Assassi-What?!, Stace + Artemis + Blaire {Mature}

[Atomic Salsa]

Reyna led them back into the dining hall. There were several groups of angry people - mostly men.

"You bring me here just to disgrace me?" the real prince asked. "Why shouldn't I just leave? Where has your daughter gone with this other so-called prince?" he chuckled at the last question.

The King stood with anger piercing his face. If I ever get ahold of... The King's thoughts were interrupted by Reyna and Reston walking into the dining hall. He looked at his guards who went to Reston. "Bring that man to jail," he said angrily. "For impersonating a Prince." his eyes narrowed at the man.

Reyna looked helplessly at Reston, and then back at her father. She rushed to her father's side. "Daddy, don't put him in jail." she sniffled a little. "You only assumed he was the prince because he was sitting next to me... he didn't even have a chance to protest."

The King stood watching Reston's every move, which wasn't a lot of movement. His guards held each of his arms tightly. "What say you to this, you... imposter?" he asked. "Do you agree that you did not get a chance to explain yourself?

[Stace]

And so, upon stepping into the room and being snatched by guards, every bad thought that Reston had ever had for the tyrannical man standing in front of him seemed to be repeated. He couldn't really help but scowl, and it took a lot just to not spit snide remarks back at the man. He was beginning to shake. Not from fear, of course, but from rage.

He managed to calm himself long enough to show some manners. "Your majesty, I am afraid that I had not the chance to properly introduce myself before you were called away for more important matters," he said. Reston thought of himself as good with words, and with Princess on his side of this, he hoped to be able to slip out unscathed. He returned to shaking, prepared to blame the guards' grip if asked. He glanced over at Reyna momentarily before locking his eyes on the Prince. Reston decided that he didn't like him either.

[Atomic Salsa]

Reyna's gaze shifted from her father to Reston before he spoke. She didn't want him to be thrown into jail. She wouldn't get to see him, should that happen. She looked back at her father. Reyna smiled, gently. "See, father, he agrees. Can we just forget it? He can't go down to the jail." she skillfully put a hand on the King's shoulder. She was telling him what his thoughts would be. It was not a spell, it was just how their father-daughter relationship worked.

"Let him go," he said. "I want you to stay away from my daughter, you hear me?" his gaze shot daggers at Reston. "You will not touch, nor will you go near my daughter...ever again. If I see you near her, I will have your head removed." he looked at Reston for a minute longer.

Reyna gave him a weak smile. She would see Reston again. She didn't know why, but she wanted to. She would rather be with him than these stuffy people in this banquet hall. The King took his daughter's hand and gave it to her intended. Her hand was precariously held in his as he kissed it.. She restrained herself - with some effort - from hitting him in the jaw. She bowed her head when he rose. "It is a pleasure, I am Princess Reyna," she said, she hoped that he did not hear the disdain in her voice.

[Stace]

As the guards released him, Reston tugged on his clothes, making sure they were straightened. He may have looked sort of smug, and perhaps it was the fact that, now that the king had told him to stay away from his daughter, Reston would make every effort he could to see her again. As often as he could. He locked eyes with Reyna for only a second before looking back at the King. "As you wish, your majesty," he said, sure not to bow too low before he jerked away from the guards and walked away in the least gentlemanly stride the castle had ever seen.

Reston made a last minute decision to head to the local village pub and drink the night away -- potato-free. He'd have to take a trip to the library the next day.

[Atomic Salsa]

For the rest of the night, Reyna was carted around the banquet hall and dance floor by the Prince. He wanted to charm her. He wanted to get her to come back with him to the room he was occupying for the evening. She refused his advances. She used the excuse that they were not married yet, but it was really because she could not get her mind off of Reston.

She was finally allowed back to her room. She got undressed as quickly as she could, only leaving her underdress on. She climbed into bed and cuddled up around her pillows. She fell asleep dreaming of Reston.

--

Most of the next day saw Reyna sitting on the floor in the library. She had nothing better to do. She practiced all kinds of conjuring spells. Most of them were floating parchment, or tying little bits of string together. Nothing big. Though, with the librarian gone, she was going to try a fire spell. She concentrated on the spell, and then opened her palm. Any break in her concentration could leave this spell in the dust. It could make fire out of the books instead. A small ball of fire appeared in the girl's hand. She was thoroughly pleased with herself.

[Stace]

Reston slept the hangover away -- for the most part -- and when he awoke, he made himself presentable and set out on a new mini-mission: Locate the Princess and Possibly Do Dirty Things With Her. Alright, so Reyna wasn't just a piece of meat. She really was a charming and admirable girl, at least from what Reston had seen of her, but Reston was still a man and had his priorities a little out of order.

Setting out, Reston headed for the library. From his deductive reasoning, he assumed the library to be the prime location for a Princess sighting. He glanced around as he set a hand on the handle to the door and then slowly opened it and peeked his head inside.

What he saw was astonishing. A ball of fire was in Reyna's palm as if it was something she held every day. He quietly shut the door, but it turned out that the door did not shut very quietly. He winced at the loud noise, expecting Reyna to see him at that point. "Good day to you, m'lady. I don't suppose you mind company," he said.

[Atomic Salsa]

The door slammed closed. Reyna looked up and the fireball shot to her left. It buried itself in a book and set it afire. Reyna grabbed her dark blue skirt and stood up. The dress she wore was much less formal and a much darker color, but it showed off her bosom as well as it did the night before. She put out the flame with the bottom of her skirt, She was angry and it showed on her face.

She looked toward the door. "What are ..." she paused, realizing who it was. A smile appeared on her face as soon as she saw that it was Reston. "Oh..." she said. "Hello there." she grinned. "I thought my father told you to stay away... What are you doing here?" she said it with a coy grin on her face. She walked to a counter near the door thusly near Reston.

[Stace]

Reston shoved his hands into his pockets, smiling once the fire had been taken care of. "If I recall correctly, your father said not to 'come near,' and from what I can tell, you're the one doing the coming near," he pointed out, planted firmly in his position near the door. He chuckled and then began in her direction, very slowly closing the space between them. "Just what, exactly, does 'near' entail, do you think?" he asked, glancing around the room. He'd never been in there before, so it was all new to him. "Is this too near?" he added, stopping his approach when he had reached a distance of two arms' lengths away.

Reston eyed Reyna as he waited to see how witty the Princess of Selara could manage to be. He expected she could match him if she put any effort in to it. He waited, looking amused.

[Atomic Salsa]

Reyna took a step backward, leading him farther into the library without touching him. "Hmm," she said with a grin in the man's direction. "I don't know, you'll have to come closer to see when the alarms go off." she chuckled. "I am sure that they have to be active right? I mean... my father did say not to come near... so what has he put in place to enforce this?" she grinned and took another step back. "Are you willing to test how close you can come?" she asked him, biting her bottom lip.

[Stace]

Reston was baited and the princess was reeling. He advanced as she moved away, not really closing too much space as they shifted further into the library, farther from the door. His eyes fell to her lip as she bit it, and then he looked back toward her eyes. "How can we be sure that an alarm hasn't already been sounded?" he asked, taking a step to close the distance. They still seemed to be moving away from the door.

"But if I still haven't upset the alarms, then I'd love to test the limits. Of course, only if the King's daughter permits?" he sort of asked, sort of suggested.

[Atomic Salsa]

"If I didn't want you to get closer, you would already be in jail," she said. She was still moving deeper into the library. Her eyes were fixed on his. A smile crossed her face. "I'd like to know how you plan to test the limits... just so I can be prepared," she said. "Just so I know what to expect." Once they were in the middle of a few rows of books in the back of the room, she stopped. She waited to see if Reston would continue closer. The door could not be seen from their new location. Shelves of books blocked the path.

[Stace]

Reston smirked. "Well, I considered leaping at you and ravaging you, but I don't want to set off the alarms, just get as close as I can before they go off," he explained with a chuckle. "So I thought I would... approach slowly," he moved closer to about an arm's length.

"Hear any alarms yet?" he asked.

[Atomic Salsa]

To tell the truth, Reyna wouldn't have minded either approach. She chuckled at his words, but gave no sign of distaste at his methods. She smiled at Reston. "I don't hear anything.. nobody bursting into the library to stop you.." she shrugged. "I can only assume that they haven't gone off yet." Reyna was getting anxious. She hoped the bookkeeper stayed home that day and did not come back to work. She hoped the man tended to his sick wife all day. If he did, nobody else would come into the library, as always. Then, the two would be left alone.

[Stace]

"'Yet?' So that means they will. Do you think that there's a way to disable them?" Reston asked, using his hand to place a stray lock of Reyna's hair behind her ear. He was smiling as his other hand reached for Reyna's waist. He settled it there, pulling Reyna toward him to close the distance between them entirely.

"If there's not a way to disable them, I regret to inform you that I'll probably be losing my head -- in the literal sense."

[Atomic Salsa]

Reyna allowed herself to be pulled in closer to the man. Reyna was slightly shorter than Reston so she looked up into his eyes. "I am not sure how to disable the alarms, but we could just proceed as if they weren't there..." she said grinning. She put her hands on his arms and walked her fingers up to his shoulders. "It's either that, or we pretend they already have gone off." she shrugged. "I am sure the former would be more fun.."