#adelaide vailia

[reapersbayif]

Hi Dakota!! I was wondering if MC has a nickname that their family used to call them?? Like how in Fallen Lights, Ezrah calls MC 'Star'.

Because I'd maybe love to use that nickname for my MC's codename (my MC is an informant though I'm sure a codename would be needed for other jobs too.)

Something that Kai would definitely know and MAYBE Laurie and Adri would also know? My reasoning is that MC would use it to remember their family but is also using it as a very specific clue in hopes that Kai and/or Laurie (if alive, I'm assuming that MC doesn't know if Kai and/or Laurie are still alive) would pick up on it if either of them heard it, and hopefully use it to find her.

Also, what are House Vailia's colours? Their heraldry/coat of arms? Do they have an animal of some sort that is attributed to their House? Inquiring minds would like to know! :D

Hello, anon! I’m glad you asked!

Your brother, Lukas, got his love of birds from your father, the king himself. He nicknamed all his children after one of his favorites, actually.

He called Adelaide “canary” because she loved to sing with your mother at the piano and had a lovely voice. He called Lukas “dove” as Lukas was soft spoken and didn’t take well to any training that was foisted upon him; he loathed weaponry and violence, preferring to spend his time elsewhere.

With MC, his nickname depends on the players choice. If you were a very charismatic kid, a real charmer, you’re dubbed “sparrow.” A kind and friendly MC will be called “starling.” An intelligent and adaptable MC will be called “falcon.” A rather shy but intelligent MC will be called “crow.” A bold, brash MC is referred to as “eagle.” If you were excitable and energetic, you were called “merlin.”

He called your mom “my beloved hawk,” as she’s quite fierce and not easy to dissuade.

You see the bird theme, obviously. Diminutives of any of those nicknames were popular.

It’ll be an option in game to use your chosen bird as your code name (or you can pick your own ofc). So if you’re an assassin, thief, informant, or smuggler, you’d be known as “Sparrow” or “Falcon” or “Merlin,” and so on so forth. And yes! Kai, Laurie, and Adri will all recognize the code name!!

As for House Vailia, their color is actually purple. If you notice in Kai’s portrait below, it’s actually that exact shade of purple. Kai still wears House Vailia’s colors as their mother saved their father’s cloaks. Kai wears it to show his loyalties belong to House Vailia even if they’re all “dead.”

(Art by @stephschoices)

As for the animal that is present on their heraldry, it’s actually a bear. An emblem meaning projecting your own, or protecting your family. It’s essentially a historical promise that House Vailia will protect Navra as their own and simultaneously suffer no threats against their royal family.

We see how well that turned out.

[reapersbayif]

Wait so if Laurie thought MC was dead, does that mean our sister died thinking we were dead too?

Yes. Yes, it does, anon. Hendricks had...proof, so to speak.

[reapersbayif]

Commission for @stephschoices for her MC Teagan and Kai!

“Found you.”

You startle, the book falling from your hands and landing in a fluttering of paper on your lap. Glancing up, you find Kai grinning down at you, hands clasped behind his back like the perfect little retainer.

You sigh, blowing stands of hair from your face, “You always do.”

“You’re predictable,” They respond with a shrug, moving to sit across from you in the long aisle of books, their voice thick with sarcasm, “Wonder where Teagan could be? Not the library, of course.”

“Yet my other minders never find me,” You raise a brow at the young knight, “It’s as if they hardly pay attention.”

“I’m not your minder,” Their nose wrinkles at the thought, “And to be perfectly fair, the actual minders have their hands full with Adelaide.”

“Is she refusing her crown again?” You rest your chin on hand, fighting a smile, “She says the gems tangle her hair.”

“Ah, yes, of course. The gems.” Kai rolls their eyes, leaning their head back against the books, “So, are you in the mood for meeting foreign dignitaries on this lovely morn?”

“Not at all.” Your expression sours instantly, “They sent you to corral me?”

“Of course,” Kai answers, “Though I’m unsure as to why. It’s not like I attempt to be successful.”

“For that I’m grateful,” Your shoulders slump, looking up at him through long strands of hair, “I’d rather just stay here.”

They give you a wane smile, looking as if they’d already come to expect that answer, “I’ll hold them off, then. I’ll tell your parents I saw you in the gardens-“

“With you.” You continue, keeping your gaze glued to the unopened book in your lap.

Kai pauses, “With me?”

“They never put that much effort into looking for me, anyway.” You defend your weakening hope, “Mama knows I hate these things, so it wouldn’t put us in danger of discovery if you were to stay.”

“Alright.” Kai nods, leaning against the shelves behind them.

“You’ll stay?” You ask, probably more disbeliving than you should feel.

Kai always stays. They might be your retainer, a knight sworn to the crown, but they’ve always taken your word as law. Going above your parents, above their own, they’re the only one to have ever asked what you wanted beyond your status as princess.

Their dark eyes soften, “Of course I’ll stay.”

“Your father will lecture you again.” You remind them, a small smile flickering on your lips, “Are you sure you want to incur his wrath again?”

“His wrath is hardly something to fear.” Kai pulls their knees to their check, resting their chin there and simply watching you as you pick through your stack of books, “He mostly talks until he bores the both of us and we go on our way. He’s long since given up trying.”

“Wonder why?” You ask rhetorically, chuckling at the mischief is their smile.

Kai had been your best friend for years. It’s why they had decided to make them your retainer; the Martens family had a long history with the Royal House of Vailia, and your closeness in age had made them a perfect candidate. Unfortunately for them, they also happened to create the perfect pair of partners in crime with that action.

You set the books aside, standing and surveying the shelves once more. The fourth in the series you’ve been reading is nowhere to be found, your eyes darting across the shelves with practiced quickness.

Kai stands as well, looking at the towering shelves, “The author?”

“Frederick Garnier.” You glance over at them, taking in their profile as they scan the shelves as well.

An unblemished face is unusual for a knight, especially one who began training so young, yet Kai’s skin is polished and perfect. Their lips are tilted upward up just so, their face at ease and relaxed, and your heart trembled in your chest for the briefest moments.

You’re to be married. You’ve been engaged since you were born. It’s a fact you cannot forget, no matter how much you long to. The Tethan heir is kind, certainly, yet your hands long to be held by a more calloused pair.

“Here,” Kai reaches up to a shelf just out of your view, their height aiding them drastically, “Misplaced, that’s all.”

Their fingers brush yours as they pass over the leather bound book, and you could so easily sway forward into their space. Capture their lips, tell them how you feel-

It would be all for nothing. What would your parents say, should you beg them to break off the engagement that would bring peace between kingdoms? Perhaps they would, for they love you dearly, or perhaps they would think you a foolish girl who would bring war to her homeland for the sake of her own love.

Kai’s eyes flicker over your face, landing on your lips, before they tear their gaze away.

For them, you would face the scrutiny of your king and queen, the scrutiny of your kingdom. If they only asked, you would throw it all away.

They would never ask. This truth is one you know bone deep.

“Your birthday is soon,” Kai mentions with false nonchalance, “Fourteen.”

“Yes,” You say, ripping yourself from your thoughts, “Then you can stop claiming to be older.”

“Mm,” Kai quirks an eyebrow, “No, still older. By three months, actually.”

You shift on your feet, your gaze focusing somewhere over their shoulder because you simply cannot bear to look in their eyes.

“Will you be happy,” You ask, voice unusually heavy, “To follow me to Tetha? To be taken from your home?”

It’s quiet for a moment, your mutual little bubble of daydreams bursted by the harsh needle of reality. A warm hand softly meets your cheek, guiding your gaze to theirs.

“I will be with you,” They say, “And so I will be home.”

Your lips tremble and you think they mistake your sorrow for fear, for their thumbs gently brush the tears away.

“I’ll protect you,” They say with finality, “No one in Tetha would dare cause you harm.”

No, it is not anyone in Tetha you fear. Instead it is your own heart. Still, you place your hands atop theirs as they cup your face, nodding to appease their worry.

This will end tragically. That is yet another truth you know as surely as the sun rises and sets.