Friid Anvil-Hater pounded her fist on the desk, tears streaming down her face and snot hanging precariously from her reddened nose. Her body shuttered and shook and her skin was pale as though drained of blood. "He's out there, lost and afraid and YOU CAN'T SPARE ONE RIDER TO HELP ME LOOK FOR HIM! WhAT IF HE GETS EATEN BY A...A..." the girls voice broke and she held her arm up to her eyes to wipe away a fresh stream of tears. SNORT The girl rubbed her nose and her lip began to quiver but the Inn-keep shook her head and waved her hands as though to explain. "No! Don't you dare tell me to go to the Chieftain and his men-I already did and they wanted to wait until after the festival. If he's out there we need to find him NOW!" The Inn-Keep rested her hands on her hips and shook her head. "Why do you think I'd be willing to send my stable hand if the Chieftain won't even send his warriors - if it's too dangerous for a berserker then it's too dangerous for my folks. Now either buy something or get out of my Inn, there are customers arriving." The Inn-Keep gestured towards the door and changed expressions from one of displeasure to a natural service smile.
A few folks began to make their way into the famous Froststag Inn, none of them locals. Three big men with cut jaws, rippling muscles and sharp eyes all made their way to the Inn-Keep with the center gaston-looking fellow dropping a gold Imperial Coin onto the table. "One room for three please" the man flexed stereotypically as thought to emphasize his own rippling six pack, even though he was wearing a shirt. The Inn-Keep looked stunned but scooped the coin up and dropped a decorative key on the table. "P-please, take one of our most expensive suites. Room A1 at the top of the stairs. S-should I send a girl by?" The men laughed and shook their head, then snatched the key and made their way towards their room. They glanced cursorarily at Friid and and chuckled as they passed - a sinking feeling filled Friid as she pictured her little brothers shivering away in some ice cave outside the village. "Oh no...what am I going to do." She seemed to visibly slump.
Unbeknownst to Friid a certain patron had entered the Inn just before the macho men. This patron was not a hero, she was neither strong nor fast nor fresh from the fight; still she looked to be someone unafraid of danger, at least that's what Friid thought as the patron came into view. She couldn't have been older than eighteen and has short blonde hair; something about her seemed to strike a cord in Friid. Sure she wasn't the expected hero, but she was Friid's last chance to save her brother. Friid turned from the bar and opened her mouth to speak but then stopped short - who was she kidding, this girl wouldn't be willing to help her. Her brother was doomed. Friid bent her head down against the counter and began to sob, causing the Inn-Keep to sigh and pour a drink. "Don't mind her, her brother got lost in a snowstorm; AND I'M SURE HE'S FINE." She turned her head to speak scoldingly to Friid for her anxiety. "Here, on the house. Are you looking to get a room?" The Inn-Keep slid a glass of Akafemiðr to Quinn Fiacais.
The rooms were naturally spacious and accommodating since they had historically hosted Royalty. Inside were modern showers (probably the only ones in the entire valley), 24/7 room service including a free "massage therapist" available at all hours, freshly cleaned silk linens with air conditioning and heating. The walls were even thick enough to muffle sound so one didn't need to worry about eavesdropping.
"Forget all of that noise" a man said, taking a seat at the bar and looking daringly at Quinn. "How about a game instead?" The man revealed three small sacks of dice in his hand. "Ever played Liars Dice? Rules are simple - roll and hide your dice. We take bets on the number of any die rolled across the three of us-" The Inn-Keep looked confused "three of us?" The man nodded "you'll play too sweet-cheeks. Anyways, when you make a bet you increase either the number of dice or the number on the dice, one's are wild, if you think someone is lying you call them out and we all reveal our hands. If the person was lying, they lose, if the person wasn't then the accuser loses."
The man let a beat pass then continued. "If you lose, you take a drink of this." The man pulled out a flask and emptied it into a silver chalice - it reeked of strong alcohol. "If she loses, she drinks." The man looked to the bar keep to assert the odds. "If I lose, I'll tell you a secret and give her a Silver Imperial Coin." The man smiled wickedly and promised "Trust me, you'll want to hear my secrets." Friid looked across to where the man had laid out the odds, then to Quinn, her mouth agape and her face a mix of fear and panic, as though her brother were already dead.
Luliya looked down at her watch. 1700. The day was going by fast and all she had so far were pictures of the suitors presenting themselves to the King - nothing of note had happened, nothing really worth taking a picture of. An idea sprung to mind and Luliya leaned against one of the tall pine trees; adjusting the camera's settings let her alter the color balance and apply filters among a multitude of other features. Luliya aimed at a distant squirrel many times magnified by the camera lens. She flicked a few buttons on the display and voila! The squirrel now had a funny black mustash quivering on it's wittle rodent lip. Luliya took the photo and made a mental note to download it to her personal computer before she deleted it. There was a sharp breeze and the squirrel ran off, leaving Luliya once again free.
Luliya scrolled back through the photos on her camera. Boring. Boring. Uber-boring. Hey that's a cute puffin! Luliya settled on the picture of the Princess Helena's gift, a crate full of wonderful gifts - incredibly expensive and lucrative gifts. A single gold Imperial Coin could feed a family for six months if they were frugal, there had to be hundreds if not thousands of gold coins value sitting in that easily accessible, liftable chest. Evil thoughts of thievery began to formulate in Luliya's mind, following by images of what TFF typically did to thieves who stole from The Royal Family. It wasn't a pretty picture, even if it was a picture that was shown to all new staff upon entry; evidently it did it's job. The great thing about pictures was that you only had to torture a man to death once - no need to repeat the process in order to gain easy fear among your subjects.
Luliya glanced at pictures of His Majesty that she had taken on her camera. They'd been assigned to a different gallery on the chip (the beauty of modern technology), containing everything from awkward angles to scrunched facial expressions to just plainly unflattering photos. Luliya had done her due diligence to do the same in regards to the King's suitors but luck wouldn't have it, except for a near shot of a certain suitor's exposed bussom, which was actually just a camera trick that Luliya had picked up in photography classes back home. In other words she had no negative pictures of any of the suitors that would stand up to scrutiny, which was just poor work on her part. Luliya sighed and aimed her camera towards the village; in case God decided to take pity on her and cause one of the suitors to have a sudden wardrobe malfunction.
Minutes Earlier
A dead stillness fell over the court as a suitor approached the throne. The once calm air began to stir and then began to howl viciously, a fierce tempest of a a squall cascading over those present. The faces of the handmaids and ladies-in-waiting drained of color; their lips began to quiver and their eyes went wide. The nobility settled back on their heels, crossed their arms or turned their heads down to assess. Father Valdemar's saggy jaw upturned into a wicked smile; his young boy-servant hid himself behind the aged bishop and began to mumble prayers to his God, reciting the lords prayer in Latin, English and Frozen Forestrian. Electricity spread through the crowd and the villagers (who had never once heard of the suitor) stiffened up, their hair on end. The hunters first reflex was to grab a spear or a net, fore whatever or whoever they were looking at offered the same uneasy feeling that one only felt went deep in the wilderness where wild predators stalked.
"Make way for The Wolf Queen!" A young teenage noble called out, fear evident in his eyes. Folks stepped back several paces to give Chieftess Sartana Ninakatari a wide berth as she made her way towards the platform upon which sat the Royal Family. Crown Prince Ari couldn't help but lean forwards, his eyes glittering with curiosity. On the King's other side was Lady Sigrid, whose initial grimace twisted into a forced smile so unlike her, unease began to knot in the young ladies gut. She hadn't closely interacted with Chieftess Sartana during the ball, but she'd heard the stories and the rumors that had abounded since; a giant with a fierce temper, who assaulted several young ladies in waiting and established herself as their premiere leader, all in one nights work. Sigrid didn't know why Sartana made her feel uneasy, even putting the rumors aside there was something threatening about her; it was as though Sigrid could sense her own neck on the line if this Wolf Queen gained real power.
Ivan watched and listened as a pall fell over not just his court but the villagers as well; followed by an immense gale wind. If Ivan were more superstitious he may have considered it a sign one way or another from God. Ivan watched as a servant stepped forwards to take Sartana's war horse and she removed what looked to be a well decorated pot from her pack. At a distance it was colored with wonderful shades of blue and green and as Sartana came closer Ivan could make out the details on the pot; it was a depiction of the Norotunga Valley, at least the more picturesque parts of it; decorated alongside it were key moments in the history of the Valley, including the former King's who had fallen in love among the shade of it's pines. A second servant stepped forwards to collect the pot and as the gift left Sartana's hands she curtsied.
"The so called Wolf Queen returns to stir the pot..." The voice came from the Crown Prince, who sat straighter than before; more regal. "Silence brother." Ivan cleared his throat with a cough and then stood. Flashes of memory flitted through Ivan's mind; a dance, a near kiss and a poorly placed argument. It had been a pleasant time, though Sartana had put him in a difficult spot. Her reputation at court apparently hadn't been affected though, perhaps even enhanced. Ivan wasn't a fool; he'd heard and watched the rumors develop, it was almost surreal to see Sartana here in Norotunga, in the flesh. A giant of a woman and one that put a knot in the King's stomach.
"Chieftess Sartana, its an honor to welcome to you Norotunga Valley. It's been some time...I believe you remember my brother, the Crown Prince" Ivan gestured to Ari, "..and lady Sigrid, my goddaughter." Ari rose his chin high and proud and Sigrid wore her forced smile like a mask. "That's a beautiful pot, thank you..." Ivan lingered as though there was more to be said. "You look well..." Sigrid turned her head to see Ivan clearly, what was wrong with him? Why did he seem so indecisive?
*** PRESENT TIME ***
The platform had been disassembled and Ivan was waylaid by one of his female retainers almost immediately; the young woman started into her troubles, describing at length that she had not been given the proper room at the inn and suggesting that he command the Chief to talk to the innkeeper and sort the mess out. It was always those from the wealthiest or most powerful families that seemed to have the courage to make outrageous demands, and it was taxing. Fortunately one of the suitors appeared to save the day: none other than Gwendolyn, coming forth to admit that she had lied to him. "Please excuse me" Ivan ended his conversation with the young noble-ess and turned towards Gwendolyn as she began to explain. Ivan did his best to ignore the adorable Gimbus sitting in Gwendolyn's arms.
There was a gasp from nearby eavesdropping court ladies, their faces turning a rosy shade of red. They giggled and whispered among themselves "that's so romantic - Is the King embarrassed? - If I had a golden string, I'd tie it somewhere other than his finger Ivan shot the courtiers a look and they gaped, turning away and giggling like hyena's. Ivan cleared his throat and smiled at Gwendolyn "I'm afraid I don't have any golden twine of my own...If that time comes I hope you'll let allow me to borrow some of yours." Ivan turned his head towards the gifts that had been brought as they were rapidly taken from where they'd been initially set towards the King's quarters in the Chieftain's Hall. Among the servants working to port the gifts stood none other than Ivan's goddaughter Sigrid, pan of iced buns in hand - she was shameless.
Sigrid's face was a burning red and her face displayed nothing but total bliss. Ivan could have sworn that he saw a tear rolling down the young girls face as she scarfed down another pastry; that told him everything he needed to know (other than reminding him that his goddaughter was drawn to sweet things like a fly to a bugzapper). "It looks like Sigrid beat me to it. She usually only makes that face when she's having lemon tarts, and never so intense." The poem had evidently already been moved from the pile to his quarters, he would have to read it later. "Poetry comes from the heart, I wouldn't think to read it to anyone else."
Gwendolyn eyes found Ivan's and he felt them melt into him. Ivan held her gaze and his chest felt light; after several long seconds he turned. "We have about three hours before sunset, would you care to walk with me?"
As the presentation of the suitors ended Ari was surrounded by his own retinue; one which had steadily grown since the ball months prior until it was almost half as large as Ivan's. The guards, the servants, the skalds, the poets, the heralds, the handmaids and of course the spies all had their individual problems, all of which looking to Ari for solutions. "Yes, yes, no - arrange for gold to be sent to their chambers immediately, I want a report on the food situation as soon as possible." Ari issued his commands and tried to move on but was stopped by his guard captain who held aloft something wrapped in rags and stained a dark crimson. Ari froze in his tracks and stared down at the item, his face going blank as he collected himself. "My liege, we found this outside of your chambers just a few minutes ago. It would seem that someone doesn't want us here" The guard captain came close to hide the item from the nosy court, then began to unfold the cloth to reveal a severed chicken head with it's eyes gouged out. Ari's mind went to work at once - the symbolism of a chicken was clearly intended to imply his cowardice but the eyes being gouged out, that was something that Ari found very curious.
The Frozen Forest didn't have a tradition of eye gouging and neither did the locals. Ari looked around at the dispersing suitors: most wouldn't have had the balls or means to get something like this to his chamber unseen, that is except for two individuals; that being Chieftess Sartana Ninakatari and Basilopoúla Helena Palaiologina. Chieftess Sartana wasn't likely, Ari knew that she had the temperament but he couldn't see how she could have had the means, as she'd arrived alone and was considerably poor. That left Helena, who else could it have been? The shoe seemed to fit, especially in light of the fact that Rhomania had a historic tradition of gouging out the eyes of traitors (which Helena no doubt saw Ari as, even though Ari was only trying to steer the ship of the nation away from disaster before it was too late).
Now was as good a time as any to pay the Princess a visit. "Dispose of this...gift discretely and search my room for bugs. Remove any food and drink you find, scrub the entire room down and make sure the doors and windows haven't been tampered with." Ari reached into a coin purse and removed three Gold Imperial Coins. "Use these for bribes, the locals know how valuable they are; see if you can find out who has been skulking about near my quarters." Ari passed the coins along and then made his way away from his retinue and his guards, traveling with eyes locked on one target in particular: that being none other than Helena.
Two of the Crown Prince's guards broke off from the retinue and followed close behind Ari as he made his approach. Fury welled in the Crown Prince's chest, she'd not been in the country for more than 24 hours and she had already threatened to assassinate him: exactly what one should expect from someone from the so called Queen of Cities. Ari was no stranger to byzantine politics but it was a rare thing to be so direct in a threat, especially to someone of his position and status: that meant Helena felt emboldened, unchallenged. Ari would put a stop to th-.... Ari stopped dead in his tracks, causing his guards to nearly slam into him from behind. "My liege, are you alright?" The one guard touched the Crown Prince's shoulder and when that didn't elicit a response came around to face his lord.
thump thump thump thump thump Ari felt his heart begin to race, he gulped and planted his feet firmly. The Crown Prince's body reacted viciously, assailing him with chills and lightheartedness, his breath caught in his throat and an uneasiness spread across his bones. Fight or flight kicked in and Ari deigned to freeze, his usual calculating self overtaken by the flood of emotions and feelings that burst from the heart and mind. The generals hadn't broke him, the economists hadn't broken him and neither had his brother broken him - but at that moment something felt horribly wrong, something felt like it had broken. His vision began to sway and there was a ringing in his ears, his mind flooded with sensory overload Have I been poisoned? Ari tried to take a deep breath but couldn't and panic began to set in.
"My liege are you alright?" Ari snapped back, his gaze settled on Rhomania's representative royal. The chills remained, the racing heart remained, the dizziness remained and Ari's mind was clouded. Blue eyes, black hair and danger stood before him; a foreign viper had sunk it's teeth into him without even glancing his way and the air around her seemed to sparkle as though dazzled. At a distance she was nothing but a threat, and close up she was still a threat; though the dynamic was different-this greek had gone from amazon to medusa, her gaze paralyzing the mind and soul. Ari bit his cheek hard enough to draw a little blood and then approached.
"Presenting His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Ari of The Frozen Forest." Ari's guard stepped back and Ari bowed once, ever so slightly. "Basilopoúla Helena, I see that the rumors of your beauty were more than just that, as the sun shimmers, one shouldn't gaze too long." Confusion spread over the guards faces, they were there to confront the Basilopoúla, not flatter her. Ari's eyes passed from the Basilopoúla to Anna. Ari smiled genuinely at the young woman, even if she had given the family sword to Ivan she was still clearly a Bjork despite centuries of Rhomanian blood being mixed in, that was besides the fact that Ari detected no true politics on her part, she was merely a tool for Helena afterall. "I must say it's no less of an honor to welcome distant kin to our gracious country. I hope that in time Anna, that you and I may become friends."
Katla nodded and wasted no time in turning on her heel to head back home. "The pleasure is all mine. Unfortunately my good for nothing husband overslept, otherwise he'd be here to greet you now. With any luck he'll be awake once we get back to the farm, come along it's only a short walk to the edge of the village." Katla trudged on through the snow, which grew steadily deeper the further from the village center that the pair went. After a certain distance had been crossed Katla disappeared behind one of her neighbors sheds and then reappeared carrying two pairs of wooden snowshoes. Without a word the gatherer tossed one pair to the Ethiopian princess and set to work attaching the other to her feet. Katla tested the shoes with a tenative step forwards and no surprise, her weigh held. "Alright! Let's get going, we only have a few hours before sunset and the start of the festival. We ought to get you something to proper to wear, 'else-wise you'll be freezing like those other foreigners come dark.
Woof Woof! A dog came barreling down the path and through the snow towards Katla and Akosua. The dog pounced and leaped high into the air, hitting Katla head on and causing her to fall back into the snow. The hound growled something fierce and then began to lick Katla's face, causing the woman to giggle and laugh. "Down mutt! Down!" she yelled out in her native, Forestrian Norse tongue. The dog huffed and whined as Katla rose back to her feet. Katla reached into her parka and retrieved a big white bone and the dog's face lit up, it's tail bashing about furiously. "Get it Rikki!" Katla flung the bone as hard as she could towards the house and then began to run through the snow. "Come Akosua, before he has time to get back!" With their farmstead in sight, Katla raced as fast as her legs could carry her through the snow, sweat building up in her parka as she went but it was to no avail as her loyal pooch returned and moved into tackling position - only instead of targeting Katla the dog went for Akosua, leaping through the air at the Ethiopian woman.
"Arrun? Arrun are you listening to me?" Arrun's sister sat on a red leather couch across from him with eyes full of concern. "What's wrong with you? You've been acting funny since you got back from that ball in the capital - what did they do to you?" Arrun looked at his sister and opened his mouth to speak but words refused to come. His sister reached out and touched his hand and Arrun turned away; how could she possibly understand what had happened to him? It was like being struck by lightning and living to tell the tale, she couldn't possibly understand. "I met a woman...and now I can't get her out of my head." Arrun finally mustered, causing his sister to gasp. "So that's it, you went off and fell in love..."
The various young village girls ran about the square with bundles of flowers to sell. Each bundle contained about 10 flowers, ranging from bright white to shimmering yellow to warm red - all freshly picked. As the folks of the village began to disperse to their various tasks and the suitors to their lodgings or any other thing that might fancy them, Arrun was in place buying flowers. It started with just one little girl, but when the rest saw that Arrun was consistently buying they all diverted like flies to swarm him, pushing forwards handfuls of colorful petals and receiving a single Imperial Dollar each before turning on their heels to run back and pick more. After about ten minutes Arrun had spent around forty Imperial Dollars and held a massive bouquet of valley blossoms. Somehow, someway the girls kept coming with more and more flowers and Arrun was struggling to carry more, so instead to said to the girls "make me a flower dress and I'll give you fifty dollars." While Arrun didn't actually think the girls capable, they giggled and set to work, even drawing in some of the teenage girls to help.
Arrun seized his moment to escape. With hundreds if not thousands of flowers in hand he drifted into the impromptu marketplace where vendors had begun to stock everything from primitive jewelry to native sweets to cooked meat and vegetables, even some pieces of clothing were being brought out. Arrun hadn't been able to see where he was going past his massive treasure trove until he finally bumped into someone by mistake. The Count shifted the flowers in his hand just enough to see past. Pink hair, exotic ears and sharp eyes looked back at him. Ba-bump! Arrun's heart thudded in his chest. Red painted his cheeks and goosebumps spread across his body. The count gulped as a grin broke through the surface. Realizing his well-bred manners Arrun dropped to his knee, catching a face full of daffodils. "My apologizes Princess Mari" thump thump thump Arrun rose to his feet, his vision blurred slightly as he looked at the goddess before him.
"These are for you my lady." Arrun held the flowers aloft, his eyes falling over Princess Mari, going from her ears to her eyes, to her lips to her... Arrun caught himself and turned away, his cheeks glowing. Embarassment washed over him and panic flittered into his heart; it screamed RUN, but for some reason Arrun couldn't tell his feet to move even if he wanted to - he was firmly rooted and there was nothing he wanted to do less than withdraw with his tail tucked between his legs. "Mistuh, we're done with that dre- woah!" At least a dozen children scampered up to Arrun and Mari with an impressively crafted dress made entirely of flowers held high over their heads. "Your woman is reaaal pretty mistuh." Arrun was stunned and his jaw fell slightly.
