Disclaimer: Most of the characters and locations in this story were created by The Neopets Team (TNT). The Ninja (MobianHero) made a few, mechanics like the spectrum that she doesn't care if used anywhere else. This story is only to be posted here, on under this account. If you really want it posted somewhere else please Neomail on the account listed in this profile.
Warnings: Severe bashing of about the entire Meridell cast ahead! Rated for cursing, minor drug use (Yeah, we all know what's in the grog TNT.), gory violence, and HIGHLY suggestive themes in the later chapters. It might be a lemon, might not. It might be slash (of an unexpected pairing), might not. Haven't decided.
As for the plots that will be mentioned here ... HatIC, CoM, LDP, BFM. No Darkest Faerie because The Ninja's doing something special with that later.
Enjoy.
Session 01: The King and I
Knock. Knock. " Hannah? " No response. The knocks became louder. " HANNAH! "
Armin heard a bit of groaning on the other side of the door, but it didn't sound like she got up. He opened the door and found that she still slept. " Hannah, it's noon. " Actually, it was an hour past noon by his watch. The bori walked over to the queen sized canopy bed and reached out for his friend's shoulder--
SMACK! Armin recoiled, holding his nose from the hit he received in pain. Hannah opened her eyes groggily moments later, then gasped. " Armin ... " She forgot that the bori was living with her! Taking a napkin to her hand, she started to wipe the blood away from his nose. " I'm sorry, kiddo, but you can't go sneaking up on me like that. "
" Sneaking? " The bori winced. " I've been screaming for you at least ten minutes! " He sniffled once she removed her hand, clearing his nose of any remaining blood. " A girl from The Golden Dubloon came by this morning. "
Hannah slipped out of bed, wearing a long white slip that needed some minor adjustments. " What did she want? " She asked in annoyance. " I still have a month of leave, and I'm spending every hour of it. " After all she's been through on Terror Mountain Hannah was in no hurry to return to work, or anywhere else for that matter.
" She said a group of people were looking for you, and they looked pretty important. " Hannah motioned for the hairbrush, which he handed off to her. " I got a little curious and went to see for myself. You won't believe it ... "
Hannah brushed her hair, still not convinced that it was anything to waste her time with. " I might. " She said with a shrug of the shoulders.
" There's king there! I mean he was a fat and ugly king, but he was a king none the less. He had soldiers, and Unis, and all kinds of stuff. " He counted off on his claws. " One of the barmaids said they were running up a big tab too, so that translates into a lot of money. "
" Or lack thereof. " Hannah commented before throwing her freshly brushed hair over her shoulders. " I'll check it out. Just give me a minute or two to get dressed. "
Armin nodded, closing the door as he left the room. Honestly, Hannah didn't want to bother herself by returning to The Dubloon so soon. Her mind and body were still worn down from her journey halfway across Neopia. Not only that, but she hadn't been feeling quite herself as of late. She didn't want to worry Armin, so she didn't tell him that her arm still ached from time to time. It became much worst, as if provoked, by certain things ...
Wrapping her permanent mark in a gauze was the last thing she did before putting her coat on to meet Armin downstairs. She didn't want to think about what it could have meant, but the thought lingered in the back of her mind.
Jeran just cupped his head into his paws, not believing how the King behaved while on his 'vacation'. The knight was one of the king's biggest supporters and critics, so had to make it his duty to come as a diplomat for his kingdom. " Napkin. " Holding out a handkerchief to the Skeith, who snatched it into greedy paws. He didn't know he Skarl wiped his mouth with the napkin or ate it since the sound of his chomping just didn't stop.
" ANOTHER, wench! " Roared the King, causing the Aisha who waited on them to wince. " Bring out some more of that sauce, too! " He let out a bloated chuckle. " No wonder you pirates out here are so skinny! This food goes right through ya! "
The Aisha folded her arms, eyes narrowing. " Right away, your majesty. " Her voice held a bit of venom to it, but the King and his Knight didn't seem to notice. Just as she turned to leave two familiar faces scrolled into the tavern. " Oh thank Fyora! " She groaned, running across the floor towards Hannah and Armin. " I don't care where they go, but get them the hell away from me! " She begged Hannah as she gave her a hug.
Hannah laughed at her friend, enjoying seeing her sweat for once. " Angie, wait. " Putting her hands on the taller Aisha's shoulders to push her to arm's length. " Who are we talking about again? "
" HEY! " Roared a voice from over the Aisha's shoulder. " Did you get the seafood platter, yet? I don't SMELL seafood platter! " The knight groaned, and Angela just held a thumb in their direction.
Hannah nodded in understanding. " I'll try my best. " She didn't know if she could make them leave, but at least she could move the heat off her friend. As a barmaid in a rather shady district of Neopia they get yelled at ... a lot. Once Angie made it into the kitchen, she looked back towards Armin. " Those the guys? "
Armin looked up at her with one eye, holding his sensitive ears. " Yuh-huh. " And with that he followed Hannah over towards their table.
The Knight, a blue lupe in gold armor, greeted them both with a frustrated nod. " Good afternoon. Can I help you? " His voice was strong and held a strong accent, so he definitely wasn't from around here.
" I heard you all were looking for somebody. " Hannah didn't want to tell these two that it might have been her. For now she played the part of the curious bystander.
Still, the lupe looked surprised that she'd ask such a bold question. " Yes, we are. " He moved his chair a bit closer to the two so he could speak comfortably over Skarl's eating. " We heard rumors that one of the barmaids here fought in a recent war, and had a terrible burden befall upon her. "
Armin didn't like this situation at all. He sensed something was amiss as soon as they walked into the bar. " Hannah ... " He whispered as he pulled the girl's sleeve.
She brushed him off gently, giving him a reassuring look as she continued. " I don't see why she'd be so important. That war happened almost a year ago, and a lot more people got displaced after the second Maraquan war anyway. " She reminded him, not buying his story for a moment.
Jeran knew as much, and had to blame his lame story on the King again. Still, he'd have to stick with the plan. " But none of those people were cursed with something that may not understand. It's a pain and burden they have to live with for the rest of their lives, and our trained alchemists might be able to ease her suffering a little. " Hannah couldn't stop herself from reaching for her marked arm in time, so lay her hand over the burn not visible through her long sleeved shirt. " Are you all right, miss? " Jeran noticed this immediately.
Hannah looked at her arm. " I'm fine. I just injured my arm a few days ago. " She lied, hoping that he would buy it.
Armin heard a hushed whisper from the window, so looked away from the conversation and towards the windows. In the center one, around the windowsill, he saw a yellow ear twitching. His icy blue eyes narrowed, and he let go of Hannah's cursed hand to reach for his slingshot ...
" That's too bad. " Jeran's voice showed sympathy, but was it sincere? He offered a bare hand towards her. " Can I see? I think I have a potion or two that can speed up the healing process. The potions in Meridell are a bit more pungent than what you can find out here. "
Hannah was caught, her eyes widening in horror. She looked around to Armin for support, but he seemed to be distracted. Cursing under her breath, she'd unbutton the button holding her sleeve tight to her wrist to roll the fabric neatly up to her shoulder. The mark was covered in gauze, but it bled regularly after all of this time. It left a light imprint of dried blood on the bandaged surface.
Sometime in between, Skarl stopped eating.
" May I? " Hannah winced to his obvious question, but didn't deny it at this point. He reached out for her arm and removed the bandage carefully, revealing the deep red mark that was burned into her fur. Jeran made no mention to the mark or it's pattern. The lupe disregarded it completely as he took out a common healing potion to rub over the burn.
Armin noticed that the yellow ears moved again, but this time so he could see the face. Instinctively he took out his slingshot and readied a shot, holding the pulled back sling low and in front of him, but didn't raise it when he saw the face. It was a female yellow Aisha, young, who wore thick glasses that cast a glare on her eyes. She seemed to be looking at something rather deeply, and didn't seem too threatening. Armin sighed and put his slingshot away.
His mannerisms wouldn't allow him to strike down a pet wearing glasses anyway.
Done. " Jeran smiled as he tied off the end of the bandage. " That was a rather nasty burn, but you didn't wince once. " He said thoughtfully. " You must be a very brave girl. " He stressed the word 'brave', and it made Hannah shudder.
" Yeah. " Hannah smiled awkwardly, taking a step backwards. " My friends call me brave. "
" That you are! " King Skarl finally spoke, finished with his meal at last. Standing from the table, he gave Hannah a rather rough pat on the head. " It was a pleasure meeting such a sweet girl around this dump. Most of the girls here are really stuck up. Can you believe that? "
Jeran cast a wary eye towards Skarl. " Your majesty ... "
" Come Jeran! " Skarl ignored Jeran's words completely and started towards the door. " I just remembered something wonderful that we must see on this island, and the day grows old already! " He cast a look over his shoulder towards the exhausted Aisha who was serving them all day. " And we just HAVE to come back here for Dinner. " Angie didn't know if he was serious or toying with her, but it made her blood boil none the less.
Hannah let out a relived sigh, starting to clean up the dishes on the table the two were sitting at without noticing. It was just an instinct of a barmaid. Out the corner of her eye she noticed Armin looked quite distressed. " What's up, kiddo? "
Armin didn't look at her right away. He noticed the Aisha by the window calling out to somebody, Jeran, then running off. " I'm scared ... " His voice seemed distant, then he looked back up to Hannah. " I don't trust them. What do they want with you? "
The usul shrugged her shoulders. " They might just be curious to what happened on Terror Mountain. " She said passively. " You know those big military types. They want to know everything about everything. "
" I'm not too sure. " Angela said as she took up the plates and mugs from the table. " Meridell has hit on some hard times on the financial and military front, Hannah. I was surprised they had enough to pay their tab. " Bringing herself erect, she'd say in a softer tone. " I heard a lot of rumors ... "
" What rumors? " Armin was highly interested in everything that was being exchanged. He was frozen in ice for thousands of years, so didn't know much about the world around him.
" Well ... "
King Skarl and Jeran headed back to the inn with a couple of new additions in tow. " Well Lisha? " Jeran asked his sister, the yellow Aisha spying on them at the tavern.
Lisha nodded, bouncing her glasses nearly off her face. " That was definitely the mark of Tu-Kuept on the girl's arm. "
Jeran passed a look towards their King. " What are your orders, your majesty? "
" We're taking this one by the numbers. " King Skarl said, placing a claw under his chin. " Keep watch over her to see if anything develops, and report it to me immediately. Hopefully things will go according to plan, but if not. "
Jeran never liked the alternative. He noticed that she kept a very young and protective child around her, and after spending so much time with Lisha and her friends he didn't think he could bring himself to hurting him. " Yes, your majesty. " He looked down to Lisha and her friends; Kayla the Zafara, Borris the Blumaroo, and Morris the Quiggle. " You do your part too. I know it's a lot to ask of you, but ... "
Kayla winked at him. " No problem! I'll do my best. "
Borris bounced off on his tail, almost hitting Jeran in the face. " You can't expect any less from us Knights! "
" We're squires, not Knights. " Morris reminded his friend while throwing his hands behind his head. " But if we do good here ... "
Jeran knew that was coming, so smiled. " Maybe. " He thought it was about time for a promotion anyway.
Still, Jeran had to be skeptical towards his King. Skarl only told them what they planned to do here in Krawk, but not what they were going to do with her if she agreed to come back to Meridell. The knight heard rumors too, but none of it was anything good. He knew that the King was protective of his people, but did that make him hungry for power too?
Either way, if they had to go down the alternative route this would step out of bounds of country security ...