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Prince Tousa of Darinest

Tousa walked through the camp quickly, making his way once more to the coop. Once there he ducked under and spoke quietly to the man. "Greetings again Prince Tousa."

"Greetings. I have something I need you to do for me." Tousa replied hastily with as hushed a tone as possible, glancing around to make sure no other soldier or officer was nearby to hear him. "I need you to get me two horses ready tonight at the eastern gate. Four waterskins, a bedroll, and a few days worth of food."

The old man blinked up at Tousa with surprise. "Of course my prince but do not mind me asking as to why you want me to get these for you? Can you not request these yourself? Surely they would be granted to you your highness."

Tousa shook his head quickly. "I need you to do this for me. It will be difficult to get out of this fort as is with a prisoner in tow. I don't want an escort of men with me when I leave. I have a few things I need to confirm and a group of men would prevent me from doing this."

The old man looked at Tousa with a slight side-eye now. "And why do you trust me and not some other man, Prince Tousa?" He asked.

"Because you keep these birds and the messages they send out and bring. You're good at keeping secrets and not telling others what they do not need to know." Tousa replied firmly.

The old man reached and stroked his beard for a few moments, considering the idea. Finally the man spoke. "I will see what I can do, but this old man promises nothing Prince Tousa. At the very least I will not speak to others as to why I need these items."

Tousa smiled and dipped his head. "Thank you keeper." He stated before handing over the piece of paper. "That's everything I will need for the journey. I understand if you can't gather everything."

The old man looked at the list for a moment before nodding. "Prince Tousa, before you leave, humor an old man for a moment. I wish for you to memorize my name."

Tousa paused as he almost turned. He gave a small nod to let the old man continue talking. "My name is Vashlimaa Alzireeka. It is a very old name. My family came from a line who kept ancient traditions. Have you memorized it?"

Tousa blinked and shook his head back and forth. "Yes... Vashlimaa Alzireeka right? I think I have it."

The old man motioned for Tousa to leave. "Alright then. Off you go prince, you have many duties to tend to and many lives to command. Best make use of the time you have currently available to make sure everything is set in stone."

With that Tousa was back off to where Anja was, still blinking and shaking his head. That was such a strange name. He wondered where it came from exactly. He composed himself once at the entrance before slowly poking his head in to make sure everything was clear. Once everything was okay he stepped inside and stood, looking at Anja. "Everything should be set and ready for us to leave tonight. At the very least, I have someone trying to gather the items for us."

Prince Tousa of Darinest

Tousa looked at her for a moment with a raised eyebrow and turned again to head out to get them food. He could understand why she wanted to stay here rather than go to the mess hall again but he wouldn't be able to carry as much food back with him this time around.

It didn't take Tousa long to return with two bowls of hot, steaming soup and wooden bucket filled with fresh water and a ladle inside of the bucket so they could drink from it effectively. A simple meal, but one that would last them till they left at the very least.

However when he stepped into the tent Anja wasn't where she had been before. His gaze flicked around the room, and they did a once over of the entire place before it zeroed in on the bed and he just stared for a good long while.

Tousa's movements became very restrained and controlled as he moved to the table where the maps were and set the bowls of soup down slowly, the bucket following. He just quietly pulled one chair up from the corner and then moved to the desk to take that chair to the table as well.

He didn't speak until he was seated and facing away from Anja. "Anja the Lycan..." He spoke in a very low tone. "If you could please join me at the table and not play around... If soldiers walked in right now they would think very poorly of me as a commander. A lady should also not display herself in such a shameful manner."

A throat clearing and he didn't move an inch from his chair, as still as a statue he was, head tilted down towards the bowl of soup in front of him, not even attempting to look back. Eventually a hand moved to undo his hair and when it fell about he reached up and arranged it so that all of the locks fell nearly straight down, covering and obscuring his face even further in shadow.

Prince Tousa of Darinest

Tousa sat up suddenly and rushed over to the bed, quickly snagging the key and slamming it into the first shackle and unlocking it in a hurry. However as he did so footsteps just outside could be heard. Tousa froze, staring at the wall straight in front of him.

He looked down at Anja and just mouthed the words. "Don't move." He then grabbed the blankets on either side of her person and folded them around her, concealing her in a thin layer of cloth. He then sat on the bed and turned to look at the entrance right as a soldier stepped in.

"Prince Tousa, I heard you were eating here for some reason. I was wondering why you weren't joining us like you usually do." The soldier asked, glancing around the room.

"Ah- I- You see..." Tousa stammered and looked around the room as well for a moment. "I wasn't feeling that well, the sun got to me today I think and I've been on the road for some time and there was the attack from yesterday... Just a lot on my mind right now. Maybe tomorrow morning I will join you all again. Just need some time to recover."

The soldier nodded. "As you wish your highness. Excuse me." The soldier dipped back out of the room and Tousa waited until he couldn't hear the footsteps any longer before letting out a long breath.

Then his head turned and he just glared at the veiled Anja. She could move quite easily now that she wasn't chained to the bed. He was pissed.

Prince Tousa of Darinest

Tousa let out an angry sound as she wrapped around one of his arms and as she let it go he yanked it away. "That was a stupid thing for you to do and you know it." He stated before laying on the bed.

"I'll eat later, I just lost my appetite." He stated, covering his face with a hand. She was a handful and a troublemaker. Something he did not need nor wanted to deal with. It had been small things, but this one got to him.

A hand reached to his belt and he pulled open a coinpurse, pulling out a small dried up flower and just stared at it for a long while in silence. "Your actions could've gotten you killed and would've put me in a situation where I would be called into questioning by my own family. You realize that do you not? Me being a prince wouldn't have stopped them from being able to execute the law."

Prince Tousa of Darinest

Tousa glanced from the flower to her. "I don't want your apology. I need you to be more aware of what is actually happening. You are not among friends here. You are among your enemy. I am one such enemy. You would do well to remember that."

He tucked the dried flower away. "Every town where there are soldiers you will be in enemy territory. The capital is enemy territory. You are fighting your own war against my soldiers. They will treat you like an enemy so long as you keep up the idea of raiding, and for the fact that you are a Lycan. You are an enemy to humankind as a whole."

He motioned to the food. "Now go eat, Like I said, I lost my appetite."

Prince Tousa of Darinest

They both sulked for the rest of the time they needed to wait. However as soon as night approached Tousa moved. He stripped off his armor and laid it on the bed, picking up the spear, bow, and quiver of arrows he had taken from the armory and slung them about his person. He then moved over to Anja and tapped her shoulder.

"Time to go he muttered. Keep the shackles on until we're out of the fort, just in case we are caught by the guards." Tousa stated before looking through the exit and glancing around. "We're in the clear for now it looks like. We will be heading for the eastern most exit. Shouldn't be to difficult but you never know. We'll see if he got the items we needed... I hope he did else this will be a rough journey."

Prince Tousa of Darinest

Tousa walked up quietly to the old man holding the torch. "Vashlimaa Alzireeka, it's us. Did you get the supplies ready?" He asked, looking for the horses and strapped equipment. There were indeed two horses sitting and waiting, tucked away just around the gate, two guards snoring at their post, asleep while standing up. If Tousa wasn't trying to escape he would wake them.

"Yes your highness, a few items I couldn't get because they don't really have them here, there is no need what with the temperate climate." The old pigeon coop keeper stated with a small smile. He made a motion with his hand, dousing the torch quickly. "The horses should be able to take you both far, including the lady."

Tousa smiled and nodded, glancing back to Anja. "We've made it this far. Not much farther and we're to freedom and ready to start riding out to the village."

"Ah... So that is why you wanted to go." The old man murmured, shuffling his feet towards the horses.

Prince Tousa of Darinest

Tousa stepped up to a horse, petting its head and soothing it, nervously glancing around in the cool night while moonlight and starlight were the only thing that would light their path.

The old man turned and looked to Anja, blinking. "He is not my prince as you might think to believe. I am merely a spectator in the chain of events in this world. I also give you a warning... Or perhaps a prophecy. This journey will set back the clocks of time to when you were just an infant. As for these provisions, you are welcome. I am simply seeing how a twist in fate like this might change the course of an entire kingdom."

Tousa stepped over to the two, holding the reins of his horse. "Are you ready Anja? Might want to take your shackles off now before we start riding, wouldn't want them to snag on something or rattle to much while we ride."