Rhea rested her chin on her arm as she stared out the stone-framed window of her quarters. While her upper body rested on the sill, her legs were drawn up and bent at an angle so as to provide balance without having her feet slide off the pillowed bench she claimed as her perch.

A drawn out sigh escaped her, turning into small clouds of rising mist in the early morning air. Oh, the maids would not be happy at entering her frigid domain. But Rhea liked the cold, to some extent. It sharpened her senses. Kept her alert. She needed that, craved it even, especially now.

Her parents were dead, the Shadras were growing bolder, and the courts were splitting over who would support which heir to the throne. Twisted rumors and hushed voices traveled throughout the keep like poison. Her people were going to fall apart if a solution was not found soon.

Rhea turned away from the window and brought her legs over the side of the bench, allowing her bare feet to make contact with the sheepskin rug beneath it.

She let her senses adjust from the cold bench to the icier floor, the warmth seeping from her into the wool and then the stones. The princess grimaced and trotted across the room to the wardrobe, where she quickly pulled on leggings, stockings, and boots. She pulled a blue and silver riding dress on over her slip and belted herself, threw on a simple cloak, and evacuated the premises.

Rhea ghosted down the castle steps and halted at the side entrance to the stableyard where Ky stood. The tall guard sent her a somewhat irritated look, which she chose to ignore, before stepping aside to release her.

Moments later, she was astride her horse and racing out the gate into the morning mist.

Mercy groaned at the rising sun, her head pounding from a night of to much ale, which was surprising, she only got that drunk if she really needed an escape. She quite literally rolled out of bed, hitting the floor with a thunk, continueing to moan and groan as she stood up, her hair a ratted mess of her head, her underclothes lopsided and wrinkled, and a throbbing on the right side of her jaw. Sure enough, she peaked into the mirror and founded and dark blue-black bruise blooming there. She pouted at herself slightly before turning to her wardrobe.

Mercy slid matching dangling earings with black diamonds on the end into her ears, each had a seperate, longer chain contecting to the cuff on either ear. She didn't bother trying to cover the bruise with makeup when she would just sweat it off anyway. She strapped a sword to her back beneath the cloak (which she now pushed back behind her shoulders) and stuffed a book into her satchel. She raked a brush through her thick hair until the knots were gone, and said goodbye to the blazing fire that she adored, always kept ablaze, no matter how hot or stuffy the room got.

She made her way down the stairs of her large home, dragging herself down hall after hall, greeting tired servants and guards as she went, till finally she came across Alkyre, whom she was pretty sure had grown sick of her and her sister, still she smiled brightly at him as she always did to him and most others she came across. "Good morning Ky" She said pausing, craning her neck to look him in the eye. Eye contact she learned was a powerful tool, also extremely difficult for someone so short, apparently surrounded by giants.

"I'm assuming you saw my sister" Mercy stated more than question. "How are you? I cant imagine it would be much fun to stare straight ahead for so long" She said, partially teasing as she leaned her shoulder against the wall and crossed one ankle over the other. Perfectly content to annoy him for a moment.

Ky had been almost enjoying the eerie silence that morning. With no intruders, it hadn't been the most eventful night. Actually, it hadn't really been eventful since the murders. The halls had been deathly still, the servants mere ghosts flitting about the halls. Anyone could have heard a pin drop with the utmost clarity since that happening.

Of course, a completely peaceful morning was out of the question, as it was proved by Rhea materializing in front of him, silently demanding to be let out. He couldn't refuse her, of course, but he didn't have to like letting her out with no guard. Both of the princesses were capable of holding their own, but it was his duty as a guard to... well... guard.

Only a few minutes later after the first had appeared, Mercy made her own entrance. Ky exhaled in spite of himself and shifted his gaze to meet hers.

"I do not mind too much," he replied carefully. "The walls do tend to take on new colors after too long, though. That, I could care less for."

He paused, then continued, "And yes. I suppose you saw her as well, if you are making such an observation, Princess. She did not bother with pleasantries."

Under his breath, he grumbled something about the both of them going to get themselves killed with their frequent disappearances. As an afterthought, he cleared his throat. "Not that either of the Princesses are incapable of downing an attacker."

"She's the responsible, elegent princess practicing her queenliness" She said, again smirking, she continuously teased her sister about it whenever the two twins actually came in contact. "Plus, who would bother with pleasantries with a man so clearly annoyed by the presence of his childhood friends, whom also just happen to be royal" Mercy teased, rubbing slightly at the bruise of her jaw when it began to throb.

"Hey, if one of us dies, atleast no one will have to pick a side on who takes the throne anymore, right?" She said, maintaining a serious expersion for a good moment before thunking her head back on the wall with a painful thud that did not stop her quiet laughter. "Take comfort that probably not even you could beat me Ky" Mercy finally said confidently. Challenge clear in her eyes as she pushed off the wall, again having to tip her head back to look at him.

(Sorry its so short, im tired and spent my creativity today on paintings and Felicity XD)

Ky rolled his bright blue eyes and sighed, "Responsible is a vast overstatement for such actions... Avoiding someone is quite different from being annoyed by them."

His greatest fear was getting caught in the middle of the two. As a guard whose sole purpose was to protect the royal family, the sudden murders and ensuing civil unrest was quickly becoming a problem. He, and the other royal guards, for that matter, were expected by the court to choose a side. Ky was not one to do so; Rhea and Mercy were adults -- they could figure it out themselves.

"Do not talk like that," he said sharply at Mercy's notes on death. Alkyre's eyes took on a fierce light, and he set his jaw. "I will die before either of you, mark my words."

After a moment, he shifted his eyes downward with a muttered apology, then said in a more neutral tone, "I fight dirty, Princess. You would beat me by the books, yes, but not on a batlefield."

(Also short ;-;)

Mercy thought back to last night, she was out with her friends once again, drinking and being reckless. They supported her in just about everything because they were friends, a sense of loyalty that meant they would follow eachother till they were all dead, not because they actually believed that she would be a good fit for whatever she was going after, or if it was even and good idea.

However, she couldn't help but smile at his sudden statement about her joke. "I hate to break it to you Ky, but you physically could not be by one of our sides every second every day in night for many reasons, for example, watching one of us sleep would be extremely creepy, even if it was for our own saftey. How do you expect to protect both of us at the same time? It may not be your choice" Ther was no malice in her voice. She didn't doubt his abillities to protect the royal family. There was just simple logic.

"Do not apologize for speaking freely" She dismissed simply before a wide grin fell on her lips. "Ky I have spent the last several years of my life in the taverns and bars of the poor, shady parts of this kingdom. You don't get past 5 men in a dark alley on your own by playing nice." Mercy said, her foot and hands still absently moving. "But, if you wish, I see no harm in proving this simple fact to you" Mischeif lit in her eyes as her swinging foot hooked behind his ankle, yanking it up into her waiting hand, before she gave a strong and smooth tug back to throw off his balance, just to emphasize her point.

Ky leaned into the wall to keep standing and gave her a tired look. "Mercy, that is my bad leg. I never put too much weight on it. My point is, I do not want to see either of you come to harm, regardless of your prowess. I have already failed twice in my duties, and I intend to break that Godforsaken streak before it becomes much greater."

He absently fiddled with the hilt of his sword, brows knitting together in a ponderous expresion, a hint of worry in his cold eyes. "There would be two reasons I would have to find a sorcerer. The first would be to fix my knee, and the second would be to clone myself. Then I could be by the both of you."

Phooey on everyone else's thoughts on the matter; Alkyre was a guard, not someone who minded what everyone told him was socially acceptable. That was not in the job description. "Protect the royal family at all costs", however, was definitely in the handbook. Underlined, bolded, and italycised.

But he had failed. He'd heard the sounds of struggle too late, and the assasin had escaped. And laughed. They had laughed. The whispered chuckle haunted him, now. It played in the darkest recesses of his mind constantly, always there to remind him of his futile efforts in reviving a slaughtered king and queen.

It wouldn't happen again.

She forced that cocky smile back to her lips, but there was an edge to her eyes now. She pointed to her bruised jaw. "Well then I hope your prepared for a lot more tavern fights, but those might contradict with your job here, so you best get to finding that sorcerer." She teased lightly.

"I can guarentee you that very few people here dont feel some sort of guilt and failure about my parents. Its part of death, murder or not, royal or poor." Mercy said, looking at the floor like it was the most extrodinary thing known to mankind. "People die. Its part of life. If anyone mourns my death, I will personally return from the dead to haunt them for it" She said, once again trying to lighten the mood.

But her arms crossed over her chest and she pressed into the wall. Her normally confident stance turned in on itself, almost as if she was trying to curl into a ball without actually sitting down to do so. Mercy was the kind of girl to hind behind drinks and laughter and cocky smiles in order to avoid coming to terms with her parents death and how it so severely changed her life.

She fiddled with her clothes slightly. Silently wondering where her sister had gone.