Arriving in Samarid (open)

[Henry Caville]

Henry merely shook his head as his servants rushed around him, getting his horse ready for the last stage of their journey and ensuring that everything was in place. Apart from making sure that his two other horses were watered, fed and haltered for the journey, they also had to ensure that all his possessions were packed in and that the young prince was dressed for his arrival in Samarid's capital city. The chaos that was caused by this simple trip would astonish any onlookers, but to the prince it was simply another irritation. "Will you hurry up with that?" he snapped at the servant who was busy saddling his gelding Travis.

They were running late already, and all this servant seemed worried about was placing the saddle in the perfect position. He waved his hand, dismissing the servant before tightening the girth himself. He led Travis out the inn's stables and glanced behind him, sighing with relief at the fact that the servants were finally done and appeared ready to leave. He swung himself onto Travis' back in one swift movement and walked the horse in a circle as he waited for all the servants to mount. "Finally" he muttered when all of them were finally mounted, sure that it was meant to be himself who was making the group late not the servants.

He turned Travis in the direction they were meant to go, he was anxious about his new position but refused to let anyone else see his anxiety. It could be taken for weakness and those who showed weakness were often taken advantage of by others. He chose to glare at his servants who had decided to amble along behind him. “I would like to arrive in Stratenvale before nightfall” he snapped at them and squeezed Travis forward into a trot, he did not want to waste any more time than necessary. He glanced back ensuring that his two other horses were being handled correctly, he had already had both break free from the servants simply because they had been daydreaming instead of focusing on their job.

As they proceeded, the group settled into a steady pace. Henry was actually quite enjoying the journey to Stratenvale even if he wouldn’t admit it. The only one who was expecting him to act like a stuck up prince was himself but some habits were difficult to get rid of and the prince didn’t even realise that the kind-hearted boy that he was as a young child was still somewhere inside of himself, waiting to be let out. The time seemed to pass by quickly on this last stage of their journey and almost too soon they reached the gates of Stratenvale. As they entered the gate and travelled through the streets of Stratenvale, Henry was impressed by the state of the homes of even the lowliest peasant. They all seemed to take pride in their homes; he wondered if the monarch of this country played a role in the state of the peasants’ homes.

When they arrived in the palace courtyard various palace servants came forward and collected the prince’s horses and his belongings. He nodded at one of his own servants, knowing that they would stay in one of the inns in the city and leave the next morning. His father didn’t want to have any of his servants to remain with him in Samarid, apparently using one a servant who was from Samarid would help his image as ambassador. He walked towards the entrance of the palace, wondering if there was anyone who would greet him or if he was to simply go to his rooms and wait to be summoned.

[Lady Gwethana Wrathran]

Being within the castle of Samarid caused Gwethana great stress; her country, Sanglant, had declared war on the Samaridians. With each breath she took it felt as though the stone walls were closing in on her, the rock surely would crush her to death. Yet the very idea was silly and despite the calming draught she had brewed for her own consumption Gwethana still felt unease flow through her veins. The reason she had even ventured into Samarid was ridiculous, but it was on the King’s orders so she could not refuse.

For a moment she sat still on the edge of her bed staring blankly out towards the open window as a gentle breeze blew through the room, freshening the stale air. Twisting a lock of dark brunette hair around her finger Gwethana sighed, there wasn’t much for her to do. It was only tomorrow that she would dine with some of the most highly acclaimed witches and sorcerers of Samarid, no doubt the topic of the war would be heated and troublesome. The very thought of the business banquet gave her a splitting headache.

A dull pain coursed its way up her legs accompanied by the restless sensation that pricked at the strings of her heart. Growling lightly in annoyance she stood and exited her chamber, the bottom fabric of her lavender gown that was ornamented with golden stitching, skimmed the floor. Servants bustled about, some even stopping to glare at her, hatred radiating off their bodies. Gwethana simply gazed at them, a thin, cruel smirk tugging the corners of her lips upward. This expression sent many scuttling away in fright but the braver ones merely held her unyielding gaze before finally blinking and continuing on their way.

It wasn’t necessarily that she desired to be feared, but that she would not let a Samaridian disrespect her in such a manner. Rounding the corner she spotted two large oaken doors, the main entrance, and briskly walked towards them eager for the welcoming rays of sunshine; the sun being the only thing the two warring countries shared. Her hands grasped the golden handles and with a fierce tug she pulled them wide open though the sight that greeted her was not as she expected. Gwethana stared curiously at the man, who was mounted on a well-breed stallion, and arched her left eye brow while her mouth formed the perfect shape of an O.

Taking a step to the side she bowed her head politely in his direction and clasped her hands tentatively behind the small of her back. The air was filled with the rich fragrance of the various wild flowers that grew within the gardens in the front of the castle. Narrowing her hazel eyes, partly because of the intense rays of sun that rained down heavily from the sky, Gwethana opened her mouth and spoke to the man, “Good day.” Gwethana’s voice was neither warm nor cold yet a note of distrust could distinctly be perceived. Her ashen skin glowed faintly in the bright light of early afternoon and her dark curls billowed delicately in the tender gust of air.

[Alice Rae Lindale]

<sup>The past days had been unusual ones for Alice. The shock of seeing what had happened to the queen hadn't quite lifted yet. For days she hadn't sought out company, and hadn't smiled much. She had no idea what was going on around the castle and hadn't talked a lot. Not even the servants seemed to want to talk to her anyway. Perhaps it was because she was from Sanglant, as she had feared would happen.

For the past few days, Alice had been given a room in the castle until Aslim had a more permanant place for her to stay. She supposed she was lucky to be here, but even that didn't clear her confusion. More strange still, Alice had not yet cropped her hair short. In fact, it reached to her shoulders at least now, so she'd simply tied it back into a neat pony tail with a red ribon. Not to mention she did not wear her usual trousers and shirt. Instead she was dressed in an elegant, beautifully made black dress with red ribbons and lace decorating it. It made the fifteen year old Alice look quite grown up. In fact, if she'd dressed like this at home she would have most likely been married off or promised by now.

The girl had decided to take a walk to try to clear her mind. She walked through the castle halls. The seemed to be completely empty wherever she was, though there must have been many more people than just herself in the castle. Were people avoiding the foreign girl? It seemed quite possible, even it wasn't true.

A slight rustling of Alice's skirts and a soft tinkling noise made the girl stop walking and look down. There sat a black cat with a red ribbon around his neck and a golden bell tied to the ribbon. "Hello Chessy dear," Alice murmured with a small smile. She scooped the cat into her arms and stroked it softly. "Where have you been?" The girl started walking again, still holding Chessy and stroking his soft fur.

The cat let out a loud meow as Alice drew closer to the entrance of the great castle. The girl looked up to see two peolpe she had approached without realizing it. One was a handsom and noble looking man who she did not recognize. The other however was a woman she recognized fairly well. Dread sunk in the girl's stomach.

Alice had only gone to court with her parents a few times. Her parents had been trying to get her taken off their hands. Lord and Lady Lindale despised their daughter. Alice's parents had been in the higher levels of nobility. They were important and well known. Even Alice was fairly well known, though most knew of her as "The Lost" or "The young Lindale girl" rather than her actual name.

This woman too was from Sanglant which is why Alice recognized her so well. She was nobility. Alice couldn't quite recall the woman's name as her parents had never actually bothered to introduce her to anyone. Instead she'd sat quietly in the great hall and watched the other nobility mingle and ignore her except for the occational glance that spoke of the gossip being spread about her.

"Oh," Alice said faintly as she stared at the woman. The girl shook her head and broke her gaze away, hopping that she would not be recognized. "Pardon, I did not realize anyone would be here."</sup>

OOC: I'm assuming this takes place after the dragon festival. If not, ignore this post and let me know to delete it because Alice wouldn't be here XD.

[Henry Caville]

Henry gazed lazily around the courtyard, watching various servants run minor errands. He sensed a feeling of apprehension emanate from almost all the servants. This feeling of apprehension worried him, even if his worry did not show on his face. According to his knowledge, Queen Silisia was a fair and merciful monarch. She was not known for treating her servants in the callous manner that most monarch were famous for. He wasn’t sure what to make of this atmosphere, the times that he had visited Samarid’s capital with his father the atmosphere had been pleasant and relaxed, not like this. It was almost as if they were all uncertain of the future of their country, he hoped that the king of Sanglant had not launched a full invasion into Samarid. If he had, then Henry would send word for his father to send their army to assist Samarid.

He was so focused on observing the servants’s odd behavior that he almost didn’t notice the woman who was approaching him. He nodded at the woman when she addressed him. “Good day milady” he said politely. The young prince had been taught since a young age to address women as milady unless they were monarchs, the only exception to this rule was his mother. He had picked up the distrust in her voice as well as her accent. She was obviously no citizen of Samarid as her accent differed from the one that he had become accustomed to over the past few days. “May I be so bold as to ask where are you from milady? Your accent is not one that is from this land” he asked keeping his voice polite and curt. He was not about to befriend a strange woman who he knew nothing about, he had much more important business to attend to.

Henry turned in surprise when he heard another female voice. This girl had a similar accent to the woman standing in front of him. He smiled and shook his head, “No need to apologize” he said a rare look of kindness appeared on his face. This girl appeared to look truly apologetic and Henry wasn’t sure what it was but there was something about the girl that he liked. He wondered where they were from, he had yet to go beyond Samarid. His family had never really communicated with many countries as they preferred to keep to themselves and stay out of trouble. His country had joined in very few wars in the past and had only considered the alliance with Samarid after it became apparent that if they did not, their country ran the risk of being overrun by Sanglant soldiers.

[ooc: sorry it's so short and don't worry it's fine Alice]

[Lady Gwethana Wrathran]

Stopping in her tracks Gwethana rotated her body so she could directly face the man, who was obviously of noble decent. She merely stared at him for a moment, her face impassive. “My place of birth is no concern of yours. Clearly a noble such as yourself should have been well educated in foreign culture so my accent should be a dead giveaway of my true heritage. But to answer your question I am from the country of Sanglant.” Her words were clipped as though she was somewhat annoyed by his inquiry.

Gwethana held her chin up high, proud to have been birthed in the fierce country of Sanglant. A few seconds of silence trickled by before she bothered to turn her head in the girl’s direction, her calculating gaze settled upon the girl’s face and her eyes narrowed in thought. Taking a step towards her she stated, “I know that face.” It was true that she had spotted the girl a few times at the king’s royal court, though the young girl typically sat in the back and simply watched the other lords and ladies.

“I do believe Lord and Lady Lindale informed me all about their ungrateful daughter who I am assuming is you for you’re similar in appearance to them.” There was no specific reason Gwethana choose to be cold to the stranger, especially considering the girl also came from Sanglant. But she had a certain dislike of those who did fully serve the king. She made a clicking noise with her tongue in distaste and continued to stare icily at the girl, “But I’m afraid your name escapes my memory.”

Turning her head back towards the man Gwethana said, “And who, may I ask, are you?” She could tell he was not from Samarid yet Samaridian servants had flocked to him previously, so she surmised he was of importance to the country. The fabric of Gwethana’s elaborate gown rustled lightly in the tender breeze as she stood rooted to her spot.


((ooc: It's alright mine isn't very long either.))

[Alice Rae Lindale]

<sup>Alice smiled kindly at the man, but her eyes were empty of happiness. "Thank you sir," she responded sweetly to the man. The girl curtsied neatly in a fluent, well practiced motion. Every noble daughter was taught to curtsy as a child. "I do not believe we've met before, though that is not much of a surprise. I haven't been here long." Chessy's eyes flickered between the man and the woman that Alice was now in the company with. He gave another meow before climbing up Alice's arm to pearch on her shoulder instead.

Alice flinched slightly when the woman from Sanglant recognized her. Her hands tightened into fists and her jaw clenched slightly. It was like a horrible flash-black being around this woman. The mension of her parents didn't help much. Alice's gaze turned downward, and her smile faded completely. She looked downcast. It almost hurt to think about her parents, especially at a time like this.

"I have no parents," Alice said firmly, eyes looking rather distance as she said it. Though of course Alice had biological parents, she had resolved she had no parents as soon as she'd ran away. They'd never acted as real parents. Her tutor had been the closest thing she'd had to a parent. "So how could you know my name?" Alice looked up at the woman, a fierce look in her eye. It was almost as if she was daring the woman to contradict her.</sup>

OOC: Mine is awefully short too XD sorryz