Alisha raced down the halls of her mansion in quite the tizzy. Her meeting with Rolance officials had run over, which was certainly not a rare occurrence, but it had run so far over that she was dreadfully late for her own bridal fitting. She could not bear so be so rude to her tailors, despite their assurances that it was no trouble.
Because Alisha knew, indeed, that it was much trouble when she was not around to act as the lightning rod for her beloved, beautiful, and blisteringly frustrating fiancée's antics.
She burst into the room to find said fiancée absent. She scanned the room for clues – had Rose faked her own kidnapping again to get out of dress fittings? She'd led Alisha on a wild goose chase for three days last time. If Alisha had to best her in hand-to-hand combat to win her cooperation in wedding planning, so be it. It certainly wouldn't be the first time. This week.
She finally spotted a royal tailor at the window, gazing up and out of the open pane in despair. The tailor wielded the officially-sanctioned Rose Poking Broom in one hand – approved for the purposes of swatting Rose down from whatever she'd climbed up that day.
"Which way?" Alisha asked the tailor.
"Up the gutters, and then across the rooftops," the tailor said, brokenly. "I…I tried to fit her for a corset."
Gracious. Alisha quietly applauded the tailor's bravery, and took a brief moment to fantasize about the prospect. Rose's waist was already quite slim, and her breasts, well, they were already magnificent to behold. And the idea of a corset arranging them to be beheld all the more…but alas, there was no time for such base thoughts! Alisha coughed and briefly fanned herself to rid the redness from her cheeks. Her bride had fled across the city, and it was up to her to bring her back to her senses so they could have this wedding and Alisha could finally make her an honest woman.
Alisha gathered her Rose hunting gear at lightning speed and flew to the door. Her reinforced, knife-resistant, flame-resistant net fluttered behind her as she hit the streets. Knights saluted her as she passed, and helpfully pointed in the path of Rose's flight across town.
Alisha's chase led her to Ladylake Sanctuary. Perhaps the Lady Lailah was in, and could provide clues to the whereabouts of her charge.
What Alisha found instead was a battle arena. Candles lit the hall, and Rose sat at the center, cross-legged, head bowed. The Lady Lailah was indeed in, and was providing mood music by way of a tambourine. She swayed back and forth, smiling, shaking the tambourine without a care in the world. Alisha imagined Rose had asked her for something a little more intimidating.
"So," Rose intoned, dramatically. Lailah shook the tambourine eagerly. Rose shot her a look. "-So. We finally meet."
Alisha carefully circled the arena, sizing up Rose's conviction. She would have Rose in her bridal best if it was the last thing she did, but if she wasn't careful, it could possibly be.
"My apologies," Alisha said, airily. "I was meeting with Rolance merchant officials to discuss trading plans."
A lie – but a working one. Rose's eyes narrowed. Alisha continued to circle.
"They spoke of the crop yields for the Pendrago region this year, and put forth estimates for trade – the crops' yield is still weak, so Ladylake will be offering aid and helping to subsidize prices-"
Rose leapt up and charged her, vision blind with fury. "YOUKNOWDAMNWELLTHEY'RESCAMMINGYOUWESAWTHOSECROPYIELDSFIRSTHANDHOWCANYOUBESUCHA-"
Alisha flung out the officially-sanctioned Rose Capture Net, for which Rose was no match. She contorted herself in rage as Alisha dragged her catch out of the sanctuary.
"YOU AND YOUR TAILORS WILL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!" Rose howled.
Lailah shook her tambourine jovially, waving goodbye to Alisha with it.
"Can you guys get out of my house," Uno asked from the head of the stairs.