[hr]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Z1nsXYQ.png[/img][/center]
[hr]

Annalise couldn’t help but stick her tongue out at her sister when she called her “The Light of Astalia” a title the people of their county had given given her as she had gotten older and blossomed into the young woman she was now. “I would never force anyone to call me that Hana, but especially not my family.” The eldest daughter listened to her sister speak. She had known of her sister’s spys for years and it wasn’t uncommon for Sulhana to give her information that was otherwise unknown before powerful people joined them at the castle, though she made a point to take much of Sulhana’s information with a grain of salt. 

“Remember dear sister, your whispers are all biased, one-sided, there is more to these men than that which your whispers tell you, do not make judgements until you have conversed with them personally.” Sulhana’s whispers had allowed Annalise to remain cautious of certain individuals in certain situations but she was always careful to leave room for her own findings. She listened to her sister speak in response to her somewhat rhetorical question. Hana was correct, it would not look good if the men outright refused to meet her and her sisters when requested. Not only would it look bad to the men’s people but it would give The Daughters of Astalia a reason to mistrust these men. Why would suitors not meet with them in a more private setting if they did not either need the direction of another individual or have something to hide from the sisters? 

As Annalise thought on her sister’s words she heard Sulhana say she was sure the men didn’t like her. To which she couldn’t help but scoff. “Again, you have not interacted with these men yet dear sister, you cannot make those types of assumptions. If anything they are thrown off by a woman being as confident as you, but I highly doubt they have made the outright decision to dislike you.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “As for if any of them lay a hand on any of us especially myself, seeing as I present myself as the weak one,” she paused and chuckled a little, “it would not be hard to turn the people of Astalia against those who would cause us harm. After all, the people love us and laying a hand on the Light of Astalia, would surely result in a very public backlash.” There was an almost sinister look in the eyes of the eldest daughter. She may seem weak but it was her who held the love and loyalty of the people of Astalia as the crown Princess,  not whoever she was going to marry. 



The whistles drew both women's attention as the 3rd Prince of Afdan and the now Crown Prince of Jörda entered the Court of Flowers. The half-orc male bowed his head with a simple greeting coming out of his mouth, his eyes carefully watching the sisters present. Before his attention was pulled by Prince Erick who greeted him and then her and Sulhana. Annalise watched the two men as Sulhana addressed them, her expression soft up until she couldn’t stop herself from letting out a chuckle when her sister told the men not to let them drink the men under. 

Annalise stood behind her sister with a soft smile on her face though her eyebrow was raised at the challenge her sister had presented. She shook her head and for the first time addressed the Princes that were currently present. “My sister teases at least where I am concerned. She would have you believe I was not a lightweight when it comes to drink.” Her voice was soft, inviting, though still clearly teasing. “Please, take a seat, relax, you do not need to keep up the formalities here, our father and none of the court officials are watching. My sisters and I may be the Daughters of Astalia but we are no better than our people so treat us in the same manner as you would any other.” She was attempting to get the two clearly stiff men to relax a bit. After all, if they were on guard, worried about doing or saying the wrong thing they would be much harder to get to know. 


[table]
[row]
[/row][row][cell][color=2e2c2c]______________________________________[/color]
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/bMteDNt.png[/img]
[/center][/cell]
[cell]
[indent][/indent]
[indent][/indent]
[indent][/indent]
[indent][/indent]
[img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/211106/d689f848a1799916f4aa4b28ba535958.png[/img]
[/cell]
[/row]
[/table]
[hr]


Gil entered the Court followed by Erick, who stole his attention only for a moment greeting him with a warrior’s handshake and a statement which took him a moment to recognize as the Orcish spoken by the few remaining Northern tribes. He cautiously accepted the greeting. Rumours from those who hailed from Erick’s homeland made Gil skeptical about the intentions of this man’s people however he was also aware that humans especially, misunderstood the culture of the Orcs for many things. So it was likely the rumours were simply that. He had little chance to respond before the one who had invited them to the event addressed them though his eyes lingered on the man beside him, attempting to determine if the rumor of his country was true or not. Though his attention was quickly drawn fully to the Princess speaking when drink was mentioned. He doubted the alcohol of this country could compare to that of his people. The likelihood that anyone could, as she said, drink him under, was slim to none so the challenge made the half-orc man smile. His blue eyes lit up before he spoke. 


“With all due respect Princess, I doubt any of you could drink me under.” It was his way of accepting the challenge if that is what she wanted. After all, the Eldest daughter had just told them to treat them as they would anyone else. Gil was never one to turn down a challenge, especially a drinking challenge. He had been drinking heavily since he was young so it was a part of his upbringing. He and his siblings competed in similar ways constantly. Though he was sure his larger size would make it hard for any human to out drink him. The exception being maybe the Prozdy prince, though Gil wasn’t convinced that man was fully human. 

Gil could feel the tension of the other Prince beside him, so, in an attempt to calm the man down and also assure him that, for the time being, Gil held no ill will toward him, he slapped his hand on the man’s shoulder and shook him around a little with a laugh. “Relax brother, there is no threat here.” His statement came out in Orcish without him really thinking about it. He released the man’s shoulder and turned back toward the two women. “I wish to see if you can, as you say, drink me under, so your challenge is accepted my lady.” Gil seated himself in a chair, a glimmer of curiosity and excitement of a challenge shining in his blue eyes.