In the darkest corners of the woods where beasts of all kinds dwelled, there happened to be a school. Silver Crown Academy - A place run by a fairy and dedicated entirely to educating young princesses. Cascade, of course, needs such people. The meritocracy demands that only the most bold heroes and poised princesses take the throne. A fortress of stone and wood is where our story takes place, beloved reader. Where the doors to the outside world are locked during the school year, and only those invited may enter.

In this castle in the woods, Silver Crown Academy, there happened to be a room. A large, important looking place. Where tables decorated with white clothes unmarred by spills and stains were lined up in straight rows. Food was laid neatly on plates brought in and out by jovial servants - mice, doves, deer, and all forms of woodland creatures. Rows of forks, spoons, and knives needed to be worked through from the inside out. And instead of wine glasses, the girls present in the room were served tea. Music from animated instruments floated across the oak floors.

At the head of the room was a single, larger table. There were seven seats perched around them… All but two were empty. One belonging to the Headmistress, dubbed by the students to be a Fairy Godmother (Simply due to the wings that marked the edge of her rotund form), Madame Fae. The other girl was one who was new - a visitor who had likely been invited to the school for that night alone. The place she sat at had been hastily made, so all of the chair were relatively close together.

A glass was raised as the tunes that flowed through the air came to a halt. Then the sharp noise of the back of a spoon hitting a glass rang out. Linda was standing and smiling, “A friend of mine, the Court Sorceress, recently had a vision,” She glanced across the room, and slowly her smile fell, “In twelve moons his Majesty will, unfortunately, pass away. She isn’t sure how, or if this fate can be avoided, but as long as I have known her Belle's sight has been true.”

Eleanor who was one of many girls sitting at the tables, listened quietly as Miss. Linda stood up and began to speak. As she sat listening though she took subtle sips of her tea. Although the tea itself was good, Eleanor much preferred the rose tea her grandmother used to make for her when she used to live back home. Still, beggars can't be choosers as they say so she just drank it with a faint smile. When she heard Miss. Linda talk about the king though, it peaked her interest if not but a little. She wondered at how someone had the power to predict such things as death. It was fascinating in it's own right and as such made her wonder if it was a god given talent to have such visions or if it was something one could learn to do over time.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:04, Thu 20 Oct 2016.

Tarina also sat on her designated chair and watched the 'fairy tale elements with an incredulous look upon her face.  Sure, there were a slew of strange, magical tales that were almost regarded as history... but to actually 'see' woodland creatures serving dinner and floating instruments was another thing entirely.  Dayspring was still a place of relative normalcy (despite the Curse and other minor bouts of magic).  Who knew what other strange things she was going to encounter at the academy?  Still, Tarina managed a murmured 'thank you' at all the right times to the food staff.  The tea was especially nice!  I'm going to have to watch what I say around the animals here, any of them could be spies.  As for these animated objects... lets just hope the walls really don't have ears.

Dressed in her recently reworked academy dress (tailoring was a national craft among the Dayspring Fiefdom), Tarina seemed an elegant addition to the setting.  Her free flowing hair hung snugly around her shoulders, it red hue contrasting against the blonde, brown, & black hair of others.  Tarina's green eyes shifted from setting details, to her other peers, and finally to her academy hostess.  Throughout the 'prophecy', her lips pursed together in an expression of deep thought (was this a new opportunity?).  However the most noticeable thing about Tarina... was the armored guardswoman who stood directly behind her seat.  Joanna Talonfree was all business (and looked it too).  She gave the back of Tarina's chair a light rap and hissed an instruction into the ear of her young charge.  "Offer condolences, now."

Tarina honestly couldn't muster much sympathy for a distance monarch she'd never actually met (not when she had her own problems), but she spoke up nonetheless.  Tarina forced herself to sound at least sincere.

"Ahem, we are saddened to hear it... Madam Fae.  Perhaps a toast to the King's health is in order?"

From Rosegold's perspective as a new student, this dinner was very confusing. She was being brought food by... food. The only difference being that the former had already been gathered and cooked, while the latter was apparently raised for serving rather than eating. She'd never seen anything like it back home. Nor had she seen such a variety of silverware allotted to each person like this. She hoped they weren't meant for specific uses that she couldn't discern from looking at them, because formal dining had never been a priority back home.

More alarming was the fact that one of the students had a fully armored, and presumably armed, guard with her. Since the only thing she'd brought with her to the dinner was her umbrella (not counting her eyepatch, anyways), she made sure it was close at her side in case she needed to try and parry an unexpected blow with it. Still, despite her misgivings, she wasn't about to let food and drink go to waste. And the music was nice, too. So she tucked in promptly as soon as she was served, though she at least had the good manners to eat quietly and with her mouth shut.

She wasn't really sure what to make of the announcement. In her experience, the death of a leader invited strife and chaos. Presumably a king would be much more so, but she didn't know anyone here well enough to know how it would affect them. Tarina spoke first, though, and Rosegold thought she could follow her lead. "Yes... that's too bad," she said softly. Rosegold wasn't exactly shy, but she usually wasn't loud by nature, either.

Shira nodded at Rosegold's sentiment. Despite them coming to these halls to become the next ruler, to hear that the man who walked the same path once, rising to the calls of heroism to rule this kingdom... was dying, was very sad.

"Yes... " she looked at Tarina, "we should hope for his health. His Majesty should be cheered on even if his end cannot be averted. His words spread to every corner after all. Even if the leaves and petals are destined to dissolve in winter's winds, how we would mourn if they chose not to rise and paint our world in a thousand colors for the days they last. Pray tell, Fairy Godmother, how might we help king and kingdom in their time of need?" She placed one hand to her heart and posed her other to the Headmistress, as though pleading for words to be placed in her hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:27, Fri 21 Oct 2016.

Linda looked across the room with her bright blue eyes. Each of the girls seemed to be offering their support for the King. She raised her own glass, nodding to Tarina, "Here, here. To the life of our precious King," With that, she took a sip from the cup that she had in front of her. But, the moment of mourning didn't last for long. Because within moments of her pupils taking a swig of their own drinks, she set her glass back down on the table.

Once again the woman continued, her long wings twitching ever so slightly with her movements, "We do not know how his Majesty will die at the moment. So, until we have that knowledge, there is no way to avoid his death. He could, for example, grow ill or be trampled by horses. An assassin could sneak into the palace and stab him through the heart, a rogue servant could smother him in his sleep. There are hundreds upon hundreds of ways for a man to die."

"However, there is yet hope for the Kingdom," She held one hand out to the other woman at the table, "I would like to introduce you all to the illustrious Clara Beraht. She is here with us because of her abilities as a Magician and a Writer. The King, Court Sorceress Belle, and I have hand-selected her to help the people choose the next Queen within the months before the King dies."

"Over the next two semesters, we will have several competitions that will show off each of your skills. All of said tournaments will be reported to the peoples of Cascade. In the end, they will decide with a vote who is most fit to become the new Queen. Her Majesty will be crowned in thirteen months time."

Tarina looked at Shira, visibly stunned by the sheer floweriness of the other girl's statement.  She'd never heard its like before, even from the minstrels of her homeland.  That said, references to the sun, daytime, and birds of prey... were fairly common in Dayspring's political speeches and literature (generally flavored in Fire & Brimstone).  Hearing something 'nice' was certainly a change.  Tarina wasn't sure whether Shira was hamming up her performance or 'speaking normally'.  Unpicking the general 'gist' of the speech, Tarina just nodded along... and then raised her teacup when Linda seconded the toasting.

Listening along to the Fairy's briefing, Tarina turned over a few thoughts in her head and glanced in the direction of the King's Writer.  This woman would be important and therefore it served Tarina's benefit to learn more of Clara.  The thought of becoming Queen was (in Tarina's own opinion) pretty fanciful.  She was only here because her father wanted her out of Dayspring and 'kept safe'.  He'd have a fit if she won the competition... and her sisters would go green with envy, especially given their 'superior' breeding.  However if ever there was an incentive for Tarina to participate, that was it.  Even if she didn't win, Tarina could fight the discrimination against 'her kind' back home.  A small smile formed on her lips.

Joanna stood quietly through the conversation, seeming genuinely saddened by the King's impending demise.  However when Linda indicated that all the girls (especially Tarina) would compete to be queen, the guardswoman looked like she had swallowed a rotten lemon.  How could she fulfill Lord Mason's commands under such scrutiny?  Joanna silently resolved to pen & send a letter to her liege as soon as possible.  The best course of action was to pull Tarina out of the academy and offer up his other daughters to the contest...

Anemone had been quiet as her mentor talked about the fate of the King and their own fates. It was a strange thing. She knew just how powerful Seers could be. They could determine what would happen in the future, investigate the events of the past, or even go as far as to communicate with those who had passed long before they were born. She had met plenty of other Seers... And never before had their visions been off. Deaths predicted by stronger seers, especially a Royal Sorceress, was completely unavoidable.

But the idea of a competition to see who would be best fit to be Queen excited her. It was the sort of thing that she had lived for since she was little. The opportunity to become something greater than she already was... To prove something.

So she sat up straight in her chair, watching ahead intently.

Eleanor had no desire to become queen and yet the idea of a competition in order to determine who was the most qualified to be so was mildly intriguing to her. Although she wasn't sure what these so called competitions would involve. Naturally there were things that she knew she was good at but then there were also things she knew for a fact she wasn't good at. She supposed since she probably didn't have a choice but to participate in this competition she might as well use it to better herself at the things she knew she wasn't good at. In all honesty this was the most exciting thing that had happened at this school since she first arrived at it so she might as well try to enjoy it before it got less exciting again.

Quiet throughout the proceedings and offering only the briefest of mutterings in support to the soon-to-be-deceased king. Why would she need to worry about that? She had no aspirations to be Queen, she merely wanted a place to quietly practice her craft in peace. Unless that meant she could freely transform the realm of Cascade at large with her arcane baubles and enchantments, though that was a stretch of the imagination even for Lia. Or Silverpaw, as she had been introducing herself since leaving the peninsula she called home.

Was it impolite to be perusing a book at the dinner table? Probably. Though in her defense, she'd stopped reading once the assembly proper had started. Half-paying attention, half-sneaking small sweetmeats to the familiar curled at her feet, she paused to give her full attention to the introduced Magician and Writer, unable to stop the briefest (quiet) snicker at being the best. While the Fairy Godmother didn't say as much, the assumption fueled endless amusement carefully contained in a cheeky smirk. Sure, she'd been blown up plenty of times over magical mishaps, and her father triple the amount, but in terms of ability and "Illustriousness," no one could beat her father the King.

She realized her slight as quickly as it happened, though, and as quietly as possible closed her book, clasping her hands in her lap in order to give the woman the respect due her position with her full attention.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:14, Wed 26 Oct 2016.