1x1 with hollyglow and Consulting_Angel

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
He pouted. He would have preferred to have the 'neither' option, but then again, that was perhaps not much of a surprise. Then again, it's not as if he'd be the one getting stabbed. Unless the guards didn't care. But then he might be more roughly handled by the guards than Jem was now. "Fine. Rough handling it is." Ashton replied, and he glanced back as they started to approach the end of the woods. It seemed that they'd temporarily lost the guards for now, but there was no doubt that they'd catch up to them sooner or later. There wasn't exactly many places out here to hide. He almost bumped into Jem when they came to a stop on the edge of the road, and he was about to say something when he saw - and heard - the small family with their wagon. He followed after Jem in approaching them, and was quite annoyed that there was no reaction of his presence - and then it took him a moment to remember that he was not in Gwildor still, so he was likely not going to be recognised here anyway. He glanced towards Jem when he made the proposition to the family, and then Ashton nodded in agreement. "As long as you need." He said, sure that he had some form of payment with him. No, he didn't like the idea of having to share the wagon with other people, especially as it would likely be cramped, but he knew that they had no other choice if they didn't want to be caught by the guards.

Loralei Waverly
She watched Elsa for a few moments, smiling slightly as she could tell that the princess was lost in thought, so she decided that she'd wait until she spoke before talking again. And as Elsa became more serious, and presented what was quite the decision to make - what they were going to do now - Loralei had to give it a few moments to think about it. Each option had their benefits and risks, to an extent. She took hold of Elsa's hand, gently rubbing her thumb on the back of it, to try and be comforting. "It's okay. It's something we need to decide. It's okay to ramble about it, if it helps." She said, before giving their options another think about. It was a tough choice, in her opinion. "Well... we don't know where those two are going, or are. It might be difficult to find them, and I don't like the idea that we might get followed." Loralei said, with a sigh, then she added, "Though if we stay, we'd have to be quite careful about us around Erek and the guards... but we'll see Ashton and the pirate again someday. I'm sure of it. And exposing your brother's plot would help with that."


(Hey, it's okay! Glad you're back~ I hope everything's okay)

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

I appreciated that Loralei took my hand. I loved that I seemed to always be in contact with her, that I could take her hand anytime I wanted to and she didn't mind. Although we hadn't know each other for long, she seemed to understand me easily, more easily than most people, and she didn't mind the strange things about me, and I loved it. "Alright," I murmured. "So we stay?" I had to admit it made the most sense of the two options. "But if we plan to expose him, we'll need to find some sort of evidence. Something to show that he's behind this. The word of a runaway princess against the crown prince won't carry much weight." I studied the room. Would it be enough to simply say that Loralei and I had been kept here against our will? No, that was hardly considered a punishable offense anyway. All Erek would have to say was that I'd lost my head because I was so frantic over the lost prince. There had to be something else.

Jem Laceburn

I didn't look at Ashton, keeping my eyes fixed on the man and woman. They exchanged a look, but, to their credit, seemed go recognize that we were in a hurry. They didn't ask sny questions, although it would have been absolutely justified if they had. They just nodded in unison. "Thank you." I dipped my head quickly and climbed into the wagon. It wasn't covered or anything, just a simple wooden box with a chest and some food. There were also three children huddled around the edges. They flinched away when they saw us, but none of them seemed to know quite how to react. I didn't have time to comfort confused children, so I flashed what I hoped was a non-intimidating smile at them and sat down, pulling Ashton with me. "Keep your head down, highness," I muttered. "Try to look...not royal."

(Yeah, it's fine, just lots of school related stuff!)

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
For a moment, Ashton wondered if the man and woman were going to refuse, or ask awkward questions. Fortunately, they didn't, though he did take a moment or two longer than Jem to say "Thank you." Some things were just not easy to change so quickly for him, and he was still very much royalty and had grown up all his life within it. He climbed up onto the wagon after Jem, as he was pulled after him, and then gave a quiet scoff. "And how does one do that?" He whispered back, glancing towards the children for a moment, unable to resist giving them a warm smile (though he did stop himself before he waved) before looking back towards Jem. Was he to slouch? He internally shuddered at the thought of it. Certainly not. He did, however, keep his glance down - though that felt very unnatural to him, making eye contact was something he preferred. It was a sign of confidence and authority... something that he supposed he was meant to tone down.

Loralei Waverly
She nodded slightly. Staying did make the most sense, for the time being. Besides, she thought, it would be safer for them to stay, and there would be no doubt that Erek would follow them (or, at least, send someone to follow them). And despite everything that was happening, the current cushy lifestyle was somewhat appealing, even if she was being considered Elsa's maid. Oh well. Loralei was just pleased to be with Elsa. It hadn't been long at all since they'd met, but there was just something so oddly freeing and getting a taste of adventure that she was getting with Elsa - and it helped that she really liked the princess. Loralei thought for a moment. Their word would be dismissed, she was sure. "Perhaps there is a written document? A contract of sorts?" She suggested, certain that there must be something like that around.

[hollyglow]

Elsa Alina Asbjornson

I frowned, tapping my fingers on Loralei's hand. "Well...normally, yes. But since Erek was dealing with a pirate, I don't know what may or may not exist. There could be a contract, but when one party of said contract is a pirate and likely a wanted criminal, there's not much point. Had Erek violated the terms of the agreement, the pirate would have been essentially unable to respond because any court of law, sny trial, would be instantly against him." I frowned. "Perhaps a letter, if anyone else was cooperating with Erek? But honestly, I wouldn't even know where to start. Perhaps we could find the time to go through his things? But he's planned it all so elaborately, I can't imagine he would just leave evidence of his plot lying around for anyone to find." I scowled at the floor as if I could will the evidence into existence.

Jem Laceburn

I snorted. "Highness, do you have a ruler glued to your back?" His posture was ridiculously perfect. I had never paid much attention to it before, but now that I noticed, it stuck out like he was a wooden beam in the middle of a forest. "At least keep your head down. Don't make eye contact with anyone. Just try to look like you belong. See?" After taking a quick glance around the wagon at the rest of the children, I decided my best option was to imitate the oldest girl. She looked about my age, maybe a bit younger, and she let her limbs sprawl with a carelessness unique to lower classes. I nearly reached for Ashton's hand, then thought better of it. I had no idea how these people saw me. Given everything that had happened, I wasn't even certain whether I looked like a woman or a man anymore. I knew it shouldn't matter, and that we had bigger things to worry about, but I couldn't help giving my shirt a self-conscious tug. At any rate, if they had perceived me as a man, I knew I couldn't draw any unnecessary attention to myself by touching Ashton excessively.

[Consulting_Angel]

Ashton Rouleau
He scoffed at the question, although he knew how good his posture was. "I'm not slouching, and you shouldn't either. Your spine and back will thank you." Ashton whispered back. Even if he did stick out, he was counting on the family being too tired or disinterested to ask questions. Perhaps the closest that he'd get to 'slouching' would be to lean on Jem, but he knew that he couldn't risk doing anything like that, especially in public. He did not need to draw attention to the two of them any more than they might already be attracting. He watched Jem as he demonstrated his imitation of taking on one of the children's posture and actions, and Ashton wrinkled his nose slightly. In his opinion, there was a line, and he was not going to cross it. However, he supposed - as difficult as he would find it - he could keep his head and not make eye contact with anyone. He also made the decision to keep his mouth shut when it came to wanting to comment on the state of the wagon, and the slight bumps in the road as they traveled, knowing that it would be a dead giveaway if he did so.

Loralei Waverly
She made a good point, Loralei knew. They weren't dealing with two people of the same class. However, she thought, there had to be some sort of written communication or something of the sort. It was a tough one, though. They'd need substantial evidence of what Erek had done, and what else he was planning. Maybe she was just skeptical, but she was almost certain that there had to be more to what they knew up to now. "Perhaps he has some sort of hidden compartment or something to hide the evidence?" Loralei suggested, but it was difficult to tell where to start as well. "Perhaps his room is a good start, but yes, it will be difficult... and he might be able to tell if someone has been through his room." She gave it a few more minutes of thought. "Someone else must know something. I don't mean to be rude, but it just seems too large for Erek to have planned all by himself. Unless I'm underestimating him."