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Post by queen on Aug 12, 2011 21:07:50 GMT -7
It was not as if she chose the life she lived.
The Queen was deep in thought as she stared emotionless over the Kingdom beneath her balcony. Her slim hands resting on the stone railing blocking her from the fate her sister had chosen, she let her mind wander in the morning sunlight. It was one of those days. Those days that made Tiana just a tad more than off-key, as her husband used to call it. Off-key, his term for feeling just slightly off who you normally are. He would always tease her on days like this, suggest with a nonchalant tone that she take a holiday. And she always answered with the same statement: Holidays do not become a Queen.
But that was so long ago, even when it seemed like yesterday to her. On one hand, she expected to turn around and see him scratching away on parchment at his desk the typical brilliant thoughts swimming in his head, on the other she understood that where he was now, that was not possible. All she had left of him was her daughter's smile.
She heaved a sigh. It was rare to hear that escaping the Queen of Lamora's lips, but she was alone and she didn't care what people thought today. She was off in her own little world, trying to dwell on what was good in the world. But nowadays it was hard to locate the good. There was something brewing off outside the edges of Lamora, and it was spreading fast. She had to prepare, but how do you prepare for something that is uncertain? Tiana lowered her head, closing her eyes when they stung against the brightness of the sun.
She heard the knock on the oak door and she kept her eyes closed as she answered simply, flatly: "Enter.", lifting her head when the door swung inward on its hinges. She could almost sense who it was, or was it just hope taking over? Either way, she opened her eyes and narrowed them into the Kingdom view below, heaving her second sigh of the morning.
"The Kingdom... it seems to grow larger by the day." she stated lowly, without any exact emotion behind it. And she waited with hope to hear his voice.
~*~
{OOC: Ohh well. Not really satisfied. Let me know if you need me to edit! Wouldn't blame ya!}
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Post by Chase Cantwell on Aug 12, 2011 21:49:56 GMT -7
Chase had been awake since the sun had breached the hillside, wandering aimlessly around the hallways as he awaited a decent hour to make his routine appearance to the Queen. He traced through deserted passages and empty hallways, mindlessly taking turns here and there until he found himself at the doors to his employer’s chambers. He stood outside for a few moments chewing on the inside of his cheek, debating over the idea on whether to enter or wait another hour to do so. His better judgement overcame his need to be lazy and not confront whatever task she had for him to complete today.
Running a callused hand through his tousled locks, Chase habitually straightened his pale blue tunic, rocked his shoulders back and straightened his posture. He inhaled slowly through his nose then exhaled and raised his hand to rasp the oak doors; signaling his presence and awaiting permission to enter. Her voice met his ears and he quickly pushed the door ajar and slipped in. He walked lightly on the smooth, polished stone flooring, his adapted nature spring up in the mask he wore so well in the presence of high Society. Her regal voice floating on air, snapped his attention up off his posture and toward the Queen as he strode a few feet closer mapping his reply silently in his mind. “Aye Majesty, the city prospers well under your guidance even in such dire times as we are in” he mused brightly, nodding his head ever so slightly in agreement to his own words. He stood, spine stiff as a rod and expression neutrally placed as he awaited her next words.
{yuck yuck yuck, if you want me to change it, let me know}
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Post by queen on Aug 12, 2011 22:08:08 GMT -7
Tiana heard his footsteps quietly sounding through the room in the same pattern she heard daily. The step of a man with a mission, a self-respect and honor to the Queen of Lamora. Chase Cantwell.
“Aye Majesty, the city prospers well under your guidance even in such dire times as we are in”
A small smile curved her lips upward and she lowered her eyes again in amusement, huffing out the quietest laugh. What a wonderfully respectful and safe answer. How completely-- predictable. But in a very sweet way, because it gave her a kind of encouragement to carry through the day.
"Ah, Chase, you use flattery this morning." She stole one last look upon her lands before turning around to re-enter her bedchambers, leaving the warm sunlight of the balcony and taking a moment by the doorway to allow her eyes to adjust to the room. When his bright, confident face broke through the gray splotches in her eyes from the sunlight, she dared a soft smile (without the showing of teeth naturally), and glided towards the desk in the corner of the bed chambers.
"Though you are correct in one regard. These are dire times indeed. Yet still the people go about life as if nothing is at threat. Tell me, from your opinion...do they choose to act blind or are they truly unaware of the murmurings?" she felt thoughtful today, and she did not really care if Chase was caught off guard at being asked his opinion. He should expect it by now, she seemed to be in these moods so much more often lately, and he seemed the only one around when she was. It was not as if he had any choice on whether to give his opinion or not. If he denied his Queen an answer, gods only know what might come of him. At least, that was probably the way he and every other lower class citizen of Lamora thought when it came to disobeying the Queen. She had no idea where these assumptions came from, but alas, wasn't it that way in every Kingdom of Ion?
She began shifting through letters and documents scattered "neatly" on her desk, not really searching for anything in particular, besides ease of mind. She knew that was impossible, but anything temporary she would even take...
~*~
{OOC: I liiiiked your reply so there!! Mine's full of rambling. I guess my mind has shut down for the night.  }
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Post by Chase Cantwell on Aug 12, 2011 23:05:11 GMT -7
Chase tucked his hands behind his back respectfully and half stepped backward as she reentered the room. He felt a soft burn of color rise to his cheeks to her reply. No matter how hard he tried, the Queen always managed to see through his actions even those as simple as trying to compliment her actions to her country. But despite brining slight embarrassment to her messenger, it was a skill valuable for sure and one that surely came in hand when debating high matters that came with the business of running a prosperous country on the brink of war with a formidable enemy.
He studied the Queen as she strode to her desk with a stride marked with an aura of a woman with great power and wisdom. Her posture masked any sort of clue on her mood today, leaving him to the mercy of her words. She was brilliant at physically masking her emotions but her use of diplomatic terminology often betrayed her true intentions to one skilled in decoding her moods through her speech.
Her words drifted on the silence of the room as he digested their meaning and the intention they masked behind their trickily innocent question. She was in a mood he found her often in; one that must be handled carefully in his opinion or dastardly results could be sired from a misstep on his part.
Once she was seated, he meandered closer a reply forming his mind. He stopped a decent space away and dipped his gaze to the floor for a brief second before rising back toward his employer. “Majesty, with all honesty,” he started slowly, his brows furrowing with thought, “I believe the people act in ways to keep normality alive and well in their lives as long as possible without succumbing to the pressure of a creature so black as war. I am certain they are aware of our country’s position but refuse to grasp and nurture the thought until the need to do so is absolute.”
He let the last words hang off his lips as he debated the result to his honesty. His gaze dropped back to the floor to mindlessly study his boot toes as he awaited her reply. Hopefully her words are what she wished to hear and nothing to bold to result in dislike from an individual who one must keep in good favor.
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Post by queen on Aug 16, 2011 20:53:05 GMT -7
The Queen could feel Chase's eyes on her as she strode towards her desk. She wasn't surprised, she was never without eyes watching her every move, possibly because she was pleasant to look at, but more likely because she was their Queen, and they were showing respect by making sure not to miss any of her slightest movements. She was used to it, and it wasn't against the law after all, to gaze upon your Queen with any light, whether love or hatred. It was when you spoke the words that according actions would be taken in any direction.
A thoughtful silence descended on the room after her simple question. Well, to her at least it sounded simple enough. But Chase so often liked to give the proper answer, his play on words and his voice made it pleasing to hear most of his responses to even her slightest questions. In a completely respectable manner, Tiana admired this boy's thoughtfulness. He was certainly wise beyond his years, which was why she could often find herself asking him questions like this one. She was intrigued by his answers every time.
She listened with the same blank expression, staring at the parchment littering her desk as he formed the words that to be honest had not occurred to her until he worded them such as this. Truly, a bright flame of a messenger he was.
"Hm." she began in a low tone, mulling over his words with the greatest searching in her eyes, and then she looked at him, but he was looking down. Was he regretting the honest words he had spoken? "Chase Cantwell, look at me." she paused a moment to give him time. And then the slightest smile passed her lips, honest but respectable, as any Queen was given leave to smile. Not too much, not too little.
"Those words were the most enlightening I have heard in a long while. Spoken so simply, yet your Queen never grasped them until you voiced them. There is no reason to think otherwise. Understood?...Thank you. For being the first person within miles of this Castle to speak their minds in the face of the Queen of Lamora. It's--" she thought a moment, nodding once, "Refreshing."
She looked back down to her desk, shuffling through a few papers. It was time to get down to business, the daily order of things. It was time to be a Queen again. "Now, what have we to address today?" she let her eyes scan over pages of parchment, words she had had written days beforehand, letting the question hang in the air.
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