Ophelia S Y N D E N D A L E || Palace of Ivalice || June 27th - 11:57 PM
"Uh... I kind of forgot that I was on rounds today."
"...What?"
"No one told me that I was on rounds today. So.. I haven't gone down to check or anything..."
There was a tense pause. The five men in the room could practically hear the volcanic lava bubbling up within their quick-tempered leader.
"Are you shitting me right now?"
Ophelia Syndendale straightened herself up to her full height, still perched on the edge of the table in the middle of the room. Gone was the warm smile only reserved for the Queen and - usually - this group of assholes, who at first had doubted her abilities to lead as a woman. But after eight years of being under her command, those notions were long dispelled, and they were all on the same page. Or so she thought.
The solders were spread in a semi-circle around her, standing at attention, although the atmosphere in the meeting room had been generally relaxed until now.
"What do you mean, 'you didn't know you were on rounds'?"
Caspian, the man who was currently fucking right up, was standing right across from her, locked in the crosshairs of her gaze. The men on either side of him were shifting uncomfortably, averting their own eyes to some interesting specs of dust on the ceiling and walls. There were a few moments of a silent show down between the two before the man broke from his poker face. He threw up his hands in surrender just in time to stop her as she slid herself from the table and took a menacing step in his direction. "I'm just kidding, Lia, it's a joke. I'm kidding," he blurted out, his face cracking into a huge, albeit nervous smile. The guys around him also began chuckling softly, affirming that he was indeed just messing around with her.
The Knight General's would-be hurricane of hurt deflated; she took a moment to close her eyes and exhale through her nostrils before twisting around to grab the soda can she'd just recently emptied, hurling it towards her second hand man and narrowly missing his head as he ducked to the side. His eyes were wide with adrenaline as they darted from the can to his predator, who was pushing the hair that had fallen in front of her shoulders back behind them.
"You know, one day I'm going to figure out how to get you guys back. You all should be sleeping with one eye open at this point."
Her tone and expression were serious, but the group knew the threat wasn't really a threat. Pulling her chain every once in a blue moon was the only way the guys could retaliate for her hard-assery, and Ophelia liked them enough to let them have their fun every once in a while.
Smirking at his little victory, Caspian bent down to scoop up the crushed can and toss it in the nearby receptacle. "I've done my job, don't worry. Everything's fine, mam."
Ophelia rolled her eyes. Gathering her rusted golden cigarette case from the table, she strode towards the double doors, jokingly shoving Caspian at the shoulder as she passed him. "Seriously, though. Don't fuck with me," she half sang, lifting a finger to waggle at them without looking back. "The Queen trusts us completely, and I'm not about to let her down just because you want to try and spite me."
Cas shrugged his shoulders over his ears like a dog with its tail between his legs, though he was still grinning as he took the seat that she had just vacated. The General glanced back and the two shared a little smile before Ophelia pushed open the exit. "See you later, boys." She nodded at the rest of them before turning on her heel and heading to her room.
|| -- 12:01 AM -- ||
The large moon shone down on a very neat studio space on the west side of the Palace, illuminating the balcony on which Ophelia was currently having a smoke.
Soft music from that 1940s era that seemed to color everything in her life was playing from hidden speakers, creating some cinematic scene from a movie she's probably never seen.
Inhale. Exhale.
Tendrils of purple smoke curled up before her face, appearing to be lavender from the light of the nightly orb. It was a lovely evening, and though Ophelia rarely stopped to appreciate much for its beauty, she couldn't deny it. The breeze was just right, the sounds of traffic below were barely noticeable, and the bourbon she was occasionally sipping on certainly hitting a spot.
And still, even with this perfect evening ahead of her, she couldn't shake the weirdest sensation that something was not right. Perhaps it was because of the prank her men had pulled on her, but there was some strange paranoia building up at the back of her neck. She wholly trusted the group, especially Caspian, and wouldn't question him if he said that he was only joking about neglecting his duties. Of course he would never do that. He knew the kind of wrath she'd bring down on him if he ever slipped under her jurisdiction. And with the meeting of the two kingdoms only two days away, they could afford no mistakes.
She swung her legs down from the little table they were resting on and stood up, stubborn as always. It wouldn't hurt to do another round of checks, just in case.
Stubbing out the stick, she took the glass and her cigarette case inside with her and placed it on the counter before moving towards the cabinet that held her large broadsword and shield, both much too large for her to conceivably wield with ease. Yet she grabbed the heavy blade with too much ease, sliding it into its sheath at her waist, before swinging the shield into its place on her back. The golden handle of the sword and the shield, both of which mirrored the rustic design of her cigarette case, glinted loyally every time light from the moon touched them through the glass wall of the balcony.
Ophelia exited her room, locking the door behind her with a scan of her wristband, which she then glanced at to check the time. She strode towards the grand stairwell, and while doing so, she reached a finger up to touch the earpiece camouflaged to look just like the skin of her ear. "Cas, I'm going down to do a check. If I find out you weren't joking around about earlier, I'm going to make you personally responsible for containing that shit show." Beginning her descent down the stairs, a ghost of a smirk appeared on her face as she removed her finger from contact with the earpiece.
Concept,
Troubleshoot
