A Debut For a Princess (IC)

[The United Anime Kingdoms]

(Image)
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.

Prince Kazuma and his son were at the punch table. They saw that one of the guests was being taken out of the palace. And rightfully so. They were making such an uncivilized ruckus. Surely not allowed in the Court of the Edo Palace. It would seem that it would be a while until they would be able to speak with the debutant princess. Kazuma looked around, seemingly looking for other empires and kingdoms to ally with through marriage. A group of delegates had entered the hall, from the Kingdom of The Frozen Forest. A name familiar to them since one of their relatives, Princess Anne-Euphrasie has attended a ball to mingle with their king.

“Seems like the friendly type. Don’t you think my boy?” Kazuma says, with excitement.

“Sure father” Naofumi replies with less enthusiasm.

“You know, if this princess doesn’t work out with you, I am sure we can hook you up with more royal family members from the Frozen Forest”.

“Sure father”.

“We should acquaint ourselves with them. Come my son”. Both of the two princes walk and approach the Frozen Forest delegation, greeting them with a friendly smile.

“Good evening” Kazuma says. “You’re both from the Frozen Forest aren’t you?”

[New Visayan Islands]

Francis Cui
Castle Liek

"That I am, indeed. That I am," Francis replied as he was greeted by a woman introducing herself as Duchess Calista. "Francis Cui, former President of the New Visayan Islands." Gesturing to Theresa and Elizabeth, he continued: "Theresa Alexandra, my wife; Elizabeth, my daughter. My son, Victor, also came with us, but right now he seems to be enjoying himself." The mask on his face covered a grin, but you could see it in his eyes.
"Speaking of which," Elizabeth added, "Mom, Dad?"
"Just don't do anything we wouldn't do," Francis said; he knew Elizabeth would want to acquaint herself with the rest of the guests.
"Thanks, Dad. Good evening, Your Grace, Miss Toro." At that, Elizabeth left, excitement in her eyes.
"Anyway, I served two consecutive terms as President: 2013-2017 and 2017-2021. Apparently, because I was the President that saw the Confederation opening up to the greater world around her, my family and I were invited. Also, who was that jerk acting up to the point that he was escorted out?" Francis suspected something about that person, but the ESOs that shadowed him and his wife would clue him in later on.

[Hospe]

Francis Cui
Castle Liek

"That I am, indeed. That I am," Francis replied as he was greeted by a woman introducing herself as Duchess Calista. "Francis Cui, former President of the New Visayan Islands." Gesturing to Theresa and Elizabeth, he continued: "Theresa Alexandra, my wife; Elizabeth, my daughter. My son, Victor, also came with us, but right now he seems to be enjoying himself." The mask on his face covered a grin, but you could see it in his eyes.
"Speaking of which," Elizabeth added, "Mom, Dad?"
"Just don't do anything we wouldn't do," Francis said; he knew Elizabeth would want to acquaint herself with the rest of the guests.
"Thanks, Dad. Good evening, Your Grace, Miss Toro." At that, Elizabeth left, excitement in her eyes.
"Anyway, I served two consecutive terms as President: 2013-2017 and 2017-2021. Apparently, because I was the President that saw the Confederation opening up to the greater world around her, my family and I were invited. Also, who was that jerk acting up to the point that he was escorted out?" Francis suspected something about that person, but the ESOs that shadowed him and his wife would clue him in later on.

"Nice to meet you both" Ayla said with a friendly smile. "I love your dress, Mrs. Cui.
"Lovely to meet you." Calista nodded with a smile, a typical Hospean greeting. "The "jerk" you speak of is Prince Prince Mikael of Medwedia. I don't know if you still receive intel from any intelligence operations but about an hour ago I received news that President Frankenstein of Medwedia is dead meaning Prince Mikael has a very good chance of ruling the country."

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.

"I should visit both sometime." Daniel said setting his empty champagne flute down on a table. "This is random but I'm inviting both of you to the Basketfaire festival next summer. For a festival about baskets, it's pretty exciting stuff."

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

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.

A few tears fell from Berengar's eyes as Ida squeezed his hand, and he wrapped his arms around her, before burying his face in her shoulder. "It ain't right." he muttered. "It's not right. None of this is right."
He fell silent for a long while; maybe five minutes, maybe fifteen. He didn't know. But the whole time, he clung to Ida like she was a life preserver.

Really, at this point, she was one for him. Afghanistan, his future throne and the worries and duties expected of him faded away, if only for a moment, as he embraced her. In their place he thought of the future; perhaps he could abdicate, one day and settle down with her, with a small cottage on the outskirts of Bialystock and a family. An idiotic dream, perhaps, but as long as Ida was still there for him, perhaps things would be alright...

...But where was he with Ida now? They had some of the trappings of a couple, but those three words still went unsaid...and he did not know when he would see her again. But saying it here, now, would possibly be guilttripping her.

He broke the embrace, and gazed into her eyes. He tried to say the words; confessing was supposed to be easy in the movies, no?

But he froze, and at last, he copped out. "I'm...sorry for spilling this on you." he muttered, turning away. "...How have things been for your end?"

---

"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."

“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.”

Sophia stared hard at Margot, seemingly pinning her to the wall. Something dangerous seemed to flash in her eyes, and the Princess would visibly feel something 'wrong' about Sophia. "Don't play semnantics with me, Princess." she replied. "You know what I mean."
The arrival of the Medwedian princes caught Sophia - and Mariana's attention. Sophia seemed increasingly baffled as they suddenly explained their country's political situation, while Mariana smiled and nodded, seemingly following along.
"Ah, not right now. Maybe later." Mariana replied, in reponse to his offer of a drink. "But it's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Bargfred..." She turned her attention to his siblings. "...or should I say, Princes Bargfred?"
Sophia nodded in agreement at Mariana's greeting, but remained silent for now. One could almost take her silence for shyness, were she not fixing the future Crown-Prince with a cold, analytical stare. He would feel the same feeling of 'wrongness' from her as she continued to stare at him.

[Katase]

"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."

Princess Momiji

"I know what you mean, we certainly came a long way. I'll let you on a secret, Yuki and I know Princess Peri personally. I guess you can imagine, given our nations are neighbors, naturally our nobility would mix and mingle. Well anyway, I imagine it should be starting soon, why don't we head on back to the floor?"

[Kyrenaia]

A few tears fell from Berengar's eyes as Ida squeezed his hand, and he wrapped his arms around her, before burying his face in her shoulder. "It ain't right." he muttered. "It's not right. None of this is right."
He fell silent for a long while; maybe five minutes, maybe fifteen. He didn't know. But the whole time, he clung to Ida like she was a life preserver.

Really, at this point, she was one for him. Afghanistan, his future throne and the worries and duties expected of him faded away, if only for a moment, as he embraced her. In their place he thought of the future; perhaps he could abdicate, one day and settle down with her, with a small cottage on the outskirts of Bialystock and a family. An idiotic dream, perhaps, but as long as Ida was still there for him, perhaps things would be alright...

...But where was he with Ida now? They had some of the trappings of a couple, but those three words still went unsaid...and he did not know when he would see her again. But saying it here, now, would possibly be guilttripping her.

He broke the embrace, and gazed into her eyes. He tried to say the words; confessing was supposed to be easy in the movies, no?

But he froze, and at last, he copped out. "I'm...sorry for spilling this on you." he muttered, turning away. "...How have things been for your end?"


[...]

Ida Findehoof.
For a moment, I was tempted to shake my head - right now, there was nothing more import then Berengar and his wellbeing, his anguish and suffering, which I wanted to alleviate, to smother.
And smother him in my love, but that's not the point.
Then I realized, that a change in topic might not be the worst idea, quite on the contrary. A distraction.
But I needed to make one thing undeniably clear: "Don't be sorry.", I told him in hopefully passable Polish, "I will be there for you."
It were simple sentences, sure, but the correspondence course I had begun was not that fast and I was not with it for that long. I smiled at him, however.
"As you can hear, I am learning Polish, though I am no good yet.", I said and smiled, then switched back, "My studies are proceeding apace and I hope, that I will reach a point where I can enter into the diplomatic service soon. The Prince is flirting with the idea of joining SEA and with the idea of marrying my younger sister, so you can imagine, that things are quite hectic right now." I leaned against him, exhaled deeply. "This is nice."

[Lux Pulchrae]

"I should visit both sometime." Daniel said setting his empty champagne flute down on a table. "This is random but I'm inviting both of you to the Basketfaire festival next summer. For a festival about baskets, it's pretty exciting stuff."

"Huh...baskets? Quite the thing to dedicate a festival for." she responded "But I thank you for the invite Prince Daniel. Although, next summer is quite a ways away no? Let's hope my husband and I aren't busy by then, and I'm sure we'd gladly welcome both of you Princes."

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."

Sophia stared hard at Margot, seemingly pinning her to the wall. Something dangerous seemed to flash in her eyes, and the Princess would visibly feel something 'wrong' about Sophia. "Don't play semnantics with me, Princess." she replied. "You know what I mean."
The arrival of the Medwedian princes caught Sophia - and Mariana's attention. Sophia seemed increasingly baffled as they suddenly explained their country's political situation, while Mariana smiled and nodded, seemingly following along.
"Ah, not right now. Maybe later." Mariana replied, in reponse to his offer of a drink. "But it's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Bargfred..." She turned her attention to his siblings. "...or should I say, Princes Bargfred?"
Sophia nodded in agreement at Mariana's greeting, but remained silent for now. One could almost take her silence for shyness, were she not fixing the future Crown-Prince with a cold, analytical stare. He would feel the same feeling of 'wrongness' from her as she continued to stare at him.

"Not to play any further semantics Signorinia Sophia, but I'm not a princess either." she answered sincerely "I think the English term would be 'Lady'". Their conversation would soon be interrupted by an Italian-speaking fellow named Mikael av Bargfred, much to her disappointment. If she wanted to speak and meet Italians, she would've stayed home. How'd he know they were Italian? Anyways, it didn't matter much now, he was already well on his way to explaining the unsought current political climate of his country and maybe spilling a little too much information.

As far as she's been taught, Margot wouldn't speak unless spoken to, but she figured most of her etiquette training was as good as gone for now "If I may, Monsieur Mikael, Margot Louise de Elise-Bourbon," she bowed her head "And I would like to say, it is quite improper for your brothers to not introduce themselves before this drink you are offering." though she hoped they didn't mean alcoholic drinks, present company in mind.

[Hospe]

"Huh...baskets? Quite the thing to dedicate a festival for." she responded "But I thank you for the invite Prince Daniel. Although, next summer is quite a ways away no? Let's hope my husband and I aren't busy by then, and I'm sure we'd gladly welcome both of you Princes."

Daniel laughed. "Don't worry, I'll remind you a lot, and I will definitely be visiting Lux Pulchrae so thank you for assurance of a kind welcome."
Feeling a little hungry, he decided to quickly go and grab some food, he was enjoying his conversation with these two royals more than he expected.
"If both of you would excuse me, I'll just quickly go get some finger foods. Can I get anything for anyone?"

[Brettenwald]

"I should visit both sometime." Daniel said setting his empty champagne flute down on a table. "This is random but I'm inviting both of you to the Basketfaire festival next summer. For a festival about baskets, it's pretty exciting stuff."

"Huh...baskets? Quite the thing to dedicate a festival for." she responded "But I thank you for the invite Prince Daniel. Although, next summer is quite a ways away no? Let's hope my husband and I aren't busy by then, and I'm sure we'd gladly welcome both of you Princes."

"Oh, thanks very much. You're both welcome in the motherland any time, though I'd recommend early summer as the best time for both aesthetic value and weather for outdoor activities... you know what, I think I need to go impart a little fatherly advice," Magnus said, glacing in the lads' direction. "If you'll excuse me?"

"Right, listen up. Kairan, I hope you know what you're getting into because you and Prince Mahmut ibn-Idris, a Kyrenaian guy, are both interested in the AHSCAn Gisella. Somewhat reflective of our current geopolitical stance, funny enough," he added as the older boy's eyes widened.
"Oh, shit."
"Language. Just tread carefully, all right?" Kairan nodded. "Will do."
"Good man. You're 16 and legally an adult and I know you're not stupid, but I just want to make sure it sticks. Oh, and maybe say hi to Prince Linely at some point, from the statement he put out about the whole Marcella thing he seems like he's got his head screwed on straight and gods know you could use a friend who's not a complete hooligan."
The back of their father's head received an epic eye roll courtesy of Kairan and a distant snicker was heard from Māris as he rejoined Daniel and Cecile. "The problem with raising boys is that you realize how big of a pain in the tail you were for your dad," he laughed. "Some days I wish I'd had all girls and not just Meyhan. She and my oldest Felix are both in summer school at university right now, but they'd be a little too old for this anyway. Do either of you have children, by any chance?"

[Deblar]

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."

“I suppose so. Pardon me for not asking earlier, but what might your name be?”

[Abetton]

Linely had come out onto the floor a while ago, but mostly he quietly observed everyone around him. It would be another few minutes before Peri would make her formal stride out onto the floor as the center of attention so it was a good time to see if he'd maybe quickly insert himself somewhere. He saw the Princess Gisella but she rather disappeared into the crowd, oh well no doubt he'd find her eventually, especially with Shaun scouting the floor so-to-speak. Meanwhile, after enough time of just watching and quietly observing and also spotting Chrysanthe wandering around and helping herself to some sweets here and there. Well now was as good as any time to start walking the floor himself and move out, it seems he finally had an opening, a good time too, right now many kind of had their own little groups, hard to jump in the middle of a conversation even if he is the Crowned Prince of Abetton, but this was his sister's special night, not his. He wandered on over to the young men from Brettenwald, they seemed roughly his own age so that made it easy.

"Good evening." He bid, "I'm Prince Linely," Just in case they didn't recognize him, Abetton was after all pretty minor in world politics. "I hope you're enjoying yourselves tonight. My sister will certainly be along soon, she's just hoping to keep the suspense going." He chuckled a little, it was that or Peri and their mother were going over every little detail again and again, Peri could be rather detail oriented when she really wanted to. "Before long though she'll be talking everyone's ear off about the art of equestrianism."

[Eritei]

Princess Momiji

"I know what you mean, we certainly came a long way. I'll let you on a secret, Yuki and I know Princess Peri personally. I guess you can imagine, given our nations are neighbors, naturally our nobility would mix and mingle. Well anyway, I imagine it should be starting soon, why don't we head on back to the floor?"

"We sure do. Oh really? It's such a small world isn't it, even if your neighbors it's always surprising to hear things like that, my countries full of royalty and yet I hardly know any of them. I think we should to, we wouldn't want to miss the princess." Evelyn gestured in the general direction of the floor.

[Lux Pulchrae]

Daniel laughed. "Don't worry, I'll remind you a lot, and I will definitely be visiting Lux Pulchrae so thank you for assurance of a kind welcome."
Feeling a little hungry, he decided to quickly go and grab some food, he was enjoying his conversation with these two royals more than he expected.
"If both of you would excuse me, I'll just quickly go get some finger foods. Can I get anything for anyone?"

"Oh, thanks very much. You're both welcome in the motherland any time, though I'd recommend early summer as the best time for both aesthetic value and weather for outdoor activities... you know what, I think I need to go impart a little fatherly advice," Magnus said, glacing in the lads' direction. "If you'll excuse me?"

"Right, listen up. Kairan, I hope you know what you're getting into because you and Prince Mahmut ibn-Idris, a Kyrenaian guy, are both interested in the AHSCAn Gisella. Somewhat reflective of our current geopolitical stance, funny enough," he added as the older boy's eyes widened.
"Oh, shit."
"Language. Just tread carefully, all right?" Kairan nodded. "Will do."
"Good man. You're 16 and legally an adult and I know you're not stupid, but I just want to make sure it sticks. Oh, and maybe say hi to Prince Linely at some point, from the statement he put out about the whole Marcella thing he seems like he's got his head screwed on straight and gods know you could use a friend who's not a complete hooligan."
The back of their father's head received an epic eye roll courtesy of Kairan and a distant snicker was heard from Māris as he rejoined Daniel and Cecile. "The problem with raising boys is that you realize how big of a pain in the tail you were for your dad," he laughed. "Some days I wish I'd had all girls and not just Meyhan. She and my oldest Felix are both in summer school at university right now, but they'd be a little too old for this anyway. Do either of you have children, by any chance?"

At Daniel’s offer to get her something, Cecile politely declined “Merci Prince, but I’m good for now.” as Magnus also departed to talk with his sons, meanwhile Cecile stood and looked around to see if she could see Margot. She seemed to be in the company of some girls and boys, hopefully they’re all off to a friendly start.

Magnus soon returned, talking about his kids and asking if they had any of their own, Cecile smiled “Oh I do Monsieur Magnus! I have a precious thing named Filomena back ‘ome. She was born the twenty-fifth of June.” she couldn’t hide her smile. She loved Filomena too much, it might have been the joy of being a new mother but she liked it. “But I cannot say I’ve reached the point of wishing she were a boy just yet. I helped with raising my sister Margot, wouldn't say it fairs well for raising girls either. My mother sure complains about us than she does about my brothers. How old are they? Your older ones?”

[Kyrenaia]

"Oh, thanks very much. You're both welcome in the motherland any time, though I'd recommend early summer as the best time for both aesthetic value and weather for outdoor activities... you know what, I think I need to go impart a little fatherly advice," Magnus said, glacing in the lads' direction. "If you'll excuse me?"

"Right, listen up. Kairan, I hope you know what you're getting into because you and Prince Mahmut ibn-Idris, a Kyrenaian guy, are both interested in the AHSCAn Gisella. Somewhat reflective of our current geopolitical stance, funny enough," he added as the older boy's eyes widened.
"Oh, shit."
"Language. Just tread carefully, all right?" Kairan nodded. "Will do."
"Good man. You're 16 and legally an adult and I know you're not stupid, but I just want to make sure it sticks. Oh, and maybe say hi to Prince Linely at some point, from the statement he put out about the whole Marcella thing he seems like he's got his head screwed on straight and gods know you could use a friend who's not a complete hooligan."
The back of their father's head received an epic eye roll courtesy of Kairan and a distant snicker was heard from Māris as he rejoined Daniel and Cecile. "The problem with raising boys is that you realize how big of a pain in the tail you were for your dad," he laughed. "Some days I wish I'd had all girls and not just Meyhan. She and my oldest Felix are both in summer school at university right now, but they'd be a little too old for this anyway. Do either of you have children, by any chance?"

Linely had come out onto the floor a while ago, but mostly he quietly observed everyone around him. It would be another few minutes before Peri would make her formal stride out onto the floor as the center of attention so it was a good time to see if he'd maybe quickly insert himself somewhere. He saw the Princess Gisella but she rather disappeared into the crowd, oh well no doubt he'd find her eventually, especially with Shaun scouting the floor so-to-speak. Meanwhile, after enough time of just watching and quietly observing and also spotting Chrysanthe wandering around and helping herself to some sweets here and there. Well now was as good as any time to start walking the floor himself and move out, it seems he finally had an opening, a good time too, right now many kind of had their own little groups, hard to jump in the middle of a conversation even if he is the Crowned Prince of Abetton, but this was his sister's special night, not his. He wandered on over to the young men from Brettenwald, they seemed roughly his own age so that made it easy.

"Good evening." He bid, "I'm Prince Linely," Just in case they didn't recognize him, Abetton was after all pretty minor in world politics. "I hope you're enjoying yourselves tonight. My sister will certainly be along soon, she's just hoping to keep the suspense going." He chuckled a little, it was that or Peri and their mother were going over every little detail again and again, Peri could be rather detail oriented when she really wanted to. "Before long though she'll be talking everyone's ear off about the art of equestrianism."

Princess Aischa bint-Idris.
I decided to be a bit more proactive then standing around and waiting for a lad to approach me - they were in puberty, after all, no need to be shy.
I decided to approach the lads from Brettenwald, Kairan in his black uniform (something about him being a junior officer of some sort, as far I have heard) and his brother Maris. The former had just asked out Gisella, which for sure would not be to the liking of my own big brother.
Well... two could play that game.
As I rounded a corner, though, I saw, that someone had beaten me to the punch, namely the big brother of our dear hostess, Crown Prince Linely. Among the lot of us, he did not cut as much of an impressive figure as Crown Prince Ilia, but to be fair Ilia was older and more mature, so Linely had an excuse.
...I should have asked the Lord-Commander of the Navy, if he was interested in attending this shindig. Then again, it would have robbed us of entering with Mahmut like a bunch of bosses.
In any case, I approached the group regardless.
"Before long though she'll be talking everyone's ear off about the art of equestrianism.", Linely just said and I smiled.
"Oh, I don't think, that many people would mind. After all, horses are good companions and wonderful animals.", I said and joined in, "Even if you aren't a Selkie." I bowed my head to the three young men. "Princess Aischa bint-Idris - I hope, that I am not intruding?"

[Brettenwald]

At Daniel’s offer to get her something, Cecile politely declined “Merci Prince, but I’m good for now.” as Magnus also departed to talk with his sons, meanwhile Cecile stood and looked around to see if she could see Margot. She seemed to be in the company of some girls and boys, hopefully they’re all off to a friendly start.

Magnus soon returned, talking about his kids and asking if they had any of their own, Cecile smiled “Oh I do Monsieur Magnus! I have a precious thing named Filomena back ‘ome. She was born the twenty-fifth of June.” she couldn’t hide her smile. She loved Filomena too much, it might have been the joy of being a new mother but she liked it. “But I cannot say I’ve reached the point of wishing she were a boy just yet. I helped with raising my sister Margot, wouldn't say it fairs well for raising girls either. My mother sure complains about us than she does about my brothers. How old are they? Your older ones?”

"Oh, that's wonderful, congratulations! My family has a strange tendency to the male line for some reason. I'm an only child, but as far as my cousins go Alerik had two sons (illegitimate), Thomas has two sons and a daughter, Henrik has two daughters, Arin has four sons and a daughter, and as mentioned I've got three sons and a daughter. It's just one of those things, I suppose. Felix is 21 and Meyhan's 19, he's majoring in business and she's in the preliminary program for medical school."

---

Linely had come out onto the floor a while ago, but mostly he quietly observed everyone around him. It would be another few minutes before Peri would make her formal stride out onto the floor as the center of attention so it was a good time to see if he'd maybe quickly insert himself somewhere. He saw the Princess Gisella but she rather disappeared into the crowd, oh well no doubt he'd find her eventually, especially with Shaun scouting the floor so-to-speak. Meanwhile, after enough time of just watching and quietly observing and also spotting Chrysanthe wandering around and helping herself to some sweets here and there. Well now was as good as any time to start walking the floor himself and move out, it seems he finally had an opening, a good time too, right now many kind of had their own little groups, hard to jump in the middle of a conversation even if he is the Crowned Prince of Abetton, but this was his sister's special night, not his. He wandered on over to the young men from Brettenwald, they seemed roughly his own age so that made it easy.

"Good evening." He bid, "I'm Prince Linely," Just in case they didn't recognize him, Abetton was after all pretty minor in world politics. "I hope you're enjoying yourselves tonight. My sister will certainly be along soon, she's just hoping to keep the suspense going." He chuckled a little, it was that or Peri and their mother were going over every little detail again and again, Peri could be rather detail oriented when she really wanted to. "Before long though she'll be talking everyone's ear off about the art of equestrianism."

Princess Aischa bint-Idris.
I decided to be a bit more proactive then standing around and waiting for a lad to approach me - they were in puberty, after all, no need to be shy.
I decided to approach the lads from Brettenwald, Kairan in his black uniform (something about him being a junior officer of some sort, as far I have heard) and his brother Maris. The former had just asked out Gisella, which for sure would not be to the liking of my own big brother.
Well... two could play that game.
As I rounded a corner, though, I saw, that someone had beaten me to the punch, namely the big brother of our dear hostess, Crown Prince Linely. Among the lot of us, he did not cut as much of an impressive figure as Crown Prince Ilia, but to be fair Ilia was older and more mature, so Linely had an excuse.
...I should have asked the Lord-Commander of the Navy, if he was interested in attending this shindig. Then again, it would have robbed us of entering with Mahmut like a bunch of bosses.
In any case, I approached the group regardless.
"Before long though she'll be talking everyone's ear off about the art of equestrianism.", Linely just said and I smiled.
"Oh, I don't think, that many people would mind. After all, horses are good companions and wonderful animals.", I said and joined in, "Even if you aren't a Selkie." I bowed my head to the three young men. "Princess Aischa bint-Idris - I hope, that I am not intruding?"

"Hey, good evening," Kairan said, giving Linely a firm handshake. "Prince Kairan Cärrino, of Brettenwald, and this dork is my brother Prince Māris. Yeah, we've been having a great time, I'm hopefully going to be dancing with Princess Gisella later if- ow," he cut off as his brother elbowed him in the side to get his attention, "jackass, what was that for-"

Oh.

What, or rather, who that was for proceeded to introduce herself as Princess Aischa bint-Idris and suddenly made his evening considerably more interesting.
"No, not at all," the older boy said, blushing and subconsciously standing up straighter. "Prince Kairan Cärrino-"
"and Prince Māris," the younger of the two interjected-
"-of Brettenwald, as I was about to say," he finished, giving his brother an irritated look for a brief second.

[Hospe]

Magnus soon returned, talking about his kids and asking if they had any of their own, Cecile smiled “Oh I do Monsieur Magnus! I have a precious thing named Filomena back ‘ome. She was born the twenty-fifth of June.” she couldn’t hide her smile. She loved Filomena too much, it might have been the joy of being a new mother but she liked it. “But I cannot say I’ve reached the point of wishing she were a boy just yet. I helped with raising my sister Margot, wouldn't say it fairs well for raising girls either. My mother sure complains about us than she does about my brothers. How old are they? Your older ones?”

Returning with a small platter of sliders, Daniel overheard Prince Magnus' question. "It's funny you should ask that, before we arrived my mother video called Calista and I and went on for an hour about how none her children wanted to give her grandchildren. Nevermind the fact that I haven't finished school, I'm still lumped in with my siblings."

[Kyrenaia]

[...]
"Hey, good evening," Kairan said, giving Linely a firm handshake. "Prince Kairan Cärrino, of Brettenwald, and this dork is my brother Prince Māris. Yeah, we've been having a great time, I'm hopefully going to be dancing with Princess Gisella later if- ow," he cut off as his brother elbowed him in the side to get his attention, "jackass, what was that for-"

Oh.

What, or rather, who that was for proceeded to introduce herself as Princess Aischa bint-Idris and suddenly made his evening considerably more interesting.
"No, not at all," the older boy said, blushing and subconsciously standing up straighter. "Prince Kairan Cärrino-"
"and Prince Māris," the younger of the two interjected-
"-of Brettenwald, as I was about to say," he finished, giving his brother an irritated look for a brief second.

Princess Aischa bint-Idris.
I of course had seen the older receiving a friendly nudge from his brother to make him aware of me approaching - and I saw the expression he had, standing up straighter and blushing slightly.
He was cute and men in uniform had a certain appeal to them anyway.
"It is a pleasure, gentlemen.", I said and bowed my head slightly to both of them, then turning to Linely. "And it is of course a pleasure to meet you, too, Prince Linely."
There are three things one should never underestimate: RKN Naval Intelligence, the interest of a teenager in gossip rags and the interest of RKN Naval Intelligence in gossip rags.
Turning back to the two Brettenwaldians, I smiled.
"I think, I just heard something about a dance?", I asked, going even more into the offensive. Kairan certainly had my interest and undivided attention, Linely was looking quite dapper, too.

[Polish Prussian Commonwealth]

[quote="Kyrenaia";p="38961025"]
Ida Findehoof.
For a moment, I was tempted to shake my head - right now, there was nothing more import then Berengar and his wellbeing, his anguish and suffering, which I wanted to alleviate, to smother.
And smother him in my love, but that's not the point.
Then I realized, that a change in topic might not be the worst idea, quite on the contrary. A distraction.
But I needed to make one thing undeniably clear: "Don't be sorry.", I told him in hopefully passable Polish, "I will be there for you."
It were simple sentences, sure, but the correspondence course I had begun was not that fast and I was not with it for that long. I smiled at him, however.
"As you can hear, I am learning Polish, though I am no good yet.", I said and smiled, then switched back, "My studies are proceeding apace and I hope, that I will reach a point where I can enter into the diplomatic service soon. The Prince is flirting with the idea of joining SEA and with the idea of marrying my younger sister, so you can imagine, that things are quite hectic right now." I leaned against him, exhaled deeply. "This is nice."[/quote}

Berengar seemed slightly stunned at the sound of Ida's Polish. It was...not just passable. She sounded well-versed, actually, although she still spoke a little 'rigidly' and with an accent.
"...How long have you been learning? You sound amazing!" Berengar said, with a smile. He meant every word of it; he had taken much longer to get to the same level for English. He considered the other going-ons with some intrest - at the mention of the SEA, he nodded. "Aye. There's a summit soon, I hear?" His smile faded as he asked. "There'll be protests in Prussia-Poland, I fear. Not everyone's happy about us joining the SEA, or all the interventions we've done with the Free Lands over the past year."

[Brettenwald]

Princess Aischa bint-Idris.
I of course had seen the older receiving a friendly nudge from his brother to make him aware of me approaching - and I saw the expression he had, standing up straighter and blushing slightly.
He was cute and men in uniform had a certain appeal to them anyway.
"It is a pleasure, gentlemen.", I said and bowed my head slightly to both of them, then turning to Linely. "And it is of course a pleasure to meet you, too, Prince Linely."
There are three things one should never underestimate: RKN Naval Intelligence, the interest of a teenager in gossip rags and the interest of RKN Naval Intelligence in gossip rags.
Turning back to the two Brettenwaldians, I smiled.
"I think, I just heard something about a dance?", I asked, going even more into the offensive. Kairan certainly had my interest and undivided attention, Linely was looking quite dapper, too.

"It's a pleasure for us as well, Princess," Kairan said in response. "You certainly did. I'd just mentioned asking Princess Gisella for a dance, considering certain ongoing events it felt like the nice thing to do just to say 'hey, we're not all bad' but I think your brother beat me to it so I'll be waiting my turn." Gisella was cute, granted, but compared to Aischa that wasn't enough to get the islander princess out of a definite second place. Another blush. He was normally pretty confident around young ladies, or so he thought, so why was Aischa tying him in knots?

The short answer was a major crush, but he'd deal with that later.

"And, if I may, I'd like to ask you for a dance as well."

[New Visayan Islands]

Francis Cui
Castle Liek

"Not directly, no. As a former president, I'm not as up to date on personalities as my successor," Francis replied. "But then again, if this 'prince' is the most likely to assume control of Medwedia from its late president...words cannot express how horrifying I can imagine it would be for that country's citizens."
"May I be frank?" Theresa added. "I strongly suspect that this Mikael would be near-universally disliked if how he behaves is typical."

[Lux Pulchrae]

"Oh, that's wonderful, congratulations! My family has a strange tendency to the male line for some reason. I'm an only child, but as far as my cousins go Alerik had two sons (illegitimate), Thomas has two sons and a daughter, Henrik has two daughters, Arin has four sons and a daughter, and as mentioned I've got three sons and a daughter. It's just one of those things, I suppose. Felix is 21 and Meyhan's 19, he's majoring in business and she's in the preliminary program for medical school."

Returning with a small platter of sliders, Daniel overheard Prince Magnus' question. "It's funny you should ask that, before we arrived my mother video called Calista and I and went on for an hour about how none her children wanted to give her grandchildren. Nevermind the fact that I haven't finished school, I'm still lumped in with my siblings."

“Oh merci Prince Magnus.” She thanked him, smiling at the congratulations. She listened as he went on to describe his family “That’s quite the number of children your cousins ‘ave. Especially the number of boys. Very impressive. And your own children too, on their careers. With so many in the family, it’s a wonder you say you’re an only child. Sorry if I offend.” Cecile nervously chuckled, hoping she didn’t step on any toes. Then she thought for a second, what if she had gone on to university? Well she didn’t really have any plans after secondary, and any were derailed by her marriage.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Daniel’s reentrance, returning with food and giving his own contribution before she responded kindly “Oh I wouldn’t worry myself so much about that if I were you Prince Daniel. My mother-in-law bothered me and Cleone about a child the day after our wedding.” The queen reminisced “You’re young right? Your sister as well? You ‘ave plenty of years left for that.”

[Abetton]

Prince Linely

"Good to meet you both." Linely responded to the Princes introducing themselves, it seems they too were interested in Gisella, gee this Princess was certainly catching a lot of attention, because Peri's idea was to invite her and get Linely closely acquainted. Some competition it seems, well that is what it is, plenty of fine young ladies in the Kingdom to consider courting if it came to it, just hope things would work out in the end. Suddenly someone else joined them, adding onto what he was saying about his sister, it was Princess Aischa bint-Idris from Kyrenaia.

"Oh, I don't think, that many people would mind. After all, horses are good companions and wonderful animals.", I said and joined in, "Even if you aren't a Selkie." I bowed my head to the three young men. "Princess Aischa bint-Idris - I hope, that I am not intruding?"

"Milady, good evening to you" He took her hand to give it the gentle proper kiss. "Not intruding at all, I was just informing that my sister should be descending soon enough. As I mentioned and you so heard, she's a real horse enthusiast, I can always find her around the stables tending to her dear Sugar. And I hope you're enjoying yourself this evening, we've all worked hard to make this a special night."

[Mervay]

Corette V of Mervay and Rosalina Anna Maria Da Mervay
Castle Liek
A carriage, an ancient method of transport that can be considered now obsolete beyond the more touristic and cultural uses; like coronations for example, but debut parties were also another place where they could be used.
Which bring us to the current situation, two women were sitting on the carriage that took them to their destination; Castle Lieke. It was certainly a surprise that a carriage would be waiting for them at the airport after their landing, but then again, it was welcoming when considering the importance of the event. The debut of one of the House of Latimer's Princesses to the world, and the Kingdom of Abetton did certainly gained attention after the whole debacle that was the rupture of relations between AHSCA and Kyrenaia; one that gave headches to everyone involved and made her confirm even further that Agus was certainly a workalcoholic by obligation rather than choice when she had to, or perhaps both. But at least now ever since the Kyrenaian State Visit of last year, they did made progress on making sure she was on stable balance between work, studies, excercises and personal life.
Which was something the older twin sister was grateful and so was the woman besides her, for her age she certainly looked younger than one might think, but it was undeniable that the woman besides her was none other than the former Queen of Mervay, her mother Circe III; Duchess of Bartolomeo alongside her father, which couldn't join them sadly, it was related to the fact that this travel and family time with her mother should be spent between the two of them; a feeling which her silbings supported after acting as regent during that ordeal, and another personal fact. Her father, while not an overly romantic man, decided to prepare an surprise for his wife in regards to their anniversary and with him using the excuse of aiding Ari and Agus with their tasks; what better way than to make sure she didn't knew than having her enjoy some quality time with her second eldest daughter.

She does have to give him credit, it came off entirely like if time was against him, and knowing how those two are when it came to that time of their own alone, he was able to request her mother to go with either of their childs to this event and kill two birds with one stone. And so, they were both dressed for the occasion. Her Mother came dressed in an navy blue evening dress that certainly fitted her well, while she; she decided to go with an an more lighter blue dress that was joined by a pair of gloves on her arms. Their objects of value were either on the plane, or in their clutch bag or clutch purses.

"Something on your mind my child?" The Princess got out of her thoughts the moment she heard that voice, her mind so busy with her dress and other areas such as her studies and the event at hand that she forgot about her. Corette could only look at the voice and sigh.

"My apologies mom, I was just busy with my own thoughts." With everything going on, heck she is still processing what her younger sister told them a few days ago; and the only reason was evident, she trusted them well enough for her to tell them the bombshell. They promised to keep it secret of course, and by obvious reasons, the agents that went with her, Darius and Celia, promised to also seal their lips on the matter; even if by now what she told them was on a hunch of a complicated thought of her about the rights and wrongs of such feelings alongside the sudden implication and other issues. "It's more or less related to last month's fallout..." It was a half-truth considerng what she knew, but her younger sister made them promise to not tell their parents, at least not yet until Agus was sure of it.

"Considering your were part of it by proxy as you had your say in the mediation as one of the actors with Prime Minister Vianna on one of his last major events internationally speaking. I believe Agus owns you a lot for having taken the bureaucratic functions of the crown, even if some of them were ceremonial." She chuckled at her mother's smile as she told her that, clearly they both found it funny and warm, alongside the fact her sister certainly owned her a favour by aiding in the whole act as the rest was away.

"Well, she did called dad and you to help as well, more considering the situations that happened at the same time." They were very helpful on aiding her on that temporal regency she had as almost everyone was away. Agus with Princess Aurelia, Luci dealing with The Sultana and Ari in AHSCA dealing with the Duchess alongside the Chancellor. Of course her mother smiled warmly.

"Well, we did gave you a push on that area before we mostly adviced you so it's fair to say you did the heavy lifting dear." She smiled warmly as her hands clapped together with an slight tilt of her head. By then their vehicle finally stopped on their destination.

The two woman got out of their carriage and so were led to the ballroom floor, where they discovered how late they were as there was already quite an interesting amount of people. Ohh well... At least they got just fine considering the Princess wasn't present; hopefully.

[Kyrenaia]

"It's a pleasure for us as well, Princess," Kairan said in response. "You certainly did. I'd just mentioned asking Princess Gisella for a dance, considering certain ongoing events it felt like the nice thing to do just to say 'hey, we're not all bad' but I think your brother beat me to it so I'll be waiting my turn." Gisella was cute, granted, but compared to Aischa that wasn't enough to get the islander princess out of a definite second place. Another blush. He was normally pretty confident around young ladies, or so he thought, so why was Aischa tying him in knots?

The short answer was a major crush, but he'd deal with that later.

"And, if I may, I'd like to ask you for a dance as well."

Prince Linely

"Good to meet you both." Linely responded to the Princes introducing themselves, it seems they too were interested in Gisella, gee this Princess was certainly catching a lot of attention, because Peri's idea was to invite her and get Linely closely acquainted. Some competition it seems, well that is what it is, plenty of fine young ladies in the Kingdom to consider courting if it came to it, just hope things would work out in the end. Suddenly someone else joined them, adding onto what he was saying about his sister, it was Princess Aischa bint-Idris from Kyrenaia.

"Oh, I don't think, that many people would mind. After all, horses are good companions and wonderful animals.", I said and joined in, "Even if you aren't a Selkie." I bowed my head to the three young men. "Princess Aischa bint-Idris - I hope, that I am not intruding?"

"Milady, good evening to you" He took her hand to give it the gentle proper kiss. "Not intruding at all, I was just informing that my sister should be descending soon enough. As I mentioned and you so heard, she's a real horse enthusiast, I can always find her around the stables tending to her dear Sugar. And I hope you're enjoying yourself this evening, we've all worked hard to make this a special night."

Princess Aischa bint-Idris.
While Linelly kissed my hand like a proper gentleman, he explained to me about his sister's enthusiasm about horses - she would get along swimmingly with Siham. Though, Aurelia maybe as well, despite her interests as of late shifting to more horsepowers as of late.
Anyway, I curtsied at his kiss and nodded.
"Indeed, it is a beautiful evening... despite some rude interruptions as of late...", I said, referring to the whole debacle of the Medwedian 'Emperor's' announcement and the rather lackluster reaction to it. "Regardless, it is an enjoyable evening. One, which will be more enjoyable, as it seems."
With that, I turned back to Kairan, who was blushing and not as confident as he had been with Gisella. Was somebody crushing? Maybe... I'd have to test it out in the near future.
His reasoning for asking Gisella for a dance was certainly sound, she needed a highlight to her days these days and Mahmut might not have been the right guy to deliver it.
In any case...
"I would love to have a dance with you later, Prince Kairan.", I said and bowed my head lightly, "Though, if I may ask, what sort of dance would you prefer? Something fast and passionate or a slow, sedate dance?"

Corette V of Mervay and Rosalina Anna Maria Da Mervay
Castle Liek
A carriage, an ancient method of transport that can be considered now obsolete beyond the more touristic and cultural uses; like coronations for example, but debut parties were also another place where they could be used.
Which bring us to the current situation, two women were sitting on the carriage that took them to their destination; Castle Lieke. It was certainly a surprise that a carriage would be waiting for them at the airport after their landing, but then again, it was welcoming when considering the importance of the event. The debut of one of the House of Latimer's Princesses to the world, and the Kingdom of Abetton did certainly gained attention after the whole debacle that was the rupture of relations between AHSCA and Kyrenaia; one that gave headches to everyone involved and made her confirm even further that Agus was certainly a workalcoholic by obligation rather than choice when she had to, or perhaps both. But at least now ever since the Kyrenaian State Visit of last year, they did made progress on making sure she was on stable balance between work, studies, excercises and personal life.
Which was something the older twin sister was grateful and so was the woman besides her, for her age she certainly looked younger than one might think, but it was undeniable that the woman besides her was none other than the former Queen of Mervay, her mother Circe III; Duchess of Bartolomeo alongside her father, which couldn't join them sadly, it was related to the fact that this travel and family time with her mother should be spent between the two of them; a feeling which her silbings supported after acting as regent during that ordeal, and another personal fact. Her father, while not an overly romantic man, decided to prepare an surprise for his wife in regards to their anniversary and with him using the excuse of aiding Ari and Agus with their tasks; what better way than to make sure she didn't knew than having her enjoy some quality time with her second eldest daughter.

She does have to give him credit, it came off entirely like if time was against him, and knowing how those two are when it came to that time of their own alone, he was able to request her mother to go with either of their childs to this event and kill two birds with one stone. And so, they were both dressed for the occasion. Her Mother came dressed in an navy blue evening dress that certainly fitted her well, while she; she decided to go with an an more lighter blue dress that was joined by a pair of gloves on her arms. Their objects of value were either on the plane, or in their clutch bag or clutch purses.

"Something on your mind my child?" The Princess got out of her thoughts the moment she heard that voice, her mind so busy with her dress and other areas such as her studies and the event at hand that she forgot about her. Corette could only look at the voice and sigh.

"My apologies mom, I was just busy with my own thoughts." With everything going on, heck she is still processing what her younger sister told them a few days ago; and the only reason was evident, she trusted them well enough for her to tell them the bombshell. They promised to keep it secret of course, and by obvious reasons, the agents that went with her, Darius and Celia, promised to also seal their lips on the matter; even if by now what she told them was on a hunch of a complicated thought of her about the rights and wrongs of such feelings alongside the sudden implication and other issues. "It's more or less related to last month's fallout..." It was a half-truth considerng what she knew, but her younger sister made them promise to not tell their parents, at least not yet until Agus was sure of it.

"Considering your were part of it by proxy as you had your say in the mediation as one of the actors with Prime Minister Vianna on one of his last major events internationally speaking. I believe Agus owns you a lot for having taken the bureaucratic functions of the crown, even if some of them were ceremonial." She chuckled at her mother's smile as she told her that, clearly they both found it funny and warm, alongside the fact her sister certainly owned her a favour by aiding in the whole act as the rest was away.

"Well, she did called dad and you to help as well, more considering the situations that happened at the same time." They were very helpful on aiding her on that temporal regency she had as almost everyone was away. Agus with Princess Aurelia, Luci dealing with The Sultana and Ari in AHSCA dealing with the Duchess alongside the Chancellor. Of course her mother smiled warmly.

"Well, we did gave you a push on that area before we mostly adviced you so it's fair to say you did the heavy lifting dear." She smiled warmly as her hands clapped together with an slight tilt of her head. By then their vehicle finally stopped on their destination.

The two woman got out of their carriage and so were led to the ballroom floor, where they discovered how late they were as there was already quite an interesting amount of people. Ohh well... At least they got just fine considering the Princess wasn't present; hopefully.

Princess Siham ibn-Idris.
Mahmut and I stood a bit to the side and waited for a nice opening, chatting all the while, until it presented itself: The silver-haired, blue-eyed, nine-year-older-then-Mahmut Corette V of Mervay, one of the siblings of Queen Callista and, more importantly, of Prince Pandereos.
By coincidence, Mahmut had met him in the Large Hammam of the Palace of the Azure Hall when the Mervayans had organized the mediation between us and the UIS.
She was accompanied by Lady Rosalina Anna Maria Da Mervay, blonde, blue eyed and a mature woman.
In any case, Mahmut, never one to aim low, smiled at me and I nodded.
We began to move towards them and when we were close enough, my brother cleared his throat to gain their attention and, with a lot of self-confidence, which he had, he smiled especially at Princess Corette.
"Good evening, Your Royal Highness, Ma'am.", he greeted them and bowed his head, deeply and respectfully. I did it similarly. "If I may say so, Princess Corette, you look absolutely radiant tonight. I am Prince Mahmut ibn-Idris, this is my sister Siham."
"Good evening, Your Royal Highness. Ma'am.", I said and bowed my head deeply.
"I had the pleasure of meeting your brother, Prince Pandereos, a few months ago.", Mahmut continued, "If I may ask, how is he?"

Berengar seemed slightly stunned at the sound of Ida's Polish. It was...not just passable. She sounded well-versed, actually, although she still spoke a little 'rigidly' and with an accent.
"...How long have you been learning? You sound amazing!" Berengar said, with a smile. He meant every word of it; he had taken much longer to get to the same level for English. He considered the other going-ons with some intrest - at the mention of the SEA, he nodded. "Aye. There's a summit soon, I hear?" His smile faded as he asked. "There'll be protests in Prussia-Poland, I fear. Not everyone's happy about us joining the SEA, or all the interventions we've done with the Free Lands over the past year."

Ida Findehoof.
Berengar was surprised and stunned by my Polish and especially by how good it apparently was. I smiled and got in a short "For a few months now. It was a supposed to be a surprise for you... it worked, apparently."
And then, it was right back to politics.
And the recent rise in Selkie-Interventionism. The War of Italian Independence, the going-ons in Lybia, a few other things...
"Yeah, the Free Lands are discovering interventionism for themselves.", I said and shook my head. "Not to everyone's delight there as well, from what Kiah and my Father tell me. But while there be some protests against that, the majority of the Selkie are happy with SEA - especially after the debacle that were the first COVID-Waves and the SEA-Aid, that came during these times. Many Selkie also hope for economic benefits, once the trade flows freely again."

[AHSCA]

Anna tended to her hair as the carriage went on its journey towards the castle. Her sisters, Evelyn and Tieria, looked at their sister and giggled a little bit.

"What?" Anna said, still fiddling with her hair even more.

"You care too much about your hair Anna, just let it be already, you checked it when you got here," Tieria said.

The triplets were called "The Jewels of the Empire", all three of them being the first set of triplets in the Imperial and Royal Family. This isn't any of their first official outings, however this is their first outing together without any accompanying chaperone.

"You know, if you focused a bit less on your hair maybe you could help me with mine sometimes," Evelyn teased, Tieria giggling a bit at the comment.

"You already know how to do your own. Besides, I think I look better this way," Anna said, finishing with her hair.

The three of them were all dressed appropriately for the event. They al wore similar gowns, Evelyn wore a blue dress with her hair down, Anna a white dress braided with a bun, and Tieria wore a red dress with her hair in a normal bun. All three of them wore the crimson sash and star that came with the Most Royal Order of the Vine. The three of them were going to meet fellow young royals, their mother wanted them to get a taste of royal life without their parents, since they were still young and their mother didn't want them to lose focus of their reason for being the Princess' of the Empire.

Still, the three of them were finally going to attend a royal event alone. It was exciting for the three of them, and they would get to meet all kinds of new people.

"You know, it's kind of weird not having mother or father with us," Evelyn said. Even though they were almost grown adults, she couldn't sake the weird feeling.

"I know, but at least we can wander off now without mother frantically searching for us," Tieria said.

"Still, weird feeling," Evelyn said back.

They all sat in silence before Evelyn chimed back in.

"Don't forget though, mother asked us to be courteous to everyone, so try not to look bad, even if we're alone we're still representing the family," she said.

"Yeah we know, but even mother doesn't follow that rule much you know that," Tieria chimed in.

Evelyn let out a small sigh before saying, "Yes, I know, just don't overdo it, I wouldn't expect her to care if we're ourselves however."

The three of them chatted together during their ride to the castle until they were let out by the guard. Each one of them thanked the guard before walking up to the castle. When they entered they were met with something that felt like home. Although more Pagan then Catholic, it reminded them of the Milan Palace where they lived, large and elegant, paintings everywhere. Once the butlers took their coats they decided to split up.

"I'll be over in the main room, don't lose track of where you are!" Tieria said, going off immediately to the snack stand and the main hall of people.

"She's going to be disappointed when she joins the navy," Anna said as their sister left earshot.

"She sure is. I'm going to go look at art, you just take it easy out there," Evelyn said, walking off to admire the castle.

Anna was left by herself now, and decided that she would join the main ensemble of people that had already gathered in the hall.

I should probably keep Tieria in check for now, don't want her eating too much, she said to herself as she walked towards the main body of people.

Gisella had taken a little time to use the washroom, then returned to the floor. "Boy I think more people have arrived." She actually lost sight of where the young men from Brettenwald were or the Prince and Princess from Kyrenaia were at now. Oh well, very likely she'd bump into them sooner or later. She passed by any number of people in conversation as she wandered the floor, honestly no real destination or place in mind, maybe she could just insert herself somewhere and take up space. Staff members she passed would wish her a "Good evening" and Gisella of course would give a nod and smile back as well.

"My little crowded." Gisella pushed her way around, well gently of course finding a little reprieve where there wasn't as many people. Seeing someone next to her, "Oh, good evening!"