The Next Queen of Ranthrok!

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LadyHarpy

LadyHarpy

Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread
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  2. Female
  3. Primarily Prefer Female
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I enjoy Fantasy, Scifi, Romance, Magical, Modern and much more. I probably can't list them all! If there is something you want to try and it isn't listed here, just ask. I rarely say no!
Ember walked down the busy street, the road covered in cars as workers spilled out from office buildings and headed on to their commute home for the weekend. She was heading home herself, having just finished classes for the day at the community college down town. With her backpack slung over her shoulder and her wild curly hair held back in a messy bun, the college student hurried on her way back to her house.

She stood out in the crowd, her orange skinny jeans and oversized white sweater a bright contrast of the black and grey suits of the workers. She could feel herself being stared at but she didn't care, she had better things to do than worry about image. She slipped around a corner and started to head toward the houses on the east side of town. A quick glance up at the sky told her that is was going to rain soon and she wanted to get back before she got caught in the down pour.

The sky continued to get darker and the storm got closer, making Ember pick up her pace as she jogged across a street and around yet another corner. She would glance up at the sky and back to where she was going multiple times, almost paranoid about getting wet. However, she wasn't worried about the rain, she just didn't want to get yelled at for tracking water into the house, her father was quite strict on his dislike for anything that could ruin the wood flooring.

Sadly, even with her usually quick feet, the rain got her as it started to shower heavily on the streets and buildings, leaving everything to look like blurs of color. She could barely see where she was going and had no choice but to slow down. A flash of lighten shot across the sky and was followed by thunder and a strong gust of wind. The storm seemed to be getting worse rather quickly and it made Ember a bit nervous. She scurried into an alley that she knew was a shortcut to her house and started to jog again, the rain shower not as strong in the small gap between the buildings.

She splashed through puddles and hopped over trash cans as she got closer to the other side, finally popping out at the other end. However, as she landed on the ground it seemed to give way to a hole, a blue, shiny hole…

Ember could only gasp in surprise as she was quickly sucked down into the shimmering void, completely surprised by its sudden appearance. She screamed as she fell into the swirling tunnel, tossing about as she fell farther and farther into the unknown. Her trip was stopped soon though as she smacked into something hard, she assumed it was the ground. Her backpack spilled open all over, her books flying everywhere as she laid on the floor gasping, the breath having been knocked out of her body. As she gained back her ability to breath she said the only this one could say in her situation.

"Ow..."
 
There was a problem. A BIG problem.

What was supposed to be a simple process of selection had seemed to turn in to all out female warfare. A King needed a Queen to rule beside him. A good Queen who was stable, kind, and reliable. Yet, his Royal Majesty didn't seem to have the mental capacity to sit still long enough to choose his bride on his own.

That is where his councilmen came in. One single brilliant idea. A veritable Princess Parade of eligible woman, living in the castle and competing for the man's affection. Surely, with so many beautiful woman, the King would find a bride amongst him.

'No, the man is more likely to revel in the attention for the next five years while the country remains unsure about their future.' Alariel's thoughts on His Majesty couldn't be considered kind. For her, he seemed wishy-washy and balancing the country's fate on a delicate string. Ignoring the importance of a strong union.

But this was not what she was most concerned about. Alariel had heard a rumor that their In House wizard was going to remedy the whole situation and magically find a Bride for the King. Magically. As if magic was the solution to every real life problem! The castle was filled with women, a wizard was meddling, and on the horizon, Alariel could only see sheer chaos.

Thus, she was hastily on her way to meet the King and insist he stop the madness immediately. Heels clicking on marbled floor in a loud, determined sound as she stalked down the halls, completely unaware that she may be too late.
 
On some rare days, moments came along when Marcus began to regret being close to the King. Since this competition began, those days had started to become more and more frequent. So many of them, at every turn, even starting to bother him now, as if he was going to be their key to the throne.

If everything had to have a positive light, it was that he was becoming more and more familiar with the short cuts and back ways through the castle. And with areas that the many women trying to be the next Queen wouldn't go. So, the longer he spend practicing his swordsmanship, the shorter they could bother him. A simple, perfect plan.

He ducked his way through the castle, avoiding the more populated routes, although there were some that were inevitable.

And here was such a one. As simply and casually as he could, Marcus turned into the hall, hoping to reach the door he wanted before someone behind him could begin a conversation, but he could hear Alariel's familiar footsteps behind him, and knew it was probably already too late for him now.


Magic. Magic. It was almost enough to make Serazel scream. A passing servant might have seen her standing by her window, arms crossed over her chest, gaze locked on the sky, and assumed she was another bridal candidate with a head full of dreams.

A servant of House Elenzio would have seen the smaller signs, the clenching of her hands, the hard line of her mouth, and her eyes turned into hard green orbs.

She closed those hard eyes, forcing herself to take a deep breath, remembering everything that she'd learned, been trained for. Rage was not becoming of a future Duchess of her house. This was a problem, yes, but like all problems it could be solved by one way or another.

Slipping into a neutral mask, Serazel left her room, searching for ideas as she began to walk through the castle, the inner turmoil of her mind hidden by her body. One thing that she knew for certain though: If it were up to her she would have that wizard flayed alive.
 
Life has gotten complicated. So very complicated.

Today, Dmitri was looking for as many excuses as possible to not socialize with any women. He paced back and forth in his personal quarters, where only his loyal servants were allowed to enter without permission. People have grown irritated with their King, either because he wasn't married yet or because they despised his method of choosing a bride. This was never his idea to begin with! He was always so busy since he had to run this country by himself, so it was easy to pressure him into that silly idea.

"I will just have to abandon all hopes of love. I have a duty!" he told himself, putting a palm to his forehead. Dmitri was a very passionate, romantic man who wanted what many of the fictional characters in his books had. There was an entire section of his library dedicated to romantic novels, and tales of monarchs who were lucky enough to marry for love. Perhaps, the woman he married would learn to love him. No matter what, he would treat her with respect, care, affection, and always protect her.

"But how am I supposed to choose!?" he asked himself dramatically, messing up his golden blond hair with frenzied hands. There were so many eligible candidates, he hated to have to pick one and send the rest of them home in disappointment.

After a heavy sigh, Dmitri slumped down into a chair with its back turned to his desk. There was some work to be done, yes. Scrolls of paper were organized neatly, requiring his eyes so he could approve or disprove suggestions for his law. There were also letters to be written, and an announcement for the upcoming events.

'Well... Things could be worse. I could be at war.'
 
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Renna knocked lightly on the door to the king's chamber. She was shrouded entirely in a long brown cloak that hid her petite frame and unruly brown hair. Beneath the robe, she had on a simple dress of pale green - she was at all turns looking to blend in as much as possible. She had been sitting downstairs reading when she had heard the wizard murmuring something and then, loud noises. Put together what she'd heard and the general sound... she thought Dmitri deserved at least fair warning.

"Mits" she quietly murmured to the door "I thought you could do with some fair warning. I heard that..." but before she could continue, she spotted Alariel down the hall and she seemed to be on the warpath. "Eep!" she chirped, looking around for some sort of exit. She scanned the area but could determine no reasonable escape routes. "Ahhh.... Alariel..." she stammered, her eyes lowered to the floor even though she was still very much hidden in her cloak.

Renna was positive that she should have stayed home and simply told her mother that she was sick; Renna hated being one of those women, set in front of the king like a buffet of choices. Dmitri was not, she hoped, going to stand much longer for this sampling of women. She herself wished it would just be over so that she could congratulate the new queen, feel upset a while, and then eventually get over it all. Renna resented being one of these girls, it made her feel dirty talking to her friend, though she would never so much as whisper to him about her feelings. She just wanted him to be friends with her, to share that familial friendship he seemed to have with Marcus.
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She must have looked like a banshee or something. ...or they were all trying to hide something! Why else would there be two people in the hall trying to scramble for their lives. Alariel felt a bit insulted, but knew the feeling would pass. Her annoyance was reserved specifically for the King and for the Wizard. After all, she wouldn't feel right blaming ones like Renna who had very little choice in being there. Though, Marcus who was fumbling to get in to his rooms could take some partial blame.

Alariel let Marcus escape in the wake of Renna being brave enough to speak. She sighed softly, gesturing at the door and making sure she didn't use a tone that might frighten the girl witless.

"Lady Renna, have you spoken to his Majesty?" she asked, looking behind the girl at the door. "I need him to stand still long enough for me to have a few words." Somehow Alariel could picture him climbing out a window to get away, even though the image probably wouldn't be accurate.
 
Sarrin Remistyr, Duke, honored knight, head of his majesty's armies, and good friend of the king, could not believe what he was going through. he was one of the greatest warriors the kingdom had ever known. Sarrin had seen combat all over the kingdom, he helped bring in new provinces, and put down rebellions. Now it seemed he was constantly harrassed by women who wanted a private audience with the king. Sarrin was glad when his duites allowed him to have councils with his advisors. it seemed like it was the only time he was not surrounded by bridal canidates.

"Your highness we cannot ignore the problems in the feywood. There is too much unrest, if we don't act soon the elves will secede from the kingdom." Sarrin knew what was at stake in the feywood. He had been trying hard to deal with things carefully, the elves of the feywood were finicky, it had been difficult to make them join the kingdom. "I know . I had hoped we could succeed to do this without strength of arms. I had hoped we could take care of the elves wothout bringing his majesty into it. It seems now we have few other options." Sarrin sat quietly thinking."send two more battalions into the faywood to try and hunt down the dissidents. that should give us some more time to devise a plan to bring to his majesty. It also may be enough to calm this situation down." Sarrin looked around the room. "I trust that you are all capable of organizing this yourselves. i must go speak with his majesty." The others stood as he did, and were not seated until he had left the room.

There were no bridal canidates in the corridors right now. sarrin smiled. peace at last. he made his way to the kings private chambers. he heard lady Alariel's voice down the corridor, she sounded upset. Sarrin sighed. "This should be interesting." he thought.

He silently walked behind the woman. "Is there a problem I could help with?" he asked with the intent of surprising her.
 
It was another warm day in the capital. Cymbal had hoped that she would be starting to get use to it by now, but the air here was thick and heavy and the very idea that this was not even the worse of the summer heat yet was almost enough to make her cry.

She feverly wished for a summer storm, and it appeared that someone had heard her prayer for there was a great rumbling. Yet, it did not seem to be coming from outside. Confused, Cymbal looked out a nearby window. No, it wasn't her imagination, there were great storm clouds coming into the city. She must have just confused the direction of the sound.

Now perhaps she wouldn't feel like a wilting lily. The tall woman walked aimlessly down the hall, enjoying the feel of her sky blue silk gown, trimmed in gold today. Gold was also braided into her long blonde hair and Cymbal was pleased with the results. She looked regal, at least by the standards of people in the low country.

Cymbal was making mental plans to have one of her personal maids organize a riding party. Cymbal needed to get out of these stone walls, and a mixed group of men and women, especially the other bridal candidates, would be ideal. She didn't want to leave any here alone with the King. Of course if the King could be convinced to go as well, so much the better.

There seemed to be several people talking down a side corridor, in fact it was leading in the direction of the king's chamber. Cymbal paused and looked down to see who she recognized.
 
"Y-you don't understand! I'm not a conjurer, I'm an illusionist! An artist! A poet! I can hardly conjure a drop of water when I spit, how do you expect me to conjure a bridal canidate?!" The mage's protests fell on deaf ears - after all, how could the son of the great fae Mage Fortenous Water-Delve be a poor magic-user!

The paniced fae was in deep trouble. If he didn't do this, it could possibly mean a beheading! The king didn't see the type, but still - fear clutched at his heart and stomach. Thus, he ended up "freecasting" the spell... Just reaching out, using only candles and a protective glyph circle... He hadn't expected much, but desperately wanted it to work...

"Come on... Come on..." The pathetic, shaky chant continued as he searched out with his mind... Then he felt something! Grabbing onto the "image" of the female in his head, he brought it to him... It was that point that all the candles blew out.

Vellious stood in fear... Ears straining to hear something... Worried that he might have called something female... And dangerous. The pathetic-sounding "Ow" eased his nerves, and he moved forward... His foot colliding with a book. "Hmm? Oh, pixie dust. I didn't summon up a mage, did I?"

Snapping his fingers, he swept a ball of light in his hand, setting it to float near his head... He took on his human guise, the tall, blue/white haired youth with the pointed teeth and fox ears. He looked over the summoned individual for a moment. "Many apologies, m'lady, see this was my first summoning, and-" he trailed off.

Nearly jumping for joy, his eyes lighting up - literally. "It worked! Ha-ha!" Keeping himself from breaking into dance, he continues, "My name is Vellious Leaf-Cutter, royal Mage!" He says this with pride, puffing out his chest. "I'dlooke to welcome you, m'lady...?" Trailing off, he looks to her... Before finally offering a hand to help her up. "Welcome to Ranthrok!"
 
Ember could hear something moving, she had yet to open her eyes for her head was hurting way to much at the moment. She groaned as she raised a hand to place it on her head, atempting to stop the harsh throbbing that was filling her skull and ears. She opened her eyes slowly as she heard someone talking, something about a mage and pixie dust? Where in the heck did she end up?...

Her sight was blurry but she could tell there was someone there, above her and talking...She couldn't really catch it as her ears were ringing and her head was trobbing more. She just groaned and laid there, hoping that who ever was talking would get the hint that she wan't catching a single thing they said.

Her head started to throb less and the ringing slowly died away in time for her to have a hand thrust into her face and a hearty "Welcome to Rathork!" hit her ears, the loudness making ehr wince slightly as she slowly took thr offered hand, not knowing what else to do since she had just been dragged here against her will. She looked up whomever was helping her up and groaned once more before speaking.

"Thanks...ugh...Where am I again?" She asked as she glanced around uncertainly; she had never heard of such a place as Ranthork.
 
Before Renna could give her a reply, Duke and Sir Knight, Sarrin Remistyr approached. He looked a bit exasperated at the sight of her, of which Alariel paid no mind to. She seemed to have earned a reputation this week for being exasperating.

Clasping her hands together, she nodded curtly. "As a matter of fact, I just arrived to speak with His Majesty. I've heard the council intends to use magic to summon a bride for the King. Something as important as our future royal monarch shouldn't be left in the hands of a bumbling wizard such as Vellious, don't you agree?" Her pleading expression was all but begging him to agree! There had to be at least one person in the castle with some common sense.
 
Marcus was casting his gaze around, trying to find an excuse, any excuse not to be where he was at the moment. He didn't want to get caught between Alariel and Dmitri in any circumstances, but he wanted to even less when it was about the King's marriage. He didn't really want to be involved in any part of this, except for the final ceremony, but that would mean abandoning his closest friend. He wanted to help, but not have to face Alariel when she was in a mood.

He heard something above him, something faint, but it still sounded like an impact of some kind. "I think I heard something, excuse me." He said hurriedly, already on his way from the King's quarters, turning up the stairs quickly.

In a few moments he was at the mage's quarters, looking at the tightly shut door. He couldn't hear much inside, which was could be good or bad. He rapped his knuckle sharply against the thick wooden door leaning in slightly so his voice would carry through better. "Everything alright in there?"
 
Dmitri could hear voices on the other side of his door. He should have expected as much... Women roamed freely in his castle, and his colleagues could hold them off for only so long! It was time that he took some initiative. Besides, it was rude for him to ignore everybody. Sooner or later, all the knocks and voice would annoy him to the point of losing his cool. That would not be pleasant in the slightest.

Turning away from his desk, he quickly fixed his mess of hair by combing it with his fingers. It didn't take long; that blond hair had a shaggy sort of style anyhow. He then adjusted the plates of armour and made certain that his fine linens were presentable. An arm went outward to push his red cape aside as he approached the door, letting out a dreary sigh. "Here it goes..."

With a hand on each handle, he pushed his doors open and looked over everyone silently with a straight face. Some of his closest and most loyal friends were even present, no doubt trying to shield him from these obsessive women! Dmitri would have to reward them for this extra work...

"What can I do for you ladies?" he asked, making a charming smile. The man was very busy, but didn't bring that up. That wasn't likely to do anything for him, anyway. Everyone was in such a rush to get him married that nothing else mattered!
 
"She speaks Language! I'm the greatest mage in existence!" Hopping excitedly, he grins at the young female, whispering his intentions to the wind - wisps of magic merging into a globe of the world in his hand, "See, this is Ranthork." His ears perked, and he jolted off several facts about it, talking needlessly, including dropping, "You're in His Majesty's palace, where there's this... wait."

Gesturing about the room - "Well, this is my chambers, which is in His Majesty's palace."

"Now, what we've got going on here is-" He was interrupted by a knock at the door... He turns, looking towards the door... the globe floating over his hand turning into a brand new ball of light. At the voice, the youthful mage perked up. "Everything's fantastic! Come on in, the door's unlocked!" If the knight enters the room, he gestures towards the female proudly, puffing his chest out. "See? I can do something that helps!"
 
Ember's eyes widened as she watched him summon the globe of this place in his hands, it was rather impressive in fact. It looked along like the earth, but it certainly had some obvious differenced that see couldn't help finding weird. She listened to him ramble on, taking in what he said as she continued to look over the magical orbe. The headache she had had slowly faded away as she was distracted but this new information, it was really unbelieveable.

When the knock came to the door though she jumped a bit, surprised. She looked to the door, along with the man she just met only moments ago. She really didn't know what was going on but she guessed it involved her since the man she was next to started to show her off like a game show girl would show off a grand prize.
 
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Renna turned furiously red and looked between the duke, the king, and Alariel. She was unsure of what to do and shifted uneasily on her feet. The situation was as close to a nightmare of hers as anything had ever been - there she was, standing in front of Dmitri's door looking like a common brown-nosing wench, in front of Alariel and the duke no less. What made it worse was that she wished that she could vie for the king's affection like the other women, but she was well aware that she wasn't a good candidate. The king would never like her, so she was determined to make friends with him so that at least she could help him in some way.

"Well... uhm. I just wanted to warn you that uh... uhm. Alariel said something about the mage and uhm... well, I was coming to warn you that I er... heard some sounds coming from his chamber earlier and he was uhm, most certainly talking to someone" Renna hated how she sounded when she tried to speak in front of Dmitri. Ordinarily, she could have held a quiet, polite conversation with even Alariel who scared her a little but Dmitri made her stupid. Which probably deducted from her overall attractiveness - what a peach.

Quickly, trying to salvage what little image she could muster, she quickly curtsied. "Where are m-my manners... Your majesty, is there any-anything I could do for you at all?" she tried hard not to stammer, feeling worse and worse inwardly as she failed.
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Sarrin was alarmed when he had heard about what the mage was going to attempt to do. "The court did What?" he said almost angrily. "That is proposterous The court....." he was cut off when the king opened the doors to his chambers. Sarrin immediately knelt down and touched two of his fingers to his forehead (a mixture of human and night elf courtesy) The king motioned for him to rise.

The young girl that Alariel had been speaking with attempted to tell the king what was transpiring. She had trouble speaking to the king though. Sarrin set his hand on the girls shoulder, and said "what she is trying to say, your majesty, iis that the royal court has ordered the court mage to summon a bride for you." the girl looked at him, he gave a warm smile, it was common for some to feel nervous when speaking to his majesty. Sarrin almost fainted the first time he met the king. " Your majesty this needs to be stopped. It is highly unlikely to work, and even if it does, it would be kidnapping." Sarrin placed both his hands behind his back and traightened his pose, he was never very good at conversing with others, so he tried to be as blunt as possible.
 
"You... you really did it." Marcus cocked his head to the side as he saw Ember. She was... strange, he decided at last. Her looks were unlike the other women here as part of the competition. She looked like a commoner, which would seem to disqualify her from this competition, but... if she was chosen by the wizard, then he should trust that judgement, shouldn't he?

Then again, with this wizard...

With a slight shake of his head, he remembered his manners. He was supposed to be a knight, after all. He gave Ember a small bow, saying "Forgive me, mi'lady, my name is Marcus Tarant, knight of Ranthrok. May I have your name?"
 
Ember looked at the knight that bowed to her and bowed in return, assuming that was how people were greeted here. She'd certainly have to ask a lot of questions, as time went on she just kept getting more and more.

"I am Ember, Ember Carriway...It's a pleasure...I think." She said as she looked around the room a little.

She looked to the other man, the one who had the glowing ball of light, and motioned around the room with her hand.

"So, I get that I'm in some strange place or something but...Um...Why exactly am I here?" She asked.
 
Voices. Loud, unceasing voices. All of that bloody noise! It wouldn't stop; it was like a chorus of chaos, voices roaring and unceasing. Why wouldn't they be quiet? He only wanted to sleep!

"Oh please, just be quiet!" Gawain whined from the corner of the Wizard's chambers. "By the nine divines, I will never drink that much ever again," he muttered and moaned, rolling from his back onto his hands and feet. He pushed up, dry-retched, and rolled back onto his heels. His back fell into the stone wall and as he tried to finally see where he was, he blinked rapidly, the light of the room half-blinding him.

"Where the bloody..?" At some point in the night, he had sneaked back into the Castle from the town below. He had left in the middle of the night to raise a wild, raucous celebration in the largest and most profitable tavern, The Wench's Skirts. Gawain remembered being with a pretty girl, enjoying the kisses he got from her pouty red lips and enjoying filling his hands with...

"By the divines, what happened?!" It was then he realized he was without shirt and change purse. He muttered angrily; he hadn't lost much of his money, sure he would have spent it all on food and drink, but he had liked that shirt!

"I liked that shirt!" He voiced. It was also then he realized that he had just revealed his existence to the Wizard and the Sir Knight that he had always forgotten the name of. There was also a strange, peculiar looking girl standing before them. She was attractive, but her wardrobe was... well, it was peculiar.

"Who's that?" Gawain asked, pointing right at her.
 
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