~Talfen, the capital of Coldshore~
~Inner Court, the King's Palace~
Reqiel stepped back in surprise when two figures dressed in all black with hoods over their faces jumped in front of him, he looked past them to see Aethel experiencing something similar and the severity of their current situation started to sink in.
They didn't seem to have any weapons on them but they didn't need to for him to be able to tell that they were dangerous. Aethel's scream was what made him spring into action, he had no fighting skills to boast of so his only option was to snatch up his new friend and make a run for it.
The hooded figures seemed to predict his thoughts because they crowded closer to him, one of them stepping forward. "We don't want much, just hand over any jewelry you have on you and we'll let you go." He said with a sinister laugh.
Reqiel wouldn't have hesitated to hand over his crown if he had been wearing one but all he had on was the bracelet that Aethel had given him, and he had no intentions of letting go of his very first present.
He instinctively tugged down the sleeve of his gauzy robe, keeping a poker face. "Unfortunately, I'm not wearing any," He said stiffly, taking another step back.
A quick glance at Aethel showed that she was unhurt and also been shaken down for whatever jewelry she had on her; he couldn't hear the conversation she was having with the duo trying to rob her because they were too far apart.
His gesture had unfortunately attracted the attention of the thieves because the one that had stepped forward immediately grabbed his arm in an attempt to forcefully take the bracelet.
Reqiel wasn't having it though, he tried to pull back his arm, struggling hard with the thief.
"Just let it go," The thief said, starting to get angry at the spoiled lady's reaction. "It's just a simple bracelet, surely you have hundreds more like this."
The other thief was starting to get antsy behind him like they were causing far more of a ruckus than they were supposed to and he was worried that they would be found by guards.
Talking about guards, shouldn't there be guards protecting the Palace? Much more the inner court? How did thieves manage to get this far in, in the first place?
He looked around while in the middle of his struggles to find a figure in dark blue charging over, and before either him or the thief pulling on his bracelet could react, the other hooded figure that had quietly hung on the fringes got tackled down.
Reqiel barely had the time to see exactly who it was because Aethel hurrying over caught his attention. The hooded figures that had attacked her were all prone on the ground, clearly all her doing and she was coming over to save him before the stranger that interceded did.
"Reqiel!" Aethel called in concern, hiking her dress up so that she could properly dash over.
Reqiel's response was cut off because the thief gave up on the bracelet and just picked him up to throw over his shoulder. So one moment, he was trying to process all that was happening in quick succession and in the next his vision turned was upside down.
"Hey! Put me down!" He commanded, pounding on the thief's back as the hooded figure bolted away with him over his shoulder.
The thief just scoffed without gracing the lady with a response, her punches were so weak that it felt like he was being patted; it made him really angry that he hadn't been able to pry something as simple as a bracelet from someone who looked like they would break if they fell over.
He had ruined the plan by doing this but he was going to get that bracelet no matter what, if only to reassure himself of his strength. Also he might have panicked when he saw none other than Crown Prince Cederic himself running over to defend the noblewomen they had picked to be their targets - just who were these two?
Reqiel looked up, needing to use both hands to push his hair out of his face to see better and nearly choked when he saw who it was that was hot on the tail of the thief that had swiped him, it was none other than Cederic.
Well, this wasn't a very flattering position for him, especially as Prince Cederic didn't at all like him to begin with. Just as he made eye contact with Cederic, the thief running away with him seemed to slam into a wall and he was thrown off his shoulder.
Reqiel tightly shut his eyes, placing both hands over his face for more of an effect. Was this why he wasn't allowed outside? Did he just have terrible luck bad enough to get him killed whenever he left the safety of his castle or palace and that was why he needed to be kept inside at all times?
He expected to slam into the ground and winced, bracing himself for the impact, only it never came, instead he heard Aethel calling his name which made him pull his hands away.
He looked up into the darkest eyes he had ever seen on a human staring down at him with a stoic expression, and the familiar band of a Royal palace guard across his head.
Reqiel laughed nervously when the Royal guard made no move to put him down, "Um, thank you, but you can put me down now," He spoke up, not very pleased with being carried around so much.
Aethel came up at that moment but she seemed distracted, her big dark eyes fixed on the tall guard who still seemed to be having a difficult time processing Reqiel's words.
It wasn't until Cederic came up, that the impasse got broken. He pushed a hand through his short hair and quickly scanned the situation. He had slowed to a stop when what looked to be a guard in training dashed over like he had wings attached to his feet, impressed by his fluid movements and how quickly he had disarmed the thief.