#da.accepted

Why have you come to the court of Oscana?

“It’s my home. I owe my life to Madame Macre and she won’t let me forget it anytime soon. I’m stuck here until she’s finished with me.” Nissa breathed a laugh. “It’s not so bad. Plenty of opportunities if you know where to look and when to keep your head down. My advice? Don’t get caught up with the royal lot and you’ll be fine.”

Do you support the alliance between Oscana and Ryhule?

“Doesn’t make a difference to me.” She shrugged slim shoulders, hint of smirk curling the edges of her lips. “If the powers that be can put their dicks away long enough to work things out, good for them.”

What secret or scandal are you hiding?

“Why have you come to the court of Oscana?”

“Why does anyone go anywhere,” Cain growls, focussed more on sanding the blade rested firm on his thighs than entertaining the imbecile spouting riddles; “greed, shelter. I go where there’s gold and goods. Men need blades, I provide them. Royals need locks and keys to hide their secrets, I provide them. It’s a job. Nothing special."

“Do you support the alliance between Oscana and Ryhule?”

"Depends,” he says, with a long shrug that stretches the hard-worked muscle of his upper arm. “War requires weapons. I sell them in exchange for gold. Gold buys meat and ale. Peace is a nice idea, but an alliance is a fool’s errand. It’s in noble blood to thirst for more land, wealth, power. No fancy wedding or wide smiles are gonna hide the corpses in their closets. As long as they keep their business out of mine, they can keep playing pretend. Nothin’ to do with me."

“What secret or scandal are you hiding?”

The question causes Cain to finally pause his work. He continues to wipe dust from the metal, but the movement is light, lost, distracted. "There’s a reason I’m good at making blades. You can’t weld what you can’t wield. I was a soldier. A fucking good one. In charge of hundreds - thousands - of men, most prone to pissing their pants at the sight of battle before I taught them how to fight.

“Why have you come to the court of Oscana?”

“Is it not a Duke and Duchess’ daughter’s duty to be present at court to represent the Duchy? Particularly a court you’re bound to by blood? Precisely. Besides, I certainly couldn’t imagine abandoning court life now - things have gotten frightfully interesting, if we’re being truthful, and I’d hate to miss all the delicious scandal.”

“Do you support the alliance between Oscana and Ryhule?”

“I haven’t decided if I truly support it or not. I can see the advantages to an alliance, certainly. But, something as feeble as that of an alliance born from a marriage? It seems flimsy at best, and disaster in a pretty disguise at worst.”

“What secret or scandal are you hiding?”

“Why have you come to the court of Oscana?”

Brought to the court of Oscana when he was twenty five, Yarric sent by his father to be an apprentice to the old royal executioner. Seeing as the Morrell family are a lesser noble family his father figured the Yarric had no chance of being part of the court. It didn’t help that he was quiet and tactless young man. This was their best chance for the Morrell’s to have eyes and ears with the royals.

Some think that killing people is easy. It is but executing them? That’s hard. There’s a skill to bringing the axe down on a person and making it as painless as possible. There’s a skill to not letting it effect you. To Yarric he took great pride in learning this skill from the past executioner.

“Do you support the alliance between Oscana and Ryhule?”

Yarric is supportive of the alliance between the Oscana and Ryhule. Despite his position he doesn’t want to be part of a war in any way. He would rather any conflict was dealt with in meetings or done by underhanded means.

“What secret or scandal are you hiding?”

“Why have you come to the court of Oscana?”

“I live here.” He said before downing the rest of his drink. Waving two fingers in the air Keoni didn’t continue until his mug was filled. “Tried out Ryhule before coming here but Oscana proved to have more need of me. I have also grown fond of the sea.”

“Do you support the alliance between Oscana and Ryhule?”

“If you asked me that five years ago I would have said no, because back then whatever Ryhule and Oscana did didn’t matter to us.” Sighing he ran a calloused hand through his hair. “Now it does matter. I have seen the things Ryhule as done and the blood they have shed, my heart calls for vengeance for the comrades I’ve lost. However if the queen says that we’ll try for peace? Then I will try for peace.”

“What secret or scandal are you hiding?”

“Why have you come to the court of Oscana?”

“I have a few friends here,” Felicity says with a casual wave of her hand, a displeased wrinkle in her nose.  The whole atmosphere of the court was rather loathsome, in her opinion, but it was much easier to keep an eye on the situation with Greenwood and the Arkwrights when she was so close to it.  “I don’t anticipate I will be here for too long.”

“Do you support the alliance between Oscana and Ryhule?”

She barks out a laugh.  “If they could make it happen, I am all for it – but there is no chance they ever will.  This tentative truce they have now can’t hold long enough for them to actually come to an agreement that everyone can live with.  Their fragile egos will snap before long, and they’ll be back to fighting.”  She rolls her eyes.  While she does not mind a good fight when it is between the actual fighters, the ones to blame are not the ones on the ground here.  “I give it three months at best.”

“What secret or scandal are you hiding?”

“Why have you come to the court of Oscana?”

He huffs out a tired laugh, “If I wasn’t here I’m afraid the kingdoms would go to war.” With a sigh he grits his teeth, “Or my parents would have had my head. I am here to do what needs to be done, may the crowned princess and I be happily wed- quickly.”

“Do you support the alliance between Oscana and Ryhule?”

He gives a firm nod, “It is time we learn from our history, constant conflict has solved nothing, causing needless death in its wake. My people are suffering, if something as simple as a marriage will allow them access to the waterways and rain gold across our land then so be it.” For a moment his voice softens, “Between us, what I really wish is for my siblings to see a world that isn’t filled with war.”

“What secret or scandal are you hiding?”

Please answer the following questions in character.

“I was invited, of course.” Delia offered a smile. She took a deep breath as she looked around. “My work had me traveling the kingdom. I think it will be quite a relief to be in one place for a bit. Especially as my home is not the safest place at the moment.”

The question gave her pause. “I do.” And if she didn’t, she couldn’t exactly say it out loud. But she truly did support an alliance between their nations. “Our future queen does not wish to marry the crown prince of Ryhule, but that does not mean another alliance agreement cannot be made.”