Prologue
The blonde woman slipped her arms around the neck of the young man seated at the table, grinning at cheekily.
The man chuckled, and placed the parchment he was reading back on the table, as the woman planted a kiss on his cheek.
"Varice, m'dear, that's not proper, you know," he remarked, his lips curving into a smile.
Varice snorted, and withdrew from him, seating herself primly on the ruffled bed.
"You're one to talk, Arram," she retorted, referring to his well-known tendency to invite his dinner partners to his bed.
Arram chuckled again, stretching his overly long arms above his head and yawning.
The two's conversation was cut short by a crisp knock on the door as a voice floated through the wood: "Arram, open up! Its important!"
Varice raised an eyebrow, and stood languorously, her pale pink gift sparkled in Arram's vision as she used it to set her appearance in order.
Arram raised an eyebrow in return, and she gave a trilling laugh, before exiting the room through a door opposite the one where the voice had come from.
Chuckling, Arram walked over to the door and pulled it open, staring as he saw his colleague Harwin Duiker standing irritably outside the door, before he barged past Arram and slammed the door behind him.
Harwin spun around and faced Arram, anxiety plain on his face; "You have to leave Arram." He stated immediately.
Arram stared at him in shock, before he found hies voice. "Why?"
Harwin looked agitated. "Ozorne has decried you a traitor to the crown, and ordered your arrest, and," his voiced dropped to a whisper, "it is common knowledge that he wishes you dead."
"What!?" Arram yelped, "I didn't do anything! I haven't even seen the emperor in months!"
Harwin shrugged, then continued as he made his way to the door, "you better leave, or you can no longer call yourself a free man. Go to the port, I'm sure you can buy yourself a passage to somewhere from there, but you better leave tonight. Goodbye my friend, and have a safe journey."
With that, Harwin left the younger man extremely confused and anxious and slipped out into the night.