The queen gave a satisfied smile as Charles nodded at Vesper's statement. "Then it shall be, your room will be ready far before you'll need it." His eyes then drifted to a servent who stood not far away, once he had caught their eye he gave a smile and the servant nodded, no need for useless conversation. When the prince grinned at the mention of gifts Charles returned it and lead the way into the ballroom. It seemed to glitter from the shiny displays, behind them Ron and Sebastien was trailing along talking quietly between themselves.
"I hope he's impressed." Sebastien muttered to his brother who gave him a bored look.
"Doubtfully, but don't concern yourself with it. You can't please someone who already has everything." Ron murmured back careful to keep his voice low. It hadn't gone unnoticed to the archer that he hadn't gained any approval from the new arrivals which didn't bother him at all, if anything it gave him relief. For some reason the three men made his stomach turn with unease, like there was something below the surface, some alternative motive. Whatever it was Ron was sure he didn't want their trust and he wasnt going to give them his.
"But if they are to be here don't you think we should dazzle them?" Sebastien asked his brother. Unlike Ron, Sebastien was dedicated to these new arrivals. They were so interesting to him they made him nervous, like a school girl with a upperclassmen. Ron let out a low snort.
"What for? They are coming into our kingdom, and one of them is to marry our sister. If anything they should dazzle us." He said shaking his head at his brother.
"This isn't just about marriage it's about union!" Sebastien said his voice raising a octave to get his point across but that was quickly shut down with a look from Ron "what I mean is-" Sebastien tried again, his voice lower this time. "This marriage is about putting a end to the ongoing war, to bring people together, and to end hate amongst ourselves." Charles and the three Linetteians had now entered the ballroom. Ron slowed a bit before stopping and turning to his brother. He pushed him back a couple of steps before speaking in a voice even lower than before.
"This will not end the war Sebastien. It won't bring anyone together except two people who despise one another, and believe in me, there will still be hate." With those words he left his brother reeling and walked into the ballroom to get the day over with, meanwhile Cedric was just scurrying in. His eyes landed directly on the three new arrivals who were now looking at the family portrait, he had carefully groomed his hair as Ediths words had sunken into his head. Gift in hand he put on his best smile which looked sorta unnatural, and glided over to the three men. For a moment his eyes darted between the three as he distinguished which man was Vesper. Feeling confident it was the well dressed blonde he cleared his throat to gain their attention and directed his words at him.
"Excuse me, Lord Vesper is it? My name is Cedric Berlin, I'm the 5th prince of Esteil. I'd like to personally apologize for my absence at your arrival. I do hope you can forgive me." He said formally, unlike his brothers he didn't possess charisma or charm. He looked to his hand which had a long satin clothe in it. Nervous he had missed the gifts as well he figured now would be the best time to give his own. He reached into the satin sack and pulled out a a sword made of the finest steel plated in gold. The pommel itself is a stunning rose painted white, the left guard was the head of a dragon and the right the head of a tiger. On the blade itself are the words 'Knowledge is Power' one of Cedrics all time favorite quotes. He had it crafted the night he found out about Edith's wedding as his mother had insisted each child get a gift for their sisters new fiancee. "I do hope it satisfies. I read that dragons were prominent creatures in Linerette and white roses represents love and promise. The chances of you loving my sister may be slim but there is a promise there none the less." Cedric said with a shrug before offering the sword to Vesper.
Not to long after Cedric handed over the sword the doors on the back wall burst open and in came the Twins. Owen still draped in the same tigers cloak, Erin on the other had had cleaned up and put on more appropriate clothes. Owen had two large glass jugs full of a white liquid and a crown atop his head whilst Erin was for the most part empty handed other than a neatly folded tiger pelt in his arms. The two men scanned the room before Erin's eyes landed on the visitors. He tapped his brother and pointed in their direction, a huge grin took his face and the two of them made their way over. Owen was the first to speak.
"Ah welcome! It's so nice to meet the three of you." Owen opened his arms to pull the three of them into a hug, jugs still in hand but Erin quickly put his hand on his brothers shoulder and shook his head no. Owen pulled back, set down the jugs and chuckled. "Right, formalities." This time he offered his hand to shake. "My name is Owen and that ugly bastard is Erin." He introduced with a laugh. His twin gave a eye roll.
"Sorry we missed out on your arrival, we were getting some stuff together. We just got back from Grainer last night." Erin explained knowing his brother had no intention of doing so. "Before I get interrupted by this big lug I'd love to give you my gifts. First a tiger pelt cloak, you'll learn soon that everyone in the family owns one." Erin said with a smile, Owen looked like he wanted to jump in so Erin quickly pulled off a pouch from his hip. "And these are cocoa beans from deep within Grainers jungles. They are terribly hard to get but they create the richest chocolate." Erin said happily, now willing to let his brother take over once more.
"And my gift to you are these." He said motioning to the jugs. "It's tiger milk, I wouldn't suggest drinking it. It tastes rather sour, but I'm beyond positive it'll come in handy." Owen said with a wide grin, the two brothers then exchanged knowing looks. "Oh! And this!" Owen reached up and plucked the crown off his head gently. The crown was beautiful and bone white, it was encrusted with shiny black stone. "This was a gift from one of the most prominent leaders in Grainer. Its a crown made of Ivory, elephant tusk, and covered in black onyx. One of the most precious stones Grainer has to offer. He insisted a prince deserves a crown. I'm not much into titles but I agree completely, that's why I want you to have it prince Vesper." He said offering the delicate peice to the prince with a unwavering grin. Ron had found himself at the back of the room where the food was. Subtly he picked out some cheese and began to nibble on it before Charles come up to him. Ron frowned as his golden boy brother flashed him the same annoying grin he gave everyone and began talking.
"Ron, I think it best if you waited to eat until everyone else does." He said plucking the cube out of his brothers hand. While Ron and Charles didn't fight Ron was Charles least favorite sibling due to his lack of formalities. "And please tell me you've prepared a gift." He asked hope lacing his voice. Ron gave him a deadpan look before grabbing a handful of cheese and stuffing it in his mouth. He took his time chewing taking satisfaction out of his brothers progressively shrinking smile. He couldn't stand when Charles spoke to him in a tone that you would use to scold a child. Once he finally finished and swallowed he gave him a small smirk.
"Of course I did, I don't fancy the idea of mother serving my head to the linerettes on a silver platter in my gifts place." Ron said with a eyeroll, Charles smile brightened to Rons dissatisfaction.
"Perfect. You have it with you yes?"
"Yes.." Chales didn't miss a beat. He placed his hand on Rons back and began to guide him towards Vesper and his crew. Ron frowned but quickly evened his face as to not be disrespectful. On the way Charles caught Cedrics arm and asked him to fetch Edith as dinner was approaching. After Cedric agreed the two of them approached the Linetteians and the Twins. Charles gave everyone a smile and Ron tipped his head.
"Hello again gentlemen. I'm glad you've become acquainted with all my brothers! It seems some have already given you gifts which makes us unfortunately late to the party." Charles greeted before pulling out a rolled up paper and a set of keys. "My gift to you is a beach front manner. I know you come from a far more open area and I figured you might want a place to get away." He said offering the deed and keys before elbowing Ron. Ron gave his brother a distasteful look before reaching over his shoulder and pulling off a Ebony bow with veins of gold.
"For you I've got a bow made of Ebony laced with gold. It's quite a unique material and it's been in the sagittariorum for a long time. I hope you can get some use out of it, I've never once missed a target using it." He said offering the bow, not once did his face waver from stagnate.
"Sebastien also arranged a gift, along with my parents and my sister." Charles chimed in once Ron had finished. "I'm sure you'll see them soon. I know Sebastiens can only be seen in the night and my parents will probably have to wait till day, but Edith should be giving you hers as soon as she arrives. The festivities should be starting soon, Edith is due to come down once they do." Charles promised with yet another grin.