[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/170810/52ef931f1c19318ef08caeae3d57fb46.png[/img]
[img]http://68.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6ecyfdc3F1rp62eq.gif[/img]

[hr][color=#E15436][b]Location -[/b][/color] Royal Chambers --> Abhainn's Ballroom
[color=#E15436][b]Interacting With -[/b][/color] Lady Amaryllis {[@Filthy Mudblood]} & Prince William Pengrace {[@Legion02]}
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It took him a great while to shake off the nobles who tagged along after him, but by the time Maddox reached his chambers, he simply bid the stragglers a good day and closed the door far more forcefully than he had initially intended. Sealed in his chambers now, Maddox gave a soft sigh and pushed himself away from the door. Everything seemed to grow overwhelming, all of a sudden - the collar of his doublet scratched against his neck, the fire in the hearth made the room far too warm, the nobles outside bickered too loudly with the guards who turned them away - and he couldn't stand it. His fingers fumbled with the buttons on the front of his doublet, attempting to pull it open as his frustration began to bubble over.

The doublet half-way unbuttoned, he threw his arms up slightly and then buried his head in his hands. It had been a disaster, that meeting between his future wife and him. None of the reports from his advisers had prepared him for the rival king's actions. And now he was damned to be stuck in a marriage with some mad king's sister.

Maddox moved across the room to the decanter of wine on a side table. But Julianna seemed nice enough, beautiful enough. He couldn't drink the wine fast enough to sate his thirst, and he poured another goblet of it almost as soon as he had downed the first. There was nothing he could do about it without inciting a war. Neither Julianna nor Jack would take it well, and so he was stuck with nowhere to go.

And why the sudden doubt in the first place, he wondered? Certainly, that hadn't been Lissa there - after all of these years. And yet, couldn't it have been?

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. [color=#E15436]"Enter,"[/color] he replied, finishing his drink before placing the goblet down. A wave of attendants entered, ready to ensure he still looked his best for the evening's festivities. He had such little interest in dealing with the foreigners, but perhaps he would have time to drink himself under a table and forget that in a fortnight he would be married off to a woman he hardly knew.

By the time he had been dressed in brilliant golds and black, he had imbibed further, bringing his head to a gentle swimming feeling. Perhaps he had over done it, but he was a king after all. He had no one to be accountable to. His final touch was to tie the [url=https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4a/36/38/4a3638f8d772a2f403a06fccc548fd5a.jpg]mask[/url] around his head before he moved towards the door.

It was quite a walk down the hallway to get to the ballroom, but he made it there all the same. His entrance was met with a fair amount of fanfare and an introduction from the herald who had been stationed to read off names. Maddox couldn't help but wonder if the poor sod from earlier would have been stationed there this evening had he not been murdered that afternoon.

Starting down the steps, he scanned the room and his guests. William was the first he noticed, but he certainly had to do a double take to recognize him, groomed and looking quite, well, proper. But then he had to double take once more as he noticed his brother's mask, if it could be called that. Stumbling down the last step, Maddox started towards his brother, his mouth pulled into an expression of distaste.

[color=#E15436]"William, I don't know [i]what[/i] -"[/color] he hissed, coming to a stop next to his brother. But he cut himself off as he noticed the woman standing beside his brother, garbed in a revealing, black gown. [color=#E15436]"My lady, I apologize, if I -"[/color] Maddox cut himself off once more as he stopped to truly take her appearance in.

[color=#E15436]"You..."[/color] he started before drifting off. Could it have been her after all of these years? It had been so long since he had seen Lissa, perhaps he was only hoping to see her now, in the midst of this chaos. [color=#E15436]"Excuse me, my lady, I...you reminded me of someone..."[/color]