Black Widow (Ethan and me YAY)

Will nods in response, stretching and yawning for a second before checking the time. "Well, I think Im about ready to try and crash... hopefully this storm is through in the morning." He says, looking through the window at the pouring rain. Good thing the Inn rooms are connected to the pub, dont have to run outside.

Elise yawed in response to his yawn. "Okay... Goodnight, Will." The storm was rough through the night, lightning lighting up the sky with scary, jagged lines and thunder rumbling the very foundations of the village. But the morning brought soft clouds and sunshine, everything smelling of earth and raindrops.

Elise yawned, waking up early in the morning, prepared and ready to go, hair braided and breakfast ordered downstairs. "Are you ready?" she asked Will. She was itching to get on the road.

Will groaned softly, waking up to Elise talking to him. He managed to get a decent amount of sleep last night for a change, "I suppose I can be ready in a couple minutes." He replies with a small yawn, sitting up in his bed and rubbing his eyes, trying to wake up. "Fuck i have a headache." He mutters, slipping out of bed and grabbing a shirt to throw on. "What time is it?"

Glancing outside, it looked nice. A lot better than it looked last night. "Hitting the road?"

"It's sometime past seven in the morning and yeah. I sent out a pigeon so my contact should be expecting us," Elise hopped from one foot to the other, itching to get going. It was pretty out and she bought another horse with some money she stole from a passerby that looked well off and in no need of extra gold.

Will packs up his stuff quickly, throwing his back over his shoulder and attaching his grapple to his wrist, rather than keeping it packed up. "Alright, lets get going then. Off to the kingdom. Looking forward to meeting this contact of yours, maybe find something to do other than walk for half a month, hm?"

"That's for damn sure," Elise agreed, grabbing Will's free hand and leading him downstairs to the horses. Elise's own horse was beautiful and pure black with piercing eyes and the horse she bought for Will to ride was brown with white splotches on it. They both snorted at their owners in greeting, shuffling from hoof to hoof.

Elise strapped everything onto her steed and hopped on herself. "Not much longer from here."

"Sounds good," He replies hopping onto his horse and settling in, following Elise in the direction to the kingdom. He imagines it would still be at least afternoon by the time they got there, but hey, horseback beats walking.

After a while of being quiet, a good few hours, Will yawns to himself. "So." He says, trying to think of something to talk about to break the silence. "What was it like to actually do magic for the first time?"

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Gail was still preparing his attack on the Throne, biding his time to take out the royal guard. The crown was safe outside the kingdom, the Queen was nonethewiser,still, that he had anything to do with it disappearing. Or at least he hoped. Gail sat in the dungeons on the castle, where he hid his books and scrolls depicting dark magic. He was reading through his scrolls, for the other day he felt.... something, he wasnt sure what, tap into his mind. The work of a witch or warlok? Probably not, as it wasnt a strong presence. Gail sat in front of a small cauldron, mixing different chemicals and casting various spells to try and see what tapped into his own consciousness. After a while he finally began to see something, an image of the past. Through the milky film of the concoction inside the cauldron he saw a young man in a book shop, reading through a book that looked very familiar to Gail. "Someone found my book..." He says, a small grin appearing on his face. "oh how interesting."

"I was very small," Elise started, smiling at the memory. "I had been kidnapped by witches and they taught me so many things. Mainly dark arts at first. So my very first spell was fire. It's the easiest to learn but so hard to control." She giggled a bit. "I made one so big that I singed my eyebrows and my arm hairs! The witches saw a lot of potential in me that day. I was to be taught much more."

***

((Hey, I totes forgot that it's Queen Isabella and Elise's twin sister is actually Arabella. Fuck me. I need to make character sheets. I'll add them to my very first post))

Queen Isabella paced the throne room, absolutely distraught. Not only was the crown missing but as was her last daughter, Princess Arabella. Her first daughter Estellise had gone missing when she was only five.

She sent a guard to look for Gail. "Please, inquire his whereabouts and send him to me," she commanded. She would ask him to look for her daughter.

***

Azalea, disguised in her beautiful raven-haired temptress cover, strolled through the empty palace. She slipped into Arabella's room and searched for clues about the princess herself. She and her men had been the people to take her and had her holed up somewhere in the countryside. Now, she was searching for all the clues she needed to BE the princess. She had been watching the girl for weeks, her mannerisms and behaviors so she could use a long-term spell to turn herself into Arabella for months on end.

Then, she could murder the Queen in close quarters and rule the whole kingdom! As long as she kept the princess alive and hidden for ingredient usage for the spells.

So are Azalea and Gail working together or are they both going for the same goal of taking over the kingdom?)

Gail snapped the book he was looking at shut when he heard the footsteps of someone approaching his position in the dungeons. He hid his things away and met with the guard in the main hallway, nodding when he told him he needed to go to the Queen immediately. "As the queen wishes." He says with a respectful bow before rushing off to the throne room, his cloak waving behind him as we sped through the halls gracefully.

He knocked and entered, bowing before the queen, "You requested my presence, m'lady?"

(((OOOooohhhh I originally had the idea that they were working together. But what IF they weren't and they joined forces and had a thing. Kinda like Team Rocket but actually a hell of a lot more scary and dangerous?)))

The Queen startled at a knock and breathed a sigh of relief when it was just Gail. "Oh, dear me. You startled me," she mumbled. She took in a shaky breath and turned to him, trying to remain majestic and queen-like. "My daughter has gone missing while you were away searching for the crown." She sighed, blinking back tears and trying to stop her voice from wavering. "I must ask you to look for her and bring her home to me."

Gail gives an, almost, legitimately concerned face. The princess has gone missing as well? That wasnt in the overall plan. Maybe she ran away. "Strange, M'lady. I will do my best to assure the return of your daughter." He says, giving a small bow. "I shall start my search now, if you are ok with me searching her quarters?" This would set him back slightly, but he doubt it would take that long to search for the missing princess

The Queen waved at Gail, trying hard not to cry again. A stranger rummaging in her daughter's room was almost too much for her to bear. "Yes. Do whatever you must to bring my daughter home." She dismissed him with a wave and a curt turn. The guards opened the door behind him, waiting patiently for him to leave.

***

Elise hopped off her horse and paid the stablemaster to care for their mounts. "Ah. Home. Well, kind of," she shrugged, watching the bustling city. "Now, we hole up in the inn and make a plan. We have to search the castle if we're going to figure out where my sister is."

She started to walk towards the inn but her eye caught on a dress shop nearby. "Actually..." She stopped and turned to Will. "What if her kidnapper is someone in the palace? If I return AS my sister, that will throw the bad guys off, don't you think?" She tapped her temple, thinking hard. "I could come in, give some sob story about being snatched from the gardens and try to integrate myself into the castle. I'll be able to get any and all information that I need about her disappearance. Hopefully."

***

Azalea tried on Arabella's favorite ball gown, a gorgeous dark blue with white lace trim. She danced in front of the mirror for a moment, singing a glamour spell. She turned into the princess but only temporarily. She would have to go back to her hideout and get some of her hair in order to wear the full disguise for long term.

Gail bows respectfully and glides out of the room, his robe flowing as he sped towards the living quarters. Surely there was something he could use in there to assist finding the princess, at least enough to make the Queen think he was trying to accomplish something. He approaches the door and waves his hand, unlocking the door

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Will hops off his horse, listening to Elise speak, mulling her idea over in his head, thinking. "Maybe? But wouldnt that be a little dangerous as well? Besides, who's to say the bad guys are still IN the castle, you know? Its a decent Idea but It may benefit to scope the place out for a minute, yeah?"

"Sure it may be dangerous but I'd be fine. I've done more dangerous things." Elise shrugged, staring at the giant wall that separated the castle from the rest of the city. "Servant's entrance or the lake would be easiest to sneak in and do some reconnaissance." She started walking around the wall, a hand on it. "There may also be a secret entrance. There tends to be one for the royal family."

***

Azalea turned, her princess disguise melting and revealing her regular raven-haired temptress disguise. "Oh hello," she greeted the newcomer, smiling gently but her smile didn't quite reach her eyes. She practically radiated with bad intentions. "May I help you, dear?"

Will stands back observing the wall as well, looking for any blindspots for the watch towers. "Hm, you could also use my grapple." He offers, raising his arm that had the grapple attached onto it. "Would let you hang from a wall and scope places out. maybe stay under the eye of one of the guards in a tower and swing along out of sight?"

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Gail didnt return the smile, keeping his dark green eyes fixed on the intruder. "I could ask you the same. Is there any particular reason youre in the recently vanished princesses room?" He asks blankly. He was not expecting anyone to be here, he kept watching her carefully, prepared to cast any spells if need be

Elise grinned, grabbing his grappling hook from him. "I like the way you think." She aimed and shot up right underneath one of the guard towers, staying out of sight. She swung around and over the castle ramparts onto the tall castle wall and scoped out the castle below her. The garden expanded for half a whole acre between the wall and the castle itself. It stood, twelve stories tall at the base with towers reaching twenty stories. She knew that below the castle were the dungeons and the catacombs that, if navigated correctly, it would take you out to the shore to a secret beach that is used as an escape route for the royal family. The lake sparkled peacefully, just in view behind the castle and a monument to Andraste and the Maker sat peacefully in the sunlight. The wall ran the entire way around the castle, protecting it but anyone and everything.

She made her way down after her recon and relayed everything to Will at the tavern in hushed voices. "Our best bet is to sneak in through the lake. They have a waterline that connects to the ocean. It's a bit of a swim but I know I can make it. Otherwise, we'll have to climb the wall and I can guarantee that they'll have more security at night."

***

"I could very well ask you the same thing," Azalea scoffed. "I am a dear member of the royal court who loved Princess Arabella dearly. I was searching for something that may hint as to her whereabouts!" she placed a well manicured hand on her chest and forced herself to look distraught. Oh, how she hated to pretend to be this wretched ambassador.

Will waited patiently at the Tavern for Elise's return, looking up expectantly when she showed up at the table he sat at. He listens intently, nodding at the information being presented. "Ok, so its either a longer travel with less resistance, or a shorter entrance with the possibility of more resistance. Im assuming you are going alone?" He asks. He didnt like the idea of her going alone, even if she was much more capable. But then again he wasnt sure if there was anything he could to really help

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Gail
"A member of the Royal court, hm? Strange, Ive been to every summoning of the court, and I dont recognize you. Perhaps you put on the wrong cover?" Gail asks. "The air is quite thick with magic, and i know unlocking the door didnt do that." He says knowingly. "Also is there a reason youre wearing the princesses ball gown?"

"It seems like that's or best option," Elise sighed, brushing her hair away from her face and staring a the ceiling for a moment as she thought out the plan in her head. "I'll swim in and get you a guard outfit to help you sneak in through the servant's entrance. We're going to need a way to communicate with each other. I'm sure I can lift a two-way radio from the barracks. Most of the guards have one. You should too." She looked back at Will, seeing the concern on his face. "I'll be fine. And I won't be long. We'll do it tonight and I'll have you integrated into the guards by dawn."

***

Azalea sighed, knowing she was caught. "You've got a sense for magic, huh, child?" she asked, waving her hand and her princess disguise came up. "If you must know, I kidnapped the princess and plan to replace her for the time being. So now I must kill you." She magicked a ball of fire into her hand and readied it. "Any last words, mortal?"

His expression was a mixture of concern and acceptance of the plan. "Alright, if you think this will go smoothly, then okay." He says nodding once. "Do we need to get anything beforehand? supplies and such? I figure you should keep the grapple," he says pushing it back towards her as it set on the table, "at least for now. if you get caught going in it will help. leaves less of a footprint than magic." He offers, giving a small smile through the concerned look, relaxing back in his seat

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"A sense of magic? You could say that." Gale says in response to her first retort. His face hardened slightly as she threatened to kill him, a small grin creeping up through the taught expression. "last words?" His eyes went to the hand she held up, fire cackling in her palm. He exhales slowly, closing his eyes. His eyes snap open and he whips his arm from behind him, aimed at her hand, "Stueom" he hisses, smoke shooting from his fingertips to surrond her arm up to her elbow. If it went through it would harden into a thick rock like casing, casting her fingers, wrist, and arm in the position she had them held moments ago. Stueom was a dark magic spell, not a basic one either.

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