The Royalty gets a Bodyguard.

"I'm not blushing." Alice lied, even though it was painfully apparent that she was, all across her cheeks and down her neck. When they called her beautiful it became even worse, coral pink and spreading across her shoulders and collarbones.

Taryn giggled. "Yes you are,you're not a great liar" they said smiling. They found themselves kissing Alice's cheek, then shoulders and collarbones, following the blush for a moment. They weren't really sure why they had done it, but it felt like a good thing to do.

Alice tilted her head to the side as they kissed their way down her neck with a whimpering gasp, lips parting in a 'O'. "I'm an e-excellent liar." She pouted.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?" They asked, worried they had done something wrong, although they found the noises oddly attractive? They weren't sure if what they had done was okay or not. They sort of wanted to do it again though.

Alice nodded, sucking on her lower lip again, worrying at the pinked up skin. "I'm fine, it's- it's fine." She said, breath coming a little quicker and her neck still bared to the side for them. "It's- it feels good." She admitted. "When you do that."

Taryn blushed. "Oh, ohhhh," they said, realizing once Alice sort of explained. They bit their lip, a small smirk crossing their face as they returned to Alice's neck. They enjoy doing this, and enjoyed the sound Alice had made.

Alice clenched her hands in the bedspread when they started kissing her neck again, that same high, whimpering gasp appearing again as soon as their mouth got back on her skin. She shut her eyes and kept worrying at the split in her lip.

Taryn smiled, really enjoying the sounds that they were getting for Alice. They stopped after a few minutes, kissing Alice's lips again, closing their eyes as they did.

Alice pressed into the kiss, staying propped up on her forearms just above them, the skin of her neck red from both her blushing and Taryn's mouth. She kept it softer, let them take the lead and tried not to push for more than they were comfortable with.

Taryn continued to kiss her, alternating between kissing her mouth and her neck. They preferred being with Alice and kissing Alice over the idea of kissing anyone else, espiecally Hayworth.

Alice was happy to be kissed, was getting light headed and a little dazed from their mouth against her and the longer they kissed the less she wanted to ever stop, the more she wanted to press close.

((Should we curtian their make out session?))

((Yeah we should probably move to like, beyond the make out session))

Taryn laid on the bed with Alice, absent mindedly playing with her hair, their own hair a bit of a mess. That had been a nice break from reality, but unfortunately it was coming back, and the sadness, grief, and anger were flooding in, causing their smile to fade.

Alice breathed slow and even, hovering above them with her forearms braced on the mattress. It'd be pleasant, letting them kiss her, pressed in close, but she couldn't stay much longer. The more time she spent here, the less evidence was going to be in tact when she slipped outside the castle walls and snooped around the arena. "I have to go soon." She whispered.

Taryn nodded. "I know," they said, one hand running through her hair, really not wanting her to go, but not feeling right about stopping her. They bit their lip, slipping out from under her, in a strange crawling motion so she didn't have to hover over them anymore.

Alice rolled off the bed and onto her feet, combing her hair back into a tight knot at the base of her neck. "I'll be back within the hour." She said. "Stay close to Wrung, if you can. Please." She added, soft. Alice carefully didn't say what it meant if she wasn't back in an hour- that she was likely caught out, in that event, possibly dead, possibly fleeing for her life. She didn't think that was anything they needed to know about right now.

Taryn watched her while she got her hair back together. "Alright," they said softy, nodding, moving back over to her to kiss her goodbye. They weren't sure what possessed them to do this, but it felt right. It also felt a little too cozy, but they didn't care at the moment.

Sighing in surprise Alice kissed them back after a moment, gentle and lingering. When she finally pulled away it was with something a bit like regret. "Stay safe." She said quietly and then slipped out the window, rappelling down the wall. If she left through the door, people might ask her questions and she didn't have time for that.

Taryn nodded again and watched the window for a moment as she left out of it, before getting themselves ready and presentable. Once that was finished, they headed out to the room where Wrung was standing by, and followed her to the music room where she hoped to distract herself.

Alice landed with a near silent thump and headed for the arena. It wasn't hard to find where the king had been killed, grass trampled and blood not quite absorbed into the earth yet. She poked around for a while, searching for anything unusual, anything that might hint at who the assassin had been and whether it'd been hatred or greed that had them kill the king in broad daylight.

Taryn stayed in the music room a long time, knowing for a fact that they were boring Wrung, and didn't care. They also refused to eat when he attempted to offer it, they weren't hungry, or just didn't feel hungry. They still hadn't heard from Vandyke, which they weren't sure how they felt about. They didn't know if he was even capable of comofrt.

Alice skulked around the arena for a bit longer but when nothing of use turned up, she left, ducking underneath stands and through the tattered remains of the tents. She slipped back inside the castle and headed to the small room the king had allotted her when she started as Taryn's bodyguard. It was quick work to wash off the blood and dirt staining her clothes and change into new ones, a bland green tunic, thin black pants, and sturdy boots. Once clean, Alice found a maid and headed for the music room once they'd told her where to find Taryn.

Taryn continued to stay in the room for a while, although two council members came to speak with them about responsibilities. They dismissed Wrung to outside the room, to discuss things like moving the wedding date, funeral arrangements, and heirs which made their stomach drop. They continued to keep calm, trying to direct the two members the best they could, although they really weren't all there.

Alice slipped past Wrung and went inside, hardly noticeable over the sound of the council members. She took up a position in the corner, flicking her eyes around to check and make sure nobody was trying to intimidate them into anything, although- if they were, Alice wasn't sure how much she could reasonably do in front of witnesses and without getting driven out of the kingdom. If that happened, she'd hardly be in a position to protect Taryn and. And Alice wanted to be sure they weren't murdered in the night, was all.