THE MOMENT
The Princess's every footstep jingled and thudded as she ambled casually down the dim stone hallway. Torches lined each wall, but they were spread out far enough to allow a small zone of shadows between lit areas. She wasn't there alone, but somehow, her chainmail armor was noisier than the metal plate of her personal guard. The Princess was the only one aware of their destination, but the Royal Guard's job was to follow regardless. That didn't mean she was happy about it. She held her tongue long enough, and it was time to say something; then and there.
"Princess," Captain Genevieve had to comment. The Princess stopped and drew her sword from under her cloak while Genevieve continued. "If you're going to sneak out to spend a day in town…," she admonished her younger charge. Genevieve was almost 40 with life time of hard labor apparent in her stature. She was wide with broad shoulders that could have each supported one teenage princess. "...might I recommend wearing something a bit less conspicuous under your cloak?" she gestured at the Princess' sparkling gold armor. And then, as if on cue, a group of bandits emerged from the shadows at both ends to surround them.
"You should've spoken up sooner," a scrawny masked bandit dressed in all black approached Genevieve. "Now, the poor Princess will never get to learn a lesson from this experience," he laughed. But, he wasn't ready for how fast Genevieve was; none of them were. The scuffle was over in less than a minute, with Princess Davina doing her part and earning some credit.
"You've been practicing," Genevieve smiled at the Princess as they recovered. The Princess was checking one of the bandits' corpses and rose to her feet with a nod and a look of disappointment.
"Yeah," she said. "Let's keep going, we're almost there," she started moving again with her personal guard in tow. They walked in silence again for a length of time, but it seemed like the only thing Genevieve could focus on was the noise.
"Princess," she felt a sudden need to address her concerns, right then and there. "If you're going to sneak out to spend a day in town," she said. "...might I recommend wearing something a bit less conspicuous under your cloak?" she gestured at the glittering gold armor. And then, as if on cue, a group of bandits emerged from the shadows at both ends to surround them.
"You should've spoken up-" a muscular masked bandit dressed in all black approached Genevieve in a threatening manner, but he wasn't ready for how fast Davina was.
"GET 'EM!" the teenage Princess charged at the closest one with her sword as Genevieve leaped into action. The skirmish was over in a flash, and Genevieve seemed to be enjoying herself. She laughed as she sheathed her sword.
"You've been practicing," she smiled at the Princess while the girl rose to her feet. She'd been inspecting one of the bandits' corpses, and it left her disappointed again.
"Let's keep going," she said and started walking forward again. They eventually reached the end of that long hallway, and after two sharp right turns, they were facing another one just as long, with the exact same features. Except, this time, before they started walking, Princess Davina heard light metal footsteps that did not belong to Genevieve. She turned to see another Princess, Princess Six, with her own personal guard. Princess Six was even younger than Princess Davina, but her personal guard was the same as Genevieve.
"Anything yet?" the brown-haired princess with green eyes asked Davina.
"Not yet," Davina sighed. "You?"
"No Assassin's ring yet," Princess Six shrugged. "Good luck," she waved and began walking off. Her guard could've been Genevieve's twin, but neither one was aware enough to notice the resemblance. As the two groups parted ways, Princess Davina heard Six's guard interrupt.
"Princess, if you're going to sneak out...," she started speaking the script as Princess Davina and her NPC guard continued forward, hoping to trigger their own encounter.
