Post #2683762 in The Supreme, a roleplay on RPG

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Eric had grown accustomed to Helena's way of forcing him out of the normally spartan lifestyle he kept. It hadn't been met with much pleasure when he had started out at the Palace, but there was not much he could do with him being passed onto her as her adviser.
She had done that with his living quarters back in the European Provincial Palace (he settled for her idea of austere) and the way he dressed (she won on three occasions, convincing him to have bespoke suits made that he could wear to royal functions). There was no coercion, no blackmail, and no threats in the way she did it. The both of them knew each other too well, worked together for too long for that. All protests he might have made, friendly or not, died on his lips and made his tongue their graveyard. Yet, the way she asked somehow eased the discomfort.
He let out a sigh and smirked at her, a mix of resignation and familiarity on his face that in lieu of its verbalisation behind closed doors.
"Of course, ma'am. But please give credit where it's due. Hayes was on your detail that day. You have him to thank for escorting him from your presence." He gave her a nod, swiftly took her arm as if he were the one to initiate, and reluctantly made their way into the grand hall.

As per his duty to protect her, he made it a point to do a more-than-once-over on anyone who interacted with his Queen. There were those among the well dressed crowd that were familiar, some of them people who had interacted with her more than once during her state visits. Others he had been acquainted with through his background checks. Members of the legislation, judiciary, and military were in attendance, all dressed in their gowns and suits and livery (or barely, in the case of the unfortunate inflated fellows who appeared to have underestimated their portliness). To help ease through the event, he ordered a snifter of whisky and a flute of champagne for him and his Queen respectively, thanking the waiter quietly after.
A particularly interesting character had come up to them. Not entirely unexpected at functions like these, he thought to himself, and took a brief sip from his glass to steel himself for this one. Camille Van Bueren, senator. There were (extremely faint) whispers in the palace about her questionable placement in the Senate, and about her much deeper connection to the High King. Scanning through the crowd, he had noticed her glancing in the direction of the High King and Queen, though didn't think it a particularly important detail unless he could confirm all speculation. Carefully, he readjusted his gentle hold on Helena, occasionally glancing towards her as Camille initiated conversation.

Helena was distant throughout, as she did when she had no patience for concealing the emotional burden, and didn't receive Senator Van Bueren's niceties with the same finesse as she normally would have. The public execution had worked its way into her skin even worse than he had anticipated.
He shifted his jaw slightly at Senator Van Bueren's too-blunt remarks about him. Whilst he could ignore them and enjoy his drink and mutually commiserate with Helena about not wanting to attend this farce of a victory party, it was the way the remarks were given, almost as if he merely existed as Helena's plaything. The masquerade-like interaction could only intensify with the arrival of the High King. He gave a polite bow in his direction and watched the exchanges with wary eyes.
"Thank you for the consideration. However, I'm sure there are..." He paused to better word his response and offered her a small smile. "I'm sure there are finer specimens for you among the guests, Senator." He lightly and discreetly tapped Helena on the wrist. "That, and I promised ma'am a dance."

Just then, a man who should have come to the meeting earlier that day during the execution joined them—one Theodore Wilkins— and he greeted him accordingly.
"Not at all. Mr McCarthy informed us you would not be coming to the meeting." He shook his hand. "Introductions were made. It seems there's room for one more. Ma'am, this is Theodore Wilkins. He works for the High King's council. Foreign liaison. I'm Eric Orr. Right hand man. I work mainly to prevent her from developing frown lines."
Before further conversation could be made, the ensemble were preparing for their next song.
"Excuse us. A dance was promised." He gave them all a polite nod, letting go of Helena's arm to proffer his hand to her, and led her to the dance floor. Just as she led him gracefully into the hall, he led her gracefully across the dance floor, exuding a sort of finesse of his own despite his status.

"You were bound to give yourself away. You needed a distraction," he said quietly, using the sound of the music to mask his comment. "Pleasant woman, Camille Van Bueren. I'm sure you'll be fast friends." He chuckled lowly. "That aside, did you see anything in her of note?"

Snippet #2683762

located in Modern Washington D.C, a part of The Supreme, one of the many universes on RPG.

Setting

Characters Present

Footnotes