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((A ʟᴏɴɢ sᴇʀɪᴇs ᴏғ ᴘᴀssᴀɢᴇs sᴇᴘᴀʀᴀᴛɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛʜʀᴏɴᴇ ʀᴏᴏᴍ ᴀɴᴅ ᴅɪɴɴɪɴɢ ʜᴀʟʟ ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ʙᴇᴅʀᴏᴏᴍs))

The hall was silent, void even of the sound of clicking heels as Jocelyn meandered from corridor to corridor. She had always moved quietly and the first few months of being forced to wear god awfully pointed, clicking shoes, she had mastered walking in them without a sound. The silence allowed her to keep an ear out for the Baron. Jocelyn was avoiding him, as she did any other time when she didn't relay to him enough useful information from the smaller chamber meetings that he wasn't invited to. It wasn't like it was her fault he couldn't keep his head above the water in politics without her helping him scheme.

An annoyed sigh left Lyric's lips as he adjusted his mask once more. It was a pain to deal with and if his sister wasn't the Queen and he wasn't required to leave his private quarters every other hour or so for another frivolous task he wouldn't so much as put the darn thing on. Fidgetting he continued to adjust it before going silent, the quiet strings of curse words stopping short at his lips as he went down one of the corridors. It was positvely silent, not so much as a servant in sight, except for a girl a little distance ahead. The only way she could possibly be so quiet was if she was sneaking around. Putting his hands back to his sides he watched her curiously wondering what she was up too. Using his powers he manipulated the ground so that his footsteps made no noise at all.

((Sorry, had to run out and get a job app, I'll reply soon))

A frown settled over Jocelyn's lips when she thought she heard a brief whisper, her ears tuning in out of habit, but she heard nothing interesting, not to mention the source was no where to be seen. It was probably just her imagination. Not wanting to have to encounter anyone, however, Jocelyn reached up and removed the picks from her plated hair and advanced towards one of the doorways, testing the handle only to find it, as she had assumed, locked.
Lips thinned slightly, she went about the rather dull task of sliding the pins into the lock until there was a soft, satisfying click. Jocelyn withdrew the slender pieces of metal and took a glance to her right only to find an advancing nobleman. Shock caused her heart to skip a single beat; she hadn't heard him coming. Jocelyn mentally reprimanded herself. Why am I so out of touch lately? It was bad enough that she had been caught but as she turned to face the man approaching her, she noticed the elegance of his mask. There were only so many who could afford something as lavish as that, and most of them were royalty. Shit.

((It's fine :P just had dinner anyways.))

In an instinctive manner his eyes narrowed as he saw her hand go to her hair. Careful not to make a sound he watched as she siddled up to the door with what looked to be a sharp-pointed object in her hair. Though Lyric was unable to recall exactly what room it was he knew it was locked which made it of great importance to the King. Maybe she was with the angry rebels, he lit up at the idea before shaking his head. That was impossible, after all if she was how could she have possibly ended up in the palace. Sure his wife had been, but she'd been a servant, and this girl was in a nice dress, and cleary not a maid of any sort. Seeing her turn his head in her direction he inwardly laughed a smirk curving at his lips as he realized she saw the recognition of his mask. Sure it wasn't a full mask like the other roles bore, but it was of a high price, and likely nothing a courtsman could afford.
"Would you like to tell me what you're up to?" He asked, his voice a bit throaty from lack of talking. Lyric was a man of very few words, but he'd speak when needed. And he wasn't just going to stand there and stare at her.

Jocelyn slid the picks up her sleeve in an effort to conceal them. The fact that the man wasn't chastising her, scolding the young woman for doing something she certainly wasn't supposed to be, made her feel that she might be able to get out of this. His slow smirk wasn't exactly something that soothed all of her nerves, though. It was like a cat having trapped a mouse.
While she had been able to place his rank, the man's identity escaped her. She didn't immediately recognize his appearance nor the low voice he spoke with, which was probably another good sign. Jocelyn would be much better behaved knowing he wasn't some sleazy politician that she had eavesdropped on in the past. For lack of a better solution, Jocelyn decided not to go for a blatant lie to answer him. "Not particularly, no," she said, lacing her tone with a light amount of charm.

Already he could see the wheels turning in her head. It was obvious she didn't trust him and she had no reason to. He'd been the one to sneak up on her, and she'd been the one sneaking around. Deftly he crossed his arms over his chest. "Mmm, not particularly?" His voice was almost mocking as he peered down at her with an air of authority. "Well, if you wouldn't like to tell me than perhaps the king?" Lyric already knew he wouldn't tattle on her, it would be hypocritcal of him, but he was truly curious as to what she was up to.

Jocelyn's jaw clenched ever so slightly at the man's proposition. Now that wasn't fair. Then again, she didn't know many nobles who did. She attempted to read his expression studying the eyes behind the mask, the set of his mouth, his overall stance. Jocelyn considered calling his bluff, but if he did hand her over to the king and she wasn't able to come up with a convincing lie, she was sure there would be hell to pay. If not from the king, then at the very least from Whitaker. Instead, she forced herself to continue her polite ruse, not wanting to set him off with her general rudeness in a way that would have him dragging her to the king's study. "There's no need for that, I'm sure His Majesty has far better and more important things to do with his time than listen to a girl about her quest for solitude," she replied carefully. Jocelyn wasn't lying, per se, she was merely adding a more innocent spin to her true objective of avoiding just about every person in this damned castle.

He opened his mouth as if to laugh at her explanition before closing it and pressing his lips together. The girl must've thought him a fool to believe her. After all he'd seen the pin and the wary glances she'd passed over her shoulder and down both directions of the hallway, oh yes, she was certainly up to something and his patience was growing thin. Of course he could wait here for hours and get an answer out of her eventually. The ground seemed to rumble a bit underneath them as he shifted on his feet to look at her, meeting her gaze as she tried reading him. "I'm sure he'd be interested to hear that on her quest for solitude she was also on the verge of breaking and entering?"

Jocelyn glanced down, the placating smile on her lips fading marginally when she could have sworn there was a faint tremor going through the ground. Thinking that wasn't possible, Jocelyn looked back up at the man blinking at him innocently behind her black and blue mask. "I can't say I know what you mean," she said sweetly, cocking her head to the side just a bit as if to ask what he was talking about. At this point, she was barely keeping from cracking under his persistence. She could only play nice for so long with these people and if she wasn't careful, her token sarcastic tone might slip through.

Lyric felt a certain spark of joy in knowing that he'd gotten rid of that smile that had crested her lips in a tauntingly annoying manner. "Don't you try the whole innocent girl facade with me." He muttered in annoyance. For once he'd just appreciate an honest answer from someone, but he wasn't about to go spilling all of his secerets about the resistance just to see if she was a part of it. There was a large part of him, though, that highly doubted she was. Briefly his eyes flickered towards her hand that was cloaked by the long sleeve of her dress before he met her eyes through his mask. "So, I'll ask you just once more what you thought you were doing?"

Holding his gaze unwavering, Jocelyn kept her smile for just long enough to say the word, "Fine," through grit teeth. She had wanted to call his bluff since the moment he had threatened to take her to the king, but if he was planning on turning her over, he would have done so by now instead of humoring her by listening to her hollow answers. "If you really must know, I'm avoiding my ghastly uncle, and when I heard someone coming, I didn't want to risk the off chance that it might be the lazy bag of bones himself walking down the hall. So instead, I decided to pick the lock on the room, planning on waiting in there until whoever it was passed by," she remarked in a none too friendly tone, forcing the word uncle, hating every time she had to utter the disgusting lie. "So I was in fact trying to be alone. Don't know why you doubted me so much."

"Oh..." Lyric didn't feel like he was being fooled at all due to the absolute conviction behind her words. Almost instantaneously his features relaxed and he nodded before taking a step backwards. For some reason a part of him felt as though he should be considered. She had called her uncle disgusting which could mean a multitude of different things, but he could only grasp at one idea in which he didn't so much as want to ask about. "Well, if you're seeking solitude may I reccomend the library next time, picking locks isn't a very good idea around here." He told her all of this with anawkward shrug and a shuffle of his feet before he leaned forwards and opened the door. It was empty inside and it looked to be a generally abandoned room, but he ouldn't trust that. Without thought he turned over the lock on the other side beore peering over at the girl.

Jocelyn rolled her eyes at his response, crossing her arms. Honestly, here he was just giving her the third degree and now he was letting her go with a simple and obvious suggestion. She felt almost physically worn down from keeping up her only halfway convincing act of being the sweet, complying little girl. "Duly noted," she said with a sneer, knowing she should be a little nicer considering he really probably could have done much worse than waste her time. Had it been anyone else, she would have been sure to get a whipping.
It was only her curiosity that caused her to look past the open doorway, seeing the empty room. Why something like that would be locked was beyond her, but she didn't care, now only seeing it as a wasted hiding space. She noticed the man looking at her once again. "If you run into Baron Whitaker, tell him you didn't see me," she snapped, before tugging on a false, slightly deprecating grin. "Good day, sir," she said in a sickly sweet voice accompanied by a mocking bow before she turned on her heels and marched off, even now moving silently as peeved as she was.

((haha good day sir XP are we done or should he keep pestering her?))

((He could continue to pester her or, we could end it here. Isis and I have been talking and I think you two were planning on rping together? Isis and I are doing a collaboration, and with her having the queens other brother, we were thinking of doing sort of a brief group collab. If you want, he could keep following her. I think Isis was planning on having her charrie drop in when she was done making him))

((Okie then I'll leave her alone so when Isis' done you'll be free ))

((Alrighty, nice rping with you again ^_^))

Hunter had been searching for her for hours, ever since he had kicked her. Now, he finally saw her at the end of the hall. He took off in a run without even thinking about it. He caught her and stepped in front of her so that she wouldn't run away. "Jocelyn!" he gasped, "I am so sorry! It wasn't meant for you, the kick, it was meant for the Baron. I'm so sorry. I really am. Tell me how I can fix this. Anything. Really, anything. It was an accident and I felt horrible but I didn't want to cause more of scene for you. I'm so sorry." His eyes raced back and forth across her face, searching for any indicator that she would forgive him. "A-are you ok?"

The Baron had gone back to the suite long ago, but half way back, Jocelyn had dropped back, slipping into an alcove to inspect her injuries. Her leg was red but her toes were even worse shape, the middle one turning a little purple and most of them were swollen. Whitaker had effectively broken the one that was turning colors and while she had been hidden and alone, she was forced to set the small digit, tears falling unrestrained. She had had broken toes before, but still, it hurt.
She heard the fast approaching footsteps but didn't look up to see who was now standing in front of her. Her name spilling from his lips was what drew her gaze to his face and she remained silent, looking up at him expressionlessly as he apologized profusely. When he finally finished speaking, all she said before moving to try to step around him was, "Don't yell at me, I'm not wearing shoes."

"I-" Hunter was a little too astonished for a second to respond. How could she possibly think that he was going to be yell at her when he was so at fault with her. "Shoes are the farthest thing from my mind, which isn't something that happens often." He looked down at her bare feet and shook his head. "Your toe..." He knew that that wasn't from him but he felt like it was anyway. "I'm so sorry. I should have thought about what he would do to you. I just, I didn't like that he wasn't letting you eat and my brain stopped functioning. You make my brain stop functioning..."
He was flustered, for one of the first times in his life he was flustered. He shook his head and bit at his lower lip. "Ok, let me help you with your toes. I can wrap it so that it doesn't move and I can get you something cold to bring down the swelling. Please. Let me help you. I'm sorry..."

"You were just trying to help. It's not like you put the food in my mouth yourself," Jocelyn said, not entirely sure why she was trying to console him as she limped around him, each step sending a throb threw her leg and toes. The idea was foreign to her. Sure, he had done something to drive the Baron away in the library and he had bought her new shoes, but when Whitaker took out his anger on her, Jocelyn dealt with it on her own. When the Baron kicked her, she was careful what side she slept on. When he didn't let her eat, she got reacquainted with the feeling of having an empty stomach. Whatever he did to her, she got herself through it alone.
Now here Hunter was, having tried to feed her when she was being denied food, trying to protect her from her master, and now trying to mend her wounds. And he didn't even like her. "Thank you, but I'm almost back to my room and I really don't think I can make myself go anywhere else tonight," Jocelyn said quietly, for once her thank you actually being genuine and she felt a pinch of frustration at her own weakness.

"Then, then at least let me bind it for you there. It's not going to get any better if you don't make sure it stays steady and if you don't get that swelling to go down," Hunter said, his voice sounding desperate in his own ears. He hated it but he was incapable of controlling it. He was desperate to help her. He had no idea why, but he was. He couldn't just let her go knowing that she was so hurt. Her every limp just about made him cringe. It was almost confusing to feel this way.
"Please, just let me try and help you. It's the least I can do and I don't want you in further trouble with him just because you're limping and drawing attention to yourself or something. He seems like that kind of horrible person..." he sighed softly, "Please. I'll wrap it and then leave."

As much as she hated to admit it, Hunter was probably right. The Baron wouldn't want people asking why his niece was limping and he certainly wouldn't like that she would be able to go around as his little spy until she could move about silently again. Jocelyn knew what she would have to do to help her toe heal, but she got the feeling she would probably neglect to do so, feeling too miserable to do much of anything aside from prop her foot up on a pillow and just got to sleep.
Jocelyn had kept moving as she thought his offer through, her progress slow and jolting. "You'll have to be quiet," she eventually replied, knowing Hunter was still within earshot.

Hunter nodded eagerly, "Yes, I'll be quiet. Where is your room? I'll meet you there in a moment. I've just got to run to the kitchen real quickly and then I'll be back to help you. Alright?" After she pointed out her room he actually took off in a run in the other direction, toward the kitchen. There was no one else in the halls and no one would notice him, but he hadn't even really thought of that. His heart was racing and he just wanted to get the supplies and get back to her. He had to help her because this was his fault and he felt bad and he might even care about her at this point. Though, he pushed this thought away very quickly.

Jocelyn sighed and nodded, not saying another word before he went running off down the hall once again. It was too late for him to have so much energy. It had been a long day, after spying for Whitaker, fighting with Hunter, leaving the castle for the first time in too long, fighting again, spying some more, then the whole ordeal in the dining hall. She supposed Hunter had had a long day too, after walking back from the market... and from what she could tell he hadn't gotten back to the castle untouched. His coat had been missing when she saw him in the dining hall. Yet, he was still running around like a chicken with its head cut off.
At long last, she finally reached the door to the suite, only to find it lock. "Bastard," she muttered under her breath as she removed her lock picks from her hair and quickly twisted the lock undone with a soft click and a practiced hand.

((Should she have a room? And should we go there?))

((She has a room, but technically it's a suite shared with the Baron, for the sake of the rp. It should be somewhere in the castle residence area or something like that so we should probably post there))

((I'm headed to bed now, but if you wanna post at her room, I'll reply in the morning))

((Alright, sounds good.))

Hunter chewed at the inside of his cheek nervously, hands deep in his pockets as he began to pace up and down the halls. He had spent the past week mostly avoiding the castle so that he didn't impose himself on Jocelyn before she was ready. However, after a few days had passed he had started to worry. Maybe she wasn't as interested in him as he had thought. Maybe she was having second thoughts about their relationship and just wanted to avoid him. Maybe he would never see her again. Worry had turned into panic easy enough when the week point hit. He missed her, all of her. He didn't want to upset her by hunting her down, but he felt he had no other choice. So, he decided to go to the castle and just roam until he ran into her. If she didn't want him, he at least needed to know.

After putting each document in the exact place and order that she had found it, Jocelyn let out a slow breath as she soundlessly moved to the oak door that had been no match for her skills in the breaking and entering department. Whitaker had been particularly greedy for information. No matter how juicy the tidbits she picked up from eavesdropping, he kept wanting more, demanding more, threatening for more. She had been forced to widen her tactics, something she hated doing as it also increased her chances of getting caught. She used to thrive on the fear of being discovered while breaking the law, but that was when she knew she would be able to get herself out of whatever trouble she had landed herself in.
Pressing her ear against the door, she listened closely as a pair of footsteps faded away as the person walked down the hall. Once she deemed it safe, Jocelyn slipped out of the study and pulled out her lock picks, mumbling the information she had gathered under her breath as she resealed the door, making sure she had it all committed to memory.

Hunter took in a long deep breath. He wasn't exactly looking for Jocelyn but he wasn't trying to stay hidden either. He was just hoping beyond hope at this point. He had no idea what to do. He had never liked a girl like this and had never been any situation so complicated. He knew there was the chance she was just busy an he would be bothering her, but he couldn't help himself. He felt as if he would lose his mind if he didn't see her some time soon.

Turning away from the door, Jocelyn tried to shake off all the tension that had been making her body stiff for the past half hour. She rolled her head from side to side as she tried to convince herself that she was now home free and she set off down the hall to try to find the Baron while everything was still fresh in her mind. When she turned the corner and saw a man with his back to her, she silently cursed to herself, knowing she would have to tug on the Jocelyn Whitaker persona if he acknowledged her. It only took a moment before a sense of relief and a ridiculous rush of happiness rushed over her. "Hunter," she said, her voice loud enough to carry over to him. Was it sad that she could probably recognize the back of his head as well as she knew his face? There was no way she could ever mistake him.

Hunter actually jumped when he heard his name. He jumped so hard that he almost tumbled back onto his butt. Thankfully he was able to save himself by using the wall as support. Once he was safely back on his feet he took a moment to smile to himself just because he recognized that beautiful voice. He turned slowly toward her and tried to calm his smile just a little bit, so as not to appear overly excited. "Jocelyn," he breathed, unable to keep the relief from his voice now that he was looking at her. She was as beautiful as ever, even though she was looking frazzled.

Jocelyn had to bite her lip to keep from openly laughing at his reaching. It was practically like watching a startled cat throw a fit. She had always heard the expression of someone jumping in surprise, but she had never actually seen it happen, both feet leaving the ground. A grin spread wide across her face, an expression that really had no place in the palace, but she wore it none the less. The corners of his mouth were twitching, which always happened when he was trying to rein in his emotions and her heart did somersaults knowing that this was the reaction she brought out of him just by standing there.
It suddenly hit her like a pile of bricks just how much she had missed him. Jocelyn had been working endlessly, the days blurring together, keeping her too distracted to even think about sneaking away to see Hunter. Her smile waned marginally. "It's been a while," she tried to say casually, though her heart ached knowing that it was her fault they had been apart for so long.

Hunter nodded softly and then shrugged his shoulders. "I guess this is what we signed up for. I should have known better than to expect to meet you any other way than this. We're only meant to run into each other it seems, never actually meet up." He held back the sigh that wanted to escape from him. He had missed her so horribly and it physically hurt to think about it. He wanted to tell her, but he didn't want to embarrass himself. She didn't seemed quite as excited as he, so he didn't want to ruin the moment even if it was in passing.
"You look as beautiful as I remember though, so there's that," he said, trying to make light of the situation, as usual. He walked a little closer to her but then stopped. He didn't want to assume that they were alright.

Jocelyn knew that this would happen if they ever got involved, they both did. That didn't mean she had to like it, though. "We really need to do something to fix that. I kind of hate not knowing when I'll be able to see you next," she said, wrinkling her nose just a little as if it were all just terribly inconvenient. Now he was walking towards her, but he stopped, just out of her reach. It was probably good that he was holding himself back and she needed to keep herself rooted to the spot because all she wanted was to walk right into his arms, but anything like that would be impossible here. In an attempt to play off her frustration, she replied, "Really? I'm surprised I've been able to maintain my good looks without my regiment sufficient beauty sleep and kisses from handsome gentlemen."

"I'm just as surprised as you are. Maybe the gentleman you last kissed was handsome enough to tide you over for some time," Hunter replied, his smile slipping on and off his face in waves. He really wasn't sure how to feel right now. She was so close but she felt like she was a million miles away. She talked of more concrete plans for meeting but it wasn't a realist idea. He wanted to pull her into his arms and kiss her but he didn't dare for fear of someone catching them, or fear of being rejected by the girl herself. He sighed softly then shrugged his shoulders. "I've missed you," he finally said, his voice low so that he not be overheard. In fact, it was likely she had a hard time hearing it too.

"Maybe," she agreed, with a hint of her crooked grin. For a long moment, Hunter was silent, and she could hardly keep up with the emotions that played across his half hidden features. When he did speak again, she almost missed it. For a moment, Jocelyn thought he might just be mumbling to himself, but that wouldn't make sense, if he really said what she thought he had. She swallowed once, studying his face before casting her her doubt and her pride aside long enough to admit, "I've missed you too. More than I thought possible, actually." She wanted to believe that the first time apart for them would be the hardest. They had gone longer without seeing each other, and that had been on purpose. But this was different. Maybe she was a fool for thinking this would work.

((I'll be on vacation for the next week so I'll reply if/when I can.))

Hunter looked up to meet her gaze and one corner of his mouth twitched up in a smile. He nodded. "I hope I can see you again soon," he told her, knowing that she probably had things to be doing. He didn't want to get her into trouble and ruin their chances of seeing each other again at all. He sighed softly and walked just a little closer to her. He reached out and gently touched her arm, as if checking to make sure that she was actually real. "I'll let you be on your way now," he said, trying to be teasing but failing pretty miserably.

((Okay, have fun!))

She could feel the warmth of his hand through her sleeve, but it was nothing like one of his customary kisses on the forehead. At his attempt for a lighter tone, Jocelyn narrowed her eyes at him. "That's not fair. You can just show up wandering the halls, say a handful of sentences, then expect me to be able to just walk away," she told him. She really did have to go before she forgot all the information she had collected, but the man standing before her was too tempting to resist. "That's like mentioning you have strawberries but not inviting me over to eat them."

"Well I do have strawberries, but you're invited to eat them any time that you're free. But you do have to be free. I don't want to be getting you in trouble. I promise I'm not tryin to be rid of you. I just want to be with you when I know I have time...and know that we're not being watched. Come see me when you can. I do miss you, and this meeting wasn't entirely an accident." He gave her a more real smile this time then have a shy shrug.

Jocelyn through her head back theatrically and groaned, bringing her hand to her heart in despair. "The strawberries were supposed to be hypothetical, now they're going to be taunting me endlessly," she said as though this were a truly traumatic situation for her. What tugged at her heart more was that he was trying to stay away from her to keep her out of trouble. Whitaker didn't even know it, but he pretty much had full command over their relationship. "What do you mean this wasn't accidental? You planned to run into me just so you can say hello then send me on my way back to serving the devil?" Jocelyn asked, knowing she was taking it far out of proportion, but wanting to stretch out their brief meeting as long as possible.

"Well when you say it like that I sound like a monster," Hunter said, rolling his eyes. "I just mean that I was going to march up and down this palace until I saw you. I missed you. I still miss you. I will continue missing you. I just wanted one chance to look at you. Is that so wrong? I don't think so. Now, I'm hoping that I have jogged your memory of me and you choose to see me if you get a free moment. That's all. No real monstrous intentions I can assure you." He stuck his tongue at her playfully, remembering that it tended to annoy her.

"Well when you say it like that I sound like a monster," Hunter said, rolling his eyes. "I just mean that I was going to march up and down this palace until I saw you. I missed you. I still miss you. I will continue missing you. I just wanted one chance to look at you. Is that so wrong? I don't think so. Now, I'm hoping that I have jogged your memory of me and you choose to see me if you get a free moment. That's all. No real monstrous intentions I can assure you." He stuck his tongue at her playfully, remembering that it tended to annoy her.

Jocelyn did her best to keep glaring at him while he explained that he had come to one of the places he hates most in hopes that he could see her because he missed her, something that was technically her fault. Like she needed to be reminded of him. Any spare moment that she was able to have her mind all to herself, Hunter plagued her thoughts, in a good way of course. Just when she was about to crack, he stuck his tongue out at her and her show of irritation was reignited with the real thing. "How many times have I told you to keep that thing in your head where it belongs?" she scolded, crossing her arms.

"When are you going to learn that you can't control me no matter how spell bounding your eyes are?" Hunter retorted, a smile cracking onto his face. "So, nice try but I'm just going to keep doing it until I've been properly bribed not to. Are we understood? We are. Fantastic. I knew you would understand." He once again stuck his tongue out at her before tipping her a little wink. He knew he could never be truly charming, but he was pretty good at fake charming.

"Bribed? I am not going to bribe you. I have better things to do with my time than stand here and play to your whims. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go see a man about blackmail," Jocelyn announced moving to step around him, but she only got a few steps before she realized, "But that would be totally pointless now, seeing that I can't remember a word of what I read less than ten minutes ago..." She was sure it would come back to her, but even as she tried to remember, she knew that she would rather stand in the middle of the hall with an irritating Hunter than discuss the Baron's next move.