10-04-2011, 01:28 PM
Claudia was not in a very good mood.
She had arrived at the castle late last night. The journey had been awkward -- Orcade was a great distance away, and they couldn't plan exactly when they would arrive at the castle. She had barely had the energy to get herself up to her chamber and collapse into bed. Having slept deeply she felt a good deal more rested, but her annoyance still pervaded her mood. Orcade was not a very large country, and not very wealthy. Its chief exports were wine and semi-precious metals from the mines along the coast. It was a small, mountainous country in the south, and Claudia loved it. She was not at all pleased to be shipped off to this silly game in some country she'd never heard of, just so that she would marry well. She knew her parents were just trying to look out for her, and for the welfare of her kingdom, but even so...
Claudia had gone for an early morning ride to clear her head. Her trim little gray horse had of course come with her from Orcade -- she couldn't bear the thought of leaving Prance alone. Now, she was re-entering the main hall, her cheeks pink from the fresh air, pulling off her riding gloves. She was, of course, wearing one of her best riding habits. Normally she went out in whatever old clothes she felt like, but her mother had insisted that she bring only her best outfits to the event. Claudia sighed as she inspected the hem of her ruffled dress. It was colored with a fine spattering of mud. Oh well. She looked up and around at the entry hall, surprised to see that some of the other guests had arrived. She'd forgotten about them!
Claudia's eyes fell on Samuel as he descended the staircase. She watched him a bit suspiciously, but decided that there was nothing for it but to be polite. "Good morning," she said, rather stiffly.
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