his royal highness prince taurayi

She had seen the Prince of Zimbabwe in passing. A quiet smile and a nod as they would go past each other in the large halls of the castle, but Alys had mostly kept to herself. Grief on her mind more than anything. It’s why she was grateful for the current Valentine’s Day event they were both attending as it was a chance to be more social, “Are you a fellow Welsh speaker?” Her smile widened, “Not one for hard alcohol myself, but I’m quite certain if you requested it, someone would bring it in for you. And aside from those pesky nerves of speaking with people I’ve yet to meet, doing just fine. Taking this as an opportunity to put myself out there and forget about my worries for a day.”

Taurayi shook his head. “I understand enough to get me by, but I’m far from a Welsh conversationalist,” he said as he took a bite of some of the food out on the table. It was a very strange format to have them engage in small talk with each table, but he wasn’t hating it entirely. “Nah... it’s best that I don’t. I should be on my best behavior in front of such company as yourself. And what worries are you trying to wish away? I didn’t think that a place such as this warranted worrying.”

 “Is that your way of saying you’re wanting me to wake up in your room Tau?” she cooed sickly sweet. “As tempting as that seems, don’t we have more exciting dates to go through? I’ve not even demolished the cheese board yet.” He was able to annoy the hell out of her most of the time, but she wouldn’t lie, she was kind of tempted - just to see what he was like when he wasn’t just solely trying to irritate her. 

Tau licked his lips, thinking of the image. Her sprawled out on his bed was an intriguing thought, but he was certain that she would never let thing get that far. She always expressed extreme disdain for him, which was half of the fun. “Oh dear princess, why of course. I hear that hate sex is extremely satisfying,” he teased. “I’ve been to a few interesting tables. But I can’t help myself. Antagonizing you is my favorite past time. I noticed that you didn’t bring your little electronic device along.”

How was someone meant to act as these things? The last speed dating she had went on was in University and there wasn’t just wine involved and definitely no food. “The last time I was at one of these things, it wasn’t sophisticated wine tasting and a cheese board, it was a tray of blue kamikaze shots and praying I woke up in my own bed.”

Tau had made his rounds but he was still bored. It wasn’t until he spotted the woman he had been annoying that he perked up. “That sounds like a night I would’ve liked to be a part of. Why don’t you say we skip out of here and go get some real drinks?”

This would be the first Valentine’s Day spent without her betrothed, and Alys wasn’t complaining one bit. In fact, she was going to enjoy the day for what it was. A time to meet new people, eat expensive cheese and drink expensive wine. And with a glass already in hand, Alys found a seat at one of the empty tables; cheese plate in front of her with a bit of bread as a buffer. Taking a sip of wine, she swirled it around in her mouth, already feeling the small bit of alcohol relax her nerves as someone joined her at the table set just for two, “ Prynhawn da. How are you?”

“Good afternoon to you,” he said as he gave the woman a slight nod. He had been in the castle for several weeks, but he hadn’t mingled too much with his fellow royals. Most of his time had been spent in the village. “I’m doing quite well. Mostly because of the free wine. I’m usually more keen to liquor, but this will suffice. How are you today?”

At 12:30, Mia took a seat at one of the “speed dating” tables and brought her glass of wine to her lips. She grimaced after sipping. “I hate red wine,” she admitted to her “date” once they sat down. “So please distract me for the next five minutes.”

Tau raised an eyebrow at the new arrival before looking down at his glass. “I have white wine. Want to trade?” he offered, tilting his glass out to the blonde.

With the mention of the drink Eamon’s eyes travelled to the drink held in the man’s hand. “Well your choice might be the problem there. The trick is to go for something so obnoxiously flavoured it doesn’t matter and get to the dull stuff once your sense of taste is dampened,” he commented, smiling slightly at the other. “Would you believe me if I said this was my first time here? I’m Eamon by the way.” With the introduction he held his hand out for the other.

“I admit that I’m not really one for the flavored or colorful ones, but I suppose trying something new in a new atmosphere is in order,” he grinned as he flagged down the bartender for a new drink. Tau chuckled as he grasped the other man’s hand firmly. “What? No... I thought surely you were a part of the welcoming committee. I’m Taurayi. You can just call me Tau.”

“And it happens even quicker in a place that’s the only one of its kind in the area.” Maggie mused, looking around the club. It would probably be out of her pocket at this point, but she still had a decent amount of money stashed away- and who was she if she did’t prioritize going out? “You really should have. Don’t tell me that didn’t come as a part of your checklist when you turned eighteen?”

Tau shook his head. “I don’t remember most of my eighteenth birthday celebrations to be honest. So many planes. So much absinthe. So little memories,” he chuckled. “Maybe some of the village folk should capitalize on the fact that there’s a need for another bar or club. I’m sure there’s plenty in the castle who would appreciate it.”

Cas chatting up a girl at the Lilac wasn’t exactly a new occurrence. He knew it likely wouldn’t go anywhere, but it kept him entertained while Camilla spent time with her princess. A distantly familiar voice caught his attention though and he turned with a grin. “I was wondering how long it would take you to find this place, Tau.” 

Tau turned to the familiar voice and grinned. “Cas! My good man... it’s about time that I found you. So you’ve been holed up here all this time? You have to bring me up to speed on the goings on. I’m absolutely bored out of my mind,” he admitted as he patted Cas on the back. It had be a moment since he had been in touch with his old friend, so he was grateful for a friendly face.

“Little toy?” She’d had to save hard for that console. Not everyone was born with a silver spoon and a solid gold bassinet. “Buying me a new one doesn’t buy back the hours of saved gameplay that you’re destroy.” His next word draw a laugh from her lips. Wow, he was really playing the dad card. “Well if you’re close enough to my father to pertain how he’d think, surely he would have told you i’ve been in kickboxing classes since my early teens.” When back safely in her hands her lips pursed in a line at the flashing game over screen.  “This might come as a surprise if you live under a rock, but I’m not a princess, not really. My dad only became King last year remember? And given I’m in my twenties,  I went to University, I get a degree and I’m no where near the line of succession for my father in this inane little game he’s dragged me into. I think I have time for a job.” She was what? Fifth in line? She wasn’t betrothed. 

“I’m not going to destroy any gameplay. You should’ve saved your work. Everyone knows that,” he said as he rolled his eyes and acted like he was going to return the console back to her. Tau peered down at her and smirked. He was closer to her father than she seemed to know. They had plenty of conversations at the last event that they had crossed paths at. “I’m well aware of your family’s history. And as you remember, I’m not in the line of succession either. But there’s still certain responsibilities, certain image to maintain. You shouldn’t be bothered in such a lowly career as a developer. You should be the CEO and have your own team of developers.” He withdrew the console back for a moment and thought of an idea. “Have dinner with me. I’ll give you your little toy back and we can discuss this idea more in depth.”

There was something incredibly amusing about watching the oddities of bar patrons while hearing none of their jabber. Paolo certainly seemed amused, judging by his expression. Leo took that as a good sign and continued watch others, from the flirtatious to the less-so. Spotting the new patron, he lifted his own bottle of beer in greeting.

Watching people in the crowd was one of Tau’s favorite games. When he was younger, he was able to rope his brother into the game at royal functions with dignitaries and politicians in attendance, but now, the new crown prince couldn’t be bothered. His eyes scanned the room to see if there was anything worth his night. He spotted another man across the bar who lifted his beer. It was intriguing, but he let it pass, giving a polite nod and tilt of his glass before drinking once more. Tau wasn’t the type to approach, so he remained in his seat, turning his attention back to the crowd.

@taumoyo​

Sahir had spent the better part of the morning deeply entrenched in paperwork. All the holidays had made everything seem to drag by the last few weeks and it only seemed to finally be recovering now. His father’s personal delay, plus the mail delay, plus a poor allocation of priorities on his part meant he was looking over proposed legislature from early December. ‘Kicking himself’ was a bit of an understatement, and by early afternoon he needed a break. 

Detouring through the dining room he grabbed a cup of coffee before heading for one of the quieter sitting rooms. He’d just seated himself in front of the fire place when the sound of foot steps drew his attention to the entry. A slight frown came across his face as recognition set in. He’d heard a prince of Zimbabwe was here and he’d been hoping for the older brother. “Taurayi. It’s been a while,” he greeted with a curt smile. 

Taurayi was bored. He had already explored the village and the castle and now there wasn’t anything to do. Rebekah was probably off hiding in some cabinet with her video game yet again, so his favorite source of entertainment wasn’t an option. Perhaps it was time to see if there was anyone else that he knew in attendance. He moved from room to room before finally coming across one of the smaller sitting rooms that was further removed from the main hall.

His lips curled up with a smile. Sahir was easily recognizable, even with that serious look on his face and line between his brow that showed that he had been much too focused on something for far too long. “Ah... Sahir. It’s good to see a familiar face. But you shouldn’t scowl. Wrinkles, you know,” Tau said, pointing to the other man’s forehead. “I don’t believe they have botox here to remedy that, but I’m sure there’s someone we could ask...”

One of the very few things that Maggie continued to do after being disowned, was visiting the same old clubs and bars. It was some of the rare fun that she still got to have whenever Matthias couldn’t be around. Besides, it was just fun. Even tonight, she was in one of those rare clubs, enjoying herself, when someone spoke up. “Tell me about it.” She was quick to respond, taking a sip of her cocktail. “This almost makes me feel like I’m in some bigger city.”

Tau turned his head towards the source of the new voice. He gave her a polite nod as he sipped his drink. “I can see how the appeal of the area can wear off quickly,” he noted as he looked around the room. It was a decent enough club, but if it was the only one of its kind around, it was going to get old rather quickly. “Maybe I should have taken a quick club tour of the world before arriving just to get my fill before sequestering off here...”

“Clearly someone missed me too much after I got sent away hmm?” Her tone was clipped, storm in her eyes as she stood up to try and reach the console held  too high above her and her started mashing the buttons. “You break it, I break your face.” she warned him. “I”m a video game designer, of course I still play.” God, it was going to get irritating if she ran into him all the time. “A stern handshake, at best.” She wasn’t going to admit the strange looks she got when she was dragged to her dad’s wedding and she’d went in for the French peck on the cheek. It had not been received well. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen her play video games. Even before her father commandeered his own promotion from politician to King, she would have still been found at the back corner of function halls with a game in hand, or if she’d been caught trying to bring a video game, she always had a pack of cards to con some politicians or royalty out of some cash. She never thought she’d miss being the politician’s daughter. “Besides, I have older step siblings, I think I’m all good at not being the influence to my fathers new citizens.”

“Nonsense. I won’t break your little toy. And even if I did, I could just buy you another one. Plus, I’m certain that your father would be most upset with you if you did in fact break my face. If you could that is...” he retorted, brushing past the suggestion that he had missed her. Tau did enjoy their little back and forth. Rebekah had an immense fire that he loved to poke at and she wasn’t like other princesses. He pressed random buttons until the screen read ‘game over’ before handing the device back to the woman. “A video game developer? I was certain that being a princess was a full time job that wouldn’t allow for your little job.”

Addie was having the time of her life… Thanks to four drinks of whatever the bartender gave her as a ‘surprise’ she requested. She did not have the tolerance for even one of these drinks, let alone four. Dancing happily until she wanted her now fifth drink, she stepped up to the bar, looking over at the new face of the night at the bar. Thanks to the alcohol she wasn’t as uptight or stuffy like when she was working in the fortress. “Hi, you’re pretty. Why are you just hanging out at the bar, that’s lame… come dance?” Her hand already on his sleeve, tugging gingerly.

He downed his drink quickly and allowed her to pull him along by his sleeve. While Tau had only just arrived, he had to admit the the petite brunette was enticing and she seemed eager to get him out on the floor. Who was he to deny such a pretty little pixie such as her? “I’ve been called many things. I don’t think I’ve been called pretty lately,” Tau chuckled as he set down his glass and got up to go dance with the woman. “You look familiar, which is saying something since I’ve only just arrived.”

Eamon would say that 99% of his time was spent in areas of familiarity, most often his bedroom and that he was quite content with that. But every now and then he caved and let one of his siblings drag him somewhere, and even less often he decided to embrace. Thankfully tonight was one of those nights where he had made the conscious decision to try and enjoy himself as Niamh dragged him down to the village and into the Lilac. It was further helped by a few too many drinks, which currently had him surprisingly chirpy. Hearing the words at the bar he turned to face the source. “Would that be the place, the drink, or me?” 

Tau eyed the red headed man up and down and smirked. Barely a step into the bar and he found himself already confronted with a brave soul who opted to take part in his narrative. “Ah... well, the place for sure. The drink has something left to be desired. As for you, that remains to be seen,” he chuckled as he raised an eyebrow. While he was constantly flirting with Rebekah, he owed allegiance to no one. As such, he considered himself an equal opportunist and found attraction in men as well as women.

“Well I did break a mirror this morning.” She drawled as her eyes finally looked up to the Prince from her game. ”If you want a tour, I’m sure there is numerous staff who can assist you. I’m in the middle of killing zombies and saving the world.” Head nodded down ot the handheld console in her hands.  She’d ask him to define what her country was, but that was asking for to play into whatever was running through that head of his. Raised in France with her single mom or the country she’d been born too and was now princess off? Both had vastly different customs. It was the French who kiss cheeks; but perhaps for once her father for useful for something. “You’d be mistaken, the Swedish are generally uncomfortable kiss greetings.”

He walked up without disregard for her personal space and took the gaming device from her. “Good god, woman. You’re still playing with this thing?” he asked holding the console high and pressing random buttons at will. Annoying Rebekah was one of his favorite past times and having her here would provide much more amusement than he imagined he would receive for his entire stay. “Oh is that so? Do share. What is customary? Clearly, it’s not killing zombies otherwise every one of your citizens would be carrying around a hatchet and shotgun at all times.”