All Her Toasty Needs

[Valencia Guillory]

It was morning when Valencia finally got to the city. And, despite the grandeur and splendor around her, she noticed nothing but her own stomach. How long had it been since she'd had a decent meal? What a ridiculous question. She'd been living off trail rations and whatever she hunted herself for several weeks now. Until the night before last when the rations had run out. Most of yesterday had passed in a haze of hunger for the pink-haired girl.

She checked her purse. Enough gold for a meal, at least, but not much more than that.

"Oh, shit," she said quietly to herself, "It's times like this that I wish I still had daddy's money." Still, before too long, she found a place that served food, and didn't look too expensive. She entered and immediately said to the room in general, "I'll have eggs, bacon and toast. Oh! And a glass of ice-cold milk." And then she sat herself down at the cleanest empty table she could find, awaiting her meal.

[Horus]

So Horus finally made to Avaren and ditched the bossy broad he had come in with. He decided to see what this land had in terms of food ad drink, after all if his kingdom was going ally with this one they might as well have similar interests in recreation. He made his way to the first tavern he saw walking in behind a girl with pink hair, a very odd choice of color. It seemed that this was the tavern for traveler as the morning seemed busier than ever nearly all the seats where taken there where a few in the back that would make one look shady, and one in the middle that would raw attention if one got too loud and it just so happened that the pink haired girl chose that table.

He really didn't want to come off as shady so he sat at the table with the girl before the barmaid could leave with the girls order he grabbed her by the arm, "Excuse be but what type bird lay the eggs the the city?" The waitress gave an odd look. "Chickens sir." "Good, then this cities not tooo different Eggs and toast please." He said. Sitting down. and then looking at the Girl and rudely asked. "Whats with the hair?"

[Valencia Guillory]

Val glared at her unwelcome companion. "I'm sorry, do I know you? No, I don't" She answered herself before he had a chance to say anything. "So, if you'll excuse the expression, please fuck off." Because, seriously, who did that? How rude was he, just inviting himself over and then asking offensive questions? And all she wanted was a decent meal.

"I could just as easily ask what's with your total disregard for common courtesy, although I know it would be completely pointless," she found herself saying, even though she really didn't want to say anything else to this guy. Normally, Val wasn't so grumpy, but Goddamn, she was hungry. She would just have to do her best to ignore the idiot next to her. How hard could that be?

[Horus]

How rude the pink headed girl was. "You know that sounds like a wonderful Idea but then that hair would come to mind and ruin the moment. Like seriously what did you do? Get into fight with a patch of strawberries and loose? Seriously does anyone else notice this?" Teach her to talk back.

[Valencia Guillory]

Valencia Guillory was not going to kowtow to this supercilious mockery of a man. She would teach him not to speak to her in such a way. Why, before she left home, no one ever dared talk to her in such a manner. Of course, she had been kept so sheltered she was hardly able to speak to anyone outside her family, but she imagined that even if she had been able to, no one would have dared. Still, early on in her journey, Valencia had learned that outside of the few town in which her father traded, it was of no use to say, 'do you know who I am?' or 'do you know who my father is?' and inside those towns, such a revelation would only get her thrown back at her parents' feet. Usually with a reward for her 'rescuer'.

So, Val had to learn to stand alone, without her family name to protect her. And, of course, the pink hair was a bit of a disguise too. Her natural color was light brown, but she hadn't worn it that way in so long, Val was beginning to forget how she looked with it like that. Not that she would be sharing any of her story with this asshole.

"Thou fobbing lily-livered flap-dragon! How dare thou badger a lady with such rude questions! Get thee hence, thou thick-headed boor, or I'll spurn thine eyes like balls before me; I'll unhair thy head! Thou wert best remove thy lower part from where thy nose stands!" Valencia hoped that the combination of insult and archaic form would be sufficient to get rid of this annoyance. Only, where the fuck was her food?

[Horus]

Wow that was really old language was she trying to curse him. "What? Are you some sort of witch? Trying to place a curse on me? Seriouly? or Was that your attempt at intimidation because it didn't work. And do you have any Idea who your insulting? Seriously and where the hell is the food." He said suddenly changing the subject." He said he was sound much more like a pretentious spoiled brat right not that an asshole.

Finally the waitress came and gave them their food. And the Prince payed for his. Not going a penny over no tips for such sluggish service. This earn him a sideways glare from the waitress which he really could have cared less about.

[Valencia Guillory]

Although her companion was a stingy ne'er-do-well, Val prided herself on being a conscientious, and ultimately, gentle-bred person. Her family may not have held a title, but they played the part well enough, taking pains to educate their children to excel in both academic subjects and matters of courtly manners. And though Valencia had had little cause to practice courtliness of late, she did so now.

As the barmaid set her plate and cup down, she fairly beamed at the girl. "Why, thank you most kindly, miss. Here, please accept this for your trouble." And she pressed an extra gold piece into the woman's hand, though, she really had little to spare. If she remained in the company of this lout, she would be a pauper by day's end.

"While I know some small magic, I am no witch. What I said to you was a recitation of a portion of a ballad from my homeland, although I did replace the word 'propositions' with 'questions', as befitted the situation." Of course, the second she began discussing poetry, her intention to be rude slipped, although she resisted telling him the whole tale. Which was a shame, because it was one of her favorites.

The story went thus: A princess tired of her life within the walls of the palace and longed to live in disguise within the city. So, she escaped, and subsequently met a young man who was a pauper, and who longed every day to live in the splendor of the palace. Although at first the two detested each other, circumstances conspired to make them forced to spend time in each other's company, and they grew to love each other. Then, the day came when the princess's father discovered where they were hiding, and fate seemed poised to rent their love in two, but then it was revealed that the pauper was really of noble birth, although his family's estate was much diminished. The whole thing ended with a big wedding scene, of course.

The portion she'd recited was the princess's reply to the poor man after he mistook her for a streetgirl.

[Horus]

She actually said something that made him shut up for a second and consider. Ballads where rarely heard by the lower class. And now the way she spoke she had to have been somewhat educated and he realized he was reading her wrong. Heck she wasn't even from around here. "What's the Ballad about?" He asked no knowing what else to say.

"You know where we come from we have a few good ballads. I'm no good at memorizing lyrics. Thougth."

[Valencia Guillory]

"What is any ballad about? A runaway princess who meets a young man below her station. At first, they despise one another, but then they each grow to admire the other. And then, of course, it turns out that he isn't really a pauper; he himself is a runaway prince, or a disenfranchised lord, or the son of a wealthy merchant, or son of a knight, and so, is a fit match for the princess after all." Valencia smiled at the idea, dismissing it as nothing more than a fictional tale.

"Imagine, a runaway princess just stumbling upon a prince in hiding by chance? The stuff of nonsense." Perhaps she was warming to the lummox. "I am Valencia Guillory, and though that name means nothing here, my father is a very wealthy man, or was, last time I checked. He has spent much looking for me, at any rate, which can't be good for business, or for his plans for me."

[Horus]

"You know we have a similar story where I come from. well its one out of a thousand and one, but its a story about a pauper that's down on his luck but pure of heart. He falls in love with the saltan's daughter, the Princess, when she sneaks out of the palace for a day He gets charged with her kidnapping and is sentenced to death. A devious man within the castle helps the boy out because he needs the boy. The is told it find a magical lamp and he does but when he finds it he releases a mystical being call a Genie. This Genie promises to grant the the boy three wishes. And in the end he saves a kingdom and marries the princess." He said explaining the tale of Aladdin.

He listened to he little fantasy of meeting a prince and could hardly contain himself. And then she Introduced herself. And the he introduced himself, "And I am Prince Horus Ishtar, son of King Sharaman, I'm here as a diplomat to ally with Avaren." He said he could feel eyes turning toward him. It seemed he was going to have some company when he left the tavern, and not pleasant company. People where going to try and ransom him off. he didn't know how princes around here where trained but those men where going to have one hell of a time pinning him down.

[Valencia Guillory]

Of course, as he revealed himself to be a prince, Valencia had to laugh. She just had to. All this time her father had been trying to marry her off to some minor lordling or another, and on her own, she had managed to meet a prince. Her father would be proud. "My apologies," she said, still giggling, "I'm not laughing at you. It's just...I ran away from home to avoid an arranged marriage...and I run into an honest-to-goodness prince."

She took a few more bites of breakfast to help herself calm down. This would be a story to tell...if she ever saw her family again.

[Horus]

The prince turned his attention to the food infront of him. As he listened to her glee at having met 'price charming.' He rather liked it when women where impressed by his station. After swallowing a mouthful he spoke again. "Arranged marriages aren't always that bad did you even meat the man they where going to marry you to?" He ask. His culture practiced arranged marriages all the time. so he sort of understood her plight. He had yet to find a suitor himself not that he was searching though he was sure if he came back with a girl as well as a declartion of alliance his father would be pleased. No, he didn't feel like being tied down just yet. His father had many years before him and he had pleant of time to wait. Not to mention his brother would succeed him first.

[Valencia Guillory]

What, now he was judging her? Her amusement with the situation vanished. "For your information, I did meet him. He basically told me that our marriage was to be a business arrangement. He would provide me with a title, and I would provide him with my dowry, and eventually, heirs. So, I left, rather than be married to such a loathsome person." He'd even insinuated, at that brief meeting, that while he was free to have affairs, she was not.

'After all, my heirs will be challenged enough, having a commoner for a mother. No need to compound the problem with scandal.'

What an ass he'd been, and there was no way Valencia was going to agree to that sort of thing. If she ever decided to marry anyone, it would be because she loved them, not because they loved her family's money.

[Horus]

To the prince it sounded like business as usual but the man on the other end needn't be such a ass about it not that Horus would have at least thought the same. If it had been him he would have at least made Valencia feel wanted, then again he had so much wealth, and he had been through situations that proved that avarice was more dangerous than it seemed that money really held less value to him than say a woman. He may have been arrogant, and whiny but he was moderately chivalrous.

"Well I'm sorry to hear that the man they where putting wasn't at least decent to you, seriously even with the pink hair your not unattractive and you deserve, at the very least, courtesy." He was careful to choose his words he didn't want her thinking that a prince found her attractive, which he sort of did in a 'she's kinda cute' sort of way, even if the pink hair was distracting.

[Valencia Guillory]

Val shot him a lopsided smile. "You know, this isn't my real hair. It's a disguise, to avoid detection by the people my father has sent after me. I know I'm hundreds of leagues, and two years away from him, but I kind of like the color." She tugged on a strand gently, twirling it in her fingers before letting it go.