Rebellious Tendencies

[Meldawen]

"The facts hardly indicate anything else," said Phaerin, taking the piece of parchment himself and perusing it with interest. He held up a finger. "We know that she's dead, or that she was thought dead until recently." He held up another finger. "There's no reason she'd go into hiding, because with all other heirs dead it's of utmost importance that she take the throne." Third finger. "So the only logical course of action was that she did it against her will, and seeing as by this report they want her to stay dead if at all possible, it only makes sense that she go into hiding because of a threat to her life." He gestured grandly. "The conclusion, come to by yours truly, is that our esteemed Regent tried to kill the only heir left to the throne he wanted."

He executed an overdramatized bow, and grinned at Cerys. "Would you like to explicate on any of those rumors?"

[pirateoftherings]

"Oh, just stories, really," Cerys said, absently twirling a loose strand of hair. "Nothing more detailed than what you just came up with, certainly. The theories vary, from poison to an assassin to the Regent stabbing her himself. Nobody knows, exactly, but they do like to guess."

"And how do you know all of these guesses?"

Cerys shot Kjan a look, evidently not appreciating the interruption. "I read," she replied, a touch coolly.

Kjan took that as his signal to push it no further and instead turned his attention back to Phaerin. "That's a rather large conclusion, even with such straightforward evidence," he said at length, leaning back slightly in his chair. "And what can you do about it, anyway? Correct me if I'm wrong, as you're obviously the expert on this sort of thing, but I was under the impression that you can't just walk into the courts, waving an obscure letter that you found in a forbidden area and claiming the interim leader of the kingdom to be a traitor, and expect anything less than an extended stay in jail and a noose around your neck. Unless you can find more evid...." Kjan trailed off, glancing at Phaerin uneasily. "Phae, have I ever mentioned how very nervous it makes me when you get that look on your face?"

[Meldawen]

Phaerin blinked innocently. "What look?" he said. "I haven't the faintest idea what you mean. In fact, that's quite logical." He waved the parchment at Kjan. "More evidence is exactly what we need."

Folding his arms, he leaned back looking pensive. "The noose makes a rather good point, however. I must say I haven't the greatest faith in a justice system which seems unperturbed by murder of a royal figurehead. Not enough faith to stroll into court waving this sort of thing around." He indicated the papers.

Kjan had good reason to be uneasy with the look on Phaerin's face. He was grinning devilishly. "There's not much point in really attempting it, actually. What would be more profitable, in my mind," and here he paused, looking quite delighted with whatever new prospect was occurring this time, "would be walking into court with said royal figurehead in tow."

[pirateoftherings]

Kjan stared at Phaerin for a moment, blinked once, then burst out laughing. "That was a good one, Phae, it really was. I nearly thought you were serious, for a moment there." He set his chair back onto all four legs abruptly. "Cerys, did Clarence say anything about what they would be serving for lunch and if it's portable? I don't really feel like relocating at the moment, but I'm quite famished."

"He didn't mention it, no."

"Of course not." Kjan seemed to consider it, then pulled his best pleading face. "Might you go find out?"

Cerys merely arched an eyebrow in a terrifyingly accurate immitation of Lady Armadur. "I'm not your servant. Go find out yourself."

Kjan maturely stuck out his tongue at her and, after a moment of contemplation, leaned back in the chair again. "Right. So, any serious ideas?"

[Meldawen]

"Clean out your ears," said Phaerin, ever so politely, looking slightly injured. "I think it's an excellent idea. Unless you'd like to be the one to strut into court waving accusations about like banners. There's all the information, right here." He indicated the rumpled stack of papers. "Easy as anything."

Of course, with Phaerin nothing was ever 'easy as anything', but he did a very good job of making it sound that way. Usually. Now didn't look to quite be one of those times. He cast Cerys and Kjan each a look. "I honestly have trouble seeing your objection. It makes sense to me."

[pirateoftherings]

"Yes, because everything that makes sense to you must automatically be an excellent idea," Kjan shot back dryly. Truth be told, he was more than a little wary of any grand scheme concocted by Phaerin. Most of Phae's 'good ideas' eventually led to an even 'better' idea, which almost always resulted in some sort of chaos, which usually led to bad things for all involved. Not that Kjan didn't typically end up going along with it anyway, but he liked to at least put up some semblance of resistance.

Cerys merely shrugged. "I never said that I was objecting," she commented lightly.

Kjan shot her an incredulous glance. "Not you too?" he asked in a wounded tone. "Phae, we're not talking about a bit of harmless mischief that'll get us scolded or maybe kicked out for a week or two. Any way you look at it, what you're proposing ultimately leads to treason. Assuming that we could find your hidden royal personage to begin with, of course. We aren't even sure where to look."

He looked back and forth between Phaerin and Cerys, both meeting his gaze with unnerving steadiness. This went on for several minutes before Kjan finally ran a hand through his hair and let out a heavy sigh.

"Fine," he muttered, resignedly and more than a little petulantly. "If we were to hypothetically look for your lost princess, where might we hypothetically start?"

[Meldawen]

Phaerin looked rather as though Yuletide had come early. He grinned - an expresison which could be accurately described as the one that made Kjan so very nervous - and leaned forward to snag the nearest of the somewhat worn sheets of parchment. "There's a few towns named here. But this was...oh...three months ago, so there's no point looking there. What we need is someone who perhaps witnessed this supposed murder."

He leaned back, tapping his chin. "See, generally, when people want someone dead, they prefer not to do the messy work themselves. That's where assassins come in handy. We know an assassin, don't we, Kjan?"

Perhaps he sensed that from Kjan's perspective, this situation was about as promising as walking into a dragon's lair shouting about how good you were sure you'd taste, because he cast him a sidelong glance. "We've become considerably better with sharp-pointy objects since our acquaintance with said assassin, too."

[pirateoftherings]

"If you're talking about who I think you are...."

"Who's he talking about?" Cerys interrupted. "And how did you get to know an assassin?"

"Not important," Kjan replied absently with a dismissive wave in her direction. "Phae, I don't want to go see her! Your reassurance is dependent upon our being able to draw those sharp, pointy objects before she does, and I'm not particularly willing to bet my life on that. I don't think she's the sort to get any less deadly with age. Besides, the terms on which we parted weren't exactly amiable."

"Who?" Cerys demanded impatiently.

Kjan sighed and assumed an expression of long-suffering. "A mercenary who we had the pleasure of meeting some time ago," he explained before turning back to Phaerin. "And even if she just happens to be in Y'rydha and not off on a job, that's no short trip. I can't actually manage the estate very well if I'm never here."

[Meldawen]

"We don't have to go now," said Phaerin, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I'm sure if the princess has kept herself alive this long, we're a bit superfluous in the matter." He paused. "Maybe tomorrow. Or the next day."

As the reaction to this seemed less than enthusiastic, he hastily amended, "Or, you know, next week. Surely you can't be engaging in the noble profession of estate managing for especially long. This is more exciting anyway. It'll be interesting to see what color Eledhe's face turns when she discovers that we haven't faded off into anonymity."

'Interesting', in this case, had a ring of doom to it.

---

"Kjan, it'll be fine. Eledhe's not going to kill us inside the Guild, it's against policy." Phaerin nodded sagely, as if this should allay all of Kjan's worries, and stuffed the last of a beef sandwich into his mouth. They were sitting in an inn, located within reasonable proximity of the Mercenary's Guild, and discussing the upcoming reunion. Or rather, Phaerin was convincing Kjan that he wasn't going to lose his head the moment he stepped inside.

He took a nonchalant gulp of ale and leaned back in his seat. "I told the doorman that we were clients, so she'll be expecting us. I mean, not us specifically. In fact, I'd be rather surprised if she were."

He eyed Kjan across the table. "You're still not enthusiastic here, are you?"

[pirateoftherings]

Kjan raised his eyebrows innocently. "Me? Oh, no, I'm enthusiastic," he said, nodding earnestly. "Very enthusiastic. Ecstatic, even. I simply cannot wait to be reunited with the woman who seriously considered killing us at one point in time. She was such a joy to be around."

It wasn't really that he was afraid of Eledhe, he reasoned. He simply had a profound respect for her skill with weaponry, and he'd spent time with far more pleasant individuals. He wasn't nervous about meeting with her at all.

He emphasized this point to himself with a particularly large gulp of ale as Phaerin pulled him up out of his chair and out of the inn. Phaerin had conveniently selected the inn closest to the Guild, resulting in a walk that was far too short for Kjan's liking. By the time that they'd informed the 'secretary' (Kjan strongly suspected that she did far more than filing and message-taking, if the assortment of daggers were anything to go by), the fact that he wasn't worried at all had become something of a personal mantra.

They were led by an impassive aide to a sort of conference room that was furnished simply with a few chairs and a low table. Kjan tried to make himself comfortable in one of the chairs, only to jump right back to his feet the moment the door opened.

[Meldawen]

Kjan's nervousness seemed, at first, slightly uncalled for. The mercenary that sauntered in, mien nonchalant, admittedly had a conspicuous scimitar at her belt, but she hardly left trepidation in her wake.

Eledhe Darkstar had changed very little - surprisingly little - over the last decade and a half. Perhaps a few more daggers were casually concealed, and the manner with which she flicked a throwing star between her fingers indicated improved skill, but - whether for good or ill - she was quite the same ill-tempered mercenary they'd known.

Pushing the door casually shut behind her, she tucked the star back into her pouch with a flick and turned to face the two. "Right, I don't do assignments in correlation with others of my profession, assassinations requiring travel will heighten your fee, and my methods are my own. Agreed?"

There was a moment of silence, in which Phaerin's grin became somewhat obvious. One of the mercenary's eyebrows rose fractionally. A shadow of suspicion flitted through her expression.

"How're you enjoying married life, then?" inquired Phaerin wryly - an ill-advised comment, but one he'd very likely been unable to resist.

For a split second all Eledhe did was appraise him, nonplussed. "I'm here to discuss business," she said coldly. "If you're not here for the same purpose..." obviously she'd meant to say more, but the phrase trailed off as her general mien morphed into a study in utter disgust. "Dark gods," she snapped, hand flashing out almost in unison with a dull thud which, upon further inspection, revealed itself to be a throwing star buried nearly up to its center in the wooden table in front of her. "You can just go find yourselves another mercenary," she snarled, stalking forward to retrieve it. "Pair of noble brats."

"Noble brats handsomely endowed," said Phaerin slyly, tossing a sack onto the table between them. "All we want is a bit of information. Kjan'll even do the talking, if my presence so offends you."

[pirateoftherings]

Eledhe eyed the sack, seeming to weigh the options in her mind. After a moment, her stance relaxed fractionally. She still didn't sit down, but she didn't storm out, either. "Five minutes."

"Kjan would really prefer not to do the talking," Kjan said with a pointed look in Phaerin's direction. "Considering that he's still only here to pacify Phaerin and hasn't a clue what to- Hey, I'm taller than you." He used a hand to gauge the difference between his and Eledhe's heights, not bothering to conceal a self-satisfied smirk. "Go figure. Not as much as Phaerin is, of course, but-"

"Four minutes."

[Meldawen]

"Right," said Phaerin, in a tone of irritating cheerfulness. "So Kjan and I, we've been doing some sleuthing - too much free time and all - and in our travels, we've picked up an interesting fact or two. Like, for example, if one were to hypothesize that perhaps Her Highness Princess Silvryn Seilhera weren't dead, and further hypothesize that maybe -"

Eledhe put her hand on the doorknob, expression decidedly nonplussed. "Three minutes, noble brat. What do you want?"

"Who was hired to assassinate Silvryn Seilhera, why didn't they, and do they know where she is now?" reeled off Phaerin helpfully.

Eledhe relaxed, lips curving into a sly smile. "Want to know how much that'll cost you?" she inquired silkily, already looking appreciative of the amount.

Phaerin considered. "Not really," he pronounced. "I'd rather have it, actually."

"Well, I'm not getting it for you," retorted Eledhe, no longer smiling. She folded her arms, sizing them up. Her eyes flickered over to Kjan. "Just how far are you willing to go for this information?"

[pirateoftherings]

Kjan looked uncertainly toward Phaerin before replying. "Moderately far?" he said tentatively. Why ask him in the first place? He'd just said that he was only there to appease Phaerin, which should have been an indication that he didn't care overmuch. Sure, he was curious by now and would somewhat like to know, but he wasn't going to go too far out of his way to find out. "Ask Phae; he's the one behind all this. I'm just along for the ride."

[Meldawen]

"I, however," said Phaerin, with the same relentless cheerfulness, "am quite prepared to navigate whatever shark-infested waters you conjure."

"Oh, I won't be doing the conjuring," said Eledhe with a grin eerily reminiscent of said sharks. "I will merely conjure the name and location of a certain personage who is fivefold more adept at shark-infested waters than I. Upon your conjuring of a fee for said service, of course."

"Are all mercenaries extortionists as well?" inquired Phaerin dryly.

"Are all nobles in possession of gold-lined pockets?" retorted Eledhe, a twist of her lips betraying unneeded spite at the thought. "The answer to both, so very fortunately for your lordship, is aye."

Phaerin made to turn out his pockets and thereby prove the point faulty, but Eledhe flicked out a shuriken to play with and shut him up with a nonplussed glance from cold blue eyes. "So, yellow metal? Valuable? Known as gold? Or shall I cease to waste my time?"

"I'm hardly going to empty my purse over your head," said Phaerin. "Name the amount."

"Fifty gold crowns," said Eledhe, and appraised him evenly. "Cheap, compared to the price of the information you're looking for." She smirked. "Might be more worth your while to go off and pretend at being treasure-seekers." Briefly her gaze flickered over Kjan. "I'd imagine you could purchase the estate of your friend there for such a sum."