[center][URL=http://s201.photobucket.com/user/Chii_Fureya/media/906ee3cd-4ada-4850-82ad-950eb7df7145.jpg.html][IMG]http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/aa254/Chii_Fureya/906ee3cd-4ada-4850-82ad-950eb7df7145.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

Cerise had grown silent since she announced her entrance, still staring down at her staff and running her index finger along the small creases in the wood, so she was taken by surprise when the voice a few seats away from her spoke her name. She looked up at him again, trying to lock her bright green eyes on to his own. She had to squint to make out his face amongst the darkness, but even upon identifying him she did not recognize his face. His attire suggested that he was a member of the Assassin's Guild, a group she had little to no contact with. No doubt, however, he knew her. But she wasn't too put-off by this fact, she had begun to realize over the past year or so that she was almost a celebrity in Kathar, being the Empress's only personal healer, and quite young to be so. The man was polite enough to introduce himself, but she still had not learned his name. Cerise leaned her staff against her left leg and stretched out her right hand behind the chair between them to offer a shake.

"Good evening. It's a pleasure to meet you, despite the tragic circumstances of our meeting. May I ask your name?"

She said with the utmost formality. Her years working in the Palace had shaped her vocabulary considerably, as well as her mannerisms. 

As she waited for a response, the man at the front of the room, assumed to be Lukas, began to address them. As Cerise listened to what Lukas had to say, she felt her mind wander away from this room, to Ronin, to her family. If what Lukas was saying was true, they could be in great danger. She yearned to see them, as she usually did on this day every year when the traveled to Kathar for the celebration. Do to all the commotion today, she hadn't seen them yet, and she doubted now that she would get the chance to again. She wanted so badly to take this opportunity to return home, and spend borrowed time with her family, now that she had no Empress to serve. 

[b]"So I ask you, stay or go, which do you choose?"[/b]

Lukas's words echoed in Cerise's head seconds after he spoke them. She knew she had to go. She may never see her family again, but she owed it to the Empress, to her nation, to support this cause. She finally understood, after all these years, why the Empress had always insisted on her training her magic to defend herself or others. A simple healer would not need those skills, but the Empress urged her nonetheless. She had always known that Cerise had a greater purpose, a role to play beyond being a caregiver. She found herself nodding in agreement with Lukas's request. She would do all she could to stop the spread of darkness, even if she didn't make it out alive.[/center]