[center][h2][color=E9967A]Bree[/color][/h2][sub] Wife of ? Interacting with: Arden [@Pupperr],[/sub][/center] Most of the girls in the line up held onto each other for strength. Every one of them seemly about to break under the weight of the task placed upon them. These were the same girls who, only yesterday, were boasting clothing of the brightest colors and the latest styles. The usually over dressed girls of the capital were now wearing drab clothes saved for the reaping. Most of their faces bare and the few that did wear make-up used it to accentuate a particularly unpleasant feature. More than a handful showed clear signs of not having bathed in a while. All common tactics used by the higher class women. Many of whom need not have bothered. Compared to those girls, Bree shown like an ember in a dying fire. Her auburn hair twisted and pulled back after having been done up in curls. Her outfit, expensive silks. Created for traveling comfort and cut to accentuate all the right places. Her mother had gifted it to her the night before at her farewell party. A Lamary tradition dating back since the start of the reaping. Or nearly. Bree and Allie held onto each other in eagerness. Hands twisted together with both nerves and excitement. It took a great deal of effort to keep the smile off her face. Finally, after so many years, the day had arrived. The drakken made a show of selecting brides, and by the time they finally got to Aubree’s part of the line, she was more than ready to just be done with it. She watched as the head reaper whispered something into a guard's ear before gesturing towards her. The drakkan walked over, taking her arm and pulling her away. Only to feel an unexpected weight. He looked down and noted that the girls hands’ were still intertwined. The force of his pulling on Bree having dislodged Allie from the line as well. [color=708090]“Release her, or we will have to bring her too. You don’t want that,”[/color] The drakkan kept its voice gruff, intimidation apparent. [color=E9967A]“Yes I do,”[/color] said Bree, her voice holding an air of irritation towards the drakkan guard, as though he was missing some painfully obvious fact. The drakkan, who had been so dismissive before, stared at the fire gem in confusion before glancing at his superior. [color=696969]“No, we aren’t bringing the other one,”[/color] Snapped the Head Reaper's voice in irritation.[color=696969] “Just get the Lamay girl in the carriage, we need to go,"[/color] With that, Bree felt her hand wretched from Allie’s and found herself stuck in a small carriage. Her trunk already inside, as well as another Gem with a red blotchy face, trembling from crying. [color=E9967A]“No--, you don’t understand. I need to talk to him,”[/color] said Bree, trying to weasel past the guard to get back to the Head Reaper [color=E9967A]“There's been a mistake you forgot-,” [/color] [color=708090]“Stop resisting,”[/color] came the Drakkan Guard's low growl of a voice. [color=E9967A]“I’m not resisting, you just-,”[/color] She didn’t get the words out of her mouth before the carriage door slammed shut. Bree reached over and yanked the curtain away from the small window. Her eyes hardened and narrowed at the back of the retreating guards back. She then shifted her eyes towards the female figure, still standing just out of line and Bree’s eyes softened at once. Allie. She stood there, still and in shock. Behind the girl somewhere were Bree's parents and brothers, but they were just more faces in the crowd. Allie was all that she could see. Bree raised her hand and pressed it against the glass. Allie raised her own and waved, speaking something that lost among the roar of the events taking place outside the carriage. But Bree could guess what she said. She was saying it too. [color=E9967A] [i] I’ll fix this,[/i] [i] We’ll be together soon. [/i] [/color] And just as the carriage started moving. [color=E9967A][i] I love you. [/i] [/color] The sobbing Gem in the corner tossed her arms around Bree, pulling her into a sopping wet hug. [color=E9967A]“Off,”[/color] muttered Bree, shoving the girl to the side.[color=E9967A] “And be quiet, I need to think,”[/color] ---- The ride to Castle Worth was long and uneventful. The first couple times they stopped, Bree attempted to speak to the Head Reaper, but she was always simply pushed back into her carriage before she could even get close. She soon stopped trying. As the days passed Bree and the girl she shared her carriage with (she never bothered to learn her name) came to an understanding. The girl was to sit there and be seen and not heard and Bree wouldn’t lose her temper at her. The stop at Castle Worth was...unexpected. Everything that Bree knew about the selection implied that the Gems would meet the drakken here. That, soon after arrival, the girls would be fought over like ...a prized. It was nice though, to get her own room. After a few days of having no one besides the crying air gem for a constant companion, the isolation was welcomed. It was also the first time she got to really examine the situation. Clearly, the plan had gone wrong. She went over it again and again, trying to pinpoint the moment it went south, but there were just too many variables. Besides, there was no point in worrying about the past. And...the last thing she needed to do was lose sleep over it. A foggy morning mind would solve nothing. ---- The clothing that was provided was...comfortable. Far less fine than anything Bree had brought herself, but it was clean. Also, somewhere amongst her dreams, she made the decision to simply be the very best gem among the girls. In theory, that should get her the very best husband. Possibly one with a little pull when it came to the choosing. For now, it was the best and only course of action she could see. She did what she could to tidy her appearance with the limited supplies. Most of the rooms were empty by the time Bree entered the hall and the crowd of girls had thinned somewhat as most of them were now crowded in the dining hall. There were only a few seats left by the time Bree entered the dining hall. Bree took a seat across from an..interesting looking gem. While the girl was very pretty, there was a vague masculine aura about her. Whether it was from her mannerisms or simply the way she held herself. At the very least the girl wasn’t crying. Better yet, there was also a chance that her masculinity would help accentuate Bree own femininity by comparison. Every little thing helped. [color=E9967A]“Hi,”[/color] said Bree gently, but firmly. [color=E9967A]“I’m Aubree, Bree if you will. I don’t mean to be a pain, but you haven’t happened to see that drakkan that seemed to be in-charge last night anywhere around this morning?”[/color] a throwaway question really, she wasn’t sure what she would do if the drakkan was here, but the main focus was giving this girl a reason to stay near her. [hider=Summary] When you try to talk to the drakkan manager, only to find that drakken don't have managers. So you are stuck with a cry baby and no girlfriend all the way to a stupid castle where you have to befriend the butchest girl you can find. [/hider] [hr] [hr] [center][h2] [Color=98FB98] Rya Mira [/color] [/h2][sub] Suprise Bride of Azilon [@WeepingLiberty] Interacting with: Az[@WeepingLiberty] [/sub][/center] Rya kept an uneasy eye on the prince’s retreating figure. His large group of drakken guards easily parting their way through the chaos of the lowtown market. Any smaller drakken standing near the guards were unceremoniously shoved out of the way. A crowd of a different sort had formed a short distance away from Azilon and the prince. It was mostly comprised of a herd of thuggish drakken. The sort that looked irritated that they hadn’t been in a good fight since this morning. One of the largest ones had a gloomy faced gem connected to his wrist via silver chain. More than one of them had a fair spattering of blood on his clothing already. Luckily for the pair, the pack seemed to lose interest the second the prince wandered off and they vanished into a passing crowd. Clearly the tiny gem and the irritated drakkan was not the fight they were looking for. Although a final passing glance shot an ice spear straight through Rya's stomach. It was only well after the danger had passed that Rya reached up and removed Azilon’s forgotten hand from her mouth. [Color=98FB98]“When I first came here, there were Gems who thought he was kind because he was prettier than his brother,”[/color] her voice keeping the same almost monotonic, dreamy rhythm that happened whenever she felt the need to narrate a situation. A habit she developed around month three of isolation. [Color=98FB98] “And the um...” [/color] She raised her hands to the side of her head, mimicking horns for a moment before dropping her hands to her side.[Color=98FB98] “I think they were very wrong. He is an asshole,” [/color] She held the silence for another moment before her face wrinkled in confusion.[Color=98FB98] “Wait...Did I just get married again?”[/color] Her voice taking on an entirely different tone. One closer to earth than any she had used since running into Az. She pulled herself out of Azilon’s shadow; looking him up and down as though he was commodity she was debating the purchase of. She opened her mouth but then froze and took a breath, catching whatever words she was about to say, she struggled to reform them. [Color=98FB98] “You shouldn’t have lied for me...you don’t even want one bride. Or at least not me as a bride,” [/color] She bit her lip, her mind quickly jumping around faster than her mouth could keep up. [Color=98FB98]”And now you are getting a second one? But… I promise I’ll make this right. She could stay with me...the cabin might not be so bad with a friend. O-or I guess you could still sell us, later. I’m sure the prince….the prince wouldn’t notice-”[/color] Rya’s voice cut out for another moment as she tried to process all of the new information at hand. Suddenly all the questions she wanted to ask came rushing out as once She made a few more distressing sounds before she managed to choke one out [Color=98FB98]“Who is Salazar? Is he your... brother?”[/color] [hider=Summary] Greatest wedding of the ages. Also...some other stuff happens. [/hider] [hr] [hr] [center][h2][color=f4a460]Ehkota[/color][/h2][sub] Interacting with: Kagan [@ghastlyInc],[/sub][/center] Ehkota had entertained the idea of inviting the Kinner to the castle itself. With his brother off dealing with the gem brides, there would be little risk of being found out by [i]him[/i]. But if his childhood had taught him anything, it was that his brother's ears were everywhere. The Kinner’s chosen cafe was not one that Ehkota had frequented himself. The area itself was one of those hidden spaces that oozed out of Železna Kri. Unremarkable, but pleasant enough. The Kinner was pointed out by a guard, sipping some sort of lemon drink. A strange juxtaposition to be sure. However, looks weren't everything. With a gesture of his hand, the closest sitting drakken were swifty removed from the cafe and replaced by Ehkota's personal guard, surrounding the Kinner on all sides. Ehkota gave the man an analyzing once over, a mocking ghost of a smile sitting boldly on his lips.[color=f4a460] “Most would have bothered to bow,” [/color] said the prince, a hint of challenge in his voice. The guards around his tensing, sense the danger in the room. [color=f4a460]“But there is no need for such formalities,”[/color] The prince took the seat across from the Kinner. [color=f4a460]“So, you are the one who brought down the great Krisov Harin. I would have said we were acquaintances, but I doubt he would have recalled me at all,”[/color] The story of how the great warlord had fallen was common knowledge if the right people were asked. They type of people the prince made a point to know. [color=f4a460]“But enough small talk,”[/color] (as though the prince had given Kagan much room to speak as it was). The prince cast another longways glance around the room, making sure that his trusted guard were the only ones close enough to hear. [color=f4a460]“I’ll get to the point. It is a matter best said bluntly,"[/color] Although royal secrets were not often shared with outsiders, this particular Kinner was selected in part, because of the death of Krisov. But more so because this particular Kinner could till be easily misplaced. [color=f4a460]"The king has not made a public appearance in some time. I think people are starting to notice,"[/color] [color=f4a460]"The King is and was a great man. Whether you support him or not, only a fool would say otherwise. I need to keep it that way, the king deserves that much. He deserves honor"[/color]. The Prince paused another moment.[color=f4a460]“I want you kill him,”[/color] [hider=summary] plz kill the king [/hider]