Bandit Run

"How many sisters do you have?" she asks, and after he answers, she smiles, "I think it's sweet that you protect them like you do." She is quiet for a moment, "It was the first time that I've ever seen anyone killed. Anything, for that matter. I..." she sighs, "I've led a very sheltered life, obviously. There is so much that I don't know about the world. I've read a lot, but I have not done much at all." she gives a wry laugh, "Although if you wish for me to embroider something pretty on your coat, I can do that without any trouble at all." she tells him.

Beau remembers very vividly the first time he witnessed a life taken. The Princess had handled it much better than he had, in retrospect -- perhaps she was stronger than she gave herself credit for.

"Well, a talent is a t-t-talent." he said firmly, not one to let a self-deprecating comment slide. He couldn't sew to save his life, so the way the blonde looked at it, Sophia was skilled at something he wasn't. It was something to be regarded for, not shamed.

The two began their ride back down a giant hill, with pastures pooling with wheat and different arrays of flowers. A small home began to grow in the distance, its wooden exterior a stark contrast to the green of nature all around. Marigold began to slow even before Beau commanded her to; she already knew she was home.

Sophia was much more comfortable by now, with her back resting against his chest as they ride through the meadow and into pastures. When she sees the home, she asks him, "Is that your home?" then remarks without thinking, "It's so small!" Just as the words leave her mouth, she claps her hand over it and then apologizes, "I didn't mean that the way it came out..." she says, feeling rather bad about saying that. "I...just...I'm sure it is very nice." she says finally.

(Did he answer the question about the # of sisters? )

(Four sisters )

A bark of laughter left Beau at Sophia's accidental confession. He took no offense to it in the slightest, instead found her admission -- hilarious, to say the least. "It fits the five of us ver-very w-well." he said with a charming smile, ever the diplomat in such a situation.

After dismounting Marigold and helping the woman down, Beau could practically feel the eyes of his sisters on him from inside the home. Of course they were nowhere to be seen from outside, but he knew they were watching and certainly had many questions as to who this strange woman was with their older brother.

"Come, y-you can rest inside." Beau spoke softly, leaving to walk to the front door after giving Marigold a few gentle pats to the neck.

She blushes at his laugh, but is grateful that he didn't seem offended by the comment, which she certainly hadn't meant as an affront to him. She stands by his side after he helps her down, and looks around, a smile starting to form on her lips, "You have a very nice place." she says, enjoying the view and how neat everything looked. "Where are your sisters?" she asks, thinking they would have come out to greet him, or at the very least would be working around the house.

She will follow him to the house, very aware of how dirty she is by now, at least by her standards, "I wish I was meeting them looking better than I do now."

Before Beau could comment that the woman looked fine, at least to him, the sound of bare feet on wooden floorboards grabbed his focus. A brunette walked in, with hair parted into a single thick braid and tossed over her shoulder. She made no move to even greet her brother, but instead stared with calculating eyes at the stranger in her home.

"Who's she?" the girl asked, a far cry from the warm greeting Sophia most likely expected. The girl in question had similar blue eyes akin to her brother, but the similarities stopped there. She was thin, but short, standing no taller than 5'2". Her presence however made up for her small stature, as she placed both hands firmly on her hips, adopting an almost militant stance.

Beau wasn't fazed at all, and placed his weapons down on the floor before even answering the question. "Hello to you, too." was the initial response, the first sign of sarcasm from his lips for days, "Th-This is S-Sophia. Sophia, this is my s-sister, P-Piper."

Sophia is taken aback by the stern look, and actually takes a step back. She bites at her bottom lip nervously as Beau makes the introductions, then she puts on a brave face and a slight smile, meeting the girl's gaze. After all, Sophia is a princess, and she expects to be treated with respect, at least. But she's also a young lady hungry for a friend. She's never had a girl friend. No one to talk to except other adults, or other high-born children held in check by their guardians, just like she was. She isn't really quite sure how to react, perhaps taking a bit too long to figure out something to say that she might be coming across as aloof.

"Manners." was all Beau said, as close to 'chiding' as he'd allow himself to get. After a quick sigh, the girl held her hand out for Sophia to shake, at least attempting to show some sort of care towards the stranger's presence.

"Hello." the girl drawled out, her eyes flicking back up to her brother's suspiciously. It was then that two other set of eyes peeked around from the corner of the home -- another girl, no older than thirteen, came into view. She shared the most physical similarities to her brother, with blue eyes and curly blonde hair messily held together in two pigtails. Another trait shared by her brother was her height, already a few inches taller than Piper at only twelve years old. The youngest of the clan had deep auburn hair and freckles, though the rest of her was hidden behind her blonde sister.

"C'mon out, w-we have a guest." Beau said, leading the two siblings to bashfully make their presence known, "S-Sophia this is Agnus," Beau started, ushering towards the young redhead, "and Lyric." With that, the skinny little blonde smiled, showing two adorably gapped front teeth.

"Hello." she said, already world's friendlier than her oldest sister had been.

Sophia looks at the outstretched hand, and then slowly and hesitantingly reaches out, touching it with hers and smiles, "Hello." She'd never actually touched a commoner before. Well, before riding with Beau, but that was different. She can still feel the near-hostility in the girl, and she's not quite sure how to take it. When the other two make themselves known, she steels herself for more of the same. But it couldn't be a more different response. When the other girl smiles at her in such a friendly manner, and then chirps out that friendly 'hello!', Sophia immediately relaxes and her smile grows, "Hello!" she responds back with more enthusiasm, putting out her hand like Piper had done for her. It must be the way that the common folk greet each other, so she does as they do. "It is so nice to meet you. Your brother has told me so much about you all." Then she pauses and counts heads, "But aren't we missing one?" she asks.

"You told her so much about us and yet we know nothing about her." Piper bit out with obvious spite, her blue orbs still pinned on Sophia like a true marksman. The youngest of them spoke up before Beau could, but that didn't stop him from sending a quick glare Piper's way.

"Cecilia's outside practicing." Agnus commented, taking both her brother and Sophia's hands into her own to walk out back. Beau thought nothing of the touch -- he knew the baby of the family clung to him greatly, and Sophia was no exception it seemed.

Piper's identical twin stood yards away from a wooden perch. Aside from her hair being fully down, not tied back or braided at all, she was the exact image of her sister. A bow was held tightly in her hand, as she got ready to pull back from the band to nail her target; that is before her brother let out a loud yell from behind their home. The arrow went soaring far beyond the trees, causing the girl to spin around in a flurry of anger, only to smile at the sight of her brother.

"Beau you ruined my streak!" she yelled angrily, but with no real fire to her words. Running over, the smile slowly vanished from her face at the sight of the stranger, "Oh -- hello?" she asked, turning to face both her brother and Sophia in turn. "I -- didn't know you were bringin' company, Beau."

When Agnus took her hand, Sophia was startled at first, then overjoyed. She gives the hand a squeeze and follows the girl out back, watching her bounce along with them. She was grateful that they didn't seem to notice the disrepair and dirtiness of her gown, or at least were polite enough to not remark on it. Well, mostly polite. Piper's words still stung as Sophia recognized the defensiveness behind them. Fortunately, Agnus' quick apprehension of the two to lead them out saved her from any more.

The girl out back seemed to share in her twin's wariness, Sophia notes with an inward sigh. The two closest to her age, and yet they seem to be the two most removed from her. She feels badly that Beau is being caught in this, and she steps in to try and rescue him. "He did not know he would be bringing me home. He...he rescued me from bandits." she says, not entirely lying. "I became separated from my party, and so he has brought me here to rest. Then we will go on to St. Thomas Abbey." she says. Perhaps knowing that Sophia isn't going to be staying will help soften the attitude of the two elder girls.

"Oh...well, you weren't hurt I hope?" Cecilia questioned genuinely, her empathetic nature showing more and more. Yet, she still held onto the wooden bow in her grip, not dropping it even after her brother's 'scare'.

"Sh-She wasn't -- this is So-Sophia, Sophia, Ceci-cilia." Beau added, happy that at least one of the twins didn't badger him about Sophia's entire history. Cecilia took the Princess' hand into her own for a shake, and furrowed her brow at how delicate the girl's hand was. It was as though she'd never held anything relatively blunt in her life.

"Pleasure to meet ya, Sophia."

"Thank you, Cecilia." Sophia responds, smiling brightly at the more warmer response. She then looks curiously at the girl, "What did you mean when you said that Beau had ruined your streak?" she asks, withdrawing her hand. Of course her hands were soft, as she did no manual labor to speak of. The only blemish that might show would be the smallest of callouses on her thumbs from the embroidery, but even those had been softened by lotions and pampering. No, Sophia had been raised to be a trophy wife and provide heirs, and naught much else.

"I'd been hittin' the target dead-on every time until he spooked me." the brunette teased, wrinkling her nose up at her brother mischievously. Without a word or a second's warning she pulled back on the thick string of the bow. She was even farther back now, but that didn't stop the look of determination in her eyes one bit. Only a beat passed for her to focus before firing off, landing only a few inches away from the bull's eye.

Cecilia scoffed much like a child then, blowing strands of hair away from her face in the process. "Yep, ruined my streak." The feat was impressive for a seasoned soldier, let alone an unsuspecting teen -- but, that was the point after all.

"I'm gonna feed M-M-Marigold. So-Sophia, y'alr-right to s-stay with my sister for a moment?"

For Sophia, the feat seemed downright impossible, especially for a girl, so when the target is hit, she gives a squeal and claps her hands, "Magnificent! I've never seen anything like it! Even my father's archers..." she starts, and then stops, wrapping up her compliment a bit more sedately, "I have never seen anything so perfect, Cecilia. You must be very proud of what you have achieved." she says, smiling wanely at Beau.

At Beau's question, Sophia nods her head, glancing to smile at Angus and then at Cecilia. She folds her hands behind her back and looks a bit uncomfortable as the three girls are left alone, with generally nothing to talk about. Angus might break the silence with a question, "Where you scared?"

It catches Sophia off-guard. "Scared of what?"

"The bandits."

"Oh, the bandits. Yes, yes, very much so." Sophia says truthfully. "I do not think they were nice men at all. Your brother was very brave." Her voice quiets at the recollection of just how 'brave' Beau had been forced to be, and she chews her bottom lip nervously. "Is...is there somewhere I could wash up? I have not had a chance to bathe in days." she points out. "I really should clean up before dinner is served."

Cecilia studied the woman before her quietly, and knew exactly what sort of bravery her brother must've shown in front of her. She seemed unnerved, and not just as the notion of being left alone with strangers. No, it was obvious to the twin at least that her brother was forced to end a life -- and from the looks of it Sophia wasn't used to that.

"I'll take ya to the river." Cecilia suggested, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. "I need to wash up as well." Only then did she place her bow against the back of the home, and turned to walk, only to look back to see if Sophia would follow. "S'alright -- nobody'll bother ya back there." she said in a thick accent, showing just how far away from royalty the family was.

"The river?" Sophia questions, and then follows hesitantly. She'd never washed in a river before. But if this is what she had to learn to do, then that's what she'd do. Already this adventure was introducing her to a number of concepts she was unfamiliar with. "Do you wash in the river?" she asks Cecilia, catching up to her. "You don't have someone draw you a bath?" She frowns as she looks down at her stained and dirty gown, "I will need to find something else to wear. This gown is ruined." she murmurs to herself. Washing clothes wasn't something she was familiar with. If a gown got dirty, she pretty much got a new one. But then again, her gowns rarely got dirty.

Cecilia stopped halfway to the bank, staring squarely at Sophia once they were alone and away from wandering eyes. "You're not -- from here, are you?" The question was obvious in nature, since Sophia had said she was traveling from afar, but the state of the girl's confusion as to weaponry and bathing alike sent off more than a few warning signals in the sixteen year old's mind.

"I apologize if that's too forward, but...ya just seem sorta, outta place is all." At least the latter was said with a smile, as the teen shrugged nonchalantly at her own admission. She wouldn't hold it against Sophia if she didn't come clean, she hardly knew her after all.

"I...No, I'm not from 'around here'." Sophia answers, feeling unsure of how to answer the question. She's pretty sure that none of them would send her back from whence she came, given that their brother was the one who abducted her, but the explanation might lead to questions he might not want to answer. She isn't sure if the sisters know what their brother is capable of. Although, seeing the sisters so far, she has to admit she would not be shocked if they did.

"I was traveling...to get married." she says, looking down at her hands. "Bandits came upon the caravan and I was separated in the fray...your brother found me, but we...did not meet up with the rest of my party, and I was not helpful in knowing where to look. My wagon had no windows, so I never saw much of anything." She gestures to her torn gown, "This is all I have with me. Everything else is gone."

"Oh no..." Cecilia breathed out, clutching a hand to her heart, "So Beau will be traveling to take you to your husband, then? I'm sure he'll be so happy to hear you're safe -- he must be worried sick. Oh, how romantic." the teen blushed, sighing and lifting her whimsical eyes up to the sky. Though trained to defend herself to a near merciless degree, Cecilia couldn't deny her passion for anything dealing with love.