"I hunt for things
that will color my life
with brilliant memories"
-Evangalina Piñon, "Apprenticeship"
I grunted slightly as I struggled to hold the frame for the canvas steady as I pressed another short, flat nail through the fabric into the light wood. My legs were wrapped around it tightly in an effort to keep the rest of the nails from slipping out while I got the last four in. Once all of them were in, it would be fine, but until that point—
"Got it," I muttered, glaring balefully at the last three nicks I'd made in the wood so I knew where to put the final three nails. "You little sons of jackals… Three more! Three!" I spat, pointing at them. It took me four minutes to get the rest into the wood to hold the canvas fabric in place, but once I had, I flipped my slightly sweaty bangs out of my face. I stood up and leaned the blank canvas against the wall on the table, then looked around with pride at my latest painting.
It was simple—just a portrait, from the shoulders up. It was a woman, a lady Warrior (no relation, I swear). Her hair was a glistening blue-black, and cut in a short chin-length bob. Dark eyes glared out at the viewer, and they were a super-dark shade of either brown or green; I had put flecks of both in there. Her armor was white, and I abruptly wondered how she kept it clean.
My hand was starting to cramp a bit, so with great reluctance I set down my paintbrush, ran my fingers through my hair, and promptly realized that I had different shades of navy or black on my hand. I grinned helplessly. "Ah, well," I mumbled, "I needed a bath anyway." It was true. Around here, you didn't get to wash that often—every two to three days if you were lucky. For one, it was hard to get the time to get away to clean yourself, and for two, the water was freezing year-round. Also, privacy was a big issue. At the Keep, the majority of the population was nearly all male, so it wasn't like they had the washing place separated into 'men' vs 'women.'
The actual 'luxury bath house' of Oaklore Keep was underground. There was a door on the first floor of the castle that led down a flight of narrow, spiral stairs to a wide, expansive room that had been dug when the castle was, then the inside of the room was lined with stone. It was sturdy, at least. From a stream that branched off the river on the other side of the woods, someone (also when the room was constructed) had dug a channel that led into the Keep itself through a grate at the bottom of the wall on the far side of the gates. It was the Keep's main water source, and the place the icy bathwater came from in several spouts in this room. A small closet that held towels (sometimes not all clean) and soap was on the other side of the room. Then there was a small indent running through the stone on the floor to a tunnel too small for a person (thank Lore) that didn't touch air for over a mile, snaking its way underground to downstream of where the water was channeled into the Keep.
It was ingenious, really. Now, if only they could find a way to warm the water…
After a short debate, I decided that cold running water sounded much better than no running water, and reluctantly grabbed my only other change of clothes that went under my armor—a gray v-neck shirt, one of the loose ones with the ties at the V shape, a pair of breeches, and a belt to keep them up. Tailors made pants with men's dimensions in mind, as I had learned quickly.
Hurrying down the staircase, I emerged into the rectangular room of dark stone, remembering how it was lit. A "light well" was used, according to one of the knights—a tube that ran from the ceiling down into the room, and had small mirrors to bounce light all the way down. A small series of mirrors around the corners of the room helped to finish the job, keeping just enough light for someone to see comfortably by, and not be blinded upon leaving.
Just my luck, I thought dryly as I opened the small closet to the left of the staircase to get a towel. Someone's already here. As a matter of fact, two people were—two of the knights, chatting. I wasn't surprised. Bathing might not be a frequent occurrence, but there were enough people in the Keep that it didn't go one day without being used.
Back to my current problem, I had learned on my second day here that you don't just wait for them to finish. It would be kind of creepy, just standing there and watching them as they wash, dress, and leave. The best you could do, Maya had told me, would be to keep your back to them and hope they weren't staring or anything. Or getting ideas, for that matter.
But the water was always cold, so there wasn't much cause to worry.
Besides, I had lived in a house with two men growing up, one of whom didn't particularly care if someone saw him changing or showering (my brother). Sometimes, acting like nothing was out of the ordinary was the best option. A lack of modesty could sometimes be a bit of a helpful thing.
Shrugging to myself, I slid my current paint-spotted shirt up and off, then dropped my breeches and underwear and bra directly after. As I pulled the tie out of my braid, I realized I didn't much care if they saw—I cared if they looked. But it was blessedly free of any awkward feelings. Going to the spout of water coming out of the wall nearest the corner at a voracious rate, I took a quick breath, then ducked my head under the water that was hurtling towards the floor.
It sounded and felt like a thunderstorm, but the icy temperature of the water still made my chest constrict. After a solid half a minute of holding my breath, I jerked my head back, flipping my soaked bangs out of my face, sucking in a new lungful of air. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw one of the knights with a towel around his waist, shaking his head like a wet dog. Good, one of them's done, I thought, doing my best not to shiver. Shrugging the rest of my darkened blonde hair over my shoulders, I used both hands to push my hair away from my face before putting it under the water again to start scrubbing. I was almost positive that shades of dark blue and black were coming off of my face and hands, but I didn't dare open my eyes against the thundering spray.
When I turned back around to allow my face a break from the freezing water (and to give my back a turn at being beaten half to numbness), the knight I had seen drying off was gone, and the other ran his hand through his short hair under the water a few times before stepping out of the miniature waterfall. I tipped my head back to let the edge of the heavy flow of water push my hair back from my face for me, then started running my hands up and down my arms, torso, under my arms… all the places that typically built up dirt and sweat when you're in a full suit of armor. Over my shoulder, I saw the second knight pull on his breeches and drop a shirt over his head before balling up his towel, throwing it in a corner with the others, and heading up the stairs.
With a contented sigh, I started to do my best in getting the slightly greasy feeling out of my hair, scrubbing mercilessly at my scalp with my fingers. To get my mind off of the freezing water, I let my thoughts wander, and somehow, I ended back up at the morning after returning to the Keep following the bandit's kidnapping. I grimaced automatically.
When I woke up, Maya had been waiting outside the door for me (apparently, Rolith and the next knight under him thought that it might be best for my shock if it was a fellow woman who greeted me—as if that made a difference), and after assuring I was in my right mind, had rapidly dragged me up to the war room on the top floor of the castle, where Sir Preem and his pack of hounds had grilled us both for around two hours about what we had seen in the bandits' camp; who from the bounty list was there (we could only identify Stradar, who was worth 180 gold dead and 200 alive), what they might be planning, and other random bits of information that could potentially be useful.
This was a big deal. It had been almost two years since the last abduction, and the last time that happened, Maya had said, they had launched a full-scale attack on the Keep. Rolith actually had a Mage friend of his come in to help. Near the end, I was beginning to get quite grumpy, as I hadn't eaten since breakfast the day before. Ravenous didn't quite describe it. Actually, it was only when my stomach decided to interrupt the Captain by sounding like a dying whale that he mentioned (much more politely than I could have managed right then) that maybe questioning might resume after a meal. I was practically ready to gnaw off his hand, glove and all, when he had to grab my upper arm and guide me out of the room. Over the late breakfast (or maybe it was lunch—I had woken up fairly late) he explained to me that we would be permitted two days free of duties to recover and get over any shock. A Warrior or knight who was unable to perform their work without screwing it up was worse than it not being done at all, he told me, and I didn't disagree. After all, two days off was two days I could actually clean up, go see my mare, or work on my paintings.
The faint sound of footsteps jerked me out of my reminiscing, and I just barely remembered to turn my back to the doorway before they actually entered the room. Flipping my hair back from my face yet again, I tilted my head to both sides to hurriedly scrub at the junction of my neck and shoulder before curiously looking over to see who came in. Almost immediately, a painful blush rushed up into my cheeks, and I was sure that my blue lips were gone. I looked down and slightly away, towards the corner I was nearest.
Stupid, I mumbled to myself. Why are you this worried about him seeing you? You were just fine around the other guys in here. So how is Rolith any different? When I heard him step under one of the spouts of water, I steeled myself to stop being so shy (and just around him, it seemed) and made my legs move. Shifting my shoulders just enough that two wavy sections of dark blonde hair fell over to the front side of my shoulders, giving me some semblance of coverage, I walked quickly over to where I had left my dirty clothes, my change of clothes, and my towel.
Don't look around, don't look at him, don't even glance at him—
"Oh, hey, Calliope."
Furry fudgy fish fingers.
"Oh! Rolith!" I chirped, faking surprise as I finally managed to wind my towel around under my arms. At least I was decent now. I had always been fairly adept at faking smiles, even though I didn't make a habit of it, but I didn't see as how I had much choice right then. Please don't see my cheeks, please don't see my cheeks, please, please, please don't see or comment on my cheeks. Stupid hormones. I would be having a very serious talk with them once I got out of here. Shaking my hair out of my face and back over my shoulders once more, I shot him a quick glance to the face only out of the corner of my eye. Rolith had his back to me, but he was smiling. A peace offering, it seemed.
Ah, well.
Grinning slightly wider, I raised my right hand and twirled my finger around in a circle—the universal gesture for 'turn around.' I heard a low chuckle come from on his side of the room as he turned his head back around, and after checking again, I hurriedly got into my undergarments, pulled the breeches up and draped the shirt over my head, then belted both together. I jammed my boots on and stuffed the hems of my breeches unceremoniously into the tops of said boots, making sure they would stay. I hesitated, then chucked my towel into the dry corner with the rest of them.
"See you up top!" I managed in what I thought was a fairly untroubled voice before all but bolting for the stairs. Once safely on the other side, I leaned back against the stone wall, tipping my head back. Gritting my teeth, I began to gently bump my head repeatedly against the cold rock, internally chanting, Stupid, foolish, irresponsible, asinine, witless, dumb—
"Calliope, you okay?"
Upon opening my eyes, I discovered that Maya was gazing at me with a faintly concerned look. I smiled at her, which seemed to reassure her, and started chattering about something or other as I linked my arm with hers, walking her away from the door. I think I was talking about whether she had any interesting tales to share with me—my mind was otherwise occupied.
He's a friend, I told myself sternly. So why am I acting like this…? Just friends still have a modest side, right? Right. They most certainly don't need to blush when they see each other… bathing… It was just a random moment. We all blush at incredibly random yet inconvenient times, right?! Right! It's happened to girls all over Lore, and it's happened to me exactly… well, once. But that doesn't mean that it meant anything.
It was just a blush, after all… That's all it had to be… It didn't mean anything, it was completely unimportant and unrelated… Right…?
Not right.
Oh, shufflestacks.
"…And supposedly, there's this old myth that around a griffin, you can't tell a lie," Maya continued. Mentally growling at my easily distracted self, I hauled my consciousness back to the present.
"Really?" I asked in surprise, shoving all thoughts of the Captain roughly to the back of my mind to ponder… well, never. "Well… I can think of a few situations where that might be helpful."
"Exactly," Maya said, nodding sagely. "A pet griffin would be pretty cool, actually." As I nodded in agreement, her eyes took on a devilish gleam. "Although… I can only imagine the results if a griffin decided to roost near a village."
"What do you mean?" I asked, slightly confused.
"I mean that there will be many husbands sleeping locked outside at night," she giggled. I didn't respond, the joke taking a second to sink in. I didn't usually have a dirty mind or make dirty jokes.
"Oh!" I exclaimed, things going click. Then I started sniggering too, and Maya shook her head at me once before reaching to open the door to her library.
"You're quick," she laughed, closing the door behind me. My chest swelled with false pride. Well, not entirely false, but still.
"Of course. I am the finest lady Warrior Lore has ever seen!" I boasted, barely able to keep my façade from breaking from needing to laugh so badly. However, I just didn't have that much self-discipline, plain and simple. So it was because of this that I broke into a wide grin, and we both collapsed in giggles again.
That was exactly how Rolith found us a good seven or eight minutes later, laughing like hyenas and trying to catch our breath unsuccessfully. I was clinging to the edge of one of the broad, heavy tables, attempting to keep myself off of my knees, and Maya was flopped down in a chair, hand over her middle in an attempt to drag more air into her lungs. My cheeks hurt horribly from smiling so much, but when I looked up to see the Captain looking at us as though we had just grown two heads each, I burst out into another fit of laughter.
"It's contagious!" I gasped as a smile tugged at the corner of his lips, just watching us. "Don't get too close, you'll—oomph!" I lost my grip on the edge of the table as I crashed in a very undignified way onto my stomach and elbows on the floor, still snickering. Shaking his head as a grin started to work its way onto his face, Rolith knelt down, grabbed my arms, and hefted me back to my feet. I looked up at him, still grinning from pleasant left-over laughter, and was abruptly struck dumb.
With his hair hanging over his hazel eyes like that, positively sparkling from amusement, it occurred to me—as it had before—exactly what a fantastic painting that would make. Eyes had so much depth, and when there was more than one color (such as with hazel), it just made it doubly so. It was… actually, it was pretty beautiful. And I know guys don't really like any part of themselves being called 'beautiful,' but it was.
That was about when I realized that I was just staring at the Captain, and that his gloved hands were still holding my arms under my elbows, and that mine were resting on his forearms. Uhh, not good, smile fading, SAY SOMETHING!
"Can vipers be rabid?" I abruptly asked him, fighting a faint blush. Funny. Before this, I never blushed…
"Uh… Well, I don't see why not," Rolith reasoned, looking a bit bewildered. I was faintly aware of Maya watching us both with a gleaming gaze that made me want to defend myself automatically. "Everything can be, I think."
"Yeah," I responded. "But have you ever heard of a rabid reptile…? I mean, honestly?"
"No," he admitted, his grin becoming just a little looser, "But that doesn't mean there aren't any."
"Exactly right!" I exclaimed, putting my pointer finger right up under his nose. Rolith chuckled, gently pushing my bare hand to the side.
"I usually am. I came to say, I'm making a quick trip to Falconreach. Would you like to come along?" I paused briefly, feeling just a little bit shy. That's really… uncharacteristic for me… So what do I say?
"Um… yeah, sure," I finally said, a little bit of a cautious smile replacing my usual broad grin. "What's the occasion?"
"Tell you on the way there," he told me in a jaunty tone. "Go get saddled up, I'll meet you at the gates in ten minutes!" My smile widening, I nodded, and darted off towards the stables after a quick goodbye to Maya. The other woman was grinning in a very knowing way, and I decided my best option was just to ignore her.
Eight and a half minutes later, I was excitedly leading my mare to the gates, decked out in her simple black leather tack and a plain (but sturdy) saddle blanket. Around the Keep, for the most part, if something was pretty rather than useful, it was gotten rid of or sold. My gray mare was reading my excitement, and though she kept her head (for which I was extremely grateful), once I was mounted she shifted her weight around her feet a bit more than she usually did.
Personally, even though I had only returned from being abducted the night before last, I was eager to get moving again. I could seldom stay put for long, unless it involved my paintings—then I could sit still for days, assuming nature didn't call. And she always did.
"I'm assuming you're ready?"
Turning my head to look over my shoulder, I grinned delightedly at the Captain, flicking my still-damp bangs out of my eyes. "I've never been to Falconreach before," I confided as he called for the gates to be opened. He shot an incredulous glance at me before urging his stallion into a slow trot. With a smothered giggle, I saw that he still hadn't gotten around to replacing the browband on his bridle, as the rhinestones were still fixed on there.
"You're joking." His voice was unconvinced and doubtful, and frankly, I took offense.
"I resent that…"
"Everyone around here has been to Falconreach at least once!" he exclaimed, reaching behind us as we rode down the left path towards the darker part of the forest. His hammer was tied with breakaway ties to the back of his saddle, and after what happened last time, I didn't blame him for hefting it up onto his shoulder as we rode. Clicking to his bay, Rolith began to canter. The sooner we were through this patch, the better. I wisely stayed quiet as I trailed after him, and kept my eyes open. No, we didn't learn. No, I wasn't the most observant person in the world. But yes, we trusted each other in the case of another ambush.
It was nerve-wracking, eyes flying to every little shadow that so much as twitched. I was in no great hurry to be captured again. My hair was beginning to get very, very irritating—it was falling and slipping all over my shoulders and neck, forcing me to toss it back every time my mare's gait threw it forward.
As soon as my feet touch the ground again, I'm rebraiding it, I thought irritably, even though I knew that I would forget. It was almost like coming across an abandoned chest of gold when the forest began to get light ahead of us, and Rolith gently pulled his bay to a stop on the trail immediately after the trees ended. A knight I had only met once before sat on the wide railing of the bridge, looking up at us as we approached.
"It's no good trying to go across the bridge," he warned. "Another so-called 'hero' flounced in and killed another Hydra. Damn thing busted through the bridge—again." Sir Pent's frustrated tone was impossible to miss, and I hid a smile, biting my lip.
"This'll be the eighth—no, ninth time they've had to fix that bridge," Rolith complained, then he turned to me. "Come on, let's head upriver. There's another way across about two miles up."
"Okay," I agreed, tapping my mare's sides when Rolith started his bay out at a quick trot. "You never told me!" I called from behind him over the roar of the water—regrettably, the path was only wide enough for one, and I didn't know where we were going. "Why are we going to Falconreach?"
"I was going to meet up with some old friends," he replied loudly, turning his head a little. "I think you might like to be introduced." I beamed.
"Anything I ought to know about them?" I shouted. "It's usually good to be forewarned if, I don't know, a guy goes psycho every time apples are mentioned or something." I could hear Rolith's chuckle from all the way back here, deep and rumbling.
"Artix and Magiya!" he said cheerfully, moving a bit to the left as the path widened a little bit—enough for me to ride beside him. I gratefully accepted the unspoken invitation without a second thought.
"Do I know them? Who are they? You're not getting out of introducing me. Are they in a Class? Should I have heard of them? Oh, are they together? How—"
"Dammit, take it slow!" Rolith cursed, but a small smile was dancing over his lips. "You've never met them, I don't think, though you may have heard their names from other knights in the Keep. Artix is one of my oldest friends, and he's a Paladin," he continued, "and Magiya is also a good friend of mine. She's a very accomplished Mage—just try not to crush her," he added. "Another thing you might want to know about Magiya…" Rolith trailed off, hesitating.
"Is it a bad thing?" I guessed innocuously. Rolith had replaced his hammer on the back of his saddle now that we were past the danger zone, and he ran his gloved free hand through his dark, golden-toned hair.
"Sometimes," he admitted, glancing over. "She's… blunt. And critical. She's direct and no-nonsense most of the time, and on a bad day she's got a subzero temperature."
"But she's not an ice elf?" I needled. Rolith chuckled, and it made me grin just to hear the sound.
"No, she isn't. I don't think," he amended. "She can come off as unfriendly, but she's loyal to her friends, and is a good person. Just, if she seems to insult you, don't be offended; she's like that to just about everybody. She used to be worse, actually," he commented. "But she and Artix are like this—" He broke off to cross two of his fingers here, then went on, "—and they've been through a lot. Magiya has more courage and determination than many people give her credit for."
I shifted slightly in my saddle, feeling like I needed to change the subject. Where did that come from? "So… what about Artix?"
"He's a hopeless flirt," Rolith responded immediately and without shame. "He's a jokester and chances are he'll try to embarrass either you or Magiya when you meet him. But he's harmless in that respect."
"Gotcha… any subject I should avoid bringing up?" I questioned. Rolith turned the question over for a moment before answering, and when he did, it was a little bit soft, and kind of… sad, almost.
"Magic and how it works," he finally murmured, watching me for a second before looking up. "Here we go."
The somber mood dissipated, I looked in the same direction, and then my heart dropped into my stomach.
"No."
"Calliope, it's just a ferry, and it will take both us and the horses across, now come on."
"No!" I whined, leaning forward to bury my face in the gray neck directly in front of me. "Can't we just try to jump the bridge…?"
"It'll give way under our weight and the horses'. Now come on!"
Four minutes later, Rolith was holding my hair in one hand and the horses' reins in the other, watching with alarm as I bent dangerously over the railing, creating some sounds that—from his reaction—he had never heard before. We were the only passengers on the short, sturdy boat, thankfully. The barge was somewhat steady, but that didn't mean my stomach thought so. It made its opinion disgustingly clear as it decided to empty itself of my breakfast from early that morning—not that there was much to get rid of.
After another long minute of no other sounds coming from over the side, I slowly sank down to sit with my back against the railing, tucking my face into my knees. "Well, that was embarrassing," I mumbled under my breath, wiping the corner of my mouth on the fabric of my sleeve, glad I hadn't worn my armor. I was positive my face was still a bit green. Due to the current and the actual width of the river, apparently, it took almost ten minutes to cross the river and get to the opposing dock.
"Are you okay?" Rolith asked warily, kneeling down. I moved my face just enough to glare up at him with one gray slate-colored eye.
"Drop dead," I grumbled, still feeling out of it. Rolith grinned, but made the extremely sensible choice to just keep his mouth shut until we were properly on the docks again, and I leaned my forehead against a smooth tree trunk until he had finished paying the ferry operator. Mercifully, he didn't even mention my… avoidance of boats and the like, choosing instead to just chatter on, apparently in the hopes of taking my mind off things. We both stayed on foot, me by choice, him simply by agreement. Even though my legs were still a bit shaky, I still preferred walking to the faintly swaying gait of the mare. Even though her gait was much better than a boat or ferry, for the time being, I chose the ground.
"It's only about a five to ten minute walk until we get to the city," he informed me. Making a quiet sound of agreement, I looked up and around. The track we were on was wide and well-used, and the trees were wide-spread all around, allowing shafts of sunlight to pierce the weak canopy.
"What's Falconreach like?" I abruptly asked, looking over at him. I was over my seasickness, and even though I knew he hadn't done the ferry with my reaction in mind, I still wasn't going to let him out of it quite so easily.
"You'll see when we get there," he said cheerfully, earning a glare from me.
"What do Artix and Magiya look like?" I tried again.
"You'll see," he repeated.
Fine, if you want to play this game…
"What's your favorite fruit?"
"Y—Uh, oranges…?" he answered carefully, frowning at the change of subject. I beamed.
"Why?"
"Because they can be separated and shared with someone," he replied, dumbfounded. "Also, I like citrus."
"Favorite color?"
"My turn," he objected, and my mood brightened instantly. He's playing along! "Favorite color?"
"You cheat," I grumbled, then thought for a second. "Either… green or gold. Now you." Rolith gave a mock groan of distress, and I elbowed him lightly, grinning widely.
"I guess… A sort of dark gold, or a coppery color," he said after a moment's consideration. "What's your favorite season?"
"Autumn," I answered instantly, taking pride in my choice. "I love all of the warm colors, and it's not so hot outside that you'll die in your armor or sweat through your clothes. Any siblings?" I immediately shot back at him, raising my eyebrows and tossing my bangs out of my eyes again.
"Nope, only child. You?"
"One brother," I said with a warm smile. "He's the best a girl could ask for. Even though I didn't ask for him, technically, but still…"
"Older or younger brother?"
"Ah-ah, my turn," I laughed, then stopped, my gaze riveted on something beyond the trees. "Is that the Guardian Tower?"
Through a patch in the trees, the top of a huge tower was visible to me, and it looked like an eagle had somehow taken up residence as the tower. It was architecturally sound, from what I could see, but all the same, there was a huge hawk head and wings extending from the top of the building. Whoever had built the stone tower had done a good job if they were looking for attention—at the very top, the bird's eyes were hollowed out so that it looked like its gaze followed you everywhere. Overall, though, it was… kinda majestic.
"Gee, do you think the architect was looking for a little attention?" I asked sarcastically, quoting part of my thoughts. I had finally gotten the hang of not saying my thoughts out loud around Rolith—it could easily lead to bad situations.
"Not at all," he laughed, then pointed ahead along the path. "The gates are right up there. Artix and Magiya should be waiting for us a little past the inn." Smiling just a little wider, I picked up my pace.
"Oh, and I wasn't kidding earlier," I declared, shooting Rolith a sparkling sideways glance. "I've never been to Falconreach!" Ignoring Rolith's disbelieving and frustrated huff, I started laughing, and broke into a run towards the gates. Sputtering lightly, my mare took a faster pace, trotting after me. A second later, I could hear Rolith and his stallion do the same, and I laughed, back in good spirits. Nothing can keep me down for long.
Yikes, that was a long chapter. O.o Truth is, I wrote all of it in about a week, and I'm really happy with how most of it came out. ^^ My apologies for being a day late, school complications took priority!
So as you can see, although this fic is not by any means centered around Artix and Magiya, like I said, they are going to show up! :D Also, don't be fooled—the trouble with the bandits isn't over yet! B) Our stars still have a way to go! I don't cut them any slack—what they do manage to get out of, they do on their own! That's a good practice for a story, now that I think about it…
Now, reviews!
Ellexinda: Believe it or not, I actually had to rewrite two of the sections of that scene four times. Each. xD I tried to make it funny but serious at the same time (not easy), and by the sound of it, my efforts paid off! I was feeling frisky after teasing one of my guy friends, and my daily attitudes have a tendency to transfer over to whatever I'm writing, I'm afraid.
I can't tell you how incredibly thrilled I am that you're noticing and enjoying certain details that I put in on purpose! It makes my day when readers- when ANYBODY- notices these. (That's part of what draws me to my current sister-friends.) The funny bit about the color section is that I know someone who's a very... avid painter, and it's thanks to him that I have most of my color knowledge. xD
As for the bandits... they're the main antagonists. Their role in this story isn't over just yet!
MusicalPoetess: You're better now, though, yes? :P And with the "daring escape" scene, I was honestly planning to make it longer and draw it out into a chase... but a) I got lazy and b) how could the knights get the gates open and shut quickly enough to let our protagonists in and not the bandits? They don't have enough brains to know to not head in! They're like flies with the glowy light!
*glomp* Nobody's gonna MAKE you learn Russian... learning it against your will is less fun. LESS.
Tune in to the next chapter next month! :) Commercials are sponsored by school, need for sleep, and busy life! Thanks again for reading, and remember that reviews are always appreciated! ^^
See you then!
Juliet
