Thread: Freedom's Price [darkest_fate & Magi_Monk]

Princess Eleanor Rosalind Belleme was the youngest and most adventurous of three daughters born to the current reigning monarch of this land. Her sisters went about their lives with decorum and poise, attending to duties of court and filling their free time with elegant lady-like tasks such as needlework. Eli crashed from one misadventure to the next, proving to be a constant worry to her aging parents and a source of ridicule for the two far more suited to the life of a Princess. While her sisters learnt dance steps, she had convinced the General of the royal guard to teach her swordplay while her sisters sat side-saddle and ambled through the countryside, she straddled the horses back, bent low over the horses neck and thundered across the terrain at breakneck speed. Princess Eleanor was a mystery, an enigma that her father simply could not or perhaps would not understand and as a result she was mostly left to her own devices. A pair of eyes stared unblinkingly up at the canopy of crisp white linen, swirls of forest green flecked with honey surrounding deep unending drops of ink black. The hushed quiet of the late evening hours is interrupted by an irritable sigh as the girl suddenly pushes herself up onto her elbows and shoots an accusing glare toward the nearest ornate stained-glass window, illuminated by the silvery glow of the moon. Surely it was late enough now?! It would have to be for she could not bear to lie in this bed another moment! Throwing back the blankets, the teen swung her legs over the edge of her bed and set bare feet upon the cold stone flooring. A silk rug lay crumpled at the base of wooden foot, decorated in exquisite engravings and lined with gold filigree, which curved upward to support the frame of the bed discarded by the young woman without a great deal of care some time before. Naked toes wriggled in delight at the refreshing chill as it drove away any inkling of weariness from the girl, before she sprung into action. Despite the flurry of activity, each was preformed with a deliberate quietness, tiptoeing about the room so as not to be discovered. Rummaging within the depths of the large trunk which sat at the foot of a four-poster, canopied bed large enough to contain at least three people let alone the young woman, a set of clothes was produced. Clearly not the usual garb of one who lived surrounded by such luxury, the fabric was thread bare and coarse with the odd old stain here and there, as well as being the most nauseating yellow-brown colour far more the garments of peasantry. Without hesitation, the green-eyed lass bunched the soft white linen nightdress that hung about her young figure in both hands and dragged it over her head, replacing it moments later with the tatty costume of a peasant girl. Securing a thrice patched cape about her shoulders and slipping her feet into worn sandals, she crossed to the full length mirror nearby and inspected the final result. If beauty in and of itself was a prerequisite of being a Princess then one could certainly not deny that in that and perhaps only regard Eleanor met such a mark. Nevertheless, it was an untamed and unrefined beauty. Wild, unruly curls of flaming red tumbled about the young womans slender shoulders, brushing against sun-kissed skin sprinkled with but a handful of freckles. Those startling green eyes held a whisper of mischief and unquenchable curiosity, soft lips drawn in a playful smirk more often than not. She turns, brow furrowed critically as she takes a moment longer to appraise her attired before lifting her hands to catch back the long strands and secure them behind her head. Hair tamed, Eli returned to the trunk and produced a thin belt upon which was strapped a dagger that the General had gifted her not months before. With the weapon concealed beneath the cape that fell about her shoulder, she crossed to a nearby wall hanging and brushed it aside to place a palm flat against the stone walling. What appeared to be solid swung away from the pressure she applied and within seconds the bedchamber was empty, near silent footfalls sounding down a narrow passage that led out behind the stables. The hood of her cape tugged up over her head and a faint smirk toying at the corners of her mouth, Princess Eleanor walked through the main gates leading out of the palace, watched by a dozen or more of the palace guards, and allowed unhindered into the night as she had been several times before.