Ask Royal Pains

Altair Din

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Empire
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Grand Marshal

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Sreeya
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Altair chuckled softly when she remarked that she had been kissed before. He cleared his throat before speaking, “You should be kissed, and often and by someone that knows how,” He rattled off a quote from a famous, old Holomovie. He held her tight, still feeling that rush from their tender moment.

When she complimented his horns, his tail began to move erratically on its own. Altair always turned to a puddle if anyone ever commented on his horns. His face heated up and almost turned a shade of purple. However, when she mentioned they were soft, he huffed a bit, “Nah, m'am, they’re tough as beskar,” He said proudly, reaching up to flick a finger against a horn.

By now, the ride was drawing to a close. As much as Altair didn’t want to get down, he knew they had no choice. With a sigh, he stepped off and offered his hand to help her down. The snow continued to fall, the rest of the town lit up brilliantly with lights and carolers singing in the distance. Altair reached down to keep a grasp of Zelle’s hand, tugging her along to walk through the town.

“Where to next?” Altair asked, clearly not wanting the date to end. They kept walking until he spotted a live band taking a break in between performances. He turned to look at Zelle, “Wait here a sec,” He said as he walked towards the band members. If she watched, she would notice him slipping the members some credits. Soon after, the supporting cast like a rhythm guitarist and a drummer got back on the small stage.

Altair took out his guitar and walked onto stage, lifting the mic up to his height. He took a moment to tune his instrument before he gave a nod to the band to start playing with him. With that, he started strumming his guitar and started singing in Meerian. His voice projected across the street and he swayed to the rhythm as he sang, his fingers effortlessly traveling across his guitar. He kept his eyes on Zelle the entire time, offering a teasing smile as he sang.

By now, a crowd began to gather. A few people stopped to stare at the object of the serenade, looking at Zelle to see who she was.

 

Reyna Vernize

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Princess of Onderon

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llamallove
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You should be kissed, and often and by someone that knows how. Shockingly smooth, particularly for someone as young as Altair. If the one kiss they had shared in the sleigh was any indication, the Tiefling certainly did know how. How often remained to be seen.

”And do you intend to? Kiss me often, that is?” she asked, an unmistakable gleam in her eyes, some of that familiar flirtation they had exchanged the first night in the tavern returning. It was up to Altair to interrupt—a challenge or an invitation. It was certainly bold, considering this was one night. Altair would be leaving soon. He’d said so himself.

Hand in hand, the pair walked side by side in the snow, listening to it crunch beneath their feet. Reyna looked around, searching for the next diversion. Anything would do. Anything to keep the night from ending. When Altair told her to wait, she did just that, dark eyes following his every movement.

It wasn’t until he stood on stage and began to tune his guitar that she realized what he was about to do and recalled the promise he’d given her at the beginning of the evening. A serenade. He hadn’t forgotten. The half-Sephi stared at him with eyes wide and full of wonderment, never taking her eyes off of him for even a second lest she wake up and this all be some kind of wonderful dream she could never return to. She was transfixed, standing in the ankle deep snow with her shoulders straight and her ears straight up.

Simply put, Altair’s voice was captivating. Without ever realizing it, Reyna drifted toward the stage, one small step at a time. Closer to the music. Closer to Altair. The lyrics were in a language she had never heard before, but she could understand the look in his amethyst eyes. The golden, breathy voice that rippled across the winter air with warmth and confidence. With intimacy. This song was for her. Just for her. Ears swiveling forward, everything else faded away. It was just the two of them, standing there in the ice cold snow, eyes locked and unblinking. Her lips would gradually tug upward into a rare but beautiful smile, just for him.

Until someone bumped into her and shattered the waking dream. Then someone else brushed past her, rushing for the stage. She had been completely oblivious to anything other than Altair, and that had included the gathering crowd. She reached for the cap to pull down over her ears to try to hide herself, but to her dismay she realized that it was gone—left on the seat of the sleigh.

“TAI TAI! I WANT TO HAVE YOUR BABY!” a woman nearby screamed at the top of her lungs, jumping up and down on her tippy toes and flapping her hands wildly.


If Reyna hadn’t been half-Sephi, she would have grimaced at the overt display. Tai Tai? Was Altair really that famous? He’d mentioned being on noisenebula so casually, as if it hadn’t been a big deal. Merely a side hobby. Had he just been being modest? Then someone tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey, aren’t you—?”

That was the last straw. It was all too much, and it was all happening too fast. She wasn’t supposed to be here, not as Princess Reyna anyway. She couldn’t risk being recognized—for her own sake and for Altair’s. The crowd was pushing up against her, and more and more people were beginning to stare at her.

Looking once more at the Tiefling and wishing they could have shared this moment alone, she turned and fled. She had to get away from the crowd. Before they recognized her. Ears drooping, she just hoped Altair would understand. @Sreeya


 

Altair Din

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Empire
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Grand Marshal

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Sreeya
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Altair took command of the stage as he had done since he originally started busking. He was used to crowds gathering and the confessions of love from his loud, female fans. Altair ignored all of it, keeping his focus on Zelle the entire time he sang. To his surprise and dismay, he saw her visibly grow uncomfortable at people gathering around her. It was only then that he realized that the public serenade drew attention to her, and not everyone was comfortable with that.

He saw her ears droop and he felt a pang in his chest. Altair finished up the rest of the song, but his heart wasn’t in it, his gaze focused on her as she bolted from the scene. He quickly focused back on the crowd as he sang to keep the attention on him and not Zelle.

Despite the calls for more songs and the band begging him to stay (it was the first time they got any attention), Altair peeled himself off the stage. He made his way past the grabby crowds and screaming girls, rushing towards the direction Zelle went.

Altair was decent at tracking and it came in handy as he made his way back towards her. He found her behind the immediate village, near a bridge that overlooked a frozen lake. There was no one else here now, most of the crowds enjoying the festivities. Altair slowly walked towards her, regret on his face.

“Zelle, I’m sorry,” He said, looking crestfallen, “That was…stupid,” Altair said. He slowly extended his hand, “You dropped this..” He said quietly as he handed her hat over.

@llamallove
 

Reyna Vernize

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llamallove
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As the evening wore on and the snow squalled, Reyna's emotions welled within her. Her stomach had begun to tie itself in knots before the sound of Altair's voice had even faded, and there was a dull, heavy feeling in her chest. As heavy and unforgiving as the snow that fell in large, white flakes from the sky—no longer as soft and as silent as the wings of an angel but a cover of melancholy that landed on her head and in her heart. Something she just couldn't shake.

No matter how much she wanted to turn back around and search Altair out, she didn't. The Tiefling's voice eventually faded, and so did the music. She didn't dare stop until she reached a bridge right outside of town. The lake beneath it was glistening in the pallid radiance of the full moon. The cracks in between cobblestone was packed with snow, and along the sides of the road the snowbanks grew.

Alone at last. Alone with her thoughts, alone with her disappointment, and she hated it. Staring out at the frozen lake, as statue still as the images carved in ice, she ran a hand through her frazzled hair. What must Altair think of her, running away as she had? That she was inconstant? Her emotions driven by the wind and the tide? That when presented with a crowd she became maladroit and inept? Would he be disappointed, she wondered? Or would one of his more enthusiastic fans attempt to draw his attention away?

She wouldn't have to wonder for long, for when she looked up Altair was standing there. His lips were downturned, his posture slack. Heavy snowflakes rested on Reyna's long eyelashes, but she batted them away. Altair's hand, however, she did not. She took the stocking cap, ice cold fingers brushing against his as she said, "Thank you," in a faint voice that lacked power.

Some of the tension she didn't realize she had been holding in released at the sight of him, and she couldn't stop herself from adding, "And thank you for... coming after me. I'm glad you did." Eyes shining as they stared at one another, she continued. "Really it should be I that apologizes, running off the way I did. You must think me a petulant child." Dark hands squeezed the bridge's stone railing, and her gaze swept back to the lake.

Perhaps he hadn't expected an explanation, but she would give him one. It was the least he deserved, she thought, lest he assume she hadn't enjoyed his performance. "You have an angelic voice. I could have listened to you all night. It's just that..." She looked at him again, studying his eyes, before her gaze returned to the water. "—and this must stay between us.

"My family." How did she put this, without lying but not revealing too much? "You might say they're one of the wealthiest and oldest families here on Onderon. If they realized that I sneak out from time to time... well, they wouldn't approve." The rest, she imagined, he could fill in for himself. That she hadn't wanted to be recognized by the growing crowd, and that was why she had run.

Ears straight up, waiting for his forgiveness or his condemnation, she swallowed. "I hope you'll sing for me again sometime." @Sreeya

 

Altair Din

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Empire
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Grand Marshal

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Sreeya
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Altair listened as she explained that she was from a wealthy family. His mind tracked back to when she was staying at the rundown tavern. Had she been in hiding the entire time? Given his elevation to royalty himself, he was well versed in wealthy families. As she explained the concern about what her family thought, Altair’s face hardened just a bit. Of course, this was another case of leading a secret life for some spontaneous fun but brushing it under the rug when real life came up again. He had to resist the urge to roll his eyes.

“I get it, you can’t be seen with no lowly tieflin’,” He said sarcastically, “What will your friends and family think?” Altair stuffed his hands in his pockets. While this would have hurt him quite a bit in the past, he was numb to women pulling nonsense on him now. That entire innocent girl routine was probably also just that - a fantasy she wanted to live out.

“Don’t worry, I’ll still give you your fightin’ lessons,” Altair said, “But I recommend saying yes to dates only if you ain’t trynna bullshit a guy,” He flashed her a playful wink, “Not all of ‘em will take it well.”

Altair glanced over towards the empty streets, “Want me to walk ya back to wherever you’re stayin’ for the night?”

@llamallove
 

Reyna Vernize

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llamallove
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Reyna watched as the Tiefling's features twisted from regret into something she couldn't quite place her finger on. It wasn't disgust, and it wasn't injury. it was fine-drawn acceptance, mingled with inured indifference. The half-Sephi stared at him with ears pointed straight up and forward, as if collecting what auditory information they could to form a response. His reaction had caught her off guard, although it did not show. She had expected him to be upset with her for running away with no warning, but she had not expected the cause for offense to be her status and his race.

"It has nothing to do with your race," the princess replied as soon as he had finished, the cold night air suddenly sinking to her core. Had he not heard anything she had said that evening? Or the week before? That she thought him her guardian angel? That she didn't think any less of him because he was a different species than her? "I can't be caught sneaking out. It doesn't matter who I'm with, if I'm alone, or what I'm doing." It had nothing to do with him being a Tiefling and everything to do with her being a princess. She had been forced to sneak out under the darkness of night with Cassian, too.

Reyna had a family name to uphold. A legacy to carry on that had been finely shaped and handed down for centuries. She had responsibilities. Expectations. Jobs to do. She had never possessed the freedom to follow every whim and every desire of her heart. To, put it more simply, do whatever she wanted. Now, when she desired nothing more than to work from the shadows and secure Onderon once more, protecting it from the ever expanding Sith borders, the stakes were even higher than ever. It wasn't just a legacy on the line. It was her life. The lives of her family. What family remained. The recent attack on the palace still fresh on her mind, the growing number of Onderonian nobles that did not want to retaliate against the Sith—that, they said, was what had gotten their King's neck snapped in half and their Console's heart splayed on a spear in the public square. With that in mind, it was imperative that no one learned that she was learning how to fight, else they might eventually put the pieces together.

That, however, Altair couldn't possibly understand. Not unless she told him, and she couldn't. She wouldn't. No matter how much she might have wanted to, to salvage the wonderful night they had shared together that now stared her in the face in tatters. By the look in his eyes and the sarcastic edge to his voice, he probably wouldn't have believed her anyway. He'd been down this road one too many times—shoved to one side because of the way he looked.

It would just be words, muffled as the cry of a seagull as the waves crash against the cliff. To Reyna, words were not just words. It was how she expressed herself. How she shared herself and bore her soul before others. It was not through facial expressions or a gleam in the eyes—it was through spoken words. She prided herself on never saying anything she did not mean. It was a sad testament to the races of the galaxy that they could not accept one another at their word. Altair had seen a great deal of the galaxy, and those that had seen a great deal of the galaxy usually couldn't help but be cynical. Cassian had been, and so had her father. She had enough self-awareness to realize that in matters like this, she had lived a sheltered life.

"No, thank you," was her hesitant reply to the offer to walk her home. "I wouldn't want you to think I'm taking advantage of you or working some... some angle." That hadn't been the word Altair had used, but the princess had not been raised to use obscenities. Not that she always followed that rule—some rather ugly fights with Cassian coming to mind—but she would not use them tonight. Neither of them had done anything wrong, even if her pride was ruffled. She wasn't accustomed to having her honor insulted, and she wasn't used to being called a liar. It did not sit well with her, particularly coming from someone she had come to admire. Her blood boiled with indignation, but she never let how she truly felt show.
Only her ears started to droop as she realized their evening together had drawn to its conclusion, and she pulled the stocking cap he had returned down over her head, covering her messy hair and pointed ears. Just in case she passed by someone that might recognize her on the way back. No matter how their night had ended, the following was true. "I had a wonderful time with you tonight, Altair, and I won't forget it. Thank you." With a pang, she'd realized a long time ago that the best things in life never did last forever. @Sreeya

 
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