TINBBS 6?!?!
(Yeah, finally.It's short, but oh well, I kinda want to get the story rolling at this point.)
The day before Illusia, the nobles arrived for the banquet and party the next night. One in particular threw a serious wrench into Xehanort's plan. Lord Auriz Castiglione, head of his House and lord over Castle Zara in the northeast, and more importantly to Xehan, Aqua's father, had arrived. The prince panicked.
Luckily for the plotting teens, the lord was thoroughly distracted by the grander arrival of his rival, Lord Faessi, and his 18-year-old daughter, Valene. Lord Castiglione probably wouldn't have noticed his own daughter if she and Terra ran in front of his face carrying a sign while Ven painted his head pink.
Xehan tried to not twitch incessantly while the nobles filed into the palace. Why did it seem that there were more of them than last year, holding the prince in the palace at the very time when he wanted away? Head drooping, Xehan leaned back and tried to think though the noisy haze of entry speeches. The flowery language he'd once loved had started to grate on his nerves. The young noblewoman he was sitting next to (Another thing: Why was he always to sit next to young noblewomen?) tried to hush him. Shaking his head, the prince tried to watch the parade.
Compared to the commoners, all the nobles dressed the same-dark, somber colors, the same style of cut, everything the same so much it made the more colorbred Xehan choke. His own brighter colors stood out among the already arrived nobles, set off even more by his long silver hair. If he was younger, he would have felt weird standing out like that… But now, he stood out wherever he went, so it felt good.
His eyes drifted back towards the Castiglione section of the arrival parade. Hopefully the Lord of the House wouldn't be around much in his part of the palace on Illusia, and thus wouldn't be a problem… Best to warn everyone, though. Better safe than sorry, since in this case, it could mean all their lives.
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"So, why are there so many nobles this year, anyway?" Terra shook his head slightly in response to Ven's question. The blond leaned dangerously far over the edge of the roof from whence the two boys were watching the parade.
"They're starting to try and expose Xehanort to girls for when he picks a queen."
"…You're shitting me." Ven looked up from the parade to stare at his friend. "Already?"
"It's a pretty big thing for the nobles. Whichever House brings out the next queen will get a big jump in status and all kinds of privileges and benefits. There's big competition, so everyone's trying to get in an early start."
"Too early, if you ask me."
"Well, he's pretty immune to girls anyhow, so I don't think we have to worry…" Terra didn't mention that the prince was in quiet contest with Ven for Aqua's affection. It really wasn't the best time to think of it. Between planning the secret trip to the palace and at the same time keeping it a secret from the blond boy was enough of a job in itself. Even at that moment, Aqua was out trying to find some clothes that would help hide among the crowd of nobles. Sometimes Terra had to wonder why she'd ever left the nobility in the first place. But then again, if she hadn't, she'd probably be among the young women swarming for Xehanort's affections, instead of the other way around. Terra chuckled inwardly, eyes drifting back towards the parade. It would harder to get in with so many people around, but easier to hide once they were there.
"Where has he been, anyway?" Ven's question normally wouldn't have gotten an answer (from Terra, at least) but in the name of keeping the blond distracted, Terra answered anyway.
"He probably has to sit through the whole thing up at the palace. I can't see anyone letting the prince when there are so many fancy nobles coming to meet him and get their daughters in close."
"Poor guy… I can't imagine having to sit through all that. And I bet all the girls are coming sit next to him, too." Ven shook his head slightly, partly in laughter and partly in jealousy. "Sometimes I can't see why he comes out to hang out here in the muck with us at all. He'll be a good king once his dad kicks the bucket, though." Terra hid his surprise slightly. Somehow, he'd never really had a vision of the prince crowned… He nodded grudgingly. As usual, Ven had gotten down to the heart of the whole mess without even thinking about it.
"He'll do better than this, at least, since he knows how hard it is out here for normal people like us." Ven nodded.
"Xehan's not the kind of person who'll look down on you for just being there. He's not most of them." The blond drew attention back to the parade with a wave of his hand. It had moved, at least, the colors of the minor noble family from the end were working their way up to the middle now. "I hope this is over soon…"
Terra nodded to himself, and Ven dropped down onto his stomach again, and thus the two lapsed into silence.
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Aqua had decided one thing was for certain. You could NEVER expect tailors to be around when there were nobles in town. Ever. Or even the simpler cloth peddlers, for that matter. As far as she could tell, everyone with even a good stitch line had gathered around the palace, waiting for the ladies who would need dresses for the grand ball to come out shopping. Well, as of right now, Aqua was one of them, in a way, but she'd tossed her nobility out the window a long time ago. The once beloved daughter of House Castiglione felt much more at home in the streets. Ducking around a tall man in a smith's apron, she wove her way into the crowd gathering at the sides of the parade.
Her eyes went straight up to the banner winding their ways through the carriages of the parade, caring more for what Houses would be making an appearance than what they looked like. Many of the nobles looked alike because of the inbreeding among them, the silver-haired royals and her own blue-crowned family being an exception. The Houses in their dark greys and crimson and navy and forest green, all such dark colors, wound slowly up to the palace. She then sighed in relief. No signs of Castiglione. No sign of her father. No signs that she would ever have to go back to that life of dresses and jewelry and shimmering falseness. Aqua smiled to herself, dancing off into the crowds heart feeling all the lighter for that which she had not seen.
The day before Illusia, the nobles arrived for the banquet and party the next night. One in particular threw a serious wrench into Xehanort's plan. Lord Auriz Castiglione, head of his House and lord over Castle Zara in the northeast, and more importantly to Xehan, Aqua's father, had arrived. The prince panicked.
Luckily for the plotting teens, the lord was thoroughly distracted by the grander arrival of his rival, Lord Faessi, and his 18-year-old daughter, Valene. Lord Castiglione probably wouldn't have noticed his own daughter if she and Terra ran in front of his face carrying a sign while Ven painted his head pink.
Xehan tried to not twitch incessantly while the nobles filed into the palace. Why did it seem that there were more of them than last year, holding the prince in the palace at the very time when he wanted away? Head drooping, Xehan leaned back and tried to think though the noisy haze of entry speeches. The flowery language he'd once loved had started to grate on his nerves. The young noblewoman he was sitting next to (Another thing: Why was he always to sit next to young noblewomen?) tried to hush him. Shaking his head, the prince tried to watch the parade.
Compared to the commoners, all the nobles dressed the same-dark, somber colors, the same style of cut, everything the same so much it made the more colorbred Xehan choke. His own brighter colors stood out among the already arrived nobles, set off even more by his long silver hair. If he was younger, he would have felt weird standing out like that… But now, he stood out wherever he went, so it felt good.
His eyes drifted back towards the Castiglione section of the arrival parade. Hopefully the Lord of the House wouldn't be around much in his part of the palace on Illusia, and thus wouldn't be a problem… Best to warn everyone, though. Better safe than sorry, since in this case, it could mean all their lives.
_______________________________________________________
"So, why are there so many nobles this year, anyway?" Terra shook his head slightly in response to Ven's question. The blond leaned dangerously far over the edge of the roof from whence the two boys were watching the parade.
"They're starting to try and expose Xehanort to girls for when he picks a queen."
"…You're shitting me." Ven looked up from the parade to stare at his friend. "Already?"
"It's a pretty big thing for the nobles. Whichever House brings out the next queen will get a big jump in status and all kinds of privileges and benefits. There's big competition, so everyone's trying to get in an early start."
"Too early, if you ask me."
"Well, he's pretty immune to girls anyhow, so I don't think we have to worry…" Terra didn't mention that the prince was in quiet contest with Ven for Aqua's affection. It really wasn't the best time to think of it. Between planning the secret trip to the palace and at the same time keeping it a secret from the blond boy was enough of a job in itself. Even at that moment, Aqua was out trying to find some clothes that would help hide among the crowd of nobles. Sometimes Terra had to wonder why she'd ever left the nobility in the first place. But then again, if she hadn't, she'd probably be among the young women swarming for Xehanort's affections, instead of the other way around. Terra chuckled inwardly, eyes drifting back towards the parade. It would harder to get in with so many people around, but easier to hide once they were there.
"Where has he been, anyway?" Ven's question normally wouldn't have gotten an answer (from Terra, at least) but in the name of keeping the blond distracted, Terra answered anyway.
"He probably has to sit through the whole thing up at the palace. I can't see anyone letting the prince when there are so many fancy nobles coming to meet him and get their daughters in close."
"Poor guy… I can't imagine having to sit through all that. And I bet all the girls are coming sit next to him, too." Ven shook his head slightly, partly in laughter and partly in jealousy. "Sometimes I can't see why he comes out to hang out here in the muck with us at all. He'll be a good king once his dad kicks the bucket, though." Terra hid his surprise slightly. Somehow, he'd never really had a vision of the prince crowned… He nodded grudgingly. As usual, Ven had gotten down to the heart of the whole mess without even thinking about it.
"He'll do better than this, at least, since he knows how hard it is out here for normal people like us." Ven nodded.
"Xehan's not the kind of person who'll look down on you for just being there. He's not most of them." The blond drew attention back to the parade with a wave of his hand. It had moved, at least, the colors of the minor noble family from the end were working their way up to the middle now. "I hope this is over soon…"
Terra nodded to himself, and Ven dropped down onto his stomach again, and thus the two lapsed into silence.
____________________________________________________
Aqua had decided one thing was for certain. You could NEVER expect tailors to be around when there were nobles in town. Ever. Or even the simpler cloth peddlers, for that matter. As far as she could tell, everyone with even a good stitch line had gathered around the palace, waiting for the ladies who would need dresses for the grand ball to come out shopping. Well, as of right now, Aqua was one of them, in a way, but she'd tossed her nobility out the window a long time ago. The once beloved daughter of House Castiglione felt much more at home in the streets. Ducking around a tall man in a smith's apron, she wove her way into the crowd gathering at the sides of the parade.
Her eyes went straight up to the banner winding their ways through the carriages of the parade, caring more for what Houses would be making an appearance than what they looked like. Many of the nobles looked alike because of the inbreeding among them, the silver-haired royals and her own blue-crowned family being an exception. The Houses in their dark greys and crimson and navy and forest green, all such dark colors, wound slowly up to the palace. She then sighed in relief. No signs of Castiglione. No sign of her father. No signs that she would ever have to go back to that life of dresses and jewelry and shimmering falseness. Aqua smiled to herself, dancing off into the crowds heart feeling all the lighter for that which she had not seen.