A week later, Tarina (and her grim shadow, Joanna) was among the other academy students... when the announcement was made.  Tarina had used a 'study excuse' to be there, since Joana seemed determined to keep her secluded.  Already the guardswoman had chased off curious students by telling them Tarina was dangerous and not to be trusted.  Joanna had not been able to get to the other Unicorn gatherers yet...



As the usual amount of excited chatter passed between students, Tarina looked for some respite... and noticed he sleeping form of Shira in the adjoining lounge area.  A half remembered idea from last night entered her mind, presumably something her night aspect was now sharing.  She was feeling a little lonely and homesick, so why not take her own advice.

"There's my study partner, Joanna.  Why don't you take a seat nearby... I'm not sure how long I will be."

Joanna frowned but decided it wasn't worth objecting over.  Instead she sought a seat with a good view of the hall and its people.  "Alright, but don't wander off."

Tarina made her way over to Shira's table and seated herself across from 'Sleeping Beauty'.  She coughed politely, trying to wake Shira without 'unduly' startling the young noble.  And she moved the ink away and stoppered it... to prevent a spillage.

"Hi... Do you mind if I keep you company?  I'm so bored and now that we have a new test, I'd love someone to pick it apart with.  Did you notice the new face?  She's a bit young, but I hope she's having a good time here."

Tarina indicated that the Brionne was the new face.

Brionne watched the Aielie laugh, and her mouth quirked up at the corners in a small smile.  _{"I did wonder if my parents had got the ages wrong when they sent me. I was accepted so I guess not."}

She sighed, it was good to meet someone her own age. Struggling to keep up in class and her own lessons and responsibilities meant she had little time for socialising so far.  She read the notice carefully and a far away look came into her eyes as she calculated things. _"Damn!"

Then she turned back to Aielie. _{"I'm sorry. It was Eylee, wasn't it? did you expect this?"} By this she meant the castle, the lessons the formal manners and then suddenly a queen competition.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:43, Mon 06 Mar 2017.

Unlike the others, Lia was not party to the initial announcement. In fact, she'd been suspiciously missing from all of the initial morning activities. Where usually she might have been found in the secluded corner of the lounge, reading, instead it seemed she hadn't left her quarters.

Or, well, it seemed that way, until the foundation of the castle shook under one decently-sized tremor, later found to have come from the roof, some fifteen minutes before said announcement was made.

Kog, on the other hand, had only just recently appeared, spectacles clamped between its teeth as it pranced to and fro, teasingly playing with anyone who might wander near and in general wandering away from the hallways suspiciously leading to the upper floors and towers, eventually finding its way into the lounge. The creature, having already sensed the guardswoman always near Tarina's vitriol for both it and its master, pranced up to her, beady eyes staring up as it sat before her, intelligent eyes mischievously daring the woman to react. It was pretty clear it relished the discomfort given.

"-oooooooooog!"

Her voice came out as an echo, but before long the eyewear-less Silverpaw wandered from the direction the creature had come from, hand outstretched along a wall to help steady herself as she moved. Though "Presentable," she did have a certain. . .look to her that suggested she'd been party to something going awry. Soot covered half her face, her hair was singed and disheveled, and her birthmark, usually covered up, was in full view, pulsating a veritable rainbow of colors. Experienced arcane users might recognize the concentration of mana being released - She'd just tried something powerful or complex, or a combination of both.

. . .And as was the case with many Syldurans, something failed.

It was some time before Lia managed to enter the lounge, half-shuffling, half-stumbling through the blurry landscape as she looked for the telltale sign of her keeper of the glasses. Pranks like this weren't uncommon for her pet, especially since it knew the teachers wouldn't scold it today. Lia, however, couldn't help but move forward, eventually (and rather awkwardly) reaching out to tap the nearest student on the shoulder. . .chest. . .somewhere she could reach. "Excuse me, you've not seen my twin-tailed companion about, have you?" She asked, unknowingly, to a gently giggling girl.

Ailie shook her head at Brionne's remark. "This is all so different. I've never been in such a place. Lessons were always on history, not how to sip tea. And quite frankly, the competition was also unexpected. The girls here seem a little young to become Queen, no?" Ailie smiled. When she thought about it, Usui was only fifteen when she inherited the throne. The older students, if prepared, would do just fine.

A tap was on her shoulder. A pretty if not disheveled girl had lost her friend, it seemed. Instantly Ailie's eyes were filled with concern. She was about to inform the girl that she hadn't seen a person with two tails, sorry, but she felt something wrap around her ankles. She looked down, certain that she was going to find herself bound at the feet, but discovered something curious.

"Could this be who you are looking for?" Ailie said with amusement, lifting the creature for the older girl to see.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:31, Mon 06 Mar 2017.

Shira rubbed her eyes as Tarina woke her. As she did, the pen in her hand gently smudged a black swoop across her cheek, with her noticing. "Eh? Ah, yeah! Of course Tarina, it's always great to work with you. Together, we shall surely star in the ball like..." She trailed off. Her simile creation wasn't working yet this morning.

"Liiike... snow...flakes? No..." Snowflakes didn't really star, they were just piled up by the thousands... Which was sort of like a star too now that she thought of it. She shook her head at the line, then watched the kid Tarina had pointed out. It looked like their other friends were quickly getting acquainted with the children. "Yes, maybe we should get together with everyone and help our young classmates? Unless of course they are pairing off for dance practice. A bit of a height difference makes for an elegant looking waltz." She smiled at the other morning-resistant girl.

Joanna eyed the creature, with one hand sliding down to a weapon hilt.

"Make your move, monster spawn... I'll defend myself to the fullest."

However Kog seemed to move on and Joanna had to let it go.  Until she was given an excuse there was little she could do.

Meanwhile Tarina smiled to her sleepy companion.

"I've been up earlier, so the worst is past... but its nice to see I'm not alone.  I hope you didn't mind, but I claimed that you were my study partner... just to get Joanna off my back for a while.  If she gives you a hard time, just ignore whatever she says."

Glancing to the two younger girls (one was known, one was not).

"Maybe we should go over and say hello to the younger ones.  But I wanted to talk about this practice ball too.  There are no boys here, but you and I could practice... alternating the role of boy and girl."

With a stern look, Silverpaw reached forward, plucking her glasses from Kog's teeth and sliding them on. Blinking as everything came into focus, most notably a younger-looking girl holding her mischievous pet, its tails swishing back and forth with playful glee.

Reaching a hand forward such that the creature could find purchase on her wrist, it hopped out of her hands, darting up to rest around Lia's neck, winking at the girl as Lia breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ah. Thank. . ." Her train of thought drifted away as she caught sight of the notice board, abruptly moving to get a better view, away from the younger girl. As she read, she stuffed her hands in her pockets, the color slowly draining from her face as she read and re-read the board.

AIlie followed the white-haired girl, grabbing Brionne's hand in a sign to follow. The white-haired girl looked paler than she had before, almost shaky yet composed. Perhaps she was nervous at the prospect of the ball.

"Oh, cheer up!" Ailie chirped. "You'll have plenty of time to practice, see, it's only in-"

Panicking, Ailie realized she had forgotten what the other girls had said earlier. In desperation she frantically tried to read the sign.

"In.. in..." she stuttered, cheeks turning hot. She realized that she was clenching Brionne's hand in a death-grip and forced herself to drop it. She felt tears well up and looked down, shame and embarrassment flooding her face instead of salty drops. Ailie bit her lip. 'I'm useless.' she thought.

A hand clasped hers, smooth and pale. Ailie looked up into the face of her aid, Irin, a pretty girl of sixteen, with fiery copper hair arranged in a  high-tail of tiny braids with pearls strung through them. She had been standing a few feet off earlier, but now was smiling down at Ailie with gentle understanding, her dark blue eyes filled with sympathy.

"Perhaps I could be of some assistance, Princess Ailiel." Irin said patiently "The ball is in three weeks.

Ailie nodded, still looking down. "Thank you, Irin." she whispered graciously. "See?" she said hoarsely to the white-haired girl."There's plenty of time." Ailie smiled convincingly but it was too late. They had seen too much.

"Hmmmm..." Shira hummed as though she was making a decision. It looked like the others were having a lot of fun, but being fake study partners sounded fun too. "Hmmmmhmmmhmmm...hmhmmm" She continued humming as she started circling the table, it sounded like she was humming a ballroom song,though there didn't seem to be any particular tune to dance to. She tied her hair back into a ponytail, then loosed a small strand with a showy flick of her wrist.

"I'm sorry dear princess, I saw the light of your flaming visage from across the room, and I couldn't help but approach before I knew it..." She took the stray strand of hair and rested it atop her lips like a mustache, then offered out her other hand, giving a deep look to meet Tarina's green eyes. "Would you grace me with this dance? Hmmhmm..." The poet continued to hum out the song, apparently willing to dance right there, as ill advised as that might be in a room filled with chairs, tables, and people.

Tarina snickered at the fake mustache and then played along, hamming it up a little.

"Oh... pardon my fluttering heart, milord.  You flatter me without cause, but yes... allow me to do my duty and accept."

Slipping her hand around Shira, Tarina delicately trod the familiar dance... and aided her friend in avoiding furniture peril.  While Tarina had been tutored in these things, it seemed as if Shira was in her element... dancing with a true heart.

"Should we all just declare you the winner, upfront?  You will clearly have your partner besotted in no time.  I just hope Joanna isn't trying to sabotage me... she has form in that sort of thing.  I have to find out how our partners are selected..."

Anemone Narcissus was the person who had the most information on the contest. The girl who stood a few inches taller than all of her classmates seemed to be missing, however. She hadn't even shown up for meals since the incident with the Witch. However, her bedroom - carefully kept in the dormitories with all of the other Princess's quarters, seemed to be constantly locked.

There was a dual reason as to why it was vital to contact her for any information regarding the contest. The first was that she was the most invested in all things, well, princessly. She loved making up stories, singing to birds (So long as she didn't crush them with her mighty grip accidentally), and generally acting like a royal pain in the behind during class. Though the claims that she had lived through her own fairy tale were off the wall, there had to be a reason why she specifically was Linda's apprentice.

Which brought up the second point. Anemone was, in fact, Linda's apprentice. She had inside information, meaning that she knew about the selection process for partners. Heck! She likely wasn't present because she already knew about the ball and was practicing for it herself. Which was a very Anemone thing to do.

Either way, if they wanted to get an early edge on the competition, then, as usual, Narcissus would have had the answers. The only challenge would be finding and getting into her room.

Rosegold startled slightly in place and looked away from the notice when she heard her name called. The voice was faintly familiar, as she recalled that at least one other girl was here from the Harraf Bog, though she only knew of her in passing. By the time she located the person that had addressed her, though, she was already talking with another girl. Then a number of other princesses (or however close they were to the status) arrived as well. It was to be expected since Rosegold had been early, but it still made her feel crowded. She wasn't used to being in a castle in the first place, much less around this many people.

"Er... hello," she said quietly, not really expecting to be heard over the conversations that had sprung up.

Lia's lips moved silently, eyes narrowed as she hunched down, the creature about her neck nuzzling its jeweled forehead against her cheek in a vain attempt to comfort her. Normally such undignified posturing was frowned on - Something Lia had learned since she'd arrived here, and been frequently reprimanded on. She'd gotten away with plenty in Syldur because she'd no reason to be scared. The prospect of learning was an exciting one, and even if Silverpaw enjoyed dancing despite the one or two rumors of her. . .commandeering a stage in order to dance abysmally along to a ghostly orchestra. . .She was under no illusions about her ability. Nor was she terribly keen on the idea of making a mockery of herself in full view of everyone.

Maybe she could transmute another's ears into tapered points, like hers. She was the only half-elf here, and it wasn't as though they'd know the difference. Mayhap some glasses and a polymorphed kitten, and "The pride of Syldur and Sidhe" could make her country proud.

Her lips dipped downward in a frown, yet another detestable habit rearing itself as she chewed on her lip, closing her eyes in thought. Three weeks. . .a long time to figure things out.

Blinking, she glanced to her side. The girl had followed her. Tilting her head, Silverpaw quirked a thin brow. "Sorry, did you say something?" It wasn't uncommon for her to get lost in thought, and while she hadn't meant to be unkind. . .

'Oh, thank the stars.' thought Ailie 'She didn't notice.' Maybe Brionne hadn't either.

"Oh, I was just saying that if you were worried, the ball is in three weeks, so there's plenty of time to practice." Ailie breathed. Suddenly, an idea hit her.

"Hey, maybe we can all practice together!" she exclaimed. "Brionne, you, and I, plus any other friends you might want to involve. It'll be fun!" Ailie could hardly contain herself.

"But first, we should probably know each others' names. I'm Ailie." she said, extending her hand for the second time today. Two new friends! Suddenly, the poster incident seemed like a faint memory, years into the past. If Ailie had a single emotion that gave her strength, it would be joy, and if she had been given a slice of cake in this moment, she would have been able to take on an army.

Brionnes ears twitched, not actually twitched but the harmonics of the air carried something to her.
"Oh. Lady Rosegold. I apologise. I just met this person Eylee."  She reached out with one hand and attempted to grip Aielie wrist.
"Eylee, this is Lady Rosegold of Harraf.  I was five when I first saw her, we had our annual celebration on Hunters Moon and _{..things happened..} Haven't seen her since then, but then I got sent here. Coincidence huh."

She looked over her shoulder at the dishevelled but still regal woman with the strange animal around her neck.  Then she caught sight of the tattoo, slowly fading into regularity.  That explained the animal. Lia's magic was unrecognisable to Brionne, but Brionne could still sense the primal force there.
"I'm sorry. I missed your name."

"Oh, you are ever too good at this too milord." Shira switched the roles at a moment's notice since it seemed Tarina subtly took the lead in the dance. Still, despite the joking nature of the whole scene, the young teen's ears reddened and an involentary smug grin crossed her face. Despite being able to say pretty much any outlandish thing without batting an eye, Shira was extremely weak to flattery. Her ego swelled with just a bit off watering, particularly when it came from an actual blood princess.

Once that was set into motion, she was eager to impress. "If we all take this practice to Anemone's room, she might have a way to get us into a teacher's office or even the headmistress' archives... why is it your guard is so mean anyways though?"

Readjusting her hands to assume the male stance, Tarina led the dance and got a better look at Shira's skill.

"I'm not sure if Anemone will help us... but it couldn't hurt to try.  I assume we'll host some male students from a different academy.  There can't be a lot of boys around these parts who formally dance, not in the numbers required for this ball."

Glancing over to where Joanna was seated in the background, Tarina shrugged.

"She's like my night time gaoler, but she could certainly be nicer during the day.  I don't dislike her... Joanna has a tough job, keeping me safe from Kingdom rebels and upholding directions from my family.  Ask me again after dusk..  and you'll get a different answer to the question."

Arriving at their destination (the other younger girls), Tarina left the talking to Shira.  Joanna might be more open to the idea if it came from someone else.

"Nice to meet you, Lady Rosegold." Ailie said with a formal curtsy that was adopted by other lands. "I hope we can be good friends!"

Two figures approached. Older girls, one with long red hair and the other with waves of soft brown. Ailie brightened.

"Hello!" she said "Can I help you with something?"

It was fun dancing with the talented Tarina. The princess definitely had a refinement to her, Shira couldn't help but look up to her a bit. She brought there hands up and broke the dance with flourishing bow to her partner, since she couldn't keep track of who the boy was anymore, to place or receive a kiss on the hand for the awesome ability of dancing them to the board.

"Hello, I'm Shira Edelfelt, and this is Princess Tarina Raptori." She curtsied to the little princess. "We were thinking that regardless of who wins the competition, it is in our best interests to make the bonds we can, after all, how could this kingdom be stronger that with its ruler loving and being loved by the many important people here?" She hadn't even reasoned that out before that moment, she was just trying to be passionate because she really wanted to spend the day with everyone. "So if it's alright with everyone here, could we take some time to practice together?"

Practice.

A good idea, if Silverpaw had any hope that she could improve. She wasn't clumsy by any means, but neither was she particularly coordinated, and she couldn't carry a beat to save her life. That. . .wasn't going to match up well. The lead weight in her heart gradually worked itself into her feet, rooting her in place as she tilted her head, contemplating the flighty girl who seemed adamant on roping her into a lesson amongst one another.

And then Tarina and Shira showed - The beginnings of their performance hadn't gone unnoticed as the still-soot-covered half-elf arrived. Her eyes drifted shut as she folded her arms to prevent herself from fidgeting even moreso.

"Isn't this supposed to be a competition?" It was a rare sight, Silverpaw being stern. She was never cold or mean-spirited hardly ever, at best aloof, but in this moment she was severe. Reproachful, even. Her eyes remained narrowed, amplified by both her glasses and the angular heritage half her being was comprised of. Thin lips scowled as she turned and began making her way out of the study, directly towards the Library.

The twin-tailed creature, on the other hand, noticed when its affections were going unacknowledged, and hopped down, plodding along at Silverpaw's side for a moment, then, seizing the moment when its master was unawares, turned and darted in the opposite direction, making a beeline directly for Shira. Ambushes by Kog weren't uncommon - It loved attention and petting, and knew where it might be able to find it. Ever the agile climber, if Shira weren't careful (Unless she was actively trying to avoid the familiar), she'd find herself with a furry neckerchief in short order.

"That's right, Shira.  As a group we worked well in wrangling the unicorn, so perhaps we could do so again.  Newcomers are welcome, too."

Tarina looked to Ailie and Brione in particular.  Silverpaw's outburst was a little unexpected, but the Elven girl was gone before Tarina could say anything... so what was there to do?  Maybe she just didn't like the thought of dancing with humans (as opposed to Elves)... or it might have negative social impacts back home.

"You were the ones who caught the unicorn?" Ailie asked, curious. She hadn't been able to see it but she had heard that it was a magnificent beast. She couldn't imagine how you would catch such an elusive creature.

"Oh, forgive my manners."Ailie said, breaking out of her reverie. She curtsied in return, smiling at the odd custom. "Princess Ailiel Lailah Charmeine of Madacre, but call me Ailie." She couldn't help notice that the white-haired girl had stormed off, but Ailie knew boundaries and when to respect them. Right now the best course of action was to leave her be and return to the conversation at hand.

"That is smart. Plus, even if one of us succeeds, it'll be nice to know that a friend has attained such an honor. I'd be happy to practice with you." Ailie glanced to Brionne and Rosegold. "What do you guys think? I'd love to practice with you as well."

"Ack! Angry or not, you needn't sic Kog on me! Mercy, great Silverpaw, I am but a simple maiden!" Shira pretended she was being choked, trying to get Lia to come back, but it seemed Kog wasn't the only one being given the cold shoulder at the moment. She looked at the creature and petted it soothingly with a worried look, hoping Silverpaw was alright. She glanced at Rosegold, as though silently asking her if anything bad had just happened to their friend that she and Tarina had missed.

Turning her attention back to the child, she put on a smile. "Well it is an honor to meet you Aielie. I must say, since coming to this academy, I have witnessed the finest gold and tasted the sweetest honeys, yet none compare to the vibrant yellow of your hair." She reached out slightly, in the hopes of giving her a pat on the head as well as Kog. "Do you think I might feel it for a moment?"

_{"I have.. a lot of practice of my own to fit in, but if I can I will.  I have to be ready for seven weeks time."} She remembered at last to release Aielie's wrist, and then shied away from the forward wordsmith.  She had also heard her new friend say Ilee-el. So she had to have got it wrong the first time, but had not been corrected.

Ailie blushed at Shira's compliment. "No, not in the slightest. That's very nice of you to say, Shira." Ailie had never really thought of her hair as pretty but it sure was nice to hear it. Brionne mumbled under her breath so Ailie barely caught it when she said that she might join the practice.

"That's wonderful, Brionne!" Ailie rejoiced. "It'll be so much more fun with you there."