The teal haired woman walked silently down the winding stone staircase. The only light came from the small glowing medallion around her neck. Her eyes had a light grey glow to them that would sometimes catch the light and gleam through the dark, like cat’s eyes. She stepped lightly, taking slow controlled breaths as she continued down the long dark staircase. She finally reached the bottom of the stairs that led into the dark, musty dungeon where small prison cells lined the sides of the room. A low scratchy voice came from the first cell, “Hey sweetheart, could use some of ‘yer company. Been real lonesome down here”. Adrina kept walking past, avoiding eye contact from the men who resided in the cells. They were trouble and would swipe at her skirt if she got too close or lingered too long. Adrina’s heart pounding, she made her way to the furthest cell away, to the only man who would be able to help rescue her sister. Tonight was the night that she would finally help him escape.

---

Just a little while longer now and he would be out. The world's greatest con artist would be set free, and the economic workings of the world would be in disarray once more!

... Well, that in itself was something of a lie. He liked to dream big.

Chester sat in his cell patiently with a smug grin on his face. This was unlike his usual smugly appearance, however most didn't even notice the slight difference in his complexion. Always a master of disguising his true feelings, the not-so-noble prince of rags was notorious for always managing his emotions to play the right cards according to his customer. His most recent client, a young princess of sorts, apparently, fell right for his confident aura. And as it so happened, the aforementioned princess would be his guide back to freedom, lest he be executed the following day. If she weren't an angel in disguise, then he swore he'd better himself as soon as he left the prison. He'd already considered trying to make the worst of himself known inside the prison and attempt the unspeakable with the beauty, however felt it may jeopardize his success at escape, and decided he'd best keep his pants on until after prison.

He still didn't quite believe she were really a princess. Though the dressed and spoke one, he imagined her more of a nobleman's daughter than anything. He felt that a princess had the authority to bypass the legal system, but again decided against criticism at their meeting the night before, not wanting to make her choose someone else over him. If anyone was going to be set free tonight, then it would be him.

And he had it aaaaaaaaaaaall planned out.

The raring of his fellow prisoners alerted him to her presence. All the talk about spending time with the lonely prisoners was awfully distasteful in Chester's eyes; if the young woman were to pick anyone from the prison, it would be the one with the most taste, the most class, the most intriguing. Naturally the person with these qualities was none other than himself! He admitted to his narcissism, but wouldn't admit that he was wrong about it.

By now Chester could hear her footsteps approaching. Sharp and swift like heels to a stone floor, it excited him, yet he suppressed his excitement under the guise of unwavering charm.

"Well well well, what do we have here~?" Quizzed a voice from the farthest cell in the hall of cells. Alone, with a low flame illuminating his silhouette from within the darkened room, a familiar figure shifted forward. Orange light bathed his body in radiant gold, eyes meeting that of Princess Adrina as she stepped in front of his quarters. Fully dressed in his casual attire, the young man raised an eyebrow and gave a collected smile. "It's good to see you, milady. I feared you might never come!" His voice held the natural flair all Casanova types seem to bear, the steady waver of elegant and refined speech giving the criminal a sense of nobility, even if he was really just a merchant's boy. "As much as I would love to stay and chat some, I believe we have some important business to attend to. You know, my release and the subsequent release of your sister. Not to worry, I already know how it's going to be done; I planned this out carefully, so it should go down without any problems."

With a contended smile, Chester offers a charming wink. "All that's left now is for you to open the cage, and I will be yours."

Little did Adrina know, his words carried a much more literal meaning to them than what she may have realised in that moment...

@Adrina

Adrina stood in front of the Chester's cell. Taken aback by his devishly handsome looks and casual clothing. He didn't look like a prisoner in a dungeon, he looked completely out of place. Even his voice was dignified and charming. She felt even more sure about her decision to let this prisoner loose, he didn't look dangerous or like a criminal at all. With a charming wink, he said "All that's left now is for you to open the cage, and I will be yours."

Adrina felt her cheeks go red at that. There was no way she was going to fall so easily for this man, and shook off the spell of charm he seemed to have on her "Look, all I care about is that you help me save my sister. If you fail to do so, you will be sent straight back to this cell with your execution expedited."

Adrina looked him straight in the eyes with her big beautiful grey glowing eyes. Her lips parting a bit as she tried to remain calm and not get distracted again by his charm. Can I really trust him? Ohhh I really hope I don't regret this, Adrina thought to herself thinking about her controlling over-protective father and how angry he would be if he found out that Adrina was about to run away with a prisoner to save her sister.

Adrina sighed, her shoulders relaxing in defeat as she decided to trust Chester. With a swift turn of the keys, she clicked open the lock on the cell door and swung it open, "Do I have your word that you will be able to help save my sister?" She asked seriously as she looked him straight in the eyes.

---

'Wow, isn't she a cutie? I didn't have a good look at her earlier, but now... Perhaps it might be better to scratch the original plan...?'

Chester's mind made its perversion known to itself with its devilish commentary, though he brushed the thoughts aside for fear of them causing him to get distracted in the future. 'If it comes to it we'll improvise; for now, stick to the plan.'

With silent reassurance Chester stepped forth, his eyes scanning the hall from which Adrina had come. "No guards, just as promised. For a top-quality facility the organization of this compound is atrocious." Chester's off-hand comment brought his attention back to Adrina, the so-called princess in need of a breakout. He already knew where her sister was, but decided to ask where Adrina believed her to be, if only to listen to his angel speak once more. "My word and my heart, milady. I'm yours to command till we get back your sister. If I'm lucky, perhaps longer~!"

He cleared his throat.

"Though it would be a little too unprofessional of me to continue on this path of light conversation. If we're to get to your sister, I'm going to know where she is. Any idea?"

Though his tone was relatively blunt, it may come as a refreshing sense of honesty from a possibly dishonest court in which Adrina may be familiar with. Of course, Chester was far from honest himself, however his lack of absolute formality might make him appear more personal. Chester himself was hoping that his charm would earn him a means out of the prison, however was beginning to consider the possibility of having his name cleared completely. It was worth a shot, he knew, though he'd need to make quite the impression.

Lucky for him, Chester was excellent at making good impressions.

Adrina was intrigued by this character. Never before has she talked to someone so honest and blunt. Usually she was caught up in dreary proper dialogue, especially since she was a princess. She usually found herself in drab conversation about the weather and fashion. "I'll be honest that I am not sure of my sister's exact whereabouts. From the rumors I've heard about you, I thought maybe you'd be my best bet to help me track my sister. My father sent out his best men to try and track her, but I refuse to stand idly by and wait for them to save her. Plus, I have a reason to believe a few of the men that went with the group aren't fully loyal to the throne."

Adrina paused for a bit in thought, then continued on, "I have a suspicion that the kingdom of Aryuda has stolen away with my sister. There's been talk that their King Duradel has been planning a war against us. Do you know about the kingdom of Aryuda?"

Adrina gestured for Chester to follow her out of the dungeon's hall.

@Delta44

---

Chester merely chuckled, his confidence brimming from cheek to cheek on his smiling features. "Milady, I'm humbled you'd stoop to the language of the commoners to find me. It's quite pleasant to hear you engage with rumors with regards to myself." Chester's ambiguity in his statement would go unanswered for now, as he swiftly followed after Adrina through the empty dungeon halls. He waved goodbye to those less fortunate than himself, apparently not awfully concerned about being seen, despite technically being a wanted man.

Along with Adrina, seeing as she helped him escaped. Maryland smiled to himself.

"A moment, milady." He interjected at the end, unable to answer her question. He took a couple quick steps forward and pressed his ear to the door. No noise; a gentle breeze and the sounds of partying a distance away, but far enough to not be immediately concerned about. This had been planned well. "Excuse me. I just had to check there weren't any armed guards beyond us. After you, milady." Chester took a step back and opened the door, in an attempt to be courteous. Of course, it also meant that if he followed closely behind he could catch hold of Adrina in case of an ambush.

The room following the hall was that of a guard's respite. Two wooden tables, accompanied by coffee-coloured chairs of similar stained brown, sat in the middle of the room with two chests in the corner. A hearth kept the room comfortable, despite the stone walls, and racks of armour and weapons stood off to the side. Keys for the various cells were all hung up on a rack, Chester himself taking a sword and one such key for 'safekeeping'.

"To answer your question, Princess, I've never really paid much attention to the lands beyond our own. I'm a local, after all; it is under your radiant family's guidance that I have been brought up, not some faraway prince's. I'm a poor excuse for a merchant, not extending my produce cross-continental." Having clipped the sword sheathe to his belt, Chester carelessly spun the keys around his finger, looking at the two doors that lead out of the room: one went upstairs, the other remained on their level.

Eyeing the doorway upwards, he said: "It's safe to say that your sister is up there, I'd think. The higher the better; a high cell means more guards to get past and more security to deal with. This is why I was put with the low-borns, since they decided to execute me swiftly. Holding cells are typically higher up." Chester knew this from the experiences written to him by fellow criminals and friends. It was only natural that the place to go would be up, like a princess atop her tower. Unfortunately for this princess, her tower was filled with armed escorts, guards, and bars.

What a bother.

Something still gnawed at him, though, and it took him a moment before he could put it into words. "But, might I backtrack a little, milady. You mentioned some of your sister's rescuers not being wholly loyal to throne, correct? Why would you suspect so?"

He had no real reason to know, aside from getting the bigger picture of things - something that Chester always felt compelled to do, to have an understanding of everything. Naturally if she suspected disloyalty she would go to a foreign body, however going to a criminal such as him carried its own risks. Perhaps her position as princess would grant her immunity to some extent in court? Chester couldn't place his finger on it, and waited for her answer with his hands crossed, the key held firmly in his hands.