writing snippets

there's a drumming noise inside my head (nelle & kingsley)

Oh, man this is one of my worse ideas, Nelle thinks as she quietly makes her way through the various rooms and halls of the Desert Palace. Maybe sneaking in here wasn't a great idea but she can't seem to find this Kingsley dude anywhere else that she looks so she's hoping she can corner him in his own home at least. Not as tactful as she usually is but it's as good as she can get right now.

Sneaking around was proving to be difficult however. There seemed to be people around every corner and it's making her wonder how many citizens are employed to work the palace grounds and if they're hiring. She peaks her head around a corner to make sure it's clear and she's about to step out when she hears voices coming from down the hall. She ducks quickly back behind the door she was hiding behind and waits for them to pass. She looks around the room she's in and she isn't really sure where she's at. It seems like a cabinet, a place meant for private meetings or a study or something, she doesn't really know she's not well versed in palace rooms. It's nicely decorated though, geometric patterns tastefully painted along the walls and actual paintings of what she's assuming to be past leaders of this place. She looks at what she thinks is the most recent one, a family portrait, and she wonders which of the two boys is the one she's looking for. What a pain...

The voices fade eventually and she slips back out into the hall. She really has no idea where she should be going. She only looked over a map of the place for a few seconds before diving in head first but who would Nelle be if not quick on her feet? Maybe it was premature to think that because as she's sneaking down the hall she gets pulled by someone into another room and her mind goes blank. This was a bad idea.

The room she was pulled into is a really tight fit with two people and it's messy. Brooms and buckets and mops take up a lot of the space and you'd think in a place this big they'd make closets a little bigger. She goes to look up but her head comes into contact with what she's assuming is a chin and she lets out a flurry of curses rubbing the spot on her skull.

"Fucking hell that hurt!" She whines and when she realizes she's being spoken to she glares and looks up. "What did you say?" She huffs and makes eye contact with eyes that are slited and poison green. He laughs and she feels it before she hears it because they're chest to chest and it makes her heart feel a little weird but she ignores it.

"I asked, why you're sneaking around like you shouldn't be here." He says it like a statement this time, like he knows she shouldn't be here and she supposes that isn't a hard conclusion to come to. She can't seem to think of an answer though, her brain is slow to even process what's happening and she lets out a sharp laugh.

"I'm lost!" She blurts and it's not technically a lie. She is lost. "I am lost, and you know, I'm embarrassed about it, so I didn't want to ask for help. It's as simple as that." She grins brightly at him and he peers down at her with an amused glint in his eyes. She isn't sure what he's so amused at and it's a little annoying if she's being honest with herself.

"Lost? You're sure that's it?" He questions and Nelle narrows her eyes.

"Yes."

"Ah, well, then I'll gladly show you the way out." He opens the door and guides her out with a hand on the small of her back. Normally she would swat him away but for some reason it doesn't occur for her to do so and when he retracts his hand the spot feels very cold.

He really does start to lead her back the way she came and she can't think of a single excuse to get out of this. Nothing comes to mind and honestly Nelle thinks hitting her head against his chin knocked something out of place in her brain. She's good at this, prides herself on being able to get out of sticky situations and yet here she is, dumbfounded. He hasn't even looked at her, it's like he knows she's lying and is waiting for her to crack and it's absolutely infuriating.