Will You Be My Princess? (Angel and Siku)

[AshenAngel]

The kingdom of Nocturna follows an ancient tradition, that tradition being the princess elect. If the king fails to have an heir, the King's Council picks ten young women to bring to the castle, and they select one to become a princess. It's many girls' dreams to become princess elect, though it's truly a rare occasion when one is actually chosen. This tradition, however, prevents the throne from falling empty during the country's time of need. And with the neighboring kingdom always on the verge of attack, it's best to be safe than sorry.

"Well, this is one fine mess." A fine-dressed man snapped harshly as he hustled about the cozy sitting room, cleaning ornate decorations and dusting the chandelier. Another man watched with an amused smile as the boss busted his butt cleaning an already perfectly polished room.
"James, my good sir, I think you've finally lost it." He mused softly as he sauntered across the room.
"Shut up, Silas. Don't you have a job to do?" The older fellow snapped in annoyance.
"The silverware is polished, the table is set, Sir Alyn and his guards are stationed about the castle, and the gardens have been primed and primmed to perfection." Silas spoke with a flamboyant wave of his hands. "No potential princess elect shall pout over our prized plates and petunias."
James rolled his eyes at the mildly poetic statement. "Surely there's someone else in this huge castle for you to bother." He sighed and continued to whisk about the room, straightening pictures and hurrying about the room.
Both men's attention went to the door out into the hall as hurried steps caught their attention.
"The potential princesses are here!" Another young man scurried into the room.
"Nico, what the devil is on your shirt? Go fix yourself up. We're going to be selecting royalty tonight, not some slob!" James snapped at the young nobleman, who quickly scurried out. His sharp gaze went to Silas. "Can you get the remainder of the cleaning supplies back to the maids, since you've taken care of all your duties? I have a few ladies to meet and greet." He spoke with a devilish grin and whisked out of the room, leaving a seething Silas in his wake.

 

[Siku]

It was the most lavish anything Judith had ever seen. It was too bad she couldn't enjoy it. Her mood was putting a damper on things.

She hadn't had a particularly amazing life, but it had been hers and she'd been leading it as she saw fit. Unfortunately her family was far more interested in their daughter becoming the next queen than whatever her plans had been, and she'd been shipped off before she could say "it's very unlikely". Sure, she could probably do something obscene and be disqualified on the spot and return to life as per usual, but she had this thing called pride that wouldn't let her disgrace herself in front of the entire kingdom. All she could do was cross her fingers and hope for the best. Or, the worst, whatever got her out of here faster.

She looked around as they ushered them in. Most girls were dressed in their finest, herself included; there were a few among them who had sold the cow to purchase some jewelry. Judith hadn't gone that far. Her mother fussed her hair auburn hair into some sort of braid and made her a new dress. It was pretty, if not simple. It was coordinated to make her eyes more vibrant, but it hadn't, not really. Her mother was so disappointed that Judith had felt guilty for not having more sparkly eyes, as if it was somehow her responsibility. Mothers had magic guilt powers. It wasn't natural.

The hall loomed before her, and she stood squarely in the middle of the crowd, doing her best and being somewhat successful at disappearing among them as they were herded wherever it was that they were meant to be inspected. Suddenly, she was nervous. Being scrutinized so thoroughly was daunting, whether or not you intended to receive approval.

 

[AshenAngel]

An older fellow cleared his throat as he looked down at the group of ten girls in the large entry hall from atop a grand stair case. "Greetings and welcome to Noct Castle. On behalf of all the kingdom, I thank you all for joining us this evening."

James was prattling on again. The young knight and head of the guard observed this with a somewhat bored expression. His gaze flicked to the group of girls subjected to the royal chamberlain's mind numbing speech about the privleges and common tasks of a princess. The most important, by far, is attending formal dinners. The guard tuned out the old coot's ramblings as he looked over the potential candidates. Some showed quite a lot of potential, while others... Not so much. That girl attempting to hide in the middle of the small crowd didn't even look like she wanted to be there.

"... Now, Sir Alyn will show you to the sitting room, where we will wait for supper to be prepared." James concluded, his gaze resting on the brown haired young man. A moment passed without any movement. "Ahem, Sir Alyn!" The chamberlain snapped indignantly.

The captain snapped back into it upon hearing James' words. "After me, if you'd please, m'ladies." He purred, a smile gracing his face as he led the way to the chamber. James took up the tail end of the group.

 

[Siku]

She tried to pay attention, she really did. The moment he said something about "responsibilities", Judith checked out.

She let her eyes wander about the room, then the girls around her. They seemed to be enjoying themselves a lot more than she was. Great. They could do whatever they were supposed to do to attract attention. She was going to blend into the wallpaper.

Her wandering gaze met with the captain of the guard. Her face flushed red with embarrassment, and she looked back up at James dutifully, just in time for his speech to end. She closed her eyes and exhaled sharply. Great. She'd been noticed. So much for becoming a floral pattern. Tension rang through her body as she followed the herd, still fighting to be in the middle of the crowd. Luckily the other girls were subtly competing for the front positions and she was pushed all the way to the back.

 

[AshenAngel]

James watched as the group competed to walk closest to Sir Alyn. None of them would do so well as princess, their eagerness would be their downfall. A princess should keep calm despite whatever situation might be at hand. His gaze drifted to the potential princesses at the back of the pack. Maybe, just maybe, one of them would do. Stepping up to speak with the girls, he wore a friendly smile on his face. "What are your names, my dear misses?" He practically purred. He would have to pay attention to what these girls spoke about as they sat and waited for supper. Surely the girls in the front would like to gossip about his words at this very moment. Those who gossiped- a truly ugly thing to do as princess- would certainly be passed over in the selection process.