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Darkseeker
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Calliope knew how hard it was to put on such a show, especially for Calen. Despite his words, she knew that Calen was no more pleased than before. She couldn't blame him, however. If anything, she'd grown to hate the idea of marriage even more. She wondered if things would always be so forced to the public eye. After all, she knew her parents marriage had been arranged and they seemed happy with one another. Calliope had always had the idea of having a true love, but this obviously was not that.
"Oh! Thank you for having me, your majesty. I'm so pleased to have this opportunity," she replied, forcing herself not to cringe. It was going to be such a long week. |
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Darkseeker
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Calen's mother looked pleased enough with the response, looking toward his father. Justine just stood there. "Calen will show you around after you get settled. He'll take you to your room." Calem barely bit back a laugh at his father’s tone. Completely fake. He hadn't heard his father talk like that in years. Calliope was doing an excellent job at maintaining her mask, but he didn't fail to catch the slight twitch of her eyes with his mother’s words. His hand tightened around hers, Almost there. He hoped she understood. Calen's parents parted to let them pass, and Calen waited until they were up the staircase before he spoke. "Your room is down this way." He said, subtly letting go of her hand. He stopped at the door and opened it, stepping aside to let her through. |
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Darkseeker
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The tone of the kings voice had actually caught her off guard. He'd always seemed like a tough, stoic kind of person. "Of course. That sounds lovely," she replied, not having missed the little tightening squeeze Calen's warm hand had given. Her thumb brushed lightly over the back of his hand as if to say thank you for the reassurance. Once past his parents, Calliope seemed to finally relax and let out a small breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in. For a split second she missed the warmth his hand provided, but that thought was rejected from her head faster than she'd been able to remember. "Okay," she said softly, following him towards the room she'd call hers for a week. "Thank you," she told him, a brief smile crossing her lips as she passed through the door way and turned back to face him. "Are you excited as I am for this week?" She asked, playful sarcasm in her voice. |
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Darkseeker
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Calen followed her in to her room, looking around. This was one of the many quest bedrooms, and he hadn't seen this one for a while. "You have no idea." His voice was laced with sarcasm, and he couldn't even bring himself to force another smile. "I don't understand why they are rushing this. It doesn't make much sense, neither of our parents are that old. I think they are planning more than we think." He said, gazing out the window at the bright morning sky. Birds fluttered past the window, one landing on the window sill. It sat there and stared at him for a moment before flying away with the others. |
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Darkseeker
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Calliope gazed around the room taking in her surroundings. A laugh managed to escape at his first response. It was just as she had expected it to be. "I've been thinking about that as well. I just wish they'd be more transparent with us," she sighed, running a hand through her wind whipped hair. "They already know how deeply we despise this arrangement and they still refuse to give us all of the details. My parents still whisper when I walk into their conversations," she shook her head, her gaze settling on the view outside the window for a moment. There hadn't been any talk of war as far as she knew, and neither of her parents were sick, so she had no idea why they could be rushing things. |
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Darkseeker
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Calen sighed through his nose. "My parents have always been the opposite of transparent with me. I guess I never really noticed until now." "I'll let you get settled. When you're ready for the grand tour, I'll be in my room. It's down the hall, second door on the left." Calen made his way to the door, shutting it softly behind him as he walked back to his own room, searching for something to occupy his time until then. |
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Darkseeker
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Calliope felt the same way. Her parents had never been so secretive with her before. It made her really nervous that it was a serious matter. "Okay. I shouldn't be long," she responded, watching as he left. She made a mental note of which room he was in before starting to unpack some of her things which had been brought to her room. Of course her mother had allowed her to bring only the girliest of dresses, so when she went to freshen up and change she picked the least flashy of her dresses. After about thirty or so minutes, Calliope decided that she was ready to join Calen once more. She left her room, now looking like a proper lady. Once she reached the room that belonged to him, she knocked, her knuckles rapping softly against the wooden door. |
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Darkseeker
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Calen rose from his seat by the unlit hearth to answer the door, assuming it was Calliope since none of his family knocked so softly. He opened the door, gazing down at Calliope. "Ready?" He asked, stepping out and closing the door. There wasn't much to show her inside the castle, besides the dining hall and some of the rooms they would be taking their dance lessons in. Calen was more excited to show her outside of the castle. The stables, the kennels, and maybe if they had time the woods near the castle grounds. That part might have to wait until another day, since she was dressed in a seemingly expensive dress, and he would get throttled if he was responsible for ruining it. |
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Darkseeker
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Calliope gazed up at Calen as he answered the door, nodding as he questioned if she was ready. "As I'll ever be," she said, her voice soft and steady. She was more ready to see outside rather than in. Nature was her happy place and she hoped she'd have the opportunity to get away from reality while visiting. Even though her mother had been strict on packing extravagant clothing, it wouldn't stop her from doing the things she loved. A part of her believed it had been her mothers intention to keep her from acting "wild." |
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Darkseeker
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Calen finished showing Calliope the inside of the castle, all of the rooms she would be visiting frequently. Once he finished showing her the inside, he wandered outside, toward the kennels. "Now that the boring part is over, we can get to the fun stuff." He said, pushing open the door. A chorus of barking greeted them, the dogs jumping at the walls of their enclosures. "These are the kennels, where we keep the hounds. Most of them are used for hunting, some for companions." There were around ten dogs all together, all different shapes and sizes. Calen walked over to one particular kennel, unlatching the door and taking a step in. A big long furred dog hurried over to him, her tail wagging back and forth. Her long golden coat shone as Calen knelt down to scratch at her floppy ears. "This is Hisli. She's my personal favorite." Calen almost fell backwards when Hisli jumped on him and started licking his face. Calen chuckled as he pushed her off, standing up. |
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Fall 
Day 
Hurricane
