forum Five Half-Princes and Their Quest for A Kingdom

Started January 24, 2019 by @Bandito

tune

Lotus was slightly taken a back by the sudden movement of the lone prince. She gave him a slight nod of the head as a sign of respect attempting to remember her few manners, "My name is Lotus. And who might you be?"

Damian halted in his tracks as Pine sped past him, somewhat amused by his brother’s sense of urgency. It meant Pine saw him as a threat. Rightfully so as well. The quiet prince had no qualms about taking more than one princess with him if it meant Pine would be guaranteed to fail. He strutted back over to Jasper, triumph flashing in his eyes.

Pine watched out of the corner of his eye as Damian broadcasted his pride all around, like foul wine slopping over the sides of a cup. His fingers tightened ever so slightly but he kept his expression polite as he slowly dragged his poor brother down until he was at a suitable level of shame. He did not want to make it obvious at the time, so he could only brush against his mind, but he was not disappointed with the knowledge he could have done more if he wanted. Of course he saw his brother's power as something to be considered as a threat; but that did not mean he saw his mind as superior. His eyes returned to Lotus and he smiled faintly. "I am Pine Marcuse. You seem confused - May I be of any assistance?"

Lotus had to choose her words and questions carefully. She didn't want to be seen as some damsel in distress that could be easily won over, "Yes. I was quite curious as to whom all was coming? And when you and your fellow brothers had to leave the palace?"

"This seems to be everyone," Pine replied mildly. "We are leaving today. Our goal is to reign over a subkingdom, find a bride, and remove all threats to power. A difficult task, clearly. No details were given to me as to what you or any other princess would be doing - perhaps you will be traveling with a prince? It seems a wise idea to me that you should spend time with each prince, to see who you get along with best." He held out his hand, tilting his head.

Damian’s proud strut turned into a stagger as he felt his good mood slip away like water through his fingers. It was lowered just enough for Damian to feel his heart sink in his chest and his cheeks to burn red. The prince tilted his head down, hiding his face as his slinked the rest of the way over to Quintus. The horse had sensed the abrupt change in Damian’s mood and turned around to nuzzle him, allowing him to seek comfort as he wrapped his arms around the horse’s neck. The tall boy used his horse almost like a shield, vanishing from Pine and Lotus’s view behind it.

Well, that was much easier than expected. She was still very much aware of her surroundings including the horse prince who seemed to have lost all his confidence from earlier. She wasn't sure as to why, however her illusions eyes were trained on Pine. Her physical body inside the illusion looked back to Pine to see his hand outstretched. Her hands remained held within each other at the center of her dress as a small smirk trickled onto her features, "Of course. That does make the most sense. Would you like to be the first on my list?"

(sorry I got distracted XD XD)
Victor ran a hand through his hair. "Well…I'll try to do that, then. Apparently we are quite different." He smiled. "Then what do princesses like to do? Fight?" he pretended to guess as he glanced curiously at Damian.
Pine mentally raised an eyebrow as Lotus seemed to become suspicious. His faint smile widened as she ignored the hand. "Certainly. Let us shake on it." He extended it farther with a placid expression.

Lotus took the hand both physically and within the illusion, she had figured out how to do this by pure instinct. She gave a smile to him, "I can agree to that. It is a pleasure to speak with you Prince Pine."

(It's ok XD)
She raised an eyebrow and shrugged "Depends of what, who or how we are fighting," Alexia heard other around her and she guessed that the other princesses had arrived. "If you want to go talk to the others you can," She said to the prince, "You seem very interested in someone over there." She added when she noticed him looking at someone.

Catori was leaned against one of the walls just inside, talking quietly to Copper.

Damian paced behind Quintus, trying to soothe himself all over again. Without a doubt Pine was the one behind this, but at the moment he couldn’t do much else besides sulk and hope the princesses wouldn’t notice him.

Pine shook her hand and glanced around again. "A pleasure, Princess Lotus."
Victor coughed. "Not exactly. My brother may be interesting, but I have no strong desire to talk to him. Am I trapping you?"

Lotus released the hand returned to her placid position. She had a full picture of what was going on and now it was time to assert her place amongst these princes. She refused to be treated like a prized animal to be won over in some competition. Her face fell to a graceful smile as she spoke, "I assume you'll be wanting to speak with the others? After all you princes need to find the one that you can win over the easiest in order to focus on other parts of your task for the throne. I can assure you now I will be no easy prize, nor plan to be won over by material possessions."

Pine crossed his arms behind his back. "I am not suffering whenever you speak, princess." He looked back. "And it is not necessarily the easiest princess to charm who is the most wanted among princes; if you can be fooled easily by one, why should you not be fooled just as easily by another? It is a good thing for one not to be caught by sparkling jewelry or lavish compliments."

Lotus had a half smile on her face as she nodded her head, "It is good to see we agree on that. So if you don't considering it to intruding, might I ask what you want to see from what is offered to you? Since you clearly don't want the easy way out."

He shrugged slightly. "…One who is not easily fooled, I suppose. Who speaks freely and stands boldly." He flashed his teeth for a milisecond. "Of course, that is hard to find in anyone, especially among the royals."

Lotus rolled her eyes, "I suppose that would mean it would be one to see through blatant flattery as well? Or do you truly speak your mind like you say you wish your partner would?"

"I try to." He snorted quietly and tapped his foot. "If I might ask the same question?"

((damn, these two are ice cold

"I suppose someone who would be able to match my intellect," Lotus said with some thought behind her words, "Who wouldn't attempt to belittle or possess me, but most importantly someone who doesn't judge based upon a first impression, past, or person's appearance."

Can I join?

Alexia shook her head "I just saw that something caught your eye, thought I would let you go if you wanted to." She studied the prince carefully, trying to figure out what he wanted. She wouldn't be supprised if he just picked the first princess he saw and tried to win them over, but then again, he was acting somewhat nice.