I'll Find Strength In Pain (queen tiana)

[lili]

"Where is my mother? No, I don't care that I'm tracking mud on the floors just now! Where is the queen?"

Had her current situation not looked so dire, Christabel might have laughed at the look on the poor servant's face. And the princess was a sight, damp from melted snow, wearing trousers, her hair loose down her back, and tracking mud wherever she walked. Normally, she would not think of seeing her mother like this, but just now she did not feel she had time to clean up. She had something far too important to tell her mother.

When the man had stuttered out an answer and pointed her in the right direction, Christabel broke into a run, leaving a bemused servant staring after her. But with the news of Lady Gray's capture on her lips, nothing else seemed important in comparison. Already, Christabel could feel the hands of guilt twisting her stomach into knots. How could she have allowed her lady-in-waiting to go in her place? How could she have let herself be such a coward? Runnori only knew what the filthy Mar'volians were doing to the the poor girl at that very moment. Surely, Celvi's charade could not last long. Surely, someone would know what the Princess of Lamora should have looked like. And what would become of Lady Gray then? The complete and utter horror of Celvi's situation washed over her then. Captured by Mar'volian men with no way out - no path of escape. No way to know if the monarchy would deem her important enough to rescue. At least if it had been Christabel they had taken, she would have been sure of being rescued. She would have been sure they would not harm her for fear of losing her as leverage. But Celvi was vulnerable, and she could only keep up the charade for so long. But how long did they have to rescue her? How long before she was harmed or worse by the Mar'volian dogs?

"Mother!"

Christabel's cry rang out, echoing against the palace walls, sharp and desperate. "Mother, please!"

(ooc: sorry that was such crap xD)

[queen]

Once again another morning spent going over useless information that the Lords of the court had to "share" with their majesty. Tiana swallowed an unprofessional sigh as she waved away the last of the stuttering and flustered Lords, who all seemed to become the darkest shade of red at any question their Queen had to probe them with. She certainly had her work cut out for her today.

Her eyes trailed off to the outside, frozen and wintry, and she vaguely listened to the scribe as he read back over to his Queen what she had just heard for the last two hours. At least from the calm voice it was refreshing, rather than the permanently upset men she called her court. She nodded as she deemed it important to actually pay attention. But for some reason, something was drawing her away from her duties. Something was wrong. She could feel it. Of course, things were always wrong lately, a war was brewing off, quickly approaching, never spoken of outside of this room. But this sensation the Queen was feeling seemed closer to home...

She gave a slight jolt when she heard a sudden shuffling coming from the corridors outside the room. Brows furrowing, she stirred herself from her reverie and looked to the closed oak doors, along with several other Lords and servants.

"Must be trouble." One of the men stated, and Tiana couldn't hold back a scoff that time, unladylike though it might be. She rolled her eyes towards the Lord.

"Well, thank you, my obvious Lord Tilten. That will be all from you." she rose herself when no one moved to answer the callings, which she now heard to be coming from her daughter, and sounding urgent. A worm of concern coiled in Tiana's stomach. The doors opened to let the Queen through and she spotted her daughter in the corridor, pacing towards her with growing surprise.

"...In the name of Runnori..." she muttered to herself as she took in Christabel's complete ensemble, head to foot in mud, hair hanging everywhere, riding pants and all. Oh what pride the Princess bestowed upon her mother.

"Christabel. May I inquire as to why you might be calling me as though we lived in a barnyard and our drove of PIGS have just escaped?" she kept her tone at a respectable volume, but the anger was evident in her voice. She could feel the entire room of Lords, servants, advisers and scribe staring at her from inside the Hall as she met Christabel in the middle of the corridor, staring coldly down at her.

[Pretty sure I take the crappy award on this one, dear, so you're good. I think yours is great!! ;D ]

[lili]

Christabel opened her mouth to call out again, but the cry died on her lips as two oak doors opened wide to reveal Queen Tiana, a rather displeased look on her face as she appraised her daughter. A room full of men Christabel recognized from the court stared out after her, gaping at the state Lamora's princess was in. Even as rebellious as she usually was, Christabel usually would not allow members of the court - least of all her mother - to see her this way. But Christabel could not have cared less about what they all thought at a time like this.

Proud and poised as she usually was, Christabel was - for the moment - stripped down by fear and feeling like a child again. Her mother's displeasure seemed small in comparison to whatever Celvi was enduring for her sake, and Christabel was imagining the absolute worst. Her mother's voice - filled with easily controlled displeasure - floated towards her. It was as if she felt that even her tone of voice must always be queenly. But sixteen-year-old Christabel was far from queenly - she had many years left before she would have to be. She barely managed to keep her tone even.

"One of my ladies has been captured. A Lady Gray. We were ambushed by Mar'volians. They came for me, and they took her by mistake."

It was all her fault. Christabel knew that. And her insides, twisting painfully with guilt, knew that. First for riding without a gaurd. Then for allowing Celvi to play the hero. Her earlier notions that riding with a guard was stifling, that riding without one lent her borrowed freedom - all of it could not have looked more stupid now. No, not just stupid - selfish. She had put her lady's life in danger because she thirsted for freedom, because she had thought herself invincible. And for the first time in many years, Christabel wished she could collapse into her mother's arms like when she was a child, that her mother's arms around her would protect her from the world, from her own feelings of guilt and inadequacy.