The Road Goes On {Open}

[gingerduckie]

Nicoletta had some time off, it was her turn on the rota for a short break and, as per usual, she had ended up coming to the place where so manty things had happened. Where so many sins had been committed. Nicoletta suddenly took to the skies, tears burning her throat as she drew her bow and shot blindly at soemthing below her. She heard teh skittering of the metal against stone and sighed. After replacing the elegant wood bow to it's rightful place across her back and gently lowered herself to retrieve the arrow.

But she couldn't find it, it wasn't lying where it should have landed. Nicoletta frowned in confusion and annoyance. She didn't want to be leaving around any signs that she was here if truth be told. She was still on the 'witches' side of the mountain but you could never tell with vampires.

Nicoletta watched the sun sink slightly and sighed, it would be dark all too soon, she needed to find a place to camp for the night. she didn't particularly want to be caught unawares by anybody, not here when frankly, her emotions were shot to pieces and would affect her fighting abilities.

She gave up on finding the arrow, the light was fading too fast and she didn't want to use fire as it might draw unwanted attention. Nika set to hte air again, skimming over the treetops, peering through the leaves, a tree would be the safest bet and in her dark green and brown clothes she would be perfectly camouflaged against the colours of the night.

Nika found an old oak that had particularly wide branches and found a comfortable split in the branches to brace her body on. She set out her weapons around her and sat still,listening to the sounds of the birds calling to one anouther, the small insects scurrying here and there over the dried leaves, the wind blowing through the trees, the sound of soft footsteps walking slowly through the leaves. Instantly Nika reached for her bow and arrow, placing a poison tipped arrow loosely into position as she tried to peer through the failing light to see who was coming.

[Brone Van Estra]

Brone was usually up at night, and this was another time of training. He'd spent the whole hours of twilight running across the mountains to stay in shape. His father never let his training: mental or physical stop. And of course, His father was not going to let him teleport closer to home, he was just walking back now. No need to run. He'd already had his meal for the day, a small hare, just enough to keep him from lashing out at anything else he might meet. But he doubted anyone was out here at this hour.

Brone tugged back on his shirt, since the slight sun he could endure had dropped. Not because of the chill, he didn't feel it. More because it was winter and he was a prince, slightly more modest than many of them. He heard movement in a tree above him and looked up. Something was in the tree.

[gingerduckie]

Nicoletta peered through the leaves. she still couldn't see who was below her properly but it appeared to have the figure of a man, judging by the distorted shadow on the leaves cast by the moonlight. She wasn't in a good position really. Unfortunately she couldn't tell if it was a vampire or not.

Nicoletta didn't want to call out, she coudln't tell if it was friend or foe and it would give her position away too easily. If it was a vampire then their senses would be very acute, if it was a witch then while she wouldn't really have much to worry about they could have a spell to hieghten their senses, Nicoletta had heard of those spells but they were very dangerous and the forfeit was losing your senses. It was a spell that she'd stayed away from although she knew it.

She crept slowly further up hte branch, away from whoever was below her but towards a better viewpoint. As Nicoletta raised her eyes above the rough bark of the tree her dark eyebrows shot up. The man below her was no man, it was the vampire Prince. Every fibre of her being wanted to attack him, yet her brain cautioned her, if she did kill the prince then the vampires would send armies to the witches gates and she couldn't have that on her conscience without orders. Her heart clenched painfully with hatred and fire blazed in her eyes.

Here was the enemy, so clear in her sights she could take him out, or at least injure him so she would have the upper hand in a fight, yet too much lay on this boy's proud shoulders. His posture and stance reminded her the one that He had. Her heart twisted in a new pain. Nicoletta hadn't looked on another vampire and compared him to Him for so long, she hadn't thought about Him for so long, only in her dreams had she allowed her mind to wander back to those nights, that month when she was naiive, young and completely and irrevocably in love.

Nicoletta rested her forehead on the tree bough and sighed softly, she had to stop thinking, focus on the prince below her.

[Brone Van Estra]

Brone knew some one was above him and he moved slightly into the shadows. He could not hear their breathing over the wind that was starting to rustle the trees, which made him uncomfortable. He was pretty sure it was not a Vampire, he could sense a heartbeat, and Vampires did not have one. He did not want to attack but he felt as if he was being watched. "Are you going to stay up there staring?" he said into the darkness. "Because if you wanted to fight, then come on down. And if you intend to let me just go home, then why are you paying me so much attention?" Brone finished with a small smile, he wondered if the moon reflected against his teeth.

But he did not feel like fighting and it seemed that now the figure was still watching him, he started walking again. He would just go home tonight, or at least make it to his own land, among his ow kind.

[gingerduckie]

Nicoletta heard te voice break thourgh her thoughts, it was probably a good thing but then again was it ever a good thing to be stopped thikning about - yes yes it was. She was over him and would remain over him and forget what had happened.

She digested the words of the prince, he sounded quite bored, like he didn't want to fight and he couldn't tell who she was, that was a given. Nicoletta started to slide back down the branch her mind turbulent with so many thoughts. Maybe the prince didn't want to fight because he didn't know who she was...maybe he was just trying to lure into safe thoughts...maybe he wasn't really walking away from her.

It was all too confusing and unfortunately Nicoletta put her foot where wood was meant to be, isntead there was air. The shock of not touching wood stopped her brain from thinking clearly and she was soon hanging from the branch her her upper body only, realising this was more advantageous to the vampire, she dropped and landed softly, using a spell to cushion the sound of her fall. She was confused as to what he'd said, but she wouldn't fight him, not unless he attacked her.

Nicoletta stood and watched the prince walk away, the moonlight playing on his dark hair and seemingly accentuating his broad shoulders. She had met other vampires who rarely wore a shirt, they knew that their prey coudlnt' resist them really and played every card they had. Their looks being a trump card.

"Well Prince, you really are a curious being." She said softly.

[Brone Van Estra]

Brone turned with a laugh. She'd come down? Just to say that? "Not really." Brone said with a smile. "I find you to be the curious one, sitting up in a tree watching me. I thought witches didn't like being alone." He knew witches had more family ties, more emotional, and therefore, enjoyed more company than a vampire did. The good thing about being a vampire was that the cold didn't bother you. A long sleeved black shirt, which he had just recently out back on, was enough in december.

"But no matter, I am planning on going home now, unless you need me for something." Brone could not imagine why she was even here at all. It was the border between witch and vampire land, maybe she'd just crossed it to rest, but why even stay in the mountains? The prince was just trying to be civil, why did that always make others almost more uneasy.

[gingerduckie]

His words again statrled her, but what he was saying was the truth, witches were generally found in groups, large groups, they didn't like being alone...but Nicoletta did, especially when she came to the mountains. It was a rare occurence and one avoiding by most witches. Nicoletta wanted to say that she hadn't come down just to say that one sentenc e but then it would have meant she would have to give aqn explanation as to why she was now out of the tree and Nika didn't want to say that she'd pretty much fallen out of the tree. Not to him anyway.

"We don't, but there are certain times when one's own company is needed, and as of now, i am not alone. You are here also." she replied, though she didn't necessarily want his company it was slightly better than being alone.

Nicoletta acknowledged the tone of his voice, he truly was going to leave her alone, that shocked her a bit.

"Why are you like that?" she asked, her curiosity suddenly piqued. Only one other vampire that she'd met hadn't tried to kill her. While she knew how that turned out it wouldn't matter with the prince, she didn't love him for starters. "Is it merely a ploy? Or are you truly interested only in returning to your home?" Sometimes vampires could the the strangest of things. This, however, was one of the strangest Nika had ever heard of.

[Brone Van Estra]

Brone listened to her, crossing his arms over his chest, not even defensively, but just casually, his face serious as always. He was a rather serious being most of the time. When she was quite finished talking he let her question hang in the air only for a moment. "Well, I have eaten already, for one." He said, looking at her half expecting her to run away in disgust at the thought of him feeding. or go dreadfully pale as Aarya had done. "Secondly, you haven't tried to harm me, and I wouldn't fight without being provoked."

Brone waited a moment to see how she was reacting. He knew that vampires felt things strongly, mostly anger, lust and revenge. And maybe that was part of why witches found them so unreasonable, and maybe they thought that vampires were incapable of thought and reason at all. This woman wasn't a threat to him, he was fairly sure he could kill if he had too, but he didn't have to, and that was the point. "If vampires aren't hungry, we don't thirst for blood; there would be no reason to kill you, what would I gain? Nothing, so why bother fighting? Simply because you're a witch? Its a foolish reason." She personally ahd not done a thing to him, her people on the other hand... He'd been taught how the war started.

[gingerduckie]

Nicoletta tilted her head as she listened to his words, she saw teh expectance in his eyes and it sparked her curiosity, it was with what he'd said about feeding, she was obviously meant to react in a certain way, but her time living in close relaitonship with a vampire, even though she'd been half uncnoscious for half of it, had altered her thoughts on the vampire way of feeding. It wasn't so disgusting now, did they as witches not eat the flesh of livestock? In fact, in a weird way it would probably be healthier if the blood was drained before the meat was cooked, and while Nicoletta was not naiive enough to believe that vampires only fed off livestock it didn't change the facts.

"Then it appears that no fight will occur here. Although i wonder if your noble birth has given you these thoughts or you would have turned out the same way brought up by a lesser family." Nicoletta folded her arms and ran her eyes over the prince's body in speculation. He definitely was a curious one no doubt about that.

"You are wrong though, if you killed me you would probably gain something, though if it's a good or bad consequence is up to you." Nicoletta replied, meeting the prince's gaze, she didn't know if he knew who she was, in fact she doubted it but she wasn't about to give him her identity.

[Brone Van Estra]

Brone laughed. "No matter where I was born I'd be the same I think." It was hard to say weather the royal family or the uneducated were the most hungry for this feud. The royal family had felt the loss of Vlad, but they were not loosing money in this war the same way the poor were. Royals knew the story by heart, but so did every vampire.

Brone thought about her words before saying, "Poor conscience."He said. Most vampires knew that mass amounts of witch blood in their system would make them sick. All the magic was a bit much. A vampire could never drink an entire witch if it was still alive. No witch knew that of course, it was the only way they kept in control. It could certainly be done, and might even be worth it once and a while. But Humans tasted better anyway.

"You know who I am," Brone said. "I think its only fair if you tell me who you are."

[gingerduckie]

Nicoletta raised her eyebrows and chuckled lightly.

"You really think that? Well, each to their own." She shrugged and sighed, leaning back against the tree trunk. She thought back over the story did the vampries have the same story? Was it altered slightly to put them in a better light and ensure that young vampires believed witches to be the enemy? She had plenty of questions, but she wouldn't ask them. It would be too odd, gathering information from a vampire when she didn't know what would happen this night.

Nicoletta knew that even though there was all the fighting between the two races there weren't that many records of witches being killed by vampires, or if there was then other wounds on the witches body were found, it had always puzzled Nicoletta whilst others just jumped to the conclusion that the two had fought before the vampire had a lust unable to contain for the blood and promptly drained teh poor witch. Indeed, Nicoletta had found two such attacks herself. They weren't pretty.

Nicoletta's eyebrows rose again and the corner of her lips rose slightly in a small grin. Yes the prince was curious, and slightly amusing.

"You make a fair point prince, it is cruious you have not brought it up before. I am Nicoletta Bentley, protector of the Royal family." She replied, raising her chin. Nicoleta knew she was important and she liked being important to people, it made her feel like she had a family again.

[Brone Van Estra]

Brone liked watching people think. he wondered what she was indeed thinking about. No doubt about her own experience of vampire and whatever stories she had heard in the past of them. he of course knew the story of Vlad's death, everyone did. But he knew the witches had a much different story. Brone wondered if she even had holes in her neck and was deathly pale in death. He wondered if the witches had any evidence, and even if they did, any vampire could have done it.

When he heard she was the protector he chuckled, it was terrible timing, but all he could think of was Aarya's meeting with him in the woods. He did not want to rat her out, she intrigued him and he almost wanted to meet her again outside of court. "Ah, well pleased to meet you," Brone bowed to her with his head and added. "It would seem you need to watch your family a little more closely." He said with a smile, but a non-threatening smile, it was one of slight amusement.

[gingerduckie]

As the prince bowed his head Nicoletta's eyes narrowed, what did he mean with those words? And that smile, the wry humour that danced across his lips...Nicoletta sighed inwardly and mentally smached her palm to her forehead. Who else could he be talking about? Aarya had a habit of running off without anyone to guard her, but Nicoletta never knew that she would go so far from the boundaries. Thank god she hadn't been hurt, Nicoletta would never have been able to forgive herself if something happened to Aarya, neither would teh king and queen. She made a quick decision to monitor Aarya a bit more carefully and hopefully get the princess to confide in her.

Nicoletta glanced up at Brone, she had been too quite, no doubt he'd take it for what it was, she was assessing the problem of part of her family being out alone. It was true but tehn...Nicoletta's thoughts stopped mid flow and she fixed the prince with a steady gaze, suspiscion flitting around her bright eyes.

"My family? What do you konw of my family?" She asked, even if he was merely speaking about the royals she had said nothing about her personal feelings towards the royals. she knew that vampires could read people, but to what extent? Her father's voice said that it would be valuable information but she pushed it away, this was personal gain. If the prince didn't mean the royal family and knew that she thought of the higher family as her own then maybe he could find out about her family, about what had happened to all of them. Nicoletta felt fear freeze her mind for a mere second at the thought of anyone, no matter who or what they were, knowing her sins to use against her whether they intended to or not.

[Brone Van Estra]

"I only meant the family you serve. But specifically, I meant the youngest princess has a great tendency to wander off." he said watching her face change. But everyone knew vampires were no good with emotion, that was a witches skill. "But do not worry about Aarya, I made she she got back safely." that much was true, despite the fact he had saved her from a wolf, she had returned home unscathed, unless perhaps she had done soemthing terribly stupid after he got her out of the woods.

Brone noticed she was looking less at ease, less confident for a moment and he furrowed his eyebrows together in thought. What was wrong with her? Why had the word family made her uneasy? Brone knew witch families were very close but was it enough to warrant a fear that he would attack her's or something? Did she think he had made a threat?

[gingerduckie]

So it had been Aarya! Nicoletta was sure to be having words with the girl when she got back to the castle. Nicoletta sighed, she ahted having to be the one to yell at the princesses, but if she passed it onto anyone else then it would onlty escalate and maybe even reach the kind and queen. While they should know, Nicoletta knew that it would definitely shock them into probably locking Aarya in a tower for the rest of her life or something.

Nicoletta bowed her head, so far the only movement she had given to show the prince any respect granted by his station.

"Then a thanks is in order. I am glad that she didn't quite take your fancy that night." Nicoletta was sure that Aarya hadn't been injured at all recently. That would ahve been too hard to cover up, especially from Nicoletta who was constantly watching Aarya for any changes. The young girl was too unpredictable for her own good, although it was this trait that would make her a great queen if it came to that.

As Nicoletta's mind calmed down she remembered that vampires couldn't read emotions, emotions were a witch thing. How coudl she have forgotten that? Nicoletta relaxed visibly though not too much, no matter how the prince claimed of the zero intentions he had of hurting her she couldn't trust him, maybe he wasn't even on his own, maybe he had someone else with him and he wasn't gonig to attack her but let whoever was with him attack her. Nicoletta shifted her weight onto the balls of her feet inconspicuously, just in case.