Arranged Allegiances - 1x1 (Don't delete!)

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna didn't utter a single word as her father accompanied her down the hall. Maybe it was because she was feeling nervous, or perhaps just because she was feeling so unhappy with him that she couldn't even express her feelings through words. She felt almost betrayed by what he had done, even if in the back of her mind knew that he was only acting on what he believed what was the best thing for her. But I know that it is not, she thought, inwardly sighing as she realized that they were quickly approaching the dining hall. She tried to drag her feet, stopping a few times claiming that she needed to adjust her dress. But really she was stalling, and by the look her father gave her, she knew that he was aware of it. Once she even thought she saw a spark of pity in his eyes as she forced herself to move again, but it was gone as soon as it had come. Giovanna was sure that if he could say anything now, he would tell her that her mother would be proud of her. I hope she would. It just felt so wrong to be put in front of a man and expect them to fall in love. And even though her father claimed that they would not force them to marry unless they pronounced their love, she suspected that after some time, he would let go of that promise too.

Promises. There were so many of those broken lately. Mateo promised me that he would always be there... Though it was against his wishes, he had broken it, and although it was immature, Giovanna couldn't help but feel some resentment.

As they approached the corner that led to the dining hall, Giovanna hesitated, knowing fully well that behind it were two beings; the Queen and Prince of Mortifer. They would be expecting them, and she felt herself tremble slightly at the images that were flashing through her mind. Her father gave her an encouraging smile before pulling her forward, and she forced herself to stop trembling right before they left the safety from behind the wall.

Instantly her eyes went to the prince. He was tall, with dark skin and brown hair, and a small scar under his eyes. She wondered where it had come from. Perhaps she would ask later... However, she didn't focus on his appearance for very long; instead she met eye contact with him, and almost searchingly tried to see what he betrayed within them. He seemed uneasy, and even annoyed. I wonder what he sees in mine, she thought, quickly turning her attention to the queen.

"Greetings," her father said, bowing graciously to the woman before him, then glancing over at Giovanna. She took this as a cue, and she too dropped into the most graceful curtsy she could. However, her lack of complete coordination, and her weakness from having starved herself for days made it not as neat as she had ever done. She pushed this away however, hoping that neither the queen or the Prince would notice. "This is my daughter, Giovanna."

Giovanna surfaced and forced a smile, hoping it didn't look too much like a grimace. After not having smiled for days, perhaps it did. "It is a pleasure to know you," she said quietly. Her tone suggested that it wasn't a pleasure at all. In fact, it sounded almost apathetic, which was unlike her; it reflected how tired she felt - not physically, but mentally.

(This is what her dress looks like :3)

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

The footsteps slowed for only a moment as they reached the corner, stopping momentarily. Only a second, but what seemed like an eternity to Ean, stretched by before a pair of people stepped around the corner.

The first one Ean took in rather quickly; he'd seen the King of Anima before and only looked over him quickly. A powerful man, of course; anyone who was king should be powerful. Then, Ean's eyes slid over to the girl standing beside the King, her arm locked with his. He froze completely when their eyes met, but only momentarily, for he quickly regained his composure.

She had long, swirling blonde hair, and some of the most striking eyes Ean had ever seen; no one in Morifer had eyes like that, or anything close, for that matter. It took him a while to continue studying her apart from her bright, very noticeable eyes. He made a mental note to ask if many in Anima had similar eye-colors; it fascinated him, in a strange way. She was striking, thankfully, there was no doubting that. Well, that was a relief on Ean's part. However, it appeared that she had lost weight, although Ean had never seen her before, so he had nothing to compare her to. Perhaps she was always quite skinny, giving her skin a slightly stretched appearance over her small bones. But only slightly, however; she was still a beautiful girl, Ean would not deny that. Her eyes, he noticed as she stopped in front of him, seemed to be slightly dull, in some sort of unexplainable way. It was if the life had been sucked out of her, almost.

Ean noticed her studying him, her eyes raking over his appearance, but he did not mind. He was used to those looks from other girls, so why should she be any different? Oh, right, she was supposed to be getting married to him...

He watched as she curtsyed, in a slightly half-hearted way, he might add, before him and the King bowed before his mother. Quickly following the pattern, he bowed. Flashing a clean, white smile at the girl before him, Giovanna according to her father, he reached over and lightly took her hand. He was half-tempted to agree that it must be a pleasure to meet him, but he held his tongue momentarily. Instead, he kept the smile locked on his face. "The please is all mine, I assure you," he whispered quietly.

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna watched as he flashed her a smile, and she blinked. There was something about this boy that she didn't trust. Yes, he was very handsome, but it seemed almost as if he were plotting something, or that he saw her as only a playing piece in the schemes he had going through his mind. There was definitely something about him that she was still uncertain about, and she bit her lip, wondering if what she was seeing was his almost arrogant way of composing himself. Even though he had still not yet spoken a word, she could see that he was very full of himself, and it was natural; she had met very few heirs to thrones that were not arrogant. However, it wasn't an appealing quality for someone to have. Overall as she observed his every move, she came to the conclusion that he was acting; covering up how he really was.

Then she stopped herself as she realized that she was only searching for faults in him. The raw truth was that she was hoping for someone who was horrible - someone who she could deny easily. All she wanted was to turn and run away, and his good looks and supposed gallant personality was prohibiting this. As he took her hand and whispered in a way that she assumed he thought was seductive, she forced a small smile onto her face, trying to seem flattered. In reality, she did not feel at all pleased to meet him. She could sense that his words were not genuine either. With the same plain smile on her face, she nodded, and turned her face away from him to see that the King and Queen had joined hands too, and were waiting for them to enter the Hall first. She waited for him to take the first step - as it was accustomed to do that - and contented herself with silence.

(Lmao Ean is so hilarious XD "He was half-tempted to agree that it must be a pleasure to meet him, but he held his tongue momentarily." LOL!)

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

Even with that smile still plastered onto his face, Ean could tell she did not trust him one bit. It was the way she looked at him through those bright, stunningly blue eyes. She had a look of distate on her face, too, and it was obvious his charm wasn't doing just that to her. Well, that was certainly unusual; usually he could get his way with charming people, something he could do quite easily. That goes to show you, he thought bitterly. That people from Anima are just plain odd. However, he remained composed and kept smiling.

Ean knew he was arrogant, he always had. Vain, too, and sometimes selfish as well. Did he care? Not one bit. Those were just all part of his status, things that just naturally came with being a prince. Sure, there were princes that were not like him, who treated everyone equally and fairly and even tried to fit in with the rest of their city. He was not one of those princes, however, and never planned on being one; the very idea of mixing himself with peasants and fools in the streets of Mortifer was disgusting.

Being all of those things had it's perks, though. The young girls in his wonderous city seemed to like his certain 'charm'. Surprisingly, however, this girl did not seem impressed by him in the slightest. And, and Ean would never admit this of course, this irritated him to no end. He usually just expected to be treated in a certain way, but all people he met, and this girl was completely throwing that off. That just wouldn't do. Sure, she smiled at him, but it was strained, and the smile didn't quite reach her eyes, which remained cold and distant, and if he looked close enough, maybe even slightly angry. Perhaps he wasn't the only one unhappy with the arrangment, after all.

"And this is my son, Ean," said the Queen with a small smile. She looked nervous, almost, seemingly surprised at Ean' behavior.

Looping their arms together, Ean winked at the Princess almost casually before stepping into the dinner hall. It was lavish, decorated to the fullest extent in preparation for the royal families' arrival. It was beautiful, really. With one full wall of windows that looked over the ocean, which was swaying gently, it had a nice, warm and calming lighting to it. In the center of the room there was a large table that was covered with mouth-watering food of all different types.

Ean escorted Giovanna towards one of the empty chairs, pulling it out quietly and slowly. He stepped to the side, waiting for her to take her seat. And that smile, which had almost turned patronizing and slightly mocking now, never faltered.

( Ahaha I figured you'd enjoy that ;D Lol. And I forgot to say in my last post; the dress is gorgeous! :'D )

[Cloudsong]

Ean. So that was his name. GIovanna hadn't even thought to ask, but now as she glanced over at him, she realized that the name suited him quite well. As he looped his arm around hers, she felt quite a mixture of feelings inside; while one part of her felt like tearing her arm away from his grasp, the other felt a strange sensation of butterflies in her stomach. A boy had never taken her by the arm, or even touched her, for that matter. Being the second-in-line for the throne, she had little value, and no royal prince would want to marry her. And even though she believed to have no attraction towards this boy, a very small part of her felt slightly excited about being the object of someone's desire. However, she told herself, this was not the case. He wants out of this as much as I do. She pushed the fantasy out of her mind, and swallowed hard as she bit back the offensive words threatening to spill. How dare he pretend to be enchanted by her. When he threw a wink over to her, she couldn't help it; she narrowed her eyes slightly. What was he playing at? But by a waring look her father, sent in her direction she quickly composed herself, and returned the placid smile she had rehearsed so many times in her life.

As he pulled out the chair for her like any gentleman would, Giovanna gracefully sat down. "Thank you, kind sir," she said in a voice that was almost scornful; not quite, though. It was like before, still gracious, however. But she saw the mocking look he was giving her; as if he were so superior to her.

All optimism she had had quickly vanished. When everyone was seated, she turned her attention to the food, and tried not to meet his gaze.

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

Ean gently pushed her chair towards the table and crossed to the other side to sit across from her. He had noticed the look she'd given him after he'd winked, and it had only made him smile broader. So, she wasn't enjoying this as much as she was appearing to. That was good to know. When she thanked him, if he was judging by the tone of her words correctly, he could detect just a hint of scorn behind her words. He shot a fleeting glance at her. The irritated expression that had been on his face disappeared within a moment, however, quickly being replaced by that signature smile.

"You are ever-so welcome, m'lady," Ean said, staring at her from across the table. He noted that she kept her eyes downward, careful not to lock eyes once more. That was interesting. He interlocked his fingers, placing his chin over top of them as he studied her with an expression of polite interest. Nothing out of the ordinary; after all, what 'soon-to-be-husband' wouldn't want to look at his apparent 'soon-to-be-wife' after they've first met.

Ean was doing his best not to seem too interested, but he couldn't help it. She was a beautiful girl, from her face to her figure to even her dress, which was flattering in itself. And he hated everything about all of that. The fact that she was pretty only gave him one more thing stacked against him; he needed as many reasons as he could possibly get to not marry the Princess of Anima, and one had just flew right out of the window.

Tilting his head to one side, he smiled faintly, almost charmingly. "Did you have a safe journey, your Highness'?" he spoke to both the King as well as Giovanna, but his eyes never left the princess.

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna looked up after a moment, and upon seeing that his smug grin had only widened, she pressed her lips together, using all of her will power to stop herself from looking annoyed. He was so smug; the word just completely suited him. She neatly folded her hands in her lap as her tutor had taught her to do when she was very young, and looked over at the queen. The woman was middle-aged, though very beautiful, looking a lot like her son. They both had the olive-colored skin color, and she had long brown hair that was done up in a very sylish updo. In any other circumstances, Giovanna would like her; she seemed quite well-managed, and composed herself in a very powerful fashion. But she wore the same expression of superiority that made her feel almost sick to her stomach. Coming from Anima, where everyone was so kind and humble, it was somewhat of a shock to be dining with what seemed to be the most arrogant people in the world. When the woman looked up and caught her staring, Giovanna smiled, obediently returning her gaze to the Prince.

She found that he was staring at her, the same smile still plastered on his face. It was so fake that she wanted to laugh out loud. But instead, she forced herself to answer his question politely when he asked. "It was very well, thank you," Giovanna said, her voice smooth and almost sweet-sounding. She was trying to imitate their false emotions, but wasn't getting the effect she had planned. At least I sound genuine, though, she thought darkly. He can't even lie well. She could tell that he disliked being here as much as she did.

When it became clear that the King was more interested in conversing with the queen, and probably trying to force the two young heirs to talk, she cleared her throat. "It was a little short for my liking, though." She smiled angelically, a winning expression on her face as if she were so happy to be talking to such an important person. "You know - the country-side was so beautiful and enjoyable. It's a shame the journey ended so soon." That, and I was dreading to be forced together with you. She left that part unsaid, however; after all, she guessed that he already assumed this. Or was he falling for her act? Somehow, the smug expression proved her otherwise.

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

Ean made sure to keep his eyes trained on the young girl before him. He would seem attentive, merely curious about his 'soon-to-be-bride'. Nothing out of the ordinary. He found it quite amusing, in reality, however, that she seemed very irritated by his behavior. Which was the very reason for which he would continue to act like the proper, kind young man towards her and her father, despite the fact that it disgusted him to do so.

When she answered his question, in a sickly-sweet tone, Ean's smile wavered for only a moment. So, he wasn't the only one playing a game here. But were they playing similar games? Or was he just a pawn in hers?
He took in her clearly fake smile and attitude in stride, equaling it with his own. "That's good to hear, that it went well," he said smoothly. As she continued to speak, he remained attentive, sending her words through his mind twice. Taking it in the second time, he picked through her words, searching for some sort of underlying meaning to them.

"Oh, yes, I agree. Quite a shame, the ride here was rather lovely. But if you think about it, is being here not more enjoyable than going through the country-side? Speaking for myself, I find it very enjoyable, being in your company." Ean finished his sentence with an almost devilish smile, that could almost be interpretted as a smirk. He was almost daring her to disagree, despite the knowledge that hung between them that this was a complete lie.

Ean knew, and assumed the Princess knew as well, of his hatred of this. He could tell that she felt the same way, too. Perhaps calling off this marriage would be easier than he had originally thought.

He noticed the look the Queen gave him, a mixture of warning to continue to behave, as well as happiness that all was going well so far. They both knew that he could have made the meeting of the two families disasterous, but he was playing his game well, so far.

[Cloudsong]

Giovanna stared at him, her smile gone momentarily as he mentioned how lovely it was to be in her company. She could clearly hear the mockery in his voice, and an unreasonable flash of resentment flashed through her. He was only daring her to disagree, and she clenched her hands into fists underneath the table, feeling her temper rising. Why did I have to be paired up with such an arrogant person? She was fully aware that she had walked into the castle expecting to find someone hateful, and looking hard for faults in him. In a way, she hadn't given him a chance at all, for the marriage anger her so much that she didn't want to get to know him at all. But his antics hadn't exactly softened the situation. If anything, it had made everything worse upon her realization that he viewed himself as a God of some sort.

The table had gone silent as the two rulers looked between them, seeing Giovanna's hard unsmiling expression. What was he playing at; trying to make it seem as though they were already in love. She could see that he despised the plans as much as she did, so why was he trying to speed up the process? Her silence didn't last very long, however. The king loudly cleared her throat, and Giovanna looked over at him to see that he was giving her a meaningful glance as if saying; behave yourself. She quickly realized what she had momentarily jeopardized her father's plans, and the smile returned to her face. "Oh yes," she said slowly, enunciating each syllable as if she were tasting each word. "I do find myself enjoying it very much." An almost malevolent smile formed on her lips. "Perhaps since it's going so well, we could wed even sooner than expected." That would shut him up. She allowed herself only a moment of mock superior expression, imitating his quite accurately, then seemed to become very interested in the food that was on her plate. Her appetite from before seemed to have diminished greatly since she had met the boy.

[FoldєdPapєrHєarts]

As the smile disappeared from her face momentarily, he couldn't help but mentally pat himself on the back. It was rather easy to irritate her, and it was far more enjoyable and amusing that Ean would have ever expected. As she placed the smile once more upon her face, he leaned back in his chair, studying her. The smile almost seemed evil, mocking him. What was she up to? he wondered, his smile becoming a bit smaller.

At her words, Ean sat upright, his eyes widening ever-so slightly. "W-what?" he said, a nervousness making his voice crack slightly. At a look from his mother, however, he swallowed against the suddenly formed lump in his throat before smiling shakily. "I mean, er...Yes, perhaps we could." What was she playing at? It was obvious she despised him, and he her, so why on earth would she say something so outrageous?

"Now, now, you two," said the Queen with a small, although slightly confused, smile. "You need to get to know one another first. Although, if all does go well, then yes an earlier marriage would be quite beneficial." Ean couldn't believe what he was hearing. Giovanna was most certainly playing her own game, there was no doubt in his mind about that now. I guess I'll just have to play my own a little better.

Ean watched the Princess sit before him, staring at her plate silently. He bit his lower lip thoughtfully before his signature, or now signature, smile reappeared. "If you've finished eating, Princess, I was wondering if you'd like to take a walk with me? I could give you a tour of the outside of the castle, if you wish. There are some beautiful views, especially at this time of day, while the sun is just starting to set." He tilted his head slightly to one side, questioningly, his expression a complete mask.