Baroness Alessia of Silvania's Story

Prince Arvai liked Alessia's magic. It was a great show. "True. Rumours...are something that I don't really like. But rumours are rumours, right?" Arvai said in his light voice.

Moments later a lady walked in. He smiled when he noticed she glanced at him. "Thank you," said Arvai's mother, the queen.

Prince Arvai stood up, walked to the lady, offered his arm and asked, "Would you like to have a tour around the castle?"

He wanted to test her. A real lady would fall head over heels and say yes. Somebody would still say yes, but wouldn't be in love like "snap"

"That's quite alright i see your point i don't trust everyone either nice to meet miss Alessia." She smiled faintly at Alessia she had a beautiful face and flawless skin. "You're right you probably have known him longer but i remember coming here as a young child." Gwendolyn began to think of how she would come here and run around the halls. Her parents even then had wanted her to be wed to the prince it's been their plan all along. This wasn't her plan though she wanted to live off her parent's money start a training school for young boys and girls. She would choose one of her students to be her apprentice and leave them her family's fortune in her will. That's always been the plan she just wasn't really the marrying type. It would take a lot more than a pretty face to change her mind. Anyway this girl seemed to be really fond of the prince she seemed very sweet the kind he's want to marry. Gwendolyn had heard he was gentle and not one to fight the complete opposite of her. Maybe they could still be friends she was at his palace practically everyday anyway. "Where to first Arvai?" she looked at the prince.

His favourite place was the dungeon. He liked talking to the prisoners down there. See if they still had some good in them. "The dungeon," he said.

They walked, and after a few staircases and corridors they were at the dungeon. "The reason why I picked this place, are, well, the people. Some of them bad with a shine of hoped. Some of them are complete monsters. And some, were..at a place at the wrong time. Some just stole for food, money, anything," Arvai started, "I take my time with talking to everyone. I feel that Nobles and blood of royals get too much. If any noble would just live without his or her money and fancy clothes and lived where these people lived for a week, do you think they would survive? Probably, but it would be hard to change. That's why I want...I want...I want everyone to live happily. Not poor and living in a rundown house. Do you understand?"

His light, but strong voice echoed throughout the dungeon.

Gwendolyn followed the others up the stairs and tripped in her heels but gained her balance before falling on her face. She growled to herself 'i wish i was in my field right now training on horseback in my armor...' she thought to herself as her mind drifted off. When they reached the ballroom she listened to the prince's announcement sighing at the thought of dancing. Yet another thing she really didn't want to be doing right now. She watched the prince walk away and was left standing next to Alessia. She smiled softly at her then looked at the floor shyly "I like your dress it looks beautiful on you." Gwendolyn looked up at her hoping to start a conversation she seemed like an independent, and smart girl. Since she was in the knighthood it was rare that Gwendolyn spent any time with women except her mother and her friends, which was not a choice. So naturally she only had guy friends and her pets for company. 'Maybe Alessia could finally be that one girl friend...' she thought.

Gwendolyn smiled at Alessia's response and opened her mouth to respond when suddenly a speaker said "Behold, the baroness of Silvania." Gwendolyn didn't gasp she simply smiled at Alessia's response. "I've always been fascinated with magic you'll have to teach me some." she said to Alessia. The sirens went off and immediately she went into warrior mode and her smile faded as she ran to the royal family. She pulled the dagger from her leg strap and stood in front of the prince, king and queen dagger in hand. As the windows broke a slight grin appeared on her lips "Finally the entertainment is hear" she spoke softly. Gwendolyn had fought Derrin's 'soldiers' before this wouldn't take to much effort. She laughed at Alessia's comment and stared at Derrin as she flipped her hair revealing the fire burning in her eyes. This is what she lived for "Well sorry to disappoint sir but the only people leaving this building will be you and your soldiers." The rest of the knights finally decided to help her and stood next to her with daggers and swords. The terrified women began to run behind them, and the drunk noble men became flustered and disoriented. Gwendolyn smiled politely dagger still raised and asked "Last chance take your men and leave now or in body bags in 10 minutes."

Gwendolyn was not convinced by his words but put away her dagger and called off the knights. Her face was emotionless and raised an eyebrow at Derrin and spoke "I do hope you're kidding because the answer is no never. I have a name I am Gwendolyn Cordelia dame of the royal knighthood." She calmly walked to Prince Arvai and asked softly "Are you sure he is to be welcomed with open arms? he did just destroy your roof." She looked at him with concern as it was her job to keep the Royalty protected. Gwendolyn narrowed her eyes at Derrin she did not trust him at all i mean who would after what he just did. Then she glanced at Alessia and smiled she wasn't taking his shit either at least someone agreed with her. She looked at Arvai again she knew he was a gentle soul and would want him to stay so she would have to be on high alert.

Ethan strutted into the ballroom. Girls around him stopped to stare, and a couple even winked at him. But Ethan kept a straight face, as there was only one girl he was looking for. He knew she would be here. He stopped to ask if anyone had seen her a couple of times, but know one seemed to know who she was. He decided to give up, and have a few drinks. He walked over to a table and grabbed a drink. He drank it almost all of it one gulp. From there he drank another, and another, until he was really quite drunk. Then he spotted her, Alessia, standing near a man and two girls. He tapped her on the shoulder.

"Alessia, it's been awhile since I've seen you at the pub." he said.

Ethan had met her at a pub in Silvania. He had been visiting Silvania, and had decided to stop by for a drink. There he met Alessia, the only girl in the pub at the time. He took a liking to her, but never saw her again.

(OOC NOTE: Ethan doesn't actually know she's the Baroness)

"I sort of know your face. You were.... Ethan right?" Alessia said. "How are you? Since you are here, you must either be a noble or a servant."

Derrin suddenly came up to Ethan and shoved him away from Alessia.

"Stay away from Alessia! She is my love!" he said.

Ethan then watched as Alessia slapped Derrin away and a sort of battle went on between them. Ethan looked on in slight confusion, but decided this must be the norm for Alessia; considering she was really quite beautiful, it was only natural that men would chase after her. Finally, Alessia turned back to him, having successfully shooed Derrin away.

"Yes, that's right. Ethan Lindemann, I don't think we properly introduced ourselves. I am the son of Baron Morgan Lindemann. So, what's your title?" asked Ethan.

Arvai wondered why Duchess Mira left. But then he looked at Charlotte, "We should dance later. I'll find you."

He turned to see Alessia talking to somebody. He heard the man say, "So, what's your title?"

To not interupt, Arvai didn't say anything. He studied the man. The man was wearing dark colours. Different. Then Arvai thought, These two must've met. Hmmmm...well I'm going to have to see how this conversation goes. It looks fun.

He then looked at Alessia. And waited for her to talk.

"Uhhh. Well... guess. You know where I am from. Nevermind. To be straight, I am the Baroness of Silvania. Dont mind the rumors. I may be a witch but I am not evil." she said with a giggle.

"It is somehow funny to call me evil when I am the opposite. Dont you think?" she finished.

Ethan was slightly shocked. Alessia, the Baroness of Silvania! I mean sure, he knew she was from Silvania and she was noble, but he would never had guessed she was the Baroness! He had also heard the rumors she had spoken of, that she was an evil witch and whatnot. He had never really cared about them, though. But now he knew for sure she wasn't evil.

"Wow, I never would have guessed you were the Baroness! he said. "And it really is weird that people call you evil, you're not even close!" he added.

He glanced around at all the people dancing around the ballroom. He got an idea.

"Say, Alessia. Do you like dancing?" he asked while offering his hand.

"I am not that great of a dancer but I will try." said Alessia.

Ethan smiled. He began to dance the waltz with Alessia. She was not too bad, though she said she wasn't good. Ethan noticed after a while that Alessia seem a little twitchy. She probably wasn't comfortable dancing around so many people. Ethan noticed many people staring, as if they couldn't believe he would dance with her. He twirled her around and around the ballroom. Once they finished dancing, he bowed with much flourishing of the hands.

"It was a pleasure to dance with you, Baroness Alessia." he said with a smile.

"It was a pleasure for me too." said Alessia.

"So the witch finally got a dance. It isnt like anyone would dance with you ever again." said a passing noblewoman.

Alessia then whispered something inaudible to her, which seemed to make the noblewoman shiver. She turned to Ethan.

"I will get some fresh air. The air in here has the putrid smell of nobles." said Alessia.

Ethan nodded his head. He knew what she meant, the air was tainted with the smell of wine, perfume and cologne. He let her go, and decided to walk around for a bit. He heard snatches of gossip and laughter, but nothing too interesting. He wondered what he should do next. Introduce himself to the prince? Dance? Drink? He decided to drink, and grabbed yet another cup of wine from a passing servant. He drank it slowly. He decided he would finish his drink, then ask another girl to dance. Could life get much better?

"We're almost there Telius.... just a little bit more....."

Florencia knew she was late. The whole two hours and thirteen minutes to Prince Arvai's castle in Rumani, Florencia could hear Titania shouting in her head, "DON'T YOU DARE TAKE THAT PEGASUS OF YOURS! YOU'LL BE LATE, AND PEOPLE WILL QUESTION WHETHER OR NOT YOU'RE THE REAL DUCHESS OF FAMALIANA!!!"
Still, Florencia thought taking Telius to the ball would be more relaxing then riding in a carriage by herself. As Titania said, going to this ball would prove that Famaliana is back under control. Florencia had to be the perfect lady; the complete OPPOSITE of her personality. It's not that Florencia was a complete tomboy, it's just that Florencia didn't see the point of wearing makeup, or tight corsets, or anything like that. It was uncomfortable and unneccesary. Knowing this, Florencia's caretaker, Titania, didn't even tell Florencia the REAL point of the ball......

When Florencia saw Prince Arvai's estate, she commanded Telius to make a slow halt just outside the castle gates. Florencia looked around, "Guess nobody else made their way by pegasus....ah well!", she thought. Despite the looks of some people outside, A kind lady offered to take Telius to the stables.

Florencia showed the guard her invitation and looked up at the gates she would be entering through. "Well Maki, it's time.",she said, taking the little fluffball of an animal out of her pocket. Maki's height was about the size of Florencia's palm. "I hope i don't shatter TOO many vases tonight...." Florencia said to Maki with a worried look. "Ah well, no matter HOW many people's lives i ruin, at least i know i still have you to talk to." And with that, Florencia put Maki back in her pocket.

Florencia felt good as she walked through the courtyard. She hoped nobody could tell the tiny bit of dirt on her shoes from sneaking into Telius's stable in Famaliana. She was glad that nobody outside seemed to know her. Being the new duchess of Famaliana for just a week, she had a lot of introducing to do.

Florencia crossed the moat (not even noticing the dead woman floating in the water) and entered inside the castle. Florencia was impressed with herself that she had made no mistakes or flaws........until she almost tripped over a rug in the entrance. Checking to make sure Maki was still in her pocket, she continued on.

Looking at all the people she didn't know was like looking at all the foreign animals in a zoo. She tried to identify the royals, but she couldn't. Everyone looked like they were dressed up in the same exact attire. Florencia felt out of place knowing she was the only one with GREEN HAIR. (her blonde hair was still dyed green from her forest days....) Florencia went towards the only thing she could identify: food.

She grabbed some squares of cheese for herself and Maki, which tasted delicious and creamy, then looked around at the drinks. The drinks these people were carrying were all different colors; white, red, pink, purple. Florencia thought she recognized the red drink as an Amortentia potion, but she wasn't sure. She decided to ask a young man who just grabbed one from the tray the person was carrying.

She slipped through the gaps of guests until she was finally behind the black haired boy. She tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Excuse me, is the drink that you're drinking Amortentia, or is it something else that i've never heard of?"

Florencia was about to answer Ethan, when a new girl came along. Her words made Ethan seem like a womanizer.
"Oh.... yeah........ummm......"
Too fast. All these events were happening too fast for Florencia. She calmed herself and answered Alessia's questions one at a time.

"Hi there, Alessia, I'm Florencia Rydell Famaliana. I just became the new duchess of Famaliana about a week ago. That's amazing that you're a witch!!! Yes, I did live with elves for quite some time." There was a pause in Florencia's voice for a second as she thought about her old home. "I'm assuming you do magic, right? I know a couple of things, but i'm not GREAT. We should swap techniques some time!! Actually, i rode here myself as well." Upon saying this, Florencia knew she had to fess up about Telius. She wasn't sure if this noble would tell Titania or not, but she looked trusting. "I took my pegasus, Telius. I was supposed to come by carriage.....but.........i got........nervous....so......yeah. I don't think I was planning to come with servants even by carriage........Wait, WAS I SUPPOSED TO???", Florencia said nervously. She caught herself before she could bite her nails. "Sorry, I'm not really used to the whole 'nobility' thing yet......." Florencia took her first sip from her drink.

Arvai was thinking as he walked towards the kitchen. As he walked inside, he said, "Could one of you make my special drink? The light green. I would like...Eight."

One of them nodded and started to work. "Give four of them to any of the guests, and then come find me please."

They all nodded. He walked back, and started looking. Nobles looked at Arvai. He smiled at them. He saw Alessia and two others. He walked to them. "Hello, Alessia. And hello to you two. I am Prince Arvai Ruban, but please don't go with the royality business pleas. And May I have your names?" Arvai said.

He studied the woman with green hair. She was pretty. A servant tapped on Arvai's shoulder and said, "Here are your drinks, sir."

Arvai nodded with thanks as he took the drinks. With extreme balance, he gave one to the green-haired woman, one to the man, and one to Alessia. "Well. Alessia, if I am correct, I sent you some of this drink two years ago? I never got your reply. May I have it after you try the drink?"

Florencia took the green drink in her other hand. She looked over at Ethan and said, "How sweet! Prince Ruban bought us drinks!"
She looked over at Arvai with a kind smile. "Thank you so much Arvai. My name is Florencia Rydell Famaliana. I'm Famaliana's new duchess. OH RIGHT!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!"
Florencia made a huge grin after she said this. Titania had told her that Prince Arvai's ball was actually his birthday party. Even though the prince did come of age, Florencia had no idea about the REAL purpose of the ball. Florencia thought there would be cake and presents for Arvai, just like an actual birthday party.

"My Birthday was yesterday, and you don't buy drinks. They are all free." Arvai replied, "And please, call me Arvai. Wherever you got the information that my birthday was today, it was wrong. But thanks anyway."

Arvai considered if he should tell Florencia that he made this drink three years ago. Just testing ingredients to make a good wine. And it was good. Better than most, but not the best. "The green colour comes from the spruce tree. It's sour, green-apple taste come from the juice of a sweet apple. And the slight burn, is from the tiny bit of vodka. I'm not tellinng the rest of the ingedients, it's a secret. Known only by me and the people in the kitchen."

Yep. There she went again. making things awkward. But Florencia just smiled and said,
"Oh. woops. Happy belated birthday Arvai!"

"The green colour comes from the spruce tree. It's sour, green-apple taste come from the juice of a sweet apple. And the slight burn, is from the tiny bit of vodka. I'm not tellinng the rest of the ingedients, it's a secret. Known only by me and the people in the kitchen.", Arvai said.

"wow, a SECRET recipe. A spruce tree you say? I've had other drinks with spruce tree. It's a pretty interesting taste. I've never actually been allowed to drink vodka, but i guess there's always a first for everything!"

Florencia took a drink. The spruce was bitter, the green-apple was sour, and the vodka did indeed burn, but Florencia got a kick out of the drink. she swallowed hard and said, "Whewie, THAT'S STRONG! haha!", and laughed. She took another sip, and almost forgot that she had another drink in her hand. She looked at Arvai and said, "Thanks for sharing this with us Arvai, it's really good!"

Baroness Alessia was soon over with Ethan and Florencia, and joined in their conversation. She said some things about Ethan that made him sound like a womanizer. He didn't blame her, he completely acted the part. But Alessia and Florencia seemed to hit it off, and were soon engaged in a conversation. He stood close by, sipping his drink and listening in to their conversation. Alessia seemed her usual confident self, but Ethan could tell Florencia felt a little awkward near so many nobles. Soon, a man came over to join them. Ethan didn't recognize him, but he introduced himself as Prince Arvai.

"Pleasure to meet you, Arvai. My name is Ethan Lindemann." said Ethan.

Prince Arvai then handed out drinks to them, a drink Ethan had never seen before. Arvai told them the green came from the spruce tree, the flavour from green apples, and the burn from a hint of vodka. Florencia took a sip, and laughed and said she thought is was strong. Ethan took a sip too, and agreed with her.

"Wow, that's really nice! Strong, but nice." he said.

Florencia then thanked Arvai for sharing the drink with them. Ethan did too, it was only polite.

Florencia thought that Alessia was very down to earth. She thought Alessia had a lot in common with her. Florencia admired Alessia's independence. HOWEVER, there was a little voice inside of Florencia that told her that Alessia might be too independent and refused to work as a team. Sure, you can do almost anything by yourself, but there are some things you can only do with the help of others. Other than that, Florencia was willing to be friends with Alessia.

Right after she thought this, Alessia glanced over at her and said, "If I were you, I would watch out with the drinks. You could get drunk really fast from it." Florencia nodded, "Right. Oh, the other day......"

Florencia's train of thought stop as she could feel and faintly hear Maki hissing in her pocket. Through all the years Florencia had him, Maki had NEVER hissed before.

Florencia worriedly glanced at everyone and said, "Excuse me for a sec.....". She walked quickly over to a remote part of the room and put her drinks on a table nearby. She grabbed the little fluffball out of her pocket and asked nervously, "What's the matter?", but Maki wasn't hissing. In fact, Maki looked calm and peaceful like he always was. Being a forest spirit, Florencia never thought Maki could hiss. Maybe Florencia was just imagining things. She put Maki back in her pocket, gave her Amortentia to a servant who asked her if she was finished with it, and quietly looked around at the other nobles who were dancing.

Arvai walked to his father and said, "Hmm... Duchess Florencia Famaliana, Duches Mira Kora, Duchess Gwendolyn Cordelia, and Duchess Charlotte Valentine. That's it father."

He walked back to Alessia and Ethan. "Well, that's a good idea, Alessia. It might actually work," Arvai said to Alessia, then to Ethan, "So, Ethan, why don't you come with me? I have something to show you...you have a trustworthy look. So walk with me?"

Arvai was going to give Ethan the recipe for his drink. Known by no-one except Arvai and the people who make the wine.

Florencia daydreamed as she watched the nobles twirl in their fancy costumes. The dance that they were dancing to was similar to the dance Shinnon, Florencia's brother, taught her. However, Shinnon's dance was faster and less graceful. Nevertheless, it was a fun time....

Suddenly Florencia realized that she told Alessia, Ethan, and Arvai that she would be back in a sec. She quickly speedwalked over to the group, taking a sip from her green drink. When she heard what the king had to say, she had to stop herself from spitting it out. She stopped halfway between the group and the place where she had watched the nobles and listened to the king's words.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are here for my son to find someone who he can love and probably a future wife....."
"wait....WHAT?!?!", Florencia thought. Titania had lied to her, but why? Lies told to Florencia always felt like stabs in the back, and this time was no exception.
As well as Arvai was concerned, Florencia had only met him two minutes ago. Why was he looking for a wife? Maybe the ball was just an engagement party and the king was just giving some sort of speech.

"...To make things not such a hassle for my son, he will choose a number of women he finds interesting and we will visit their estates, so that Arvai can get to know them....
Another stab in the back. What if Arvai chose her? What would she do? Florencia was willing to become Arvai's friend, but his lover? Florencia was very confused. No, Arvai wouldn't pick her. Florencia was too clumsy, too awkward, and FAR too stupid to be anybody's lover.

"...Otherwise, the Baroness has offered to have the candidates to stay at her roomy castle for activities together....."
This was also a stab, but it wasn't as hard as the first two. Florencia started to consider that if she was picked, she would get to meet the other nobles who were picked and visit to new countries and estates. After all, Florencia wanted friends more than anything during this period in her life.

".....Arvai, please tell me who these candidates might be."
stab stab stab stab stab. Florencia hadn't even noticed that the whole time the king was speaking, she didn't even take a breath. She calmed down and weighed the pros and cons of getting picked. After thinking it through, Florencia came to a conclusion that she was okay getting picked. It's not like she would get hurt or anything. If she was picked, she would make new friends and travel. What's the worst that could happen? Florencia watched as Arvai went up to his father.

Florencia walked up to the group again, calm and collected, and listened as Arvai talked to Ethan about showing him the recipe to the drink.

Florencia watched as Ethan and Arvai slowly walked away. It was just her and Alessia in the same spot as before; before all the craziness.

Florencia knew an awkward moment was about to begin, so she decided to make conversation with the baroness. She wanted to ask Alessia, "So why is it most of the women nobles only care about beauty and showing off while the men are womanizers, ESPECIALLY the prince?!?!", but despite her confusion and anger, she decided to be nice. She kept her thought to herself and asked instead,

"so......uh......Alessia.....do you happen to know anybody else here, at the ball?"

Florencia was bewildered by Alessia's response. She just wanted to know if any of Alessia's friends were at the ball, but instead she got a completely different response. Florencia decided to just go with the flow.

When Alessia talked about the ghosts, Florencia became excited.
"Oh wow!! Ghosts!! I've always been interested in ghosts, even from a young age. I've always felt like spirits can tell you things that you can't figure out yourself, y'know? My mother told me that there was a way to communicate with spirits through meditation. I always tried it, but I could never do it..."

Florencia decided to aim the conversation away from spirits. She didn't want to talk about the whole Arvai situation, but there were things she needed to know.
"Right, so about staying at your castle.... How long and when will we be staying? Also, do you know more information about arvai staying at our estates? Just wanna know so I can plan everything out." Though, Florencia was sure Titania had done that already; it's what she enjoyed doing.

Arvai saw Alessia. She looked like she was threatening people. He was disgusted. Arvai walked until he reached the women. "Excuse me, but why, just why, are you swinging that thing around. No! I'm taking that and putting it somewhere. And after you can get it back," Arvai said as he grabbed the hammer out of Alessia's hand.

He turned around and shook his head slowly. He walked past the nobles and hid away the hammer. Alessia...what is your problem? Arvai thought as he went back to Ethan. "You can do whatever now. I gave you the recipe, I'm finished," Arvai said as he left.

He asked a women to danced and she said yes. After they were finished, he started not liking Alessia. She had a bit too many weapons.