Food and Spirits

The man that was there moved when she moved and as she rushed to get into the closet room he used his sword to deflect her dagger and shoved her backward.

“Don’t!” He said as he pointed to her as she righted herself. Did she recognize his voice? She wasn’t certain. She looked on as she had only a dagger and the man she faced held a sword. He could kill her easily if he wanted to but all he did was push her back. The other had a struggling Louise-Marie in his grasp. She was bound and gagged. She could throw her dagger but then she’d be defenseless. She could attack but they had reach and the one she faced at least was good with his blade. She heard footsteps behind her and the eyes of the man before her changed.

Trevare had moved up quickly and as Angelique turned he tossed her a foil. A thin blade that was lightning fast but wouldn’t hold up long against their rapiers. The men in dark leathers shoved the princess down and her head hit hard on the stone floor as they attacked!

The one on the left was very good but from the start she quickly discovered that Trevare was a strong fighter and it was all unknown man could do to keep Trevare’s blade from him. The other she faced and he had a rapier as well. He deflected but oddly, he wasn’t trying to strike her she discovered. The other thing she quickly noticed was that he was actually ‘trying’ not to seem as good as he was if that was to be believed. He deflected, parried and when he had the advantage he only swatted her in the behind with the flat of his blade. It quickly became clear to her that if he came at her full force she’d likely be in trouble. She was holding her own, she was good with a blade. Quick and tricky with an entire arsenal of feints that he just wasn’t falling for. Trevare and her were evenly matched with these two and though she got a good slash into the man’s lower leg, her behind was growing more and more sore. Trevare got a hard slash into his assailant's arm and the one she faced tapped his comrade’s shoulder and he fell back but handed his blade and gave it to the one she faced. Now with two, one in each hand, he fought them together while his friend went toward the window.

Lorelei began to panic when she saw the princess tied up. Where was Trevare?! She recognized the man's voice...but it was muffled to the mask and difficult to place. She still held her dagger in her hand but knew that it wouldn't do much against their blades. She needed a sword...anything. Then, as if to answer her prayers, Trevare appeared with an extra blade for her. She was a well trained swordswoman and wielded the thin blade well. As the fight began she couldn't help but notice that the man she was fighting...the one who seemed so familiar to her somehow...didn't seem to be doing much to fight her. He seemed to be doing little more than defending himself and not attacking. It was as if he didn't seem to want to hurt her.

After a few minutes the man Trevare was fighting gave the man she was fighting his sword and he took off towards the window. The second man began to fight both herself and Trevare, which impressed her. However, she knew she couldn't let the other man escape. She allowed the mystery fighter to cut her arm. She stopped fighting and gripped her arm and bent over pretending to be badly wounded. As he approached her she shot up and slammed her elbow into his nose. She then ran down the hallway towards the other man.

OOC-Does he actually have the princess?

ooc: no...his arm is wounded sufficiently to stop him from being able to carry her. they are about retreating now.

The man yelped in pain and if it weren’t for the mask he’d have a face full of blood when her elbow struck him. With a backhanded toss he flicked his rapier and it slid across the floor right at the back of her heels. It hit her but didn’t slice into her foot. It did however make her lose her balance and she smacked hard on the floor near the princess. The man with the bleeding nose retreated as Trevare tried to skewer him with his sword. He managed to break away from him and retreated. As he stepped by her he paused to tip his hat at Lorelei as she got her bearings. Behind him his compatriot jumped and he moved to stand a moment on the window sill to look at her. She knew he had brown eyes, familiar but his mask, now soiled with his blood made it difficult for her to place. With an arrogant bow as Trevare looked on he flung himself backward. As Trevare moved to the window he saw them roll off of a hay-filled cart and run away into the darkness. He moved to help Lorelei up then let her tend the princess as guards came down the hall. The entire event took less than a minute she thought as she untied a very annoyed princess.

D’artagnan was among those that ran down the hall, their swords drawn. He was relieved to see that everyone was alright, especially Lorelei.

“What happened?” he asked her harshly. He was not in a good mood.

Lorelei felt the rapier it the back of her ankles as she was running. She tried to regain her balance, but fell forward and struck the floor hard. She was dazed and her arm was still bleeding. She managed to look up just as the masked man was passing by her and still anger surge through her when he tipped his hat to her. She tried to get up, but was dizzy and in pain. She knew she recognized him...but who was he?

After he was gone Trevare came back over to her and helped her up. She then immediately went over to help untie the princess who did not seem at all happy. As D'Artagnan appeared Lorelei stepped aside with him and explained to him what had happened.

"Thankfully, they weren't able to get the princess." She was quiet a moment before speaking again. "D'Artagnan...one of the men was very...familiar to me. I couldn't place him because of the mask, but his eyes...his voice..."

D’artagnan put pressure on her arm wound to stanch the blood as he listened and used his black scarf to put around the wound. It was the sword that drew his eye and he bent over to pick it up. With Lorelei there he was able to whisper, the surprise in his voice apparent to her.

“Lorelei...this is a Musketeers weapon,” he said. As Lorelei recalled the man’s eyes a cold sweat came over her just then and the hair on the back of her neck stood on end. She did not say his name but she mouthed it. ‘Armand!’ D’artagnan turned to face her. “What? Your face...are you alright, you look..pale...uh, Angelique,” he said as others came up.

“I tried to help the Ambassador sir,” Trevare said. “But little could be done for him. “I think he was poisoned,” He said abashedly. “Lord Ogden sir...uh...he’s dead,” another man said. The confusion in the hall died down quickly but the princess was quite upset. As Janine appeared, worried out of her mind she thanked D’artagnan even though Angelique and Trevare were the ones that had actually saved her. D’artagnan handed Lorelei over to Trevare. “Have her wounds looked after Trevare, this whole experience has obviously unhinged her,” he said aloud so others would hear it. It wasn’t far from the truth, Angelique seemed to draw in on herself as Trevare took her up into his arms when she did not seem to move right away.

The party continued as they carried away the Ambassador and Ogden. The princess had been sent to her rooms with Janine and Geneva to attend her. The King stopped in for a moment but head back to the guests. After Lorelei’s arm was cleaned, she needed only a few stitched Trevare, who knelt beside her stayed with her unsure of what to do next. He watched her closely as he had seen people recline into their heads due to trauma before. Some had committed suicide while others just stared off into nothing for days and days.

Lorelei just stared at D'Artagnan for a moment after he revealed that the sword was that of a Musketeer. It was then that she realized who it had been...the eyes...the voice...the look of surprise...it had been Armand! Her face paled and she felt as if she might be sick. Everything around her seemed to be spinning and she felt as if she were in a nightmare. She didn't even notice when Trevare picked her up and she just sat there unmoving as her arm was stitched up. She just couldn't believe that he would do something like this. Why would he want to kidnap the princess. And two men were now dead. Nothing about this made sense. She knew that she needed to find him. Both of their secrets were now out.

ooc: new thread!