☆ --- long may she reign '

[guh-huh!]

⚔ ( ＩＳＳＡＣ ＣＯＮＮＥＬＬＹ! )

──────── ＴＨＥ ＫＮＩＧＨＴ ────────────────────────
( gender. male )─( allegiance. kingdom of lurks )─( location. dining hall )─( tagged. x )


xxxissac had certain exceptions when it came to the morning. that he would be half-dead, beyond hungry, and having a stabbing pain in his back. the knight is currently tucked into the furthest corner of the bed; he's managed to collect each respective blanket that was given to him and has wrapped himself into a cocoon of misery and exhaustion. the night prior was chaos for the knight, excessively training new recruits for the almost inevitable warfare with the ryeain kingdom. issac could only spar for so long without growing exhausted, but it was for a necessary cause. especially with the newcomers from astriel, guards and knights had to be prepared for anything to happen. issac pulled himself into an upright position, jaws parting in a wide yawn before snapping shut almost automatically. it was going to be a long day again.

xxxrunning a hand through his hair, issac determined that it was time to get ready for the day ahead. it wouldn't be long before the knight had to return to his duties, guarding the kingdom and keeping watch over the borders. only a few times has he caught sight of the ryeain enemy, but it still was enough to make sleep restless. however, maybe today was going to be a good day for lurks. after all, the new queen seemed charming enough. and maybe, if he was lucky, he'd have time to talk with the queen's servant, whom seemed to have been plaguing his thoughts recently. he didn't know why he so suddenly has become enthralled with the shy katherine, but issac couldn't help but try to win over her attention. there was something about her that just made him overwhelmed with emotion.

xxxshoving his apprehensions down into his chest, issac made his way to the dining hall. the crowds of servants and guards around the scene was overwhelming to say the least, everyone trying to please the king and queen before their marriage. while the knight knew he wasn't to dine with the royals, he bowed alongside the others and hastily made his way to a more desolate area to eat breakfast before heading out to his daily duties.

[`sappho]

__________________________________________

☆xＯＰＨＥＬＩＡ x ＡＳＥＴＲＡx☆
the queen of arstel - nineteen years old - female - mentions: morgana - tags: dustin, katherine
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xxxthe dining room was lit by candle light from the elegant gold chandler hanging above the huge oak dining table, as well as sunlight gleaming in from the three open windows that stood in front of her. the room was quite beautiful, paintings of the past sovereigns of lurks hung on the wall, looking down at the people in the room judgingly. golden platters and bowls sat on the wooden table and many tall, cushioned chairs were pushed under the large table, begging to be sat in. kitchen servants rushed in and out of the room, bringing fresh, new dishes to the table. ophelia's brown eyes looked over at morgana as she spoke to her. she didn't say anything in reply, simply giving her a curt nod, holding back the urge to make a snarky remark. she had to remember to do was in the best interest for her country now. she knew that her words had just been a formality, the princess had never been kind to her. she didn't know why morgana held such animosity towards her but she didn't want to ask her, not know anyways. she watched the princess walk out of the dining hall. soon after, a crowd of lords, ladies, knights and others started to gather around the queen. she was overwhelmed as they all welcomed her and shot questions at her.

xxxshe thanked them before she gently grabbed katherine by the wrist and pulled her from the crowd, leading them towards one of the corners of the room. "how are you?" she asked her, wanting to make sure her friend felt welcome. "im sorry that you're being housed with the other servants, i insisted that you were able to stay with me but the king and queen insisted that you stayed with the other servants, ill keep talking to them," she promised her friend. suddenly, the crowd was back around her and katherine. as soon as the thirsty questions were shot, they were quenched as the crown prince walked over to her, parting the crowd. she looked at her servant for a moment before looking back to dustin. "good morning, your grace," she said with a courtly smile. "shall we eat?" she asked, wanting to get away from the crowd of people.

[crazy-in-wonderland]

Katherine 'Kitty' Starr| twenty one years old| tags; Ophelia

Kitty gave a small smile and a bow to princess Morgana as she left the room. Though she knew that Morgana was not happy to have Ophelia in the castle she couldn't hold it against her. After all, two strangers had entered her home and Ophelia was engaged to her brother, it was a unique situation for everyone involved. Kitty missed her home, though she would never admit it to Ophelia she had too much to worry about than Kitty's homesickness. Ophelia probably felt it worse than Katherine had anyway, being torn from your own country for your safety must be a horrible experience. Kitty wished she could talk to Ophelia about it, to get her to open up.

Kitty smiled brightly at her friend as she pulled her to the corner, "You can't run from them forever," Kitty whispered softly before smiling, " I'm adjusting and I hope you are too?" She questioned. "I'm not used to being so far away from you, it's very unusual" Kitty admitted to her old friend. " Don't bother the King and Queen with such trivial matters, focus on home and yourself. Don't worry about me, promise?" She said before noticing the crown prince approach them. Kitty hated crowds and was grateful that they dispersed ever so slightly at his approach. Kitty bowed low, "Your Majesty, good morning," she paused unsure of how to phrase her next sentence, "please I'm just a servant there is no need for formalities with me if you do not wish."

Kitty walked ahead of Ophelia to pull her chair out for her, after all, she was her servant before a friend and these were her duties. She leaned down to Ophelia's ear, "If you would excuse me I'll see a few things for you before you're done breakfast. Is there any activities you'd like me to prepare for you?" she questioned.

[landogate]

ＤＵＳＴＩＮ ＬＡＲ ＫＩＮ
dust ;; cismale ;; twenty one ;; crown prince of lurks
;; location - dining hall ;; tags - opheila, katherine
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

the crown prince had heavy eyes, laced with last night's planning. "aye, we shall." he dipped his head not that the young queen would see it anyway - she was already walking away with her servant. "do mind my sister. she's a little moodier when someone new comes around, especially when it comes to a marriage contract." it was true, the princess was not fond of either the contract, or the presence of the young queen.

the seats given to the royals were plush and elegant, the head seat was reserved for his father, the next one for his father. both were empty. it didn't surprise dustin anymore that his parents were late to any given meal, just like morgana. she'd be off somewhere seathing about why dustin shouldn't be married to a feuding kingdom. glancing around, dustin didn't see her suitor either, lord adrian debeu.

the room was still buzzing with noise, noble men and women swarming the young queen and her servant, neither looking comfortable. if his father wasn't going to get here soon, the prince might have to step in. hot piles of food began to fill the table, pitchers of liquid following suit. "your majesty, i know you've been trying to get your handmaiden to be closer to you by talking to my parents, perhaps i could talk them into making a better decision sooner? i would prefer for you to be as comfortable as possible."

[keating]

ＡＤＲＩＡＮ ＤＥＢＥＵ

─────────── Gender: Male ─────── Age: 18 ─────── Location: The library ─────── Tags: Morgana ───────────

↳ ｔｈｅ ｓｕｉｔｏｒ

Ａdrian nodded and gave a short laugh. "Of course, and that is what I most admire about you, Morgana. Unlike many of the royals here, you take pride in utilizing and expanding your mind rather than obsessing over the petty matters of the bourgeoisie and what they think of you." Adrian added, hoping his compliments on her mind rather than her beauty would stroke her ego just enough to put her in the right mood for what he was about to ask.

Adrian picked up on her glance towards the book he had left behind on the table and commented, "It is a bit rough, but I've yet to pick up something I couldn't understand eventually." Adrian said with a crooked smile, making the dimples in his cheeks all the more noticeable. She didn't seem to be paying much attention to his attempts to spark a conversation before asking her the question he'd been meaning to ask for so long, and he was aware he was running out of time. As Morgana settled down in her seat by the window, Adrian dared to approach her one last time to pop his question. "Princess- Morgana." He corrected himself. "May I have the honor in having your first two dances at the Queen's event tonight?" It pained him to speak of their "queen" with such formality, and, quite frankly left a bad taste in his mouth. He was also aware that Morgana wasn't too happy about her arrival either, however he knew that appearances were important in the kingdom and that the kingdom's own princess must surely be planning on showing up to such an event. Besides, asking for a woman's hand to one dance- let alone her first two- made it quite clear that a man was interested in courting her, and Adrian did not intend to keep his motives a secret.

[feather_light_flight]

↠ Ｍｏｒｇａｎａ Ｌａｒｋｉｎ
× princess of lurks × seventeen × tagged- Adrian × location- library ×

Morgana allowed her gaze to slide up to Adrian's face as he approached her again, ever determined for her attention and affections. If Morgana were honest, it was an endearing trait of his, and she'd have found it cute if they were just friends. As he was relentlessly courting her though, Morgana's standards were set far higher than just being endearing, and she often found the young man to be a bit to solid in his confidence. Ah well, one couldn't expect perfection. Adrian's family was well off, and Morgana knew that her parents would approve of him courting her. Despite what Adrian had said early, Morgana cared very much about the classes and protocols that dictated her society. So, she listened intently to his request, her hazel gaze shimmering unerringly with thought, never swaying from his nervous expression. After a moment, the girl nodded slowly, offering a diplomatic, charmed smile. "As I don't have those dances reserved for anyone, yes, I'd be happy to give you my first two dances."

Leaning back against the chaise, Morgana temporarily closed her book, keeping her place marked with one finger slipped between the pages. Her other hand absentmindedly tapped against her hip as she contemplated her next words. "Does my brother know of your intentions? You two were friends as children, I can't imagine you've yet told him about why you're back at court." It was a blunt question, but not a surprising one from the raven haired princess. Mannerisms would only go so far, and Morgana knew better than to play coy with Adrian, direct statements were better, more efficient.

[`sappho]

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☆xＯＰＨＥＬＩＡ x ＡＳＥＴＲＡx☆
the queen of arstel - nineteen years old - female - mentions: none - tags: dustin, katherine
__________________________________________

xxxophelia sighed. "well, i will always try, i don't really like the swarms," she said to her servant in a nervous voice. she hated always being surrounded by lords and ladies who wanted her to answer their questions or just spare some of her ''precious'' time to talk to them about their dreadfully boring days. she shook her head. "its hard to adjust, life here is so different from arstel," she said to her. oh, how she missed arstel; she hoped that her regent, lord elijah, was ruling well. she rolled her eyes. "your happiness isn't a 'trivial matter'," she said with a huff of air. she wasn't going to give up on having the king and queen allow for her friend to sleep in her quarters, or at least quarters that were closer to her own. she smiled at katherine as she pulled out the chair for her. she sat down in the cushioned chair and listened to the servant as she whispered into her ear. she nodded. "of course, the only thing i could think of is, if you'd like, you could lay out some dresses for me to choose from for the feast and dance tonight," she said to katherine.

xxxshe shook her head. "it's alright, i understand. not all of your people are exactly happy with my arrival or our betrothal," she said to dustin. ophelia noticed how tired he looked, eyes glazed over with the need to sleep. she glanced at the head of the table for just a moment. she knew that the queen and king wouldn't be there. they weren't fond of ophelia or her marriage to their son. however, it did surprise her that the king didn't forbid it if he was so against their marriage. maybe, on the inside, he knew that this marriage would be good for lurks and arstel. of course, arstel didn't have much to give lurks. they were in a heated civil war and their monarch, ophelia, was still fighting to be able to sit on her throne. she gave him a hopeful smile before saying, "they will warm up to this eventually. peace between our country will strengthen both of us in the long run. they will thank us one day."

xxxeven more than gaining peace with lurks, ophelia couldn't help but want to avenge her father. she wanted to take down ryea more than anything. they had forced her to ascend to the throne before she was ready, and to leave her country in the hands of lord elijah. she was snapped from her thoughts for just a moment when the servants started to bring food to the table. she felt her mouth water at the delicious smell. her eyes drifted back to dustin when he spoke to her. "please, call me ophelia," she said, pausing for a moment. "yes, that would make me quite comfortable. she is the only thing i have left of my country, and my past," she told him. the queen scooped some of the breakfast foods onto her golden plate, more excited to eat or anything.

[crazy-in-wonderland]

Katherine 'Kitty' Starr| twenty one years old| tags; Ophelia, Dustin ( Mentioned; Issac)

Kitty could feel her friends frustration at this situation, crowds had never been a problem before now. Everyone back home had known Ophelia and how she liked her space. Herself and Katherine would always end up in a corner some time before Ophelia felt the courage to pick herself up and join the crowds. Kitty hated crowds, she never knew what to do in those situations. Kitty knew she was awkward, she couldn’t help it even as a child she had never been outgoing or social. She had spent most of her free time as a child reading books or playing with Ophelia, it was something she had become accustomed to and she felt she couldn’t change after so many years.

Kitty nodded her head, touching her queens arm softly, “ I know, the food and customs are so strange to me. Do you know that the other servants think it’s weird I can talk freely with you? Some have served here for a while and never had a conversation with the royals. I find it so unusual.” Kitty knew she was blabbing, it’s what she did when she was nervous. Kitty bowed at Ophelia, “ I’ll prepare your dresses at once, your majesty” she turned to Dustin and bowed to him, “ excuse me your majesty.” She spoke before turning on her heels.

As Kitty was exiting the dining room she noticed a knight out of the corner of her eye. She smiled to him before closing the door and heading down to Ophelia’s rooms, her mind piling with tasks. Kitty liked to keep busy during the days, though Ophelia never once forced her to work as hard as she did. She felt as though she had to repay a debt to her. Kitty quickly made Ophelia’s bed, stripping the bedding before tossing it across the room before fetching a fresh pair of linens. Carefully making sure there was no creases on the bed before going to the wardrobe and picking out some outfits for Ophelia for the dinner. Kitty couldn’t decide between two dresses and so she hung both up, hoping for Ophelia to decide. She placed some jewelry on the gowns before leaving the rooms. A bundle of bedding under her arms to take to be washed.

[landogate]

ＤＵＳＴＩＮ ＬＡＲ ＫＩＮ
dust ;; cismale ;; twenty one ;; crown prince of lurks
;; location - dining hall ;; tags -
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

"aye they will. and all of our generations to come." his father and mother were still no-where to be seen. dustin sighed and picked at his plate of food in front of him. "i'm greatly sorry if i seem to be bored or uninterested. my father hasn't been any help of late to the kingdom and the celebrations to come." dustin has been working day and night, slipping from the court whenever he could to taste the food of this chef and see how different curtains looked on the windows in the ballroom - and he was still forced to answer his advisers and their queries. it was like he was already king, with no coronation. "my mind has been unfortunately elsewhere with this upcoming ball and not able to check in with you to see how you're travelling here."

dustin sliced a piece of toast, gobbling one of the squares up. he wiped the corners of his mouth carefully and brushed the crumbs off his pants. the room had began to die down once the royals began to eat, though not barely enough. lords and ladies talked over heaps of food on now silver plates. dustin re-adjusted his crown, so it didn't feel like it was falling off any longer. he picked up another piece of toast to eat again, before setting it back down so he could open his mouth. "i'll do everything in my power to house your handmaiden closer to you, ophelia. i can promise you that."

ooc; sorry i didn't get a reply up for so long, school got in the way.

[`sappho]

__________________________________________

☆xＯＰＨＥＬＩＡ x ＡＳＥＴＲＡx☆
the queen of arstel - nineteen years old - female - mentions: none - tags: dustin, katherine
__________________________________________

xxxthe young queen smirked. sometimes ophelia found it odd how much she connected with someone who was suppose to be much lower in status than her. still, they were both ladies in an unfamiliar court, the only difference was that katherine didn't have to deal with the swarming crowds as much as she did. she smiled and shook her head. "this is no odder than a queen speaking feely with one of her ladies, you are practically my lady," she told her. she knew that katherine was nervous because she always drug on her sentences and babbled aimlessly when she was. she nodded her head in thanks to the woman before watching her exit the dining hall.

xxxas the heavy scent of maple syrup drifted into ophelia's nose, she turned her attention towards her betrothed once again. she shook her head. "not at all, i know how stressful preparations can be. when i was fourteen and my mother passed, i was put in charge of planning all feasts, dances, and galas for arstel and i hardly had time to eat or sleep in between planning and approving. hopefully, once we are wed, we will be able to help each other with matters such as celebrations," ophelia commented kindly. though the queen knew that feasts and dances were mostly trivial subjects, they could be important. this dance was one of these important events. ophelia and dustin would be announcing their betrothal to all of the kingdom and would take their first dance together, which was an important tradition in both arstel and lurks.

xxxshe nodded kindly. "thank you very much." ophelia took a small bite of her food before watching the kitchen servants pull back the deep red drapes to allow sunlight to flow in through the huge windows. she looked out into the rolling hill and rocky cliffs that plunged into the rough ocean. it was like a painting in terms of beauty, nothing like arstel which was usually covered in ice and snow. "it's absolutely gorgeous here," she said, giving dustin a happy glance.