[hr] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/Z1nsXYQ.png[/img][/center] [hr] Annalise’s attention remained on Uriah as he spoke, basically confirming what she already knew. She smiled at the mage, giving him a nod before turning her attention back to her sister and Prince Erick who had started talking about Lore’s gift to the man. The eldest daughter knew that of the four of them it was Lore who was far more interested in this deal than the rest of them. From what she had seen she was the most invested out of all the nobles gathered. Anna smiled at her sister as she spoke about the jewel gifted to the Prince beside her. Even she didn’t know the little tidbit that her sister shared. When it came to magic most of it went over her head. As she was musing to herself in her head Jin entered the courtyard followed closely by the Prozdy prince. She was not surprised by her youngest sister’s disheveled appearance. It was not the first time she had been late to an event in favor of her blades, and it certainly would not be the last. She was about to move toward Jin but Lore beat her to the punch. Ever the caring one she took to fixing Jin’s hair and fussing over their younger sister. She did however chime in when Lore blamed her for the drinking competition. “Actually that was more Hana, and Prince Gil’s decision. I was simply here and thought it sounded fun.” She knew Lore and Jin were not the drinkers that Hana and herself were. Father often insisted that none of them partake in the wine or if they did that it be watered down, however, Hana was always rebellious, and Annalise had taken to drinking to prove that she was no different than any of the male members of the court. Not that it helped, she was still constantly fighting to be heard even though the country would be hers very soon. Her mind wandered to the suitors, and who of them would allow her to rule her country, who would stay out of her way. Gil, the third Prince who Hana had gathered had no interest in a position of power such as the ruler of a country seemed a good option. He however had carefully avoided talking to her since he had arrived at the courtyard. She was sure that in Gil’s eyes, she was his last choice. She knew nothing of the elven Prince who had yet to arrive at the courtyard so she couldn’t make any assumptions on him at this point. Erick seemed polite enough and he might be content to command Astalia’s armies and remain out of the finer aspects of ruling the country. Though again, this was only speculation. Lastly was Prince Vyarin who was also more or less a wild card. She was sure that if she wanted to be underhanded about it she could use his limited knowledge of her language to her advantage for a while. She wasn’t that manipulative though. She shook the thought out of her head as Hana approached them with Gil on her heels. At the mention of food her stomach growled, she hadn’t had much to eat today, the nerves had gotten the better of her so any food in her system would be extremely welcomed at this point. She had almost missed what Erick had asked her, lost in her own thoughts. “Hm?” Was all that escaped her lips before her brain fully registered what he had said. She moved to take a seat across from him rather than directly beside him. It was a deliberate action, keeping openings for the other Princes to attempt to make a move, while still remaining close enough to Erick to still interact with him. She waited until Hana finished speaking to reply to his earlier statement and question. “Unfair you say? On whose side, mine or yours?” She cocked her eyebrow at him as her good eye looked directly into his, a very small smirk playing at her lip. “As for how I would test you, well that is simple, we must each finish the same amount of drinks by the end of the night, whoever holds their alcohol better is the winner. In other words, whoever is less drunk.” She emphasized her point by finishing her own glass to make them equal. “If I win…” She paused to think. There were two ways she could do this, the light hearted way or more serious. After a moment she chose the more light hearted option. As much as she wanted to let him know that her country came first, now was not the time. “If I win, you have to tell me an embarrassing story from your childhood. And since we are declaring Price Vyarin the judge he will have final say on who is the winner. Of course you get to name your prize as well, within reason of course.” The smirk was now prominent on her face as she carefully ate a bit of the food that was put in front of her, her stomach instantly reacting to finally being fed. Her attention moved to the entryway as the final member of this elaborate political game joined them. “Ah Prince Alvaro, happy you could join us. We were just about to eat, please, feel free to join us. Also if you are interested, we have some drinking games in place if you would like to partake.” She motioned to the food and drink on the tables and also to the free seats. [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 watched Sulhana as she spoke. He was about to respond when the youngest Princess and the Prozdy Prince entered the courtyard. His eyes traced over the pair. The large male appeared more than out of his element and the smaller female clearly disheveled. His curiosity peaked at the two of them. What exactly had they been doing beforehand? He didn’t assume anything promiscuous but still, he wondered. He couldn’t help but let out a chuckle when Sulhana mentioned him falling for her already. Though he didn’t get a chance to respond before she was off to greet her sister finishing off her drink as she did so. He too finished his drink, not wanting her to get ahead of him and followed her. He did his best not to listen in on the conversation Sulhana had with her sister so instead he wandered off a bit to get himself another drink, returning just as Sulhana moved away to make a speech before offering food. He opened his mouth to greet Jin just as she started talking and closed it to allow her to speak. At the mention of food his stomach growled, realizing he had not eaten since before his arrival to the castle. He decided it was as good a time as any to get seated and get some food in his system, especially if he was going to be drinking heavily. He walked over to the table and pulled out a seat, offering it to Jin, more out of habit than anything else. “I could use some food, how about you?” He questioned the Princess politely. “Besides, if we are going to be drinking we should probably make sure we aren’t doing so on an empty stomach.” He smiled as he took his own seat, child-like excitement to eat some food, and hopefully taste some Astalian dishes. He hadn’t even noticed the Elven Prince enter as he seated himself.