Charles
Lady Anna Barrmount
Grunewald Castle throne room, Vallen.

As people joined she felt more and more nervous, fidgeting with the hem of her sleeve. So many people from all corners of Marin, so much noise...

When she entered, she had given a proper curtsy to the royal hosts of the event and took a seat. As much as she hated the idea, she took it near the centre, as that would allow her to be seen when she spoke.

As she heard the drumming of her own heart in her ears, she saw all the attendants come in, greet the royals and take a seat. So many strangers around her caused a knot in her throath, which made her swallow hard and clear her throat.
Kevin
Danico Felrantres
Castle Grunewald, Vallen

Danico was already churning in his bed when he heard Kenmath deliver the note to his door. With a good excuse to actually get up, he did so with very little vitality. Having stayed up as late as he did certainly wasn't on the agenda. *Shit, anya..* He thought to himself, his instinctive duty of care had kicked in as he worried about the stitching used to close the wound. That's going to be a pain to remove.
Standing up with a long, drawn out stretch, the alchemist took the note from the foot of the door. The council was starting, soon, at which point he realised he really didn't wish to attend, being studied and mentally prodded by the continent's elite wasn't his idea of fun. But, he was there specifically for the council and so he figured he should do the right thing.

Some time went by as he got dressed into his everyday clothes, packed his bag, placed the amulet on his chest and followed the instructions on the note. By the time he began to climb the stairs the islanders were already at the top. *Thankfully*, Taking a seat that wasn't quite in the middle but also not quite at the end, settling for somewhere at the outer-third of the table.
Katherine
**Angelica Stafford 
Vallen, Taemar
**
The night passed uneasy. She'd gone to the kitchens and secured it's use for Danico, only to get lost on the way back. The halls all looked the same, and for some reason the staircase she could have sworn she'd come down had been blocked off by a sofa with a hastily attached sign that said "Do not entar". She'd gone another way, and ended up lost until finding a servant who could guide her back to her room. From there she'd backtracked to Anya's and found her husband posted outside. 

Learning that Heath was inside with the injured queen wasn't exactly what she wanted, but Eric insisted that there had been a brief conversation inside and then the sounds of sleeping. At least Romanov was smart enough to not try and get his rocks off to an injured woman. Though she wouldn't have been surprised. 

The next morning she headed straight to Anya's room, seeing Heath leave just as she turned the corner. She waited until he had cleared the hall before dipping in and finding Anya sitting on the edge of her bed. She wore a robe and nothing else, and that was pulled down to reveal a slick looking wound that glistened in the morning light. "Is it seeping?" Ang asked by way of 'hello', closing the door behind her. Anya shook her head, her eyes closed and swaying a bit where she sat.

"No, a salve for the pain." 

"Is it helping?" 

"No." 

Angelica nodded, moving over to stand before the Queen, taking her place between parted knees to get a good look at the bite. It was garish and swollen and bruising around the puncture wounds, but it didn't look infected... Yet. "I trust you're staying in bed for the first day of the council?" Angelica prompted, moving away to find the vial on the nightstand and uncap it, taking a sniff before scrunching her nose at the smell. 

"I can't do that, I represent two nations." Anya answered as if it was as simple as that. "And I want to see the shifter hanged." She added through her teeth. 

"You have staff who can fill in on your behalf. I don't think it's wise to be walking around with an open wound like that." 

Anya didn't answer, her eyes finally opening and moving to the door. "It will be covered, if you stop trying to talk me out of my job and help me get dressed."

"Eric and I can handle the South Feyshore discussions. Mikhail can handle Astorian meetings. You _really_ should stay in bed-" Angelica started, and Anya turned her head so quickly to the woman that her neck popped, and both women held their breath for a long moment, as if waiting for Anya to slump over at that. 

"Mikhail isn't ready to fill in for me yet." Anya said through gritted teeth, and pushed herself to her feet. It was obvious when she moved she was in pain, but her features had turned to stone to try and hide it. "Help me get dressed or summon someone who will. We need to get Mikhail." 

Angelica paused, and moved to the trunk to rummage through Anya's things. "Mikhail is already getting ready, I've sent him ahead with Harmattan, they're waiting on us." She started, finding a dress that bore no sleeves. She was surprised Anya had packed one, considering how she usually made efforts to hide the sigils on her arms that flared with magic every one in a while. She lifted it, and Anya gave it a long look.

"There's a blouse that's supposed to go beneath that, but I suppose there's no point in it. I don't know how I feel about walking around with arms and shoulder exposed though." 

"Better than anything touching it and it getting worse. Plus, if you _insist_ on being at the council-" 

"I do"

"-then it might be a good show of power. That Anyanka Durkhan doesn't stand down, even after a shifter attack. And you're transparent about your injury, so you're trustworthy."

"Or stupid." Anya countered, with a small laugh and Angelica nodded, giving a laugh as well before moving to help her. 

"Well, they already know that. At least they'll think you're brave too."

**Mikhail Durkhan-Maith
Vallen, Taemar**

He'd not slept well, something in his gut telling him there was something brewing at the council that needed his attention, but he'd yet to find out what. His meeting with King Maith had been cut short before it even began; Sir Harmattan pulling him from the library and up to his chambers without explanation or question. He'd stayed posted outside the door all night too, so he couldn't even leave after it got late. 

The next morning he'd already been awake when the letter was slipped beneath his door. He didn't need to read it, but he did anyway, and dressed quickly. Harmattan was still waiting outside when he opened his door, though he had changed from his attire the night prior, and they exchanged a brief nod before heading up the endless steps of the tower in silence. 

The Throne room was... Something. And they passed a gross looking thing on their way in that snarled but settled without attacking. He'd spent time in other courts, but so far Taemar was firmly on the bottom of his list of places to ever return. It seemed that he and Zane were the first of the Astorian and South Feyshore representatives, and he looked briefly around the room for faces he might recognize.

Bradai was already there, and he gave the man a short nod as he passed. They had more to discuss, and he'd already had a runner sent with a letter to continue whatever he had wanted to discuss after the first day of the council had convened. On the other side of the room with the middleland representatives, he noticed his father and aunt, both looking well out of place in their beauty compared to the rest of Taemar. He gave a half smile when he made eye contact with Elsinore, and it lingered as he met eyes with Heath, wondering what the look that the man had sent in return was supposed to mean. Was that pity? He couldn't read it well, they were too far away and he didn't really know the man's smile to begin with, but he looked exhausted. 

When he moved to take his seat, he glanced to Zane. "Where's mother? And the Staffords?" He asked, noting the rest of the empty seats. Just as he asked it, the red and blonde woman moved into the room, and Mikhail's jaw tensed at the sight of his mother - eyes looking tired, skin paler than usual, and the nasty wound she bore openly on her shoulder and chest. She walked with a slight dip, something that would have been worse had Angelica not been practically pressed to her side for support, and Mikhail stood, crossing the room at a slight jog to catch up and take her other side. 

"_What happened?_" He hissed, and Angelica scoffed. 

"Your father happened, Mikhail." She retorted, and Anya cleared her throat. 

"_Enough_. There was an attack, I'm fine, it wasn't Heath's fault and we're not going to talk about it right now, okay?" Anya murmured as they made their way to their seats.
Edith
**Captain Retto Elbaroda**
**The Castle Grunewald throne room, Vallen**

As he sat and exchanged whispers among the Islanders to his left and right, and returning any glares he caught being sent towards the Islander's seats, Elbaroda couldn't help but continue to fix his gaze on the two nooses grimly affixed in the center of the throne room. He wondered whose necks would be snapped to mark the beginning of council proceedings, and what crime those souls had done to warrant execution in front of an audience comprised of the most powerful people in Marin. 

He eyed the room as more and more guests made their way into the chambers. An obviously nervous woman in a white dress which seemed to stand out among the sea of drab greys, browns, and blacks who he did not recognize. A group King Gregor addressed as Feyshorians, who appeared to share the eminent feeling of wanting to be anywhere else than Gregor's throne room, and the Ibethelian king and queen. 

Retto obviously recognized Mikhail Durhkan Maith, legendary among the Southern Isles as one of King wards, rumored to have died and been brought back to life.

And a new arrival. Another queen by the looks of her. She seemed rather good looking, save for the garish would across her shoulder and chest. It looked as if she had been mauled by a wild animal just the night before. "By th' tides, wha' th' 'ell 'appended t' her?" He whispered as he watched Mikhail jog over to her position. He made a guess that she was the queen of Astoria and the South Feyshore area. Elbaroda couldn't help but respect her for acquiring such an injury and showing up anyways, as if to prove her strength and resolve, but he also worried she may pass out at any moment. 

A box ticked in his mind and he looked back over to the two nooses affixed in the center. Could whoever was going to be strung up have had a part in her injury? He wouldn't have to wait long to find out he supposed.

He sighed with a tired smile and turned back to sit straight in his chair. If the council was anything, it wouldn't be boring, Elbaroda knew that for sure.
John
**King Dennon Bigsby, Queen Lucrezia Scheer, and Kirk Pinewood
Grunewald Tower, Grunewald Castle**

They eventually reached the top of the stairs. Dennon gave apologetic looks to the Islanders that had been held up behind them while Lucrezia caught her breath and put on her shoes off to the side while others passed by.

Once they entered the throne room, the queen immediately noticed the nooses. It brightened her mood considerably. "Is there going to be a hanging?" Lucrezia asked with barely veiled excitement.

"Perhaps that musician fellow screwed up again." Kirk guessed.

Dennon said nothing due to the lump in his throat formed by the sudden remembering of the day Lucrezia ordered the hanging of Cheston Carbonell, Ibethiel's previous child king, for whom Dennon had served as a knight.