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Mar 2, 2021 9:29:38 GMT -5
Post by nostalgic on Mar 2, 2021 9:29:38 GMT -5
Aela was shifting nervously in her seat, rearranging the folds of her pale blue dress.
"Stop fidgeting," her father told her, and she stilled.
This was going to be so weird. She was barely twenty six, and her father had her meeting someone who could be her first potential suitor. It was a boy named Cato Rotherhithe, who was newly minted as a member in the Royal Guard. She knew the Rotherhithe name from her studies, and knew they were a powerful family. They were the right race as well, since she would have to marry a dark fairy.
Her father would talk to his across the room while the two of them had time to chat semi-privately. Of course there would be watchful eyes, but if they spoke quietly no one would hear them.
Aela glanced up when the door opened and Lord Rotherhithe and Cato Rotherhithe were announced. Her gold eyes widened in surprise- he was old! Well, older than her. He was probably a legal adult. Thankful for her dark skin to hide her flushed cheeks, Aela resisted the urge to hide behind her long black curls as they were introduced.
"It's nice to meet you, Cato," she said, squaring her shoulders under her father's gaze. Their dads went off to the corner to chat, and Aela crossed her ankles and uncrossed them, glancing shyly over at the older boy. "How was your journey here?" She asked finally, fiddling with her sleeve's hem.
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Mar 2, 2021 9:41:34 GMT -5
Post by achromatic on Mar 2, 2021 9:41:34 GMT -5
As awkward as Aela felt, Cato felt even weirder about this. Frankly, his mind was simply on Elise. Why hadn't she written back? It had been months, no, longer than that. He had finished his training months ago, and not a single word from her. He had written too, multiple times. Was she angry? Did she already get married? Were the rumours true? His mind was swimming with the possibilities of why she'd avoid him like this. They didn't leave on bad terms; they were both going off to do things they wanted to do. He had finished his training and she should still be in university right now, studying with some of the most famous fairies in the world. Literature too. Why would she be writing, spinning words of poetry for class without writing back to him?
He seemed distracted, but his father didn't care. "You know how this will go. Just be your usual self, though she's a little too young for you to truly court at the moment. It's just an initial meeting, so she knows what to expect when she's of age. You'll be in their guard anyway, so just make a good impression, and you'll be set for your career the next couple of years."
Cato simply nodded, pulling at the cuffs of his sleeves to straighten them out.
They finally arrived. A tea in the garden, apparently, was where he was to meet his future wife, and...she was young. Way younger than he thought, especially with how the other nobles had described her to be. She was practically Cassian's age, from the looks of it. They were expecting her to marry him? It felt wrong, to even flirt with a child like that. What the hell did his father mean by be his usual self anyway; if she was at least sixteen, he could be his usual rakish self and flirt but...she was a child. The boy seemed stunned, but quickly shook it off. Right. He had a reason to be here.
"Princess Aela," he gave her a bow, "it's a pleasure to meet you."
As the fathers continued on their walk to discuss their matters, he sat across the girl, though the discomfort still seemed visible on his face. "My journey was well, your highness." Gods he felt almost dirty, trying to court a child. Wouldn't Cassian be a better fit for this, if the girl needed a playdate?
"I believe our fathers wish for us to get to know one another," he cleared his throat, as the maids brought them their tea, "this may be rather impolite...but may I ask how old you are?"
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Mar 2, 2021 9:49:47 GMT -5
Post by nostalgic on Mar 2, 2021 9:49:47 GMT -5
"I'm glad your journey went well. It can be hard to get to Pyxis with the rides," she said, glancing at him again. "And yes, I believe you're correct- my father implied this was a get to know you kind of meeting, since I will have to pick a husband in the future."
It was almost funny, seeing such pomp on barely a teenager. Despite her training, it was clear there was a hint of the child left about her, even if her father brought her to meetings and oversaw her diplomatic training day in and day out.
"I just turned twenty six. I don't think it's an impolite question. How old are you?" She asked in return, a little intimidated by his height and the broadness of his shoulders. He was way too old for her.
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Mar 2, 2021 10:06:28 GMT -5
Post by achromatic on Mar 2, 2021 10:06:28 GMT -5
Twenty six? He felt a weird feeling in his stomach at that revelation, and gods, he wanted Elise to be here. This kid was literally the age of his younger brother, that brat. Why the hell did any of them think that this was a good idea? He was in a completely different point of his life than she was; at that age, she probably barely gave boys a second look and here Cato was, dreaming of a family with the love of his life–
He had to hide a grimace at that thought. "I'm....forty," it even felt wrong saying it, "to be completely honest, if you feel like this is a little...unusual, especially with our age gap, I'd agree with you, but I'm afraid I was told the same thing, that our partnership would bring a great alliance to the royal name and that my experience would...help you when you become queen."
It was weird, being so official with a kid. She talked like a delegate, that was for sure; she probably had more training than he did in that department, considering she was born to be a queen. Still, he didn't want to talk about trade deals; if he was to marry her...what, five years from now? He might as well know her a little bit, right?
"You remind me a lot of my younger brother, actually. Except you're probably a lot more graceful than he is. You must be starting secondary school, no?" he asked, trying to be friendly, "I'm guessing schools here in Pyxis must be somewhat similar to the ones in Vela, though probably better funded and more grand than even our best."
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Mar 2, 2021 10:32:36 GMT -5
Post by nostalgic on Mar 2, 2021 10:32:36 GMT -5
Forty? He was way too old for her. Aela smiled faintly at him, before looking down at her hands. "I do think it's unusual," she said softly. "But I don't think either of us have much of a say in the matter." At the mention of his younger brother she looked up at him.
"I don't go to school here," she said. "I've heard they're excellent. My governess teaches me subject matter, and my father brings me to his meetings with him, so I learn to govern through experience." She wished she could go to school- her sister avoided her and there were no other children here, not since Lizzie went away. She frowned for a moment, then glanced over to double check that her father hadn't caught it.
Out came the diplomatic smile again. "So... you're a member of the Royal Guard? Do you like it?"
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Mar 2, 2021 11:00:31 GMT -5
Post by achromatic on Mar 2, 2021 11:00:31 GMT -5
He should've guessed that a princess wouldn't really go to school the same way the other noble kids did. Must be lonely, he thought. It seemed like they were both in a position where their parents had left them little say in what they could do. Cato could empathise with her at least. His expression had softened, as if he was talking to Carina instead of some girl he'd have to marry later on. She was...sweet, he supposed.
"I do," he replied with a small smile, "I suppose it's what I've worked for all of these years, and I get to travel and see the rest of the kingdom, so that's nice too. Pyxis isn't bad either; it's different from my home back in Vela but there's always plenty to see. It's good training for the future." His words were practiced, enough to seem convincing and yet just a little too dull to sound like he truly meant it completely. He didn't mind the guard at all, to be honest, it was practice, and the other guards truly were fun people. He just missed some things more than others.
"How about you? It must be pretty busy being a princess," he offered, "what do you like doing for fun?"
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Mar 2, 2021 11:37:22 GMT -5
Post by nostalgic on Mar 2, 2021 11:37:22 GMT -5
"Like in my free time?" Aela asked, after nodding along to his stories about traveling. She wished she could relate- she had never left Pyxis before. Her mother and sister went to Columba sometimes, but traveling for pleasure was not fit for a crown princess.
"I like to read, or spend time in the garden," she said. "I don't get much free time. But I'm getting good at horse riding- I wasn't allowed to start until last year."
Something about the way he spoke to her, the kindness in her voice, drew her in. Aela had always been desperate for a friend, and Cato seemed nice... brotherly, even. "What do you do in your free time?"
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Mar 2, 2021 12:09:28 GMT -5
Post by achromatic on Mar 2, 2021 12:09:28 GMT -5
Cato nodded at her words. It was infinitely easier to talk to her when he stopped thinking of her as his future wife and as just another sibling. "Horseback riding, huh?" he hummed. He enjoyed that too, though he had always been a boat person more than a horse person. Still, he could appreciate those creatures, though more often while he was in a carriage than when he was on one. He didn't mind, regardless. It just wasn't his first choice of transportation.
He found it hard to answer her question. What could he say? Bully his siblings? Spending time with his girlfriend, the one that wasn't almost a decade younger than him? "I like going out to eat with my friends?" he tried to think, "the beach is nice too. My friends and I used to go shooting on the weekends or the local boxing competitions, though if you ever tell my father this, he'll probably murder me. They're not exactly respectable places to go, especially for nobility like us. It's certainly better than the ballets I have to watch because of my sister."
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Mar 2, 2021 12:15:45 GMT -5
Post by nostalgic on Mar 2, 2021 12:15:45 GMT -5
Aela smiled despite herself. Less diplomatic, and more of a genuine smile. "How does boxing work? They punch each other, right?" Under her father's possessive protection, she had never seen much violence at all. Sometimes they wrote about it in her books, but she had trouble picturing it. Her shyness had faded slightly into a curiosity.
Their fathers were a safe distance away now, and Aela relaxed, her posture becoming less rigid as she reached for a slice of pie. "Do you like pie? Cherry is my favorite. My dad won't let me have it except for special occasions- like this, I guess."
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Mar 2, 2021 12:49:00 GMT -5
Post by achromatic on Mar 2, 2021 12:49:00 GMT -5
Cato was surprised that she wanted to hear more about boxing. "Sure, but most of it is pretend," he chuckled, "a lot of them are scripted, but still, there's a few who don't. I always root for those ones, they win if they win, and they lose if they lose. It's plenty more fun when you don't know what's going to happen. It's pretty exciting though, but sometimes the blood and guts can be a bit much. Some of them take out their vendettas on that stage."
He had an immediate answer for her next question. He smiled at her response, before offering his. "Seared peach and rhubarb's mine," he replied with a small smile, as his gaze turned wistful. It was something he and Elise shared, after all. They both agreed it was the best dessert in the city. Or perhaps even all of Lacaille. "There's a restaurant back home that does an excellent one. Probably the best pie you'll ever have."
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Mar 2, 2021 13:34:28 GMT -5
Post by nostalgic on Mar 2, 2021 13:34:28 GMT -5
Playing pretend was Aela's specialty, but as much as she liked hearing about boxing, it didn't sound like something she'd be interested in seeing. "That sounds really yummy," she said, digging her fork into her cherry pie with a bright gleam in her eyes. "Maybe if I ever go to Vela I'll go there, to try it."
Aela patted her mouth with a napkin, trying to think of something else to talk about. As young and naive and sheltered as she was, she wasn't good at making friends. And Cato was older- he certainly didn't want to play pretend or run around with her. "So... what was school like? I always wanted to go."
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Mar 2, 2021 20:08:51 GMT -5
Post by achromatic on Mar 2, 2021 20:08:51 GMT -5
He gave her a small smile. "You really should," he replied, "They have an excellent view of the bay as well."
It was almost difficult to talk about home. It had been a while since he had left, and he missed it. He also missed all the places he had gone with Elise before they had left, and it felt like her presence just marked every location he'd bring someone else to. Even if he took his future wife there, it'd be weird, showing her to the places he had gone before–the carnival, the beach by his family home, the cliffs–where he had spent his youthful days with the love of his life.
"School's fine," he shrugged, "you get to meet a lot of kids around your age, which is pretty good I think. You can practice a lot of things like delegations or peacemaking with other kids and you get a view into how the rest of our generation thinks." A girl who never went to school like that must find all of this foreign, he thought. "Do you meet a lot of people your age, your highness?"
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Mar 2, 2021 22:53:06 GMT -5
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Post by nostalgic on Mar 2, 2021 22:53:06 GMT -5
“No.” Aela looked down at her food, pursing her lips. “There’s barely anyone my age in the palace. There was a girl... but she had to move away. And the boys tease me and I don’t know how to respond.”
They never did it in a way that they would get caught- they knew of the king’s wrath. But they poked fun at her in sly ways that made her uncomfortable, as if she were the butt of some joke. More times that not they’d ask her if she knew about this or that term, and burst out laughing when she said she didn’t.
“I wish I could go to school. I feel like even if I did, though, it would be hard. I’d be different from everyone else, because I’m the princess. I don’t know if anyone would want to be friends with me because they genuinely liked me, or because they want to use me for my position.”
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Mar 3, 2021 7:43:13 GMT -5
Post by achromatic on Mar 3, 2021 7:43:13 GMT -5
Cato was embarrassed to admit that he'd probably be one of those stupid boys making fun of girls at that age. After all, girls and their annoyance was boys and their humour at that age. He gave her a sympathetic look. "Boys are just like that at your age," he sighed, "trust me, they're years more immature than girls are when they're twenty or so, but they'll grow out of it. They just tease girls because it's fun to get a reaction out of them."
He gave her a small smile. "Just ignore them, or pretend you're in on the joke too," he shrugged, "once they realize you're not hurt by their words anymore, they'll give up eventually."
Cato took another sip of his tea. "You know, you'll probably meet some of my siblings eventually. They might be annoying and bratty, but I'm sure they'll be friends with you if you'd like." It wasn't as if Cassian had many friends either, and well, Carina was at the age where she assumed everyone was already her friend anyway, even if her idea of what friends were was kind of twisted in a way. The youngest of them was a mischievous little brat.
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Mar 3, 2021 8:49:35 GMT -5
Post by nostalgic on Mar 3, 2021 8:49:35 GMT -5
Aela nodded, filing that away in her memory. Don't get them a reaction. That would be easy enough, she guessed, but she still wanted to know what they were talking about. Engaging with them only made the teasing worse, though, so she decided to take Cato's advice.
"I'd like to meet them. What are their names? I have a little sister, but she's basically a baby still, and she's usually with my mom." Who she didn't see either. Rea seemed to have a lot more freedom than Aela, and it was hard not to resent her, even if she was a decade younger.
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Mar 3, 2021 12:41:20 GMT -5
Post by achromatic on Mar 3, 2021 12:41:20 GMT -5
He looked rather amused at the serious expression on Aela's face. It was amusing, to see a child so serious. His own siblings were always messing around, breaking things and playing pranks on each other, only ever serious when their father was around. It was a bit weird, really. To have a child barely half his age speak to him like an adult.
Cato couldn't help the chuckle that left his mouth. "My brother's name is Cassian, and I think he's probably your age. My sister's name is Carina, and she's a couple of years younger than you I believe," he mused, "though you're probably more mature than both of them by a mile. I shouldn't speak ill of my family, but they're both mischievous brats. They'll play pranks on you if they could, but hopefully you won't mind it too much. That's just how they are."
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Mar 3, 2021 13:27:27 GMT -5
Post by nostalgic on Mar 3, 2021 13:27:27 GMT -5
"They sound nice," Aela said, offering Cato a small smile. As reserved and formal as she could be, there was that part of her that wanted to be like other children. Lizzie had been a big help in that area, at least for a while. It took a while for the stiff exterior to melt away, but underneath it all, Aela was still a young girl.
King Iki came back into view, alongside Lord Rotherhithe. "How did you two get along?" The King asked, looking down between his daughter and the much older suitor.
"Splendidly. Cato is very thoughtful and attentive," Aela answered promptly, the perfect posture returning. She did mean what she said- he hadn't tried to make it weird or like a real courtship meeting. Aela didn't exactly want to marry him when she got older, since he would still feel like an older brother of sorts.
The King nodded, glancing to Cato. "Did you enjoy the tea- and the company?"
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Mar 3, 2021 17:52:06 GMT -5
Post by achromatic on Mar 3, 2021 17:52:06 GMT -5
As the parents came back into view, Cato's posture also shifted into the more formal one expected of their meeting. Giving a bow to the king as he approached, he was at least relieved that Aela didn't seem too weirded out. He would've thought otherwise, but it seemed like her training meant that in any situation, she was still polite. Always a princess, he supposed.
"It was lovely, your majesty," Cato responded, "and of course. Princess Aela is excellent company; she'll do wonderfully as queen one day, I'm sure." He didn't lie about that either; she was poised, graceful, everything a queen should be. She was just missing what Elise had, that spark in her eyes, the playfulness in the way she teased him, the connection they just naturally had...
"I'm sure they'll make a perfectly fine match," his father's voice sounded jovial, "they seemed to have gotten along well. My son's experience and leadership will pair well with Princess' Aela's poise and knowledge of how the kingdom runs. They'll certainly be a fitting match for the gods."
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Mar 3, 2021 18:18:15 GMT -5
Post by nostalgic on Mar 3, 2021 18:18:15 GMT -5
"A fine match," Iki said, nodding in agreement. "Of course Aela is too young to be wed now- it's been centuries since the temple has wed a monarch before the age of 32. We'll wait the proper amount of time, and keep them in contact, and if the match is still good when she reaches that age we'll arrange the nuptials."
32 was not that far away, Aela realized, wiping the cold sweat off her forehead furtively. Obviously her father wanted to make sure the trade with the Rotherhithes would still be profitable, but Aela doubted the situation would changed in six years. As much as she had enjoyed her tea with Cato, she certainly did not want to be wed to him.
Still, her father expected some kind of response. Aela nodded, before glancing down at her hands, hoping something would happen to derail the plans before the time came.
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Mar 3, 2021 20:14:20 GMT -5
Post by achromatic on Mar 3, 2021 20:14:20 GMT -5
"Of course," Lord Rotherhithe replied with a smile, "by then, my son will finish his time in the guard and he'll be ready to lead our men to greatness, I'm certain of it. We can set their next meeting in the future after his training in the navy."
Cato kept quiet, unwilling, or perhaps, unable to say anything. His eyes met Aela's for a moment, and he could see the way she glanced furtively, avoiding her father's gaze. Great, he thought to himself, at least he wasn't alone in finding this extremely awkward. He felt bad for the girl; she certainly didn't seem ready to wed, but neither did he. He had expected a girl similar to his age, someone he could flirt with, and here he was, sitting here while his father set him up with someone who was barely a child.
"Thank you for having us," his father spoke once more, as he turned to Cato with a look. The boy immediately stood, giving a low bow to the king, before turning to Aela.
"It was lovely to meet your acquaintance, your highness," his words felt scripted, "until we meet again."
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