Lenore rolled her eyes at the urgent news from the palace.  Apparently, Her Royal Pain-in-the-Hiney had once again gone missing, and once again His Majesty Dotes-on-His-Daughter was enlisting a search party.  though it was odd that<strong>this</strong>time there had been no temper tantrum, and no talk of running away.  Her room was even left disheveled and one of the servants had been pushed down the stairs by the supposed kidnapper.  It did indeed seem like she'd really been snatched this time, though Lenore wouldn't put it past the Princess to stage the whole affair.<br/><br/>As captain of the city guard, she was chosen to lead the search and she quickly assembled a competent group: Lance, one of the best guards under her command; Darius, a skilled bowman; Marcus, a mage unsurpassed in skill; and Medea, the Princess's personal handmaid.  She had worked with all of them, except Medea, and was certain that if the Princess were truly captured, they would be able to safely return her.  Lenore had the other men get everything ready while she sought out Medea.  There were matters to discuss.<br/><br/>Finding the maid, Lenore greeted her pleasantly and laid her concerns out.  "Good afternoon, miss.  I don't believe we've had the pleasure of meeting.  I'm Lenore, Captain of the Guard."  She surveyed the maid's appearance.  It was possible that they had met before, but she couldn't recall.  Medea was relatively average.  Lenore, on the other hand, was not.  Her red hair was wild and kinked, with bits of fly aways that drifted in the breeze even though her long hair was pulled back and braided.  Her skin was darker than others, from working in the sun most days.  She was tall, and not just for a woman.  Lenore stood just shy of six feet tall, at 5' 11.75"  She was stockily built, but her body was fairly lean.  She had curves simply by the virtue of her years, but they were unremarkable.  She was also strong and was the reigning arm-wrestling champion in town.  She had a lot of things going for her, but femininity wasn't exactly one of them.  But she was still pretty, in that wild-woman way.<br/><br/>Lenore continued.  "I have to ask, why are you coming along?  Do you know how to brandish a weapon or cast a spell?  Can you treat the sick and injured?  Can you at least cook?  I don't mean to hamper your intentions, but I need to know what you can contribute to the group."  It was an earnest question, and it occurred to Lenore that it might have been the nicest way of asking this maid something.  Lenore knew all too well just how angry the Princess could get.