[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/a1SQwRW.png[/img][/center]
[color=lightgray][color=lightgray][color=F4BC5E][b]Time[/b]:[/color] Late Morning. Idiot.
[color=F4BC5E][b]Location[/b]:[/color] Beach [/color]
[color=F4BC5E][b]Attire:[/b][/color]
[color=black]☼[/color][url=i.imgur.com/SlgfnfZ.jpg]Swimsuit[/url]
[color=black]☼[/color] [url=https://i.imgur.com/XRsLcwC.jpg]Coverup[/url]
[color=black]☼[/color] [url=https://i.imgur.com/s6P1Uzq.jpg]Shoes[/url]
[color=black]☼[/color] [url=https://i.imgur.com/sjId053.jpg]Hair[/url]
[color=black]☼[/color] [url=https://i.imgur.com/kfIkCKD.jpg]Sunglasses[/url]
[color=F4BC5E]Interactions:[/color] [@Lava Alckon] Farim [color=black]☼[/color] [@princess] Charlotte [color=black]☼[/color] [@Conscripts] John [color=black]☼[/color] [@ReusableSword] Roman [color=black]☼[/color] [@Apex Sunburn] Sjan-dehk [color=black]☼[/color] [@Tae] Kalliope [color=black]☼[/color] [@PapaOso] Cassius
[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/nAiwfAI.png[/img][/center][/color]

[color=silver]Layla laughed as the foreign man tried to defend Kalliope again. Her derisive laughter echoed and the venom dripped from her mouth. [color=F4BC5E]“Blah, blah, blah. It seems you thought princesses were soft and delicate. I do not know if this is news to you, but I don’t care. You bore me as much as your voice. I know you are hoping to get laid by Kalliope. You don’t have to make this whole big show. A woman like her will just say yes.”[/color] Her gaze slid to Kalliope and she laughed once more. 

[color=F4BC5E]“Enjoy your man with wandering eyes. He’ll have a new woman on his arm within the hour.”[/color] She rolled her eyes when the two finally left. Kalliope had given her vigor; then unfortunately, let the fire die. 
 
Unfortunately, this left her facing Dr. John. She cringed when he lowered his glasses. Layla pondered knocking his glasses off his face but resisted the urge. [color=F4BC5E]“Duke Lorenzo and his daughter have been embarrassing my family and I from the moment we arrived. If Caesonia treated us better, perhaps I would be more welcoming. I do not need a personal assessment, especially from you.”[/color] She reassured him. A scowl and narrowed gaze greeted Dr. John. She also failed to answer his last questions, nor did she care to humor him with a response. 

As if the Caesonian gods wanted to continue the scenario, Duke Lorenzo arrived. To her surprise and amusement, he started defending her from the monotonous Doctor. Layla smiled ear-to-ear and enjoyed the irony. His brash reaction to step in front of her caused her expression to briefly falter. The shock in her eyes was unmistakable, and for a moment, a genuine smile tugged at her lips. As quick as it had come, the smile was gone, replaced by the scowl and haughty smirk she now adorned. His words caused laughter to bubble out from her. He thought she was [i]more refreshing than a strawberry smoothie.[/i] By the Gods, this show was becoming far more entertaining. Who would have thought the court jester could perform so smoothly?

As her valiant defender turned to face her, his hand instead collided with her face. Layla stumbled far more than what was expected. Her gaze became cloudy, and shock filled her like lightning striking a tree. 

[i][color=red]You didn’t listen to a thing I told you, did you? DID YOU! Maybe you should have![/color]

[color=red]This wouldn’t have happened if not for you, Layla. You only have yourself to blame.[/color]

[color=red]WHACK![/color][/i]

Once the shock wore off, Layla’s guards had righted her. Unfortunately, Layla discovered the Duke now hugged her legs. His speech was unintelligible momentarily. Then, she registered the pain, and disgust overwhelmed her. This deranged man was now [i]touching[/i] her and people were [i]watching[/i]. Layla didn’t know if she would rather be eaten by a shark alive or left to bask in the Alidasht sun all day. Either option worked. Her cheeks flushed, then her gaze became cold and distant as she slowly turned to face Lorenzo.

Layla took several deep breaths and looked down at him. Before she could speak, a self-important and arrogant man addressed them. Her gaze slid to him now, and she temporarily forgot about Lorenzo clinging to her legs like a kid. Her gaze, still cold and distant, lit up with fire upon hearing him. Was this Caesonian’s version of Hafiz? While she contemplated this, her meditator cousin had come over to speak to her in their native tongue. At first, she snorted with derisive amusement, until she turned to face him. The fire in his eyes reminded her much of her father’s, and for once, she did not answer him with a sassy retort. 

As this arrogant pig continued speaking, Layla noticed he’d sent his [i]servant[/i] to give Fairm and her the invitations to his masquerade. She bit back a laugh and glanced at Farim, who she noticed wore a similar expression. [color=F4BC5E][i]“Seems like we found the Hafiz of Caesonia[/i].”[/color] she remarked quietly in their native tongue. She rolled her eyes and accepted the invitation. Layla then avoided meeting his gaze. [color=F4BC5E]“[i]Does every kingdom have one[/i]?”[/color] 

Slurping reached her ears. Layla gazed around to find the troublesome cowlick blond from the ball. The ridiculousness of the situation caused giggles to erupt from her uncontrollably.  [color=F4BC5E][i]What the fuck was going on with this beach?[/i][/color] She turned away and decided he wasn’t worth her time. Briefly though, she appreciated the idiocy of his actions. Unfortunately, once she returned to reality, the Duke was unfortunately still holding onto her. Bemused, Layla scowled and looked down at him. 

Charlotte’s voice reached her ears. Layla turned to face Charlotte who pleaded with Lorenzo to let go of her. Instead, the duke rambled about being in hell and then pleaded with her to spare them from [i]the evil[/i] Calbert Damien. [color=F4BC5E][i]This man is Hafiz of Caesonia. What is he doing to these idiots?[/i][/color] 

Sadly, Layla’s patience wore out and she turned to gaze down at the lunatic. His mustache tickled her legs. She shuddered and knew the memory would be engraved in her mind. She scowled at him and shook her leg like a dog trying to free itself from its leash. This incident would likely be in the news and Layla hated associating herself with this rabid dog and his daughter. Was he sane? Did he have any illness? Gods, this was disgusting! 

Layla held her hands up to stop her guards from intervening. If they did, it was likely they’d injure this insane man. [color=F4BC5E]“Get. Off. Of. Me.”[/color] Layla commanded firmly. Her words didn’t leave any room to disobey. [color=F4BC5E]“I appreciate your gesture but you need to let go of me. You’ll pay me back by doing that.[/color] She extracted herself from the Duke forcefully and glowered at him. Then, she took another deep breath, and shook her head. Her expression softened, although the cold gaze remained in her eyes. [color=F4BC5E]“I think you must be cursed, Duke Lorenzo. No good deed goes unpunished, does it? Keep your distance and think before you act, Duke.”[/color] She turned to glance at Charlotte. A scowl greeted her and decided to ignore the doll for now.

Finally, her gaze turned to Farim. In their native tongue, she addressed him.  [color=F4BC5E]“I don’t have all day for our good talk. I won’t wait around for it longer than I need so either we do this now or we don’t do it at all.”[/color] Regardless if he followed her or not, Layla strode down the beach while her guards followed closely behind. Ali joined her and presented her with Zilal and a smile graced her face. Like a scarf, she wrapped the serpent around her. He booped her on the chin and she giggled.[/color]