On to Edoras

It had been a long while since Raihn had had a woman but he honestly preferred a willing participant. She was quite lovely of that he was certain but he needed to get a move on and as soon as he was certain she was out of danger he left. His only regret was that he would have liked to know her name.

He relieved her of a few items that should fetch a good price in Edoras which was only a couple days ride from where he was. He was a few years older since he was last there and had enough of a different look that he doubted anyone would know him by sight. He’d visit his mother’s grave, drop in on Johan and relieve a few women of their virtues if he played his cards right.

Like her grandmother and mother before her, Kressara was an excellent tracker. She was able to pick up the tiniest of clues and use them to her advantage. She could tell from his horse's tracks that he was heading towards Edoras. She could only imagine his intent was to sell the items he had stolen from her. What he may or may not have seen yet, was that her necklace was stamped on the back with the image of the White Tree, the royal symbol of her family. Should he attempt to sell that necklace, both he and the potential buyer could be arrested. She wanted her things back. Every one of them meant something to her. They were not just trinkets. Each of them held a special significance to her family. The sword had been her grandfathers, the necklace had been given to her by her parents, and the long daggers had belonged to her mother. They had been a gift to her by her father when they had married in a small village before the war began. She had used them during the Battle of Helm's Deep and the Battle of Pelennor Fields. They were priceless.

She urged Storm on, knowing she needed to make up some ground. She could not let this thief get to Edoras. Her wound ached, but she ignored it. She could not let it slow her down. Kressara rode the entire day with little rest. She continued to track the thief and knew that as the light began to fade that he would have to stop for the night. Sure enough, she spotted the orange glow of a small campfire in the distance. It was dark by then and she wanted to take him by surprise. She dismounted Storm and continued on by foot. Her elvish blood caused her to walk far more quietly than humans and he would not suspect anything out of the ordinary. As she drew closer she spotted him sitting by the campfire with his back to her. She quietly drew an arrow and before he realized what was happening she had it aimed at the back of his head.

"Your first mistake was stealing from me....your second mistake was underestimating me. Return what is mine and I might let you live thief."

Raihn hadn’t expected her to be able to ride so quickly. He was roasting a rabbit on a makeshift spit and had been deep in thought about his time with the Northmen when she surprised him. He raised his arms but maintained a relaxed posture. “You won’t shoot me, not after I saved your life,” he said in a confident voice. Nightmare was just a few yards away and he lifted up his head and was watching the exchange.

“A pity you’ll have a scar on an otherwise, lovely chest. Or is that why you’re really following me?” He said as he stood slowly and turned to face her. “You wish to ‘thank’ me properly?” He said as if asking her a question. “If so the bow is completely unnecessary,” he said and smiled at her.

Kressara's eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare. She didn't care for this thief's cocky attitude. She was in no mood to be messed around with. Despite her recent injury, she held her bow and arrow without the faintest quiver in her hand. He might know then that she had the training of a soldier.

"That necklace you took off my neck...I want you to bring it out and turn it over. There is something on the back I think you should see."

Raihn waived his hand to let her know he’d have to retrieve the necklace from. His pocket but what he actually did was summon Nightmare to him. He had planned to get a quick and early start so he had left everything on his horse. With a quick burst of speed Nightmare was suddenly there in front of her between them. The horse barely slowed down and when it passed she would see that Raihn was no longer there. As the horse continued to pull away she’d see Raihn slide up but remain low and flat up against the horse. There were a lot of rocks, brush and trees here and there and Raihn used them for cover as he righted himself upon his horse.

Kressara growled under her breath and whistled for her horse. Storm came galloping over and within the blink of an eye she was on his back. He had barely slowed for her and she pushed him hard to close the gap between the thief and herself. Storm's mother was a full blooded elven breed, known for being a little smaller, quicker, and more agile than other breeds of horse. This meant Storm was able to maneuver through the rock, brush, and trees with little difficulty. Suddenly, they found themselves in an open, flat area and Kressara saw her chance. She had been holding Storm back slightly, but she now let him go. He lurched forward with great speed and Kressara found herself only a few feet behind him. His cloak was fluttering out from his back and she leaned forward and grabbed a hold of it. With one hard yank, she pulled him back and to the side. He was unseated from his horse and fell in a heap on the ground. She whirled Storm around and as soon as she was close enough to him and leaped off and on top of the thief. They both struggled for control of the other, but Kressara won out. She sat atop him with her legs pinning his arms to his sides. Storm stood watch close to her and eyed his horse. He was prepared to defend Kressara with his life. Kressara dug through his pockets until she found what she was looking for...her necklace. She pulled it out and turned it over and showed it to him. The White Tree was only stamped onto objects belonging to the royal family. There was no mistaking who she was.

"This necklace was given to me by my parents, King Elessar and Queen Nauriel, the King and Queen of Gondor. My brother is Eldarion, heir to the throne. My aunt, Lindariel, is Queen of Rohan. My grandparents were the Lord and Lady of Gehenna. And I am Kressara, a princess of Gondor. You are officially under arrest for theft."

Nightmare was a dark blur along the rough landscape and Raihn chuckled to himself at how easy it all had been. The woman, now he was certain she was a few years older than her, was arrogant and confident and absolutely beautiful. She could be royalty he decided as he laid low against Nightmare’s neck and he looked back to find her already on her horse and gaining on him. His confidence faltered when he saw that and he faced forward and urged his sleek, black stallion for more speed. Raihn knew horseflesh and guessed her mare was fast but he didn’t count on her being ‘that’ fast. The chase only lasted a minute before he raised up to look back just as he felt a strong tug on his cloak. The tug forced his neck back and he lost his balance and topled off of his horse. He fell onto the hard, dusty ground and the wind left him. While he tried to right himself he saw her dismount in his peripheral vision and then after a short struggle she had him pinned to the ground. As he gasped for breath he saw what she held clearly as she fished it quickly from his pocket.

Though he was still somewhat skeptical he thought he could see it now in her. The regalness, the way she talked and held herself. The bloodline...the beauty he saw in her certainly made sense.

“I could have left you to those orcs. I risked my life to save yours and stayed until I knew you were out of danger,” He said as he choked in air and dust.

“I took what I considered fair for my trouble. Or are you one of those ‘ladies’ who think I should do all that and more just because you are ‘who’ you say you are? What, should I have asked you for a kiss in return for risking my life? How generous of you Princess!” He snapped as he coughed in more dust and shifted under her weight. She wasn’t all that heavy really and already he was formulating what h was going to do though he rested back as if he was hurt or unable to do anything about her being on him.

Kressara wasn't stupid. She knew that he was already formulating a plan on how to escape. Everything he said continued to make her more and more angry. Yet, how could she also think him incredibly handsome? That thought alone made her even angrier at him. She wanted to yell and scream at him and hit him and kiss him all at once. She just shook her head at him though and he would see a look of disappointment replace the anger in her eyes. She shifted and got off of him, allowing him to get up.

"For years I have risked my life in exchange for nothing. I expect nothing in return for what I do and receive nothing. I never asked for your help yesterday. You helped me willingly. You could have just walked away and let me die. I don't like men like you. Men who only help those in need for a reward. You think nothing but of yourself. You disgust me. The items you took from me are all incredibly special to me, but if you feel you 'deserve' them for what you did then take them. Sell them. Get your bag of gold and use it to buy ale and women. Just get out of my sight."

She practically threw the necklace at him. She was still hurting physically, but also emotionally from the day before and hated being alone in that moment. She felt a few tears come to her eyes, but she refused to let him see them and so she turned away. Storm approached her and he nuzzled her affectionately. He was all she had out here and she depended on him for not only his speed, but also his companionship. Fresh blood had begun to seep from the bandage, but she ignored it. She mounted Storm and turned away from the thief as she prepared to leave.

As she got off of him he coughed a little more and Raihn could tell she was angry at him. She was all spit and venom now and obviously what he did seemed to wound her in some way. Normally he would have just shrugged at the onslaught, well wishing and feats of selfless honor didn’t fill his belly. And that was what really made him begin to laugh. He laughed as he stood nearly to doubling over. It ended abruptly as he coughed again and weezed out the last few chuckles.

“How self righteous you are princess. You’ve never been on the street or surviving on another’s leavings. How noble you are,” He said. “You make your own choices and are beholding to no one. You think every man has a choice? If you fail, you can go back to mommy and daddy and live in a lap of luxury. If I fail I starve or die. So don’t sit up there and judge me princess,” He said and slapped angrily at his chest. “My father tried to be an honorable man. He served Rohan with distinction until he died. His death hit my mother so hard I spent 5 years watching her waste away,” He said trying not to show her how upset he still was about that. Raihn loved his mother more than anything and she was in his thoughts and dreams often still.

“You know what, I don’t want your stuff,” He said and tossed the necklace onto the ground. He fished into his pockets and began relieving them of what he had taken from her. He reached around and dumped out the long knives then waived for Nightmare to move to him. Once there he removed the sword and sheath and tossed that down upon the pile. Somehow, even he didn’t know how, she had wounded his pride. He was tossing aside hundreds in gold yet he couldn’t stop himself. Her self-less sensibilities had seeped down into the crevices of those places he thought were long since dead. Lastly he tossed down the small bag of gold that she had forcefully onto the pile.

“There! The thought of ‘owing’ you ANYTHING makes me hate myself!” He shouted but then noticed blood beginning to seep through the bandage and her clothes from the back. “And there you go, ruining a perfect effort on my part!” He said and pointed at her. “If you think going to patch you up again you’re mistaken ‘my lady’!” He said angrily. “Or do you think ‘every’ man you encounter is your lower and should obey your commands!?” He said mockingly.

Kressara was shocked when he began to laugh. She turned and looked at him and every moment her eyes remained locked on him she became angrier and angrier. No man had ever gotten under her skin like this one had. She wanted to be rid of his company immediately so she could continue her work. His words to her made her cheeks burn hot and she felt her hands begin to tremble. She watched as he began to dump all of the things he had taken from her into a pile on the ground. Her eyes narrowed into a dangerous glare at him.

"I think nothing of the sort! You think I had everything handed to me? You couldn't be more wrong. I had to work...and hard to get where I am today. I am honored to serve beside the men of Gondor and Rohan. I do not consider myself better than them just because of my title. I am not better than them and I learn from them everyday. I consider those men my friends and would happily give my life for any of them. I want or need NOTHING from you, whoever you are! I can take care of myself."

With that she turned Storm and took off back the way they had come. She left everything there in a pile at his feet, refusing to take it back.

For Raihn there was little he liked less than losing an argument. As he paused to consider that he decided that losing this particular argument was something he hated the most and could not think of something more hateful to him right then.

“Oh no...no, no, no,” he said under his breath and began to pick up her effects. Before long he was following her though he honestly had no idea why. Well, there was one reason, she was going in the very direction he wanted to go.

More than a few times she stopped to water her horse and to check her bandage or so it looked like to him. He refused to close the distance. At nightfall he made a small fire a good bit away from hers and cooked his last rabbit.

‘Could she has done all of those things she said?’ He wondered as he took a better look at her sword. It was not made by a man’s hands, he was certain of that. And it’s balance was designed for a sleeker way of fighting. She was dressed and outfitted for riding or fighting and she had downed several orcs before he had arrived. Still he knew what he was all too well. He was a thief and cut-purse. A liar and a cheat at gambling. He rarely killed people unless he had to but it ruled him that she might very well be what she said she was. And he was what she knew him to be. But he had done good things for people too! When he felt like it! Or when it benefitted him! Was that so wrong? He certainly didn’t think so.

That night he did see her shape move to lay down but he couldn’t be certain she’d go to sleep. Still he knew what he was going to do. He wasn’t going to keep her things any longer. It was a matter of principle now. Later that night he struck out and snuck up to her camp. He waited until her horse fell asleep and then settled the bundle of her things under her horses rear end.

‘Well, if she thought she knew him then he’d get the last laugh!’ He slinkered away and stayed awake until it was barely light enough to continue on. Once on his horse he chuckled as he passed by her camp.

The next morning Kressara awoke to find all of the items taken from her returned. She had re-bandaged her wound as best she could and thankfully it had stopped bleeding for the moment. She was quite relieved to have her belongings back. These weren't just trinkets to her. They were some of her most precious possessions and it had pained her to think of them as being sold. The anger she had felt the day before had vanished and she was grateful to the man for returning her items to her, though she was certain it had been out of pure spite.

She found a stream in which to bathe in and then changed into her other set of clothes. Her wound still ached, but she knew it would heal in time. Until then she decided she would go to Edoras. She needed some more supplies and clothes, since her other ones were ruined. She decided it would also help to keep her mind off of Gowen. She packed up her camp and by mid-morning she was on the road to Edoras.

After two more days of riding she reached Edoras. There was one inn in particular that she frequented and she decided she would check to see if the innkeeper had any rooms available. As she entered the inn she spotted a group of men sitting near the fireplace talking very seriously about something. With her keen ears she was able to pick up one very important word...murder. This intrigued her and she decided to ask Ormond, the innkeeper about it.

"What is this murder that those men are talking about?"

Ormond Bolston was old with gray tufts that plumed out of the sides of his balding head. He was rail thin and ran a tidy Inn. Not the best Inn and far from the worst but he always kept it very clean. His wife Hannah was a head taller and was nearly as round as she was tall. She was also known for her cooking and often people came to the Flint and Barrel to sup even though they were staying at a different Inn. Tonight was no different and then Inn was nearly filled to the rafters.

Upon seeing her enter Ormond quite nearly fainted. “Mmm...mmy lady!” He said though his voice was nearly drowned out by everyone else that were talking. There was music as well, a woman in a yellow, low-cut blouse was playing a zither and singing quite the racey tune just then. The men stood up immediately and each in turn bowed low to her. Ormond did the same and the commotion that had been as rowdy as any Inn this time of day suddenly silenced.

Kressara’s deeds had not gone unknown to those of Rohan. Far from it infact. Her heroism and sacrifice were deeds songs were made of and indeed her exploits had followed her here. “Leena! Not now!” Ormond hissed at the bard then turned back toward Kressara. “Uh...oh, the murders? I believe it was the Captain’s son...what was his name?” He asked as the others there seemed to wish they were anywhere but there right then, face to face with the Princess.

“Johan,” A voice announced from the Inn, a woman’s voice. Hannah had come from the kitchen, followed by the scent of freshly baked bread and apple tarts. “Johan Clausse,” she added as she wiped the flour from her hands upon her apron. “Oh yeah...a nasty bit that...they say he was poisoned by White Snakeroot,” He said barely above a whisper as that was not widely used, quite expensive and rare.

Kressara was well accustomed to staying in inns and knew what went on in some of them. She knew Ormond and his wife well and was always happy to stay there, even if they insisted that their establishment wasn't nice enough for her. She nodded in turn to each of the men as they stood and bowed to her. She wished they wouldn't do that, but had long since learned to just let it happen instead of trying to insist against it. If it made them more comfortable then it was fine with her. She was too focused on getting more information about the murder that had occurred instead of noticing the bard, but she certainly did take notice when the entire room grew more quiet. She looked over at Hannah as she emerged from the kitchen. The smell of what was baking within made her mouth water slightly. Johan Clausse. She didn't recognize the name, but her interest was peaked even further at the mention that a very specific and rare type of poison was used. White Snakeroot was not at all common and she knew the name well because her own brother had been poisoned recently with it. Thankfully, he had survived and didn't seem to have suffered any permanent effects from it, though it rattled the family greatly.

"How would someone have gotten a hold of that?"

Hannah was well known in Edoras however not just for her cooking. She was also well known for her knowledge of local gossip. On more than one occasion, she had given Kressara useful information about the comings and goings in and around Edoras.

“Well, it ain’t found round here, far to the North methinks. It be a weed that only grows at the beginnin of winter. Hard to spot it is, bein white like that and dangerous ta handle I reckon,” She said and then shook her head. “If ya ask me, I don thing it was Johan who was supposed ta die. My bet’s on the Captain eh?” She added without being prompted. The woman loved to hear her own voice and sometimes once she got going it was difficult to stop her. She shook her head and then looked up quick as if something came to mind.

“But ya know, an odd thing, maybe nuthin, maybe sumpthin. Johan dyin not a fortnight past and Raihn Zoka comes back after oh...has ta be 5 years now. Those two were thick as thieves when they’s growin up. I hears he’s all piss an vinegar around town too O’er it...uh...pardon me language milady,” She said and gave Kressara a nervous grin.

“But there’s tha Northman too Hannah,” Ormond said as he scrubbed the small tuft of hair he had on his chin as if in thought. “He had made quite the ruckus when the King’s soldiers accused him of the crime,” He added. Hannah chuckled at that. “Aye, I hears he put 6 oh them in da infirmary,” She said with more than a little mirth. “Something about his ‘honor’ and such. I don’t know why some men get all crazy like that when their honor is in question. Far too handsome fer a Northman I think though. I don like me men quite so tall,” She added and her eyes took on a distant look as she thought about him. That and her lips curled up into a grin and then her expression changed quickly when she realized who it was she was talking too. “Uh...perdon me lady...I do not mean to offend,” Hannah said in apology then she bobbed a quick curtsy and stepped away from them. Ormond could only roll his eyes and shake his head at her retreat then turned back to face Kressara.

“For myself I think the Northman had an Ill look about him but I think, perhaps that such a man would not likely use poison, eh?” Ormand said in a suggestive tone. “However they has him holed up in a cell fer assaultin the king's soldiers. I hears he’s ta be flogged fer it but I can’t say he’s disserving a such. I heard they pressed em hard to the question an he finally lashed out at em,” He said.

Kressara was unaware of the recent use of the Whitesnake Root poison on her own mother. She hadn't been home in quite a while, though she wrote to them every so often when she had the opportunity to let them know she was alright. She knew though that the poison was extremely rare and very deadly. It only grew in the northern climate and was very expensive. She knew it existed but had never heard of it being used before. It worried her greatly to think that someone might be in possession of such a dangerous substance.

Around her the noise level had increased again and so she had to lean in closer in order to hear what Ormond and Hannah were saying. At the mention of Raihn's name she began to clench her fists. She just couldn't seem to get away from this thief! However, before she could question them more about Raihn, Ormond mentioned another possible suspect in the murder...a Northman. Her father and uncle's relationship with the Northmen, which had always been uneasy at best, had collapsed despite her eldest sister's marriage to one of their own. Kressara was suspicious of the Northmen and wanted to question this one. She downed her drink and put a few coins on the bar top.

"Thank you for your information."

Kressara stepped back out onto the street before heading towards the cells. Two guards who were supposed to be on duty were instead playing cards and drinking. They were shocked at her sudden appearance and stood quickly, knocking over the table and cards as they bowed to her.

"The Northman that was arrested. I wish to speak to him."