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The King sat on his throne long before any of the daughters made their way to the main hall. He was sitting, deep in thought about the events that had led him to this moment. “Tiana, if you were here what would you say?” He rubbed his temples then ran his hand over his salt and peppered beard. He had spent many nights since his decision thinking about if he was making the right one. It was too late now to call it off, however, he still wondered. He had remained like this until his daughters slowly started to file in. Sulhana was the first to enter. Not surprising for his most resourceful daughter. Of course she would like to get the jump on the day, gaining information was her favorite pastime.

“Greetings daughter. I am sure your mother would love the alliances being formed.” His statement was half hearted. It was very clear he only half believed what he said. The next to enter was Annalise, as per usual she held herself with grace. She reminded him of Tiana in this way. She too greeted him, as well as her sister before taking her seat beside him. Her soft voice had not gone unnoticed by the older man. She usually made herself smaller than what she actually was, using her fragile appearance to her advantage to see how people treat her when they perceive her as weak. He nodded in acknowledgement to her but remained silent. 

Next to enter was Jinayah, of all his daughters she reminded him most of his late wife. Sometimes it hurt to look at her. He loves his daughters and felt bad that she caused him so much pain. It wasn’t her fault he knew this, but the pain in his heart has never stopped. “Good morning my daughter.” He greeted her as she joined her sisters. 

Finally Loreena joined them followed by Uriah. Late as always. He smiled at them as they entered. He nodded to greet her and then turned to his daughters. “My lovely daughters, I know how much the events about to transpire affect you. As much as I hate to ask you all to do this, it is the best chance the remaining Kingdoms have of surviving the Empire. Alone The Empire would swallow us one by one, united we may just stand a chance. I am not going to give you a lengthy speech, just know that I love you all dearly and did not make this decision lightly.” He stands to kiss each of them on the top of the head before returning to his throne as the Princes who had arrived slowly filed their way in. 

Each Prince was accompanied by their own group of officials or guards and the room now housed each, not only the Astalian Royal family, and the country's court, but members of four other nations. This alone was something that hadn’t happened in quite a while in Astalia. The larger Kingdom had kept to itself for centuries so this site alone filled King Harold with joy. He greeted each of the parties as they entered in their native language and waited until all parties involved had entered the hall before motioning for everyone to quiet down. So he could speak. 

“It has been many years since envoys from the other countries have graced these halls. So it is with great pride that I welcome you all to Castle Aeli. I understand the journey to get here was long and I am sure you would all like to rest so I will try not to take too much of your time. To start I would like to introduce my daughters. Starting from my Eldest, Annalise, my second born, Loreena, my third daughter, Sulhana and the youngest, Jinayah.” He motioned to each of the girls as he introduced them but gave the girls no chance to say anything as he did so. It was clear he was trying to finish this quickly so that the Princes could take their leave if they wished.

“Tomorrow night there will be a ball in this very hall to celebrate your arrival. No decisions will be made on this night or the next. The afternoon after the ball the courts will assemble and there is where decisions on who will marry who will be made. Keep in mind that my daughters have just as much say in which of you they marry as you all do. In other words I expect you to treat my daughters with respect.” There was a warning in his tone when he spoke this last sentence. He would not tolerate any mistreatment of his daughters, though he knew they all could take care of themselve they were still his children. “The rest of the day is yours to do as you please. Converse with my daughters, explore the castle, sleep. If you have questions there are many servants around the castle who would be more than willing to assist you, you need only to ask. There are some final preparations I need to make so I may be unavailable most of the day. However, I will remain here for the next hour. You are all dismissed.” With that he looked around the room and several of his officials moved out of the side doors to go about their duties, as well as a few of the guards who had been posted in the room. King Harold himself remained standing, he was sure some if not all the Princes would wish to speak to him so he waited. He nodded to his daughters, signalling that they were free to leave if they wanted. He hoped they stayed and at least attempted conversation with the men that would end up being their husbands.