Indraneel + Sevda || Conspiring rebellious princesses!
Who: Indraneel and Sevda
When: The night of this thread, during dinner
Where: Sevda's room
Ratings & Warnings: PG for conspiring? idk
To hell with Diya and father, the lot of them! The tip of her quill bent with the pressure of Sevda's anger. She got up from her desk, angrily shoving the chair underneath it and turned to pace about. Pacing brought her no peace of mind, but it did keep her from giving into the desire to run around the Hold with a sword in her hand and stick Medellos with the pointy end. When pacing began to fail, she grabbed her knitting needles, all but dropped herself back into her chair, and began to knit. Her fingers worked with the fury of a thousand scorned women, uncaring of whether or not she had lost a stitch or did one row tighter than the previous. Before she knew it, the sun had set and a knock at her door told her supper was ready.
"I will not be joining tonight," she called, not quite as angrily as she had originally felt, but nowhere near pleasant. If Sevda had to see Diya and Ishmael dining as if nothing was out of the ordinary one more time she was sure she'd utilize her eating utensils in an unacceptable way. Footsteps echoed down the hall outside her room, the servant leaving her to her activities. It was the first time since she had started that she looked over her work and frowned at how ugly it was. Hmph. The needles clacked together as she continued. Perhaps she would give it to Diya as a sending away present.
As dusk lead to darkness, a tiny figure flitted about outside. Though he'd read and heard the warnings not to leave the Hour, he simply could not stay cooped up in that place all week! It was terrible! He needed to get out and explore! So, he snuck out one evening, once the sun had set and the sky was dark enough that nobody would see the pigeon-sized critter fluttering about through the night skies.
Thus it came that this tiny, sapphire-blue creature found himself drawn to the palace. It was such a marvelous building! Was it as marvelous within as it was without? He simply had to know! Nobody had said much of the royal family, so he had no fear of Katrin's wraith or what the royal guard might do to him. Instead, he flitted about outside the building, keeping his distance at first as he tried to peer into various windows, then finally his curiosity got the better of him, and he selected one sill upon which to land.
He perched right in the corner of the ledge, peeking his head in to take a curious look about and be sure it was safe. When all he found was this girl and her needles, he grew ever more curious, creeping just another inch forward so that he could see what she was doing, his tiny little head stretched out before the rest of him.
A sharp breeze entered the room, swaying its hanging fabrics and Sevda's curls. "Oh, confound it all!" she snapped, setting her needles down more roughly than necessary as she rose to close her window.
The sudden noise and movement startled the little dragon, and he scooted back a bit, but remained on the ledge, watching this girl as she approached. He did crouch and prepare to take flight should he need to, but he really wanted to find more people to talk to! Maybe she'd be nice? Everyone had been so far!
She caught the handles of the windows and was about to pull them inward when she caught sight of Indraneel.
A scream erupted from her throat, shrill and unladylike. The guards burst in, demanding to know what had happened, but Sevda simply stood there, gaping. What in Cita's name had that been? Too big for a lizard, the neck so long. The men began to approach her, but she quickly pulled the windows shut and turned to face them, inhaling deeply to regain her composure.
"Nothing, men, it was simply a rodent," said Sevda, feigning nonchalance. "My apologies for disturbing you so. You may leave."
Sevda had never screamed at a rodent before, but the guards had picked up on her increasing agitation over the last few days. Chalking up her unusual reaction to the same reason she wasn't going to dinner, they nodded and took their original positions outside of her chambers. As soon as the door had clicked shut, the princess swirled around and flung open the windows, peering outside.
"Dragon!" she hissed, searching for him. For it had been a dragon, hadn't it? A baby one, no doubt.
Darting from the ledge was what Indraneel had intended, though he sort of fell off instead, tail tripping himself up in is hurry to flee.
He would have simply flown back to the Hour, but for the hissing call out to him. Hesitant, wings flapping, the itty bitty birddragon rose back up to the window, though he remained a good two feet from it, peering in at the scary girl. He didn't quite feel like saying hello, so instead he gave a little, tentative chirp of greeting.
Yes, he was definitely not a lizard.
Her eyes followed him, hovering in front of the window like that, and there could be no mistake. There really was a dragon in front of her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, voice low. Sevda wasn't afraid of it, not in the Hold with guards around her and not of its size, for which it was painfully tiny. She was neither happy to see it, but she wasn't ready to shoo it away either. Her aunt would have a fit if she knew, but the answer to that was simply to keep the Duchess from knowing. No doubt the King wouldn't care.
Could she get it to set fire to Diya's hair, she wondered.
If he'd known anything of the Duchess, he likely wouldn't have been here in the first place. Whether that was a blessing or a curse was yet to be seen.
The little dragon hovered closer, tilting his head this way and that to examine the girl, now that she was less scary. He thought about what to say for a long while before he replied. "Wanted to see. Not seen castle before." His voice was tiny, much like his frame, but the thick accent was still present. "Are you princess? Heard stories of princesses in castles."
Unfortunately, of the handful of languages Sevda had learned or was currently learning, Hindi was not one of them. As she had no interactions with any from India, the accent made it difficult for her to understand what Indraneel was saying. Princess and castle, though, was repeated enough for her to pick out those words.
"This is a castle and yes, I am a princess," she said slowly, looking a little displeased. Weren't dragons supposed to be good with languages? This one spoke with broken English. "Come inside. If someone sees you, there will be a manhunt." And if he so much as threatened her, she could call the guards on him.
The small dragon hesitated once more before fluttering back onto the window ledge. He peeked inside, found a suitable spot, then hopped off of the ledge and flew over to land on the back of Sevda's chair. What is caution she's just a girl she won't hurt him right?
Once settled, he turned back to face her, smiling pleasantly, and even did his best imitation of a bow, the front half of his tiny body lowering with his head and neck down low. Not that it looked very regal or anything - he almost fell forward off the chair and had to right himself with a flap of his wings before settling again. "Princess is very pretty," he said. While he may know much of humans, he did know royalty were to be treated with utmost respect!
Arched browing was one of Sevda's many natural talents and the dragon's bow -- if it could be called that -- sent her brows up pretty high. "Is hollow flattering something a dragon does now?" she asked, closing the window and facing him again. Was she expected to repay his comment in kind? There were a good number of shiny objects in her room, but not nearly as much as in Lusine's.
The dragon blinked. He wasn't quite sure of all of what she'd said, but he was pretty sure she didn't believe him. He pondered it over before speaking again, looking her over. "Is true. Princess has nice hair and fair skin, like princess should. Look like princess, live in castle, must be princess." Since she'd said as much earlier he was certain this was all true.
He sat back on his haunches, his tail coiling around the side of the chair to keep him steady, and looking not unlike a precious bird. If more lizardy. "Princess not want to be pretty?" he asked. He certainly seemed sincere! Currently, the shinnies didn't seem to be of much interest to him, though that was sure not to last long.
Well, it was pretty undeniable that he was a beautiful specimen to behold. Still, she found herself wishing she had paid more attention to those story books her governess would read to her when she was younger. Her knowledge of dragons was painfully limited. "My name is Sevda Bharquite, second princess of the kingdom of Balfour. Who are you?"
The dragon did his best to 'stand' upright as he introduced himself, "I am Indraneel." He paused. Should he include anything? It seemed quite formal. "Dragon from India." A nod. That was better! Oh so pleased with himself, he smiled to her, then started to pay attention to the rest of the room, peering about to see what a princess might keep. Oh, she was working with that earlier... the dragon's attention waned from the princess as he peered towards her knitting needles, curious.
From India. That explained his accent. She followed his gaze, then grimaced when she saw what he was looking at. "That's rubbish," she explained, refraining from throwing it under the bed. What a poor first impression of her skills! "I was releasing a bit of anger is all."
Eager to change the subject, for she did not like anyone to see faults in her products, not even Others, Sevda said, "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Was there going to be a mother dragon charging to get her baby back? These things were vital to know.
Indraneel tilted his head. He didn't even know what the thing was, just that the strings it was made of looked oh so invitingly interesting. But, she was speaking to him, so he returned his attention to her. It's not like the strings would get up and walk away!
Still smiling, he answered plainly, "Six hundred twelve." Then he paused, and added, "I think. Is hard to count high. Dragons not really count years."
She felt the floor beneath her sway at the number. "And are you full grown?" It would be a shame if he were.
He nodded! Then shuffled on the chair. "Am small, but can be bigger. But is safer to be small to fly, yes? Not get seen." Nevermind that this girl saw him quite easily that's not important really.
She cocked her head at him, intrigued. "How big?"
Almost instantly, he responded, "Big as elephant!" Then suddenly remembered people around here probably have no idea what elephants are. "Em... is bigger than horse. Is hard to say."
"I know what an elephant is," she said, voice sharper than she had intended. She was still sore over Diya's words. So Indraneel could change sizes, become as big as an elephant... That was really damn big. Sevda clasped her hands behind her back, pondering. Arman's words had lingered in the back of her mind. "I think sometimes I would prefer to be a commoner." This dragon could get her out of the Hold without anyone knowing. There would be the problem of recognition, though Sevda wasn't vain enough to think that, with the appropriate clothes, she'd be recognized. An interesting, albeit dangerous and foolish idea.
"Can you write?"
The dragon bowed his head apologetically. Humans were so difficult to deal with. Some knew things, others didn't. If he didn't explain, they could get upset at having to always ask for explanation. If he did explain, they could take offence at already knowing. So difficult!
After the question, he bowed his head again, in a nod. "Yes. Have book for... write to peoples, like others do." He of course meant his ledger, but... never quite got that word.
"Good. So do I." This idea would need a considerable amount of thought to not be completely insane, but she was willing to put that effort into it. Just thinking about it - about doing something that would cause her father worry and, no doubt, anger - lifted her mood. "If I were to ask you to help me with a task, what sort of payment would you ask for in return?"
Indraneel looked mildly confused for a moment. "Payment?" He knew what it meant, but was unaccustomed to being offered it. "Not need pay if need help. Like helping!" He gave a smug look, but then thought, well, if she wanted to pay, he could at least suggest something. "But like shiny things. They pretty." Yes he really was that easy to please.
Her face broke out into a smile. "Excellent." The Hold had no shortage of shiny things. "And how well are you at keeping secrets, Indraneel?" You could practically hear the cogs turning in her head.
The dragon beamed at himself. "Very good! Not tell if say not to. Is not nice. Rude, yes?" He made her smile, this was a good thing! He liked making people happy.
"Yes, it is." Very good, very good. The dragon sounded eager to please, a helpful trait for the folly she was considering. Sevda walked to her desk and pulled open one of the drawers. Out of it came a small golden figure of a stag in her palm. "This," she said, holding it up to him, though it remained firmly between her finger and thumb, "I will give to you as a deposit for the task I will employ you for in the future. You must agree to work with me on this, answer when I write to you, and not tell another soul about it. Are you willing?"
Indraneel eyed the golden figure curiously, almost eagerly, as he listened to the girl, only looking up to her when she asked the question. He didn't reply right away, though, having to think over those words to figure out what she was saying. Something like 'take this, help me when I ask, don't tell anyone'. That seemed fair.
He smiled wide and nodded oh so eagerly! "Will help princess! Not tell!" Helping a princess! Him! Of course he would!
If Sevda were a kinder girl, she might feel guilty about hiring this creature to do something that would certainly get him into trouble if they were found out (and they definitely would be), but she was raised with her needs and wants placed very high on the priority list, so she gave the possibility no thought. "Great!" She dropped the tiny figure into the tiny dragon's claws. "You are a wonderful dragon, Indraneel. I'm glad we met."
And it was good timing, too. Her family were at the dinner table right now, so none of them would see the dragon flying away. Sevda opened her window and peered out of it. Once she deemed it safe, she turned back to the dragon and said, "It's best you leave before someone comes with my dinner."
His tail wagged, which almost tugged him off the chair since it was still wrapped to keep him steady. He happily caught the little figure, turning it this way and that to inspect it before looking back up to Sevda, beaming proudly and all smiles.
Then he cast a glance to the door, and back to the princess. "Will go. Will wait for you to write, yes?" He released the chair, letting his tail swirl a bit before hopping off of it and fluttering over to the window ledge. He looked back to the girl once more, smiling very wide and saying, "Thank you!" before he dove off the ledge and disappeared into the night, little golden stag hugged tight to his chest so as to not drop it.
When: The night of this thread, during dinner
Where: Sevda's room
Ratings & Warnings: PG for conspiring? idk
To hell with Diya and father, the lot of them! The tip of her quill bent with the pressure of Sevda's anger. She got up from her desk, angrily shoving the chair underneath it and turned to pace about. Pacing brought her no peace of mind, but it did keep her from giving into the desire to run around the Hold with a sword in her hand and stick Medellos with the pointy end. When pacing began to fail, she grabbed her knitting needles, all but dropped herself back into her chair, and began to knit. Her fingers worked with the fury of a thousand scorned women, uncaring of whether or not she had lost a stitch or did one row tighter than the previous. Before she knew it, the sun had set and a knock at her door told her supper was ready.
"I will not be joining tonight," she called, not quite as angrily as she had originally felt, but nowhere near pleasant. If Sevda had to see Diya and Ishmael dining as if nothing was out of the ordinary one more time she was sure she'd utilize her eating utensils in an unacceptable way. Footsteps echoed down the hall outside her room, the servant leaving her to her activities. It was the first time since she had started that she looked over her work and frowned at how ugly it was. Hmph. The needles clacked together as she continued. Perhaps she would give it to Diya as a sending away present.
As dusk lead to darkness, a tiny figure flitted about outside. Though he'd read and heard the warnings not to leave the Hour, he simply could not stay cooped up in that place all week! It was terrible! He needed to get out and explore! So, he snuck out one evening, once the sun had set and the sky was dark enough that nobody would see the pigeon-sized critter fluttering about through the night skies.
Thus it came that this tiny, sapphire-blue creature found himself drawn to the palace. It was such a marvelous building! Was it as marvelous within as it was without? He simply had to know! Nobody had said much of the royal family, so he had no fear of Katrin's wraith or what the royal guard might do to him. Instead, he flitted about outside the building, keeping his distance at first as he tried to peer into various windows, then finally his curiosity got the better of him, and he selected one sill upon which to land.
He perched right in the corner of the ledge, peeking his head in to take a curious look about and be sure it was safe. When all he found was this girl and her needles, he grew ever more curious, creeping just another inch forward so that he could see what she was doing, his tiny little head stretched out before the rest of him.
A sharp breeze entered the room, swaying its hanging fabrics and Sevda's curls. "Oh, confound it all!" she snapped, setting her needles down more roughly than necessary as she rose to close her window.
The sudden noise and movement startled the little dragon, and he scooted back a bit, but remained on the ledge, watching this girl as she approached. He did crouch and prepare to take flight should he need to, but he really wanted to find more people to talk to! Maybe she'd be nice? Everyone had been so far!
She caught the handles of the windows and was about to pull them inward when she caught sight of Indraneel.
A scream erupted from her throat, shrill and unladylike. The guards burst in, demanding to know what had happened, but Sevda simply stood there, gaping. What in Cita's name had that been? Too big for a lizard, the neck so long. The men began to approach her, but she quickly pulled the windows shut and turned to face them, inhaling deeply to regain her composure.
"Nothing, men, it was simply a rodent," said Sevda, feigning nonchalance. "My apologies for disturbing you so. You may leave."
Sevda had never screamed at a rodent before, but the guards had picked up on her increasing agitation over the last few days. Chalking up her unusual reaction to the same reason she wasn't going to dinner, they nodded and took their original positions outside of her chambers. As soon as the door had clicked shut, the princess swirled around and flung open the windows, peering outside.
"Dragon!" she hissed, searching for him. For it had been a dragon, hadn't it? A baby one, no doubt.
Darting from the ledge was what Indraneel had intended, though he sort of fell off instead, tail tripping himself up in is hurry to flee.
He would have simply flown back to the Hour, but for the hissing call out to him. Hesitant, wings flapping, the itty bitty birddragon rose back up to the window, though he remained a good two feet from it, peering in at the scary girl. He didn't quite feel like saying hello, so instead he gave a little, tentative chirp of greeting.
Yes, he was definitely not a lizard.
Her eyes followed him, hovering in front of the window like that, and there could be no mistake. There really was a dragon in front of her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, voice low. Sevda wasn't afraid of it, not in the Hold with guards around her and not of its size, for which it was painfully tiny. She was neither happy to see it, but she wasn't ready to shoo it away either. Her aunt would have a fit if she knew, but the answer to that was simply to keep the Duchess from knowing. No doubt the King wouldn't care.
Could she get it to set fire to Diya's hair, she wondered.
If he'd known anything of the Duchess, he likely wouldn't have been here in the first place. Whether that was a blessing or a curse was yet to be seen.
The little dragon hovered closer, tilting his head this way and that to examine the girl, now that she was less scary. He thought about what to say for a long while before he replied. "Wanted to see. Not seen castle before." His voice was tiny, much like his frame, but the thick accent was still present. "Are you princess? Heard stories of princesses in castles."
Unfortunately, of the handful of languages Sevda had learned or was currently learning, Hindi was not one of them. As she had no interactions with any from India, the accent made it difficult for her to understand what Indraneel was saying. Princess and castle, though, was repeated enough for her to pick out those words.
"This is a castle and yes, I am a princess," she said slowly, looking a little displeased. Weren't dragons supposed to be good with languages? This one spoke with broken English. "Come inside. If someone sees you, there will be a manhunt." And if he so much as threatened her, she could call the guards on him.
The small dragon hesitated once more before fluttering back onto the window ledge. He peeked inside, found a suitable spot, then hopped off of the ledge and flew over to land on the back of Sevda's chair. What is caution she's just a girl she won't hurt him right?
Once settled, he turned back to face her, smiling pleasantly, and even did his best imitation of a bow, the front half of his tiny body lowering with his head and neck down low. Not that it looked very regal or anything - he almost fell forward off the chair and had to right himself with a flap of his wings before settling again. "Princess is very pretty," he said. While he may know much of humans, he did know royalty were to be treated with utmost respect!
Arched browing was one of Sevda's many natural talents and the dragon's bow -- if it could be called that -- sent her brows up pretty high. "Is hollow flattering something a dragon does now?" she asked, closing the window and facing him again. Was she expected to repay his comment in kind? There were a good number of shiny objects in her room, but not nearly as much as in Lusine's.
The dragon blinked. He wasn't quite sure of all of what she'd said, but he was pretty sure she didn't believe him. He pondered it over before speaking again, looking her over. "Is true. Princess has nice hair and fair skin, like princess should. Look like princess, live in castle, must be princess." Since she'd said as much earlier he was certain this was all true.
He sat back on his haunches, his tail coiling around the side of the chair to keep him steady, and looking not unlike a precious bird. If more lizardy. "Princess not want to be pretty?" he asked. He certainly seemed sincere! Currently, the shinnies didn't seem to be of much interest to him, though that was sure not to last long.
Well, it was pretty undeniable that he was a beautiful specimen to behold. Still, she found herself wishing she had paid more attention to those story books her governess would read to her when she was younger. Her knowledge of dragons was painfully limited. "My name is Sevda Bharquite, second princess of the kingdom of Balfour. Who are you?"
The dragon did his best to 'stand' upright as he introduced himself, "I am Indraneel." He paused. Should he include anything? It seemed quite formal. "Dragon from India." A nod. That was better! Oh so pleased with himself, he smiled to her, then started to pay attention to the rest of the room, peering about to see what a princess might keep. Oh, she was working with that earlier... the dragon's attention waned from the princess as he peered towards her knitting needles, curious.
From India. That explained his accent. She followed his gaze, then grimaced when she saw what he was looking at. "That's rubbish," she explained, refraining from throwing it under the bed. What a poor first impression of her skills! "I was releasing a bit of anger is all."
Eager to change the subject, for she did not like anyone to see faults in her products, not even Others, Sevda said, "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?" Was there going to be a mother dragon charging to get her baby back? These things were vital to know.
Indraneel tilted his head. He didn't even know what the thing was, just that the strings it was made of looked oh so invitingly interesting. But, she was speaking to him, so he returned his attention to her. It's not like the strings would get up and walk away!
Still smiling, he answered plainly, "Six hundred twelve." Then he paused, and added, "I think. Is hard to count high. Dragons not really count years."
She felt the floor beneath her sway at the number. "And are you full grown?" It would be a shame if he were.
He nodded! Then shuffled on the chair. "Am small, but can be bigger. But is safer to be small to fly, yes? Not get seen." Nevermind that this girl saw him quite easily that's not important really.
She cocked her head at him, intrigued. "How big?"
Almost instantly, he responded, "Big as elephant!" Then suddenly remembered people around here probably have no idea what elephants are. "Em... is bigger than horse. Is hard to say."
"I know what an elephant is," she said, voice sharper than she had intended. She was still sore over Diya's words. So Indraneel could change sizes, become as big as an elephant... That was really damn big. Sevda clasped her hands behind her back, pondering. Arman's words had lingered in the back of her mind. "I think sometimes I would prefer to be a commoner." This dragon could get her out of the Hold without anyone knowing. There would be the problem of recognition, though Sevda wasn't vain enough to think that, with the appropriate clothes, she'd be recognized. An interesting, albeit dangerous and foolish idea.
"Can you write?"
The dragon bowed his head apologetically. Humans were so difficult to deal with. Some knew things, others didn't. If he didn't explain, they could get upset at having to always ask for explanation. If he did explain, they could take offence at already knowing. So difficult!
After the question, he bowed his head again, in a nod. "Yes. Have book for... write to peoples, like others do." He of course meant his ledger, but... never quite got that word.
"Good. So do I." This idea would need a considerable amount of thought to not be completely insane, but she was willing to put that effort into it. Just thinking about it - about doing something that would cause her father worry and, no doubt, anger - lifted her mood. "If I were to ask you to help me with a task, what sort of payment would you ask for in return?"
Indraneel looked mildly confused for a moment. "Payment?" He knew what it meant, but was unaccustomed to being offered it. "Not need pay if need help. Like helping!" He gave a smug look, but then thought, well, if she wanted to pay, he could at least suggest something. "But like shiny things. They pretty." Yes he really was that easy to please.
Her face broke out into a smile. "Excellent." The Hold had no shortage of shiny things. "And how well are you at keeping secrets, Indraneel?" You could practically hear the cogs turning in her head.
The dragon beamed at himself. "Very good! Not tell if say not to. Is not nice. Rude, yes?" He made her smile, this was a good thing! He liked making people happy.
"Yes, it is." Very good, very good. The dragon sounded eager to please, a helpful trait for the folly she was considering. Sevda walked to her desk and pulled open one of the drawers. Out of it came a small golden figure of a stag in her palm. "This," she said, holding it up to him, though it remained firmly between her finger and thumb, "I will give to you as a deposit for the task I will employ you for in the future. You must agree to work with me on this, answer when I write to you, and not tell another soul about it. Are you willing?"
Indraneel eyed the golden figure curiously, almost eagerly, as he listened to the girl, only looking up to her when she asked the question. He didn't reply right away, though, having to think over those words to figure out what she was saying. Something like 'take this, help me when I ask, don't tell anyone'. That seemed fair.
He smiled wide and nodded oh so eagerly! "Will help princess! Not tell!" Helping a princess! Him! Of course he would!
If Sevda were a kinder girl, she might feel guilty about hiring this creature to do something that would certainly get him into trouble if they were found out (and they definitely would be), but she was raised with her needs and wants placed very high on the priority list, so she gave the possibility no thought. "Great!" She dropped the tiny figure into the tiny dragon's claws. "You are a wonderful dragon, Indraneel. I'm glad we met."
And it was good timing, too. Her family were at the dinner table right now, so none of them would see the dragon flying away. Sevda opened her window and peered out of it. Once she deemed it safe, she turned back to the dragon and said, "It's best you leave before someone comes with my dinner."
His tail wagged, which almost tugged him off the chair since it was still wrapped to keep him steady. He happily caught the little figure, turning it this way and that to inspect it before looking back up to Sevda, beaming proudly and all smiles.
Then he cast a glance to the door, and back to the princess. "Will go. Will wait for you to write, yes?" He released the chair, letting his tail swirl a bit before hopping off of it and fluttering over to the window ledge. He looked back to the girl once more, smiling very wide and saying, "Thank you!" before he dove off the ledge and disappeared into the night, little golden stag hugged tight to his chest so as to not drop it.