The Iron Prince

Hiiii everyone (: this is my first RP group ever so I’m pretty psyched and also really clueless right now, but I’m trying to learn and adapt as much as possible! I’m really open to constructive feedback too so feel free to coach me if I do anything wrong. But yes, hi again, you can call me neena (she/her). My timezone is gmt-5 and I’m 25+ so yeahhh ;3 Anyways, I bring you~ Sung Chul!  My first rp bby: The Iron Prince!  He’s a second tier Prince from the Kindgom of Spades and is the Queen’s Puppet. Everyone thinks that the Queen loves him, but they don’t actually know that it’s all for show. Chul does a lot of unspeakable things (sometimes nsfw) behind the scenes for the Queen in order to keep his remaining family members safe. Because of this, there’s rumors around the palace about him and a lot of people fear him while at the same time they want to get closer to him to gain the Queen’s favor. He’s being used as competition for the Crown, but secretly wants nothing to do with it. Anywho, he generally comes off ice cold and has a resting b face, but deep down, he’s a soft boy okay?! ( ´•̥̥̥ω•̥̥̥` )   Links for more Info:  bio  |  story  |  wanted connections

holding out for a hero

waltzing in the ballroom with @cwnchul

daphne loved when the kingdom held such events. the thought of waltzing with a partner made her heart flutter. it was the perfect love story! she would look into their eyes, her hand wrapped in their’s as she twirled her way around the ballroom, and that’s when she would know they’re the one. although, it was a shame that this event was specifically meant for all attendees to wear a mask. if there was a chance she would fall in love tonight, the princess would do anything to know who they were. maybe, since the event wasn’t strict on keeping identities a secret, she could just whisper her name into their ear, so they could find her later on … NO!

no one could know it was daphne. not even someone she fell in love with at first sight! anyone who had been around the kingdom of spades knew how hated her father was, and consequently how much of the kingdom wasn’t very fond of her either. and if they weren’t aware, well, all it took was a listening ear to hear about the rumors of how unlucky the princess was. then what? by then they definitely wouldn’t want to be around her. who knew if her bad luck rubbed off on others? it was time for daphne to face the music; no one would love her if they knew who she really was. so, until she was certain they wouldn’t run away, the princess had to keep her identity a secret.

now the real issue was finding herself someone’s eyes to melt into, and it was hard when everyone’s face wasn’t recognizable. how could daphne tell familiar faces apart from complete strangers? furthermore, how was she going to tell whether or not they were her type? the night was full of surprises, and to her dismay, they were not the good kind. she only had two options: stand alone or hope her mystery partner was as dreamy as they were behind the mask.

her eyes scanned the room for a potential star to her romantic fantasy, and that’s when she spotted a slim figure standing along the walls of the ballroom. whether or not they wanted to be left alone didn’t matter because the princess already made the decision to steal their heart. yes, daphne was going to march over there and demand they spent some time with her! they’d see how lovable she really was and fall in love immediately!

her strides were filled with such confidence! it was as if she was ready to claim her own fate. the princess was tired of being a damsel in distress; she was ready to grab her prince charming by the hand and say, “hey! sweep me off my feet!” daphne’s heels stopped in front of the tall, mysterious figure as she gazed into his eyes. oh, wow. well, she thought she was ready to write her own story, yet it seemed as though the mystery man’s intoxicating gaze got the best of her. 

“hello, i- well, would you possibly …” she was practically choking on her words as her mind got lost in his eyes, “i’m … uh …” snap out of it! hold yourself together, chen yanyu! the princess shook her head before politely greeting the man with a curtsy. “my deepest apologies. may i have this dance?”

Chul stood along the walls watched silently. There had been a couple of girls already eyeing him but surprisingly none had made a move on him tonight. He wondered why they were acting so coy and shy when their faces were hidden. He would have assumed that the ladies would be even more aggressive tonight, and now he was starting to wonder if he should just wear a mask 24/7 if it meant keeping the women away.

He broke eye contact with one of her girls when she started fluttering her eye lashes at him and quickly looked away when he saw her suddenly approach him. And he knew who it was right away. Her orange hair made her stick out like a sore thumb. And Chul found himself biting back a smile. Because watching her approach him so confidently only to stop and stare at him speechlessly was just so her. It didn’t take even a second for Chul to see that she didn’t recognize him and it was probably due to him cutting his hair after her last comment about his hair and her making fun of him. Still, Chul continued to gaze in her eyes and wait to see if she had the same guts that she always did.

She choked on her words slightly and then quickly curtsy and Chul couldn’t hold back the chuckle and grin that pulled onto his face. He quickly bowed back and held out his hand for her to take as he tilted his head to flash her a charming smile that he rarely let slip. But tonight he was protected by his mask and because she had been the bravest girl to approach tonight, he wanted to spoil her a little bit.

“Of course,” he kissed the top of her hand gently, “I am honored to be asked by such a beauty.”

"you’ve failed to greet a highly regarded royal advisor properly and he is now berating you in front of all the other royals who are around. do you a) remain silent and take everything he has to say or b) hold your ground and talk back to him?”

—————

Chul reads and re-reads the letter. Then he sighs and circles letter A because frankly, he doesn't care if anyone berates him. Especially not the royal advisors. Besides, he highly doubted that any of them would be brave enough to try to scold him openly and loudly in front of other royals or princes and princesses. He was aware of the hushed whispers and how the palace staff feared him, so he would definitely wager that if he as much glanced in the royal advisor's direction, they would most likely cease from berating him.

And as much as he hated to acknowledge it, he was the Queen's hand and because she openly doted on him from time to time--it meant that he had her power to back him up. And whether he liked it or not, it gave him more power in many social situations. Chul frowned in disgust at the fact before noticing that he had accidentally crumpled the piece of paper slightly.

Sighing, he tried his best to straighten out letter from the seer that had nothing more than the newly added circle for his answer. He debated maybe writing more, but promptly stopped himself when he remembered that it was best and safest for him to keep his mouth shut. Quickly folding the letter as neatly as he can, he put it back into the envelope to send it.

location: spades kingdom, courtyard. @cwnyanyu

Chul was walking down the hall when he saw the familiar princess in her usual spot at the massive water fountain in the courtyard, her sole attention focused upon whatever book she was reading. And he stopped by one of the large columns adorning the outer hall next to the court, pausing to study the princess from afar. Today was one of those rare days that the Queen had left him alone and he was going to head into town when the princess caught his eye.

Truth be told, he never paid much attention to her until her father’s imprisonment just a year ago. The news and situation spread like wild fire and he remembered pitying the poor girl. He thought she was going to break after everything that happened. With all the prying eyes and whispers around the palace, he didn’t deny that she caught his attention as she continued to stand tall wherever she went. They had run into each other a few times after that and she never failed to be polite and greet him kindly even when he merely nodded back stiffly. He couldn’t deny that she had piqued his interest slightly, mainly because he respected how well she maintained herself even after everything blew over. 

location: spades kingdom, a lone broom closet on the third floor somewhere @sooincwn​

**trigger warning: blood, murder, death

what happens to snitches.

there’s a THUD! from around the corner, and jiae whips her head towards the sudden noise. “hello? hajin, is that you?” she whispers, squinting to discern whoever or whatever made the noise through the dark. no one else is supposed to be here (they’re always alone), so it has to be him.

jiae takes tentative steps towards the sound, clutching onto the side of the building as she peeks out at the other side. a gasp escapes past her lips before she can even register what she sees (oh my god, is that hajin on the ground?), alerting the intruder of her presence. belatedly, she clamps a hand over her mouth as she takes in the scene before her. it’s only for a split second, because her survival instincts kick in immediately and she retreats behind her cover to avoid being discovered. the garbage bag that she rather noisily stumbles over in her haste reminds her that it’s too late. her chances of escaping this unscathed have just dwindled, so jiae does something she has never done before: she begs. “please, don’t hurt me.”

Chul could see the man fidget nervously as he should be. He was paranoid and he had every right to be, because Chul had been stalking him for a few nights now. Hajin. A man who liked gossip and spreading gossip, a man who should be watching his mouth and who he loosened his lips to. It seemed like he was picking up and warming up some cold trails of the past. Little birds whispered to the Queen of Spades and once she made her mind and sent the Iron Prince, any one’s days would be numbered. And now, the shaking man’s time was up.

Chul had already been hiding for the last 15 minutes and it seems like who ever Hajin was waiting for wasn’t going to show. So he double checked his surroundings once more and then made his move. It was a bit risky, but it was late, chances of Chul being found out were slim to none. So instead of waiting it out and getting another scolding from the Queen, he swiftly did his job. Stepping out of the darkness, Chul pulled his hood back so that Hajin could see his face. The man’s fearful eyes from before suddenly sparked with confusion. He had purposely run into Hajin a few times before just to test the waters, and now that Hajin was staring back at him in confusion and instead of fear which meant that no one was running away tonight.

* trigger warning: death, murder, mentions of blood.

QUEST OF KNOWLEDGE

insu chuckled hearing his response as he looked up. he nodded softly. that was one of the things that they did. whenever needed insu was always someone who could and would help chul with any information he knew, and if he didn’t? he would go out of his way to find out. not only was insu book smart, but he had a way of finding out information from many of his sources from a variety of places. “you do know there are doors. you monkey” he teased his friend with another chuckle.

insu leaned back with a smile and nodded. “what do you need information on? if I know it I’ll tell you, and if I don’t. i’ll find out” moments like these made him feel like someone who had some sort of power. maybe this was a type of power, but it was also something he didn’t really mind.

Chul felt the tension in his shoulders ease slightly. He hated that he always had to come to Insu for information, but Insu was much more educated than him. And this meant that Insu’s circle also involved other highly educated individuals which was why Chul decided that his best bet was to go to his close friend. He debated about it for a while, because the morals were never in the right place. However, what could he do when the Queen was always holding a leash on him? 

He inwardly sighed at the thought of the Queen tracking him down only to find that he was sneaking into the Hearts Kingdom to retrieve information that he could not find on his own. But at least he could defend himself by saying he was resourceful by going to Insu, right? After all, as long as he got her tasks done, she shouldn’t get too upset at how he got it done, just that he got it done. Chul snapped himself out of his thoughts and promptly answered Insu.

“I need to find the best Herbologist and the best Perfumer.” Chul tried not to make a face at how ridiculous his statement sounded, “Can you help me find them?”

“oh? yes, sure!” she’d barely managed to form the few, simple words, offering a clumsy curtsy before reaching out to accept his hand. 

it was all extremely uncharacteristic of her to do. but among the embarrassment of being the center of attention— being chosen— she simply couldn’t help herself. easing herself into their dance, following his lead, eunae managed to collect herself enough to start conversation.

“i’m so sorry, i don’t recall us ever meeting in person. may i ask your name?”

“Chul.” And normally, Chul would let the conversation end there, but not tonight. No, he needed to make sure that he established their acquaintance at the very least. But what else was he supposed to say? Chul tried not to frown as his body continued to move with the music. Should he ask her about her day? Or should he compliment her dress? Did women like that? Silently,  he cursed himself when he realized that he had contemplated for too long and had completely missed the timing of continuing the conversation. Knowing that he might have caused suspicion, he quietly cleared his throat and apologized softly, “I’m sorry, I’m not very great at talking.”

He steps away and twirls her, watching her turn in a fluid motion as if she was dancing on air. And then he pulls her in again when she faces him again. Chul pulls the princess in closer by the waist, but consciously made sure that it was not too close as to not make her uncomfortable as he added, “But I hope that doesn’t turn you away from me.” The music comes to a slow and he leads her back to where he had asked for her hand. He bows formally and pauses for a moment, glancing behind him. The watching eyes quickly turned away and the few gathered people swiftly left as the next song began to play. Chul knew that he needed to make a small scene so that the Queen was aware that he had began her assignment, but with Eunae’s engagement having only been recently cancelled, they were drawing much more attention than needed. He knew that it would be hard to talk to her and get closer if it was in front of many prying eyes.

Turning back to face Eunae, Chul offered gently, “It seems there are too many curious eyes in this ballroom. Would you like to take a quiet night stroll with me through the garden?”