Sneaking out

*outside of the tavern's tinted windows, a figure with a cloak and hood stood peeking in the windows. The figure's face was hidden, not even a strand of hair strayed. Yes...this was the place. The figure pushed the tavern door open, being greeted by the loud and angry sounds of drunk men. Perfect. Just like home. She settled herself down at the bar, first canned at the faces of the people in the bar. Anyone she knew...? Not one. Good. She turned back towards the bar, raising a finger for attention*

"A cup of water for now, sir.."

*she said to the bartender as she let down the hood. Her blue eyes shone brightly underneath her locks of long pink hair. Alyss finally took down her disguise, one that she donned just in case a guard or two wanted to her stay in the accursed white tower of Skye's...or return her back into the offices. Taking a sigh, she ran turquoise nails across the bar counter. She missed this*

((My profile and equipment list is approved, but I don't have my abilities list cleared yet, so I won't make any mention of my powers until then.))

Elijah entered the tavern and sat down at the bar. He called the bartender and ordered a glass of sparkling water.

"You just came in the tavern for water?" The bartender asked.

Elijah rolled his eyes. "That's why I just ordered it. And I'm paying for the drink, so why the hell do you care what I buy? Just give me the water. But now that you ask, go ahead and throw in a bag of kettle chips." The bartender simply shrugged in response and started fixing his order.

While Elijah waited for his order, he pulled out a small map to examine. He was going to Akroma soon to hunt for some rare pokemon, so it wouldn't hurt to brush up on his knowledge of the geography there.

*the water tasted....bland. Alyss drank it once again to make sure...she was right. Sighing it didn't matter by now, she was out. She looked over to Elijah, curious...then turned her head away. It wasn't someone she recognized*

"Barkeep, i'd like a red wine. Something light to start."

'Red wine? We don't carry things like that for the light-weights, darlin'.'

"Then some orange juice or something?"

'.....Coming right up, miss.'

*she mumbled by now, wondering what Spartacus was doing at home....shaking her head, Alyss tried to clear it. It was her own designated day off. It was time she began to enjoy it*

Elijah received his order a few minutes later. He payed the bartender and began consuming his meal. It was disgusting: The "sparkling" water tasted more like toilet water, and the kettle chips tasted like they had been made from cardboard. He really wasn't surprised by the poor quality of the food - he was in a dirty tavern after all - but he suspected that the bartender had served him something especially crappy on purpose. Very briefly, he considered repaying the bartender's poor service with a broken arm, but he didn't really feel like making a commotion tonight, so he decided just to leave the tavern in peace.

As he got up to leave, he heard a woman near him order a drink. He stopped - her voice sounded very familiar to him. "Queen Frey...no that can't be, why would she be in a nasty place like this?" It was silly for him to even entertain the idea that she would be here, but still, it wouldn't hurt to check...

Elijah sat back down, this time next to the woman. She wore a hooded cloak, and she was facing directly forward, so he couldn't tell from this angle. "Hello," he said, trying to get her to turn her head.

*she had finished her "water" and pushed the glass away from her, only for it to be filled with an orange gasoline-like juice*

''Ere ya go, miss. Orange juice, just got yer taste, heh'

*the girl looked to the bartender, who didn't seem to say much else but have a wry smile. Frowning, she sniffed the stuff....it wasn't good, whatever it was. Definitely not orange juice. What kind of fools did they take her for? Ready to say something very sharply to this fellow, Alyss was stopped by another voice*

"Hello.."

*Alyss replied, turning to face the stranger. The pink hair framed her face and she looked up at him with ocean blue eyes*

Elijah's jaw went slack. "Holy shit, it is her!" Of course, he couldn't announce this information out loud, not in a place like this; there were plenty of shady characters in here that would love to kidnap the Queen for a hefty ransom. He had to be discreet.

He pulled a pen from his pocket and proceeded to write a message on the back of the map he had been reading earlier:

I know you. Meet me the alley.

He slid the message toward her, and left the bar for the alley next door.

"What in hell..?"

*Alyss read the message quickly, the bartender giving her suspicious eyes. He turned to swipe a mug down, but spoke*

'You know him?'

"...Not really..I didn't recognize him."

'I wouldn't follow no shady characters you don't know into some alley if I was you, miss.'

*Alyss was shocked the tender was able to read so quickly. He winked and then put the glass back upon its holder. Leaning upon the counter towards her, he smiled*

' 'Less you got some weaponry with ya, I expect.'

".....Perhaps a little bit."

'Those boots ain't just showy, they fer stompin' that's fer sure. Good luck, miss Frey.'

*by now Alyss was no longer surprised. This man behind the counter, though he worked at a poor location and equally poor food and drink, was very well knowledgable and knew exactly who she was by the simple and small details he caught with his eye. He looked like he was once a fighter, an able one, back in the day, but now old age and old bones brought him behind a bar counter serving drinks. The orange juice was a test of her intuition. He must have known her past. Slowly she stood from the bar stool, giving a slight bow*

"Thank you for the tap water and horse urine mixed with mashed orange jelly..."

*the bartender gave a roar of a laugh*

'They were right, you do know your tricks in the bar.'

"I once worked in one before how could I not. Except we used the cat urine instead of horse."

'Well. Fancy that.'

"Farewell."

'Ahh-h~.'

*Alyss left from the door she came out from, then leaned herself against the corner wall to peek down the alleyway*

Now in the alley, Elijah was leaning against the side of the tavern, waiting for Queen Frey to arrive.

He almost hoped she wouldn't appear; since coming back from the Covenant, he had tried hard to avoid her in a effort to keep himself from acting on the feelings he had developed for her. He was already on thin ice with Skye, so something like that would probably get him kicked out of the kingdom, if not killed. Skye could be ruthless like that.

But despite all his efforts, he still ended up running into her. He sighed. "I certainly do have the 'charmed' life, don't I?"

"Who are you?"

*she called down the alley. It rang significantly. She wouldn't meet him unless he state who he was. If he planned on doing something, from this angle she could make her getaway. Her hood was placed covering her face again. Only her full lips and tip of her nose was shown to the people who passed by*

"And why did you call me here?"

Queen Frey did come as he had asked, but she stayed near the entrance of the alley. She shouted at him, asking who he was and why he had asked her to come to the alley.

Elijah was disappointed that she didn't remember him, but then he couldn't blame her; he had only known her for a short time at the Covenant, and their meeting had occurred several months ago. And he had been a grunt then, a glorified grunt - a royal guardian - but a grunt none the less, so he shouldn't have expected to make a large impression on her.

"Ma'am, I understand your anxiety to come near me, but I think it would be best if you did. It wouldn't be a good idea for me to be shouting out what I know about you." Normally, he would have referred to her as Queen Frey or Majesty, but for reasons of discretion, he addressed with the next best formal title he could think of.

*she peeked around the corner again, and then appeared in the entrance of the alley. Looking behind her before she went in, Alyss approached him, then let down her hood. Her long pink hair was pinned up to her head, large extravagant loops. Softly tanned and supple skin from her cheeks and natural red lips were revealed under the large hood. Her large eyes looked him up and down again*

"You know who I am don't you."

((For reference, Elijah is wearing a black jacket, white short sleeve shirt (with a vest and a wife beater underneath), beige cargo pants, and some black boots. He is equipped with one pistol and a spare clip, both items tucked into the back of his pants.))

Elijah nodded. "Yes Ma'am," he whispered. Even now, with them so close to each other, he still felt uncomfortable addressing her as Queen.

"I am Sergent Elijah Hart, of the Sunlit Army. During your first trip to the Covenant, I served as one of your bodyguards."

"Ah! A bodyguard. I see."

*she came closer to his face, looking at him from each angle. Her fingertips turned his chin curiously*

"I don't have many bodyguards, but I don't recognize you. Odd.."

*backing herself up, she scratched the back of her head, a nervous expression*

"I'm so sorry! You seem to know me but I don't you...well I do deal with many people every day so I can't say I can remember everyone.."

Elijah smiled. "No that's okay. I wouldn't expect you to recognize a grunt like me. But I should also add that I served under Sk--King Silverclaw back on Vescrutia, during his campaign against the original Depths."

"So...Ma'am, why are are down here by yourself?"

"Well...I was born in slums like these here. Someone like me gets tired of the 'royalty' treatment."

*she leaned against the alley wall, one leg up against the other wall of the narrow straight*

"I'm sure you would too...it's less freedom. And I'm somewhat of a free bird."

Elijah found it interesting that Queen Frey had been born poor like himself. He only knew her as a wealthy Queen, so it was hard to imagine her living in poverty at one time.

"I can understand how you would want an escape from your duties from time to time - being a leader is extremely hard work. But you still are the queen of this country, and it's not fair to your subjects for you to be wandering around without any security. What do you think would happen if one of these thugs around here had found out who you were? Think about all the chaos that would ensue." Elijah knew he was overstepping his bounds by being so frank, but he thought that she was being selfish, and he believed that she needed to hear the truth.

"I was a fighter before I was a queen...it's hard to depend on people when the majority of your life you only depended on yourself."

*she sighed a little. She just wasn't cut to be what they wanted*

"I know what you mean. Before I became a law abiding citizen and soldier, I was a criminal and mercenary. I'm still getting used to sleeping without worrying about enemies slitting my throat while I slumber.

"But you shouldn't be so hard on yourself; I think you've been a good ruler up to this point. It's partly thanks to you that our country is so rich and powerful."

*she chuckled in her embarrassment and her cheeks flushed a little as she smiled*

"Thank you. A lot. I don't get compliments like that often, so thank you."

*she paused to look down the alley absently before looking down at the ground shyly*

"I don't remember to very well, but I truly hope that when I did, I treated you well."

Elijah smiled. "Yes Ma'am, you always treated me, except while we were sparring." He thought back to the times that he had sparred with her at the Covenant. In most of those practice fights, he had ended up on the ground, clutching his stomach or some other part of his body. He didn't miss those times with her. (But to be fair, he hadn't been using his powers during the matches; If he had, things may have turned out differently.)

"Ma'am, how about this: I can act as your bodyguard while you tour the city. I'm very familiar with this area, so I could even act as as guide for you too."

"I'm not particularly here to tour...actually this isn't my first time out of the castle. I've sneaked out once before.."

*she said with a tinge of guilt in her voice. Indeed she had snuck out a few times, those times she never regret. Oh sure sometimes people would harass her with something, but she was used to such things. The comments were all the same by the time she was her ripe age*

"But if you'd wish you could show me around, I don't mind. Afterall I always have a limited time to spend out."

Elijah clapped his hands together. "Great, then I suggest we hit the Redlight District first, there is these dancers I've been meaning to see for a while now. You'd like them I think." Of course, Elijah was only joking, but he acted as if he was really serious about his proposal.

*she stayed silent, not sure whether or not he was joking. And if he wasn't she wasn't sure what to say. Of course it wasn't anything she wasn't used to, but it wouldn't be a pleasant trip*

"...A-Ahh...Redlight.."

*her cheeks flushed over a little and she gave a nervous smile*

"If you say so.."

The sight of Queen Frey blushing made Elijah laugh. "No Ma'am, I kid. I was thinking we could go to a carnival. The carnival being held at a field right off of Main Street."

"A carnival?"

*she blinked, thinking back. No, she never been to a carnival before, not even when she was a child. Nor had the carnival ever wandered to her small town when she was younger. Not like she would be able to go anyway*

"I've gone to a carnival before. But I've heard of them."