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Post by Dante Blackrat on Mar 2, 2011 19:42:55 GMT -6
Dante let Sophia lead him out of the room. He didn't resist her or say anything. He got a few looks from the other guards, but ignored them. Once in the empty room, Sophia spoke to him. He didn't say anything at first. He just leaned back against the wall and stared at the floor.
"What is there to talk about? he asked, his voice shaking. He glanced up at Sophia. "My parents are dead. I don't have a family and Shadowstalker is still out there," he stated flatly, sliding down the wall until he was sitting on the floor. He shuddered as a fresh wave of tears came over him.
"I have only one person that I absolutely have to protect. That's you. You can't end up like my parents. He wont get close enough to touch you as long as I'm around. He wont get close enough to even see you," he stated. A sob escaped him and he looked away.
He shouldn't be crying. Not in front of anybody. It was child-like and he knew it. He couldn't stop though, no matter how much he tried. He wiped away the tears with his hand, but it didn't help. More just replaced the ones he wiped away. "You have to stay near the castle. Its not safe to leave the castle grounds," he was about to say more, but then remembered that Shadowstalker had already killed someone in the castle.
He looked up at the princess again. "If you were Shadowstalker, why would you kill the prince's servant instead of the prince himself? Is he mocking us or is he just trying to get the Kings attention? Maybe he's just doing this so the king will protect the people," he stated. Then he thought of something. "He's only killed people who have committed crimes. And three that were innocent, really," he added.
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Post by Sophia Devonshire on Mar 2, 2011 19:58:19 GMT -6
Sophia watched as Dante leaned against the wall and stared at the floor, wishing that she could hold him. But she knew better, anyone could come through the door at any time, and she didnt want to be seen with him like that just yet. Not after all these attacks happened... She watched him slide to the floor and her heart ached for him. She moved over to sit beside him, her hand resting on his arm. It was silently letting him know that she was there for him.
She nodded slightly as he spoke, hoping he was right. She had plenty of guards, including Dante himself, but being that the man had gotten in already... it made her even more nervous. Her heart broke even more as he sobbed, and she scooted a bit closer, once again silently offering her presence as a comfort.
She nodded again ash e spoke about not leaving the castle. "I wont, Dante. I'm scared enough as it is.." She didnt want to draw attention to herself by leaving the castle again.
When he spoke about Shadowstalker again, she frowned. He had a good point, and it made her think as well. "I don't know, Dante... I wish I knew why people killed at all." She figured more towards the 'mocking' aspect, not so much the trying to get attention.. though it was possible. She didnt want to think, though, that the man thought he was helping by killing.
Her next question she hoped Dante wouldn't get angry over, it just seemed strange that out of all the guards, he would choose Dante.
"...do you know him?"
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Post by Dante Blackrat on Mar 2, 2011 20:06:30 GMT -6
Dante looked at her a bit shocked as she asked him the question. His shock slowly disappeared as he thought about it. "I don't know.... He must know me or my family. But.... I wouldn't know who-," he was cut short as he thought of someone. His eyes narrowed a bit.
"He couldn't have.... My best friend Vincent. Well.... He use to be my best friend. I haven't seen him in years. Not since we traveled to the city together," he said, his voice lowering to a whisper. He blinked, clearly thinking than gave a small nod.
"Vincent is the only one who is around here that knows my parents enough to go and kill them," he stated. His heart quickened. He hoped it wasn't. That would be the worst thing ever. He forced himself to relax. He put his hand on hers.
"I'll find him and talk to him. You can't tell the guards. You absolutely can't. He's like a brother to me. I need to find him and get this straightened out," he said, looking at her seriously. His eyes were practically begging her to say that she wouldn't tell.
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Post by Sophia Devonshire on Mar 2, 2011 22:02:14 GMT -6
Sophia nodded as Dante began speaking, trying to work out if he knew the assassin or not. She did really think it was strange that the assassin singled out a single man's family.. but perhaps there was a reason just as she thought.
As he began to work it out, Sophia listened intently. His best friend? How could someone do that to their friend, even if they hadnt seen each other in a while? She was angry at this man now, even if it wasnt him. She hoped it really wasnt, she knew something like that would destroy Dante.
But the last part had her stiffen and tense up. She couldnt keep this from the captains, they had to know what was going on so that they could take care of it. But Dante said he was like a brother to him.. she stopped her first reaction, and then nodded slowly, though she spoke rather coldly. "You have three days, Dante.. I can't keep this from the captains for any longer than that. You understand, right?" She knew that they would think she was deliberately keeping things from them, and that would not look good. She hoped he could get it straightened out in that time, because she really had to tell them as soon as possible.
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Post by Dante Blackrat on Mar 3, 2011 5:47:33 GMT -6
Dante nodded, ignoring the cold tone in her voice. "I'll find him tomorrow and talk to him. If he wont talk then I'll bring him up here. He'll be put in the prison for 'disrespecting a castle guard'," he stated, relaxing a bit. He'd have to find a way where he could talk to people without scaring them. He let out a sigh.
"Thank you," he said, leaning back against the wall. He got up and quickly helped Sophia up. "Now its time to get back to the captains. Before they think of anything suspicious, that is," he stated, opening the door. He walked out after her.
He opened the door to the room the captains were in and held it open for her while she walked in. He followed her and got a few sympathetic looks from the captains. He ignored them and stood by the door. He closed the door behind him. "Continue with the meetings, sir," he stated.
~~~
"Its very nice of you to.... uhh.... comfort, your people, Ma'am," one of the captains said, running a hand through his blond hair, moving it out of his face. All the men in there looked stressed, but not scared. It was clear they had been trained quite well to hide their emotions.
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Post by Sophia Devonshire on Mar 5, 2011 12:13:41 GMT -6
Sophia sighed slightly, relaxing a bit when Dante answered her. She hoped that he could actually find the man within the three days, and she was definitely frightened for him as well. If this 'friend' would kill his family, what made him think he wouldn't kill him as well. That made her very nervous. "Just... be careful, Dante... please. I don't want you to get hurt."
She watched as he stood up, taking his hand and standing up as well. She nodded slightly as he spoke, and left the room in front of him.
Returning to the captain's room, taking her place back at the table. She looked at the captain that spoke, nodding her head slightly. "The man is my guard, he must be at the top of his game." With that she dismissed the subject, her mind returning to the topic at hand.
"Now, we need to decide where to send the ships to patrol, right gentlemen?" She began looking at the map again, trying to decide just what to do. She looked back up at the captains, searching their faces. "Any ideas?"
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Post by Dante Blackrat on Mar 5, 2011 18:13:53 GMT -6
The captain looked back at the map, clearly unsure, but wouldn't question her about it. He stood there for a moment before pointing at the docks. "First," he began, glancing up at the rest of the people around the table. "We protect the main city. I say we station extra soldiers at the docks, as well as on the ships as they set sail," he said. He got a few disgusted looks, but some also agreed with him.
"After that....well....We need to protect the people from Shadowstalker. How do you propose we do that, madame?" he asked, looking up at the princess.
~~~
Dante blinked. He glanced at Sophia, waiting for an answer. He hoped that she wouldn't do anything too drastic.
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Post by Sophia Devonshire on Mar 5, 2011 22:25:58 GMT -6
Sophia glanced at the map again as the captain looked at the map, nodding her head slightly as he spoke about stationing extra soldiers at the docks and on the ships. She thought that was a good idea, they could pull some of the soldiers from the places that had already been attacked, since there were not people there anymore.
"We can pull soldiers from the countryside, where they had been attacked. The people were brought here as refugees anyway, the empty homes don't need protection. Station more guards around the palace, and set some of those soldiers to patrolling the city."
At the next question, Sophia didn't even falter. "I am going to send out a small contingency of trusted soldiers to deal with that mess. I will speak to them on my own, so they are better disguised for the mission."
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Post by Dante Blackrat on Mar 6, 2011 7:48:43 GMT -6
Dante seemed relieve, but the only way you would see it was through his eyes. He finally saw one of the captains straighten up and stand. He knew this was about to end.
~~~
The captain looked at Sophia and nodded. "We shall get them shortly, madame," he said, before dismissing the meeting. He went to the door, opened it, and walked out. Walking down the hall, troops followed, wanting to know more.
~~~
Dante watched as everyone left. He relaxed as soon as the last captain exited the room. He then looked at Sophia. "You're quick at thinking, Princess," he stated, walking up to her. He wasn't quite used to her being with him, so he still called her princess, ma'am, madame, and anything of the sort. It would take him a while for him to get used to her.
"So... what do you want to do?" he asked, standing next to her. His eyes examined her face, wanting to know everything about her. They lingered for a moment at her lips, but then moved back up to look straight into her eyes.
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Post by Sophia Devonshire on Mar 6, 2011 9:17:16 GMT -6
Sophia glanced at Dante, hoping that she had done well enough in his eyes, and noticed the look of relief in his eyes. Good. She had done well.
Her gaze went back to the table as she heard one captain straighten and stand, nodding slightly as he spoke and dismissed the meeting. Sophia leaned back and let out a breath, standing up as well and watching as all the men left the room, except Dante.
She walked over to him after they had all left, a smile on her face. She grinned at his compliment, bowing slightly. "Why thank you, Dante." She looked at him again, and spoke after a moment. "When we're alone, you can call me Sophia you know." She smiled slightly, reaching out to touch his arm gently.
She shrugged at his next question, looking at him again. "Perhaps you should get started on your mission... I can retire to my room, I have things I can work on in there.. and we can set guards around it.. then you can find him."
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Post by Dante Blackrat on Mar 6, 2011 9:26:34 GMT -6
Dante shrugged a bit. "I'm just not used to calling you Sophia. It'll take a while, but I can change this habit," he stated. Then he heard her suggestion. He blinked and thought for a moment. He then gave a slight nod. "I guess that would work. When can I see you again? Alone, that is," he asked, but whispered the last bit.
He gave her a small smile. He was clearly very reluctant to leave her side. It would be best if he got started on finding Shadowstalker, though. He had to find Vincent at all costs. He just hoped his best friend wasn't the assassin. A small shudder ran through his body as he thought of what would happen if he was.
He quickly thought of happier things, not wanting to wonder too much on the possibilities.
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Post by Sophia Devonshire on Mar 6, 2011 10:31:13 GMT -6
Sophia smiled slightly as Dante explained why it was hard to call her by her name, she understood, definitely, it was much different between the two of them now.
When he spoke again, she sighed slightly. She wasn't sure how this was going to work at all, but she knew they would figure something out. "Well, meet me in my quarters in two days. I will have it cleaned out, or just have people loyal to me in there... and they will not speak of this to anyone, I promise." She leaned forward and kissed his cheek gently, backing up with a grin.
"Now we'd better get going before people notice it's just the two of us in here." She winked at him and then took her leave, going to plan just what to do.. and hoping Dante could find out about this Shadowstalker.
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