Announcement

[royal_obligation]

Edarial makes a list of necessities for a wife. He has Zevros check it over, who promptly rips it up and throws it at him. He is of the opinion that if Edarial doesn't actually want to marry a specific person, he shouldn't, and Zevros will have nothing to do with any of it. Edarial sighs, rewrites it, and keeps it and a copy of it away from his twin in the future.

He makes the announcement to various interested people that he will be looking for a bride. Just saying it makes him feel sick. Edarial manages to keep it together long enough to give a list of the qualities he's looking for before he flees. He says he's busy, no one will look twice at him being curt and disappearing to get work done. So no one comes after him when he hides in his room and locks the door.

Face buried in his pillow, he realizes that there's no way he can be personable to his - whatever they are. Potential brides, suitors - whatever, he doesn't care. He'll hire someone to vet them, so he doesn't have to torture himself dealing with women trying to persuade him to marry them.

Comments

[come_midnight]

"[I won't tell you to let them touch you. But don't deliberately - antagonize them. Okay, kitty? My brave Cricket. Wait a few days till we know more?"]

[alicornucopia]

"[For you,]" growls Cricket.

[aestrix]

Their captors continue to wait for them to finish talking. It's not like they know what they're talking about.

[come_midnight]

"[I'll see if I can get together some paper and chart up something more useful than what I had for muggers,]" promises Iobel. "[I don't think I'll suddenly crack teleportation, but something to go through walls maybe, I don't know. And if I can't - then I'll marry him and maybe if I have to I'll kill him in his sleep or something - we'll see. Patience?]"

[alicornucopia]

"[Fiiiiine.]"

[come_midnight]

"Are you going to move him now I found where he is?" she asks of the guards. "Or will he be here?"

[aestrix]

"We'll move him," says the alpha bitch.

"'We'? Uh, no," says Scratched Mccatinjuryson. "Not going near it."

"... We'll move it," she repeats.

[come_midnight]

"Are you going to offer me anything to ask him not to mark you up worse? He does what I tell him."

[aestrix]

"You are really not in a position to make demands right now. If he attacks us, we will act accordingly," says lady guard.

[come_midnight]

"He knows that too, and I think of his own accord he'd rather take you all on regardless, and I won't feel a thing unless you actually kill him, which you aren't going to do unless I don't marry the prince," says Iobel.

[aestrix]

"Then that's up to you both," she shrugs.

[come_midnight]

"[They're not giving an inch, kitty. You be careful for yourself, not me, okay?]"

[alicornucopia]

"[If they touch me they'll regret it,]" he growls.

[come_midnight]

"[I know. One of them's terrified of you already. I don't know how much longer they'll let me stay here and they say they'll move you. I love you, kitty.]"

[alicornucopia]

"[I love you too. Kill the prince in his sleep. If he touches you do it slow.]"

[come_midnight]

"[I'll think about it.]"

She will, whether she winds up deciding to do it or not.

[aestrix]

"Are you just about done?" sighs one of the newcomers. "We don't have all night, you know, some of us need sleep."

[come_midnight]

"My eternal sympathies," mutters Iobel, "that must be so terrible for you, what can I have been thinking?"

[aestrix]

"Cut the sarcasm," says the same newcomer, grumpily.

[come_midnight]

Iobel doesn't even dignify that with a response.

"[They're getting impatient, kitty.]"

[alicornucopia]

"[Don't let them touch you,]" hisses Cricket.

[come_midnight]

"[Love you, kitty.]"

And rather than wait to be dragged, she hauls herself to her feet, glares as much venom as she can at all of the conscious guards, and stalks back the way she came to her room.

[aestrix]

Several guards follow her there and make sure she gets there safely. The rest go to retrieve their two downed fellows, find that they're alive, and dump them into spare beds to sleep it off.

[come_midnight]

The guards are going to wake up with splitting headaches the next day but are indeed alive.

Iobel goes to bed. Maybe if she waits another couple of days she can go out of her room with a complement of six spells and use them all on an escape attempt and then have the changeover of midnight and - her limiting factor is still charging time.

In the morning she opens her door again to see if there's anybody there to ask for paper.

[aestrix]

There is. He's unfamiliar and looks at Iobel with a bored expression. "Yes, miss? Is there anything you need? Breakfast should arrive in a few minutes, we weren't sure when you would wake up."