Of Flowers and Flames | ONC#2020 ((ON HOLD))

Despite tradition and the elaborate quarters prepared specifically for the Emissary's arrival, Ziedas refused to stay within the castle during her visit. Instead, she remained at the Wild Rose, and that was where Fiama was sent to retrieve her the next morning to begin their first of many tours within Morakar.

The news of Ziedas' blatant disrespect did not settle well with the king and queer, and Fiama's mother had no qualms about adding another item to the list of necessary requirements Fiama needed to achieve during the Ithoyan's visit.

Convince the Emissary they want to remain allies. Find a husband at the ball. Produce an heir. Leave the castle. Convince Ziedas to reside where the queen demands for the remainder of the week...

If she didn't think her parents would track her down and have her beaten bloody until she submitted, she'd have jumped onto her horse and road as far away from Morakar and never looked back. But Fiama had seen, first-hand, what happened to guards who deserted their posts, and the public torture that came along with it, and appreciated her entrails exactly where they were.

Dressed not in her leather armor but a more refined fitted shirt, belted at the waist over leggings with boots, Fiama applied just enough rouge to her lips and kohl to her eyes to accentuate her favorite features. Not bothering to stop for breakfast and the expected onslaught from her parents, she set off towards the Wild Rose, mentally preparing herself for a day with the Emissary's daughter.

Ziedas, however, was already waiting for her.

She wore a cotton dress of cornflower blue that perfectly matched her eyes. Her blonde hair was braided behind her ears, allowing the silky length of it to run down her back. At her waist was a leather belt and on her hip, a dagger.

Clearly, she wasn't taking any chances, and Fiama couldn't blame her.

"Lady Ziedas," Fiama said smoothly by way of welcome. "I wasn't expecting to see you awake so early."

"There's too much to do to sleep," she said plainly. "And I'm not a Lady. Not yet."

"Would you prefer Emissary Ziedas then?"

"I'd prefer nothing, to be truthful, but Ziedas is fine."

Fiama tried not to roll her eyes as she dragged her attention towards the still-empty main street. "Where would you prefer to begin then, seeing as nothing isn't an option? We have the stables to the north or the orchards to the east or—"

"I want you to take me to the road that leads out of Morakar."

Fiama whipped her head back to look at her. "Why?"

"I need to prove to you that there are vigilantes on your roads."

"You don't need to prove this to me— it's my father who doesn't believe you."

"But if I can prove it to you, you can support my claim to your father."

"And what, exactly, are we going to prove to him?"

"That you have a vigilante on your roads who's doing better than your guards, and they deserve to be commended for their acts of bravery."

Fiama couldn't hold back the laugh and her mind reeled. "Did you not hear my father? He wants that vigilante dead."

"Then I'll give them clemency on behalf of Ithoya."

Fiama blinked. She was serious. She really wanted to find...

"What makes you think I want anything to do with anything that counters my father's orders?" Fiama asked quickly and began to walk away from the inn and away from the road that would lead her where she wanted to go.