#1642hqstart

[gustxxssnarchive]

open starter | @1642hqzstarters

kelem sat idly on the ground, leaned against a tree in the courtyard. she held her hand up in front of her, observing a lady bug crawling over her index finger. a symbol of good luck, or so she had been told. something about the tiny creature having the opportunity to fly away at any time yet deciding to stay around for a while, exploring the odd surface on which it had landed, fascinated the princess. now, she did not consider turning her head to greet whoever it was that she heard approaching a big movement, but the insect seemed to have been startled nonetheless, spreading it's wings and flying away from her. "oh, boo. that's your fault."

[svnshone]

@1642hqzstarters

Libraries had always been a place of peace, even when she was a girl sneaking into her parents’ small collection to steal away books. The scent of the books, the way light filtered through the windows to illuminate the floating specks of dust, the feel of leather bindings beneath fingers. Dorothea sat in one of the comfortable chairs in the Swiss library, nose in a book- some French translation of an Italian writing. It was engrossing, and it was only the sound of someone else’s footsteps that caused her to look up. 

[coroahq]

Antoni sighed to himself when he finally found a bench and he took a seat, eyes scanning over the beautiful painting. He couldn’t believe he was actually back at court, always trying to escape such opulent life. He smiled at a familiar face that took a seat next to him; he hadn’t met many royals from the other countries yet and was eager to make some new acquaintances from backgrounds different than the people he normally met. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

[histxries]

open starter

location: the palace grounds, early evening.

She closed the door behind her, the ever-present smile fading as she quickly made her way to the courtyard. Elisabet always thought the first thing someone should see when they see another is a smile; you never know how someone's day has been going, and maybe a smile would turn it around. She wished it had worked that way for herself. Now, seemingly alone, her smile slipped, replaced with a gentle frown as she sat down on a stone bench, pulling her shawl closer around her shoulders.

Tears hadn't come; they were already shed for recent events, but the sadness remained. It felt vapid to be so worried about her own future when she knew there were much bigger things to worry about-the kingdoms, navigating the palace, dodging trouble (which had not worked out in her favor), but going from only worrying about her next meal to worrying about the future ahead of her was overwhelming, and she didn't know how to handle it.

Elisabet heard footsteps and shifted, wiping her eyes just slightly and placing a smile back on her face. "Lovely evening to be outdoors, is it not?"

[mvyhvms]

TAGGING : @1642hqzstarters

" it would seem that i am not the only one who has sought out solitude to catch their breath , " the crown princess hummed softly under her breath , slight amusement glimmered in her hues as she observed the individual who had stumbled upon her newly found hiding space . " it has been quite the journey . it would seem that i was not created for nautical travel . " however , when travelling from england , it was almost always necessary for a ship to be involved in the travel .

[rivkaruby]

Open Starter

Location: dining hall

status: open to anyone

Rivka stood off to the side of the dining hall, dainty glass of wine in her hand. She'd been watching the choreographed dances of the royals who felt like dancing, trying not to be judgey. It seemed everyone knew the same dances, and she had skipped that class. She sipped her wine, glancing next to her. Maybe someone could share some insight...

"You know, this music is interesting," she commented lightly. "It's very...melodic. I do not understand how one is able to dance to it. The music back home is more...lively, I suppose. My father tried to get me to learn, but I suppose that lesson passed me. Do you not wish to partake?"

[ohfantasy]

⊹₊꒷︶꒷꒦‧₊˚⊹︰꒷ ~ * - ⚘ -- ;

This ball , this eve , was so horribly jilted .

The youngest of the von Habsburg brood stands , a picture of posture , black lace draped , dark skirts and frills , and looks upon the crowd of colour . Behind her veil , her brow knits just a little . A small crease in the porcelain . Perhaps she and her maids had mistaken the invitation . Perhaps they were the ones with ill manners and ---

She swallows at the thought of breaking protocol .

Gloved hand lifts a small chalice of weak wine to her lip , other maneuvering the veil to do so , as eyes peek to the approaching figure -- and she stiffens herself to posture , readies her tongue and throat for conversation as the skirts of her ladies shuffle back a pace , two .

A small curtsey in greeting . A bow of the head in politeness . The candlelight would illuminate only the shape of her profile .

" Good eve . Might I be of assistance .. ? "

[gustxxssnarchive]

open starter | @1642hqzstarters

Despite having grown up feeling like a stranger in his own home, Adi had never felt more out of place than he currently did. Since Narisa up and left, their father had focused his torment mainly on her younger brother, so he was thankful to get out of there. Truly. But as he found himself roaming the castle, informed that his things had been sent to his chambers but unable to locate said chambers himself, the prince- now turned chef, much thanks to his sister- found himself to be quite frustrated, to say the least.

He had hoped to be pointed in the direction of where he would be staying, but instead some helpful soul had sent him to the kitchen. He walked around, looking at things with his hands, unable to accept the fact that this was his life now. Perhaps Narisa would learn of his arrival and send for him, once she was done mending the hand-me-downs of her husband. Until then, he would wait, and keep himself looking busy as to not be questioned or disturbed.

[svnshone]

@1642hqzstarters

setting: along the road to portugal who: yolande and open

They had their back turned, rifling through one of the small set of drawers on the back of the wagon- Yolande knew it was in here somewhere. Usually they were skilled at keeping organized- a necessary skill in their line of work- but travel made it hard. "Let me guess-" they said, hearing footsteps behing them. "You need help with saddlesores or sunburn?"

[coroahq]

"I’ll take another.” Nikolay requested to a serve from where he’d settled. After spending the entire afternoon sparring, he’d gone for a quick bath before heading to the salon, he should practically seizing up at this point. He’d definitely pushed it too hard today and he was paying the price now as there was a significant ache even after taking ale to try and ease the pain. “I may be wrong, but I feel like you have something to say.” Nikolay finally acknowledged the presence that had been hovering nearby for a few minutes now.

[histxries]

"Did you know that the from this angle, you can map the stars? I used to do it all the time at home." Rivka had a paper and coal in front of her, carefully placing dots. "It would be better if I had a spyglass, but I will make due."

Rivka was always comforted by the fact that the stars looked the same no matter where she was. She missed home dearly, she missed her people, but she was comfortable knowing that they were looking at the same stars she was. She had seen that her betrothed had finally come. Things were going to change for her, so she enjoyed this last moment of peace with the stars.

[rxyalplxts]

an open starter for anyone interested!

featuring: zhu jianyu

Switzerland hadn’t been as different from his home as Jianyu had initially assumed when he’d been told of this farce. Of course, even now, settled into this place he hesitated to call a kingdom, his backside still ached from the ride across the Silk Road that had brought him here. He had yet to see anything particularly impressive from the others and had only solidified his own opinions on what was sure to be a disaster. As he turned a corner, he ran into one of the other people attending this. “Oh,” he said, looking them up and down and finding them wanting. “Hello. Remind me who you are?”

[amprionnsa]

"How have you - Okay, obviously it's not as popular in your country as it is in mine, but trust me. Golf is very important in Scotland." Not that Andrew had anything against indoor activities, but he liked being outside and being cooped up in Switzerland's admittedly fine castle all the time wasn't for him. He could always go out riding, but sharing some of Scotland's culture seemed more important - that was part of what they were all gathered to do, wasn't it? @1642hqzstarters

[rivkaruby]

open starter for @1642hqzstarters

location: outside of one of the meeting rooms

"No you don't understand, if you could just let me-" a guard barely nodded at her words, instead letting the door close in her face and post outside of it. Rivka took a deep breath, staring the guard in the face.

"All you have to do is move. That's it." When he made no movement to get out of her way, Rivka broke composure and for once, acted like the young adult she was. She turned and stormed away, yelling in Persian. "I should be in there!" Rivka grunted and swept into a drawing room, throwing herself onto a chair and curling up. She only noticed the other's stare after wiping away a frustrating tear.

"What? You've never seen a princess break her composure before?"

[gustxxssnarchive]

@1642hqzstarters | open starter

It had been a day full of dropping glasses, spilling wine and stumbling over his feet, and Adam was truly exhausted with it all. Normally he was good at his job, excellent even, but today was not a normal day. For whatever reason, everything that could go wrong, painstakingly did. He found himself pacing the courtyard. He knew not how to still the restlessness he felt on days like this one. When self doubt came crawling he could normally disappear into his work, but on days where he seemed to do nothing right, it was as though he did the opposite of disappearing. He could feel the burning, displeased glances he received as he attempted to save face, excused his tiredness - without actually mentioning it, as he knew better than to complain. It caused him great embarrassment having to stand there and take it all, so he opted for a short break. Well... a short break had initially been his plan. His plans had obviously been rudely interrupted, and he was not in the mood to entertain it today. “No, I won’t. We will get caught and I don’t want to deal with the consequences.”

[svnshone]

@1642hqzstarters​

He was knealing under a desk in an empty room, looking at the joints of the piece, at the intricate engravings upon the legs. It was truly a masterpiece- work suited only to live in a palace, with true attention to detail. At the sound of another’s footsteps, Frederik tried to stand up- htting his head on the way. “Ow-” he reached for his head, looking to the other person. “Uh, sorry- do you need the room?”