Home of the Royal Family of Brax. Please state what room you are in. Please note that castles are generally surrounded by a small city, a capital of sorts.
Selene sat in her chair at the vanity silently, watching her maidservants pull at her long blonde locks. Her stormy green eyes stared at her reflection as she stroked a dove in her hand. A small smirk curved her lips as she watched one of the maidservants struggled to keep a red rose in her hair. Flicking her gaze down to her dove as she spoke in a deadly calm voice, spelling trouble for the woman. “Magda…do you remember the last time you did not do my hair as was requested?” There was a small smile on her face as she asked the question as though they were speaking of the weather. “I wasn’t very happy, was I?” Her gaze then flicked to Magda. “And you couldn’t sit for a week, couldn’t you?”
Magda’s hands trembled as she tried not to pull the princess’s hair any further. “Y-yes, your majesty…I remember.” Looking down at the floor, she tried not to cry and bit her lip.
Selene watched her with a raised eyebrow, her fingers clenching the bird tighter in her hand. It began to struggle in her grip, but she did not relent. With her free hand, she swatted Magda’s hand away and stood up from her chair slowly. Her eyes looked at Magda in the reflection, and her voice grew even softer. “Look at me.” Magda’s shoulders shook with the force of her fear but she raised her eyes to meet the princess’s. Selene smiled still and tilted her head slightly “That’s a good girl. Stand in front of me.” Magda let out a whimper but nodded, walking in front of Selene as though she were walking to her death. Selene leaned and in caressed Magda’s cheek as she murmured against her neck “If I didn’t have to meet my husband for breakfast so soon, I would feast on your heart…”
Magda let out a squeal of fear and looked to the side, trying not to gag at the princess’s closeness. “Y-yes…your grace…”
The princess then stepped away from Magda, her eyes blinking as she looked down at the bird in her hand. Confusion flooded her face as she slowly lessened her grip. Turning to look at Magda, she frowned sadly and walked up to her. Reaching up with a hand to touch her shoulder with concern, Magda flinched. Selene just stared at her for a moment before whispering “Please get me my white slippers…” Magda nodded quickly and rushed over to the vanity. Picking up the princess’s desired slippers, she hurried back to her and helped them on. Once Selene was fully dressed, she walked as though she were in a daze to the door. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled gently as her angelic aura surrounded her once more “Do try to rest, dear…” Magda nodded weakly and watched Selene walk out of the room. When she was sure she was alone, Magda collapsed against the vanity and began to sob.
“I trust you slept well, Princess?”
Selene nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard the warlock, clutching her chest as her eyes flashed an angry red. When she recognized the man who became the closest father figure to her proximity, she smiled and threw her arms around him“Desmond, you frightened me!”
He chuckled and patted her back lightly before he stroked her hair “I noticed…” As he took in her appearance, he nodded appreciatively and searched her face “I assume you have not seen your husband yet? Though I imagine the blood-curdling scream the whole kingdom heard has him quite preoccupied.”
The princess immediately frowned and began to walk again “He must be doting on Tempest again…honestly, if he keeps this behavior up, she will only get worse.”
Desmond quickly fell into step with his mistress and chuckled affectionately “Spoken like a true mother…Come now, dearest, you know Joffrey is just trying his best to be the greatest father he can be.”
As they walked towards the dining hall, Selene smiled gently and nodded. The familiar adoration and love brightened her face as she thought of her demon prince, and just picturing him with their daughter made her aura glow brighter. “He really is so good with her, isn’t he…If only he could shed some light on how to allow me to be closer with her as well.”
The warlock smiled knowingly before patted her arm “In time, dove. She is so young, so rambunctious. Tempest will always be a daddy’s girl, this is true. But there is always time to bond with your off-spring.” With that, they were in front of the dining hall and he took her hand. “Well, I shall go see what is taking them so long to find you, dearest. You go in an unwind. You look like the devil.”
Selene shot him a playful look and swatted him “I will have your head for that, sir…”
As she turned around and walked into the dining hall, a maidservant slipped out with a bruised face. Selene passed by her and the girl froze in fear until the princess was a safe distance. Desmond leaned against the doorway and murmured “Better my head than my soul…” Nodding distractedly, he turned around in a flourish of his cape and set off to find the prince and the ‘precious’ child.
Having raided the kitchens after coming indoors, Tempest was wandering around munching on a cookie she had swiped out from under Cook’s nose. She was staring at the portraits of her ancestors that hung for all to see, trying to guess what the portrait’s subject may have been doing at the time.
This was her favorite section in the entire castle. It was here that she let her imagination run wild, making up stories to herself about the people in them and the clothes they wore.
She was especially fond of the portrait of her Grandmother. She looked so beautiful and regal in her crown and dress. She sat down on a bench opposite the portraits, cookie forgotten in her hand as she stared at the portrait.
“I want to be like her someday.” she often mumured to herself.
It had been a long walk back up to the Castle, and by the time Joffrey had arrived, he hadn’t been able to catch sight of his young minx of a daughter; Tempest. Well, least he wasn’t hearing her screaming the Castle down that something had either, bitten, fallen, or gotten in her way. He still had the matter of the white pony to sort out, after going to great lengths to have her gift ready by Noon. Maybe he should have just reached into Nanny’s bag of holdings, to find a white pony. Least he knew he could stuff it back in there if Tempest didn’t want it.
As he walked along the halls, he would soon come across the Hall of Ancestors, that had paintings of all their relatives, even the ones that Joffrey despised. The one painting that truly gave him the creeps, was Selene’s mother’s portrait. Metia. Ugh, that woman. He was so close to blowing her off the edge of that mountain the day she chased him up the hillside to see what he had done to her daughter. Not the nicest of meetings. Half of him wished his mother Rose had managed to take a bite out of the woman before she left the Throne room that day.
It was as he came towards that awful picture, that he heard the voice of his daughter, Tempest.
“I want to be like her someday.”
“Ack…no..no, Sweetheart, wouldn’t it be better to be like Mummy? Mummy is soooo much nicer. Nanna’s got saggy bosoms.” Joffrey said, then suddenly imagined Metia topless and threw up in his mouth a little. He sat down beside his daughter and placed his arm around her. “Sweet pea. Sometimes cause something looks pretty on the outside…erm…doesn’t mean they are pretty inside.” He knew this for a fact.
<3>
“Ack…no..no, Sweetheart, wouldn’t it be better to be like Mummy? Mummy is soooo much nicer. Nanna’s got saggy bosoms. Sweet pea. Sometimes cause something looks pretty on the outside…erm…doesn’t mean they are pretty inside.”
Tempest thought about that for a few moments, her childish brain processing that information. She turned her gaze back to the portrait, her little head cocked to one side as her eyes poured over her grandmother’s features.
“I don’t want to be like Mummy. She’s mean to me sometimes. I want to be like her.” she stated stubbornly, pointing at her Grandmother. Then in the ways of children everywhere, her attention was snagged by something else. “What are bosoms?” Tempest wondered, looking up at her father.
“Do they hurt? I heard Maid speaking to Cook about her bosoms were sore after one of the horsemen squeezed them too hard. Why did that man do that, daddy? I don’t think I like him. He should be killed for hurting Maid.”
Ever said something and then wished to the heavens that you hadn’t? Well, that is exactly what Joffrey was feeling at this very moment, for ever mentioning Nanna and Bosoms in the same sentence. Tempest, the little darling had her sights set on being like Nanna, cause she thought her mother was mean to her. Tempest really needed a wake up call on that one. Joffrey had seen Metia when she was angry, and let’s just say, that there was less fire in hell that day.
“I don’t want to be like Mummy. She’s mean to me sometimes. I want to be like her.”
“Trust me, Sweet pea. Mummy is one hundred times nicer than Nanna. But you might need to spend some time at Nanna’s with your aunt Clarice, to see what I mean.” Joffrey said with a strained voice. The very idea of Clarice and Tempest having sleep overs, was unsettling. But the worst was to come, when an inquisitive child asks the big question, and this one, was going to be damn hard to answer.
“What are bosoms?”
“Bosoms? Oh…err…they are….”
“Do they hurt? I heard Maid speaking to Cook about her bosoms were sore after one of the horsemen squeezed them too hard. Why did that man do that, daddy? I don’t think I like him. He should be killed for hurting Maid.”
What a mouthful. She had been eavesdropping on the help, and learning of the manhandling ways of the horseman. Groping the maid. Half of his mind wanted to know which one, cause he probably had a good job at touching up her boobs too, if it was the one he thought. Coughing loudly, he pulled on shirt collar, and then tried to explain what “bosoms” were.
“You see…when a girl gets to a certain age….she…she..uhm…gets…STUNG..that’s it, by the …the..Milk and Honey fairy Bee. Yes..Milk and Honey. So, she gets stung on her…chest and they swell up….and…you end up with…bosoms. So yes it hurts, just like a big…really big bee sting, when they are squeezed. Like…when the naughty bee stung you today. See? Only..that was a bee and not the Milk and Honey fairy bee…cause…..you are…too little…yes..and not ready for that…yet. Soo…why don’t we go find Mummy, and you can show her your…blue elephant?”
<3>
Twirling in a circle, she skipped off toward the family dining room, wondering what deliciousness Cook had thought of for their meal, again leaving behind a father who was probably wondering what he’d gotten himself into.
Desmond was once more waiting in behind a corner for Joffrey when he heard the little princess speaking. He wasn’t particularly thrilled by small children, but he certainly had a way with them. He waited for Tempest to prance out of sight before he stepped out of his shadowy corner and smiled faintly at the demon prince. “She’s just so…charming.” He had heard Tempest say how mean Selene was and that deeply troubled him. Apparently her inner darkness was even lashing out at her own blood. With a sigh, he stepped forward and tried to keep his concerns from reading on his face. “Your majesty, the princess is waiting for you in the dining hall. I would say she has had a trying morning.” Desmond was sure not to tack on his last thought out loud You would know such things if you were present enough for your wife. It was not his place to judge, and though he had not the faintest idea what was so charming about the little Tempest, he had a small understanding of the bond between father and daughter. He was not quick to pass judgement, but there was a small spot of jealousy festering in his heart for Joffrey. The moment he set eyes on Selene, he knew she was something to treasure. However, Desmond was also quick to learn she was not his to treasure. Selene had made it very clear to everyone in the kingdoms that her heart beat only for Joffrey. Still, it was hard not to appreciate her whenever she was around. The warlock then shook his head to break himself away from his thoughts and his smile widened. “I trust your morning has been going well for you and your princess, then?” He tilted his head for a moment before spinning on his heel to lead the prince towards the dining hall. He was an odd sort of fellow.
Selene had made her way into the hall, but she was not sitting at the table like Desmond had expected her to. Instead, she was sitting in a chair surrounded by a group of lords and ladies, a baby lamb she had rescued from the kitchen laying in her lap. As she stroked his head and cooed to it softly as though she were his mother, the crowd swooned. Though her smile was gentle and tender as her expression, her blue eyes held the threat of an impending storm. Sitting back in her seat, she leaned down to kiss the lamb’s head before throwing the crowd a dazzling smile. They all ‘awed’ in response as their hearts seemed to melt. Laughing softly, she nuzzled into the lamb before speaking to one of her maidservants. “See to it this poor creature makes it to my chambers tonight. He is my new pet and I expect him to get the same royal treatment as his mummy.” As the lamb was then taken from her grasp, she sent him a dainty grin as her new love was carried off. Sighing softly, she then crossed her legs and arms as she looked around the dining hall. “What is keeping my husband and child?”
