"Aiden! Come say hello to your sister!" shouted Eulia from the apartments front hall. She was starting to take off her boots as her jubilant 13 year old brother came tumbling into the hall.
"Eulia!" he cried as he barreled into her.
"Oh you rogue!" she screamed as she fell over. They mock wrestled until Eulia pleaded exhaustion. When they stood up Jasper was in the doorway with a twinkle in his eye.
"Hello youngun'"
"Hallo Jasper, what have you made your poor working lass for dinner?"
"All in good time. How was your day?" he asked with a meaningful arch of his eyebrows.
"I had a fine day thank you, sir." slinging an arm around Aiden she walked towards their makeshift parlor. "Did you have fun at the glassblowers today"
Business could wait until Aiden was safely in bed.

Aiden was safe asleep in the room he shared with Jasper. Jasper was nodding off in the sitting room. Eulia was now effectively left to her own devices. That day after her run in with the assasin she had gone to a healers, one of the few that treated the rogue, and found out all she could about poisons. Then she went to a potion makers and purchased a potion. The man had told her when she dropped it on anything with poison it would glow a color. He gave her a color card after she tossed him another copper noble. Based on the color she could know what poison it was. On her way back from that shop she went to the eating house the man targeted had gone into and saw that the establishment had been taken over by the provosts men. Playing the innocent girl with one of the guards she had found out who had died. She wanted to know who employed that assasin and what else she planned to do in Corus. Eulia didn't particularly care, but it would be a challenge she was sure, and her days were getting dull.

"Miss Domasik!" whispered a voice in her ear. Anna skipped back, laughing and grinning. "Gotcha!" she exclaimed.

"What are we doing now..." she murmured.

"Anna!" Eulia hastily sweeped the things under her bed. "What on earth are you doing here?"

[Oops! I was confused by your post and thought you'd left the house. Wow. But, I can run with it.]

"I followed you home, silly," Anna told her happily. "Watch who's behind you next time. Besides I'm very quiet. Is this where you live?" She surveyed the room from corner to corner, eyes pausing to rest on the bottom of her bed. "What's under there?" she asked.

OOC: sorry 'bout that. I suppose I should be over the confusing posts by now, but I'm not really.

IC: Scrambling to her feet Eulia planted herself firmly between Anna and the bed. Hackles rising Eulia struggled not to get angry.

"It's none of your business Anna. Anyway, I'd prefer if people knew as little as possible about what I do with myself on the weekends. Just for safety. What would you like to do, now that your here? Whatever it is lets not make it noisy. I don't want to wake Jasper and Aiden. They both had long days."

"Who's after you?" Anna asked concernedly. "You didn't get on the wrong side of Lasser, or anything...?"

Giggling quietly Eulia arched an eyebrow, "No one's after me Anna. Lasser could care less about what I do as long as I pay my dues. No need to get worried about me. Just so that no one finds out anything they don't need to know is what I meant. Here lets go on the roof so we can talk."
Tiptoeing to the back door Eulia opened it and climbed the rest of the stairs to the top floor of the building. Stepping on top of the railing Eulia swung herself on top of the wooden overhang that shelterd the stairway. Eulia crawled to the real roof of the building and waited for Anna to follow her up.

"Well, you can't be too sure," Anna said, following her up the ladder. "Remember when my father made that joke about the King (not the one on the hill, of course) and had to go into hiding for a week before he cooled off? Or were you in the Roses then..." She sighed perplexedly. "It all gets so confusing after all while, these details. Well, here we are." She surveyed the surrounding rooftops with a critical eye. "Too bad you have to look at your neighbors laundry."

"Not all of it is going to be the neighbors." Morgana replyed coming up from the ladder with a basket in tow.

She looked at Eulia. "Please tell me your not getting yourself mixed up in something, again 'Lia"

"For Mithros' sake you two! No one's afer me! I prefer laundry to gutters thank you very much. I remember that about your father, Anna. I've been hanging around the Roses since I was 10. Morgana has for about just as long too. Anna?" Eulia said quieting down alot. "I know you don't like to talk about it, but do you still... well... feel the same way about Crispin?"

"Just whatever you do, don't get Lesser mad at you. I don't feel like rescueing you." she said teasing the young girl as she hung the laundery.

After she finished. She turned to Eulia. "After your done up here, I need to finish hemming your dresses."

"Oh, you don't need me for that do you? Besides Morgana I don't need rescueing."

OOC: sorry so short, gotta run.

[*curses her limited internet access* I wrote this a long time ago, and now I must edit. Sigh.]

Anna threw her head back and laughed, if a little bitterly, Eulia could be a nosy know-it-all sometimes, and she was seriously regretting having told her about her crush. Then again, she probably would have guessed anyway - with such an expressive face, Anna was never especially good at hiding things, especially at fifteen.

"That's ridiculous," she told Eulia.

"But, still, be careful, Lia," she warned. "I know it doesn't seem like much now, but if you meddle too deep..." she widened her eyes expressively... "you could end up like Jess Wheeler. Remember her?"

[Ack. Choppy.]

"Meddle to deep in what? And, no, I don't remember Jess Wheeler. Remind me please. Are you sure it's so ridiculous Anna? I saw those eyes of yours when Crispin was talking of Lady Love up at the palace. You remind yourself once in a while that he is twice your age right? And that he is a total lush? I don't mean to pry it's just I hate seeing you be uncomfortable around him. We all see each other so much, it's rather painful really."

Eulia glanced at her friend. She really didn't mean to pry, but it just wasn't good for Anna to have to interact so much with Crispin while it obviously hurt to hear him talk of his affairs. Especially since he talked of them so much.

A look of irritance passed over Anna's face, but was quickly replaced by an guardedly blank expression.

"Oh yes," she said calmly. "He is rather upsetting."

Noting the swift changes in Anna's face Eulia decided to take pity on her friend and changed the subject.

"So what about this Jess Wheeler, and my meddling habits? Anyway everyone who knows me also knows I hate paying my dues, except Lasser of course."

"You could pay them in cold cash, you know, like the rest of us." She sighed. "Oh, yes, about Jess. She was, you know, getting too close to Lasser, and someone finished her off. No one's sure if it was one of Lasser's enemies, or he himself, so that his enemies wouldn't use her to get to him. In any case..." she shrugged.

"I still say she didn't sleep with him, though," she added, chin set forward obstinately. "I knew Jess, and even though she was too power hungry to see what was coming to her, she was pretty smart."

"Actually, I do need you for at least one of them. You've grown since I made them last month." She said taking down the other laundry that she had put up yesterday. After she had it all down she went over to the ladder.

"Anna dear, I've also finished mending your skirt that you had torn. Come down after you guys are done and get it before you leave."

She went down the ladder and walked into the parlor. She sat down in the window seat and started to fold the laundry.

"Oh Anna! getting cash just means more inbetween people, that means more chance to bungle. Besides Lasser isn't the best at estimating value. It's best for us. Oh yes, Jess. I don't really pay much attention to people who aren't in the Roses. It's safer." as Morgana left Eulia wrinkled her nose at the top of her sisters hair.

"I don't grow that much."

Scrambling to the edge of the roof Eulia called after Morgana's disappearing head. "It doesn't matter if my skirts hang half an inch of the ground."

Crawling back to the warm spot on her roof Eulia lay down and looked up at the billowing clouds.

"Well, maybe you should," Anna suggested darkly.

Turning her head to look at Anna, Eulia's forehead wrinkled.

"Why? I keep track of who's around, but I don't want to connect myself with people. I don't mind knowing anyone who just happens to talk to me, but I'm certainly not going to go out of my way to get close to people. Straight people see us all chatting, and if someone goes astray and the Provost gets his grubby hands on them, I don't want to be connected in someones mind to them. No sir, as long as I'm crooked, I intend to be safe. Besides, I don't need anyone else bungling my deals."

"So you don't pay attention, but you keep track?" Anna queried idly, but, as soon as she had finished speaking, her face broke out in a grin.

"I'm giving you a hard time," she admitted.

"I don't mind really. What I mean is I find out who the new faces are, but beyond that I could care less." grinning at Anna Eulia faced the sky again.

"Why? Is there someone you think I should know? Because I'll try if you want me to dearest."

Anna laughed.

"No, but it's always comforting to know that the Roses have themselves their own official busybody!" she joked kindly. "Next time I have a question, I know exactly who to ask!

"Whatever is so interesting about the sky," she wanted to know.

"Its prettier than you" Eulia retorted, laughing in one of her evil player laughs.

"I'm not a busy body. Simply concerned with keeping myself quite alive, thank you. But yes, I suppose I could answer most of your questions."

"Well, I'll remember that..." she said, smiling. "Who is it who lives with you, just your brothers?"

Eulia started laughing wildly and rolling on top of the roof. Stopping for a moment she spoke mirthfully "Yes, a fifty year old brother". She began laughing maniacly again. Stopping suddenly she rolled onto her side and propped herself up with an arm. "Jasper is the closest thing to a father I've had in the past seven years. Aiden is my brother. And I surely hope you don't think Morgana is male." Her stern demeanor started to crack and she started laughing again.

Anna hmphed.

"Well, at least you're nicely situated. Can't say the same for my quarters - I'm scared even to walk home! Bad neighborhoods, these." Taking a leaf from Eulia's book, she stared at the sky dreamily.

"Wouldn't it be nice to live as lady of a castle?" she asked. "You know, all silk sheets, and beautiful dresses... the good life..."

"No I don't think I would. Certain things are expected of a female noble and I don't care to participate in them. Perhaps one could become a knight, but even now there is quite a bit of speculation as to why a woman would want to be one. Marriage, and perhaps even swains is not a territory I'm interested in. Which is expected of a nob, knight or not. Besides what would they do for fun that I don't hate?And where would I learn my lovely skills?" Eulia asked in a voice of mock innocence.

"Who needs silk sheets anyway? Flannel is warmer, softer, and cheaper."

Anna smiled. "Have you ever tried it? Silk is just as warm as thick wool, but, of course, as thin as linen." She shrugged. "I have a friend who works at the palace."

"You know, the classes are beginning to blend, these days," she pointed out. "One day, nobs will be nobs only in name... And power will belong to the rich merchants. It's beginnning to happen, slowly and surely - most nobles would rather have their daughters marry a rich young man of the bourgeois than a penniless noble of ancient line."

[Heh. Anachronism!]

Eulia snorted.

"Yes the half of the country who's progressive wouldn't mind that, but the conservatives? No they still find good blood the most precious thing there is. And just think. If two sole heirs of a fief got married the fief's would be combined, and voila combined coffers, combined power, combined influence. With a daughter a rich merchant husband would be fine. But with the males? They'll tumble any commoner, rich or not, in a stack of hay and tell them they love them. But when it comes to speaking of marriage even if the chap is up for it the family threatens to disown, or makes hasty arranged marriages. Most of the men opt for the title and riches. The few that don't get cut off without a penny and have had no training in any skills unless they're gifted. Nobs will always be nobs. Even if they do marry into the merchants, the merchants will become nobles, and the ones who aren't will still be commoners. And commoners will still be dirt to them. Until there is no such thing as nobility and dominion over areas of land which isn't coming anytime soon, commoners will be worth less than nobles." Her mind was filled with disgust at the way things were in tortall. It wasn't a pleasant thing for her to think of.

"Whose this friend at the palace?" she asked changing the subject

"You think to harshly of the world," Anna scolded. "Just because someone is born a nob, doesn't mean their an awful person." But, leaving that subject behind, she continued:

"Do you know Livia Heart? She lived here just a few years back; now she works at the palace. We talk, sometimes, although, its been a while."

"Small little blonde child"asked Eulia "Yes, I believe her father was one of our many unseated kings. I didn't know she dared to stay in Corus. That was stupid. But if she's managed to stay hidden, I guess not as stupid as one would think. How old would she be now? 13? 14?"

"Couldn't rightly say," Anna replied, chewing on her lip thoughtfully. She shook her head in disbelief. "That's really awful..."

"Pray tell Anna dearest" Eulia said with mock dignity "What is so awful about anything I just said? Staying in a city with rival murderers, lets just face it, is not my idea of an intelligent decision. Palace or not."

"Besides I never said all nobs were awful people, just that about half of them are, which frankly I don't see how you can deny."

Anna appeared slightly taken aback. "No - I meant that it was awful that I couldn't remember her age... What's set you off with nobs anyway?" she demanded suddenly.

Eulia blinked at Anna's question.

"I don't really know. Just how most of them act I suppose. I've done enough of my side job around them to overhear how they talk quite a bit. I'm afraid to say none of it's improved my opinion of them. It's usually either drivel, insulting, or gossip. I've been tempted many a time to go stab one in the back just so the realm could be free of the annoyance."

"Mm." Anna grunted. "Well, if you ever decide to act on that particular emotion, be sure you're out of the country by the time they find the body!"

"Hmph. I'm not the type to get caught Ann, midear. Well, I ought to go up to the palace some time and have a look in at her. Do you have any idea where she works? Servants, infirmary, laundry, kitchen, bedmaking." Eulia laughed a bit.