miss who? miss nothing

[Cora James]

It was nighttime, and Cora had plans. She was going to see Zander, her thief of a brother. Surprisingly, she had been able to get some boy clothes, along with a hood, and now all she had to do was get out of the castle. Hopefully that wouldn't be too hard. That, and she had some food from the kitchen in a bag that was tied around her waist. Some people had to eat that she knew of, and obviously she and Zander were the only ones bringing in the food, because their older brother was trying to marry.

What an idiot. Marrying a lady for her money? That wasn't going to work. Keeping her hood on, she walked swiftly and quietly, her only goal to get out of the castle. Every once in a while, Cora would have to hide behind a pillar, for someone would be walking around. After a while it felt like someone was following her. This made her walk faster. If she was going to get out of here, she was going to make sure it was fast. If anyone saw her, they'd probably think her a thief, and she'd lose her job.

And losing her job wasn't something her famliy needed. If anything, what she needed was a job that paid more. The ones that paid more were the ones who were knights and archers, and sadly, they were all men. Like anyone wanted a female archer in their court. That was blasphemy. If anything, the highest she had gotten was lady in waiting, and still, there wasn't enough money. Maybe she'd just leave the castle and become a thief along with her brother, and maybe form some kind of band of thieves and rob people in the woods.

But what did it matter? She was nothing to the castle. Miss Nothing was what she was.

outfit

[Anne Marie Alexandra Blackwood]

Anne’s skirts swished behind her as she walked about the castle. It was late at night, late enough that it was improper for her to be out and about on her own but she didn’t care. She was on her way to see her brother, Knox so people couldn’t scold her too badly as long as she got to him quickly. He was returning from an expedition in the trees and the princess had only just heard of his return. It was obvious that Anne favored Knox among her siblings but why shouldn’t she? He was her twin after all. Anne saw him as her other half and she hated not knowing that he was alright. Word had been sent to her that he had returned and rather than wait for him to come to her, she wanted to come to meet him.

Her feet carried her swiftly down the hall and she took off her shoes to avoid the click of them against the stone of the floor. Only the rustle of her skirts made a noise as she dodged behind each pillar. Once she had reached her brother, she would be allowed to walk out in the open with him, but until then, she would be scolded for being out and about on her own at the late hour. The dress she wore was not one of her best but it would do and if it got muddy she would not care. Her dark hair flowed freely behind her as she dodged behind the pillars, trying to remain unseen as she made her way down to the stables. Perhaps Knox would scold her but it would not last long.

She ducked around column after column and then found her path blocked. She had darted behind a column only to find someone else already there with a hood up. She nearly knocked into them and had to cover her mouth to stifle the near scream she gave at their hooded appearance. There was a thief right in front of her. She was torn as to whether to scream and alert the guards and bear her punishment for sneaking about or whether to let it go. Under normal circumstances she would have screamed her head off until someone came; she had already been stolen from too many times but she wanted desperately to see her brother.

[Cora James]

Cursing inwardly, she couldn't help but wonder why it was a princess who had to be the one. Cora hissed at her as quietly as she could, "If you scream you'll give both of us away!" Pulling her hood down, to show that it was just her, and she still whispered, knowing the consequences, "If you scream I swear to God this will end badly fofr both of us." Immediate consequences for her ran through her mind. Being fired, possibly being hanged for theft of food from the royal kitchen, and probably a lot more than those two.

Any of those would end bad for her. Including her, she was one of seven kids. In order it was Robert, who was trying to marry into money, Zander, herself, Garrett, their blind brother, Jacob, who was pretty good at bartering for his age, Finn, and Evangeline. Her last two siblings didn't have talents quite yet, but they still were her siblings. Every kid in their family tried hard for those two, that was the motivation. That and Garrett, who proved that just cause he was blind didn't mean anything that he just lost one thing, not all.

Those people were practically her life. If she got in trouble for anything, they were doomed. Unlike other servants, she had no problem looking royalty in the eye. Why couldn't she, they weren't any different, honestly. Not looking them in the eye was being fearful, and if anything, she was not fearful. Only of water and horses, and losing her family, but that was about it. Wait, no, she didn't care about her mother. None of them cared for her. But as far as they were concerned, she was third oldest, she had to live and survive.

Getting caught by royalty was gonna be a tough thing to get out of this time, and hopefully, involve not being hung, but probably fired.

[Anne Marie Alexandra Blackwood]

Anne was shocked when one of her maids revealed herself underneath the hood. She was even more shocked when the woman hissed a command at her. Anne’s eyes went from being shocked and worried about the sight before her to being angry and indignant. Cora had always looked her straight in the eyes or never been as respectfully as she ought to have been. Her eyes were narrowed at the other woman’s words. How could she speak to a princess in such a way? It had always angered her, the maid’s insolence. At the same time, Cora did her jobs well, just with that seeming disregard for titles. It seemed the girl didn’t care much for any position and detested something that Anne could not quite lay her finger on.

The rage that the princess often had but pushed down was burning behind the blue of her eyes and her gaze scanned the servant dismissively, taking in the girl’s strange attire. Cora seemed to be wearing men’s clothing and Anne had no idea why. Hold your tongue and do not order me again. If you do not learn your place I swear to God that you will no longer have one. she said coldly as a new idea occurred to her. Her blue eyes scanned Cora’s attire once more as a smirk spread across your face. Now listen closely and do as I tell you and we can forget this whole thing. We can help each other here. Anne whispered as she checked over her shoulder to ensure no one else is coming.

I need to get down to the stables and you are going to help me get there. she demanded and pulled Cora’s hood slightly up, just enough to hide most of her face but not enough to seem threatening. I don’t care where you go from there. she said dismissively. Anne knew that with Cora’s attire, she could pass for a male in the night and therefore could pass as an escort for a princess. That meant no more sneaking down to the stable; she would be able to walk in the open to see her brother. Though she was excited to see him, the emotion was well hidden by her usual cold demeanor.

[Bliss Bennett]

Bliss had been sent to Avalon for one reason; as a gift. She was being used to buy favor from the richer kingdom. She was hiding in the shadows, a basket full of freshly laundered clothes hugged to her chest tightly. Her breath was rapid and fast as she hid, afraid to be found and accused of eavesdropping. She had only been returning from the laundry under the castle to one of the princesses' rooms. Or perhaps one of the princes, she was not sure yet. She only had to venture down this hall, third door from the end...

But instead she had stumbled upon this scene. The Lady-In-Waiting and Princess Anne. Harsh words were being spoken and Bliss winced and before she could stop herseld, squeaked. She was remembering her own Lady's harsh words to her, more often then she deserved. Bliss's hands began to shake and she dropped the basket, sending the delicate clothes sliding over the stone floor. Immediately, Bliss dropped to her knees and began to pick them up and fold them hurriedly, afraid of punishment.

"So sorry Madam. I will get it Madam. Pardon me Madam." She said quietly, keeping her voice low and pleasing and her eyes on her task. She was afraid of punishment. Particulary the whip. She had seen her father whipped at a young age and it stuck with her. She closed her eyes as she folded, waiting for the inevitable strike that would come.

((Hope you don't mind, I needed somewhere to put her))

[Cora James]

As soon as the hood came up she knew immediately what was going on. Grumbling, she replied, "Yea yea, I hear the same threat at least twice a week, be glad I'm doing this as a service. I expect this is going to be happening a whole lot more," she started to mumble to herself, "Because Cora, everytime you try to see your damn family, something always happens, and then you gotta explain to Angel why you were late, and more. Congrates Cora, your the best freaking sister in the world." Did she like to talk to herself? Yes.

Was it normal for Cora? Actually, very. Was it strange? Quite so. But did it help her? Like hell it did. Plenty of rationality came from it. But the ramblings got cut short from hearing the apologizing. How much had this girl seen? Cora kept silent, not knowing. This was for the Princess to deal with. Her job was to just make sure that they both got what they wanted, her to go to the stables, and she to visit her family. It was all good for her. Other servants, unless they were friends, didn't much matter to her.

In other words, that was no one except for Rubin, really.

[Anne Marie Alexandra Blackwood]

Anne was once again shocked by Cora’s insolence though she really shouldn’t have been at this point. Her anger flared just as she heard the sound of a crash behind her. She didn’t know what she was angrier at: the servant behind her or the one in front of her. Her hand flew to her forehead and she thought the vein there was probably visibly pulsating. She took a second to compose herself before she turned to the servant that had dropped the clothing. Inwardly, she groaned; Anne wanted desperately to see her brother and people kept getting in her way.

After the smallest of pauses, Anne turned to the servant. Do that and bring them where they belong, quickly. the princess ordered, projecting calm into her voice. She was trying hard to keep calm but all she wanted was to see her brother. Knox had been gone too long and if she didn’t hurry, she would miss seeing him in the stables and then it would be hours. He would go to their father to report on his trip and that would take a while and then he would likely want to go to bed. Anne wanted to see him; she wanted to know that he was alright and now she would miss him because these servants were holding her back.


{{sorry it's so short}}