[centre][h2][color=dodgerblue]Cara O'Brien[/color][/h2] 
[h3][color=limegreen]The Celtic Consortium[/color][/h3] 
[img]https://media.giphy.com/media/6ptFQiUid6Koo/giphy.gif[/img][/centre] [hr][hr]

There weren't a lot of things that Cara truly appreciated in the world but her bed definitely topped the list. Leave her alone and she'd probably hibernate. For that reason, it was quite a surprise when her handmaiden, a brown-haired girl by the name of Shona, found her speedily typing away on a laptop she managed to procure. [b]"Just what exactly are you doing?"[/b] A South Dublin girl, you'd think the servant was the Princess.

[color=dodgerblue]"Watching porn."[/color] Cara answered with a yawn, her eyes constantly glued to the screen as her typing speed was sacrificed to raise a hand to her mouth.

The maiden seemed a little shocked by this, her eyes snapping open wide as she took a defensive step back. [b]"What do you mean...?"[/b]

[color=dodgerblue]"To be specific, there's this cute little asian chick currently gett-"[/color] Her long description was suddenly ceased after being pelted by a barrage of bed clothes. Rolling her eyes a little, she chucked them aside and continued typing. In the meantime, Shona had took a few moments to look around the room and kick her brain into gear. Newspaper articles, pictures and long texts adorned the wall like a massive spiderweb eloquently weaved by someone who clearly didn't have anything better to do. A bottle of premium Noslainian vodka lay abandoned, three-quarters full. 

[b]"Cara... What is the meaning of this?"[/b] Her voice was already beginning to quiver in anger or confusion, Cara couldn't tell. Shona wasn't bad but she longed for everything to go smoothly and life really wasn't about smooth transitions.

[color=dodgerblue]"Meaning of what? Life? Porn? Don't know. If it's the vodka, well that's down to a very potent mixture of power, lust and a little bit of stupidity; AKA I acquired it from the bar downstairs. I kinda thought to myself - if my mantra is to die young, why not extend it to my liver? As for... [i]that[/i], I had research to do."[/color] Shona looked a little dumbstruck before she simply shook her head and moved to open the curtains.

[b]"You needed your sleep, you look like a trainwreck, and the vodka definitely did not help it."[/b] The young servant pronounced bitterly, a dark frown rolling in as she turned to watch Cara recoil from the harsh morning light. [b]"You are going to meet your future husband today for God's sake, you could at least try to look appealing. I know you have the whole, 'don't touch me or I'll stab your eyes out' approach to people but you do realise that these people are the ones you will be dealing with in the future. They're royals and they're a bit like you - proud fools that take a grudge to heart. Pissing them off early is a very bad idea."[/b] 

Cara, in the meantime, had climbed from her bed and made her way over to the vodka in a surprisingly covert move. [color=dodgerblue]"To be fair, Shona, the bastards haven't even told me who I'm getting married to so isn't it just a wee bit fair that I should do research and find out myself?"[/color] Cara pointedly ignored the comment about her appearance as she sneakily dragged the bottle of vodka up to her lips. Taking a quick gulp, she coughed at the harsh burn as it glided down her throat but she swallowed it nonetheless. [color=dodgerblue]"With these sort of people, it doesn't really matter if I stab their eyes out, they're all blind anyways. And you know, Shona, our lovely little Consortium has earned itself a bad reputation over these past decades. We make pretty poems and write lovely songs, our education system is one of the best in the world and we're accredited with being a herald of the recent golden age in science yet no one gives a single, tiny, God-fearing shit. Why, you may ask? Well, because we've let every other bloody country from here to Timbuktu walk all over us!"[/color] As she casually waved her bottle of vodka around, her handmaiden, the taller girl, nabbed it from her grasp. Cara frowned then swung after it before giving up and drawing herself to her full stature of meagerness. 

[b]"That's lovely, Cara, but with no standing army, it would be nice if you didn't start a war."[/b] Shona wandered off with the bottle of vodka, leaving it outside her room as a number of other servants rushed in, each carrying something that looked very suspicious to Cara.

Backing off defensively, the young Princess of the Consortium eyed them cautiously. [color=dodgerblue]"That's the problem with people, Shona - sometimes they forget you don't need an army to win a war."[/color] After that, well, it was a complete bloodbath of makeup, various styles and colours of dresses and enough variety of hairstyles to give a normal person heart-failure.

[hr][hr]

When they were finished, even Cara was mildly impressed but she would never tell them that in case they grew to think she liked these sorts of things; she didn't. [url=https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/2c/8b/65/2c8b65ec617ab8d786a7b33c59773c46.jpg]Her hair was pinned up messily with loose strands of fiery hair hanging indiscriminately.[/url] Thin twigs of pure silver with crystal buds crowning each one, adorned the back of her hair and a small wreath of white flowers dotted around the side of her hair. The craftsmanship alone was enough to steal anyone's attention. Next, came her [url=http://www.dressedupgirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Dark-Green-Maxi-Dress.jpg]dress[/url]. It wasn't as complex as her hair but it was certainly better than anything they put her in before. It didn't hug her body and expose her complete lack of curvature yet the long gentle flow of it still held some mystery about it. By the time they were finished with her makeup, Cara was a tad confused - she actually looked kind of pretty. Which was strange given that the words Cara and pretty were definitely not synonymous.

By the time she was being bundled up and delivered to the waiting carpool, the maids had already backed off, content with the finish. Shona gave her a knowing look, a frown creasing her features before it broke and she gave her young Princess a hopeful smile. [b]Ádh mór ort (Good luck).[/b] She called to her, electing to use the Gaelic which they both were fluent in but seemed to ignore over English. Cara shook her head a little, smiling as her detachment of guards guided her to the elevator and down into the three range-rovers.

[b]"So, did you get your research done?"[/b] A young captain questioned her as they took their seats inside the car. She had been speaking to him the night before and given her detachment's apparently massive loyalty to her, he hadn't divulged the information to anyone else.

[color=dodgerblue]"A bit... I didn't find out who they were marrying me off to but I found some contenders. And I also found some very dangerous people so all-in-all, it was a pretty worthwhile experience. Plus the vodka really worked some wonders![/color] She shrugged carelessly, a smile plastered to her face before it disappeared quickly as she remembered the piece in her hair and fixed her posture almost instantly. It really would not do to go in looking bad after all the hassle she had to go through.

[b]"Vodka? Jaysus! Well, being fully honest, I probably wouldn't tackle a day like this with a sober mind myself![/b] Cara concluded she liked soldiers - they had one job, one simple duty and they all seemed to follow it to a tee. They weren't complicated creatures and they were very easy to read but they amused her and that was very much appreciated in a world like her own.

The remaining journey settled into a strangely comfortable silence. If she said she wasn't nervous, she would be lying - she was very nervous and given the plans she had, she would be very nervous by herself. It was her duty as the Princess to attend events like these instead of the King so he wasn't there and she fully intended to enter the palace wholeheartedly alone. She had to appear strong to the world, that nothing could possibly break her. Or, more importantly, she had to appear strong to her people. If she could tackle the rest of the world's royalty alone, she could deal with them in her monarchy. It was a strange idea but the soldiers already had been briefed on it.

Finally, after a journey that seemed to last a lot longer than it actually did, they made the long curve up to the Castle of Aciras. The soldiers departed almost instantly, forming into a smart rank and standing to attention as her door was opened. She slid out onto awkward feet as both the loose locks of her hair and her flowing dress caught the wind and danced to the side in a passionate embrace. The military police towered above her, hulking giants that you probably didn't want to mess with. After a quick ceremony, she was marched to the base of the steps like a prisoner on deathrow. Judging by the looks on their faces, she might as well have been. [b]"Are you sure you don't require at least one of us to protect you? It will loo-"[/b]

She cut him off with a quirk of her eyebrow and that knowing look in her eyes. [color=dodgerblue]"I'll be fine, gentlemen. Send my regards back to the King, tell him I'll write or something. I best be off. Slán agus beannacht (Goodbye and Godbless)."[/color] Turning, she ascended the steps and threw back a wave of her hand.

Once she had reached the top, she came to the sudden and very unsettling fact that she was now alone to face the majority of the world's royalty. Fun. Stepping forward on uncertain feet, she entered the royal palace only to be greeted by the sight of the Aciras Royal Family welcoming everyone. She was told about this - she could either curtsey or bow, apparently, and just praise them as much as possible and it would work out alright.

Although it pained her to do-so, she dipped into a half-curtsey, half-bow that looked pretty good on paper to Cara. [color=dodgerblue]"Your highnesses, I would like to extend the personal thanks of the Celtic Consortium for having us here but I must apologise for the King's absence. His health is... failing and travel is difficult. I am Cara O'Brien, first of my name and heir to the Celtic throne."[/color] Too long. Definitely way too awkward as well. Ugh, she didn't have much of a choice now anyways.

Their daughter, Raven, was pleasantly hot with her electric blue eyes catching the goings-on of the world around. Cara made sure to flash her a smile and a bow of her head before she moved around to join the others.

Technically, she didn't really join them. She watched, her eyes picking up every single little detail as the princes and princesses interacted with one-another. She stood a good distance away, near one of the massive walls. She had never really seen decadence on this scale and it was weird.

Her eyes flicked around the room, and she was almost certain she knew everyone until she spotted a hulking form against the food table. She didn't know why but she felt she needed to figure out who he was. He had at least a foot on her but that didn't sway her as she wandered across the room to stand beside him.

Her hand hovered over the sweet bowl as if she was silently choosing while in reality, she was trying to get a good look at him. This stranger wouldn't be a stranger for much longer.

[hider=Woops! I forgot to do a TL;DR! Forgive me! ;~;]
-Cara stays up all night researching stuff. Also a little bit drunk due to a fair amount of vodka.
-Has a long convo with her handmaiden about the other royals etc.
-Gets dolled up and taken to the castle.
-Greets the Aciras royalty but that's about the height of it.
-Stays seperated from the main group.
-Spots a tall, handsome stranger
[/hider]