The Merchant was   quite HAnsome, with Ruddy  skin and  a pointed, if  not thin, beard.

  Walking over the Luthien, the man  eyed him up  then turned away as if the Knight was no consequence ...My Dear Princess.. are you going to spend  all night  with the  Vagabond Mercenary?, I am one of the  most wealthy merchants in Tou...

 Dala  popped  a covered berry into her mouth, and  spoke through the chewing...Your Father is the wealthy one...you are too young , by half  for    Tou  elders to take your seriuosly.... that is..unless you come back home with a Princess?

The Fellow was  Taken aback, his eyes  narrowed, but he  regained his  'merchant smile"such talk?.... You  must have missed  some lessons   on etiquette .

  Dala  looked  down..er ..Up her  nose at him...Tell me?  'Most Wealthy?  as i assume that is yoru name, sicne you introduced yourself  as thus?.... How is the walth now, that  The  Black Timber   controls the  Lather  river, and Build thier own port?..with   the Plain Elves  and   Trace wood, able to buy and sell goods with out fear of Tou Taxes, or   Tou bandits?

 she smiled  as  she  swallowed  the berry.

 The  fellow  was a bit  put off now..They Elves.. the  made mockery of us.. That damnable chest with  the Seaelves  treasure in...they  fought  our  soldiers!... killed them  in cold  blood...

 that is how the elves deal with  enemies.. sworn or unsworn...you would think Tou would have learned the lessons...

 He grabbed her  arm...we will , one day, burn the heart from the Timber...Our Mages...

 ..your mages...if they were blessed by all the gods.. may indeed start a fire..but the  Tiber has  Gods on thier side as well..and when it came  time  to  send  a message back... Tou will be nothing  but  a new patch of farmland, and a lake for fishing..Dala  looked  at the  hand on her  arm,raised  an eyebrow  to him,

Luthien barely had to add anything. Dala whacked him on her own.

"I'm here going to add many of those elves are personal friends of mine. My sword was present for some of those campaigns against Tou as well. Should your mages attack the Timber, Tou will find itself on the pointy end of my sword again."

The Knight is no primary archer, but somebody had to take point, and he was typically that somebody. Melee with him was not wise for most opponents.

Once he laid hands on Dala, however, all bets were off. The Knight, using all of his formidable strength, grabbed the merchant's hand, dug his thumb into his wrist, and rather forcibly made him unhand the princess. Luthien is absolutely going to leave a bruise, though his trimmed fingernails are unlikely to draw blood. He is making the difference between trained warrior and merchant VERY clear.

"You will be leaving now. It's 10 to 1 the guards saw that, and you will be leaving permanently."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:19, Mon 01 Aug 2022.

  A Man..Young for a SGT, but the cold  lare of his eyes  told Luthien that the fellow was not a  'wild eyed' recruit.

 begging your pardon, Sir Luthien..Princess  Dala... Captain Antok send me over to see if  i ......may be of assistance?

Luthien will just delegate this guy off.

"He laid hands on her highness. Escort him out...and see to it he does not return. Ever."

The knight was having NONE of it for someone who crossed that line. He wasn't going to pay any attention to the merchant if he started whining either.

  The  merchant was 'steered' by the SGT  towards the   entrance..you have  no  right! he said over his shoulder.

  The  Princess  gave him a dark smirk...would he have been  so biold  in the treets, i would have left him short a hand..

"That would've been fun. You could've hung it somewhere, like merchants frequently do when they catch thieves."

That was worth a chuckle.

  She grabbed  a couple  more   covered  Berries  and popped a couple in her mouth,Me? My Sisters, even  The Consort  has been grabbed  by some one seeking out attentions, or perhaps in desperation to  catch that attention...but..I will not tolerate  some odious  Merchant grasping me out of anger.

"Well...you, at least, won't be getting grabbed anytime soon. There are eyes everywhere, and rumors spread. The more cunning types won't dare touch you for a while, I think. Which means you'll only have to worry about idiots. Those will weed themselves out soon enough, I think."

He hopes. And dines on another chocolate. Good stuff.

  The Emperor  Rose  and announced...The Consort and I  will take out leave   for the evening... By  Daughters  will stay for  an hour or so?.... The  guards  will inform   you all, when you must leave the Palace... There is a Busy day  at the  Arena   coming..

some Fools  clapped as he left, as if his announcement  was a great oratory..the frown on his face  was enough to silence the 'smarter'..dumb folks.

The Muisc played   people   ran for partners.

The music's started...and Dala could theoretically leave early if she wants to, especially with an escort. But, His Majesty did say they'd stay for an hour...

"Another dance? Or did you have something else in mind?"

She'd revealed a few talents tonight...she might have more.

    She  walked  to the fork as   a  semi-slow, couples   dance  ,I thnk  this will be the last dance, then you will escort me to my Ap[ratments.. I ...am done  with the fools  for the evening... tomorrow shall be more exciting,watching the combats  and such.

Luthien, always enjoying these dances, is equally done with fools.

He's still surprised someone was bold enough to lay hands on her, but...hopefully less so now.

"It's exhausting, going through all this. Dancing with you is fun, though I wouldn't have expected I'd need to throw a guy off you tonight. Yes, the battles will be more exciting. I'll have to dress the part, even if Olen can no longer battle."

Given the arms he was challenged to, he'll be again dressing light.

  The  Dance  was long,  a pair of  merchant types  approached,  Dala  just gave them a disdainful wave of her hand to dismiss them.

 I am not  in the  mod , to suffer more  fools...  when the   song finally ended , she  said...If you would  escort me to my  apratments, Sit Luthien?

He could tell her batteries were just about empty.

"As you wish."

Once she'd latched on, he escorted Dala to the door, let the door guy do the announcing if necessary, than he escorted her to her apartments. It was only inside he felt the burden of being watched was really off of him, and he could fully relax. Oh, sure, there were probably guards outside, but they were only watching for dishonorable deeds, not every expression on his face.

  When they entered the  door,  Dala took off her  shoes and placed them near the rack  that had  a dozen or more.

 she   went to the  table that held   drinks, and Pours   sa glass of  Elven Gold  wine..she  asked Luthien if he wished a  drink.

 after his drink, or refusal she  motioned to the  balcony.. she   sat down  on a divan motioning   for Luthien  to pick one of his own. I grow  weary of  these  nightly  tortures....

she sips from her  Drink,I am entered in the  Bow challenge  tomorrow...in the  same group  as  Troopers... They are now  permitted to 'allow me ' to win...if i  matched flights  with merchants and the like, they would be afraid to best me..I was  not taught  to have such things handed to me.. I will not except  it, regardless of the Holiday.

Luthien isn't much of a drinker, but the whole deal down there was stressful, and he finds himself willing to take a drink, at least this time.

He picked a Divan next to her.

"I don't know what's going to cause your father to make a decision. I was never really trained for courtier business. I'm slowly picking it up, but I'm hardly error proof."

But the concept of 'letting someone win...'

"Patronizing, isn't it? I wonder where the idea came up that outshooting a member of the royal family was death, or something like it? It must've happened in some previous era, or people wouldn't be afraid of winning. People would have a decidedly different attitude if the emperor announced anyone that outshot you would be given 10 gold or whatever."

Sounds like there might be a story there. He sips the wine, slowly. He's not really used to it after all.

   Dala  snorts, clearly disgusted,at least the Troopers  understand  that  i do not wish to be handed  a 'win'..i want to earn it...i would  rather finish last, honorably, then first because  people  failed to try.

"Just as importantly, they understand the Emperor won't reprimand them for winning. Or otherwise do them harm. And so you get a fair competition."

Hmmm. But that's bothering her.

"What do you expect to happen in the archery match? Who among the troopers is the best shot, usually?"

  Dala   smiles a bit as she began to unwind.all the  archers  are good..most are  VERY  good... I was Taught  By  The Captain, and then later, after he left, i would  join in the training with the  Palace Guard. I have become....effective.

 If I should win, or palce high, it will show  that Princesses are not sim0ly bodies  adorned with  finery...if i should lose  , or place low, I hope it is seen that Royal Blood can still be refined  enough to take a loss

Luthien kinda chuckles.

"You'd probably outshoot me. I didn't focus on archery the way the Captain does, and specialized in melee instead. I wasn't even the best shot in the chapterhouse. That was Sir Thurson. He could hunt birds in the sky and never once came back empty handed that I witnessed."

Tra's a goddess of the hunt after all.

  Dala gave him a sidelong glance   and a  sly smile...I better  be able to outshot you... I'm  not all muscle bound fron throughs  20 lbs of steel around  ...

 She   downed the rest of her Drink as hse  stood,.. she handed it to a srvant who seemed to  step out of thin air.

 I need to get sleep... If you will escort me tomorrow.. youmust be at Myb Apratment  at 1 ring before  Highsun... if you chose not  to escort me, you will be seated  below the Royal Box.

"I'll be there for the escort. You had enough nonsense to deal with even with an escort. Without one, it's worse."

He does lean in to kiss her before departing.

"See you tomorrow."

With that, he needs to get back to his own room, so he can sleep.

  The Morning  comes.. taps at doors  for those  who wish to take part in Morning fest, or  would rather have their  meals in their  apartments.

 Those  wishing to take part, will be  escorted  by an ordely , or  guard.

In reply to Luth (msg # 810):

Luthien is up bright and early, because he has to be ready for the escort as well. He dresses appropriately for the day's activities, having picked up a little better on what to wear when.

From there, he will attend the breakfast, keeping careful track of time to be at Dala's apartment as well.

     being led  to Dala's Apartment, The orderly  Knocked and  announced  him. The  Orderly  then said,..I trust  you will  find your way to Morning fest, with The Princess. Have  a Good  Day, Sir  Luthien,

 The  Door Opens,  , Dala  steps out, she  has    while  cloth over   polished leather  chest plate  and  leggings,  with knee  high, Elven made boots.

 she had a  full quiver on her shoulder  and  a bow in her left hand,We  will eat..then we  will ride Horse to the arena. I shall not  ride in a carriage, to shoot a Bow!