Waverly glanced with worry at her friend. With some guilt she thought of the danger she might drag Lilith into. She sank on her knees, next to Lilith and took the blonde's hand. "You should do what you think is right," she spoke softly. "But as for me, I cannot go to the meeting. I've made my decision some time ago and I can't take any more commands from my cousin any longer." Her green eyes searched for understanding and support from her friend, but she only saw Lilith's pale face and nervous gaze. "I do not ask you to join me, my friend, for it might get dangerous. But if you wish to help me than we ought to leave now.. and I'll tell you my plan along the way." Waverly remained silent and bit her lip. She did not want to affect her friend's judgement, but she longed to tell her that she, herself, would feel much more secure with the blonde's company; her unconditional friendship and her logical thinking. Waverly realised that she needed her if she wished her plan to succeed.

----------------

Anne entered the barn casually, looking for Haven. She'd quickly spotted the dark-haired man, between the other members of the Shadin. Walking straight over to him, with rustling skirts and piercing eyes, she passed the other by like a gust of wind or a storm.
"You, sir" she addressed Haven "are neither punctual or true to your appointments. I was told to meet you at the inn at noon."

_________________


O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

Haven glanced around for his cousin, looking for his rebellious sister in the crowd of the Shadin along with Lilith. But neither could be seen, and a pang of suspiscion erupted through his chest, but he quickly pushed the feelings aside. Instead, he decided that they must just be dilly dallying and that he whould go ahead and start the meeting.

The leader of the Shadin was about to raise his voice and speak when the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end when he heard the woman he was beginning to become very annoyed of beside him. Stiffly he turned to her, not hiding the look of displeasure on his face.
"This meeting was to be private, not for the public, noble or not," he forced the words to be calm, though still they were rigid...

_________________

(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Anne, astonished by Haven's behaviour, did not say anything for a moment. Did this man just dismiss her, after she had shared some precious information of no mean importance?
"I'm sorry to have bothered you, sir," she replied, this time not taking the effort to keep her tone down. "I don't know what you take me for, but I am no woman of wealth. I'm one of you.. One would have thought that an informant, who has only the best interest in you and your league, would not be treated as such. But you've only shown arrogance and disrespect!" She turned to the other men and women in the barn. "Heaven knows why you've chosen this man as your leader but he's not shown any qualities of a leader to me in the past two days.." Anne's piercing gaze went through the barn and she studied all the faces shortly before tossing her brown curles back. "I came here to warn you, but if this is your way of showing gratitude, I think I'll just leave."

[ So.. Eru or Naur will set their plan into action? I was not sure.. ]

_________________


O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

(I think I'll give Naur the honors since it was Naur's plan, after all)

((((C'mon! Lets bring this back to life!!!))))

It took all of Haven's self control not to strike the woman.
"You speak to me with only arrogance and pride, so how do you expect to be treated otherwise? And you must not know what it takes to be a leader of such a group that is always hounded and on guard, especially by some mysterious girl that comes and goes without telling why. How am I supposed to trust one such as that?" he snapped, rubbing his temples trying to calm himself. Then something the girl said came as a spike to his mind and grasped his attention.
"Warning? What kind of warning? And what word do you have that I can trust?"

_________________

(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

[ Lol I'm still here Eru And Anne had warned Haven for a group of rich merchants, loyal to the King, who were informed about the Shadin's whereabouts. You can read about it a few pages back.. or did you know that she refered to that? ]

_________________


O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

(Oh yeah. Sorry, I had forgotten about that. But anyway, lets get some action in, though I havent seen Naur around much.)

_________________

(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

((*deserves to be beaten with a rubber chicken. A LARGE rubber chicken* Well, Let's get this show on the road))

Tomos nodded, agreeing with Lillith. "They're brave souls to let rebels stay under their roof. We're lucky to have them." He tried to sound serious, like the grave, thoughtful man that he usually was, but a small grin kept worming its way onto his face and a red blush pooled on his cheeks. A strange feeling churned his stomach. Was it...giddiness? He tried to push the uncomfortable yet exhilarating feeling away, but he couldn't. Sitting this close, Tomos could feel Rose's elbow pressed lightly against his own, feel the seat beneath him shift as she did. He was about to scoot closer to Rose when the girl Anna walked through the door. The entire room seemed to hold its breath in anticipation, deathly still as she and Haven began arguing. No-one wanted to break the tension, but just as Haven demanded Anna tell him what she wished to warn them of, the barn doors burst open and heavily armed men stormed in. They were armed with short but deadly swords, and the royal family's crest stamped onto the front of their leather cruirasses. They were the king's guards, an elite band of warriors that took orders directly from the king.

"You are all under arrest, by order of the king" a particularly burly warrior growled. He and the rest of the king's guards surged forward, ready to arrest the Shadín. Tomos launched himself off the crate, grabbing for the knife he kept strapped to his belt, ready to fight. How had they been found? He shot a glare at the girl Anna, wondering if she was the cause, before he wrestled himself from the grasp of a king's guard. Being captured now would inevitably end up in a hanging on traitor's hill. They were in a fight for their lives.

((Have fun bashing heads! Let the excitement begin!)

(Don't let this die!)

Rose wiggled uncomfortably when the girl Anne walked in. She didn't pay much attention to what was being said between Haven and Anne, though. Her attention was drawn to the doors of the barn. Her hunter instincts were kicking in and she slid a knife from her boot as she felt something was wrong.

Then the guards charged in, wanting to arrest them. So they had been found. Maybe this Anne was on they're side. But it's hard to trust nobility these days.

Rose was on her feet the next moment as the fight between soldiers and shadin began. She glanced at Tomos, and tried to stay near him, but in the excitment they became split.

A soldier came at her, and Rose ducked below his lance, bringing her knife up to his gut, sticking it below the breast plate where there was slightly less armor. A soldier then came up behind her and grabbed her around the chest, pinning her arms.

"Y'er a fiery little lass, aint ya? I bet I could have fun with you," he chuckled in her ear. His breath smelled rancid with beer. With a snarl on her face she struggled against his iron hold, and finally pushed her head backward into the face of the man, braking his nose. He dropped her.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, she crouched and did a round house kick close to the floor, knocking to soldier to his feet, and taking her knife, held it to his throat.

"Fire isn't meant to be played with, or else you get burned," she snarled, and closed her eyes as she spilled his life blood.

Rose was not the bloodthirsty type, and wasn't fond of such battle. But something had ticked inside her, an anger against the men who served the tyrant.

It melted when she glanced over at Tomos, concentrating on his battle. She was pulled back to what was directly around her when she was shoved to the ground by another soldier, her knife knocked from her hand.

This was not good. Rose was an archer, not a close combat fighter. A hunter, not a warrior.


~~~~~~~

It seemed before Anne could reply to his question, it was answered in another way. The guards didn't entirely take Haven by surprise, as he pulled the sword from it's sheath at his hip.

Another fight, and how many would loose their lives today? Now he felt glad that Lilith and Waverly had not shown up. But how had they been found out?

He had not time to dwell on it as he now fought against the guards.

_________________

(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

[ Just for your information: Anne is not born in nobility, she actually is a servant in the house of a noble man. ]

Anne was taken aback by the man's sudden hostility, but her features did not show it. She desperately tried to think of a way to let them realise the danger they were in but she could not tell them anything without jeopardizing her own safety; there was too much at stake.
Before she could reply to Haven's accusation the doors of the barn were forcefully opened and the King's Royal guards invaded the barn. Anne watched how the Shadin drew their weapons and with fear in her heart she witnessed how a fight emerged.
Without a weapon or any means to protect herself, the brunette retreated into corner, not knowing if the guards would know that she in fact did not belong to the Shadin. Dread overwhelmed her when she watched men of both sides fall. It was all her fault. She'd led the guards to the Shadin. For this massacre she would be to blame..
Anne could not live with that.. Her eyes scanned the barn, but there was only one exit, which was now blocked. She turned to the wooden walls and spotted a panel close to the ground which looked rotten. With all her strength Anne kicked a few times until the wood cracked and a small passage for a medium-sized person appeared.
She turned again, her eyes searching the crowd. Many of the Shadin had fallen, some of the guards as well, neither parties seemed willing to give up. Haven was still standing, but another woman fell to the ground, in any moment she could be killed as a soldier stood close to her, his sword lifted. In a sudden impulse of rage and rashness, Anne took a slat of wood and ran over to the woman, knocking the guard on the head with the piece of wood from behind.
"Come! Quickly!" she said, taking Rose's hand and dragging her over to the hole in the wall. "Your hiding places have become known as well.. The houses can be raided any moment. You must warn the rest of your people and safe as many as you can."
Anne cast another glance over her shoulder, hoping that no one would notice them. "Go now.. Quick!"


[ I'll have to wait with my Waverly post until Mae has posted.. ]

_________________


O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

Rose looked astonished as Anne stopped the guard about the deal the death blow. Before she could reover herself, the woman pulled her toward a makeshift door in the side of the barn and was pushed her out.

She glanced at Tomos as she was pulled, and then turned to Anne. "Wait, what about..." she started saying, but she spoke again.

"Your hiding places have become known as well.. The houses can be raided any moment. You must warn the rest of your people and safe as many as you can."

At the words Rose's mind instantly went to Lilith and Waverly. She glanced at Anne, then at Tomos and the ensueing battle, then back at Anne. It wasn't fair that she be pulled away from the battle while her fellow kinsman fought to their death and imprisonment. But the woman pushed her again, not giving her a choice.

With a reluctant and hesitant nod, Rose slipped through the whole and started dashing down the streets to quickly find herself at the door of Lilith's house. She had forgotten to knock the Shadin's code knock and instead started banging her fist on the door.

"Lilith, are you in there! It's Rose," she called, her voice cracking...

_________________

(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Lillith mulled over everything that her friend was saying. While Waverly was certainly the bravest of the girls, she was also the most expressive - Lillith's face stayed relatively composed despite the warring emotions boiling under the surface.

Her eyes remained down, though, because she new exactly the look that was on Waverly's face. Expectant, somewhat hopeful, with large eyes. The woman openly sighed. Thinking about that look made her cave in faster than actually seeing it, apparently. Waverly was one of her dearest friends, and her cousin meant more to her than she dared admit and so she would consider it a personal affront to him if she did not assist the woman.

A small nod confirmed her words. "I will join you, Waverly. It is a mad idea, of course," she said in a slightly reproving manner. "Though, I would not expect less of you," she finished with a smile. "But your cousin would kill us both if we rushed in without proper plan..."

He words cut short as her door shook on its hinges from someone banging it on the other side. She stood quickly, paling in fear, but the color quickly returned as she recognized the voice. Lillith hurried to the door and wrenched it open, and watched as Rose stumbled in tiredly from her run.

"Gods!" She exclaimed, shutting the door and locking it once more. "Rose, what on earth happened that you are trying to force entry into my house?" She asked nervously, beckoning the woman towards the warm fire, sitting her down with more force than she looked to have on the sofa.

"Explain," she said shortly, looking back a Waverly to see if she was paying attention to their speech, it would likely concern her too.

_________________
Heavens no. Hell Yeah.


Set 1: Nurr | Set 2: Me

As Rose stumbled in, she hardly heard Lilith's question. She was still trying to catch her breath when Lilith sat her down on the sofa. For a second she sat, leaning forward, breathing hard.

When she finally looked up at the other two woman, tears streaked her face.
"We were have the meeting. We hadn't even started when this girl Anne came, and not long after that..." she trailed off for a second, taking a few more deep breaths to try to calm herself.
"Soldiers came. We fought. I... I was told to find the rest. All our hide-outs have been compromised. Any second soldiers could be coming here. You were the only two not at the meeting so..." she trailed off, putting her face in her hands.

"I... I didn't..." again she trailed off. What she meant to say was I didn't want to leave Tomos. But she couldn't bring herself to say it.

_________________

(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

Tomos lashed out with his knife, missing his target by a thread. The guard managed to jump out of the way, but barely. Built on lines that looked to be more bear than human, this guard seemed to be the kind of fighter that won by strength, not agility. He held a thick black baton in one hand. Tomos eyed it nervously. It was longer than his knife. The blows weren't deadly, but that was the point. The baton was made to subdue the opponent, not kill it. It was the weapon of a man who took prisoners, not lives.

Putting distance between himself and the guard, Tomos glanced around. Where was Rose? He saw her slip out a hole in the wall, guided by the girl Anna. Was she guiding her to safety? Tomos could only hope so.

The guard charged him. Tomos ducked under the swoop of the baton. He lashed out again with his knife, but with surprising speed the guard swung his baton, striking Tomos on the knuckles with enough force to send his knife clattering to the ground. Before he could dodge, a blow to his stomach knocked the wind out of him. He doubled over, gasping. A blow to the back of his knees made his legs buckle beneath him. He fell to the ground. He tried to squirm away, but the giant guard pinned him to the ground and yanked his hand behind his back. He felt the guard tie his wrists tightly together. Out of nowhere another guard threw a burlap sack over his head and dragged him to his feet and began dragging him away. Tomos tried to pull away, to fight, but he wasn't strong enough. With the bag over his face, he was disoriented. His legs were soft, weak, useless from the blow. He was led away, still gasping weakly for breath, and thrown into what seemed to be the back of a cart. The hard wooden floors smelt of rancid food and human waste. A door behind him slammed closed, surrounding him with darkness. He had been captured.

[ Yay! Fnally some company for Keith! Haven't played that poor soul for quite some time..

Eru, could you perhaps post for Haven as well? Then I can make a post for Anne.. ]

_________________


O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.

(Sorry, I keep forgetting about him sometimes.)

After a second of standing with mixed feeling, Haven also engaged in the fight. He pulled the sword from his hip and warred off the guards attack. He tried is best to not kill any of them. Only stun then or knock them out.

But the Shadin were out numbered and out armed. This would be a battle they could not win in a cramped barn. And in the moment of rising panic, he called out the one command he could think of that would save the most lives.
"Scatter!" he bellowed at the top of his lungs. At the word, other Shadin realized as well that fighting here was a useless endevour, and many split out the barn door and darted down the street before any guards could catch them.

There were guards who tried to pursue, but from his possision at the door of the barn, he threw punches where he could to prevent them from following.

When most of the Shadin had cleared out, at least the ones who were still standing, Haven ducked out of the barn. And the sight there stopped him. The tyrant king now had more prisoners being carried away in a cart. Haven cursed himself. How could he not have seen this? Was this what the girl Anne had been trying to warn him about?

Now guards were trying to chase after the stragglers of the Shadin, while Haven struggled to keep himself from capture. When he finally broke free he ran back behind the barn, his mind whirling with thoughts on what to do next.

And where was Waverly and Lilith in all this? He was slightly glad they had not been there, but still angry that they had not listened to him. But now Haven had work to do. He had to get the word around to the scattered Shadin to not get in groups, and stay warry. As well as try to formulate a plan. The king had taken enough of his men...

(Gah... I make such a horrible Haven...)

_________________

(}--{)Imagination Inspires Ideas -Zandain(}--{)
Married Cloud Strife 9/17/08

[ We could switch if you like that better Eru? That you take Waverly and I play Haven? Or perhaps someone else feels like playing him? ]

As Rose disappeared from the sight, Anne remained at her place and glanced at her escape route, hesitating. She could not leave now, and flee like a coward in the night. She needed to stay, perhaps she could still save some of them, even Haven..
Turning back to find Haven, Anne witnessed how the Shadin scattered and fled, many followed by their attackers.

In the chaos of running, falling and fighting people, she tried to spot the Shadin's leader, as she wanted to make sure that he found safety as well, when suddenly someone grasped her wrist from behind and twisted it behind her back.
"Well ain't this a pretty thing we have here?" The soldier's breath smelled as he breathed in her ear and he chuckled as Anne tried to struggle free.
"We are not takin' her.. Orders said she ain't a rebel," another guard answered as he came up to his friend. He stared at Anne and slowly a devilish grin appeared on his face. "But we might have some fun with her.. Here and now." he added.

The other soldier laughed as well and Anne thought she was going to be sick as the man roamed with his hand over her hip and thigh. She had to get out, but as her panicked gaze went through the barn, she noticed that all of the Shadin had either fled or were dead and only a few soldiers remained.

Well well.. A familiar cold, yet authoritative voice sounded through the barn. For the first time in her life, Anne was actually relieved to see him, although the feeling of dread had not left her. He entered the barn with a firm step and cast a single glance at the dead bodies, but he discarded them, as if they were usual attritbutes to the scene. His gaze then fell on Anne,the look on his face was a mixture between mock and amusement. The two soldiers both took a step back, fear written on their faces while Anne sank through her knees, not able to remain standing. She realised how only his presence stripped her of her pride, but more than embarassment, she felt fear. Fear of what this man could do..

"You have assisted in helping some of the Shadin escape," the man started in a threatening voice. "Most important is, we do not have Maverick, which was the main objective.." A deadly silence fell, even the soldiers seemed to held their breath as the man was speaking. "You have compromised this action, and are you lucky that I will not have you accompanying those rebels to the gallow." He looked down at Anne with contempt, as if he wanted nothing more than to see her hanged. She was beneath his station and he actually couldn't care what happened to her. "But.." he added with his venomous voice. "I dismiss you from my service and banish you from my house, and if I ever am to see one bit of you again, I will have you arrested for treason.."

The man turned his back on Anne and when he was at the large barndoors, he turned around and snarled before he left: "They told me that your brother cried for mercy before they slid his throat this morning.."
With one wave of his hand, he gestured the soldiers to leave as well.

For a moment Anne sat motionless, head bent, staring at the floor. Then she gasped for air while tears ran down her cheeks and fell into the sand, one by one. For the first time in a very long time, she cried. She cried in solitude.


[To be added later: Waverly! ]

_________________


O children, lift up your voice, lift up your voice,
Children, rejoice, rejoice..



It doesn't matter you don't believe in God, He believes in you.