An Assassin in Their Midst

[Flamelord]

Thomas nodded as Elrien acknowledged his presence, blissfully unaware that he had been mere seconds away from cutting her throat and finishing this job so he could get out of here and back to Syvin. He mentally cursed himself, but got his mind back on track and focused. He didn't want to clue her in on the mental struggle taking place subconsciously.

"Hello My lady, a good book," he inquired, asking about what she was currently reading. He figured he might as well seem interested in her development, though he hadn't gotten around to doing a game of strategy with her yet. And he guessed he never would, considering what would be happening later.

[Eruraina]

Elrien glanced down at the book she had been reading as Marcellus asked her about it after saying hello. She gave a light shrug of her shoulders.
"Not really. It's one of the more boring books my tutor wants me to read. More full of facts than stories. I usually like histories, because they're stories. But this book seems to be more focused on names and dates. So many names and numbers, it's hard to remember it all," Elrien sighed, setting it aside, then realized he had come to her from a different direction than most approached her from, since most came to her through a straight path from the door.

"If I may ask, you seem to have come from the opposite direction as the door. Any particular reason for this?" she inquired, obviously more out of curiosity than anything else.

[Flamelord]

Marcellus nodded, knowing the feeling. Still, he had to have a good memory, to pull off a deception needed to get close to someone. Like here, for example. Considering the position he was in, major oddities or lapses in memory could be bad for him. Fortunately, that hadn't happened yet.

He was unprepared for Elrien's question. It sounded innocent, so she probably didn't expect anything, and he replied quickly. "Not really. Just working on keeping you from getting too complacent." He grinned. "Trouble can pop up when you least expect it."

[Eruraina]

Elrien thought about his answer for a moment, then nodded.
"I see what you mean. I guess I have been getting complacent. Should probably work on that, but then there isn't much difference in my day-to-day routine. It all just seems to be all the same, every day," she said with a sigh, her eyes wandering out the window with an almost forlorn look. "You know... if it's alright, I haven't gone for a ride out in the country for awhile. I wouldn't mind doing so today. Do you think you could possibly arrange it? Even if it's just for an hour, just a little time to escape and go for a ride, maybe to even one of the smaller villages, or through the woods or fields. I don't think anyone would mind if I wanted to go for a short ride, right?"

Elrien looked up at Marcellus with questioning eyes, a look that almost seemed like a caged bird want to fly for a bit, and asking for a little bit of freedom with a promise to fly back.

[Flamelord]

Marcellus thought about that. A change in the schedule. It could provide a new opportunity to get rid of Elrien, but it also would draw more attention to her. But, the alteration could explain away delays if he acted. So, all he'd need to do is make sure he was with her on her ride. They get far enough away form the castle, one thing leads to another, she'd dead, and he rides off into the sunset with none the wiser.

He slowly nodded. "I think I can arrange that." He paused for a second before continuing. "Of course, someone should probably go with you. Just in case, and so you don't lose track of time." He wouldn't suggest himself, since he'd already acted strangely enough as it is, and he didn't want to draw more suspicion on himself from her than he had to.

[Eruraina]

Elrien waited as he thought about the idea of changing the schedule. She thought maybe he was taking a moment to think, going over her schedule to see if it would in fact be possible to rearrange her schedule, going over it and seeing what he could do to make a change. She had no idea that he was thinking about how it could help him with his real job, a job she didn't even know he had.

When he started nodding and said he could probably arrange it, Elrien's face lit with joy.
"Oh, thank you!" she said, jumping up and hugging him around the neck. But then she composed herself, taking a step back with a blush of embarrassment. "Sorry, that was very un-princesslike of me." she said, then he mentioned someone accompanying her. "Well, I would assume one of my personal guards would come with me, since there is usually one around somewhere. But I wouldn't mind if you came along, if you'd like."

[Flamelord]

Marcellus's face widened into one of surprise as Elrien leapt up to hug him, and just as quickly backed off. That certainly was unexpected, to say the least. He didn't think she could be quite that happy over a horseback right but he supposed he could understand, considering how filled her schedule was. He shrugged. "It's alright," he said in response. "No harm, no foul."

He grinned internally as she responded to his bit about accompaniment. Perfect. He could go along with her, and it wouldn't seem out of place. There may be a hidden opportunity opening up here, if they could just get to an isolated spot and off their horses. He nodded. "I would be honored to accompany you my lady," he replied. Marcellus turned to leave the room. "Well, you can make your way to the stables, I will take care of rearranging your schedule."

[Eruraina]

Elrien's face was beaming with joy as Marcus told her that she should make her way to the stables and that he would take care to rearrange her schedule. She nodded vigorously. "Oh, thank you so much, Gustavus, this means a lot to be, you doing this for me. It feels like forever since I've been on such a ride. Well, I'll see you in the stables soon, I'll go get ready," she said, bowing her head slightly, and making her leave from the library. She went down to the stables, accompanies by a member of her personal guard. She went to a room to change out of her dress and into riding trousers and a tunic that went down to her knees but was cut up the middle to the waist on the front and back. She then started preparing her horse, Stormfoot, grooming him thoroughly and saddling him. After a time, she told one of the stable boys to prepare another horse, one for Marcellus, while another prepared a horse for the guard that would accompany her.

[Flamelord]

((Whoops ))

Marcellus made his way to his destination quickly. It wasn't too hard to convince Elriens tutors to rearrange her schedule a bit. Since he didn't care that much beyond today, it was easier to do. Once he was done with that, he made his way to the stables.

Arriving, he saw three horses being prepared, and made his way over to the one being prepared for him. He nodded to Elrien, a sign he was finished arranging everything. Now, the guard would be trouble. Any chance of intervention was not a good thing, and the guard would have to be sent off somewhere or killed. and it would be difficult to kill the guard without alerting Elrien. well, he'd work it out somehow.

Finally, all set, he got on the horse. "I am ready to go when you are," he said to Elrien, letting her lead the way.

[Eruraina]

(All cool.)

The horses were all prepared and not long after Marcellus mounted up, the guard did as well. Though his was a slightly stalkier horse, that wouldn't be as fast the the ones that Marcellus and Elrien rode. After checking her saddle one more time to make sure it was on right, tight enough but not too tight, she mounted up as well. Giving a nod, she led the way out of the barn, and then out from the stable area towards the back gate of the city so they could easily get to the country side beyond without fighting the market crowds.

"Thanks so much again for doing this, and giving me this time," Elrien said to Marcellus as they rode.