Aster was having a lovely afternoon. She had spent some time with Nora in her shop catching up as it had been a couple of months since her last visit. She usually liked to come by once a week or so, but with planning for her brother's return from Galag, the increase in meetings for the summer season, and a plague of odd dreams, by the end of the day she was left exhausted. She'd taken to painting these strange and troubling dreams when she could. Often just getting the ideas onto a canvas would ease her mind, for a time. She had confided in Germaine about her troubles and he insisted it was a symptom of stress and things would return to normal as soon as Callum was safely back in the castle. She knew he was right, of course. The closer it got to the expected arrival of the The Oceans Caul, the more the dreams hsd escalated to nightmares.

At first she just dreamed of the sea, of floating through it's ever moving emerald waters, calmly drifting through the corridors of a beautifully alien underwater city. Of the strange creatures that lived there. Over time the still green waters became rough. The dreams changed, and she was looking out from above at a raging storm like she had never seen. The water roiled and grew, washing acres of land away into the depths. She held a staff in her hands that sparked with lightning. There was a monstrous army marching over her city, destroying and killing indiscriminately. As she remained floating up high, watching the destruction unfold, she only felt the sick satisfaction of revenge.

Aster shook her head to clear away the memories. This was just another reason she had taken the unsanctioned trip into town to purchase the paint supplies herself. She needed to get away from the stone and parchment for a while. It was grounding, being among her people like this. It allowed her to push the weight of responsibility to the back of her mind for a moment. To just be Iris and not Crown Princess Aster Barro.

She rounded a corner on her way back from her favorite local restaurant, smiling again from the delightful conversation she had just had with a swordsman she had met. A very handsome swordsman. She could tell he was a swordsman from the way his hands were calloused and the way he so casually flirted with what he at least knew was a Noble born Lady. Aster quite liked swordsmen. Plus, when Aster had gone on, admittedly, a tirade about her craft and how pink was a false color, he actually seemed to listen. That itself was a rarity among men.

The sun would be setting soon so she briskly made her way down the usual path she took back home. She would have liked to stay and talk with him some more but she also didn't want to chance staying out alone after dark. She had wandered a bit farther than usual today, past The Garden and into the market square of midtown for something to eat.

The alley she was walking down was vacant except for a stray cat that scurried away before she got too close. The sound of her heels thudding along the stone floor echoed off the walls of the neighboring buildings, and for a second she thought she heard more than one set of steps. She turned to look behind her nervously, and stopped to listen. She saw nothing in the opposite direction, but she couldn't help feeling like she was being watched. She had just turned and taken a step when she heard a familiar voice speak from the shadows.

“I wouldn't do that if I were you.”

Aster jumped, startled, and nearly tripped over her own feet swinging back around. Coming towards her was a gangly looking man in dark clothes holding a sharp looking dagger. Directly behind him was Anson, sword drawn. A strong contrast to the carefree man she'd met just a short while earlier, he looked deadly. It was clear by the way he stood and the serious look on his face that he had used that sword many times before and would not hesitate to do so again.

The thief knew it too, having frozen in place with wide eyes.

“Drop the knife, and perhaps you'll be able to run away with both of your hands still attached.”

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It seemed the thug was about to comply, when Aster felt a hand grip her arm. The second thug, now no longer hidden, brings a knife of his own to her neck. His foul breath reaches her nose as he speaks.

“Now now. Let's not be hasty with all these sharp objects floating around. Someone's liable to get hurt.” She could hear the grin in his voice, and the smugness made her very angry. The audacity of these brutes! She looked to Anson, noticing his hesitation at the sight of her situation. “Just drop the bag, and whatever else you have on you, and we'll be on our way. There's no reason for this to turn into a fight.”

Anson looked at her, seemingly debating his options, and lowered his sword slightly. The frozen man relaxed and moved to his partner. “It's about time.” He said “I almost got skewered.”

The obviously larger thug grunted but chose to ignore his comment. “Get the bag and let's get out of here.”

“You're going to regret this.” Anson said as the smaller man wrenched her bag off of her arm. As he did, a few jars fell out of the bag near her feet. Aster saw an opportunity. The man holding her had relaxed his grip, thinking they had resolved their robbery and were on their way to escaping. When his partner bent down to pick up the fallen jars, Aster adjusted her body weight and kicked him square in the jaw.

He let out a yelp before laying on the ground with a hand to his face. The momentum of the kick, and the unexpected nature of it, was enough to pull herself out of the grip she was in and she dashed away.

“Anson!” She shouted. He was already on the move, rushing towards the two thieves.

“Go! Run!” He shouted and She felt the wind as he blew past her. She heard one of the men swear and scramble on the cobbled ground for a moment. She smelled blood in the air. She didn't look back. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she felt like the world was a blur around her. She kept running and running until she found herself on the outskirts of town just before the open grass field that led to the castle walls. She slowed and pressed herself against the wall of a nearby building, sliding down beside some barrels.

She closed her eyes and tried to catch her breath. She'd never run so fast in her life. Never been in a situation where she felt her life was truly in danger. She always had guards around her and the knowledge that few would ever dare challenge the crown.

“Stupid!” She mumbled to herself. “You just had to sneak off into town by yourself didn't you? You had to feel normal. Normal people get robbed, Aster!” She berated herself for her own poor decisions. Without the crown to guard her she was just another rich girl wandering town by herself. She made herself a perfect target.

The sound of something heavy hitting the ground by her feet startled her out of her self induced lecture and she sprung up, ready to defend herself, only to be met with the face of her savior. He had brought her bag. “Aster, is it? Now who would this Aster be, pray tell.” He smiled at her knowingly.

Relief flooded her. She threw her arms around his neck, the sudden hug seeming to startle him. “Anson! Oh thank Ora, you saved me! How did you get there so fast? What happened? Are you alright? Did they get away?” He patted her back as she babbled before gently prying her away from him.

“Hey now, everything's alright, you're alright. I saw those two start to follow you when you left the restaurant and I just had a bad feeling. I'm glad I trusted it. They have been taken care of, don't worry.” Aster looked at him, teary eyed.

“Thank you. You were right, I should have brought a guard with me. They would never have tried that if I weren't alone.” She stepped back and wiped her eyes before bending down to retrieve her belongings. She looked inside and noticed everything was accounted for. “You even picked up my supper!” She laughed when she noticed the crab rolls tucked inside. Anson started laughing as well, until they were both trapped in a post-adrenaline giggle fit.

After they were through, they both sighed, and Anson looked at her more relaxed. “ Well, Iris, Aster, Angelica Eleanor,whatever your name may be, although we may have escaped this fiasco at the moment, I would ask to escort you home.” He gave a slight bow.

Aster looked at him pensively. Part of her wanted to keep her royal title secret, but the events of the night had left her shaken, and walking alone in the dark through the fields without any place to hide made her very nervous. He looked up at her after a moment and spoke softly. “For my sake.” He looked pleadingly in her eyes.

She decided he had already heard her muttering to herself and would probably put two and two together later,if he was as smart as he was swift. “Very well,” She straightened her back and put on her Queen persona. “ You may accompany me. Hurry along, I'm already out later than I want to be.”

With that she turned on her heels and strode uphill towards the castle walls, Anson quickly following, shaking his head.