How Could I Know You Better?

[Elleryn]

The City of Crevua.

Rumours of the corrupt councillor had been spiralling around the council members for quite some time now. The evidence was all there, yet nobody had bothered to investigate. Funds meant to help improve the state of the sad little city had magically disappeared, though the additional renovations done to Councillor Dalen Kilriks' quaint little castle gave people a good idea of where those credits had been spent.

Still, it had taken years for someone to finally complain. The poverty in Crevua didn't do much to react, and nobody from the upper society had given it any thought. That was why she was here today.

This was where it all started after all.

She hadn't stepped foot into this city in nine years. She didn't expect much when the ship had hovered over the grubby town. It was in the state she had left it in. It was falling apart at a much slower pace than she had anticipated. The people of the town were kind, though secretive. Beggars scattered the streets and salvaged bins for food to eat. People kept their windows barred with wood and cardboard.

And yet, her sweetest memory lingered in Crevua's filthy streets.

She sighed. There was nothing here for her to find tonight. Her guards escorted her to the tavern where she'd be spending the night before putting the councillor on trial in the morning. She had sent him a letter and she expected him to prepare for this. There was nothing that she knew about him except that he had ruled Crevua for twenty-three years. She knew him as a tall, old man with white hair and cold eyes. He was polite at meetings although even someone like her sensed that it was all fake. However, Xasuri's people were honest, and she expected him to be truthful with her. She had packed her things away and sent her guards to watch her door, before tucking herself into bed.

She would dream of Nabreh's warm arms embracing her.

~ • ~

Of course he had received the letter. In fact, it was somewhere in the corner of his office, crumpled into a ball. Dalen paced the room, uncertain of what to do. He narrowed his icy blue eyes as he paced the room. What had gone wrong? He had been in rule of Crevua for twenty-three years and within that span of time, he was able to start up his own drug trade and evade suspicion. What gave him away? Was it the increased number of foreigners making their way to visit the grimy city of Crevua? Most foreigners who entered Xasuri were attracted to places like Tari and Mudi, though because of his new found business, he seemed to be expecting a lot more guests.

In fact, he was expecting a shipment from a trader from Nar Shaddaa. Zen was the only name he was given and he was prepared to pay her a hefty sum for the amount of spice she was supposed to be bringing it. Unknown to her, money was not the only thing he would be giving to her today.

There was a reason why he contacted the agent Jenna Templar. To make her job easier, he had already contacted her the night before giving her the details of where the princess was going to be. He had transferred twenty thousand credits into her account as a down payment, and told her she'd receive the rest when the deed had been done.

He rubbed his pale hands together and sat back, his leather boots resting on the glass table in front of him. In a few hours, the first part of his grand plan would be launched. He assumed Jenna would take care of the innkeeper (he never liked that old whiny hag anyways), the guards (and he was certain there'd be quite a few), and the precious little princess who was fast asleep and oblivious to the outside world. It probably wouldn't be an easy task, those guards were quite skilled and they were in charge of protecting her after all. Afterwards, the princess would be on her way to the slums, and he assumed Zen would get rid of her or sell her as a slave to the hutts.

Why he could not kill her himself? Well, it was one of the things that still tied him to this awful society and planet. Xasuri had their customs, and he simply couldn't break them. It was a sin to kill a member of the royal family. He did not want to risk angering Konzra, the God of Wealth.

Besides, a life of slavery—no, a life of poverty—that was worse than death itself.

| [member="Jenna Templar"] | [member="Ariadne Van'Shelaq"] |

 

[Tanalth]

Life as a freelancer wasn't exactly what Jenna had in mind, but she wasn't within a mood to complain. Her mentality wasn't the same after everything that happened during the Nether realm event. All the horrors she'd seen and everything she endured while trying to run from it, seeing others sweat up in the horror. For the former agent of the protectorate she'd felt as though everything had fallen apart and that there was no real need for "order" or "foundation" or anything else the Protectorate stood for. That was why she became what she was: a freelancer. Or to put it in a term she didn't want to admit: a mercenary.

A letter and credits had been transferred to her. Not in-person, which was something she was used to, but given the amount and the nature of the letter it was clear this "Dalen" wanted [member="Elleryn"] out of the way. But given that it was a royal affair made all the more sense to Jenna why. This man was corrupt. Good. Without guys like him she'd be out of a job. He wanted her to go to Crevua and take care of the princess. Fair enough. Despite the gut sickening feeling in Jenna's head as she readied herself before eventually taking off three days in advance of the princess.

It was easy to infiltrate the inn, especially after she "took care" of the innkeeper and posed as her relative. She quietly studied all the guards, checking their movements and when some would go on break before others would switch to keep watch on the princess. Looking around....this was going to be too easy. The first two or three guards were easily dealt with. All Jenna had to do was entice them with her "feminine attributes" before leading them somewhere in the Inn where no one would hear the snap of their necks or a knife slicing across their throats. Others that sat in the lobby of the inn she brought drinks laced with a poison which, only a few minutes after drinking, would take a silent effect on them.

Now it was only the ones at the princess' door she had to deal with. Carefully she made a tray of food and walked up to the princess' room, offering the guards something before saying it was also for the princess. Of course neither of them would let her pass, which only served to have Jenna deal with both of the hand-to-hand. A quick smack of the tray and then a broken arm followed by her legs clasped around one's neck before giving a good twist. The other was taken out by a stray blast from a pistol Jenna managed to snag off the last guard. That was it. The princess was hers.

Still dressed as an inn keeper Jenna, with the blaster in her hand, slowly opened the door....

 

[Elleryn]

Noise.

There was just so much noise.

Now, Elleryn was not as punctilious as most people assumed. She was simply a light sleeper, and the softest creak would shake her awake. Whatever was occurring outside her quarters startled her and caused her to jostle out of bed. She could hear something falling—perhaps a tray full of food? It did not matter at this rate, as something was obviously amiss. Dressed in her nightgown fashioned with only the finest threads, she jumped out of bed.

Her first idea was to merely hide in the closet. However, the flaw in that plan was that she could easily be found and killed. The closet, although not the roomiest place to stay in would leave her cornered. She did not want to make it easy for whoever was searching for her. Her next best bet was the window.

Being on the second floor did not make this easy on her heart. She ran towards the window as she heard the sound of her guards trying to combat whoever this fiend was. Luckily, the window was not barred like the ones on the ground floor, and she was able to unlock it. She jumped onto the small table and crawled out of the window. She held her breath and fell onto the panelling of the small lean-to roof below her.

She was able to grab on and support herself, and at this time, she knew the person had already entered her room. She had no choice. She’d either be killed now or she had to jump. She was lucky it was only a few feet of a fall, otherwise she could’ve seriously injured herself. She tumbled onto the dirt beneath her, slightly tearing the fine night gown.

She was panting. Elleryn was obviously scared and the guards she had come with could not protect her. There was no way she could fly her own ship and she needed to get away from whoever was chasing her. Giving herself no time, she pulled herself off of the ground. Her limbs were shaking from the fall, and she wanted to scream.

Who could have done this to her? Who would be so cruel as to hire a hit man to kill her? Her thoughts pointed to one person in particular: Dalen.

She gritted her teeth, her face turning towards the window. She knew she should start running, yet still she was limping. She began to move. Surely one of the houses would shelter her from this beast?

| [member="Jenna Templar"] | [member="Ariadne Van'Shelaq"] |

 

[Tanalth]

Finding no one in the room Jenna cursed to herself before looking out and seeing where she'd have escaped through the window. Running to the window she could see as [member="Elleryn"] was trying to limp away. She wouldn't get far. Jenna turned back and instead of going down to the front door she instead readied herself to jump down after her. She had to rip most of the skirt of her dress off for enough leg room, but it was enough. Jenna's skills and athletic build helped her as she leaped down and found the same landing as the princess. She had a much easier landing, given that she was trained for this sort of thing. Once she was on the ground she quickly hurried after her, not drawing her weapon as she knew to take her in alive. She may have had a distance but her leg would slow her down, and Jenna had all the energy she needed.

 

[Elleryn]

And this was where she started screaming.

If nobody was going to let her into their homes, she might as well stir up a ruckus. The people in this town were not built for combat, and neither was she. She had to find a way to contact her brother, her parents, even her dreadful fiancé. Her comlink was lying somewhere inside her ship. Perhaps if she could only run faster, if her legs could only carry her for a few more meters, then maybe she could escape.

The person chasing after her was fast. She’d turn to see her. “Help me!” She screamed. “Dalen’s out to murder me!” She simply screamed and screamed, knowing there was no chance of her outrunning the woman, and she was certain she had already been spotted.

There was a small tavern that had her their door open. She fled inside, hoping to find security. She needed to hide, this was no time to cry. The innkeeper was fast asleep and there was no place for her to go. Nowhere she could turn to. She quickly grabbed the small comlink on the table.

She thought fast and limped towards the bathroom.

She needed to relay the message to her brother, and fast.

| [member="Jenna Templar"] | [member="Ariadne Van'Shelaq"] |

 

[Tanalth]

It wasn't hard to follow a limping, screaming royal girl in a nightgown. Apparently everyone wasn't willing to help her out. Good. They paid enough attention to horror movies to know what happens when they get involved. Jenna still hurried after her and eventually found her wandering into the cantina. She jogged over and pulled out her blaster, half expecting the princess to have found a weapon or someone else with one to help her. Thankfully the innkeeper was out and she could see that [member="Elleryn"] had tried hiding i the bathroom. Cornered like a rat. Jenna went quiet now, being as stealthy as possible as she tried to find out which stall the princess was hiding in. Once she did she kicked down the door with the blaster aimed at her forehead.

"You done?" she asked. "Or do you still need to finish filling the toilet after your done filling your pants?" She gave a coy grin before saying "Now just come long nice and easy, an you won't get hurt. Aside from from the leg, but that's more your fault."

 

[Elleryn]

The message was sent just in time.

She dropped the comlink as the woman kicked the bathroom door down. Her natural instinct was to scream, though she doubted that would wake the drunk innkeeper up. A blaster was aimed at her forehead, and Elleryn’s body stiffened. Her nightgown was torn and her skin was muddy, yet she refused to go down looking like a wench.

“Who sent you?” She demanded, refusing to leave the toilet seat. “Why have you come for me?” She was surprised that it was a woman Dalen had sent for her. She had no other enemies, unless her revolting fiancé wanted her out of the way. Only Dalen, with his scandalous reputations, would have sent someone for her head.

“If it is money that you are after, I am willing to compensate you.” She uttered. She needed to stay calm. She had to bribe the awful woman if she wanted to survive. “I can give you twice the amount you are being paid now. Just withdraw your weapon and set me free. You will not be exiled, you have my word.”

| [member="Jenna Templar"] | [member="Ariadne Van'Shelaq"] |

 

[Tanalth]

Jenna seemed unconvinced before saying "Yeah not exactly worried about any exiling, honey. Not to mention you won't exactly have the money to win me over once you're the Hutts property." She grabbed her by the arm and forced her out of the stall where she dragged her out of the inn. Once outside she pulled out a length of rope and held her wrists behind her while tying them tightly together. "You may be ticked at me but I'm only the one who's trying to make a living like the ext girl. You want to cry about it, then tell it to your friend Dalen. Or anyone else who'd be willing to kill him for you." Once she finished she pushed [member="Elleryn"] forward and said "Move!"

 

[Elleryn]

Sold to…the hutts?

Elleryn’s face paled, and she gritted her teeth. Her wrists were bound tightly behind her. This…This woman was out of her mind and awful. Once she was out of here she’d see to it that she’d immediately be blacklisted and exiled. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. This was no time for tears, though she was definitely panicking. The hutts were vile and disgusting, and although she had not seen it in action, she often heard stories from foreigns worlds where they bought beautiful women and made them their slaves.

Elleryn was royalty. She was definitely no slave!

This was preposterous. This was a joke. This…this vile woman! She should not be allowed to do it.

And it was Dalen who did this! If she had known sooner… If she only knew that he was far worse than his reputation, she would have sent him off to Mari on exile. He should be stripped of everything he had. She hoped her brother would send for her soon. She hoped he was not asleep.

Though by the time he would receive the message, it would be far too late.

Defeated, she did what she was told. Her wrists hurt and it was hard for her to move. Her leg still hurt, perhaps she had sprained it from her fall. She was in no condition to be sold, right?

“Listen to me. Dalen is a malevolent man with barbarous intentions! If somehow you find any sense of morality in you, I beg of you to unbind me.” She kept moving. Surely the woman had some sense of pity! “Please. My people need me, and I will be of no use to them as a slave!”

| [member="Jenna Templar"] | [member="Ariadne Van'Shelaq"] |

 

[Tanalth]

Given how so [member="Elleryn"] moved due to her leg made Jenna realize how longer the walk would be back to her ship. She groaned a little but said nothing, knowing that just trying to push her more would only make the leg feel worse. But that didn't mean she had to listen to any of her whining if she started it. She only continued to keep an eye on the princess before she'd looked back and asked about morality and the like.

"Maybe if you met me two years ago, then I would've heard you out." she answered. "But after half of what I went through, trust me, morality isn't on my "need to have list anymore". Just keep moving."

 

[Elleryn]

It was clear that for now, at the very least, it was impossible dealing with this dreadful woman.

Elleryn was finding it hard to breath. How could her people forsake her like this? Of course, there was no warm celebration for her coming. She was here out of a moment’s notice, merely to try their villainous councillor. Perhaps it was her fault for wanting to get away from the bustling city. Perhaps it was her fault for chasing old paramours in search of unrequited love.

She could not bargain for her freedom any longer, and she had no weapons hidden underneath her garment.

And as though it was a glimmer of hope, she saw him.

One of the guards who stood by her ship. Was he the last one? She hoped, she pleaded with the gods that he at least alerted people from the home city. Please, just let her brother come in and swoop her away from all this trouble.

The guard pointed a blaster towards Jenna. “Let the princess go.” He demanded.

| [member="Jenna Templar"] |

 

[Tanalth]

Jenna was surprised to see one of the en still alive. Either she missed one or he had been too far away for her to have noticed to begin with. Either way it was another pain in the ass to deal with. Once he pointed his blaster at her she stood behind [member="Elleryn"] and held her as a human shield. At the same time her blaster poked at the princess back to make sure there was no chance of her missing.

"I don't need to take her alive." she threatened. "But I'm told I'll get paid extra if I do it. So you think I' willing to risk a hole through the head for that? Now either put it down or I put her down, and then you. Or I put you down and leave you alive long enough to see me put her down. Believe me, it's not as hard as it sounds." She then leaned down and whispered in the princess' ear "I've done it twice. The last time the guy cried so much I thought he'd actually fill a bucket of tears."

 

[Elleryn]

Would he risk her safety?

He knew it would be far more devastating if he brought the news that she was dead.

She needed them to have a glimmer of hope, at least there would still be some way for her to come back. She couldn’t risk another death. She did not want to increase the number of casualties this woman had caused. Elleryn took a deep breath.

“I will go in peace.” Elleryn said. “Just...Please, I beg of you, do not hurt him.” And she would then turn to the guard. “I need you to return to Tari. Deliver this message to my parents, my brother, and my fiancé. Tell them Dalen has had me kidnapped, tell them that he is holding me hostage. I do not know what his plans are or what he wishes to do, but tell them that he might be fleeing the planet and they must go after him!”

“But, but your highness!”

“Now go.” She commanded, as the guard turned on his heel and headed for her ship. She would not resist anymore. "And do not stop for anyone!"

“And you, I do not know what you’re gaining from doing. The money you’re earning may buy you a few moments worth of luxuries but this is a federal offence. You may take me to Dalen now and I will not resist, but when I am free I will see to it that you are put behind bars.”

| [member="Jenna Templar"] |

 

[Tanalth]

Jenna was a little surprised by the princess' actions. Here she thought she was going to try and make a break for it or something foolish, but instead she was complying and even telling her man to go away and at least tell of what was happening. Smart. Very smart. Jenna just watched as he ran off before looking down to the girl when she called her out on her actions. Jenna gave a very angered look, one that made it seem a wanring that she would slap her for it.

"Careful, kid." she said, pointing the blaster's barrel up her nose. "I'm just starting to like you, so now's not the best time to tick me off and see how far I can stick a knife up your ass before pulling it out and cutting you in half!" After that she made her turn around again and pushed her forward. "Keep moving. And no more talk."

 

[Elleryn]

First and foremost, she was definitely pleased with herself for annoying the vile woman. However, she did not have a blaster in her face and she certainly did not respect the woman’s rather colourful vocabulary. She tensed up, and for a moment, she almost forgot her hands were bound behind her. Where was this woman taking her anyways? Why couldn’t Dalen hire a man who could at least throw her over his back and carry her the whole way.

Walking was slow.

And painful on her leg.

She remained quiet for the duration of the walk, deciding to sit on the woman’s good side for a few moments longer.

| [member="Jenna Templar"] |

 

[Tanalth]

More walking before Jenna realized how much the girl was walking oddly. She glanced down and saw her foot looked worse. It wasn't good. If anything this would look back to the Hutts, or whoever would wind up taking her. Now Jenna had to think about how to make up for money she'd lose for letting [member="Elleryn"] tell the guard everyone else about Delan. Maybe a good price on a new slave would get the on her good side. She grabbed the princess' shoulder to stop her before kneeling down to see the leg.

"Dammit. That's not good." she said. After that she looked up at the princess and asked "How good are you at hobbling?" She waited to see her reaction to the idea of cutting her foot off, before chuckling and saying "Don't worry. Not that cruel." She hoisted the princess up on one shoulder before walking with her like a sack of vegetables, noting "For a small girl you're a little heavier than you look."

 

[Elleryn]

“You have just realized that?” Elleryn said sarcastically as the woman set her down on a stool to rest. She had jumped off a building, and although her fall was only a few feet down, she had never been exposed to such strenuous activity. Her foot would definitely bruise where she had landed on it, she was lucky enough to not break any bones.

“How good am I at…hobbling?” She narrowed her eyes. “Well, as you can see, I have been limping for the last few meters and I can assure you my leg is still throbbing. I hope you can take a guess.” She was clearly still upset, and when Jenna suggested amputating her foot she stared at her dumbfounded. “You cannot possibly be serious.” She was shocked, insanely shocked.

The woman did not amuse her, and it was clearly shown on her face. Before she could react, the woman threw her over her shoulder as though she was simply a sack. She shrieked, although, this was far more comfortable than limping to the destination.

“I am far stronger than I look too.” She grumbled, though she was obviously overpowered.

| [member="Jenna Templar"] |

 

[Tanalth]

Hearing that comment Jenna retorted with "Yeah, well unless you're strong or smart enough to get out of the ropes, best to just enjoy the ride. Got that, your royal whinnyness?" She continued to lug her for a while as they were only a few yards from where Jenna's ship awaited. She stopped and caught her breath before putting the princess down, saying "Alright look, I know I might look like the bad guy, but I'm only doing this because I need to. Got that? You might not understand, being a princess and all, but normal people like me don't have a lot of luxuries. We learn really quick that it's a gundark eat gundark galaxy. So you can be mad all you like, but this is nothing personal. And you shouldn't make it feel like that. Okay? Just thought I'd try telling you that before I toss you on my ship and the Hutt who pays the most does god only knows to you later."

[member="Elleryn"]

 

[Elleryn]

They were on the woman’s ship, Elleryn assumed, judging on how it didn’t resemble any of the fleets’ ships. The woman had put her down, and Elleryn looked around. Dalen was nowhere to be found, else he would have popped up by now. She simply stared at the woman as she talked about how commoner’s could not afford the finer luxuries life had to offer because of their circumstances.

Still, it did not mean people had to resort to this.

“My offer still stands. If you will let me go now, or deliver me to my kingdom, I will give you double the amount Dalen is paying you. You have my word, I beg of you. Please, do not bring me to him.” She was opening up to her, and Elleryn did not mind paying for her freedom.

~ • ~

On a small island in the same planet, Dalen would be preparing to deliver his payment to the smuggler for Nar Shaada. Before he could meet up for her, however, he still needed his very important package to come in. He expected her in pristine condition, since less than perfect beings were usually harder to trade off.

He’d be sitting inside a makeshift office as he waited for the arrival of both the mercenary and the princess.

| [member="Jenna Templar"] |

 

[Tanalth]

"Sorry, princess." Jenna said. "But...I can't just turn my back. Believe me I don't like it, but this is just the way things are."

After that she hoisted her up again and brought [member="Elleryn"] onto her ship. She made sure she was kept safe inside one of the rooms while making her way to the cockpit where she began to fly the ship towards where Dalen would be awaiting them. Once they were in the air Jenna had put the ship on autopilot before sitting back in her seat. She needed to change, going for a more mercenary look as she slipped into a dark colored skin-suit with weapons holstered on her body. After that she sat back down and thought about what had been said and done between both her and the princess. She hated that she was, given that the princess made a few too any good points. But Jenna wasn't about to go soft now. She couldn't afford to. This galaxy had proven to be too harsh to go soft. She learned that the hard way, especially after the Netherworld event. But now this princess talked as though she had the higher view of everything and knew what was and wasn't right. Or that simple talk would sway someone. It wasn't that easy.

Jenna just tried to avoid thinking about it as they began to approach the island where Delan awaited.