New Places, New Faces, Same Routine [Vivian]

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Celyn always enjoyed visiting new kingdoms, it was something he would not be able to do once he took the throne of his own. He would have to sit there and wait for diplomats and princes to come to him. Where was the fun in that? No, Celyn wanted to see the world, all of it. But his father had a habit of spoiling all his fun. It was because of this that he was having to travel with an entourage and instead of just wandering wherever he wanted - which had been the plan - he was forced to only mix in the right circles and spend all of his time in various courts. He wanted to see the world, and yet all he'd seen so far were the same people trapped in the same four walls with the same mindless small talk.

He hoped this new place, Lyonesse, would be the exception, although that was probably just wishful thinking on his part. Ifan had been trying to tell him that he was just being pessimistic and he'd probably enjoy himself more if he stopped being so miserable. Celyn hadn't much appreciated this comment.

And then here they were, about to make an appearance and another acquaintance and have the same mundane conversations until he was allowed to leave and go and do the whole thing all over again. He was beginning to think there was no point in doing this any more, but going home would be even more boring. Oh what was a young prince to do? Well, at present he was supposed to be getting ready to greet King Olaf.

Tagged: Vivian
Setting: King Olaf's court, Kingdom of Lyonesse
Timeline: Early series two

[Vivian]

Vivian shifted slightly in her seat, her father's hand placing itself on her knee to make her stop. She was sooooooooooooooooo bored with having to meet and greet various visitors who gave her no joy or intrest whatsoever. Just smouldering looks and then surprised ones when her father would catch them.
Apparently some Prince was arriving from somewhere that she never knew exsisted. Why she had to be there was beyond her, especially when all she was made to do was sit there and listen. In all honesty she'd rather go and spend hours sitting with her maid Martha, who was as dull as dishwater. That option right now seemed to be the better end of the deal.

King Olaf leant into her ear. "Vivian! stop fidgiting!"
"Im fidgiting because im bored!"

"Then make yourself be less bored, we're expecting guests and I expect you to act like the Lady that you are." he told her and looked up as the doors to the hall opened. A messenger scuttling in and whispering something to Olaf who nodded. Well...if her father had told her to make herself less bored then of course she must...time to play the Princess card and have a little fun. At least the meeting would be more bearable.

Their guest was here. Let the fun begin.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Celyn and his men were lead into the main hall where he had been told the king and the other courtiers were waiting. Usually Celyn was greeted in the courtyard by his host before being led inside, but he wasn't that surprised. He'd heard several things about King Olaf, and a lot more about his daughter Vivian. She was supposed to a beauty - even Ifan said so. He'd also heard that many men had tried to...how was the best way to word it...try their luck. None of them had succeeded. Not that that mattered to Celyn. He was here to see the world, not try and seduce some silly princess. In his experience princesses were spoilt and ill-tempered (especially his sisters) so he had no desire at all to be anything other than a passing acquaintance.

If it was entirely up to him, he wouldn't be here anyway. He just wanted to travel not spend his life in a different court. They were all the same and full of the same mindless people and the same mindless conversation. But they couldn't travel through Lyonesse without having an audience with the king so he was forced to present himself. His father had told him to try to act as an ambassador while he was away. As a general rule Sugales never had that much to do with the other kingdoms of Albion and apparantly it was up to Celyn to change this - no pressure then.

The king and Vivian were already waiting for them. Olaf looked surpsingly welcoming - Celyn had heard rather a lot about him too - and Vivian...well. She was a beauty, he would give her that, but she looked like a lot of effort. Even so, he was of an optimistic nature and he wasn't going to get out of a meeting now, so he might as well make the most of it. "Your Highness," he bowed before Olaf and on standing up continued, "It is an honour to be invited here." He then turned to Vivian, "My lady," and bowed again. Here we go...

[Vivian]

Vivian rose graciously as their visitor was shown in. Ooooh how delightful it would be to toy with his mind if he was like any of the others. Many had tired and failed. Her father stood up with a broad smile. "Prince Celyn! Welcome to Lyonesse" he greeted him in a friendly yet formal manner. Vivian's eyes darted to her father and then back to their guest. Prince Celyn.

"It is an honour to be invited here."

Well wasn't he one for manners? Vivian's lip curled slightly as he turned to her. She bowed her head. "Prince Celyn" she replied. "I do hope you find Lyonesse to your liking...so far" she added. One thing was for sure. If he started ranting on about politics with her father then she would be out of that door quickly.

Olaf was now watching his daughter, already with his guard up. She glanced at him before returning to her seat. "My daughter and I wish for you to dine with us this evening, should you not have any other plans of leaving my Kingdom too quickly." Vivian heard her father say whilst staring mindlessly at her nails. Yes...didn't she just wish that? Already she'd become bored. There was no use toying with Celyn. He seemed far too interested in matters that only interested her father.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

While Celyn was not the most observant of people - especially when it came to the fairer sex - but even he could see that the Lady Vivian was bored, and in her boredom was not behaving with the strictest decorum. He didn't particularly care about such formal functions anyway but at least he put a little effort in. Hmm. Well, at least she'd said something to her now. That was something at least - not that he particularly cared for conversation with her, but it was politeness, and it would be rather boring and awkward for them to stand there in silence. He wasn't exactly sure what she was trying to suggest by her tone of voice, so he decided it was best to just continue with the pleasantries until this initial meeting was over. "I'm sure I will, my lady. Lyonesse has quite the reputation which I'm sure will be more than upheld." He replied with a smile and cast a nervous look over to her father. The last thing he wanted was Olaf thinking he was trying something with his daughter.

As King Olaf invited Celyn to dine with them, Celyn couldn't help but imagine just how much Vivian was obviously looking forward to dining with him that night. She clearly couldn’t contain her excitement. He would have thought (and this was not him being arrogant, merely curious) that Vivian would enjoy having someone new at court. He always enjoyed people visiting his father and the kingdom. It usually meant something interesting was going to happen, but Lady Vivian looked like she couldn’t care less. Well, he supposed it didn’t matter to him whether she enjoyed his company or not. He was only here in the first place because he couldn’t travel through Lyonesse without an audience with its king. “Why thank you, Your Highness.” In his experience kings liked to be referred to in this way as often as possible and he had a feeling King Olaf was no exception. If he wanted to pass peacefully through the kingdom it would do no good to upset him. “A most kind offer, and one I will be taking you up on.”

Is there a plan with this thread? Just wondering if we were going to cut to dinner or they could do something before dinner or whatever. Wow that was eloquent.

[Vivian]

"I'm sure I will, my lady. Lyonesse has quite the reputation which I'm sure will be more than upheld."

Vivian gave a small smirk. How curteous of him. She raised her chin slightly at him, "Oh really? Well you must tell me all about what you have heard about it." She would put him to the test to see whether he truly knew anything about her Kingdom at all. She'd done so with other men who had come up with all the wrong reasons. Vivian could see the look on his face now. Obviously trying his hardest not to appear as though he was flirting with her. This was going to be fun.

Olaf was more than pleased at the acceptance that Celyn was now making about dinner. Excellent. That meant that Vivian could toy all the more with him...

An hour later.

Everyone was now seated with Vivian deliberatly placing herself next to Celyn one side and her father the other. "You will have to tell us of our reputation, all good I hope...for your sake" she leant over and whispered to him, before turning to her father. Will our guest be staying for the night father? It would be rather rude of us if he did not."

Olaf raised his brows slightly. "I am sure that is for the Prince to decide, but I have no objection." He shot Celyn a look, as well as another of 'touch my daughter and feel my wrath...' Vivian rolled her eyes and turned back to Celyn.

"Now...you were saying my lord...."

This was going to be a night of fun.

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Now that they were sat down for dinner Celyn was feeling slightly uncomfortable. Vivian had sat herself down next to him and he wasn't quite sure how he felt about that. Something he did know about Lyonesse was her father's overprotective nature. If he so much as looked at Vivian he could end up with his head on a spike, metaphorically anyway. It wasnt a risk Celyn particularly wanted to take.

He smiled rather awkwardly at Olaf. There was nothing more fun than a father convinced you were trying something on with their daughter. He hadn't even thought about that, or alright, but he'd thought about not doing that so Olaf should be pleased.

Celyn was sure Vivian was trying to trick him into make a fool of himself - he was more than used to bored young women trying to amuse themselves at the expense of foreigners. He couldn't blame her, he'd do exactly the same thing were their roles reversed. "I have heard that is a fine kingdom and that all its inhabitants are proud to be such." In truth, he didn't actually know that much about Lyonesse, that was the whole reason for his coming here. There'd be no point in going somewhere if he knew everything about it. No, this was a joruney of discovery, of finding exotic new places, not just confirming what he already knew.

She was still looking at him expectantly. Right. He should probably say something else then. "I must confess I am more ignorant than I should be, but I would very much appreciate an education."

[Vivian]

Oh dear Prince Celyn, such a polite and yet unfortunate individual. She had noted Olaf's look of death towards him, out of the corner of her eye and smirked. It was fun to toy with not only a guest, but also her father too.
Vivian got so bored during these feasts and when no one was paying attention to her - that she liked to have a little bit of fun. "Indeed" she noted in reply to his little comment about Lyonesse. She really did not care for political outlooks and conversation, when clearly the conversation should be about her. "And what of it's King and Princess...do they fair well in your opinion?" she asked, shooting a coy look at him before taking a cheeky sip of wine. This was going to be more fun than she thought.

"I must confess I am more ignorant than I should be, but I would very much appreciate an education."

Celyn's words made Olaf look up immediatly, "That would depend on what kind of Education you are talking about my lord" his words were stern and had some sort of warning to them as always.

"Father!" Vivian rolled her eyes and turned back to Celyn, "Tell me what your kingdom is like my lord...my father never takes me anywhere exciting" she added on the end, but knew that she would most likely tire easily of this question, and no doubt it would soon turn once again to politics and such. Boooooooooooooriiiiiiiiiiiiing!

[Celyn ap Llewellyn]

Celyn was wondering how long it would take for the more personal questions to start. Luckily, he’d met enough royals and shared enough meals with them to know how to behave and what to say in these situations. Vivian was trying to play him, and that was fair enough, but he wasn’t going to rise to the challenge. Besides, he’d heard about King Olaf. He glanced at the man, trying to determine what he thought about the conversation, but his expression was giving nothing away. Brilliant. “Indeed they do, my lady. They have quite exceeded my expectations.”

Oh Jesu. It seemed he’d already managed to make an enemy out of the king. When he’d said education he definitely hadn’t meant that. Of course not! He cringed and deliberately didn’t look at Olaf for fear of angering the man more. Vivian had already moved on in conversation so maybe if Celyn just followed suit, Olaf would look less like he was ready to cleave him in two. “My kingdom?” He paused, it was always difficult to talk about his own kingdom in front of royals. He didn’t want to do Sugales a disservice, but at the same time, some royals got a little...tetchy if they thought he was implying his home was superior to theirs. “It is very beautiful, very wet.” He gave a small smile. Sugales always smelt like damp earth, it was the best smell there was. “And there’s probably more sheep than people.” He shrugged, that was probably enough for now. Vivian appeared to be bored very easily and he was trying to keep her attention.