tsubasa

Avatar: Trusting your enemy

Jaya took of her boots and lay them next to her bed roll as she climbed in. She looked up at Nikko and nodded, "Goodnight."

She watched the fire burn the sticks for a short while before she put them out. The smoke rose into the air, dancing in the wind. She watched it rise before she drifted off to sleep. She wasn't sure where she would be heading tomorrow but luckily, the Earth Kingdom was a large land. She would have plenty of places to go when she eventually got kicked out... Who knows, maybe someone, somewhere, will allow her to stay. Seeing her for who she is, not what.

The gladiator and the princess

Lauralye looked at him and nodded, "I will speak with my father..." She glanced at the other prisoner who was moving to the back of his cell, watching them. She turned attention back to the slave and sighed, "I cannot say... that.... whippings will not happen... My father... can be a cruel man when he wishes to be," She bit her lip, "You are the kind that scares my father. The kind that say their loyalties could lie with the crown... They are the same people whose loyalties could lie against the crown..."

She shook her head a little before looking at him in shock. It was very rare that someone entered the castle walls not knowing her name. Everyone seemed to know her name and what she looked like despite not having left the castle in twelve years. She blinked at him a few times before answering quietly, "Princess Lauralye Calder..." She clasped her hands in front of her, "However, I would not suggest that you use my name... It could get you in great trouble... Robert."

Avatar: Trusting your enemy

Jaya smiled at him, trying to lighten his mood that had seemed to darken with her own. The fire grew slightly as she brightened her own mood, "But that doesn't mean it will never happen. If we keep trying... Someone will give me a chance.... I mean... You already are. So that's something," She shrugged, "Not many people would dare stay with someone from the Fire Nation that they just met over night in some isolated area."

She scratched the back of her neck, "Thank you... for giving me a chance."

She grabbed her bag and pulled out a sleeping bag and rolled it out, "It's getting late," She said quietly.

The gladiator and the princess

update

The gladiator and the princess

Lauralye watched as the prisoner walked over to the food and sat down in front of it, eating it slowly. She looked at him as he told her there was no reason to be afraid. She shook her head, "There is plenty of reasons... People aren't meant to be kept as pets.... They will grow anger and they will fight their chains... They will cast their anger upon those who trap them and for that... I'm afraid."

A man in the cell next to the slave's laughed loudly, causing Lauralye to flinch. She rarely came down here. She came here to be kind to those she saw as innocent, hoping it might lighten their anger toward the crown. However, there were plenty of people who deserved to be down here. The man came to the front of the cell and reached to her with a dirty hand, "Why is it you bring food for the others, Princess. But none for me?"

Lauralye shied away from the hand, "I do not give food to men... who deserve their fate," She relaxed ever so slightly and the man managed to move his arm further, grabbing hold of her wrist and pulling her to the bars of his cage. She yelped and stared at him terrified, "You think I deserve this, Princess? To starve, to wait out the days till I die."

Lauralye's hand shook, "Y-you chose this fate... When you killed those... p-people."

The man tossed her backwards, causing her to hit the ground, "If I had a knife, I'd gut you like a fish, Princess."

She moved herself as far from him as she could without endangering herself with another prisoner. She looked at slave, "Plenty.... to be afraid of...." She took a deep breath, not wanting the murderer to get the best of her, "What is your name?"

The gladiator and the princess

Lauralye looked back over to the men when she heard a thump, seeing the slave on the ground. She was about to say something to the guards when the man launched into an attack. Lauralye let out a small scream at the sound of cracking bones. In a swift motion, her father pulled her into him and the guards surrounded both the Slave as well as the Princess and King. Her face was buried into her father's chest, not wanting to see the blood that was pouring out of the guards nose. Beyond seeing the knights practice, Lauralye was a stranger to fighting, seeing this was quite terrifying. The King's voice rumbled in his chest as he spoke, "Throw him in the dungeon for now, until he learns his lesson," The group of guards grabbed him and guided him into the class. The King continued, "You are a slave, boy. Do that again and I'll have your head."

Lauralye shook as her father guided her inside. She clasped her hands tightly together as her father looked at her, "Are you alright, Lauralye? I have to go do some work.... Will you be okay?"

Lauralye smiled and nodded her head before the King left her to head to his offices. She rushed to her rooms and grabbed a shawl before sneaking into the kitchen and grabbing a bowl of rice and a fork. She hide herself under the shawl as she walked into the dungeons. She stuck close to the wall and as far away from the prisoners as possible. When she spotted the boy's cell, she quickly placed the rice inside before taking a step back and pressing against the wall.

The gladiator and the princess

The white haired man gave the other man the money and turned away as the two guards stepped forward and took hold of the slave. He then turned away and head back to the ring of guards. The two men holding Robert brought him to the window of the carriage. A hand pushed a curtain aside, revealing the King. He nodded, "Very good. We can return to the castle."

Then he dropped the curtain to cover the window once more. The two guards brought Robert to another carriage and shoved him inside, one climbing in with him as the other closed the door and climbed onto the front. The adviser joined the King in his carriage and soon the caravan left the Slave Market and headed to the palace.

Upon their arrival, Lauralye jumped up from her seat, gathered her blue skirts as best she could and ran to the front door. As she neared them the two guards quickly opened them for her allowing to not even stop. She saw her father climbing out of the carriage and grinned, "Papa!" She called running over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. The King laughed and spun his daughter around. Lauralye looked up at him, "Where did you go, Papa?"

She would always ask this upon his return, curious of the outside world. The King smiled, "To the Slave Markets," He gestured to Robert as he was being pulled out of his carriage. Her smiled fell slightly at the sight of him bound by his hands and ankles. She looked back to her father as he continued, "Got a new one of the kitchens... Although, he may be good for the personal guard as well... We'll see where his loyalties lie."

The gladiator and the princess

Lauralye sat in the highest tower of the castle, looking out the window. She had seen her father's wagon leave not to long ago, leaving her alone in the palace. Of course, she was not actually alone. The castle was filled with servants and guards, it was quite impossible for her to ever truly be left alone. There was a knock on the door and she sighed, "Come in..."

The guard, who was assigned to watching her for the day came in through the door, "Your breakfast is ready, Your Highness."

Lauralye nodded and stepped away from the window, wandering down the large flight of stairs into a giant dining room, where she would sit and eat alone. She sat as the food was brought to her. She gave the servant a mere nod as she look out the large windows that looked out to the garden. She could not see the sun rising, for it was hidden by the rock walls that separated her from the rest of the world. She could see the sky begin to change colour though. She smiled softly and slowly began to eat.
~
A small bidding war began for Robert Williams, men calling out prices rising higher and higher. Until a man with a small white beard stepped forward, calling out a price far lower than the others had been calling out. Everyone silenced. This was a man from the palace, an adviser to the King. To deny the purchase of the slave or to bid any higher against the King, who sat in a carriage not to far away surrounded by guards, could be a dangerous task. None of the bidders saw Robert Williams as something to die for. The adviser walked to the stage and two of the guards broke away from the carriage and followed him. The white haired man took the change out of a royal blue bag and held it out to the caller, "We'll be taking him now."

Avatar: Trusting your enemy

Jaya was quiet for a moment, sitting there, pondering what Nikko had said. Finally, she looked up at him, "When I first came to the Earth Kingdom... I didn't think to try and hide who I was. I walked in my red," She gestured to the red clothes she wore, "In the first town I walked into... I was... hit by the villagers who were wanting to take their anger towards the Fire Nation, out on me... I left immediately. That was when I figure I was better off trying to wear green... Even though I look nothing like them... it was a chance that I could live among these people. The second town I found, I lived in for a week. I found odd jobs, made what I would like to call friends... when someone with knowledge of the Fire Nation took notice to my eyes... I was chased out by people I thought were friends.... They screamed about how I lied and deceived them...They know nothing more from the Fire Nation than pain, suffering, and anger... I do not blame them for treating me as they have because I have seen how my people treat people," She looked down at her hands, "No one... has seen that I am not where I come from...."

The fire she had made seemed to dim slightly as her mood darkened. She took a deep breath, "I just... haven't a clue how to prove them wrong..."

Avatar: Trusting your enemy

Jaya was quiet for a moment, sitting there, pondering what Nikko had said. Finally, she looked up at him, "When I first came to the Earth Kingdom... I didn't think to try and hide who I was. I walked in my red," She gestured to the red clothes she wore, "In the first town I walked into... I was... hit by the villagers who were wanting to take their anger towards the Fire Nation, out on me... I left immediately. That was when I figure I was better off trying to wear green... Even though I look nothing like them... it was a chance that I could live among these people. The second town I found, I lived in for a week. I found odd jobs, made what I would like to call friends... when someone with knowledge of the Fire Nation took notice to my eyes... I was chased out by people I thought were friends.... They screamed about how I lied and deceived them...They know nothing more from the Fire Nation than pain, suffering, and anger... I do not blame them for treating me as they have because I have seen how my people treat people," She looked down at her hands, "No one... has seen that I am not where I come from...."

The fire she had made seemed to dim slightly as her mood darkened. She took a deep breath, "I just... haven't a clue how to prove them wrong..."