Sandrine?!

The cloaked figure lets out a decidedly girlish 'yelp' of surprise, and you know immediately that this is not Alexia. The softness of her smooth skin and the distinctive smell of her hair are all you need to identify this young woman, but you still don't know what she is doing following you. The hand around her torso lands across her breasts and you can feel some sort of improvised armor between your fingers and the softness beneath, her panicked wiggling in your arms reminds you of what you saw earlier tonight of the mercenaries groping the caravan master's pretty young granddaughters.

It is not at all your intent to terrify the brave young gentlewoman, but you need a little privacy, so you cover her mouth to stop her from yelling and drag her into the maze of alleyways. You are all too aware of the way her backside and thighs rub against your legs as you move - definitely no extra armor down there. "You shouldn't be following me in this part of the city, Sandrine." For it is her in your arms, you are sure of it. "You are far from your usual neighborhood." You release your hold on the young woman and lean against a wall studying her reaction. You see her going through shock, anger, acceptance, and then determination.

"What is your game, King of Kalion?" She demands, revealing that she knows exactly who you are. "You have the power to **** the invaders from this city, or to swarm the Citadel from the air with your drakes but you have yet to side with either ****." You wonder if your **** of Riders could indeed take the Citadel from the air. Perhaps, you decide after a quick calculation, but not without losing at least half of your Riders, and that is a price you are unwilling to pay. "If you hate slavery as much as they say, why don't you take this city and put an end to it?" Ah, you sigh softly as you consider the young woman and wonder who she is, the very question you've been wrestling with ever since you arrived at the walls of Athenapolis.

"Sandrine," you offer a riddle as a way of explantion, "what do you call a ruler that doesn't have his people's support, and forces them to change their ways?" The cloaked girl studies at you with a careful consideration and you sigh softly and answer your own question. "A tyrant, my Lady, a ruler without support of his people, one who pushes his own agendas, even if it is for the good of the people is a Tyrant who will face rebellion after rebellion until there is nothing left to rule." You think she understands you a bit better.

"If you are right, Sire, then why are you here?" You're not sure anymore, causing you to answer from your heart. "I originally came here to help ease the suffering of those caught in the middle of this war. The people who caused this catastrophe are not the ones who will suffer. It is the greed and lusts of the leaders on both sides that has dragged us to this junction and yet the Regent is still safely perched on his eyrie and the fat generals of the United Armies will be drinking wine in their command tents while good men on both sides will die and so many women will be **** and enslaved." For some reason you open your heart to this strange young woman trusting her even more than Alexia and Galeon. "Since my arrival here I've been summoned to Olympus twice. First from my mother Athena, the second time by Aphrodite, and a vision I had earlier today, makes me believe my being here is divine intervention. For what purpose, I have yet to determine." You see her trying to see if you're serious.