Trash Panda

~Bonsoir~

Peter had deduced Diana’s identity before she introduced herself to him. The familiar Crest scent, the similarity between her appearance and Victoria’s, and distant mentions of her name during his encounters with her late husband had all pointed him to the conclusion that she was the widow of Lord Alexander Crest. He remained quiet as she explained the reason for her visit, silently irked by yet another mention of the Wynter clan. The only targets the rival vampires would swoop down on were those who were going out of their way to incite their rage. He had kept his family safe for the last century by keeping to his own territory and leaving the other clan be as long as they didn’t actively hurt any Hygraces. There was no reason to alter his method when it had served its purpose thus far.

In the corner of his eye, he could see Katherine observing him keenly. Like their son, it seemed that she had been deceived by the claim that they needed to go out of their way to stop the Wynters from conducting an attack that he doubted would ever come to pass. He usually took his wife’s thoughts into consideration, but for this matter, he was unwilling to compromise. Since Reginald’s death, it was he who had kept their family safe and cooled tensions between the Hygraces and the Wynters. He couldn’t risk sacrificing all of his hard work when all this talk of their enemies was nothing more than rumors.

“Lady Diana, I welcome the continuation of the truce between our families, but the agreement I made with Alexander never entailed that the Hygraces would take up arms alongside the Crests,” his words were firm and unwavering, indicative of his resolution to stay out of the others’ affairs. He hadn’t budged when the issue had been brought to his attention by Vail, Victoria, or Katherine, and he wasn’t going to change his mind now. “If the Order has provoked the Wynter clan, then it is their problem to solve, not ours. We will not get involved in their conflict. I’m sorry.”

--

As the Crest manor came into sight, Vail could already feel himself beginning to salivate at the prospect of tasting her blood again. He was eager to find out how Victoria was doing since the last time they had seen each other, but he couldn’t help his nature. During the days they had been apart, he had gone back to hunting in the streets of London to satisfy his bloodlust and replenish his strength to prepare for the inevitable strike of the Wynters. However, the humans he fed upon couldn’t compare to Lady Crest. He longed for the unique substance that flowed through her veins and made him feel rejuvenated like nothing else.

With a mask of composure, he approached the front door and knocked. Had he known the layout of the interior, he would have attempted to enter through her bedroom window to avoid alerting the staff of the manor to his presence, but since he’d only seen the ballroom, this was the next best option.

He waited for the door to open and then flashed a smile at the maid who appeared on the other side. “Evening,” he greeted her, easily making eye contact as she looked up at his face. “I’m here to see Lady Victoria. May I come in?”

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I think it would be better if she ends up waiting or keeping it to herself, because even though Cas is kindhearted, he would feel compelled to put distance between them if he finds out she's not from the capital. There's no way to know if she's a rebel or not, and he can't risk his or his father's safety ^^;

I've got a class starting soon, so I'll get a post up later today!

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

I feel like this RP just went from fluffy to serious in half a second xD

Thanks! I'm not too concerned about it. It's just some extra work to do

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Cas couldn’t help but notice the absent look on Iris’s face when he turned back to her. It was difficult to tell what was going on inside her head, but he was fairly certain he knew the subject of her thoughts. He bit his lip. Maybe it was a good thing that the call from security had come through when it did. Trying to kiss her had been a mistake. He didn’t want to ruin the friendship they’d been building, and he didn’t even know if she felt the same way about him as he did about her. Just because she hadn’t pulled away from him when they had been close didn’t mean she was interested in him romantically. It was entirely possible that she had just been too flustered to move. He wished they had time to talk about it, but he could already hear the hum of the security vehicle in the air. Right now, the Scourge infiltration was more important.

“Well, you’re going to today,” he said as he helped her to her feet. Private, airborne vehicles were usually reserved for the elite, so he wasn’t surprised that she hadn’t ridden inside of one before. His father used to use them as his primary means of transport when he’d been healthy enough to travel, but Cas preferred to drive himself on the ground in their luxury cars. He only let the royal pilots fly him around the capital when there was a security breach, as there was now, or when he needed to attend crowded functions in which he would be swarmed by high borns and journalists if he drove there by himself.

At her following question, the prince nodded reassuringly, “He’s fine. There was an attempt on our home, but it sounds like security contained the culprits before they could do any real damage. We just need to go back in case there are any others who might come after me while I’m in the open.” As he finished explaining the situation, he turned away from her to watch the approach of their ride. The sleek, all-black car descended in the middle of the parking lot. It looked like a small, private plane with shorter wings and a wide body that resembled a stingray.

As soon as the vehicle touched the asphalt, the doors opened, and two men in broad shades and black uniforms embroidered with the king’s seal stepped out. Cas gestured for Iris to come with him as he walked over to meet them halfway. Stopping at the edge of the park, he left some distance between them rather than closing it all the way. It was protocol to wait for the security detail to verify the code he’d been given over the com before he went anywhere with them, just in case enemies of the crown tried to impersonate the bodyguards.

“Confirmation?” he prompted them. He recognized one of the men, so he knew they were real members of the team, but he had to say it anyway.

“AEX779,” the guard on the left, the one the prince recognized as Harry, bowed his head. “Please come with me and leave your car keys with Ryan, Your Highness.”

Cas stepped forward and dug in his pocket for the keys, which he handed over to the guard on the right. Ryan bowed as well and walked over to the parked vehicle, sliding into the driver’s seat. It was another measure of protection developed by the team, in case the rebels located the easily recognizable sports car and attacked with the belief that the crown prince was inside. The vehicle would serve as a decoy while they escaped back to the mansion by air.

Noticing that Harry seemed unprepared for his company, Cas placed a hand on Iris’s shoulder, “She’s in my care right now, so she’ll be coming with us.”

The bodyguard didn’t appear particularly happy with the announcement, but he didn’t argue. “Very well,” he bobbed his head again and led the way to the hover car. The compact vehicle didn’t have much space, since it was designed to transport just a small number of people, so Cas helped Iris into the backseat and climbed in next to her, laying her crutches across their laps as Harry climbed into the passenger seat beside the pilot. Once everyone was strapped in, the engine revved, and the car began to lift off the ground.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

That sounds good to me ^^

And just in one class. It’s an accelerated, 8 week course so we have a lot of homework in a short time. It’s worth the same amount of credits as a 16 week course though, so I think it’s worth it!

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

Yay, I'm glad ^^ I'm excited for everything that's going to happen next with the rebels and between Cas and Iris after he tried to kiss her.

Okay! I need to go shower and get some homework done now anyway.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

That one took a while, but I think I'm happy with how it turned out cx The action is finally picking up!

It was fun! Most of the friends who came had been out of town for the last month, so it was good to see them again.

Amnesia [Suki & Summer]

When Iris ‘refused’ to share her ice cream with him, Caspian rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. Her playful humor continued to put him in a good mood. Spending time with someone who wasn’t afraid of offending him because he was the crown prince was a breath of fresh air compared with the people he usually interacted with. Even when they were friendly, it wasn’t hard to see that they were guarded with their speech. His father had set a strict precedent that citizens of their country had to show the royal family nothing but reverence and respect or risk facing a penalty of jail time. Cas thought the law was overkill and never enforced it unless someone was going out of their way to heckle him.

As they ate, his thoughts wandered again to how similar their hang out felt to a date. Granted, he didn’t have any close female friends, so he wasn’t used to spending one on one time with a woman outside of a romantic context, but there were more parallels than just that. He was sure the few paparazzi who had found them were eating up the scene. It wouldn’t be long before all the news sites were flooded with headlines about him and the new mystery girl who seemed to have won his affection. He shook his head to himself. The one good thing that might come out of the journalists’ misplaced assumptions was that someone who knew her might stumble across one of the articles and recognize her.

Distracted by his idle musings, he didn’t notice Iris’s belated reaction to his question. “That’s good,” he nodded, glad that she was enjoying her ice cream. In his biased opinion, Ellen made the best ice cream anyone could get in the capital. While he didn’t particularly care if she agreed with him about that or not, he was happy that she thought it was good.

In the next moment, he blinked as she swiped a spoonful from his cup and tasted it. Even though he’d already told her that she could try a bite, her boldness caught him off guard. An amused laugh escaped his lips. That was something even Jay and Miles wouldn’t have tried. His father’s laws about speaking out of turn were stringent, but the ones surrounding anything that could even remotely resemble stealing from a member of the royal family were even harsher. Of course, he wouldn’t actually let a solider arrest her if one had seen her and tried, but she didn’t seem to care one way or the other. She was either fearless or fully trusted that he wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

“I don’t believe you,” he teased when she said the flavor she had picked was better. No sooner had the words left his mouth than the amnesiac’s spoon moved toward his face, leaving a dot of chocolate ice cream on his nose as she missed his mouth. He froze in surprise at first and then rolled his eyes at her again while she giggled. “No you’re not,” he poked her in the side when she said she was sorry, trying hard not to laugh with her. After rubbing the ice cream off with the back of his wrist, he reached out to clasp her hand in his, pointedly holding it steady as he closed his mouth around the spoon she had offered.

“Not bad,” he smirked at her when he pulled back. “But I can’t say it’s better than mine. Too much chocolate and not enough mint.” He winked at her jokingly, but the jovial expression faded as he realized how close together they were now. Her hand was still in his, and her face wasn’t that far away since he’d moved closer to take a bite of her ice cream. The lack of distance made his heart hammer, and his dark eyes drifted down to her lips. If he just leaned in a little further, he could kiss her…

But what if she has a boyfriend? The thought made him pause. There was no way of knowing if she was taken by someone else, but he had to think that if someone was out there who loved her, they would have reached out to find her by now. That they hadn’t meant, to him, that she must have been single. He swallowed hard. Since he’d first found her in the woods, he’d been trying to keep things platonic between them, so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable. Yet, he was hovering close to her now with her hand in his, and she hadn’t pulled away. Maybe she wanted him to kiss her too… Screw it.

Throwing caution to the wind, Cas caved to his desire and leaned in. His eyes closed, and he squeezed her hand, but just before their lips touched, he halted as the sound of an alarm went off on a device attached to his belt. The noise jarred him out of the moment, and he abruptly turned away from her, releasing her hand to unclip the device from its spot at his waist. It was a communication tool used exclusively by the royal family and their security team to liaise when there was an emergency in the capital that required immediate attention.

“Shit,” he muttered to himself, putting in the earpiece. It had been months since the last time they had needed to use the device. The fact that the alarm had gone off now meant something new must have happened. Pressing the handheld part of the device to his thumb—it used fingerprint data to give the user clearance to join the frequency used by the security team—he spoke in a clear tone, “This is Caspian. What’s going on?”

The voice of a man named Jacob, one of the security guards who worked directly for the king, replied through the earpiece: Your Highness, there has been an attempted terrorist attack on the palace. The criminals have been apprehended, but we must request that you return at once for your safety, because there may be others.

Cas felt a chill shoot up his spine, “Is my father okay?”

His Majesty is unharmed. A vehicle has already been dispatched to your location and will arrive shortly to collect you. Confirmation code: AEX779.

“Thank you, Jacob,” Cas said tensely and stood up from the bench, turning back to Iris. “We have to leave. There might be rebels in the city.” Despite the seriousness of the situation, a half smile tugged at his lip as he offered her his hand. “Ever ridden in a hover car before?”

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

I'm excited to see how that all plays out!

Crow didn't hold back when they got to the Great Hall cx

Let Me Steal Your Heart [BuzzingBee + Dagger]

Crow casted Penelope a smirk when she said that she hoped Elizabeth would be at the Great Hall. Usually, he was the petty one between the two of them, so it amused him to hear her say something so blatantly hostile about the other noblewoman. However, he had to agree that it would be satisfying if Liz was around when they made it clear to everyone that they were together. As the reigning champion of the title for the pettiest one in their relationship, he liked the thought of getting back at her after all the trouble she had caused for both of them. It would feel great to kiss the woman whose appearance the witch had criticized as ugly because of her scars.

When they eventually reached the bottom of the lengthy stairs, the viceroy squeezed Penelope’s hand in return, finding it slightly unnerving to leave their fingers intertwined in a place where anyone could see them. They had kept their taboo romance a secret for months, and it was difficult for him to get used to the fact that there were no more repercussions if someone else at the castle caught them touching. Presently, there were few people outside, since it was cold and supper was being served inside the palace, but there were still some guards posted at various watch points throughout the courtyard. One knight near the doors seemed to notice their sudden closeness and leaned over to say something to his comrade, his eyes fixed on their clasped hands.

Crow watched the pair discreetly, fighting off the habitual tenseness that rose up inside of him, when Penelope’s voice and nudge drew his attention back to her. “She was a pest,” he nodded in agreement, his mood lifting again as he thought of his nosy sister. “But It’ll be nice to know we have one person on our side when everyone else is judging us for our past.” If William was dining in the Great Hall when they arrived, the older knight would be sure to spread word about their whirlwind romance in Younis years ago. He didn’t care what anyone thought of him, but he disliked the thought of other nobles slandering Penelope’s name just because she had been his guard on that assignment.

As they headed into the castle and down the halls that carried them toward the aroma of freshly cooked food, his concerns were replaced with another wave of excitement. Whatever issues they might face from here on out were nothing compared to what they had gone through to get to this point. He couldn’t wait to let it be known that both of them had already made their choice when it came to choosing who to court. With that thought in mind, he stood tall as they stepped, hand-in-hand, into the Great Hall.

Right away, a few heads turned among the crowd—among them, Elizabeth and Kane, Crow noticed—and people began whispering amongst themselves. The viceroy pointedly avoided their gazes, leading the knight over to an empty table near the center of the room. However, instead of sitting down right away, he turned to her with a mischievous smile. “Ready, love?” he said quietly just before he wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her to his chest for a deep kiss.