untitled portrait one —

lena’s only a little bit of ashamed to admit to herself that she recognized him once he came into view. it wasn’t odd for that thought, probably more that they hadn’t run into each other before. finding an option to introduce herself, she approached with a smile.“i must say of every place i thought i’d finally meet the only other royal i know working in the art history world it wouldn’t be a wedding, but maybe that was my own mistake though. it’s nice to meet someone whose work i’ve admired.” she paused, offering her hand out. “forgive me, i should introduce myself, i try to go by lena rshtuni professionally, but sometimes they add in that princess title, apparently it does better or something.” @ofaustria​

truth was, he felt completely out of place. the fact that he didn’t really know either of the newlyweds very well aside, christoph was having a difficult time with his betrothed, rhiannon. it was almost a relief to hear another voice speaking to him, even if he was confused for a second. the austrian still listened attentively, an appreciative nod given in the middle of the brunette’s words. before he could properly thank her, or ask any questions, he heard her introduction, his eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened. “princess lena! what a pleasure,” he exclaimed, grabbing her hand and giving it a polite shake, although he was beyond excited to meet the woman. “it’s wonderful to finally put a face to the name. i’ve read your master’s thesis, let me please congratulate you on all the fantastic work you’ve done!” christoph spoke a bit fast, given how enthused he was by this encounter.

It was difficult for Rhiannon to trust people, which was why she wasn’t too friendly to Christoph when they first met. She always had her guard up, and was hesitant to let alone see the real her. In her young life, she had been through a lot. And besides a few people, everyone else she let into her life was a disappointment. Before she could give someone her trust, she had to be sure they weren’t going to walk out on her. She wanted to like Christoph and to give him a chance, but she was reluctant for that reason. 

“No…it isn’t. No one ever bothered to ask me what I wanted, or how I felt about this. I’m sure it was the same way for you,” Rhiannon said. She knew that wasn’t how it worked, but it still would have been nice. One of the biggest downsides of being a future queen was that her life had essentially been planned out for her from the day she was born, and she still struggled to accept that. “You’re right. It is what it is. This is the hand we’ve been dealt, and there’s nothing we can do about it.” 

“it wasn’t,” he interjected as soon as he had the chance to, again, surprised at how weirdly hostile he was being at the princess. “but i can understand where you’re coming from.” he attempted to soften his tone, as there was no real reason to be so aggressive, whether or not it worked was up for debate, and the only one who would be able to tell was rhiannon herself. he nodded in her direction once she spoke again — it was true. such was their lives, as children of monarchs. they were given tons and tons of privileges, but sometimes at the cost of their freedom. which was the case with this engagement, to begin with, and this stay in thailand. as beautiful as the place was, it was nothing like home.

after giving himself a second to calm down, with a sigh, he looked back at rhiannon and offered her a polite smile. “do you think they got to pick out anything about their wedding? or was it all planned for them?” he asked, curious to a degree. he didn’t really know the bride or the groom, which was why his presence at the reception was so... odd. “i wonder how much of our wedding we’ll get to plan out, if any.” he chuckled dryly at his own comment, but was still adamant on trying to make conversation with this woman, as there was still a good chunk of the night left to go. “so, what would you pick, if you were allowed to pick only one thing for it?”

margot hated feeling like talking to christoph was a risk she was taking when he’d only ever represented safety to her before. it was almost tragically ironic; things had ended between them because she couldn’t deal with the scrutiny, but there they were – no longer together but still afraid of the same thing, only this time they were both engaged to other people and subject to more intense observation than ever before. his smile made her own widen; she knew how rarely one of those showed itself in public. “well, the wedding was beautiful, but you know how bad i am at these things; i’m a fish out of water. seeing you may very well be the best part of my night,” she admitted easily. just one of the reasons why she loved paris, and why she had loved him there, was that it felt like their bubble, for a time, something worlds and worlds away from anything like this. “but you – i suppose i should congratulate you on your engagement. rhiannon is lovely.” although she was being completely genuine, she felt an undeniable bittersweetness. she wanted him to be happy but, naturally, these weren’t things that she had ever planned to say to him.

It wasn’t that she hated Christoph. Rather, she hated the idea of arranged marriages. They were old fashioned, and she didn’t think she needed to have a husband by her side when she became queen. There had been a time long ago when she wanted to get married and have a family of her own, but the man she wanted both those things with shattered her heart. Very few people in her life had genuinely cared for her and her well-being. Now, she refused to accept the idea that she could potentially be happy with someone else, as she was convinced she didn’t deserve it. Surely anyone else she gave her heart to would just leave again. 

As Christoph stepped away from her, Rhiannon did feel bad for making his life miserable lately. The thing was, she was a good person at heart and did want to believe they could make this work for their countries. They were stuck at this wedding reception together, so maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing to actually speak to him. “I’m…sorry. That was probably overdramatic,” she said, grabbing herself another glass of champagne as well. “I know I haven’t exactly been making this whole thing easy for you.” 

based on the impression he had gotten from her during his stay in wales, rhiannon wanted absolutely nothing to do with christoph. whether or not she hated him was up for debate, but on his end, she wasn’t on his top ten favorite people list of all time. but the thing was, he didn’t know why that was. truth was, he hadn’t even put a significant amount of effort into potentially changing the welsh’s mind about him... but it most likely was the fact that her rejection hurt more than he had expected it to. perhaps because that’s all he knew, all rooting from his father — the one person he had grown up with had rejected him, and now the person he had to live with for the rest of his life had, too. of course, that was just his luck.

he had tried, once, in wales — then proceeded to give up on trying after that. so of course, when he heard the apologetic words coming out from the brunette’s lips, his eyebrows arched in a mixture of surprise and confusion. “uh,” rhiannon had caught him off guard. “it’s alright, i think. i don’t suppose having your life decided for you is pleasant.” especially for her, since she was meant to become queen in a few years time. “don’t suppose having your spouse picked for you without your input is, either.” sorry to disappoint then, princess, he thought. no point saying that out loud. “but, it is what it is.”

margot had resisted the urge to approach christoph for most of the night. seeking him out wouldn’t have been the responsible thing to do, given that they’d both come with new fiancés and the environment they were in was crawling with people who were aware of their history together. still, she found herself looking his way throughout the evening, spotting him easily as he towered above most of the other guests. late into the reception, when the peak of the festivities had come and gone and everyone had more or less settled, she made his way over to him. coming from behind, she touched his arm gently to get his attention and smiled warmly when he turned. no matter what the circumstances were, she would always be glad to see him. “hello, stranger,” she said, squeezing his elbow gently before letting her hand fall. on more private occasions she would’ve greeted him with a hug, but in this situation she was mindful of anyone who might look their way. “i didn’t know you were coming.” [ @ofaustria​ ]

Rhiannon had tried to enjoy Aslan and Layla’s wedding, but the thought that she’d have her own wedding happening sooner rather than later was enough to make her stomach feel queasy. Even though a little bit of time had passed, it was still extremely odd to her that she was engaged to a man her parents chose for her, and as much as she wanted nothing to do with it, she would go through with it because of the love she had for her country. The marriage to Christoph would cement ties between Wales and Austria, which was something her father had wanted for a very long time. She’d survive, she always did. 

The wedding was their first public appearance since news of their engagement broke, and she could only put on a happy face for so long as they stood together. “Can you maybe take a few steps to your right? You’re invading my personal space,” Rhiannon said to Christoph, turning her head to look at him for a brief moment. It was the most she had said to him in the past hour or so. “And you’ve almost stepped on my gown at least five times.” 

@ofaustria​

this was different from what christoph was used to experiencing. he had never been at a wedding like this, and parts of it made him wonder if the world expected his and rhiannon’s wedding to be anything like it. it was a bit disconcerting, and the more nervous the austrian got, the more he wished to not be there, at all. what he’d give to just be home, preparing a lecture. or even, in his room at the resort, plucking away at his ukelele. anywhere but there. so of course, like any adult would, he drank. whenever his glass was empty, he found a new one — not that he was an alcoholic, he drank like a grandmother, but it was steady. steadier than his short relationship with the welsh princess, at least.

he heard her displeased tone, and he drank. he downed the flute he had in hand, wishing he was elsewhere. he obeyed the brunette’s request, stepping away from her. weren’t they supposed to be seen together? wasn’t that supposed to be a headline, in their respective countries, at least? he was only doing what he was supposed to. but she disapproved, as she seemed to do with everything. the man sighed, grabbing another flute from a passing tray. “my apologies, princess.” he spewed out, dryly, before taking a sip from the flute.

&&. announcing his royal highness, ( christoph maximilian von habsburg ), the ( 33 ) year old ( prince ) of ( austria ). he is often confused with ( armie hammer ). some say that he is ( uptight & passive ), but he is actually ( caring & passionate ). ( christoph ) is arranged to marry ( claire foy ). 

hi everyone!! i’m gabs (she/her) and i’m a total newbie! i’m however v excited to be here and get to plot with everyone! feel free to like this intro if you’re okay with me popping into your dms for plots!! ok das all off to the intro !