Fantasy Love kills

[The DoomyFish]

In the Empire of Anachet the time has come for the changing of the throne. Previous emperor Daimler Anachet has just passed on leaving his only noble born son Anku Anachet to take his throne. However Anku Is far from ready to rule, nearly half of his education remains unfinished. And so in an attempt to buy more time before placing the boy on the throne a Ceremony is being held. The ceremony is a massive month long celebration, all five royal families of the empire have been invited along with every noble in the hierarchy at the end of the ceremony the young new emperor is expected to choose his empress. The city is all abuzz all wish for the chance to meet the man who will be ruleing over them, many nobles are ready to use whatever means of deception they can to ensure that they are the ones who Take the seat in the grand palace.
However there is only room for one, and in the end it is the empires choice. Most do it for wealth, a few for power, while even still others do it for love, be it for their people or even for themselves, but one thing is for certain when this much power is on the line...love kills.

https://www.rpnation.com/threads/love-kills-occ.322850/

https://www.rpnation.com/threads/love-kills-cs.322852/#post-7682224

https://www.rpnation.com/threads/love-kills-lore.322863/​

 

[WordArtist]

The shop was void of customers but still a bustle of activity as Crispin's got ready for the first big day of what proved to be a celebration for the ages. Shoes were being crated carefully, small display racks were being broken down, and a cart parked outside was being decorated in bright colors and frills to make it stand out against the other stalls that were bound to be set up around the square the next day. Emell was getting antsy. There was still much to be done before dark fell, and her father had only allotted one day to make this work. They would set up a booth before evening and be prepared to open the next morning. That was the plan, anyway... but it was already drawing into the afternoon hours, and they weren't even close to finished. On top of everything else that still had to be finished...

Emell stared at the staircase that led up to the loft where they lived. It wasn't much - just a bedroom and a kitchen - but it served them well. She chewed her bottom lip briefly before picking up the rods and boards that had once been a display rack and taking them outside. She carefully loaded them into the back of the cart atop a small stack of other broken-down racks and then looked over the cart with a bit of pride. Her sewing wasn't half bad, if she did say so herself, and the fabric they'd used to cover the cart was a luxurious silk that her father had hesitated to use. She'd assured him, the evening before, that the fabric could be reused as long as they took care of it during the event, and he'd finally relented. It made all the difference, she thought, in how upscale the booth would appear to be.

Late the evening before, after her father had already gone to bed, she'd carefully moved something special from the storage room downstairs to the closet upstairs. She knew that they'd be digging through storage all the next day in an effort to spruce up the place and get ready for the big event. The closet would go ignored. What she'd hidden, though, still needed work. She frowned. At the rate they were going, it would be time to leave before she could get to it. Emell moved quickly back into the shop, bundled up the last broken-down rack, and took it back out to the cart. The faster she moved, the better chance she'd have of getting done in time. They still had all the crates to load, but most of them were packed and secured. "Pop!" she yelled as she started back inside. "Can I start loading crates? We will be out of time if we do not begin now!"

From somewhere inside the building came the curt but loud, "PLEASE!" in reply. That was all the encouragement Emell needed. She heaved a crate packed tight with shoes into her arms and hauled it quickly out to the cart. She set it on the gate and shoved it as hard as she could back into the cart, causing it to slide nearly halfway to the back. Brushing her hands together, she went back inside for the second one. After three or four of them, she looked around at the multitude that still remained - a multitude that didn't seem quite as insurmountable now as it had when she'd been worrying about it a few minutes ago - and smiled. Maybe she could do this after all.

 

[Maxilgal]

MINA

“Mina, I didn’t mean it like that!”

“Of course you didn’t! You never mean anything you bloody say!” Aramina’s hands shoved the coins from her pockets into the glass jar on the table of the tent her closest family lived in. Liothine was right behind, covered in soot, and trying to find the right words to ease his sister’s rage.

“I was trying to say that you can make more money than just selling silly little…” The glare Aramina gave him urged him to choose new words very carefully. “Wonderful, beautiful flowers. Absolutely gorgeous Mina but…”

“But nothing, Lio. I’m done with this conversation. You know how much I hate performing! How could you even suggest I...DANCE! For the Festival opening no less!” She ripped her headscarf off and replaced it with her cooking one. A ratty apron was whipped around her waist quickly as she began preparing lunch for the troop.

“Do you want some help?”

“No, I do not.” She began chopping vegetables angrily and throwing them into a pot. Her hand suddenly slipped and nicked her pinky finger. Swearing, she stuck it in her mouth.

“Mina, please don’t be so angry with me. You know that Annu can’t do it...and I just thought, well you’re not half bad.”

“Please just drop it, Lio.” She turned to him, nursing the cut on her hand. “I made my decision a long time ago...I don’t want to talk about it. It makes me terrified just thinking about it.” He nodded sullenly and gave her a light hug. Without saying another word, he left the small room. Mina returned, put on the stew, and began cutting flowers and tying little bunches of them in ribbon. With the celebration, her flower business was booming. Men would by baby’s breath for their ladies and girls would get the odd toadflax for their bonnet. Children wanted the brightest flower she could muster and older couples were relaxed with sweet smells of lavender. The basket returned on her elbow as she switched again for her noon walk.

The Sallija camp was alive with the practice for the performances later in the evening. Lio was looking moppy as he twirled his baton idly. Annu was sitting by the campfire, taking care of her newly born child, as her husband was grooming the show horses. Mina’s cousins Lillian and Lox were practicing their acrobatics as their kid brother Sein juggled lazily. 30 or more people milled around in various activities for the great festival in the city.

“Mina!” Harris, her uncle, called out to her as she left the encampment into the city.

“Stew’s going, Harris! I’ll be back later.” Before they could answer, she had disappeared into the town. “Flowers! Flowers for sale!”

____________________________
LIO

“Mina!” Liothine managed to catch up with his sister as she slipped out of Sallija camp. “Here, let me help you.” She didn’t say anything, merely continuing her walk. “Oh Mina don’t be like that! Here... Flowers! Beautiful flowers! You there, young lady.” He pulled what looked like a 30 year old woman over and tugged out a small bundle of morning glory flowers. “These would go beautifully with your dress today.” She beamed in an embarrassed manner and took them gingerly, handing him a copper piece. As she scuttled off, some ladies began to crowd around Liothine as he sold his flowers. His smile shone like pearls, but Mina had disappeared.

At that exact moment, there was a large commotion on the street. People crowded the edge as some noble trotted through on their horses. He heard an audible sigh and turned around to see Aramina picking a single trampled flower.

“They aren’t that interesting.”

“Of course, little sister. But you know that spectacles draw crowds.” He put his arm around her and led them to a stack of barrels for a better look. Aramina still wasn’t impressed. “Oh, come on. This is good business for the family. You never know what noble is going to show and give us some free publicity.”

“The whole thing is dumb...why make such a big deal over this...this new emperor?” Lio could tell his sister was holding back some nasty words.

“Why do you resent them so much?”

“Because they’re all fancy and ‘polite’...I don’t know it just doesn’t sit right with me.”

“Buck up, kiddo! Your big brother may show them a little what’s what tonight with my act.”

“You’re only a few seconds older than me you know.”

“Yeah, but it still counts.” He tugged her along as the crowd walked towards the castle, still watching the parade as it passed. “Come on, I want a closer look.”

“Why?”

“I dunno. I like how they dress. Hmm,” He stood on his tiptoes in a futile effort to see above the crowds at the procession. Aramina pulled at his arm and motioned at the roofs. Quietly, they jumped up and followed the nobles a little farther until they could see the castle. Lio perched himself and whistled with the crowd as he peered at them. He hoped to see a pretty girl in the lot of them but all he saw were stuffy old duchesses and counts. He could see Mina, obviously miserable watching. “Lighten up, Mina.”

“Is that a fire-dancing joke?”

“No, but I like your intuitiveness.” He could see that most were busy watching the crowds, not two lanky young adults lounging on a roof. But Mina managed a smile, and he felt fulfilled. He loved it when she smiled.

 

[Avouleance]

Earlier-

Indel was never sure she understood the south. Not that she expected the southerners did either. For one southern women had so much superfluous hair.
Her parents politely and smartly refused to attend citing their continued role as northern guards. But Kalade was here, likely to cement herself as the rightful and most competent claimant to The Shell.
For sisters Indel and Kalade didn’t exactly know each other so well, not in person at least. Kalade’s reputation for finding the right people proceeded her however. Indel expected it to be a decent show, she heard southern drink was stupid strong after all. Smart money was on Kalade either making or losing a fortune by morning, though no one could pick which.

In the centre of the room she shared with Kalade and Dwen sat her family symbol. The obsidian turtle, it’s shell edged with gold and its skin covered in emerald green scales. The heavy thing sat unmoving, unmovable, a suspicious person would see it pondering. Perched on the shell was Dwen’s own symbol, The Indigo Raven, holding in its beak limp snake.
“She won’t like it.” Indel though it only right to say.
“Of course she won’t, a Kalade’s city can hardly be seen to show due deference to the wrong people.” Dwen’s reply was her usual absolute 0, for anyone who hadn’t shared a womb with her making any judgment of intention would be near impossible.
“Doesn’t a Talon have better business to attend to in the world’s second most important city?”
“More so than aggravating the world’s worst big sister? Can’t say I do. Anyway, doesn’t a former Talon have better things to do than to question the Talons?”
“You know for a fact I don’t.” Indel, toyed with a feather neckless she wore under her clothes. After all this time, it was still strange seeing someone who used to be as good as her reflection looks so different now. The tree of talons now tattooed on her sister’s face. “Dwen?”
“Yes?”
“We’re going to watch Kalade make a fool of herself right?”
“We are going to do exactly that.”

Later-
Indel pulled her robes tighter, the green and gold of her people worn with pride while Dwen dressed much more plainly. Neither fond of how cool it could be down here. They followed Kalade, not bothering to be inconspicuous, knowing Kalade would rather ignore them than acknowledge she was being followed. Kalade toured the city, spending her time pretending to shop as a way to scope out local businesses.
Bored with her eldest sister’s shockingly sober competence Kalade wished she’d brought a book to read. Dwen did a great impression of a person who wasn’t concentrating extremely hard on counting the vantage points and watching the rooftops. Not having much to say Indel found her mind turning back to her feather, and how insufficient it would be at flying her to the last place she remembered wanting to stay. The world around her froze and melted at the same time, she felt herself back in the Northern Warmth, happily entwined with her Queen.

Luckily the crowds had more important things to look at than Indel or Dwen, Kalade made for good cover and the procession even more so. Dwen had to ask “Shouldn’t we be getting to know these people?”
“I can see why I should, and when has you getting to know people had anything to do with meeting them?”