Pink Poogle Toy Forum

Princess Marie nodded to the King, her face almost blank. She followed the throng going to the great hall- the smallest frozen smile on her lips, and even some of the sparkle in her eyes seemed muffled. Marriage. No one was setting her up, no one cared- and for the first time in her life she wished she had been betrothed at birth, she may have been but she didn't know if she would ever get married. Sure, men at the court loved her and showered her with attention but marriage was not in their courting, or at least she thought so.

Philip realised he had sat down on the chair next to his mother. He heard her speak, though, like from a distance.

He turned his head, which was still quite pale.

"I.. but.. I am only fourte.." He swallowed his comment, since he knew it wasn't unusual to marry for nobility at such a young age. In fact, Philip was quite old. Since it was a habit to decide the brides-to-be when born. (Of course the marriage was done at a later age.)

"I am sorry. It is quite a shock to me. I wonder why father didn't tell."

Well, he did chase off some girls once.. twice. All right, he did it all the time. He liked to be free. Was that too much asked?

He turned to look at Coral.



((So, I am off. Have a good time! Shadowfare, I leave the decision to you and Lillie. It's ok if you divide or one of you takes my characters over. I guess it might be more handy to do it the two of you. Since I have quite a few characters.))

((i'm supposing everyone's in the hall now? if not, er... don't mind me))

"Ah! What a Joyous Occasion!" Casey caroled in an exuberant tone that was only half-mocking as she burst forth from her place by the wall to stand by Philip. "Our Prince Philip has decided to marry..." she paused, realizing that she had no clue what the princess's name was. "...a Princess! Perhaps you'd like a rose to give to your sweetheart?" Casey added, this time addressing Philip instead of the entire world, as she plucked a rose from his ear. The dratted thorns had been digging into her ribcage for the last five minutes; she would have to remember to dethorn the next rose she wanted to pluck from someone's ear.

Elily's attention turned to the court entertainer. A smile curled on her red lips. Casey was very good, and she always looked forward to seeing her performances. Though Elily wasn't sure if Coral was a Princess. Wasn't she a Duchess or Countess of some sort? She let those thoughts fade away as she watched Casey.

Casey grinned widely, only marginally aware of the others' discomfort. Sticking the rose in front of Phillip-- fat chance that she would "disappear" that back into her tunic-- she bounded over to Coral.

"Why so glum?" she inquired perkily. "Would you like a plum?" A few of the aforementioned fruits rained down to form a smiling face in the girl's lap. Casey grinned mischievously. "Or maybe... some rum?" A foaming tankard of the inebriative beverage was plucked from a nearby person's pocket and proffered to her. "But perhaps you're too young," she finished hurriedly, noting that the girl's parents were present, and tossed the drinking vessel over her shoulder. Instead of falling to the ground in a messy, slippery splatter, it turned into a sparrow and flew off to the rafters.

[[I'm having a tough job trying to find a place to enter. The problem with being a messenger is that I don't have any messages to give! Can someone... know my char or something so I can enter?]]

[Oh I am so sorry everyone; I was in Beijing for a while and just returned late last night.

Shadowfare, I think your idea is a good one and the combinations are the best possible. Thank you for letting me have first choice. If you really don't mind, I would take Philip and Ingrid's husband. We can switch later on if you change your mind. ]

Betty watched the princess leave with her brother; there was no need for her anymore. Her job was as the princess's personal maidservant, not her guardian at table. Making her own way through the servants' corridors - narrow, drafty things they were - she sighted a young personage she dimly recognised by the flickering light of the torches.

[Eo, there is your cue if you would like it. ^^]

Prince Phillip looked at the rose Casey had dropped onto the table in front of him with distaste. It was a fine rose of a deep red colour, the petals beautifully large and soft. The stem was still green, the thorns protuding out like little hooks. Just like his "romance", he thought angrily. Beautiful on the surface - wasn't everyone just delighted?! - but underneath the unfurling petals were thorns. He was beginning to get into a rather worked up state by now as he continued his analysation of the symbolism the rose took on for his life. People were expecting him to offer the rose to her, just like they were expected to marry within a fortnight. The vaguest of ideas struck him.

Standing up, he bowed and offered the rose to Coral. "For you, my Lady," he said in as normal and calm a voice as he could muster. A thorn stuck into his thumb and he grimaced.

Erica was a bit shocked at Phillip's remark. She knew what he meant to say, even if he did stop his sentence before finishing his remark. She watched as her son got up from his chair to give his partner-to-be a rose.

Erica sighed to herself. She knew exactly what the boy was going through. She had felt the same doubt herself when she was announced to be married to the King- but they had eventually learned to love each other, and Phillip and Coral would most likely do the same. Erica made a mental note to talk to him about this later.

Princess Marie watched Casey for a moment, half-amused and her charade-self half disgusted. Her false blank, slightly smiling face, turned back toward the Queen- and then her blue-blue eyes scanned everyone else present. Princess Marie wished she could be like Casey, to jest and run and jump without being held down by reputation and nobility. As she sat there, the world spun around her for a moment-as she realized- what would she do with her life? She wanted marriage, she wanted love, but she a fourteen-year-old "foriegn" princess, with no prospects. She looked down at her hand, a hard rock seemed to devolop in her throat- but she couldn't cry, not here, not now, not ever. She had to be the polite, sweet, princess not the fiery, strong-willed, high-hoped, adventurer she was.

Prince Phillip went to his father's side. "Father," he said hesitantly. He needed to keep a jovial face and pretend he was happy about the marriage - which he was not. "Thank you for arranging this marriage," he said and smiled. "I admit it was a shock at first but I begin to see what good will come out of this and," he glanced at Lady Coral hesitantly, "I am grateful to you for this."

He prayed fervently that his father was slightly drunk and would not be suspicious. "However, a fortnight for the wedding? It seems a little soon. There is hardly time to prepare for a good, grand wedding as you must wish for. It would hardly be a thing to be proud of if the royal wedding is not as great and fine as it can be. It would bring shame on us. And also ... " He did his best to blush. "I would like some time to get acquainted with my bride-to-be."

*Murron wandered the halls... she had recieved no news lately, and it was making her nervous. She spotted a maidservant, one she had met once- Betty or something like that, she thought. She adjusted her cap slightly so that it would not get in her eyes and stepped through the firelit shadows to greet her. The dancing light was making her eyes glimmer eerily, and Murron was a little on edge.*

Betty's pace slowed to a shuffle as she neared the stranger. That face was certainly a little familiar. Her brows furrowed slightly in honest concentration as she tried to recall the memory.

"Have we met before?" she ventured at last, unable to put a name to the face. "I feel as though we have, somewhere ... " Her voice trailed off as she scanned the personage. By the looks of it, undoubtedly a servant of sorts, although not one who stayed in the castle. A page, perhaps? No, the outfit was not quite as stately as it would have been. A messenger, then?