Princesses on Parade (Amber)

[isadora]

It was tournament time in Gwent, and all the people, noble and commoner alike, were ready for the excuse to party. All day long, people had gathered to watch knights from all over the kingdom and beyond bash, slash, skewer and generally knock one another around. Isadora didn't really enjoy watching the violence of it all, but the people seemed to enjoy it, and she did like the banquets and balls that followed. Besides, she had to show her support for the knights by showing up; even her father made the effort to get down to the tournament grounds to watch the competition.

But the tournament had ended hours ago, and now, the townspeople had dispersed to taverns where they could get drunk and regale each other about their favorite moments from that afternoon, and the nobles could be found in the great hall of Castle Caerleon, doing much the same thing, but with better food and more expensive wine.

Being a princess in this room, there was no shortage of eager dance partners for Isadora, and it didn't take long before she had to excuse herself from the dance floor, out of breath, accepting a goblet of wine from a trusted servant and sipping indulgently. As the next song began, Isadora found a place where she could watch the other dancers and catch her breath, and maybe mingle. She liked these social events, even if she had to suffer through a tournament to get to them.

[Ambersariya Menthro]

It had been upwards of two weeks, now, that Amber had been the epitome of a social recluse - even more so than usual. She tended to hate large crowds of people solely on principal, her anxiety getting the best of her any time, but ever since the harsh split she and Wolf had had, her ability to follow social cues had all but vanished... until she found herself invited to the tournament in Gwent. If she was honest, she'd admit that when it had first been delivered, she'd had absolutely no intention of attending; it was exactly the type of function that she religiously avoided. But the thought had continued to assault her, as thoughts tended to do. With so large a gathering of nobles and perhaps even royals... well, it was risky, but it was also one of the best opportunities she would probably ever had to track down information about her homeland.

She'd skipped the tournament itself, knowing that people would be distracted by it and being drilled about far-off places they'd likely never heard of would be the least appealing option for them. But she now found herself in the castle, dressed as elegantly as her title demanded in a strapless violet gown with a large, sparkling off-set broach. Her guard was up at its fullest, which was odd considering how much information she was uncharacteristically divulging about herself as she blended easily and instinctively into the social scene. She'd danced several times, as etiquette demanded, but for the most part she'd wandered about, talking to as wide a range of people as possible and making great emphasis on the fact that she was princess of Kathra. Most of the people probably thought her a snob for it, but she couldn't care less.

Her fervency had become more potent than ever before, and her determination to find someone in the room, even if only one, who had at least heard of her kingdom. She'd been unsuccessful thus far and the possibility was rapidly waning, but she wouldn't give up until she had been introduced to absolutely everyone. The idea that had taken root in her; the concept of escaping Camelot and all of the painful memories it held for her, to return home to the life she'd once led and completely forget about the one here, was not one that was willing to be dismissed.

She traced her finger absentmindedly about the rim of her wine chalice, taking a break now and looking about the room until her eyes finally settled on the host princess herself, who was actually quite near. She'd heard the whispered exclamations of people nearby who had watched as she danced, and now that she was in such a near vicinity, she realized that they had been far from incorrect - Isadora was as lovely as they'd described. Encouraged by her earlier observations of her fellow princess's friendly manner and by the fact that this was a chance she couldn't afford to let slip away, she crossed the few yards between them, nodding her head politely. "Princess Isadora," she greeted with a smile. "Would you mind if I joined you?"

[isadora]

Her smile was already in place when she heard someone approaching, so that when she turned from the dance floor to meet the gaze of the unfamiliar woman who was greeting her, she was met with a genuine smile. Many people had to force themselves to keep smiling through these long engagements, but Isadora wasn't among them; she spent most of her time trying to keep the kingdom in order, sentencing criminals and scolding guards and servants alike for shirking their duties, so the opportunity to smile and enjoy the presence of others like herself wasn't one she shied away from.

"Of course not!" She replied warmly, already searching her mind for a name to go with the face. It was rare for a noble to arrive at court who Isadora didn't know, but she certainly knew of them all; she went through her mind, back to when they had been announcing the guests as they arrived: Ambersariya Menthro, Princess of Kathra. "Lady Ambersariya, isn't it? I don't believe we've been introduced." She asked politely, as she gestured for a servant to bring her fellow princess a refill on her wine. She wasn't so awful a hostess that she'd let her guests go thirsty.

She didn't know much of Kathra, to be honest. She knew it was far off, across the sea, even, but beyond that, her knowledge was scanty at best. Since it was so far away, they didn't do much trading and so far, there had been no worry of war with them, as, if Isadora's knowledge was correct, they were too busy fighting enemies closer to home...either that, or too busy fighting amongst themselves. She couldn't quite remember the details, just that they were known for fighting. But here was a golden opportunity to learn something of the distant nation, and Isadora's curiosity about foreign lands wasn't to go unsatisfied tonight. "I admit, I was most surprised when I learned you were in the area, I was hoping you'd come tonight. You must tell me what brings you so far from home." Ambersariya... Why did it feel like she'd heard the name before? And not just when they were planning the tourney....

[/size]

[Ambersariya Menthro]

Ambersariya likened instantly to Isadora. Either she had a lovely personality to match her face and name, or she was simply an extremely affluent actress; Amber decided the former was most likely, because her phobia of people and ulterior motives generally lent itself to the ability to see straight through such facades. No, if she had her guess, she would say Isadora was just one of the few people in the world that was a truly good, enjoyable person, which made this so much easier. The opportunity to trust people was one she had been mostly depraved of, and a soft face in a hard crowd was extremely welcome in her world.

"I don't believe so," she agreed, her smile becoming much more genuine. "I don't generally attend such gatherings, and it seems it's taken us both quite some time to get through the general crowd." Though that time was probably much more enjoyable for Isadora than herself; Amber was no social butterfly. She knew it, and she preferred it. But even she had to admit that sitting here so cordially was actually quite nice.

Her next question had Amber hesitating. She didn't really want to ruin the mood and launch into her battle-torn story of being kidnapped and transported and losing her memory and so on, at least not right now. "I've actually been staying in Camelot for quite some time now," she admitted, her voice nothing if not slightly wistful. "But I guess you could say I'm here to... well, escape the wolves." Her metaphor was dry but so very, very appropriate, and in reality it wasn't really a metaphor at all.

[isadora]

Isadora nodded when Ambersariya explained her aversion to gatherings like this, she could understand why the press of people and the heat of the gathering wouldn't appeal to others, although she loved it, herself. The chance to socialize with so many other people of her same class was even worth the effort it took to get dressed up properly, which she could certainly live without. She sipped at her wine before replying, "I had heard that, which is why I was so pleasantly surprised when I heard you had accepted our invitation."

She smiled when Amber mentioned that she was staying in Camelot for some time, hiding her surprise. Her presence in the area was mostly rumors, she'd heard no word of a princess staying at the court in Camelot, although admittedly her visits to that area had been less than conducive to gathering gossip about other nobles of late. She was usually more concerned with simply keeping tabs on her immediate neighbours and the nobles of her own realm; they did require so much looking after.

She gave Amber a somewhat puzzled look when she gave her reason for being here, and gave a short laugh. "What a curious thing to say. Are things not all well in your homeland?" She inquired, as politely as she could. A reference to wolves very rarely meant anything good, and she didn't wish to pry, but it did have Isadora's curiosity piqued.

[/size]