<strong><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;">Marketplace<br/></span></span></strong><br/>"I missed breakfast so let us rectify that first," Leona said while sparing her brother a rare wink.  Together they walked down out of the Outer Courtyard and into the<strong>Marketplace</strong>, dodging oncoming traffic for the palace.  Leona knew Leonaar would not stray far from her so she did not check to see if he accompanied her side.  The busy crowd thinned out as they entered the stalls and stores of the Marketplace, but still people piled around the vendors.  Naturally she kept an eye on who noticed her and did not, looking for any signs of The Nine with long, languid glances of the scene before her.  She picked her way to a rather busy stand under a gently billowing, purple covering.  The long wooden stand, filled with warm pastries, was situated in front of a Breads Shop which was also packed with Cats.  From out of the shop's open door, an aproned lady cat, with white fur, carrying a fresh tray of pastries came over to the stall.  Leona recognize her as a side cook in the Lair's kitchens, but was not very surprised to see her out at the Marketplace.  It was a good chance to gain extra coin by helping out with the influx of Cats due to the celebration.<br/><br/>Leona made her way over just as the white Cat set the tray down, steam rising from the braided sweetbread.  She waited patiently as a kitten raced over to the stall with two copper coins in hand.  By the look of the kitten's light green pants, his mother would definitely be having a word with him by the day's end.  She cracked a smile when he turned around and looked up at her, half of his sweetbread already in his mouth.  At the same time the white cat looked at her with panicked recognition, even mewling in surprise.  Leona placed her finger to her lips with a playful grin.  The little kitten looked curiously up at her as he continued to chew on his sweetbread, as if he was trying to figure out where he had seen Leona before.<br/><br/>The Princess offered the lowest denomination coin she had, and raised two fingers to show how many she wanted.  Still making flustered noises, the white cat patted at her apron in an anxious fashion.  "Let me at least get you fresh ones!"<br/><br/>"These will do, my Lady.  I just saw you bring them out," said Leona, chuckling softly.  Almost reluctantly, on the white feline's behalf, did the exchange happen.  She took great care in wrapping two pastries for the Princess and then fussed over the change.  Leona was used to the awkward moments, especially when she arrived out of nowhere unannounced.  She walked further down the Marketplace road, seeing Leonaar in the distance, near the Town Square.  She unwrapped a pastry, careful not to get her fingers sticky with the warm, sugar glaze.  She could not restrain licking her lips before biting down on the very warm dough, sweet fruit filling spilling out.  Leona reveled in the taste as she walked down the road, now completely oblivious to what was around her.<br/><br/>Once she reached Leonaar near the Town Square, she tossed the second pastry at him.  For a moment she contemplated keeping it for herself but many kitten years of<em>'sharing is caring, Leona'</em>chimed in her head.  She stood next to Leonaar, taking in the rest of the Marketplace as she consumed the rest of her treat.  Finishing her pastry, she licked her index finger and refocused on what there was to do next.  Her tail swayed eagerly under her cloak as her pointed ears rustled under her hood, listening.  The commotion was much louder now that they were closer to the Town Square.  There was an unusually large number of Cats crowded together.  She squinted to see across the Town Square and throngs of Cats to see a raised ring and a hulking orange cat that could only be Rus.  She should have known he would be trying to hype a crowd to profit big-time with a handful of other cats.<br/><br/>She nudged Leonaar and tilted her head in the direction of the<strong>Town Square</strong>.  With a teasing tone reserved for him, she said,  "Is that Tigrus?  Perhaps you should get in the ring with him, Leo."<br/><strong><br/><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;"><span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 12pt;">Town Square</span></span></strong><br/><br/>Leona was drawn closer to the ring, hoping to be within hearing distance or at least a better spot.  She could nearly make out Rus's boisterous calls, fully confirming that it was more of a match of the wits and show rather than a true test of strength.  She felt disappointed but the electrifying energy around her kept her from caring for long.<br/><br/>A heavy paw fell upon her shoulder and before she could crouch and retaliate, the paw grabbed her and gave her a turn around.  Her hand was on her shortblade beneath her cloak as she confronted her assailant.  Black fur, almost a midnight blue under the direct sunlight, filled her entire vision.  She narrowed her eyes at the panther and gently removed his hand from her shoulder as he spoke,<strong>"Imagine my surprise, prince and princess, to see the two of you trying to be discreet.  Does your father know you're out here?  And don't you have a ceremony to prepare for? ....Come now.  You don't want to be here, anyway."</strong><br/><br/>"Do try and remember who you are touching, Panthrix." She said in a sarcastic tone, taking a step back from the agile cat, putting distance between them.  Leona eyed Panthrix, recalling his services to her father and several occasions where they drank among comrades in the City's taverns. She had not seen him in some time but she had also been increasingly busy with new responsibilities.<br/><br/>"We weren't<em>trying</em>to be discreet," she gritted out when she realized at least two other nearby cats had picked up on their presence.  Most of the people seemed to be fairly distracted with their day though.  Leona pushed back her cloak revealing her light casual armor and white and green garb, the royal insignia etched into her belt.<br/><br/>"Besides," she continued with an arrogant smirk, still hooded, "I am here to make sure cats, like yourself, do not engage in excessive tomfoolery."<br/><br/>Speaking of such, Leona's face filled with a quizzical look as she saw a small female dash swiftly through the crowd.  Above the noise of the Town Square, she heard the baritone of a guard's yelling.  "What the..." Leona watched in amazement as the female caracal used the horde of cats surrounding the fighting ring as a running platform and then jump into the ring next to Rus.  Throwing Panthrix and her brother an incredulous glance, she stepped towards the fighting ring to get down to business.