[IC] The Making of a New Queen

[tsubasa]

Anastasia smiled at King George, "What has it been like?" she asked him.

He chuckled a little, "Difficult... But it is getting easier, I suppose. I'm truly amazed by you, Princess Anastasia."

She blushed slightly and looked between the two brothers, "Why on earth is that?"

Prince Henry grinned, "Well, you've only been a Princess for six months and are already taking on the mantle as Queen."

Anastasia sighed, "It's not like I had much of a choice."

"I would have run," King George said, looking at her, "I nearly ran and this was something I lived everyday knowing I would one day do... I would have run... very fast."

Anastasia laughed, "Well, then you've never tried to outrun Samsul," She looked over her shoulder at the Lost Elf and grinned, "I wouldn't be two steps out the door before he would be dragging me back in," she shook her head, "I do think I will manage though... I have a lot of help."

She stopped, "I believe these were the rooms the two of you were assigned to," she glanced back at Gerald, who nodded.

King George smiled and bowed, "Thank you, your highness, but I do believe it is the men who are supposed to escort the lady to their rooms," He held out his arm to her, "May I?"

Anastasia curtised, "Why thank you, King George."

Prince Henry ducked into their room and the King and Queen to be left down the hall. Gerald pursed his lips as they went, "Interesting...."

[pyroman]

"Yes... Interesting..." Samsul muttered once more at Gerald as he stayed behind the King and the queen-to-be moved onward. Soon after his moment of silence, he walked back up to the two of them and looked over at the king. "If I may, King George. What country do you rule over? Is it one of the surrounding countries?" Samsul was actually curious about this. If he led one of the bordering countries, then that would mean that Anastasia would probably be closer to Greenspring if the two were to wed. If anything, he wanted for her to marry someone either of the country of of one of the bordering ones, as she wouldn't be so far away from him since he still had his own race to look after.

[tsubasa]

"Urais?" Anastasia said looking at the King, who smiled at nodded. She smiled back, "You are the Isles to the south."

King George laughed, "Someone has been doing their research it seems. Yes and our palace is on one of our many islands. It was a trek to come see you, Princess. And although, I cannot speak for my brother, I am happy we did."

Anastasia giggled and blushed slightly, "Yes, well, Gerald made me look into each everyone of you. That's how I knew the two of you were in a position similar to my own."

When they reached her room, she curtsied, "Thank you for walking me to my rooms."

George smiled, "You're welcome, your highness.... Now, would you care to show my back to my rooms," he winked.

Anastasia laughed and shook her head, "I see a vicious cycle coming along, your majesty."

"I don't think it would be particularly vicious," He teased as Anastasia opened her door. She smiled at him, "Good night, King George, I hope you manage to find your rooms," Then she slipped into her own.

[pyroman]

Samsul was not at all pleased with the king who was flirting with Anastasia. He wouldn't say or do anything for her sake, but he was planning on letting it be known to the king that he wouldn't allow such a thing. Samsul stood at the door until Anastasia slipping into her room. He then looked at King George with a calm and blank look. "King George. A word, please." He spoke calmly as he looked at the king. Attempting to physically hurt a lord, lady, or any other type of royal from another country would be considered as an act of demanding war, so he would keep his hands off of him. "Anastasia is not that queen yet, and even when she does become the rightful ruler of Greenspring, there is a wait-time until the Suitors would be brought to her. I suggest that you keep to yourself until that time, as I am her guardian. I plan to look over her and watch her until she no longer needs me."

[tsubasa]

King George looked at the Knight and smirked, "Ah yes, my apologies," He bowed to the man dramatically, "I was not aware that I may have been stepping on your toes."

He stepped back and started to walk away, "Although, Sir Samsul. You may wish to see a doctor," He looked over his shoulder as he placed in hands into his pockets, "You are looking awfully green."
~
Anastasia walked over to her shutters and sat in her chair to look out the window at the stars. She sighed and rested her chin on her hand. She wished she could see the stars that she saw back at home. Yes, these were the same very stars but the sky just looked empty without those she could see in the fields. She walked over to her door and opened it to look at Samsul, who stood out there alone, "Can we go to the field and stargaze?"

Melor's ears perked up at the word field and raced over to them. He sat between the two of them and whined, wanting to go,

[pyroman]

As badly as Samsul wanted to hurt the king, he count' do it. He knew that even by touching him with any force could bring on war between the two countries, so with all the will he had, the Lost Elf Head held back and simply looked at the King as he walked away.

It took Samsul a little time to calm down from what he was almost about to do, and just as he did, the door to Anastasia's room opened and she was looking at him. He met her gaze and nodded just as Melor began to whine about wanting to go. Samsul smiled at the dog and nodded at Anastasia. "Yes, we can go. While we are there.... I do think that I need to tell you something important.."

[tsubasa]

Anastasia looked up at Samsul as he said he needed to tell her something. She nodded, "Of course..."

She walked with him to the field and found a nice spot to lie down. Melor bounded through the tall grass, disappearing and reappearing as he jumped. She laughed a little and sat down in a spot that seemed to be clean enough. She sighed and laid down on her back. She stretched slightly as she looked up at sky. She smiled as stared up at the stars, "I can see Big Dipper... And if you connect those stars...," She pointed, "That's... Ursa Major"

She smiled, she loved stargazing. She looked at Samsul, "You wanted to talk about something..."

[pyroman]

Samsul walked with Anastasia out into the fields and spent little time finding a spot to sit down at. He sat next to her in a cross-legged fashion as he leaned slightly back and looked up to the stars. He knew many of the human constellations, as well most to all of the ones of his own culture. Some of the constellations were the same but went by different names, while others had little to know relation to Human constellations. His eyes followed his fingers as she pointed to Ursa Major, and turned his head to the queen-to-be as she spoke to him.

Samsul sighed lightly as he looked at her and thought about the best way to go about saying what he wanted to say. "It is about the coronation, as well as King George and his actions..." He spoke slowly and paused to let the information sink in. "As a young and unmarried Queen, soon after your coronation Lords and rulers from other countries as well as our own will be coming to the castle to court you. You mother has escaped this by sheer will and various other means, but I do not think that evading them will be the same for you. I assume that King George is planning to start a relationship with you beforehand so that he can court you as soon as he can."

[tsubasa]

Anastasia looked at Samsul as he started to talk. When he paused for a moment, she nodded. When she finished, she sighed, "I know... Gerald has already spoken to me... But King George seems nice... And it might be nice... to visit Urias. Not to mention they are a major trading country... It wouldn't be problematic to have ties with them."

She adjusted herself on the ground and sighed, "It is quite alright, Samsul..."

She looked back up at the stars, "Oh, there's Ursa Minor.... And Orion's belt," She smiled, "Back home... I used to stay up to see Venus..." She sighed and closed her eyes, "I sometimes feel asleep in the field though and missed it entirely."

[pyroman]

Samsul nodded at Anastasia. He probably wasn't there when she had learned about the suitors, and now that he knew that she had already been over it, he felt a little bad by assuming that she hadn't been over it already. He looked up at the stars and pointed out more constellations as he sat there. Samsul turned back to Anastasia and looked at her closed eyes, nodding once more. "Venus is occasionally visible from here, but not very often. As much as I would like to stay throughout the night and see if it appears, we will need to head back eventually. Your coronation is very important, and you should get the proper amount of rest beforehand."

[tsubasa]

Anastasia sighed opened her eyes again, "Yes... of course... Millie and Arabella have been laying out dress choices for me, for weeks... I'm just glad to be able to get this over with..."

She sat up and looked at Samsul, "I suppose I should turn in then," She whistled and Melor came bounding over to them as she stood. She walked back to her room and nodded to the taller man, "Good night, Samsul."

She walked into her room and closed the door behind her.
~
The next morning she was woken by Millie and Arabella practically pulling her out of bed. Millie smiled, "Today is the day, Anastasia."

She climbed out of bed and the two pulled her into the bathroom. They started with a bath then dressed her in a fine red dress. Then they did her hair, leaving it drapping over her shoulders. Then jewelery and makeup. Anastasia looked at herself in the mirror, it was amazing, how much she appeared like her mother. She, for the first time, looked at herself and could see a Queen. She could almost picture the crown on her head. Millie and Arabella smiled at her, "You look beautiful, Anastasia... Now, let's get you down to your coronation before they start without you," They teased, pushing her to the door.

[pyroman]

Samsul stood up slowly and followed Anastasia back to her room with little to say until after she had big him a good night. He nodded to her and smiled faintly. "Good night, Anastasia." He spoke just before turning from the door and walking back to his own room.

The next morning, Samsul woke up like any other day and put on a more formal attire, rather than the usual outfit of armor that he wore. It was now obvious that he was royalty of some sort, with the materials and appearance of his clothing. It might have been a bit too formal for his own states, but he had to look good for Anastasia's coronation. With a small smile on his face, he walked over to Anastasia's room and waited at the door for her to come out. He was still her guardian after all, and he was required to be there to escort her to where he coronation would be taking place.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia opened the door to her room to find Samsul standing on the other side. She smiled at him, "Well, don't you look dapper."

Millie and Arabella took hold of Anastasia's skirt, holding the extravagant gown's skirt up off the ground until they reached the hall in which she would be pronounced Queen. She walked Samsul and took a deep breath trying to calm herself. She fixed the front of her skirt and smiled, "It was nice for the seamstress to make this for me... And for so little as well.. I'm going to have to be sure to tell everyone that she made it... I feel like I've robbed her in a sense."

She laughed a little, trying to get rid of the jitters. They reached the two large doors and Millie and Arabella dropped her skirts, running off to the side to allow the Princess her grand entrance. Anastasia took another deep breath, staring at the doors, "This is it... No turning back...."

[pyroman]

Samsul smiled at Anastasia and nodded her head to him. "I need to look good for the Queen to be. It is a sight to see me in a suit like this, and your Coronation is quite the event." He smiled a little more at her and began to walk with Anastasia. "The dress is for a very important occasion, and Autry is always happy to make dresses for you at lower prices. With the business you've been giving her, there isn't really any need to pay so much for the dresses."

They were finally at the doors, and everyone save for Anastasia, the handmaidens, and himself were on the other side. Samsul nodded at Anastasia and put a hand on her shoulder. "You'll do fine as a Queen. I'm sure of it." He smiled at her before taking his hand off of her and pushing open the doors.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia gave Samsul a weak smile as he said that she would do fine as Queen. The door opened and there was the ruckus that comes from many people standing at the same time. She started to walk and felt as though she were walking down the aisle to get married. Maybe she was so worried about being Queen because everyone was telling her, she would do fine. She didn't want to do fine. She wanted to do better than fine. She wanted to do great. She wanted the people to love her, the way that she wanted to love them. She wanted them to be happy. She reached the end of the aisle and everyone sat back down. She knelt in front of the man, whose job she was unaware of, maybe he was an advisor... He was speaking and Anastasia wasn't really listening, she was more so trying to prevent herself from wobbling or shaking or appearing in anyway like she was nervous. Then she felt something touch her head. She looked up to see the man placing her new crown on her head. And like that, it was done. She was Queen. She stood and turned to face everyone who sat in the room, a look of bewilderment on her face.

Everyone stood and started to applaud the new Queen. She gave them a small smile and glanced at Samsul before laughing and walking down toward the seat to talk with the attendees.

[pyroman]

As Anastasia stood in front of the man who would name her the queen, Samsul took his seat at the front most row and the closest to the isle. Since the Lost Elves and the Royals of Greenspring were closer to each other than any of the other countries, it was only right to have their closest advisers as close as they could be. Samsul listened intently to the speech, and although it didn't seem long, it had seemed that Anastasia was already bored of it, and wasn't listening. Samsul was forced to keep back a small laugh as he noticed it and stood with everyone else as Anastasia was crowned the queen. His smile widened as she laughed at him and walked down to talk with some of the attendees.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia was just happy. There had been so much stress with the coronation. She had even had a nightmare where the crown on her head started to scream about her being unfit. Others were of people stopping coronation or her dead mother weeping, knowing that Anastasia was going to run Greenspring into the ground. However, no inanimate objects spoke, no ghosts terrorized her and everyone seemed rather happy about her being Queen. She spoke to a few of the royals, mainly saying thank you as they congratulated her.

King George came over to her and smiled, "You need wonderful, Queen Anastasia. And that speech he gave was wonderful."

Anastasia smiled, "Was it?"

He chuckled, "I didn't listen much at my coronation. They could have been talking about pig's blood for all I know," he glanced at Samsul, "I was told to keep my distance... But save me a dance, your majesty."

Anastasia looked at him confused. Why would anyone tell me to stay away? That hardly made any sense. She was supposed to be looking for suitors and well, King George was the first not to just bow and run off. She smiled, "I think I can save more than a dance."

She watched as he grinned and bowed before walking off to the dining hall. She turned and looked to Samsul as the room cleared out, "Did you tell King George to keep his distance."

[pyroman]

Mentally, Samsul cursed the king for speaking about their private talk, but only looked at Anastasia as she asked about it. "I don't feel comfortable around him. Something just doesn't seem right." He didn't actually answer her question, and he hoped that she wouldn't notice his choice of actions. He was being truthful though, and didn't feel comfortable at all with the King around him or Anastasia. He couldn't explain the feeling that he had but none of it felt right to him. He would not allow for his new queen to be taken by some suitor, especially one who seemed to know exactly what cards he had in his hand.

[tsubasa]

Anastasia sighed and shook her head, "It's fine, Samsul..." She gave him a soft smile, "I'll be fine.... Now, come along, it is time that I go to my first ball..."

They walked to the Ballroom and as she entered someone, somewhere, introduced her to the crowd. They began to applaud again and she paused, waiting for them to stop. She grinned, "Well..." She looked to the minstrels, "Let's begin."

They began to play music and people began to grab partners to dance with. Anastasia turned to look at Samsul, she hadn't done much of dancing in her court studies. It might have been nice to start the night with someone she didn't have to impress. However, an elderly king walked over to them and bowed, "May I ask the new Queen for a dance?"

Anastasia smiled and curtsied, "Why of course."

She placed her hand in his outstretched one and allowed him to bring her toward the dancing crowd. She looked over at Samsul and waved her hand, telling him to go dance. Besides, he was off duty today.

[pyroman]

Samsul had noticed Anastasia's wave of the hand, and knew that she was dismissing him from duty for the time being. He only nodded to her as he stood still and looked around. He had been preparing to ask Anastasia for a dance, but the old kind had gotten to her first. He didn't really expect to dance with anyone other than her, as important as he was, there was no need for him to go out and seek a dance. He didn't need to dance with people he hardly knew. The Lost Elf looked around once more and had yet to find anyone to dance with. He sighed lightly as he stood there, relaxed and calm as ever.

He hadn't noticed it, but a young princess was slowly inching her way over to Samsul. She didn't have a big and flowing dress like many of the other women at the ball, as it was a simple jade green with very little designs and accessories on it. When she had finally made her way to Samsul, she took a deep breath and looked at him calmly. "Hello... You are Samsul... of the Lost Elves, right?" It was obvious to see that she was very young and shy, and couldn't have been older and Anastasia. Samsul nodded to her with a calm smile. "Yes, I am. And who might you be, milady?" He asked her with a calm tone of voice. The princess looked down at the ground for a moment and looked back up at Samsul. "I am Lady Sara.. And I come from the mountain country of Eigas.." Samsul looked at her with a bit of surprise. Eigas was some distance from Greenspring, and the distance between the two capitals was impossibly great.

"Eigas? That is quite some distance, I hope the travel here wasn't to your displeasure. Would you care to have a dance while we discuss your great journey?" Samsul spoke as he offered her a hand. Sara took the hand slowly as she smiled shyly at the Head of the Lost Elves. He led her to the dance floor slowly and put his free hand above her waist. Samsul had learned to dance some time ago, and from the looks of the Lady he was dancing with, she had very little skill in dancing."