I Shall be Heard (OPEN to Royals and Knights)

[Aiden Hughes]

In spite of his status and family name, in truth it had been quite a while since Aiden had seen the capital city of the Empire, Pendragon. Considering his father's former rank, in his youth he always called this place home. In fact, he was not that far from what would be deemed his official residence, he supposed; the place where his mother lived out her days of stagnant monotony. But still, he supposed that was enough for some people. To be safe and cozy in one's home, never having a care about the affairs of the outside world other than what affects oneself, such may as well be the written law of nobility. And as much as he liked to set himself apart from other such people, in truth he was just as guilty of attending to his own desires as any other noble or royal of Britannia. Possibly more so, in that some might argue his selfishness caused strife in others.

He'd been meeting with a few of his so-called superiors. These men who had proven themselves to the crown, but had done nothing to earn Aiden's respect, had been attempting to get through to him regarding his actions on the battlefield. It was true that he was not the ideal soldier; he would be the first one to admit that, given the choice between himself and a more subservient underling, any commander would be wise to choose the latter of the two. Still, he was not a soldier for the benefit of anyone but himself, and as such he sought his own satisfaction more than anything in the midst of conflict. That was probably why he'd been sent back to the capitol rather than remaining on the front lines; they wished to keep him from getting into more trouble, and hoped to subdue the fire in his heart that found its way out each and every time he fought an opponent.

Aiden sighed and thought for a moment about what had happened. He had been in the midst of a conflict between Britannian forces and one of the enemies of the crown, what seemed to him a nameless resistance group, as they were all the same these days. His unit had been dispatched to attempt an assault on the right side of the formation, which seemed to be something of a chip in the enemy's defenses. Breaking through as best as he could, Aiden seemed unstoppable as he took out several enemies before finally, the main encampment of the enemy was in view. He gathered himself, and was ready to launch an assault when he received the order to hang back and await further instructions. It seemed as if they wanted to adopt a more conservative formation, and have Aiden's unit aid in clearing out enemies on other fronts while maintaining what land they had captured, before attacking the main encampment with the bulk of the forces. A safe strategy, but most certainly not one Aiden approved of.

From a logical standpoint, attacking the main encampment now would send the enemy forces into disarray. There was a good chance that he would be able to take down at least a few key leaders of this movement, and as such break their chain of command, allowing for a quick mop-up afterward. Cut off the head of the snake, and the body is no longer a threat. Not only this, but there would be less of a chance that the leaders of the group would escape before being defeated if they followed the recently stated course of action. From a personal standpoint, Aiden merely wanted to experience the thrill of battling the most powerful forces they had to offer. And so, calling in the plan that he wished to follow, Aiden had attacked the main encampment, and things had gone well. Perhaps a few more Britannian forces had been lost because of their lack of reinforcement from his unit, but the battle had ended with a quicker and more decisive victory than it would have otherwise. And what was he given in return? He was reprimanded, once more, and sent back to the capital to be lectured by some military officials on his conduct. It infuriated him.

He had half a mind to take his case up with someone of a higher order than those imbeciles, and he certainly was not one to follow protocol in these situations. Along with this, in all honesty he longed to see the Imperial palace, as it had been ages since his father had taken him there. It would not only help with the anger he was feeling at this particular moment, but he would get nostalgic relief from it, as well. So he took to finding his way to the castle. Naturally, the area around said castle was heavily guarded, and he was not there on official business, so he needed to elude any sentinels. Perhaps he would be allowed partial access if he let them know of his status and his family's previous relationship to the crown, but he would not allow his father's legacy to carry him anywhere, even if it were a minor name drop. And so he proceeded, carefully and cautiously, until finally he found himself quite close to the palace. He didn't care if this caused trouble for him; he was constantly being educated and reprimanded, regardless of the situation, and so such would not be a dramatic change of events.

Hopefully he would be able to find a military-minded someone within this establishment, but this was as much an argument of philosophy as it was a discussion of strategy. Does not the greater end justify the brutal means? In any other situation, Britannia would agree with this statement. However, because he had defied the chain of command, they denied this fundamental rule of Britannian life. He would find someone to speak with on this topic, one way or another.

He chuckled sadly to himself, as he thought of what his father's reaction might be to his defying royal forces and trespassing on royal property. He silently apologized to his father's memory for his conduct. Hopefully he would find some solace in this venture.

[Ayame Li Britannia]

On the fifth floor of the West End of the Imperial Palace, all was deserted. Eerily so. Unnaturally. Slowly, from behind one of the large marble columns complete with Corinthian capital, a head poked out halfway.

A golden eye narrowed while half a nose twitched in suspicion.

I smell fish.” If anyone knew anything about the notorious tomboy spazz of a princess (beyond her hatred for anything that was pink or frilly) it was her impeccably accurate spidey senses. And right now, they were tingling.

Withdrawing the other half of her head, the young teen folded her arms across her chest, her nose twitching from side to side. This wasn’t right. There was no way, in heaven or the land of the Gumdrop Fairy, that any floor of this place could be completely empty. It just wasn’t possible—this was the freaking Pendragon, wasn’t it? HQ to the la Famile Royale? Shouldn’t there be at least one guard standing like some statue, or one maid bustling like fire ants crawled up her skirt?

This was not right.

”Hrm. Definitely fishy. Whatdaya think Pon-Pon?” She held her giant stuffed panda of doom to eye level. Its large black eyes stared back.

“….”

”Yeah, I think so too. But, I can’t just hang here all day!”

“…”

”I get what you’re sayin’ Pon-Pon, but…”

Not many people could understand the bond between the 17 year old and her plushie. It was a personal thing.

Sighing once to herself, the princess mentally prepared herself for what was next. She knew she had to keep moving. She had gotten so far, already! Just five more flights (or one leap if the situation called for it), then a mad dash across the yard (she might have to Pon a few guards if she needed to), and then a monkey climb over the gates to freedom! Clovis Land awaited her! Either that or the first place that wasn’t surrounded by—

Ayame quickly shook her head. No. Don’t think about it. Just run. You’re good at that. Ah, Mental Stabilizer. Always impeccable timing.

”Yosh.” Clutching her stuffed panda to her chest, the young princess took one deep breath before emerging from her hiding spot and bolting as fast as her legs would take her.

She barely managed to get more than three strides in before IT happened. The ground rumbled in such a way that one would have thought that there was a pack of bulls chasing the princess.

She couldn’t be so lucky.

”Tch.”

”HIME-SAMA!” a chorus of female voices called in union. A way that only maids who had gotten Sensei’s approval could do. ”HIME-SAMA! PLEASE WAIT!” The princess whirled her head around, eyes wide.

”Who would-

”Hime-sama!” A voice that did not shout, but yet somehow was louder than the chorus of maids, called from above. The esteemed Sensei, etiquette teacher and general beacon of light for all members of the royal family for the past several generations, stood tall and prim, her hair pulled back into its signature tight bun. Her hands were resting firmly on top of her smiting stick. ”Hime-sama! Stop acting like a child this instant! Now come back at once and we’ll finish your dress fitting!”

Yes. Ayame Li Britannia, third princess of the Imperial family was—yet again—running away from her immortal enemy: dress fittings. With the grand wedding of her brother, the Emperor, coming up very shortly, most people would say that Sensei was perfectly well within her rights for wanting to hogtie the princess down and shove her into a corset.

Unfortunately for Sensei, Ayame did not think like most people.

Picking up her speed, Ayame quickly zigzagged, avoiding a maid who tried to flytackle her from the side. Ayame felt a twang of guilt when she heard the body make impact with the marble floor. Poor dear, she was new. She didn’t know. Ayame was the Queen of Flytackle Football.

Making a sharp right towards the windows, Ayame grabbed hold of the balcony. ”Gomen ne, Sensei, but…”

”Don’t you DARE-

”Ja ne~” And with that, Ayame swung her body over the balcony, deciding to free-fall down the five stories rather than take the stairs. She could hear the maids scream in fright (they would never get used to it) and Sensei saying something about losing years of her life every time Ayame did this.

Landing perfectly on her feet a la neko-chan, Ayame then bolted across the yard, the grin on her face full. Finally. Finally she’d be free and away from corsets, and dresses, and pink, and all that unsnazzy stuff~

She fought back the urge to pirouette and sing “Born Free” at the top of her lungs. One mustn’t count their chickens before they hatched, right?

Bolting out of the gates at full speed, Ayame made a sharp left—only to collide into a very hard object.
“Ooof!” Ayame groaned as she landed promptly on her buttocks.

“Achachachachaahhh that’s gonna bruise…” she winced as she rubbed one of her now sore upper thighs.

Ayame blinked blearily against the sun as she saw that it was not an object she had collided with, but rather a person. Tallish and very well-built from what she could make out visually (and from what she felt upon impact).

“Uh, sorry ‘bout that…I uh…kinda wasn’t lookin’…” Ayame gave a sheepish grin as she stood up and dusted herself off. She craned her neck to give the guy a proper look over. Yeah, definitely tall. Though, when you’re barely 5’00’’, practically anything is tall.

Ayame sucked at remembering names. Faces, she remembered. She didn’t recognize this dude by face. Which meant that odds are he wouldn’t go ratting her out to anyone. Which gave him a +1 in the “Snazzalicious” category.

She grinned fully.

““Yo~”

[Euric Qi Britannia]

Might the both of the men have known what they would soon be facing, they might as well have turned and walked the other way. But so it seemed that it would be their fate to meet today - what to make of it, would be an entirely different story.
Either way, the day hadn't treated the First prince of the Britannian Empire that well either. Although the reprimands or lecturing we're mostly somewhere way below him, it didn't necessarily mean that arguing - or, discussing about the wedding issues with certain parties was any more a pleasure than that of a superior's scolding.
Dear Emperor, have it oh-so-nice and cuddly with your fiancé and let your family do all the work for your wedding. Way to go, brother~

The closer the wedding got and the more he had to deal with the matter, the larger grew the frown on the first prince's face. Now, it was a wonderful thing that their oldest brother had found a hand in marriage and all, it would've probably been lovely otherwise to arrange some cosy little church for the to have the ceremony and another place for the party afterwards - but noooo, nothing could be so easy with the Royalty, nor the Emperor himself involved.
Sometimes Euric felt so frustrated that he really had thought of running to the wild and leaving it all behind. Quite literally. Alas, that wouldn't be fair to anyone, and he knew it quite well.

Euric loved his family. Loved them all, loved them dearly. But sometimes it was just the attribute of being royalty he hated the most.

And hence the military duties we're the concern of his older sister, it was pretty much everything else Euric had the pleasure of dealing with. As well as being the Viceroy of Area 11, it was his duty to take care of most of the domestic affairs, or so they would call it. In this case it meant administering almost everything from the budget to the color of the napkins in the settings - well, thank gods for the possibility to at least hire someone to do the latter. And then were also the dresses - ohhh, the dresses, what a pain in the ne-

The prince halted his thoughts, deciding for a different word just in time. Call it superstition or whatever, but lately he had become almost paranoid about the fact that his neck had hit the all time worst during the past few weeks. No wonder, really, but he hoped to forget about it as best as he could for it felt like every time he even thought about the pain, it stung deeper - or, more likely that somebody twisted that invisible dagger they'd struck into the muscle. What a nice feeling, indeed.

Euric winced, clutching to the pile of papers he carried in his arms. Now that he had thought about it, wasn't today the day the final decision - and now meaning the final final, since the official deadline had already been last week - on the dresses had to be made. Some of the royalty had, fortunately been in time, but a few still missed from the list. For the Emperor's wedding, even a member of the Royal house wasn't able to wear just anything.
Although it had to be said that even the future empress herself made the matter but difficult still - sometimes, when Euric had most kindly asked her opinion about the matter and why did she also drag it to the last, it seemed Her Highness hated dresses and all that frills-pins-corsets-etc-stuff almost as much as a certain other royal lady Euric knew. Almost, anyway, but enough to hinder the matter and cause Euric but more trouble. Speaking of which-

”HIME-SAMA!”

A loud shriek of voices echoed through the hallway and made the First prince almost drop his papers - as well as hasten his steps at the direction of the voices. Ahh, it had been too long since he'd been at home in Pendragon - why else would've such a commotion been able to actually startle him. He knew exactly what was going on, yet, he should've been so used to it by now...

I'm such a lousy brother- No... I can't help it. But will my consciousness ever agree with that?

He didn't run, but like a proper royal moderately hurried - when had he become so good at that anyway? - to the palace foyer only to catch a glimpse of some maids running out, and what else he would have done but followed them. It wasn't where he was originally headed, or where he should have been headed, but there were few things that Euric still regarded higher than work, even with so much catching up to do that he already knew he wouldn't get much sleep that night either - and one of them was his darling little sister.
Like a moth towards the light, the prince now scurried to catch up with the maids, who by the looks of it had already had way more than their daily guideline amount of startle and rush.
The sight of the first prince would immediately stagger them, and the storm of apologizes for the rushing about and their supposed impoliteness and everything came right after.

Surely, Euric didn't mind that. But it was the first prince's chance to have them off the Third princess' heels and go find her by himself. Because, if anything, most of the maids had learned by now that they wouldn't get to her - but he, if anyone besides her full-blooded sisters, had far more better chances to succeed. And who were they to defy the First Prince's orders if he told them to return to their usual duties - even if it went against the Sensei's orders. The maids pointed him the direction, and the prince, kindly thanking them, continued his way.

Judging his sister's speed, she probably was halfway to Clovisland by now. Euric had decided to follow her, but not too fast - once she'd managed her way out, he wasn't in too much of a hurry to bring her back. Such would've been just plain drab thing to doo - and he, of all people, should have known. But, it wasn't that he was going to leave her be either. So, he made his way to the gate, ready to start looking for a cab - so used to the way 'normal' citizens moved around during his own runaways, he had almost forgot that at the time he was still there as the full-fledged First Prince of Britannia, and not in any disguise to pass as anything or anyone else. The realization struck, ahh frack, he'd probably have to have a change of attire before he could freely go anywhere - which on the other hand, meant more time for his sister. Good, in a way.

But before the idea of turning back really got through to his feet also, he had time to glimpse out the gate - and make an observation of such that instead of turning, he did halt. Because out there, was Ayame, and some other guy who apparently had, most likely with some divine intervention had the honor to step on the way so that the Thrid Princess' run had paused just enough for Euric to reach them.

As such, Euric blinked. Now, the sight reminded him of something that had happened a while back, which he wasn't especially delighted about - did it now just seem odd that lately, his younger half-sister had the tendency to bump into random guys (or other way around, most likely) during her escape just when he also happened to be there? Good enough was, that this time the stranger didn't at least lay on top of his sister... And she seemed to be okay, by the looks of it. Hrmmh. Just a lucky coincidence, this one.

"Why, good day to you both." The first prince greeted, keeping his eyes at the stranger. Ahh, a mother's love was one thing, but a brother's instinct to protect was really something, too.

[Aiden Hughes]

To be honest, Aiden's every muscle was currently as tense as possible as he neared the palace. It wasn't so much a fear that caused this physical reaction, or a desire to react quickly to a foe. Rather, it was almost as if he were faced with an enemy from his past. Something that he could not rid himself of, that had an iron grip upon his heart that he was unable to let go of. He found that his memory over the years had been even better than he believed, and that many of the feelings and observations he'd made had been lying dormant within him, looking for a chance to peek through. Now was such a chance, and he found that he could recall his father's form with near perfect accuracy. It seemed only moments ago that this titan of a man strode with confidence through these grounds, holding his head high and encouraging his son to do the same. Aiden never believed he'd paid attention to such things as the sound of his stride hitting marble floors, the way the lush colors of the scenery of the capital brought out the gentle side in a man so renowned for his abrupt nature, or the way whenever his lips began to curl into a smile he'd turned his head slightly, allowing for a minute to repose himself. It was that turn of the head that Aiden had lived for, in all honesty. His military duties and training were a way for him to forge his own path, but the short-term reward for his success was always the way his father attempted to hide his happiness. How he'd used misdirection to keep Aiden from seeing, or how he'd excuse himself for a seemingly legitimate reason, stepping from his son's presence. Aiden had never been fooled, but he'd never let on that he could tell what his father was thinking. He was his dad, after all. He knew him better than anyone.

In spite of the fondness with which Aiden looked back on these memories with, in truth it was a painful sort of nostalgia. The kind that cuts through to your heart and spends its time toying with your emotions. The kind that allows for the recollection of these memories, not for joy or laughter, but to remind you that such moments would never happen again. The kind Aiden considered a weakness, and would never admit to. Such were the thoughts spinning in the head of the young soldier as he continued on, and as his pace slowed to a relaxed walk he took in everything he could about the world around him, for fear that he would never experience it again. The cool grass nearby that he was so sure could calm the most fierce of hearts, the endless blue mantle of the sky above that conflicted so wholly with red-hot nature of the boy's spirit, and the bright sun warming his back in much the same way a father's frame guiding his hands had warmed him while teaching him to operate a Knightmare; the closest to an embrace the two had ever had, and the contact that they had both valued over all else.

For a moment, Aiden forgot his qualms with his superiors, and his desire to prove himself. He completely put out of mind the reason for which he'd come to the palace, for which he'd trespassed so willingly and spat in the face of all his father had taught him about serving honorably, and assumed an identity rather unlike that which he'd generally take on. For a moment, Aiden Hughes was once more a small boy standing on tiptoe in straining to be taller, his arms outstretched upward toward his father's face, barely grazing the long gray locks that hung down as the man looked at him with a harsh face but kind eyes. And then, it vanished...and was replaced with the image of a projectile missile in the form of a young girl. It was a beautiful image, and for a se-

Wait.

Aiden snapped out of his daze just in time to catch the girl slamming hard into his frame, and falling backward. As is the case when one awakes from a deep sleep, he groggily looked to her, and waited for the proper part of his brain to function. Whereas his mind screamed in his father's voice of chivalry and etiquette in the face of a lady, he found himself unable to follow through with these commands. The girl was obviously hurt, or was at the very least sore, and yet he'd allowed her to help herself up again. Such an action would be unforgivable in his father's eyes, bu-

No. He refused to see himself as his father's miniature. It didn't matter if she'd helped herself up; she had arms, and was given them for a reason. It was only at this point that he wondered exactly who this girl was. Unless she'd infiltrated like him, which he found very unlikely given her seemingly bombastic nature, she either worked at the palace or was a guest of royalty.

For a small window of time, Aiden dropped the standards he held himself high to, and just didn't care what he let himself think. Looking at the girl, he made a quick assessment. Kinda short, and she definitely didn't look like she belonged in such a prim environment, considering her attachment to the stuffed animal at her side. Pretty though, he couldn't exactly deny that, though it wasn't like that meant anything. Frankly, he was a bit angry that his efforts to enter the grounds without being seen until he desired were ruined by some little punk and her toy. After wailing a bit about her injury and apologizing in a half-hearted manner, Aiden saw her grin at him and open her mouth to speak.

”Yo~”

Aiden gaped at her for a moment. Yeah, she was most likely here for the sake of her etiquette, and he couldn't exactly blame whomever had sent her. The worst part was that the typical observer would probably put them in the same category: someone who is denying their own upbringing and bringing out the worst in themselves. The difference being that Aiden was fighting for something, and as such he had a righteous fury in his denial, whereas this girl was just...well...

Thinking about it, he was being somewhat judgmental of her. Regardless, he wasn't going to just be nice to her because she apologized. Crossing his arms and gazing down on her from above with a look that clearly said 'I will find out where your panda sleeps', he opened his mouth and responded to her.

”Hey.”

There was just enough anymosity in that word to convey the message that he wasn't just some guy, but enough of an introduction to not be entirely rude. If anything, it was more...well, he couldn't think of the word at exactly this moment. Maybe it was rude, but once again, it didn't matter to him. If this girl was going to turn him in, she was going to turn him in. If not, then it didn't matter either way. He doubted very much that anything he said could sway her decision. Besides, she'd been running pretty fast, herself. It seemed to him as if she didn't want to be 'caught', either.

Before he could observe her reaction, he noticed another figure approaching. The man seemed familiar, but Aiden couldn't place it until he'd set foot right nearby and gave an introduction of his own.

”Why, good day to you both.”

Impeccably delivered, and with a certain poise to it. Aiden now recognized the face of Euric Qi Britannia, the first prince. His eyes widened slightly as he realized the implications of the situation with which he was now faced. Whomever this girl was, she warranted being pursued by someone of the prince's stature. That meant she was most certainly a big deal, regardless of her appearance or the way in which she carried herself. What would the best course of action be? Would he apologize for his rudeness? No, he refused to accept such a blow to his own self-image. Instead, he turned his attention entirely to the prince, kneeling and bowing his head. If he was to get in trouble for his behavior, so be it. But he would not present himself as anything but a willing subject. Not a boy forced into cooperation, or a pathetic excuse for an individualist, but someone who chooses to serve. His allegience was, after all, with Britannia. In the end, after all things, at the very least he was a loyal soldier.

”My lord.” Aiden exclaimed, giving proper recognition to Euric's status. If there was one thing of which he was certain, the word 'lady' would not pass through his lips; most certainly not in the direction of this girl. She may be his social better, and may keep better company than he did, but he could tell there was something else about her. Although she did intrigue him, he pushed such thoughts to the back of his mind. More pressing issues presented themselves.

[sakuraacr]

Jojo Stenton wore her military uniform like usual but her plain gladly brought her out and about to the royal city of Pendragon. A place she didn't ever think of going to again yet here she was watching events unfold as a woman bumped into a man, the man was a soldier she only read a report about in the past and the woman happened to be a supieror whom was a royal. Jojo would continue watching and soon found that there was also the royal's brother, or half-brother since Jojo didn't know how this family stuff worked with royals, appear out of the blue.

Jojo was walking towards them with her purple hair cut short, her body crisp in its walk, as her eyes scanned around. Her hair was an odd color like normal for most with the gradients reaching the purple hue that surrounded it while her eyes kept up the scanning pace. She had her uniform on but she also had her knightmare key around her neck hidden underneath her uniform while the sword on her hip gave who she was away to anyone whom read the military records. Rose of Healing, Jojo Stenton, eradicator of sector "XXXX" and nicknamed the Rose within the knights as for her Knightmare frame having a rose tattooed along it.

This was old news however but she personally was one who was supposed to become a paramedic but rather killed them instead, by accident of course. Jojo would finally arrive to hear the soldier say, "My lord." Rather Jojo had her ears listening as she bowed her head to each of the royals, the lady first of course, saying to each, "Milady... Milord, how might your days be?" She was only a Jr. officer but it didn't matter as she was known to speak as she saw fit.

[Enter: If you don't mind that is. If you do then send me a pm telling me to get out in any fashion you wish]

[Ayame Li Britannia]

There was one of two reactions Ayame was expecting from this dude post-greetings: either

a) the dropping to one knee followed by a “Your Majesty!” and some sputtering about being sorry for colliding into her

or

b) the realizing that Ayame had (yet again) fled from Sensei and deciding it was his “civic duty” to escort her back to the lair of Sensei and her army of maids, ensuring a grand reward from the Mistress of Etiquette later on.

What she got, however, was neither. Rather than sputtering like he was caught in some level 10 tongue twister, the dude simply stared at Ayame with a sort of look that made her clutch Pon-Pon instinctively to her chest. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly and her head tilted to the side. Well. This was interesting. While she was grateful for not having to deal with a blubbering loyalist, there was something about this guy’s manner towards her that made her nose crinkle in thought.

Now, as anyone who knew Ayame would tell you, the young princess had a tendency to not give two pieces of a monkey’s ass of how people treated her when it came to it being negative. Having been brought up in luxury from birth, and having been a bit of a shy/prone to crying brat when she was little, Ayame had been the prime target for teasing during her early childhood days. Often the insult revolved around her lineage and how she was nothing without her title.

Yes, rich grade schoolers are vicious.

However, it was thanks to the constant exposure of these insults that Ayame was able to build a solid wall that deflected pretty much any insult that was flung at her. So it wasn’t that she was concerned that this random guy was going to insult or sneer at her that made her nose twitch. It was his general attitude towards her. There was just something about him that was incredibly familiar.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly. But what?

In the encyclopedia of Ayame’s mind, pages of past events flipped at a rapid pace.

Suddenly her mind landed on a page and she snapped her fingers. “AH HA! That’s it!” She grinned widely, the crinkle that had formed between her eyebrows completely gone. That’s who this guy reminded her of!

A certain darling (albeit unwilling) personal stalker was flashing in her mind. Eriol—this dude over here was acting the exact same way her oh so beloved personal knight had been at their first meeting. Ok, maybe not exact, but the general aura was the same. Which meant only one thing: this guy here was a Homo-Homo.

Now for some reason that was beyond the realms of normal human thought, Ayame was utterly convinced that her personal knight was a closet homosexual. Of course, the man had frequently denied it, but this seemed to fall upon deaf ears, as Ayame still referred to him as “Homo-homo-kun.” As such, Ayame began to associate anything was remotely similar to her darling fellow blonde as also in denial about being on the sassy-gay-friend end of the spectrum.

This poor shmuck was going to be no exception.

As she continued to eye the poor soul, the more her mind warped what she saw to fit her beliefs. Suddenly, she saw roses form behind his head, complete with sparkles. His hair was suddenly more glossed and combed than it actually was. Ayame nodded to herself. Yup. Everything suddenly made a whole lot more sense.

Of course, the idea that maybe the man simply did not recognize her as an Imperial Princess due to her attire and general manner was simply too easy of an answer. After all, didn’t all princesses wear denim short-shorts and tank tops?

She opened her mouth to ask if whether or not the guy swung the other way, when an all-too-familiar voice called out from behind her. "Why, good day to you both." Eye glittering, Ayame spun her head around, a wild grin on her face.

“NII-SAMA!” she shrieked as she ran over to her dear elder brother and flytackled him in one of her signature glomps. Latching her arms around his neck gently yet firmly while her legs latched around his waist, Ayame gave her brother the tightest hug she could muster with her small frame. Which, despite her petit stature, was quite strong.

“About bloody time you came back! It’s been what? A month? Two?” Far too long either way. There weren’t many siblings Ayame was super close with—Euric was a rare one. Planting two small kisses on his cheek before letting go of her brother and hopping back to the ground, Ayame quickly rummaged through her messenger bag. “Let’s see what I got for ya...ah! How about some fudge brownies? I got a bag in-oy. Whatcha doin’ down there?” Ayame’s attention turned to the kneeling man. Her nose crinkled slightly. Weird.

Turning to face her brother, the young spazz jabbed a thumb at the still kneeling stranger. “Just ran into this dude. Literally. He’s a bit funky. I think he’s also a homo-homo, like Homo-Homo-kun. You remember Homo-Homo-kun, ne? My personal stalker?”

“ "Milady... Milord, how might your days be?" Ayame felt a chill run up her back. It was a natural reflex whenever someone referred to her as royalty. She couldn’t help it. She turned her attention to see a purple-head military woman greet them. Pleasant face, crisp uniform, formal posture. In short: a perfect example of Britannian military personnel. Ayame sighed and twirled a loose strand of hair from her messy bun.

“Y’know…contrary to popular belief, my name isn’t ‘Milady.’” She gave the young officer a toothy grin.

“‘Ayame’’s fine.”

[Euric Qi Britannia]

Albeit the maids' shrieks had startled him but few moments earlier, at least his reflexes hadn't forgot how to back a full-fledged flyglomp. For such thing to happen - that would have been unforgivable of him.
The impact made him reel a bit, but as for her tackle there was a tight hug waiting for her in return also, and a wide, warm smile to greet her as she'd lift her face.
"Way too long, Ayame dear, way too long... I don't even want to start counting." He sighed deeply, half in joy of the reunion, but not entirely without guilt behind it. The fault was, after all, completely his.

Or rather, Alastair's. Oh...I shouldn't be thinking this way.
The truth would be, if not for the wedding, life would still keep him busy enough. Being the Area 11's Viceroy was enough to keep him away from home.

The prince resisted a growl of displeasure - had it been just the two of them, the younger sister Li Britannia might have just got to witness an actual outburst - however mild - of Euric Qi Britannia actually complaining about something. As in out of his actual personal feelings, out of weariness of the matters pressing him. How ever forbearing and diplomatic, dutiful as ever, the continual stress did have it's effect on the prince who had took his place and fulfilled his role as a full-fledged statesman albeit his age of just twenty two. The young man had had no rest in months, and even the spazz at the back of his mind had been pushed into an all-time edge of non-existence.

But there were others present. The time and place for his composure to crack wouldn't be here, but still a bit further in the future.

Simply to put it, Euric was tired. More than ever. Althought even enough of sleep would probably have made the situation way better. But sleeping seemed to be the common people's luxury nowadays - not a word the first prince would've got to enjoy enough of it of late. Dark shadows under his eyes were just vague enough to go unnoticed by the public in general - unless one would be but inches away from his face, which fortunately wasn't the usual case. He just hoped it all would go unnoticed in the latter case, too.
But as fast as his half-sister got back on her own feet and the fudge brownies were mentioned - just how much had Euric missed such delicacies that only his sister was able to bake! - the warmth crawled back onto the almost broken smile, and his hand reached out to ruffle the princess' hair.
"You're a real gem for a sister - if only pastry could save a soul- Oh?"
"Whatcha doin’ down there?” cut him off the sentense, enough for him to realize that, spite the fact that he just a moment ago still beknew the presence of the unknown young man, he had forgot just enough about it to be a bit surprised to realize he still indeed was still there. Kneeling. A sigh.

He was almost too tired and now, almost willing to actually just go for the jazz - dismaying enough, he had got almost too used to such behavior nowadays - but for Ayame's sake and presence, he just wouldn't yet go there. Listening to Ayame's explanation, he tried to drop off the the-actual-first-prince act, succeeding well enough at least when a snort escaped his lips for her conclusion of how he was, well, supposedly a gay at least according to his darling little sister.
"Why, yes, I do remember your.... stalker. What was his name again?" He asked her, lifting an eyebrow with an amused look - for he didn't really remember, and by the way she had her own habit of naming people, he wasn't very sure if she herself did either. Homo-Homo-kun was fine enough, and, comically enough at least something more easy to remember.

Straightening himself, though trying for once not to stand too aristocratically gave Euric finally his full attention the still awaiting young man. Such a greeting was clearly that of a solider, he'd seen enough of those even if the military wasn't downright one of his main concerns, but other than that could Euric not deduce. Clearly he was off duty, but that even further didn't explain his presence to the least. It was the actual Imperial Palace, after all.
Although had it been for mischief, the prince was quite certain he wouldn't have stayed plastered to the street as he now was.

So, the look on the First prince's face was far from condemning, mostly just curious.
"You may just rise, young man. My presence needs no such antic from others."
Ahh, how nicely phrased - now he'll probably just do the opposite. Euric would've wanted to slap himself, he had clearly been spending far too much time with all too much official booty-cheddar for way too long. When would he find peace from it.

"Although I am a bit curious how you've wondered this far into the palace are-"
“ "Milady... Milord, how might your days be?"

Not today, it seemed. Another interruption had emerged. Euric's head tilted towards the voice, and was it then for a reflex, inattention due to tiredness or him just having become too conditioned to when it came to people wearing uniforms, the perfect princely manner was back in a flash to greet the comer with a perfectly postured nod.

Why, o' why.
"Good day to you also, officer. I'm fine, thank you for asking." Of course he wasn't.
"But you might do better of it by by listening to her. You seem to be on duty, so I might not be privileged enough to break you code of honor." He sighed, again.
"But I'm not here to be praised as something oh-so-high-and-lordly, either."

[Aiden Hughes]

There seemed to definitely be something wrong with this situation. Aiden felt as if he'd been pulled into some sort of alternate universe, in which things such as class and lineage had been turned upside down. Here was a young woman, clearly his superior who would likely have very little problem doing away with him if she so desired, and she instead chose to stand there looking somewhat confused by his reaction. Granted, it made sense that someone in her position would be unused to insubordination by those under her, but the look was something more than a mere confusion about an unknown situation. Any other noble would have followed this confusion up immediately with explosive anger, being a spoiled brat who needs to have their way. At least, this is what Aiden had seen in the past when he'd dealt with his superiors. He was, after all, no stranger to acting out his own desires, and spitting in the face of those above him. If there was any reaction to insolence, he had been fairly sure he'd seen it in the past, and yet here was something new. Thinking about it, it was his turn to exhibit a somewhat bewildered look. Tilting his head in much the same way she had, and raising an eyebrow ever so slightly, he couldn't help but want to know more.

“AH HA! That’s it!”

Her outburst surprised him, as she came to an unknown realization while he was still left in the dark. When she first spoke up in such a tone, he'd believed that he'd actually been wrong about the way in which she was behaving. Hearing her first syllable, his first thought had been that she had finally gotten over her shock, and was now ready to attempt to discipline him. However, this apparently was not the case, as she grinned once more at him in a very self-assured manner. He wondered exactly who this girl was, as he would never have guessed somewhat of such an excitable nature would be found here, in Pendragon. The very heart of Britannia, a nation whose name conjurs up images of discipline, sophistication, and even harsh cruelty, lay in this place. And yet here she was, seemingly the opposite of each of these factors. In all honesty, Aiden was reminded somewhat of himself. Not because of how she acted necessarily; after all, he had always made it his objective to act as proper as he could so as to honor his father's memory. It was more the way in which her personality went against the grain of these surroundings that brought this sensation. Images of many superior officers who had chastised him for his actions ran through his head, and suddenly he wondered if she had had similar experiences in an altogether very different venue. His opinion of her lightened slightly at this thought, though he was not going to get ahead of himself. Such thoughts could be pure fantasy. After all, finding a good person on the grounds of the palace was not exactly something one would expect. Finding a kindred spirit would be something more like an impossibility.

Aiden had dropped to a kneel at the sight of the prince out of a desire to be loyal to the royalty. As previously stated, he would always be a loyal Britannian subject, and as such it is only natural that he serve the first prince with the whole of his being. However, as he awaited the words of the prince, something occurred that felt like a punch in the face, and left him seeing stars. The girl was obviously extremely excited to see the prince, and immediately ran toward him and flew into him in a way that seemed all too familiar when one considers the target of such affection. Her words as she approached him were what caught Aiden's attention, however, as those words changed absolutely everything about the situation.

“NII-SAMA!”

He could hardly believe his ears. This girl was a sibling of the first prince? Meaning, by extension...she was royalty, herself? He couldn't wrap his head around it, as hard as he tried. He would have accepted that she was a noble of a higher order than himself. Such would make sense, most certainly, as not all nobles were expected to act prim and proper, and their place in the social hierarchy may even promote eccentricity. That would have been an acceptable explanation. But the thought that this girl whose very posture screamed of a lack of poise was a member of the royal family? Aiden would never have guessed that, and why should he? This was the opposite of everything he'd come to expect of royalty. That wasn't to say that such a prospect bothered him; if he were to be honest, although his observations included such things as a lack of poise and control, considering her environment such things were shifting from things that surprised him ever so slightly to things of absolute and unexpected beauty. You might compare such a feeling to moments in which you emerged from an indoor area that did not have access to outdoor light, such as a basement or bunker, only to find the sun rising or setting on the horizon. The transition from bland and lifeless to natural and even incredible, such was the transition of Aiden's opinions in those few moments. Still, he would keep his composure, as he remained a soldier. Regardless of his changed opinion on the girl, he was sure that the first prince would fulfill his every stereotype regarding royalty and the way in which they behave. Imagine his surprise, then, when he managed to stop his head from spinning and rejoin the conversation, only to find the man speaking casually, as one might in any low-class community on any given day.

Not only was he accepting of the girl's excited nature, he even encouraged it. They spoke on such things as “fudge brownies”, Aiden felt as if he wasn't observing an interaction between members of the royal family, but rather an interaction between a family without a responsibility in the world besides their devotion to one another.

“Whatcha doin’ down there?”

Aiden blinked, and snapped somewhat out of his trance as she questioned him about his position. He nearly answered her when she started an explanation of what had happened to her brother. Aiden learned that, apparently, he was a “homo-homo”, which he could only assume referred to his sexual orientation. Although he wasn't one to worry about what others thought of him, and in spite of the fact that he had vowed to never openly show weakness so as to never allow anyone to have power over him, Aiden had to fight to contain a blush that began to work its way onto his face. There was embarrassment to be found within his mind because of this comment, but at the same time he also found the comment genuinely funny, especially considering where said comment originated. Fighting against both his urge to laugh, and his embarrassment shining through, he began to lose the latter fight as his face turned a slight red, and he bowed his head steeper to hopefully avoid it coming to the attention of anyone nearby. He wondered how she'd come to this conclusion, and also noticed that he had in all honesty never felt as self-conscious in the past as he did in this moment. He decided not to think about it, at least not in this moment, as it would only lead him to question his own actions. Such was never a good result. The prince responded to her explanation with a good-natured response, and suddenly turned his words to Aiden himself.

”You may just rise, young man. My presence needs no such antic from others.”

Now, if there was one statement he never believed he would hear royalty say, the above would likely be it. It was definitely given with a sophisticated tongue, and yet at the same time its content suggested that Aiden need not acknowledge the difference between them in regards to their standing. Somewhat hesitantly, Aiden nodded and stood from his knelt position, standing in a position that was not quite at attention, but also not quite at ease. ”Yes, sir.” Aiden responded, unsure as to whether the title sir fell into the category of 'such antic'. His entire life, he'd grown with an opinion of nobility and royalty, and now it seemed as if such was being proven wrong. This man, the prince, he seemed kind. This girl, who for the time being he would assume was a princess; he admired her courage, wished he were more like her. Suddenly, reaching for words, he found that he could not remember what business he had been here on. He began to panic inwardly, searching for his gripe, but could not find anything. His issue had been absolutely and completely pushed out of his mind in favor of this new development. The prince began to ask him exactly how he'd found his way onto the grounds of the palace, and as Aiden raked his mind for a response, suddenly another voice rang out.

“Milady... Milord, how might your days be?”

Turning, Aiden saw that the new presence was that of a soldier. From her uniform, he could clearly tell that she was an officer of higher rank than he was, and as such he snapped his posture from the aforementioned relaxed position to that of complete attention. He said nothing, as he had not been addressed and did not wish to interrupt the prince as he responded, nor the princess as she gave a quip that nearly caused him to break attention and snort aloud, but rather gave his attention to this officer. To be honest, everyone involved in this situation had his undivided attention, and he decided to say nothing for the moment and merely observe; searching for the words that would express his feelings properly.

[Ayame Li Britannia]

Ayame blinked at the disappearing form of the random military chick. Part of her had honestly expected the chick to have been sent by Sensei to haul her ass back to the Land of Frills and Fluff. But rather than lift her over her shoulder and carry her off screaming and kicking, the woman merely said her greetings and went off to carry whatever duties she had to perform. Her nose crinkled slightly. “Weird.” she mumbled, turning her attention back to Euric and Potential Homo dude.

She couldn’t put her finger on it, but there really was something about this guy that reminded her of Homo-Homo-kun. Ayame blinked to herself. Euric had asked her what her knight’s name was. She had yet to give an answer. She bit her lip in thought as she racked her brain.

‘What was it? Bob? Nah, too generic. Sal? Nah, that’s the guard I bribe with brownies every Saturday…’

Ayame sucked at remembering names.

Oh well. No use pondering over something that had no chance in being remembered. Besides, Homo-Homo-kun was an easy one to remembered, and she liked it. So there. Mentally nodding to herself, Ayame turned to her elder brother. “Before I forget, Nii-sama: here are them brownies I promised ya.” She said, grinning widely as she presented from her tattered messenger bag, a baggie of brownies complete with curly ribbon. Her grin faded slightly as she peered closely at her brother’s face. Frowning slightly, Ayame reached up, going on her toes in order to reach, and placed her hand gently underneath his left eye. “…You’re starting to resemble a beaten up panda, y’know?” Ayame clicked her tongue in annoyance as she withdrew her hand and gave her brother the bag of brownies. “Tell them secretaries that if they don’t fit ‘sleep’ somewhere in that schedule of yours, I’ll spike their cookie stash with laxatives. I know where they hide it.”

Ayame knew Euric had responsibilities. It was a given, being the first prince and all. Add that to the fact that the wedding of the century was coming up, it was to be expected that he would have extra work to attend to. But still…the guy, underneath all the titles and all that formal crap, was still human. He needed to rest! The thought of sending all those planners and hagglers home sick via cookies was becoming increasingly tempting.

She reached into her bag and pulled forth (yet another) bag of brownies. Opening it, she popped one into her mouth in hopes of the chocolate calming her down. She shouldn’t be too upset—after all, Euric was finally home! She should be bouncing off the walls like a high on sugar firecracker.

She was good at being a spastic firecracker.

Looking over at the random Homo(?) dude, Ayame held out her bag in offering. “Y’want one?” She asked, mouth half filled with brownie. Swallowing she offered the man a grin. “Don’t worry, these are safe. It’s the ones I wrap with a black ribbon you want to wary of.” She winked, holding her hand to her mouth in that “tis a secret~” manner. “Soooo…” she began after a moment of silence. “You got a name? I mean, I could just stick to Homo-homo-kun numero duo, but it’s a bit of a mouthful.” She grinned sheepishly. It was a rather long nickname. Maybe she should just call him ‘H2KN2’ or something. She blinked to herself. Nah. Sounded like one of them thingamabobs that Aloy-chan putzed with in his lab. Speaking of which, she ought to pay a visit to her beloved scientist…

Making a mental note to go over and bring some pudding to the man, Ayame stuck her hand out, a wide grin back on her face. “Name’s Ayame, in case you didn’t catch it earlier. I get the vague sense you already know Nii-sama over here…” she said, referring to his immediate kneeling upon making eye contact with the First Prince. “And this here is Pon-Pon—he’s been classified as a WOMD by the military, but no one believes me.” she waved the plushie’s hand in greeting. “Anyways, how you feel about flyta-

“Hime-sama!” Ayame froze, mouth still opened, eyes wide. Her face paled several shades whiter.

“Shit.” she partially squeaked out as her eyes began to flash around, looking for an escape. She could hear the click clack of Sensei’s heels approaching the gates. Ayame contemplated the idea of standing behind one of the bushes that were by the front gate. She was small enough, so she should fit. But Sensei always checked the bushes! But maybe with Euric here, she would be distract—that’s it! Euric was here! Surely he’d help! Ayame looked to Euric with wide eyes—eyes that clearly said “HELP.”

“Hime-sama! Hime-sama! Hi-ah, there you are. Now, enough of your childish antics. You have 12 more dresses to go through, and then we need to discuss how you wish your hair to be sty-oh. Why, good day Your Majesty.” the elder woman bowed respectfully to Euric. Her eyes fell on the third member of their little party. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion. “Good day…?” her eyes flashed to the two royals, clearly asking who was this man standing outside of the Imperial Palace.

A couple of gears in Ayame’s head whirred into action and a grin crept up the side of her mouth.

“This dude here is my buddy, Sensei.” Ayame said, hopping up to sling an arm around the man’s neck, pulling him down to her level. “He’s come to taste-test the cakes I’m making for the shebang coming up.” The esteemed teacher’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.

“’Taste-testing?’ I was under the impression that all preparations for the wedding were finished with. Isn’t that why we postponed your fittings last week? And the week before? So you could finish up?” Ayame’s grin wavered for a split second. Shit. She had forgotten about that.

“Well, yes, but these are just some last minute preparations. Just making sure everything is as snazzy as possible for the wedding. Surely, Sensei, you must understand how important it is that I don’t fu-.

“Ahem.”

“-dge up. I mean, c’mon! It is the Emperor’s wedding, y’know? Gotta make sure those seven layer cakes have seven layers ahahahahaha~” Ayame could feel beads of sweat begin to form on her forehead under Sensei’s look.

“….I suppose so. Very well then, I suppose I have no choice but to agree.” Ayame’s shoulders relaxed slightly. “However, Hime-sama, I do hope you realize that you are just postponing the inevitable.” Ayame’s shoulders stiffened again and she swallowed a gulp. The etiquette teacher turned to the prince. “Well then, have a good day Your Majesty. Sir.” She said, bowing to Euric, and then nodding her head to the man still in Ayame’s headlock, before turning and heading back to the palace.

Once she was completely out of sight, Ayame let go of the poor soul and let out the breath she had been holding. Her knees finally giving out on her, Ayame slumped against Euric for support. She could feel herself still shaking slightly. “Ha…really didn’t think she’d buy it.” She flashed an apologetic grin to No Name-san. “Sorry ‘bout that, it’s just…well, Nii-sama here can testify for me.” She laughed nervously, clutching Pon-Pon closer to her chest.

“Dress fittings and I never really got along.”

[Euric Qi Britannia]

Sir wasn't too far from still being antic, but perhaps the closest answer enough for the young man to keep it still civil. Well, the youngster wasn't to blame for it. Euric would understand - however he would try and put it out to others, probably any citizen and let alone someone off their respectful military, wouldn't have that easy time to let go of any amenities for someone assumed of higher rank or standing. Especially when a certain part of society still so persistently promoted such behavior. So frustrating.
Sometimes Euric hoped he'd still be but sixteen again and able to still choose whether to stay the spastic free spirit he had been or to actually stand up and take his share of the so-called Royal Responsibilities. And how many times he'd sworn under his breath afterwards to have chosen the wrong direction for his life. And yet he knew, it all was but vain hopes for what the life would have for him to offer. And the knowledge, that there really had never been any other option.

The prince actually sighed in relief when the other officer - the woman - after her greetings but turned and proceeded her way. That much for even more antics, at least. He would agree with his sister that it had been a bit weird appearance, but was more grateful than really interested for reasons of the momentary encounter's shortness. Surely, she was on duty. A part of it would always be be respectful to those who held the damn title of a Royal whoever and every other person 'higher' than you, yet fortunately the daily schedule of a soldier usually held some other responsibilities too, and she'd done just the right thing to proceed next to those actual duties of hers, instead of staying for vain antics.
Yet for one thing her appearance hadn't been in vain. Judging from the posture the youngster had taken the moment she'd stepped into their presence, could be for just one thing - he indeed, most likely, was from the ranks of the empire's military. For there would be no other reason why he'd stiffen up again the moment an on-duty officer hit the spot. He probably wasn't of a too high rank, but clearly a soldier nonetheless.

Or if for such a simple observation to be false, it would finally be the time for Euric to just drop it and run into some forest to get his head a bit of a clear up. He really wasn't far from taking such action, anyway.

At least Ayame still kept true to herself. The darling she had always been, and still was.
The name of her Knight was apparently as oblivious to her as it was to his memory. Yet what came soon after was nothing else than the remark of his resemblance to a certain animal - in definitely not a good way - but such was all to be expected. Had Euric really thought she'd let it slip? ...No, not really.

All the same, she was right.

Although it wasn't entirely his secretaries' fault either that whether he had time to sleep or not, he did often enough choose not to. For nothing was better for endless paperwork than the night time when he at least wasn't disturbed by anything or anyone else running in and out of his office... Or was it, really.
Euric let out a light sigh, drawing a smile on his face as he accepted the bag of brownies.
"They do, sister dear, they do... I'd just rather let them be, for if not for them, I doubt I'd get any of the said luxury before Alastair says the official 'I do.'"
His laugh had a hint of evasion, fending of the topic just slightly. He followed her example with the brownies. They were too good to be let to be wasted just wrapped in plastic like that, anyway.

Following his sister's words while munching on the delicious treat, Euric's attention did slowly return to the youngster in their presence, too - and not for just pondering where he stood in the society, but actually to pay attention where he stood right now. Seemed that also the thoughts of the siblings' followed a pretty same path for now, as for what Euric also realized he had no knowledge of yet, did Ayame soon voice out loud the question:
“You got a name?”
That's what he'd love to hear, too.
“--And this here is Pon-Pon—he’s been classified as a WOMD by the military, but no one believes me.”
Euric hadn't yet disturbed his sister now speaking, yet after her remark about the stuffed panda he didn't hold back a friendly snort as well as a wink to the young man, leaning a bit closer to him with somewhat similar essence in his character as she had a moment earlier about the black ribbons. True siblings.
"I strongly suggest you believe her on that - though the source of such definition is still a bit unsure--"
He did have a vague idea who it might have been though, but sound of a pair of heels closing in - pretty attitudinal clicking that is - cut his sentence as well as his thoughts as a very familiar character for him also entered the scene. The first prince straightened himself immediately.

“Hime-sama! Hime-sama! Hi-ah, there you are. Now, enough of your childish antics. You have 12 more dresses to go through, and then we need to discuss how you wish your hair to be sty-oh. Why, good day Your Majesty.”
"Good day." was his response, with the politest tone ever, although it might have been a bit short in words to be the most appropriate one. Yet he was but happy that he didn't have to bear the consequences for such anymore - even if it had been so but for some couple of years this far.
And a good thing was, she wasn't here for him - yet the bad thing was, she was here for his sister.

“Good day…?”

Euric followed her eyes as the elder woman trailed off, but fortunately enough, Ayame had already got a hold of where her eyes had turned. The youngster. Well. When getting a hold, as if to emphasize the meaning it she had done it quite literally this time.

“This dude here is my buddy, Sensei. He’s come to taste-test the cakes I’m making for the shebang coming up.”
The woman's eyes were right to be suspicious, but when it came to it, it wasn't like Euric was to rat out his sister either. So, as to emphasize Ayame's words, he did give the elder woman quite a meaningful look with a nod. Yes, he was indeed there for taste-testing.
Of course, her suspicions weren't that easy to get rid of - and soon the debate still continued, but Euric did keep his face and support on the wight side, this time.
"Now, while I do believe the quests do also care about what our princess here, respectfully, will be wearing-", he added to the end of it, "- I do still believe that what they care for more are the cream cakes they'll also be able to taste, rather than just watching to some frilly cream cake she'll have as her attire."
It wasn't exactly a polite notion, but as it was addressed for the Sensei, it was delivered with the utmost composure she'd once been teaching to every single royal youngster, making it a perfect example of the most polite form of a sharp remark.
The etiquette teacher, however, did still not quite let go of that certain hint of believing or not she had in her eyes, but when it came from the First Prince, she didn't have that many ways to pass the royal side of his hint, anymore.

“….I suppose so. Very well then, I suppose I have no choice but to agree.”
Of course, she wouldn't do such without consequences. Ayame wouldn't get rid of her dresses, how ever one would try and put it, even if it was the Emperor himself saying so -but at least she'd still get at least this afternoon, even more when Euric had finally got the chance to join it, too. Frills and laces could still wait at least for that long.

He caught her as she slumped, and answered her words with a reassuring smile.
"Like I'd let them take a sister of mine when I've just got back but to enjoy a break in their exquisite company."

"As for you", the prince withdrew his attention back to the youngster from the fainting, clicking sound of a certain pair of heels, "as you clearly are not on duty I'd say let's call quits to this useless jazz of being all toady and stuff." He really said stuff.
"As far as it's not for something official, you're all free to call me by the name which is actually mine. And no, it doesn't start with an 'S', 'Y' or an 'M'. Please. I does have an 'E' though."
The prince sighed, deeply.
"You can guess the rest."

And that was it. He turned his face back down, an impish smile tugging the corner of his mouth as he looked at the face of his sister still in his arms.
"Now, you were saying something about flyta-...ckle football, am I correct?"

[Aiden Hughes]

Well, this was certainly turning out to be an extraordinary day. Aiden had expected things to go somewhat differently than he had anticipated; after all, he was essentially trespassing on royal grounds, and he had no way of telling how others would react to his argument on military tactics. Yet he had been prepared to be humiliated by the rhetoric and even ignorance of the royal family, and would not have minded losing a debate with a member or the family or even a higher ranked soldier, so long as he had expressed his point with some form of what he thought was validity. It was the Britannian way of life, after all. Regardless of one's social standing, you must always be prepared to grovel and bow down to a higher power. The only one who was exempt from this rule was the Emperor, but Aiden was sure there were forces at work that even the Emperor had to acknowledge as important. He had been taught this essentially tenant of Britannian life at a very young age, although it had never been outright stated to him. Memories were coming to him in all shapes and sizes, and now it seemed as if he could remember perfectly the day in which he realized that all of us must have our place.

Aiden had been walking through the gardens of the palace with his father, an unusual treat that happened whenever Roderick had time off to simply spend with his son. Looking back, Aiden couldn't put his finger on how old he had been, and as such his age could have ranged from his younger years to his teens. Although he wanted to stand on his own, and was tired of being treated like nothing more but a double of the man to his right, he'd craved for his father's affection like any other boy He wondered how it would feel if his father were to hold his hand as they walked, just this once. Glancing to the side, the young Aiden looked up at the sharp face of the Knight of Two and immediately thought better of it, as such displays of affection and connection would do little more than weaken him and his own resolve to be his own man. Therefore, they walked together, both holding their heads high in a somewhat dignified manner, though Aiden would admit that he felt slightly silly doing so. His father looked so powerful, and immovable, but even with his head tilted to a ten degree angle or so, he was still smaller than anyone nearby. Regardless, for his father, he would try to look as incontestable as he possibly could.

As he spoke with his father on such things as basic hand-to-hand combat, and Britannian history, he couldn't help but admire the peaceful environment around him. Any time he looked as if he were beginning to daydream, however, his father brought him back to the present with a sharp word. To avoid such chastisements, he did his best to ignore the scenery, focusing instead on the issues at hand. They stopped soon to rest near an incredibly clear pool of water, and his father suddenly became distracted by a woman who had been walking nearby. Ordinarily, seeing another person walking in the gardens would not have been something Aiden would take to heart or remember for so long, but what struck him was that the woman was dressed in much the same garb as his father was, and as such he supposed she was on par with him in terms of rank. However, there seemed to be something wrong, as his father told Aiden to take a break and just enjoy looking across the water, and got up to walk toward the woman.

Not being one to ignore a direct suggestion from his father, Aiden had taken to looking across the water, but peeked around ever so often to take a look at the conversation. With his peripheral vision, Aiden could make out body language, though the voices were far too lowered and faint for him to hear. From what he saw, it seemed as if the two of them were arguing over something, as the woman looked rather upset and made use of rather telling physical conveyance. His father, always one for keeping his cool, did not stoop to such vagrant displays, but Aiden could see from his face that he was in the midst of a heated debate. He was surprised, not because he hadn't expected there to be a difference of opinion within the military, but because he had always seen his father as infallible, and unbeatable. Yet at the same time, this woman seemed to be of his rank or perhaps even higher, and rather than bending to his will she was defying his every word. The conversation ended quickly, as the two parted ways with very few parting words, and his father returned to him, apparently unchanged by this conversation.

While this seemed like a rather normal occurrence, it impacted the young Aiden drastically. From that day forth, he understood all too well that there was a hierarchy, and that being as powerful as his father did not necessarily mean doing whatever one wanted. Therefore, no longer as naïve as his younger self, Aiden knew going in that if he were to encounter someone who outranked him so completely (as so many do in the military), his opinion would hardly be granted consideration, as his father's was. That, he was prepared for. What he had not been prepared for was meeting two members of the royal family who seemed to be the very foils of the prototypical royalty he'd always envisioned in his mind's eye based on what he'd seen from their Emperor. And now, it didn't seem as thought it were just this girl whom he hadn't any knowledge of, but the first prince of Britannia as well.

As the girl turned her attention once more to him, and offered him a snack from her back, Aiden was absolutely taken aback. Granted, he hadn't expected his presence to just go ignored after the first prince had entered, but he didn't expect to be welcomed like...well, like one might welcome a friend, or at the very least someone you didn't look down on. He nodded his head blankly, and took a small brownie out of the bag, holding it in his hand in a somewhat confused manner and forgetting to actually eat it.

“You got a name?”

That's right, he had forgotten to introduce himself, though he supposed considering the circumstances such a lack of etiquette might just be understood. But how should he introduce himself? Would it be rude to avoid revealing his family, or is it something he should do for the sake of his own individualism? As he pondered these things, the girl introduced herself as 'Ayame', and introduced her stuffed animal as one 'Pon-Pon'. Aiden looked at the hand outstretched in front of him, and for a moment his mind seemed to just spazz out on him. A hand? Why was she showing him her hand? Was there something in it that he just wasn't seeing? He gazed at it in confusion before his thoughts caught up to him.

Oh shit.

Aiden outstretched his own hand and smiled faintly, taking her's in his with the intention of planting a small kiss on the top of her hand as a sign both of his pleasure to make her acquaintance and the fact that she stood above him in class rank. Before he did so, he planned to introduce himself after she finished telling him about this phenomenon called flyta-. Flyta-what? He tilted his head, somewhat confused, before finally hearing the percussive sound of heels hitting stone, accompanied by a shout from an approaching woman. He turned in surprise, releasing Ayame's hand in the process. He wasn't sure who this person was, but the sound seemed also to have gotten the attention of both the prince and his sister (or the princess, he supposed). She spoke with an authoritative and even somewhat harsh tone, and seemed to know both the prince and princess fairly intimately, as she did not seem at all surprised by their presence. In fact, based on her yell, Aiden supposed this woman had been looking for the princess (or Ayame, he supposed).

The woman began speaking of some sort of business they needed to carry out together. Something about dress-fitting, and Aiden didn't need to be some sort of genius to figure out exactly what they were preparing for. He knew that the Emperor, Alastair De Britannia, was set to be wed in Area 11 at a date that was rapidly approaching. In fact, Aiden had received an invitation to attend the wedding as a member of nobility, likely both because of his social standing and the relationship of his father to the Britannian throne. He had all but discarded the thought of attending based on such conventional notions of society, but it made sense that a member of the royal family was going to have to attend and represent the nation with respectability and grace. Glancing over at Ayame, he completely understood why she'd been running now, and almost regretted the fact that he had stopped her escape, even if only momentarily.

“Good day…?”

The older woman's gaze had fallen on him, and he wasn't exactly sure of what he was meant to do. First, he had no idea about whether he was supposed to bow to this woman, or this woman was theoretically supposed to be bowing to him. Second, he had been told to stop acting so proper by the first prince. Yet still, glancing at the man nearby, he saw that even he had begun acting a bit more prim and proper upon the entrance of this woman. As such, Aiden had all but resolved to treat this situation nearly exactly the same as he'd treated the entrance of the first prince (perhaps with a bit less praise, as such seemed to be a pet-peeve of the prince), and bow down to the woman, when suddenly he felt an arm sling over his shoulder and drag his unsuspecting upper body down to a much lower height. Looking to his side, he saw that Ayame had taken to explaining that he was there for some sort of taste-testing, and that they had been completely aware of his presence. The prince had backed this up, or at the very least had convinced the woman that Ayame's baking tasting good mattered more than her dresses looking great, and the woman left with a slightly more satisfied, albeit suspicious, air about her.

"As for you, as you clearly are not on duty I'd say let's call quits to this useless jazz of being all toady and stuff. As far as it's not for something official, you're all free to call me by the name which is actually mine. And no, it doesn't start with an 'S', 'Y' or an 'M'. Please. I does have an 'E' though. You can guess the rest."

Aiden was not merely confused by this. No, confused and surprised were two terms that did not do justice to what the young man was feeling, currently. The prince was asking him to call him by the name that is actually his, those had been his words. Aiden knew that the first prince of Britannia was none other than Euric Qi Britannia, and he supposed that was what he'd meant when he said that the name had an 'E' in it. But the very thought of it...he supposed the princess had introduced herself as Ayame to him, but maybe that didn't feel as odd because he hadn't known who she was at first. This was akin to having someone's parent ask you to call them by their first name; it was something you'd never even considered doing, and something that most certainly felt weird when you did it the first time. Even if you'd been given permission, it felt like some sort of grand sin. But Aiden supposed this was the will of the prince, and as such decided to act in the manner that he had described.

”Alright.” He nodded, adding virtually nothing to the conversation, but letting Euric know that it was his intention to stop 'being all toady and stuff'. Euric turned his attention once more to Ayame, and questioned her about what she had been saying before they'd been interrupted, filling in the blank in 'flyta-' as 'flytackle football'. Aiden had never heard of such a thing, and furrowed his brow in slight confusion, but couldn't completely suppress a smile at the term. He could envision it in his head, at the very least, and that seemed good enough to make her question answerable.

”Flytackle football sounds fun.” He said, grinning and nodding his head, the echo of laughter permeating throughout the words, his voice free and youthful as it had been in a long time.

[Ayame Li Britannia]

Ayame was still shaking even after the click clack of Sensei’s heels had faded into the distance. That woman…Ayame swore she was some sergeant general in a past life. Her ability to strike fear into the heart of the third princess just by walking was evidence enough.

‘Still…can’t believe Sensei let me off like that. Must be ‘cause Nii-sama validated for me…so baking him them brownies he’s so fond of.’

"Like I'd let them take a sister of mine when I've just got back but to enjoy a break in their exquisite company." Ayame tilted her head up and gave her brother a grateful smile. See? This was why she loved Euric so much. Y’know, beyond the whole ‘he’s-my-half-brother-so-by-default-I-love-him-like-pie’ thing. Turning halfway, Ayame slunk her arms around the First Prince’s waist and snuggled close.

And frowned.

‘Is it just me, or…’ Squeezing again to double check, Ayame’s frown deepened. Nope, she wasn’t losing it. Euric had lost weight. Again. Grumbling under her breath, Ayame made a mental vow to interrogate whoever was running her beloved Nii-sama’s schedule and give them a piece of her mind. While Euric had defended those in charge of his life’s planner, Ayame still felt the need to go bitch. It was bad enough that Euric was starting to look like Pon-Pon, but now he was resembling an anorexic version of her beloved plushie.

A non-fluffy Pon-Pon was most unacceptable. As such, a malnourished Nii-sama was just unheard of.

Now, Euric had never been the chubby type—he was always slim. But there was a difference between ‘slim’ and ‘starving.’ As Ayame liked to put it, there were five levels of fitness:
1) Anorexic
2) Thin
3) Slim
4) Fit
5) Holy crap your muscles have muscles of their own O_O

Her beloved Nii-sama was always somewhere on the ‘fit’ margin, while she herself bounced between ‘thin’ and ‘slim.’ Even though she participated in athletics on a daily basis, her body never really showed it, making strangers often underestimate her. Poor schmucks.

Ayame leaned against her brother, her arms staying encircled around his waist. Screw just brownies. She was going to go crazy and make him all of his favorites (which were many). She made a mental note to raid his office and fill it to the brim with all the baked goods she could imagine. Someone had to fatten him up, so it might as well be her. She was good at fattening people up. Too good at times. She remembered that one time that Lady Something or other accused Ayame for being the reason why she went up four dress sizes in just a month. Ayame had retorted that the woman had no self-control and had a tendency to eat like a starved pig. She also mentioned that the woman bore a striking physical resemblance to said animal.

Needless to say, Sensei was not pleased.

Grinning to herself at the memory, Ayame half listened to her brother’s and Random Companion’s chat. Sounded like Euric was giving the dude the schpeel about referring to him by his actual name and not by some fluffy title. Ayame never understood the purpose of titles. Why was it necessary for everyone and their mother who wasn’t blood related to her refer to her as “Princess Ayame?” Wasn’t just plain ol’ “Ayame” enough? She didn’t go around calling the Jii-san who sold Pocky “Lord Pocky-Seller Jii-san,” did she? He was just ‘Jii-san.’ And that was enough. Why was it for those in the upper end of the social status spectrum that a name wasn’t enough? Weren’t names supposed to be prided or something? Isn’t that why people named their kids after them and so on and so forth, so that by the end of the day you were up to “Richard XXIV?” Isn’t that why people always got mad at when she dubbed them nicknames like Fatty-lumpkins, Frill-san, EmoN8R, or whatnot?

Ayame scrunched her nose. Maybe that’s why she always gave nicknames to people…from what she could gather, one’s actual name had no real importance, so what did it matter if she called someone something else? Shaking her head, Ayame brushed the thought from her mind. Too confusing. Ayame never liked confusing things.

"Now, you were saying something about flyta-...ckle football, am I correct?"

“Hm?” Ayame snapped her eyes up to meet her brother’s. She felt her own mouth return the impish grin. She almost had forgotten. She turned her gaze to New Guy in front of her and her grin widened. She had found herself a potential flytackle football buddy. She saw his eyebrows furrowed in confusion, hinting that he wasn’t 100% certain what the two royals were on about.

”Flytackle football sounds fun.” But the grin he gave the pair said that he wasn’t afraid to find out.

“Oh, believe me, it is.” She said, grinning widely. “Frankly, I feel sorry for you that you haven’t experienced the wonders of flytackle football. It’s a little game I like to play with those who are snazzy enough to try it. Basically, the point of the game is to flytackle as many people as you can without breaking any bones. There’s a football in there somewhere, but no one ever pays much attention to it.” Ayame explained, waving her hand dismissively at the mention of the football.

“Now there are two things one has to be good at in this game: running and pouncing.” Ayame disengaged herself from Euric’s arm and walked a few paces away from the two men. “I’m sure you know how to run, so I won’t bother demonstrating that bit. Proper pouncing, however…” Turning towards Euric, Ayame’s eyes sparkle with that oh-so familiar mischief.

“Is like so.”

And with that, the First Prince of the Imperial Family was flytackled.