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I DON'T EVEN KNOW I AM SO FAR BEHIND I AM PROBABLY STILL MISSING SOME OOPS
SIGNEG: What's wrong? The tears won't stop.
It is late at night, at some point in a balmy and pleasant summer. Rillianne is preparing for bed, and has already dismissed her maidservant, Ney, for the time being. She's just about to blow out her candle when she hears the sound of knocking at the door. Annoyed at the interruption -- who would dare come to disturb the princess now? Especially at such a time? -- she goes to answer.
(She prefers to be alone when she sleeps; she used to have someone sleep in the other room, but ever since the failed assassination, she has become a lot more paranoid about letting anyone get close to her when she's asleep.)
And when she opens the door, she sees Allen, and even though he's smiling, it's a terrible smile, a horrible one, one that makes her stop and just stare. He's wearing gloves, which he usually only does when he's directly attending her, and though they're in the shadows, mostly, she can see dark stains on them.
"Milady Rillianne," he tells her, "I've granted your wish."
And she realizes that even though he's smiling, he's also crying -- he's not showing it but she can _hear_ them and that's even more awful than actually seeing them, because they're there and she _knows_ they're there and he won't let her see them. And for a moment she's very sorry, because she knows exactly what wish he granted for her, and it was one thing to simply want it, because she hates -- she hated -- she _hated_ that girl, that unnamed village woman who stole her beloved Kyle away, but she didn't hate her so much that she wanted Allen destroyed, and if he is, then what will she do? what will happen?
And because she's scared, and because she can see how scraped and worn Allen is, she throws her arms around him and she apologizes, and in her heart of hearts, she knows it is too late.
+++
SIGNEG: The time of execution was set at three, when the churchbells would ring
Wandering alone and frightened in the streets of Lucifenia, she doesn't want to go too far from the castle, because even if it's dangerous now, even if it's where the enemy is, she doesn't want to stray too far from it. Everything feels like a hideously bad dream, and if she can just actually fall asleep, surely she'll wake up and everything will be back to normal ...
This is what she hears, from the guards who are gossiping:
"It will be tomorrow at three o'clock."
"When they ring the church's bells? How fitting."
"They rang for when Her Highness was born, they'll ring for when she dies."
"All hail the tyrant Rillianne."
And they laugh and they do not notice her, but she cannot breathe for horror and more than anything she wants to wake up and be done with this horrible dream.
+++
TRIVPOS: "Together we make an orange sky."
Her brother is upset, frightened by the dark -- she can tell even though he's not saying anything; she thinks maybe it is _because_ he is not saying anything. He's never liked the dark.
But he is a prince, and more importantly he is her brother, so she takes her hand and she comforts him, and she tells him: Together, we can divide up the day and the night, so neither of them will be frightening to you any longer.
He scrunches up his face as he considers this, but he nods eventually. It's an acceptable thing to him. And because she is older, she tells him that she will be the day (because also, she doesn't want him to be afraid of the dark any more, and if he has domain over the night, then he will not be afraid), and he agrees that he will take the night.
But together, they agree, when they hold hands, they have the orange skies of dusk and dawn, and those are the best times of all.
TRIVPOS: "Today's snack is brioche."
It is a warm sunny afternoon, and at tea-time, Allen comes (as he always does, as is customary -- it is always him unless it is Ney) to bring her afternoon tea and a customary snack. Today, it's something she's not seen before -- a small fluffy loaf that is golden brown all over, and it smells sweet, but not _too_ sweet. Allen looks rather proud of himself as he presents it to her.
"Today's snack is brioche, milady Rillianne," he tells her, and she has a moment of wondering -- Allen doesn't usually spend his time in the kitchens, but the way he looks at her, expectantly, she has to wonder just a little if he either talked the cooks into making this, or if he did it himself.
At his hopeful look, she tries it, and she's pleased. She nods her approval, and can see how it pleases Allen even more.
Snack time is her very favorite time.
+++
TRIVNEU: "If there isn't enough money, squeeze it out of the stupid commoners."
The castle is abuzz with preparations for Princess Rillianne's fourteenth birthday. It's meant to be a great and spectacular feast -- nobility from all over will be coming, including her fiance, Kyle of Marlon. She intends for it to be the very _best_ party, the greatest and best that the whole world has ever seen. If the coffers of the palace aren't enough, she reasons, she'll just raise the taxes to compensate. After all, she's rewarding them by giving them a grand celebration, to present their lovely and delicate princess to the world on the occasion of her birth; why wouldn't they be pleased to contribute?
And those who aren't ... well, if they need to be seized, she's not afraid to do do that, either.
+++
SIGNEG: What did the one called a princess think, alone in that cell?
There is already a crowd gathering in the square. People are pushing together, shoving, shouting, all trying to get to a place where they can get a decent view of the guillotine set up in the center. It's still several hours yet until three, and it's a perfectly lovely sort of day, the kind where there are no clouds in the sky, and everything is peaceful and calm.
It's a beautiful day, but all she can do is stare in the direction of the palace. The dungeons are below the main castle itself, swept out of sight, an inconvenience to be forgotten. Allen is still there, and he's gone this far for her already, but what could he be thinking? Why would he do this?
She doesn't know, she doesn't understand, and she knows she won't get the chance to ask why.
+++
TRIVNEU: All the pitiful weeds around her nourish her and rot away
A boring meeting with her ministers, who are fussing about -- oh, something or other. They're having trouble getting the taxes they are owed from some of the smaller villages on the edge of the kingdom, and a few of them have simply vanished -- the people have fled to other places, abandoning their homes. Even though the ministers are concerned, Rillianne barely notices; she's bored and she's hungry, and it hardly matters to her. Her birthday party is already secured, and that is what is important, after all.
+++
So the long and short of it is that Nightingale now knows her true name (or at least she knows that she was Princess Rillianne), and has sort of gently repudiated it in her own mind, especially in the light of knowing that Allen, her servant and her best friend who was always, always there for her, has been arrested in her place and is sentenced to be executed in her name. In her heart she is hoping that somehow things work out and he will be rescued!
But she honestly doesn't believe that will happen, and she doesn't know why he did it in the first place.
(She is also aware now that she had a brother at some point -- a younger twin brother who had vanished by the time she was old enough to rule. She assumes that he died, just as their parents did. There is an actual spell that was placed on her to erase her memories of her brother, Alexiel, and I debated whether or not these should be things she would immediately forget again when she got them back -- but the point at the time was political, so I decided to allow it to pass. Only a couple of people know that Allen looks just like her, and I think at least Kit has wondered whether they're related, but the spell also pretty much keeps her from recognizing that Allen's resemblance to her can't be coincidence. Until she actually remembers him telling her that they're twins, insinuations from other people about this will pretty much be unable to register in her mind.)
Some of these memories are also just ... mmmmemories of how she was not really a very good ruler at all! She was careless and spoiled and really out of touch with her people and then they were upset and they over...threw... her...
oops 8(a
SO AT THIS POINT Nightingale's hatred of the personae is pretty cemented, but a lot of it also is seated in a very deepseated terror that she was just like them oh god she was terrible and no one at home liked her after all and if anyone finds out in Aather she'll be all alone again and that's terrible ahhhh noooooooo DDDDDDD|
IF ANYONE DOES NOT WANT TO PLAY WITH AN EXTREMELY CLINGY NEEDY SAD PRINCESS THEY SHOULD ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO PUNCH ME BECAUSE SHE'S GONNA BE LIKE THAT
woop woop \:D/
SIGNEG: What's wrong? The tears won't stop.
It is late at night, at some point in a balmy and pleasant summer. Rillianne is preparing for bed, and has already dismissed her maidservant, Ney, for the time being. She's just about to blow out her candle when she hears the sound of knocking at the door. Annoyed at the interruption -- who would dare come to disturb the princess now? Especially at such a time? -- she goes to answer.
(She prefers to be alone when she sleeps; she used to have someone sleep in the other room, but ever since the failed assassination, she has become a lot more paranoid about letting anyone get close to her when she's asleep.)
And when she opens the door, she sees Allen, and even though he's smiling, it's a terrible smile, a horrible one, one that makes her stop and just stare. He's wearing gloves, which he usually only does when he's directly attending her, and though they're in the shadows, mostly, she can see dark stains on them.
"Milady Rillianne," he tells her, "I've granted your wish."
And she realizes that even though he's smiling, he's also crying -- he's not showing it but she can _hear_ them and that's even more awful than actually seeing them, because they're there and she _knows_ they're there and he won't let her see them. And for a moment she's very sorry, because she knows exactly what wish he granted for her, and it was one thing to simply want it, because she hates -- she hated -- she _hated_ that girl, that unnamed village woman who stole her beloved Kyle away, but she didn't hate her so much that she wanted Allen destroyed, and if he is, then what will she do? what will happen?
And because she's scared, and because she can see how scraped and worn Allen is, she throws her arms around him and she apologizes, and in her heart of hearts, she knows it is too late.
+++
SIGNEG: The time of execution was set at three, when the churchbells would ring
Wandering alone and frightened in the streets of Lucifenia, she doesn't want to go too far from the castle, because even if it's dangerous now, even if it's where the enemy is, she doesn't want to stray too far from it. Everything feels like a hideously bad dream, and if she can just actually fall asleep, surely she'll wake up and everything will be back to normal ...
This is what she hears, from the guards who are gossiping:
"It will be tomorrow at three o'clock."
"When they ring the church's bells? How fitting."
"They rang for when Her Highness was born, they'll ring for when she dies."
"All hail the tyrant Rillianne."
And they laugh and they do not notice her, but she cannot breathe for horror and more than anything she wants to wake up and be done with this horrible dream.
+++
TRIVPOS: "Together we make an orange sky."
Her brother is upset, frightened by the dark -- she can tell even though he's not saying anything; she thinks maybe it is _because_ he is not saying anything. He's never liked the dark.
But he is a prince, and more importantly he is her brother, so she takes her hand and she comforts him, and she tells him: Together, we can divide up the day and the night, so neither of them will be frightening to you any longer.
He scrunches up his face as he considers this, but he nods eventually. It's an acceptable thing to him. And because she is older, she tells him that she will be the day (because also, she doesn't want him to be afraid of the dark any more, and if he has domain over the night, then he will not be afraid), and he agrees that he will take the night.
But together, they agree, when they hold hands, they have the orange skies of dusk and dawn, and those are the best times of all.
TRIVPOS: "Today's snack is brioche."
It is a warm sunny afternoon, and at tea-time, Allen comes (as he always does, as is customary -- it is always him unless it is Ney) to bring her afternoon tea and a customary snack. Today, it's something she's not seen before -- a small fluffy loaf that is golden brown all over, and it smells sweet, but not _too_ sweet. Allen looks rather proud of himself as he presents it to her.
"Today's snack is brioche, milady Rillianne," he tells her, and she has a moment of wondering -- Allen doesn't usually spend his time in the kitchens, but the way he looks at her, expectantly, she has to wonder just a little if he either talked the cooks into making this, or if he did it himself.
At his hopeful look, she tries it, and she's pleased. She nods her approval, and can see how it pleases Allen even more.
Snack time is her very favorite time.
+++
TRIVNEU: "If there isn't enough money, squeeze it out of the stupid commoners."
The castle is abuzz with preparations for Princess Rillianne's fourteenth birthday. It's meant to be a great and spectacular feast -- nobility from all over will be coming, including her fiance, Kyle of Marlon. She intends for it to be the very _best_ party, the greatest and best that the whole world has ever seen. If the coffers of the palace aren't enough, she reasons, she'll just raise the taxes to compensate. After all, she's rewarding them by giving them a grand celebration, to present their lovely and delicate princess to the world on the occasion of her birth; why wouldn't they be pleased to contribute?
And those who aren't ... well, if they need to be seized, she's not afraid to do do that, either.
+++
SIGNEG: What did the one called a princess think, alone in that cell?
There is already a crowd gathering in the square. People are pushing together, shoving, shouting, all trying to get to a place where they can get a decent view of the guillotine set up in the center. It's still several hours yet until three, and it's a perfectly lovely sort of day, the kind where there are no clouds in the sky, and everything is peaceful and calm.
It's a beautiful day, but all she can do is stare in the direction of the palace. The dungeons are below the main castle itself, swept out of sight, an inconvenience to be forgotten. Allen is still there, and he's gone this far for her already, but what could he be thinking? Why would he do this?
She doesn't know, she doesn't understand, and she knows she won't get the chance to ask why.
+++
TRIVNEU: All the pitiful weeds around her nourish her and rot away
A boring meeting with her ministers, who are fussing about -- oh, something or other. They're having trouble getting the taxes they are owed from some of the smaller villages on the edge of the kingdom, and a few of them have simply vanished -- the people have fled to other places, abandoning their homes. Even though the ministers are concerned, Rillianne barely notices; she's bored and she's hungry, and it hardly matters to her. Her birthday party is already secured, and that is what is important, after all.
+++
So the long and short of it is that Nightingale now knows her true name (or at least she knows that she was Princess Rillianne), and has sort of gently repudiated it in her own mind, especially in the light of knowing that Allen, her servant and her best friend who was always, always there for her, has been arrested in her place and is sentenced to be executed in her name. In her heart she is hoping that somehow things work out and he will be rescued!
But she honestly doesn't believe that will happen, and she doesn't know why he did it in the first place.
(She is also aware now that she had a brother at some point -- a younger twin brother who had vanished by the time she was old enough to rule. She assumes that he died, just as their parents did. There is an actual spell that was placed on her to erase her memories of her brother, Alexiel, and I debated whether or not these should be things she would immediately forget again when she got them back -- but the point at the time was political, so I decided to allow it to pass. Only a couple of people know that Allen looks just like her, and I think at least Kit has wondered whether they're related, but the spell also pretty much keeps her from recognizing that Allen's resemblance to her can't be coincidence. Until she actually remembers him telling her that they're twins, insinuations from other people about this will pretty much be unable to register in her mind.)
Some of these memories are also just ... mmmmemories of how she was not really a very good ruler at all! She was careless and spoiled and really out of touch with her people and then they were upset and they over...threw... her...
oops 8(a
SO AT THIS POINT Nightingale's hatred of the personae is pretty cemented, but a lot of it also is seated in a very deepseated terror that she was just like them oh god she was terrible and no one at home liked her after all and if anyone finds out in Aather she'll be all alone again and that's terrible ahhhh noooooooo DDDDDDD|
IF ANYONE DOES NOT WANT TO PLAY WITH AN EXTREMELY CLINGY NEEDY SAD PRINCESS THEY SHOULD ALWAYS FEEL FREE TO PUNCH ME BECAUSE SHE'S GONNA BE LIKE THAT
woop woop \:D/
