Royal Gathering

[kaida orinda garnet]

Kaida opened her eyes to the dissipating mist of hairspray, quick to smooth down rebellious ends. Her hands pressed a little harder than necessary, her mouth set in a line tighter than one would need to escape the taste of product lingering in the air. It wasn't due to any fault of her hair, which had recently escaped a myriad of pin-curls and now came down in elegant waves. Nor was it the fault of makeup gone wrong, as she was wearing very little of the stuff, despite what her annoyed swipes at a speck of fallout would suggest.

No, the blame fell on the cause for her current effort and grandeur- a royal gathering. It was a 'semi-casual' event, not that the classification ruled out the possibility of others wearing formal gowns and the like. The style was not the root of Kaida's annoyance, however, but the people checking for it. Typically, social events were Kaida's specialty. What made this one so bleak of a prospect was the large gathering of royals from other estates... especially the male ones.

Kaida had always been 'prickly' towards romance, a product of her station, responsibilities, and general experiences. It didn't serve to lessen her combative stance towards the issue when an event like this was generated. Such gatherings served to fuel the tabloids, to excite the people. Kaida was more than aware of the 'matchmaking' of speculative reporters, though she remained naive to the hopes of some amount of the kingdom's young men. At least, the Valere culture had the saving grace of not making arranged marriages, at least not without the consent of the individual themselves, but other royalties had no such limitations.

She let a small amount of air escape, trying to burn her clothing with the irritation in her gaze. Not that she wanted to go naked, but Kaida had the half-urge to look as bad as possible, just to avoid annoyance. She would get in trouble for doing so, and she was too proud to do so in any case, but the thought itself was amusing. She settled upon a dress, gold-patterned with a single long sleeve and with beautiful chiffon underneath the short skirt. In typical Kaida fashion, it was a unique piece, its appeal powerful and eccentric. Slipping on some pumps and a ring or so, Kaida straightened up to face her mirror. For once, her face showed resignation instead of satisfaction- she looked good, and there would be no tinkering with that to prevent annoyance.

Her voyage to the event passed overly quickly, and Kaida soon found herself stepping out of the carriage to one of the cities halls, located in the humid gardens for their beauty. No sign of the others showed yet, but Kaida was known to be prompt, a trait not often found in nobility. Besides, she had made arrangements to meet Dacre outside before they both entered the fray. Paige had been unavailible... Lucky lady.

[dacre raphael lethe]

Shivering, Dacre stepped from his shower, the whisps of evaporated water lingering thickly in the air, suppressing the heat from his deluge of heated spring water. His steps out of the modified sauna were slow and careful, attempting to have his feet not slip upon the condensing water. His black locks shook violently until he slicked them back and stepped to the mirror, stretching his golden skin between his fingers and examining it. He had a social bullshit event to attend. It wasn't even that he didn't like them. But Kaida, however, was likely to be in a sour mood. This was the gathering of royal members across the continent, full of political hungry bastards. Political conveniences would be attempted and Dacre would shake his head in annoyance. But Kaida might snap at a suitor unused to the freedom of choices allowed within Valere.

His skin looked fine and so he smacked his cheeks in a fluid and swift movement, allowing a clapping noise to echo inside the empty bath room. His hair had yet to dry and it frustrated him with great intensity. "Hemp oil will do the trick, I'm sure," he muttered to himself, winking in the mirror. Dacre focused his mind a moment, uttering the energy within him to convene in the center of his palm as he twirled his hand in tight circles, pulling the water tightly together within the room, almost so that it could solidify. Lashing out with his palm he used the whip of water to open a drawer on the far left side of the room and bring to him a small jar of the clear oil. It landed softly in his opposite palm and Dacre allowed the water to drift around his neck and suspend itself while he took two fingers and dipped them into the jelly-like substance, sliding it all throughout his hair and pulling it forward, to style it as he did normally.

"Damn that's cute." Dacre turned and slid the door open revealing the cool air of his bed chambers. His outfit had already been laid out before hand, draped over his very large and fluffy crimson red bed. A thin, white button up lay there along with a pair of slim deep black jeans which were taut against the skin. Dacre sat down on his bed and pulled his legs into them, yanking the bottoms of them so that his feet could breathe. He grabbed his skeleton key necklace that hung around the bed post and hooked it behind his neck, allowing it to hang at the top of his chest. He looked up from his chest towards the wall length mirror of his room and smiled, throwing his long sleeve shirt on and quickly shuffling his feet out the door and into the carriage awaiting him downstairs.

His ride there was swift, taking no more than three minutes to arrive in the Humid Gardens Hall courtyard. Gracefully, he opens the latch to the carriage and boldly allows his warm eyes to scan the steps outside the hall. Kaida was waiting for him nearby, he thought. He noticed her standing tensely against the side of the stairs and chuckled. "Kaida, are you going to pout all damn day or are we going to go inside? Come on. I promise I'll dance if you play pretty," he teased, laughing and leaning against her.

[kaida orinda garnet]

She pushed back gently against him, trying not to let smoke escape the corner of her mouth. "I am not pouting," Kaida murmured, carefully monitoring how much crossness she would allow into her voice. It would not do to allow temper to show through at such an event. "I don't want to be, at least, that could be perceived as sexual posturing by showing off my lips." She adjusted her physical posture at that, relaxing her muscles. Kaida needed her free leg to stop tapping especially, and so drew it in so that her ankle turned out nicely.

"Play pretty... That's all this event is, isn't it?" she quipped, eyeing a carriage approaching in the distance. Smoothing non-existent wrinkles in her dress, adjusting a ring to fall in this angle just-so... all of her usual organizational quirks irritated her slightly now. This event seemed to take the passion out of much, even if the tabloids would claim otherwise. "Play beautiful, so that the magazines can have another couple to rant about. The others will expect to follow the criteria, too."

"Except I wouldn't be surprised if you're actually going to enjoy being asked to dance constantly, Sir Handsome," she softened, smiling just slightly. Dacre had cleaned up well. She couldn't help but turn around to adjust his collar, tug at the cuffs. "It's easier for boys. Speaking of, we've got company. That carriage about to open behind us... It runs Keubl flags, and by the opulence, I'd be betting that it's one of their princes." Kaida remained with her back to the carriage, pretending not to know. Keubl may be known for its economic success, but the narcism of its leaders was not unknown to her as well.

A tall boy, perhaps two years older than Kaida, had slipped out of the carriage. He had long, dark eyelashes framing dark eyes on dark skin, with persian and arabian features combining. White gold laced his outfit, comprising the makeup of several threads. He was met by an elderly man of similar features. The two immediately began to talk in hushed tones, though the younger never let his eyes wander from the gate and those near it.