To Pierce a Steel Heart (MT, IC, Ended)

[Camelone]

The Forest
As Frederick was scanning the tree line he thought he saw movement, looking closer it looked like what they came here for the White Stag. "There it is!" Frederick yelled out as he spurred Glad forward making sure that Kirie wouldn't fall off the speeding horse.

"Your majesty wait!" One of the Royal Hunters exclaimed as the king disappeared into the tree line. The other quickly pulled out what appeared to be binocular.

"Where is he? The king is not on the thermal!" The other hunter exclaimed spurring his horse forward in the hopes of seeing the king. "I can't hear him either! Alert the other squads and get a damn monk or priest here, the spirits may be fooling us!" The sergeant barked out.

For Frederick though he was racing through a dense part of the forest with the stag barely visible in front of them, snow being kicked up everywhere. "Kirie hold the reigns." He said as he began reaching for an arrow.

The Manor
Cormac came out and greeted the two Pawoni women with his usual smile "Greetings to both of you to the ancestral manor of House Krieger. Please come in. King Frederick is out on a hunt at the moment and he should return around dinner time. In the meantime please come in and make yourself at home."

Off to the side a commotion was brewing as numerous Royal Hunters were mounting up and riding hard and fast into the woods quickly exchanging orders with each other. A few trucks were also starting up and moving out as well.

[Greater vakolicci haven]

"I assure you the spirits are not fooling you," Maria spoke calmly, almost coldly as she looked on. "He's just ran off somewhere. I will find him. Their is no need to send out the search party."
With that her horse was moving, her boots digging into its sides and propelling her forward like the well-trained animal it was. When the forest got so dense that it was unlikely that a horse could move much faster than a person on their legs, she got off and ran; when Maria ran, their wasn't much that was going to catch her that wasn't powered by a motor.
As she did so, she looked around for the king; nimbly following the horse tracks as she did.

[Kuronami]

The Forest
As Frederick was scanning the tree line he thought he saw movement, looking closer it looked like what they came here for the White Stag. "There it is!" Frederick yelled out as he spurred Glad forward making sure that Kirie wouldn't fall off the speeding horse.

"Your majesty wait!" One of the Royal Hunters exclaimed as the king disappeared into the tree line. The other quickly pulled out what appeared to be binocular.

"Where is he? The king is not on the thermal!" The other hunter exclaimed spurring his horse forward in the hopes of seeing the king. "I can't hear him either! Alert the other squads and get a damn monk or priest here, the spirits may be fooling us!" The sergeant barked out.

For Frederick though he was racing through a dense part of the forest with the stag barely visible in front of them, snow being kicked up everywhere. "Kirie hold the reigns." He said as he began reaching for an arrow.

"Aaah riiiiiight!" she took hold of the reins but no doubt this was scary for an inexperienced rider.

[Pawon]

Alala was unsure how to behave in an unfamiliar situation in a strange land, but the warmth of Cormac's greeting put her at ease while the warmth of the manor comforted her. Having lived on a tropical island, she had never before come in from the cold. The sensation added to the inviting atmosphere.

As Demeter helped Alala remove her furs, the king's daughter looked around the hall, taking it in. It was then she heard the noise from outside, the rising commotion. Demeter heard it too, but showed no sign of it. In her upbringing, selective deafness had it's distinct advantages. Her mistress on the other hand looked perplexed. After weighing if she should ask, curiosity won out. Alala inquired from Cormac what the noise was.

[Camelone]

The Forest
Frederick grabbed hold of an arrow with relative ease and easily shot but missed, quickly trying again he hit the tree next to it. Grabbing the reins once more Frederick gave his thanks to Kirie before he kept up the chase. After a few moe minutes of hard riding Frederick slowed down as he saw that the white stag had stopped at a stream. Swiftly dismounting he prepared another arrow and aimed, seemingly looking eyes with it, a few seconds passed before Frederick returned his arrow to the quiver with a sigh.

"Saint Eustace the Martyr was truly wise to spare you. I fear you are a symbol of my continuing suffering though." Frederick said in Camelonean as the white stag walked up to him and continued to stare at him, getting within a foot of him, before scampering off suddenly. Easily pulling himself back onto Glad he took the reins once more looking to where the stag disappeared seeing no track marks.

"Kirie did I truly see that or was it my mind?" Frederick asked so far into his mind that he forgot to add the formal address.
(Your call on if it was real or not)

The Manor
"Nothing that you have to worry about dear lady now please come further in I will show you to your room." Cormac said leading them down the same hallway that the other ladies are staying. Her room would be right next to Maria's and was a carbon copy of the other two rooms due to being the guest wing.

[Kuronami]

Frederick grabbed hold of an arrow with relative ease and easily shot but missed, quickly trying again he hit the tree next to it. Grabbing the reins once more Frederick gave his thanks to Kirie before he kept up the chase. After a few moe minutes of hard riding Frederick slowed down as he saw that the white stag had stopped at a stream. Swiftly dismounting he prepared another arrow and aimed, seemingly looking eyes with it, a few seconds passed before Frederick returned his arrow to the quiver with a sigh.

"Saint Eustace the Martyr was truly wise to spare you. I fear you are a symbol of my continuing suffering though." Frederick said in Camelonean as the white stag walked up to him and continued to stare at him, getting within a foot of him, before scampering off suddenly. Easily pulling himself back onto Glad he took the reins once more looking to where the stag disappeared seeing no track marks.

"Kirie did I truly see that or was it my mind?" Frederick asked so far into his mind that he forgot to add the formal address.
(Your call on if it was real or not)

"I did see it." She wasn't completely confident herself but her eyes did catch something and a little faith goes a long way "Yes there was something majestic there."

[Camelone]

Frederick turned Glad around and began riding back to the clearing they had been in previously finding the trail was a little hard at first. Pushing his sleeve up he noticed that his watch was blinking and he just simply turned it off to signal his guards that he was alright, though he wondered why it only now started to go off.

"The Lord creates much beauty indeed... You are warm correct Lady Kirie?" Frederick asked as he pulled down his scarf and goggles to look down at her slightly.

[Greater vakolicci haven]

Maria turned a corner and found that their were the king and Kiri, seeming as calm as can be. She wasn't out of breath, not properly; however her sudden burst have speed had tired her a little...she stopped to think.
"You disappeared," she told him, gently squeezing his arm before laughing. "They're sending out the search parties. I think they think the forest bears have got you. Where is this stag then? Don't tell me that you went all this way only to let the thing go."

[Pawon]

Alala was still curious about the noise, but decided not to ask Cormac more about it. Perhaps the king could better inform her. She found it easy to be patient, as many other things excited her curiosity. The inside of the manor was so different than what she was used to. It was all little things, and mostly stylistic deferences. Most notable was the closedness of it. The manor was built to keep out the cold, as much as Pawoni architecture aimed to let in the breeze. Still it was grand, and more impressive as Alala expected.

As they were left in their room, Alala began to further disrobe. Demeter was also eager to be free of her no longer needed mantle. Cautiously placing it and the fur coat on the bed, before turning to help Alala with her clothes.

First, she removed a lavender chlamys made of merino wool, followed by a modern dress of the same material, but rose in color, hand embroidered with red pineapples. As the princess was naked, she moved towards the fire, and the servant began a hot bath. All this occurred without a word from either of the women. Only after she was steeping in the hot bath did Alala speak.

”What is your impression? "

"The furnishings are much richer than in Pawon. This guest room would be the envy of any Pawoni king."

"True, I am fortunate my father gave me money to better dress myself, we mustn't let them think we are beggars."

The conversation then drifted to the cold weather and jokes about the old portraits on the wall. It had reached speculation on what the king was really like, when Alala step out of her bath and let herself be wrapped in towels and led to bed.

Only after seeing her mistress asleep did Demeter return to the bath, and clean herself.

[Camelone]

The Forest
"Odd usually they can track me on manor grounds or just see me on the thermal if my watch fails to send out a signal. Very intriguing indeed. As for the stag I followed the example of Saints Eustace and Hubert and let it go, it was a sign from God, as for the meaning I will have the consult my court chaplain." Frederick said before he noticed that she was without a horse. Frederick dismounted and said "Duchess Maria I notice that you are without your horse. Allow me to offer a place on my horse, I shall guide him from the ground. It is the proper thing to do after all, especially because I am probably the cause of you abandoning your steed." The hunt didn't yield anything physical but Frederick was content with what transpired and wished to return home, he wanted to get some work done early so he could relax tonight.

The Manor
The noise calmed down as the Royal Hunters and other guards returned back to the manor after being informed that the king was found and is alright. The manor fell back to its normal feeling of a peaceful hum of activity as a center of a nation's government would.

[Kuronami]

Frederick turned Glad around and began riding back to the clearing they had been in previously finding the trail was a little hard at first. Pushing his sleeve up he noticed that his watch was blinking and he just simply turned it off to signal his guards that he was alright, though he wondered why it only now started to go off.

"The Lord creates much beauty indeed... You are warm correct Lady Kirie?" Frederick asked as he pulled down his scarf and goggles to look down at her slightly.

"Ah yes, I'm doing great." She was quite comfortable indeed even in the cold winter wonderland. "You think we might come across that beast again? You sound pretty determined to catch it."

[Greater vakolicci haven]

"Do not worry yourself," Maria spoke up, keeping pace with the horse easily. "I will catch my horse, if your attendants haven't secured him already...I simply believed it would be easier to move in the forests by foot."
As they continued to walk, Maria's face noticeably darkened and she spoke up "You surely don't mean to abandon hunting altogether today," she said, sounding slightly fearful. "Doing so woul bring you great misfortune...I urge you to at least catch something. After all, to go to hunt and catch nothing is like to draw your blade and replace it dry."

[Camelone]

"If the Lord wills it then I am sure I shall see it once more." Frederick said to Kirie as he pulled himself back onto Glad and began riding back to the manor, he was slightly surprised by the change in the mood that Maria was giving him. "Why would I continue to hunt today if I was already successful? I completed what I had come into the forest to do, to see the White Stag, and that is the one of the greatest things that any Camelonean hunter could do, to see such a marvelous beast and to let it go. That is one of the best conclusions to a hunt I could have as a man who wants for nothing material, a beast sought after by every hunter and to have it at your mercy yet choosing to grant it mercy like the Saints of old. No I would say this is a day full of blessings by the Lord Almighty. If you wish to not return until you have caught something I am more than happy to allow you to continue hunting in my forest so that you will not bring misfortune upon yourself." He conceded not wishing to upset Maria or to have her feel like misfortune would befall her.

"I am returning to the manor though, you may do as you wish Duchess Maria." Frederick concluded as he continued his ride back to the manor, there was much he had to do.

---

February 4, 2018
After the hunting expedition Frederick had begun busying himself with matters of state meeting with his court to hear cases, petitions, and to hold audiences with any who made an appointment prior, for the most part anyone not associated with the military or court were barred from entering the Royal Court when it was in session. Even when Frederick was technically free he made finding him hard either locking his door or going out on rides to the surrounding monastery's without telling anyone spending his entire free time with the monks. It seemed as if he was making a concentrated effort to avoid everyone who has arrived in the hopes of winning his hand in marriage. On more than one occasion a heated argument could be heard in the halls just outside of the dining room between Frederick, Seneschal Cormac, the Court Chaplain, and Earl Marcas with voices being raised to yelling levels with Frederick more than once declaring he was the king and he could act as he saw fit if he was not violating any ancient customs or Church law. He would sit down to dinner looking quite agitated staying for as long as it took to eat his food and retreating to his study once more saying what was just barely socially acceptable to entertain his guests.
This had been the routine for two days and now the morning of February 4th Frederick had made his way to morning Mass in his private chapel where the Court Chaplain would be presiding and members of the royal staff would be attending. Monks from the monastery's were brought in as usual to chant the hymns and the Seneschal had made it a duty of his to inform the ladies that the king would be at Mass and what they could and could not do there.

With the monks flanking the alter Frederick stood out among the other members of the congregation kneeling in the back on the hard stone floor with his head downcast and hands held together tightly in prayer. The chapel was ornate befitting of a royal chapel with everything designed to bring attention to the alter and priest. He seemed to be reciting the Mass alongside the priest underneath his breath and chanted along with the monks in perfect unison. He did not wear the military uniform he wore normally but instead had on rather bland and plain clothing with no sign of regal nature to them, his sword and pistol were nowhere to be seen and there seemed to be a sense of peace and calm over him even though he was intensely involved in prayer. It could be easily seen that this is where he wanted to be the most, his coldness and formality was gone instead replaced with the face of repentance and begging for mercy and divine grace in a familial way.

Lining the ways of the chapel were the portraits of people close to Frederick who had died, the photos of his mother, father, and little brother sat at the base of the alter with flowers underneath them. One of the portraits would look familiar to Maria, it read 'Ranald Mac-an-Baird, noble warrior and faithful friend to the bitter end. Killed in combat protecting King Frederick, December 21st, 2014'.

[Halazy]

Father had always preferred tough love above all, and so it should have been no surprise to Ameni that, while Mother had an endless list of guidelines and manners to remember, he had given her only one instruction: "Don't blow this." Through the voyage, across the foreign countryside, and right up to the very gates of the extravagant manor this haunted her thoughts like a buzzard waiting out a wounded animal. Don't blow this. Marry a king you've never met, Ameni. Do it, or... what? It was safer not to think too hard about it.

Already she was beginning to see some of the cultural differences here. The carriage, for one, had more gold than she would have expected, and far less heraldry; the one she was accustomed to at home was simply black with the family crest in gold. Thankfully, she thought, snow was the same here as there; it was a welcome sight. When the carriage stopped, she was greeted by a man she very nearly mistook for a noble until he introduced himself as a kind of servant. Clearly there were things to learn about this land's dress. Ameni wondered how her own ilma, silk as it was, would translate; hopefully well, as she hadn't brought many other kinds of garments.

A short walk and some set down bags later, Ameni was graciously guided into what she was told was the king's chapel, and what a sight it was. She had never seen a Christian temple in person before, and indeed knew very little of the religion; what little she knew was that it had a few similarities to the cult of the Immortal Sun that was so popular among the lower classes. Once inside, the vaulted ceiling and wooden benches told her that there could be no Sacred Fire in here. Perhaps the wooden sword symbol represented the king's god, or did he worship the marble woman in the wall? She wished she could understand what the many priests were chanting, as it sounded very important but equally strange.

The king appeared to pause in his prayer. This was it. Silk packages in hand, Ameni quietly approached him and knelt a respectful distance away from him, just like she remembered reading about knights doing in the Emperor's court. "High king," she said softly, "my name is Ismin Ameni, of the Ismin family from the Vunso river. I bring you gifts, and may they be worthy of you." Nailed it. All that practice paid off. Ameni carefully unwrapped first one, then the other bundle in her arms. First was revealed a traditional recurve bow carved of oak and inscribed with prayers for accuracy in very tiny characters. A symbol of strength and reliability, the bow was chosen to compliment the king on his integrity. Next was a shining steel wurasa, a sword with a distinctive forward curve to the blade originally designed for reaching around shields and splitting helmets. This example, while functional, was more focused on the gold inlay and further inscriptions along the blade, this time praying for the power to destroy deserving enemies.

[Camelone]

It took a lot of willpower for Frederick not to show his displeasure or lash out at the woman, Ismin Ameni if he heard correctly, who interrupted him in the middle of Mass. Taking a deep breath though his nose to calm himself down, he had to remind himself that she was a foreigner and probably did not know any better, sometimes he wish he just accepted an arranged marriage with one of the daughters of the nobility at least then he wouldn't have to worry about things like this. "Lady Ameni this is not the time nor place for matters of gifts unless they are to be given up to the Lord Jesus Christ, nor is it a time for introductions. My mind, body, and soul is directed towards worshiping the Holy Trinity. Seneschal Cormac please escort her out and please keep the other teasa out of the chapel." His tone was struggling to keep the cold formality he nearly mastered and signs of his annoyance, and even rage, were showing through.

A pale Cormac quickly grabbed Ameni and the gifts and nearly ran out of the chapel with them. When they were outside the chapel and far away from the doors Cormac looked like he was about to have a heart attack "A you a mad woman?! Do not interrupt King Frederick in the middle of prayer, especially when it is the Holy Mass! I am surprised he didn't send you home right there and then!" Placing a hand on the wall he bent over and took a deep breath calming his nerves "I haven't seen the king that furious in a long time... Though I must take some responsibility for this misfortune as I overlooked telling you to not interrupt the Holy Mass, you are a teasa."

The other ladies in the manor were alerted that after Mass Frederick would be going to a nearby village undercover to mingle with the people there, they would be welcome to come but they would be accompanied by two guards each, for translating, informing them of social customs, and guarding them. The king would not arrive with them and would interact with them sparingly as they would easily be seen as foreign nobility and it wouldn't take much brain power to connect the dots. Secretly Frederick was hoping to get some feedback from the people on what they thought of them but he tried to conceal that from them, it would ruin his results.

[Greater vakolicci haven]

Maria was busy in conversation on the phone when the servant came to inform her of the plan for the daytrip. The problem was that as a result of Veldomir's imprisonment, Idurin had decided that the East was no longer part of Celeria. He had aledgedly informed the royal representative at the old, rather austere fortress that was her younger brothers headquarters that his title was 'prince,' and was refusing to interact with him unless he acknowledged this. Right now, she was moving her flagship into the bay at Zapria with two intentions: to stop any foolish royal soldiers getting ideas, and to remind Idurin who was in charge in their family.
"A day trip sounds wonderful," she told him, "Although..." part of the old paranoia was speaking in her voice as she stated "I must request that I am the most well-armed of myself and the guards. Naturally, I would prefer to be unguarded...if their must be someone to inform me how to be polite let it be a servant...but I suspect that this is not an option. However, I do not want to be placed in a position where if the guards turned on me, I could not be assured of victory. Please do not take my paranoia as an insult...however I have faced numerous assassination attempts in my life."

[Halazy]

The sword was sharp enough, it could easily free Ameni of her soul-destroying faux pas right then and there if it so chose. If the gods were good, it wouldn't delay. Images of the decaying mining towns and barley gruel she could surely expect upon her return flashed through her mind. Words staggered out of her mouth: "I- I am so sorry, sir, I thought- I didn't..." Her voice trailed off to less than a whisper. "I didn't know it was still going."

The blade did not stir. For all its talk of destroying deserving enemies, it had done a terrible job of destroying Ameni.

"Sir, how... what... what do I do?"

[Camelone]

snip

"It is taken as an insult, perhaps not by the king but by the knights. You doubt their loyalty to the crown with such a statement." The servant replied incredulously not truly believing what he heard. "Are you sure you wish for me to dismiss them from your guard duty?" He asked again a little nervous.

snip

Seeing her sadness and distraught Cormac placed a comforting hand on Ameni's shoulder "Do not worry Lady Ameni the king is a forgiving and merciful sovereign I do not doubt that he will overlook this misfortune in the future, just do be careful with him when he is in the chapel or in prayer as he is quite the zealot." The Seneschal advised her as he led her back to her room trying to cheer her up.

"We will be going out later today so please be ready to go soon. When we are there do not refer to the king with any royal titles he wishes to blend in with the people so you may just call him Frederick in the village. He will be in disguise, probably as a monk again, and will arrive before us at the destination with other monks. Do not worry Lady Ameni everything will be alright and if you ever need me feel free to alert me and if you are in need of anything inform the staff. I shall let you go now." Cormac said with another smile that made his facial hair dance weirdly.

[Halazy]

Heart still pounding, blood still rushing. It would be a while before the adrenaline of failure faded away, but at least now it could. Ameni needed to gather her thoughts, plan for her obscure future, and pick out something less formal for the trip to town, in that order.

"I- thank you, Sir Cormac. I will b-be more careful in the future. For now, I need some time alone. Would you please let me know when we leave?"

[Pawon]

Alala was distributed from her nap by a servant informing her that the king had returned from the hunt. Once she remembered where the princess ordered her servant to help her dress, as she did not want to keep her host waiting. It took only a half an hour before Alala was ready. Demeter had put Alala's hair up and helped her with her makeup. The first impression was the most important, Demeter reminded her mistress who increased in excitement as she prepared herself. She even wore a new dress, dark green with a pleated skirt that reached her ankles and a pale pink bow tied around her waist. For jewelry she chose her favorite, a string of white pearls and mother of pearl pendant earrings.

The actual meeting was anticlimactic as the king was quite cold. She could not fathom why, wondering if she had insulted him someway. After, Alala met her rivals, jealously provided a new hypothesis, the King had already chosen.

In the process of observing to determine which rival she had lost to, the Pawoni began to doubt that Frederick had interest in any of his guests, or even women.

Alala had just remarked this to Demeter, when Cormac arrived to inform her about the excursion to the nearby town. The opportunity to explore the town excited her, although she did not understand why Frederick wished to dress as a monk. She was mostly disappointed that she was again deprived of a chance to spend time with their host.

"What will I need for the visit to the town?" Alala asked?

[Camelone]

"Warm clothes most likely and the king will provide you with some money to buy things from the locals, more than enough to cover almost any expense that you will come across there. Otherwise nothing specifically. Your guards will provide you with translation and defense. Please be ready to go soon we will be leaving in an two hours with or without you." Cormac informed her before bowing and taking his leave.

---

2 hours later
A military truck was parked outside the main doors of the manor to which Frederick quickly disappeared into, he had on the plain brown cloak and simple clothing of a monk with a scarf tied tightly around his face so that only his eyes could be seen. Pulling up after the truck disappeared was a large carriage which could fit all the ladies and servant, as well as Cormac who was going to accompany them. Four motorcycles pulled up beside each having a driver and an occupied sidecar with a machine gun, these would be there guards wearing the winter uniform of the Camelonean Royal and Catholic Army. Cormac opened the door and stepped in, holding his hand out to help everyone in, it would be a decently long ride to the monastery where they would switch off into cars to finish the drive.

[Halazy]

Ameni felt a little better. The shock and horror from earlier had been replaced by aching dread, which was at least easier to handle moment to moment. Now it was time to go into town, and hopefully find some way to apologize for her earlier transgression. She put on a more casual ilma, a traditional garment somewhere between a tunic and a dress, with gold trim, and dark silk trousers. A few coins found their way into her pockets. Unsure of exactly what to do with the gifts, she chose to leave them; maybe they could come later. It would be deeply wrong for the king not to even formally reject them.

Minutes later, Ameni stepped into the carriage, apparently the first to arrive. That's right, she would be meeting the others soon. Oh gods, what could they possibly be like? Almost certainly they were better educated on Camelonean culture, and might not stand out so much. It was a conscious effort to keep herself still.

[Pawon]

Alala, wrapped herself up in her furs, and entered the carriage. She had given Demeter the day off, and left her to her own devices. Prepared to explore the town, she smiled at the prospect of learning more about the country.

In the carriage she saw a rather anxious woman, supposedly the new arrival. Alala greeted her warmly, and introduced herself, before beginning small talk about the weather.

[Greater vakolicci haven]

Their was no need for the servant to look incredulous, Maria didn't look like she was simply saying what she was to be difficult; in fact she looked genuinely scared. It wasn't an emotion that was too normal on that face however it was certainly present now as she thought for a few seconds.
"I..." she began "I guess it will be alright. If as you say they are loyal and impossible to infiltrate...I am sure that If I must I can defeat them anyhow."

A few hours later

Maria was all smiles again as she climbed into the carriage. She was wearing a medium-length dress with her hair flowing freely in the way that was popular all over Celeria. For jewellery, she kept it simple with a diamond-inlayed bracelet, as well as the pendant she always wore which had her clans symbol displayed prominently. The most striking feature about her attire was that she had adopted the classic 'pistol and sword' routine that many camelonian males seemed to possess: pistol on one side of her body, sword on the other. This didn't seem to be bothering her however as she took her seat with the other women.
"Hi," she said, meaning to introduce herself to the new arrival, "I'm Maria Schtenko. I heard their was a new person coming."

[Halazy]

Alala seemed agreeable enough, which was some relief, though the next woman who boarded seemed entirely different altogether. Did she need to be so armed? What violence was she planning? Even back home, where the upper classes were still perfectly aware of their warrior origins, nobles rarely carried more than a symbolic hatchet. Oh well, different customs.

"That would be me, Lady Maria. It's an honor to meet you." It would take a while before Ameni could convince her tongue to grapple with Maria's last name.