ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴏʏᴀʟ sᴇʟᴇᴄᴛɪᴏɴ - advanced roleplay discussion

The royal throne is following the red and gold style that much of the rest of the castle has. There are two chairs that sit beside it (the ones in the front of the picture, move those to either side of the throne) which is where the king's queen and mother sit. He sits on the throne itself. down the steps on either side are more chairs, or rather, stools. there are three on the left for his sons, and three on the right for his daughters. Any other royal family, such as sisters, brother-in-laws, or cousins, stand off to the side. This is where matters are settled. When a girl breaks a rule she will be brought before the royal court to be told her judgement, which will be the king and heir's choice. This is also where the crowned prince will be crowned as king, when his father dies. This is where eliminations happen.

Pip's muscles were burning, her entire body aching with the effort as she heaved herself over the window sill and slipped into the throne room. The tiny girl was like a ghost, a shadow who moved without being seen. She'd passed at least a dozen guards, all of whom had simply looked through her as if she wasn't even there. Now Pip leant against the window, catching her breath as she cast her gaze around the room. It was elaborately decorated, regal even with deep reds and gold accents, the kind of room that royals boasted about amongst their noble friends. An unattractive sneer marked Pip's face as she pushed away from the wall and walked the perimeter of the room. The stinking royals and their damned jewels, their stupid treasures and their downright ridiculous practices. Pip took an emerald encrusted goblet in her hands and turned it over, a slight smile breaking the magpies face as she slipped it into her bag. Her blue eyes roamed around the room, flickering over the delicate architecture and finally settling on the throne. She could sit on it surely....just once, it couldn't do any harm. And so Pip did just that. She bounded across the room and flopped down in the great chair, throwing her legs over one side and staring idly about the room. "I could get used to this..." she muttered. Of course Pip couldn't though, there was work to be done. And after half a second of sitting she was back on her feet, moving silently across the room and delicately lifting a piece of bone china of an end table. She placed that in her bag where it clanked against the goblet and then dropped into a crouch, attempting to jimmy one of the drawers open with a lock pick. Pip knew she wouldn't have long, on a day like today the royals were bound to stop by at some point.

This part of the palace was eerily quiet, Sorin felt goosebumps pop up on his skin, he shook it off and walked a bit more loudly, as to scare off whatever was giving him a weird feeling. He was told to go make sure that everything was secure in the throne room, why he was given that task, well he wasn't sure, nor did he question the head of the guard. He knew better than that, seeing as how he'd made that mistake once already, oh the 48 hour shift sucks. Sorin sighed, just before turning a corner and coming up on the Throne room. He kind of wished Blaz was there to go with him, at least they could talk and maybe plan something for later, drinks or something. Plus he could talk about the girl he'd met.. the one that kind of made his heart skip a beat. Did guys talk about that sort of stuff? Sorin wasn't really sure, he kind of wished he could tell his brother... but he was off being an enemy of the crown, so there was no hope of that there. The thought of Cato and his choices only made Sorin sadden some, and get angry. How could he decide to do that? Sorin opened the doors to the throne room and glanced around, everything seemed to be in its place, but it was a fairly expansive room, so he would have to check it over thoroughly. (I figured his loud footsteps maybe could be heard? Giving Pip a minute to hide? He'll find her of course >.>)

Pip had just about got the drawer open when she heard footsteps just outside of the door. "Shit," she hissed, dropping the lock pick and sprinting across the room as quickly as she could manage. The tiny blonde gave a frantic look around the room, trying to locate somewhere to hide. Her blue eyes flickered to the closet right next to the window and in a few short second Pip found herself crammed inside a small storage room. It was packed full of rugs, flags and a number of royalesque items Pip couldn’t quite understand the use of. She wedged herself into one corner and crouched, trying to make herself as small as possible. Pip knew she couldn’t get caught here, if she did her life was pretty much over. Any hope she had of avoiding jail time would be gone in a few short moments; they’d lock her up and throw away the key for sure. Through a crack in the door Pip could just about make out the face of the man that had entered the room, he was clad all in black - a guard for certain. Pip’s heart all but jumped into her throat, she could feel her pulse beating heavily and it took everything she had to make a run for it there and then. She could only pray that he’d pass, move along and- fuck…Pip’s eyes caught sight of the lockpick there on the floor and the drawer still slightly ajar. Her shaking hands reached out to grasp the knife at her belt, she didn’t quite know what she had planned but all Pip knew was that she couldn’t be caught here.

The room had sun coming in, the dust motes were clearly seen in the air, not that Sorin paid much attention to that. Instead his eyes were skimming every surface and corner in the throne room, looking for any sign of disturbance. He started in the corner next to the doors, there was nothing of interest there, so he continued on his way down that side, and then circled around the throne itself. Everything was looking fairly normal, he glanced over to the left and noticed something was on the floor, and one of the drawers looked askance, Sorin hurried over to see what it was. Lock pick? Sorin picked up the small piece of metal before closing the drawer, and standing up swiftly, his eyes searched his surroundings, his body stiffened as he went on defensive stance. There was someone else in the room with him, more than likely. "Come out, if you do then it will be a lesser punishment," He announced as loudly as he could manage, he withdrew his sword from its sheath right after speaking. Slowly he circled as he searched the room more thoroughly, he couldn't let his back be to the perpetrator. Sorin neared one of the closets where extra things were kept, his hand reached forward and turned the knob, then he quickly pulled back on the door, revealing who was inside. Sorin leapt back and put his sword out, ready to spar with whomever was in the shadows of the closet.

Pip froze as the man's voice carried through into the closet. The guard knew that she was here. Her hand trembled slightly as she gripped the handle of the knife, ready to pull it from her belt at the right moment. She was lost for what to do. On the one hand Pip could simply run, make a break for it and head for the window, on the other she could stand and fight. But Pip was only small and she certainly wasn't a match for a trained palace guard. She swallowed, staring idly through the crack in the door. Across her forehead a light sheen had broken out, Pip's nervous fingers reached up to wipe it away and she let a shaky breath out from between her teeth. That was when the guard turned and made his way towards the closet. His shadow marred the small amount of light that made it's way into the space and Pip grit her teeth, preparing to move the second the door opened. Light flooded the closet a few seconds later and Pip sprung to her feet, holding her shaking hands above her head. A fearful look swept over the young girl's face and she gave the guard a wary look, "Please don't hurt me," Pip whispered as stepped out of the closet, hands raised in surrender, her face the picture of innocence. It lasted less than a moment though. Her eyes flickered to the window and then Pip was running, sprinting across the room in an effort to reach her still open escape route.

The thought of it being a girl as the perpetrator never even crossed Sorin's mind. He automatically assumed it was a guy, so when a young girl popped out, it surprised him, and it took him even more off guard when she gave him that wide-eyed innocent look, like he was the bad guy. Sorin blinked, and in the moment it took to do that one single gesture, she was gone, running for the windows. Sorin sheathed his sword, which wasted precious time, and ran after the young thing. His feet pushed off the ground, and his arms swung against his sides as he went. She was halfway out a window by the time he grabbed her slender waist and pulled her back against him. "Are you mad?" He breathed out, his breathing irregular from the running, his chest was rising and falling at a fast pace. He held her tightly against him with both arms a moment, trying his best to catch his breath and also to let his emotions cool down, because right then he wanted to shake the girl. "You could've broken your neck, jumping out of that," He muttered before realizing he had her pressed up against him, Sorin took a step back, but still held her at arms length, not budging. "What exactly were you doing in here?" His eyes traveled over her, and that was when he noticed the bag, he should probably search it, but first he had to tie her hands.

Pip stumbled, letting out a cry as his arms went around her waist effectively stopping her in her tracks. She writhed against him, squirming and trying to get herself free so she could make it back to the window. "Get off of me!" she yelled, kicking out her legs, "Let me go!" her words were followed by a number of well selected curse words and a stream of other profanities. Pip barely registered what he said as he held her tightly against him. She had no choice but to stop fighting, he was far stronger than her and she needed to try and conserve some energy in case she got another chance. Pip's breathing was laboured by this point, coming out in short sharp bursts. She'd been caught, the illusive magpie had done it's last deed. Swallowing back her fear Pip finally took stock of what the guard was saying to her, calling her mad and talking about breaking her neck. She actually scoffed at that, "I got in that way, believe me it's not my neck that would have broken," Pip spat, rolling her shoulders in an attempt to loosen his grip. "Wanna let up a little?" Her blue eyes travelled over the guards face, her eyebrows raised in a somewhat challenging manner. He had an honest face though, which was far more than could be said for her. Still she was grateful he hadn't hurt her, well not just yet at least. The next question made Pip smirk though, "Well it doesn't take a genius to figure that one out..." she muttered, rolling her eyes towards the window with a somewhat longing expression. Pip certainly couldn't have been in a worse situation.

Let up a little? Was the smaller girl insane? Sorin shook his head slightly before rearranging her back against him, he held her with only one hand though, tightly, as his other got rope from a side pocket. She struggled against him, and almost got out of his grasp, but he managed to grab hold of her small wrist just in time, and with his other hand back he managed to grab the other hand and twist them both behind her back, so he had the chance to tie them. "I'm no fool young one," He muttered to her as he secured the knots that would hold her secured. Sorin let go, and then took hold of her left upper arm as to guide her towards the prison holds. "I'll confiscate your bag, and search you, once we're down below," Those would probably be his last words to her until they got there. Sorin led her out the double doors and towards a back hallway that would let them make their way more quickly to the stairs they needed. Would he run into any other guards along the way? He needed this reported to the head guard right away, so he surely hoped so.

(( What is happening here? O_O ))

"Well I never said that did I?" Pip hissed, grimacing as the guard got her hands behind her back and bound them tightly together. She grit her teeth, twisting her wrists slightly, straining against the ropes. It was no use, the knot was too tight, Pip wasn't going anywhere. With a sigh she let her head drop forward, staring idly at her feet. She'd really messed up this time. Pip had known breaching the palace would be a mistake and now she was certainly going to pay for it. If they didn't kill her, she'd almost certainly be locked up for good. "Ow, careful!" Pip snapped as the guard grabbed her arm and started leading her from the room. She had no idea where she was going, but all at once her confidence started to fail and fear quickly replaced it. "W-wait..." Pip said, digging her heels into the carpet in an attempt to bring them to a stop. "Can't you just let me go? Take the bag, please I don't care. I can just go, it'll be our secret?" she asked, practically begging now. Anything but being locked in the cells. Pip tried to turn, tried to meet his gaze as he forced her to walk forward, but she didn't have the strength. And so Pip stumbled along the hall, the guard dragging her forward all the while as she visibly protested. She couldn't even begin to fathom what would happen 'down below', would there be a trial? Or would they just lock her up and throw away the key? All these thoughts went round and round in her head as Pip was ushered through the halls.

((My little thief is getting her just deserts...))

(( Yay! I love drama in this group. ))

They were close to the stairs, and she was begging him, Sorin felt something in his heart lurch some, she was young, really young, and so small. "I," Sorin cleared his throat, no he couldn't give into this little thing, it was just a trick. She was probably tougher than she appeared, right? But what if he was wrong? "Look I'm sure they won't be too harsh on you as long as you cooperate with the interrogation," Sorin's words were meant to comfort her, but they sounded harsh, even to him. Sorin wasn't one to ever have to do this sort of thing, he was usually just a backup guard, so it was hard on the softer guys heart to have to do what he was doing. "I'll put in a word for you," The mutter was barely audible, but he was really trying to put her at ease some. They went down some long, twisty, dark stairs, there was a dampness to the air that had always creeped Sorin out just a bit. Once they reached the bottom he took her to a pair of gates that were locked, he unlocked them one handed, led her in, and locked it back behind them, he then went past a few cells before stopping before an empty one. "This is where you can wait," Sorin slid her bag off of her, and gently searched her, pulling anything off her that might prove dangerous, he then put her into the cage, and unbound her, he stepped out and closed the door behind her, the lock clicked into place. For some reason though, Sorin couldn't just walk away, and leave her alone there. "I'm Guard Sorin, if you need anything," Was that too personal? He tried to get his thoughts together, but he was torn because of some little girl that was an enemy to the crown, simply because she'd been caught stealing. Would they end her life?

((I'll reply down in the cells :P))

(Okies)

Lucas speedwalked through the halls, not really planning to go anywhere, but rather planning to get away from a suspiciously persistant maid. Undoubtedly someone his parents had hired to watch him, and by extension someone he'd avoid like the plague. But after turning quietly slipping into a room he didn't recognize, Lucas realized exactly how stupid he had been. Now he had absolutely no idea where he was, and he certainly wasn't about to ask someone for help. Practically everybody in the whole palace were adults, and Lucas would rather not eat candy for a year than ask a grownup for help.

So instead he walked further into the room, stepping casually as if he meant to be here. Well, it was obvious enough that he was in the throne room, but where that was was still a mystery to him. After all, he hadn't been at the palace for very long, so any place that wasn't along his normal route was unknown to him. Sighing, Lucas finally stopped by a wall and leaned against it, frustrated that he might actually need to ask for help from an adult. And not being able to stay still very long, Lucas was soon pacing again, eyes trained on the ground.

The reporters were crazy, they had to be to be hounding the little blind schreave princess so insistently. She didn't want to talk to them or have her pictures taken or anything, but they wouldn't leave her along because of how badly they wanted to know her take on things. It had gotten so bad for her that she literally ran away from the reporters, and she never ran because she couldn't see where she was going, but she was so desperate to get away that she just bolted.

Needless to say her running very, very quickly got her horribly lost, not that all the furniture and things being moved around helped matters. She somehow ended up in the throne room, still running, until she ran into someone and fell over with a squeak. "O-Oh....I-I'm sorry..." she said, her hands moving around blindly to see who the other person was and if they had also fallen over. "I have no idea where I am, I'm just trying to hide from the reporters, they won't leave me alone." tears filled her eyes as she spoke. She didn't want to talk to the reporters, she wanted to be left alone and that was it.

Lucas had been so focused on his own thoughts, that he didn't even realize another person was in the room until they ran right into him. They were considerably smaller than him, and so instead of falling over entirely, Lucas only stumbled backwards, instantly shooting a glare towards the person who had knocked into him. Until he realized it was just a little girl, flailing her arms around seemingly randomly. Wait, could she not see? Well needless to say, Lucas wasn't glaring anymore, and instead he approached the girl, unsure as to whether or not he should bow. Deciding against it, Lucas carefully touched her hand with his own, before gently grasping it. "Not a problem miss... A-are you alright?" He asked, still a bit unsure of what to do. I mean, he didn't want to be rude or anything considering she must have been a couple years younger than him at most. Besides, Lucas was quite the little gentleman when he wanted to be.

Crouching down next to the girl, the statement about the reporters flew right over Lucas' head, him still thinking her parents worked at the palace or something. She looked vaguely familiar, but he figured that was probably just because he had seen her in passing before or something. But when she starte crying, Lucas was instantly surprised. N-now what?! "H-hey, don't worry," He murmured, still a bit surprised at her sudden entrance. "I promise there's no one else here." He assured her, patting her head a bit awkwardly with one hand. "So, uh, what's your name?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

Kiya stopped moving her hands around when he gently grasped her hand, knowing he was male the minute he spoke. A young male too, from the size of his hand and the sound of his voice, it was a higher pitch then her older brothers, so he was probably closer to her age. "I-I.....I'm not really okay..." she admitted softly, tears streaking down her cheeks. She was a little relieved that no one else was in the room but them, but she was still upset, though his awkward patting of her head made a shaky smile appear on her face. "M-my name is Kiyana, but you can call me Kiya." she told him. "Whats your name?"

Lucas was immediately alarmed. Was she hurt? In danger?? Why wasn't she okay? Quickly glancing around the room, it didn't look like there was any trouble, but Lucas remained alert. But at least his head patting was having an effect, and a positive one at that. Automatically smiling back, it was a rare sight that Kiya unfourtunately couldn't see. But wait, Kiyana... It took Lucas a minute, but then it clicked. Of course, she was the princess, youngest of the Schreave children. In retrospect, it should have been obvious when he realized she was blind, but Lucas wasted no time with correcting himself. "Your highness!" He said, drawing his hand back from her head, although he still held her hand. "I-I'm Lucas Halifax, miss." To be honest, Lucas had never met a royal before, but he had always dreamed of protecting them as a gaurd in the future. "How may I be of service?" He added afterwards, thinking it polite to offer his help if she needed any.

Kiya felt rather than saw his realization that she was the princess, the way he drew back was clue enough before he spoke. Shaking her head, she said softly, "You don't have to use all those fancy titles on me. I'm probably younger than you are. Just call me Kiya, please?" she lifted her head in what she thought was his direction and gave him her best 'pretty please' face that usually got her what she really wanted. "A-as for the um....the help part....." she fidgeted, then blurted, "The reporters won't leave me alone, and I already told them I didn't wanna talk to them and they won't listen and keep trying to take pictures a-and I just want them to stop." she scrubbed at her eyes with her free hand. "All I wanted was to get something to eat..." she sniffled, her stomach growling hungrily. "Can you protect me from the mean adult reporters, mister Lucas?" she asked cutely.

Lucas had thought that being formal was the appropriate way to treat a royal, but the princess seemed to want him to be more... Casual? But you're the princess...! His mind shouted, urging him to continue with being formal. But the princess wants me to be more laid back... He argued with himself, torn between doing what he thought was right, and well, the other thing he thought was right. But in the end, he decided the princess' order must come first. Plus, he didn't wanna see her cry again or anything. "A-alright then," He said, still uncertain. "Kiya..." He added softly, sort of testing out the name.

As Kiya explained her situation, Lucas murmured quietly every now and then to let her know he was paying attention. But then, at the last part, where she asked him to protect her... Lucas felt like he could've tossed a party right then and there. I mean, it was only his dream to become a gaurd and help fight bad people and protect the royals, and wasn't this sort of like that? Leaping to his feet excitedly, Lucas bowed to Kiya despite her not being able to see him. "Of course your hi-- Kiya!" He said enthusiastically, his voice clearly showing his excitement. "But, um, where do you want me to take you?" Lucas asked, than remembered that he was just as lost as Kiya. Ack! Now what am I supposed to do?! He didn't want to let the princess now he was lost too, but how else was he supposed to help her? He supposed he could always ask a passing maid when they left the room... But...

No! I'll just have to swallow my pride and do it for the princess! I refuse to let stupid adults keep the princess from having a meal! He thought, nodding sharply to himself and taking Kiya's hand again. "I believe the kitchen has some leftover brownies from lunch!" Lucas stated, feeling rather proud of himself at the moment but faltering. "I mean, ah, if you want brownies. Of course I'm sure they also have other stuff..." He said, just in case maybe the princess didn't like sweet stuff as much as he did. Not that he'd ever tell anyone his love of sweets, although it was fairly obvious.

Kiyana was more than glad that Lucas was willing to help her, seemed more than happy to at that. If she had someone who could see with her, then the reporters wouldn't be able to catch her off guard anymore. If it wasn't for the selection, she'd not only have to worry about this in the first place, but also that their rearranging things had put her at a disadvantage she'd never had to face before. "The kitchen to get some food would be nice." she said softly.

When she felt his hand take hers again, she moved to stand up, her free hand brushing down the front of her dress self consciously before she smiled at him. "after the day I had, brownies for dinner sounds fantastic." she said with a little giggle. "Lead the way."

Originally Lucas nodded, his usual way of acknowledging people's words, but remembering once again that she was blind he corrected himself. "Got it!" He said, still overflowing with excitement despite being more than a little apprehensive of having to ask an adult for directions. Well, I'll just have to put up with it for today! He thought strictly, but also vowed to learn his way around the palace better. After all, what if the princess needed his help again? He could hardly just rely on having someone nearby to ask for help. This time he was lucky that he was near a fairly active hallway, but thinking ahead to times when he might not be so lucky, Lucas also decided to make mental notes of where they were going, even on their way to the kitchen.

This time catching himself before he nodded for a response, Lucas felt even more joyful when Kiya said that she'd like the brownies, meaning that he hadn't been totally off when he had assumed something she might like to eat. "Okay!" He murmured, carefully leading her towards the door. Once there though, he cracked open the door to see only a couple maids in the hall, but particularly he noticed that there wasn't a reporter in sight. Slipping out of the room with Kiya close behind him, he tried to discreetly wave over one of the miads before giving up altogether. "Hey! You guys! Where's the kitchen?" He called out, showing none of the same politeness he had shown to Kiya.

All three of the maids bowed, but only one of them bothered to answer Lucas' question. "You go down for a few minutes, turn left at the first area possible, then turn left one more time and than right two times. If you go straight from there, you should find the kitchen, but please allow us to--"
"That's all I needed!" Lucas said before sort of waving the maids off with his free hand, speed walking away from them. They didn't follow thankfully, and Lucas assumed that they were probably enjoying their break too much to really care.

(( Should we just continue in the kitchen, or what? ))

((prolly should yeah XD I'll go ahead and post here one more time then we can move to there))

Kiyana relied almost entirely on Lucas as he led her to the door, biting her lip when she heard him opening it, almost certain that the reporters would be there to harass her again. But all was quiet, for which she was grateful as she was awful tired out from all the things that happened today. She hadn't even been able to hang out with any of her siblings, when she tried they sent her away and it made her start to wonder if she was a nuisance to them. Was that why they never had time for her? Why they didn't include her when Oliver was ready to jump? Was she just a bother to everyone around her? Those negative thoughts started to swirl around her mind before she could stop them and her face fell as she walked with Lucas, speeding up a little when he did, perhaps because he wanted to hurry and take her where she wanted.