Welcome to Gaia! ::

Henna was glad that he did not want to take care of it right then, she had a lot she needed to do during this ball, and most of it was not very enjoyable. It was at these events that she secured large sums of funding and promises of trips and commissions. She could catch the more important members of court intoxicated and open to her suggestions, and then she would fill their ears with ideas. She had no enemies amounted the men so no one objected when she was rewarded so greatly.

"Ok, But I will not be staying for the whole ball; I have to much work to do..." She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "And Once I do what I need to here I always feel like I'm just wasting time." Henna looked drained but only momentarily. She could hide her feelings and true identity so well now, court life did that to people. “Have fun tonight ok? You don’t have to perform if you don’t want to.” She tiled her head slightly and laughed that sweet soft laughter.

Henna was about to walk away then she heard his comment. It struck a target somewhere in the depths of her mind and she put a hand on her hip. "Dirt Bloods?..." She asked. Henna was a strong believer in equality between the races, she felt that everyone deserved her open mind and heart. "I do not approve of you saying that, please use a more positive term when speaking about people. Thank you." She did not like having to ask him to change his ways but she would have told anyone she heard say that to change, whether it was the prince himself or her personal slave. In her mind they were all equal the only thing that made them different was a piece of paper saying that he belonged to her, and that paper would be changed very soon. Henna tried to see the best in everyone and over look their faults, it might have been a weakness of hers but it was just one more thing that set her apart from the rest of the ladies at court. Her job lead her to stick with the idea that a person was a person no mater what they wore.

"Yes Lady Henna..."

Alexander didn't like not using the term, what else would he call the other races? It did come to mind he was going to be working as an assistant to a Dirt Blood, so he would have to learn not to use the term. It wasn't his choice though; the Tou Slaver symbol on his right palm that was but a simply triangle with a star symbol in the middle forced him to obey whoever had his contract unless it greatly went against what Alexander wanted and saying Dirt Bloods he could live without.

The Tou Slaver Seal was a mixture of magic and art that kept slave obedient and trust worthy. Tou were expert slavers and took great pride in their work, but being a slave of the Tou was probably better than being a commoner outside of the Tou Kingdom. Alexander was lucky his was a Mark One Symbol or he wouldn’t be able to resist at all anything Henna would command of him; even the kindest of people can be corrupted by power. Tou magic allowed things like the Tou Slaver Symbol to be possible; Tou magic was so great it was said to even be able to create and hide memories, but that was a rumor Alexander had only heard about.

From now on till the symbol was broken, Alexander wouldn't be able to say Dirt Blood as a term, but saying there was dirt in his blood would be acceptable unless Henna forbid that too. Alexander had went a long time of being free for the seal's magic since the King never gave him direct orders, now was different though. It was only fair that Alexander warn Henna about it, but maybe she wouldn't go too far with any orders till the contract was changed.

(If you truly need me too, I will take on another Prince, but that seems like a bit of a stretch)

Now changed into the white jacket and gray pants that had been left out for him, the Prince calmly made his way towards the banquet hall. With any luck, the princess had gotten his message loud and clear, or at least was repulsed enough by his stunt to stay out of his way. Upon his arrival at the door, The trumpets sounded.

"May we announce, his Highness Prince Cyrith Gladaron!"

The nobles stared with bright smiles on their faces, but the Prince paid them no mind. From his quick surveillance of the room, the Prince determined that he was indeed the first of his family to arrive.

(Which one you need most?)

(Alright, for the time being I'm taking over the older brother as well, but please, someone volunteer for the third sweatdrop )

Ric's Afternoon had been spent at his father's side. The old man was growing weaker by the day and there was nothing he could do but keep everyone around him calm with white lies of rosie cheeks and lifted heads. The truth was, his father would likely only have a week left in him, two weeks at best, but he could not let his brothers down with such depressing mood. It was for this reason that Prince Ric was dressed in his finest clothes and preparing to enter a hall filled with strangers, so that he could complete his act with a grand performance as a carefree Prince. With one last sigh, the Prince passed through the threshold, much as his youngerbrother had not a few minutes before.

"Announcing, his Royal Highness Prince Ric Gladaron!"

With a smile plastered on his face, the Prince waved to his future subjects as he descended down the steps.

"You certainly took your time," Prince Ric heard from behind as he began making his way over to his table.

It was a voice he had heard many time over the past twenty-three years,"Hm Cyrith, I heard from the guards that you had quite an adventure this afternoon. I was just about to sit down, how about you join me and regale me with the story."

Cyrith simply nodded and followed his brother to a table where their young seamstress was already waiting.

Amanae sat at the royal table, smiling and nodding along with a giggly, elven noblewoman that someone had been kind enough to seat her next to. Her eyes kept straying over to where Alexander was, although he was looking distinctly unhappy. She made a point of not looking up when either prince was announced, and fortunately they were both seated on the far side of the table. God only knew where the middle one was.

((I can take the Queen, if that would help.))