Princess Sophia Libra's Story

"Miss, wake up! Your going to be late!" Cried Lana, Sophia's only personal helper, and only confident. "Arg, you aggravating woman, wake up!" Lana started shaking Sophia, but still that didn't work. Finely, the sheets were pulled off and you could see the princess trying to find a warm spot. "What?" Sophia asked as she blinked her sleepy eyes and attempted to yawn, distorting the sound of her question. Lana was running around the room picking out Sophia's attire for the day. "I said, your going to be late." Lana said pausing to look at her ruler.

Comprehension dawned on Sophia's face. She leaped out of bed and raced to the bathroom. "Lana, get me some hot..." Sophia stopped when she noticed that there was already water in her tub. "Um, thank you!" She hollered out then quickly stripped and cleaned.

When she exited Lana held up a dark blue dress, Sophia's favorite and most presentable riding outfit, with a hat of the same color. Sophia nodded her satisfaction then together they got it on. Lana quickly did Sophia's hair then they shuffled out of the room to the kitchen. As Sophia sat down the cook placed a bowl of oatmeal in-front of her and Lana seemingly disappeared. When she was done she stepped out the kitchen entrance and there was her head of guard, two horses, Lana, and a number of wolfhounds. "You ready miss?" Asked her guard.

A couple hours later they arrived at the King's castle with little fan fair. As they dismounted Sophia looked to her guard. "Make sure these horses and dogs get treated well, they deserve it. And don't forget yourself." She spun around after handing the rains to him. Just before entering she stopped to inspect herself, shaking and brushing out dirt from her clothing.

"Your Royal Highness. It is morning." A plump, older lady stood over the Prince's bed, her hands folded and voice raising. "Your Royal Highness." The young man shuffled. "Darcy Montel Capricorn, it is two minutes past your requested waking time! It is morning." This time, the lady had elicited a more active response.

"It is morning," Prince Darcy repeated. He sat up and glanced at the clock at the front of his simple, yet extravagant room. The time was 5:48 AM. "It is indeed morning," he grumbled whilst removing himself from his bed. He shuffled quickly to his bathroom and knowing that the water had already been prepared, hurriedly begun his bath. The older woman took her time fixing the Prince's bed, exchanging the sheets for new, clean fresh ones.

She spoke as she worked. "Honestly, I still do not understand how a Prince such as yourself still possesses such childish traits." She huffed, now moving on to arranging the pillows. "You are lucky ol' Florencia is a kind old woman, otherwise I would have woken you up with a bucket of water from the Weiss River! Oh, who am I fooling, even that would not wake you." Florencia proceeded to take the clothes she had prepared before and waited in front of the bathroom. "And when will you learn that humans need at least eight hours of sleep? Because apparently you haven't, asking me to wake up early to have you wake up with only three hours of rest." The door opened suddenly and a arm reached out to grab the clothes before retreating back inside. Florencia harrumphed. "How will you be able to face the King with those eye bags and groggy attitude?"

"Just as I have everyday, Flor." The Prince stepped out of the bathroom, fully clothed with a dark, navy blue suit and grey collar. He walked with a disapproving Florencia following towards the large mahogany doors which led to the hallway, but stopped briefly. "Any letters?"

Florencia breathed in and let out a simple "no." Just as she had everyday. She watched the young Prince leave the room and walk further away from his beloved nanny. Florencia sighs, turning her face away from the receding figure of the young boy whom she watched grow up too quickly.

Maids and butlers lined the path which led to an awaiting carriage. Darcy would have ridden by himself, but the King's palace was far too far from his own kingdom. As he walked, he rejected servants, who were holding foods for him to eat for breakfast. He selected the last maid's offer, solely because he wouldn't have to walk a long distance with food in his hands. He stepped into the carriage, and took a glance towards the castle. At the main doors he saw his younger sister and brother waving. He smiled, glad that his siblings don't have to discuss war plans, and waved back. Then, off they went. As the carriage traveled through the land, Darcy ate, and silently admired the flora and fauna of his Kingdom.

As he had expected, Darcy had arrived at the palace a more than a couple hours after his departure. He looked around, observing the atmosphere of the place. His Kingdom was relaxed in comparison to the air of the King's. And that says a lot. As the carriage pulled up, brass horns greeted him.

"His Royal Highness, Prince Darcy Montel Capricorn of the Caprians!"

Darcy exited his carriage with a stoic face, nodding in politeness to the guard who is escorting him, then dismissed the guard. He walked towards the entrance and noticed a figure brushing off her dress. He caught up with her, and recognized her as Princess Sophia. He made eye contact with her, and greeted, "Good morning, Princess Libra." Not every royal greets other royals with their surname, but Darcy felt this was most proper. He bowed, as that was customary, and allowed her to go on first before following suit.

Sophia smiled at Prince Capricorn's greeting. "Hello Prince Capricorn, and it is a good morning isn't it?" She said warmly, though she cringed at the trumpets. I'll never get used to that will I? She thought to herself just before Princess Taurus greeted them. "Ah, as it is to see you, Princess." Sophia replied then followed her in.

As they walked to the throne room all Sophia could do was stare in aw. She had never lived in luxury as a child, only because her father had been banished from the Libra court, and felt it unnecessary to let them know he had had a child, even though he was brother to the last Prince Libra. As the neared the throne room Sophia brought herself back to the present. Upon entering the throne room noticed the young Prince Galaxy on the throne. Oh dear, please no, I don't want to deal with this person. At that moment she was tempted to turn back and go home.

"Prince Galaxy, what an honor it is to finely meet you." Sophia said with smile on her face, though far from genuine. "We are here to help." She curtsied gently then stepped out of the way to allow others to come in as well.

”Ah, Princess Taurus. Your kind words warms my heart as always” Sebastian flashed her his charming smile. ”And Princess Libra. You're as beautiful as morning flower. Prince Capricorn” he nodded to the Prince. ”I'm glad you all joined on our side” he greeted them.

He waved his hand towards the table. ”Feel free to eat. You have had a long journey. And before you ask, my father is not here today.” He yawned and didn't even bother to cover it. His advisor whispered to him. ”Right, thank you Jeremy.” he said to him and turned back to his guests. ”The guest rooms have been prepaired in case you want to stay here over night. Also if there's anything you need, our servants will take care of it.” Everyone could hear the boredom in his voice.

”I just woke up. Why I have to act like I would care about this. I'm not the King or warlord. There's no reason for me to be here. Gosh. I just want to go back to bed.” he thought in his mind.

Darcy eyed the young princess, though his facial expression did not change. It has been five years since Princess Libra actually became Princess Libra. He has only met her at balls, but then again he never actually spoke with her. His only indication of her being a decent ruler is that the Kingdom of Libra hasn't fallen. The situation in Libra five years ago sure was something. She seems like a good person. Polite. Darcy blinked at the trumpets, and observed Sophia's reaction. It's rather worrying.

Before he could think anymore on the subject, Princess Taurus arrived. He responded to her greeting with a bow and "good morning." Amira was one of the royals he had actually conversed with before, so his greeting was a tad bit friendlier than with Sophia. It's not that he dislikes her, but he just knows Amira better. They were the same age and had the same views on many subjects, and she has the ability to bring out the more talkative side of Darcy.

He walked into the castle, following the Princesses, whilst observing the room. It was definitely busy, and he knew that war was imminent, just from the atmosphere. It was very similar to the war when he was younger. His eye caught Princess Libra and her astonished look of the castle. Truly, truly worrying. Darcy moved his focus to the front, he didn't want to think about anything else except the war right now.

When the three have reached the throne room, the corners of Darcy's lips turned downward very, very subtly. After the two had greeted the Prince on the throne, Darcy had bowed as well and simply said, "Prince Galaxy." He thought about the way the other two had greeted him. Amira was kind as usual- this was one of those times when Darcy felt like rolling his eyes. He didn't, of course, but he thinks Amira should be more, real, for a lack of a better phrase. Sophia on the other hand, Darcy takes that she's not too fond of him either. He's observed too many people to not sense the hidden meaning in that smile. Although he knew not why she felt that way, it was nice knowing someone was on the same page as him.

Darcy took a seat and folded his hands, heading straight to business. "Thank you for your generosity, Prince Galaxy. You were kind to have prepared all of this." Though he doubts he had the foresight to think that far. The only reason why Darcy isn't complaining right off the bat was because Galaxy was still a very young man. He muses that perhaps because he is young, he just does not understand the weight of the situation at hand. Which was very evident in his demeanor. "I hate to bring about the subject too quickly," no he doesn't, "but I'd like to get started with the plans. I assume King Constellation had relayed his thoughts to you?"

"And there he goes again, trying to charm everyone." Sophia thought to herself. Prince Galaxy's obvious boredom was grating on her nerves, as was Princess Taurus sweetness but she'd forgive her, and she was tempted to walk up and smack, or strangle, him. She was still trying to figure out why someone would go to war over this simple thing, because both party's were at fault, not just one or the other. She took a breath though to calm down and smiled slightly. "Prince, thank you for the meal, and please thank the creators of such fine craftsmanship." Sophia guessed Galaxy didn't even realize how much work it was to run a castle, let alone a nation.

Sophia almost glided to a chair, not really noticing where she sat though it was across from Capricorn, as she pondered how this meeting would go. She finely came back around when Prince Capricorn started speaking, and she picked a couple of small items to eat while she listened. "The prince probably wouldn't remember a thing like that," She thought passively while mentally applauding Capricorn for his bluntness. "Now Prince, forgive my bluntness, but you need to engage in this, because war is not a game. People live and die, doing what you tell them to, so I recommend you get your act together, quit acting like a child, and think." Afterwards she continued eating like nothing had happened, though she was watching them all for reactions.

(I think I tagged everyone but sorry if I didn't, the post will be separate next time.)

Sebastian frowned when listening his guests. Before he got time to answer, Alless approached him. Sebastian took her hand and and kissed it. ”Ah, Princess Aquarius. I'm so glad your on my side, darling.”

He turned towards others. ”First of all, no. My father didn't tell me his plans. We all assumed he's coming back in time but as you can see he's not here. Secondly. Taurus.” he rose up and walked next to the table and hit his fist on it. ”I'm not guilty! I was set up. It all was Queens plan. I did nothing!”

He closed his eyes trying to calm himself down. ”My apologies.” he said after while and his charming smile returned to his face. ”But I'm well aware that you're not here to help me. It's because of my father you're here. At least three of you thinks that I actually did something. But the truth is that I was invited there. I went there, of course, but before anything happened, I was thrown out of the castle. ”

Sebastian walked to the window. ”Princess Libra, I forgive your bluntess but I'm not going to be in charge of this war. It's not my job.”

Prince Darcy kept his eyes focused on his folded hands while listening to the Princesses speak. Princess Libra took the words right out of his mouth. There is that initiative which he holds respect for. She's still inexperienced, but she has character. And Darcy muses that the Kingdom of Libra couldn't have gone on for five years without proper ruling, so he should really trust Sophia more. It's difficult for him, however, because although he relates reliability with success, he also relates it to experience. It takes more than just lessons and rules to know how to have your people flourish. But her maturity for the subject had impressed him quite, nonetheless.

Eyes still focused on his hands, he listened to Amira intently. Her speaking voice had brought up several memories from his past. Her voice was just like her mother's: soothing and soft like silk. He remembers when he would visit along with his siblings. Often his older and youngest brother would go wild, whittling away at Amira's patience. He can't remember if they've ever set her off, but he's seen her come close.

Darcy coughed quietly, masking the slight chuckle the memory had elicit.

He still can't quite be sure why Amira's mother had them visit often. His older brother had always said it was for "special reasons." Darcy assumes that marriage was the plan, but he doubts it. His brother is seven years older than the two- why would her mother want that to happen with Amira? Darcy remembers the time he expressed this to his older brother. When told, he laughed.

Princess Aquarius arrived at the meeting, and as she walked in, Darcy's eyes followed. No sounds were made, but he groaned internally. "Princess Aquarius," he greeted, with the same monotonous voice he has when he greets anyone. He could only hope she wouldn't mess with him today. He met eyes with her briefly, then watched Prince Galaxy.

Prince Darcy remained quiet during his highness's little fit, processing every word that he had said. When he was finished, Darcy was the first to respond. "Prince Galaxy. It would be best if you had not made assumptions. We all have our reasons for being here." Prince Darcy sat back in his chair and put one leg over another. "The reason this war had started was because Queen Stars is exasperated with the King's ruling. Your highness, you were used as a scapegoat." He closed his eyes, calculating. "Like I said before, we all have our reasons for siding with the King. By siding with the King, we are helping the cause of the King's people, including your highness's reputation. Therefore regardless of our own motives, you are still receiving the benefits. But this war is more important than whether or not people believe you've been promiscuous." Darcy sat forward. "I am not asking that you become the King. I ask that you cooperate. It may not be your job, but my people, your people, the princesses' people- their lives are at stake. For once, at least while your father is gone, accept the responsibilities you've been given as an authority figure. Don't let your name be your sole motivation for this war."

Darcy had much more to say on this subject, but he relaxed in his seat, letting it all sink in.

Sophia looked down at her lap and pulled her temper back in, but it was difficult, for she really wanted to smack some sense into The Prince. She took in some quiet, yet deep breaths to center herself before she looked back up. Sophia looked up just at the time Prince Capricorn coughed, and she saw a slight twinkle in his eye, so clearly he was covering something. She raised an eyebrow, but otherwise ignored the cough and looked to The Prince and Princess Aquarius. ”Princess Aquarius, what a pleasure it is to see you among us.” Sophia said, putting on a bland and bored facade to cover her annoyance with The Prince.

She continued nibbling at the food in front of her, listening to Capricorn speak when two ideas hit at the same time. The first was to make a point to The Prince about “jobs,” though Capricorn had covered it with far more tact then she ever could, but the second could possibly change the war. Sophia took a moment to finalize the thought before she began speaking. ”You know, it’s obvious that the Queen has already spread her story of what happened, but we need to get The Prince’s story out, and fast, while spreading the real reason this war is coming.” She said, drumming her fingers on the table, her excitement rising, and she sat up straighter. ”We’d have to send various types of people into the other nations to get it to spread, but it’s a risk that I know many of my people would be willing to take, even I would be willing to do some myself. I think we must make the people of the other nations wonder, and maybe question their Queen’s ruling, setting unrest in the very foundations of her war.”

Sophia leaned back against her chair, taking a breath, a slight smile of triumph on her lips. The Queen would not last if she could not keep up her propaganda and control over the people under her.

Sebastian walked to Sophia, took her hand gently in his and kissed it slightly while bowing down. ”Ah, your plan is music to my ears. I would be more than happy if you could take care of it Sophia. Or you prefer Princess Libra, sweetie?”

He turned towards Darcy next. ”I'm sorry if I sounded rude Prince Capricorn. I understand there's peoples life at stake and I wish to avoid it. But as I said I'm not going to be in charge of this. I would just cause more harm than good.” he laughed. ”I can admit it. I don't have any experience and, believe me in this, I don't want any unnecessary victims. That's why we need someone who has experience in war and can come up with strategy.”

”I would suggest Allessandra. What you say, beautiful?” Sebastian flashed a smile to her.