran this place and then he would be about getting out of the city, if he was lucky before his powers started to fade worse then they already were on him.

[gremlin]

Alton's words confused her though she tried to figure out what he was trying to say, being as tired as she was currently she shortly gave up and decided that later she would question what he had said. When they finally reached the grand entrance of he castle Emily felt herself growing weaker by the second, she would have to rest soon but she knew very well that would not happen. Someone would wish to greet her and speak with her and she would certainly feel rude if she interrupted them or asked to rest before they spoke.

As the doors opened Emily saw a woman standing withing the castle, her appearance was nothing but unusual. She wore a long, form-fitting, white lace dress that's train was as long as she was tall. Her hair was long and put up into a messy bun, the color of her hair was a dark teal and her eyes were a dark gold color. The woman bowed towards Emily as she approached then stood straight and smiled brightly. "Welcome to my home, I have been waiting for you." She said then her eyes examined Emily for a brief moment. "You have grown so much since I have last laid my eyes on you, you have become such a beautiful, young woman!" Emily smiled and stood awkwardly in front of her, it was hard to think of anything to say when she did not remember this woman at all. "Oh, excuse me for forgetting to introduce myself. My name is Cambria, you may not remember me but I knew you and your parents very well."

"Now, you look like you could use some rest." Emily seemed to become more attentive when she heard that. "I can only imagine how exhausting the journey here must have been, would you like me to show you to a room?" She asked then her eyes left Emily and went to Alton. "Would you join us as well? I have a room prepared for both of you." She said then smiled at him, she knew that it must be odd for a human to speak so kindly to a Dark Elf. "You will be safe here, my people are kind... just not used to your kind and a little afraid due to the recent incidents." She said trying to assure Alton that he was welcome here. "You two are more than welcome to remain here for a few days, longer if you need it."

[Daren]

He knew Emily was pushing herself to keep going, but she needed rest and the sooner the better. He wasn't sure if she had gotten any sleep at all for the past few days. That was normal for him to go without sleep but she needed it. As they seemed to reach their final destination of walking, at least for the moment... he had to admit he was glad off it. The longer he watched Emily the more he thought she would just fall over where she stood. Even just standing there she could still fall over from the looks of it but at least now it wouldn't be on stairs.

As the woman greeted them and introduced herself it clicked in why he knew of this place or it seemed familiar. When he was working for the Queen she often spoke of the places that held thorns in her side. The few places that remained strong and able to keep their freedom from her.Emily would be safe enough here, even if he took a short leave of her side to try and figure out what was causing his sudden bursts of illness in certain areas they had been to.

For now he merely listened to the woman talk to Emily and speak that they were both welcome. Sure it was nice to hear, but he wasn't sure she knew her people as well as she thought. Some of the looks when they were walking all this way spoke very clearly that there were a handful bold enough to try and seek out revenge for whatever lost loved ones that had suffered at the hands of the Queen's troops. Emily seemed to agree to a few days at least, though seeing as she was nearly about to pass out it was no wonder she agreed almost too quickly.

He bowed slightly towards the woman who was trying to be as nice as she could to the both of them. "Sorry but
i must decline your offer, I have a few personal matters that I need to attend to." He paused a moment before noticing the glance Emily had given him she seemed like she was torn if she should protest to him pretty much saying he wasn't staying here. It wasn't due to safety or anything of the sort, even weakened he was pretty confident that he could handle himself.

He wanted to tell Emily to just relax and get some rest finally, but it seemed out of place to talk to her so. She was royalty after all and he wasn't about to test his luck even in this place... no matter how nice the ruler seemed to be. Before Emily could protest it he went about taking his leave from her. He needed to do so and soon, using his powers against the ones who had kidnapped her didn't help matters now. He needed to stop pulling off such foolish stunts before it killed him. If she needed him he was pretty sure she could find him or get a guard to go and seek him out. H had trained her a little so he was sure she could find him if she truly wanted to.

[gremlin]

Emily was not surprised that Alton declined the offer that was given to him, though of course she had hoped that he would accept it. "I will find you later then." She said then smiled at him, there was no point in asking him to remain here. It wasn't as if she could control him or force him to spend time within the castle and she trusted Alton not to go too far or to leave her here. When Alton left Emily brought her attention back to the woman who had greeted her and Alton. Cambria smiled at her then extended a hand towards her. "I shall show you to your room, I think that you will like it."

Cambria was right, Emily did like her room. It was decorated with a variety of paintings, sculptures and there was even a suit of armor that stood by her door. The room had windows that stretched from the bottom of the floor to the ceiling bringing in plenty of light. The ceilings were high and the furniture was made from the finest wood, the bed had to be her favorite part of the room. Simply because she had spent so long away from such comfort! Her body sunk into it and when she climbed underneath the covers she wished that she would never have to leave.

A door stood in the room that lead to her own personal bathroom, before climbing into bed she had bathed. Emily had forgotten what it felt like to be so clean, scrubbing her body and her hair felt incredibly soothing and relaxing. If she had remained in the tub for much longer she may have even dozed off, but she was quick to bath and eager to sleep now that she finally could. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep and once she finally was she knew that she wouldn't wake up for a while.

[Daren]

One of the guards followed Alton, probably just for good measure. Not like the guard would pose any real challenge but odds were most here didn't know that Alton was a wizard. Sure it could be assumed seeing as he had no real weapons with him, but that didn't always mean the person was a magic user. Either way he let the guard amuse himself and follow him out of the city walls for a short distance. Even passing back through the city he was met with the same cold and hateful looks that he saw in every town. Ones he had learned to ignore.

After a while the guard took his leave of Alton and left him to whatever personal matters he had said he wanted to attend to. Not too soon at that as Alton let out a heavy sigh before pulling one sleeve up and looking at his arm. For the moment it almost looked as if he had some form of toxin in his blood as his skin along his arm seemed a odd color compared to the rest of his body. "not good.." he muttered before letting the sleeve drop back down as he opened the tome he had with him still. This wasn't a good sign, it was like a poison but it was a type that only affected the undead.

It was a spell or rather a protection to defend against dark magics. That explained a lot the longer he thought about it. Surely this place had such spells in place in the event they were faced with fighting undead of dark minions. Shaking his head a little he felt almost foolish he had stayed within the walls that long. But it should heal after a night or two, until then he had to avoid using magic at all costs to prevent it from spreading until it was healed.

His thoughts however were disrupted by a faint glow that appeared near him and seemed to shimmer a few times making a soft whimsical sound. He seemed to ignore the odd glow and noise as he turned his head away from it. He knew what it was but he wished that it would go away. He didn't need or want reminders that he had failed in his past to protect those he had sworn his life to. But every once in a while the underworld seemed to like to torment him and let one of his past failures try and contact him... if he bothered to listen was another story.

[gremlin]

( Sorry lame! xD )

It was early in the morning when Emily finally woke up, she turned over onto her stomach and let out a soft groan of annoyance. She had wished to sleep for longer but she had grown use to waking early in the morning and sleeping late at night. A yawn escaped from her as she stretched out across the bed then she slowly lifted herself from its comfort. Even if she buried herself back under the covers she knew that she would not be able to return to sleep, the floor was cold as she stood causing goosebumps to break out across the surface of her skin. The entire room was cold, being so warm where she had lived she had forgotten how much colder it was out here.

Emily brought herself to a bag that she had brought with her, then began to search through it for some clean clothes. She pulled out from it a long sleeve white blouse and a pair of black trousers, once dressed she slipped her feet into her boots and decided that she was ready to speak with Cambria. However something caused her to hesitate, a sudden noise from just outside of the hall. Emily looked over at the door and after listening for a few moments she finally heard it again, it sounded as if an animal was scratching at the door trying to get inside.

She froze where she stood unsure of what to do, but eventually curiosity got the better of her and she slowly approached the door. "Is someone there?" She asked but there was no reply from the other side, Emily took hold of the handle and slowly opened the door. It took a moment for her to realize what stood before her, it was certainly an animal but not one that she was familiar with and she became afraid. "Ah!" Escaped from her then she took a step back unsure of what to do.

It was a snow leopard, an adult considering it's size, it's fur was a light grey and black freckles covered its body and it looked up at Emily with bright blue eyes. The creature's tail flicked back and forth then it lowered it's head, Emily's eyes grew wide when she realized that it was preparing to pounce but before she could shut the door the beast was on top of her. She hit the floor with a loud thud and she could hear footsteps approaching the room quickly, Emily was ready to scream as the beast brought it's face close to her own. Though she held it back as it began to nuzzle her lovingly, when it began to purr she felt relieved however she raised her hands pushing it's face away when it began to lick her.

"Lady Emily are you alright?" A guard now stood in the doorway, then another stood beside him. "I think that she will be just fine," a woman said and when she pushed the guards to the side and entered the room Emily saw that it was Cambria. "Off," she said then pointed at the animal. "You get off of her right now, Talos!" Talos' ears went back and a soft whimper came from him, then he obeyed her command and got off of Emily. "I think that he picked up your scent when he came back this morning, he's just excited that you have returned."

Cambria noticed the look that Emily was giving her and smiled. "Your mother found him when he was little, but could not keep him so.." She laughed a little then shook her head. "I kept him and when she would visit and bring you along you two would play. He was more of your pet really..." She said then she approached Emily, she held out her hand and helped her up. "Speaking of your mother, would you like to visit her?" Emily looked up at her surprised by such a question. "And your father too, they were.. They were buried just outside of the walls of the town in the cemetery. I understand if you don't wish to, I hope that I am not being insensitive."

Emily thought for a moment, she had never expected to be given such an opportunity. "Of course," she finally said then brought her eyes to Cambria. "Of course I would like to visit them, would you bring me?" Cambria nodded a little then looked over at Talos, he appeared to be anxiously holding himself back from mauling Emily with affection. "Come with me then!" She said then she left the room, Emily followed and as she passed the beast he sniffed her hand. "You come, too!" Cambria yelled and the animal stood immediately, behind Emily he trotted happily.

[Daren]

((Nah it was good I thought!))

Sleep didn't come in any form that night, not that he expected it to with a burning sensation running through his arm as it was. Probably for the best, it did give him time to plan out what to work on next with Emily. She still had a ways to go to master her powers and he knew this. Even if she didn't master then she still needed enough control to use them at her will. This would be a task easier said then done, and now with a impending deadline that seemed to be creeping up on him faster then he first thought it didn't help matters any.

The only thing he was thankful of was that the woman who seemed to rule the castle here didn't seem to know who he was. Surely she'd have a similar if not worse reaction then what Felix had if she knew that he was one of the ones who had been ordered to take Emily in the first place all those years ago. Letting out a bit of a heavy sigh he went back to looking for something in the old tome that he kept with him. What he was looking for was something that no one else was allowed to know.

After a while he gave in and summoned forth a crow from the underworld as he sat there with it perked on his arm. "you need to seek out someone for me... a alchemy master." He didn't need to say anything more to the bird as it seemed to understand before the beast gave Alton a nod and flew off. He had his reasons for seeking out this master he spoke of. But he needed to keep this little errand to himself. Emily had plenty to worry about without adding to it.

[gremlin]

Outside the cold greeted her and with every breath that she took she could see it. Emily stood just outside of the castle near the door, beside her Talos sat patiently with his tail flicking back and forth. Emily looked over her shoulder as she heard the doors close, Cambria came out dressed in more appropriate attire for the weather. In her hands she held a coat and she held her hands out towards Emily. "Here," she said then smiled. "You will need this, it will only get colder."

"Thank you." Emily took the coat from her then put it on. It was a snug fit and she could already feel warmer, she buttoned the front of it then lifted the hood up. "Well if you are ready then we shall be off!" Cambria said, when Emily nodded she began to make her way down the stairs, Emily followed and Talos remained beside her.

The cemetery was a twenty minute walk from the town and it was surrounded by it's own wall. As they walked Cambria explained that it was to keep grave robbers from entering it late at night and that it was better to have a wall to protect their buried. As Cambria approached the gate of the cemetery the guards that stood outside of it brought their attention to them. "We are here to visit, will you allow us entry?" She asked and she had to say no more, the guards opened the gate for them to enter.

When she stepped inside Emily suddenly became anxious, she had seen so much death recently and now being surrounded by the dead terrified her. Knowing that someone could bring them back to life, control them, she only hoped that no one could ever gain entry to this place. With her little knowledge she did not know that spells could be cast to prevent such a thing from occurring.

They walked in silence then stopped in front of two graves, Cambria bent down bringing her hand to them to brush away snow. "Here," she said then stood up straight. "Do you wish to be alone? I know that... You never were able to grieve." She looked at Emily waiting for an answer. "Yes, please..." Emily said then she brought herself to crouch in front of the graves. Cambria hesitated to leave her for a moment then she looked over at Talos and commanded him to follow her, then they left Emily alone.

"How could I forget you two?" She muttered quietly to herself, then she brought herself to her knees and rested her hand against her mother's grave. "How could I forget all of this? How can I still not remember so much? What is wrong with me?" Cambria was right, she had never had time to grieve. Even when she had remembered bits and pieces of her past she had never had time to grieve except for this very moment, she had only cried perhaps a few times but it was always briefly. Right now she felt incredibly weak and she could not help but begin to cry and soon she was sobbing to herself. After some time Emily leaned back away from the grave then brought her hands to her face. It was as if she could no longer cry, her face felt terrible sore and she took a deep breath. "Damn..." She said under her breath and all she could do was stare helplessly at their graves.

[Daren]

((If you don't like my idea I posted in the message just tell me and I can edit this post.))

Alton knew the bird would not return for at least a few days. The one he had told it to go seek out was very good at keeping his whereabouts hidden. this was not always a good thing, but it did mean that this master of elixirs was probably safe from the Queen. Or rather if Alton had any luck in delaying this curse from killing him too soon then this person he sought was still somewhere safe. The bird knew what message Alton needed to pass onto the person and what it was expected to bring back as well.

If Alton had known Emily's parents were here in the graveyard he would have gone with her. Not really as support but to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the poor girl in her weaker moments. He knew she was going through a lot and there was a number of things she still didn't remember. Felix hardly helped matters with forcing her to remember a few things from her past that she should have recalled over time.

~~~~~~~~~~

A faint mist rolled around Emily's feet as she seemed to pay it no mind. The guards didn't notice the white mist rolling over the cool ground. But everything in the area was silent so suddenly... if Emily wasn't in such a state she might have noticed the strange aura about the area. The smell of death began to rise and drift throughout the graveyard. The aura surrounding this mist and sudden change in the area was one Alton was familiar with.

He had planned to stay to himself to prevent Emily from becoming concerned about why he couldn't use his arm or why he seemed to be in more pain then before. But this was not at all possible now as he stood suddenly as his ears dropped at the aura that presented itself out of the blue. This was not good at all, this was the last aura he wanted to feel in this area. Even with protection and barriers there was no preventing certain magics...

Emily was in danger and he knew this. The last fee run ins they had were not the Queen's men. But this pawn would be one. It would be one he did not wish to deal with at the present time in this condition. It was a huge risk, but to leave Emily on her own he feared that she would not be well enough protected where ever she was.

[gremlin]

( So bad, I'm sorry. xD )

Cambria could feel the sudden change, an aura that she did not welcome in these parts. Though she hesitated to alert Emily to this presence, instead she turned to the guards that she now stood beside and informed them. One guard left immediately to seek more aid, Cambria was unsure of how this encounter would end and she wondered if it would be in her favor. Emily would be protected here and no harm would come to the young woman for as long as she breathed. She would have to do what she could to keep her safe even if he meant causing the death of another.

Emily rose from her parents' graves when she cold no longer cry anymore. As she did she could suddenly feel a change, inside she felt that something was now terribly wrong but she could was unsure of what exactly it was. It was something that she had felt before, though with little training she had yet to figure out quite a few things about herself.

She looked around cautiously, then finally began to make her way back to gates. Though before she could a sudden noise caught her attention, Emily looked around searching for the source of the noise and when she found it she screamed. A figure was slowly crawling out from it's grave, it's fingers clawed at the surface trying to free itself as quickly as it could from it's prison. Emily watched in horror, unaware that it was not the only one that had risen from the dead.

[Daren]

((But I liked it! I'm so mean though you set it up almost perfectly for what I wanted to do. Also maybe I should stop trying to kill my character, Emily might find out sooner rather than later what Alton keeps having to take care of.))

If odds were in his favor then the wizard behind this sudden change in the surrounding area would not be near by. He knew very well he was in no condition to fight him if it came down to such a thing, a pawn or puppet would be hard enough to deal with. Let alone he had to keep acting like nothing was wrong even though his condition was worsening the closer he got to the town once more. Emily was not allowed to know, after she had completed her quest then she could know, but until then he needed to keep her in the dark about why he kept disappearing.

Though his mind was on more pressing matters at the moment, he knew all too well of the power the wizard had. He had to get to Emily before things were too late, killing her wouldn't be his objective but possessing her was another story... If done correctly he could leave her body and soul intact but she would be controlled by who ever had cast the spell. The undead puppets were low grade spells compared to this one, also known as the spell of the living doll. One among many spells that were suppose to be banished from this world, this can only be done once all who knew of the spells were killed.

The one body that was clawing its way through the ground to get to Emily kept her distracted long enough for the few others that had already freed themselves from their earthen tombs could surround her. The girl was already in a state of distress from her parents graves, she was in no condition to fight nor control her powers at the present time. Soon she was cornered in the graveyard, none of them dared to touch her. Oh no the master of these abominations had other plans first as one began to speak in a sort of broken tongue, a dry voice cracking and struggling to produce the words it was told to.

"Dear princess.. my mistress will be very happy to see you are ...." the animated corpse seemed to chuckle a little before going on with it's relaying of the message. "in one piece, at least for now." With that being said a hand extended forward mere inches from where Emily was cringing away from the creatures touch. Though it did not have to touch her to start performing the spell that was being cast through it's body as a dark black light seemed to flow from it's palm and towards Emily before breaking apart into several smaller strains. The only luck she had was that the spell would require a great amount of time to complete...

Nearly running into the guard Cambria had sent off to fetch more aid was all that it took to let Alton know aid would not make it on time. He never breathed a word of what he knew to the guard as the man ran off to do as he was told. Though he would have to get past Cambria with a spell to counter the aura in the area. This should be easy if the woman really did trust Emily and who the girl trusted. But he wasn't going to count on it being just that easy, nor did he have the luxury of time to explain what was going on.

Within a few moments he saw the woman from before standing a little ways off from the graveyard, he should have known that this foe would strike in such a place, necromancers had more power around the dead so it only made sense. Though the closer he got towards the gate the more on edge Cambria seemed to get, Alton held a similar aura to the one already infesting the area when he wasn't holding it back so it was natural for her to think he could be behind this.

The guard that had stayed behind and the woman seemed ready to stand in the way of Alton as he warned them both to back down. Each second he stood there waiting for the other side to make a move he felt the spell and it's energy trying to force its way into Emily's mind, to entangle itself there. Finally he gave up on waiting for them to trust him as he forced both the guard and Cambria to the wall as a vine quickly bound the two of them there. A dark plant that was lined with thorns as well as a few unopened purple blossoms that snaked their way along the vines length. The blossoms wouldn't need to open, it wouldn't take him that long, even if the two broke free Emily would be safe enough by then.

Emily was still in the corner of the graveyard when Alton was finally in range of her and the small army of risen undeads around her. The spell he had been focused on was finally unleashed as he hissed out a few words in his native tongue. It felt like a blast wave at first, but quickly seemed to break whatever hold was forcing the dead to walk again as the corpses quickly fell to the ground motionless once more. That one blast alone was almost enough to wipe whatever energy he had reserved for today from him. But he needed to make sure that Emily was at least out of harms way.

One of the bodies seemed to stay standing as it mocked Alton and his pitiful spell. Once more it spoke in it's broken tone. "The Queen did speak of a lost dog, never once did I dream it would be you.." It seemed to go on for a moment before speaking again "You've grown weaker since we last crossed paths... you'd do well to remember place." It seemed to be almost a riddle as it spoke, shortly after breaking apart just like the rest and falling to the ground as a black puff of smoke was released from it and drifted upwards before vanishing into the air.

Even with the little warning from the other Alton knew he was right, he was getting weaker. Sure he could protect Emily but he knew very well if he had to fight the Queen's top men he would lose. But thats why he was training Emily, she could win and return the realm back to the way it was. Even with the aura slowly leaving the grounds and the air returning to being silent once more he seemed to keep this guard up, not that he could cast another spell like the last one but he could still do a few other tricks.

Around that same time he released the poor guard and Cambria from their binds. They could do as they wished now, but either way Emily was safe and the spell hadn't managed to bury itself into her mind. Next time though... they might not be as lucky.

((I'm sorry that was long!))

[gremlin]

( lollol Cambria being a bitch. And bad post. o Ao )

When Cambria was finally released immediately she ran into the cemetery, not only was she upset with what had just happened to Emily but she was upset with Alton's disobedience. She had not wanted him to venture into the cemetery, she could feel a similar aura from him and did not like that one bit. Behind her the guard followed and when Cambria finally stood before the other two she begin to yell. "How dare you," she hissed at Alton. "I knew that there was something wrong with you, I can even feel it now! A cursed man guiding the Princess, what was Felix thinking? How could he trust you?" She spoke so quickly that neither Emily or Alton could get a word out. "Everything would have been fine but you had to interfere, everything would have been under control-"

"I would not be here if he had not acted," Cambria brought her gaze to Emily who now spoke, she had not expected Emily to speak. "I have not trained hard enough to grasp everything but I could feel myself losing control of myself, I could feel something else trying to pry it's way into my mind and my body. The castle is too far of a walk, even a run, it would have been too late." When Cambria tried to speak Emily raised her hand to keep her quiet. "Do you think that every cursed man is not to be trusted? Who are you to judge someone based on that? If Alton meant to betray me he would have done so long ago, why would he even train me and want me to grow and learn?"

Emily paused for a moment and breathed out a sigh. "He will not betray me, perhaps you do not believe that and perhaps you are suspicious of him but I am not and I have more faith in him than I have had faith in anyone else for this entire journey." Emily could see the way that Cambria was now watching Alton and it was making her uncomfortable. "If he is now not welcome here then neither am I and I do not wish to remain here for any longer." She said then she looked up at Alton and smiled weakly. "We may leave if you wish to and find elsewhere to rest."

"My Princess, forgive me! I did not mean to upset you, you two are more than welcome to remain here. You can not leave, you have just arrived and there is so much that you must learn." Though her words tempted Emily to remain for longer she knew that she could not, the behavior of Cambria concerned her and she no longer felt safe here. "Forgive me, I must decline your offer to remain here." Then Emily bowed her head and walked past Cambria and her guard, it took quite a bit of courage to persist with her plan of leaving and she refused to look back as she left the cemetery.

After leaving the cemetery Emily returned to the castle to collect her belongings and once she was finally finished packing she made her way out of the castle. At the front entrance she was greeted by Cambria though she was reluctant to speak to her she allowed her to speak. Two horses had been prepared for her and Alton, the horses were well equipped with whatever they would need for their journey. Warmer clothing, food, water, equipment for them to set up a small rest stop and a few other things as well. The horses were much larger, built and had longer hair so they were better to travel with through harsh, cold weather.

Emily thanked Cambria for all that she had given her and then after saying their goodbyes she made her way towards the stables to retrieve the horses.