She sighed and sat on her bed, considering going down to the kitchen to ask for something, but decided that she could wait, not wanting to confront the usually grumpy cook. She grabbed some of her needlework and concentrated on that. She was embroidering a bouquet of roses and wildflowers and it was in lovely shades of pinks, purples, yellows, and greens. She loved to make pretty things. Whenever she felt sad or discouraged, or troubled, she'd just sit down with some fancywork and ponder the legends and lore of the kingdom of Terinnia and other surrounding realms as well, for she loved the study of history and legend and often the samplers and tapestries that she wove were somehow connected or depicting one of the great legends. maybe this is setting the bar really low, but it was important to me to have my main female character be strong and smart and also enjoy typically feminine tasks and enjoy wearing pretty dresses.  It seemed like forever, but suppertime finally came. She leapt up from her place on her bed and went straight to the great hall where all the meals took place. She stopped at the entrance to the great hall, surprised to see some people she didn't recognize. They were two men who had an unfriendly appearance about them. Miyanna decided that whoever they were was none of her business and she took a seat and started filling her plate.

After the meal was over, she went over to Nynesi and asked if she knew who the two strange men were. Nynensi told her that they were the king's detectives and were here to find out who had tried to assassinate him.

I was gonna do something with the detective guys but i forgot about them. that could have been a cool sidegig

Hmm, this could prove to be useful information to Ergli, she thought. But I'm not even a part of them yet. She then thought about how to get away for the day. Andarin's coming later in the evening helped her solve that problem. This time, Andarin's father came with him to help with the current dilemma of how to manage the kingdom while it's ruler was seriously injured.They'd gotten the news that the king would survive, but it would be a hard battle to fight. When Andarin's father was in the council chamber, discussing everything with the other members of the council and the two detectives, Andarinand Miryanna did their own plotting.

"I've talked to some of the leaders and told them of your situation and they said that anytime this week would be fine, and that the prompter the better."

Miryanna nodded, "I can do that. What with what's just happened, it will make sense that I want to be alone. How about I meet you in the alley where I was first captured?"

"Yes, that'll do nicely. What time?"

"Um, how about I leave for a day by myself early in the morning, maybe an hour after the sun's risen, then meet you, say, fifteen minutes after. That's probably how long it'll take me to get there." Miryanna said.

she has a really good sense of time. I really could have said 8 or 9 o'clock but i thought mayb because it's fantasy maybe they have a different timekeeping system. Like in historical Asian dramas I hear about the hour of the rat, (which is like 11:00-1:00 a.m.) so Terinnia totally could have a different timekeeping system but i was not about to fog into that at the time.

Andarin nodded. "Alright. From there, I'll take you to our base and we'll get you initiated. It shouldn't take that long, but we want to leave plenty of time for transportation there and back."

"Is the base far away?" Miryanna asked.

Andarin shrugged, "It's not terribly far away, but it's entrance is concealed and we've added some... deterrents, per say to keep away unfriendly peoples."

Miryanna laughed, "Do you mean to say that you've set up booby traps?"

the booby traps never actually make any appearance, which i gotta say is kinda disappointing

"Well, yeah, how else are we going to keep Vanags out," Immediately after saying that, he clamped his hand over his moth.

This confused Miryanna. "Who, or what, are Vanags?" She asked, confused.

i still don't even know

Andarin again looked around before answering, and replied in a whisper, "I'm not sure if you're supposed to know that yet," He said to her.

"Why not? I'm going to be member after all."

"Yes that's true, but realistically, anything could go wrong, and you might not end up being a part of us after all,"

gosh andarin

Miryanna frowned, "But who are they, and why can't I know?"

"I said I can't tell you. No one can know who they are unless... unless... Oh, there are a lot of scenarios where you could find out who they are, but you shouldn't know yet. Just wait until you're an official member of the Erglis and then I'll tell you."

Miryana huffed, but agreed. "Alright, if I'm going to become one soon. Listen, I think I can get away even tomorrow. As far as I know, we have nothing planned, and I'll never be missed. I'll just ask my father if I can get away for a day tomorrow and he'll no doubt agree, and then we can meet and everything will go as planned." Miryanna said confidently.

Andarin forced a smile and nodded.

"What's wrong?" Miryanna asked him when she saw how perplexed he still looked.

He sighed, it's just that, anything could go wrong. Anything at all, and I don't want you to get hurt."

aww whatever

She smiled and put a hand on his shoulder, "I know what I'm getting into. You don't have to worry about me."

He shook his head and put his hand over hers, "I don't think you do know what you're getting into. But, if I know you, you don't care."

She grinned roguishly at him, "That's right. I don't care. I just want to help keep this kingdom safe from all treats."*threats

He now also smiled, if a little weakly. "Oh, I forgot to add, Roric will be with us too."

gotta give roric more page-time

She frowned, "That stick-in-the-mud?"

"Oh stop it. He's not so bad once you get to know him," Andarin put in.

he really isn't

Miryanna raised an eyebrow skeptically, "Really?" Her words dripped with sarcasm.

"Yes, really. He's grouchy a lot of the time, but he's proven himself invaluable to our cause." Andarin stated.

She sighed, "Alright, fine. I'll go ask father, if he's out of the meeting that is."

They both went in search of their male parentals and found that they were indeed, still in the meeting.

a friend of mine would refer to parents as "parental unit" so i just wrote that and didn't think about how not everybody does that. so now you know

"How much stuff do they have to discuss?" Miryanna said impatiently after being told by the guard outside the door that the councilors were still in session.

"Their king's just been grievously injured and won't be back on his feet for a long time. They need to get all their stuff together and figure out how to run the kingdom, and that's not an easy task."

i love my random changes from archaic speech to modern sounding. it's NaNo, i need the word count who cares honestly

"One man did it before and had no problem. Why should twenty men all together have problems?" Miryanna asked, raising her hands in the air.

"Because, besides that one man, there were also those twenty men to help him out. And, the kingdom isn't the only thing they're discussing."

Miryanna raised an eyebrow, "What else are they talking about?"

"Who the assassin was, of course. You saw those two detectives, didn't you?"

"Yes, and I thought they looked more like mercenaries than detectives." Miryana said glumly.

what if they were both? excuse me while i be sad about not doing more with the detectives. it could have been an insight into the law enforcement of terrinia, maybe even other countries. and more fun characters.

Andarin nodded, "I have to agree with you. They're not what I expected the king's detectives to be like."

"That's for sure. Any ideas about what to do while they're in council?" Miryanna jerked her thumb towards the big beautifully carved doors of the council chamber.

"Uhhmm, no?" Andarin said questionably, clearly unprepared for the subject change Miryanna had employed.

was it really that big of a subject change?

She laughed, "Alright, want to go find Nynesi and ask her if she has any ideas?"

"Sure," He said and they were off.

Nynesi, however, did not want to do anything, and couldn't be persuaded otherwise, so Andarin and Miryanna sought entertainment better suited for just two. They settled to a game of chess and that occupied them satisfactorily until the council let out. It was late in the day when it started, but now it was night. They both leapt up when their fathers came into view.

"Hello, how did it go? Did you find the assassin?" Miryanna gushed out.

Both of their fathers laughed, and Andarin's father responded, "If only it were that easy."

"What did you learn?" Andarin interjectd.

Andarin and Miryanna's fathers both were thoughtful for a bit. "Well, the only witnesses were the queen and the king, and as the king isn't really up for testifying, the queen was all we had." Miryanna's father said.

"What did the queen say?" Andairn asked.

Both of the lords laughed, "Curious one, isn't he?" lord Dominic said.

Andarin isn't really the type to care, but as I just decided that he's an informant for the erglis, I thought he should be asking more questions about stuff. yet another dip in character consistency

"Indeed, that's how I raise them. Always ready to ask questions so they can find out what's going on in the world." Andarin's father, lord Terrin Dohmnall replied. "Well, she couldn't see his face, just that his eyes were glowing red. An unusual trait if ever there was one. That's why we suspect some sorcery to be involved. He was also cloaked in black, and hooded, which hid even more of his appearance. The queen said that he appeared tall, and he had a low, rough voice."

A low rough voice? Roric had a voice like that. But he was in a group that was for the kingdom, and he had dropped the warning. She guessed that there were more than one person in the world that had a low rough voice. Besides, that was the queen's description, and her opinion of a low rough voice might be different from hers.

a minor thing, but i think about that a lot. opinions on small things can differ and two people can read the same description, or even write or say the same description, but think something possibly wildly different.