[center][h2] E R I K & V E R A [/h2][/center] As Alenjandro left, Erik’s eyes skimmed the crowded ballroom for another familiar face. And that’s when he saw Vera. Finishing the last remeninets in the flute of champagne, Erik made his way to Vera. Now, Erik had quite an interesting relationship with Vera. He only had begun to interact with her because of Yelena. Had it not been for Yelena, Erik doubted that he would have ever paid too much attention to Vera at all, and he knew that Vera felt the same. After all both of them were far too different. Vera was serious, ambitious, and had an invested interest in Rustavyan affairs- both domestic and foreign. Erik on the other hand, preferred to live life quietly. He liked to live life on his own terms, and really didn’t like to draw too much attention to himself. This really wouldn’t have been too big of a deal had he not been related to the people he was related too- nearly all his relatives had a much higher degree of nationalistic pride. It was always the crown and state before the self, even in Anastasia and Adelaide, the more unlikely members of the Veredunian Crown But Erik didn't feel that way. For the most part, it had been self before the crown- every action of his was purely self-motivated. Including that of joining the Veredunian Navy. Vera was far too much like his relatives- he knew that she would always be suspicious of him because of this. Like his relatives, Vera could never understand how someone could put themselves before the welfare of their state. And that was okay because of Yelena. Had it not been for Yelena, neither one of them would have interacted. And because of Yelena, Erik lived to make the Rustavyan heiress uncomfortable in every possible way. Therefore, when Erik walked up to Vera, he did so with a wide grin. “I have to say, you were the last person I expected to be here,” Erik admitted. After all, there was a reason as to why he was here instead of his relatives. Such events were of little consequence to them, and he knew Vera felt the same way. After all, she was a little too much like them for his own comfort. [hr] Vera was dying. Figuratively, as if the ISO would allow her to die, and most certainly not in this land. When she does die it’ll either be on Rustavyan soil, or in space because space is cool. She sighed as she made polite introductions to figures she deemed valuable before quickly moving along in her search for some of her beloved vermouth-y drinks. So far, she had failed and was making do with Dubonnet and gin. It wasn’t her favourite, but it’d do for the moment, particularly as she noted an endearing headache making his way over. Not that she would ever admit she found Erik von Rothschild endearing, and certainly not to his face. If not for Yelena’s involvement, Vera would’ve more or less disregarded Erik’s existence. He wasn’t exactly the best person for a political alliance, nor even as a political adversary, and not really on Vera’s radar as a new bff. He was a party boy, Vera was far more interested in the affairs of his siblings and cousins. The Veredunian royal family were quite the interesting bunch, even with the… [i]complicated[/i] relations between their realms, Vera couldn’t help but admire Catherine. A woman truly worthy of the epithet; “Great”. No one embodied “L'etat c'est Moi” quite as well as that woman. In comparison to Catherine, Erik was a frivolous teenager, well, more of a barely tolerable YA. In matters of politics, Erik was, quite frankly, irrelevant, but in lieu of a dubious military general to play a game of psychological warfare, bristly blonde would have to do. [hr] Vera shrugged, “someone had to play diplomat.” “Oh is that what we are supposed to be doing?” Erik asked with a playful grin. Diplomacy was not Erik's thing, nor did he was it to be. Politics to him was not only horribly boring but was also corrupting. He could easily blame the desire of power and control for completely ruining any semblance of a normal family life that Erik could have possibly had. The lust for power had a way of bringing out the worst in people and Erik was determined to stay as far away from it as possible. “I did say play,” Vera vaguely gestured around at the mingling royals, “it’s just children playing pretend.” Erik’s eyes followed hers, skimming over the faces of the various royals gathered in the ballroom. She was right of course. All said and done, Veredun and Rustavya were similar in more than one way- questionable human rights, censorship, quasi-dictatorial (both Veredun and Rustavya were on the spectrum, though at different stages obviously), and of course the glamour. Though Rustavyan social structure was a bit different, the aesthetic was the same as Veredun- diamonds, and [i]a lot of it.[/i] Compared to that, this was a bit lackluster to be honest. Then again, what on earth could compare at all? “And since when do you hang around children at all? I thought grumpy old people, stuffed in tailored coats were your target crowd.” Vera mockingly gasped. “Are you calling Yelena old? I’ll be sure to tell her that.” But he was right. These starry eyed does were not her companions of choice, nor, she doubted, they would ever be, and there is much to be said about the importance of a well tailored suit. “I was commanded, in the end, by daddy dearest, and I believe you’re aware of how difficult it is to contradict someone ruling under the laws of the ancien régime.” Erik rolled his eyes playfully at Yelena's comment. “I still don't know how you both are such close friends,” Erik remarked. Yelena was one of the most easy-going, kind-hearted and charismatic people he had ever met. She was genuinely just a nice person. Now Vera on the other hand, was a little harder to read. He knew that deep down, Vera was a morally upstanding person as well. However, she was far too politically motivated and ambitious to let that show. She was cautious, and he didn't blame her. She had to be for the environment she was born into and for the role she would soon assume. Had Erik not been born into the life he had been, he was sure that he would steer clear of Vera, brushing her off to be another cold-hearted, ambitious, cunning figure. And upon her second remark, Erik smirked in response. “Oh don't I know,” he added dryly, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. “I think the real question is why she is so different from the rest of us,” Vera retorted. She loved Yelena with all her heart, but the girl was an outlier. Yelena was the certified mediator, optimist, and fun times organizer of their friend circle in Rustavya. Everyone else, including Vera, was always too preoccupied with some sort of scheme and far too dramatic to bother with any of that. Even her cousins who mainly preferred wasting away in their palace had some jaded views despite their overall lack of interest in politics, plus they had cold personalities to match Vera’s and their country, Yelena meanwhile sauntered around everywhere with sunlight pouring out of her, flowers in her hair and birds singing in the distance like a Disney princess. “I suppose you may have some insight into that Mr. Boyfriend.” Erik raised his eyebrow at that comment, a small smile stretching across his lips the minute the topic of Yelena came up. “Oh I don’t know, it may have something to do with you know, having a heart, a conscience and morals?” Erik questioned dryly. She was different. And that’s precisely why Erik liked her as much as he did. Erik had always found Yelena to be intriguing, right from the first conversation they had ever had. He still remembered the exact details of the night- Yelena stood out in the crowded Rustavyan bar. And it was not because of her couture clothing or the fact that she was draped in diamonds. It was her personality- she was charismatic. Every other woman in that bar was there for ulterior motives, But Yelena seemed to be there just out of curiosity. He really didn’t know why she was there, that topic never came up. He remembered talking to her the entire night vividly, although he couldn't recall any specific topics that were discussed. It was just a little bit of everything. And at the end of the night, they exchanged numbers and kept in touch sporadically. They’d talk once in a while. Erik’s lack of communication made it hard for them to keep in touch consistently. Therefore, they’d go for long periods without any communication at all. But when they did talk, they did so all night. Every single topic under the sun was covered, and it was almost like they’d never fallen out of touch at all. Soon enough, Erik began to look forward to visiting Rustavya more and more just to see Yelena. And when they did eventually begin to date, it was the most natural progression of events. For the first time in his life, Erik did not feel claustrophobic or nauseous at the idea of long-term commitment. After all, Yelena and Erik had developed a strong enough friendship for that, or at least they did so in Erik’s mind. A relationship was a natural progression. And it was this rationalization that had led him to remain in a relationship with Yelena for as long as he had- it was his longest relationship ever. It was the first time he had ever truly emotionally connected with anyone apart from his own siblings, Ferdinand and Juliet. And naturally, his relationship with Yelena wasn’t the same. For the first time in his life, Erik didn’t feel entirely isolated or alone. He truly felt as if he had a companion- someone who genuinely did understand and accept him for who he was. And he knew Yelena did, because she didn’t see him as the frivolous “party boy” most people saw him as. She saw far beyond that and accepted him wholeheartedly for who he was. [i] Man, he really didn’t deserve someone as good as Yelena, [/i] Erik thought to himself silently as his smile widened a little more at Vera’s following comment. “And what is that supposed to mean?” Erik asked curiously, though he had his suspicions at what she was inferring of course. Vera simply shrugged her shoulders lightly in response. “You know,” she began. “You’re well.. You,” she stated skeptically, her eyes skimming over Erik’s figure in a unique mixture of distaste and disapproval. “And your relatives are exceptional to say the least,” she added flatly. Vera’s observations were not new ones. It was really surprising how Erik was related to his family at all. They seemed to differ from him in every possible way. His grandmother, Empress Catherine was credited as being one of the most influential female leaders in the world and was just as highly respected, as she was feared. Like his grandmother, his aunts and uncles all commanded the same air of regal prestige and respect. When she was alive, his mother had too. As did Elisabeth, his newly discovered aunt. As for his cousins and older siblings, each one of them was highly accomplished. Morally questionable of course, but highly accomplished nonetheless. Medicine, genetic research, cultural heritage conservation, art, entertainment, law, public policy, governance, military- and so much more. And each one of them was more cold and distant than the other (twisted, cruel and downright sociopathic as well, but that was a whole different story). But more than that, each one of his relatives were ambitious. They aimed for the stars and often achieved their goal, one way or the other. But more than anything, every one of his relatives would gladly give up their lives and their own individual happiness if it was for the welfare of Veredun, and the protection of its crown. No questions asked. But Erik wasn’t like them. Erik longed to live life on his own terms- he wished to travel the world, meet new people, experience new cultures. He had a lust for life which was incompatible with the structure of the Veredunian society and its unique brand of multinational and multicultural nationalism. And perhaps that was why both Yelena and Erik worked as well as they did in a relationship. Both of them, in their own ways were so incredibly different from their environments. Both of them stood out from the people around him. The difference was that Yelena was beloved exactly for that and Erik despised. And he was fine with that. It’s not like he cared too much about what people thought of him anyway. As long as they didn’t go killing his siblings, or try to control him in any possible way, Erik was fine. In fact, he’d rather everyone consider him to be a good-for-nothing, immature child. That way, they’d always have low expectations for him, and wouldn’t be too bothered with what he did with his life. It was the best of both worlds really- they got to leave feeling superior, and Erik got his freedom. “You mean sane, law-abiding and generally sociable? Then yes, I am.” Erik answered with a cheeky grin. “As for my relatives, I do agree- they sure are [i] exceptional.[/i] Though I wouldn’t consider them to be aspirational,” he added dryly. Hearing that comment, Vera rolled her eyes. “Speak for yourself pixie cut,” Vera commented dryly. “I sure am,” Erik answered with a wide grin, knowing all too well that it would infuriate her. Erik lived for this- to annoy Vera. The one thing he had noticed was that Vera despised it when her insults were interpreted as compliments, and when someone bombarded her with endless stupid questions on a topic that was quite straightforward and obvious. She also found Erik’s general extroverted nature particularly annoying, which inspired Erik to be all the more happy, bubbly and extroverted around her. After all, this was his favourite hobby on the planet. But having said that, Erik did not have a pixie cut. That of course was an argument for another day. He knew he had good hair. He invested time and effort into taking care of it. And it paid off to be honest. Erik’s hair was often the subject of compliments and admiration, especially from strangers. His own family hardly noticed it, Juliet aside of course. But everyone else did. And that was enough for him. After all, Alejandro had just complimented Erik on his hair proving that it was good, and not just some dry mop. And definitely not a [i] pixie cut. [/i] There was only one time in his life he had ever had a pixie cut and Erik was determined never to go back to the “dark days” ever again. Thankfully, he’d managed to get all the pictures of those days back and entirely removed from social media and the internet in general. Of course, that had cost him quite a bit, but it was worth it. After all, that meant that only a select few had ever seen Erik at his lowest point in life. Sure, Vera was one of them (and the cause of it considering she’s the one who dared him to do so in the first place), but as long as her millions of followers didn’t see it, he was good. After all, he did have a reputation to maintain. [hider=Erik's Outfit for the Ball] [img]https://www.gosee.de/prev/900x/images/content3big/big69p9237-superstudio.jpg[/img] [quote]The tuxedo[/quote] [img]https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4b/44/11/4b4411ffe06be059c82ceef3e008f741.jpg[/img] [quote]His medals of honor[/quote] [/hider] [hider=Vera's Outfit for the Ball] [img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/b445b6f8e1f1658cf419f0954565b11a/tumblr_pjvaniG5Gp1y1jsgzo3_1280.jpg[/img] [img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/25a3fc0d21eeb671d455668ce39116fa/tumblr_pjvaniG5Gp1y1jsgzo1_1280.jpg[/img] [img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/0f2691381805f62afa6079e550766f39/tumblr_pjvaniG5Gp1y1jsgzo2_1280.jpg[/img] [hider=Dress in full] [img]https://66.media.tumblr.com/e16ccf6fb3519e186b03b3858b5fbbf4/tumblr_oyjfl8hLzQ1uwz7ceo1_1280.jpg[/img] [/hider] [/hider] [@DracarysBitch]