The Next Queen of Ranthrok!

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Renna had taken Dmitri's arm, taking care to duck her head down so that neither could see her pink cheeks. When they arrived at the room, Renna glanced around curiously, her eyes examining all of the faces. It was nearly humiliating to seem so underhanded as to be clutching the king's arm when they walked in and quickly, she perked up at Alariel's words. The mention of the marriage made her feel once more like nothing but a common whore. She bit her lip.

"Ah, yes, poor girl must be weary and confused. I shall take her to a chamber in the Wing of Roses, with the other bedrooms, if that is all right, your highness?" Renna immediately felt sorry for the girl, for she looked quite confused and she'd been thrown haphazardly into castle politics by the wizard, whom Alariel seemed to have quite a disdain for. Herself, Renna thought that he was charming, if not as dashing as the king was. But then to her, no man was, so it wasn't a very fair comparison.

Renna was debating, gingerly, whether or not to release the king's arm. It had been such a sweet invitation and she was loathe to let go of him, but at the same time, she did not to appear a clutching desperate woman. With resolve, she continued to hold his arm gently. It was what a friend would do, was it not? Except, was not Alariel his friend? Would a woman with truly no designs on him have even taken his arm? She did not know. It was hard to put herself in a place that she was not, she had no idea what was proper for someone who did not like the king, for she liked him so very much.

"Though if you think a maid would serve her better, I am also indifferent. I wish only to b-best serve your majesty..." damn that stutter, she thought she'd stamped it out at last.
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"The King! The King! The King has arrived!"

Gawain's voice was sonourous and jester-like all at once, pitch and tone shifting and changing every time he said 'King'. His voice was melodic enough, however, to make it sound that he was both announcing and singing the arrival of the brutishly handsome King Dmitri of Ranthrok!

"And hark! What has he brought with him? Whilst wearing brilliant raiment fit for war and strife (and everything nice), he comes with women on either arm that would sooner bear arms to the one on other arm!" He didn't feel like rhyming to the best of his ability. As a matter of fact, he simply wanted to aggravate, more than anything else. More than one Court Bard come Jester had been executed for less. Gawain was sure Dmitri wasn't the type and if he was, well...

Gawain would just jump out a window. He'd hit the moat below. Maybe. Hopefully.

Sidling up close to the King in true Jester likeness, he ignored both ladies to whisper in a rather loud voice, "Yes, my liege, this be your lovely lady summoned by the unquestionable, unfathomable ability of your loyal Wizard. Isn't she grand? Isn't she a beauty? I'd choose this one 'fore the others, but truth be told, these two are quite beautiful themselves~ Maybe I could have what remains when my liege be done?"

And before he could get swatted, he twirled away.
 
Gawain had hit his mark. Aggravated was definitely what Alariel was feeling. Were she one of the knight, she would have cuffed him so soundly with a gauntlet, the bard would have tumbled out the window in to the moat and be devoured by whatever lay swimming beneath it. As if she would bring any harm to poor Renna, whose gentle sensibilities made her as vicious as a spring flower.

"Perhaps if Gawain might clothe himself, he might also find a bride." she muttered with restrained anger. Why on earth was he running about shirtless! Him singing praises of the King and insulting ladies of the court was bad enough without him flashing his chest and prancing!

Alariel finally held a hand out, offering it to Ember. "Allow us to rescue you before this silliness becomes much worse. We can join His Majesty for dinner this eve."
 
Ember stood frozen in place as more and more people seemed to keep appearing in the door. First the knight, then the half-naked bard, a elf, and now the king! If the room weren't already big enough to hold plenty of people Ember would definately feel clostraphobic...She kept her mouth shut tightly as she watched the banter go on between everyone, it was probably safer for her anyway, the woman who seemed very mad was not someone she was egar to tangle with in a fight.

She was very tempted to try and sneak away on her own, maybe she could find an actual wizard that could send her back home...He plan was ruined though when a hand was held out to her, making her the center of attention. She hesitated for a moment, since right now she wasn't too sure about leaving the Wizard to his emotional trouble. However, it might be best if she did leave with the women, maybe then she could actually get a real outfit and hide her old clothing without anyone really knowing...

She gingerly took the hand and smiled, knowing that it would be best to make friends, not enemies.

"Um...Thanks...The bard was started to scare me with his shirtlessness...Um, I hope that it isn't common for men to lose their shirts here...It would make me worry about what else might happen." She said in a slightly joking tone, trying to lighten the mood if at all possible.
 
Vellious nearly fainted when the king arrived, looking very much like a dog with his tail between his legs. He did manage to bow an stutter a kind-hearted, "M-my lord... Umm..." It was all he could do. Shuffling his feet, he offers a beneign smile towards the two women... He had always a fondness for the two, and it caused no amount of confusion that Alariel seemed to dislike him.

Managing to get a grip on what little wits he had, he states, "Happy to see you, Your Majesty, Beautiful Lady Alariel, and Gorgeous Lady Renna... Erm... You've all... Picked up pretty quick on everything, so..." He runs a hand through his white-blue hair. "...It sort of makes that introduction speech I came up with sort of useless." With a sigh and a droop of his ears, he comments, "At least we have the ever-sagacious Gawain to make things better, right?" More hope could not be hidden than in his heart... Truth be told, he could have kissed the bar for taking the pressure off of him. Maybe he'd try to alchemy up something handy for the man later.

He dips his head, terribly embarassed. He shoots a pleading, apologetic glance towards poor Ember, resolving to make it up to her somehow, if he survived the night... Even if he was made to eat rats.

"I don't think my chambers have ever seen so many beautiful women and handsome men. I think I'll just enjoy that for a moment... Over here... Quitely, so as not to offend anyone..." Moving out of the range of the center of the room, the nervous mess that was once Vellious shivered. His part in this had been forced, and if it wasn't already known he was here, he would have popped an Invisibilty spell and sprinted out faster than he could swear 'pixie dust'.
 
Well, it had to happen eventually. Marcus took a deep breath before turning to Dmitri, taking a few steps closer to him and leaning in closely, facing away from the others, his voice pitched to under a whisper. "Vellious messed up. She isn't from Ranthrok, she's not any kind of nobility that I can tell, she has no idea what this competition is about, she was summoned here without her consent." As he filled in his friend on the situation, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for Ember, being brought into this competition without warning, far from her home. "Have the wizard send her back as soon as he can, for her own sake."

But even if the faerie could send her back, it probably wouldn't be now, and something would have to be done with Ember in the meantime. "Alariel and Renna can take care of her in the mean time."

If any one of the other bridal candidates had to be present, at least it was Renna, who was more kind than some of the others. As he added in a whisper, "Let's keep this quiet before word spreads."
 
"Never fear. Most men know how to behave themselves." Alariel shot Gawain a glare, but towards Vellious her gaze soften. Though she thought the wizard was a bumbling fool, she didn't bare him any ill-will. If things were to go wrong at his hands because of this nonsense, it was the council to blame for requesting his help in the first place.

Taking Ember's hand and nodding her head for Renna to come join them, Alariel led the way for the ladies to exit the room and head down the hall towards the Wing of Roses. The wing was designed specifically for female guests, it's original intentions were for it to be guests of the Queen, not concubines for his royal Majesty. Alariel herself had rooms there, having been named the unofficial chaperon for the women. It was the least she could do to make up for all of the chaos!

"You may call me Alariel, our sweetly quiet companion here is Lady Renna. I am unsure what has been explained to you so far. Can you tell me where you are from? How old are you...?" The girl looked so young, confused and scared! Alariel could kick every one of those men for making matters worse and swarming around like they were.
 
Ember let the woman take her away of the the room, not even having a chance to look at the king, though that might be a good thing, the less she knew about him the easier it would be to just go home. As they headed to the Wing of Roses, Ember couldn't help but look around, this place was definately amazing, so large and decorative. It was even lovelier in thw Wing of Roses, it just screamed a woman's haven when ever she was in need.

Ember was more curios than scared now, she felt a little more relaxed away from the guys who just kept making a fuss, mostly that bard if anything...She'd have to keep her eyes out for that one. When she was addressed she snapped out of her thoughts and looked to the woman, now officially known as Alariel, and the quiet one whom was called Renna. They bothed seemed nice, she hoped that she could be friends with these two, she'd need all the help she could get.

"Um...Well I come from a very far away place, you'd probably never heard of it so I won't bother you with the name...I am 19 years old however." She answered, not to certain if it would be a good idea to tell her the truth or not about where she came from.
 
Serazel rounded a corner, heading towards the trio of women with long, enraged steps. Her narrowed green eyes darted down Ember's frame, taking in the major details, noting the confusion and trepidation on her face. It took all the training she had received to keep her lip from curling into a sneer as she stopped in front of the group, meeting Ember's eyes with a hard stare.

"Well, I assume this is what the wizard conjured up." She said, her tone adding in an unspoken, "I expected something more," to the phrase. Arms crossed over her chest, she gave the girl a short, sarcastic nod of her head to serve as a mock bow.

"So what is your name and station*, then?" There was a slight disinterest in her tone as she noted Renna and Alariel. One was a timid flower and no threat, the other had a bite greater than her stature would suggest. Consequently she ignored the former while preparing to hear what the latter had to say.

*By station I mean noble status.
 
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Renna had felt a little out of place the entire time, but her maternal instincts flared up when it came to protecting the new addition to their group. She was not going to stand for even one of the other bridal candidates to insult her, though she couldn't exactly be bothered to defend herself before the bard, who knew as much about herself as he did the state of the cows in the eastern pasture.

Renna noticed how she dismissed her and felt a tinge of bitterness. "Dear me, how sad to find that you've allowed the competition to addle your thoughts so much that you've forgotten your gentle sensibilities in greeting a guest to the castle. Fortunately, it is not a common plague. Perhaps if you pray to matron, she will forgive you your unwomanly behavior. I'm sure you did not mean to act coarse towards such a prize of a lady. I understand how trying it can be to be so outmatched by your fellows but if you ask sweetly, Alariel and myself will be more than happy to try to groom you."

Renna dipped in a little curtsey to Serazel and took Ember's arm lightly. "Now, now, we've not even begun to show you around..." and she began to lead her past Serazel without a second glance. "Coming, Alariel?"
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(Oopsie, Kitti's bad. Edited, sorreh)
 
As furious as Dmitri felt, the sulking of his magical friend made him soften his gaze. Even though this was a terrible situation, he couldn't stay mad at Vellious. He had good intentions; he wanted to be helpful. On the lighter side, he was able to successfully summon somebody that wasn't even from this world. This era, even! In front of these other people though, he'd have to be a little more stern. Perhaps in private, he could congratulate the Fae on making such an improvement, despite that he was still... Messy.

While listening to Marcus speak, he was curiously eying Ember, many questions flooding into his mind. He heard that Dawain made her timid, which was understandable. He liked that bard, he truly did, but he had such bad habits. Even so, he kept the moods light with his singing and creative lyrics. There was no other entertainer he'd rather have, in all honesty.

"Aye, she'll be in good hands," he agreed quietly with his friend, setting a hand on the man's shoulder. Now that all of these women were gathered here, he felt that he should say something... An invitation, of course! They were all interested in getting to know him, so he should have something special thrown together.

"I am sorry, Miss Ember," he said to the strange young woman, even bowing his head respectfully. "I am Dmitri Elric, King of Ranthrok! Until we can find a way to return you home, I hope you'll be comfortable in my castle. It looks like you're making friends with these beautiful ladies."

With a charming smile, he put both of his hands behind his back, and then spoke again, "If you all would like to join me for dinner tonight, I would be most honoured. When I say all of you, I mean everyone in this room. Now, pardon me..."

Dmitri flashed one more smile before walking over to Vellious, doing his best to not intimidate the creature. His voice was even soft as he asked, "You... Can figure out a way to get her home, I hope?"
 
Vellious shifted nervously as Dmitri approached, blushing a bit himself. Fae had always been lovers of beauty, and the amount of it coming through the castle threatened to drive him up a wall. He'd have gone after the King himself, had he thought he'd an inkling of a chance. He convinced himself that what the kingdom needed was a strong queen - and heirs. Vellious couldn't provide either, himself... If the king was into male beings at all!

At the question, the mage's ears dropped. "...No... I... Don't think I can, your majesty..." Shaking his head, he looked to meet the gaze of the taller male, voice quivering a bit. "I... I'm just an illusionist. The only reason I brought her here is..." Unconsciously, he brought his hand up to touch the ring piercing his right ear. "...The council told me to. My father could have done it, but... I can't." Hanging his head, he states another: "I'm sorry, my lord. I'll try if you command it, but... It'd be dangerous."

Suddenly, his ears fold back, his tone resentful. "But isn't how that always is? I know my limits, but the Council pushes me to do things I can't do... I told then I could help defend our people - turn our armies invisible with my magic, and have our foes flee before a foe they could not see... They told me that if I couldn't just decimate an opposing army, it wasn't worth the time. I told them I could put eternal lights throughout the castle... They told me if it wasn't a fire in every room, I was worthless. If his majesty decided he no longer wished to wear clothes, but remain decent in public, I could fashion illusory garb!" He stomped his feet. "I'm an illusionist! My magic could fool all five senses! Even touch... And I never get to use my 'useless' magic."

"I still think Lady Alariel is angry at me from the time I set the giant, fire-breathing chicken in the dining hall... Got soup all over that amazing dress she was wearing... Planning on making it up to her." He nods, mumbling: "Council wanted me to 'feed to entire hall with a single chicken, and keep it warm'..."

Drooping his head in sorrow, he wipes his eyes with an arm. "Sorry, my lord... Just... Frustrated. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, I love being here, I just... Regret ever owing the Council 'that Favor'." He frowns, sighing... Before his ears perk. "Wait... Maybe if I got some Foci, I could send her... That, or call Uncle Puck... But... Uhh... You know how he gets with mortals..."

Biting his lower lip, he moves towards a book in the corner. "Let's see... Minotaur horns, star crumble fungus, a shield that's been bathed in dragonfire... Yeesh, it'd take years to get these... Faerie fur, that one's easy... The tears of a nymph... Nevermind, m'lord, this would take forever, and what with the competition..." He turns, ears drooped, looking like a child who's dog was just run over my a vegetable cart. "I-I... I'm sorry, lord. I can't send her back..."
 
Dmitri was watching the flustered creature with wide eyes. Magic was always a curious thing to him, so all of this was mind boggling, so to speak. Even though people insulted Vellious's abilities, he had more talent than a lot of the other people he allowed to roam in this castle. Not to mention, Dmitri found the creature... Adorable.

"Aye, she is an angry little thing," he mumbled back, recalling that unfortunate event involving Alariel's dress.

While Vellious went to read one of his books, Dmitri followed close behind him, making just a single glance to everyone else to see how they were doing. He wanted to learn more about Ember... He truly did. Sending her back to where she belonged took priority, though. She had to be so terrified, lost and confused right now.

As the Fae mumbled ingredients to himself, Dmitri let out a stressed sigh, thinking to that bloody council that made decisions behind his back. People often blamed him for the bad decisions they made. That didn't make life anywhere near easier. To pressure such a dangerous task on Vellious only upset the King more! They had to have known that he wasn't the most... Experienced.

"Thank you for checking," he told the wizard, managing a small smile. One of his large hands reached out to pat Vellious on the head, hoping that he realized that he wasn't too furious with him. Dmitri kept a level head for all situations; negative emotions only made matters worse. "If any other ideas come to mind, do tell me. For now, we should just focus on this girl's comfort. And, your magic is not 'useless'. I think it's fantastic! Just... Be more careful next time."

Now that that was out of the way, King Elric looked back at the little crowd of people as they conversed with one another. What was he to do from here? It seemed irresponsible to go back to his study... They all wanted his attention, after all. He would feel guilty leaving his friends to entertain the women, plus he did not want to be rude!

"This is madness," he muttered.
 
Serazel merely raised her eyebrow as she heard Renna's outburst, trying to keep a bemused grin off of her lips. Well, well, well! Perhaps she wasn't so timid after all! As Renna walked past her, she turned, giving her another of her sarcastic mock-bows, her eyes meeting Renna's briefly as she lifted her head.

"By your leave then, Lady Renna, Lady Alariel." She began to walk away from the others, to where they had come from, hoping to find the King. Inwardly though, she was seething at Renna. So she wanted play hero and try to be a real candidate for the throne? Her loss then. Serazel would have been satisfied to not have to extend herself to deal with Renna, but had no reservations about doing so. Her next report to the Family would be lengthy, for sure. Filling them in on this new girl, preparing to discredit Vellious(and his summoned bride by extension), and to deal with Renna and her newly-acquired bite.

Priorities were priorities, though, and her first and nearest priority right now was Dmitri. If there was any way to bring this debacle to an acceptable conclusion, she knew it would be through him first.


Marcus's shoulders dropped a fraction of an inch as he heard Vellious's admission. So this girl was to be a permanent addition to the castle now. If she was one of the bridal candidates now she would have to be here, but Marcus didn't put much faith in her winning. And after that... what? She had no family, no job, no skills, didn't know her way around this world... He felt initial pangs of sympathy grow into a strong feeling. The girl needed help.

He muttered, "You said it, brother," to Dmitri, slightly jealous of his friend. The King was handling this far better than Marcus knew he would. He looked over his shoulder toward Vellious, wondered what the difference was between them. Probably that Dmitri could restrain from yelling at the faerie.

Marcus felt the need for something to break the tension, anything. And not from the bard. He licked his lips, trying to find the words before looking at Dmitri and saying with a flat, straight face, his tone dry, "Do you think putting all those women at the same table is a good idea? I think some of the would sooner kill the others than dine with them."
 
Gawain yawned, bored with all of the strategy and planning and magic talking. Oh, he didn't ignore what was being talked about. Far from it; he listened intently, and filed away the knowledge for future use.

Still, that didn't take away from the fact that he was bored.

As the wizard muttered ingredients to himself, and the King stepped to the side to think silently, Gawain paced around the Wizard's chambers. All along the walls were shelves dotted with any number of innocuous or suspicious items. Picking up several jars of what looked to be something important, he began to juggle them idly.

At first it was just two, but then he got bored with that and tossed in a third jar whilst juggling the first two in one hand! It was better, but still took no skill. The fact that the jars had things inside of them, throwing off their weight balance, added a little challenge-- but not much.

"I think that's a brilliant idea," Gawan said loudly and in a crisp voice to Marcus' voiced concern. "Put those bloody wenches at the same table-- pardon my language, my lord-- and see what happens! It would be far more entertaining than anything I could put together, if a bit more wordy. You know how those Lady's get when trying to demean one another. 'How dare you' this and 'You seem to be lacking' that. You know, the petty little insults! I feel this Ember Carriway might wake up the barmaid in those stuffy girls and have 'em yanking at each other's dresses.

But, ah, that's only a theory." Gawan finally set down the three jars and leaped up onto a counter top in a smooth hop. He squatted down on top of it, and looked much a clown or gargoyle. "Anything could happen."
 
"I know, it's not a sane decision," he said to Marcus and Dawain after turning to them. No matter where he went, someone had something to complain about. Dmitri was a fine ruler that knew what he was doing, he just didn't have time for this silly contest! It was tempting to just select a woman at random and send the rest on their way.

"I figured, though, that if these ladies cannot behave like ladies at a dinner table together... Then they do not belong in my castle," he said, hating himself for putting it that way. The King didn't care that any of them heard him say it, either. If they were all going to act immature and rip each other apart, then he certainly did not wish for them to rule beside him. This dinner would be a test to their manners, to their tolerance. Not everyone you sit with in the King's castle is going to be a person you like!

Dmitri then ran his hand through his hair whilst making a stressful sigh. He needed to get out of here... "I'm going for a stroll through the courtyard, if either of you need me..."

With a fake smile, he bowed his head to the bard and knight, then turned to walk out of this chamber. Those women seemed occupied with prepping Ember for her stay here, so maybe he'd have enough time to relax, if just for a minute.
 
It was always a surprise when Renna went from sweet little mouse to baring fangs. Lady Serazel was just the sort of woman that could turn anything from sanguine to sour. Having no need to banter with the witch, Alariel only gave a strained polite smile, before placing a hand at Ember's back to guide them on their way.

"You will find that many women here feel that everyone is a threat. Pay their insults no mind, it just marks their insecurities." she explained to the young girl.

Choosing an empty room, Alariel gave a nod at a passing maid so that fresh linens could be brought in. She gestured to the beautiful accommodations. Everything was fit for a visiting princess!

"Here we are! We call this the Lavender Chamber. You have your bed here, the sitting area, a complete walk in closet, washing room, and should you wish to step out for some air there is a balcony behind those double doors. Lady Renna is right next door and you'll find myself a few doors down the hall."

Alariel tapped her chin, giving Ember a look over. The magic draped over her would last for a while, but she really needed her own clothing. "First we will have some clothing brought in. We'll see what sizes and styles fit you the best."
 
Ember was unable to get in a word with Serazel, Both Renna and Alariel having cut in and pulled her along quickly. She didn't plan on reacting to the obvious poke at her looks, she was just going to give her the info she wanted and move on. She was never one to care for what other people said anyway.

When they got to what would be Ember's new room, her jaw dropped opened instantly. The place was huge and lavish, her whole house could probably fit in it! As lady Alariel gave a mini tour she looked around, her eyes wandering excitedly of the lovely chairs and the huge bed, the blankets and pillows all thick and soft.

When the topic of clothing was brought up Ember looked over to Alariel curiously.

"Um...about that...I've noticed that many of you wear rather long, flowing dresses...Now I think they are very pretty but I'm actually rather clumsy...like 'fall on you face every five minutes' clumsy. The only reason I have triped in this is because it's just magic and not really there...By chance do you make shorter dresses?"
 
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Renna smiled, her face breaking from the pulled muscles of polite anger to a full, warm glow once more. It was more usual anyway to see her features softened in some sort of kindly expression, so she could not blame Alariel for her surprise. To be honest, she always felt so embarrassed after an outburst like that and she felt as though there might be someone different lurking beneath the surface, which scared her.

Renna put a finger to her own lips with Ember's worries, however. It was a difficult thing to go against court fashion of the tim,e but perhaps they could make Ember look daring, like a fresh new choice. "I might have something, my room is, as Alariel said, anyway... Morning Glory Chamber, if you ever need to know..." with that Renna glided out of the room for a moment to head into her own chamber next door with her dresses from home. There was one in particular, a shorter dress of jade satin damask. The skirt went to the calves and was one that Renna considered too short to be worn but if this is what Ember wanted, they might be able to play it up. The skirt was split down the front to reveal an undergown of very pale pink brocade.

"Perhaps?" Renna ventured inquisitively of Alariel. Of anyone knew what was appropriate, it would be her. "With slim green slippers? If we make it look intentional, it might be fetching..."
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Vellious' heart attempted to break at the sound of the stress and exhaustion in the King's tone. It was the nature of fae to 'feel', and it quickly turned to one of guilt. It was his fault, no matter the Council's command. His ears drooped, and he quietly shut the book of ingredients. A part of him wanted to go after the King, and attempt to uplift him - make him feel better, any way he could. He just didn't have the nerve to.

When he was sure the King was out of earshot, he began to pace, "What to do, what do to... I should... I should... I should..." Finally, his eyes caught Gawain messing with the jars of rare ingredients. He was about to start panicking again, when he noticed the label of one. "That's it!" Speeding over and snatching the jar, "Gawain, you're a genius! Follow me!"

Moving towards the exit of the room, he skidded to a halt. "Wait, wait... gotta lose the mage robes first." It was a simple matter - moving towards a closet in the corner, stepping inside, closing the door - a flash of magic, and he was in the ruby-accented outfit of a courtier - earrings and all. The flamboyant outfit would have been garish on a mortal - somehow, it fit Vellious.

"Onward, then! To the dining hall!" Striking a pose, he began to quickly walk towards the hall in question. "I'm going to make sure everything's all right during dinner! I hope he'll be proud of me..."