I am going to join this RP, but for one thing I'm new to Kyngdom and could get confused, and for another, I might not have lots of time. (Expect either short things often or long things sporadically.) Still:

Name: Elmira pur Nairen

Pronouns: she/her

Age: 27

Appearance: tall and thin, spread of freckles across her cheeks and nose, pale, red-brown hair, very thin fingers. She has very thin lips and keeps them in a neutral expression. She likes to wear turquoise clothes (typically dresses) and silver jewelry.

Personality: She appears very cold, but she's not. She tries to help people without getting herself in too much trouble. She is strong-willed, intelligent, and rarely trusts people.

Strengths: She is very good at acting aristocratic and making small talk. She is also good at lying, swordfights, playing the pennywhistle, and swimming. Half the time there's a crisis, she handles it very, very well.

Weaknesses: For one, the other half the time there's a crisis, she loses her head. She also doesn't trust anyone, and is terrified of making bad decisions.

Home: An island in the north called Nairen Island, named after her family.

Which Nobyl family is he/she from? You can invent your own branch of the Nobyls: The pur Nairens are a small family who like to have only children. All of them are intellectuals (professors, philosophers, etc.).

Background: In her family, she was frowned upon as too emotional (and she isn't very emotional at all), and she's been the odd one among her three cousins, Reynold, Fisher, and Slam. She's always been very scared of making bad decisions (her family believes that since she's too emotional, she can't make good decisions, and one of her worst was taking that to heart), so when she decided to join the Resistance, she did so under the premise of taking a solo trip to gather intelligence for her scholarly development. She still writes to her parents, since she doesn't want to completely cut their ties. 

{Elmira pur Nairen}

I hope I won't regret this.
Those perpetual words lingered on Elmira's lips as she walked up the steps outside the big fancy house. She hoped she wouldn't be considered strange for any of the reasons she could be: bringing a traveling bag to a party, waiting near the wall for Tarava, and hoping that she could be helpful to Tarava. Arietis should have been here, but they weren't due to illness or injury or something, and so Tarava had asked Elmira for help instead. They'd be going to Mer to take over the palace of Lord Helion. 
For the past year or so, Elmira had been helping the Resistance during her trip to gather intelligence. Not information intelligence. Her own intelligence. Her parents had thought it would be good for her; they were a bit ashamed of having the least logical, most emotional of the pur Nairens as their one daughter. Elmira rested her hand on the door handle, looking at it. It was the same one as at the house of one of Elmira's cousins--Reynold pur Nairen. He and the two other cousins, Fisher and Slam, had tortured Elmira mercilessly about how she had a clouded judgement.
However, Tarava, whom she'd met during her travels and got along well with, considered Elmira the only one of the pur Nairens who "acted like they had an actual beating heart". So perhaps it was for the better. 
Elmira went inside and stood against the wall, holding her battered blue carpetbag. It held her notebooks, her clothes, and her favorite posession, her pennywhistle. She liked to play it; none of the other pur Nairens played an instrument, except for her grandfather, who was not very good at his. The last time she visited him, she'd left with her ears ringing due to his absence of skill with the violin--but he loved to show off, and so she'd had to hear him scraping his fingers up and down the strings and playing most of them at once. 
The party appeared fun, and she couldn't see Tarava even though Tarava was Elmira's height. Elmira ate an appetizer and swayed back and forth to the music, holding her carpetbag. She wished to get out her whistle, but she'd never met another Nobyl who played an instrument, and she was looking to not be a spectacle. 
Tarava came through the crowd. She looked like she belonged there, as her hair was braided in a fancy manner, though she also had a traveling bag.
"Are you ready?" she asked.
Will I regret this? Elmira asked herself once more. The best answer she could get was I hope not.
But surely that was good enough.
"Yes," said Elmira. "I am."

@Seadragon, just to clarify, Lord Helion's palace is in the same general area of Kyngdom as Estrelle's - the trip to Mer is just to meet up with the Resistance :) And I'm really looking forward to RPing with you!

^Tarava^

The conversation between Tarava and Arietis had wrapped up, and Arietis had gone home. The next morning, a message had arrived from her; she was sick, and couldn't come to Mer. Tarava had sent back a reply ("I'm so sorry! Get well soon, and join me in Mer if you can!"). Kalam had proposed another companion: Elmira pur Nairen, the Nobyl who had joined the Resistance and had been wandering around Kyngdom ever since. "I heard that she's in the area," he had said, outlined against the window where he was standing. "I don't think it would be too wise for me to go with you, but we all know how innocent it looks if two Nobyl girls go off to a city close to Mer to visit friends and dressmakers. It should be very easy for you to slip into Mer without arousing suspicion."

So Tarava had sent a message to Elmira, and now here she was at this party, to meet up with the pur Nairen. She knew that she had to show up here anyway, at least for a moment or two, so why not set out from here? She entered the party room, crammed with people in brilliant clothing, and waved at Estrelle, the hostess. That wasn't Rulkan there, was it? Oh well, maybe if she just slipped past he wouldn't see her...

"Tarava!" So much for that. She turned towards him, smiling. "Good to see you," he added, and his gaze slipped down to the traveling bag she was holding.

"Likewise," she said lightly. "I can't stay, I'm afraid - I'm leaving the city for a quick trip with a friend, but of course I had to come to this party. How've you been?"

"Wonderful," he said, equally lightly. "I'm sorry to hear that you're leaving. With Arietis?"

Tarava felt startled. "Arietis! No. Another friend." She smiled again, covering up her feelings completely. "Anyway, I can't stay, but lovely to see you!"

Rulkan nodded and turned back to his conversation, and Tarava caught sight of Elmira against the far wall and went over to her. "Are you ready?" she asked.

"Yes," Elmira replied. "I am."

Tarava nodded. "Good. There should be horses waiting for us." She gave a last glance at the crowd - no one was looking at them - and slipped inconspicuously out the far door with Elmira. A few steps through the hallways, and they were out of the palace; two horses were, indeed, waiting, and Tarava mounted one of them. She hadn't been sure whether to order a carriage or horses, but the latter were common means of conveyance for Nobyls, and it was probably more practical for their purposes. She shot a smile at Elmira. "Thank you so much for coming - I truly appreciate it."

~Kalisse~

"I live for it," Rulkan said with a smile. "It should be enjoyable to hear these. Do you know their names?"

"I believe they are Stella and Neirad," Kalisse replied. "Those two are pretty famous around Kyngdom, from what I heard. Have you heard about them?"

|Rulkan|

So Tarava was taking a trip? Rulkan found it more difficult than usual to hide his feelings as she paused to talk to him and then went on. What was going on here? He turned back to his conversation with Kalisse.

"I believe they are Stella and Neirad," she informed him. "Those two are pretty famous around Kyngdom, from what I heard. Have you heard about them?"

"Stella and Neirad?" The names did sound familiar. "Yes, I think so. The Pipers? I've heard they're exceptionally skilled. I've never listened to them, though - you?"

{Elmira pur Nairen}

Elmira did not like horses in general; she had once been compared to one by her cousin Slam (who was really called Slamuello). Nevertheless, hers was very kind; she put a spare strap through the handles of her traveling bag and mounted the horse.
"How far is it to Mer?" she asked Tarava. Elmira didn't have much of a sense of direction, and she was quite sheltered. That meant she didn't know Kyngdom well.
"Not far at all," said Tarava. "Perhaps only two hours' ride." 
They began to travel down the road, the horses clip-clopping on the hard dirt. It was late afternoon; the sun appeared to be directly at the hills near the end of the road. Elmira wished she had a torch or something; she disliked the time when the sun made it hard to see, both by putting on a spectacular display and by being absent before she'd adjusted to it being gone. Although, she reflected, if it never left she'd never adjust. 
Elmira and Tarava rode down a long valley. The road was hard, enough not to be dusty; it must have been very well-traveled, especially because the road smoothers had apparently come since winter, dragging their heavy rollers behind their teams of horses and covering up the ruts after the last rains.  
The sun set, and Elmira kept riding, and all in all it wasn't too interesting--but, surely that was good, because Elmira had never helped the Resistance with something this big before, and it was bound to be more interesting than she could imagine.

^Tarava^

"How far is it to Mer?" Elmira asked.

"Not far at all," Tarava replied. "Perhaps only two hours' ride." She glanced along the road and started her horse in the right direction.

They rode for a long time in the sunset light, passing few people, the road smooth and sure beneath them. Tarava made a bit of small talk, but for the most part she was silent, and she could feel excitement building up in her. For almost all her life she'd helped the Resistance by spying on the Nobyls and giving them information - which was important, she knew, but not as reckless and dangerous and exciting as this. She'd never even met the Resistance leaders. And to go to Mer, to attempt a takeover of Lord Helion's palace... that was something like what she'd dreamed of doing as a little girl.

The sun dipped to the horizon and sank, and the countryside became swathed in shadows. Tarava huddled her cloak around her, wondering if she should pause to strike some sort of light. But there was something unique and exhiliarating about riding through the dusk with chilly air brushing against her face and Kyngdom spread out around her. Kyngdom. Her country. The place she would do anything for.

Then she and Elmira topped a hill, and Tarava spotted lights twinkling goldenly below them, spread out in firefly designs below the blue-black sky. They had arrived. "That's Ertim," she told Elmira, stopping her horse for a second. "I thought I'd reserve lodgings there, since it would seem more suspicious if we stayed in Mer itself. The Nobyls know that the Resistance is centered there." The best lodgings, of course - a stately mansion, rooms of which could be rented out. She flung a smile at her companion and went on, down the grassy hillside until they'd plunged into the heart of the city.

It was warmer here, and full of life, with Kyngdomers going back and forth and light splashing onto the streets. Tarava found the place where they were staying, handed her horse over to a boy who came out to take it, and went up the steps with Elmira.

Is it the same season in Kyngdom as it is in the Northern Hemisphere right now? Just wondering.
-------------

{Elmira pur Nairen}

Elmira entered the steps of the Ertim mansion. It was dark out, and dark in, too; she could see nothing but a mirror and small table. The mirror reflected the light from a sconce outside.
Someone came up to her and Tarava holding a box of candles. 
"Here you are," said the person. "You've rented rooms 15 and 16, with a small common area between. Breakfast will be served at half past seven. My name is Lindsey; welcome." 
Tarava took a candle and so did Elmira. Tarava struck a match, and Elmira lit her candle from Tarava's. 
"So, what brings you here?" Lindsey asked, leading Elmira and Tarava down a hall.
"Dressmakers," said Tarava. "We'd both like to buy new dresses, for the upcoming season of parties."
"Yes," said Elmira. "Indeed."
"Well, here they are." Lindsey indicated the two rooms. "I'll leave you to get settled and see you in the morning." Lindsey turned and left.
"Which room would you like?" asked Tarava.
"Whichever." Elmira considered the two doors. They were set about five feet apart; 15 had large bronze numbers on it, while 16 had the numbers painted onto the door.
"I'll take 16," said Tarava. "It's late--shall we sleep and talk tomorrow?"
"Sure." Elmira yawned as she entered room 15. The door was on the far left of the room; a few paces in front of it, there was a large dressing-table with drawers under it and a little armchair beside. There was a bay window with a comfortable padded seat and a four-poster bed. Elmira set her traveling bag on the armchair and removed her hairbrush, which she swept through her hair a few times, as well as her clothes, notebook, and other posessions, which she placed in the drawers. Then she rubbed her pennywhistle with the scarf that served as its case and set it and the brush on the marble top of the table. After that she changed and went to bed. 
In the morning, Elmira woke around six, according to her watch. She decided that she'd go out of Ertim, in the woods, and play her whistle before anyone was up and watching her. Quickly, Elmira got dressed, grabbed her whistle, locked the door of her room, and went outside. 
Dawn had just arrived; the sky was a strange color, pale grey-blue above with pinkish-orange streaks in the east. She headed through the quiet streets towards the road, pausing to look back. She could see the mansion's spire in the distance; as she headed onto the road, she was glad of it because she didn't posess any sense of direction. 
Elmira walked along the road for about a hundred yards, and then looked both ways and headed into the forest. She looked both ways again and then lifted her whistle to her lips. Elmira played for a long time, first her favorite songs, and then some others, and lastly some that required lowering the whistle to sing sometimes. Eventually, she exhausted her repertoire and checked her watch--it was seven. She hoped Tarava wasn't wondering where she was and set out onto the road.
But, wait. 
Which way was Ertim? Had she come this way the day before? Or that way? Elmira decided to walk a few yards down the road and see if she could see the town. Eventually, Elmira came to a signpost. Sighing with relief, she walked into the town.
The sun glared in her eyes, making it impossible for her to distinguish the several spires that poked into the sky. Where was the mansion? She walked down the road, and turned at a tree she thought she remembered, and then at another house...Within a few minutes, Elmira was badly, badly confused. 
This is all your fault, she thought to herself. Why do you like to play your stupid whistle so much? You make bad decisions, you do everything wrong, you're tagging along on a dangerous mission and going off to PLAY A WHISTLE...Why did you ever think you could do anything right?
Eventually, Elmira decided to ask for help. She came up to a man selling something on the sidewalk. 
"Hello, sir," she said. "Do you know the way to the..." She realized she didn't know the name of where she was staying. "The mansion where you can rent out rooms? To stay in?" 
"Yeah, sure," he said with an easy demeanor. "Just go right here, then right, then left, then right, then straight and you'll be near it." 
"Right, right, left, right, straight," Elmira repeated. I hope you can remember this, she taunted herself. You aren't too good at directions, as you've just proved.
"Say, what's your name?" asked the man. "You look familiar. Something about your face..."
"Elmira pur Nairen," she said, instantly regretting it. This was supposed to be classified! Proof of how stupid you are, she heard herself say to herself.
"Wow, a Nobyl," said the man. "I'm so grateful to be of assistance, Lady Elmira. I think someone with that last name came into my store recently."
"What do you sell?" Elmira asked. 
"Music stuff," he said. "Strings, picks, polish, cases, that sort of thing. Every morning I stand here and promote the store, then I go open it at eight-thirty. My lady." He seemed unsure as to how to address her, tacking it on at the ends of sentences--but she didn't think she'd be any better in that situation.
"Can you describe the person who came in?" she asked.
"Older, wiry, a cane, no freckles but a face like you have. Suit, violin that needed restringing."
Oh no, Elmira thought.
"Thank you very much, sir," she said, turning right and heading away. She needed to get back to the hotel--not just for the sake of breakfast, but to tell Tarava something. 
Her grandfather was in town, and he hated the Resistance. She'd have to be very careful not to be recognized.

I think it's winter-ish, but probably late winter :) Also, I think I'll create a charrie who's a minor Resistance leader for the purposes of this RP, unless you want to.

^Tarava^

The two girls separated inside the building, going to rest in their different rooms. Tarava glanced around her room; it was pretty, in a style slightly different from her Evranel palace - cooler, more spacious, possibly more Southern - but still full of familiar luxury. She left the unpacking for tomorrow and slipped in between the crisp sheets of the bed, blowing out the candle.

The next morning she woke up a little before seven, finding the room full of muted light because the curtains were still drawn. For a moment she relaxed against the soft pillows, staring up at the ceiling and planning what they should do today. They should probably stop in at a couple of dressmakers' shops, because she had learned that it was always good to at least partially carry through with a lie, and then maybe go into Mer in the afternoon. She felt her heartbeat quicken again. Calm down, Tarava, you need to keep your cool.

When she had gotten ready for the day, she crossed the common area between the rooms and knocked on Elmira's door. It would be good if they could plan for a bit.

No answer. Well, Elmira was probably still asleep. She went back to her room and started unpacking.

Some time later, there still hadn't been any signs of life from the other room. Tarava knocked again, and there was no answer. Softly, she pushed open the door.

The room was empty.

Oh, NO. What had happened? Nothing too drastic? What if something had happened? What if-- Tarava drew in a sharp breath. Again, she had to calm down. Maybe Elmira had just gone for a walk. She paused for a second, debating her possibilities, and decided to wait for a few minutes more.

She was just going down to the first room of the mansion to see if anyone had seen Elmira when, on the stairs, she bumped into Elmira herself. "Thank goodness," she exclaimed. "Where were you? No, wait, let's go back to our rooms."

They went back up; Elmira looked a bit over-excited, as if there was something she wanted to say. Once they were back in their rooms, she told Tarava what was wrong: her grandfather was in Ertim.

"Your grandfather?" Tarava asked. "...Why isn't that good...?"

"He hates the Resistance," Elmira replied.

Tarava hesitated. "That makes things difficult," she said. "I suppose he wouldn't believe that you were just here to buy dresses if he saw you? Because if not, we'll have to be more careful - I could go out alone to shop this morning, or we could go straight to Mer."

It'd be great if you would like to have a charrie for the minor Resistance leader.

I read some of Tarava and Arietis's conversations, but not all of them. Is the gist of their planning that Tarava (and now Elmira) will come to Lord Helion's palace during a party and sieze the palace incognito?

Maybe, also, Elmira's grandfather would be at the party? If it'd be helpful for someone to RP as him, then I can do that. 

------

{Elmira pur Nairen}

Elmira stood in the little room between their two rooms and rocked from foot to foot. This was a decision she could not mess up. The safest thing to do would be to have Tarava go out to the dressmakers' alone, though perhaps Lindsey would wonder why Elmira was still there. But she could make up a lie. 
"You can go alone," she said. "If someone asks, I'll say I'm ill. That always sends people away, too."
"And it's not a suspicious time to have a cold," said Tarava. "Perfect. I'll be back in one or two hours, and then we can head for Mer. You're fine alone, aren't you? And you have clothes for the party tomorrow night and a weapon?"
"Yes, I'm fine alone, but...No, I don't have a weapon." Elmira thought for a minute. "Would you mind buying a sword, long, silver, with a curved blade? If that's possible?" 
"Not at all," said Tarava. "I can gift it to you if need be?" 
"No, no, one second." Elmira went into her room and found a small bag of money, which she gave to Tarava. "Please find something with good quality but not too much expense." 
"Thank you." Tarava took the bag and went into her room. "See you soon." A few seconds later, Elmira heard the closing of Tarava's door. 
For a few moments, Elmira sat down and read a novel, before she realized that she ought to decide what to wear to the party. She had brought a nice dress, for the purpose of blending in at Estrelle's, that would do. It was turquoise and had some lace on it, and she'd brought a sash, which she could use to hold her sword under the dress. And she'd brought a nice thing to put in her hair and a necklace of silver and pearls. Hopefully she wouldn't get choked--but surely a necklace would get in the way least, wouldn't it?
Elmira laid everything out on a chair and then returned to the novel. 

Yes, the plan is that they'll be inside the palace for a party; Resistance members will be coming up through the garden, and Tarava and Elmira will help them to enter the palace and take it by surprise. It would be great to have Elmira's grandfather at the party :)

^Tarava^

They decided that Tarava should go ahead and shop; Elmira would stay behind, saying she had a cold. It was strange, Tarava thought: theoretically she was much younger than Elmira (she was still a teenager, and Elmira was approaching thirty), but in a lot of things she was more knowledgeable than her companion.

"You're fine alone, aren't you?" she asked. "And you have clothes for the party tomorrow night and a weapon?"

"Yes, I'm fine alone, but...No, I don't have a weapon," Elmira said. "Would you mind buying a sword, long, silver, with a curved blade? If that's possible?"

Tarava agreed, and a moment later she was out on the street. There was something so liberating about being on this adventure. She morphed expertly back into the completely silly, boppy, pretty Nobyl girl without an interesting thought in her head, at least in appearance.

It was a beautiful day. The sky was dazzlingly blue, and half of Ertim was thronging the streets. Who cares, she thought, leaving the mansion and walking between the high white buildings of this well-off part of the city. Most of the people around her also looked well-off, and there were shops here and there, large establishments built to cater to people like her.

She wandered around for a bit, enjoying the city, and then chose a dressmaker's shop and entered. She'd heard of this dressmaker, in fact - a distant relative of hers had told her all about Miss Ferlia during a party.

Miss Ferlia herself greeted her, and for a while they went over dresses and discussed fashion. I might as well get Elmira something, Tarava thought, and picked out a sappire-blue dress. She ordered one or two to be made for herself, and chose another one that she asked to be delivered to the mansion that afternoon. Her cousin had been right; these dresses were splendid.

Then she went along to a less high-class part of town, and entered a smith's store. The man there looked up and nodded at her, taking in her rich clothes and obvious status.

"Greetings," Tarava said. This was slightly awkward, but never mind. "My brother wanted me to pick up a sword for him. A long silver one, with a curved blade." She glanced around, trying not to seem too familiar with the weapons lined against the walls. "These are beautiful, actually! How about this one?"

The smith raised his eyebrows; she'd picked out an extremely good sword. But, as Tarava had expected, he thought that business was business, and sold it to her. She slid it under her dress as she went out again; maybe she'd wander around a bit more before she went back.