Chương 181: Captive
One day later :
Princess Henrietta awakens with a start, a groan of pain wrenching itself free from her mouth as she lifts her head from the bed. Her hand rises to her neck where Michael's shackles had been, and she grimaces as she feels the moist bandage covering her burn wounds.
"You're awake." an older male voice remarks from behind her, causing the Princess to jolt and look in that d direction. It's only now that she finally surveys her surroundings though.
She had been laying on some fabrics that'd been set up inside a clearing within some forest. Though, judging by the fauna, she was still in her country... Hopefully. "Where am I?" she asks, turning towards the bearded man sitting on a nearby stump.
Ralf shrugs, "Somewhere. It matters little, just do as we say and you will be returned unharmed." he states, his tone bland and honestly rather bored.
Henrietta shakes her head and brushes her unkempt and messy hair out of her face, "You. I know you. You're Ralf Kaliker, wanted by Albion for treason..."
Ralf nods, "I am. And my honour is still intact, which is more than I can say for my impassive colleagues."
"How you can claim honour while being complicit in my kidnapping is preposterous. But I suppose reason and rationality never mattered to you or Michael." she bitterly utters.
Ralf's brows furrow at this, "And what would you know about honour, Princess? You were born into luxury with everything granted to you, There was not a single person in Tristain who did not adore you, and you were heir to the Kingdom as a whole... All you had to do was do your duty's... Yet, even for the safety of your people, you refused... Your letter to Prince Wales, the assassination of Teiter Gramont, even the induction of Louise Valliere to your cause, every ill that has struck Tristain can be directly linked to your selfishness... Someone like you has no right to judge my honour." he quickly retorts, anger seeping into his tone the more he illuminates Henrietta's faults.
Henrietta just shakes her head, what he had said was mostly true, aside from the death of Teiter Gramont. Not that anyone believed her of course. Her shoulders slump as she rests her forehead on her hand, wondering what she was going to do now. "So, how long am I to be held hostage?" she inquires.
Ralf shrugs, "Michael has gone to leave his message in the hands of a palace guard. If they obey our requests, you will be returned by tonight or tomorrow morning."
No one says anything after that, and a tense silence overtakes the clearing... Only for the entrance of Tiffania to draw the Princesses attention again. Her eyes instantly locking onto Tiffania's long, elven ears. "Hmm, I thought the rumours were false. That you willingly betrayed your country to enter the service of the Elves. Imagine what the church would think." she says, not even glancing at Ralf as she continues to scan Tiffania's form.
"Your indoctrinated hatred of her only proves how unworthy you are of your station... Or maybe, the people wished for a bigoted, foolish princess to lead them?" Ralf grouses as he stands and takes the bundle of sticks and kindling that Tiffania had been carrying. He lays them down with the rest in a pile and begins walking from the clearing, "I suppose it's my turn. Keep an eye on her, and don't let her talk her way out of this, Tiffania." he says as he leaves, more to get away from the annoying princess than anything else.
Ralf walks out, leaving Tiffania awkwardly standing in the clearing with Henrietta still staring at her. They're both silent for a moment before Henrietta finally decides to speak up, "So, why is it you have chosen to ally yourself with him, and Michael? I didn't think someone as kindly as you would accompany scum like them." she pointedly asks, as if she weren't the hostage in this situation.
Tiffania glances between where Ralf had left and the stump he'd been sitting, contemplating on whether or not she should just leave or stuff wax in her ears to avoid hearing the princess. With a sigh, she decides to sit down, and maybe try to converse with this person... From what Michael and Ralf had said about her, she didn't seem all 'that' bad. "Uhm... They saved me..."
"They saved you?" Henrietta asks uncomprehendingly.
Tiffania lets out a small smile and nods, "Both of them... I used to live in Albion, but I was discovered by the villagers. They kidnapped me, dragged me to Cendri, and burned me alive..." she rubs the now gemless ring on her finger, "If it wasn't for Michael using my mother's ring to bring me back, my burned remains would still be tied to that log..." her expression darkens as she turns a heavy gaze to Henrietta, "So I won't let you insult them! You know nothing about them apart from what our enemies would tell you. So be quiet and wait for your people to give us what we want, and we can part ways peacefully." she states, retrieving a book and starting to read it, implying that the conversation was over.
Henrietta is slightly stunned by Tiffania's retort to her words, unsure what she should even say... First of all, it was hard to believe that this elf had been burned to death, and brought back... It sounded like a miracle caused by Brimir himself, yet she said it with such confidence that she found it hard to dispute. Had this Ralf and Michael confounded her mind to believe such a thing? No, Henrietta had heard of Cendri, a small town in Albion that'd been burned to the ground by the False-Familiar, giving her tale some degree of validity.
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