playing with fate;

open starter ›› @francehqstarters where: the dessert table.

" oh, the mini macarons for sure! they're absolutely to die for. " madeleine picked up one of the desserts and popped it into her mouth, it was soft with just the lightest hint of crunch, and the strawberry flavour overtook her senses immediately. " the pink ones are strawberry, the light brown ones are caramel, and the orange ones are, well, orange flavoured. " she laughed a little at her own joke and offered the queen a warm smile. " what would you recommend? i've tried most things on this table by now but i'm always curious about what other people suggest. "

dai lu offered a conspiratorial smile and pulled at the ribbons tying her own mask to her head. " honestly i can't blame you. these events are hard enough, let alone with everyone's identities to obscured. " she wasn't even sure why she had to agreed to attend. sure, it was a charity ball but these appearances always felt like they drained her. " let's speak of something else, to get our mind off our... situation. " dai lu waved a hand back towards the party. " how are you enjoying portugal? "

dai lu wasn't sure, but she had a feeling meiling had been trying to get past without her noticing. she couldn't blame her, dai lu knew that of all her siblings it was meiling that she was the most outwardly hostile to. it wasn't even on purpose, in truth she wished for her sister's nature, if only to lighten her own burdens. " with a collection this large I doubt they would even notice a few missing, " she tried to catch meiling's eye, hoping her message was getting across. " it can't be connected to china, of course, but other than that, " she waved a hand in a dismissive gesture.

she shook her head. as much as she wished that an early morning walk or some tea before bed would calm her, it was far deeper than that, unfortunately. but still, a smile pushed it's way onto her lips and she nodded softy. ❝ i can give it a try. it never hurts to try ! ❞ she answered cheerfully, mostly in a lie but trying to remain polite anyways. she waved her hand in a bit of a dismissal. ❝ enough about me ! what about you ? how have you been doing ? ❞

madeleine drummed her fingers on the tabletop as she placed her cup back on the saucer. she almost wished she was out for a walk in the garden now, but she was the one that had asked étienne to join her for tea. madeleine couldn't very well abandon her. " oh, you know, " she offered a small shrug " summer is a busy season for my social calendar. it feels like everyone has something going on. keeps me delightfully busy . "

considering adrian spends most of his time in the rather lavish gardens of versailles, he didn't skip the party happening. it really wasn't this thing, but in the time he's made a few friends he enjoys the company of, and well, he might not be used to french pastries, but he would admit they are becoming...addicting. the grand duke of russia is about to move to the other side when another frame collides with him. it's on instinct he moves back, while simultaneously catching the male's arm in an effort of not knocking him with adrian's 6'2 frame. until his eyes land on the liquid splashed all over the other male's shirt. it's at the other's look of concern, the duke's gaze flickers to his own coat before moving back to the other, ❛nothing a wash will not erase. it's alright.❜ it was only a splash that could hardly been seen. adrian removes his handkerchief and hands it to the other, ❛here, you want to clean some of that before it stains. lost in thought?❜ he inquires a beat later.

vincentius was thankful to the other man, instead of ending up with all of his drink on himself, his caught arm only spilled a mere fraction of his cup. " thank you, " he replied quietly as he took the hankerchief and blotted at the developing stain, it did a better job removing it than he would have thought, and he managed to cover the remainder by buttoning his jacket. " you could say that, " he handed back the hankerchief and gestured with his other hand. " this is not my usual type of event. to be honest, i'm not even sure why i decided to attend. "

it was a little like colliding with a sunbeam, something about the other felt comforting. she did seem to be stain free, while the front of his shirt was absolutely soaked with dark red liquid. it was already starting to dry in the heat, leaving a sticky feeling on his skin that made him want to dive into the nearest body of water. " i'm afraid my quarters are on the other side of the grounds, by the time I got there and returned i fear the party would have already dispersed. " he glanced around, looking for some other solution and coming up empty. " you don't happen to have any other ideas do you? "

Mateo was somewhat enjoying the small garden party, it was nice to have a moment to himself, while his son was in the care of his family's servants. Although, he was quickly getting tired of it and was planning on leaving soon, wanting to check on Julian as well. As he was getting ready to leave, he bumped into someone, knocking their drink all over themselves. "Oh I'm so sorry." He immediately told the other, looking down at him. "No, I don't think so, I wasn't looking where I was going either. Are you alright? I'm so sorry about your clothes."

vincentius waved a hand. " it's alright, they weren't anything special, really. " he grabbed some napkins off the nearby table and began to daub at the rapidly growing stain. it was going to be awful trying to get them out later, but at least he wasn't wearing anything too nice. " there's so many people at this thing that i'm surprised this is the first time i've bumped into anyone. " he said with a light laugh that sounded awkward to his own ears. " i'm just glad i didn't cover you in punch. "

his sister and empress has not made an effort to rid some of the distance that is between them. there are days where zian nearly feels guilty, that perhaps he should have tried harder where she's concerned, that if he had, perhaps she would not be so far from her siblings as she is. he wonders to this day, that was the sister he's searching for still in her somewhere? or was she gone entirely? or perhaps...would this be the prince's chance to get through to her now that they weren't in their home court? that a change of environment, mingling with different people, perhaps might change her views? it's a long shot, still, the prince cannot help but hope.

if anyone was going to be able to tell that they'd startled her, it would be zian. dai lu wasn't even sure if her other siblings could read her that well. in most ways it made things harder, if anyone was going to see through the cracks in her armour, the spaces where the light was trying to shine through, it would be zian. and for that she had to be even more on her guard than she was with anyone else. she could not and would not risk her position for anything. " i am afraid of very little, and nothing in this palace even comes close to making that list. " in truth, the library at versailles was a wonder. though she would not admit it on pain of death it most certainly did far outstrip the library she grew up in, with towering shelves and more books than she believed possible.

@ailesdamour / sorin + madeleine

the organ sat in front of her like a foreboding beast. her own musical tutor had given up on teaching her piano less than a week into her lessons, focusing on the harp instead. why she’d decided to ask the romanian king to teach her the organ, but she was determined to actually learn this time.   “ i am trying my best. “   she replied through gritted teeth.   “ please, just show me one more time. “

she took the warm cup in their hands, blowing on the liquid softly in an attempt to cool it off and not burn her tongue. they nodded, eyes fixed on their hands rather than the company across the table, suddenly feeling quite shy in her presence. ❝ y - yeah. it's been strange... especially after the recent attacks and all of that. never feel like i can relax, you know ? always on alert... ❞

madeleine hummed gently in acknowledgement before taking a sip of her tea. the burst of sweetness cleared her head even as it scalded her tongue. she put her cup down and stirred it with her spoon as she studied étienne. they had their eyes downcast giving her the opportunity to observe them without thinking up a pretense.   “ i see. have you tried taking an early morning walk in the garden? i find that always helps me relax. “

his relationship with the empress and eldest sister is best described as complicated. there are many, many days, where zian questions his own feelings for his sister, some days where he feels that perhaps as he's too harsh on her, that some days he looks at her simply as his sister, and other days? it's difficult to see her as anything other than only as empress of china. but he knows, in the case of his sister, their father's heir and prodigy, nothing was ever black and white. as always the case when he's facing his sister, a multitude of emotions cross him. some of anger, and others of....loss. of what could have been had the late emperor not gotten his claws into into dai lu. there are moments where he's reminded of her gentleness when they were kids, but all of that change as she begin to grow and how much she's changed from his big sister to the empress of china. he's at the library in the search of a few novels his soon to be sister-in-law, victoria recommends when he finds the empress. this is one of the rare instances where zian attempts to speak to her cordially. ❛it sure puts the one back home to shame.❜ his eyes falls to the manuscripts before her before they settle on her features again. ❛we might consider extending our collection. what's caught your interest?❜ gesturing to scroll.

dai lu had not expected to see her brother. she was not avoiding him per se—the empress of china did not avoid her siblings—but she certainly had not been seeking him out. as the closest in age to her there was always a part of her that wished she could close the gap between them, but of course she was the one that put it there in the first place, and stone walls took a very long time to crumble.

when they felt the other's eyes travel back up to the clouds their own gaze couldn't help but to drift over to him once more. they couldn't help the stolen glances, hues always finding the other's face when they didn't notice ( or at least rowan hoped that he didn't !!! ) taking in the other, mapping out their profile with their eyes.

vincentius could feel their gaze on his face again, he hoped that the bright light of the sun prevented them from notice the blush he could feel creeping up his cheeks. their own blush opened a fluttering feeling in his stomach that he didn’t know how to process, even as he convinced himself that it was the warmth of the day that caused the tiny. rowan’s laugh suffused a warm feeling throughout his chest. he would do anything to keep her laughing like that.   “ you may be right. " he replied, trying to play off how obviously wrong he was. " i think i maybe just got excited about the game, i can assure you my vision is completely fine. “

they hummed. ❝ it kind of just looks like a blob to me, ❞ rowan confessed. ❝ hold on... let me see from your angle. ❞ and with that they scooted over so that they were now laying directly beside vincentius, shoulders and hips touching as they laid side by side. a cheery grin took over their features. ❝ oh !! yes !! i see it now. worm for sure. caterpillars have tiny legs. ❞

in the span of a second vincentius went from relaxed to all of his muscles locked. the warmth from rowan's body soaked into his clothing, and his mouth went dry. it felt like he'd been struck by lightning. he refocused his eyes on the clouds, desperate to think of anything else. " i think you're right, " he turned to look at them, just as he knew he shouldn't and the smile on their face made his heart skip a beat in his chest. he couldn't help but smile back, like their grin was infectious and left him no room to make his own decisions. " that one looks like a boot, " he pointed almost randomly at the sky, trying to get his mind back on track, in truth it was more of a triangle than a boot. " tell me you see it? "

A soft smile grew on her face, a surprise to see such kindness from someone so late in the evening. From her experience, people in the evening tended to be quite cranky from the lack of sleep. Yet Victoria's face was shining brighter than the moon. "It is called Fantasia in D Minor. It is Mozart, from Austria. I like it because it is gentle and quiet and has lots of rests so that my fingers don't get too tired... but I also just love the sound of the name Fantasia," she scooted across the bench, patting the hard wood space beside her as though it were a feather pillow, "You may watch, if you'd like. I could show you something of my own creation that I have just begun."

he knew it was improper, that it broke almost every social etiquette rule in the metaphorical book, but something about the silence surrounding them made it feel like that didn't matter. that they were just two people, rather than a foreign princess and a guard. he slid into the seat she'd indicated and offered her a small smile. " i would like that very much. how long have you been playing? "