Lilla Rowan

She honestly couldn't fathom why the Lady would have picked her, of all Fleures, to be the entertainment for such a prestigious client. Lilla hadn't been out of Shigan's sprawling capital, let alone the country, so she knew very little concerning the other nations - Zaiphar, to be specific - but she knew enough from her regular, aging noblemen what was going on.

Shigan was known for it's industries and everything that came along with that; the dirty labor and the dirty women, all trying to get by, just to live. Their economy was not the best at the moment and the tensions building among rival nations was not helping the near depression. Such a thing did not effect Lilla as much as others - men would always need beautiful women, and it seemed despite their cost, they would be willing to pay with anything.

From the chatter she had heard from the king's servants and her clients, Zaiphar was a far cry from Shigan; beautiful, sprawling, a rural nation with little need for outside help, save for textiles and cotton, for the land there was better suited for foodstuffs than cotton plants. They did not import nearly as much as Shigan did, and the only thing that kept Shigan and Zaiphar at ends was the only thing keeping them attached: their textiles.

Whereas Zaiphar prospered and flourished, Shigan did not, and the king did not approve of this. The price for the textiles went up and tension rose; finally, as a last attempt to keep the peace and to put the idea of war out of Shigan's mind, Zaiphar offered a treaty.

If negotiations would be reached and agreed upon. Shigan would be allowed any exports from Zaiphar. Zaiphar would continue importing the textiles they needed until they industrialized, and Shigan would continue to import the foodstuffs they needed that their soil did not allow for. That was the basis of the treaty, and any thing else could be bartered.

Lilla only knew this from over hearing her clients talk to each other, bickering almost, trying to decide among themselves if the idea of peace with the nation was better than war. Shigan was known for it's brutality and patriarchy, whereas Zaiphar was not. That was not to say that Zaiphar did not lack military, but they used it only when absolutely necessary; the same could not be same for Shigan.

Maybe it was her proximity with the subject that had caused the Lady to pick her to send to the king's castle; whatever her reasoning was, Lilla did not ask. It was not her place and to ask was to imply she questioned the Lady's authority, which she did not. She packed up what few things she had - clothing, accessories, keepsakes - and waited.

She did not know what she was to expect, but the king's chariot to take her to the castle early that morning was only the beginning of her awe.



It's not yours to go through. Don't touch it.

...I've been here forever, though...

Silence, the ticking of the grand father clock, her own sighs. It was mid morning, the sun high in the sky and dark clouds on the edge of the horizon, warning of rain, but Lilla wasn't paying attention. She had been in this one room for what seemed like hours - and it had been, to be honest - and curiosity, as well as anxiety, was beginning to ebb at her otherwise calm features.

She had been formally escorted to the room of the prince she was to entertain, lead through gilded hallways and past vases worth more than her entire wardrobe. Lilla was not ignorant to the ways of the king; it was meant to impress and awe, something it did well. She had many clients in the past that had attempted to awe her with their wealth, but none of it rivaled the bold, proud colors and hues of the tapestries and the bedspread she was currently sitting on at the moment.

Everything was meticulous and preened to perfection. Even her adjoining room, while not nearly as flashy as the prince's, was still beautiful in it's own right, even if it lacked the embroidered drapes and carved wooden headboard.

But she had taken it all in already, and waiting on the prince was becoming cumbersome. Politics was not something to be rushed, she knew, but if time wore on any further, she was going to start poking through things that weren't hers. Her items had been delivered to her room during her tour and put away, something that had irked the girl somewhat - how dare they fumble with her things! - but she knew it was for security and meant to seem for convince. She had assumed they had done the same with the prince's things as well, which was why she was staring into the wooden nightstand, wide and deep, with three drawers, meant for clothing and other items.

She was sitting on the prince's bed, her legs tucked neatly underneath her and her shoes pushed under the bed slightly, hands laced neatly in her lap, but her eyes were still glued to the chest of drawers. It made her curious as to what kind of person she was to entertain.

...A peek wouldn't hurt.

Yes, it would! What if he walked in while I was rooting through his things? This is an important client and the Lady would skin me alive if I ruined it!

She flinched - a movement meant to lurch her towards the drawers - that had been stifled be hesitation. Lilla made an unlady-like groan of disapproval, losing her composure and flopping back onto the bed, dark hair spilling out around her.

"Patience is a necessity, Lilla," she spoke to herself, eyebrows knitted as she stared at the ceiling, "not a virtue. Not in the profession I'm in, anyway. The Lady told you that."

Her eyes wondered for a moment, and, in an attempt to recompose herself and her thoughts, she went over things in her mind. Buttery yellow shirt with the sleeves rolled up and buttoned below her elbow. One of the twin's old skirts, cucumber colored and lined with tulle, almost a little too small for the girl (the twins were tall and elegant, something Lilla was not, with her short stature and less than appealing muscle tone.) It dug into her hips, but it was the best looking garment she had at the moment, with understated embroidery around the bottom hem.

Translucent white tights, she could see the dark varnish on her toes through the material and the skin-hued bandage wrapped precariously around her left ankle and the top of her foot. She'd managed to roll her ankle again and she couldn't afford to lose the client due to the unsightly bruise.

"What am I kidding?" She sighed, sitting up and fixing herself; tugging her shirt, tucking her feet back underneath her on the bed, arranging her hair, "this is a prince... I doubt anything's going to be good enough for him." She paused, taking in a deep breath and holding her hands out in front of her, covered in scars and burns, "I suppose trying won't hurt."

She stood, stocking-covered feet barely making a noise against the glossy wood floor, and made her way around the room. The sprawling bed was almost against the furthest wall, leaving only enough room between the object and the wall for a small nightstand, the room's sole east-facing window taking up most of the wall. The drapes pooled at her feet and there was a thick rug on the wood floors. The room was large, to say the least, but it was bare, with the only storage being the two nightstands and the chest of drawers, of which she was running her fingers over the carvings on the top.

There was a bookcase built into the wall at the foot of the bed, and down from there was the door that lead to her room. It was much smaller, the bed less decorated and the room sparsely furnished, but she was not going to complain. A place to sleep was a place to sleep, she knew.

She had been told on her way to the room that there was a bathing room down the hall as well as other various luxuries; a pool and library, among them. She knew they were meant for the prince and not herself, but they would not tell her so.

Lilla's fingers trailed over a knob to the dresser drawer, but she snatched her hand away before she could even think to pull it open, wandering around the room a little more.

Restraint was not one of her strong points, even for the reserved twenty-one year old. She pointed the toes on one of her feet, arcing it around her so she spun around, her skirt billowing out.

"You can't rush politics, Lilla," she murmured, doing the twirl again.

Relos Zaiphar

Normally, Relos enjoyed carriage rides. Some days, he'd ask one of his drivers to take a ride with him, and for hours they'd leisurely travel all over the countryside of Zaiphar, enjoying the afternoon sun and cloudless sky, enjoying the scent of fresh fruit from the east and sea breeze from the west. Relos would lay on the padded bench, one foot draped over the other, and nap. He drifted in and out of sleep, staring at the scenery around him when he was awake, and making full use of the strip of warm sun that was let in by the window. His driver once told him that he was like a cat, laying in a patch of sun to warm himself. Relos chuckled, and from then on referred to those excursions as a time for him to 'cat-nap'.

This ride wasn't nearly as enjoyable as those, though. When the carriage passed the boarder of Shigan, Relos felt his relaxation steadily decline. Shigan's air didn't have the same pleasurable scents as Zaiphar's did, and the scenery wasn't as pleasing. There was sun for him to sit (not enough to lie) in, but later on into the day, clouds came that blotted that out as well. The clouds followed them on their way to the capital, as if intending to announce their arrival with a clap of thunder and a sheet of rain. Relos sighed and frowned; the powers that be were not giving him good signs about this trip. It was as if they were telling him quite plainly that he would not enjoy his stay in Shigan. To be honest, he'd already expected that, but still...it would be nice if it could at least be sunny out.

The only reason that Relos had left Zaiphar in the first place was out of necessity. He'd left his country before, but only for pleasure trips: little tours where he and his group would visit cities of the other nations and act just like lowly tourists, seeing the sights and buying souvenirs. Those had been fun, but as if to emphasize the unpleasantness of this trip even more, Shigan had never been one of their tour spots. It just wasn't a good place to go, he'd been told; the cities could be cleaner, the people could be nicer, and the king could be much less of a jerk (in his mother's words). The royal family of Zaiphar didn't like their ties to Shigan very much at all, and if they had their wish, they'd sever those ties in a heartbeat. They'd never be able to, though, because Shigan had one very important thing: cloth.

Naturally, textile is just as important in Zaiphar as it would be anywhere else. Without the importing of cloth from Shigan, there'd be no way to get any. This left Zaiphar pretty dependent on trade to the other country, for better or worse. But in recent years, it has deffinitely been for the worse. Apparently realizing the lopsidedness of their relationship, Shigan started to raise the price of their textiles by an outrageous degree. Being wealthy as they were, Zaiphar put up with it for a while, hoping that eventually the emperor would see reason. Yet he wouldn't be swayed, and eventually it looked like something had to be done about the situation if the status quo was to remain intact.

And that's where the redheaded prince came in.

As the prince of Zaiphar, Relos had always been his father's trump card. No matter how much they lost in a deal, no matter what had to be traded away, hope laid in his son. One day, he would take the throne, and one day he would marry some woman. And who he married would be the defining move in Zaiphar's future. Relos could unite Zaiphar and another country like nothing else could. He could be the key to saving his country if the need ever arose. As such, his parents had always held him back, no matter how desperate their negotiations became. Even now, his father had been reluctant to send him, and yet...it was time.

There was no denying it anymore. Zaiphar and Shigan would have to unite, or else they'd bleed each other dry in a trade war, each side trying to bend the other to their will. Relos was going to stop that, because that was his job as prince of Zaiphar. But he'd be damned if it didn't suck to be in the position he was in, because he knew one thing: If he was like the country he was from, then the princess of Shigan would be like the country she was from. And so far, he hadn't seen any part of Shigan that he liked.

Yet more time passed as he thought about his situation, and before Relos knew it, their little carriage had been swallowed up by the city of Shigan. In the end, they had managed to beat the clouds that had been following them for a time, so their arrival was not greeted with rain like Relos had been expecting. Maybe it will greet our departure, instead, if things don't go well, he thought a bit darkly.

When they reached the castle, Relos was shuffled out of the carriage by castle servants. They ushered him away, telling him that his stuff would be taken care of and that the horses from the carriage and his driver would be given lodging for the night so that they could leave the next day. He wasn't given a chance to contest the point, but it mattered little, as nothing he could have said would have made a difference anyway. Relos knew he was now in enemy territory; anything and everything was a trap, a ploy to find a weakness. To argue about something as little as his luggage would only give the emperor the impression that he would be easy to anger, and therefore easy to control.

Relos had no intentions of giving the emperor such false impressions.

He was run through a relay of servants and officials, all of them having something to say. It was a confusing mixture of welcome and disdain, although the latter was successfully hidden to where it couldn't be called out. After a point, the emperor himself joined in the procession and began to talk to Relos. After welcoming him to the palace, he proceeded to walk around the building talking of business: political in nature, but gray enough topics to where no confrontation would arise. While they walked, he wasted no opportunity to point out the fancy decorations that were stuffed into the castle, but always objectively, never bragging. To some eyes, the decorations may have drawn envious stares, but to Relos, they did not. They were obviously worth something, but they weren’t as pretty as some things he'd seen. Castle Zaiphar, for example, was less decorated that Shigan's was, and yet the beauty given off by it put this to shame. Only by thinking longingly of the home he'd only left that day was Relos able to weather the entire tour.

When they were done, the emperor politely told Relos that he could retire to his room if he wanted. Nothing had been accomplished so far, but he hadn't expecting anything different. The emperor wouldn't tip his hand this early in the game, there'd be much more time to do that. He'd draw out Relos's stay, forcing him to stay in Shigan whether he wanted to or not. Relos wouldn't ask for anything different, it was all part of the same battle, to see whose patience was longer.

What intrigued Relos was the girl that was supposedly waiting for him in his room. The emperor’s adviser had told him that she was simply there for 'entertainment', to help him pass the time that he had to be away from his home. Such a move was a bit unexpected, decided Relos, and he couldn't fathom what was meant by it. Surely they didn't expect him to refuse company, there could be nothing incriminating drawn from that...Nor would excepting her, as long as he did nothing to compromise himself. Even if that was the intention, it was a rather poor attempt. If the emperor thought that Relos could be swayed from his sense by a pretty face, then he was sorely underestimating him.

At least, those were his thoughts before he knocked lightly on his door, and then stepped inside. The hinges had been well-oiled, and didn't creak in the slightest as the door swung open. That would be useful if he wanted to leave the room at night. As he stepped into the room, though, he felt his breath catch in his throat. A girl was in his room, twirling gracefully in the center of the room. He leaned against the doorframe, his eyes taking in the bright color of her shirt and the subtler green of her skirt. The brown of her hair contrasted nicely against her pale skin, and as she came to a stop, her face stilled enough for him to make out her features.

My, what a pretty face. Well played, Emperor, well played, he thought honestly. Then, pushing off from the frame, he stepped into the room in earnest and shut the door behind him.

She caught a glimpse of red out of the corner of her eye; the sound of his heavy footfalls was the only thing that even hinted to the man's presence. She had heard his fingers against the wooden door seconds before, but hadn't been in a state to stop herself, the silky fabric of her stockings causing her to slide even when she attempted to finish the turn she was on. She stopped in her tracks, her skirt fluttering around her, and with embarrassment she ran her hands down the garment to flatten it.

Her gaze lifted from the floor, examining and taking in the new person. What had she been expecting? Someone arrogant and soft-skinned? While his features couldn't give away the first part, she knew her assumption was half-wrong already, her eyes snagging various bits of the man and turning it into information. His shoulders were tan and broad, and even through the fabric of his gloves she could see the curve of muscle, however slight. Lilla was sure that his fingers were probably calloused, and, depending on what breed he was, he could have just as many scars as herself.

When her eyes met his face, she paused, dragging her lower lip between her teeth and looking away, abruptly remembering her rules. Ah, this isn't a noblemen. I don't think I've ever dealt with someone like this.

"I apologize, sir," Lilla said, bowing deeply at the man, "I did not realize you were standing there. My name is Lilla Rowan, and I am to be your entertainment for as long as the treaty negotiations are to take place." She offered the man a professional smile. "There are limitations to what I can provide to you, but within the rules set to me by the House, I will do my best to accommodate you, sir." It was something she had to say to ever client, to warn him, at least minutely, of the fact that she was nothing close to a whore or a Cymain lady.

She glanced back up at him. There wasn't a lack of color on the man. Vermillion hair filled with differing hues, more pinks than rusts, coiled around his face and stuck up in odd angles. Baby-blue eyes, mottled slightly by the sun behind her, drenching them in fiery shades. He stood much taller than herself - it was almost to an intimidating degree - but, by looking at his face, she knew he couldn't be too many years older than herself.

I'm only here to act as bait. To nullify the treaty without overstepping the House rules. She hesitated with herself, Not that I would want that for either sides - especially my own - but that is what I am getting paid for.

Another glance and she chewed on the corner of her lip, eyes raising to the ceiling in a silent sigh.

Lilla had never been one for politics; she never quite understood what was so hard about being honest about dire situations. Not that she didn't know how good a little white lie would work in place of honesty - she used it quite frequently among her clients to keep them blissfully unaware that no, she hadn't heard that story once already and yes, she was actually interested in blacksmithing.

But being thrown in the middle of a political treaty, she wasn't sure what to expect. She wasn't required to report to the king, but she knew if the prince overstepped his boundaries,she was to report to the Lady - something that would surely get back to the emperor; and seeing as the only thing she was prohibited from engaging in was sexual or lewd activities, it would be fairly obvious why the Lady would discontinue Lilla's service.

She honestly wished that Lady had picked Darcy, for she was a much better Fleure, and she wouldn't allow anything to get in the way of her unstated job requirement: seducing the prince, but not to the point of ruining her or the Lady's image... just ruin Zaiphar's.

It was a tall order to fill - and even if she did not succeed in the objective, she was still getting paid, for the emperor to come out and tell her or the Lady that he wanted her to sleep with the prince would get his request revoked immediately.

But they all knew what the man was implying. Even with such a handsome face, she still didn't feel entirely comfortable fulfilling her job quota.

Oh, why does Shigan have to play so dirty?

Relos Zaiphar

As the door clicked shut behind him, Relos was greeted by the sight of the mystery girl realizing his presence. Obviously flustered at being caught unaware, she hastened to stop twirling in a manner that was far less graceful that the twirling itself had been, and yet strangely more endearing. Had he been more comfortable in Shigan and less guarded, he would have laughed at her fumbling and teased her. As it was, a small chuckle escaped from him and he shook his head minutely. As a slight act of kindness, he turned his attention from her and to the room around them.

Unlike the main hallways and business rooms that he'd be shown, the room they were was actually tasteful in its decoration. It was still plainly made to impress, but its beauty came not from expensive tapestries and artisan vases on every pedestal. The things in the room, although few in number admittedly, were finely made, their craftsmanship noticeable even from a distance. The dressers were of heavy wood, carved by a delicate but sturdy hand. It would be smooth to the touch, Relos decided, like the handrails of his staircase back in Zaiphar. Both pieces even had the same darker shade of wood, a deep tone that matched the noble reds and golds of the room. The bedspread was crimson, matching the rug below it, and gold filigree wrapped around everything it could like gilded vines.

Don't misunderstand, there were certainly tapestries in the room, but at least they weren't being used a substitute for wallpaper. A marked improvement from the outside, in Relos's eyes.

All and all, it was a very nice room, and it even impressed Relos some. In no way was he blown away by the amazing wealth on display and the elegance of the...(yada yada), but he was grudgingly surprised that any part of Shigan would look nice. It couldn't compare to his own room back in Zaiphar, with its sea green painted walls and mirrored-glass wall that slid open to let out on a balcony facing out to the coast and sea beyond that was a deep, almost purplish blue in the sunset, but he didn't think he'd actually mind staying in the room, at least for the duration of his stay.

Deciding that it was a lack of a view that made the room inferior, Relos returned his eyes back to the girl just in time for her to stand straight and then drop into a bow, an apology falling reflexively from her mouth. When she straightened back up, Relos got his first good look at her, and he took the opportunity to examine the girl that stood before him.

The very first thing he noticed was her height. He briefly registered that she was much shorter than himself, almost glaringly so, and yet she wore her height fairly well. Her legs were proportionally long and a bit slender, but they were honed with muscle that plainly told those twirls had not been her first. She had an attractive figure, not dramatically curvy but definitely not flat either. The skin that rose out of the neck of her shirt and from her sleeves was pale, a lot like Relos's had been before he'd burned it by being outside so much, and was dotted artfully with freckles. Like with the dresser, Relos knew by sight that her skin would be smooth and soft to the touch; and the dark hair that was spilling over shoulders seemed to agree with him.

Her face, which was finally turned to him, was innocent and wide-eyed. She was one of those girls whose eyes seemed impossibly large, and the dusky green irises that were inside of them gleamed at him. They seemed to capture the stray light provided by the dying sun from the windows and condense it into reddish orange patches, making her eyes look like a field of grass that was alight with flame and certain points. Even as he noticed her pale-pink lips curve into an authentic, perhaps lacking in potency, smile, his eyes remained entranced by his own. Only by the added sensory information of her talking broke their hold on him, and as he shook free of his trance and focused instead on her words, he mentally kicked himself. Damn, he thought, she's got pretty eyes.

My name is Lilla Rowan, and I am to be your entertainment for as long as the treaty negotiations are to take place. There are limitations to what I can provide to you, but within the rules set to me by the House, I will do my best to accommodate you, sir."

Her brief introduction brought up as many questions as it provided answers. Now he knew that her name was Lilla, and that she really was the 'entertainment' that the emperor had provided for him. However, now Relos wondered what exact limitations were placed on her and who was making them, as well as pondering over the 'House' that she belonged to. Surely she was not a common whore like so many women were in Shigan, not a woman as fair as her. Surely if the house she belonged to was one of Shigan's whorehouses, it would hurt the emperor's reputation far more than it would Relos's by inviting her into his palace. That couldn't be the case, and yet he could not find a way to fit her words into his thoughts in any other way. Perhaps someone from Shigan would understand her better, but as a foreigner, Relos had little hope of deciphering them, and so he gave up trying.

A more important issue was forcing his now-leaden tongue to form a proper response. Relos flustered over himself slightly, a light blush making its way to his cheeks as he fought against himself. An unspoken curse crossed his lips as he attempted to regain his composure. He couldn't understand it; normally he was eloquent and silver-tongued, always able to make words of beauty no matter the situation. He was the same prince who had made several a girl swoon from just his talking, and yet here he was completely lacking all of that. And yet this girl was different. She was the like that he'd only encountered a few times before, like the girl from Zaiphar clothed in an airily, silky dress, torso laced tight in a corset, beautiful face framed by flowery-smelling locks. Some women just had that power, the ability to steal a man's wits from him without him realizing it. The power to unhinge even the most well-together of men and get under his collar, forcing heat to rise to cheeks that haven't blushed in years.

Perhaps that was the emperor's plan after all. His greatest and most secret weapon would be the innate power of a woman to fluster a man. It was a longshot, but as he thought about it, it might just work.

No, no. It wouldn't work. It could not work. Not if he was to carry out his duty, not if he was to come out on top of the scheming emperor. Relos took a calming breath, regaining his cool as he straightened his posture and willed his heart to slow. Any and all signs of being bothered fanished from him in an instant of self-control as he steeled himself. That had been dangerous, trailing down that line of thinking. She hadn't even spoken more than a few words to him, and yet her appearance alone had been enough to knock Relos off his feet. He'd made a mistake: he had let his guard down at the sight of the woman, thinking foolishly that a girl couldn't pose a threat to him. What of Delilah, Circe, even Helen? What of those infamous women who had ruined the men who fell to their charm. No, this Lilla was probably more of a threat than the emperor himself was, even more so since she had been placed effortlessly inside his defensive lines. No longer would his guard drop; he would be sure to keep his shield up even within the confines of this room.

He smiled at her then, much like the one she had given him-a smile it was, and it appeared perfectly normal, but there was nothing behind it that would have caused him to smile. He peeled the glove of his right hand off with one finger; letting the paler skin of his hands show as he held it out for her to shake, touch, or look at (Did people in Shigan shake hands? So far, he hadn't had so much as a single effort made to do so by any of the palace attendants he'd met or from the emperor, but that may just have been because they didn't like him...).

"Why hello there, Lilla; I'm Relos. it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry you have to waste your time with me; honestly, if I'd known the emperor would do something as gracious as this beforehand, I would have told him not to trouble such a beauteous girl as yourself with me. I'm sure you have better things to do than to hang around with me all day."

She'd flustered him, now it was time to see if he could do the same to her. If this battle could go both ways, then perhaps it would be more manageable. The best defense is a great offense, after all.

Lilla watched his eyes wander around the room, taking in the delicacies she had examined hours earlier. Her eyes stayed on his person; the stiff, imposing creases of his pants, obviously well ironed and taken care of; the way his unruly hair seemed to combat his formal, if not odd, attire; taking in everything. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was thinking, the gears spinning, but she couldn't entirely tell if it was good or bad. As she began to speak, his eyes wandered back to her, deep and thoughtful, but she was still unable to see to the bottom of the oceanic depths.

As she spoke, his eyes didn't leave her own, something the girl may have found unnerving if she didn't know better. He was a walking oxymoron, a contradiction, with bright eyes and vivid hair, but his skin wasn't as saturated; she had expected him to be less muscular, more scrawny, paler than herself, possibly. He was a prince, after all, pampered and taken care of.

He was still thinking; was there no such thing as houses such as her own in Zaiphar? She could tell by the way his jaw set lightly and his lips compressed, possibly chewing on the skin, that he was trying to take her words and put them into Zaiphar's setting.

She noticed his face reddening - was it from anger, she wondered briefly - but as his eyes darted from her own and his lips parted, she doubted that was the cause. He seemed as if he was attempting to recompose himself, not that he had lost much of it to begin with. His expressions, they were well contained, and only the pink dusting his cheeks gave him away.

As he took a beath, she noticed his eyes shut for a moment, regaining himself. The prince was nothing short of odd, to put it bluntly; he was not like anything she was used to seeing or beng around in Shigan, and maybe that was why his sudden smile, however plastered and fake, caused the same reaction in her as she had caused him unknowningly.

It didn't light up his eyes, nor was it completely honest, but the gesture was enough to cause Lilla to pause and hesitate as he stuck his bare hand out. What was he implying? Was this something of a Zaiphar greeting?

She hesitated again, putting her opposite hand out to mirror his, uncertain what to do with his - nor her own - hand. She had no fleeting thought of what to do.

"Why hello there, Lilla; I'm Relos. it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry you have to waste your time with me; honestly, if I'd known the emperor would do something as gracious as this beforehand, I would have told him not to trouble such a beauteous girl as yourself with me. I'm sure you have better things to do than to hang around with me all day."

A wry smile twisted her lips. He was trying to play that way, was he? She was easily flustered, there was no doubt about that, but just like he, she could put up a front and act. It happened all the time; acting coy, interested but not glaringly so, it kept the hands and the less savory men at bay.

"No, sir. I was requested by the emperor," she said, keeping her blush at bay as well as she could. Her mouth felt dry and her face hot, but she wasn't about to let the man get to her. "He expects nothing but the best for your stay and I am to make sure it stays that way, so if anything is not to your liking, don't hesitate to tell me." A smile, wide and as true as she could make it seem. "I am not from Zaiphar and have never traveled to there, so I am uncertain of your... customs," she said, glancing down at his outstretched hand and her own, awkward and confused, "but I am willing to learn."

He had an accent, something she was unused to. It was almost a drawl, thick at times, but not impossible to comprehend or understand. It suited him, she decided, even if it was out of the ordinary - but then again, what had she been expecting? He - Relos - had come from such a far away country. He would have a different dialect and use different words than she would.

She wouldn't be lying if she said it was a little attractive.

"If you have any questions," she added softly, "I will answer them to the best of my ability. I understand things are different here than in Zaiphar, so do not hesitate to ask about anything."

Relos Zaiphar

Relos grinned inwardly as he saw Lilla's cheeks redden. His attempt to make her blush had been a success, and yet, she had not averted her eyes from him or falter due to that blush. In fact, it seemed to be just the opposite; she continued to meet his gaze with a kind of determination in her eyes and amusement hiding in her smile. She was fighting it, trying her best to not let what he said get to her, to resist it and turn it back at him with a coy face. His internal grin turned into a smirk. So she wasn't going to go down easy, was she? Well, that would only make this more interesting. He'd already seen that he could fluster her, but she was showing that just flustering her wasn't quite good enough. It wouldn't be impossible for him, but it would be difficult. That was fine by him, though; difficulty just made it a challenge, and Relos loved challenges. He lives for them; he goes looking for them. And he hasn't lost one yet.

"No, sir. I was requested by the emperor," she said, making him arch an eyebrow slightly. Since when was he a 'sir'? She'd already called him that twice now, and it was starting bother him. He wasn't old enough to be a sir yet; his father was a sir, and He'd have to correct her later. "He expects nothing but the best for your stay and I am to make sure it stays that way, so if anything is not to your liking, don't hesitate to tell me." So, she was here to keep up the act of impressing him with Shigan when he wasn't outside having the emperor's wealth shoved into his face, was she? Of course the emperor would have her do something like that, although he had a feeling that Lilla had a few other job duties to perform as well, even if he couldn't tell exactly what they were yet. But hey, he'd traveled a long way today; he couldn't expect to be at top mental function when part of his mind was still waiting in the carriage he'd come in.

Her hand was held out to his, mirroring the position but not actually touching him. He looked at her curiously, not sure what she was trying to do. Did she know how to shake hands but just didn't want to touch him (for some silly reason), or did she really not know? Sure enough, she said "I am not from Zaiphar and have never traveled to there, so I am uncertain of your... customs." And looking down at their two hands with a touch of confusion, she added "but I am willing to learn."

Relos hesitated, staring at her a minute as if asking whether she was serious or not. When she made not movement to suggest she was, he snickered slightly. He tried to hold in his amusement, just to maintain composure, but it looked seriously unlikely that he'd be able to. He pressed his free hand to his face as the first peals of his laughter rang out. Trying to talk through his laughter, he said "Are-are you ser-erious!? People in Sh-Shigan really don't shake hands? And here I thought everyone was just blowing me off!"

After saying that, he closed the distance between their outstretched hands, pressing their palms together. Once they were joined, he raised her hand up and down, finding new amusement in the limpness of her hand. 'It's just a greeting. Like, waving or nodding your head, you know? Boy, Shigan must be a depressing place if no one ever greets each other."

Holding her hand as he was, he was able to confirm his earlier feeling that her skin would be soft. Her hand was quite a bit smaller than his own, and more delicate in its structure, so it was dwarfed as he shook it. He was no longer laughing, but he chuckled a bit more at the example of how much smaller she was compared to him. He was smiling again, but now it was a lot more natural, since it was backed by genuine humor. He cocked his head to look at her again, still not letting go of her hand, hoping to see her reaction the unfamiliar action.

Seeking to say something that would ease any embarrassment she might have felt for not knowing about shaking hands (he hadn't been trying to upset her), he said "Don't feel bad about not knowing my customs, Zaiphar's not that strange of a place, I promise you. If there's anything you'll need to know, I'll just tell if the need to comes up. And besides, I've never been to Shigan, so I'm unfamiliar with your own customs. Not much I can really do about that, either, except have you tell me. So don't be afraid to, k?"

"Are-are you ser-erious!? People in Sh-Shigan really don't shake hands? And here I thought everyone was just blowing me off!"

His barely contained amusement, the smirk that had ridden his face earlier, it caused an embarrassed blush to rise on her features. She could resist his compliments, but embarrassment was not something she had quiet conquered as a Fleure. Drop a plate? Trip over her own feet? A disaster compared to an ill-placed hand or a scandalous comment.

Lilla stammered to collect herself, to come up with a remark of sorts, but when his hand met her own, she only fumbled more. His hand, it was large and calloused, just as she had suspected after glancing over the man. His palm was rough but still warm and soft against hers, and it nearly engulfed her own. What had the thickened skin come from, she could only wonder. Her gaze shifted from their conjoined hands to his face, taking in the large, amused smile and the way his eyes had lit up.

"It's just a greeting. Like, waving or nodding your head, you know? Boy, Shigan must be a depressing place if no one ever greets each other."

She hesitated, taken aback by his humored expression and his open smile, as well as her own embarrassment. She was sure her face was still pink from becoming flustered as well as his forward movements, and even as she waited, he didn't let go of her hand, something she was unsure of.

"We do greet each other," she said, tilting her head a little. It must be odd, she concluded, coming so far and assuming that the simple things you take for granted would stay the same where ever you arrive. "Perhaps, the men do... shake hands, but the House expects more formal greetings from it's ladies," Lilla concluded. She had seen such a gesture between clients or neighbors but she, and the other Fleures, were expected to be respectful and formal, and a handshake was considered unfeminine.

"Although I must agree... Shigan can be depressing at times," she said, lightly releasing her grasp on his hand and uncoiling it from his own, placing both behind her back. It was not meant to be rude, and she tried to make sure he understand that with an unsure gaze, knitting her hands together.

"Don't feel bad about not knowing my customs, Zaiphar's not that strange of a place, I promise you. If there's anything you'll need to know, I'll just tell if the need to comes up. And besides, I've never been to Shigan, so I'm unfamiliar with your own customs. Not much I can really do about that, either, except have you tell me. So don't be afraid to, k?"

"I'll be sure to tell you," she said, nodding once and allowing a small smile to rise onto her face. Lilla shifted her feet, raising from standing flat on her feet until she was nearly on her toes, something she did when she was at a loss of words or lost in thought. At the moment, she was both; unsure of what to make of the young man in front of her and unsure what else to say to him. She rolled back until her heels touched the ground, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth.

"I'm sure you had a long trip," Lilla said, hesitating a bit,"is there anything I can do for you, sir?" Even getting over her own slight embarrassment, Lilla still was wary of messing up again. She knew it was not unheard of to lose clients because of their inexperience or being uninformed - she was neither, but, compared to the prince, she was not sure her information would be considered anything above trivial. He was probably schooled and well-educated; she had only been taught the basics as a child as as the Lady needed her to know. She knew what she needed and none of what she didn't, and her facts on his land were few and far between.

"I can tell you more about Shigan," she offered lightly, "or I can retrieve you some food, if you're hungry."

She had been fed breakfast after she had arrived, but she was unsure about him. He had arrived after breakfast but too early for lunch, at an awkward hour. It was almost afternoon. She had not realized how dark the room had gotten from the low-hanging clouds until a rumble of thunder caused the girl to jolt in surprise, resisting the urge to squeak, before going to turn the oil lamps up so they burned brighter.

"...It does not rain everyday here, I promise," Lilla said meekly.

Relos Zaiphar

Relos, still finding the whole deal with the handshake immensely funny, was only made happier by noticing the flush of pink that painted Lilla's pale face. She had a pretty face, and it was made cuter by her embarrassment. Had she been a girl from his own country and not from Shigan, he would have patted her on the head and ruffled her hair. He considered doing that anyway, but he doubted she'd appreciate very much. Her words from earlier about "limitations" to what she, or he, could do didn't sit well with him. At a later date, he'd ask her to explain in full detail what he wasn't allowed to do, because the thought of doing something as simple as patting her head causing a problem didn't appeal to him. The last thing he needed to do was break any rules that were placed over this girl, as doing so would surely bring shame to Zaiphar.

"We do greet each other," she said, as if trying to correct his last statement. "Perhaps, the men do... shake hands, but the House expects more formal greetings from it's ladies."

Relos chuckled, understanding the logic behind what she said, but finding it to be a tad stupid. In Zaihpar, there was political etiquette, but never had one go so far as to tell a lady that she could not shake hands, tell her that it was unladylike. Perhaps the women here in Shigan were meeker than those Zaiphar, for any Zaipharian girl that was worth her swimsuit would argue with you until you begged her to stop if you tried to tell her that. They were very big on equality between the sexes, in Zaiphar, probably because there were so many women, and they were allowed to express their opinions. And since they were allowed to, they did so. Loudly.

And then she pulled her hand out from his, as lightly as she probably could, and placed it along with her other behind her back. She gave him a shy look, and he kicked himself for not letting her go. It had slipped his mind, honestly. But maybe it was more true that a part of him was enjoying the contact, however small it was. Then she gave him a small smile and said "Although I must agree... Shigan can be depressing at times."

Oh, that was not a good thing to say. When the entire purpose of his stay here in Shigan was to convince him to like it, having the person whose job it was to just that tell him it could be depressing...well, let's just say Relos doubted that the emperor would be exceptionally pleased to know that she said that. Relos wouldn't tell, though, even though he knew he'd be sorely tempted to do so just to get a rise out of him. For one reason, he actually liked Lilla a bit. She was cute, and from what he could tell so far, wasn't a stuck up bitch. That was a definite improvement than what he thought the women of Shigan would be like.

And so he just gave her a smile back in return, not commenting so that the statement could simply disappear among all the words that they'd said, and would say, that night.

Lilla started to rock on her feet, but it was slight enough to where had he not been focusing his full attention on the girl in front of him, he likely would not have noticed it. He did, though, and he knew it signified that she was unsure what to do next. To her credit, she did try to start the conversation up again. "I'm sure you had a long trip. Is there anything I can do for you, sir?" Arching an eyebrow at her, he shook his head side to side in mock-disappointment.

"Well, for starters, you can quit calling me sir. What was that, the third time you've done so? Forgive me for speaking frankly, but I'll be a 'Sir' when I'm old. Right now, I'm not old, so just call me Relos, or whatever other endearing nickname you come up with. Just not 'sir'." Then, to show her that while he was serious, he wasn't actually upset with her, he stuck his tongue out. Yes, Relos, the crown prince of Zaiphar, corrupted by his little cousin Seles, stuck his tongue out at her. But hey, Relos never claimed to be mature.

That done, Relos moved from his position by the door towards the bed. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Relos made quick work of removing his boots and stripping his other glove. He even pulled off his socks, stuffing them into the boots and setting them off to the side of the nightstand, with gloves folded on top. He put his bare feet on the rug below the bed, curling his toes into the fluffy material. Good 'ol Shigan textiles, nice and soft. With a sigh, he fell back on the bed and closed his eyes. "Honestly, I'm a bit tired..." he said, yawning a bit. Patting the bed beside him, he continued on "Why don't you come lay down? Tell me a bit about yourself, since I basically know nothing about you."

The colors in his eyes seemed to swirl as he pondered over her words, comparing Shigan to Zaiphar, something she was sure he'd be doing a lot in the first few weeks... if not the whole time. She had nothing to compare Shigan to, except that Zaiphar was known for being on the coast and lacking the industrial air that Shigan had.

She knew he believed his place to be better. Lilla wouldn't argue. She had lived in Shigan all her life and had no other experiences to back why Shigan was superior to any other nation... he'd probably been to many major nations and countries, whether visiting or for political matters. He had much more to compare to.

"Well, for starters, you can quit calling me sir. What was that, the third time you've done so? Forgive me for speaking frankly, but I'll be a 'Sir' when I'm old."

She flustered again, and, completely forgetting her etiquette, opened her mouth to let an apology run rampant. A noise, barely a syllable, rang from her throat, but it didn't get any further when he stuck his tongue out at her.

It was like with children: a certain expression crossed his face when he did so, his eyebrows raising a little, a smile on his lips. The sight caused Lilla to laugh, even if it was quietly, shaking her head at the man. It was certain that he did not act his age when he was relaxed (or, as relaxed as a man could be in a room with a political trump card.) and she was sure that it did not carry over into his politics. It added a degree of dynamics to the sliver of personality she had witnessed, and she quite liked it.

"I'm sorry," she said, her voice more composed but still holding the humor she'd displayed moments before, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. "I'm just used to older men - not young men. It slipped my mind that it could bother you."

Lilla watched him move from the door to the bed, plopping himself down on the mattress and making quick work of his shoes. He then proceeded to yawn, and she would be lying to herself if she said it wasn't the cutest thing; when he finally looked back over at her, she glanced away, feeling very much like a teenage girl again.

"Why don't you come lay down? Tell me a bit about yourself, since I basically know nothing about you."

That odd, half-syllable noise again, stopping herself from speaking too soon, and a hot blush rose onto her cheeks and ears from the thought that came to her mind. Saying no would ensure he would remain her client - saying no would be fudging the job quota the emperor gave her...

But he was laying down and didn't look like he would make any attempts to sit up, or try anything... and he did, indeed, look rather tired. But it wasn't like she'd ever had any... bedroom experiences to compare this to, to rationalize if he was trying to be coy or not. She hesitated, berated herself for putting her answer off so long, and hesitated again.

The closest she'd ever come to anything scandalous... boy, that had been a long while ago. With a wry smile, she realized it had been a politician, one of the emperor's advisers. She had served him one too many glasses of liquor, and he had been eating with one of the councilmen - whom had not been drinking - and she had assumed that the sober of the two would keep a tight reign on the drunk, blathering man.

She had been wrong, and when she was walking back from House's kitchen to return the small serving tray she had brought with food for the councilmen, she found he'd gotten up, ambled his way to the hallway leading back to the kitchen (somehow avoiding Darcy and the other Fleures attention), and came onto her.

Lilla had thought, naively, that maybe he had been looking for the bathroom, but when she felt his hands on her breasts mid-question, she realized that was not the case.

She was a good Fleure; even while she bottomed out the top five, narrowly above Akako but below Darcy and the beautiful and talented (and very, verymuddle-blooded twins), she knew she wasn't the best, and there were perks to not being the best. People expected less from you. There was a reason most of the men picked Darcy and the twins; they were beautiful and ideal, whereas Akako was loud and brash and Lilla herself was too quiet, too subdued when she worked and much too clumsy.

They had believed that she was doe-like and docile by nature, but that was not the case. She did what she had to do to get paid and represent the House as well as she could, and she did it well enough to have them all fooled - until that happened.

Darcy nor the Lady had expected to find the adviser on the floor, too drunk to get up and too confused as to what had happened, and the then seventeen year old girl seething. When the purple-haired Fleure had asked her what had happened (or, rather, demanded, in the way that Darcy does things.) she had stormed off and didn't return to finish her shift.

It wasn't until the next morning, with both Darcy and the Lady, that the two women found out that Lilla had, indeed, clocked the man something wicked. She'd knocked out one of his teeth. She never saw the man at the House again and Darcy and the Lady never questioned her any further about it.

To her amusement, she had seen him this morning and he'd done a double take, giving her a less than perfect smile, until he realized who it was.


But Relos was not one of the emperor's advisers, and he certainly wasn't drunk, so where did that leave her?

Oh, how I loathe my job sometimes.

Benefit of the doubt, she could afford to give him that, especially seeing that the Lady was miles away from the palace and there was no Darcy here to lash her with scathing words. Especially since this was his own reputation he'd be tarnishing and his own fault, not her own.

It was in her job quota to be pretty and do as she was told and do feminine things, but she was not brainless. Relos was not the type of man to do something so brash.

Lilla made her way over to the bed and sat down, bringing her legs over onto the comforter. It was lush and richly colored, like she had examined earlier, but there was more intricate details to it than she had noticed before, having been distracted. The thin, gilded hems and embroidery, the quilting, she had ignored it earlier.

"Well," she hesitated slightly, "that's a bit of a broad subject... I work for one of Shigan's Houses and that's pretty much it," she said, a bit embarrassed. She was sure the man had a much busier, much more colorful day than she did. "My day revolves around the house, so..."

She mocked his earlier movement, curling her toes against the sprawling bedspread. She was neatly folded up, seeing as he was laid out width-wise on the bed, but it didn't bother her. Her knees were inches from his face and her feet were tucked to one side, bracing herself on one arm as she watched him.


He was fairly attractive, his personality seemed rather decent, and his hands didn't seem to have the tendency of straying. She liked him. A lot.

Relos Zaiphar

When Lilla did not respond right away to his suggestion, Relos wondered if that had been the wrong thing to ask of her. He hadn't meant anything by asking her to come sit on the bed, he had meant it in the way you'd invite someone to sit in a chair; but now that he thought about it, he could see how a different meaning could be taken from that. Relos kicked himself, wondering if he'd somehow already messed up and said something he shouldn't have. Would Lilla refuse his request, and then tomorrow go and tell her employer that he had tried to get her in bed? Or was he just reading too much into her delay? Being in enemy territory sure made him jumpy.

But he was able to breathe a sigh of relief when Lilla somewhat hesitantly crawled onto the bed with him. She came to rest beside him, not laying as he was, but instead sitting with her knees to him and legs tucked around her, her weight supported with one arm. Perhaps it was for the best that she didn't lay down also, he realized, for even though the bed was rather large, had she been laying she still would have been pretty close to him. As it was, her knees were very close to his face, and that made him acutely aware of her presence. She was close enough that if he turned his head to face her, he could touch his nose to her knee. Why hello there knee, how're you tonight? he thought jokingly.

"Well, that's a bit of a broad subject... I work for one of Shigan's Houses and that's pretty much it," she said, addressing his original question. She went on to say what she did in a day, which could pretty much be summed up as one thing: Work. Relos could practically feel the monotony of her words, and he inwardly cringed at the thought. Opening one eye to glance blankly at her face, he said "Wow...no offense, but you have a boring life, Lilla."

He awkwardly shrugged in his position though, letting his eyes close again, and said "That's alright for you, though. Not everyone wants to have high-energy days, not even I do...that's why I like riding back in Zaiphar so much. It was so easy to just to lay back and relax..." He talked mostly to himself at the end, his words stirring up the fond memories of the dozens of catnaps he'd had over the last few years. It was thoroughly depressing that those excursions would have to wait until Shigan was long behind him. Especially since he knew that he'd want to take a break from the political negotiations he'd have to endure during his stay. It seemed to him that when he needed the time the most, it was no longer available for him to take.

He had spaced out for a minute, reliving the experience, and so the conversation lulled for a minute. When he realized what he was doing, opened his eyes surprisedly, and scratched his head with one finger. "Oh, what was I saying...Oh, yeah, life can get pretty busy, being a prince and all. But I can say that I've spent more of time not working than I have working. Benefit of being a prince for a nation that's remarkably self-sufficient: Not that much to do."

"In fact, this trip to Shigan will be the first important thing I've had to do in a while," he said, realizing it himself as he explained it to her. Not only was this the only thing he'd done recently, it was the most important thing he'd had to do to date. Here's hoping that he doesn't screw it up.

He yawned again. He wasn't sure how late it really was, seeing as it was hard to tell time by the sun once it had already gone down. He held one of his hands up to his face and muttered a few of his magic words, watching as his cupped hand gathered some silvery light. The circle in his palm was almost white, and otherwise nondescript. When he thought about it, Relos never could understand how the circle could tell time, yet he was always able to look at it and instantly understand what it meant. Right now, it was telling him that midnight was slowly creeping up on them.

He cut off the magic and sat up, crossing his legs to sit Indian style, facing her. "Well Lilla, I think we'll have to continue our talk tomorrow, as I'm about to head off to bed." He slid back to edge of the bed and slipped his socks back on, then stood again. "I'm off to go see someone about my driver's lodgings. 'Night Lilla," he said happily leaning back over the bed to kiss her on the cheek after he said goodnight. Then he turned from the girl and headed out of the door, hoping to find out where the emperor stuck his driver and horse. He wanted to keep a tab on where his things were being kept.

It was only after he was a few hallways away from his room that he began to think about something. If people ladies in Shigan didn't greet people the same way, did they not say farewell the same way? In Zaiphar, it was normal to kiss a lady on the cheek as a way to say goodbye, and although you wouldn't do it to a perfect stranger, Relos didn't consider Lilla a total stranger. Would she not think that was what he meant by the kiss? Would she think that he was making a move on her?

Nah, he was just thinking too much into it. Being in enemy territory sure made him jumpy.

Even with his attempt at conversation, Lilla found herself listening to silence the most, lulls in his words coming frequently. She could understand why with a simple glance to his face; his eyes had a certain degree of forlorn to them, and overall his expression was thoughtful.

She had believed him to be done talking until he mumbled, his voice soft and words strung together with familiarity she found foreign. It was like hearing someone with their catchphrase or a favorite saying, the way the words tumbled from his mouth, neat and orderly. Her gaze drifted down from his face, to his hands, where his own eyes were glancing.

A Vyx... I suppose I should have known. Lilla couldn't help but stare at the silvery ball, glowing lazily in the man's calloused hand. She couldn't tell why he had conjured it up, and before she could ask, his hand closed into a fist and the light dissipated, like he had put out a smoldering flame. She had so many questions she'd have to ask, if they had the time later, given the new display of his breed.

She had thought that, maybe, he could have even been an Inamai, but she couldn't think of any animals with as vibrant colorings as he had. Seeing a Vyx around Shigan were rare... well, a lot of breeds were rare. Shigan was not as diverse as some of the other nations. She'd come in contact with two Vyx's in her lifetime - Relos being one of them - and she could count on one hand the number of other breeds she'd met. Humans and Liths ran rampant around Shigan, and mixed-blooded people were far more common than full-blooded because of the sheer population of the plain humans.

"Well Lilla, I think we'll have to continue our talk tomorrow, as I'm about to head off to bed." His voice was louder now, the sound attracting her attention. He'd sat up somewhat abruptly, his legs crossed and his gaze on his own, but it wasn't permanent as he found his way to the edge of the bed. She couldn't tell what he was doing from where she was, and him hunching over didn't give her any hints. His weight shifted off of the bed, and only the sound of his shoes gave her the indication of what he had been doing.

Why is he putting shoes on to go to bed...? Lilla mused, but didn't ponder it any further. She moved, letting her feet touch the ground.

"I'm off to go see someone about my driver's lodgings. 'Night Lilla," She turned her head, bracing herself against the mattress again when it took a sudden dip. Relos was leaning over the bed, one of his large hands acting as support as he did so.

"Goodnigh-"

The slight scratch of his cheek against her own, how warm it felt and how hot hers suddenly was; the red curl that was pinned between his cheek and hers, tickling her nose. A sudden scent she was foreign to - like salt water with a bit of warm spice, probably whatever he used to shave. The way she leaned slightly to one side, his hand causing a dip in the mattress, and it wasn't too far from her knee.

She noticed all of this before she even noticed his lips on her cheek, but by then he was already out the door. What was that about? Certainly it was just a Zaiphar gesture. It couldn't have meant anything more than that - she'd barely known him for a day. Maybe it was something that was common with her age, but she wouldn't know. He was the first of her age that she'd been around in a long, long time.

Maybe she had judged him wrong, and he was that forward. But she doubted that. Either way, she didn't want to think about it, because the more she thought about it, the hotter she felt and the more she dug into his simple action. With a sigh she stood, making her way to her room to gather some clothes.

A bath would clear her head. It had to... because at the rate she was going, she wasn't going to be able to sleep.

Absentminded hands dug through her chest of drawers, grabbing nothing but the necessities - there was no use getting an outfit out, because she'd wrinkle it if she slept in it. Where would I have put my nightgown? I'm sure I packed it...

She wordlessly double-checked her bags and went through her dresser once more, her lip tugged between her teeth. Why would she have forgotten it? Oh... I let Darcy borrow it, didn't I? Lilla tilted her head back and rolled her eyes. There was no way she could wear one of her shirts to sleep, as they barely covered anything, and she knew she was prone to tossing and turning in her sleep... and this place was foreign. She could sleep in the necessities at the House and not worry - or care - who saw her. But here... she wasn't sure.

With a bit of a frown, she put a hand on the door that separated her room from Relos's, the other holding her undergarments. One shirt. He won't notice, he's a prince... I bet he brought his whole wardrobe, anyway. She pushed the door open, walking through, and, even though she knew he was gone, she hesitated.

"You're paranoid," she hissed to herself, walking soundlessly to the large chest at the end of the bed. She sat her things down on the comforter, freeing both of her hands, and with a silent beat of hesitation, she opened the first drawer.

A sudden slam and she was fumbling with the second drawer. Lilla would have found it ironic that he ordered his things the same way she did - personal items and undergarments in the top drawer - if she hadn't been so embarrassed. The second one was safer and exactly what she was looking for.

Taking a shirt off of the top would be suicide, because certainly he would notice. She pulled one out of the bottom, carefully straightening any wrinkles she caused on the shirts stacked above it, and then shut the drawer once more. Like a madwoman, Lilla grabbed her underwear and her stolen shirt, running back through the doors connecting their rooms, as if there would be any chance he'd come back if she walked any slower.

With a sigh of relief she rolled her underwear up in the shirt to mask it, grabbing her toiletries and walking out into the hallway to find the washroom. It was silent, no one roaming the halls, something she would have found odd if she hadn't had a grasp on what time of day it was. There were several hallways and doors until she finally came across it, and with a bit of berating she realized she'd taken the longest route, but once she was there she shut the door and locked it.

She undressed and got her bath, and she wouldn't have been lying if she had said she spent far too much time in the hot, steaming water. While she sat, she pondered the man, and she was a little disappointed that her endevour hadn't done as she had wanted it to - clear her head - but she did feel better and more ready for sleep than she had before.

Lilla stepped out of the soaking tub, humming to herself and gathering herself in one of the supplied towels, proudly displaying Shigan's emblem. The room was warm and steamy, and more than once she had to swipe her hand across the large mirror on the far wall so she could see herself as she pulled her comb through her hair. With precise fingers, she pulled her hair back into a braid, and as the room began to cool, she made quick work of getting dressed.

The shirt she had grabbed was of a material she was not used to; it was soft and worn, stretching weakly between her fingers. It was either a hand-me-down or something he wore often, she assessed, tilting her head at it. If he was so rich, why would he keep something as worn as this?

She contemplated it as she pulled it on, and as the fabric pooled around her hips she realized why. It was comfortable, unlike her silky nightgown, made of simple cotton and something else she couldn't identify. It was a taupe gray color, the sleeves reaching past her forearm, and she knew if she had any less of the figure she had, the shirt would have fallen around her thighs.

She brushed her teeth and examined herself in the full-length mirror, and with a bit of a sigh she realized she hadn't grabbed any semblance of pants.

Messy hair, men's shirt... Oh my gosh, I look so sleazy...

She tugged the shirt down over her hips in an attempt to fix the situation, but realized that it only made it worse. There was nothing she could do, she supposed, gathering her things and putting her dirty clothes and used towel in the hamper by the door.

She didn't know how long she'd been in there, and finding her way back to her room was much easier than it was on the trip to the washroom.

Lilla was halfway across the hall to her room when she heard heavy footsteps she had come to associate with Relos; they echoed in the hall, heading towards her. Her eyes snapped up to see the red-headed prince, but his gaze wasn't on her.

She took the opportunity and rushed the three feet between her and her door, her socks sliding on the floor but making no noise, and she slipped into her room unnoticed. As the door shut, she had already ran to the bed, pushing the covers back and settling in. Please, please, please don't let him have seen me...

The springs barely squeaked as she got comfortable, trying to make it seem that she had been in bed far longer than she was, hoping that if he saw her in bed it would dismiss her door shutting... somehow. The pillow was cold and the blankets were as well, having been uninhabited all day, and with a shiver, Lilla tugged her legs up. Her gaze was stuck on the wall, and even as her eyelids began to droop, she was still paying attention to the noises in the room next door.

She hid her nose in his shirt, taking a deep breath. If Zaiphar is as lovely as Relos smells, I think I'd love to visit sometime... The thought brought a smile to her face, but it didn't last long.

That kiss...

He'd been the first man to come in such close contact to her without a lewd intention since her father, and for some reason this made her nervous. This was her job, not a date or an outing, and if she fell in love with the fiery-haired Prince... not only would it compromise her duty, but it would his, as well. He was meant to marry one of the Emperor's beautiful - if not selfish and rude - daughters, and they were meant to have little treaty babies. That was the reason why he was here.

And she was here to foil that plan... so why was she so concerned about it? Probably because if I fall in love with him... I won't want to get him in trouble.

This was silly, she knew. She barely knew him and the kiss meant nothing. It had to.

Honestly, why would someone of his prestige want anything to do with a petite, clumsy, mutt-blooded girl anyway, when he could have one of the princesses?

She sighed, hiding her face further into his shirt, hoping in vain that the smell of the fabric would intoxicate her and she could forget about it.

Relos Zaiphar

Relos was a bit disappointed when he couldn’t find any servants in his little compound, despite how many hallways he walked through. It appeared that they had all gone home for the night, and the thought perplexed him. In Zaiphar, they let their servants go home for the night, and had a significantly smaller group that came at night to see to the nightly chores that the castle needed. It worked well for them, but for some reason, Relos found it hard to accept that the emperor would do the same thing. He doubted that the man was very sympathetic to his servers.

Perhaps they were all just in the main building, he thought, and made his way back through the halls that he’d been led through earlier that day, yawning a bit from the lateness of hour. His theory was proven correct, as he was able to flag down a couple of maids doing their nightly cleaning rounds, and they directed him to a butler who was able to then point him to where his driver was staying. They’d put his carriage and horses in a stable a bit off the palace proper, but still nearby, with his driver staying in one of the rooms they had in the stable house.

Relos had a rather close relationship with his driver. Gauche was his name, and believe it or not, he was something of a cousin to Relos. He was ten years older than him, but still the son of one of his father’s brothers. That was what he remembered, anyway, but it didn’t matter much about exactly how they were related. Gauche was never motivated enough to get a real job, and he needed one seeing how he wasn’t nobility enough to be blessed with what he needs. Plus, he had a business streak that would not be sated from easy money. Relos’s father got him a job as their carriage driver, and Gauche did odd jobs on the side.

Because of Relos’s love for long carriage rides, Gauche and him spent a lot of time together, even if most of it was spent in silence. The two were friendly, and made each other laugh sometimes. It was good enough for both of them, seeing how Relos was too busy with being the prince for having high-maintenance friends and Gauche was too busy with his own plans to pursue such friends.

Relos found the stable house where Gauche was staying, and was ushered inside by the older man. The room was much smaller than the room Relos was staying in but still probably nicer than some people could afford, and it was cozy. The two shared a talk about what they’d seen of Shigan so far and what their day had been like. Guache’s was mostly filled with getting settled, but he’d gone out on the town and seen some places he could work in to make some money while he was here. The man was determined to make this a business trip, and walk away much richer than he came at Shigan’s expense.

Relos spoke too about the greetings that he was put through by the emperor, but he left out any word of Lilla, knowing that the man would think more to it than there was. Plus, he could be a bit crude when it came to women, which was most likely why he was still single while being otherwise fairly attractive (Good looks ran in the royal line of Zaiphar. Not much to do about it)

They parted with a glass of their traditional night drink, warm milk tossed with tea leaves and sweetened with a spoon of Zaihparian honey. The rain from earlier, which had quieted down a bit, had come back out in full force while the two were talking, and so Relos had to walk back to the palace in the rain. A few quick words and a bit of power expended later, though, and his skin was clothed in warmth and the water didn’t permeate his clothes. As he was, with the rain falling on him without sticking, he was actually able to walk back leisurely enjoying being in a world of falling droplets. He was rather glad he wasn’t getting wet, though, since that would mean he’d need a bath before bed, and he honestly didn’t feel like it. He was ready for bed.

As he was walking back to his room, his thoughts were filled with memories of the past. Gauche had that effect on him, making him think of times passed. Because of that, he wasn’t really paying attention to what was ahead of him, just enough so that he didn’t run into something or someone. It was probably that that saved Lilla from being seen.

The noise of the door closing did catch his attention, but when he looked up, he didn’t see anyone. He stepped into his room quietly and tiptoed over to Lilla’s door, pressing his ear against the wood attempting to hear inside. He couldn’t make out much noise other than the subtle breathing and movement that was consistent with one sleeping, so he just dismissed it as being the servant that he had been trying to find in the compound finally coming out of hiding.

Relos shrugged as he made his way away from her door and began removing his shoes again, and moving on to shedding his other clothes. He grabbed some sleep pants from his things, and then went to get his favorite shirt from his drawer, but was unable to find it. He searched for it for several minutes, going through the whole drawer in case it had been mixed in with the other shirts, but was still unable to find it. Relos sat back and sighed, a bit miffed that he couldn’t find the gray shirt. He slept in that shirt so often that he’d worn it down to where it was amazingly comfortable. He tried thinking of what he could have done with it, finally relenting and deciding that he must have given it to Seles before he left.

Grumbling about the loss of his favorite shirt, he pulled on one of his much less comfortable shirts and crawled into the bed, which was much too big for one person. It was obviously designed for a couple to share, and so Relos kept turning before he could find a spot that felt comfortable.

As Relos began to drift off to sleep, a bit of homesickness crept up on him as he thought of how his family was doing back in Zaiphar. After a while, though, his thoughts returned to the matter and hand and he spent a while thinking about what to expect from the emperor from here on. His thoughts unexpectedly turned to Lilla, appraising what he’d seen of her so far. He hadn’t forgotten his earlier decisions about being careful around her, she was most certainly dangerous, probably the most dangerous weapon the emperor had in his employ. And yet, he couldn’t help but be intrigued by her. He’d have to learn more about her, carefully though, he told himself, and a little bit at the time.

And then Relos finally drifted off to sleep, his thoughts no longer able to keep his body awake. He fell asleep imagining that he could hear Lilla breathing in the other room as if she was laying in the bed with him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

When the early morning sun rose, its light peeked through the open curtains of the window and spilled strips of light across Relos’s room. One of the strips fell right over his sleeping form, and the heat of it plus the heat of the covers caused him to stir. He blinked awake, peering curiously about the room until he remembered where he was. Then he stretched widely in the bed, stretching his limbs which had been curled up for most of the night.

Relos stood out of the bed and stretched some more, getting used to being awake again. He let a bit of magic leak out of his fingers, lighting them up with the silvery light of his power. Once he was satisfied that he was awake, he went to collect his clothes. He wasn’t sure exactly what was planned for him today, so he decided to pick something slightly dressy, but still comfortable. It was a light blue dress shirt that fit loosely on him, the sleeves cut off as customary with his clothing. He picked a pair of white detached sleeves and a pair of cream colored pants. Grabbing those and some underclothing, he made his way to the bathroom.

Relos made quick work of bathing and dressing, wanting to get a start on his day, using magic where he could to speed the process. His mentor had often scolded him about using magic for such trivial things, but Relos could never motivate himself to do things the hard way when he could use his powers to use it the better way.

When he was back in his room, he tucked his dirty clothes away and then plopped himself down on his bed. He pulled out a book that he had been reading and split it open, then started reading it. He wasn’t sure where to go, so he figured he’d read to pass the time until someone came for him.

The ceiling doesn't look familiar... that was Lilla's first thought as she woke up, rubbing her eyes. As she opened them, slowly adjusting to the morning light, and realized that she didn't recognize the ceiling she was staring at, she sat up, flabbergasted. It took her a few moments to recognize the desk in the corner, the thick chest of drawers, and the gray shirt that she was wearing.

"I hope I didn't oversleep," she murmured to herself (she realized she'd done this a lot in the past few days. It was different, not having dozens of people coming to and fro and to speak to. Not that Relos made her lonely, but it was certainly a change from having a different person to talk to almost every time she turned around.), falling back against the mattress with a loud yawn. Her muscles protested at the new bed, slightly sore and tight - she obviously hadn't moved around too much in her sleep. She pointed her toes and pulled her arms up above her head, arching her back and stretching, a satisfied sigh punctuating the motion.

She unwound her legs from the blankets, sitting back up and getting out of bed now that she was fully awake. The noises next door told her that Relos was as well, perhaps longer than she had been, and with that in mind she padded to her drawers to decide what she could wear. She made small noises as she got dressed, shutting drawers, a soft groan as she reached her arms above her head and stretched. For a moment, she wondered if the door connecting their two rooms could lock, but she knew it wouldn't take her long to get dressed as it was, and with that thought she peeled her socks off.

The gray shirt came off and she folded it neatly, deciding that she'd get it ironed and somehow return it to Relos later that day, and sat it on top of her dresser. She'd decided on a simple empire-waist dress, a rich pink, dusty and not too bright, that was offset by a pale off-white sash under her bust. Near the hem of the dress and around the neck there was some eyelets. The hem just grazed the lower half of her thigh, and the cap sleeves covered enough of her shoulders that she didn't need to worry with a jacket. So long as he didn't request her to dance, she wouldn't have to worry about the bottom coming up too high. She fumbled with making a bow behind her back that was neat enough to suit her needs, and when she couldn't, she simply tugged at the ends of the sash and sighed, deciding she could ask Relos to tie it for her.

She kicked her underthings under her bed, stretching one more time before she decided to head to the next room. She suddenly remembered her braid, and she fumbled with the band that kept her braid back. It had partially come undone in her sleep, and as she pulled the band out from her hair and opened the door, she noticed Relos sitting on his bed, book in his hands.

"Good morn-" she said, unraveling the braid, her gaze downcast. Lilla finally glanced up, her fingers stilling for a moment, caught off guard. He looked put together - not that he hadn't the day before, but a day of traveling did wear a person out, especially when it wasn't a pleasant one... He looked refreshed, but she couldn't be absolutely sure if he'd gotten a shower (she couldn't fathom how he could get a shower and all his hair be dry. Her own was still slightly damp from the night before, and the length of his rivaled hers.) "Uh, good morning, si- Relos." She offered him a smile, albeit hesitant and a tad uncertain, and returned to running her fingers through the waves her braid had created. "You look nice today. The color suits you," Lilla added, glancing from his shirt to his face. It did, she couldn't lie; it seemed to mirror the shade of his eyes, pale but vibrant at the same time, and it didn't even clash with his hair, bringing out the dark hues in the strands.

"I could go get us some breakfast, if you're hungry," she offered, taking a few steps closer to the bed. Lilla's hands were still in her hair. Dang it, Lilla, you're supposed to be presentable for a client, not become presentable! She shook out the thick strands, raking her hands through like a wide-toothed comb, and decided that it was enough at the present time. It was then she realized she was still barefooted, glancing down at the chipping nail polish. Darcy would kill me if she saw how I presented myself to the prince! "But, um... could I ask you a favor? Could you tie this for me?" Lilla asked, rocking on the balls of her feet. It was an innocent question, but she was so unused to having to ask guys to do things for her - it was usually Darcy or one of the twins, and usually she didn't have to ask, they just offered, so she wasn't used to asking for help. It was one of her bad traits, being hardheaded and independent, and the Lady had tried to break the habit before it could interfere with her work... but with no such luck.

She wondered what time he had gotten back last night. She'd fallen asleep halfway through her thoughts last night, completely exhausted and overwhelmed with the new place and the people, not to mention having to deal with Relos and forgetting her nightgown. She hoped today would be easier, seeing as she was getting used to the environment.

dress,sash,eyelets

Relos Zaiphar

Relos let his eyes scan the pages before him, quickly and precisely taking in the information contained within. Believe it or not, it was a book of poetry that was capturing Relos's attentions so. It wasn't usually the case for the prince; he could appreciate the fine arts like poetry, and much like anything else that could be construed as a competitive subject, he had tried his hand in it. However, rarely did he find another's work interesting enough that it would captivate him so. This author was different, however. She supposedly lived in the countryside of Zaiphar, and her work spoke mainly about the beauty of nature, which Relos could relate to since he had such an appreciation for it himself. A certain female had introduced him to her work, he remembered with a slight smirk of his lips, and he'd been a sucker for her stuff ever since.

It was a while before anyone came for him, but when someone did, he was pleased to see that it was Lilla. The girl walked out of her adjoining room, moving with the gait of one who had just crawled out of bed-a bit stiff, like their limbs were protesting being forced to move. She was wearing a dress of a pale pink color, which when it caught his eye through the edges of his vision, it turned his attention to her. It looked good on her, quite good, in fact. It wasn't exactly the perfect dress for her, but it suited her figure and complimented her coloring nicely; plus, it was a nice article in general. Those damned good Shigan textiles.

He saw her fingers tangled in her long hair, working to tie it up into a manageable style, and heard her somewhat sleepy 'Good Morning'. He caught that she'd been about to call him sir, and had been about to call her on it, but she caught herself before she could do so. That earned a grin from him, and he said to himself 'Good, she's learning.'

"Beautiful Morning to you too, Lilla," he said, still smiling from her proper address of him, and the overall pleasantness of the morning. He received her complement happily, but also dismissively. He knew that he looked pretty decent, one could assume that from all the attention he got from the other sex back at home, but he didn't consider it necessary to elaborate beyond that. Looks was one category that Relos did not want to compete in, for the simple reason of: you can't change them. You can work at it, but the fact was, a person looks the way they do and that's that. It wasn't that he was afraid that he'd loose and not be able to get better at it so much as it was that he didn't want to win leave another person hurting over an injured pride that could probably never be encouraged back to normal.

However, he felt it pertinent to say "You look nice as well Lilla, the dress suits you. It's a bit pale for my tastes, but seeing how I don't make a habit of wearing dresses, I don't think that it's much of a problem," winking at her humoredly to emphasize the joke, he momentarily turned his attention back to the book simply to replace his marker and set it back on the night table.

He looked back at her just in time to hear her offer to go get breakfast for him, scooting towards the edge of the bed to get off nearly exactly at the same time she took a few steps toward teh bed to get closer to him; the result, the distance between them closed to where he could make out the pattern of colors to her dress and make out the little eyelets on the neck. His eyes were drawn the different-colored sash, but when he looked just up from the sash, he quickly averted his eyes, blushing inwardly but not doing so outwardly. He couldn't figure out any purpose for tying the sash there other than to emphasize those particular assets she had, which he didn't exactly want to get caught inspecting.

Moving back to the situation at hand, he stood from the bed, taking the pocket watch from the nightstand and slipping it into his pants pocket, as well as taking the plain gold ring and slipping it onto the ring finger on his left hand. He owned a few rings, and he was rather fond of this particular one. It wasn't gemmed, and so it wasn't too flashy or delicate, and it fit nicely. He answered her question as he took the last piece of his wardrobe for the day, a sash of the same color as his pants that was meant to be tied around his waist, and instead tied it around his forehead in his customary and moving his bangs from falling into his face. He let out a puff of breath, blowing a stray lock of hair from his nose up, as he spoke. "Yeah, breakfast sounds good, but why don't we go together? I don't feel like staying in my room today, it's such a nice day outside."

It was, in fact, a nice day outside. The rain from yesterday and the night before hand fully faded, leaving behind blue skies and a bright sun. If he didn't focus on it too much, Relos could pretend that he was looking at the sky from his bedroom balcony. If only the sun was just a bit brighter; if only the clouds did not somehow speak of the smoke that went into them from the city and factories below; if only the sky shimmered slightly along with the blue from the water vapor coming off of the ocean.

He was drawn from his wishful thinking by the voice of his companion. "But, um... could I ask you a favor? Could you tie this for me?" Relos blinked at her and nodded, but not without teasing her. "Had some difficulties?", he poked, as he placed a hand on her shoulder and turned her around so her back faced him. He took the ends of the ribbon and pulled on them a bit, getting used to the shape of the body beneath the dress. He tied the bow snuggly, not fumbling any since he'd tied such bows several times before.

When he was done he leaned foward, unconsciously pressing himself against her back, and leaned his head over her shoulder to ask "Too tight? I can loosen it up some, if you want."

Lilla Rowan

"You look nice as well Lilla, the dress suits you. It's a bit pale for my tastes, but seeing how I don't make a habit of wearing dresses, I don't think that it's much of a problem."

His words seemed a little stale, Lilla noted, like he was simply saying the words to deflect what she had previously said. But she couldn't tell - especially when he winked at her, causing her eyes to latch onto a section of the floor to her left and her face to get hot - and it wasn't her place to ask.

He stood as she stepped towards him, and she watched him, a bit bemused, as his gaze drifted from her sash and then suddenly away. In her embarrassment, she stepped back and murmured her apology, but it seemed that it fell on deaf ears as he turned and grabbed an article of jewelry and his own sash, which he tied on his forehead. It was an accident. It had to be. She berated herself, deciding to let his unsavory attention of her go for the moment.

"Yeah, breakfast sounds good, but why don't we go together? I don't feel like staying in my room today, it's such a nice day outside." His words caused her to peer out the window, a bit of a smile coming onto her face in agreement. She'd barely noticed how nice it looked outside - it was probably warm, as well. As she gazed out the window, he turned to face her, a bit of an amused smile on his face when she voiced her question.

She felt his hand on her shoulder, gently turning her around and teasing her lightly. It wasn't enough to cause her to fumble or even blush, but she did roll her eyes for the sheer fact that she knew he couldn't see it at the moment and that she could get away with it. Lilla felt the dress tighten, a few odd pulls as he tied a bow snugly against her back.

"Too tight? I can loosen it up some, if you want."

"No, that's -"

The bow pressed against her back, and she could feel his breath against her hair. She turned her head, surprised, bumping her cheek into his own, and as quickly as she could she turned around and took a wide step back. Lilla could feel the blush rising onto her face, out of both embarrassment and surprise, gazing at Relos for a few moments just to see if she could find any of his intention displayed in his eyes.

But she couldn't, and when she realized this she quickly affixed her gaze elsewhere. "That's fine. I, uh, let me go get my shoes and we can go," she stammered, not giving him a moment to respond before she turned and fled the room to collect her shoes, and her wits.

This - that - could be a good thing. Her Fleure mindset was telling her that that was a big, big no-no, but the side of her that put her job criteria into the mix was telling her it wasn't. That it was a good thing.

And she'd just messed up what could have completed her job quota. Oh, why do I have to be so unskilled when it comes to guys? It wasn't as if she'd ever had a boyfriend - her job made her far too busy for that - and she had assumed that her days with old men had shown her the antics of males enough that she could recognize them... but it appeared she had assumed wrong. She'd read her share of romance books and adult novels to have known better than to have just gotten skittish and run away!

Lilla stomped her foot, almost soundlessly, her weak attempt at a temper tantrum, and with a sigh she realized that there wasn't much that she could do to fix it now. Perhaps there'd be another time and, perhaps the next time, she wouldn't flip out as much.

I mean, he nearly looked down my dress and then did all that... She walked over and stepped into her shoes, shaking her head. What a waste. Oh, well, she rationalized; it was only the second day she'd been in his company, and even he wouldn't be so brash to try and get her into bed this early in the game (...she hoped.) - and she knew well enough that she wasn't exactly being (or, was) the model for sexiness...

She wasn't. She was just Lilla, short and oddly proportioned, with wide hips, decent front and tiny waist. She wasn't tall and elegant like Darcy or Akako. She wasn't meant to be sexy and there wasn't really much she could do to fix it, she supposed.

Lilla tilted her head back, facing the ceiling and let out another sigh, before composing herself and walking back into Relos's room.

"Sorry to keep you waiting," she murmured, plastering on a fake smile, convincing as she could make it. "I'm afraid I don't know where the dining hall is," she said to him.

Relos Zaiphar

Relos stood still, glancing sideways to look at Lilla as he waited for her to answer his question. She started to answer, but also went to turn her head sideways to look at him. Later, Relos would laugh about how they both had the same intention, looking over her shoulder so the other could communicate with them better, but he didn't have much time for laughing at the moment. Lilla's head quickly met his own, their cheeks bumping together; the jarring causing him to instinctively back from her slightly. Whereas he moved slightly back, Lilla seemed more inclined to tear herself from his proximity. She moved quickly from him, effectively putting a good bit of distance between them before she looked at him, blushing all the while. She seemed to be inspecting him, looking perhaps for some reaction from him, but he simply blinking calmly in one eye while the other was scrunched up, gently rubbing his cheek where she bumped it.

"That's fine. I, uh, let me go get my shoes and we can go," she said, and before he could apologize for their little collision, she was gone through her door. He stared after her a bit, stuck slightly dumb from her rapid departure, with the tips of three fingers frozen where they were on his cheek. Lowering his hand, he leaned against the bedframe as he waited for his companion to return. He chewed on the corner of his lip slightly as he debated her actions. Surely a little bump like that wasn't warrant for her to be upset with him-she probably hurt him more than he her from that position. He sighed, realizing that besides talking to her, all he'd done so far today regarding her was glance at her chest and make her bump her head. Not exactly endearing acts, were they?

He'd thought that she hadn't noticed his wandering eyes, but then again, perhaps she was of that breed of woman that could almost sense when their breasts were the object of attention. But still, it had been an accidental staring. It's not like he would have stood there and purposefully stared at her like that; he wasn't a pervert (despite the opinions of some).

Then again, it wasn't like he would never be caught dead staring at her that way; she was fairly attractive, and had a nice pair on her chest...hastily stopping that train of thought, he stiffly turner his head from staring at her door to looking out the window.

Don't act like you do at home, Relos. She's not fair game, so don't think of her like she is, he berated himself. After a minute, his mind was officially dragged out from the gutter, and was returned to the matter and hand: her obvious discomfort with what had just happened. Should he apologize for leaning over her shoulder? He hadn't meant anything by it, he'd only intended what she had been as she turned her head; but perhaps that was the thing to do.

Then again, perhaps mentioning it further would only cause her more discomfort. Relos didn't want to upset her; she was the emperor's secret weapon, his trump card for dealing with him, but just how the emperor was relying on her, he was relying on her too. Even though the fact that she was a woman posed some problems for him, Relos figured that he could handle Lilla and not blow anything for himself. If Lilla was put off by being with him, though, then she might ask to leave. If the emperor replaced her with someone that he could not handle, then...that could be problematic.

He decided that he wouldn't mention it again just as Lilla slipped back through her door, fully assembled now with her shoes on her feet. He turned from the window and gave her a light smile, nothing too emotional, and went to reach for the keys that should have been on the nightstand. When his fingers came up empty though, he glanced at his hand in surprise. "Oh yeah, not my room, so I wouldn't have the keys..." he muttered, awkwardly retracting his hand. He was so used to locking his door when he left, to make sure that nobody could riffle through his things that he hadn't realized he couldn't while he stayed here. A bit reluctantly, he shrugged. Unlocked it'll have to be.

He opened the door to the hallway for her, gesturing for her to leave first, and then followed out after her. Even though he couldn't lock the door, he shut it firmly, and lingered just a minute to make sure that it didn't crack back open. When he was satisfied, he walked up beside Lilla and the two began walking down the hall. Last night Relos had only walked the halls one way, and so it was a bit disorientating to have to walk them backwards. Now that he'd familiarized himself with both paths, though, he found that it wasn't nearly as confusing to get from his room to the main building as it had been the night before.

Like Lilla, he didn't know where the dining hall was either, but they were lucky and ran into a servant in the same place that Relos had the night before. He somewhat happily noted that it wasn't the same person that he had seen the night before, but that didn't mean that they weren't still on duty somewhere else in the palace. With their new directions from the servant (who had seem a bit put-off from being stopped), they continued on their little walk.

As they walked, Relos attempted to make small talk with the girl beside him, asking about how she was enjoying being in the palace so far, and then later asking more about Shigan itself. He was particularly interested in talking about how Shigan was this time of year and what the common folk did in their time, as he had promised himself that he would go out into the town within the next few days and enjoy everything that Shigan had to offer.

It was only after they'd reached the dining room that Relos looked back along the path they'd taken and realized that they could have taken a different route and saved themselves half the time it took to get there. Upon that revelation, Relos started grumbling and complaining about the nerve of that servant, and unfortunately, forcing poor Lilla to listen to his complaints.

Wrapped up as he was in complaining, Relos didn't notice the emperor's attendant until he was onto of him. Breaking his conversation with Lilla, Relos turned to look at the new arrival. Vaguely recalling that he was looking at the same man who had first greeted him yesterday, Relos had little time to do more than remember that before the man was already upon him.

"I trust you slept well, Prince Relos? Was the room to your liking?" he said, and Relos couldn't help but notice how his eyes drifted to Lilla when he said 'room'. Nodding, Relos said "Aye, the room was excellent. I slept like a child all through the night." Speaking the truth was the only way to go about these political talks; if you lied, you were quickly seen through, and that went for lying either for or against something. He'd slept well, even if it wasn't thanks to the room and more to be attributed to his exhaustion from the day of travel. But he didn't have to say that.

The man nodded, seemingly satisfied with the small talk, and moving straight on to business. "The emperor has not made arrangements for a breakfast meeting with you, as he knew that you would most likely be tired after your trip. He has, however, invited you to a lunch out in the garden later, to be followed by discussion."

Relos nodded, having expected to start the 'discussion' today after seeing how prompt the emperor was at starting things yesterday. He was probably in a hurry to get things over and done with so he didn't have to spend more money and effort into impressing Relos. "Sure, that sounds perfect. I'll just enjoy the beautiful morning and meet the emperor later." Remembering something from last night, Relos also asked "Oh, and how long do you think the discussions will take."

The man stared blankly at Relos, in a bit of a deadpan way that had Relos debating on whether to laugh or cringe. "Excuse me?" Making a small noise in his throat to stop himself from doing either, Relos just grinned again at the man and said "I didn't mean that I wasn't willing to talk with the emperor, I just wanted to know how long we would be, since I've made plans for later on."

The man smiled dryly at him. "My my, you've been here one day and already have plans?" Relos chuckled, his laugh not fully authentic but honeyed up nonetheless. "I assure you I'm not going to a dinner party or something; I simply promised my driver that we would go out in the town later." That seemed to blindside the man as well (most likely, Relos thought, because he probably forgot that he had a driver), but he quickly recovered and said "I'm sure the emperor won't keep you too long. After all, he has many important things to do as well."

Grin widening, Relos held his hands up in a shrug. "Naturally he would. It all works out then; tell His Highness that I will see him at lunchtime." After giving him instructions on how to reach the emperor's garden, the man promptly left Relos and Lilla and went to continue his job, whatever that may be.

Relos turned to look again at Lilla and shrugged. "Looks like I'm booked for the rest of the day, so this'll be the only time we get to spend together. How about we go ahead and get our food, eh?" he asked, giving her a slightly more authentic grin.

Maybe I did overreact a little...

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," she murmured to him as they walked down the hallway, a little embarrassed and still a tad flustered from what had taken place. He had waved it off, even though she knew that the bump had to have hurt him more than herself, and began to ask her little questions about Shigan. It was meant to be pleasant and distracting, but she answered as honestly as she could, because Lilla wasn't sure what he was going to do with the information. Shigan, even being as industrial as it was, could be quite pretty during this time of year, when it wasn't raining or foggy. But the flowers were blooming, she told him (she'd gotten harassed by a servant yesterday for stopping and staring at the palace's gardens. Actually, it seemed it was the same servant who had just grumbled out an answer to Relos's question...) and it could be really nice.

"I'm not exactly sure what you could do around here..." She said, puzzled. Maybe he was right in what he had said last night, that she led a very boring life, but she couldn't really tell him what there was to do here. She got out, but she didn't go a lot of places. "There's a lot of little shops down from the palace... and I know that we have our share of, um, bars. Cymain's not too far from here, I mean - if you're into that kind of thing, I suppose..." She tilted her head a little," and the House is a few miles from here. We've got the palace gardens... but that's as much as I'm aware of. There's a small open area not too far from here either, but nothing much goes on there than children's play and festivals when we have them."

Lilla noticed the attendant before Relos did; walking beside him as she was, she tried to gain his attention so he wouldn't continue to blather on and speak badly about the emperor's servants in front of one of his own advisers. She reached up, lightly putting a hand onto his back and hoping that the contact would cause a break in his one-sided conversation. It was a motion that none of the trio could see - maybe herself and the prince, if they turned to look - so that the attendant wouldn't find the motion to be too "friendly" or "becoming" and rattle to the emperor.

Maybe it was being in Relos's presence, but Lilla wasn't sure she'd done something so sly and been so aware of her actions, even being with the House. It startled her a little; as his speech abruptly ended, she moved her hand back to her side, offering the attendant a small, respectful smile.

"...Was the room to your liking?" A glance. The smile on her face didn't falter and Lilla contained the slight sigh that his words and action had evoked. It seemed that the emperor and his adviser assumed that she was a simple whore. It made her want to grind her teeth and laugh all at the same time. She was the worst at her job if that was the case; she'd never done any of the sort, even privately, but she knew that even if she had the place to tell them that, it wouldn't change anything. Houses were notorious for being whore houses - Relos was confused about the connotations of her employer last night, even, and he wasn't from Shigan, so that said everything.

Lilla supposed she would have to get used to it. If the attendant was anything close to how the rest of the palace viewed her, she was sure that whore and prostitute went hand-in-hand with her name in the gossip. There was nothing she could do about it.

Relos's simple response - adverting, changing the subject and twisting the meaning of the man's words without calling him out on the look that she was sure the prince saw - earned an honest smile from the shorter of the two. Listening to the two men talk, Lilla couldn't help but notice the way that Relos picked his words and how he held himself. He wasn't about to give up his own plans for the king, but he wasn't being cocky or rude about it. Maybe he was standing his ground, but Lilla wasn't sure that was the right expression for what he was doing. Bartering? Either way, it was rather brazen for the young man to do so, but it was better than coming across as being a doormat. She was sure Relos didn't want that.

It was probably the closest to any negotiations she would hear of, assuming that Relos wouldn't keep her in the loop.

"Looks like I'm booked for the rest of the day, so this'll be the only time we get to spend together. How about we go ahead and get our food, eh?"

I wonder what I could do while he's gone... For a moment, she wondered what he had planned with his driver, concerned if she'd have to clean him up and get him to bed if he came back to the palace less than sober, but she dismissed that train of thought. He was a grown man, he could take care of himself, and she had no sympathy for him if he came home in a lesser state. (...that she'd admit, anyway.)

"Sounds nice to me," Lilla said, nodding her approval and following him to the dining hall. "...Now that you know where the gardens are, would you like to eat outside?" She asked, remembering what he had said earlier that morning about it being too nice out to be cooped up inside. She had heard him speak to the attendant about eating with the King outside, so maybe her offer was redundant, but even so...

It would be a little less stressful to eat outside as well, if what she'd observed in the last few minutes was anything to go by. There would certainly be servants and maids in the dining hall, overhearing what they could potentially say, and if they were to eat outside, it was far less likely for them to be overheard or taken out of context. She'd seen the gardens from afar yesterday, and even from the distance she'd been at, it was sprawling, covering acres.

They reached the dining hall, and it was just that; a large room with rows of seating, and, on the furthest wall, a towering pair of double-doors that she was certain lead to a kitchen. There was all kinds of food lining the wall, like a buffet, and as the two of them collected what they wanted, Lilla observed that she was correct: servants and maids, waiting to be needed and honestly standing against the wall, but with the expressions they had, she was certain they were less than excited by their job.

"I mean - I know you'll be eating outside with the King later," Lilla murmured, finally realizing she hadn't voiced this earlier, "but... it is up to you. Whichever you please."

Relos Zaiphar

As the emperor’s advisor walked away and Relos lightly tried to pick up his conversation with Lilla that the appearance had disturbed, he could not help but thank his lucky stars as they walked past the several tables of food in the dining hall (an impressive display, even for Relos’ tastes. They food may not be as rich and exotic as Zaipharian cuisine, but it was certainly in enough quantity to make up for the drop of quality) for the fractional allegiance of Lilla that he seemed to have earned. Had she not intervened and stopped his complaining, then the advisor would have surely overheard him, and that would have given the emperor a well-desired tool to use against Relos, even if it was somewhat of a trivial one. In the game of political debate, the wounds from insignificant weapons were fatal; the wounds from significant weapons meant true and utter destruction.

He couldn’t imagine how difficult it would be attending the lunch meeting that he was to attend later if the emperor had that weapon in his arsenal. No doubt it would consist of a tense meal, followed by a few unimportant deliberations on both of their parts, but the entire time, Relos didn’t doubt, the emperor would be smiling victoriously at him, silently holding that slip of composure over him, daring him to speak out against the outrageous conditions he threw out of his greedy mouth.

But he had been spared that fate, solely because of Lilla’s actions. He was gladdened that he had decided not to discomfort her by further pursuing earlier events, because apparently her good humor with him was a boon that he had not counted on. Upon further thinking, Relos began to realize just how beneficial her help would prove to be. She was the emperor’s man, his spy, but if she was sympathetic to him, then she could protect him like few others could-especially if the emperor trusted her. With that revelation, Relos looked over Lilla again and felt his opinion change of the girl, yet again. Now, he knew he didn’t simply have to keep her from causing problems for him, he had to keep her happy with him. He had to make her like him!

Nothing over the top, of course. There was no reason to lead the poor girl on emotionally; a simple friendship would do. But if that could be accomplished, then she might be biased in his favor. He may stand to be corrected, but from what he had seen, Lilla had no special love for the emperor. If the choice came between helping the emperor or Relos, could it be that she would choose Relos if she liked him enough? If her previous action had anything to say on the matter, then the answer would be yes.

Perhaps he was acting as usual and overthinking a simple gesture-After all, it could have been an instinctual action; not born out of any particular like for him, but rather a dislike for anyone to get in trouble. An action taken for the same reason that a stranger with strong morals would protect a beggar from being beaten by thugs-and taking it for more than what it really was. Either way, nothing could be lost from establishing some friendship between the two of them, as long as it was done respectfully. If he did not go out of his way to manipulate their relationship into leading in that direction, then there was no reason why he should not pursue it leisurely. At the very least, it could make the stay here less emotionally demanding if he had a friend, let alone one in such proximity to him, to share the burden with.

He smiled at Lilla’s suggestion, finding it ironic that as soon as he decided to become friendly with her, an opportunity to do just that opened up before him. Eating in a dining room together was not much of an action, perhaps even expected if they were eating at the same time. Eating together, but alone, out in the garden was a bit more yielding.

“Ahh, don’t worry about the lunch,” Relos said cheerily, supporting his admirably-stacked plate of food with one hand and using the other to gesture with his speaking. “Besides, I have a feeling that I will be focused more on the conversation than the scenery during lunch; it’d be best to appreciate it as much as I can now. Besides, I already told you I didn’t plan on staying inside much!” The last part was said with boisterous inflection, with a teasing smile shot back at her and a nudge on the shoulder from his elbow as he made his way to the door out of the dining hall, not waiting for her to debate with his reasoning-or to elbow him back, as several people he knew would likely do. Usually more painfully so than he did originally.

With the recently gained directions, Relos casually led the way back out of the dining hall and through the corridors that would lead them to the gardens. He was glad that it was not a long distance, for it would have been tiring (and dangerous, given the way that his stack of biscuits were teetering) to carry their food across the entire palace.

When they reached the door that would lead them outside, Relos turned back to look at Lilla and sank into a mock bow, being sure to keep his occupied hand level as to prevent the spillage of any food, as that would be a mistake of cataclysmic consequences (lost food! Perish the thought!). Continuing the charade, Relos adopted the voice of one of the stiff butlers he knew from home and said “The dining hall awaits you beyond the door, madam. Nevermind the lack of tables or chairs, the ground is quite adequate for being sat upon. I hope you find it to your liking.-“, and then, returning to his normal voice and opening one eye in the odd reversal of a wink, he said “-and save a spot for me!”

The walk back through the palace was quiet, with Relos's soft chattering and a maid walking in the opposite direction. The corridors held towering windows that shuttered shadows on the ground, and as she walked a few paces behind Relos, a small plate in one hand and her silverware held carefully underneath, she watched as the hues in his hair caught in the sun and suddenly disappeared behind the dark brick.

Lilla didn't think any of his attitude nor the bump to her shoulder (even if it had caused her to pause in surprise), and even as she watched him talk with his hands, watching the food on his plate balance feebly, she was ignorant to the revelations he'd just have. She was lost in thought while he spoke, listening but not responding to his words, and if it hadn't been for his bout of silence when he reached the door leading outside, she probably would have mindlessly ran into him.

She looked up just as a grin surfaced onto his face, suddenly swooping into a bow. It caught her off guard, and for a moment she stammered, trying to come up with something to say - was he alright, did he drop something, what the hell was he doing, exactly? - but when a twinge of a grin struggled not to surface, she knew he was fine.

“The dining hall awaits you beyond the door, madam. Never mind the lack of tables or chairs, the ground is quite adequate for being sat upon. I hope you find it to your liking.... and save a spot for me!”

By the time he had finished, there was a smile on her face that rivaled his own, a blush running rampant on her features. He opened his eyes, and even from the light outdoors washing the side of his face and his eyes in white, she could still tell he was grinning.

Lilla wasn't used to being around a person so... goofy, so relaxed and unconscious of themselves. It was endearing, and rather entertaining to say the least, and as he rose from his bow she brushed passed him to go outside in her attempt to continue with his charade.

"Well," she began, trying to force down the smile on her face and adopting a controlled, regal tone, "It is... rather adequate, I will agree. However, we'll have to see about that spot of yours," she said. Lilla couldn't help herself, glancing back at him with a grin. It was short lived, and as soon as she took a breath of the sweet-smelling air, she turned back around.

The gardens were sprawling, just as she had seen earlier the previous day; there were rows of bushes and and beds of flowers, large beds of flowers and walkways separating the batches and the different flowers. Several looming trees left splotchy shadows across the grass and the flowers. It was beautiful and even without a breeze, it was easy to catch a wiff of the fragrant plants. The gardens eventually ended in a large stretch of grass, and she was curious to see what was behind the rows of trees that ended the gardens.

For a moment, she just stood there, taking in all of the flowers and the sheer size of the palace's land. The thing that most caught her attention was the large tree right in front of them, the pathway stretching around it and continuing like flowing water around an obstruction, pink pedals sprinkling the ground. She didn't think she'd seen something like this around Shigan - not before, anyway - and it was simply beautiful.

"Let's go sit a little from here," she said, mainly voicing her thoughts to the red-headed prince, "I would hate for the bees to bother us." Lilla took a few steps ahead of him, glancing back at the tree, and decided that before she left she would have to press a few of the flowers that grew on it. Darcy would like it, she knew; she was interested in delicate things such as that.

She tore her eyes from the tree and continued down the path, finding an area not too far from the palace but not directly among the flowers and their insects (as well as the overbearing maids, who seemed to glance away every time she looked at them.) she carefully sat down on the grass, deciding against crossing her legs and simply putting her plate of food on her lap.

"How do you like Shigan so far?" she asked lightly, picking at her food, "um, I know you left last night... hopefully your endeavor wasn't too unpleasant." Shigan was... well, maybe dangerous was too harsh of a word, but it certainly wasn't safe if you went to the wrong parts of town. There were areas that the officials overlooked or pretended not to notice, like Cymain and the nightly harlots, as well as the occasional thief. Not that she didn't think Relos couldn't handle himself - he was a prince, for heaven's sake, and what she could see from his shoulders alone she could tell he could pack some strength behind a punch if he needed to. After saying what she had, she regretted it, hoping that she didn't sound too overbearing.

"N..Not that you can't handle yourself," she added hesitantly,"but..."

Relos Zaiphar

Relos had had a feeling that his little charade would be happily received by Lilla, and he wasn't to be disappointed. As he rose from his bow to look at her, he was pleased to see her face lit up in a smile, a blush spread across her face in a rather cute way. He didn't have much time to examine her, however, for nearly as soon as he had risen, she moved to brush past him-lightly bumping her shoulder against his as she pushed past him and out the door, all the while holding herself gently so that the plate of food did not appear to be impeding her movement at all. Startled slightly from her movement, he momentarily wondered if she was that hungry and wanted to start eating immediately. The thought faded half-formed in his head, though, for but a moment after she was out the door, Lilla's voice drifted back to him along with the accompanying sound of badly-suppressed amusement.

"Well, it is... rather adequate, I will agree," she said, and smirked to himself as he realized what she was doing: continuing his play herself. "However...we'll have to see about that spot of yours."

"Oh, we'll see, will we?" Relos said dryly, arching an eyebrow at the girl in front of him. Shaking his head an clucking his tongue impatiently against the roof of his mouth, Relos followed Lilla out the door As the entryway to the gardens glided shut, Relos blinked at the influx of light, and then got his first look at the gardens of Shigan.

For a moment, Relos swore he was back home. To the prince, it looked like he had been transported from the foreign, hostile country he had been in to the all-so familiar countryside of Zaiphar. There were flowers in excess, giving the air a sweet, floral scent that masked the lack of sea breeze. The grass here was lush and greener than anywhere else he had seen in Shigan, as if it had been actually cared for. Relos resisted the urge to get down on his knees and run his fingers through it on account of the plate he still craddled in his hand.

And as he raised his head further to take in more of the sight before him, he caught the appearance of a tree not far from them, meticulously pruned and attended to in order to maximize its beauty. Further out, there were more trees, even several together. It was like a patch of a green wonderland had been stolen by the emperor and stored right by the palace.

And even though the still-present presence of Lilla proved that any fantasies of being back in Zaiphar were false, Relos couldn't help but to let his breath out in a rush as he quietly said "Beautiful."

Relos gradually regained his senses, and just as he retook notice of Lilla, she motioned for them to move over to clear spot where they could eat comfortably. Relos nodded quietly, any earlier humor had vanished in the wake of the garden's beauty. Even once they had taken their seats, Relos remained silent, eating his food in quiet contemplation. Lilla had to take the initiative to start the conversation if she wished there to be any, and that she did.

"How do you like Shigan so far?" she asked lightly, repeating the question that he'd already been asked several times in the less than 24 hours he'd been at the palace. "Um, I know you left last night... hopefully your endeavor wasn't too unpleasant."

Now, that he hadn't been asked already. He looked up from his food to her, giving her a wry smile, and said "I couldn't have gotten in too much trouble, seeing how I didn't really leave the palace. I just went to the stables to see my driver; to make sure he was settled in ok, you know?"

"N..Not that you can't handle yourself, but..."

Relos did laugh then, his humor once again overriding the effects the garden had had on him. "Handle myself? Hah! Woe unto he that thinks he could take me a bout of strength! Forgive me if I insult your country's strength, but I doubt that there are but a few warriors of Shigan that could best me in combat, and none of those would I likely meet on a random street."

"Perhaps I boast," he admitted, taking a healthy bite out of a piece of bacon. "I was trained by the best warriors in Zaiphar's army, and schooled in magic by some of the greatest Vyx alive today. You can see how I would be most confident in my own abilities, given whom it was who taught me them," he continued, easily speaking of himself with Lilla.

Allowing her a few minutes to consider his words, and consuming a few more mouthfuls of food himself, he addressed her again in the same mischievous tone he had had earlier before his butler-act. "And what of you, Lilla? If I have learned anything about people, it is that 'behind every interesting person, there is a teacher just as interesting'. Who taught you the skills of your trade?"

Eyes suddenly wide, Relos blinked a few times and scratched his head. "Come to think of it, I don't even know what your skills are. What can you do, Lilla?" he asked, truly interested in the woman he was talking to. She was obviously a more (for lack of a better word) delicate lady, so he was highly doubtful that she was any sort of fighter or skilled in one of the harsher crafts. He didn't even know what race she was; she bore no outward signs of difference, but that didn't mean anything. She could be a Vyx like himself, some sort of Inamai...there was no telling.

With a sense of curiosity, Relos waited for Lilla to answer, eager to learn the nature of his companion.

Lilla listened to the man speak with a bout of silence, picking at her food just as he was devouring his own, and after a few moments she found herself glancing up at him. A small smile came onto her face at the mention of his skills, and for a moment she was certain she would laugh; not out of meanness or disapproval, but for the sheer fact that his words and his boastful, prideful tone of voice made her think of her younger brothers.

She missed her younger siblings - well, they weren't too young any more, she realized with a bit of nostalgia and grief. She was nearing twenty-one, making the youngest fifteen. They weren't children anymore, and she hadn't seen the majority of them in years. Maybe after this stint with the Prince she could take some time off and see them - after all, wasn't he the one who said she lead a boring life?

"...think of it, I don't even know what your skills are. What can you do, Lilla?"

Lilla broke out of her trance, realizing she had been fumbling with the hem of her dress while she had been deep in thought. She glanced back at him, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, taking in a breath to gather her thoughts.

"Well..." she tilted her head, her hands stilling. "...I was kind of... taught by the Lady - the woman who owns the House I work at - and some of the girls there. The House..." A pause, "We basically... we waitress and entertain people - uh, men - but we aren't.." she found it difficult to word what she needed to say without sounding vulgar or criticizing, and for a moment she just drew her eyebrows together in thought. "We aren't Cymain. Or any of the other "houses" you'll find around here, which are no better than what you could pick up on the streets," she murmured. "I waitress, I bake.. I dance, I suppose, albeit not too well." With a bit of a sheepish smile she realized just how meek and feminine she sounded, compared to his previous words, and Lilla worried that she came across maybe a little too self-conscious. "Well, pretty well, maybe. I basically do whatever Darcy or the lady tells me to do."

She was silent for a moment, glancing out at the lines and rows of trees that lay hundreds of feet in front of her, before letting out an embarrassed laugh and unconsciously tugging at a strand of her hair.

"You were rather correct in your observation," she said, shrugging her shoulders minutely, her head still tilted to the side, "I do lead a boring life. I don't really do much..."

There was another bout of silence, not uncomfortable or tense, simply quiet as she picked at her food and attempted to figure up something for herself to say. It wasn't that she was unhappy with her job or her life; quite the contrary. It paid well, she was fed and housed and she had a few friends that meant a lot to her, and the Lady treated her well. She knew she could leave the House whenever she wanted, but why? She could call it home if she wanted, and no one was going to make her leave.

But, sitting next to the worldly young man as she was, she realized just how sheltered and naive she really was. She'd never been out of the capital of Shigan, and no matter how bustling or dirty it was, it didn't make her any more wise or educated as stepping into a smaller town or going into another country would have made her. Surely Relos had been all around, to different countries and perhaps across seas, and the thought floored her.

"Honestly," she murmured, reverting her gaze back to him, "I do not know much of yourself, either. I was... not well informed before I was asked to come here, and even then, I had not been as thoroughly informed as I would have liked," Lilla said. "What do you do in your free time, Relos? I know you told me that you're busy a lot of the time..." She hesitated, glancing up towards the sky, her next words soft and merely directed towards herself, "and I can't even imagine what it's like over in Zaiphar, being so used to Shigan. What is Zaiphar like?"

Relos Zaiphar

Relos watched Lilla as she began to respond to his question, noticing the subtle quirks the girl had. The way she was absent-mindedly playing with the hem of her dress before she caught herself; how she was chewing on her bottom lip as she pondered the best way to answer his question. Despite their limited time together, Relos already realized that Lilla tended to chew her lip like so whenever she was seriously considering her answer, and so Relos leaned back slightly, preparing to listen to what promised to be a well-worded answer.

He listened quietly while she talked about herself, not interjecting or asking questions while she talked. Besides listing the things she was good at, she seemed to want to stress the point that she was not like the women that Shigan was infamous for. That, too, he'd already gathered; also, he'd come to realize that many people, natives of Shigan, even, still mistook her and her companions for harlots.

How absolutely infuriating it must be, Relos thought to himself, to be thought of badly wherever you went, despite the fact that those opinions of you are completely false. The girls from her house must have a hell of a time dealing with peoples' presumptions.

Relos smiled to himself as she corrected herself, saying that she danced "pretty well". He was sure that she was a truly exceptional dancer if she felt confident enough to say that; she didn't appear to be a person with much confidence in herself, so any words of encouragement that she directed at herself were surely more weighty than if they were said by another.

From what she said about her skills and the lack of any commentary towards any other skills, Relos couldn't immediately piece together what race she was of. Once again, Relos was stumped by the lack of any outward signs. He wanted to think that she was an Inamai, but as far as he knew, all Inamai kept a trait of the animal they represented in their human form. Unless she was hiding a tail under her dress, which he doubted, she wasn't that. For her to be a Vyx would certainly be ironic, but surely she would have mentioned magic if she was one; besides, he couldn't sense any magic coming off of her. So unless she was highly adept at hiding her presence, which he doubted, she wasn't that either...

Dancing...a Lith? Relos didn't have much experience with them, since they weren't very common in Zaiphar. In fact, besides any that he may have seen unknowingly on his travels, the only Liths Relos could recall meeting were the two sisters who performed occasionally during celebrations. And yet, besides simply being good at their craft, those Liths were remarkably beautiful.

Lilla was certainly attractive in her own way, but Relos had a hard time wrapping his head around the idea that she could be of the same blood as those two. Perhaps she was a half-Lith? Or perhaps from a line whose blood had been diluted? There was no way that Relos could be sure other than flat out asking her, but doing so would most certainly be considered rude. After all, how could you politely ask: "Hey, I think you might be Lith, but you're not as beautiful as the other Liths I know. Are you a half-blood, or something?"

Besides, nothing else really fit. Tentatively accepting that she was a Lith, Relos returned his attention to their conversation feeling like he knew the person beside him a bit better because of it.

"Honestly, I do not know much of yourself, either. I was... not well informed before I was asked to come here, and even then, I had not been as thoroughly informed as I would have liked," Lilla said after a minute, recapturing Relos’ attention. "What do you do in your free time, Relos? I know you told me that you're busy a lot of the time... and I can't even imagine what it's like over in Zaiphar, being so used to Shigan. What is Zaiphar like?"

Relos grinned to himself a bit, turning his eyes back to the blue sky. So, it was like that, eh? A chance to talk about his home…could he do it justice? For one like Lilla who had only ever known Shigan, could mere words truly convey to her the beauty, the tranquillity that is Zaiphar?

“Hmm, about myself? Well, I’m a person who likes to do things,” Relos started a bit lamely. Rolling his eyes at himself, he continued, “By that, I mean, I have many interests. I’ll find something that I’ve never done before, and then I’ll get a hold of it. I find it unbearable to be inept at something simply because of a lack of trying, so I try to do everything I can to be… well, good at everything.”

“For example, I don’t only care about magic and swordsmanship. I’m a poet, author, musician, artist, dancer, singer, actor, chef… although, how much of one, I cannot say,” he said with a twist of a smile. “The only hard thing about trying to be good at everything, is that it’s nearly impossible to be good at everything. There aren’t enough hours in the day, nor do I have the ability, to practice all of those things. So I tend to, hmm, ‘pick a fancy’ for each day, or week, or month.”

Relos allowed himself a moment’s rest before continuing on, both to allow Lilla time to process his previous words before throwing more information at her and to give him a chance to compose his answer. After the pause, he went on to talk about Zaiphar.

“’What is Zaiphar like?’…well, I guess I’ll start from the beginning. In the original dialect of the founders of Zaiphar, its name was ‘Zai Phaere’, meaning ‘Sea Place’, or ‘Place of the Sea’. Ever since it was founded, Zaiphar was mean to be a seaside paradise. The entire eastern coast of Zaiphar is seafront, and the country has slowly expanded outwards from the beaches. The capital itself, Altamira, is built on the beach. All that said, you can easily imagine how Zaiphar’s culture became the way it is. It’s difficult to fight and argue when you’re surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery on the continent. It’s not a Utopia, and we’ve had our share of conflicts, but for the most part, Zaiphar’s a haven where people can live without worrying about too much.”

“Mostly everyone in Zaiphar is happy. Like I said, they don’t have to worry about much; so, they spend most of their time enjoying life. Zaiphar’s full of theatres where people can go to see performances of their neighbours. You can barely find a street corner without a performer of some kind. Any musical talent I may have, I learned from those street performers. I also picked up acting lessons and other assorted tips. That’s one of the things I like best about Zaiphar, especially Altamira: Everyone’s got something to share that’s worth learning.”

“Hmm, what else?.. Zaiphar’s climate is mostly sunny; even during the winter time, most people can walk around in light clothes. That, coupled with the ocean air, has made the countryside of Zaiphar good for growing certain things. Over the years, our farmers have gotten good at growing those certain things. I always enjoyed taking a ride out in the countryside, visiting all of the vineyards. During the summer, they always smell so wonderful…”

Here, Relos trailed off slightly, becoming lost in a few of his more enjoyable memories. Realizing that he had gone silent, Relos turned back to Lilla and gave her a half-smile. “Was there anything particular you wanted to know? Otherwise, I could ramble on for ages and probably not tell you anything worthwhile.

"...Well, I’m a person who likes to do things," he'd began, and as he continued, explaining himself and his broad range of interests, Lilla wondered just what type of personality the boy must have to want to learn as much as he had. He was competitive, she could tell, but it wasn't out of meanness or hatred for losing, or she assumed. She deduced it to be from plain curiosity, wanting to know a little about a lot, and it was kind of endearing. Maybe his pride was a little too large, but how was she to judge? She'd never seen him do any of the things he said he could, and he'd never seen her dance, so Lilla was slow to judge Relos. It would be rude and maybe a little disappointing if she over- or under-rated his abilities.

Nothing of what he said about himself seemed to compare to what he spoke next.

She had found herself listening intently, almost hanging on his words as he spoke. It was interesting - entertaining, even - to hear of something so foreign, and the way Relos spoke further proved to her that he loved where he came from and was proud of it. Lilla wasn't sure if she could say the same for Shigan, with it's whores and dirty men and labor, and to her... Zaiphar sounded like something out of a storybook.

It didn't help that the boy was a Vyx, his words threading and weaving like they were meant to go together, and maybe he didn't realize it, but he was a far better orator than even she had expected. She'd heard the expression "a picture worth a thousand words," but that wasn't the case with Relos; it was like he was using his words to paint a picture, and the more he spoke, the more enthralled she became.

Lilla had put her plate on the grass beside her, empty and her fork resting on it, turning slightly so her whole body faced him. As he spoke, a smile grew on her face, slowly at first and wider as he continued, eyes glued to the nostalgic smile and far-away look in his eyes; she could almost picture the shorelines and the people, and for a moment she wondered what types of people Zaiphar held, breed-wise and appearance-wise. If everyone in Zaiphar was attractive as the young man who represented it... why, that was a curious thought.

A thought she wasn't going to allow herself to entertain. This was a job, not a vacation or anything else, and she wasn't about to let herself fail because she had feelings for the red-headed prince. Sure, he was interesting and she wanted to learn more about him and Zaiphar, and he was far too attractive for his own good, but that didn't mean she was allowed to let it meddle with her emotions.

"Was there anything particular you wanted to know? Otherwise, I could ramble on for ages and probably not tell you anything worthwhile."

She sat there for a few moments, still lost in thought over his words and her own ramblings, and it took her several moments to realize she'd slouched down, her elbows on her knees and her hands folded under her chin. It wasn't proper, but who was there to judge her?

There wasn't a Darcy or a Lady here to snap at her to straighten up, and they wouldn't be here to tell her not to meddle with the boy. ...So why not? What was keeping her?

She unconsciously shook her head at her thoughts, as if to rattle them from her brain, and with a smile wider than she'd allowed him to have in the two days she'd been speaking to him, she used the motion to her advantage.

"No, no. All of what you told me was worthwhile," Lilla said, sitting up straight and resting her hands on her knees, the smile still on her face. "Zaiphar... Zaiphar sounds wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. It makes me want to go sometime," She added. There was a lull for a moment as she glanced away, deflating a little. "I'm sorry that... you had to leave someplace like Zaiphar and come here. From what you've told me, it seems that Shigan really does pale in comparison." She knew it was wrong to compare apples to oranges, as Shigan and Zaiphar were two totally different countries with different purposes and ways of life, but it didn't make her any less disdainful of Shigan. It kind of reminded her of the palace and her House; she knew once she left here and went home, it wouldn't be the same after visiting such luxury.

Then again... who was to say anything would be the same after this?

"I love listening to you speak," she said softly, absentmindedly, her fingers curling on her knees and obscuring them from view, her gaze still planted elsewhere, "you've... got quite a way with words. I'm certain you've heard that before, but nonetheless, it's true."

Relos Zaiphar

"No, no. All of what you told me was worthwhile," said Lilla, smiling brilliantly at him. Her smile was infectious, and Relos couldn't help but grin himself as he watched her reactions to his description of Zaiphar. He'd hoped that he'd do a decent enough job of conveying the beauty of his homeland through his words, and if Lilla's smiling face and relaxed posture were any indication, he'd succeeded in that venture at least moderately.

"Zaiphar... Zaiphar sounds wonderful. Absolutely wonderful. It makes me want to go sometime."

Relos chuckled, shaking his head a bit in amusement. "Hmm, I should look into the travel buisness, if it's that easy to make someone want to go Zaiphar," he teased, turning his head from her a bit to look back up at the sky. He said nothing for a moment, simply watching a cloud lazily blow across the sky, but then said, "Though, in all seriousness, there's no reason why you shouldn't. Even if it's just for a little while, I think that you should at least see Altamira once, it's such a great place..."

Then, as if on a second thought, he glanced at her again. "Oh, and if you ever are in Zaiphar, you have to look me up. I'll make sure that you get to see all the best places. There are very few things, if any, that you won't be allowed to do if you're with me."

"I'm sorry that... you had to leave someplace like Zaiphar and come here. From what you've told me, it seems that Shigan really does pale in comparison."

At her apology, Relos did not immediately reply. He appeared thoughtful for a moment, but after a minute, he started to reply. "You don't have to worry about it that much, Lilla. I may not be as fond of Shigan as I am of my home, but that doesn't mean that Shigan is all bad. I mean, I didn't expect a place like this to be in Shigan," at that, he gestured around them to the beautiful gardens in which they were sitting.

"If there are even just a few more places like this in Shigan, then I can't in good conscious condemn it. It's like that saying, 'one apple', only in this case: 'One beautiful places un-spoils the whole country'."

"And I also didn't expect someone like you, Lilla. You're a lot nicer than the rest of the people I've met in Shigan, so far, “he added, grinning at her. Reaching over to tap her forehead with one finger, he also said, "Just don't let that go to your head."

At her compliment of his speaking skills, he laughed. "Oh, now I better not let that go to my head." he said with sarcastic humor. "But thank you, though. Part of being a good Vyx is being able to speak well. I guess I've gotten good at it, over the years..."

After that, the two of them drifted in to quiet for a little bit. Relos glanced over at Lilla, and seeing her plate empty like his, he said "So, since we're both done eating, did you want to do anything else, or did you fancy staying here for the rest of the morning?"

"And I also didn't expect someone like you, Lilla. You're a lot nicer than the rest of the people I've met in Shigan, so far."

Lilla was taken aback for a few moments, sitting and staring at the young man, and for a moment she felt bad about the assumptions she had made regarding his character. She bit her lip and pushed hair behind her ear, offering Relos a bit of an apologetic smile.

"Well... from all I know about Zaiphar now, it is safe to assume that my previous assumptions of you were wrong as well," she stated. "Maybe I was a little... rash in judging you so quickly, but in all honesty I hadn't a clue who - or what - kind of person to expect. I had judged you off of the emperor's daughters and that was wrong of me, seeing as you're not from here. So... I apologize for that." She stood up abruptly, brushing the stray grass from the back of her legs, "and I apologize that Shigan is not what it should be. I promise you, there are good people around here... Just as you said, the bad has tarnished the good it seems."

"Though, in all seriousness, there's no reason why you shouldn't. Even if it's just for a little while, I think that you should at least see Altamira once, it's such a great place..."

His words stuck with her for several moments, and even as she raised her arms above her head, stretching her limbs after sitting for so long, Lilla still found herself pondering over what he'd said. She rocked on the balls of her feet, staring off into the sky with a soft hum of thought.

The brunette adverted her gaze back to him, her hands laced behind her back and an absentminded smile playing on her features. "Well, Relos... If that were ever to be, I'd love to go, but as it is, I'm not even certain how I would get so far from home or if I'd find it in me to leave and come back. I've lived in Shigan all my life... I haven't even been out of Bell's Wish more than once, and even then I was a little girl. But... it's not what I remember it to be. It's changed. ...I can't quite say I like it." She paused, glancing away again and back up to the sky, taking in the sun after such a gloomy afternoon the day before. A grin came onto her face, and for a moment Lilla vocalized her thoughts, if only to amuse him. "Bell's Wish... I'm certain you haven't met all of the emperor's daughters. His eldest daughter is a few years my senior, I believe, and as the story goes, when Shigan was founded, the first emperor had a baby girl shortly after he conquered this place. He named it after her, and it seems it's been a trend for the kings succeeding him to name their first daughter 'Bell.'"

She wasn't sure why she felt compelled to tell Relos this information; it wasn't related to their previous conversation, and maybe she'd just felt like sharing a bit of knowledge about her land like he had for her, but she found it tumbling out of her mouth before she could control herself. The wind picked up, the gust sending leaves off of the nearby trees and causing her to wrap her fingers around the hem of her dress to keep it from becoming swept up with the air, and just as quickly as it began it was over. There was another lull, before she bent down and picked up the empty plates and the silverware, glancing at the man again.

"If you don't mind... I'd like to go back inside. I've still got some more things to unpack," she said. "I'd hate to waste such a beautiful day on such tasks, but I know if I don't do it promptly it won't get done... Contrary to yesterday's weather, it usually isn't as... temperamental as it has been." It was spring, after all, and while she assumed that Zaiphar had year-round warm conditions, given how Relos described it to her, Shigan was more seasonal. It rained in the spring and things bloomed, and in the summer it was hot and humid with the occasional rough storm or two. It was just how it was.

A thought struck her, and as one of the maids that had been wandering the garden came to collect the empty plates and Lilla smoothed down her dress of any wrinkles, preparing for the trek back to their rooms, she offered him a grin of amusement.

"Have you ever seen snow, Relos?"