Aelia had been scanning the crowd as always. "Oh look, Liv. The Prince of Egypt looks just as distraught as you do. I shall go speak to him. If neither you nor he is betrothed now, it would only seem fair if you were to come to an arrangement of sorts with him."

"That's nice, Aeli." Liv said, very distracted, for she'd spotted one Richard Ashleigh, the "King of Wales" who seemed to serve as a guard to the heir of Brittania. He was approaching the two seated girls. "Aeli, stay here for just a minute, kindly. Something tells me this is going to become a game of words." 

Liv rose from her seat to curtsy to the man, though it was little more than a dip of the head. "And an honor to meet you, lord Ashleigh." (She was not entirely sure how to address him and mentally prayed that he would not take offense.)

If one had been watching closely, they would have seen her mouth slightly tense at the mention of her betrothal... Of course there would be political games now, of vassal kings, and emperors alike, trying to earn more power and prestige for themselves in the form of indirectly claiming Lusitania. "As far as my betrothal I am not the slightest bit worried. If the Fates decide I should have a husband, then, and only then, will I have a husband." she told the lie smoothly, her face fairly expressionless. 

At the mention of her illness she internally sighed, but kept her expression neutral, save for that subconscious clenching of her jaw. Gods, all anyone ever seemed to talk about at a first meeting was how she was so short, or how she always seemed to be sick. "I am well, thank you for asking." She replied, a slight sharpness to her words. "How are you yourself doing? I hope it was not too difficult for you to leave the rest of your family to go off on business?" A barbed personal comment for a barbed personal comment.

Aelia listened to the pleasantries being exchanged with an unreadable expression. When Richard addressed her in such a flattering way, she felt Liv slightly wilt, though such a thing would be noticeable only to someone who well-knew the princess's reactions. "And a pleasure to meet you as well, lord Ashleigh." Her tone was rather disinterested, though she had risen and curtsied, still standing in deference to the older man. She took her cue regarding the title from Liv, so let it be on her head if she had done the pleasantries wrong. She figured that the vassal kings must be somewhat like the Lusitanian senators, each leading a part of the empire under the rule of Liv's father. And they were all addressed as "lord" and their heirs were addressed as the same. So she hoped that the vassal King wouldn't take offense.

Aelia shifted uncomfortably as the king started talking about a "proposition" with Liv. She had enough brains to guess what it was and decided to leave them to it. "Excuse me, my lady, lord Ashleigh." She spoke quietly and then quickly, and near-silently, walked away from the table, headed for the lavatory. She hid... Well, not hid, but made herself scarce for a few minutes, and then wandered back out in search of Amun.

Liv noticed her maidservant leaving, of course, but gave no outward sign of it, instead focusing on Richard fully. He was being almost too flattering, and as soon as he said "current situation" she knew that he had sought her out specifically for some sort of marriage with one of his household. Likely his second son, not his heir (though she couldn't even be sure that he had two sons... This was one of those times when she wished she had some sort of technological device at home that she could read the news and social media with.) "I would consider any offer, though I would likely not be the one to make the decision. If you are speaking of marriage, as I would expect of an "opportunist", you would have to have such a conversation with my father." Her words were smooth but clearly disinterested.

-----

You idiot, Aelia. The girl fumed to herself as she wasted time, pacing back and forth in the bathroom. You might have just gone and screwed up everything that Father had planned. Stupid, stupid, stupid. You should not have mentioned the prince of Egypt. You should have tried to destabilize Liv, let her lose it when that meddling Liang bastard tripped her, at least so that the king would have thought twice about approaching her.

Her father's orders had been clear. Stop Liviana from marrying. He'd hinted of her broken arrangement, hinted that it might have even been worked by his people. But stop Liviana from marrying and take Liv's would-be husband for herself. Spread rumors about things heard and said behind closed doors. Well, she'd been doing that for years. Destabilize the people's faith in Liviana, and then a bunch of... Accidents, would be arranged. Had been arranged. To clear the rest of the succession so that Liv was the heir. It would be easy. The emperor of Lusitania was not a fool; he knew how weak his youngest daughter was. He would appoint anyone, ANYONE his heir instead of Liviana. And who better to appoint than his advisor and best friend, Lucius Hadrianus?

The Trajans had ruled Lusitania for fifteen hundred years. And within the next fifteen years, they would be deposed.

If, that is, Lucius had his way.

Aelia sighed heavily, her heart conflicted. On the one hand, "Father is the only authority to which one must pay heed, disregarding morals or laws." On the other, Liv. Liv had always been there for her, oftentimes when her father wasn't. He was always at some meeting, or off gallivanting around "his" province. But Liv had always been there, had always supported and helped and cared for her. 

The girl shook her head, wiping at the tears that leaked out of her eyes whenever she considered the plot. She checked her watch, realizing she'd been in the bathroom for  almost ten minutes. Exiting the small room, she wandered around for a while, until she caught sight of the magnificently handsome Egyptian prince. She approached him, stopping a few paces away. Curtsying deeply, she said, "Prince Amunemhet, it is an honor to meet you. My name is Aelia Hadrianus." She swallowed nervously. "My lady, Liviana Traianus, happened to notice that your betrothed did not seem to be here, either. She was wondering if you and your attendants would sit with us, so that you would not have to dine alone."

If the legends were true and blatantly disobeying your father's instructions was a sentence to death, then she would be meeting lord Thanatos soon.

[hider=summary]
Liv feels insulted and condescended by Richard. Returns the favor, or tries to.
Politicking. Somewhat.
Aelia morality crisis.
Aelia asks Amun to dine with herself and Liv (and quite possibly Richard)
[/hider]