We could be immortals

Nearly laughing at the bow, Olivier raised their hand in dismissal - it was incredibly obvious and easy to tell who was a member of a royal family and who was service staff - all aside from himself, of course, purposely dressed to throw people off. It was clear their trick hadn’t worked, though; they’d been caught. Despite their being caught, there was no need to bow, so they quickly waved it off, hoping that it would ease some tension between them. “Hello,” they replied, their accent thick on their tongue. Olivier, while not usually focused on his studies, was a master of languages, picking them up as simply as they picked up basic arithmetic as a child. “Welcome to France, Prince…” Well, this is what they got for not trying to learn names. Prince was obvious, the rest… not so much. Instead, they simply opted to introduce themself. “Olivier of the House of Bourbon. Pleasure.”

Kyoungyoon wasn’t sure if he had done something funny or not. Was bowing not appropriate for meeting someone of similarly high status in this country? He wasn’t sure, but it did add to his nerves regardless. Still, his instinct and upbringing prevented him from changing his behavior, bowing again. “An honor,” he said. “I am Prince Kyoungyoon, of the Hwang Hui family.” He didn’t know where to go from here in the conversation, and he didn’t have any family members around to help him. He looked back at the flowers and simply said the first thing that came into his head. “They’re pretty.”

France wasn’t home, though he had been to the palace before in which several countries were now invited to figure out where they go from here. Five years had past, the plague had change the world in more ways then one. But the political tidings would come soon enough for now, he found himself in somewhat familair surroundings enough to know he wasn’t lost. 

The Italian royal party had arrived only a few hours before hand. Though he definitely didn’t look the part with simple traveling clothes; he had gone to check on his horse in the stables and was returning back to his quarters when from around the corner he and another collided into each other. A feminine voice filled his ears with an apology and blue eyes rested on the young woman who curtsied. 

“Thank you for the apology but not nnecessary,” he said with an honest enough tone in his voice as she glanced up and their gazes met. “No harm done.” He turned the question around, “Are you alright though? I seemed to be in the way of a hurried escape.”

Alice’s eyes went even wider when she recognized the face of the king of Italy. She always made a note whenever a very highly statused royal came to Sweden for negotiations. So she had seen the King of Italy before, and now she had run into him because she wasn’t looking where she was going. Had she already sullied Sweden’s reputation?

Then, his words allowed her to release a breath she didn’t even realize she was holding. “Thank you, your highness,” she said with another curtsey. “Oh, I’m fine, I... I suppose I’m just lost, that’s all.”

Mila had been walking the halls, trying to get her bearings for a place that wasn’t home when a servant bumped into her.

The princess wasn’t a monster… well, not much of one at first anyways. She smiled at her.

“It’s alright. See? I’m fine. Are you alright? We collided rather hard. What’s your name?” Mila asked as she gazed upon her understandingly.

Alice was glad she hadn’t upset the princess of the Netherlands; that would have been a terrible way to start off this coming together of countries. “Thank you, your highness, I’m alright, thank you,” she repeated, then was surprised at the question. “Alice, your majesty . Alice Smith. I’m the youngest princess of Sweden’s handmaid.”

the palace was beautiful, but nothing that could be compared to home. maybe it was the difference between the cultures and, unlike other royals, evgeniya never left russia or had any contact with other royals if not by letters. it made her anxious — it was her first public appearance as tsarina of russia not in her homeland, and she feared how the other kings and queens were going to react. her reception in russia was not the best, but at least she was at home and knew how to deal with them. evgeniya wanted nothing more than just hide in her chambers or stay at nikolai’s side the entire time, but she knew she should make a good reputation for herself within the other nobles. 

using the excuse of yuliya wanting to play outside, evgeniya walked with her daughter hand in hand, laughing softly at the five-year-old words. normally her sister would accompany them, but geniya couldn’t find the youngest glaskova in any place — probably lost in the library, a new place for her to discover. 

letting go of yuliya’s tiny hand, so the young tsarevna could run s some pend energy, evgeniya was taken by surprise when she ran into someone. “ no, i am sorry. ” she quickly added, feelings her cheeks heating due to embarrassment.  old habits died hard, it seemed — even as tsarina of one of the largest empires in europe, she still felt the need to apologize for everything she did. raising her eyes to gaze at the other woman, evgeniya saw her actions being mirrored. a handmaiden, she was sure of that. the tsarina smiled kindly, knowing how the other woman felt. “ there is no problem, dear. i was just accompanying my daughter to the gardens. could you escort me ? you probably know your way inside these walls better than me, but only if it wouldn’t be a bother to you and disturb your work. ”

Alice tried to not let out an audible sigh of relief that she hadn’t immediately angered the new Tsarina of one of the biggest empires in the world. With Alice being staff, she had access to a lot of information, since most royals acted as if she were sentient furniture to be used. She knew of the Tsarina’s story and was touched by it when she heard. Marrying for love and becoming queen? What a fairy tale. Plus, she related to the “thrust headfirst into a lot of responsibility” situation she was in. 

At her request, Alice was torn. It was a chance to explore the palace with a bit more purpose and less simple wandering about, but she wasn’t sure if her mistress needed her right now or not. Was it worth the risk? Well, she figured it was a good excuse; the last thing the royals of Sweden wanted was for a little handmaid to upset the new Tsarina, right? “It would be my pleasure, ma’am,” she said with a small nod before noticing the running five year old down the hall. She couldn’t help but think of her little sister Jane at the young ones smile. “And may I ask what her name is?” she said softly, giving a little wave and curtsey to the young one.

Alice was really worried she was already lost.

She was honored to be allowed to come on this trip with the family she’s served for nearly a decade, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel like a fish out of water. She was used to being surrounded by royalty, of course, but only one royal family. Now that there were this many, she was worried about potentially hurting the reputations of her masters; different countries had different customs and etiquettes.

And now she was a handmaid that was lost in a palace that wasn’t her usual workplace.

( moon bin, cisgender male, he/him, 23) ** ♔ announcing HWANG HUI KYOUNGYOON,  the PRINCE OF THE JOSEON DYNASTY ! in a recent portrait they seem to resemble MOON BIN. it is a miracle that HE survived the last five years, considering they are QUIET, OBEDIENT, and INSECURE. i hope the plague has not changed them. they are FOR working together with the other kingdoms

( xiao dejun, cisgender male, he/him, 22) ** ♔ announcing ZHU BO,  the PRINCE OF THE MING DYNASTY ! in a recent portrait they seem to resemble XIAO DEJUN. it is a miracle that HE survived the last five years, considering they are CHARMING, ARROGANT, and FLIPPANT. i hope the plague has not changed them. they are FOR working together with the other kingdoms

( katherine langford, cisgender female, she/her, 23) ** ♔ announcing ALICE SMITH,  the HANDMAID TO THE PRINCESS from SWEDEN ! upon closer look, they resemble KATHERINE LANGFORD. it is a miracle that SHE survived the last five years, considering they are HARD WORKING, LOYAL, and STUBBORN. i hope the plague has not changed them. they are FOR working together with the other kingdoms.

tw parental death, illness