Roleplay

@cynefin16 (I'm subbed, please don't ping me!)

It had been a few weeks since their latest guest had arrived, but the castle was still on edge, even the most confident and stoic servants.

The castle, previously a defensive structure but now more cosmetic, was surrounded by woodland and hills, and it's valley had been adapted for the residents, with hedge mazes and continental-style gardens, importing unique flowers. There was a crystal-clear river, which the children of the servants tended to play near, jumping over the smaller eddies. Inside, the castle was stone-walled, wooden floors carpeted to silence the constant footsteps. Artwork decorated the walls, portraits of ancestors but also paintings of the view.

That morning, there had been a lot of noise. The healer's apprentice, Aaron, had brought in a stray dog he'd found and was refusing to return it to the forest he had found it, which was resulting in fierce arguing between him and the physician, Echo, who argued she couldn't work while the mongrel was jumping about all over the physician's tower and snapping its jaws at her.

Then, breakfast had been... Eventful, with the two princes (the true prince, Matthew, and the exile, Aries) bickering relentlessly until Aries had stormed out, complaining of the inhospitable atmosphere.

Needless to say, few had given much attention to their latest guest, the princess, despite their initial intention to convince her to go and marry her suitor on her family's behalf, or even to find one within the castle walls, though they were yet to bring up either idea, and they knew the best way to convince anybody was by gaining their trust.

With the King absent for the day, the young prince had been left in charge, and opted to go and make sure she was alright. He knew women tended to spend a while getting ready, so he knocked gently in case she wasn't decent, or needed him to get her a maidservant. "Um... Am I able to enter?"

Matthew waited for her response before letting himself in. He was dressed as a prince should be: a sweeping navy blue cloak, furred; an ivory tunic, embroidered with his coat of arms; gloves and trousers in the same colour; and a blue hat, with peacock feathers pinned to the back, beginning to droop.

He had been told a million times how to respond to other royals, but every time he found himself guessing what to do. As he entered, he bowed, shut the door behind himself, and awkwardly complimented, "You look nice." He knew it was the correct thing to do, but it didn't help that Ailith was actually beautiful. In fact, Matthew thought she fit perfectly with the room his father had given her.

The room had previously belonged to Matthew's sister, Maia, who had died young and never had the chance to actually stay in it. The four-poster bed was elegantly framed by rose-pink curtains, almost see through but enough to block out the light. The wardrobe and vanity table were oak and carved with elaborate patterns of the scenes outside. The walls themselves were stone, but they had had wooden panels attached to them, with paintings that were reminiscent of the Sistene Chapel, though there weren't as many of them, portraits of angels and saints. The window was to one side of the room, overlooking the garden and the stream. A raised platform rested at it, softened with cushions, so that one could sit and enjoy the view. Needless to say, it was their most prestigious guest room.

"Do you want me to send for someone to prepare the horses?" Matthew asked after a few moments of silence. He knew her routine by now, and she likely knew theirs. "Um... I could... Join you, if you like." When his father went away, Matthew always liked to go with him. He was the heir, but he wasn't prepared to be the ruler yet. And, besides, he liked talking to Ailith, and his father saw her as an acceptable friend.

"Um, thanks. I got it for my birthday, from one of the other kingdoms, they have these pretty birds with feathers with eyes on them. Father said they were bad pets, but the cap is just as good," Matthew rambled. He'd never actually asked what the peacock was called, but it was clear what he was talking about.

He smiled when she took him up on his offer. He considered for a moment whether he should invite Aries, since the other prince might feel left out otherwise, but he decided against it. The man had upset him earlier, and he would probably have a better time without him.

He didn't think to take her hand, and merely held the door open for her before rushing to the stables. He was close to adulthood by now, but you wouldn't be able to tell. He was shorter than most, and his features were still child-like. And the way he appeared to be racing her showed that he wasn't all that mature, either. "Which horse is your favourite?" he asked as he began to slow down, reaching the main doors, which were thrown open by servants. "I like Mitsy, the black and white one. She looks a bit like a cow, don't you think?"

Matthew slowed down a bit by the time they were in the stables themselves, taking a few moments to coo and pet all the horses lest they felt left out. "Perhaps we left him that way," he joked, knowing the horse definitely needed more training. "Wouldn't you prefer a calmer horse?" He was anxious the stallion would throw her off if he got too wild, and then their guest would probably have a number of complaints. "They're black and white here. They make the finest milk on the continent," he told her confidently. "I'll show you sometime."

The stable hands were attacking saddles and bridles, so Matthew took the moment to change into his riding boots, which were by the front door. He didn't want to ruin his beautiful flats, after all. While they were waiting, Matthew grabbed one of the horses' apples and decided to eat it himself. Swallowing, he paused his snack to offer, "Would you like one? They're fresh from the orchard."

Lacing up his boots, Matthew kept his eyes on Ailith. "Do you need more entertainment?" He considered perhaps that the princess was bored, and that was why she enjoyed going outside so much. He stood up once he was done, and, upon hearing she would like an apple, instinctively threw one her way, which flew past her into the stall behind. It, naturally, wasn't proper at all.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" He picked up a fresh apple, since the horse whose stall it had landed was already having a great time. "Normally I'm with Aries, and we play catch with them. But he's being stupid." He took the fresh apple and pressed it into her hand. Her gaze towards the white horse was taken by Matthew as an upset. "I'm really sorry. I should've at least warned you I was going to throw it... Never mind about it, I suppose, Caspar is having a great time now."

Matthew seemed to have a tendency to ramble, which in itself was a bad habit for royalty. He was pulled away from his train of thought by hooves on the stable floor as Balthazar and Mitsy were led out of their stalls, ready to be mounted. "Can you eat and ride, or shall we wait?" he asked, taking the reins for both the horses from the stablehand before going back to chewing his apple.