[h3][center][color=burlywood]Niklas Casimier König of Königreich der Welten, of the Bundeswehr Welt Armee[/color][/center][/h3] [hr][hr] Niklas König rolled easily out of his residence at the Kingdom of Acrias’s guestroom bed at precisely 6:00 a.m., right when the alarm by the bedside went off. Dressed in nothing but his underpants, he stretched luxuriously- not unlikely a cat- before he ambled over to his closet to get dressed. Not five minutes after he had awoke with military precision, there was a polite knock on the door- followed by the entrance of his bodyguard and military mentor, Albrecht Kühn. Roughly, in his German-laced English, the wide-shouldered [i]Hauptmann[/i], or Captain, greeted his charge with his usual rumbling and self-assured tone. “Good morning, [i]herr[/i] König. I see you’re already preparing for the meet and greet with the rest of the royalties. It will be an intriguing thing, to see so many children from so many cultures at one place, each with so much influence.” The soldier paused for a moment, before reconsidering. “Each with various amounts of influence.” Niklas gave a wry smile at his guard- a former GSG9 agent, of the elite Konigreich antiterrorist unit- and turned away to finish getting dressed. “And many of them insignificant in their influence, at that.” He couldn’t help but think a bit lower of those two or three that came from citystates- not real kingdoms. His father ruled over two thousand cities, towns, and villages- and those few came from single cities with the power to stand alone. What significance did they bring? His future saw him placed with the burden to take care of his entire nation, and likely more- there might be as many settlements that he looked over as there were people for one of them. [hr] Ten minutes later found Niklas in more or less the same place, but fully clothed in his [url=http://i41.tinypic.com/1z20n4p.jpg]dress uniform[/url]. Black slacks, light steel grey coat uniform, light blue collared shirt, with his few decorations. After a moment’s thought, however, he took all of them off- there was no real procedure for wearing military decorations at a civilian event, and so he thought it wiser if he didn’t have what few he was honored with on his uniform, not for the first meet. The uniform alone would unsettle some of them, he expected. No need to wear his medal-and-rope marksman decoration. Settled with his wear, he turned on his heel and strode out through the door, closing it softly behind him. He felt rather than heard Albrecht falling into step behind him, from standing guard by his door. They walked straight-backed, unconsciously in cadence with each other, even if their arms were swinging loosely (though well in time with each other) at their sides. His father, he knew, would not be present for the first few days of the meet and greet- there was critical business that came up last minute, and besides, it’s always better to be a little late to the party. When you’re one of the most important people going, they’re all going to be coming to you- especially if it’s known that you might be leaning one direction or another, and you want to convince him to continue that path, or to switch. The common palace folk stared at them as they walked; foreign dignitaries walking through the castle as if it were their own, navigating it seamlessly. That was, in part, due to his studying of the castle’s blueprints; he knew where all the major and minor hallways and corridors led, as well as some of the more obvious landmarks and exits. In addition to that, he had a jewel in his ear- something similar to the Bluetooth headsets, but these were strictly Konigreich military hardware- that had a tactical officer on the other side, ready to keep him updated on the profiles of all the royalty present. By no means was he cheating; he had been working on the files of these royalties for ages, familiarizing himself with the information gathered, whether publically or secretly. The tactical officer was just there to give him reminders; remembering all the details about all the different people would be too difficult on his own. Either way, he thumbed the small switch at the top of his right pocket, and vocalized the words in his native Germanic. [i]Systems check; everything up and running?[/i] There were several moments of silence before a soft feminine voice seemed to whisper in his ear in the same language- [i]”Received, Kingsman. Green across the board. I’ve got all the profiles up and maps ready, over.”[/i] [i]Affirmative, Tactical. Stand by.[/i] After another soft affirmative from the tactical officer, Niklas nodded to himself; this would work. Behind him, [i]Hauptmann[/i] Kuhn nodded to himself as well; Niklas was doing everything well. Up right on time, dressed on time, a premature systems check. He approved. It was at this point that they reached the entry corridor, one of the major hallways that opened out onto the castle’s front lawn from its starting point at the entrance to one of the great halls. Taking this straight outside, he’d meet up with Raven and her royal parents; their hosts for this venture. Her parents weren’t really a concern, right now- they were for his father to deal with, when he finally arrived. He wondered if they were a little steamed, at that- his father not showing up as planned or scheduled. His mother could be excused, of course- she was dead. Probably. No one really knew, and the few that did know will never speak of it- such as his father. But, some secrets have very good reasons to be secret, and thus, should remain as such. Either way, as he arrived in the entrance where Raven and her parents would be greeting everyone, he gave a small smile and half-bow to the girl before taking his own position. He couldn’t help but eye, her, though, after she had turned away- she looked superb, to speak lightly. Kuhn chuckled behind him, and Niklas was reminded of his place. Straightening slightly, dusting imaginary dust off his uniform, he took a more respectable position, slightly distanced from the King and Queen of Aciras- whom he greeted, with a fuller bow and a short explanation about his father’s whereabouts. They were both already informed, of course, likely from a personal message straight from his father, Eugéne. Taking up his position, he stood at the Konigreich’s traditional at-ease stance- feet about a foot from each other, hands clasped behind his back. From here, he waited to greet every one of the guests, next to his people’s allies, the Royalty of Aciras. He did so with a bow and a smile, a warm greeting and a genuine comment about their clothing. If they approached them- otherwise he just smiled and gave a nod back. Inside, though, he wanted to frown. He wasn’t angry- just disappointed, every time someone dismissed him as… well, less important or not worth the time to approach, and skipped him with only just a glance.