King's Castle

Trym

When Lukas appeared to look slightly happier than usual, Trym couldn't help but smile as well. Sure, it wasn't like he was smiling and laughing or anything, but coming from Lukas, it was definitely something. He gave Lukas thumbs up with both hands. "Really? 's it good?" Trym questioned. He wasn't really the biggest fan of fish, but it wasn't like he didn't like it. It was just that he prefered things like lamb meat and beaf... And reindeer, of course! Reindeer and sheep were great sources of food, too, because you could use their fur for clothes and blankets amongst other things, so you didn't waste large parts of the animal. Reindeer had antlers too, and they could definitely be useful. But yes, fish was good, too.

"This looks good!" Trym said, referring to a dark red drink... wine? He poured himself a cup and downed the whole thing really fast. He blinked hard a couple of times and made a face. No, that was not wine. At least not the kind he'd tasted. "Well, that was gross-... at least I've tried!" Positive attitude is good, sometimes. Trym grabbed a piece of those fish things and shoved it into his mouth. He gave Lukas two thumbs up while chewing. This was actually good!

Alfred Atherton

Those words, as much as it flattered him, it caused him hurt. She was sharp of tongue. It was something he would admire her for as much as it displeased him. Alfred's insecurity was easy enough to trigger, and his bright blue eyes widened as those words began to sink down. "...I appreciate your honesty. Not many people can do that..." It was a childish to cry now, but his eyes could not help but moisten at the corners. Thankfully, that was as far as it went.

"You despise me, it's unfair, Nat." He smiled sadly at her.  "It wasn't my intention to be of inconvenience to you but I just..." Sighing, he trailed off. Her words were cold as ice, spoken with so much loathe; it cut as deep as her knives. Her opinion should hardly matter anyway, as she obviously did not know him good enough for him to take importance on her judgment, but he did anyway. He might forget this in the morning, let it slip off.

"You're a bitch," he blurted out before realizing what he did. "Sorry," he quickly said. It was improper conduct to call a lady a bitch, but he was just thinking loudly. He was just giving her another reason to hate him. Alfred did not know how to deal with her and he could not find the right words to say. He doubted anything he would do would make her change her mind, even just a little bit. But it did felt good to call her a bitch. Of course, most of her conduct toward him was his fault too so he could not really blame her. He was going to make the situation worse.

Natalya Czarina

"There's nothing unfair on why I despise you," she explained. "You've given me reasons as to why I should..."

Natalya had to admit, it did feel good to make him speechless. Careful eyes watched him closely, every move of his facade in hopes to read his mind. Surely, it did kill his spirit. And part of her own is celebrating yet again to have his ego torn down. A smirk managed to find its way on her face -- at least that was until he called her a bitch.

Lady Czarina gasped, completely astonished with his words. Well, it's not that it was the first time that someone had hated her, but of course being raised of a high born she was used to people sucking it up for her sake and demands. Everyone in the whole damn realm who have met Natalya Czarina did know that she was, indeed, a bitch. But it was only now that someone had said it to her face.

After a moment of shock, she once again went amok. He did call him a bitch after all, so why not give him the best one. Her hand pulled from his shoulder and raised in attempt to slap him right across the face, but stopped before anyone could even see. It would cause too much of a havoc to find the soon to be Lady of Dvorets Black misbehave in the King's own home. It might even cause her the title.

"Touché, my knight," she growled. Her next move was thought of instead. With all her might, she stomped her heel on his foot once again where no one could see it under the skirts of her dress. Only, Natalya missed the fact that the foot she used was the one she injured this morning. "I will kill you in your sleep," the belle warned, storming out of the dance circle before it was even finished.

Her leg was even worse, she could sense. In any moment now she would be limping. Truly, using it to crush Alfred's toe isn't exactly the best action. Cursing to herself, she decided to look for the exit of the hall while blending in the crowd so that her brother wouldn't suspect her presence gone.

Lukas

The distraught and seemingly disgusted face that Trym put up seemed to amuse Lukas, almost to the point of letting out a small smile. He hadn't even noticed so until he caught his lips almost --almost curl into the said smile. Was he really going to do that? Well..Trym did amuse him much more at a lot of occasions on board their ship and while on journey, and on each time Lukas always caught himself before smiling. A good thing it was, though since he was sure that Trym would tease him all the way of he ever let out even the slightest hint of a smile. But Lukas let the other know that he was amused by simple words such as, "You're an idiot."

Lukas let his gaze hover over the different delicacies that were set out on the buffet table and let his companion dwell among the different kinds of alcoholic drinks. Deep in Lukas' mind, he still hoped that Trym, wouldn't get himself drunk, at least not an hour or two before the Ball ended or something..that would be a total mess..

Trym

He laughed a little bit. "Of course, of course!" He agreed. Lukas always called him an idiot, and maybe he was a little bit of an idiot, but he knew Lukas didn't mean anything bad with it. It was just the way he was. Some people expressed themselves in a sharper way than most, and Lukas was definitely one of those people.

"You want something to drink?" Trym, surprisingly enough, poured himself a glass of water. He had to get rid of the taste from earlier somehow, and he really didn't want to get drunk in the first hour. That would let the entire ball go to waste, and he wasn't about to let that happen. He could drink more later. A little bit at once was the key.

Feliciano Vitus

Once caught up in the hug of their father, and Lovino's constant struggling, and being stubborn caused Feliciano to laugh a little. Lovino said he hated them, which meant he loved them. So that definitely brought a smile to his face. He enjoyed this little group hug, it was a little family reunion, which made him happier than anyone could ever know.

"Lovi, you should really stay now! Please? See! We all miss you!"
He gave a smile, this time, he was really sure that Lovino would want to stay. Of course he would, why wouldn't he want to stay after this? He had to!


Roderich Ritter


Roderich looked at Ludwig, as he questioned why Roderich was here. He simply ignored him and looked to his father to respond to him instead.
"Well, I changed my mind simply because I realized this was an opportunity to enjoy free music, food, and other nice things. Surely it was a good idea to come along after all,"

He then returned his gaze to Ludwig.
"And why are you getting so tense about me showing up? Does this have something to do with the Vitus heir? I saw you two speaking together, I even caught on to that incredibly intimate looking hug. Were you worried I was going to show up and ruin everything?"
Actually yes. He kind of did show up and ruin everything, in Ludwig's mind.

"Anyways, it's quite good to see you again father, it's been quite some time."
He gave a polite bow to Ulrich, surely it was a better idea than to hug him like Ludwig had done moments ago.

Alfred Atherton

It was unfair that she could not even consider the weight of her accountability against his. Having been despised by his actions, in his discretion, was unjustified. She had a part to play as well, though Alfred would admit to his own mistakes and his sins against her. Or maybe he was being just as obstinate as she was.

The anger in her eyes and the way it was expressed through her words was unmistakably evident. Yes, it was his fault there. Calling a lady a bitch was impolite, even if it was true. Having that testimony come from his own mouth made it worse. Should it be worth being guilty about? Nay.

"I'm sorry—" Ouch. Alfred bent down slightly at the pain, his eyes closing for a moment as he hissed. She was sadistic and unforgiving. Having to walk the next day would be impossible at this rate. Alfred regarded the threat very lightly, though he had every reason to take it seriously. She was already gone before he could recover. Without wasting another minute he began trailing her, following her dark skirts across the room, following her to wherever she was heading. There was no way to convince the knight that he would let the matter drop so soon and unsettled. Whatever grudge, whatever hate they had against each other, it all must be settled at that night, or at least he would try until he would find it unendurable.

He would not give her the satisfaction.

Romulus Vitus

The king neglected his pleas and knew that the kid never meant that he hated him. Not while he's crying his heart out as he did. "We love you too." He laughed, giving no thought to the crowd around them even if they might be watching.

With one last squeeze, he finally decided to let go. The king was fortunate enough to be much stronger than either of them. But then again he wouldn't be a king if he wasn't. "My queen would be so proud," he breathed out. His smile much, much sincere this time than ever tonight though little tears streamed on the corner of his eyes.

Lovino Vitus

Stumbling back as soon as Romulus let go of them, Lovino wiped off the snot and tears on his face with his already soaked glove and gave a groan. Looking at these two men, he asked himself why he didn't inherit that sort of cheerfulness, then again, that's what made them idiotic and stupid, so he's partly thankful for being the rude bastard he was. "If mother were still alive, she wouldn't let me feel the need to run away..." Lovino grumbled in a low tone, unsure whether anyone heard it.

"I'm...not...ugh, no." The older Vitus argued with Feliciano's plea of staying here, straightening himself up. He took a deep breath before looking over his small family again, and noticing that one of his half-brothers, the admiral Antonio, stood not too far from them. He shrugged it off and began to speak again. "I don't want to... stay." He didn't have a place in the kingdom. He knew that. "I'm... The world outside the castle has more use for me than in here." He explained rather quietly now, careful not to slip out a word of his new profile as a smooth-talking thief amongst the townspeople.

His head hung low with the next thing he was about to say. "B-but... I-I... Even if I don't wanna live here... a-anymore... C-Can... I visit sometimes...?" Because he definitely did not miss these two idiots. Nor the beautiful maidens serving them. Definitely not.

"No, we will not get married," he assured her. Emil gently placed left hand on her waist, and his right laced themselves in her fingers. He nodded approvingly when she placed her hand on his shoulder.

" Now follow my lead," The Nordic murmured and began to slowly replicate the circular footsteps the other dancers were doing. "Feel free to let me know if I'm moving to quickly," Emil added carefully moving around to a slow tempo. He was positive they looked ridiculous as they danced at the pace of an elderly couple, but Emil never had much need for other's acceptance. Lukas was the exception at one point. Now he wasn't so sure.

Michelle

"Oh." She blinked a couple of times, before bursting into laughter. "That's just a joke from Trym then, I suppose?" She was relieved mostly because she didn't want to get married right away-- to a human even, whom she just met a few hours ago. She needed to learn and explore more of the world, after all!

She complied obediently, looking down at their feet and then to the other dancing couples, and back again, and so on. They were slow, yes, but it was just the right pace for her. "Ah..." The brunette faced him with a brilliant smile as soon as she got to memorize the pattern of steps and movements. "This is really nice and fun, I think I'll-- Oh!" A small squeak of surprise escape her lips as she felt her boot step over Emil's, and she quickly took a step back.

"Eh... The moment I took my eyes off our feet... I just..." She sighed, looking at Emil dejectedly. "I'm so sorry for hurting your foot! May we continue dancing...?"

King Romulus Vitus

"Pff-- this is your home, you can come here anytime." Romulus motioned his hand by flicking his wrist at Lovino.

"You could have told us everything before..." His energy evidently lowered. Resulting a frown on his face. Of course, having a son leave your nest wouldn't be the greatest. But if Lovino would have notified him of what was going on instead of just running away, then it would at least lessen the king's wary. It wasn't at all hard to envision his son leaving for an adventure to find himself and pay visits every now and then instead of waking up one morning, learning that his eldest had left without knowing when he'll see him again.

"It would have saved me from the wary," The king did send his people to find him. But when he knew that Lovino ran away with his own wishes, he decided to take a step back and have him guarded from afar instead. He figured that the lad would even resent him even more if he forced him to return in the castle. And to what? Lock him in his room until he would get tired of sneaking out?
Romulus valued free will the most before anything else, the entire five realm knew this fact surely. Generally because he despised being caged himself. And chaining his own sons would be the most horrific thing that he can do towards them.

"Alas, what's done is done," he sighed, shaking off the slight disappointment. "You can come by and have dinner with us anytime. Or, ask the kitchen for some meat and wine to last you for a month. Whatever you need-- food, wool, cloaks, whatever!"
Lovino's entire 'rebellion' didn't exactly make sense if he was to rely on the castle's supply of reliefs, but Romulus didn't mind at all. Better to know that one of his own kin isn't starving off to some cold corner to help him sleep at night.

Ulrich Ritter


Ulrich's expression remained unphased at Roderich's arguments to Ludwig, although it made a lot of sense and he found himself silently supporting the theory. But, enogh about that - at least for now. He still had a son to have at least one conversation in the evening with, so he rather focused on responding to Roderich's greeting.

"Indeed, it has been a while," he responded, his look fully focusing on the brown-haired Ritter. "Tell me, anything new worth mentioning while I was gone?"

Alfred Atherton

"Not a damn thing," he spoke.

Alfred had no intention of breaking iron that would not bend. He knew that from the moment he stepped inside the arena to face her. His goals were set on examining her, never hurting her. It was only a defensive move, but he had enough of his own excuses. To her, none of this was substantial and he understood why she might think that. He had his own faults that resulted from his rash decisions.

He was rather proud, that he would not deny her. But hurting her did not bring him pride. He had nothing against her House, nothing against her. She simply was a victim of his own greed and curiosity. All the young knight was trying to do now was flatten out the folds, burn out every torch that kept the hate fueled.

"I don't see a failure in front of me—I would never have admired something I brand as a failure! If you think a few wounds and bruises make a person a failure, then ask the grandest of all knights and kings to tell you that you think wrong." Alfred looked around the gardens, watching for any sign of listening ears. The place seemed empty enough, but eyes and ears hide very well behind the blanket of shadows. He wanted none of what they talk about be heard by unworthy ears. "Your brother cannot change anything, you know that. What we have done was between us and whatever resolution we would come up with will exclusively come from us... You don't want to be remembered as something the wrong people would brand you as..."

He was offering peace, but her pride was too crushed and her heart too angered. "Let me give you a reason to be free from all this hate..." And from that point he would be needing her cooperation. All she needed was tell him what, and he was his for her disposal. She was far too special in his eyes for him to just let loose in a place where her potential would go unappreciated. "Will you believe me if I tell you that I am truly sorry for what I've done to you...?" He sighed, running nervous fingers through his hair. "I'm not asking you to forgive me, only to keep an open mind."

His words would not work, would they? He was so lost for them, his chest filled with uncertainty that nothing he said was enough for him. He knew too much of swordplay and too little of how words are thrust. There was too much ambiguity and too little clarity.

"Please."

Antonio Vitus

While Antonio was waiting patiently he seemed to have gotten distracted as usual. His green eyes glancing at the bodies moving throughout the Great Hall. He wondered if any of his comrades were around to chat with, it was then the bright green eyes of his settled on Francis seemingly dancing with a young lady...possibly from the Capitals Village. She seemed all dressed up, happily lost in the dance. When he saw that it was over he decided that he would walk over to chat with Francis and maybe even introduce himself to the young lady. Taking pride in his steps he suavely moved through the crowd over to them a bright inviting smile painted onto his lips. "How are you Sir Francis?" He asked him trying to be polite before turning to the girl taking her hand as a custom before pressing his lips softly to it. "And you Miss?" He certainly didn't want to be rude nor leave the young lady out.

Matthew Atherton

Matthew had been late of course, it wasn't like he wanted that, but in part it did play to the young heir's favor. He didn't think making a big entrance was one thing that he liked. If he could just quietly slip into the party it would be better. He wore the traditional colors of Atherton mostly just to make his family happy but if needed a confident impression at the party. Matthew needed to look like he new what he was doing, needed to look better for the job than his brother. This was his debut to the Capital and he had to look like the heir of perfection. His hands slightly shaky smoothed out his garb before approaching the doors and soon he felt as if he was thrust inside the Great Hall. At first frozen a small smile graced his lips tilting his head up high assuming the position he thought was correct. Looks like he didn't bring much attention wonderful. He looked through the crowd mostly just wanting to get to the food that will keep him busy. He grabbed a cup of wine from the table taking a strong drink looking around. Channel your brother, just do it you idiot. He spoke to himself as he could feel he confidence lowering...speaking of his brother he didn't see him, oh that meant trouble didn't it. He took another drink swallowing the alcohol down oh he needed it. Maybe it was best to lie low near the food and drinks for now.

Emma felt her cheeks heat up when the stranger had approached her and her dance partner. He apparently knew Francis quite well, but he seemed very formal to both of them. She blushed even harder when she felt her hand on his lips. She knew it was propriety, but she still needed to get used to that. She cleared her throat as she tried to hide the blush on her face. "I am well. Thank you sir." She told him, curtsying in front of him when she finally realized who she was in the presence of. The young man was part of the royal family of her kingdom of origin. She had to show the upmost respect to him. After all, she was in the castle of the King.

Antonio Vitus


Antonio cleared his throat a bit slightly noticing her blush but he decided to brush it off oblivious to her attraction. He couldn't read people very well a flaw of his and couldn't really see that she was quite taken with him. "Oh I forgot." he chuckled softly knowing he was missing something his introduction, the young woman had no idea who he was how rude of him. "I apologize Miss, I should introduce myself, I am Antonio Vitus, part of the royal family and Admiral of the Great Fleece's fleet." he grinned proudly, gosh he did love that title. "And you might be?" he asked curious of the young lady's origin.

Antonio Vitus. She knew it just by looking at him that he was part of the royal family, but the general of the fleet? That was something she didn't know about him. She wasn't impressed, but surprised and excited to have the general of the fleet that kept her kingdom of origin safe. Immediately, she went into another curtsy, and stayed there for a somewhat long time. "It's an honor to be in your presence, Admiral." She said respectfully before continuing. "My name is Emma Janssens also from the Kingdom of Vires. I'm a baker, known for most of the pastries that are consumed along with the famous Vires wine. You most likely had some of my baking before." She admitted, slowly coming up from her curtsy.

Antonio Vitus

Antonio blushed softly at her long curtsy but quickly covered with a small chuckle. She didn't have to make him out to be a big deal even if he may be and even if he may have liked it more than he should have. "Well to speak quite candidly, Miss Janssens, It is an honor to meet a baker of my great kingdom and a citizen as well. He was charming wasn't he, always trying to make the citizens feel like they were important. "I bet your baking was absolutely perfect, for everything I have eaten that was delivered to the castle has been divine." In fact he needed to go try the wine...it was hard for him not to consume less than 5 glasses. "Speaking of the wine...have you had any yet Miss?" he asked her knowing he would grab them both a glass if the lady wanted it.

Emma felt her face turn even more red at the compliment. Compliments from two of members of royalty?! She definitely wasn't expecting that tonight. She curtsied once more, trying to ease the blush on her face. "You flatter me Admiral. I'm honored that you enjoy my sweets greatly. My desserts are usually designed with the extravagant Vires wine in mind. I make desserts that help bring out the delicious taste of whatever wine one is drinking. Each dessert is created to accompany a certain wine." She explained as she rose from her curtsy. "I'm afraid not my lord. I haven't had the time to consume any of the wine, as I'm always busy with my business."

cPalace Garden // Natalya Czarina


"Something the wrong people would brand me as..." she repeated. Torment was painted on her face, and yet she strives not to look at him in the eyes. "And how am I supposed to know you're not one of them?"

Natalya turned and limped her way to the nearest bench to rest on. "You don't understand. You would never understand," she told him, pulling her legs up on the seat. The black skirt was wrinkled and rumpled from how she positioned, but as if it was a matter of her concerns.
"House Atherton... You ran away from your own house to be a knight. You're a member of the fleece now, how on earth could you comprehend?" Lady Czarina rolled her eyes. Of course, she knew little about Alfred. She had no idea he was supposed to be the heir -- all the bits of information she stumbled upon only lead her to the idea of being a member of the house and not the one next in line.

It wasn't that she wanted to find a ticket out of her own house as he did, just that the difficulty of being the Lady is inevitable. More so with their weird traditions and beliefs in the north.

Groaning, she rested her forehead on her knees and hid her face with the fabric of the skirt. "Shut up! If you want to be forgiven, then fine. I told you, there's nothing you can do so just quit pestering me! You're forgiven, whatever. But that won't stop me from detesting you." Natalya hissed. Her voice coming off muffled. "I forgive you, if that's what you want to hear to be freed from the burden. Now, go away."