The Princess and The Mercenary (Private with marcola)

( I hope you don't mind me having a more formatted post! I already had it prepared for her. I can give you the code if you'd like one like it for your character? Also, don't worry about matching my posts, I tend to write a lot in description and exposition so don't feel like you have to match the length of my posts if you can't. )

It had been a very long week for Mirabelle. Her grandmother had died, for one, and she felt the loss acutely. The funeral wasn't even over when her uncle arrived in the capital, announcing himself the rightful heir because he was a son rather than a grandchild. He wasn't exiled, but he had brought great shame upon their family years ago, and had been sent to a fortress on the distant southern border as punishment. It was a surprise that he was back to say the least. He claimed that defending the southern border had given him new perspective, had made him like his mother- fit to be a ruler. Mirabelle thought that she would be able to state her case with the council of nobles, or perhaps the priests at the temple of Varla, though she began to sense that wouldn't be the case when her uncle's soldiers gathered at the gates, closing them off to anyone who tried to enter or leave. Uncle Damon fully intended to take the 'competition' out by force.

Her quick thinking saved her, as she asked a servant girl with similar red hair to switch clothes with her, then packed all of the jewelry she could fit into a satchel, and passed the castle walls by a hidden passage in the garden. She hadn't looked back after leaving the city. It would hurt too much to think of what might happen to her mother when the new king discovered she was gone. The gemstones she brought with her had taken her far; far enough away that her feet ached with every step and nobody knew who exactly she was. So far from the capital, the royals were just an idea, nobody had actually seen them. Her boots and heavy fur cloak were soaked with rain as she entered the tavern. A shelter for the night before she would keep moving. The princess wasn't sure what she was searching for, though she was soon to realise.

Taking a seat near the fire to dry her boots off, she cast her gaze around the tavern. Instantly, her eyes landed upon a group who were most certainly not local farmers. Mercenaries, she thought, good ones if one was to judge by their equipment. They appeared to be chattering among themselves, apart from one who seemed far sterner than the rest. It would be easiest for her to get the attention of that one, considering that he was likely far less drunk than the others. She had pushed the hood away from her face when she sat down, and her bright hair probably made her stick out as she weaved her way through the crowded tavern towards the mercenaries. As she approached, she did her best to appear as confident as possible, though the warnings her father had about these sorts of people stuck in her mind. "Excuse me?" she said, aiming her statement at the man who had caught her eye, as polite as she had ever been. It wasn't just the manners that would mark her as being noble-born, her posture and accent were notable, and she still wore two fine rings on her left hand. She had been forced to sell her earrings days ago.

(There you go! Some images don't work with the dimensions, and if you're previewing from the reply box it doesn't appear as it would in a post so the best thing to do is go into the 'add post templates' section & set it up there because that preview shows the fancy as it would appear in a post.)

The princess didn't like the response that the mercenary gave in the slightest. Arrogant and callous, her father appeared to be right on the temperament of mercenaries. But she was not about to get indignant with them, Mira held no power here, so to begin to act high and mighty as if she did have would get her nowhere. "That would be work for assassins, would it not? You are soldiers. Soldiers fight wars, you just do it for coin. Am I correct?" she responded, a sweetness to her voice and a smile upon her face, though anyone who looked at her eyes would see a sharpness beneath the veneer.

She did not give the mercenary leader time to respond, instead removing the larger ring from her left hand and offered it to him. A band of gold with a flat square face on one side, embossed with a heraldic bear wearing a crown - the symbol of Queen Yrsa Beren and her family. If the mercenary could not piece together at least her identity, if not her intention, from what she had given him then perhaps she should look elsewhere. Beggars cannot be choosers however, and as much as it stung at her pride to admit it, she had very little left before she would have to resort to that.

( This isn't my best post, but it's slightly rushed because I have a busy day today. Sorry about that! )

A moment of silence passed as he studied the ring, and Mira wondered if he would even give it back. If he recognized its worth, there was no guarantee that he wouldn't simply keep it. The mercenary seemed to be at least interested in hearing her out, if not agreeing to what she had in mind. Retrieving the ring from him, and putting the ring securely back where it had been previously. Was he trying to deter her with his words about prices and consequences? It wasn't working. "Whatever the price is, I will pay. Whatever the consequences are, I will take responsibility." she said, serious now in her tone. Everything that she had been promised had been taken from her, and she fully intended to take it back by any means necessary.

Her grandmother had carved out her kingdom in war, and now Mirabelle would do the same. If any thought that she was lesser because she was a woman, or because her mother had been of the lower classes, they were soon to learn otherwise. She had spent her life playing the fool, but that would not serve her again for a while. Mira had nothing to pay them in advance, but the first order of business would be to secure funds and the princess knew exactly where to get it. Her uncle didn't know all of the places their family owned and stored wealth, so the guards at Baersted Keep would be lower than usual. If they could take the castle (or better yet, have it surrendered to them) then they would have legitimacy and a base of operations, as well as access to the treasury there.

To say that Mirabelle was unprepared for what was to come was an understatement. She had spent every spare moment thinking about what she should do, though had not considered that enacting her plans would be more arduous than she had initially anticipated. Privacy would be a good idea for talking over the details of the job, and she nodded in response. "I have a room here, would that suffice?" she asked.

Mirabelle lead the way to her room, grace and elegance ever-present in her posture, even if her clothes and hair looked worse for wear. It wasn't hard to read that the mercenary didn't trust her, but that was called for she supposed. The princess wasn't about to mention that she had never been permitted to have weapons training in her life, for she didn't know if he would use that information against her, or if he would even believe her in the first place.

Once they reached her room and Mira was sure that nobody was listening in - no shadows stopping at the door or footsteps ceasing once they had walked right past - she turned to the mercenary. "You know who I am, so perhaps you know what I want. Tell me, what do you think that I want from you? And what would be the cost of your help?" she asked, wanting to be sure that they were in the same area with their thoughts before she began arranging things in detail.

(sorry about this short post, my next one should be much better!)

His questions were understandable - one didn't want to do business without knowing what the terms of the ocntract were - but she was unsure why he was asking. Was it purely from a business perspective, or could he also be thinking of the people? He was one of them, and did business with them, so it would benefit the mercenary in the long run if this agreement would be beneficial for the people as well. Although she fully intended to compensate them enough to live a life of luxury on if she won back her crown, some mercenaries did it for the adrenaline rush. Mirabelle couldn't yet tell what type of mercenary he was. She supposed that she would have to answer his questions truthfully, for how else would she expect him to work for her?

Clearing her throat before she spoke, as if she were stalling telling him what she had told nobody else, she began to explain. "My uncle was banished to a distant border fort for a reason - he was rash and reckless, with his life as well as money. If that is how he treats his own life, how can he be expected to govern the people any better? He has had no preparation, where I have been trained for being Queen all my life. While I do want my crown back, I want what is best for the people as well. I want the best ruler to be in charge of the country, and that person is me. My grandmother ruled for almost forty years, of that she was only married for the first twenty. With her reign setting a precedent, I doubt that my marriage status will be of any importance. My ability to rule should be the focus of the nobles, and I will soon prove myself more than competent at that." she said, his statement about her being unmarried clearly ruffling some feathers. She would earn her crown, and then consider things like marriage, for Mira didn't want to win the throne only for much of the credit to go to her husband.

Though she hadn't answered all of his questions, so she continued after a pause. "As for any special treatment, I expect only the respect you would give anyone who employs you. I will not tolerate being disrespected and belittled for the sole fact that I am a woman. Is that acceptable?" she asked, though her answers were authoritative and it was more as if she was setting terms rather than negotiating them. She had determination to get what she wanted and enough ambition to set her sights high, with her royal education she also had the knowledge to be adaptable. If only she had been a son and had weapons training as well, she sometimes wondered what would have become of her.

It was a little worrying that her status would keep her safe from the advances of others no longer, and she thought momentarily of investing in buying a dagger. But with what funds would she do so? Such thoughts would have to wait until later, until after the first battle had been won, and it seemed like the first battle would be convincing this mercenary to side with her. While it was considerate that he would confirm the terms of the contract again, she wasn't used to being questioned by common folk. What else would she do, if not this? Disappear to some tiny village and live out the rest of her days there and in turn be forgotten by the world? Her pride wouldn't let her, the part of her mind that knew she was better than her uncle wouldn't let her. This mercenary could probably see the determination in her posture and on her face, there was no way now that she had gotten their attention that she would turn back. If she turned them down now, they could simply sell the information of her whereabouts to her uncle.

There was little deliberation on her part. She had made up her mind since she saw the mercenaries and the plan formed with the turning of the cogs in her brain. Mirabelle was committed to this now, because the alternative of giving up her name and identity was unthinkable. At least the change in identity would not be for long, if she went with this route, only for the duration of the contract. "I am sure. What is this alias I will be assuming, then? And when do you need your first payment for?" she asked, with a nod as if to confirm her choice. The princess went directly to the subject of business, tactics and planning, eager to get started and with no time for formal niceties like small talk and getting to know someone that she would usually indulge in. She would have to know who she was to be from now on, and what the mercenary group needed, so that she could adjust her plan accordingly. It would take two days of travel to get to the Baersted Pass, and the castle was just beyond that. It would be beneficial if they could scout the area first, 'know the enemy as you know yourself' and all that, but to know if they could do that Mira needed to know the deadline. Sieges took a long time, assaults were quicker but held higher risk unless you had a man on the inside, the amount of time they had before first payment was due would determine their approach.