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[sub][url=https://i.pinimg.com/736x/8e/25/ec/8e25eca4d8050f735ff76bdbc308c56b.jpg][i][sub][color=D99036] dress ♛ [/color][/sub][/i][/url][/sub][sub][url=https://i.pinimg.com/736x/ef/4b/47/ef4b47892d5002b1608fe2f2d41a7ef2.jpg][i][sub][color=D99036] crown ♛ [/color][/sub][/i][/url][/sub][sub][/sub]
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[sub][color=d9910b]C A S T L E   D I N N I N G   H A L L  |  E V E N I N G[/color][/sub]
[sub][color=gray]I n t e r a c t i o n s :
Farim [@Lava Alckon] , Anastasia [@princess] , Rohit [@Helo] , Kira [@Potter], Nadim [@JJ Doe]
M e n t i o n s :
Hala's Stinky Dog[/color][/sub]
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[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/d9Hutm7.png[/img][/center]



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Nahir’s fingers twitched around her wine glass, but she gave no other reaction to her uncle’s words. [color=904342][i]You know nothing about me, Uncle.[/i][/color] The thought burned in her throat, but she simply raised the glass to her lips and sipped the rich red liquid.  She had lost more than he would ever care to know. Two brothers she’d looked up to, followed like she was their little duckling, two lights snuffed out by his hands. How many more brothers had he taken? How many more would he take?

From the corner of her eyes, she watched him. Her stomach dropped when his gaze lingered on Kira a second too long. Kira was clever. She had to sense the danger coiled beneath Hafiz’s words, his glances, his thoughts. Still, Nahir couldn’t stop the churn in her gut. 

She caught the look from Farim, but didn’t return it. He was something of a visionary; she admired that his father had not yet managed to crush that out of him. Hope had its uses, after all. It could keep the people’s spirits alive just long enough to get the real work done. And for that, blood would have to spill.

A thrill sparked in her chest. She couldn’t help but feel excited for it. 

[color=E77298]“My Gods, your father sounds dreadfully boring.”[/color]

Nahir bit her tongue, caught off guard. She swallowed a laugh behind her wineglass. Anastasia was becoming increasingly delightful. 

[color=904342]“Indeed.”[/color] She smiled, eyes glinting with amusement. [color=904342]“I’ve seen statues with more rhythm. Perhaps that is why he’s so often seated. Gravity and grace are rarely friends.”[/color]

In the end, Nahir agreed to join their little party, not purely out of generosity but out of spite. Hafiz’s displeasure alone made it worth it. She even offered some of her own coin. Perhaps she’d even play an instrument for the poor, grace them with real royalty. 

She watched Hafiz closely, his attention stolen by someone far off. The twitch of his jaw. The cold amusement. The way he looked at the woman, not like a person, but a possession. A toy he had discarded, now unwilling to see it in another’s hands. It made her skin crawl. Disgust bubbled in the pit of her stomach. 

Nahir had to speak with that woman. Why did he look at her that way? How did they know each other? 

She took another long sip of wine, praying the alcohol would dull the buzzing questions and dark imagining storming in her mind. 

And then, as if the night hadn’t already taken enough strange turns, the center of the hall seized the crown for drama. 

Nahir’s golden gaze darted between two scenes, Leo’s sister and Duchess Edwards in one corner, Lord Ravenwood and the Damien bastard in another. It seemed Varian’s mandatory attendance had brought a sour wind to Caesonia’s banquet. Then again, what royal gathering was complete without a duel or a scandal or two? 

She smirked into her glass as Queen Alibeth stood, commanding silence not with words, but by the sheer act of rising. [i]What a woman,[/i] Nahir thought.

A hush fell over the hall like a creeping mist. But in Caesoni, nothing stayed quiet for long. 

[color=#4DD0E1]”You look absolutely stunning tonight. I do appreciate your generous invite here. Thank you.”[/color]

Nahir turned, smiling easily. Her earrings chimed like wind chimes in a summer breeze as she inclined her head. 

[color=904342]“I am glad you came. Or else you’d have missed tonight’s theatrics. It almost—”[/color]

[i][h3][sub]CRASH![/sub][/h3][/i]

Duck, pork, and ribs went flying as a dog leapt onto the table between them. Her wine glass shattered on the floor as Nadim planted both massive paws on her shoulders, nearly toppling her. She swallowed the shriek bubbling in her throat and braced herself on the chair, which, by some miracle, held both her and the beast. 

Then came the licking. Slobbery, relentless licking. 

[color=904342]“Nadim, down!”[/color] she barked, but the dog was undeterred, happily nibbling her cheeks as though they were lifelong friends. 

From the corner of her eye, she spotted them. 

Hala. With that pathetic little wiggle-wave. 

[color=904342][i]You. Bitch.[/i][/color]

The shriek burst out of her as she shoved Nadim, all of Nadim, onto Hafiz. The dog’s paws landed squarely on his plate, sending wine, food, and sweets splattering across his regal robes. She was fairly certain everyone in their vicinity had been caught in the splash zone, but those were casualties she was willing to sacrifice for this. 

Nahir gasped dramatically, hands flying to her mouth as she leapt to her feet, [color=904342]“Nadim, no! Bad dog. Off the table! Where did Hala go?”[/color]

She tugged at Nadim’s stuff, half-heartedly. After a few futile attempts, she called over the knights standing nearby to come and remove the dog from the table as she did her best to wipe off the food from Hafiz’s robes. “Hala should know better than to bring that thing here.




























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