RECAP- OLD POSTS
POST 1
Set in medieval time. There are two kingdoms who are currently at war, Koinonia and Ethendius. Each kingdom has a royal family, villagers and knights. There are also travellers.
~~~~~
"Hey back here you runt!" A man screamed from his small set up of goods.
Rowan took off down the street with an apple and a potato tight in his grasp. He heard footsteps behind him and when he finally risked a glance over his shoulder he saw his sister drop down from a roof and continue running with him. She held in her hands a loaf of bread and what looked like a necklace. They ran through alleys until they were sure they weren't going to be found then they made their way back to their small house.
"Mother, we're home!" Thea called out as she stepped inside the house.
She was greeted by a chorus of coughs from her mother who lay on the bed. She hurried over to her and helped her sit up to take a drink of water. Rowan, who had put his things on the table then took his usual post by the small window, grunted.
"What?" Thea asked her brother.
"The royals are out visiting again." Rowan hissed, hatred dripped from his voice.
Thea helped her mother lay back down then hurried to the window in time to see the king and queen ride by on their horses, their well fed, groomed horses.
Their family was on the outskirts of the town and therefore they weren't well looked after. Their mother had become sick about two months ago and was slowly losing the energy to keep herself alive. They had no money to buy medicine to help her, or even food so Thea and her brother would go out each day and steal what they needed. They weren't greeted very kindly by those in the village and most times when the royal family went by they were safe in their home, away from their eyes. This time was different though, Rowan had some kind of idea in his brain and before Thea could ask him what he was doing he was gone out the door.
Rowan leapt onto the closest roof and took off after the royal family. He moved quickly across the rooftops until he almost on top of them. He prepared himself to leap down on one of the horses but before he could one of the villagers spotted him and shouted.
"There's the kid!" He hollered and threw a rock up at Rowan who quickly lost his balance and slipped off the rooftop. He crashed down onto one of the royals and knocked them off the horse. There were screams of surprise and anger and finally when he sat up and rubbed his head he realized he had knocked down princess Katrina. Katrina sat up and rubbed her head and by mistake she pulled off her veil, which caused her to gasp. Rowan, shocked by the princess's looks quickly stood up, dusted himself off then held his hand down to her.
"I am so sorry princess, I never meant to cause you harm." He said, as polite as he could.
She took it lightly and allowed him to help her up as she dusted herself off. Her mother was already by her side at this point and quickly put her veil back on. She turned to Rowan and her face was pure ice.
"What on earth were you trying to prove, running on the roof tops! You could have harmed my daughter and you know the law for that!" She spat in Rowans face who shrank away.
"Mother it is alright, I am fine." Katrina said softly as she laid her hand on her mothers sleeve.
Her mother shrugged her off, helped her back on her horse then swung herself back onto her own. She glared once more at Rowan before her and her family trotted off down the street, leaving Rowan standing there surrounded by angry villagers.
~~~~
Arriving back at the palace, Katrina and the others slid off their horses and hurried back inside. By this time her woman was fuming from the events that happened in the village and her father just followed silently beside her and she ranted under her breathe. Victoria fell into step beside her sister and glanced over at her.
"Not to worry sister, mother is only worried about you. That village boy will be fine, although i'm not sure where the nerve came from that he thought he could tackle you from the roof." Victoria said softly to Katrina so their mother wouldn't hear.
"I only wish mother would be more understanding of the villagers, they don't have what we have and sometimes they do strange things. We should be trying to become friends with them, not push them farther away from us." Katrina sighed softly.
"Katrina, I want you to be fully dressed and ready for our meeting tonight. You will be coming with us to the kingdom edge to speak with the king of Ethendius. I want you in your best wear, understand?" Ellyn called over her shoulder beside she disappeared into the throne room with their father.
"Why do I never get to go with you." Victoria mumbled with distaste.
"If you could take my place sister, I would more then happily allow you. I don't like these visits, they are hopeful in trying to stop the war. They start off fine but our mother has a sharp tongue and it only ever makes things worse in the end." Katrina replied. "Anyway I must go get ready, I don't have much time before we depart." She then turned and walked off down the hall towards her room.
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POST 2
Ethendius: A ravishing kingdom untouched by the war that raged around them. Circularly built, the kingdom was designed in layers. An enormous castle sat in the far back, centre of the kingdom. It overlooked everything. The first layer of town surrounding the castle, prospered. The second layer was a tidy merchant area, where all the finest sales men and travellers went to sell their findings. The third layer resembled a village and a resting area, many Inns and Taverns were scattered about. The fourth and final layer was forgotten, filled with the homeless and the hungry, it was where the poorest and most desperate people resided. Where you lived was based on your social standing with the royalty of the kingdom.
There wasn't a huge amount of people without a home in the kingdom, but there was always a few, mostly women, that were left on the streets because of loss of family or other causes that left them with no other family to turn to. They were forced into the streets; nobody wanted a girl that didn't have some kind of dowry attached. Most of the women left on the streets died, despite the riches of the kingdom.
The fourth layer of the kingdom was always the first to be sacrificed should there be an attack on the castle. Gates would close to the other layers, leaving the fourth layer unarmed and unprotected.
Near the castle, in the closest layer of kingdom, there was a fair going on. Merchants from other kingdoms were there to sell goods. Everywhere you turned you could see a laughing child running around freely. The townspeople acted as though there were no worries, as though there was no war.
The Royals had order this festival to be held in occasion to the enemy King visiting later that day. They wanted it to seem as though they were gaining from the war. The Royals of Ethendius wanted to seem better than the visiting King from Koinonia. The festival was to show that they could spend their wealth and time on pleasant things; they were hoping to make their enemy jealous.
Inside the castle all was not as merry as outside. Servants scrambled about trying to make sure everything was perfect for the arrival of the Koinonia Royals. The Royal family also paced about the castle, not daring to go out and enjoy the festival, or more, the King of Ethendius had forbid his children from attending.
~~~
Elizabeth gazed down at the fair through her window with a gleam in her eye. She absolutely adored fairs. Her father however, King Charles the VI, had told her that she may not attend. It was quite unfair, after all she was a Princess, but she could not dare to defy her father. She hoped she may enjoy the feast to come later that night. She had always enjoyed large meals with the nobility and knights. It was a wonderful occasion where she could drink hippocras, which was her favorite kind of wine. But Elizabeth knew her father would probably exclude her. She had heard he was planning on inviting the King and Queen from Koinonia to dine with them. If that was the case Elizabeth’s father would surely only allow himself and her three oldest brothers to join them. Elizabeth wished she were older, and wished she were a boy. Then perhaps someday she could have been King. But as it was, she was second last in a line of endless siblings.
Elizabeth smiled as her servant, Sylvia, came in to help her dress properly for the arrival of the Koinonia Nobles. When they arrived to the courtyard, her and her family would be standing beautifully at the top of the white steps leading up to the entryway. They would greet their guests and Elizabeth’s father and oldest siblings would accompany them to a meeting room. Elizabeth on the other hand would be escorted by servant back up to her chambers. It wasn’t fair.
Elizabeth picked out a wonderful pink gown and Sylvia dressed her carefully. Sylvia tried to get Elizabeth to dress herself. She was long past the age of needing help to do it. Elizabeth did not realize that children in the town were being given chores at the age Elizabeth was only expected to dress herself.
Elizabeth happily walked down the stairs, peering out the tall windows as she passed them. It wasn’t fair being a royal princess. She bet the children in the town were twice as happy as she was.
At the bottom of the spiraling staircase Elizabeth ran into someone tall. She hadn’t been looking where she was going. When she backed up she was surprised to see her most favorite family member, her brother Nicholas. Her smile grew when she saw his face. She’d expected him to be preparing for later. Nicholas always found time for her and was the nicest. He was lucky too; he only had two people in front of him to becoming King once their father passed. But he still wasn’t first, and because of this he sometimes had to go away to war. Their father thought it would make the royal family look strong if they didn’t all sit back and let the armies fight for them.
“Nic! Were you waiting for me? Oh I hoped you would, I’m wearing my newest gown, isn’t it lovely?” Elizabeth giggled as she span around allowing the layers of her dress to fan out.
“Yes, it is wonderful,” Nicholas smiled gently as he watched his younger sister show off. “Would you like to join me? I am going to the armory to see if my sword has been sharpened.”
“Why don’t you send someone to check for you?” Elizabeth questioned.
“Sometimes it’s better to do things yourself. I’d have sharpened it myself had father allowed me.”
“You’re strange brother. Why would you sharpen your own sword?” Elizabeth never understood why Nicholas always insisted in doing the things servants ought to be doing. Nicholas smiled again; he knew his younger sister may never understand the importance of it.
Nicholas gazed outside. He worried about Elizabeth. Out of the entire royal family she was the most oblivious to the horrors beyond the kingdom. She didn’t know how good she had it. But Nicholas was grateful of that, it meant she had never been through hardship and Nicholas was determined to keep it that way.
Nicholas was hoping for the war to be settled today. It was of the utmost importance in his mind. He hated to see people suffering, he hated for the townspeople farthest from the castle to be in such danger. But he could not stop the war, nor could he stop his father from keeping the kingdoms wealth for himself.
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POST 3
"Katrina it is time to go!" Ellyn screeched from the main hall of the castle.
The servants were just putting the finishing touches in Katrina's hair and were leading her out of the room to meet her furious mother.
"Today would be nice Katrina!" She growled as her daughter walked down the stairs and stopped beside her mother.
Katrina simply dipped her head before turning and following the servants down a hall towards the stables. Hearing Ellyn sigh behind her made Katrina smile slightly but she quickly wiped it away when she remembered what tonight was about. She needed to convince the king of Ethendius to stop the war and make peace with her family and doing this meant she needed to keep her mother quiet.
Arriving in the stables Katrina walked to her beautiful pure black horse and laid her hand on her nose.
"Ebony, we need to make tonight as smooth as possible, for my families sake and the kingdoms." Katrina whispered softly to her horse, who simply replied with a snort.
Her mother and father walked in soon after and began to mount their horses with the help of the servants. Katrina swung herself onto the horse and looked towards the door where her sister Victoria stood.
"Be safe sister, we will return tomorrow." Katrina called out before she cracked the reins and let Ebony take control as she trotted out of the stables.
Out of the gates they were flanked by two trusted knights who Katrina had become good friends with. Closest to her was Gavin who looked over at her and smiled. She couldn't help but smile back then laugh and glance to her other side. On the side of her mother rod Bryce, who was also a good friend of hers but he was more focused on what was in front of him. Bryce was older then Gavin and far more focused on the actual job at hand, but both boys were still evenly goofy and sometimes slipped off duty just to play around with Katrina. Gavin and Bryce had been friends with Katrina when she was younger, since they were only 2 and 4 years older then her and had become knights soon after she was named the next heir to the throne. Even after all of that had happened they were still good friends, even though they shouldn't do such silly things as play games with a princess.
It wasn't long before they had arrived at the gates of Ethendius's castle and were greeted by laughing people and cheerful music. Katrina gazed around at the ground from under her veil and was amazed by how much the people were having fun. She remembered back when her father had been more in charge then her mother and she realized these happy people, singing and dancing to their own music. Now the villages were silent and not many people greeted them when they visited, thanks to her mother. Katrina tightened her grip on the reins as some of the people turned and looked towards them, some with smiles and others with grim looks. It was clear they weren't really welcome here but if it meant peace, the people would accept it.
They soon arrived at the castle and were met by the servants who worked there. They helped them off the horses and led them up towards the main entrance. Katrina wore a long flowing gold dress with red lace. Her veil was a silvery gold colour with a gold headband to make her dress and it blocked people from seeing her face. She wore simple was stunning gold and red gemmed heels, which her mother had demanded she wore, and just a few simple jewellery pieces such as a necklace and small bracelet. Katrina found herself running things she could say through her head as they made their way up the stairs and she started to zone out. Before she realized she held her heel catch on a lose stone and she stumbled forward. Hissing under her breathe, she quickly stood up and dusted herself off, hoping no one saw it but she quickly realized her mother had.
"Katrina!" She snapped, "Pay attention to your feet, you don't need to ruin a perfectly good dress. Even worse, have the king think I raised a clumsy child."
Katrina glared down at her feet then up at her mother where she forced a smile.
"Sorry mother, it won't happen again, I promise." She said sweetly.
This was it, this night meant everything and Katrina had to make it right. Either she would stop the war and convince the kingdoms to unite in peace, or everything would be lost and both kingdoms would lose many.
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POST 4
The most important members of the Ethendius Royal family stood at the top of the shimmering steps towards the entryway. The townspeople gazed at them in awe, but so much as they stared at the enemy when it entered the final section of the kingdom.
Nicholas watched as the people moved to let the King of Koinonia and his family through. He looked over to his father, King Charles the VI, who seemed pleased. Those from Koinonia did not expect to see a festival in progress. Nicholas’s father had hoped for that to hinder them mentally. Nicholas frowned; he had a bad feeling about tonight. He knew the festival and cheeriness was to taunt Koinonia. Nicholas did not think this was wise.
Nicholas returned his attention to their guests, who were being helped off their horses. He was well aware and knowledgeable of the members who joined them today. Nicholas has spent a good portion of his life studying royalty, not to mention he was present at nearly all of these ‘peace meetings.’ The first was King Jarin of Koinonia, next his wife Queen Ellyn of Koinonia, and lastly their daughter Katrina. She was lucky to attend these meetings. None of Nicholas’s sisters would likely ever make it into the debating rooms. In the Ethendius Kingdom, the King’s daughters were treated like dolls. There was just too long of a line in the children to ever consider the possibility of them becoming Queen. His father was, after all, a very busy man when their mother was alive.
As the Koinonia’s worked their way up the stairs, Katrina had lost her footing. Nicholas was fairly observant and didn’t miss a moment of it. For any other girl, he probably would have stepped forward to help her catch her balance, but if he helped her, he’d never hear the end of it from his father.
As the girl caught her footing, she was scolded by her mother. That was one thing Nicholas missed about his own mother. He looked down the line of his family. His father, Charles, had stepped forward to greet the King of Koinonia. His two older brothers had also stepped forward; they had their charming faces about them already. Nicholas took a deep breath, he didn’t know if he could hide his uneasiness. Perhaps that’s why his father didn’t think he was suited for the crown.
“Greetings, you are welcomed to the Kingdom of Ethendius on the grounds of temporary peace. Today’s negotiations will take place promptly. Should they go smoothly, this temporary peace may become permanent.” King Charles announced publicly. The townspeople clapped theirs hands together joyfully. King Charles held out his hand to the enemy King, and shook it firmly. “You already know me. And know you my eldest sons, Charles the Seventh, Frederick, and Nicholas." The three sons stepped forward and smiled.
“It is of my greatest wishes we can come to an understanding Sir.” Prince Charles the VII said smoothly as he bowed. Prince Charles, named after his father, was the first born and naturally the heir to the throne. He was crowned prince and everyone expected it would be anytime now that his took his place as King. He was raised strictly and taught well. “And I hope we can think of something to level our predicaments out with.” Prince Charles stared directly at Katrina. He knew something that would stop the war, and had spoken briefly to his father about it. But it was undecided at the time.
“Indeed. I believe that this meeting will benefit us all. I also hope we can please you both,” Smiled Frederick kindly. He spoke to only the King and Queen of Koinonia, paying very little attention to Katrina. Frederick was quite friendly but was the kind of person that believed the only women that should be involved in politics, are Queens. He thought it was distasteful for them to continuously bring their daughter.
Finally it was Nicholas’s turn to step forward. He didn’t particularly have anything to say publicly as a greeting. He was always bad at it. But he knew exactly what he should do in order to flatter the Koinonia royals.
Nicholas’s father hated to suck up to people, but that’s exactly who Nicholas was. Nicholas, was, a coward.
Nicholas stepped forward reaching down to lift Queen Ellyn’s hand; he kissed the back of it lightly as a greeting before letting go. He turned to Katrina, and did the same.
Between royals, kissing a hand was a sign of courtesy, politeness, and respect. But Nicholas’s father always saw it a sign of weakness.
When Nicholas stepped back, he already knew his father was shooting him vicious glares. The group was quiet briefly, expecting for Nicholas to say something, but he did not.
~~~
The Koinonia Royals were led inside the castle. It was heavily guarded and most rooms and stair cases blocked by armed men. They couldn’t have their enemy exploring the depths of the heart of the Kingdom. King Jarin, Ellyn, and Katrina were led into a room with a large table. On the table were pastries.
“Please sit, relax. Help yourselves to the pastries“ King Charles motioned to three well-padded seats. He and his three sons took seat on the opposite side of the table.
“Now, where shall we begin?”
POST 1
Set in medieval time. There are two kingdoms who are currently at war, Koinonia and Ethendius. Each kingdom has a royal family, villagers and knights. There are also travellers.
~~~~~
"Hey back here you runt!" A man screamed from his small set up of goods.
Rowan took off down the street with an apple and a potato tight in his grasp. He heard footsteps behind him and when he finally risked a glance over his shoulder he saw his sister drop down from a roof and continue running with him. She held in her hands a loaf of bread and what looked like a necklace. They ran through alleys until they were sure they weren't going to be found then they made their way back to their small house.
"Mother, we're home!" Thea called out as she stepped inside the house.
She was greeted by a chorus of coughs from her mother who lay on the bed. She hurried over to her and helped her sit up to take a drink of water. Rowan, who had put his things on the table then took his usual post by the small window, grunted.
"What?" Thea asked her brother.
"The royals are out visiting again." Rowan hissed, hatred dripped from his voice.
Thea helped her mother lay back down then hurried to the window in time to see the king and queen ride by on their horses, their well fed, groomed horses.
Their family was on the outskirts of the town and therefore they weren't well looked after. Their mother had become sick about two months ago and was slowly losing the energy to keep herself alive. They had no money to buy medicine to help her, or even food so Thea and her brother would go out each day and steal what they needed. They weren't greeted very kindly by those in the village and most times when the royal family went by they were safe in their home, away from their eyes. This time was different though, Rowan had some kind of idea in his brain and before Thea could ask him what he was doing he was gone out the door.
Rowan leapt onto the closest roof and took off after the royal family. He moved quickly across the rooftops until he almost on top of them. He prepared himself to leap down on one of the horses but before he could one of the villagers spotted him and shouted.
"There's the kid!" He hollered and threw a rock up at Rowan who quickly lost his balance and slipped off the rooftop. He crashed down onto one of the royals and knocked them off the horse. There were screams of surprise and anger and finally when he sat up and rubbed his head he realized he had knocked down princess Katrina. Katrina sat up and rubbed her head and by mistake she pulled off her veil, which caused her to gasp. Rowan, shocked by the princess's looks quickly stood up, dusted himself off then held his hand down to her.
"I am so sorry princess, I never meant to cause you harm." He said, as polite as he could.
She took it lightly and allowed him to help her up as she dusted herself off. Her mother was already by her side at this point and quickly put her veil back on. She turned to Rowan and her face was pure ice.
"What on earth were you trying to prove, running on the roof tops! You could have harmed my daughter and you know the law for that!" She spat in Rowans face who shrank away.
"Mother it is alright, I am fine." Katrina said softly as she laid her hand on her mothers sleeve.
Her mother shrugged her off, helped her back on her horse then swung herself back onto her own. She glared once more at Rowan before her and her family trotted off down the street, leaving Rowan standing there surrounded by angry villagers.
~~~~
Arriving back at the palace, Katrina and the others slid off their horses and hurried back inside. By this time her woman was fuming from the events that happened in the village and her father just followed silently beside her and she ranted under her breathe. Victoria fell into step beside her sister and glanced over at her.
"Not to worry sister, mother is only worried about you. That village boy will be fine, although i'm not sure where the nerve came from that he thought he could tackle you from the roof." Victoria said softly to Katrina so their mother wouldn't hear.
"I only wish mother would be more understanding of the villagers, they don't have what we have and sometimes they do strange things. We should be trying to become friends with them, not push them farther away from us." Katrina sighed softly.
"Katrina, I want you to be fully dressed and ready for our meeting tonight. You will be coming with us to the kingdom edge to speak with the king of Ethendius. I want you in your best wear, understand?" Ellyn called over her shoulder beside she disappeared into the throne room with their father.
"Why do I never get to go with you." Victoria mumbled with distaste.
"If you could take my place sister, I would more then happily allow you. I don't like these visits, they are hopeful in trying to stop the war. They start off fine but our mother has a sharp tongue and it only ever makes things worse in the end." Katrina replied. "Anyway I must go get ready, I don't have much time before we depart." She then turned and walked off down the hall towards her room.
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POST 2
Ethendius: A ravishing kingdom untouched by the war that raged around them. Circularly built, the kingdom was designed in layers. An enormous castle sat in the far back, centre of the kingdom. It overlooked everything. The first layer of town surrounding the castle, prospered. The second layer was a tidy merchant area, where all the finest sales men and travellers went to sell their findings. The third layer resembled a village and a resting area, many Inns and Taverns were scattered about. The fourth and final layer was forgotten, filled with the homeless and the hungry, it was where the poorest and most desperate people resided. Where you lived was based on your social standing with the royalty of the kingdom.
There wasn't a huge amount of people without a home in the kingdom, but there was always a few, mostly women, that were left on the streets because of loss of family or other causes that left them with no other family to turn to. They were forced into the streets; nobody wanted a girl that didn't have some kind of dowry attached. Most of the women left on the streets died, despite the riches of the kingdom.
The fourth layer of the kingdom was always the first to be sacrificed should there be an attack on the castle. Gates would close to the other layers, leaving the fourth layer unarmed and unprotected.
Near the castle, in the closest layer of kingdom, there was a fair going on. Merchants from other kingdoms were there to sell goods. Everywhere you turned you could see a laughing child running around freely. The townspeople acted as though there were no worries, as though there was no war.
The Royals had order this festival to be held in occasion to the enemy King visiting later that day. They wanted it to seem as though they were gaining from the war. The Royals of Ethendius wanted to seem better than the visiting King from Koinonia. The festival was to show that they could spend their wealth and time on pleasant things; they were hoping to make their enemy jealous.
Inside the castle all was not as merry as outside. Servants scrambled about trying to make sure everything was perfect for the arrival of the Koinonia Royals. The Royal family also paced about the castle, not daring to go out and enjoy the festival, or more, the King of Ethendius had forbid his children from attending.
~~~
Elizabeth gazed down at the fair through her window with a gleam in her eye. She absolutely adored fairs. Her father however, King Charles the VI, had told her that she may not attend. It was quite unfair, after all she was a Princess, but she could not dare to defy her father. She hoped she may enjoy the feast to come later that night. She had always enjoyed large meals with the nobility and knights. It was a wonderful occasion where she could drink hippocras, which was her favorite kind of wine. But Elizabeth knew her father would probably exclude her. She had heard he was planning on inviting the King and Queen from Koinonia to dine with them. If that was the case Elizabeth’s father would surely only allow himself and her three oldest brothers to join them. Elizabeth wished she were older, and wished she were a boy. Then perhaps someday she could have been King. But as it was, she was second last in a line of endless siblings.
Elizabeth smiled as her servant, Sylvia, came in to help her dress properly for the arrival of the Koinonia Nobles. When they arrived to the courtyard, her and her family would be standing beautifully at the top of the white steps leading up to the entryway. They would greet their guests and Elizabeth’s father and oldest siblings would accompany them to a meeting room. Elizabeth on the other hand would be escorted by servant back up to her chambers. It wasn’t fair.
Elizabeth picked out a wonderful pink gown and Sylvia dressed her carefully. Sylvia tried to get Elizabeth to dress herself. She was long past the age of needing help to do it. Elizabeth did not realize that children in the town were being given chores at the age Elizabeth was only expected to dress herself.
Elizabeth happily walked down the stairs, peering out the tall windows as she passed them. It wasn’t fair being a royal princess. She bet the children in the town were twice as happy as she was.
At the bottom of the spiraling staircase Elizabeth ran into someone tall. She hadn’t been looking where she was going. When she backed up she was surprised to see her most favorite family member, her brother Nicholas. Her smile grew when she saw his face. She’d expected him to be preparing for later. Nicholas always found time for her and was the nicest. He was lucky too; he only had two people in front of him to becoming King once their father passed. But he still wasn’t first, and because of this he sometimes had to go away to war. Their father thought it would make the royal family look strong if they didn’t all sit back and let the armies fight for them.
“Nic! Were you waiting for me? Oh I hoped you would, I’m wearing my newest gown, isn’t it lovely?” Elizabeth giggled as she span around allowing the layers of her dress to fan out.
“Yes, it is wonderful,” Nicholas smiled gently as he watched his younger sister show off. “Would you like to join me? I am going to the armory to see if my sword has been sharpened.”
“Why don’t you send someone to check for you?” Elizabeth questioned.
“Sometimes it’s better to do things yourself. I’d have sharpened it myself had father allowed me.”
“You’re strange brother. Why would you sharpen your own sword?” Elizabeth never understood why Nicholas always insisted in doing the things servants ought to be doing. Nicholas smiled again; he knew his younger sister may never understand the importance of it.
Nicholas gazed outside. He worried about Elizabeth. Out of the entire royal family she was the most oblivious to the horrors beyond the kingdom. She didn’t know how good she had it. But Nicholas was grateful of that, it meant she had never been through hardship and Nicholas was determined to keep it that way.
Nicholas was hoping for the war to be settled today. It was of the utmost importance in his mind. He hated to see people suffering, he hated for the townspeople farthest from the castle to be in such danger. But he could not stop the war, nor could he stop his father from keeping the kingdoms wealth for himself.
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POST 3
"Katrina it is time to go!" Ellyn screeched from the main hall of the castle.
The servants were just putting the finishing touches in Katrina's hair and were leading her out of the room to meet her furious mother.
"Today would be nice Katrina!" She growled as her daughter walked down the stairs and stopped beside her mother.
Katrina simply dipped her head before turning and following the servants down a hall towards the stables. Hearing Ellyn sigh behind her made Katrina smile slightly but she quickly wiped it away when she remembered what tonight was about. She needed to convince the king of Ethendius to stop the war and make peace with her family and doing this meant she needed to keep her mother quiet.
Arriving in the stables Katrina walked to her beautiful pure black horse and laid her hand on her nose.
"Ebony, we need to make tonight as smooth as possible, for my families sake and the kingdoms." Katrina whispered softly to her horse, who simply replied with a snort.
Her mother and father walked in soon after and began to mount their horses with the help of the servants. Katrina swung herself onto the horse and looked towards the door where her sister Victoria stood.
"Be safe sister, we will return tomorrow." Katrina called out before she cracked the reins and let Ebony take control as she trotted out of the stables.
Out of the gates they were flanked by two trusted knights who Katrina had become good friends with. Closest to her was Gavin who looked over at her and smiled. She couldn't help but smile back then laugh and glance to her other side. On the side of her mother rod Bryce, who was also a good friend of hers but he was more focused on what was in front of him. Bryce was older then Gavin and far more focused on the actual job at hand, but both boys were still evenly goofy and sometimes slipped off duty just to play around with Katrina. Gavin and Bryce had been friends with Katrina when she was younger, since they were only 2 and 4 years older then her and had become knights soon after she was named the next heir to the throne. Even after all of that had happened they were still good friends, even though they shouldn't do such silly things as play games with a princess.
It wasn't long before they had arrived at the gates of Ethendius's castle and were greeted by laughing people and cheerful music. Katrina gazed around at the ground from under her veil and was amazed by how much the people were having fun. She remembered back when her father had been more in charge then her mother and she realized these happy people, singing and dancing to their own music. Now the villages were silent and not many people greeted them when they visited, thanks to her mother. Katrina tightened her grip on the reins as some of the people turned and looked towards them, some with smiles and others with grim looks. It was clear they weren't really welcome here but if it meant peace, the people would accept it.
They soon arrived at the castle and were met by the servants who worked there. They helped them off the horses and led them up towards the main entrance. Katrina wore a long flowing gold dress with red lace. Her veil was a silvery gold colour with a gold headband to make her dress and it blocked people from seeing her face. She wore simple was stunning gold and red gemmed heels, which her mother had demanded she wore, and just a few simple jewellery pieces such as a necklace and small bracelet. Katrina found herself running things she could say through her head as they made their way up the stairs and she started to zone out. Before she realized she held her heel catch on a lose stone and she stumbled forward. Hissing under her breathe, she quickly stood up and dusted herself off, hoping no one saw it but she quickly realized her mother had.
"Katrina!" She snapped, "Pay attention to your feet, you don't need to ruin a perfectly good dress. Even worse, have the king think I raised a clumsy child."
Katrina glared down at her feet then up at her mother where she forced a smile.
"Sorry mother, it won't happen again, I promise." She said sweetly.
This was it, this night meant everything and Katrina had to make it right. Either she would stop the war and convince the kingdoms to unite in peace, or everything would be lost and both kingdoms would lose many.
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POST 4
The most important members of the Ethendius Royal family stood at the top of the shimmering steps towards the entryway. The townspeople gazed at them in awe, but so much as they stared at the enemy when it entered the final section of the kingdom.
Nicholas watched as the people moved to let the King of Koinonia and his family through. He looked over to his father, King Charles the VI, who seemed pleased. Those from Koinonia did not expect to see a festival in progress. Nicholas’s father had hoped for that to hinder them mentally. Nicholas frowned; he had a bad feeling about tonight. He knew the festival and cheeriness was to taunt Koinonia. Nicholas did not think this was wise.
Nicholas returned his attention to their guests, who were being helped off their horses. He was well aware and knowledgeable of the members who joined them today. Nicholas has spent a good portion of his life studying royalty, not to mention he was present at nearly all of these ‘peace meetings.’ The first was King Jarin of Koinonia, next his wife Queen Ellyn of Koinonia, and lastly their daughter Katrina. She was lucky to attend these meetings. None of Nicholas’s sisters would likely ever make it into the debating rooms. In the Ethendius Kingdom, the King’s daughters were treated like dolls. There was just too long of a line in the children to ever consider the possibility of them becoming Queen. His father was, after all, a very busy man when their mother was alive.
As the Koinonia’s worked their way up the stairs, Katrina had lost her footing. Nicholas was fairly observant and didn’t miss a moment of it. For any other girl, he probably would have stepped forward to help her catch her balance, but if he helped her, he’d never hear the end of it from his father.
As the girl caught her footing, she was scolded by her mother. That was one thing Nicholas missed about his own mother. He looked down the line of his family. His father, Charles, had stepped forward to greet the King of Koinonia. His two older brothers had also stepped forward; they had their charming faces about them already. Nicholas took a deep breath, he didn’t know if he could hide his uneasiness. Perhaps that’s why his father didn’t think he was suited for the crown.
“Greetings, you are welcomed to the Kingdom of Ethendius on the grounds of temporary peace. Today’s negotiations will take place promptly. Should they go smoothly, this temporary peace may become permanent.” King Charles announced publicly. The townspeople clapped theirs hands together joyfully. King Charles held out his hand to the enemy King, and shook it firmly. “You already know me. And know you my eldest sons, Charles the Seventh, Frederick, and Nicholas." The three sons stepped forward and smiled.
“It is of my greatest wishes we can come to an understanding Sir.” Prince Charles the VII said smoothly as he bowed. Prince Charles, named after his father, was the first born and naturally the heir to the throne. He was crowned prince and everyone expected it would be anytime now that his took his place as King. He was raised strictly and taught well. “And I hope we can think of something to level our predicaments out with.” Prince Charles stared directly at Katrina. He knew something that would stop the war, and had spoken briefly to his father about it. But it was undecided at the time.
“Indeed. I believe that this meeting will benefit us all. I also hope we can please you both,” Smiled Frederick kindly. He spoke to only the King and Queen of Koinonia, paying very little attention to Katrina. Frederick was quite friendly but was the kind of person that believed the only women that should be involved in politics, are Queens. He thought it was distasteful for them to continuously bring their daughter.
Finally it was Nicholas’s turn to step forward. He didn’t particularly have anything to say publicly as a greeting. He was always bad at it. But he knew exactly what he should do in order to flatter the Koinonia royals.
Nicholas’s father hated to suck up to people, but that’s exactly who Nicholas was. Nicholas, was, a coward.
Nicholas stepped forward reaching down to lift Queen Ellyn’s hand; he kissed the back of it lightly as a greeting before letting go. He turned to Katrina, and did the same.
Between royals, kissing a hand was a sign of courtesy, politeness, and respect. But Nicholas’s father always saw it a sign of weakness.
When Nicholas stepped back, he already knew his father was shooting him vicious glares. The group was quiet briefly, expecting for Nicholas to say something, but he did not.
~~~
The Koinonia Royals were led inside the castle. It was heavily guarded and most rooms and stair cases blocked by armed men. They couldn’t have their enemy exploring the depths of the heart of the Kingdom. King Jarin, Ellyn, and Katrina were led into a room with a large table. On the table were pastries.
“Please sit, relax. Help yourselves to the pastries“ King Charles motioned to three well-padded seats. He and his three sons took seat on the opposite side of the table.
“Now, where shall we begin?”
