[It's not, but feel free to take it!! It's not like it's gonna be missed, or anything like that. Certainly not, just time to add to the list of crimes we're committing here.
...But yeah, he certainly doesn't need to remind her why that's irritating. The Vernier's certainly aren't very highly viewed in Blanche's eyes after all she's heard from Alaric. She'd certainly kick their asses herself if she had the ability to do so, those no good, irresponsible, absolute assholes--]
Nor am I, unfortunately. [It's not as if she knows all the Verniers, but she has at least heard a few names in passing from her parents.] But yes, I am in agreement. We will need to be cautious, but if we can learn anything from the townspeople at all, it may indeed prove to be a boon.
[...Blanche is going to take a tome or two with her, though--she doesn't have a lot of experience with black magic, but at the very least, she can learn and add a few more spells to her repository.]
Come. We should get out of this room, at the very least. Perhaps we can pick them off as they come...
[...Of course, that's going to be a problem. Sure, they can exit the room fairly easily, and they can likely go down the hallway easily enough--sadly there's no alternate escape routes except the way they came, but they can at least get back to the dining hall easily.
...The problem is that they have company, and lots of it. And chief among them is their old friend, the archer. There's at least twelve people here, and one of the axemen looks to the archer with a grin.
"Oi, Maeve! These the guest of honors you were talkin' 'bout?"
"Oh, the ones in the same!" Maeve, apparently, grins easily at Alaric and Blanche. The group is blocking their way easily, and all of them have their weapons close at hand. Swords, lances, axes, bows, magic... "So nice of you two to join us, and so early too! It's almost a shame Lady Gretel isn't here to see you now..."]
[Alaric nods at that; there's no point in getting worked up about that right now. They've still got to get out of here, after all. The way back is easy enough, but...
Well, if their luck was bad before, it's gotten a whole lot worse. Alaric quickly counts their number - twelve? seriously? - and begins considering their options. The room here is well-fortified and windowless; there wasn't any way to get out back the way they came. The door is on the other side, blocked by the vast majority of these goons. Fighting their way through simply isn't an option. There's no way they'll survive.
Their other option is surrender, but in all honesty, that doesn't look any better. They invaded this place and they stole from the boss. Best case scenario, they're well-dressed thieves. Worst case, they're opportunistic assassins. Regardless, the people here have every reason to kill them before the mage returns.
So really, there aren't any options here at all. They're going to die. There isn't any way out of this one.
Alaric exhales slowly and finally turns his attention to Maeve.]
Shame she's out, I would've loved to meet her.
[But there isn't any point in standing around and talking. He glances back at Blanche and he hopes to whatever deities may be listening that she'll understand when he shoves that spare sword he stole at her and unsheathes his knife and lunges at the closest mercenary. There's no way for them both to make it out of here, but damn if he can't try to cut a path for her.]
[Blanche is terrified by all of this. Two against twelve are odds that the queen would never humor even slightly--there's really no way out of this one. Her spells aren't strong enough to disperse them, much less threaten all of them, and there's just no way, there's just no way that they can possibly win against this, and that's--
Blanche is brought out of her own head by Alaric's words, and when he suddenly shoves the stolen sword at her--she doesn't understand for a moment, why would he do this? It doesn't make sense to her in the slightest, but then she sees him rushing in with a knife, and--
Knights can be replaced. Queens can't.
Something sinks in Blanche's chest all at once, and before she even realizes it, she's crying. Her vision blurs as she watches her knight rush forward to his death, to certain death, and she can't just stand there, she can't stand there and let her friend just die on her.
The fight isn't going to be easy on Alaric's end; he'll certainly be able to kill one, maybe two of the bandits, and Maeve's content to hang back a little bit--though if he does aim for her, he'll be in for a slightly rude awakening, because some asshole's mastered Close Counter and isn't afraid to use it.
But whether he goes after her or not, that quickly doesn't become her focus.]
Alaric!!
[It's a blood curdling shout, and Blanche grabs the sword and attempts to enter the fray herself--she can't let him die, she won't let him die, she has to protect him--
And all at once, Maeve's look goes slightly surprised. Like she wasn't expecting this at all.
It doesn't stop her from bypassing Alaric entirely, though--either electing to jump over him, or to rush past him while he's distracted. Either way, her aim is set, and Blanche is too blinded by her own tears and fury to stop now.
"Sorry. Fate's abandoned you today."
And with those damning words from Maeve, her shot hits true--right between Blanche's eyes, and the woman falls dead on the ground as the bandits hoot and holler. Maeve, for her part, doesn't join them.]
[Once again, surprise is Alaric's second-best weapon and between that and his sword, he's able to take out one of the mercenaries before the real chaos starts. He clashes with a second and throws the dagger at a third (it doesn't even kill, damn) and then—
And then Blanche is yelling his name and there's something in that shout that chills him to the bone.
(Is that what he sounded like when he thought that lightning strike had killed her?)
He doesn't need to turn to look, he knows she's already rushed in after him. But she shouldn't be - she should be casting from afar, waiting for the perfect moment to enter the fray so she can maneuver her way toward the door and out to safety - doesn't she get that this is the only way she'll survive? Isn't that the only solution to all of this?
Maeve is fast and Alaric's distracted, and in the brief moment it takes for him to shove this lancer back and finish him, those words ring out and Alaric turns just in time to watch that shot hit Blanche right between the eyes. She falls like a stone, and for a moment that feels like it lasts an eternity, Alaric simply stares.
(Knights can be replaced. Queens can't.
Knights can be replaced. Queens can't.
Knights can be replaced. Queens can't.)
He asked one of his fellow guards once what a knight does when their charge dies. He was told he'd better pray that never happened, and when he killed all of Blanche's siblings, he made sure to kill their guardians first. What would they have felt if he hadn't, if they'd been alive to witness the death of the person they were supposed to protect?
Did any of them see their charge the way he sees Blanche?
Does it even matter anymore?
The cry that leaves him is equal parts fury and anguish, and all rational thought stops. Perhaps, if he were the sort of person who had any restraint or self-preservation at all, he would try to find another solution that isn't throwing himself at Maeve. Maybe things could have turned out differently if he'd taken a moment to think before acting in the first place. But none of that matters now - and none of it matters very quickly, because between Maeve and the remaining mercenaries, Alaric can't possibly hope to last long. He leaves behind serious injuries on several of them, but blind rage isn't the best way to handle anything, and this is no exception.
It isn't Maeve that kills him. One of the lancers stabs him straight through the back. He barely has time to register it before an axe comes down on his neck.]
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...But yeah, he certainly doesn't need to remind her why that's irritating. The Vernier's certainly aren't very highly viewed in Blanche's eyes after all she's heard from Alaric. She'd certainly kick their asses herself if she had the ability to do so, those no good, irresponsible, absolute assholes--]
Nor am I, unfortunately. [It's not as if she knows all the Verniers, but she has at least heard a few names in passing from her parents.] But yes, I am in agreement. We will need to be cautious, but if we can learn anything from the townspeople at all, it may indeed prove to be a boon.
[...Blanche is going to take a tome or two with her, though--she doesn't have a lot of experience with black magic, but at the very least, she can learn and add a few more spells to her repository.]
Come. We should get out of this room, at the very least. Perhaps we can pick them off as they come...
[...Of course, that's going to be a problem. Sure, they can exit the room fairly easily, and they can likely go down the hallway easily enough--sadly there's no alternate escape routes except the way they came, but they can at least get back to the dining hall easily.
...The problem is that they have company, and lots of it. And chief among them is their old friend, the archer. There's at least twelve people here, and one of the axemen looks to the archer with a grin.
"Oi, Maeve! These the guest of honors you were talkin' 'bout?"
"Oh, the ones in the same!" Maeve, apparently, grins easily at Alaric and Blanche. The group is blocking their way easily, and all of them have their weapons close at hand. Swords, lances, axes, bows, magic... "So nice of you two to join us, and so early too! It's almost a shame Lady Gretel isn't here to see you now..."]
no subject
Well, if their luck was bad before, it's gotten a whole lot worse. Alaric quickly counts their number - twelve? seriously? - and begins considering their options. The room here is well-fortified and windowless; there wasn't any way to get out back the way they came. The door is on the other side, blocked by the vast majority of these goons. Fighting their way through simply isn't an option. There's no way they'll survive.
Their other option is surrender, but in all honesty, that doesn't look any better. They invaded this place and they stole from the boss. Best case scenario, they're well-dressed thieves. Worst case, they're opportunistic assassins. Regardless, the people here have every reason to kill them before the mage returns.
So really, there aren't any options here at all. They're going to die. There isn't any way out of this one.
Alaric exhales slowly and finally turns his attention to Maeve.]
Shame she's out, I would've loved to meet her.
[But there isn't any point in standing around and talking. He glances back at Blanche and he hopes to whatever deities may be listening that she'll understand when he shoves that spare sword he stole at her and unsheathes his knife and lunges at the closest mercenary. There's no way for them both to make it out of here, but damn if he can't try to cut a path for her.]
no subject
Blanche is brought out of her own head by Alaric's words, and when he suddenly shoves the stolen sword at her--she doesn't understand for a moment, why would he do this? It doesn't make sense to her in the slightest, but then she sees him rushing in with a knife, and--
Knights can be replaced. Queens can't.
Something sinks in Blanche's chest all at once, and before she even realizes it, she's crying. Her vision blurs as she watches her knight rush forward to his death, to certain death, and she can't just stand there, she can't stand there and let her friend just die on her.
The fight isn't going to be easy on Alaric's end; he'll certainly be able to kill one, maybe two of the bandits, and Maeve's content to hang back a little bit--though if he does aim for her, he'll be in for a slightly rude awakening, because some asshole's mastered Close Counter and isn't afraid to use it.
But whether he goes after her or not, that quickly doesn't become her focus.]
Alaric!!
[It's a blood curdling shout, and Blanche grabs the sword and attempts to enter the fray herself--she can't let him die, she won't let him die, she has to protect him--
And all at once, Maeve's look goes slightly surprised. Like she wasn't expecting this at all.
It doesn't stop her from bypassing Alaric entirely, though--either electing to jump over him, or to rush past him while he's distracted. Either way, her aim is set, and Blanche is too blinded by her own tears and fury to stop now.
"Sorry. Fate's abandoned you today."
And with those damning words from Maeve, her shot hits true--right between Blanche's eyes, and the woman falls dead on the ground as the bandits hoot and holler. Maeve, for her part, doesn't join them.]
no subject
And then Blanche is yelling his name and there's something in that shout that chills him to the bone.
(Is that what he sounded like when he thought that lightning strike had killed her?)
He doesn't need to turn to look, he knows she's already rushed in after him. But she shouldn't be - she should be casting from afar, waiting for the perfect moment to enter the fray so she can maneuver her way toward the door and out to safety - doesn't she get that this is the only way she'll survive? Isn't that the only solution to all of this?
Maeve is fast and Alaric's distracted, and in the brief moment it takes for him to shove this lancer back and finish him, those words ring out and Alaric turns just in time to watch that shot hit Blanche right between the eyes. She falls like a stone, and for a moment that feels like it lasts an eternity, Alaric simply stares.
(Knights can be replaced. Queens can't.
Knights can be replaced. Queens can't.
Knights can be replaced. Queens can't.)
He asked one of his fellow guards once what a knight does when their charge dies. He was told he'd better pray that never happened, and when he killed all of Blanche's siblings, he made sure to kill their guardians first. What would they have felt if he hadn't, if they'd been alive to witness the death of the person they were supposed to protect?
Did any of them see their charge the way he sees Blanche?
Does it even matter anymore?
The cry that leaves him is equal parts fury and anguish, and all rational thought stops. Perhaps, if he were the sort of person who had any restraint or self-preservation at all, he would try to find another solution that isn't throwing himself at Maeve. Maybe things could have turned out differently if he'd taken a moment to think before acting in the first place. But none of that matters now - and none of it matters very quickly, because between Maeve and the remaining mercenaries, Alaric can't possibly hope to last long. He leaves behind serious injuries on several of them, but blind rage isn't the best way to handle anything, and this is no exception.
It isn't Maeve that kills him. One of the lancers stabs him straight through the back. He barely has time to register it before an axe comes down on his neck.]