==========> Introduce the Prophetic Ten

Princess Euphraxia Larietta was going to go missing very soon. When she did, there would not be a huge panic. Before that happened she had to make sure she had found someone to travel with. This would not be hard. Her face would not be recognizable by anyone.

Pulling the dark cape over her face, she walked to her window and jumped.

---

The first person she had to find she had to find quick. She clutched her folder with the forged letters close. She had to find them quick and give it to them and then they would protect her. At least, she thought and hoped they would. Being a woman in this city wasn't exactly the best thing, and she wasn't stupid; she knew she wasn't ugly. She wasn't particularly beautiful, either, but that mattered little to most of the violent, drunk fiends around.

Due to her concentration not on where she was walking, Euphraxia ran straight into someone.

"S-sorry!" She apologized immediately, hoping that they would just leave her in peace. That was, until she realized that they had a strange feel to them. In seconds, she realized she was looking for them; apparently her body had led here there.

Harley Elmswood stared warily through her bangs at the strange woman who had bumped into her. Though she had technically turned eighteen a few weeks ago, she still possessed all the gangling awkwardness that had plagued her for the majority of her adolescence. She quickly bowed her head, though it did little to diminish the height difference.

"S-sorry!" she stuttered, awkwardly picking up the loaf of bread she had dropped upon the collision. Hopefully it hadn't been too bruised; her mother would be livid otherwise, and her sisters disappointed. "Wasn't looking, I guess..."

In truth, Harley had been focusing very hard on weaving her way through the thick Saturday market crowd without tripping, but this new girl had come out of nowhere and plowed right into her side. Either way, she was used to accepting blame for the mishaps around her; her mother had always said that humility was the greatest virtue.

After a moment, she realized they were blocking foot traffic. Her cheeks burning with embarrassment, she pulled the strange girl aside by the arm.

"Hey, you okay? I didn't hurt you, or nothin'?...normally I step on people's feet an' stuff when I run into them--" She paused, finally noticing the girl's face. It was smooth and delicate, like the face of a princess from a fairy tale; Harley doubted she had ever even seen a girl so beautiful before. Her sisters and mother were certainly much plainer, tanned from the sun and strengthened by a grueling daily regimen of farm work.

"I...I didn't step on your feet, did I? I mean, that prolly would've hurt a lot 'cuz I'm tall and I kinda weigh a lot 'cuz I'm so huge and Ma says it's prolly a phase only I never seem to get any smaller an' she's always yelling when I hit my head on the roof of the henhouse in the morning and scare the chickens 'cuz it's a really stupid thing to do but it always happens an' the little buggers like to peck me an'..." She rambled thoughtlessly, unsure of what to say to this elegant creature.

What was she even supposed to say? "Hi, I think you're beautiful." "Hey, I couldn't help but notice you're the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen." "Excuse me, miss--did it hurt when you fell from heaven?"

She thought of the last one as she was blathering and blurted part of it out: "An' ya know, if I woulda had a brother she woulda named him Nicky she said but she had another girl so she named her Nicky anyway, also, did fallin' like that hurt or somethin'?" She inwardly kicked herself for even bothering to struggle along with this awkward conversation. But a part of herself couldn't bear to pull away, just yet; somehow, she felt the extra beating and chores would be worth getting home late.

"Y-you're...You're Harley." The Seer said, once she had a chance to speak, that is. Boy, this girl could talk like nothing else. "You're, uh, here."

The seer rooted through her papers until she found one that had her name on it. An official summonings. She handed it to Harley.

"Here you go, Miss." Euphraxia smiled at her. "My name is Euphraxia."

"Yoofra...yuu...you got a nickname?" she asked, frowning. Harley had never been particularly good with long words; physical labor was where her talents lay. Or at least that's what her mother always said.

She glanced at the piece of paper, trying to examine the scattered words she could actually read before blinking and giving Euphraxia a strange look.

"...How'd ya know my name's Harley? I ain't never seen you before."

"Oh, uhm." She had never been given a nickname before. "I suppose...You could call me anything you'd like."

She paused, taking back the paper. "I'll read it to you, if you'd like...It's an official summons from the kingdom. I know your name because this is addressed to you. Uhm, you and I and about eight other people are going on a journey. It's very long and complicated...perhaps we should go somewhere quiet?"

She blinked, frowning still; perhaps what the lady was saying made sense, and she was just too simple to understand. Harley was used to that happening, so it was no surprise. But as she glanced around for a place for them to talk, she couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong.

"Well, er, here's the thing, Miss...what was your name again?" Harley had only ever named a single living creature in her entire life, a cute baby chick. It had been eaten by the cats the very next day. Coming up with an adequate nickname for the exquisite girl in front of her seemed like quite the challenge, and she had never been good with words or names.

"If you got any easier to say names, I can just call you those," she mumbled apologetically.

"Oh, my name is Euphraxia. You could call me, well, anything. I suppose..." She smiled at Harley. The girl was quite cute, if not a bit dull. Realizing how terrible it was of her to think that, she flushed somewhat red. She had to remind herself that she was not within the confines of the castle anymore, and not everyone would be highly educated.

Harley, blushed.

"I don't think Anything is a pretty enough name," she said slowly, unsure if she was allowed; something about the way this girl carried herself made her seem important. "All I know is that the other one's a mouthful, and names shouldn't be mouthfuls or no one can call you to do things quickly, you know? That's why everyone calls me Harley, Harley's just nicer and shorter. Though for some reason, lots of people think it's a boy's name--I'm no boy."

Harley fiddled nervously with her dark hair. As much as she was enjoying the attention from the gorgeous creature in front of her, a part of her wished dearly that she would look away. She was suddenly very conscious of all her imperfections and short-comings, as though they were written all over her face.

She forced herself to continue smiling and not scowl. This was turning into a highly painful experience.

"Harley, I need you to travel with me to save the princess." she said bluntly, just wanting to get it over with. "You've been summoned, just like me."

"...Save the princess?" she asked incredulously. She blinked dully, as though she couldn't wrap her mind around the words.

"Summoned? There must be some mistake, ma'am--I'm just a farm girl." She grinned awkwardly, displaying crooked teeth. "I mean, it sure was nice of you to come here and find me and all, but there must be another Harley around here--maybe it is a boy. Boys save princesses all the time, right?"

"No, no, I am one hundred percent certain it's you." She smiled again, more naturally this time. "You're special, Harley. Trust me. It's you I need. I'll also be needing to find 6 others...But you are the first one I need."

She shook her head.

"No, no, you made a mistake--I'm sure of it, goshdarn sure. Girls don't save princesses and neither do I." She fiddled with her hair again, her face burning. "I live on a farm. Ma needs me and so does everyone else--and my hide's gonna get a tannin' if I don't get home soon."

Euphraxia smiled warmly.

"Oh, no, you have it all wrong. I need you. Please. At least talk it over with your family. I'll speak with them, too!"

Her face reddened completely at the thought of bringing this girl home. Harley had never felt ashamed of her family before, but showing this girl the farm, filled with unruly animals and her own muddy, sweat-drenched mother and sisters seemed like a horrendous proposition. She wanted to appear classy and pretty, and her family definitely did not fit that image.

"I-I really don't think that's necessary," she stuttered quickly. "It's really better if I just get home and you find another Harley. A better Harley, how's about that?" The girl's smile made her feel warm and uncomfortable.

"Please, Harley." She insisted suddenly. "I need you. Just you. You're the only Harley I need."

Euphraxia reached for her hand. "Please, come with me, Harley."

Harley's face reddened even further. This girl was touching her hand. She was holding hands with someone for the first time.

She became acutely aware of just how nice Euphraxia smelled, how warm and soft her hand was. Harley wondered how hers felt in comparison; probably rough and dirty. The thought made her want to pull away, but she couldn't bear to.

"...Ma will be upset," she mumbled weakly, with no real force behind her words. "How do you save a princess, anyway?" she asked nervously. "I...I dunno if I can be your Harley--I mean, I'll try miss, really I will, b-b-but..."

She kept getting lost in the girl's pretty eyes; it was horribly distracting.

Euphraxia just smile at her, giving her hand a squeeze. Though her hands were rough, she found she actually somewhat enjoyed the feel; it was different from the usual and she found it rather refreshing.

"All you have to do is come with me. I'm sure you'll be just exactly the Harley I need!" She said, her voice brimming with confidence and exuberance.

"But they'll worry if I don't come home," she said, though she was running out of excuses. Going with this girl just seemed right; everything about her was beautiful and precious. She squeezed her hand back, surprised by the way doing so sped up her heart beat.

"I guess we can do whatever you want," she said bashfully. "I'll try to do a good job, I guess. It's a royal thingy, right? I can't say no to that..."

"No, you can't say no." She smiled knowingly. Though it had taken some convincing, the outcome was favorable. Euphraxia had expected no less; she knew these people felt a draw to her, just as she felt a draw to them. It was unavoidable.

"Come, let's go to your home and inform your family, shall we?"

She blushed, staring at the ground.

"C-can't we just send them one of them royal thingies to tell them?..." she asked, suddenly very embarrassed. Euphraxia seemed to think so highly of her, and she would hate to let her down. Besides, Harley knew she wasn't a princess-rescuer--she was just a simple farm hand. But if there was one thing she did know, it was that a good step toward becoming something was to pretend you were already that thing. And great heroes didn't have dirt-coated farm families.

Euphraxia looked perplexed.

"Don't you want to say goodbye?"

She had always been under the impression that poor families were closer knit than hers was. She thought they had great relationships, or were at least used to talking more often. Did her books lie to her?

"Oh, sh-should I send them a letter?" asked Harley nervously. This girl seemed to be of a higher class than she' she wanted to impress her by following fancy etiquette. Unfortunately for her, she had only a vague idea of what that even meant. She slowly lifted her pinkie, having heard of that somewhere.

"'Course I want to say goodbye, I mean, but...I have to save a princess!" She hoped she sounded more gung-ho than she felt.

She nodded. Yes, sending a letter sounded proper.

"That will be fine. Once we have a break, we'll let you write a letter. Wonderful." She smiled again. "Now, prepare yourself for a long journey, we have one ahead of us!"

She smiled despite her slightly ominous words.

((Should we skip to them finding the next person, or continue with what they actually do until they find them? XDD"))

Bane Howlsong was a rather rich man. He had royal blood coursing through his veins, which was a great thing to have in this time. Despite his high status in every regard, he did not find that he enjoyed his lifestyle as much as he should. His parents had died when he was very young, leaving him alone in the mansion for most of his life. He had always been desperate for attention as a child, trying anything to make friends. That had made him into a rather jovial person. He was always cracking jokes and smiling. Not that that had made him any friends. Ever. He was persistent, still.

Due to his lack of friends ever, when he heard someone at the door he was thoroughly surprised. He opened it, to find a rather beautiful woman.

"Hello." Euphraxia greeted him with a smile. This man was the next to come with them. She had not expected such a change in social class. She already has Harley with her, but this man was completely different. "My name is Euphraxia. I have a royal summoning for you, Bane."

"For me?" Bane was surprised, mostly because he had never been summoned for anything in his life. Despite being upper class, he was not really all that popular. Amidst his own class, people thought he was weird, and lower classes only ever used him for money. Thus, this was a huge surprise to him. "What do they need me for?"

"Oh, you're supposed to come with me." Euphraxia explained simply. This was going to be easy, she could tell. "You're to accompany me and 8 other people on a mission to save the princess."

The tall man smiled suddenly. "Really?! I get to save the princess! You mean someone needs me!"

Euphraxia blinked, confused. This upper class man was not what she thought he was, actually. Suddenly, he was all smiles and goofiness. What sort of people was she getting herself acquainted with...?

She found herself even more horrified when the large man pulled her into a crushing hug. "Oh, I'm so happy! I'm going to go and pack my stuff and it'll only take a minute, I swear! I'll be right down, don't even leave!"

Euphraxia just weakly nodded as he set her down and scurried back inside.

This journey, she felt, was going to be a long one.