[centre][h3][color=gold]Prince Rynek Darion[/color][/h3][/centre]

Rynek did have to admit, as he wandered off, leaving the Commander of the Guards with his invaluable prize, there were more than a few feelings of fear that she may not return to him. He had such wonderful things planned for her --or for him but she would be involved, nonetheless-- and to have all them ruined was definitely enough to at least mildly piss him off. Of course, Rynek never counted his chickens until they hatched and he had high hopes for the little gem that his Vax had picked for him.

While Lienna was away showing the Commander that size wasn't everything when it came to blades (even if his sword was probably magnificent), Rynek and his crew of merry men entertained themselves with a good ol' game of Who's Gonna Stab Who. Of course, Yax and Vax had the logistical strength of a sodomized goat so they weren't overly good at the game so Rynek took victory pretty easily after after awarding himself bonus points for judging that some fat lord had been poisoned. He didn't immediately recognise who had done it but he had a heavy feeling it had something to do with the little, weasel-like fellow with the guards swamping him. A name rung in his head and something about usurping but Rynek gave a grand total of zero shits about any nobility, Drakken or otherwise.

By the time Lienna had returned, Rynek & Co were debating about a particular matchup. [color=silver]"Man too big. He crush little man like Vax crushes skulls."[/color] Yax announced which was met with a round of intense nodding from his identical twin. Rynek had his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes narrowed in silent challenge to the two men who didn't seem bothered by a gaze which would unsettle anyone else.

[color=gold]"Pfft! The only thing Vax will be crushing is his chances of finding a female who can actually survive being bedded by that big bastard! You know how much I had to pay after he literally split open five whores? It's enough for me to tell you to shut the fuck up and accept the fact that that little bastard over there would tear a new one for the Scream-Taker... I think."[/gold] Rethinking it, Rynek absently tapped his chin as Yax nodded in encouragement and Vax scratched his crotch. Their insightful debate was just about to continue before the whole room quieted and even Vax's attention drifted towards a new figure. Rynek didn't even have to look to the side to know who it was.

Watching her dip her head in a bow, he felt a sadistic smirk light up his lips. Her dress was painted in red, the blood his enemy soaked deep into the beautiful material. If he just wanted to fuck her earlier then now he would have gladly given everything to his bride. Turning, he looked down on her curiously, his hand sliding along the hilt of the dagger and lifting it from her grasp. With an eye for these sorts of things, he inspected the blade, flipping it over in his fingers as he lifted it to his eyes. The blade hadn't been used to kill the Commander which meant that she had used other means. Strangling was out of the question with the blood all over her so he guessed that she must have found another weapon or... She bit him? Sheathing the unused blade, his fingers found her chin and raised it so her eyes met his hooded ones. He took note of the stains of blood around her lips, the look of pure adrenalin shining in her eyes and to him, there was nothing more beautiful in the world. Death was an art form in itself and Rynek found himself moved by this masterpiece that was laid bare before his eyes.

In one quick moment, he captured her lips, pinning them against his. The taste of iron in her mouth was beyond divine and Rynek subconsciously found himself parting her legs with a single movement of his knees. His magic flared and the air pent-up in her lungs was dragged out, effectively leaving her breathless as he deepened their kiss. Finally, he released her from the confinement of his lips and she was able to breathe once more; he found a strange humour in the fact that he had quite literally taken her breath away.

[color=gold]"Fate has shined brightly on you, my dearest love. You have embraced death; made it your lover. You understand now, yes? You understand why it is the duty of the lion to slaughter the lamb?"[/color] Smiling deftly at her, his eyes held an excitement that wasn't present before - it was barely even the first day and she was already responding so beautifully.

His moment was ruined, however, by the addition of another figure. Fucking. Edoric. Just as the bastard came in, he basically gave away who the cloaked individual happened to be. In that moment, said cloaked individual very nearly wrestled a crossbow from a nearby guard which undoubtedly would have had lethal repercussions. Despite the apparent anger in his actions, he very suddenly turned and pulled his hood away, exposing a mess of fine, snow-white hair. [color=gold]"It is true, I've been deceiving so let me introduce myself. Prince Rynek Darion the first. Noble protector of the Royal Bloodline, Slayer of kings and rapist of queens, princesses and generally anything that looks pretty and has a cunt."[/color] Sweeping down into a low bow, it had seemed that his introduction was aimed at the whole room but he personally looked towards Lienna, the ghost of a smirk gliding across his features.

Even though he seemed pleasant, Rynek was still extremely pissed off. When they had sat at the table, he threw what could best be described as a silent tantrum. [color=silver]"Boss want chicken?"[/color] Yax graciously offered, holding out a massive leg of chicken to the sulking Prince. Rynek simply shook his head which remained low.

[color=gold]"It took me like three hours to come up with that plan and then [i]he[/i] just goes and ruins it! It's not fair, Yax! I wanted to surprise everyone and then they'd all be like, 'wow, we have such a surprisingly cool Prince; I really wish I could be like him'. It was a flawless plan!"[/color] Crossing his arms, he frowned in the general direction of the Scream-Taker as he announced that they were going to war. [color=gold]"And now my father decides to go to fucking war? For fuck's sake! I had planned to retreat to some nice little villa and fuck this little minx here into oblivion and now I have to go to war... again? Can this day get any worse!?"[/color] Throwing himself back in his chair, he let out a sound of exasperation much akin to a dying seal but not unlike the cries of a blind seagull.

Poor Rynek didn't know what to do with himself so in the meantime, he very blatantly eyed up the Hellsong girl across from him. Tyrai, was it? Bringing a Gem bride to war would be tedious but a Drakken bride was another story. He had heard that Torin Hellsong was mighty thirsty so if he could get a royal matchup for his sister, he would. Excellent!

[centre][h3][color=red]Atallia Faeron[/color][/h3][/centre]

Her head hurt. The first sound she emitted when she was forcefully woken up by her Lord Husband was a low groan of pain at the feeling of her head being cracked open. Atallia hadn't exactly thought rationally when she was going through her arsenal of spells and had stupidly chosen one that she was physically incapable of handling in her current state. That probably explained the feeling of a hammer striking her skull repeatedly and the fact that her body felt like it was running on nothing. The young fire Gem fully intended to go back to sleep and would have if it wasn't for his guards dragging her to her feet and leaving her unable to find a comfortable position. The look she flashed them after that was beyond unholy - no one got in the way of Atallia and sleep. No one.

Thankfully, her drowsiness allowed her to mostly block out the cries of her companion when that bastard applied a hot iron to her back to seal her wounds. Although she was uncertain why he didn't repeat the process on her, she didn't exactly complain. After he had dealt with the wounds of her companion, he proceeded to emblazon them with some sort of tattoo which wouldn't have bothered her if it wasn't for the fact that he took his time doing it just so he could eye up their bodies. Thankfully, it was placed on her other arm and her Dragon was left unscathed.

Atallia absently drifted through most of the proceedings that followed that. The dress was nice but blue wasn't her colour - it matched her hair well enough but it was just a natural trait of fire gems that red suited them best. The chain and the name he had chosen for her was demeaning but in her weak state, she wasn't able to complain. Although she didn't want him knowing her name, it was a lot better than being referred to as a fluffy animal with low intelligence for the rest of her undoubtedly short life. [color=red]"Talli."[/color] She answered plainly, her jaw extending into a yawn as her eyes flicked closed, attempting to sleep before being rudely interrupted by a tug on the chain.

In the walk to the dining room, it was mainly Atallia who slowed down their progress. She was groggy in her tiredness and didn't like paying attention to mundane things like steps or walking when she could stare daggers at those guards who refused to carry her like before - she could at least have slept then. Edoric himself proved to be a complete and utter idiot. His antics with the goat was plain weird and Atallia couldn't tell if it was an act or if he was genuinely insane. She hoped it was the former; insanity was not something to trifle with.

Strangely, her tiredness seemed to fade as she watched an imposing Drakken rise and silent the room before speaking. His words very nearly didn't register with her as she blinked back the information, not understanding. When it finally hit her, her eyes went wide and Atallia wanted nothing more than to collapse and die there and then. The only reason they suffered through this was to protect their homeland but now that was meaningless so did that make their purpose void? She felt her cheeks heating. Before, their acts were noble, brave even but now they were nothing more than petty bed-slaves. Looking around, she questioned whether her counterparts had realised that or if their thoughts just drifted homeward-bound. Talli wasn't prepared to just give up, however - they could change things. Or at least, they could try and go down fighting instead of just giving up. Turning, she regarded Edoric before swallowing her pride and softly grasping his arm.

Pressing herself against him, she raised her eyes of molten gold to his and silently pleaded for a moment. [color=red]"You can change it, can't you? You have the power to stop it, right?"[/color] Resisting the urge to crumble in self-hatred, Talli stood on her tippy-toes to whisper directly to him. [color=red]"Please... my Lord."[/color] Staring at him, her snowy teeth found their place in her bottom lip and for the first time since she had arrived, Talli looked oddly inviting.