Ah, Welcome my friends, welcome indeed, i suppose you wish to hear a story? Ah, well I know one, one, no one here has heard until now. Do you wish to hear it my friend? Yes? then Ill begin...
You know of our 53 countries, our story focuses on a few of them, but we will start with the largest of these, the two known as Arya, and Belaine, now, at the time of our story, these two had been at war for more than 16 years, a bitter war that oddly enough didn’t affect the daily lives of the townsfolk.
Arya was a nice enough country, ruled fairly by their king, right before the war started, he had put in act a parliament, with a representative of every group, from his own family, to the lowest beggar. It was happy enough, but bandits roamed the lonely roads and forests, and no sane women would walk through an unknown town without a weapon.
Belaine was a country that little was known about, it had many farmers, and wild woods, the king ruled it with the help of his 4 advisors, and the people were happy enough. It, too, had bandits and vagabonds, in many ways, it was like Arya.
Now, well begin our story with a certain 18 year old princess, have you heard of her? no? Ah well,...
~*~*~*~*
Isile
Isile Megumi Boneparte walked silently through the doors, her eyes on the ground, her black hair was swept on top of her head, though stray curls hung down, two strands shorter than the rest framed her face, her Navy eyes observed behind her simple dark green mask, held in place with a simple green ribbon.
Her lips were a soft pink, her skin was a pale cream, many men had come after her for her hand in marriage, and all were sent away with a sharp word or throbbing bruises, they didn’t care for her, only her position, her power, beauty, wealth, base desires.
Her dark green dress constricted the movement of her lithe body, she seemed cat-like, a leopard ready to spring, a bow and quiver hung on her back, smooth with age, a sharp dagger hidden in her sash, just in case.
A small fox walked beside her, sniffing for food, it lifted its head, whining,
"Shush, Twila." Isi murmured, her small feet enclosed in the tight flats padding against the hard stone, they were already sore.
phew, what a long name! in Arya, they take the names of their grandmothers and mother, aunts etc, btw, Boneparte is a play on Napoleons last name, which I think was Bonaparte its pronounced the same way, Arya is a made up word, I just realized it was what the Germans considered themselves in WW11 but it has no connection, i had made it up before i found that out, and i think i got the idea when i was reading Eragon (in like 5th grade mind you)
idk, it just sounded pretty,
~*~*~*~
Now, my dear friends, here is another person, an nineteen year old prince, lost in the world.
~*~*~*~
Logan
Logan leaned against the hard stone wall. His outfit was simple, a dark blue tunic and pants with his normal brown boots.
His amber eyes surveyed the crowds of talking people from behind his simple midnight blue mask, he pushed back his spiky brown hair, to stop it from falling into his face. He sighed, remembering the hard times he had went through, all for nothing, it seemed.
He had been born two years before the war started, shortly after that, his mother had died of an illness the doctors had no cure for. He remembered training, becoming a soldier, and the faces of the men who had fallen before him, and the blood, the blood on his hands.
He shook himself out of his reverie, it would do him no good to remember, the past was in the past, there was nothing he could do about it.
He once again looked out across the room, they had to pick another name for this ball, he thought of his own, "Fell"
~*~*~*~
Well my friends, i believe its time i stopped explaining this story and leave your minds to the work, but first, I believe a pronunciation guide is in order, yes?
Pronunciations:
Twila: Tw-I-lah
Isile-Is-Aisle (I-LL)
Isi-Is-ee
Ani-Ah-knee
Arya-are-ya
belaine-Bell-A(like the letter A)-nah(pronounced like when you make the n sound)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Isi rested her head against a wall, ignoring the man beside her, she let the icy stone soak though her dress, a small relief from the heat, she let herself slump ungracefully to the floor on her but, a small "oof~" slipping from her lips, she gently gathered Twila onto her lap, scratching the fox behind the ears, she smiled, leaning her head against the wall, she closed her eyes.
~*~*
Logan looked up at a small sound, like a quiet sigh, a girl was sitting next to him, he looked warily at her face, although the top of it was covered by a green mask, he could tell she was pretty, no, that wasn't the word to describe her, he crouched down next to her, shaking her shoulder slightly, "um, hey, are you okay?" he asked her.
~*
Isi looked up, her midnight blue eyes wide, "uh- um, yes, I’m alright," she blushed behind the mask, using the hand offered to pick herself up, "I was just- resting. yes, I was resting, that’s it!" she said, almost immediately covering her mouth with a green-gloved hand, "I said that out loud, didn’t I?" she asked, blushing,
Logan smiled, "yeah, you did, I’m Lo- I mean, I’m Fell," he said, "and you are?"
"oh, I’m, um, ah, Ani" Isi replied
Logan smiled, "well, Ani, would you like to dance?" he asked, gesturing to the other dancing couples.
~*~*
Isi looked at the hand offered “o-okay,” she said quietly, taking it, Logan smiled, leading her onto the dance floor, as a new song began, they began to dance, “Lady Ani, forgive me for prying, but you are from Arya, correct?” “Y-yes, I-I am,” Isi stuttered, “How did you know?” Logan smiled, “Your accent, It’s softer than most of the people of Arya, but nowhere near Belaines’.” Isi lowered her head “and so I am found out, yes, Sir Fell, I am from Arya, in fact this castle, was my unhappy childhood house.” Logan’s brow furrowed, “Lady Ani, how are you related to this castle?” he asked, Isi thought, “I will tell you, but you have to allow me to ask a question of my own, Sir Fell, what is your purpose in your country?”
~*~*
Logan frowned, he could not tell her who he was, not this early in the treaty, it was dangerous to reveal anything at this delicate stage, “I-I’m a soldier Lady, in the royal guard, I-““You’re lying, good sir,” Isi interrupted “I told you, I grew up in court, in lies and deceit, I can spot a lie a mile away,” she then smiled gently, “but I understand, we all have those secrets we wish to hide away to never see again., now I will answer your questioning two parts,” she smiled, “One, this castle was my house, not my home, my home is unknown to any besides me and a select few, and Two, my real name is Isile, but most call me plain old Isi.” Logan nodded, making a mental note to ask his ‘informant’ Markus, to find out who she was, really, Isi continued with barely a pause, “Sir? If I am not intruding, but may I please ask your name?” Logan bit his lip, he was still wary of Arya, and he did not know this girls standing in the war. “My real name is Fell.”
“Is lying a habit of yours, Sir Fell?” Isi asked innocently, “Once again, I won’t press, but I prefer the truth, someday, I just may find out.” she retaliated softly,
“Lady Isi, have you ever been to a festival?” Logan asked, changing the subject, she frowned, "No, I’m afraid not, its hard to pass by unseen during most festivals unless I go far away to one, like in Chang,” Logan smiled gently, “them, will you come to one on the border with me tomorrow? I will keep you safe,” Isi smiled again, “I can keep myself safe, but I need to keep my freedom sir,” Logan smiled widely, “Then, can I will meet you in the forest outside tomorrow morning Lady Isi?” he asked as the clock struck one, Isi nodded, “Its getting late,” he said softly, “I must go now, good-bye, Lady Isi” Isi smiled, watching him leave, he disappeared into the stables, “Good-bye, Sir Fell” she said softly, padding up to her room.
Chang is a long and thin country across a inlet (think like Chile, but instead of a ocean its a long thin bay) similar to ancient Japan, women are revered as priestesses and they specialize in herbal medicines and weaponry, there is a large island on the other side of Aryas oceanic coast called Xianthes, who are pretty much as advanced as we are now, but more towards medicines and such, not weaponry, and most buildings are stone, and there aren’t things like computers for personal use, or for keeping records, but there are things like ultrasound, heart monitors, x-rays, pills, IVs, and such. They were isolated until 'recently'(6 years ago) in the story, so most of the technology has not diffused towards the rest of the continent
those are the only countries I will mention for now, so.... yeah
Oh yeah, Arya and Belaine are more medieval Europe/colonial America type, they have
guns, but only hand guns (like Rizas in FMA) and most cottages are wood or stone with a slate, wood, or thatch roof,
As she slipped off her dress, Isi noticed her crown sitting on her dresser, a small, silver circlet, worn down through time. She pulled on her robe and picked the simple crown, slipping it on her head, almost immediately she tugged it off, placing it back on the dresser, ~I wont be my ‘station’ tomorrow~ she thought softly, ~I will be myself, no one but Isi~
~*~*~
Room For a Friend
Logan rode his black horse down the lonely road, soon, he arrived at a farm, directly on the border, he dismounted, letting Aslan go by himself to the small barn, as he walked up to the cottage door, t opened, a sturdy man in the doorframe,
"Hello Markus," Logan said tiredly, "May I stay here tonight?"
~*
Secret Revealed
"An Isile from Arya?" Markus asked, "Lemme see, I only know one, a Princess Isile, pretty odd one if you ask me, and just 17! I heard she ran away when she was 4, 9, and the last one was... 11, but ever since that last one, she just disappears for a week or so then shows up, and then she’s off again, not a week later, that Isile?"
Logan frowned, "Any features you can give me?" he asked.
"Oh yeah, erm, black hair, blue eyes, pretty strong for her size too! I heard once, a big group of men came to beg the king to let one of them marry her, I heard it wasn’t pretty afterwards, three of them had broken noses, one had been pinned to a wall by three knives, and the rest... Well, you can guess.
She’s also apparently good with weapons-not very ladylike if you ask me" Markus said, finishing his report.
Logan nodded "Thanks Mark, you helped a lot, oh, and one more favor, I’m leaving early tomorrow, but I’m coming back to get Mathieu, can you call me Fell then? and since we kind of look alike, can you be my cousin?"
Markus nodded, "Sure, you saved my life after all, Logan! Your beds ready upstairs, as always!"
Logan smiled, "thanks for everything Markus"
~*~*~*~
he sighed, turning over in the bed, this was bad, she’s a princess, and of Arya, he frowned, this was just like before, but he wouldn’t let the war start again.
~*
As the sun crept over the horizon, Logan saddled Aslan, preparing to go back down the road he had come, he neatly sat on the black stallions back, going down the road at a even pace.
Presently, he arrived at the castle, on the side surrounded by woods, he chose a branch, around five feet off the ground, and settled on it, allowing Aslan to graze as he waited,
He used Markus' directions to find Isis’ window, there, the third story,
the sun broke through the treetops.
Imagery at its best and worst
The sun spilled through her window, illuminating a girl, pulling something out from under her bed, a small box, not bigger than a loaf of bread.
Isi opened it, pulling out its contents.
First came out a pair of loose brown pants that only came up to her knee,
the second, a dark green tunic,
she slipped these on first, then pulled out the rest, a brown, lace up bodice, and finally, a pair of dark brown boots,
She put the boots on, a leather strap criss-crossed over them to hold the boots in place.
She finally tied her hair back, the two strands neatly falling out of the ponytail, that done, she turned to her window.
ok, this one was done since I have a bad habit of describing things in extravagant detail ok? :) years of role-playing
habits are hard to kick
~*
A neat pile of rope sat next to it, grabbing the pack, containing weapons and food, among other necessities (IDK)working quickly, she skillfully tied her pack to it, throwing a quick glance at the chair and bureau she had placed in front of her door, she took the rest of the rope, knotting it at precise intervals, she flung the rope out her window, letting it touch the ground. she dropped the pack tied to it, it was her turn now, she climbed to a point where she was sitting on the window sill, three stories up, she twisted her body until she faced her room, her feet scraping the outer wall, she pushed off, years of trail and error aiding her, the only thought in her head were things like "grab a tree branch here, bend knees, flip to lower speed," she finally came to a stop on the ground, crouching, without looking up, she reached out and pulled the rope, her pack landing in front of her
~*
LOGAN
He watched her neatly swing herself to the ground, noticing that the trees around her window had scars from ripped branches, the wall had smears of what could have been blood, he winced, it seemed effortless-ness came with a sometime heavy price, he watched as she picked up her pack, strapping on belts and her bow, she walked in the woods, presumably to get her horse, he leaned against the tree
he would wait
Isi stole through the woods, silent, she had seen someone, but how could he have gotten through the patrols?
And who was this person? An assassin? That one man--Fell from last night? It might have been, but a lifetime of paranoia and lies rebelled against her body, she slipped through the branches, dropping behind the stranger, in a flsh, her knife was out, pressed against his throat.
“Who. Are. You?” she hissed into his ear, the man started, finally noticing the cold steel pressed against his throat “F-f-fell” he choked out, she tensed.
“How did you get through the guard?” her voice was low, urgent,. “n-no guard,” Logan forced out. “Tch” she cursed silently, dropping her arms, the start of a truce and security was almost nonexistent? Disgraceful. “I’m sorry Fell, I can’t be too careful”
Logan turned around, “I-isi? Is that you? I thought you went that way, to get your horse.” he said, pointing to the sounds of horses and stable boys songs nearby. Isi smiled, “I don’t keep Rhiannon in such disgraceful conditions,” she said, the meaningless grin fighting to regain emotion, Isi swung into the low tree branches, easily as a squirrel, Logan watched, bewildered, as three short whistles resounded through the glade, loud and piercing.
I changed Isis name, cause Isilee is actually the name of a character from a book I LOVE (the Goose Girl) and I want to be original, so I changed it to Isile, which, by just one letter, makes it a whole new name, (Is-I-ll(pronounced IS-Aisle)
