08-12-2017, 05:20 AM
Zi took the dagger away from Kendra's neckline, much to the dethroned princess' confusion. When the shipworkers move in to haul her away, an autonomous response, Zi stopped them. "Go about your business, I will deal with her." He slipped Kendra's dagger into his belt. Her lips were parted and a confused expression set heavily on her brow. She had just attempted to assassinate him and failed. Why was he being so calm and casual about it? "When Cheka arrives, tell it to find me. It'll be the monkey with a weird toy." They will know when they find the homunculus.
With a light nudge to Kendra's shoulder, Zi escorted her off of the docks. "I wasn't informed Redglaive was a father beforehand... I am sorry for your loss." The statement was automatic, ingrained by society to be recited at the loss of a loved one. The moment he said it, Zi instantly realized the absurdity in the statement in this particular situation. "What I mean is... I wish it didn't have to be this way."
Kedra was quick to bite back. "You didn't have to kill my father! You and your stupid king could have minded your own!" Perhaps that statement was even more absurd.
"No, I don't think we could. Meloth couldn't stand to see the way your father ran things... and I agree, it was heart breaking. It... It made the job easier, knowing he was a bad pers--"
The young sorcerer did not even get to finish his statement. Kedra had turned and open hand struck him right across the face. She was a warrior, with appropriate strength to back up that title. The impact left his ears ringing and little specks of lights in his eyes. "That person was my father. He may have been rough, but it made our people stronger..." She held a proud stance, even though her hand curled, stinging madly from the sharp slap to Zi's cheek. Her thumb had clipped the steel rim of his goggles, causing it to throb.
Righting himself, Zi nudged her again, to try and continue their walk towards the castle's courtyard. People were looking again. The locals knew who she was, and the crowd was a mix of feelings towards this situation. Zi, the savior, and Kendra the orphaned child. Kendra refused to move. "It made them weaker..." The soft words held venom. "Your kingdom is PATHETIC!" His tone rose and now it was sharp. The kind aura of the young man became heated. "You're not going to sit there and tell me that your lowest caste are STRONGER for what your father did! Children were SICK after we arrived because they almost exploding their stomachs, and you know why? Because in all their little dreams, they never once realized that food is not a competition! We literally had to put everyone on strict rations so they did not gorge themselves to death!"
The princess was caught holding her breath. As Zi deflated, she tried to make up for lost ground. "My father, and this kingdom as a whole, are warrior. We live for competition... Only the strong survive. I would not expect a spineless assassin to understand."
"You used an illusion spell to try and assassinate me literally two minutes go." The deadpan tone made his words even more painful to hear. If they had been said in anger, it could have been a part of their verbal warfare, but with so little emotion it was just Zi rubbing Kendra's face into her own hypocracy. "And quite poorly. You forgot to disguise the magic presence, I dropped out of the academy and even I could see something amiss a mile off."
That seemed to hurt her too. "Excuse me! How can I expect to compete with a noble-born of a magic kingdom like Yorheim?"
Zi just shouted in frustration. "Are you DENSE! You are the daughter of a KING, who had his own CABAL of WIZARD. If he hadn't gotten them killed on a weekly basis, he could have matched ours! And as a matter of fact, my father is a blacksmith, and my mother? Basket-weaver. Not magical in the slightest. I'm only a noble because the King bribed me with status for my family if I took a Blood-Oath, so I literally can't deny him, or my magic kills me from the inside out. For the last TWO YEARS I've spent more time running around Yorheim solving his problems than I have in my own bed." He took a breath. Kendra tried to interject, but with a flick of his wrist, she was magically silenced.
"Do you think I wanted to grow up to become the King's lacky? No! I wanted to be a traveling merchant! I wanted to travel to far lands, find cool cultural goods and bring them back to Yorheim. Engraved and decorative shields from Valsinsheeir were going to decorate the side of my cart and a Ninsin canopy was going to cover it. Can you imagine how amazing that would be? Ninsin cloth literally absorbs heat, it would have been so cold in that cart I could have carried ice back from Mount Bosch, or bananas from Ninsia. Have you even EATEN a banana?"
Zi's mocha face was red, his eyes had become bloodshot as all the frustration of the last two years had manifested itself in a single moment. "I'm sorry I killed your father, but at least you have a future. This isn't a hostile takeover. We only brought soldiers because they are trained with the Golems needed to fix the homes of your citizens so they don't have to sleep OUTSIDE anymore." This time around, Zi shoved her shoulder, practically pushing her down in the process of escorting her. Both Kendra and the crowd were shocked into silence. The hero having a break down was not something they expected.
With a light nudge to Kendra's shoulder, Zi escorted her off of the docks. "I wasn't informed Redglaive was a father beforehand... I am sorry for your loss." The statement was automatic, ingrained by society to be recited at the loss of a loved one. The moment he said it, Zi instantly realized the absurdity in the statement in this particular situation. "What I mean is... I wish it didn't have to be this way."
Kedra was quick to bite back. "You didn't have to kill my father! You and your stupid king could have minded your own!" Perhaps that statement was even more absurd.
"No, I don't think we could. Meloth couldn't stand to see the way your father ran things... and I agree, it was heart breaking. It... It made the job easier, knowing he was a bad pers--"
The young sorcerer did not even get to finish his statement. Kedra had turned and open hand struck him right across the face. She was a warrior, with appropriate strength to back up that title. The impact left his ears ringing and little specks of lights in his eyes. "That person was my father. He may have been rough, but it made our people stronger..." She held a proud stance, even though her hand curled, stinging madly from the sharp slap to Zi's cheek. Her thumb had clipped the steel rim of his goggles, causing it to throb.
Righting himself, Zi nudged her again, to try and continue their walk towards the castle's courtyard. People were looking again. The locals knew who she was, and the crowd was a mix of feelings towards this situation. Zi, the savior, and Kendra the orphaned child. Kendra refused to move. "It made them weaker..." The soft words held venom. "Your kingdom is PATHETIC!" His tone rose and now it was sharp. The kind aura of the young man became heated. "You're not going to sit there and tell me that your lowest caste are STRONGER for what your father did! Children were SICK after we arrived because they almost exploding their stomachs, and you know why? Because in all their little dreams, they never once realized that food is not a competition! We literally had to put everyone on strict rations so they did not gorge themselves to death!"
The princess was caught holding her breath. As Zi deflated, she tried to make up for lost ground. "My father, and this kingdom as a whole, are warrior. We live for competition... Only the strong survive. I would not expect a spineless assassin to understand."
"You used an illusion spell to try and assassinate me literally two minutes go." The deadpan tone made his words even more painful to hear. If they had been said in anger, it could have been a part of their verbal warfare, but with so little emotion it was just Zi rubbing Kendra's face into her own hypocracy. "And quite poorly. You forgot to disguise the magic presence, I dropped out of the academy and even I could see something amiss a mile off."
That seemed to hurt her too. "Excuse me! How can I expect to compete with a noble-born of a magic kingdom like Yorheim?"
Zi just shouted in frustration. "Are you DENSE! You are the daughter of a KING, who had his own CABAL of WIZARD. If he hadn't gotten them killed on a weekly basis, he could have matched ours! And as a matter of fact, my father is a blacksmith, and my mother? Basket-weaver. Not magical in the slightest. I'm only a noble because the King bribed me with status for my family if I took a Blood-Oath, so I literally can't deny him, or my magic kills me from the inside out. For the last TWO YEARS I've spent more time running around Yorheim solving his problems than I have in my own bed." He took a breath. Kendra tried to interject, but with a flick of his wrist, she was magically silenced.
"Do you think I wanted to grow up to become the King's lacky? No! I wanted to be a traveling merchant! I wanted to travel to far lands, find cool cultural goods and bring them back to Yorheim. Engraved and decorative shields from Valsinsheeir were going to decorate the side of my cart and a Ninsin canopy was going to cover it. Can you imagine how amazing that would be? Ninsin cloth literally absorbs heat, it would have been so cold in that cart I could have carried ice back from Mount Bosch, or bananas from Ninsia. Have you even EATEN a banana?"
Zi's mocha face was red, his eyes had become bloodshot as all the frustration of the last two years had manifested itself in a single moment. "I'm sorry I killed your father, but at least you have a future. This isn't a hostile takeover. We only brought soldiers because they are trained with the Golems needed to fix the homes of your citizens so they don't have to sleep OUTSIDE anymore." This time around, Zi shoved her shoulder, practically pushing her down in the process of escorting her. Both Kendra and the crowd were shocked into silence. The hero having a break down was not something they expected.