The Runaway Princess

The Runaway Princess
Date of Scene:	08 April 2013
Location:	Traverse Town - Cloud Nine
Synopsis:	Tifa and Aerith have a chat in the unusually quiet hours of the day in Cloud Nine. The quiet peasant girl Dagger, staying on the second floor of Cloud Nine for the last few weeks, is suddenly revealed to be none other than Princess Garnet Til Alexandros! What's worse, Alexandrian soldiers have entered the bar in search of her! Whatever will she do? Why..Run away of course!
Cast of Characters:	Tifa Lockhart, Aerith, Garnet

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Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Another day in the bar. The Cloud Nine has managed to work out pretty well, gathering a nice amount of customers every day. Some of them are more about the inn part, but still, it keeps her busy between meals and drinks.

On the counter there's a basket of fruits, while she's sweeping around the place, starting the day off with the usual clean so everything is nicefor when the customers start pouring in.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith though has been doing something else to help out.

When she's not helping Tifa cook things, she's managing the upstairs rooms, making sure they're neat and tidy for people to actually stay in. After all, if they see an unmade bed, they assume either the staff is sloppy, the room is unorganized, or both. It's from this that Aertih comes back downstairs, wiping her forehead with a silk towel. "Okay, I think that's the last one. This place sure has become popular, huh?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smiles and nods to Aerith "Yeah, its a good thing I get some help, otherwise it'd be hard to manage on my own." She pushes some of the chairs up so she can clean around them, and starts putting the chairs down for the day, sliding them into their rightful spots. "Thanks to you."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith chuckled and made her way behind the bar. "Well you opened it, I just decided to hang out here. I figured you needed some help, so I pitched in." She quirked an eyebrow. "You know this is mostly pro bono, right? What do you think you'll give me instead of money?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart thinks about that, tilting her head. And then she grins, and walks over to Aerith with her arms outstretched, as if trying to catch her "How about I cover you in kisses?" She's playfing of course, seeing how Aerith will react to that.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith chuckled and leaned forward to hug Tifa. "Y'know, that might not be too bad... <3" She grinned and pulled away. "Maybe later!" Aerith headed for the bowl of fruit and picked an apple from the bunch. "So then, what are your plans for the next one?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart laughs as she's brushed off, but she gives a hug. She moves behind the counter at the question, and pulls out her drawings and maps "Well, it probably won't be that different than here, so I'm trying to stir up some ideas to make it a bit more unique. You have anything in mind?"

Aerith has posed:
Flowergirl takes a bite out of her apple. "Somewhere higher up. Elevation wise that is. This place is called Cloud Nine, but it's on street level. I mean, how weird is that?" She giggled. "Let's make the next one somewhere closer to the sky, like on a rooftop or something. I even have a name for it if you wanna hear it."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart hmms "Well I was wondering about a good name." She takes a pencil, and traces up on the papers she has. "Hmm, higher up... How about I made the bar on top of the building them. There was a few gargoyles hanging around, they probably would appreciate it too." She thinks about how that could be done "So the first floors would be used for the inn."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded and took another bite out of her apple. "Well since you've been using Seventh Heaven and Cloud Nine for names... how about The Empyrean for this one?" Aerith grinned. "Makes perfect sense, since it's the highest level of Heaven."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart hms "Empyrean? I suppose that would work." She smiles "How about a ceiling made of glass. Wooden pillars that would hold up a grid of wooden beams, around which we'd had vines and flowers interlaced, and the glass would be over it, making a sort of greenhouse.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith chuckled. "That'd be something special, won't it? Of course I'd prefer skylights to a whole glass ceiling, but it would make for a good effect!" She finished the apple and threw the core into a nearby waste bin." Got any other ideas?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart hmms "Well a greenhouse was my first idea, doesn't mean we can't tweak that. Like, could have one half inside, and the other one open-aired with skylights.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith nodded and started up the grill. "You know, that's not half bad. I should have someone draw out the plans for that." She blushed as the lights overhead came on. "I'm not good at drawing really..."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods "Me either, but it just to get a general idea of it." She draws it out a bit "Then I find a designer to try to make it more pretty with those starting ideas. I jut draw out what I have in mind for a starting point, its easier than trying to explain it." She smiles "So a greenhouse part, and then an open aired part. The greenhouse needs to be big enough in case of bad temperature, or maybe we can ask the designer to make it so we can extend it out, like in winter.

Aerith has posed:
Flowergirl shrugs. "Whatever you want to do is fine with me! Just remember, I've always got your back, Tifa." By now the grill is ready, so she turns and puts her forearms on the counter, glancing around at the nearly empty bar. "Slow day, huh?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smiles "Its still early, give it a chance." She grins "Most of the business is in the evening after all." She puts the notes and drawings away "Empyrean... sounds like it would be a nice name still.

Garnet has posed:
Dagger had been staying at the inn for a while now, mostly keeping to herself and helping out whenever she could. She's not much of a bar savvy individual, and she already had a decent amount of money on her when she first stumbled upon Tifa and Aerith and so she was not exactly looking for work.

However, she does seem to be making an effort to stay under the radar as much as possible, for some reason. She yawns tiredly as she comes down the stairs, heading towards the bar as she scans the menu for a decent meal. All the drinks are quickly scanned over of course! (You kidding? Princesses dont drink beer!).

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smiles as she wave to the princess. Well she doesn't know he's a prince yet. "Slept well Garnet?" She smiles, moving behind the counter to join up with Aerith. Aerith already has the cooking started, so she starts checking on the state of drinks and leftovers, making sure nothing is missing for the day of course. Being an inn as well, there's more than alcohol on the menu of course.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith blinked for a moment as she heard the familiar name, then looked up to see the young lady descending the stairs. She waved with a grin and pointed to one of the stools. "What's going on? I didn't know you were here!"

Garnet has posed:
"I did, thank you, Miss Tifa." Dagger replies with a quiet smile to the barmaid. Still, she seems worried about something although she dares not venture to explain herself on that. She looks towards Aerith with a little smile, recognizing her from the battle the other day. "Ah, Lady Aerith! What a pleasure to meet you again. I am sorry that I rushed off so quickly after the battle..I had hoped to speak with you some more..What a coincidence that you are here as well!"

She takes a moment to order some dinner before rising from the bar, moving towards the two of them and bowing a little overly politely. "Tis a pleasure to see you both again. Indeed, I am staying here for the time being.." Actually, she's been staying at this inn for quite a long while now. It kinda makes you wonder if she doesn't have anywhere else to stay.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smiles, leaning over the counter and giving a poke to Garnet's forehead playfully "You seem like someone that has something on her mind. If you ever want to talk about something, feel free. We're good listeners, and sometimes we can even help. You saw us fight, we can handle our own." She put a hand on her bicep, showing off.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith turned toward the grill and started something up. "You also look like someone who's hungry. What can I get for you?"

Garnet has posed:
Dagger smiles at Aerith. "Oh, you work here then? How lovely!" Well, she's come to trust Tifa's friends, but what would they think if they knew the truth. "Hmm, I suppose the cream of broccoli mushroom soup, with a side order of salad and chicken breast sounds delightful.."

Glancing over at Tifa she sighs, "I...Suppose I am just a little bit tired, and..." She frowns a bit, hesitant to go on. Can she trust them with the secret? What would they think? What would they say? She already gets the feeling that Alexandria is not altogether popular in some parts of this new world..

Fortunately she is rescued by the bell so to speak, as two curious strangers enter the inn..Oh look, they seem to be Alexandrian soldiers! Dagger gasps and moves towards the back of the bar, pulling her hood up around her face, seeming like she's trying to hide from them..Or something.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart frowns a bit as Garnet starts to hide like that. She smiles, and moves around the counter "You're smothering ketchup on your face you know." She offers her hand, winking to Garnet, as sshe pulls her up "The bathroom is over here."

The barmaid is quick to pick up on a few things, even if she doesn't know the details, she's going to give her time to sort it out a bit first. She shows Garnet to the storeroom, where there's a sink to wash up, but she whispers a 'Take your time', and points her to the upperfloor stairs right next to the storeroom for a quick exit if she needs one.

Garnet has posed:
Dagger smiles at Tifa, clearly relieved that she seems to understand. "Thank you, Tifa. I shall be in the back then.." She doesn't even consider that she might have actually spilled ketchup on her face. Afterall, she has always been quite careful about getting food on her face and clothes. Quietly, she ducks into the washroom, moving a bit too quickly as if she were in a hurry to get away.

The two Alexandrian soldiers are chatting lightly with each other, chuckling at some joke between them. They barely catch the tail end of some white mage rushing off in some sort of hurry. Really, it doesn't seem to concern them that much as they settle down in a couple of seats next to where Dagger was sitting.

This could be awkward...

"Hmm, this looks like a good place to put up some signs, dont you think?"

"Yes, definitely...Umm excuse me, miss!" They call towards Tifa, assuming she is the barmaid on duty here. "Would you mind if we put up some signs? Our princess has gone missing and we've been searching far and wide for her everywhere. It would greatly help us if we could post these here. The queen is terribly worried.."

As she speaks, she pulls out some posters with a detailed portrait of Princess Garnet Til Alexandros..How strange! It looks almost identical to Dagger!

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart hmms as she observes the picture, taking it for a moment "Uhm, sure, we have a board for ads of all kinds, I can put it up if you want." She smiles. She does think its looks familiar of course. She moves to the board that is facing the stairs, so that people can see it as they come down easily. She pins it there, and looks toward the storeroom for a moment. And then she goes back to take care of the customers "Is there anything else I can do for you, drinks or foods?" She stays professional. Even if Garnet didn't seem to want to see them, it would be even more suspicious to move them out.

Garnet has posed:
Certainly, Tifa has done nothing to warrant the soldiers' suspicion. They nod and smile as they peer up at the menu. "Sure! We'll have a couple rounds of tequila, and..How about a small bowl of tomato cheese nachos? Sounds good."

The second girl winks at her friend. "Careful, dont wanna overstuff ourselves. We might be off-duty at the moment but I'm on a diet."

The first girl smirks, "Dear, you worry too much about your weight!" Looking back at Tifa she smiles, "So miss, how long has this establishment been around? looks relatively new..Have you lived in Traverse Town long?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smiles and shakes her head "Nah, not even two months, what what will that happened in Manhattan and the other worlds, I used to be in Midgar. You're from Alexanria from the looks of it. We're on the same continent now, makes for a weird world, doesn't it?" Idle chatter as she put two shot of tequila on the counter, for the lady guards.

Garnet has posed:
The girls chuckle a bit. "Yeah, it's crazy isn't it? You walk out the front door and the landscape's no longer the same anymore. But we're managing. Still, the entire kingdom's completely at a loss without their princess. Naturally, Queen Brahne is taking it worse than anyone. She loves her daughter more than her own life of course.."

The second soldier frowns a bit. "But, you know....."

The first girl quickly shoots her a frown and elbows her as if to shush her up. Forcing a smile, she looks back to Tifa. "Yeah, we're all worried, especially the Queen. She's not looking so well lately. And who knows what sort of trouble the princess is in? I hope she's okay..Some of us are fearful she might have been swallowed by a heartless, or even worse, what did those brutes from Tantalus theatre do, after they kidnapped her?"

Of course, there is no mention of their apparent affiliations with the heartless. As if they'd willingly bring that up, besides a lot of Alexandria's soldiers didnt like the idea themselves.

Suddenly there is a little sound as if someone bumped into a chair. It's coming from the washroom.

"Ooh, what was that?"

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart shakes her head "Heartless are a cause of worry for everyone. Its no use thinking about what may or may not happen because of them. If she's already swallowed by darkness, there's nothing you can do about it. If she's alright, then she probably has some people watching over and helping her. Heart bond together against the darkess more easily you know."

She looks over to the washrooms "That's the white mage, she probably just bumped herself on a chair I forgot there. I had to change a lightbulb earlier, and I couldn't reach it. Someone had to go in the washroom real urgent, so I didn't pick it up after that."

She smiles, and walks over to the backroom to check on the 'white mage', speaking out loud enough "Are you alright? That's my fault." She's covering as much as she can at least.

Garnet has posed:
"Yes." They agree in solemn unision. Seems not all of Alexandria's people agree with the whole heartless thing in their country. But they trust their queen and they should not question her motives. "Well, we wont give up until we find her! There's always hope, right?"

When she explains the white mage, they glance over at the hooded figure, shrug and smile. Just a white mage, nothing to be concerned about. The 'white mage' glances over at Tifa and nods wordlessly, then darts behind the wall again, rushing to her room. "Heh, must be shy.."

They chuckle again and when the food and drink arrives, they hungrily glug both of them down with alarming speed. "Aah darn, we're out of time. Breaks' over! Well, we should be heading out. Thanks for your hospitality miss! We'll check back in a few weeks to see if anything came up. The contact info's on the poster too but, we'd like to make double sure. Until then, see ya!"

And the two soldiers rush off into the night..

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart smiles and ndos, waving to the lady guards as they leave. She waits a fwe moments to be safe, and then lets Garnet know about "The way is clear now." She walks bacl to the counter. She's going to wait for a few explanations, but she doesn't seem in any rush either. Everyone has a few things they are hiding after all, her included.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith ends up cooking the whole time, still keeping her ears open as the conversation went on. The soldiers soon departed, and as soon as Garnet emerged, she gave her a knowing smile. Oh this would be good to hear, wouldn't it?

Garnet has posed:
Dagger glances around hesitantly, before stepping out again. She had seen everything that had transpired, including the appearance of the poster that looked like her double image, and she sighs softly, shaking her head. "I apologize..I suppose the truth is out now.." no point in lying now, right? It's pretty darn obvious who she is!

"But, I beg of you, please, do not tell them about me. I..Cannot return to Alexandria, not until I can figure out why my mother is acting this way.." Of course, she has yet to learn about their connections with Baron and the heartless.

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart leans down a bit to level herself with 'Dagger', smiling "You think I would have taken the effort to hide you fromt hem if I was going to turn you in? You must have your own reasons for what you're doing." She pats her shoulder, and then bows a bit more "Its a pleasure to meet you, Princess. But you'll stay as Dagger until you decide to, hm?" She winks, and turn to the board, taking off the add she placed there earlier, and tossing it into the thrash. "We all have our own secret and reasons to do what we do. I'm no stranger to that myself, you know."

She looks over to Aerith, nodding.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith giggled. "I knew it was a nickname or an alias!" She reached over and ruffled Garnet's hair. "Listen, you stick around here with us, and we'll cover you. Deal?"

Garnet has posed:
Dagger smiles and shakes her head. "Thank you, Miss Tifa. I believe that I can trust you..Both of you. I suppose a lot of people even in this town probably hate Alexandria for what they have done, but I am certain there is a reason why my mother is acting this way. She is attacking countries and killing people. I saw what happened at Burmecia, and it aches my heart to realize that I was unable to stop that carnage..I cannot let it happen again! But..I do not know what to do."

Dagger sighs, still tired it seems, or perhaps she's just really stressed out from all this worrying. "I initially planned to return to Alexandria to speak to my mother, but with all the heartless chasing me, I am not sure if I can get there on my own, especially now that I have been separated from my bodyguard, Steiner.."

She smiles at Aerith and nods. "I shall stay here a little while longer, if it does not inconvenience you. I would appreciate that.."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart shakes her head "You're not inconveniencing us at all. In fact, if you need help to get back to Alexandria, we can help. My other bar is in Midgar, that's halfway there. We could go back there, and then prepare for it." She smiles, and puts her hands on both of Garnet's shoulders "Just relax while you're with us alright? We'll get you back home safely. We're not afraid of a few heartles, we've seen much worse."

Aerith has posed:
Aerith shrugged. "Getting her back home is one thing. But if I'm correct. Alexandria has allied themselves with the Shadow Lords." She sighed. "Getting her home isn't the problem. We might have to get her back out again..."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart looks to Aerith "Well, that'll make it harder... but if she wants to go back to her mother, we don't have much of a choice either. I'm not sure what we can do... maybe we can get some help from the TDA too, they are good about things like these"

Aerith has posed:
Flowergirl sported a frown. "I don't know if you heard... but she doesn't want to go back until whatever's wrong with her mother is fixed. Besides, I heard the same things you did... a part of that talk was stopped before it even had the chance to start." Aerith placed a hand on her chin. "Not everyone in Alexandria is keen on working with Heartless."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods "I know. I'm just saying, getting ready for whens he wants to go back. Its her choice after all." She lifts her shoulders "If I wanted to send her back that fast I would have told the guards. Would be the fastest way to ship her back to see her mother."

Garnet has posed:
Dagger sighs and rubs her eyes tiredly. "to be honest, I am not sure what I want. Yes, I want to go back, but I am afraid. How can I get through to her unless I DO go back to talk to her, to plead with her if necessary? But, is there another way to gather information about what is going on there, to be certain it is safe to return..?"

She settles back into her seat, clutching her crystal protectively for a long moment in silence.. "I just...I am uncertain of what may happen to me if I return, and oppose all of Alexandria. And..What will you do, if those soldiers come back here? Will you put up that poster? If you do, then I am not safe here, either.."

It takes her a while to register the thing about heartless being used by Alexandria however, and she gasps. "Is that so? Truly? Alexandria is using heartless now, too? But, why? Why would they do that?"

Aerith has posed:
Aerith glanced over at Tifa, then back at Garnet. She couldn't get used to calling her Dagger anymore, not after that. "Listen... I'm not sure, but I'm positive they were either manipulated into it, or some of the higher echelons in your nation's government are just that hungry for power. Whichever way you put it, they're in with the bad crowd... and there are only two ways out of it at this point."

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart nods "I haven't heard all of the tory behind it, but that poster will be put in other places than here anyway, so wether or not its here won't matter. If they come back, I'll have some excuse for why the poster isn't up, but that won't help in the grand scheme. We need to keep you hidden a bit longer, until you're ready to go. Maybe we could dye your hair, it would make it harder to recognize you combined with your white mage dress at least.

Aerith has posed:
Aerith shook her head. "Her face is still recognizable, anyone who takes a good enough look under there will spot her. Dying wouldn't do any good." She rubbed her chin. "I think the hiding thing would be enough, don't you... Dagger?" She giggled. "I'm sorry, that's just so funny to me! Garnet's such a nice name..."

Garnet has posed:
Dagger..Or Princess Garnet..Flushes a bit. "I...I suppose it is. Thank you. However, if you call me that, it will surely attract undue attention.." As for dying her hair, that has her a bit worried. "Dye my hair? I...Do not know how comfortable I am with that. However, I suppose I should have seen this coming." She sighs sadly, "I wish that Zidane were here, I am certain that he would know what to do. But..I left him back at Lindblum. I wonder..."

Perhaps she should head there next? At least they'd avoid the soldiers who are here. and her uncle is there, he could protect her better. "But..After I sneaked away from uncle Cid, he would likely keep me safely locked up, indefinitely. I suppose there is no other choice but to sneak into alexandria. You are right Aerith. I need a good disguise. A convincing disguise..I wonder if there is someone who can use illusion magic on me..?"%

Tifa Lockhart has posed:
Tifa Lockhart hmmms "Well there is a Lindblum here too, it actually quite close to Alexandria. They have a saying that a lighthouse shines on what's far away, but doesn't see what's closeby. Maybe you could hide there for a while."