Francesca Evans's Story

The Royal Court

With poise and elegance, Francesca Evans walked with deliberate slowness across the Royal Court. Already stares were directed towards her, some hostile and jealous whilst most looked on with a certain longing. Keeping her head respectfully bowed, an unseen smirk tugged at the young woman's pink lips. Looking up through thick eyelashes, she batted them quickly. Adorned in a white floor length gown, which was corseted with a full skirt and decorated with intricately sown flowers, she was the picture of innocence. Pink cheeks flushed against pale skin and golden eyes blinked rapidly as she stepped one bare foot in front of the other. Interwoven into her blonde locks were numerous fresh flowers, adding to the pure image she was portraying. However, for anyone who knew Francesca Evans (and most people did) they knew she was about as far from innocent as one could get.

And it showed, when she caught the eye of a young man who was openly staring at her. The smirk returned to her lips and she threw him a cheeky wink, before tossing her ringlet curls over one shoulder as she strutted past him. Without giving the lad a second look, she raised her head, thrusting her chin out. This was normal behaviour for the young woman. She tended to walk around as though she owned the place. So far, no-one had challenged her and if they had, it had been an unsuccessful move on their part. Francesca was used to worming her way around people and most definitely men. Controlling everyone around her was a skill she had possessed on Earth and it was no different in Titania. Although she'd barely been there three weeks, she was already well established within the Royal Court. And it wasn't always for the best reasons either.

Now as she reached the bottom of the steps, she smiled deviously at an older gentleman who was stood with his wife. The woman promptly smacked his arm, giving Francesca a deathly glare as she ushered her husband away. "If looks could kill." She thought merrily, giving her a little wave of her hand as the pair left. Actually, she didn't know them, but her reputation was enough to upset the women when she approached their husbands. As she put a foot on the bottom step, a commotion behind her caught her attention.

Turning slowly, she watched as a man barreled straight into a woman who was well known in the Royal Court. Well known for her innocence and singing voice apparently. But evidently, this was now not the case. An evil grin spread across Francesca's face as the man kissed her as they fell to the floor. Around them women gasped and pressed their hands over their mouths. If it had been her, they would have tutted and turned on their heel to leave. However, the guards soon pounced upon the man, dragging him away. Curious, she walked closer, arching an eyebrow as she went. It was a surprise when the woman, who she knew yo be Aileen, demanded that he was released. The women around her seemed to be even more appalled and one of them nearly fainted as she spoke to the man.

Grinning, Francesca joined them. "You want to be careful Aileen or you'll end up with a reputation like mine." A nasty laugh left her lips as she threw back her curls again, eyeing the man appreciatively. This one she didn't know, but something told her she wanted to know more. A fresh victim...so to speak.

"Aren't you a ruggedly gorgeous one eh? And if you ever feel like bumping into anyone again," With that, she pressed her body close to him, tilting his head with her fingertips so she could whisper in his ear. "Just seek me out. I'm always game." Pushing him from her, she smirked, smoothing his shirt where she had rumpled it. "See you around, I hope." Winking at him, she turned and nodded her head slightly to Aileen.

"Don't be late sweetie. Or else your league of groomers won't be impressed."

In Delinquent Cove

A significant crowd began to form around the two fighters- those young and old, male and female, could be heard placing bets and giving their own feedback on who might have the upper hand. Chang, the small but toned and nimble man from imperial China, cracked his knuckles and gave a once over of the audience to see if he saw anyone in particular. And there the man was, right in the front next to a young boy, was Toshihiro, the man he had hired and would continue to hire, to build his temple on the potential real estate he was about to win. Or so he thought. And then there was Amun, the massive Egyptian man who once was a slave to the first Pharaoh of Egypt. Building pyramids and surviving in a dessert made the man one gigantic chunk of muscle, ready to do some of his own meat pounding. Amun had a loyal group of supports standing behind him, rooting him on and clinking their glasses of ale together. To all who weren't involved, it was just another wonderful day in their caged paradise. After a brief run in with a random man passing through, and Amun kicking him out of the way, it was game time.

"You ready, short man?" Amun spat, his voice deep and thunderous. And then there was Chang, his voice the exact opposite. It was high pitched and snaky. "I've been ready, fat man," was Chang's response, which immediately caused a reaction out of Amun. He knew he was large but did not want to be called fat. Amun lunged forward, but Chang side-stepped to the right; it was far enough to where the initial impact was directed towards, but close enough to where Amun reached out and grabbed the Chinese man's shoulder. His grip was like a magnet, not letting it go until Chang was picked up and tossed to the other end of the open circle. Chang hit the ground rolling, taking only a brief moment to collect himself as he got back on his toes. That one had hurt but Chang was now able to predict the arm length of Amun, a necessary fact. Amun charged again at Chang, but this time Chang slid between the big man's legs, dodging another stampede and side swiping known human presence points on the body which led to Amun loosing balance and dropping a knee. Chang came at him again, but this time Amun caught his arm in the air and twisted it around with a force that would break any bone... and it did. Chang toppled over, screaming as his left arm bent in an entirely new direction than what was normal. Amun stood up on his feet and approached Chang who was shaking his head rapidly, already calling it quits. He wouldn't be able to focus or fight at the state his arm was in. Amun, having a noble honor, despite being a slave most of his life, spared Chang his life. The battle was quickly over as soon as it started, Amun raising his hands in the air. Those who bet on him to win cheered, while others sighed at the pathetic length of a brawl. With the fight out of the way, it meant people had to get back to work.. doing whatever they were given as tasks to do for Rufus. Fair in square, Amun was awarded the 2 acre property and would soon turn it into the largest hookah bar in Titania. So much for a temple, though in a place like this, it wasn't really necessary. Did gods exist in a dimension of no time or space?

Someone who was there in the crowd from the beginning, refereeing the fight, stood up on a small wooden box. "Break it up, move back to what you were doing!" he shouted as people still booed over the short fight. "Aw, now. If you are that interested in a fight, go to the Coliseum today! The new athletes are going to be competing already!" With that said, people calmed down, moods switching from anger to joy. Half the crowd already started to head off in the direction of the coliseum- it was a decent walk on foor. Others there went to aid Chang's broken arm. At least the land wasn't short on top notch doctors.

_____

Bur had made it half way up the stairs when she heard a commotion beginning to take place. A new face dressed in odd clothing had bumped into Aileen. Bur knew of the girl as a 'living doll' and how particular her 'caretakers' were on her looks and mannerisms. Bur honestly felt sorry for her, constantly being told what to do, how to dress, who to be around. But Bur's sympathy only reached so far for the girl, she was more so known for her apathy. This Roman-dressed doll creation had now fallen over due to the stranger, and by the looks of it, this must have been the most exciting thing that happened in the Court today, so far. Why? Everyone in the area grew silent and played their silly little pointing games. The lazy guards in the Court even hopped at the chance to 'perform their duty' which they rarely ever had to do in the Court of Royals. Bur sighed, deciding maybe she could take a few minutes to watch how this plays out. She sat down on the smooth marble step near the top, flatting out her sheer green throw-over as her jewels jingled against her wrists. Besides the crowd watching the altercation play out, there were indeed eyes on herself. It was hard to be undercover or go unnoticed with a vibrant head of white hair and a father who everyone knew personally. When Bur sat to watch, this seemed to be the go ahead for others to stand, sit, and watch.

It appeared the doll was just as flustered as the stranger was. She couldn't hear what the two were saying but it came off as awkward. Out of the corner of Bur's eye she then spotted none other than Francesca. Francesca had a reputation in the Court, and Bur immediately smirked. She knew that an opportunity for attention would never go pass the eyes of Francesca. Bur started to count down from five to one, and like clockwork, as Bur reached one, Francesca took flight to the two to grab some spotlight. With Bur's guess correct, her face turned smug. At least Francesca could always be counted on to provide Bur with some mild form of entertainment.

After a few minutes of the three interacting, Bur stood up and began to finish her walk up the stairs. She was bored, yet again. Her fingers traced along a tall white column, peering into the grand opening of the marble building. It was an open space with a large atrium in the center. Lounging couches took hold in random places around the floor space. The main counsel that discussed 'laws and such' were gathered in the far back. These people lived inside this building, distant hallways leading to bedrooms.. this meant they were always around and always going to cause drama if they didn't get want they asked for. Bur debated if she even wanted to approach them but she was curious to hear more about the new athletes that had arrived. Giving in, Bur walked down the structured colonnade, keeping to the shaded areas as best she could.

She flinched, an annoyed expression growing on her face as she heard her name being called out by one of the councilmen. Her moment of cover was blown, and Bur waved half-heartedly at the collected group. They knew better than to wait for Bur to approach them so instead the eight or so members came to her. Of course.

The guard had a decent grip on him, and the pain that his arm was sending him said that if he were to resist it would dislocate or worse break, which caused him to just let the event flow out in whatever direction it was going to go. At this point he was ready for the worst, and was a little surprised when he was let go, he was able to cradle the arm that hurt and was able to stand again, the people around still standing and gauking. He wanted to lash out at them, but held it back for the fact that the woman that he had "assaulted" had let him go, he thought that she had offered the guard something and then later said something to a group of women that had wandered off shortly after, but he had missed that, not being so socially aware had its benefits when it came to ignorance. It reminded him of a certain meeting he had in the past, but he dismissed the thought.

"You should avoid such scandals in the Court. My pure image has just been destroyed by you." she laughed. Why she would laugh after saying something like that confused Draven.
He had the decency to look slightly embarrassed at least, it was his fault being lost in thought and running head first into another person, literally. He was trying to think of something to say other than to apologize again but another woman made her entrance shortly.

"You want to be careful Aileen or you'll end up with a reputation like mine."

So the woman he was talking to was named Aileen, a fitting name. he turned his head to the woman who was talking a moment ago, her face showed her to be in good spirits, but the laugh didn't match, it held something much more sinister behind it. It became apparent soon after what she meant though, pressing herself against him and whispering sweet nothings in his ear, he liked it though it was a little to much for him at the time. He enjoyed the offer of help even if what he had in mind was slightly different from what she was offering though, he was a little relieved that she had better things to do and soon left, commenting on something about a league of groomers, .....this place confused him.

He looked about, the scene had stopped and there was minimal interaction from the crowd now that everyone was left to their own devices, though the guards were still eying him, he could feel it more than see it. "Dieser Tag muss enden..yes, I wished this day would end" He stated it softly. He turned to Aileen, as he knew her now. He had met two people alone today that seemed to be interested in helping him out of situations that he found undesirable, for what reason he didn't know but they had stepped in.

"It seems we were headed in the same direction," He motioned to where Aileen's party had wandered off, it was an offering to walk with her, but he wasn't going to offer an arm, he was not courting her. That and he didn't want to be around those that were still eying him, few but still enough to make him want out of there.

"I am Draven by the way, Aileen, its a nice name." He forced a grin as he walked to the forum, looking for those who were dressed for business, though everyone looked the same, he assumed that Aileen would go about her business though was open for conversation if she were to show back up again somewhere down the road.

The forum was the place for business it seems, there were tons of people about all who looked like they could be the person Draven had to talk with to get what he wanted, the surrounding buildings all looked like nobility could live in them, that and the decorations around, they all seemed to be from Ancient Rome. There were groups of people posted everywhere across the forums, he chatted with a few of the groups interrupting their conversations only to be pointed to another group, he did this for five or six groups before he leaned on a nearby pillar thinking to himself a moment. He noticed a woman he had seen earlier, looking as if she wanted to go unnoticed, but was soon called out to by a group of people, and swarmed to shortly after, unlucky for her.

"Hey," It was from his left, a man sitting in the shade of a pillar, "From the look on your face you haven't found what you've been looking for," He looked over at the girl that Draven had seen earlier. "She can get you whatever you want. Her name is Bur." Draven looked at the girl a little more intently, she didn't seem like too much, she was pale with white hair, wearing a green getup, he didn't know much about women's cloths so that was the best word he had for it a getup, though her appearance said that she was there for whatever reason, her face showed otherwise, especially surrounded by the men and women that were there.

"This information doesn't come free I take it?" He looked back at the man, but he was no longer there, just disappeared. Draven looked about, but didn't find anything as to where the man had gone. He prepped himself a little, sighing and getting himself ready, because well this might just turn out like earlier where he made an ass of himself, but it was the best lead he had. He headed over to the group as calm as he could get himself. The people around him seemed to tense as he approached that specific group, the guards in the area seemed to lock on to him, but maybe that was just anxiety? He was coming up from behind the group and behind Bur as the man had called her, he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Its official business, if you don't mind I'll be borrowing this young lady." He moved his arm as to lead her out of the group but had no idea if she was willing to come with or not

Another woman had come up to approach them as she was talking to the man. Francesca... Even Aileen had heard of her in the Court. She had never seen her this close up before and now she could see where her vanity came from. She had to admit that the lady was beautiful. A more mature and sexy beauty compared to a young beauty like herself.

"You want to be careful Aileen or you'll end up with a reputation like mine."

Aileen smiled at her, "Of course. I'll be more careful from now on. It's an honour to get advice from the infamous Francesca herself." Actually the lady wasn't really listening to her. She seemed a lot more interested in the man that had 'assaulted' her. After enduring the obvious flirting going on in front of her Francesca added, "Don't be late sweetie. Or else your league of groomers won't be impressed."

She tried really hard to not roll her eyes but instead keep her smile and wave goodbye to the woman. Aileen watched Francesca confidently walk away, noticing the many eyes that followed her as she took her leave. Hearing the man's voice she turned back to him and smiled.

"Thank you. Draven is an interesting name. It's nice to officially meet you." She nodded at his offering to walk, kind of liking the fact that it was just a walk and nothing more. She walked at a moderate pace, both hands held in front of her. No conversation was initiated, and that was fine with her. It was strange for someone dressed like Draven to be in the Court of Royals; perhaps this would be the only time she'd see him.

Once they reached the the main building she waved and said her goodbyes. "Bye, Draven. Hopefully next time we meet the greeting will be less physical." she said with a laugh. She turned and started up the stairs of the building until she noticed a flash of white hair. Aileen stopped and turned to the girl. Bur probably didn't even notice her, but it was a habit that Aileen had developed growing up in an Asian home. Anybody of power was to be respected. Now that she was in a city full of culture, her old customs weren't so out of place as they were back when she was a celebrity. She slightly bowed in Bur's direction before standing up and continuing up the stairs.

There were sounds of commotion down the steps and she couldn't help but turn back around in curiosity. Draven had his arm around Bur and looked like he was going to pull her out of the group. Did he actually just go up to her and grab her? A look of dismay crossed her face before she chuckled. What an interesting person... first assault and now he goes straight to the person with the second most influence in the city. Her 'groomers', as Francesca put them, were not to far from her. Their husbands were with them and they looked down at Draven with pointed fingers. No doubt wondering what he was going to do with Bur. Curious, she stood and waited to see what would happen next.