A large and open room, this is where the Emperor receives any requests from people. |
| Emperor Althalos Althalos sat in his throne, the royal guard standing in a line at the base of the steps leading to the throne. His wife and daughter stood to either side of him, he relaxed into the throne, trying to maintain a regal appearance. His face was grim at the tidings the messenger would bring, were they good? Or would they spell disaster? He sighed and beckoned to the City Watch at the door, Let the man in and no one else, once you have done that, then leave. He only trusted his family and the royal guard, not the mere City Watch. The two City Watch men swung the doors open wide and a messenger, in the attire common of Eqomer, entered. He was dusty and clearly tired from the journey. The two City Watch men left and closed the wide doors behind them, the Emperor looked at the man, Speak. |
| The messenger bowed and went to one knee, not making eye contact, and at the same time, maintaining the fact that he was scared. He pulled a small scroll from his robes. "Emperor Althalos, I bring a message from King Elendere. He asked me to deliver it to you, and no one else. Here it is." The man held the message out, and Rowen quickly walked over, and plucked it form his hands, inspecting it thoroughly for any signs of treachery. Satisfied, she walked over to the king, and held the scroll out for him to take. The scroll read as such. [i] Greetings Emperor Althalos, Long have you asked me for my support in your war against the sultan, and long have I held my hand, not confirming or denying your request for troops. However I have staid my hand long enough. I wish to join you in the battle, however, I am mistrustful of the intentions of you in your aspirations of after the war. I think only of my people when I say write this letter, as you must think soley of yours when responding. I propose a marriage between Prince Elendere of my realm, and Princess Althalos of yours, to strengthen the bonds between our kingdoms to the point of uniting them after our deaths. Should you choose to marry your daughter to my son, I promise my entire army of thirty five thousand troops to aid you in your campaign. I will even personally lead them into the field. Of course, I will still maintain the treaty established long ago should you chose to let your daughter marry another, and the five thousand troops I maintain in your army will stay there, however I will not promise my support in the war should you decide against the marriage, as it remains to be seen which way the war will go, and I must think of my people should it be lost, or won by you Emperor. As always, I am awaiting your reply. Sincerely, King Elendere of Eqomer |
| Emperor Althalos Benedict Althalos let out a pent up breath of air, he smiled through his beard a little. But not enough for the messenger to see, Althalos opened the side to his throne, a compartment with parchment, ink and a quill lay within. He reach in and pulled out all three things, he dips the quill in the ink and begins to write on the parchment, Greetings to you, King Elendere, I would only be too happy to accept. I was thinking of sending a proposal of the same matter even before this message arrived, I hope this will strengthen our ties and we can unite to defeat the enemies of the sand. If you consent, the marriage will take place as soon as you arrive in Arzla City. My enemy, although now it is our enemy has not been making any moves as of late, this concerns me as they may strike soon. The sooner the marriage is official, the safer it will be. I await you in Arzla, I bid you safe travels and a good day. Sincerely, Emperor Althalos Benedict of Arzla Althalos rolled up the parchment and sealed it with his crest, he hands it to Rowen who then hands it to the messenger, Travel safe sir and make sure that letter reaches home. He says with his usual air of authority. |
| Alice had been standing straight and looking ahead the whole time. Not once had she tried to read over her fathers shoulder to see what he was writing yet this nagging at her gut didn't go away. Her intuition was telling her to leg it out the throne room and go down the slums to cool down. Yet she couldn't do that, not here and not now. Especially not in front of the messenger that was there. If she did not act accordingly she would bring shame down upon her parents, house and bloodline. Her ancestors would scorn her, something they actually already did enough , she added mentally lacing her words with dark humor. The impulses to look over her fathers shoulder and skim the letter that he was writing were now getting hard to ignore and control. This must be what the pipe does to the men , she carried on thinking. Talking to herself mentally not only helped her eyes stop wandering towards the damned parchment yet it also alleviated how bored she felt just standing there. how much longer will he be writing the letter?. About now she had to force her gaze to state forward. Looking straight ahead, forcing herself to stand straighter, which caused the already right corset to oppres her ribs painfully. In a way she was grateful from the pain; which kept her eyes wandering towards the damnable parchment and her mind from forming precipitated conclusions. Finally when he handed the parchment over she wanted to sigh in relief yet the wait wasn't over. She still had to wait until her father dismissed her so she could hopefully be left to her own devices like usual. So she simply stayed staring forward -hands clasped together in front of herself-, eyes targeting the oaken doors that separated them from the rest of the palace while waii my for the messenger to leave or her father to talk. |
| The messenger took the message, and quickly ran out of the throne room. |
| Opening the door Aurelia walked in "Good Morning My King, My princess" She gave a little bow in acknowledgement of respect, she respected Few people in this world. "What have the gods condemned us with on this fine day?" |
| [b]Rowen[/b] Rowen looked over at Aurelia and sighed. [b]"Aurelia, you forgot to greet the Queen.... again." |
| Freezing in her mid-stride she sighed "I guess the gods have condemned me with embarrassment, Im sorry My Queen, how are you this morning?" She gave yet another little bow of respect for the Queen. |
| Lirael bit back a smirk, Aurelia was an interesting woman and at the same time without even knowing it she was saving her from a pretty tight spot since she now had something to focus on other than the oppression of her ribs and the parchment of still in her fathers hand. Out of respect Lirael also did a small curtsy towards Aurelia, "How fair thee on this fine day Aurelia?" She asked curtly yet made no move to come closer, after all she hadnt been dismissed by her father yet. |
| "Oh just the usual Princess, sun is shining, streets are full of thugs and the wine is just as good as yesterday" She smirked as she walked near a wall and rested against it while folding her arms giving a small chuckle. |
| Aria "Must you always forget my presences Aurelia?" She sighed. "I'm fine and well. Is there something you needed to tell us? We're off to busy start today?" |
| "Last thing i was told was that i was Hand of the King, im here to offer consult in where it may be needed as is my duty, My Queen" Aurelia spoke respectively yet still smirking. |
| Aria "We do have a few things to discuss, about a few plans. So I suppose you may be needed in a little while." |
| "I believed there had been a decrease in thug activity as of late.." Lirael hadnt been seeing any at least when she went out on her escapades, yet maybe because she usually went around the slums? Which were too poor and pathetic even for criminals? "Sun is shining.." She said under hear breath as she looked outside, her eyes gazing over her old childhood friends which were jousting and sparring several meters outside the great windows that were closest to Lirael. She wished she could still do the same yet alas, it was forbidden to her, thank the Blood God that her father did not seem to know the objectives of her escapades |
| "Then I shall await your requirement of me your highness" She took a small bow and kept leaning on the wall for back support. "Decreased in the slums yeah, they have gotten...lets say smarter then the potato brain's they have and targeted bigger things, easier places" |
| "understood Aurelia" Lirael said curtly her gaze was now focused straight ahead. This was boring. Tedious. Every time Lirael had to attend court she could feel a wave of lethargicness (Not sure how to spell it) wash over her and engulf her like a coin in a wishing well |
| Emperor Althalos Benedict Althalos nodded to Aurelia, The morn is indeed good, he says with a smile. Then he turns to his daughter, he shifts in his throne, placing his elbow on the arm rest and then resting his chin on his hand. He sighed, at least the throne was comfortable, Lirael, I know that you have not had any say in what I'm about to tell you, but it is for the good of Arzla, nay it is for the good of the whole of Farem. He paused and took a breath, anticipating the storm to come, As soon as King Elendere and his family get to Arzla city, you will be married to Prince Willas Elendere. You have been taught how to act as a Queen by your mother and I expect you to uphold your duties. He finishes and studies her, waiting for her reaction. |
| everyrhing seemed to be going in slow motion now, she could see her fathers lips moving yet it was taking so long to finally finish the sentence she was wondering if she was okay. Yet when he finally finished the sentence she had wished she did not hear it, but what could she do? After all she had no choice. Unlike every other person she knew, she did not have the right to fall in love, in fact her life would be dedicated for the good of Farem. She knew that, but it was still a bucket full of artic water on a snowy day. For what seemed like an eternity Lirael didnt say anything. "Yes.." She bit her lower lip and clenched her hands together tighter as she turned towards him. "I, I understand father" she said in a small voice. There was ears in the court so she really did not have an option. Screw that actually there was ears and eyes around the whole palace. |
| Emperor Althalos Benedict He sighed in relief, Thank you Lirael. I hear Prince Elendere is a rather dashing young man, many women speak tales of him and his deeds. You never know, you may come to love him, as I came to love your Mother. He says, smiling at her reassuringly. He wanted his daughter to have a happy life, but he knew that this was for the good of the realm. Hopefully the boy lived up to his excellent reputation, Althalos could only hope. He turns to Aurelia, We will greet them at the City gates, make sure to organize a procession party waiting to welcome them into our City. They will be here within the day. We will also hold a welcoming feast for them, tell the servants to set up the table in here and get the cooks to work. He turns to his daughter and wife, We will greet them together, Aria make sure you get Lirael ready to greet the Prince. I will go get ready as well, the Emperor says, getting up from his throne. Oh and send those squabbling nobles outside away, there will be no time to greet them. He says to Rowen. |
| "May I be excused father?" The room suddenly felt claustrophobic, as if the walls were pressing down on her, she had to get out, get away, anywhere but here. She needed to and probably couldn't wait any longer. She needed time alone something she would probably never have in her life in several hours. She needed to get into her boy clothes and leave for the slums. |
| Emperor Althalos Benedict No, you need to get ready with your Mother. He says, walking towards the back entrance in which they had came, 3 of the royal guard following him. The other 3 would follow Aria and Lirael. |
| [b]Rowen[/b] Rowen bowed. "Yes my liege. I'll go get them to leave." She walked to the door, and whistled at ten guards, who trooped off and moved the nobles out of the castle. Making them leave. "Problem solved sir." She then strode back over to the throne, and stayed next to the Queen and the princess. [b]"I will go with the queen and the princess. The other royal guards will go with you my lord." |
| Aria She looked at Lirael. "Come. We will get you ready while we talk." She said as she offered to take her hand leading the way. "We can take time for breakfast as well if you're hungry." She offered smiling slightly |
| "Father, surely preparations may be postponed half an hour? I promised to Anne that I would help her with the children now, I did not expect to be summoned" she told him hoping he would buy it. She did not want to get sermons while hey walked with her mother nor did she want to start getting ready now. She had no other option but to agree to the marriage, yet that wasn't what she wanted. She wanted freedom, and this was probably the last time she would get it. Her voice trembled slightly yet it would go unnoticed unless you knew Lirael |
| Emperor Althalos Benedict He turned and faced his daughter, Lirael, the answer is still no. I'm sorry but we have a busy day ahead of us, Anne included. She will be occupied with preparations as well. With that he turned on his heel and walked out the door, heading to his chambers. |
| [b]Rowen[/b] Rowen kept silent. She might have been the only Royal guard who knew of the princesses habits. Maybe even the only one who knew of it in the palace. She had been secretly shadowing the child since the day she had started to sneak out. The princess most likely wanted to get out again. She silently followed the Queen and princess. |
| Aria "We must go to." She said looking at Lirael's expression. "We'll go to your chamber and prepare a few things for you to wear along with other things." She said as she walked towards the door. Stopping in front of them she turned back to make sure her daughter was following her. She worried about what she was thinking of all of this being rushed into. |
| Lirael could only nod while following her mother. Why was her father so dense? Surely they should understand better than anyone how she was feeling right now. In two days time she would be wed to some prince that she probably wouldn't even like since that was her reaction to the rumors. What if he was not just? She would lose her surname to theirs. Did her father not realize that? If he was not just, the kingdoms would be sent to their own destruction |
| "Married huh?" Aurelia said to herself and thanking the gods nobody could do that for her "Thank god i dont ever have to worry about any nonsense like that" and with that she started to yet again sing a little song to herself. |
| "And who are you..the proud lord said..that i must bow so low..only a cat of a different coat..thats all the truth i know...in a coat of gold or a coat of red..a lion still has claws..and mine are long and sharp my lord..long and sharp as yours..." She sang lightly herself as she made her way around the Throne room, rather bored since she hadnt been called on for any business. |
| Finally they reached the throne room where Lirael entered in silence and waited |
| [b]Rowen[/b] Rowen spoke up again. [b]"Princess, are you sure you don't want to retrieve your dress from the place you usually hide your clothes?" |
| "Not really, i probably won't be able to dress like this is years to come" she sighed, since she would have a husband that commanded over her. Why did she have to get married again? Oh yeah, the damnable kingdom |
| Emperor Althalos Benedict Althalos stepped into the room, shaking his head as the royal guards followed him like they usually did. He looks at Lirael and sighs in relief, Thank the gods you are okay, I understand why you would run away but really Lirael, I thought you outgrew your adventures to the city. He looks at Rowen, I suppose you knew about her continued "expeditions" yet were reluctant to tell me. He sighed and sat in his throne. |
| "I ordered Rowen to not say a word unless you specifically asked" she answered simply staring right past him, why was he not angry? |
UlteaJun 26, 2015 3:36 AM
| (What does she mean by ordered first?) |
| (yeah let me edit that) |
| Aurellia was awaiting at the side of the room watching everything unfold slightly humming to herself with her arms crossed and back to the wall. |
| Emperor Althalos Benedict He put his head in his hands and smiled slightly, though he kept it hidden. He remembered that he was notorious for contradicting his father orders with his own, causing all sorts of mischief. Alright, I'll let that slide. I know you're going through a lot right now but I need you to stay focused, you may think it's unfair and the world is forcing you to take this choice, which is true but think of if you were a peasant, dying on the side of the road from hunger. Some would give anything to be in your position and many before you have endured the same, your mother and I included. So Lirael, I want you to go and get ready for the greeting of Prince Elendere and his family. |
| "And how will me marrying a narcissist help the kingdom then father? Just so you can go to war anew. If I'm going to married of it should have been to the Sultans first born and that way all the gold and treasury could go to helping the less fortunate father, yet you wish me to be married to continue your warfare?" She said staring defiantly right at him, why didnt that happen? |
UlteaJun 26, 2015 4:35 AM
| A smirk rose on her lips as she looked at two and said softly "she definitely is your daughter Althalos" She gave a small snigger but it wasnt for an insult but more or less a chuckle in her own way. |
| Emperor Althalos Benedict He looked at Aurellia and whispered to her, not the time Aurellia... He then turns back to his daughter, Those sand ma- the Kabulians would not end the war after so long, the ancestors of my people and the Sultans have fallen in this war. The people will never accept it, rebellion will rise up and strike, there is no way that the land of Farem would allow it. In addition, the First Born is rumored to be a hulking beast of a man, I would do you no favors marrying you to him, you and I would both rather you be married to a narcissist then a savage. Once the Eqomerians join our side, the war will be in our favor. I have even contemplated contacting the Elf's in the forests to the north, if they are to join us then we would be assured victory. |
| "At least a beast shows its true intentions father, whereas a narcissist is also a beast just does not openly show it, after all, good girls are bad girls that have yet to be caught" Lirael was cynical and Aurelia's comment had edged her on. "You say you are my father, yet this is the first time we have had a conversation one to one, and I'm still having to lift my neck to look up to you. Tell me father, when was the last time we had had physical contact?" yes, it had been when he had first found out about her crossdressing hobby. |
| Emperor Althalos Benedict He looks at for a second, he had had enough. Didn't she understand that he couldn't see her as much as he wanted to? He closed his eyes, she was pushing the limits here. He spoke in a tone that brooked no argument, the tone he used when he was really, really, angry, it was quiet yet could be heard loud and clear, Go to your room Lirael. Now. |
| "not until you tell me why" Lirael spoke trembling slightly and quivering at his tone, yet she had to know why, why she could never see him no matter how much she had tried, was it because she was a disgrace? She was physically weak? She was a daughter and not a son? Because she couldn't be his heir? "I have a right to know which father I want to give me away" I said too much, I'm screwed she thought regretfully to herself yet did not show it. She had bowed her head with the force of his tone and her hair that still had a few flecks of straw hid her eyes anew. |
| Emperor Althalos Benedict Because I don't have a choice. You think being Emperor is easy? You think that not being able to make time for my only child is easy? I love you very much Lirael. I wish with all my heart that we were a normal merchant family. But we're not, and we have to deal with that. His tone stayed the same the whole time he talked, trying not to let it crack. |
| "Everyone has a choice, some just find it too difficult to find it" She muttered under her breath yet it bounced of the walls causing an echo in the silent room. "If I killed myself then I would not have to go through the wedding, that is one of my choices" she hadnt finished her sentence yet she stopped either way, lifting her head anew her eyes locking on him |
| Emperor Althalos Benedict Althalos stood from his throne, his eyes blazing with anger. If you are selfish enough to do that... He doesn't finish his sentence, just collapses back down in his chair, suddenly tired. Leave. All of you. GO! |
| Without even wanting to Interfere or make anything worse Aurellia nods with a small bow and quickly leaves into the hallway. |
More topics from this board
» {Arzla} Hearthforge (Tilly's Forge/Home) ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page )Rauzi - Jun 25, 2015 |
343 |
by Rauzi
»»
Aug 19, 2015 11:15 AM |
|
» {Arzla City} - Tavern ( 1 2 )Wymsical - Jun 21, 2015 |
75 |
by Wymsical
»»
Aug 16, 2015 3:52 AM |
|
» {Arzla Castle} - Guest Room 3 (Sir Siegfried will be staying here)Wymsical - Jul 12, 2015 |
5 |
by Ookami-51
»»
Aug 12, 2015 8:21 PM |
|
» {Arzla City} - Streets ( 1 2 3 )Wymsical - Jun 20, 2015 |
135 |
by ChadNegro
»»
Aug 12, 2015 7:15 AM |
|
» {Arzla City} - Arzla City Entrance ( 1 2 )Wymsical - Jun 20, 2015 |
58 |
by Ultea
»»
Aug 10, 2015 1:32 PM |