Roleplay

“Hmm…fascinating. It is rare to see female guards in such high position.” Shen mused, continuing his walk down the corridors, sliding his clawed hand upon the railing when they moved up stairs. Their footsteps were muffled upon the carpet that sprawled upon the floor, linking passage after passage together with elegance. His parents had originally wanted to gather up the best candidates and let Shen pick for himself, but the prince refused and simply requested they pick by themselves. But he had to admit, they made a good choice.

A few guards would walk by, and pause to stand at attention until he had walked by. The closer they got to his quarters, there were more signs of it being personalised for Shen. White decorations slowly twined with the rest of the surroundings, some of which were long white peacock feathers with red eyespots. He didn’t exactly come up with all the ideas for this, but liked it nonetheless. It was much simpler than those leading towards his parents’ rooms.

The prince seemed to have gotten distracted with his thoughts, and hadn’t responded to the question. He did eventually come to his senses after a few seconds and pondered. “I suppose that now I am the only heir left-” (he paused uncomfortably at that sentence) “-the value of my life is higher. It would make sense that my security should be increased. I was never told the full details.” Shen admitted, closing his red eyes briefly as he tried to dig up any other information.

“There might be other reasons.” The prince added, his mind fixated on the question. He considered a reason possibly linked to his delusion form. Perhaps his parents wanted Shen to have a companion, in a sense, to keep oneself contented and not alone. After all, those incidents that happened after Niles’s passing…they must have wanted to find a solution that would be more sustainable. He unconsciously rubbed his clawed hand with the other.

They finally arrived at Shen’s chambers, which was a pair of golden doors with a large white peacock in the middle, it’s tail feathers opening in full span. The eye-like markings were red with a black circle inside. It’s eyes were closed, looking quite peaceful. All around it were flowers in pink and white, somewhat similar to the cherry blossoms, or sakura. He pushed the doors open, revealing a spacious room inside.

The room was mostly in white, with the colours of red and black following close behind, gold lining some of the room along with green plants in the corners. There was a wide balcony set with a table and two chairs, overlooking the kingdom and giving a scenic view. A king-sized bed was on the left-center side of the room, and on the opposite side were various paintings Shen had done himself, an unfinished piece of canvas sitting nearby. The largest painting, which was in the center of the wall and surrounded by the rest, was a depiction of the prince with Niles watching a sunset from a balcony. Aside from that, there were a few doors leading off towards the bathroom, wardrobe and personal storage. There was a slightly larger, wooden door with intricate carvings.

“When I find myself to have a lot of time to myself, which is often, yes I do paint.” Shen replied, a small bit of pride budding up in him. Not a lot of people had seen his paintings and even fewer had complimented them. It felt heartwarming to know someone finally appreciated them. Painting was something he picked up quite early, and blossomed through the years. It was one of those things that truly brought him joy from time to time.

The prince walked over to the unfinished painting and set it on the easel, before leaving it there. He’d want to finish that one soon. “Perhaps you’d like to see your personal quarters now?” Shen asked, and went over to the wooden door. The handle was gold, and on the door itself were carved a few birds flying around. Opening it, he revealed the room inside.

Of course, the room was not as big as his, but it was quite spacious nonetheless. It didn’t have that grand effect, but it was still a beauty nonetheless. Instead of a balcony was a table with two chairs near tall windows which let natural light flow in, curtains of white and red waiting on both sides. Walls of a light yellow gave the room the feeling of a warm welcome, while not being glaring towards the eyes. The bed was draped in white, all set to perfection for its next user. There were all sorts of other things around.

“I assume all your possessions have been moved up here?” Shen asked, taking in the beauty of the room. He gestured to another similar-looking door and explained that it was another doorway that would lead into the corridors. The other doors in the room were of different colour from the two wooden ones, and led off towards a bathroom and some personal storage.

Shen nodded, pleased that everything was going well so far. He would indeed let Anemone watch him paint one day, preferably when he had more time to do more work. The prince just watched his guard with her items, and took the time to let his mind drift a little again. So far, his emotions had been stable, which was good. He silently reminded himself to do some pre-sleep meditation before bed. If Shen had nightmares…well at least he would be calm beforehand.

“A favourite place?” Shen mused, thinking. Of course, his personal chambers was his favourite, but there were other places he liked to visit when things got too much for him to handle. “I would say the garden in the grounds. They call it the Zen garden, and has trees of different colours that stay as so all year round. There’s also a small river one could take a short boat ride around.

“Perhaps you’d like to go there?” The prince offered, moving back to his room. He loved the garden for how calm it was, and most of the time he would hardly be disturbed during his visits. It was not very far from his chambers, and it was just accessible from a staircase at the end of the corridor. Shen had left a painting there he hadn’t quite finished and was only reminded then that he had intended to bring it back up to his room.

When he had gone back to his room, the prince had noticed the cover of a canvas had dropped away slightly, revealing a vibrant splash of red and black. He quickly pulled the cover back on, hoping that Anemone had not noticed it. It was a painting he had never shown anyone, and Shen was determined to keep it that way, at all costs. For a few seconds, worry had crossed his face, but the emotionless wall quickly slid back over it. He stood up again and arranged his robes, waiting for Anemone.

“I-I’m fine.” Shen answered, closing his eyes for a few seconds. A hand lingered on the cover of the painting, as if still worried that the cover would slip down again even though he had put it back properly. The prince opened his bright red eyes again and his face had gone back to its emotionless state. He let go of the canvas and steadied his breathing which had unconsciously sped up slightly. Shen felt himself building yet another protective wall around himself, with so many before to guard the secrets he kept. He decided to pretend nothing had happened, and gestured toward the doors. “Do not worry about me, come. I’ll show you the gardens.” He opened the doors once again and began walking down the corridor, placing his hands behind his back once more. The prince’s mind was disturbed by that incident and it remained there for a while despite his clear attempts to push it away from his mind. Eventually, the corridor came to an end, slowly making its way back to the general decoration of the estate. A tall spiraling staircase started from there, with long windows to show the view of the garden as one descended. Shen made his way down the stairs, doing his usual of lightly dragging the clawed hand against the railing. The prince appeared to have gotten quieter, but that was not the immediate problem to him. The staircase led to a beautiful garden, with trees of different coloured leaves welcoming them. Sweet flowers of various species bloomed, their scents coming together in a wonderful mix. In the middle of the garden was a small island surrounded by the river, in which a tall white structure woven in with plants stood. A bridge connected the island to the rest of the garden, a small boat on the other side should anyone wish to ride it. “Here we are.” Shen finally said, after a long period of silence, and stood still for a few seconds to enjoy the fresh air and calming of his senses. (just a little visual view of the garden :D) [img]https://64.media.tumblr.com/ebaf4065f496ce4d4b0be00ea8de9e1a/tumblr_pbsl3hlMt81xxkhz0o1_1280.jpg[/img]

“Yes. It is one of my go-to areas when I wish to paint.” Shen said, taking some time to gaze at himself in the water, watching it warp slightly in the gentle flow of the water. He loved this place very much, and was one of the reasons why it grew into the beauty it was now. The prince often suggested new plants and designs to be incorporated into the garden, and it has always been regarded as one of his private places ever since. Of course, the garden was shared with everyone, but while it was graced with Shen’s presence, no one would disturb him from connecting with the area.

He let out a small sound of understanding. “If that’s the case, I’ll be sure to remember it. Just a small note, we’d be riding a carriage some day, but of course if you wish to take other modes of transport I will see what I can do.” Shen felt himself more relaxed now in his little wonderful place, and began walking again, across the bridge and towards the tiny island in the middle.

There were some roses growing, creeping upwards on a mesh-like wall, their thorny stems weaving around the holes for support. A painting sat on an easel, which depicted the roses there, and a man tending to them, recognisable as his younger brother Niles. Shen didn’t exactly go with putting him on the canvas at first, but decided to do it anyway because he thought it would look pretty. After all, his brother loved roses most.

The prince gently took the painting off the easel and held it in his hands like a precious treasure. “A lot of the paintings in my room were done out here.” He said, and stared out into the view. Shifting the artwork to be held in one hand, Shen went over to hold the roses, taking in the deep and rich smell of them. “Perhaps one day, we could come down here, and you can watch me paint.”