Eric Taylor's Story

Eric Taylor sat in his private chambers, sharpening the large axe he had used countless times in his role as executioner. Normally he simply acted as weapons master, or as the head Gladiator of the Coliseum, training new Gladiators who would fight and die for their Queen. He knew that today, however, the Queen would be calling on his services to kill yet another girl who had done nothing wrong.
He waited a few more minutes before leaving his chambers, taking his time as he found his way to the Queens rooms. He arrived just before his self-imposed time limit. He was familiar with the Queen's temper, having invoked it upon himself many times, and was wary of provoking it with tardiness. He walked into her rooms, ignoring the other men as he bowed. "My Queen, I am here as requested. If there is anything you wish of me, you need only ask."

Dawn Trudy

Dawn had barely made it into her first class. She always sat in the back and was already daydreaming when she heard the door open and someone entered. It was Emily Evens. The girl was a bit eccentric, but Dawn thought she and the other girl had a lot in common in the sense that both girls tended to have active imaginations. She merely remained silent though as the class went on, looking outside at the clouds.

"Miss Trudy! Are you alive back there?" asked the teacher.

Dawn sharply turned her head and smiled.

"Sorry Mr. Derby."

"Do you know what the topic of the day was?" the teacher asked.

"Yes, we're covering German literature from the 1800s, more specifically the Brothers Grimm and how fairytales impact modern society." she explained.

Majority of the class looked amazed. Dawn never seemed to pay attention in class, so how was it she always seemed to know the material? This was simply because while her head was distracted, her ears were still working. The teacher sighed.

"Well, that's good, but try to look like your paying attention besides looking outside." he said.

"Yes sir." she replied out of habit.

Of course, no sooner had the teacher start lecturing again, Dawn when back to her 'Lala land'.

((FYI, Dawn and Emily are in another class than Mai, Ashley, and the others))

Mai Wu

Mai didn't like the note at all. It wasn't like it was her fault that Ashley was late. She didn't reply or show any facial reaction but concentrated on what the teacher was talking about. She heard giggles in another part of the room and knew it was Tatyanna and her crew. Of course the teacher soon had them silenced. She couldn't blame some of the girls for not paying attention. The class itself was dull. At least her next class was a bit more interesting, Mai thought.

"Now I need all of you to turn in your assignments now so pass it up to the front and I'll collect them." the teacher said.

Mail pulled her homework out and passed it towards the front. Of course, she was only a couple seats behind the front row.

Richard Locksley

After Altair left, Richard finally got to the stables and retrieved his horse, Little John. Of course the horse was a big stallion, but when he was born smaller than most horses. He was his favorite horse too and totally reliable, even though he was a bit of a trickster at times. Taking him out of the stables, Richard mounted him and went to the gate. After waiting forever for it to open, he finally left the palace.

Corwin Huntley

The throne room was becoming crowded and Corwin wanted to get his 'job' done. He always dreaded doing the Queen's bidding and this was always one of the worse parts. Killing an innocent always filled himself with rage and right now, he had to do all that he could not to let his anger control him. Once in his other form, he virtually had no control over it and only changed back when he ran out of energy. Once he woke up half naked surrounded by bodies. It had terrified him. Corwin was about to exit when he saw Eric Taylor come in and turned a sad face to him. The man was always the executioner whenever the punishment was beheading. Sighing, Corwin bowed to the queen once more and left her chambers.

((Now is he suppose to give the orders for execution and be there? Or just give the orders?))

The queen sighed, rolling her eyes and addressing Cale before turning to face the new visitor. The throne room was very quickly beginning to feel crowded. "Dear, I'm afraid we'll have to continue our chat later. It seems as though I have business to attend to." With that, she turned to face Eric. He was another of her favorites.

"Oh, Eric! I was just about to send for you. The execution time has been moved up, so I'll need you to report to the site an hour earlier. Corwin will be joining you." She motioned to the man from across the room. "You see, I'm an extremely busy woman; attending the execution today will be completely impossible. This is why he will deliver the sentencing in my place." Bella waved her hands in their direction, shooing off the men, "Now get going, you don't want to be late!"

Tired of standing, she made her way to her throne and plopped down in it, holding up her head with her hands. She had a look of exhaustion on her face, despite the fact that she still had hours of energy. She sighed, "My job isn't as easy as all those civilians imagine it to be." It was now that she noticed Dao had entered as well.

"Oh, you're back dear. I assume everything went well?" She asked in a tired voice. He nodded once. "Of course it did. Please excuse my demeanor, I'm just feeling rather drained right now." This was a normal thing for her. She would be swarmed by visitors, then feign exhaustion to rid herself of some of them. "Feel free to resolve any additional issues around the kingdom as you see fit. Just please remember to leave some tasks for some of my other workers."

Eric bowed once more to the queen. "Yes, my queen. I'll make sure I get with Lord Corwin before the execution." He left, trying not to show how eager he was to leave. He hated doing this. He was not the type to kill. He much preferred saving people, but was rarely given the chance to do so. His loyalty to the queen was shaky, at best, but he never let on that it was true. It helped that he was one of her supposed favorites. It seemed to him that she overlooked certain things, completely missing different aspects of a person, if she liked you enough. But he could be wrong. The queen was difficult to understand, and he didn't particularly care to get to know her better.

He headed to his chambers and retrieved his executioners mask and axe, walking down to the town square where it was to take place. He looked for Corwin, knowing the man was probably dreading this as much as he was.

Cale watched as the swarm of men entered into the room, all for some reason or another, all the while enjoying the tea that his majesty had prepared for him. Cale studied all the faces carefully naming them all in his head as they passed, Altair, Corwin, Eric, Dao and more importantly than names, watched their emotions as they faced her majesty with more than a passing interest. It seemed as if his fellow princes did not enjoy being within the presence of the queen, maybe they felt restricted while within the castle, or maybe it was something else. Whatever the reason it bothered Cale very little as he finished his tea and stood up."Dear, I'm afraid we'll have to continue our chat later. It seems as though I have business to attend to." He waited patiently as she addressed Eric the gladiator and then approached the throne. "As you so wish your eminence, I will be in my lab to be summoned for your every request." Cale kisses her hand and stepped back a few steps, before bowing low and leaving the room.

As soon as he left his expression became cold, Cale needed full control, so he thought about everything that came to mind. Potions he had made, people he had encountered, anything that would hold his mind at bay until he made it to his lab. After several odd twitches and the occasional smile, Cale had finally calmed "The March Hare", something that grew much harder to do in the presence of the queen. He suspected that it had to do with the presence of her particular nexus of magic,but as he walked into his lab, all other thoughts were pushed from his mind. His lab was big by the standards of the castle, magically altered by her majesty to exist within its own dimension and able to be as big as Cale needed it to be for his studies. Cale Oleander had spent years collecting some of the world most potent alchemical ingredients and when not on a mission, spend most of his time mixing various things for the other princes needs. A potion to relax sore muscles for Eric, a incense of mental clarity for Dao, the occasional calming tea for Corwin's social visits, one of the few men who actually entered this room and once he made a salve to fix broken bones overnight for Altair the one and only time he fell while climbing.

Today though he made something for himself, Cale took a large pot and placed it on the fire that always burned in the center of his room and placed several pinches of a rare fairy dust into it. He waited eagerly as the pot began to shake, then rumble and finally whistle, his tea was complete. Cale took his favorite tea cup from a shelf off to the side of the room and poured slowly, letting the aroma fill the room, the settled into a large green chair, and drank deeply, enjoying his own thoughts for once.

Mai Wu

Now Ashley looked really upset. Mai had a feeling she was going to be the target of that anger too. It wouldn't be the first time girls tried to get at her. It was an ironic situation. There were days she wished she wasn't who she was. That way she wouldn't have all this responsibility. Now that she was going through this identity crisis, that weight was becoming heavier. Right now she was praying for a miracle to happen so she could find her own place and time. Wanting to take a brake, she raised her hand.

The teacher arched a brow in curiosity and asked, "Yes Ms. Wu?"

Mai rarely raised her hand for anything.

"Ma'am, I need to use the restroom please." she said.

"Very well, but don't be long. Don't forget the hallway pass." the teacher said.

Sighing in relief, Mai got up and took the hallway pass before leaving the classroom. With classes going on the hallways seemed like ghost towns. Not wanting to waste her precious free time. Mai headed to the restroom, went into a stall, and silently let a few tears fall. Holding in all this hurt was starting to become too much for her.

Corwin Huntley

Corwin waited for Eric and gave him a sad smile after they exit the throne room. Soon after them came Altair and he walked off somewhere. It was at that moment that another man passed by them and Corwin saw it was the 'other' Richard of the palace. Only it was the official 'bookworm' of the queen.

"Well Sir Eric, let's get this dreadful business done and over with. At least there seem to be less executions now." Corwin said, trying not to make the assignment as terrible as it already was.

Majority of the executions were females and it was rumored it was because the queen did this because she simply felt that the young lady was fairer than her and claimed no one could be more beautiful than she. As it was, there were more males in the kingdom now than females and the females were starting to hide in fear and rarely came out. Even most of the servants now were male. Corwin wondered just who old the queen was and why she never married. It was probably a good thing though. She probably loved herself so much she didn't want to share any of it. Corwin didn't know about Eric and some of the others who directly served the queen, but he knew he was banned from marrying someone. It was one thing he did agree with the queen. Who would ever marry him if they knew of his other nature? Besides, the queen would have another way of controlling him.

Reaching where the girl was held prisoner, Corwin tells the guards, "We're here reign judgement upon the prisoner."

((Um do we have to act out the execution?))

Altair Hassan

Altair was in the process of wrapping his hand when Dao showed up next to him. He put a smile on his face. "She does, Does she?" he smiled as he tied the knot tight. "Well if there is anyone who can keep up with me in this castle I suppose it would be you." He walked to the window and looked at the courtyard as the execution was taking place. A grim smile on his face. "Another victim of our beloved queens justice?" He looked Dao in his eyes. "I wonder what crime the queen will make up for this one." He walked up to Dao. "This must be difficult for you most of all, Me I have no honor no sense of right and wrong." His smile tightened slightly as he said that. "But you I see how you are. You have more honor then most in here combined." He put a hand on Daos shoulder. "Follow me if you must." He said as he headed to the big doors leading out of the castle. Suddenly Richard Tyler ran by and yelled at them. He looked curiously at Dao. " I wonder what this could possibly mean.' He smiled, "Well at the very least this day became significantly less boring.

Richard Tyler

Richard watched the rabbit appear and then just as quickly disappear leaving behind a book and a flower. A present from the enigmatic Cale Oleander.He picked up book left behind. Through the looking Glass was the title. Well if anything it will be a interesting read he thought as he tucked it into his arm and then handed the queen her flower. HE was just about to get into the topic of the manuscript when he noticed his queen have yank up her sleeve. He noticed a dark mark on her skin but couldnt place it. As she yelled at him he scrambled to leave dropping most things as he left but using his power to pull them after him. As he made his way through the castle he ran past Altair and Dao about to leave. "The queen demands everyone go to the great hall now!" He said as he ran past them and yelled out the window. "Corwin and Eric, To the great hall the queen demands it!" He then ran onward towards Cale's lab to find him.

Eric looked at Corwin, shaking his head as they headed to see the queen. He walked in silence, wondering what was going on now. He'd noticed the change in the weather, and took it as a bad omen. When they reached the hall he stood next to the group of men, staying quiet as usual as he observed.

Cale

Cale starred at the man who had barged into his room, irritation winning over common sense, he cocked his arm back and threw his tea cup, smashing it right next to the mans head, a devious smile crossed his face. "Richard my good man, I would recommend you knock the next time you enter a man's room." Cale slowly got out of his bed and with but a thought, sent the room into motion, walls shifted and the floor moved sending Richard out of earshot and behind a large bookshelf. He carefully looked through his lab until he found a pinch of horse hair, belonging to Little John, the less vexing of the two Richard's horse and tossed the vial he had placed it in, casually over the bookshelf. "Please make haste out of my lab, her majesty is waiting and it would be a shame to keep her for very long. Cale broke our into a fit of laughter as he opened the door and stood waiting for his guest to leave.

Chris

Chris laughed heartily at Altair and Lance's comments "It seems they ran out of Women and villages before I ran out of desire my friend." Chris looked down at his shackles and grumbled "Her majesty is getting wise in her later years, this time I can't move my wrists to unlock these, Altair, would you be so kind as to help a friend out, after all, what is an artist without the use of his hands?" He winked at his two friends and looked past them to see all of the other men entering the room,Dao, Corwin,Eric,Nate and even Mayur. " You two do know it has been ages since we last spoke and yet there you are huddled by yourselves instead of joining us all in a one in a lifetime event. Worry not we are not measuring manhood or speaking of deeds long forgotten, for I am sure our good master Eric would defeat us all!"

Altair

"That doesnt surprise me even in the slightest Chris.Neither would Eric winning but I'm sure I'd give him a run for his money." He walked to him and went to kneel down pulling one of Cale's hat pins from out of a pocket in his pants. The others look confused." What? I saw him use them once and decided i might have use for them. So i took it. he wont miss it he has hundreds." Altair use the pin to pick the lock and then stood slapping Chris's shoulder. "Might as well be ready for whatever the queen needs us to do eh?"

Richard

Richard looked impassively at Cale. He was very used to his theatrics by now and did not find them even slightly amusing." I will give knocking a serious thought next time you have my word." Richard reached up and then took the hair placing it on the letter he then focused his power turning the paper into a bird and then sent it flying out the window to find the other Richard. Richard then glanced at Cale and then nodded turning out. "Do make haste. I know how dreadfully late you can be and this promises to be a very important date."

Lance looked around, still listening to his friend's comments. The room was filling up quickly and he couldn't help but feel restless. What plans did the queen have for them? Surely it couldn't be so important that she'd summon Chris despite his banishment. There was a worried look in his eye, an uncommon thing for the playful young prince.

"I don't like this one bit." He muttered under his breath. "The queen has never been one to act without thinking, so what would be the point in calling us all here so suddenly?" Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a young girl run past the room. He didn't recognize her as one of the servants, but decided to just ignore it for now. He had other things to think about.

Lance sighed and turned to his fellow workers, desperately trying not to over-think the situation like he always tended to do. "Somebody please tell a joke or do something to distract me." He pleaded. "I think I'm starting to go mad just standing here."

((Okay time for my boys, and that includes my own Richard. If it makes things clearer, some of the guys can call him Locksley too since he was called that in several Robin Hood movies.))

Richard Locksley

Richard was not a happy camper. He got a message return back to the castle with all haste and he had just got back home too all drenched. Still, a command was a command and he had no choice. Something must have been wrong if the queen was summoning him back this quickly. Well, there was no way he going back into the rain with his already soaked clothes, he would catch a chill for sure. He quickly changed and went to get another horse. Wanting a fresh horse, he took one of his quickest horses, Scarlet, a feisty amber coated mare. She also could ride well in any type of weather. Mounting her, he left his mansion for the palace.

Corwin Huntley, Mayur Bishari

One by one, Corwin watched as several others showed up. They were still missing Cale, both Richards, and several others. He grinned a bit at Altair and Chris's antics. Those two and Naveen were definitely three of the most 'playful' of the workers. He would have counted Richard Locksley and Cale with them, but something didn't add up right to Corwin with Richard and Cale was a bit more strange than funny. Lance was also a clown too so Corwin would include him. He decided to speak up.

"It might have something to do with the weather. I have never seen a storm come up so quickly before. It wouldn't surprise me if magics were involved here and that might be what's concerning the queen." he said.

Naveen listened to the others and agreed with Lance about distractions and listened to Corwin's comment. For once he was a bit serious himself.

"Well, I just hope that her majesty doesn't get too irritated that she decides to take her wrath on us." he said before turning to Lance.

"It's a darn shame we don't have any fair demoiselles here entertain us hehe." he added.

Dawn Trudy

Dawn looked at the dark skinned girl.

"Yes it did. I also saw something, like I was briefly someplace else. It looked like I was inside a castle and there was a couple there. They looked like a king and queen and the queen was holding a small bundle. I think it was a baby because I could hear them talking about it and the man called the baby Aurora. I know it sounds crazy, but I saw it. Did either of you see something like that?" she asked them, awe still in her voice.

Corwin Huntley and Mayur Bishari

Mayur frown at Dao. The man was too serious for his liking and never seemed to know when to have fun.

"I am just trying to keep the mood light, Dao. Do you have any suggestions to pass the time before her majesty gets here?" he asked a bit rudely.

Corwin didn't want things to get out of hand here, so he spoke up.

"Mayur, there's no need to act that way, and Dao, I don't think Mayur meant any harm in what he was saying about the fairer sex." he replied.

Lance rolled his eyes when his friends began to argue. Rather than trying to intervene, he just sat down on the cold tile floor. Upon seeing the confused expressions on the faces of his companions, he sighed. Looking up at them, he replied, "I'm really not in the mood for listening in on some stupid argument." Nodding in the direction of the door, he continued, "If you really can't put up with each other, then just leave. It's not like she can do anything if she's not here." There was silence for a moment. Lance scoffed, "I didn't think so." Despite everything that he and the other princes said about the queen, all of them were powerless to do anything to oppose her.

Sighing, he decided he'd been a downer for a bit too long. "Anyways," He continued, "I'm not sure that our beloved queen would be able to handle having Mayur and Chris in a room filled with young ladies." He smiled a bit. "We are all too aware of their talents in that particular field."

Cale

The door the the great hall swung open and Cale looked at each of the princes one by one a very large grin crossing his face. He made his way to a cluster of unused chairs, meant for conferences of diplomatic relations between the village leaders and the Queen. Picking the one in the best shape he sat in it, crossing one leg over the other, rested his elbows on his leg, interlocked his fingers and watched the rowdy group with more than a little passing interest. To have all of the Queen's favorites in one place meant that the situation that Richard had described was more pressing and certainly more dire than he once thought...how interesting.

Chris
Chris saw the door open and Cale walk in, something about that man always gave him the creeps, he once lost a game of lairs dice and was forced to give Cale a part of his sleeve, for what purpose Chris had no idea. Letting the man fade from his mind he saw Lance sit on the floor with a concerning look and placed a hand on his head to ruffle his hair. "Would you like to hear a joke Lance? Dao having a sense of humor for one. and let us not forget the last time Mayur and I had a contest about who could bed the most women. I do believe we were even, until we came about those twins...then it was a tie one apiece!" Chris exploded into laughter, he moved in front of the other men and strutted like he was a fair maiden. Then changed roles and acted out Mayur and his brilliant compromise, to keep the other men entertained.

Lance watched as Chris strutted about, telling tales of the many women he'd seduced. Unable to to contain himself, he burst out into a fit of hysterical laughter. Not only was he amused by the humor brought to the dull situation, the laughter of his friends was contagious. Even the seemingly rigid Dao seemed to be enjoying himself for once.

Although Chris and Mayur were the two men known for their antics with the ladies, it didn't mean that the other workers were devoted entirely to the queen alone. Lance had been known to sneak a glance or two at a passing servant girls. It wasn't so much that he wanted them in a way that Chris might. It was actually much more complicated than that, at least in his mind. He, like the others, had been denied by the queen the right to engage in any sort of romantic relationship. Knowing that he would never be permitted to love another, that was precisely what he desired.

Yet for now, he would forget all of that and just have a laugh with his friends.

Bella left her secret place, returning to the palace interior. Quickly, she hurried her chamber. She had to ignore the strange looks she received from her guards, considering she still held the appearance of a young girl. They couldn't tell the difference. Regardless, she managed to return to her room and resume her own identity. Looking into her mirror, she couldn't help but feel proud. Despite the great youthful beauty of the other face, her own had a much more refined feel to it. Much more fitting for a lady of her standing. Throwing her cloak across her bedspread, she stood tall and proceeded down the corridor leading to the great hall.

When she arrived, she noticed that her men had made themselves rather comfortable. All of them with the exception of Cale hadn't even noticed her immediate arrival, for they were too busy laughing at the antics of Chris Pierce. "Ah Chris," She muttered through gritted teeth, "It truly is a pleasure to see you again after so long." She made no effort to cover up the fact that she was lying through her teeth. If there were any of her former princes that she absolutely could not stand, it was Chris. Something about him, whether it be his uncontrollable personality or his womanizing ways simply disgusted Bella.

Richard Locksley, Corwin Huntley, Mayur Bishari

It was at that moment that the doors opened in marched a very wet Richard Locksley. For one of his rare times, he wasn't in a good mood. However, he kept silent as the queen was already there. The same went for Corwin and Mayur. Both men stood up straight when the queen entered, obviously in a bad mood herself.

Mayur actually took the situation serious for he never seen all the queen's main workers in one area before. He honestly hope it wasn't a bad thing for him and the others. Of course his gut feeling told him something was wrong; otherwise, they would never had been ordered to gather like this. Corwin was thinking along the same lines. He was concerned that something was endangering his homeland also. As much as he disliked the queen, he still loved his home.

All three men waited patiently to see what the queen would say.

Eric ignored most of the men's ramblings. He was more worried about why they were there in the first place. It was extremely unusual for all of them to be there at the same time, let alone Chris. He crossed his arms, watching the men joke around. As soon as the queen spoke, however, he turned to her, bowing low, glad that he hadn't been the only one who hadn't noticed her immediate arrival. Everything else had been forgotten, and only their loyalty to the queen was important at this moment. He only hoped that the reason they'd all been called together wasn't a horrid one.

Chris
Chris danced about the room until a voice ran a chill up his spine. "Ah Chris, It truly is a pleasure to see you again after so long.". Chris spun around into a low flourish, both hands going wide to show he was freed from his chains. "Your majesty they say lying causes wrinkles, but it is an absolute pleasure to be in the presence of the fairest of them all again, but don't tell Corwin or it will go to his head." Chris knew he was pushing his luck as he spoke, he was determined however to face down the one woman who had always spurned him and kept his friends under her iron grip. "Then again if you did maybe Eric might crack a smile."

Cale
Cale noticed her grace enter and he allowed himself a wide smile as he watched her glace his way. He then shook his head as Chris talked, the entire time studying his emotional threads, silver and yellow, daring, but afraid of what would happen if he pushed her majesty too far. He took his hat off as he rose bowing low, his curiosity rising at what all of the men in the castle were doing in the same room. It looks like our future has become quite interesting