Princess for hire (Loo Li, Sammi)

The two men leaped back as the knife flew perfectly between their faces. They stared at the figure in the corner, shock on their faces. Everything was dropped; eating, folk songs, haggling, everything. All eyes were on the corner of the tavern where a figure had stood up. Moments before, two men had been bickering loudly, and Yami had had enough. "Would you two kindly shut up so I can eat my dinner in peace?" she called across the room. She stepped out of the shadows and into the light.

"Oi, it's a chick!" one man called. A devilish grin spread on his face, which soon turned to terror as within seconds there was an arrow protruding from his leg. Men all over the tavern were whispering, pointing at Yami who had grabbed, loaded, and shot her bow in less than a second. "Did you even see her move?" one asked, to which his comrade replied by shaking his head. Yami nodded, satisfied that they knew the she was not a force to be trifled with. She sat back down, and slowly, so did everyone else. She had just finished her meal when the bottle was swung at her head. She ducked, and it flew out of the man's hand and into another man's face.

The man who had attempted the attack was one of the two she had interrupted earlier, but he was too busy apologizing to the man whose face he ruined to pay her any attention. Within minutes, a bar fight broke out as drunk men fought for the fun of it. Yami retrieved her knife slipped out the window, having already paid for her dinner. She could still hear the shouting a block down the street as she pulled out a flyer from her pocket. She stopped in front of an inn, one that was almost empty that night. This was where the flyer said to meet. Apparently, somebody coming into the port was looking for a bodyguard. Yami needed money, so she took the flyer and went to the inn earlier. However, the innkeeper, a kind old man, had told her that she would get better dinner at the tavern down the street.

As she walked into the inn, the man waved at her. "Ah, there you are! I was hoping you would come back!" He walked from around the counter, drying a glass. "Are you interested in renting a room for the night?" Yami was already shaking her head, knowing that he would be asking. "Sorry, sir. I don't have enough money to pay you. I'm just waiting here for my client." The man smiled warmly at her. [color=#006666]"You are welcome to stay. You can repay me with labor. You look like you are much stronger than me. If you climb up onto the roof and fix the broken slats, i'll let you stay here tonight." Yami nodded thanks and agreed to the proposal. She went outside and climbed onto the roof, using her beastly strength combined with a few tools the innkeeper had provided to fix the roof. She chuckled to herself, thinking that she probably looked like a man from the ground. She shrugged. If her client showed up soon, at least they would see that she was indeed capable of the job.

Yami nearly fell off of the roof as the man shouted up to her. She had mentally drifted into her own world as she worked, and he had scared the living daylights out of her. The hammer she was working with flew from her hand, and the innkeeper only barely managed to dodge it as it fell to the ground three stories below. "Oi, be careful up there!" he called out before disappearing back inside. Yami paused for a moment, letting her pulse slow down back to a healthy rate before climbing down from the roof. Just past the second floor window, she slipped and fell on a pile of hay just outside the stable. Luckily, it was fresh, not yet touched by the horses, so she wasn't covered with, nor smelled like, manure.

Yami gathered up her bow and her belt, which contained her double knife scabbard, along with her quiver, and walked back inside. Buahahaha! That was hilarious! Yami's face twisted in annoyance as the voice rang in her mind. You're supposed to be protecting this lady and you can't even protect yourself! Kokuo burst into laughter, an unpleasant sound when in echoed in your mind constantly. Yami's face reddened. Shut up, Kokuo! I don't need your commentary whenever I screw something up! Oddly enough, the demon fell silent as Yami walked to the center of the room and looked around for her client.

She spied a woman standing near the counter, where the innkeeper had returned and was drying some dishes, getting his tavern ready for the evening rush. The woman held the hand of a little boy, and Yami noticed that she was pregnant as well. In her other hand, the woman held the same flyer stuffed in Yami's pocket. This was the right person. Yami walked toward her, pulling her own copy of the flyer out as she did so. "Excuse me, ma'am," she asked smoothly as she stopped at the counter. "But are you the one who issued this? Bodyguard Yami, at your service," she said with a slight bow.

Yami made an attempt at a smile towards the little boy, pulling her hood back to appear less threatening. She knelt down next to him. "Hey there, what's your name?" she asked in a gentle voice. If she was to protect this family, she had to first get the child to warm up to her. Past experience proved that working with children was extremely difficult if they didn't like you, and as much as she liked kids, Yami had a hard time controlling her temper when five year olds kick her in the shin and run away until she chases them down while they laugh their heads off. But if she could befriend this boy, then hopefully he wouldn't see her as a punching bag. Of course, he was younger than most of the naughtier children, but even little kids get aggressive.

Motoyasu, her two year old son, squeezed her hand to catch her attention. Slowly turning herself around, she glanced at the woman before her. This must be the bodyguard she had requested by the flyer. "Ah, you must be the bodyguard! Nice to meet you Yami, I am Éclair. I thank you for your service," Clair bows her head, thanking her. Meanwhile, her son was squeezing her hand in need of re-assuring that it was alright to tell the lady his name. "Go on." Clair persuaded him by lightly patting his back.

"U-Uh, my name is Motoyasu! And this is my soon-to-be little sister!" Motoyasu introduced himself and the unborn child, protectively hugging his mother's swollen stomach. "Now, now, we don't even know the gender yet, Motoyasu," She lightly chuckles, patting her stomach as she does so. Motoyasu had pledged to act his best while the bodyguard was there for the week, for his father had made a promise to give him more sword-lessons if he were to do what he was told.

"Miss Yami? How about we walk and talk. I'll tell you what you need to do this week until my husband comes back home--" Clair is interrupted by her son's whining. "Sorry mommy, I'm tired. My feet are sore." Motoyasu whimpers, pointing at his tiny feet. "Motoyasu, you're too heavy for mommy to carry at the moment.. Yami, would you mind holding him for me until we get to the palace?"

"A pleasure to be of service to you, ma'am," Yami responded, giving a slight bow of greeting. She chuckled as the boy introduced himself. "It's nice to meet you, Motoyasu!" She smiled at him again, cheered by his happy manner. She stood as Clair began speaking again, finding it easier if they were at eye level. She nodded when she mention walking and talking, thinking, too, that it would be efficient. "Of course I can carry him. Even strong men need to rest sometimes." She bent over easily lifted Motoyasu and held him on her side with her arm around his back and his weight on her hip.

At the mention of the word palace, Yami inwardly cringed. She disliked being around palaces and castles as they brought back unwanted memories and knowledge of who she was supposed to be. It's alright she told herself, You gave up your title fifteen years ago. You don't belong in a palace. Yet still, being in a building like that made her somewhat uncomfortable. She did her best to hide her discomfort as she turned away. "Well, no use standing around here. We may as well get going!" With that, Yami began to lead the group out of the inn.

As soon as she stepped outside, however, she felt a meaty hand grab her neck from behind. She gasped and lowered Motoyasu to the ground, nearly dropping him as she was lifted into the air. She came face-to-face with a man she had seen in the tavern earlier. "You got some nerve, shooting my brother in the leg like that. I'll mess you up real good, and then you'll be mine for the rest of the night to use how I want." Yami grinned. "Not even in your dreams," she said casually, and the man yelled out, waving his now burnt hand in the air and dropping Yami, who landed gracefully on her feet. "That's it, you little punk!" he yelled out, and swung his fist at Yami's face. She ducked and smiled at the satisfying sound of breaking bones as the man punched the brick wall of the inn. His fist, now burnt and broken in multiple places, was cut up and bleeding and utterly useless.

Being drunkenly stubborn, the man didn't back down. He lunged at Yami, aiming to grab her around the throat with his other hand. Yami sidestepped, and the man fell into a trough of water for the horses in the inn's stables. Yami casually lifted her hand and the water froze, leaving only the man's face unfrozen. He began swearing profusely, and Yami bent down to cover Motoyasu's ears. With a flick of her wrist, water moved around the man's face and covered only his mouth in ice, leaving his nasal passages open for him to breathe through. Inaudible mumbling was heard, but nothing more. "Don't worry," Yami explained, "You'll thaw when the Sun comes up in the morning." Panic filled the man's eyes and the mumbling grew louder as Yami lifted Motoyasu again and returned to Clair. "Sorry about that. I tend to make enemies easily."

"Miss Yami? Is there something wrong?" Éclair curiously tilted her head to side, noticing her discomfort when mentioning the word 'palace'. Clair wanted to make sure that she was completely comfortable with bodyguarding her and her family. Clair didn't want Yami to feel like this was too much of a job, after-all.

Abruptly, an unfamilar man had grasped Yami's neck; Motoyasu carefully being put to the ground before she was lifted into the air. Her son quickly ran to his mother's side, hugging her tight. They both back away, Clair covering Motoyasu's eyes. "Mommy, whats going on?" Asked her son, "Don't you worry Yasu, its nothing."

Motoyasu  knew something was going on, but he didn't want to know anyway, so he kept his mouth zipped shut. "Miss Yami, are you alright?!" Clair rushed over with her son holding hands once the commotion was done and dealt with. "Miss Yumi is cool!" Motoyasu mispronounced her name, however seemed quite impressed by the damage she had put on the man. Motoyasu had never seen somebody water-bend before, he had only heard about waterbenders from his father's crazy war stories.

"I'm fine," Yami said, wiping her hands on her cloak. "I had a run-in with some thugs earlier, and apparently this guy wasn't to happy about that. And don't exert yourself by worrying about me like that. I'm here to protect you, remember?" She smiled and picked up Motoyasu again, who didn't seem to object. "Miss Yumi is cool!" He said, and she chuckled. He wasn't the first person to mispronounce her name, and he wouldn't be the last either.

Yami began walking down the street, but stopped as a realization came to her. "Um...I have no idea where i'm going. Maybe you should lead? That way, I can keep an eye on you from behind, where I can see you, rather than the other way around." Oh please. I would be able to sense if anything happened to them. Oh, and you care enough to let me know what you are sensing at any given time? A chuckle rang through Yami's head. Perhaps not, but that wouldn't stop me from at least sensing it. Oh, and speaking of sensing, I sense that your fly is down. "What??" Yami yelled aloud and looked down, to find that she was being trolled. Oh, that never gets old. You really need to stop being so gullible.

Yami looked around, realizing she had shouted out loud. She blushed a little. "Um, don't worry about that. Just a little impulse, I guess." She tried focusing her mind on her surroundings. After all, if this woman needed a bodyguard and lived in a palace, she must have been pretty high-profile. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen.

(so so sorry its so late!!)

"Oh yes, of course! I'll lead the way, just follow me. Shouldn't take any longer than twenty minutes, I suppose. I apologise if I am a little slow, baby doesn't like it when I rush." Clair bows her head and rubs the back of her neck before turning back around, right hand rested on her protruding belly, proceeding to lead the way.

Motoyasu as of now, is already having his afternoon nap in Yami's arms, with his head rested on her shoulder. Ruffled short black hair tickling against her ear. It was a busy hot afternoon, the markets were buzzing with activity. In the distance was a middle aged man groaning in frustration for his smashed wooden cart filled with cabbages.

"Just up ahead, miss Yami." Clair pointed to the top of the hill, where a tall red and gold trim roofed palace stood. Along with rose gardens, marble fountains, one or two guards standing by on duty, and a long stairway leading up to the palace. Motoyasu had woken up from his short nap, and began whining to be put down. He wriggled his way out of her grasp and softly landed on his feet, squealing in joy as he runs to his mother. "Yasu! Did I say that you could leave Yami's side?" She asks with a raised brow, one hand on her hip.

"Yes!" Motoyasu cheekily lies with a giggle. Clair shakes her head with a chuckle, and has him hold her hand as she starts taking small steps up the stairs. When the baby jabs its two feet at her ribcage, she almosts falls back.

However she luckily grabs onto the fence pole just in time to pull herself back. Crouching low on the steps with her hands on her belly, she takes deep shakey breaths. "Mommy!" Motoyasu cries after his mother that seems to be in pain. "Its alright, mommy is a bit tired is all. Too hot for the baby." Clair reassures her son as she wipes the sweat off her forehead.