>>19820011Elyssa's eyes flash with recognition when Nikki Kade mentions who she is. She DOES recognize her from the wrestling program that they've studied in their hand-to-hand combat drills, though it's been a few weeks since she saw Nikki perform.
>"Oh, you're *NIKKI KADE*. I saw a wrestling match of yours recently! As I recall, you defeated some big rookie, some mouthy rustic cow in pink, and it was quite the spectacle..... but, yes, of course. And you're Priscilla Divine's friend. Hmm.">"Well, my name is Elyssa Laurentine. Yes, as in 'Laurentine Fine Goods and Exports Company.' Ephraim Laurentine's my father."Elyssa considers the situation. "Exploring the castle" at night is an awful idea, even for a personal friend of the Queen. She certainly hadn't been briefed on this. And going to the Royal Archives, at this time of the night, no less! If Nikki was trying to get herself shot with a crossbow, she had an odd way of going about it.
Well. Elyssa likes what she sees of Nikki, and had taken some amusement in watching her last match, but there are simply too many red flags here. Nikki Kade might be a wrestler, and a friend of a friend of the Queen, but she's probably also spying or looking for information that she ought not to have. But if Elyssa stays close to the situation, maybe she'll get some recognition for skillfully handling it, or maybe she'll learn something about what Nikki's true objective is, and that, of itself, could be valuable knowledge.
>"Well, as it turns out, you're in luck. Most guards don't even have authorization to access the Royal Archives! But I'm enrolled in the Officers' Training Program and I'm authorized to access them to pursue my studies. So sure, I can get you in..... provided there's nothing too sketchy about this. Follow me. But also, talk to me. I am curious: you can buy history books off of Clamazon, after all. Tell me, why are you REALLY here?"Elyssa turns and leads Nikki down from the wall, heading for the archives.
