[OOM] Eiattu - Palace

[fighting_mad]

Plourr ducks out of the abandoned wing of the palace.

No, that's not entirely right; it's closed-off, not voluntarily abandoned. Boarded and locked up twelve years ago. She still hasn't been able to discover who ordered it closed, but she suspects the Grand Duke had a hand in it. No matter how shaky her relationship with him may be, she knows he loved his nephew, her father. She knows he was fond of her mother and her sisters.

Plourr goes there still, sometimes. The apartments are lifeless, barely touched over the years, but it's hard not to feel closer to her parents when she can sit on the edge of their bed. When she first went, it was to grieve. To rage that they had left her with all this shavit. Later, it was to find quiet, some momentary peace; to remember. But today, it is to express gratitude, and to tell her parents-- maybe they hadn't chosen so badly for her after all.

The palace is quiet. So is the city. Plourr saw the last of the summit attendees off earlier in the morning and now Eiattu rests and recovers from the stresses placed on her fledgling government and recently-repaired capital. The planet's princess, too, is ready for a rest, even if it's only for a few days and even if it's while fulfilling royal duties.

Of course, that doesn't mean she has to dress the part. It is a mini leave, after all. So Plourr's comfortable, casual in tight gray trousers, black pilot boots, a purple tunic with the sleeves pushed up to her elbows, and a black vest. The blaster strapped to her leg is authoritative, but she's relaxed as she steps out into the corridor.

Comments

[eiattu_pride]

"Off to find a razor and shave my moustache."

He can't keep from grinning.

[fighting_mad]

She whirls back to face him, expression a strange mixture of astonishment and gleeful hope. "What?"

[eiattu_pride]

"You heard me."

Smirks.

[fighting_mad]

Plourr beams at him. "Really?"

[eiattu_pride]

"Really and truly."

He leans over and kisses her once more, slow and soft and sweet.

"C'mon."

[fighting_mad]

She returns it, and if she holds onto him tightly, it's surely not because she's weak in the knees, surely not because he takes her breath away in more than a literal sense, because Plourr Ilo doesn't do that stuff. Really.

"Where are we going?"

[eiattu_pride]

Well, that's okay, because he's got her.

Always.

"Somewhere else. Back to our quarters? Or do we want to find a room somewhere along the way?"

[fighting_mad]

"Unless you're carrying a razor in your back pocket, I think going back would be the better plan," she says with a bit of a smirk.

[eiattu_pride]

Rial grins.

And removes the razor from a pocket in his tunic.

"I got sick of your bodyguards always hanging around. Figured we could find an unused rooom somewhere."

[fighting_mad]

Plourr laughs. Plourr laughs a lot.

"Why did you just argue with me about it if you were carrying that the entire time?" she finally manages.

[eiattu_pride]

"Because I still wasn't sure if I should do it.





"Oh, and I wanted a kiss."

[fighting_mad]

"You're sneaky," she says, rather approvingly. A moment of thought, of deliberation, and then she tugs on his arm, back in the direction they'd come. "Come on."

[eiattu_pride]

He almost says something, then smiles and follows.

[fighting_mad]

After a moment or two, it becomes obvious where they're headed.

[eiattu_pride]

Rial's hands steals out and clasps the princess's fingers.

He's here.

[fighting_mad]

He is. And it's a very conscious decision to bring him here. A measure of just how much she trusts him; what she feels for him. She keys in the code at the apartments' door, the code that only she knows now, and she pulls him in behind her.

Inside, the air is cool and a trifle stale; the only footprints in the dust on the floor belong to Plourr. The ceiling arches high above them and a chandelier, once bright, hangs from it; the foyer is decorated in what would have been the epitome of class and taste a decade ago.

Plourr isn't pausing; she just keeps walking through.

[eiattu_pride]

Rial follows.

Glancing around quietly, knowing just what this means to her.

[fighting_mad]

The door to one room hangs slightly ajar--in passing, the huge bed and adult-sized furnishings may be visible--but the rest in the hallway are closed, and Plourr opens the one at the end. The 'fresher is luxurious, tiled in purple and gold, with two sinks and a gigantic tub, among other amenities. Oh, and the all-important mirror over the sinks.

She lets go of his hand. "Do you want me to stay, or is this something you need to do alone with your facial hair?" She smiles.

[eiattu_pride]

Rial laughs.

"Tell you what. We'll make it symbolic - you can get rid of it."

[fighting_mad]

She shakes her head. "I think you ought to." Her smile turns teasing and she nimbly hops up on the counter. "Unless you can't..."

[eiattu_pride]

"It's going to take a very long time if I do it," he agrees.

[fighting_mad]

A quietly bemused (turning thoughtful) look at him, then she says, "Be right back," and she's out the door.

[eiattu_pride]

He eyes her vanishing figure.

Then shrugs, and starts to twiddle his thumbs.

[fighting_mad]

She's back in a moment, shaver (the kind run by an individual powercell; about a decade out of date) in hand. She holds it up a little hesitantly (though not because it bothers her, because hell, it's not like anybody else is using it now). "If you don't mind-- this should still work."

[eiattu_pride]

Rial shakes his head.

"That's fine."