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 Posted: Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:36 pm
Ana expected an outburst. She expected screaming and tears and hate, all of which she fully knew she deserved. She kept the secret for so long, all to protect Umbra. She never knew how she would reveal it, but she knew she would have to someday. Vidor had taken that option from her. Fast and hard as pulling a bandage away, he had taken the quickest most explosive option. And Ana waited for the consequences to fall on her.
But they didn’t come. Instead of anger there was happiness. Instead of tears there was laughter. Ana looked up, bewildered at her eldest daughter who was taking in all in stride now that she had a moment to process it. “You’re….not upset?” Ana almost didn’t believe it for a moment. Ryuu would have been upset. But Ryuu was just a boy when he left on his adventure, and grew up into Umbra the woman. This was a very different person in front of her.
Ana felt her daughter lean into her, and reflexively Ana wrapped her arms around her. She felt tears fall on her shoulder, but for some reason she knew that Umbra wasn’t sad. Overwhelmed more like. “You’ve been hit with a lot the past little while…” Ana said softly, giving Umbra a small squeeze. “I’ll always be here for you. We all will. Even Nicolette. Don’t worry she’s pretty fond of you too.” A small mirthless laugh passed Ana’s lips then. “But I am seriously going to kill your father. He didn’t even give me a warning the ruddy b*****d!”
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Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 6:03 am
Umbra gave something of a chuckle. ”I could be mad if you want me too? I could raise my voice and curse and swear and hurdle things at you and even toss in some darkness wielding too if that would make you feel better?” Ana would be able to feel Umbra relax under her touch, something that never happened with Ryuu, but seemed to be happening more and more frequently with Umbra. Perhaps Umbra was starting to grow into her role a little more. ”This past year, I’ve been turned into a girl against my will, I’ve been attacked by bandits, goblins, ogres and Dragons, I’ve been thrown by my hair, pierced by weapons, lost the love of my life and after all that, I gave up my manhood for my sister so that she could be happy… learning that my Uncle is really my father is small potatoes to all of that… and throwing a temper tantrum will solve nothing. It seemed to have stopped being effective after I turned five.” Umbra closed her eyes and continued to relax into her mom’s embrace, it was true, that Umbra had learned a lot on her journey, she had matured and grown as a person, learning how to take responsibility for her actions and also gaining some ability to see things from a few steps back, rather than take them so personally. True, she still had a lot of growing up to do, but at least now she was able to see things from a different perspective and react a little more with her head then she was able to do with her emotions or a split second impulse.
With a loud, final sniffle, Umbra brushed her eyes with the back of her sleeve and started to roll up the scroll once more, slowly and carefully as she did so. She gave a weak smile. ”I’m sure he had a reason for giving it to me… he doesn’t usually do things on a minor whim or passing fancy, I’ll say that much for him.” Umbra paused and her smile became something of a grin when Ana mentioned that she was going to kill her father. ”Which one? Technically I have two to choose from now, so can we divide up the murder and just give both of them a good solid thrashing instead?” Umbra offered rather cheekily and playfully. It had been such a weird day today… meeting new friends, getting to know old ones, she had been bounced around on Tobi’s knees, she had been challenged to a duel, she had her knuckles kissed and an ice rose given to her… discovered who her true father is. She and Tobi even got to have something of a heart to heart… and she learned that sharing a cup is akin to kissing, huh, who knew?
”Is Niccy… really that fond of me? It sometimes doesn’t feel like it, we never really did see eye to eye on much of anything, really. Maybe it’s my bitterness about her being able to pick up her old life that has skewed my vision of things now. Then again, Tobi tells me she blames herself for my choice. Honestly, I’m not sure why she feels guilty, she asked me for help… and as you told me a long time ago, big brothers are born first so that they can protect their little sisters…” Umbra finished rolling up the scroll then paused in thought before she turned her head towards her mom. ”Does that still apply to me, now being an older sister instead of a brother? Can I stop looking out for Nicolette’s hide and focus solely on my own?”
There was a hint of tease in her voice, though in all honesty, she was kind of serious at the same time, Nicolette could be so much trouble sometimes…
Umbra placed the scroll under her arm and continued to sit with her mom, it was nice to have some of these quiet moments like this every now and then.
”You’re friend Haku is quiet the strong person, so strong and yet so gentle. She reminds me a lot of Annette in her own way. You’re lucky that you had such a person on your team when you were hunting for the Prince all those years ago. But then again I guess I also had my own gallivanting knight to keep me company on my quest. Man… I owe Tobi a hell of a lot for that, I’m not even sure how to pay him back for it. Everything that I can think of seems like a pointless, almost laughable gesture… then again, Nicolette needs to thank him too, I imagine.” Umbra gave a heavy sigh at that thought, she truly did owe Tobi a great debt for what he had done for them and she had absolutely no idea how to thank him either.
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Posted: Sat Aug 02, 2014 6:02 pm
Ana chuckled in spite of herself. "I would really rather you didn't start a tantrum thanks." She murmured softly. "As for your fathers, perhaps yes they could both use a good thrashing. Still, Vidor had better expect a good solid punch at least next time he drops by." Ana was the stubborn type and would be sore about that for a while.
Moving on to Nicolette then, Ana sighed. "Maybe that is a conversation for another night. But...yes. She is fond of you. She thinks the world of you really. When she asked for your help, I don't think she intended for you to give up your whole life for her. She feels guilty because she feels like she asked for too much and that she ruined your life. I had to send her away to Ishtar's while you were….gone. She couldn't even walk past your room without just collapsing into tears." Ana kissed her daughter on the forehead. "You'll always be her big sister. And I think some part of you is always going to be watching out for her. You can disagree with me now. But trust me...in the future...you are going to try and protect her from something or someone again."
With that, Ana stood up off the floor, and put her hand out to help Umbra up. "Haku is...one of the best friends I've ever had. And yes she is quite a bit like Annette. I've noticed that for years." She agreed. "I'm glad that you have a friend like that. You have Tobias. And while I might not always agree with his...lifestyle….I can see he cares for you and would do anything for you."
Ana picked up the scroll without looking at it and rolled it back up before handing it to Umbra. "I think it's best we got some rest now. You have a lot to process. We both do...I think." She smiled softly. "Good night Umbra."
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Posted: Sun Aug 03, 2014 5:11 am
Umbra smiled at her mom and took the scroll from her gently, she was feeling rather tied herself and perhaps a good night sleep was in order. She kissed her mom good night and headed off to her room. What she said about Niccy was swirling around in her head, though she wasn’t sure what she should do about this new information or if she should do anything at all. She supposed that between what Tobi told her and what her mom said, that she really didn’t have anything that she could argue against. It seemed that… her sister probably did care about her more that perhaps she realized. Umbra sighed a little bit as she went to her room and got ready for bed, she started to wonder if she was being too hard on Niccy for everything that Umbra perceived as reality. Umbra placed the scroll in one of her drawers and then got into bed. The information of the day was swirling chaotically in her mind, despite this though… Umbra fell asleep relatively quickly.
The next morning however, Umbra was rather spacey, her mind kept wandering else were and she wasn’t able to focus on the many things that she needed to do in order to keep the days tasks at hand. She started with a warm, relaxing bath, using her favorite combination of scented oils that always seemed to relax her and put her in a better mood, the room was fill with the smells of gentle lavender and the calming presence of Mint. She let the maids fuss over her as she had the last two times she took a bath. Umbra was starting to learn the fine art of pampering one’s self and honestly, she was starting to develop a bit of a taste for it. They were still working on her room and probably would be for the next little while. As the maids brushed back and washed her hair to a high gloss shine, she absently wondered if Lady Isabelle was going to get around to writing her back soon. She wished that she could drop by and see how things were doing, but at the moment she had too much on her plate, with her upcoming coronation and all. Umbra pushed those thoughts aside and allowed herself a little more relaxation in the bath, she assumed that Nicolette or her mom would want to come in and take their own baths very soon. But that was neither here nor there at the moment.
Umbra was seriously having a very strange morning. It started with her usual sword practice, she had been working on her form for a broken hour at least, but she was unable to focus. Normally, when she was practicing with her blade she would be able to clear her mind and let the practice clear her troubles away. Today however, she was unable to get to that point. Her thoughts were shattered and broke and honestly, what used to bring comfort and meaning to Umbra now just left this sense of… emptiness… of purpose to her, it was as though she wasn’t getting the comfort out of what she was doing anymore, like when a hobby that you once enjoyed runs its course and you find yourself doing it because of some sort of obligation to yourself rather than the enjoyment that it once brought with it.
Umbra, lost in her own thoughts didn’t hear the maids the first few times that they called to her. Umbra finally heard her name and somewhat startled towards where the maids were calling her from. ”I’m sorry, yes?”
“You bath is finished M’lady…”
”Ah… yes, thank you.” Umbra stirred from the water and took up a couple of towels to dry herself off.
“Is… there something the matter, Princess?”
Umbra paused for a moment, as though the question and frozen her solid. ”No, there’s… just a lot on my mind lately and I guess I’m still trying to process things. Don’t worry about it, I’m fine, thank you.”
Umbra finished drying herself off before going into her room and getting dressed for the day, she was a little slower buttoning up her blouse as things continued to distract her. Emperor… Archeon… she couldn’t dislodge that name from her head, and it kept coming back and haunting her throughout her times of concentration. Was she really related to that monster? Umbra didn’t doubt that her Uncle… no… her dad would lie to her like that. Once more, she found a smile touch her lips as her mind kept correcting her that Vidor was her dad and had been all along. It felt so weird, and yet it also felt so right. It was hard to describe how to feel about that, she had always held Vidor in high regard, he was just… always there for her whenever she needed it.
“-m’lady?”
Once more Umbra snapped up and towards the voice, the maids were giving her a funny look. “Are you alright your majesty? You’re mind has been taking you to different places all day…”
“It must be a boy, only a boy can make a girl take off into a head fantasy like that!” One of the other maids chimed in with a swoon. “Oh won’t you tell us my lady?!”
Umbra chuckled a little bit. “Sorry to disappoint you, but no men have entered my thoughts as of late.” Wait, was that technically lying? She was thinking of a man… but it certainly wasn’t for any sort of romantic interest.
“Mayline! Don’t be so nosy! I mean, what if the Princess still has a taste for other Princess?”
“This is true, she was a prince after all, perhaps her tastes and fancies are still the same?”
“Are they you’re majesty.”
”Don’t you girls have anything better to do than to guess my sexual orientation?” Umbra asked with an exasperated sigh. ”No, it isn’t a girl either, I just… I just learned something the other day and I’m trying to wrap my head around it is all. Nothing to worry about.”
“Is it about your coronation, your majesty?” The younger maid asked.
“Yes.” Umbra replied as soon as it seemed appropriate without sounding too quick and raise more suspicion on here than there already was. Lord… she couldn’t imagine what the gossip was going to be like in the palace now… she had the suspicion that the maids were going to start taking bets about her sexual orientation now that she left that rather vague.
“Anyway! We were wanting to know how her majesty would like her hair this morning?”
Umbra paused for a moment and looked in the mirror. ”…You know what? Let’s just leave it down as is, I don’t expect I will be doing much today for it to get in the way.”
Umbra eventually escaped the maid and their insistence in learning if she was interested in guys or girls and fled into the quieter areas of the gardens where she could at least try and collect her thoughts in peace without the maids constantly interrupting them. She was sure that their next spot would be to tend to the Queen and to try and pry for information about their sudden interest in this new topic. Umbra sat herself down on a marble bench and leaned back against the wall, listening to the birds as they sang and chirped happily in the morning sun. Umbra was actually finding herself enjoying the peace here, she found herself closing her eyes and trying to push the constant thoughts of Emperor Archeon out of her mind so that she could get some level of focus. Maybe it was time for a new hobby or something? Her swordplay didn’t seem to be doing what it used to and perhaps it was time to learn some new things… maybe she would ask some of her friends and of course, Niccy and Mom what they did to relax (though she was pretty sure that she knew Nicolette’s answer already). Time to explore herself a little, she guessed. After a few moments though, her mind once more returned to the question that burned so hotly in her mind: ’Dad… why did you want or need me to see this family tree? What purpose did it serve you and why was it necessary for me to find out anyway?’
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 5:10 pm
"Morning." The voice came from just behind Umbra. Tobias stepped around the bench to take the spot next to her. He looked windswept again, his cheeks flushed from the wind. Obviously he had flown there again. "Just thought I would drop by and say hi. And maybe ask for your blessing." He said, a nervous edge to his voice. "I'm going to tell Lady Alexandra….what I am. I think it's time." He said. Did he like this idea? No. Absolutely not. If it were up to him he probably wouldn't tell her until maybe the day they started talking about making little hatchlings. But that wasn't fair to her. "Any advice on coming out to your girlfriend?" He asked wryly.
After a moment of silence Tobi looked over at Umbra. She seemed deep in thought about something or another. "So...what's up in your life?" He asked, sensing...something. He knew when something was bothering Umbra. They had been best friends since they were hatchlings themselves.
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:40 pm
Umbra didn’t hear what Tobi had said, really, she didn’t even know that he had arrived and sat down beside her until there was a paused and she heard his voice beside her again. Her head once more snapped in the direction that Tobi was sitting at with a look of surprise on her face. ”Uhhhh…” Umbra was more surprised that Tobi just seemed to materialize out of nowhere. ”I’m sorry, what was that?” Tobi would have had to replete what he said before Umbra could answer, though when her answer came it was rather… short and seemed to lack a certain presence in of itself, like she was somewhere far away.
”If you think it’s time, Tobs… then by all means. But only if you feel the time is right.” Her voice was soft and almost hard to hear. She really didn’t know what to say to Tobi right now, her mind being heavy with other things that she was trying to sort through. She didn’t move an inch from where she was, though she closed her eyes and sighed heavily when Tobi asked her what was up.
”I found out last night that… my Uncle Vidor is really my father. The king knew about this and him and my mom kept it a secret from everyone… but I also learned that I’m a direct descendent of the Emperor Archeon. Vidor’s family kept a pretty good and pure bloodline too, it’s even purer than Thomas’.” Umbra’s eyes narrowed a bit and she leaned her head back against the wall. ”I’m… not sure what to make of all of this. I know that Dad revealed it to me for a reason, but I can’t figure out what that reason is, then there is the fact that I’m more or less adopted by the King to keep the dignity and protect the Queen. I’m… not sure what to feel right now. I know in the grand scheme of things it’s not that big of a deal… but the name Emperor Archeon still haunts me and I can’t shake the name or what it means for me.”
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 6:58 pm
Tobias chuckled. "Earth to Umbra. Wow you are spacy today." he commented, as he could hardly hear her. He nodded at her blessing though, "Thanks. Wish me luck. Hopefully she takes it about as well as you did. Minus the bit about being knocked off the side of a cliff." He said with another small chuckle.
He listened then to what was bothering Umbra. As he did, he whistled low under his breath. "Well then…" That was a lot of information to process in one night. Tobias needed a minute to think about it himself. And it wasn't even his lineage they were talking about. "Emperor Archeon huh…and Vidor….." Tobias looked over to Umbra a little wide eyed. "So your mom got around a bit back in the day?" he asked, trying to break the tension. He laughed slightly, and then was silent again for a long moment.
"Is there any way you could get a hold of Vidor?" Tobias asked suddenly. "Maybe with those dark powers of yours. Don't you dark users have some kind of...shadowy messenger pigeons or something akin to that?" Seemed like the easiest way to get answers. Just ask. But then again Tobi didn't really know much about Umbra's powers. Other then they were bloody terrifying at times.
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Posted: Mon Aug 04, 2014 8:09 pm
”Honestly Tobi, I have no idea how to do something like that, Dad sure knows how to keep an eye on us, but I’m not too terribly sure how he does it… that and mom was pretty pissed that he gave me that scroll that announced my family bloodline in the first place, I would fear for his safety if I brought him here to ask him.” Umbra noted with a dry chuckle, not that he may have an answer for her anyway, he was always a rather… secretive… man. In a way, he was just like her, she tended to bottle things up as Ryuu and guard against the things that bothered him, thinking that nobody cared or that it was just not their concern. Umbra, however, was getting to be the opposite of that. She was finding it harder and harder to bottle things up and was now discovering new emotions that went along with them. It was a strange thing being a girl, but at the same time… maybe it was better for her? She did usually feel a bit better after a couple of buckets of tears and someone to perhaps offer her a point of view that she didn’t think of before. ”Maybe this is just something that will become more apparent as time goes on or something? It’s weird… I’m not upset about it, I’m just… I don’t know… confused? Unsure of the information, maybe? I’m not sure. I mean, I should be angry, right? This was something major that was kept from me and finding out that you’re a direct descendent of the most hated, feared and most influential man of our continents history would make anyone embarrassed or ashamed… but… I don’t feel that way. I mean, I guess I kind of do but I also kind of don’t. Does that make sense? Ugh… emotions are confusing and being a girl can be frustrating at times.” Umbra huffed. More upset that her emotions were confusing more than that she was about the recent news that she got nailed with.
Umbra then stood up and stretched her legs. ”Maybe things are just confusing for me now because I can’t find anything to distract myself anymore and because I can’t focus on anything else, my mind is just too overloaded with this information and I can’t get a break from it.” Umbra sighed and unsheathed her saber, pointing it out in front of her. ”It’s funny, Tobi, I used to be able to clear my mind when I took up the sword and practiced. But… now it’s not working for me… it’s gotten so much less effective and today… it wasn’t working at all.” Umbra’s eyes narrowed before she turned her attention to Tobi. ”What do… you do to distract yourself from things like this? Aside from hunting for clams, I mean.” Yeah, Umbra wasn’t sure that she would be able to distract herself with trying to get into a girls skirt. Kudos for him for being able to do that, but it certainly wasn’t Umbra’s cup of tea. Maybe she could get some ideas about what she could do to distract herself from her thoughts from Tobi, especially sense her coronation was coming up soon and she was going to be stressed to the max about that. It would be nice to have something that she could do to get away from those moments from time to time. Umbra placed her saber back into its scabbard, and turned to face Tobi again, she leaned forwards and gave him an ample glimpse of her cleavage. She placed her hands on her thighs and gave Tobi and amused look. ”You still need to take me flying by the way. You did promise me, how about we go the day after tomorrow if you come back then?” Umbra ran a seductive finger over his jaw line before raising his chin so that she was looking at her amused, smirking face. It was hard to tell if this was all some sort of seductive manipulation on Umbra’s part, or if she just caught him looking at the view that she may or may not have intentionally created for him.
Then there was the subject of Alexandra. Umbra offered a bit of a sympathetic smile. ”I can’t say one way or another about how she will react, Tobi… I don’t know her all that well and only met her a few times while courting Lady Isabelle. So... just be sure that you’re really sure that you want to do it before actually telling her, it might be your instincts telling you that it just isn’t time yet.” Umbra paused and gave something of a pleading smile at Tobi, her eyebrows raised at an angle of worry. ”And… if you see Lady Isabelle… tell her I said ‘Hi’ and that… I’m doing alright, okay?” Umbra straightened herself up and place her hands on her hips, raising an eyebrow and looked down at Tobi for a moment. ”I’ll let that comment about my Mom slid this time, but you need to be careful about things like that… after all, she’s one of those people who can be anywhere where you least expect her, I’m sure she would kick your a** if she heard you say something like that.” Umbra then relaxed a little bit. ”It must be hard… when you love two people so much that you’re forced to make a choice between them. I guess I can’t fault her for that, though I’m not sure that I fully understand either.”
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 7:00 pm
Curse the ladies man that he was, Tobias' eyes instinctively dipped down at the gorgeous line of cleavage in front of him. It wasn't until he felt the finger along his jaw did his eyes snap back up to Umbra's face. Gods. He needed to get a hold of himself. Normally he was a little more...tactful. But Umbra kept making him forget all of that. It must have been just because they were friends for so long. He felt a little hot under the collar and immediately stood up, clearing his throat. "I...ah….should be going." He grinned and waved to Umbra as he started to walk away. "I'll drop by in a couple days for that flight."
But Tobias didn't drop by. In fact, it was a good two weeks before he visited Umbra again. A mere few days before her coronation. And even then he had made excuses as to why they couldn't go flying, making a promise for another time. He seemed...different. He still flew to the palace, but Umbra might notice that he left to visit Alexandra again he went by carriage rather then air. Turning an hour trip into days. In truth, Alexandra was less then pleased about his true nature. She was all but revolted by it. It had been their first real fight. He had worked so hard to accept his nature, and she wanted him to squash it back down. She didn't want him to fly again, to have scales. Even to use his dragon fire except on self defense. He felt so conflicted. He really cared about Alexandra, even considered once or twice possible speaking with her father about their relationship. He wanted to make her happy. And who knew, maybe some day she would come around and accept it. It surely was just a shock now. In the mean time he would still fly when he was at home, and train when she wasn't with him. On the other hand...Mother, Umbra, and Nicolette all knew what he was and encouraged him. He...he didn't know what he should do.
Finally came the day or the coronation. Royals were coming from all the kingdoms far and wide. Tobias was there, a special guest to Umbra herself, dressed in his finest black tunic and pants. The tunic was decorated in a silver substance the color of gun metal arranged in his family crest. He didn't dare tell Alexandra, but the silver material was of his own scales. She only just put up with his permanent changes in his hair, height and nails. But would probably throw a fit if she knew what he was wearing. To hell if he started letting her dress him as well. For the moment he didn't know where Alexandra was. Among all the guests somewhere he supposed. He in the meantime was trying to find Umbra.
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Posted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 7:46 pm
The rest of Umbra’s day was spent in town, wandering from store to store as she looked at the various curiosities that the shops had to offer. It was nice to see the various things that the world had to offer her for exploration and experimentation and it was even better when you could just go alone and see what interested you without the influence of others. To just look around and be yourself without anyone to impress or get approval of, it was easy to see that there were a few shop keepers who were surprised to see the new Princess come into their store and ask questions and show at least some level of interest in what sort of hobbies that they had to offer her in order to relax and focus on. There were a lot of suggestions for Umbra, and even more idea’s popped up that Umbra didn’t even know existed.
During the time that Tobi was gone, Umbra started to disappear from the palace a few hours at a time. It started with her disappearing every third day or so, then it became a regular occurrence where it would be an everyday thing, whatever Umbra was doing by herself at the unknown location it was safe to say that it would help ease her mood. This caused the rumour mill to go crazy among the maids, many would speculate that it was because she met a boy that she had fallen in love with and they were meeting in secret. The maids were divided among where or not Umbra was interested in men or women, so there were of course those who argued fiercely that it was girl who Umbra was involved with. Some would say it must have been a knight that captured her heart, some say it was one of the Valkyries, others were thinking it was a Prince in a Neighbouring kingdom and others a Princess… there were even a few rumours floating around that it was Her and Tobi that were secretly starting their romantic relationship. When Umbra was bombarded with the question she would neither confirm nor deny them –spare the one about Tobi, she made it pretty clear that they were still just best friends and had no interest in each other past that- this lack of information just seemed to add to the frenzy of the Maids gossip… something that by the time of the coronation would have likely driven Nicolette, Thomas and Ana absolutely up the wall. Umbra, however, was amused at the sudden interest and found that she could have a lot of fun with her petty torments of the Maids. Whatever Umbra’s activities were while she was gone though, remained a closely kept secret.
When Tobi returned, Umbra noticed the change right away and was obviously worried about his mental state. It seemed that something had happened between him and Alexandra and it probably had something to do with him being a dragon. It wasn’t rocket science with the way that things had taken a sudden and drastic change. Umbra was very disappointed about Tobi not taking her flying, she was starting to get a little tired of the excuses and pushing back of when he would take her, it almost felt like he was breaking a promise to her. Still she would bug him every day about it when he was around, she didn’t really care at this point if he was getting agitated by it, she was feeling that more so because it was starting to feel like the first promise that he was breaking. When the pair made a promise to each other, they kept it… that was there bond. So to see Tobi like this, it hurt Umbra and she had half a mind to go over to Alexandra and give her a good punch in the jaw for what she did to Tobi. Her wrath was only stopped because she had to focus on her coronation that was quickly approaching. Despite the chaos of the last few days remaining, Umbra was overjoyed when Lady Isabelle and her beau came to take part in her coronation and she insisted that they stay a few days or so after the coronation, seeing as they had come such a long way just for a few hours of ceremony… that was if everything went well.
Umbra was a little less impressed that Alexandra was there as Tobi’s guest, however, she put up with her for Tobi’s sake as she didn’t want to strain a life long friendship over something so petty.
Umbra stood in front of the mirror as she inspected herself. She had flat out refused to wear any sort of gown for the ceremony, as her mom predicted a while ago. She did dress feminine, though she kept her signature androgynous look intact, there was enough ruffles and lace on her person that she got away with not wearing a dress despite being a girl, she wanted to wear some sort of ceremonial armour but the idea was dismissed very quickly. Eventually a comfortable middle ground was found through negotiations. Umbra was waiting in the room to be called in for the ceremony to occur. She was a walking bundle of nerves as excitement and gut twisting nervousness seemed to twist and weave through her being. She was pacing and being over all fidgety. How could she not, really? She had been groomed and prepared for this for a while. She just wished… her dad was here to see this.
Then again, maybe he was? It was hard to tell with him sometimes.
Alexandra wore a gown of red, her elegance and sexiness were all on display as she flowed through the room from one person to the next before finally finding Tobi, she looped an arm through his and pulled herself closer to him. She was so glad that he saw things her way about that… dragon… thing that they talked about. How embarrassing to be seen with a giant reptile. She still wasn’t sure about his physical changes and the only reason that she didn’t get him to change them back was that he wasn’t sure if he could. The thought that he had gotten into a relationship with her before telling her that he was an overgrown lizard did somewhat boil her blood, he was just luck that he was good in bed and wasn’t after her money or she would have dropped him like copper coin. She smiled up at him, approving of his choice of clothing that she more or less had a hand in choosing for him. ”The ceremony will start soon, shall we grab a seat while we can?” She certainly didn’t want to be standing while this boring ceremony took place. Actually she wasn’t even sure why she was here other than Tobi asking her. She hardly knew Ryuu and she certainly didn’t approve of Umbra being so close to her boyfriend. The little Hussy…
That little Hussy! Ishtar could have killed her when she found out about what she had said to Tobi! The woman was glaring daggers that the floozy who was now attached to her sons arm. Why couldn’t her son have good tastes in women? Why did he have to settle for her? Umbra was a lovely girl, why not her? And they totally made the cutest couple too! Ishtar calmed herself and soothed her disapproval about the girl, she was here to support and be happy for Umbra. The poor thing had been through enough without her coronation ceremony being ruined by some old lady who hated her sons choice in women.
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Posted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 4:59 pm
Tobias offered his arm to Alexandra, and a small smile. He couldn't help but feel a small triumph at thinking of how Alexandra had "helped him" pick out an outfit that contained a small part of his dragon heritage. Maybe she was subliminally getting over her unease. "Yes I suppose we should. Come, there is a spot near the front reserved for us." He told her with a small grin, leading her towards the front of the room. Among the seats reserved for family was a pair of seats for Tobias and his guest. They sat down, and waited for the start of the ceremony.
The ceremony was due to start soon. The priest of the Goddess was ready, Thomas was waiting out in the ceremony room. All that was left was for the guests to finish seating, and for Umbra to arrive. Anastasia was dressed in her royal best. A gold gown decorated mythril and gold armour. She wore her ceremonial crown, a horribly heavy gilded thing that was placed atop a head of silver braids and curls. She seemed to almost float as she walked in the room where Umbra was waiting. She watched with a small smile as her daughter paced the tiny alcove. "If you keep pacing like that you'll wear a hole through the floor." Ana teased, approaching her daughter. "Come now, it won't be so bad. Just a crown and some vows. Nothing too painful. And then just the ball. Do you still plan to use Tobias for your first dance?" She asked. As it was a tradition for the new royal prince, or in this case princess, to have the first dance of the evening. Ana hugged her daughter then. "Remember darling. Today is all for you. This is your day. And no one can take it from you."
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Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2014 5:45 am
”If the floor can withstand months of your fretting because your son went on a journey, then I’m pretty sure that it could withstand the nervous excitement of your eldest as I prepare to receive my crown.” It was about this time that Umbra paused and turned to her mom, she was happy for the distraction from her thoughts and worries about the ceremony itself and she was rather anxious to get things moving. Umbra closed her eyes and gave a grim smile. ”I don’t know mom, after all, this hasn’t exactly been my luckiest year, it wouldn’t surprise me if a random tribe of marauders kicked down the door and ruined the ceremony… my luck seems to be in that sort of setting as of late.” Umbra turned to look at herself in the mirror one last time, making sure that everything was in place and presentable to be in front of hundreds of strangers, friends and family. God this was nerve wracking… Umbra was debating which was worse, this or fighting Hlin? Actually, about now, she would rather be fighting Hlin, after all… She actually won that round.
Umbra listened to what her mom had to say next about the ball and burst into laughter. ”No mom, I haven’t ruined the carefully laid plots that you and Niccy schemed to get me to dance with Tobi… I have no idea how you talked him into do it though, I would have thought he would have been a little too awkward to dance with me considering that I was a guy a year before.” Yeah, honestly, she had no idea what sort of threats or bribes that Tobi had to endure to agree to that, Umbra was going to ask Isabelle to dance with her for the first dance. Somehow though… that just didn’t feel right, with her being both engaged and with her fiancé to boot. It just worried her that it might strain the relationship that she and Isabelle had if Isabelle thought that maybe Umbra was still interested in her in some sort of romantic way. Truth be told, she kind of was… she still had some very, very deep feelings for Isabelle and still wished that she was her beau. At the same time though, her feelings for her were starting to change. It was really hard to understand or even describe, the only thing that she knew was that, though her feelings for her were still really deep… they didn’t feel the same as when she was Ryuu. Maybe she just wanted Isabelle happy and forced those feelings to become something different, maybe it was the curse running its course or… maybe there was something else to it that Umbra didn’t understand yet. There were so many possibilities that it kind of made her brain hurt a little bit trying to think about it.
As for dancing with Tobi, she guessed that it wasn’t too bad, though she still felt a little weird about doing it considering their friendship. It was easy for Tobi to adapt to what was going on, but on the flip side, Tobi still pretty well looked like Tobi to her, so it was like… a larger Tobi was going to be dancing with the Prince… it just seemed so surreal to her at times. She was starting to discover that their relationship was changing too. It was starting to become a little more complicated… for her at least… and there was a very terrifying reality that was starting to dawn on her about how their relationship was changing subtly because she was a girl… whether she like it or not. Even though they pretty well did the same things as they did before, there was always something different about them that Umbra couldn’t quiet put her finger on. She hoped that it was only her imagination, but part of her rather doubted that as a possible explanation. Having the first dance with Tobi was one of those things, if anyone had suggested that Ryuu and Tobi dance together, they would have likely gotten to fists in the face for their suggestion. But now… now it wasn’t a big deal apparently, it was something that nobody was batting an eyelash about and the only faces that had to worry were hers and Tobi’s… and that was only because they threatened to blush about it. Best Buds should feel this way should they? They shouldn’t be getting hot under the collar or be flustered by things that they didn’t with or for each other. What changed and… was she the reason for it? Was this something that Tobi was okay with or… would he start to feel uncomfortable with this and sooner or later leave her? It was perhaps that thought that made her the most frightened of all. She couldn’t picture her life without Tobi, it would be so empty without him. Like the moon without the stars, it just won’t be the same.
Umbra was pulled out of her thoughts by her mom’s hug and relaxed in her grip before returning the gesture and a bit of a forced laugh. ”I hope not… though I’m sure there are a few loonies on Dads side of the family would won’t be able to tolerate a Darkness user taking the throne. Let’s hope that they skip the invite, hmm?” Umbra paused the looked up at her mother.
”But the way… how come you get to wear armour and I don’t?” Umbra asked with a full blown pout. That was so unfair! The signal then summoned the rest of the guest to take their seats, and for Umbra to come into the hall for her coronation. Umbra heaved a heavy, nervous sigh and look over at her mom. ”Well, here goes nothing.” Being practically family herself, Ishtar had a seat next to Nicolette during the ceremony and took a seat with the others when they were signaled to sit down. She wrapped her arm around the golden haired girl when she took a seat. ”Are you excited for the Ball after this honey?” Ishtar grinned while the others were still finding their spots to sit. Nicolette would probably know what she was talking about, Ishtar was rather amused with the idea of her son dancing with Umbra, and quite frankly, the more he stayed away from that tramp that he hooked up with the better. It was safe to say that Ishtar hated that girl, and she didn’t exactly hide it very well, but again, she reminded herself that this is Umbra’s day and not to ruin it because of her. Still, she was a mother first and pulled her head up over Nicolette’s to make sure that those too weren’t getting too cuddly during the ceremony.
Hmm…. Maybe she should have brought some fair sized rocks in with her just in case the gentleman and the tramp got a little too close to each other. She would live rather joyously if that girl took a rock to the skull and ran home crying because of it, never to return to darken her doorstep or wrap herself around the arm of her son. Ishtar’s narrow eyes became bright and sunny again as she looked at Niccy. ”Has everything been okay on your end, hun? Are you… starting to feel a little better about… that?”Alexandra happily took a seat next to Tobi and made sure that her hand was in his while they sat down, as if she was displaying her relationship with this man for all to see. She looked around and noted the glare that Tobi’s mom was giving her and rolled her eyes. That woman must be dumb to not see what a treasure that she was and what a blessing it was for her son to have someone like her in his life. Someone who could help change him for the better and keep that silly dragon stuff under control. Seriously, did that woman have no shame or class, to just let her son go around and be a monster like that? And who in their right mind would let themselves be taken by a dragon like that? The woman must be a whore or something. Alexandra also noted her best friend in the crowd and waved to her, they weren’t too far from each other considering that Isabelle too was a special guest of the Prince. She gave her a charming smile before letting her and her beau return to their cooing and coddling. She looked up at Tobi though, there was a look of displeasure on her face when she spoke to him. ”Do you really have to dance with her? I mean, you are MY boyfriend, can’t she get someone who is single or something?” It was pretty safe to say that Alexandra was… protective… of her man, and having her boyfriend dance with another girl really didn’t sit well with her… in fact… having her boyfriend be FRIENDS with someone like Umbra didn’t sit well with her. She would certainly be bring that up a little later in their relationship. For now though, she supposed that Umbra had been through a lot and it was only fair to say that Tobi was probably the only outside support from her family that she had, so for now she would turn a blind eye to it. With one last big breath to calm her nerves, Umbra waited on the other side of the door to be let in. This was it, this was her literal and figurative crowing moment of glory for her short though rather unfortunately adventurous life. She closed her eyes for a moment before nodding and letting Mayfew and Sorcha open the doors to the Ceremony. Umbra’s eyes fell on the beautiful tiara that they found in the royal vaults before the occasion, it fit her perfectly too, so there was no need to damage it in order to resize it. Apparently, it was the crown that belonged to Thomas’ great, great, great, great grandmother, she was apparently quite the little fireball and Thomas guessed that she and Umbra would have gotten along swimmingly if they ever had the chance to get introduced to each other, at least, from the stories that he heard.
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