darkwolf687

When Royalty Collides ~Closed~

Well, that happened. It's 6am and I've been writing for thee hours. Damn insomnia ;-;

@RomanAria

Aw, I know how you feel.

When Royalty Collides ~Closed~

"I'm glad the change doesn't displease you, I can certainly understand what you are saying. I hadn't even met the princess I was supposed to marry before the change, so it would be a bit silly to get caught up on it. And I wouldn't say you have nothing to be fearful of- There is still the risk of dying of boredom when you inevitably meet my father. He does enjoy his lectures, I'm afraid." Edwin replied, giving a small smile at his own joke. "And yes, we all have our flaws. Its something we have to learn to live with and to over come. A friend of mine used to say that every failure was just another way you've learnt not to do something." He paused for a moment, glancing outwards across the table which a small frown before turning back to Elizaveta

"There is nothing to forgive; I can understand you being homesick, you certainly make it sound beautiful. I look forward to seeing it as well; you can show me the best parts, though I'm sure its all wonderful, so long as I am able to handle the cold. Of the three palaces I spent most of my life in, two were originally castles. Beautiful relics; you can even see the damage in the walls still, from the battles all those years ago. The third was actually made far later and stood far further to the north, actually rather near the border with Noslainia come to think of it. We used to spend our summers there but we always went south again before the winter set in." Edwin said with a small smile, shifting in his seat slightly as he chuckled in response to her speaking about riding and nodded slightly, against shifting in his chair and losing his nervous look. "Well, I stand corrected; Apparently being able to ride will be useful to a ruler after all all. I certainly wouldn't have thought that. Its been some months since I have ridden a horse now. I think the last time I rode a horse was when my cousin was knighted. And yes, I rather agree. We can learn a lot from history, 'standing on the shoulders of giants' and what not. I love history myself, I often read through books on the matter. Its interesting to learn about the events of the past and to see how they lead to the modern day its self. A single action can have such dramatic consequences."

Edwin paused for a moment when Elizaveta asked whether he would be willing to teach her how to use a swore, considering "Its not too bold to ask at all. I would definitely be willing to teach you how to use a sword, its more the matter of whether I would be capable of doing so. I can certainly try." he finally replied with a friendly smile, noting the callouses on her hands. Good god, she certainly was not a typical princess; he doubted most of the women in this room had even held a hammer, let alone had much experience with one. The future Tsarina was a woman of many colours, it seemed...

•••

Richard rose from the table, glancing over towards Edwin and watching the young king for a few moments. He certainly seemed to be doing fine with his newly betrothed, for which Richard was grateful. It would have been an absolute disaster, trying to keep the prince in line if he had hated his betrothed.

He turned away and slowly crossed the room, scanning the fasces until he located Liviana and approached her, glass of wine in hand "Ah, Liviana, its an honour to meet you at last. It's a shame that your betrothed is not attending." Richard said with a small frown on his face as he took a sip of the wine lowering the glass and pausing for a few moments before speaking "Apparently they didn't receive the letter. How are you doing at the moment? Not ill I hope? I was very sorry to have heard that you were a sickly child, life often deals us a very unfair hand."

He turned his head towards Aelia "You're Aelia, the daughter of the senates president, yes? It's a pleasure to meet you; You look radiant." He said with a small smile before he turned his attention back to Liviana "I have an offer that might be of interest to you, given your current situation. They say you are a very intelligent young woman and so you must forgive me in being an opportunist in this situation. Its not every day this sort of thing happens."

When Royalty Collides ~Closed~

Edwin nodded to Elizaveta as he he pulled back the chair "Thank you." He replied as he sat down beside her, pivoting his body towards her and smiling weakly as he pulled the chair against the table. He examined her quickly; It was an interesting choice of clothing, certainly not what he had expected a princess to be wearing... And yet somehow it just seemed to fit. It was elegant and refined, not excessively flashy or extravagant. He could appreciate that; it definitely showed that care had been put into the choice of outfit.

She seemed to cordial enough so far; Apparently she was quite the compassionate woman, having established herself as something of a peoples person. If this were also the case behind closed doors then it was an absolute blessing that this betrothal had come about; The last thing he wanted was to marry someone who was malicious or whom he would absolutely despise and in turn be despised by.

"I too think this could be an excellent opportunity for both our empires. And the change has certainly not displeased me; As my father is adamant that I enter this political marriage circuit, then I'm more than happy to be betrothed to a woman such as yourself. On my part, I hope the change doesn't displeasure you either, Veta. It would be disastrous if we married and then it turned out we couldn't stand each other so I'm hoping we'll at least be able to get along. Its an honour to even be talking with the future Tsarina of Noslainia, truth be told. Its one of the few countries that Britannia has a border with that I haven't visited, I'm afraid. I have always wanted to see it but I was never allowed to. I suppose my father was fearful that the country was too unstable to be safe. You and your grandmother have done an excellent job repairing it though. It would be lovely to see it at last." He said with a friendly smile, glancing over his shoulder for a second before looking back to her. He wondered whether he really should have brought that up, she probably wouldn't want to be reminded about the mess her father made after he began to lost touch with reality. Indeed, the repercussions of it had surely dominated her life and he could imagine that she was under a lot of pressure, being the last of her line. Probably best not to finish speaking with that...

Edwin glanced over towards the far side of the room quickly, examining it before furrowing his brow in thought and turning back to her and speaking "What do you think of the castle? I find it to be very impressive myself. Its renaissance, I think; not really a castle so much as it is designed to resemble one. We do love emulating the past. My father had me learn to fight with a sword and ride on horseback, and I can't imagine either has played a part in ruling an empire in over a century now." He paused for a moment, before finishing by adding "At least it was fun."

When Royalty Collides ~Closed~

Sorry guys, awful post is awful. Its just gone 20 past one in the morning and I'm knackered xD

When Royalty Collides ~Closed~

Edwin was about to rise in protest when he heard his name called and, hearing the subsequent name, sat back into his chair for several seconds, deep in thought. What a curious decision; This move was sure to bring a political nightmare. What could they possibly hope to accomplish with this move, other than turning themselves into a laughing stock.
"An interesting turn of events, my lord." Harold whispered to him as he lent over "What would you have me do?"
"Nothing. Both of us exchange a betrothed we've never met for a betrothed we've never met. Emotionally its nothing. Politically... Well, this is a far more advantageous marriage, potentially to both of us."
"But my lord, to allow them to decide the betrothal... The Drakewine name will command less and less respect, letting ourselves appear led..."
"We need not concern ourselves with petty image contests; The people are well educated, they will understand our decision to follow through on this new betrothal and besides, I don't believe that any such thing was the intention here. I don't understand the move, and I would definitely like you to learn what you can about this decision, but for now we shall treat it as a blessing; Elizaveta us the last of her line; Her family and national history is tragic and I wouldn't wish it on nobody- But it presents certain opportunities to us that we must take. Should this betrothal go ahead to marriage and should she and I produce an heir, that child shall sit on the thrones of Britannia and Noslainia. She is an intelligent woman; She will know this herself. Her empire is still unstable, this marriage will help secure her land."
"I know of her, lord; Some believe she will go mad like her father." Harold said quietly as he glanced to Elizaveta out of the corner of his eye.
"Many things make a man go mad; Not all of them are inherited. She should be fine. If not; We can cross that hurdle when it comes but I'm sure it can be treated. If not, well, powers can be limited and lets not assume the Noslanian's are stupid; her father went mental and caused near irreparable damage; I'm sure some sort of protocols have been designed for appointing a regent should a monarch become mentally incapable." Edwin replied, glancing over to Harold for a moment. "It's very unlikely, Harold."
"You know what I meant." Harold replied ominously as he turned his upper body towards Edwin
"I am sure it won't be a problem." Edwin insisted
"Are you sure?" Harold asked, raising his brow inquisitively. Edwin hesitated for a moment as he rose from his place on the table. If Harold was right it would certainly bode ill for the future assuming this betrothal went ahead. Whatever the case, wild speculation alone was not sufficient proof in his mind and so he buried the thought.
"Yes." He said simply as he glanced down and checked his uniform was in order before proceeding down the table towards the centre. An interesting place that she'd picked, sitting at the centre of the table. He observed her carefully as he approached, trying to garner what little he could learn about her from her posture and clothing. Part of him was very unsure about approaching her; His father would be absolutely furious if he managed to ruin this and on the other hand she had suffered enough in her life without a loveless marriage. He had heard she had chosen to come rather than having been forced to by a parental figure; It was an interesting choice if this were true. In fact, he had heard much about her; The state of Noslania had long since been news in Britannia. The northern parts of the empire shared a border with Noslania and as such the business of Noslania was considered of interest to Britannia. That said, given how far the Empire stretched, it shared borders with many countries and so in less civilised times Britannia had been constantly suspicious of invasion and conversely many of nations had also been vigilant for any signs of British invasion. The past was certainly a brutal place, filled with mistakes and wars and horror.
He approached Elizaveta, smiling nervously as he placed a hand against the seat on her left hand side.

"May I join you, my lady? I thought that it might be best to meet you earlier than expected given our new and arbitrarily assigned betrothal." He asked, before pausing for a moment and running his eyes up and down the tablets, scanning the faces to try and gauge their reactions to the situation, before glancing back to Elizaveta and silently awaiting her response

When Royalty Collides ~Closed~

"Edwin Drakewine and Elizaveta Romanova"

Edwin's father is probably dying of laughter right now...

When Royalty Collides ~Closed~

<Snipped quote by RomanAria>

"Yarrrgggg! Respice Ship full o' booty 'n aurum!"
"Walk the trabem! You salsa pig!"
"Poly vult un cracker!"
"Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate's vita mihi!"

@ClocktowerEchos

Now I want to see a remake of Pirates of the Caribbean with random Latin thrown into every line... XD

When Royalty Collides ~Closed~

Edwin watched Raven closely as she spoke; Initially, he thought it was just a trick of the light but by the end of the speech there was no doubt in his mind that she'd gone red. He couldn't blame her; She had to address a congregation of the next generation of world leaders, it was not a matter that could be taken lightly. Edwin and Richard, flanked by their guardsmen, followed Jasper to the hall. He had to admit that it was impressive and certainly very beautiful.
The line of thought was cut short as his mind was quickly forced back to the matters at hand as he listened to what more Raven had to say. Out of the corner of his vision, Edwin saw Richard glanced over to him as he heard that the kings and queens would sit at one table and the heirs at another. That created complications for their security plans, particularly given their individual statuses. Edwin was more than willing to tackle the problem immediately, however, and he spoke up only a few seconds after the words had been spoken.
"Harold, you're with me." Edwin ordered as he glanced over to the soldiers behind him. "Richard, sit with the monarchs. Arthur, you shall stand with him and be on your guard." There were a handful of sharp salutes from the two soldiers and Richard nodded swiftly
"As you will." He paused for a moment before leaning in and whispering to Edwin "Are you sure this is wise?"
"You are a king. You shall be treated as one in my presence." Edwin replied with a small smile before turning on his heel and stalking over to the table, taking a seat towards the end and pulling out one of the chairs beside him. Harold remained stood behind him for several moments as Edwin sat patiently.

He had hoped Harold would get his meaning, unfortunately it appeared he did not. It was to be expected of course, the young man had been trained as a bodyguard and bodyguards typically did not get invited to dine with the people they were supposed to protect.
"You may take a seat, Harold." Edwin said as he motioned to the seat beside him.
"The table is for the heirs, sir." Harold replied
"Come now, you've eaten with me before, what's the difference now? I'd be glad of the familiar company and there are spare places set." Edwin replied as he motioned to the seat. Harold hesitated again before taking the seat beside the prince
"Whatever pleases you, my lord." He relented as he sat down, glancing out over the hall. Edwin turned his attention back towards the other heirs, deep in thought. This was a monumental occasion; Not entirely unprecedented, to be sure, but extremely rare none the less. He had no doubt in his mind that this day would go down in history due to the abnormal amount of betrothals occurring in this one place. His father had certainly seen it as a prestige boosting event that the family would have been remiss had they failed to attend.

An occasion that's grandness was only overshadowed by the unfortunate consequences in the lives of the many heirs assembled here, most in their teens still and a few barely our of them. That wouldn't likely be found in any history books; the commoners took love for granted. It was something they were free to find in their own time and he envied them for that, just as they envied him for his power and wealth. It was a trade he would probably have made, if given the option.
Instead here he was at a dinner hall in a country so far from home, preparing to meet the girl he was to marry and attempting to fulfil his fathers... Considerable agenda.
He sighed weakly as he snapped back into reality, sitting straight in the chair and glancing over to Richard, who had seated himself at the other table, before scanning the heirs once again with no small sense of trepidation.

When Royalty Collides ~Closed~

He overheard Amunemhets introduction to Niklas and spoke as soon as the pair had finished "I would be interested in joining said conversations, if you would have me. I would love to learn more about both your homelands; They have always fascinated me." Edwin gave both of them a small smile "In fact, I must say, I had the pleasure of visiting Egypt before. From what I learnt while there, your nation has always been well ahead of its time, Amunemhet."

Edwin had recognised who Karma was after he had been introduced and noted the lack of reverence he had received from his sister. "It is good to put a face to the name. I have read much about you and your mother; Your service to your nation is unsurpassed." He said with a small smile; From what he had read, he had respect for this man... Although his actions here implied he wasn't used to this sort of situation. The manner in which Karma eyed up his bride to be gave that one away. Poor girl.

His attention was drawn away by a sudden blast of fire just a few meters from him.

Edwin placed his hand onto his holster and was about to unbutton it before noticing that it was not a bomb or anything of the sort; It was in fact Zhou performing an old circus trick. He relaxed slightly and took his hand away from his weapon with a quiet chuckle.
As soon as Zhou started to 'breath' fire, the two soldiers reached for their weapons. Richard held up his hand and shook his head, glancing back to them and whispering sharply "Keep them holstered." Edwin had to admit that Zhou's display had shocked him, though he also found it very impressive. He understood how it worked, of course, but he had not seen anyone do it in over a decade. Everything had looked so much bigger and more impressive as a child...
He couldn't help but glance back himself, before turning his attention forwards again and noting the expression on Niklas face; It was quite evident that the man was not impressed with Zhou's display and he could not half blame him. It was something more expected of a circus performer than a prince, after all. Indeed, it appeared that Niklas has initially had the same reaction as he and reached for his weapon. To be expected, really; A part of him was surprised that nobody had mistaken it for an attack and tackled the prince to the floor, certainly a number of the bodyguards looked like they were ready to. Some of the most important royalty in the world were here, nobody wanted to take any chances.

He turned his attention towards Meenakshi as she introduced herself
"It is our pleasure to meet you as well, Princess Meenakshi. I would very much like to talk with you if we have the time in the coming days; Aarudhya has always been fascinating- though I hear the rebels still linger? It must be worrisome for you, knowing a civil war could start if your family puts a foot wrong. Our nations have long since been trading partners; Please remind your father that should he ever require our aid, Britannia is more than willing to give it." Edwin relayed with a concerned look on his face. There had always been some fear in court that Aarudhya would see its current family ousted from the throne again, causing a nightmarish situation for trade just like last time. For a nation that had turned its self into a trading empire, this was of massive concern. He noticed Amunemhet approaching and, understanding he would like to introduce himself to his betrothed, backed away with a short "Goodbye." And retreated back towards Richard, turning his attention to the scene again. Richard approached and whispered into his ear again
"I saw your movements when the Prince began his little fire breathing escapade; Keep yourself calm. We aren't expecting any trouble. Your father just sent a message; The matter he has to deal with is smaller than expected; He'll be arriving within a few days, he'll want to speak with you as soon as he arrives... I suspect you know what he'll ask of you."
"Of course." Edwin nodded
"Zhou is an interesting one, isn't he?"
"The Pirate Prince; Interesting and perhaps dangerous. He certainly enjoys showing off however; I cant fault him for that." Edwin paused for a moment before he continued whispering "What about Liviana?"
"She appears to lack confidence from the way she's standing; If you can, talk to her at some point. See if you can learn more about her and the girl with her too; That one is the daughter of the Senates President. I hadn't recognised her at first; I might speak with her myself later if I can. I have a few questions for her." Richard had the same tone in his voice that it always took when he was thinking up something cunning. Edwin couldn't help but wonder what he was planning there. "You evidently want to get better acquainted with Niklas and Amunemhet. A wise move. Fostering good relations with them will be beneficial to you once you take the throne."
"Indeed. I'll speak to Raven when I get the chance as well. I hear many good things about her, she'll be a great ruler one day."

When Royalty Collides ~Closed~

"Jones, you drive like you've been drinking. We don't want them to think we're a nation of drunks." Richard barked to the driver before glancing back to Edwin, who was staring out of the window. He wore the traditional dark green uniform of the Kings Lifeguards, though affixed to his right shoulder was a small shield, divided party per pale with blue and red. In the centre of this shield was a white Wyvern. Any noble who served the military, when in ceremonial dress, had a patch of their families coat of arms stitched to their uniform. Richard's, for example, was a Wyvern on a yellow saltire. The two families, Drakewine and Ashleigh, were closely linked and shared a Wyvern for their heraldry. Indeed, it was only due to the Ashleigh family, the traditional dukes of Mercia, that the House of Drakewine even existed; They were raised to the nobility by the Duke of Mercia and eventually superseded them to become their overlords. The Ashleighs had profited greatly from this in the long run. They had been granted the title 'King of Wales' after the creation of the title by the emperor some 900 years ago. Although the land had passed out of the Empire, the family still held the title. They were given new lands to reimburse them, as many of the lords who had lost land when the British were pushed out received. This caused a lot of problems that are best left to the history books. Whatever the case, this made Richard the King of Wales who had never once set foot on Welsh soil. He was not the only one. Of the some 50 kings under the Emperor of Britannia, at least 7 of them were the kings of lands outside of Britannia.

"Troubled?" Richard asked
"Somewhat." Edwin admitted as he shuffled slowly to turn to Richard, and the captains presence instantly made him straighten up as if at attention. "Wouldn't you be?"
"Yeah, I would." Richard paused for a moment and ran his hand over his blonde hair before continuing "You know I agree with you about this whole thing, but your father wants you to do this. You are a lieutenant in his household guard; It is your duty to obey."
"'Even to my dying breath.' I know." Edwin looked away again, glancing down to his belt and affixing his ceremonial sword to it, checking his 9mm didn't have a round in the chamber before placing it back into its holster. "Do I introduce myself as King of Anatolia or Prince of Britannia?" Edwin asked as the car pulled up outside the castle. Typically, the former was used in court and the latter was used abroad but this was no normal diplomatic visit...
"Try both." Richard grunted as he climbed out, holding the door open for Edwin, who thanked him as he disembarked. Two soldiers got out from the seats in front of them, flanking the pair and escorting them up to the other royals.

As they reached them Richard motioned for the soldiers to stop and drew back behind Edwin's right soldier. Edwin turned to the King first and gave a small bow "Your grace." before running his eyes quickly along the assembled individuals, recognising them all from images; As usual, Richard had made him learn absolutely everything he could about absolutely everyone who was expected to be present.
Raven; This one was apparently well beloved by her people. She seemed very confident in herself from what he had read; Indeed, she made it quite clear that she was capable of caring for herself. Her land was a cultural capital; It radiated culture onto the rest of the world and the world ate it up.
Liviana; Now, she was very intriguing by virtue of being so nearly nonexistent. Little was said about her, little was written about her. Indeed, there seemed to be very little but occasional dismissive speculation about which nobody she would be married off to, then a small buzz when it became known that she had been betrothed and was coming here instead. He could learn who the other royals were, but he could only learn what she was. What he did know was that she was the youngest child and had been very sickly as a child.
Hiko; Apparently, this one was a prodigy. Assisting the president as a youth, a master of many different languages and the son of an emperor; Quite the resume indeed. He would be interested to see how far this one went in life; It was clear by all that he had achieved already that he was not interested in being a figurehead for the rest of his days and being involved in politics already, it was obvious that he was gunning for the top. Yes, he had very interesting read.
Niklas; This one was an experienced and well trained soldier, was loved by his people and had achieved his position on his own merit alone, allegedly. Perhaps; He was suspicious of such claims. Either way, he was certainly quite a figure. He came from a nation with a proud military history and were generally regarded as one of, if not the, foremost military powers in the world.
Amunemhet; The Prince of Egypt. It was a rich land and its Prince loved to spend his riches. He had visited Egypt before, but had not had the luxury of meeting the prince before now and from what he had read that was definitely something of a shame. Amunemhet also clearly had an admiration for tradition, given how he was dressed; That was good, as far as Edwin was concerned.

Evidently, his betrothed had not yet arrived yet. He was definitely alright with that; Anything which put that particular awkward meeting off for even a few seconds more was appreciated right now.
He waited for any other introductions and conversation to die down before stepping forwards and bowing deeply. He then looked at them each in turn "Lords Niklas, Amunemhet and Hiko, Ladies Liviana and Raven. I am elated to have made your acquaintance. I am Edwin, King of Anatolia and Heir to the Crown of Britannia."

Edwin rose slowly and then stepped to the right side and scanned the group as they spoke, remaining quiet and making mental notes about each other them as he continued to observe. He knew for a fact that Richard was doing the same. The coming days would be an excellent opportunity and his father would expect a hell of a lot for Edwin.

Speaking of his father, Edwin quietly thanked god that he had been delayed by several days; He could get this meeting out of the way without the looming figure of the emperor watching over his shoulder...

Summary

Arrives
Introduces himself
Begins thinking about politics and the likes.