Hesitance showed in Celeste's movements as she accepted the arm and let him lead her along, unclasping her cloak and folding it with very little use of the hand attached to the arm hooked through his. Magic may have been involved, just a bit. When the fabric was folded up as small as she could make it, she slipped it into the pouch at her waist, and it disappeared easily. The markings along her arms drew attention, thanks to her rolled up sleeves. "Oh, the gardens should be fun. Reminiscent of home, if I'm lucky." Pluto followed along on her other side as they walked, apparently deciding Soren was trust-worthy enough for now.
Soren glanced at the markings on her arms with curiosity. "I see." He said in response to her words about the gardens. He hesitated for a long moment. "This may be incredibly rude of me, but…are you a witch?" He asked, looking down at her curiously as they walked. He pointed to the side. "That's the entrance to the east wing, where you would be staying were it not for the upcoming Dragon Festival."
"Dragon Festival?" Celeste tilted her head curiously, before his question registered in her mind. She let out a puff of air somewhat similar to a laugh, nodding. "I am. The Witch of Morovi Forest kind of has to be a witch, after all." Her eyes flickered to Pluto, and she once again seemed to be listening to something no one else could hear.
He nodded. "I see." He sighed softly. "The Dragon Festival is a celebration of the monarchy, in its most basic form. The Dragon is the symbol of the Aevin house, and the Dragon Festival is a celebration of the history. The magician Kings, the witch queens, the non magical rulers. All of them. Of us. And the majority of the nobles come to see it."
She nodded as she listened, showing she was paying attention to him as her eyes swept around the halls they walked through. "It sounds interesting." She commented, once he had finished speaking. Her eyes settled on him, on his eyes more specifically, as she smiled. "Are you excited for the Festival?"
His strange, blue eyes met hers, before sliding back to look around the palace. "Well…it's complicated." He said slowly. "There's a lot that I have to do for the Festival, and there's a lot of public appearances. Which normally I wouldn't mind, but…" He trailed off. He didn't need to share details of the specific problems his kingdom was having.
"There are other things that are more pressing." She said with a nod, a knowing look on her face. While she had no clue as to the specifics of these 'other things', she understood how that all worked, like piling more food onto an already overfilled plate. "Is there no one who can help ease that burden?"
He gave a slightly harsh, bitter laugh. "No. Were I married, yes. But I am not. And I cannot hand off responsibilities to my nobles; they are too much like a pack of…" He glanced at Pluto. "Er, like wild animals. At each other's throats, and at mine." He shook his head. "No. I have to be the one.making decisions and such."
Pluto huffed a breath, almost like he was laughing at Soren's carefulness with his words in regards to wolves. Celeste sighed softly, shaking her head. "I guess that makes sense, then. Though, you really shouldn't have to put all of this on yourself. Any way I can offer some assistance, please, do let me know. A trade for your hospitality, if you must."
Soren shook his head. "No, I cannot ask that of you." He said. He was silent for a moment, then pointed out a doorway. "There's the dining room. The informal one, anyway. In the morning, if you're hungry, just head in there and there's food. Same goes for lunch and dinner."
Celeste didn't really eat at normal meal-times, but she nodded anyway, making note to grab a few things for a snack or something when she got the chance. "Are there any rules? About anything?" She asked, arching a dark eyebrow just slightly. Truth be told, she was nervous about breaking any rules without knowing them, about doing anything that could get her punished, despite the knowledge that this wasn't her father's place.
Soren sighed. "Uhm…none that would apply to you. As a visitor from another kingdom, you are granted partial diplomatic immunity. Just don't kill anyone, don't steal anything important, and…" He shrugged. "Some tips about this palace…steer clear of closed doors, especially in the West wing." His eyes looked haunted and hollow for a moment, then he blinked, and the strange look was gone.
Celeste furrowed her brows, studying his face for a moment. She hadn't missed the strange look, and it took a reminder that it wasn't her place to keep her from asking. She was a fixer at heart, and people with demons called to that urge. In all honesty, that probably stemmed from her own problems when it came to dealing with her demons. "Stay far away from closed doors in that area." She repeated, nodding. "Will do. Anything else I should know?"
"Stay away from a lot of the nobles. They won't be happy about where you're being housed." He hesitated. "Especially stay away from Lord Lovien, Lord Cerin, Lord Gojo, and Lord Jarness. They have a certain…reputation about women." He glanced at her. "Those four are the ones most likely to be violent, and to try to force you into anything." He sighed. "Really, it's best if you avoid most of my court. There is a reason that it is known as the court of knives and fangs, and it is not a good reason." He thought bitterly of the many, many arguments over the throne. So many had tried to dethrone him because of his youth, or his inexperience, or his…history.
A dark shadow flickered over Celeste's face as she took in his words, and there was no way he wouldn't be able to feel the way she tensed. "Thank you for the warning." She said quietly, her free hand finding Pluto's fur for comfort. It was a good thing she had ways to protect herself. The only problem was, if the time came, would she be able to push past the fear to use them? "I'll do my best to avoid nobles, in that case. Especially if they're already unhappy with me."
Soren nodded. "Yes. And it's my fault they're unhappy, not yours." He said with a sigh. He didn't comment on the way her arm had tightened against his, knowing it wasn't his business to pry. "But I doubt you would have wanted to share with anyone, and there weren't enough rooms left in the East wing." He shook his head slightly. "This palace has needed an expansion for years." He muttered to himself. They exited the palace, and he turned left towards the gardens.
"My King should have sent a messenger ahead, at the very least." Celeste said, shaking her head as she forced herself to relax somewhat. "Instead of showing up un-announced. I'm not quite sure why we couldn't make use of an inn, either. I can't help feeling very much like we're imposing." Her eyes lit up as she spotted the gardens in the distance, some of the darkness that still clung to her fading.
"Yes, he should have. It is a blatant disregard of my authority." He said, eyes flashing slightly. He chuckled quietly. "No. It would not do for visiting royalty to stay elsewhere than the palace." He shook his head. "It would be a show of weakness, on both sides." He sighed, raking his free hand through his hair. "And yes, you are imposing a bit, but once the Dragon Festival is over, you and King Lin can be moved to the East wing."
"It really wouldn't matter on my part, the whole staying at the palace thing. There's nothing royal about me." She wrinkled her nose just a bit, before shrugging a shoulder. "I'm sorry he didn't send any word ahead. It would have been much more polite, and yet, I'm fairly certain he didn't on purpose." A manipulation tactic, to keep Soren from being able to reschedule with the upcoming Festival and everything. The man knew how to manipulate people, for sure. That was how she'd ended up here.
He shrugged. "Still. It would be unseemly of me to have either you or him stay elsewhere. And yes, it was most certainly on purpose. A way to put me in my place, I'd imagine." Everyone loved reminding him how young he was. Tell him that his youth negated the fact that he was the rightful ruler, that he had been born and raised to this. Everyone was trying to get him off that throne. They saw the fact that he was young, and refused to choose a bride, as weakness.
Though she wouldn't speak ill of her King out loud, her somewhat negative feelings for the man weren't all that hidden. Especially after his comments in the throne room. "Mind games are a favorite of the upper classes." She said, shaking her head once more. "No simple way to get what they want." It was something she had never liked, especially considering her father loved using the same tactics with her.
Soren sighed. "That's because we can't afford to be quite as confrontational. If I were to, say, attack members of my court openly, they would quickly revolt against me. Likewise, if the members of my court were to blatantly scorn and disregard me, I could strip them of their titles and lands, turn them into no ones." He shook his head slightly.
"Everything's so much more complicated here than it is in the middle of the woods. There's a reason I chose to disappear out there." Celeste looked up at him, face twisted into a soft and apologetic sort-of-smile. He really didn't seem at all like the man she'd assumed he would be, that was for sure. Her father's allies had all been manipulative and malicious, but the worst Sorren seemed to be was…cold. And that made sense, as a King.
He nodded, and led her into the gardens. Many of the flowers were in bloom, sending fragrant perfume through the air. Each garden area seemed to be organized and arranged just so, to create beautiful arrangements. Soren smiled slightly as he looked around, taking a deep breath in. "And these are the gardens. You may come here anytime you wish, they are open to all in the palace. Save for a few private ones, which are locked up." He himself had a private garden, only a small one. The key for it was tucked in a pocket.
Celeste's entire face lit up as they entered the gardens, and she released Soren's arm to flit over to a flower that caught her eyes, one among a group of chrysanthemums. "There are so many flowers!" She said happily, brushing her hair over one shoulder to keep it out of the way, revealing the marking on her neck. "How many different varieties of plants do you think there are in here? There has to be at least fifty, just from what I can see."
