𝑻𝑹𝑨𝑮𝑬𝑫𝑰𝑨.

“I usually host an event like a masquerade ball or a garden party when things are getting dull for me back home, but I think in this place…” She cast her eyes around the cold stone walls and the morose faces of the people who walked the halls. “Such an event would either be looked down upon or ignored entirely. It feels as though people have forgotten how to enjoy themselves.” Perhaps a ball would come once people had settled in, it would make sense to bring everyone together before the peace talks began properly.

“  𝑰  𝑫𝑶  𝑵𝑶𝑻  understand  how  one  could  possibly  ignore  such  feast  as  that.  ”  she  was  aware  that  perhaps  not  everyone  came  to  enjoy  themselves  ,  that  perhaps  there  were  far  greater  and  more  important  things  to  focus  on  ––  but  a  little  bit  of  enjoyment  did  not  do  anyone  bad  from  time  to  time  .  if  anything  ,  she  supposed  it  brought  people  closer  to  one  another  .  “  oh,  i  do  agree  .  very  much  so  .  ”  she  gave  the  other  a  smile  ,  a  bit  amazed  that  she  was  able  to  find  someone  whose  thoughts  mimicked  hers  .  

the gatherings in antegra were grand in their own way   …    though they did not happen frequently.    the terrain in antegra did not make it easy for those to come and go from court as often as they might please.    “   i do hope a grand gathering is in the works   …    after all  ,   what better way to celebrate than with a party   ?    ”    she muses with a smile   ,    “   it would give the rest of us something to look forward to.    ”

“  𝑶𝑯,  𝑰  𝑾𝑰𝑺𝑯  for  such  an  event  ,  too  .  it  seems  as  though  ,  it  has  been  ages  since  i  last  properly  danced.  ”  truly  ,  i  had  not  been  so  long  for  parties  were  a  norm  in  gondour  ,  all  too  extravagant  ––  and  even  when  war  still  lured  ,  the  court  always  found  a  way  to  make  possible  such  parties  .  “  it  would  certainly  ease  the  mood  ,  for  it  feels  all  too  tense  sometimes  .  ”  

what?  he  blinked  at  her.  while  right  about  being  ill-mannered,  and  well,  rude;  she  ignored  her  own  fault  in  the  situation.  granted,  that  still  did  not  give  him  permission  to  call  her  a  fish,  but  that  was  beside  the  point.  “  not  ever?  ”    he  couldn’t  help  but  chuckle.  “  should  i  have  used  a  different  animal?  a  toad  perhaps?  ”  at  this  point,  he  was  just  teasing  her;  cruel  as  it  may  be.  “  while  not  the  worst  offence,  and  as  someone  from  angetra,  one  would  think  staring  at  someone  for  no  reason  would  also  be  considered  rude.  

“  𝑰 𝑨𝑴 𝑸𝑼𝑰𝑻𝑬  confident .  ”  though  ,  it  was  certainly  a  lie  .  she  had  her  flaws  ,  like  anyone  else  ––  perhaps  she  did  come  off  as  rude  one  or  two  times  in  her  lifetime  ,  but  she  would  not  ever  admit  to  it  ;  not  to  the  man  before  her  .  if  anything  he  disrupted  any  peace  she  once  had  .  now  she  was  just  simply  annoyed  .  “    and  i  must  say  ,  that  i  am  also  quite  confident  that  you  are  the  most  annoying  person  i  have  ever  met  ,  dear  gods  .  ”  little  did  madelise  care  anymore  about  pleasantries  ,  for  he  did  not  deserve  any  .  

there weren’t many gardens in antegra     …     the weather was too harsh for it.    while the country was full of luscious greens and forests but it hardly bloomed with flowers such as these.    the only flowers they enjoyed were the ones shipped in from down south.    “   spring is quite dreary back home   ,    ”     she says with the slightest shrug of her shoulders.     these foreigners were not enemies to her   ,    in fact they had never been enemies.     the war was between kings.     “    i’d love to see it someday.    i hear the parties are   …    grand.    ”

“  𝑶𝑯  ,  𝑰  𝑪𝑨𝑵𝑵𝑶𝑻  imagine  .  though  ,  i’m  assured  is  it  certainly  beautiful  in  its  own  accord  .  ”  she  had  not  seen  much  of  the  other  regions  ,  and  while  she  had  travelled  as  a  young  child  ,  there  was  only  so  much  she  could  remember  .  “  you  are  welcome  to  visit  whenever  you'd   like  .  ”  she  gave  the  other  a  soft  smile  ,  all  too  amused  with  her  company  .  “  and  that  is  quite  true  ,  everything  is  done  with  such  extravagance  ,  most  do  look  forward  to  our  parties  .  though  i  must  confess,  there  is  only  so  much  i  can  tolerate  them  for  they  are  too  draining  .  ”  

“  i  don’t  remember  claiming  it  was.  "  his  lips  pulled  into  a  smirk,  clearly  amused.  was  she  even  aware  of  who  she  was  dealing  with?  heard  the  rumours  that  were  already  circling  through  the  grand  castellum?  clearly  not.  otherwise,  he  doubted  she  would  be  brave  enough  to  make  that  sort  of  remark.“  were  you  not  the  one  who  was  rude  first?  just  standing  there,  gaping  like  a  fish.  “

𝑺𝑯𝑬  𝑺𝑻𝑶𝑶𝑫  aghast  ,  upon  hearing  his  words  .  could  such  a  horrible  man  exist  ?  clearly  ,  it  was  possible  ,  for  he  stood  before  her    ––  without  a  care  of  what  he  said  to  her  person  .  “  i  beg  your  pardon  ?  ”  madelise  was  not  used  to  people  speaking  to  her  in  such  ways  ,  she  had  always  been  too  shielded  ,  always  among  her  brothers  to  even  hear  anyone  speaking  ill  of  her  .  “  how  dare  you  compare  me  to  a  fish  ?  and  no  ,  i  am  not  ever  rude  .  did  you  consider  that  rude  ?  perhaps  you  should  look  at  your  reflection  ,  for  it  is  you  that  is  so  ill-mannered  .  were  you  not  ever  taught  decency  ?  ”  she  was  very  oblivious  of  his  title  ,  and  who  he  was  ––  truly  ,  she  did  not  care  to  know  ;  not  anymore  .  

while  he  was  annoyed  somewhat  irked  by  her  presence,  he  was  more  confused  as  to  the  look  on  her  face.  she  staring  at  him  like  she  had  never  seen  a  man  before,  or  been  alone  in  a  room  with  one.  though  the  latter  was  rather  proper.  still,  it  did  not  explain  the  situation.  “  are  you  gawking  for  a  particular  reason?  “  he  quirked  an  eyebrow  at  her.  “  move  along.  “

“  𝑰  -  .  .  .  ”  she  lost  her  words  for  a  moment  ,  deep  in  thought  .  although  ,  the  princess  quickly  snapped  out  of  it  ,  moment  words  were  directed  at  her  ,  once  again  .  brows  furrowed  ,  for  now  she  gawked,  yes  ,  but  for  a  different  reason  now  .  the  man  was  certainly  not  polite  ,  quite  the  opposite  ,  really  .  “  must  you  be  so  rude  ?  it  is  not  like  the  gardens  are  for  you  only  .  ”  

“I think that is the idea of these talks, so that we may all find our similarities and not our differences.” Although in her opinion it was not differences between the kingdoms that had led to such a war, but one man’s determination that he should control everything, and now every kingdom had suffered the loss of so many people for the sake of a king’s deluded vision. She could only be thankful that her own dear husband was not such a tyrant as that.

“  𝑪𝑬𝑹𝑻𝑨𝑰𝑵𝑳𝒀.  ”  the  situation  was  rather  peculiar  ,  it  was  unlike  anything  she  had  ever  experienced  ,    for  the  war  started  when  she  was  only  but  a  child  .  it  was  rather  fascinating  really  ,  to  see  so  many  people  gathered  as  if  nothing  had  happened  at  all  .  all  those  years  of  conflict  ,  simply  vanished  before  their  very  eyes  .  she  had  never  understood  ,  truly  ,  the  meaning  of  it  all  but  never  commented  openly  to  anyone  about  it  ,  for  her  father  was  a  clear  culprit  himself  .  “    what  do  you  suppose  we  could  do  to  fix  this  boredom  ?  for  i  am  terribly  and  awfully  waiting  for  some  excitement  .   truly  ,  anything  .  ”

he  sat  alone  in  the  gardens,  listening  to  the  leaves  rustle  as  the  wind  blew  through  them.  with  his  right  leg  stretched  out  before  him,  his  old  injury  flaring  up,  his  mind  mulled  over  recent  events.  the  war  was  over,  talks  of  peace  were  in  the  works  and  yet,  he  couldn’t  find  it  in  himself  to  feel  relieved.  in  fact,  he  felt  everything  but.  it  was  not  peace  he  was  against,  while  he  had  some  thought  on  the  matter,  but  the  people  that  surrounded  him.  the  ones  that  acted  as  though  everything  was  back  to  normal,  as  if  they  not  a  care  in  the  world.  maybe  that  was  their  own  was  to  cope?  these  thoughts  plagued  him,  that  he  wasn’t  aware  of  intruder  invading  his  place  of  solitary.

𝑰𝑻  𝑾𝑨𝑺  𝑽𝑬𝑹𝒀  like  her  to  take  a  leisurely  stroll  through  the  gardens  .  perhaps  it  was  her  curious  side  ,  the  one  beckoning  her  to  discover  the  little  nooks  the  grand  castellum  had  to  hide  .  a  small  form  of  escapism  from  the  four  walls  that  often  surrounded  her  .    it  had  seemed  like  a  grand  idea  at  first  ,  that  of  course  ,  slowly  dissipated  the  moment  she  realized  she  was  not  alone  ––  and  to  a  man  ,  nonetheless  .  had  it  been  idiocy  ?  perhaps  .  but  there  was  little  to  be  done  now  .  “  i  did  not  mean  to  interrupt  .  ”  she  quickly  stated  ,  clearly  bewildered  by  the  encounter  .  

“I must confess to being terribly bored.” Isabella spoke her thoughts aloud if anyone cared to hear them, but mainly just to make some noise in a room that felt so quiet to her. She lived for laughter and the clinking of glasses and so far the mood here was sombre. She understood why, of course, they were fresh from war, but still she needed some form of entertainment. “If these talks were being hosted in Gydina then everyone would already be drunk on champagne and a lot less on edge.”

“  𝑰𝑻  𝑺𝑬𝑬𝑴𝑺  𝑻𝑯𝑨𝑻  perhaps  our  regions  have  something  in  common  .  ”  small  laughter  escaped  madelise’s  lips  ,  knowing  full  well  that  this  situation,  this  stillness  would  never  come  to  be  in  her  birthplace  .    or  at  least  not  as  grim  as  it  appeared  to  be  .  the  grand  castellum  had  a  particular  aura  to  itself  ,  one  that  made  her  feel  apprehensive  at  times  .  perhaps  the  newness  of  it  all  ,  so  she  supposed  with  time  it  would  all  fall  into  place  .  

“    they are quite extravagant   ..    don’t you think    ?    ”    she spoke softly to her companion   ,    speaking of the vast gardens in front of them.     flowers bloomed in colors she’d never seen before    ,    they didn’t get much color back home in antegra.    “    is gondour just as beautiful    ?   ”     (    @melanchvlias​    )

“  𝑾𝑯𝒀  ,  𝒀𝑬𝑺  .    of  course  .  ”  upon  the  promenade  ,  remarkable  gardens  had  caught  her  attention  .  one  was  to  enjoy  the  little  things  ;  after  much  tiresome  travels  .  the  gardens  proved  to  soothe  a  bit  of  the  homesickness  she  felt  as  of  late  ,  the  blooms  all  too  mesmerizing  to  ignore  .  “  oh  ,  it  is  .  our  lands  are  blessed  with  the  most  beautiful  sceneries  .  spring  tends  to  be  a  favorite  of  mine  ,  if  i  am  to  be  frank   .  ”  she  would  have  never  thought  herself  to  be  so  casually  conversing  with  an  antegran  .  but  yet  ,  here  they  were  .