Seeing the empty pail set before herself and Miss Claudia, Ayame sent a smile up at Sir Winters, "Many thanks." She wrung her rag out over the pail before drying up the remaining water and repeating. Once the floor was dry, she stopped, looked over the floor quickly to check, then stood once again and took hold of the pail. Ayame walked out to the courtyard, carefully emptying the water into a flowerbed so as not to harm the blooms. It wouldn't be best to waste the water, she figured, but it was nothing they could use elsewhere because the water had been on the floor. Looking down at her soaked dress hem, she sighed softly and shook her head, not caring that she looked somewhat messy, but regretting making the mess that he had.

Dropping the thought, she took a moment to look over the gardens admiringly, spotting Romano walking leisurely with a lady. For a moment, she considered greeting the two, but decided against it for fear of interrupting anything. Instead, she would merely smile their way if they did seem to notice her, then return to the kitchen to put the pail away. As she returned, she caught just the end of Sir Dubois' words. Laughing softly, she shrugged slightly, "I do believe that's all there is to it."

Her eyes peered at the taller royal curiously, an eyebrow raised as she waited for him to regain his composure. It was hard to keep a straight face and not grin. She almost wished to know what exactly he was thinking, since it was quite comical.

Nerine's attention was drawn down to the door. That was odd, it was open, so the person could walk right in. Or maybe they also needed help. It was a bit of a dilemma since they still had the luggage to carry to a room. Hearing the young emperor speak, she looked at him and chuckled when she was called master. "I didn't expect you to actually do it." she muttered, lowering her bag on the top of the stairs, out of the way.

Taking his hand and staring back at him with a light grin, Nerine gave a curt nod. "I suppose we could grace the person with our presence and then search for a room." It was a playful tone as she stepped down to see who would be at the door.

( So, many places. XD )

[xD Seriously. We need a 'world map' and a 'castle map'. Minty and I have decided to make them both. Yes, that's right, Minty. You decided it too. <_<

Arc, we need your help with this, of course.

Quick, people! I demand you tell me which direction your homelands are! How many miles from the summer castle, how many hours/days/weeks it takes to get there, whether or not it's the kingdom right after King Lelair's, etc.

FYI, Linaeve is the kingdom directly south of the current kingdom we're in. Dibs. )= And we really need a name for Lelair-land.]

Another grin graced the blue-haired Emperor's face. He followed Nerine's lead, momentarily letting go of her hand to go back up to the top of the stairs and set aside her could've-weighed-a-ton-more luggage. He reclaimed her hand when he'd returned to her side, careful not to drag her too quickly with his long strides. He was 6'-even, which was quite tall in most countries, especially considering his birth-mother's 5'5" height. His father is just an inch-and-a-half taller than Zamir, and constantly points it out to the latter's great annoyance.

"There are so many steps back down, Master," he observed, still having fun with this. He began to wonder if it was such a good idea to continue, and honestly hoped Nerine would still play along. It wasn't every day he could make a fool of himself and he was starting to enjoy this freedom. "Shall I carry you princess-style or would you prefer a piggy-back ride?"

[Vooooii!!! Don't decide for me!!! :illgetu: I got other stuff to do!!!]

"It's settled then.", he said after hearing Princess Ayame's and Sir Jayden's replies. With a sly look on his face, the Duke of Zhima Kruzhevo turned to his fellow nobleman. "You do the dishes and I'll dry them.", Samuel proclaimed with an innocent looking smile, already searching for a clean cloth in the cupboards.

Washing the few things that had been used probably wouldn't take very long but he would rather not deal with them if he could avoid it. Samuel believed that wiping them would be much easier although he had never done it before. Aside from cooking soup from time to time, the family servants would do every household chore for him.

( Agh! I, I call the north for Jemtra?? About a week's carriage ride if it's nonstop. Maybe I could look for images for castles? Cause.. it is getting a bit confusing on where everything is and what there is. @.@;

haha, minty got pulled into this. )

Nerine waited as he went to place the luggage down next to hers before he came back to her side. A small chuckle escaped as she followed easily enough. While she wasn't as tall as he was, being a mere 5'9", she had learned how to take swifter steps before. She had inherited her height from her father's side. Her mother was a little shorter than her, but her father was about the same height as Zamir. She was stuck between both of them, and one of the taller females in her kingdom. It made wearing heels a pain.

Her eyes brightened at that last part. Screw appearances. Right now her parents weren't there to judge. "Piggy back ride." It sounded like a demand, but her expression was almost hopeful as she looked up at him. It'd been so long since she'd done that. Of course, it would be a bit more difficult with the dress she had on. At least it was not a fussy one. If she'd be in a carriage for days, she wanted to be comfortable.

( lmao, Nerine and Zamir are so amusing. Like little kids, their parents would faint if they found out.
Ah yeah, the dress she has on is almost like the third one, but it's about ankle length. <3 )

[Err- I've got a castle map started, actually, but you two are free to make the 'world map' if you want to. xD

In my mind, Lelair's kingdom was kinda... "central". ^^;; For formality's sake, let's call it Mirarenn? You can decide where that would be on a map, I 'spose.

Kyoko is an eight day carriage ride to the east of Mirarenn.]

He almost regretted trying to be helpful. Jaden blinked and chuckled, getting the plug for the sink so he could put some water in it with the soap. Pulling up his sleeves, he grabbed some of the used dishes before submerging them on the soapy water. Tilting his head, he glanced over at the others. "So... now I bring it up, right?" He asked, almost sheepish.

[Well I already figured Lelair-la-- I mean, Mirarenn-- was smack-dab in the middle. But let's be funky and give our kingdoms actual shapes-- cows, buckets, spoons, squares, etc..-- you know. That way it will be easier to draw it on the map.

Arc, did you plan on the 'world' being just one huge continent or several? Also.. maybe we need an OOC thread. xD]

@Delli: LOL, yeah. But remember, Zamir's parents already act like lovey-dovey nutters. He's trying hard -not- to be like that, but it seems to be too much fun for him after all.

(xD Shapes. I like your style.

'The world' is versatile, really. ^^;; I was planning on giving user's free reign on wherever their kingdoms are, but it doesn't matter really. I didn't think an OOC thread was necessary at first, but I've made one. Link here. I'll make it pretty tomorrow.

The 'castle map' will be posted tomorrow, for now don't bother with the directions of rooms and such.)

[Well, I only suggested an OOC thread because I'd feel bad if we had all these OOC posts end up taking a whole page. If no one else minds then you don't need to make one. I see you already made one~

Yes, shapes. For example, Linaeve would be either a bird- or tree-shaped kingdom. I don't plan on making the map any kind of fancy since most of our time will be spent in the castle and its grounds -- no pressure, Arc, lol! -- so I hope you finish that castle map soon. But we'll see what everyone thinks, and suggestions on the 'world' map are very welcome.]

( ooc pages are always fun, cause random chaos can happen. XD
He's not acting lovey dovey, just childish and cheek pinchable lol but yeah, now, she's most likely going to demand piggy back rides from him until he gets annoyed. >.>; )

[He's still being a nutter though. xD

I'm not happy with the shortness of my post but I can't think of anything else right now..]

"Appearances be damned. Get on," the blue-haired Emperor said with a smile, crouching down with his back to the Jemtia princess. He only ever did this with Jenna when no one was looking, really, but there was something about this princess and he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

((Eeps! I missed a lot! Okay lemme catch up.))

Claudia stood up and straightened out her skirts as Ayame left to dump out the pail of water. It was odd to be doing servants' work for a change. Orcade wasn't an incredibly rich country, and her home castle was modest compared to this one, but still, Claudia had never needed to do any chores herself. Maybe she would benefit from the experience. She did feel sometimes that she was something of a dead weight back at home. Perhaps finding a husband would make her more useful to her country...

Shaking herself out of these thoughts (she'd been preoccupied enough to miss most of the conversation between Lord Winters and Sir Jayden) Claudia blinked and looked around at the others. "Ah, I'm sorry, I was completely lost in my thoughts...do excuse me." She gave them an apologetic look, her cheeks turning slightly pink under her freckles. Back at home she'd been chided for letting her mind wander too much. It was a habit she was trying to break. She decided to engage Lady Ayame again.

"Princess Ayame, have you eaten yet, or would you join me?" Claudia asked, indicating the food on the table with a little smile. "I'm actually quite hungry. Thank you for preparing it for us...I'm sure I couldn't have come up with something that smells that good on my own."

She almost laughed before smiling a little. "Thank you." She had been worried about weighing him down, but considering he could pick up her luggage without batting an eye, it was likely he was used to it. Once he was positioned for her, she got on his back and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, careful not to choke him. Her dress was long enough to be able to cover her back, but short so it wouldn't be a problem for her to wrap her legs around him halfway. If her parents ever found out about this, she would have been scolded prompty for such unladylike behaviour.

[Map of second floor is up. xD]

Ayame turned her head to look at Claudia oddly as she apologized for getting lost in thought, finding it an odd act to be apologetic towards. was there something the matter with that? She came to the realization that perhaps it was a part of her mannerisms, which she was sure would differ from Kyoko's in some ways. This may just be one of them. Of course, it was quite the opposite in Ayame's point of view- her tutors had always encouraged her to bring all of her thoughts to maturity, regardless of how foolish they may seem. Unless, of course, she were engaged in conversation with someone. Then it would be considered unladylike folly.

Hearing Miss Claudia's offer, Ayame smiled warmly in her direction. She couldn't remember the last time she had sat down to dine with another lady her age, or spoken with one for that matter. With no siblings save her elder brother, and very few guests in her family's castle, she supposed she'd missed out on that experience. "I have already eaten my share, but I would love to join you," she replied sweetly, her cheeks gaining the slightest pink tint at the compliment, "It is no problem. The basic recipe is my tutor's, I am sure she could have seasoned it better... Thank you for your kindness, though."

"Errmm..I think so- no wait! You have to scrub the dishes with something..." Samuel looked around to see if the kitchen had anything they could use to scour with. Back in Zhima Kruzhevo, he knew the scullions used a ball of bark, the fibrous skeleton of a luffa gourd, or a sea sponge to clean the pewter plates. Seeing nothing of the sort that he recognized out in the open, the young man decided to just get another clean cloth as a substitute. But when he opened the cupboard from which he had taken his dish towel, silver eyes spotted quickly fell on the familiar porous form nestled between an empty jar and some scrubbing brushes. "Aha!" After grabbing it, he tossed the short, cylindrical scrubber towards Jayden. "Here, use this sea sponge." Samuel suggested, not knowing it was actually a luffa sponge. It all looked the same to him.

[I didn't know luffa sponges weren't sea sponges until I did research for this post @_@]

Ameila saw that the door was partially left open, something that she had missed when she first came up and knocked on the door, she sighed once more, pushing the door the rest of the way, looking about she saw the most disgracful sight that she could ever see, wrinkling her nose once more before she promptly ignored the two on the stairs, grabbing as many of her bags that she could and dragged them with in the entryway. She couldn't believe that people her way were actting in such a way, it was very, well unlike royals that is for sure, she left the more heavy bags where they were at, not saying any thing as she made her own way to the second floor, passing the couple that was there as she too begin to search for a room that would suit her and that she could hide out in for a month until this game was over with.

(>.>" sorry all i could think of to post......it sucks i know)

Claudia nodded and took a seat at the table, her eyes lingering on the young men at the sink, intent on their work. She couldn't help but be amused by their sincere attempts to get the job done right. It was rather sweet. "Well I appreciate the company. I haven't had the opportunity to meet many people here yet." She said to Ayame as she helped herself to a serving of the chicken and vegetables. Inhaling the delicious scent, she thought Ayame was downplaying her abilities. Or perhaps she was just hungry enough that anything edible was attractive to her. Whatever the reason, she ate enthusiastically, although she retained her table manners. They had been hammered into her practically since birth.

"Will you tell me a bit about your country?" Claudia asked. "As I was telling Lord Winters earlier, I don't know much about foreign lands..." she frowned slightly, "I'm finding my lack of knowledge a bit shameful. I wish I had thought to prepare to meet everyone here."

(This thread moves too fast :'( maybe we should set up an order to avoid people (like me) getting left behind, since we have so many peoples?)

Originally Posted by Graxdon

(This thread moves too fast :'( maybe we should set up an order to avoid people (like me) getting left behind, since we have so many peoples?)

[Don't forget we now have an OOC thread~ I think a posting order is a good idea too. xD We have different groups so it is getting a little difficult to tell what's going on.]

[ While I'm going to shoot down the idea of a posting order, I've found another solution to that problem that I've put in the OOC thread. ;D ]

Ayame nodded in understanding, grinning as she realized that she felt similarly. She hadn't had many opportunities to travel, and the visitors Kyoko were minimal due to its distance from most other kingdoms. Shrugging slightly, Ayame sighed softly, wondering the same thing, "Perhaps some research would have helped, but... we are here now, I suppose simply getting to know everyone here would be the best way to get a feel for where they are from. It's a good opportunity," she admitted, then thought about how to describe her home country. "Well, it's rather traditional... Its rulers are the first born of the king and queen, and their chosen husband or wife. The laws are loose, and we don't get involved in wars often, though our soldiers are the most well-respected citizens in Kyoko. Most of my people regard art, music and literature with high value and even those without money for tutors know several languages."

Ayame supposed that was a decent enough explanation for the time being, pausing for a moment to think as her gaze went to the gentlemen at the sink for a moment. Smiling warmly at their efforts, she turned to Claudia, lowering her voice a little, "Endearing, are they not?" Then turning her question back on her, her thoughts went back on topic, "Might you share about yours?"

Gaining a confused look, he looked down at the dishes. "But... why must it be scrubbed with a sea sponge? Is it sanitary?" he asked, giving the sponge an odd look. It seemed like a better option to just let the dishes soak in the water with soap and then dry them off. Then again, what did he know. Grabbing the object, he took out a dirty dish from the water and scrubbed it half-hearted. It was embarrassing how they were trying to clean the dishes, while the girls were eating. He was hungry too, but since they started this, he had to see it finished.

The green eyed duke almost sighed, scrubbing a bit harder than he was supposed to before the dish went back into the soapy water, to rinse it once the plate was clean. Guessing it would be wise to just dry it now, he handed it to Samuel. "There. It's clean." Now more to go. Normally, it would be left to the women to do such household chores. His mother would probably laugh at him trying to wash dishes.

So for whose sake were you sent here? For your self to find love or for your family to sit their kin on the throne?
Perhaps both?
I myself was sent here because, being a remote land, we had very few suitors for my brothers and I. They found spouses to marry and now there is not a suitable lady left for I. And among that, there is the fact that it would allow an alliance to from with a kingdom in the mainlands of the country.
Romano stopped and looked around, the open field looked great, he wouldn't mind spending time in this castle if this was what he saw every day. It was a welcome change from the dark forests and bleak mountains surrounding Delritch. And the people he was staying with seemed like good people from what few of them he had met. He imagined his luck could not possibly increase further, this trip was already looking perfect.

"I guess. I mean if it's sanitary enough for the servants, then maybe...?", came the unsure reply. Samuel had never questioned how the housekeepers did things before today. He had always been content to just trust that they knew what they were doing. But his fellow nobleman did have a point. "I think they wash it with soap before they use it in the kitchens..." But this theory did not sound so convincing. What could he say? He really had no clue as to what processes a sponge went through to get from the sea into the hands of a dish washer. As long as it looked relatively clean and did a good job as an abrasive, Samuel supposed it was alright to use.

This lack of common knowledge plagued him until a freshly washed plate snapped him out of it. Taking Jaden's word that the dish was clean, the black haired boy began wiping it dry. His job was just as simple as he had imagined it to be. With a victorious smile, Samuel searched for where the dinnerware was kept and placed the silver plate on top of a stack of similar sized disks before returning to the sink.

Maiara glanced at Romano, a small smirk on her face. “I wonder…” Her smirk turned into a smile as she stretched and twirled slightly, going ahead of him into the open field. “For now, that does not matter because no matter what happens here, if I want my countries throne I will have to fight for it. Of that I am certain.” Standing a little ways ahead of Romano her gaze turned from him to the field before them. Her head was held high as she faced the breeze. The breeze caused her dress to rustle lightly around her. Looking at this place gave her ideas of many things that could be done. This place would be good for sparring and riding.