The greeting line was reserved exclusively for the party visiting, which would be Maleea and her party in this case. The Avatar, whose name Polkos nor anyone except probably his parents knew, stood close to the Princess and did his political duty of accepting whatever praise bestowed on Maleea as compliments towards the entire Dasvrochian government. Thankfully, Polk was freed to do as he pleased until the processional was over, which he assumed would take quite a while. Their first "official" appearance would feature the duo seated at the very northern end of the banquet hall, where a row of wooden tables stood decorated with food, drink and the most elaborate set of cutlery that the Metaschi empire could provide. He made small talk with a few nobles, but mainly watched the processional from a distance, his future bride maintaining her composure during the entire exchange. It was admirable to see. She seemed to be holding up rather well under the intense scrutiny that was occurring not only from the nobles in the line, but the other onlookers who were whispering in hushed tones about her "glimmering hair" or how lucky the Kingdom was to have such a "wonderful bearer of the bloodline". Allusions to children made Polk want to simultaneously laugh and sob...so, lob? Saugh? Children was an odd subject for him to consider. He had, after all, engaged in so much travel that thinking about becoming a family man was odd. But, he reminded himself, he knew this would happen. Every trot his horse took towards the Rings was one step closer to his subjugation to a realm of political nonsense that he had specifically wanted to leave behind. Speaking of political nonsense, he should probably be prepared to give a speech. Nobility liked speeches. 

_______________________

Three. Hours. 

Polk rushed into his personal quarters and nearly ripped the tunic he had on in half as he stripped himself of the royal attire, finding a loose fitting short sleeved shirt that was in a drawer and placed it on his upper half. Replacing his lower half attire with similarly fitting pants, he smiled in relief. The feast went well, but all of the consumption that he indulged in, the lengthy address he had to make to appease those who clamored for one and the vast amount of conversation he had with all sorts of people had made him frustratingly anxious. He wanted to be released from the shackles of royal clothing an hour ago...and now, finally, he had found his release. 

Well, temporarily. 

When the hall was emptied, his parents and the Avatar firmly reminded the two that the wedding ceremony would be in TWO weeks(emphasis on two) and that they were only to be in each other's company with the presence of attendants until after their marriage. Polk wanted to object, but then again, every movement they made would be closely scrutinized. There were also whispers of unrest from the Koufkelians about the union, which made both parents and Avatar insist that there were people presented around at all times while they were together. Assassination attempts were not to be taken lightly. 

Another minor annoyance would be that he couldn't just walk over to the other end of the castle and have a conversation with his betrothed. She was going to be engaged in wedding preparations and as such would need as much time necessary. A servant was chosen to act as messenger between them, which was coincidentally the same girl that had bumped into his door. He requested for her presence after the feast to inquire about his future bride's personality, interests, and other little things he would like to know. It was admittedly a bit grade-school on his part, but he couldn't just walk into a marriage without knowing a LITTLE bit about his-

A knock came at the door.
"It's unlocked!"