A Debut For a Princess (IC)

[The Frozen Forest]

The Frozen Forestrian Delegation

Lord Floki Ivor Bjork
Floki leaned back onto the carriage bench and stared out the window at the Abetton countryside. It was a pretty land for sure, but Floki had seen plenty of pretty lands in his life and one more just wasn't that interesting to him. Floki sighed and reached into his suit, pulling out a tightly bound dossier in the form of a book. The book face bore the stamp of the Frozen Forestrian Royal Intelligence Agency or FFRIA and was a beautiful leather. Of course it was all done with a purpose and Floki knew that if he needed to destroy the dossier for any reason, fire would erase it's pages and turn the outer cover to something else, maybe the bible? Floki poked at the front cover with his finger nail and sure enough managed to stab through the first, extremely thin layer of leather, revealing that a thicker leather cover lay on the other side.

Floki popped the lock off the dossier and was greeted by the face of a pretty younger girl in a nice dress. Behind the photograph, written in barely visible ink was everything that FFRIA had managed to scratch up regarding Princess Peri, which was actually a lot surprisingly. Maybe the Abettons weren't so skilled at espionage or more likely, didn't feel the need to hide that much regarding the young Princess. Floki scanned through the dossier hastily, finding very little of value in it's flammable pages.

Following Princess Peri came the other attendees, those that FFRIA believed would be in attendance. There was the standard guests such as royals and other nobility, and then there were those who weren't. The latter group had skimpy information and Floki guessed it was because FFRIA thought them beneath Floki's interest, not worth talking to. Perhaps they were right but his father didn't raise him to be proud, he raised Floki to be ambitious. Floki closed the dossier and deposited it into his pocket.

Lady Annika Svala Bjork
Annika knitted away beside Floki, not noticing or caring about the dossier that they had both been given. No she was more concerned with finishing her gift to the Princess, a task she had been working on since hearing about Princess Peri's debut. Along and along she knitted and just as they approached the entrance hall did Annika cry out "It's done! It's done! Yippee!" Annika set her knitting needles aside and held out the finely woven scarf. The little blonde girl looked ecstatic as the carriage stopped and they were made to exit. Leaving her needles on the bench she left the carriage and followed Floki towards the Entrance Hall, where they were greeted by a long line of maids.

Annika looked at the maids curiously and even stopped in front of one particularly younger one. "I love your outfit! Thank you for welcoming us!" Annika smiled at the servant and Floki called out to her "Stop bothering the help!" Causing the young Annika to bound after her older brother and towards the center of the hall.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

Ida Findehoof.
I nodded.
"Yeah...", I held his hand as we walked through the dark gardens and gently squeezed it. We were slow, but we also weren't out to crack any speed records. "You know, I still model for Bicíní Industries - one of the lads is a stargazer and he once invited Enya for a small trip out to a distant cliff for stargazing. Light pollution in the Free Lands really depends on where you are. Fortham and the entire Lake Mór Region or Silverport are like here, but up in the Nosey, it's beautiful at night."
I smiled. I would have to show all of that to him one day.
"Anyway... he wanted for Enya and him to be alone and romantically stargazing and you know the drill. Enya interpreted it as open invitation." I was grinning at the memory by now. "By the time he gave up on wooing Enya by trying to single her out, we were around four dozen people, including at least a dozen kiddos. He began to teach them about the stars and navigation by them and a lot of other neat stuff and us older ones listened in with interest." I smiled. "By the end of the evening, Enya kissed him on the cheek."

Eoin Clipthóir of the Tribe of Dundalk.
Ah...
"Yes, Eachtara Cruise Lines Limited.", I said and smiled. I saw her to be a more on guard then before, but I tried to not make her notice, that I noticed. If I made it... "The company was founded in response to the entrance regulations due to COVID, which only allowed people to enter after they spent at least two weeks at sea, on the same ship. So, instead of sitting around on a pompous, lumbering, fat floating polluter, my Father and us, that means my Mother, my older sister and I, had the idea of giving people, who had to do these two weeks, a little bit of an adventure along the way. Eachtara Cruise Lines Limited offers cruises as a seaman or seawoman on a traditionally built Selkie-Ship, be it as a rower on a Caogaidí or as a seaman on one of the legendary Capall na dTonn, the Selkie-Wavehorses. We pick them up in their departure harbours at international destinations, for example in Kyrenaia, and then sail to Oilean na mBeo... the odd misadventure and event might be involved as well."
I let a beat pass.
"Of course, the majority of these vessels have ship girls and if you are imagining them as pompous brats or worse, you could not be more mistaken if you tried.", I added with a grin, "Fóntar, for example, one of our Capalls and the unofficial flagship of our fleet, fancies herself as a bit of a pirate."

Blazes
"I see." Blazes replied. She did not seem convinced, but let the matter drop. "How's business going, then? Doing well, I hope?" She looked at Vi. "And have you gotten up to anything ever since I dropped you off?"

Victor Cui
Castle Liek

Victor decided to move toward the group with a Prusso-Pole and a Selkie in attendance; introductions would have to be made, of course, but this was not his first event. He would wait for an opportunity to introduce himself...
"Good evening, ladies," Victor said, right palm on his chest and bowing slightly, "If I may be so bold, I am Victor Cui, civil engineer. My father is Francis Cui, former President of the New Visayan Islands." Noting how one of them looked uncomfortable--something about a cruise liner company, if he overheard it right--he decided to play tactful: "My apologies, was I interrupting something?"

Blazes turned to the newcomer and smiled. "Ah, not at all. Good evening. My name's Maria Błyskawica; just call me 'Blazes', though."

Berengar
Berengar nodded. "Lucky him." He took a seat on a convinent bench, leaving enough space for Ida to sit as well, and was silent for a long awhile.
"...Something happened, over there." he said. "As we left, we..."

Berengar paused. "Tell me." He looked at her. "Do the words 'Bacha bāzī' mean anything to you?"

"Did I offend you Signorina Mariana?" Margot wondered, observing the girl's expression and tone. "Well, how about 'not poor'? Would that be more accurate? It's apparent class and wealth can be exclusive, here at least." she said innocently, noting the other peculiar looking guests at the event earlier.

Mariana Giuseppe and Sophia Hillshire
"Not at all!" Mariana replied, sarcastically. "I am indeed, especially pleased that you would compare me to that den of thieves, child-rapists, and murderers-"
Her response was cut off by Sophia swiftly delivering a punch to her gut, causing the older girl to fall silent, but not causing the expression of pain or discomfort one might expect. She just looked annoyed.
Sophia turned back to Margot and nodded. "I believe that would be a more...appropriate term? What Mariana means to say is that respective parents are not wealthy per se in the sense of social status; my father is a military man, as is her father. Our families have enough to live comfortably, perhaps more than is even nessecary, but we do not rub shoulders with the wealthy."

[Eritei]

Princess Momiji

"Yeah that's fair enough, we're small fry but yeah it's very nice there! Maybe you'll come visit it some time, plenty of natural beauty and thriving cities to behold. I'm sure Yuki will be just fine, perhaps she'll bump into your own sisters and or someone else and strike up a conversation. She can be social when you get her going. She's like a windup doll sometimes, just need to turn the key a few times and off it goes."

"I should come visit! It sounds lovely, cities have always infatuated me for some odd reason. Maybe she will, I know they both went towards the floor, so they'll probably bump into each other at one point. Hopefully they hit it off, my two sisters can be outgoing in some ways to say the least."

[Deblar]

Sophia would glance at the crowd as well. There seemed to be a lot more people from when she first arrived, if that was even possible. She’d look back, noticing the awkward silence that was beginning. She decided to speak up.

“Where are you from?”

Princess Yuki

"Oh, I'm from Katase. We're just to the east of here, a peninsula that narrowly touches Abetton's land border. "Uuh hehe sorry I guess you didn't need to know that extra detail. I'm sure you haven't heard of us, I mean we're not a big power broker in world politics, we haven't had a war in a good two centuries and well, we're just kind of ordinary. Well what about you?"

“I’m from Deblar. The Republic of Deblar, if you wanted the full name. I’m not royalty, like most people here, but my dad’s President, which makes me First Daughter. Guess that amounts to something, right?”

[Reformed Medwedia]

"Bargfred. I and my children are descendants of Rurik, the founder of Rus and Medwedia, and we are the rightful heirs to his Medwedian realms.", said the man who looked undoubtedly Norse and Medwedian but spoke with a profound Russian accent, as his wife and four children nodded. "And soon, we will get what is ours." Prince Mikael made a gesture which seemed to imitate putting a crown on his head and picked up a glass of champagne from a platter carried by a waiter strolling peacefully through the banquet hall, looking for thirsty guests.

As guests began to recognize the Medwedian Imperial Family, Prince Mikael introduced his wife and children, all wearing expensive clothes made by an Italian tailor.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your chance to marry off your children to those of the man who will soon rule over the most powerful country on Earth.", said the Prince, who began to look more and more like a Russian oligarch not really fitting here, before letting off a semi-drunk cascade of laughter as his three sons and one daughter, all looking much more Western, blushed in embarassment. "I hope that the goddamned pretender Edvard ain't here, is he?", said the Prince, putting the stress on "vard" and making it sound like "Wart".

Mikael Frederik av Bargfred, Prince of Medwedia

[Brettenwald]

Cecile half-hardheartedly smiled at the prince before answering "I don't watch movies. I can't remember the last time I saw one. On second thought, I might feel a bit interrupted." she added "I was in the middle of conversation with Lord Magnus, if he would like to continue?" she shot a side-glance at him. She actually did find herself at an impasse, she didn't want to be rude and shoo Daniel away, but she found Magnus to be potentially more important. Although she and Daniel couldn't be more than four years apart, her duties leaned her much closer to someone of the much older Brettain prince's stature.

Her response was exactly what Daniel expected, from his experience all "heir-to-the-throne" types had some similarities such as a tendency to take life way too seriously.
"Sorry, my joke was in poor taste. I too would be disappointed if important people such as ourselves gathered to discuss drivel such as movies."Daniel said, hoping he didn't sound sarcastic, when trying to be formal, he tended to lay it on too thick. He genuinely wanted them to like him, or at least tolerate him.
"Anyway." He continued. "I think I would like to hang around, Hospe has never met with anyone from your countries. I hope we can find some common ground, perhaps even make some deals."

"Don't worry about me, feel free to join us," Magnus said, giving Daniel a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you young blood have far more in common with each other than you do with a relic from the '70s like me anyway. Don't worry about the joke either. We all have to start somewhere, and this kind of thing gets easier the more you do it. Anyway, I was going to introduce you to my sons but-" he noticed Kairan shooting his shot with Gisella and shook his head with a roguish grin "-my eldest is otherwise engaged at the moment. This is about when my wife Zöe would say he gets it from me. Hospe... oddly enough that's not ringing any bells. Mind telling me a little about your country?"

Māris and Kairan were huddled up in a corner having something of a man-to-man moment.
"What do you think?"
"Go for it. The worst she can do is turn you down if you ask her to dance, and you've got like half a foot on the black-haired guy if this gets taken outside so if you need backup I'm never letting you live it down," Māris added with a smirk, getting a brotherly and affectionate punch in the shoulder for that little crack.
"Shut up, you." Kairan checked his hair in a nearby mirror and stood up straighter. "Right. Wish me luck."

One walk across the ballroom later:
"Princess Gisella? It's an honor to meet you. Prince Kairan Cärrino of Brettenwald. My uncle the Emperor sends his regards, and would like you to convey them to your sister as well in light of... recent events. On a lighter note, if the black-haired guy hasn't beaten me to it may I ask you for a dance later?

[Reformed Medwedia]

Noticing that nobody walked up to him, failing to realize that aristocratic circles considered him to be a fairly ...special... character, Prince Mikael Frederik began nervously strolling through the halls, and his face began to turn redder and redder. His wife and children followed him in an imitation of calmness but were becoming more and more embarassed as the head of the household's fury rose.

Prince Mikael Frederik knew that all three of his sons fancied girls they met at school, filthy commoners from some nouveau riche bourgeois families that would not even be able to get close to them would the Prince reign. His daughter Victoria, homeschooled against the will of her mother, had managed to meet somebody as well, and while he was of royal blood, he was of the sort Mikael despised even more than commoners: a relative of Prince Edvard's wife, that filthy Baldavian duchess, a goddamned witch. Only goddamned witches marry liars and jealous pretenders. Mikael remembered his father's words vividly. Mikael sometimes spent hours berating his children. He wanted to use the ball as a way to find them proper matches, of full royal blood. Among the regal cabinet, a genealogist who had grown up learning all these goddamned almanachs by heart was waiting at the hotel, and Mikael would immediately call him should he see his sons dancing with young ladies. He had paid the man, a grey eminence who traced his own ancestry to generations upon generations of Roman senators and Phoenician warlords, half a million to interrupt his well-deserved Caribbean holiday.

A small drop of sweat fell from Mikael's temple to the floor as he began to walk in circles, drawing uncomfortable attention. Noticing that his family had scattered in anticipation of the impending volcanic eruption. Mikael was whispering a mixture of Medwedian and Russian swear words as a powerful ringtone interrupted the calm before the storm. The Prince was notorious for setting his phone to the highest volume and answering or making calls at night, while in bed with his wife or mistresses, or even during church services.

"Ah, you? News?"

Prince Mikael's anger was gone immediately, being superseded by a subversive grin within milliseconds. The man he was speaking to in Medwedian was certainly saying something important, judging by the Prince's expression.

"Very good. Observe the situation, and observe it well. Old Man's watching us from hea-" - Mikael almost exposed himself, for he was not supposed to know what had just been announced by Medwedian state media and was yet to spread to the international networks.

The Prince found it once again hard to subdue his emotions, now of euphoria and not of anger. "Come on boys, let's find you some proper ladies, I ain't letting you go until all three of you have found brides. Mikael, Nikolaj, if you or Edvard want to take one of the girls home, just tell me and I will send Kowatsch and his men to take her home discreetly. If the parents complain I'll send Kowatsch to talk to them afterwards."

"And you, Victoria, will tell whatever man of royal blood of higher approaches you that his dad should say goodbye to his seventh-generation estate and Hitler's personal Rolls Royce because I ain't giving you away cheap. He should get prepared for some old-school bargaining. A farmer doesn't sell his best, and only, cow for a penny."

[Kyrenaia]

Blazes
"I see." Blazes replied. She did not seem convinced, but let the matter drop. "How's business going, then? Doing well, I hope?" She looked at Vi. "And have you gotten up to anything ever since I dropped you off?"

Victor Cui
Castle Liek

Victor decided to move toward the group with a Prusso-Pole and a Selkie in attendance; introductions would have to be made, of course, but this was not his first event. He would wait for an opportunity to introduce himself...
"Good evening, ladies," Victor said, right palm on his chest and bowing slightly, "If I may be so bold, I am Victor Cui, civil engineer. My father is Francis Cui, former President of the New Visayan Islands." Noting how one of them looked uncomfortable--something about a cruise liner company, if he overheard it right--he decided to play tactful: "My apologies, was I interrupting something?"

Blazes turned to the newcomer and smiled. "Ah, not at all. Good evening. My name's Maria Błyskawica; just call me 'Blazes', though."

Berengar
Berengar nodded. "Lucky him." He took a seat on a convinent bench, leaving enough space for Ida to sit as well, and was silent for a long awhile.
"...Something happened, over there." he said. "As we left, we..."

Berengar paused. "Tell me." He looked at her. "Do the words 'Bacha bāzī' mean anything to you?"

[...]

Note: Quote modified by removal of spoiler tags.

Ida Findehoof.
I sat next to him, his hand still in mine, subtly pulling his hand into my lap.
He was silent for a while, I did not pester him.
At long last, his voice filled with pain, he said: "...something happened, over there... as we left, we..." He stopped and looked at me, into my eyes and my very soul. "Tell me. Do the words 'Bacha bāzī' mean anything to you?"
I nodded.
"...yes.", I said and might have surprised him. I had collected knowledge about where he had been and I had stumbled across that as well. "Somewhere between slaves and child prostitutes, a horrid custom, in which a boy 'entertains' adult guests and receives favours for..."
I stopped and swallowed. Then swallowed again. I could not bear the thought. My arms wrapped around Berengar almost by themselves, pulling him into me.

Eoin Clipthóir of the Tribe of Dundalk.
Blaze dropped the topic, which was fine by me, but just as she had asked about how business in general was going, someone joined us: Victor Cui, who immediately informed us, that his father was Francis Cui, former Confederate President.
It was almost bragging or making sure, that we knew, that he had a place here.
I did not mind.
It was Vi, who introduced us: "Good evening, Mister Cui.", she said, "I am Viola Dreach of the Tribe of Dundalk and this young gentleman here..." She motioned to me, who I bowed my head lightly. "...is Eoin Clipthóir of the Tribe of Dundalk."
"Good evening.", I said and smiled, "And no, you are indeed not interrupting anything."

Princess Aischa bint-Idris.
I watched as Siham sent Mahmut on his way, while I was at the buffet having a drink - nothing alcoholic, even if there was something, I was not a combat drinker. No, it was a fruit juice of some description.
And there I stood in the traditional Kyrenaian Dress, my teenage self and quite obvious - maybe one of the sons of Prince Frederik noticed me, standing at the bar by my lonesome? Or a local lad decided to chat up the foreigner? Or some other guest decided to get it, whatever 'it' was?
Or I could go and seek out something as well... after all, the guy Miss Findehoof had entered with had been left standing and was at the buffet as well, eying some other fruit juice a bit downrange... who knew what the evening could bring...

[Lux Pulchrae]

Mariana Giuseppe and Sophia Hillshire
"Not at all!" Mariana replied, sarcastically. "I am indeed, especially pleased that you would compare me to that den of thieves, child-rapists, and murderers-"
Her response was cut off by Sophia swiftly delivering a punch to her gut, causing the older girl to fall silent, but not causing the expression of pain or discomfort one might expect. She just looked annoyed.
Sophia turned back to Margot and nodded. "I believe that would be a more...appropriate term? What Mariana means to say is that respective parents are not wealthy per se in the sense of social status; my father is a military man, as is her father. Our families have enough to live comfortably, perhaps more than is even nessecary, but we do not rub shoulders with the wealthy."

"Ooh, understandable, oui. I myself don't come from a super rich household, not paternally at least, we are lower-upper class? Upper-middle? Whatever the case, I don't swim in money." she took a quick glance at Mariana before returning to Sophia "That's quite the mouth on her. I'm surprised they let her out of the house. Or is 'house' too much Signorina Mariana? Would, how they say, 'shed' be more preferable?" Margot smirked "You however, Signorina Sophia, seem far more mature for your age." she praised the young-er girl.

Her response was exactly what Daniel expected, from his experience all "heir-to-the-throne" types had some similarities such as a tendency to take life way too seriously.
"Sorry, my joke was in poor taste. I too would be disappointed if important people such as ourselves gathered to discuss drivel such as movies."Daniel said, hoping he didn't sound sarcastic, when trying to be formal, he tended to lay it on too thick. He genuinely wanted them to like him, or at least tolerate him.
"Anyway." He continued. "I think I would like to hang around, Hospe has never met with anyone from your countries. I hope we can find some common ground, perhaps even make some deals."

"I think there was a misunderstanding, I'm in no real position for 'deals'." she explained, and she doubted the young prince was in such a position himself "But perhaps maybe I was a bit too 'cold', as they say, on my end. Finding common ground would be nice no? I've never met anyone from...your country. Seems already we have something in common." Cecile smiled as she kicked herself internally, she avoided pronouncing "Hospe", that damned letter H.

[Hospe]

"Don't worry about me, feel free to join us," Magnus said, giving Daniel a reassuring smile. "I'm sure you young blood have far more in common with each other than you do with a relic from the '70s like me anyway. Don't worry about the joke either. We all have to start somewhere, and this kind of thing gets easier the more you do it. Anyway, I was going to introduce you to my sons but-" he noticed Kairan shooting his shot with Gisella and shook his head with a roguish grin "-my eldest is otherwise engaged at the moment. This is about when my wife Zöe would say he gets it from me. Hospe... oddly enough that's not ringing any bells. Mind telling me a little about your country?"

"I think there was a misunderstanding, I'm in no real position for 'deals'." she explained, and she doubted the young prince was in such a position himself "But perhaps maybe I was a bit too 'cold', as they say, on my end. Finding common ground would be nice no? I've never met anyone from...your country. Seems already we have something in common." Cecile smiled as she kicked herself internally, she avoided pronouncing "Hospe", that damned letter H.

Daniel smiled at the Prince and the Queen. "No, not too cold, your Majesty. Honestly, you're friendlier than my sister." He took a quick sip of his drink."Well, Hospe is an island nation, meaning you can't drive anywhere interesting but our basket weaving is top notch. The weather is pretty nice depending on what you like: snowy, sunny, breezy ,we have it all. Everyone's always complaining about the tax rate, though. I don't really know what that's about. Numbers, finances... so boring."
He paused to take another sip. "We're a semi-constitutional monarchy so my brother, King Jeffrey can do a lot in terms of administration, but he mostly leaves it to the Prime Minister."
He shot a quick glance at Kairan with Princess Gisella and felt a little envious. Too bad he was supposed to be on his best behaviour.
He turned back to his company. "That's the summary. I would definitely love to hear more about Brettenwald and Lux Pulchrae."

[AHSCA]

Princess Siham ibn-Idris.
Okay, let me have a shot here for a moment.
I turned to my brother: "Say, Mahmut, can you leave us alone for a moment - gotta talk about icky girly stuff, like battleaxes, hunting falcons and skin lotions."
He looked confused for moment, but then nodded. "Sure.", he said and turned to Gisella, bowing in respect: "Gisella-Amira."
And he was off.
As soon as he was out of earshot, and I had made sure, that he was out of earshot, I decided to not give a flying damn about personal space and stepped into Gisella's.
"Listen, my dear... officially, I complimented your dress, which, by the way, really looks cute.", I told her, "Seriously, I know enough lads, who would love to have a dance with you, doubly so in that... and I am not only talking about the dork that is my older brother there." I let that one hang for a moment. "I can see, that you are uncomfortable in our presence and I have a rough idea as to why, but before I get him out of your hair for the evening, I want you to know one thing: He did not approach you to mess with you. He likes you and I can see why."
I let that one hang for a moment.
"So, when you go back home after all is said and done, tell that to your elder sister: That the UIS has at least one ally in the Sultanate due to the utter devotion and silent romanticism of a dork.", I added, "And give her the best regards of myself, my sister and of Ilkhan Idris of Sarepta. Not everyone is satisfied with how this is handled by the Sultana, especially not among the younger generations."
I ended that with a smile, bowed my head lightly.
"Gisella-Amira - see you later.", I said and turned to rejoin my siblings.

Her words rang like a bell for me, they were comforting but at the same time I felt rather embarrassed, apparently she could read me like an open book. Gee...Maybe I should just go before I reveal some state secrets...Wait what secrets? I don't know but I suddenly felt like I should just leave but no, that would be rude when I was invited to this party, no I just gotta keep going!

It seemed some more people began to arrive too, maybe this was a good time to strike up some conversation and get out of my comfort zone a little. Before I could do anything else I got another surprise this evening, another young man approached me

One walk across the ballroom later:
"Princess Gisella? It's an honor to meet you. Prince Kairan Cärrino of Brettenwald. My uncle the Emperor sends his regards, and would like you to convey them to your sister as well in light of... recent events. On a lighter note, if the black-haired guy hasn't beaten me to it may I ask you for a dance later?

Gee another nation dragged into the mess created by Marcella, they're all here tonight aren't they? I thought to myself rather cynically so. He was quite nice though, introducing himself and of course giving regards. "Milord Prince, good evening to you. Please tell your Uncle thank you for his regards to us. I know things got a little out of controll but now things are settling down so let's enjoy ourselves this evening. I would be delighted to share a dance with you tonight."

[New Visayan Islands]

Victor Cui
Castle Liek

"In which case, you may call me Vic," Victor replied as Maria Błyskawica introduced herself. "The same goes for you two," he added, his eyes turning toward the two Selkie. "I must confess a curiosity as to how we all got here; I shared my background, after all." There was mirth in his voice, a mirth that showed he meant well.

[Reformed Medwedia]

Prince Mikael checked the time, his family nowhere to be seen. It was quite boring. He did not understand what his children were doing, they seemed to run around in circles, doing nothing. His wife, as he had been told by witnesses, had fled to the hotel. Mikael was contemplating execution methods for the hotel manager or whoever was responsible for this as another loud, annoying ring cut through the air.

"Did the news spread?"

The agitated voice at the other end of the connection spoke for two minutes, and Mikael kept nodding and nodding. "It is time. I shall make the announcement. You know, I'm at a ball right now trying to marry off my children, people will surely appreciate a reigning house more than your exiled pretender next door. And I can't wait to see the look on Edvard's face when he learns that I am the first in this race."

Prince Mikael emptied the glass, which did not belong to him, before finding a spoon and striking it several times, prying for attention. He was about to give a speech.

"Ladies and Gentlement", he began. "As you may know, the President of my homeland, Count Theodor Lynden Frankenstein, was not too well in the past months. I have now received the news that he has deceased."

Mikael tried to drink again, failing to realize that the glass was now empty.

"A man who rose through the ranks suspiciously quickly by the name Honedegger, a mere commoner who does not deserve such an office, has usurped the presidency from Count Frankenstein. Do you understand what that means? A goddamned commoner, a farmer's son, whose mother was not even free, she was a filthy serf, and this man is now at the helm of MY country, of the strongest country in the world? This man now controls more nuclear weapons than Russia and the USA have combined? This man now controls legions upon legions of Medwedia's most devoted men? He thinks that he is the man who represents God in Medwedia?"

Mikael was getting angry again, this time faking anger for the drama.

"My friends, is it not time for me to finally get what I deserve, what belongs to me? To end the goddamned presidencies and bring back the Empire? Do the Medwedian people not deserve their Emperor? I will get what is rightfully mine. Farmer-serf Honedegger, if you are hearing this, be afraid. Be very afraid. I am coming for you. I will not let a commoner rule in my land. Soon, you will realize whom your army really obeys."

[Abetton]

The guests from The Frozen Forest were all greeted by the house staff here as were the guests from Reformed Medwedia whom certainly caught attention from everyone on the staff at least and maybe not in the best way, certainly behaving in a boorish manner, perhaps indulging too much on the sauce. "Keep security informed" the staff were told to keep their eyes peeled and if anything happened they would quickly take care of it.

Linely meanwhile came out onto the floor with his younger sister, Chrystanthe, whom quickly scattered deep into the crowd. She was a social butterfly and always full of energy, he could do all this but he was typically was a little more introspective but this could be plenty fun. A sudden pair of hands clasped over his eyes with a girl's voice going "Guess who?!"

"Let's see, twin tails, curls, green hair and green eyes, must be Briony"

Lady Briony, one of any dozen daughters nobility in this country, a friend of Peri and Linely both since childhood. Not romantically interested in Linely despite being his age but a good friend nevertheless.

"About time you came out, where's Peri? Everyone's getting restless"

"She should be out in a few moments. But I think everyone's fine."

"Well maybe so but i'm excited to see how nice she looks. You know I'm the one who suggested the tailor for her party dress."

"I know."

"So who's going to be the lucky girl to share your first dance?"

"I haven't decided yet."

"Aww c'mon don't wait or all the good ladies will be taken. But I'm always around when you need me." She patted his shoulder rather hard "Well at least go be social, look at Chrys there, she's darting around like crazy."

"That's how she always is."

Chrysanthe, the youngest daughter, 8 years old indeed was making her rounds on the floor, either to gather sweets or quietly listen to the grownup conversations everyone was having. Munching on a little brownie she nodded pretending to understand what she was hearing before she'd eventually move along to the next.

---

"My friends, is it not time for me to finally get what I deserve, what belongs to me? To end the goddamned presidencies and bring back the Empire? Do the Medwedian people not deserve their Emperor? I will get what is rightfully mine. Farmer-serf Honedegger, if you are hearing this, be afraid. Be very afraid. I am coming for you. I will not let a commoner rule in my land. Soon, you will realize whom your army really obeys."

Now they were starting to create a ruckus which called out a couple of guards, one was Peri's own guard; Lucina had been patrolling the floor to ensure things continued smoothly for when it was time for Peri to enter, the other was Liscia, another member of security. "Sir, you're making a scene, we kindly ask you to stop."

[Reformed Medwedia]

"Will this quieten you up?", asked Prince Mikael as he drew out several dollar bills and tried to hand them to the guards.

"Now, if anybody here can sell me their daughter, or wants to buy mine, let's get down to business. Victoria, come here, we're going to find you a real prince now so that you forget that Baldavian half-breed. And boys, I am going to pay a lot for you to leave these *****s from school alone, you're gonna find yourself some real blue blood today or I'm disinheriting you."

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

"Ooh, understandable, oui. I myself don't come from a super rich household, not paternally at least, we are lower-upper class? Upper-middle? Whatever the case, I don't swim in money." she took a quick glance at Mariana before returning to Sophia "That's quite the mouth on her. I'm surprised they let her out of the house. Or is 'house' too much Signorina Mariana? Would, how they say, 'shed' be more preferable?" Margot smirked "You however, Signorina Sophia, seem far more mature for your age." she praised the young-er girl.

Sophia Hillshire and Mariana Giuseppe
Sophia rebuffed her compliment with a frown. "I would not say that." She said. "Mariana's the one known for self-control back at home, really. I've seen it with my own eyes. I don't think she wants to be here, that's why she's...being a pain in the ass. She's not usually like this, I assure you. And please...refrain from insulting her."
Mariana winced in mock-pain. "Pain in the ass? Whew, lad. That's a low blow."
"Can it, cousin." Sophia replied, hiding a smile, only for their conversation to be interrupted...

"Will this quieten you up?", asked Prince Mikael as he drew out several dollar bills and tried to hand them to the guards.

"Now, if anybody here can sell me their daughter, or wants to buy mine, let's get down to business. Victoria, come here, we're going to find you a real prince now so that you forget that Baldavian half-breed. And boys, I am going to pay a lot for you to leave these *****s from school alone, you're gonna find yourself some real blue blood today or I'm disinheriting you."

Mariana cupped her hands, and shouted, in a loud voice, enough for the maniac to hear her, across the room;
"WHO THE FUCK ASKED?"

Sophia wheezed with laughter, and immediately responded; "Certainly not me!" she replied.

---

Ida Findehoof.
I sat next to him, his hand still in mine, subtly pulling his hand into my lap.
He was silent for a while, I did not pester him.
At long last, his voice filled with pain, he said: "...something happened, over there... as we left, we..." He stopped and looked at me, into my eyes and my very soul. "Tell me. Do the words 'Bacha bāzī' mean anything to you?"
I nodded.
"...yes.", I said and might have surprised him. I had collected knowledge about where he had been and I had stumbled across that as well. "Somewhere between slaves and child prostitutes, a horrid custom, in which a boy 'entertains' adult guests and receives favours for..."
I stopped and swallowed. Then swallowed again. I could not bear the thought. My arms wrapped around Berengar almost by themselves, pulling him into me.

Berengar
Berengar paused as Ida hugged him again.

"...We had to work with them." He said. "The area I was stationed...the police chief there was involved. So was his deputy. He'd been doing it for years, according to the Americans there. Before we left they shot them both."

His voice began to quaver. "They found a body while they searched his house. Dug up a body. Matched the description of a boy who went missing three months prior."
He wiped his eyes. "For...five years, probably more, we were giving him guns. And every time something came up, we had to hand it to the Americans, they had to hand it to the locals, and then...it'd get lost."

[Brettenwald]

Daniel smiled at the Prince and the Queen. "No, not too cold, your Majesty. Honestly, you're friendlier than my sister." He took a quick sip of his drink."Well, Hospe is an island nation, meaning you can't drive anywhere interesting but our basket weaving is top notch. The weather is pretty nice depending on what you like: snowy, sunny, breezy ,we have it all. Everyone's always complaining about the tax rate, though. I don't really know what that's about. Numbers, finances... so boring."
He paused to take another sip. "We're a semi-constitutional monarchy so my brother, King Jeffrey can do a lot in terms of administration, but he mostly leaves it to the Prime Minister."
He shot a quick glance at Kairan with Princess Gisella and felt a little envious. Too bad he was supposed to be on his best behaviour.
He turned back to his company. "That's the summary. I would definitely love to hear more about Brettenwald and Lux Pulchrae."

"The first thing you need to know is that technically it's not called Brettenwald for complicated linguistic reasons, it's Braethnevalt in our native tongue but unfortunately the Anglo-Germanic corruption seems to have stuck," Magnus said, scratching his beard absently and poaching a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. "I'd prefer a Scotch on the rocks, but I suppose this will have to do. Anyway, the Empire is 5.17 million square kilometers in area, consisting of one waterlocked continent and a great many surrounding islands with a nominal GDP of 2.81 billion krona or near as makes no difference 5 and a half billion dollars, per capita GDP of 36,000 krona or a little over 70,000 dollars, currently ruled by my cousin Thomas since 1989 as a functionally absolute monarchy with enough constitutional elements of democracy to keep everyone happy. Weather's nice if you don't mind the summer consisting of one indescribably gorgeous day followed by three months of thunderstorms and actively homicidal winters and the scenery's lovely in a rugged wilderness sort of way."
He took a sip of champagne.
"As far as driving and basket weaving go, most people prefer air or rail travel over long distances largely because there's a whole lot of nothing once you get outside populated areas, and I've never actually bothered to investigate the state of our basket weaving industry," the Prince added with a smile.

Gee another nation dragged into the mess created by Marcella, they're all here tonight aren't they? I thought to myself rather cynically so. He was quite nice though, introducing himself and of course giving regards. "Milord Prince, good evening to you. Please tell your Uncle thank you for his regards to us. I know things got a little out of control but now things are settling down so let's enjoy ourselves this evening. I would be delighted to share a dance with you tonight."

"Thank you, your highness, I will be sure to do so. I'll be looking forward to that dance very much, milady," Kairan said, giving her a smile and a bow before taking his leave and exchanging a fist bump with a very impressed-looking younger brother once the two had rejoined, smoothing down the front of his uniform before leaning against the wall with crossed arms and a self-satisfied grin on his face.
"And that, little bro, is how it's done." What was left unspoken was the fact that even if the pink hair was a bit much, he still thought Gisella was a very attractive young lady...

[Katase]

"I should come visit! It sounds lovely, cities have always infatuated me for some odd reason. Maybe she will, I know they both went towards the floor, so they'll probably bump into each other at one point. Hopefully they hit it off, my two sisters can be outgoing in some ways to say the least."

Princess Momiji

"Oooh country girl huh? Or am I assuming too much? Well either way, come and you'll love Nadeshiko, that's our nation's Capital city. And sounds like they can help bring Yuki out of her shell!" She laughed "This should be a fun night all around then!"

“I’m from Deblar. The Republic of Deblar, if you wanted the full name. I’m not royalty, like most people here, but my dad’s President, which makes me First Daughter. Guess that amounts to something, right?”

Princess Yuki

She smiled "Of course it is! I imagine a lot of people here might also be of nobility, rites of birth and all that, but even those from more republican systems are important too. I mean I suppose that's why you're here after all."

[Reformed Medwedia]

Mariana cupped her hands, and shouted, in a loud voice, enough for the maniac to hear her, across the room;
"WHO THE FUCK ASKED?"

Sophia wheezed with laughter, and immediately responded; "Certainly not me!" she replied.

The Prince's face once again turned red, giving him similarity with a tomato. "Grumbhouderte dumparte Lungerle, ellerdvå Udjobbisch!", he whispered, knowing that yelling would result in a diplomatic incident, for these words were recognizable for anybody who had once seen a Medwedian character in a movie or spent a day in the country.

"Come on boys, that's enough for two of you. Mikael, let me give you the number of Colonel Kowatsch, call him if they disobey you or make a fuss. These are for your younger brothers. I don't know about their genealogy. If you find out that they are commoners, make sure that your brothers stay away. Otherwise they are for them. I want royal rank and higher. Duchesses at the very least, but only for practice. They need to be higher than my wife. You will find yourself something nice as well. And keep an eye on Victoria, make sure that she doesn't talk to commoners. You know, all these presidents and ministers behave like they are nobles but remember that their parents were all serfs and manure-cleaners. Do you want your sister to be touched by somebody who grew up swimming in manure?"

"I will take care of everything, father. Now that Old Man's dead, when are we flying home?"

"No later than the end of the week. Hellerød's got to smack Honedegger first, he'll do that in no time. We'll do an old-fashioned car accident. Most of the generals are in and will cooperate, we need to execute those who refuse to first. But it's mostly commoners anyway."

"But Dad, why do you hate co-"

"I told you hundreds of times. Commoners are serfs and slaves. They are our property. These people are our property, and God gave us the right of life and death over them. They are to us like cattle to a farmer. When you and your brothers spend time with daughters of commoners, you are sleeping with cattle."

"But..."

"Obey. It is not your time to give orders yet. Obey and learn. I need to make a few urgent calls to the Capital, I expect you to take care of everything."

[Abetton]

"Will this quieten you up?", asked Prince Mikael as he drew out several dollar bills and tried to hand them to the guards.

"Now, if anybody here can sell me their daughter, or wants to buy mine, let's get down to business. Victoria, come here, we're going to find you a real prince now so that you forget that Baldavian half-breed. And boys, I am going to pay a lot for you to leave these *****s from school alone, you're gonna find yourself some real blue blood today or I'm disinheriting you."

The guards promptly stuffed them back into his own pockets. "All right, that's enough, let's go. You can't behave you cannot be here, out you go, you're going home." And with that the angry man was promptly escorted off Castle Grounds, not to be heard from again the rest of this evening.

(ooc: I realize this borders a lot on controlling your character/god modding and what but I'm not going to tolerate this any longer, this isn't a place to be an idiot, for now you're others are allowed to stay provided the behavior is right.)

[Lux Pulchrae]

Sophia Hillshire and Mariana Giuseppe
Sophia rebuffed her compliment with a frown. "I would not say that." She said. "Mariana's the one known for self-control back at home, really. I've seen it with my own eyes. I don't think she wants to be here, that's why she's...being a pain in the ass. She's not usually like this, I assure you. And please...refrain from insulting her."
Mariana winced in mock-pain. "Pain in the ass? Whew, lad. That's a low blow."
"Can it, cousin." Sophia replied, hiding a smile, only for their conversation to be interrupted...

"Will this quieten you up?", asked Prince Mikael as he drew out several dollar bills and tried to hand them to the guards.

"Now, if anybody here can sell me their daughter, or wants to buy mine, let's get down to business. Victoria, come here, we're going to find you a real prince now so that you forget that Baldavian half-breed. And boys, I am going to pay a lot for you to leave these *****s from school alone, you're gonna find yourself some real blue blood today or I'm disinheriting you."

Mariana cupped her hands, and shouted, in a loud voice, enough for the maniac to hear her, across the room;
"WHO THE FUCK ASKED?"

Sophia wheezed with laughter, and immediately responded; "Certainly not me!" she replied.

---

“Insulting?” She said coyly “I just thought it’d be a…logical..assumption” her words trailed off to the point of being inaudible as the three girls’ focus was ripped away from them by an extremely irreverent guest.

The man spoke in such a bold and crass attitude, it was any wonder how he was here at all “Mon Dieu” she covered her mouth as if shocked “what a crass man.”

---

Daniel smiled at the Prince and the Queen. "No, not too cold, your Majesty. Honestly, you're friendlier than my sister." He took a quick sip of his drink."Well, Hospe is an island nation, meaning you can't drive anywhere interesting but our basket weaving is top notch. The weather is pretty nice depending on what you like: snowy, sunny, breezy ,we have it all. Everyone's always complaining about the tax rate, though. I don't really know what that's about. Numbers, finances... so boring."
He paused to take another sip. "We're a semi-constitutional monarchy so my brother, King Jeffrey can do a lot in terms of administration, but he mostly leaves it to the Prime Minister."
He shot a quick glance at Kairan with Princess Gisella and felt a little envious. Too bad he was supposed to be on his best behaviour.
He turned back to his company. "That's the summary. I would definitely love to hear more about Brettenwald and Lux Pulchrae."

"The first thing you need to know is that technically it's not called Brettenwald for complicated linguistic reasons, it's Braethnevalt in our native tongue but unfortunately the Anglo-Germanic corruption seems to have stuck," Magnus said, scratching his beard absently and poaching a glass of champagne from a passing waiter. "I'd prefer a Scotch on the rocks, but I suppose this will have to do. Anyway, the Empire is 5.17 million square kilometers in area, consisting of one waterlocked continent and a great many surrounding islands with a nominal GDP of 2.81 billion krona or near as makes no difference 5 and a half billion dollars, per capita GDP of 36,000 krona or a little over 70,000 dollars, currently ruled by my cousin Thomas since 1989 as a functionally absolute monarchy with enough constitutional elements of democracy to keep everyone happy. Weather's nice if you don't mind the summer consisting of one indescribably gorgeous day followed by three months of thunderstorms and actively homicidal winters and the scenery's lovely in a rugged wilderness sort of way."
He took a sip of champagne.
"As far as driving and basket weaving go, most people prefer air or rail travel over long distances largely because there's a whole lot of nothing once you get outside populated areas, and I've never actually bothered to investigate the state of our basket weaving industry," the Prince added with a smile.

Cecile listened as the two spoke of their countries, Prince Daniel painting a decent picture while Prince Magnus had a seemingly computer-like knowledge of his Brettenwald. Figuring it was her turn, she tried her best while hopefully trying to ignore the fuss made elsewhere in the room “Well, to my best ability, Lux Pulchrae is an absolute monarchy under my husband King Cleone IV. There’s no voting since it is a one-party state.” She thought it best to omit the party name, though it was only a nominal ordeal, it still might catch a few unwanted eyes “Very beautiful country, l’Alpes in the north, nice beach out on the Spanish Coast. My region, the French Quarter is very beautiful agricultural center for the country. We do well economically. It’s a bit of a ‘mixed’ country, yes? It’s mostly an Italian-French demographic but in the coast there are plenty of Iberians and even up north there’s an entire province of uh..Germanique people.” Her hands remained empty, she wasn’t much of a drinker.

[Eritei]

Princess Momiji

"Oooh country girl huh? Or am I assuming too much? Well either way, come and you'll love Nadeshiko, that's our nation's Capital city. And sounds like they can help bring Yuki out of her shell!" She laughed "This should be a fun night all around then!"

"A tad bit. The city is so big I can't understand how my mother loves it. Not enough people to actually make a relationship with. I'm sure I will! Capitals tend to be the most beautiful places. Maybe they will, maybe she already found someone else. It's sure to be a fun night! I hope the event starts soon, I would hate to miss it."

[Reformed Medwedia]

Mariana cupped her hands, and shouted, in a loud voice, enough for the maniac to hear her, across the room;
"WHO THE FUCK ASKED?"

Sophia wheezed with laughter, and immediately responded; "Certainly not me!" she replied.

Prince Mikael the Younger, the son of the rancid, furious man who had just been escorted out by the guards, walked up to the ladies and introduced himself in perfect Italian, for his mother was Italian.

"Bargfred. Mikael av Bargfred. I apologize for the inept behavior of my father, he always finds it hard to control his temper and we all have to suffer when something is not right for him. He's the laughing stock of us nobles, this is why they invited our cousin Edvard and not him to Prince Philip's funeral in London. Yes, I know, some say that we are morganatic but the succession law was changed shortly after we went into exile the last time in 1908. Sometimes I find it really embarassing to have such a father. My granddad was different. I find it really hard to comprehend that soon, my father will become Emperor again and I will appear in the newspapers as his crown prince. As you have heard an hour ago Frankenstein died and we have a new man now, his former defence minister. He is really guillible and thinks that the military is behind him, but in reality my father has successfully bribed and negotiated his way to most of the generals, including his adjutant and trustee Baron Hellerød. Dad wants to finish that Honedegger off and do a little coup, like they sometimes do in South America. Reinstate the 1898 constitution and everything. Not that we'll become more democratic or free or anything. Frankenstein did the same back in '92. Anyway, this is no conversation to have with a lady, may I and my brothers compensate you for the loss of honor with a drink or two, under the premise that we choose a more lighthearted topic? This might be my last opportunity to have a bit of fun before royal life begins for us all."

[Hospe]

Calista pulled Ayla farther away from all the ruckus caused by Prince Mikael of Medwedia.
"Why would anyone invite that buffoon anywhere?"Ayla asked as they watched him being escorted out.
"That buffoon might be inheriting a country soon." Calista said, taking a drink from a passing waiter.
"Right, the news about the Medwedian president. Should the international community allow that to happen?"
Calista sighed and sipped her drink."By the international community, you mean us?"
"Well, yes."
"I wish we wouldn't, but when we interfere with things that aren't explicitly our business, that means others can interfere with us when it isn't their business either."
At that moment they came upon an older couple and a young lady that could only be their daughter.

"Hello." Calista greeted, approaching them. "You are former President Cui, no?. I am Duchess Calista of Hospe and this is Ayla Toro, my good friend."

[Kyrenaia]

[...]

Berengar
Berengar paused as Ida hugged him again.

"...We had to work with them." He said. "The area I was stationed...the police chief there was involved. So was his deputy. He'd been doing it for years, according to the Americans there. Before we left they shot them both."

His voice began to quaver. "They found a body while they searched his house. Dug up a body. Matched the description of a boy who went missing three months prior."
He wiped his eyes. "For...five years, probably more, we were giving him guns. And every time something came up, we had to hand it to the Americans, they had to hand it to the locals, and then...it'd get lost."

Ida Findehoof.
Gods... Scahach, have mercy on the poor lad, but...
No wonder Berengar was so distraught. They had to work together with a man, who let boys disappear, who's deputy helped him and who they could do nothing against and then found out...
Gods, that was messed up.
I wordlessly squeezed his hand, was there for him. If he wanted to talk now or later, I would be there.

---

Her words rang like a bell for me, they were comforting but at the same time I felt rather embarrassed, apparently she could read me like an open book. Gee...Maybe I should just go before I reveal some state secrets...Wait what secrets? I don't know but I suddenly felt like I should just leave but no, that would be rude when I was invited to this party, no I just gotta keep going!

It seemed some more people began to arrive too, maybe this was a good time to strike up some conversation and get out of my comfort zone a little. Before I could do anything else I got another surprise this evening, another young man approached me

One walk across the ballroom later:
"Princess Gisella? It's an honor to meet you. Prince Kairan Cärrino of Brettenwald. My uncle the Emperor sends his regards, and would like you to convey them to your sister as well in light of... recent events. On a lighter note, if the black-haired guy hasn't beaten me to it may I ask you for a dance later?

Gee another nation dragged into the mess created by Marcella, they're all here tonight aren't they? I thought to myself rather cynically so. He was quite nice though, introducing himself and of course giving regards. "Milord Prince, good evening to you. Please tell your Uncle thank you for his regards to us. I know things got a little out of controll but now things are settling down so let's enjoy ourselves this evening. I would be delighted to share a dance with you tonight."

Princess Siham ibn-Idris.
I indeed left her and rejoined Mahmut, who looked at me.
"Complimented her dress.", I lied through my teeth.
"Uh-huh."
He did not buy it. His loss.
His eyes went back to Gisella... and the young man talking to her. The young man, who was not him.
"Prince Kairan Cärrino of Brettenwald. The son of Emperor Thomas. You know, the guy Aurelia wrote to in red.", I told him, switching to Kyrenaian.
"Uh-huh."
"You really like her, don't you?", I asked and he nodded. "Well, another casualty of that mess, innit?" He nodded again. "Father was delighted when he heard, that you asked a girl out that wasn't Soraya, you know?"
"I know.", he replied. Stressing it uncomfortably. "We've been an 'It's Complicated' since then. I mean, I haven't seen her in years and then I see her at that wedding and I feel a pang in my heart and I..." He sighed. "...It's Soraya all over again. Not 'Do I like her?' but 'As what do I like her?'"
I put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. "Come. I am sure, that many pretty girls are around... and you'll have to dance with the belle of the ball, after all!"
That seemed to brighten his mood.