Second Rank Aibruvian Princess Niamh Tara Windsor|19|F|5'10|M:Cassia,zoe,vesper(ind),Isolde(ind),kris(ind,Kyro(ind)

Niamh flashed a sweet smile to Lady Cassia as she admired the woman's handiwork on her hair. Each braid and curl in perfect place. "Thank you Cassia wonderful job as per usual" her voice calm and genuine. A hand quickly going to her heart in thanks. The Aibruvian symbol of respect or thanks. Had it been flipped to someone thanking herself they would have added a bow of the head. With a full bow or curtsy depending on the situation. Niamh had been sitting down as her hair was being done, and after her crown was placed and secured she stood. Her young but tall build towering over the women in her service. Sighing as she stretched the sitting position had put a stitch in her back and she was glad to be moving again.

•

Glancing to her normally bubbly maid Zoe as she put her brothers gifts in their black velvet box she teased. "Why so quiet? I thought you of all people would be gossiping my ear off." Both her maid and Lady in waiting were older than Niamh at 19. However they had the energy of teen girls when it came to events with potential eye candy. Unlike Niamh who found herself more solemn around these events knowing she had to be an example of their kingdom. However her excitement for the dancing later tonight at the party was well contained but still undoubtedly there. Days like these made her miss her mother more than she could bare. She shook away the brief moment of sadness focusing her attention back to the conversation with her maids at hand.

•

Listening as Cassia answered her question from before. As the woman listed some familiar names her mouth twitched up into a mischievous smirk "Prince Harland Evander, my brother is going to be happy about that information." She knew the two had some type of history together and smiled at the thought of her brother having some friends around on his birthday. She was already putting a plan into the works to take her Older brother out for his birthday just him and their siblings. Knowing he was stressed about having his birthday interupted by their fathers impromptu suitor extravaganza.

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"As for the heart throb Laetis Crown Prince I've heard all about him from his brother Prince Kristopher." Rolling her grey eyes remembering the funny letters her friend had sent her describing his older brothers antics. "Not interested but I'm sure he can try his hardest to impress my sister" bumping her shoulder playfully against Cassia's. The older girl who she saw as a big sister as well, was always teasing her.

•

"Lady Suna." She rolled the name around on her tongue. She liked the sound of it and based on her maids description she might like even more than just her name. Time would tell wouldn't it. For now they should find her guard Isolde and head to the throne room banquet hall where the brunch would be served. The suitors would be heading to the castle soon surely and she wanted to be in place and ready. "Find Isolde, Zoe I'm ready to head to the throne room." With that she gently picked up her brothers present and let her chamber guards open the doors to her bedroom. Striding confidently into the hall knowing her lady's would be right behind her.

Jasper nodded to Akita as he walked in. As he was about to evened the door , it was opened by Prince Mion. He looked down so he didn't blush as that was certainly frowned upon. He didn't like being mocked, but usually he mocked himself so it didn't really matter. He kept staring at the floor as Mion's voice sharply brought him back to reality, "Well? I hope there's reason for you to be calling my name Vaquero?" He knew he was being told off in a way but the way Mion said his last name was to him,adorable and majestic. He replied " Sorry sir , didn't want you to miss the suitors arriving" . That's simply what he said . The. He looked downwards as he was subtly not so subtle blushing.

“Darwin Munin” | Male | 20 | Homosexual | Royal Manservant (Thief)

M: Vesper, Ezra, Neptune, + Aries (Dep) Suitors (Ind)

As the male in simple dark clothes and silver jewelry gave a warm smile and a small nod of his head as thanks, Rainier slinked away into one of the carriages. Meanwhile, Darwin’s mind crossed the royal’s name off the list and tried to guess who might be next off the boat. Darwin honestly did not know who was coming as he could not read the list of suitors who were most likely forced into coming to Aibruvia by their parents, but it was fun to guess the kinds of fancy names the suitors might have. Maybe the next person who walked down from the ship onto the dock would be named “Berutha Olivertia Hombogis” or perhaps “Quintius Vector Harbinger The Third” and have frilly white hair, a white powdered face, and wear a bright yellow suit. This was highly unlikely but it made Darwin smile to imagine this.

The next person to step down looked less like a “Berutha Olivertia Hombogis” and more like a “Britney Jaquavia Ermengarde.” With white, straight hair, it was a wonder to Diamond how her hair was so clean when his own probably had dirty and twigs still trapped inside his fluffy bird’s nest. She had three armed guards follow closely at her heels whose posture and armor let no emotion seek through, but even still, with the way she held herself and looked down on the people below her as she descended from the boat, she gave the illusion of greater strength than her guard’s possessed. Her cold eyes were an odd color that, unlike Cordelia’s and Rainier’s, did not become trained on Rainier or look around with intrigue. At every place her gaze landed, an expression of disgust followed on her grimacing features. What was most shocking about the woman and her entourage was the petite woman who followed the suitor with quick, nervous strides. The woman, who Darwin had quickly realized was most likely a maid or a temporary consort of some kind, was skittish and seemingly afraid of her own shadow. The maid followed the woman so closely that she was afraid that the maid would stumble into the suitor and get yelled at. As the maid kept glancing up to her master, she was only met with a menacing glare that sent shutters throughout the girl— and Darwin. Somewhere deep within him, a zone of unexpressed and unending hatred was briefly reawakened because of not only how the girl acted but with how she looked with red hands clawing at her neck and old tears staining her face.

As the suitor finally made it off the boat, Darwin expected to cross her name off his imaginary list but did not expect to see the woman bump into Vesper yet still call him “dumbass.” That was it. Darwin reached for his best knife located in his left pocket. That was Darwin’s final straw. With the abuse of her maid and the injuring of his Prince, Darwin was so going to—

Smack!

The loud sound rang out through the town so loudly that townsfolk from the busy street turned to look. Vesper’s strike to the woman’s face was brief but hard and he gave no remorse for his actions even as people stopped and stared. The suitor fell to the ground and Darwin’s eyes flashed from the stunned guards too frozen to move, back to the crumpled body of the suitor, and then to Vesper who stood above her, glaring at her like shit on his shoe. Darwin could not help but give a brief chuckle at the sight as he slowly let go of the knife and allowed Vesper to do as he pleased.

Enraged, and possibly scared too, the poor servant attempted to strike Vesper. Big mistake. Without any effort, he tripped the girl, causing her to fall onto her face and land onto the wet and slimy wood of the dock. Ezra separated the guards from their suitor with a glare as he placed his hand on his sword while the guards’ eyes that were barely visible through their helmets were filled with dread. While Darwin could not help but feel guilty as he stood by and watched the poor maid be talked down to, Darwin had to admit that he cracked a slight, somewhat sadistic smile as the suitor got what she deserved. Even though, in Darwin’s mind at least, bumping into someone did not always justify a beating with words or with force, but the woman absolutely deserved it for what she did to her maid and for being a dick to Vesper.

If he were to be asked how he found Vesper at that very moment, Darwin would not lie when he was to say that Vesper was pretty damn hot.

Vesper seemed to flip back to his normal, “I am being a good host” version of himself on a dime and Ezra as well. Darwin, straightening himself up and coughed into his fist, did his best not to snicker at the woman as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. Darwin continued to watch her even when a new, female suitor stepped off the boat and walked towards her, the two spewing quiet insults to one another. It was quite interesting. The other woman did not even introduce herself to Vesper and yet she went straight to kick the other suitor while she was down.

Because Darwin kept an eye on her the whole time as she made her way to her carriage, Darwin had missed when a new suitor arrived. A new suitor that he knew, in fact.

As Darwin turned back at the sound of someone else’s voice, Darwin was caught off guard by the sheer height of this— clearly Slerosean— man. The pale scars on his left eyebrow and the right of his lip, his light gray eyes with heavy bags underneath, and that long, red hair that occasionally drifted into his face in the front and reached down to his waist in the back. There was absolutely no mistaking it. This was most definitely—

“Aries!” Darwin shrieked excitedly before throwing his arms around the man. Darwin patted his back before pulling away, grabbing his shoulder lightly and looking up at the man with sparkling eyes and a big hearty smile that revealed his missing tooth in the back of his mouth. “Hey— uh— how are you??” Darwin chuckled as he tilted his head, at a loss for words as he pulled away entirely and looked Aries over. Giving a low whistle, Darwin’s overjoyed grin turned into a sly smirk. “Damn Aries. Lookin’ sexy, big guy!~ You gained a ton of muscle while I was away and— Oh! Vesper!” Darwin smiled excitedly after stopping himself mid-flirty-thought. He turned quickly to face Vesper and wrapped an arm around Aries’s waist. “You’re gonna really love this guy. Biggest fuckin’ sweetheart in the whole of Slerosea! Probably even in the whole of all the kingdoms. Heart of gold I am telling ya!” Darwin giggled as he patted Aries’s chest above where his heart should be as if to prove a point and pulled away. Darwin smiled as he looked over the man and all his black and silver jewelry and tight suit, staring in disbelief before simply smiling more and his more Slerosean accent returning to replace the Aibruvian one he had been using for so long. “Man, it’s good to see ya! How’s it been goin’ in Slerosea?”

Phoebe | Female | 8 | Princess of Fourth Rank

M: Sybil, Hestia, + Asmaranti (Dir) Vesper (Ind)

As Phoebe was complimented on her gift by Sybil, Phoebe’s face grew a bright red and she shoved it into her present. Despite constantly complimenting others and especially her sister, Phoebe could never get used to being complimented herself. Although Sybil suggested they would both be “equally bestest,” Phoebe felt that what she got for Vesper would be nowhere near as good as Sybil’s gift. Even though she was nervous to give Vesper her gift, she was incredibly excited to give it to him. She loved seeing peoples’ reactions to her gifts and she really hoped that— even though Sybil’s gift was clearly better— Vesper would like her gift a lot.

Phoebe was not ready to dress in fancy clothes though. No matter how excited she was for something, she would always hate dressing in fancy clothes. She wanted to go give Vesper his birthday gift, of course, but maybe she could just give it after brunch so she could avoid wearing fancy clothes. Despite knowing that she could not wear what she was currently wearing and that Aunty Ge-Ge would most likely pull out better clothes for her, Phoebe still resisted even looking at the crowns. If Hestia asked her to get changed, at absolute most, Phoebe would put on her fancy boots. Unless she was promised treats or a good story time later that is….

Just then, Asmaranti, Sybil’s Royal Guard, stepped into the room with a strange basket in her hand. Before Phoebe could do the usual greeting of extending her arm out fully and waving her hand like crazy while saying, “Hi Miss Mara!,” Asmaranti was speaking. Phoebe, despite knowing what Sybil’s gift was, did not seem to understand what Asmaranti meant and crept curiously closer.

“Puppies!!” Phoebe squealed, unable to contain her joy as her hands flapped excitedly as she had no other way to express her joy. Phoebe trotted over to Hestia with her feet smacking on the floor— plap plap plap!— and tugged on her pant leg. “Look look look!! Sooooo fluffyyyyy!!!” Phoebe giggled excitedly as she stomped her feet and buried her face into Hestia’s side. As Asmaranti suggested they keep the puppy a secret, Phoebe turned to look at her with a big nod and happy giggle although she quickly hid her face back into Hestia’s side because she still needed a moment to calm down with all her excited emotions.

Corin Wren - 19 - Male - Suitor - Mentions: Ezra (indirect), Aries (Indirect), Vesper, Darwin (indirect)


Corin noticed that the guard was looking at him.

In case he was being instructed to do something, he made himself look back fully, not just out of the corner of his vision. He was rewarded with a slight nod, and then a small wave of the hand towards the Prince. The motions were subtle, but still enough for most to pick up on them. He almost wished he wasn't up next, but his hand slipped into the pocket where he had put the small carving of the horse, the one he had been working on, and he drew it out to take one last once-over. Not that he could do anything to change any details. His gaze caught the many things he could have done better, the fetlock on the hind left leg could have been a little larger, more defined. The proudly lifted hoof could have had a more sharper point at the end. And a dozen more inperfections in his work, small or even unnoticable to an outside eye; but glaring to his own.

It would have to do.

Steeling himself, he slipped the figurine back into his pocket for a moment, surreptitiously wiping both hands off on the back of his jacket, wiping away the moisture from them. Although it surely wouldn't last if he remained in this state of nervousness. Glancing down to make sure that his shaking hands had stilled, he forced himself to walk forward.

He had almost reached Prince Vesper and the, very tall man when the other man standing beside the Second Prince very excitedly greeted the red-haired man. In all honesty, that shriek of the man's name, Aries, made him nearly flinch again, but the only outward sign of him not expecting that was a hitch in the otherwise cat-like gait.

Despite telling himself that he most likely had nothing to fear from Prince Vesper, given he didn't act disrespectfully in the manner that the white-haired woman did, which he wouldn't; he still felt the anxiety rise with each step; and the lump in his throat was back again, making him swallow out of reflex.

Once within distance of the Prince, he halted, standing there a tad bit awkwardly, his mind racing because he had abruptly forgotten the proper protocol for royalty. Panic started rising quickly as his mind kept drawing blanks for what to do, the words he had been going over in his head had dissipated as quickly as mist does in the morning. Fighting to keep control of himself, he stood there like an absolute fool for a few moments, before he remembered what to do as quickly as he had forgotten.

"Good....uh...good morning, Prince Vesper, er, your highness." Corin said quietly as he gave a stiff bow, hating how his words seemed to stutter over each other, and how his quiet voice came out even more quieter than normal. He truly hoped the Prince would hear him.

"This, this is, uh, for you. Ha..happy birthday." He straightened up and took the figurine of his pocket, offering it to the Prince. The horse was standing, with the right leg lifted, neck arched proudly with a fine head. Wasn't his best work. But it was something, and he always put thought and effort into his carvings. He met the Prince's eyes perhaps once, when he told him the 'happy birthday' part, but then he immediately averted his gaze to the side, and then downwards, unable to make himself maintain eye contact at the moment. He was glad, however, that his hand was mostly steady, though he still despised the slight tremor that still ran through it.

Vadik Volkov|26|Male|Royal Guard, Personal Guard of Emmeline Windsor|
M: The Royal family and suitors ind.

Mismatched hues gazed across the hall at the long, thin window across the way. Vadik stood guard outside the room of the crowned princess, Emmeline Windsor. His mind was racing. There was so much going on all at once in the kingdom of Aibruvia. The princes' birthday, a festival...the arrival of suitors from far and wide for the King's children. Despite all these joyous reasons, Vadik could not help but feel anxiety over all of it. It was all a classic setup for something to go terribly wrong. And he was to guard the firstborn of the King. Vadik worried how that would sit with some of the foreign suitors, especially any that came from Vadik's homeland. If anyone from Cyro were to come, and he was sure they would, would they recognize Volkov? Would that put a strain on the nobles of the two countries considering the fact that Vadik was a traitor to the land he had been born in and was now guarding the next in line for the throne of a neighboring country? Shaking his head, Vadik gave a deep sigh. He needed to focus!

Oliver Heiser|32|Male|Royal Guard and Personal Guard of the king of Aibruvia
M: The Royal Family and Suitors, ind.

Bored. That was the best way to describe how Oliver felt as he took his post outside the doors to the King's room. What was the point of enjoying festivities when you couldn't even partake in them? With all the foreign dignitaries coming, and why they were in Aibruvia, all of the Royal Guards were on high alert. Or they should be on high alert. Oliver would be quite peeved if he found out any of his fellow knights were slacking off during the next couple of days to come. Their job was to ensure the safety of the castle and the royal family, especially while possible threats were within the castle walls. Oliver didn't like to be pessimistic but with the recent decline in the King's popularity, it would not be too hard for one of the suitors to usurp the throne. Ugh...that was the last thing this kingdom needed. Hopefully, peace would remain intact while the suitors were here. Though, who knows what sort of chaos a bunch of royal drunks could get into...

Kristopher Vermillion | M | 22 | 6’ 4” | Suitor / 2nd to be Sultan of the Desert Kingdom | M: Vesper, Nickolas[NPC guard], Niamh [ind.] Cordelia [ind.]

Kristopher’s brunch fit [minus the cane thingy] + Vesper’s gift, owl stock © to windfuchs on DA

Kristopher lay on his bed, straight on his back inside his cabin. He could feel the ship rock slowly against the waves, knowing the ship would soon dock, they would be expected to leave shortly after. A soft screech came from the corner of her cabin. Knowing that the boat would be reaching Aibruvia that day, Kris had brought his gift to the Second Price into his room, the creature’s cage sitting on the opposite end of the room from where he lay now. This creature had come from a kingdom outside of his own and was partially trained by him, but mostly done by a professional in his kingdom. The creature in question was a Snowy Owl, trained by a falconer. The purpose of the bird was to aid one in hunting, and this female specifically would be able to assist in helping to distract or even attack larger prey due to her size. A solid 6.5 lbs.

The owl itself was one of the more difficult birds to train, considering the breed is more defensive compared to most. Kristopher had chosen such a gift knowing the price did have a liking for animals. He and Vesper had become penpals shortly after he and Niamh had met, and he had kept in touch with the two of them over the years, so he had the opportunity to get to know the Aibruvia royals. Now it was just a matter of meeting them in person once more.

Pulling himself up, Kris walked into his bathroom, rubbing his hands up and down his face and leaning against the countertop, staring blankly into the mirror. He had already bathed an hour or so prior, but after lying for so long the waves had nearly lulled him to sleep. Kristopher cupped his hands and reached into a bowl of water, set beside where his bath had been and splashed his face in an attempt to help wake him. It worked, as the suitor was met with a cold splash of water to the face. Rapidly blinking his hand shot out to grab a fluffy towel on the countertop next to him, and vigorously rubbed his face.

Now Kristopher had an issue with sweating, and being cooped up inside wasn't helping his cause, the prince peeled his shirt off and strode back into his room. Nearly running into the young guard who had appeared in his room. “Gahhh, Nickolas, you sneaky thing,” he commented, wagging a figure at him, noting the young guard's ears turning pink, and face turning red. Matching his short fiery red hair. Kris tossed his soiled shirt upon his bed and reached for his suit. This young guard has been sent by his parents to gain “experiences outside of the kingdom, to enrich his young mind, and to protect Kris from any danger”, but it really seemed as if his parents wanted to use Nickolas to spy on Kris. And Kris wasn't having it. He would often ditch the poor lad, hiding in random spaces around the boat in order to escape his presence. It’s not like he treated him poorly, he still has respect for the man, Kris just preferred some form of independence at times.

“Would you mind giving a man some privacy?” he called over his shoulder, moving to undo the buttons of his pants. As soon as he reached to do so he heard Nickolas sprint out of the room behind him and close the door so quickly he could feel a breeze from the other side of the room. It seemed as if the man was frightened to be in the room with Kristopher at times, yet he still did his duty.

Slipping into his suit was simple, he wore nothing overly extravagant, but a suit nice enough for him to be recognized as one of the suitors arriving. With a simple black cover to go over his suit coat, and tie at the neck, in addition to white gloves which he folded into his back pocket. He has silver cufflinks on the sleeves of his jacket, with floral prints imprinted into them. In addition to this accessory, he had a silver Albert chain attached to his suit coat as well. “Nickolas, I can assure you it is safe to come in now.” He called through the door to his guard, who quickly slipped back into the room.

It was shortly after the fact that he could hear voices outside of his cabin and the more intense rocking of the boat slowing. They must have finally docked. “Now, I wish to give Vesper the first portion of his gift immediately, I wish you would find a maid to bring my bags out while you carry his new creature,”

Without another word, Kristopher strode out of his room and above the deck. Walking gingerly across the gangplank before hitting solid ground. After being aboard a ship for so long solid ground was a strange feeling. His knees nearly gave out. Luckily he quickly recovered and the maid behind him carrying his bags seemed to be the only one that saw. “Ah just set all my things in that carriage over there,” he spoke, pointing to a purple-ish maroon-colored carriage with gold accents. “That one should do the trick. The carriage in front of his, he noticed, carried a familiar figure. Cordelia. He clasped his hands together and then raised one in her direction when she seemed to look his way. Making his way toward her.

He was stopped short to see quite the sight, as a girl ran into Vesper, and Vesper, who after exchanging a few words, slapped her. Shortly after another suitor approached him, and then another. Once they had all left he decided to make his move. Striding forward he called out to the prince, “Vesper! My royal friend, it is good to see you in person again”

“To celebrate your birthday I have brought you an early gift,” motioning a hand behind him where Nickolas had walked up, carrying a dark green metal box with Vesper’s creature inside. “I figured most might give you your gifts at the palace, however, I cannot wait any longer.” Standing back the prince slid back a panel, revealing the face of a large snowy owl. The female let out a screech and rustled her feathers, to which Kristopher slid the small door closed once more. “I helped train this one myself, and now she's yours,” he spoke, patting the top of the metal cage. Beckoning to a nearby maid for her to take it out of Nickola’s hands.

Edward Thomas Rivers Windsor | 42 | King of Aibruvia | Male | Mentions: Emmeline, Oliver, Suitors (ind), Vesper (ind)

Waking up to an already bustling palace, as he'd ordered it, at roughly 7 in the morning, according to the placing of the sun outside his window, Edward felt completely at ease in one of his rare relaxing moments. A few tints of orange still graced the horizon below where the yellow disk was rising. The weather was so lovely, the king felt his spirits soar. He instinctively reached his arm over to pull his wife close when, an iron weight dropped in his stomach at the feeling of empty sheets, a reminder he should have broken the habit by now. He laid there for perhaps another 30 minutes, staring up at the thick red fabric of a canopy hanging above his bed, playing with the golden tassel that was within reach.

Once the sun had risen high enough to shine in his light eyes, he was forced up and called his servants to draw the bath, which he quickly partook in before dressing in a maroon vest with a white collared shirt underneath it, and a pair of white pants and black boots, and placing a golden crown with a single sapphire in the center meant to bring out his eyes, though the deep blue color almost made his pale eyes look washed out, matching the lines that had grown evidently deeper in the past few years. Even so, his face and body radiated power and undeniable confidence that almost complimented his exhausted appearance.

Checking himself in the mirror one last time to make sure every hair was in place for such an important day, Ed called a servant to make his bed and opened the grand wooden doors to find Oliver right where he should be. Nodding at the dark haired man, the king said, "Let's be off," before heading towards the kitchens.

On his way, he saw a maid rushing the way of Emmeline's quarters, and asked the woman to let Emmeline know he'd be waiting for her outside the kitchens, overseeing some of the preparations. The maid nodded obediently but rushed off with an exasperated huff of breath, he felt rather guilty he'd asked a favor of somebody that was clearly already overloaded with what was at hand.

Arriving at the doors form behind which a whole bunch of clattering of dishes and yelling was going on, the king opened the doors and stepped inside, the warmth of the room hitting him at once. The combination of bodies rushing around and flames cooking food and steam rising off bubbling pots was making for an uncomfortably hot and humid room. Edward walked briskly around, making sure the specific dishes he'd requested were in the making, as well as a few others the head cook had most likely suggested, and he was pleased. "Good work," he said loudly with a thumbs up, though all the noise made it so only those nearest heard.

He stepped out of the kitchen in a swift motion, wiping the sweat from his brow and pulling his collar off the back of his damp neck. Fortunately, a glimpse in one of the reflective walls showed he was still intact, though a bit flushed for the moment. He walked a short distance away from the doors to the kitchen, looking out the grand windows along one of the walls, watching the festivities of the special day begin below while he waited for Emmeline.

His mind wandered to how Vesper was doing with his job of security. He believed his golden child would be the model of what royalty should be: patience and poise, so he wasn't concerned.