“Why in Gods name did you agree to marry this man, Arabelle? Couldn’t you have picked someone a bit closer in proximity? I know the Prince of Obrein is available, and he would’ve been a mere weeks journey from Helimore,” called the young man that sat astride a rather leggy black mare. He was a good-looking gentleman, with thick, but nicely groomed brown locks atop his head and a freshly shaven face despite their less than opportune conditions. He had to make it a point to maintain a presentable exterior even amidst their months of travel; it wouldn’t be befitting of a Prince of Velorath to look anything less than impeccable at any given point in time, after all.<br/><br/>“We’ve discussed this, dear Everett. The Prince of Obrein, while I’m sure he is a perfectly fine gentleman, is just barely closing in on his twelfth summer … I’m not sure it’d be appropriate for me to be betrothed to him, and father clearly didn’t think so either when he made this match,” huffed the young woman next to him. A thing of beauty she was, though rather frail and petite her facial features were finely crafted and she shared many of her traveling companion’s features. That was fitting enough, seeing as the pair that was traveling along were the twins born of King Edgar and the late Queen Evelyn of Velorath. The Cursed Twins, many liked to title them, as their mother perished in their birthing bed despite the valiant efforts of the best midwives and physicians at the kingdom’s disposal.<br/><br/>“Stranger pairings have been made, my love,” responded the prince, a bit of a smile forming on his altogether too serious features. A whip found its way across his back then, and his mare scooted forwards beneath him at the sound that emanated on contact. Little Arabelle was certainly not known for her patience when it came to jokes, especially not when they were made at her expense. Unfortunately, she’d not have the pleasure of watching her brother take a tumble from the back of his mount, however, as the man quickly got the steed under his control once again.<br/><br/>“Why do you have to be so damned good with that mare? You just ruin all of my fun, brother,” she huffed, though she was clearly only teasing the man.<br/><br/>“Ah ah, Arabelle, watch your language. You’re a woman of God, are you not? And a soon to be married one at that; I doubt your betrothed would appreciate that sort of mouth,” Everett chastised with a playful cluck of his tongue. He laughed and urged his horse forward with a sharp upward kick of his heels when he saw his sister’s whip being raised into the air once again, preparing to strike. They’d been traveling together for roughly a month and a half now. They had passed over land first until they reached the southernmost border of their island nation after roughly a weeks ride. Their caravan had then boarded a boat and spent three days crossing the channel that stood between them and the mainland, which they had been traveling through for the remainder of their trek. They were just a few hours out from the capital of Gaule now, a city by the name of Lucotecia. Though they’d never traveled beyond the borders of their homeland prior to this trip both twins had heard an awful lot about Gaule and it’s capital city through the grapevine. From tales of its architectural beauty to rumors of scandalous goings on in the cities underground, it had always been a fascinating place to both of them.<br/><br/>Everett considered this new city to be his own personal forbidden fruit more than anything, as he’d spent years curbing his appetite for adventure and molding himself into the role he was meant to fit. Now suddenly he was being thrust into the center of this thrilling outing, truly the opportunity of a lifetime to be able to strike out nearly on his own and explore the world around him. Despite this fact, the prince found that he couldn’t manage to do much more than stick close to the caravan and keep his sister company as they approached the city walls. Why? Perhaps it was that the idea of breaking out of the box he’d so meticulously crammed himself into terrified him, or maybe he was afraid that if he allowed himself to step out of his practiced role he’d never be satisfied moving back into it. Either way, he kept his adventurous nature under wraps along the way and planned to do so even once they entered the city and the attention was mostly turned off of him and onto his dearest sister. She was, after all, the one getting married. He was only there to act as her escort through the process.<br/><br/>In fact, as they rode through the gates of the city his first act as an escort began. He reined up his horse so that their mounts could fall into stride beside each other and he smiled comfortingly over at her. Despite her ability to banter with him only about half an hour earlier, Everett could tell that nerves were eating away at his poor sister. He couldn’t blame her, either, she was going to meet the man that she’d spend the rest of her days within just a few short hours; Everett was sure that were their positions swapped he’d be experiencing the same gnawing anxiety that he could see burning in her pale green eyes.<br/><br/>“I’m sure Prince Bellamy is a perfect gentleman, Arabelle. You’ve nothing to fear,” he murmured soothingly, reaching out to rest a gentle hand on her shoulder. She glanced up and him and mustered a nervous little smile, nodding her head but refraining from saying anything lest he hear the tremble in her voice. “Just remember what we discussed, yes? You needn’t talk in front of the entire court on the first day, I’ll do all the speaking. You’ll have plenty of time to chat with the nobility and your prince when individual introductions take place at the engagement feast and ball in three days time,” he added quietly, giving her a comforting squeeze as she lifted her eyes to stare up at the palace, which they were quickly approaching. People were noticing their arrival and beginning to gather on the streets at their sides and behind them to get a closer look at the caravan arriving from the north. It wasn’t every day that strangers from a land so terribly far away arrived to visit, and much less that a new member of their monarchy arrived. Arabelle could feel their eyes burning into her from all sides, but it didn’t bother her much as she’d been raised in the scrutinizing eye of the public. She and her twin’s notorious reputation saw to it that they always received a bit of extra negative attention. The invasive stares didn’t feel negative, however, merely fascinated.<br/><br/>Just in cosmetic appearances alone Everett already noted that they differed from the local population. His sister was dressed in a very subdued<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Fc0%2F09%2Ff2%2Fc009f2ccf486d07946522514b471f382.jpg&amp;hash=7280a70cc2f95ae24ddc12f977ea3eb5" href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c0/09/f2/c009f2ccf486d07946522514b471f382.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">riding habit</a>, her waist corsetted tightly and her hair done up carefully in ribbons within her hat. He himself donned a proper set of<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Fdc%2F03%2Fb1%2Fdc03b11ec4b1c54b490d5a55824b3509.jpg&amp;hash=fabcd3c302325153c363f63f44cd17c4" href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/dc/03/b1/dc03b11ec4b1c54b490d5a55824b3509.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">riding attire</a>, a top hat fastened firmly to his skull. He didn’t see anything so proper milling about the streets amidst the crowd. Perhaps things were a bit more relaxed within the southern kingdom, he supposed. They’d find out soon enough, as they were being admitted into the palace gates now, the guards making sure none of the common folk squeezed in along with them to get a better look at their new princess.<br/><br/>They weren’t announced directly from their mounts. The horses were fetched by a number of stable boys sent out to greet them and then a handful of servants led them to their respective quarters to be prepared for their introduction to the court. Arabelle’s handmaidens scurried off after her and Everett’s single attendant strode alongside him, updating him on what he should expect from the evening's introductions. A number of the nation’s nobility would be in attendance to see their future queen along with her betrothed, Prince Bryant and Princess Camile, as well as the current monarchs Queen Adela and King Elroy. As proprieties called for Everett would speak on behalf of him and his sister before the crowd, which he was more than prepared for, but it meant he had to be just as well presented as his dear sister would be for their first physical presentation to the court. He dressed in one of his<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2Ff6%2Fad%2F29%2Ff6ad29346979fb4d740502c1ba3bb003.jpg&amp;hash=1b831346f5563aad1620b525e473aaef" href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f6/ad/29/f6ad29346979fb4d740502c1ba3bb003.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">finest suits </a>after he was gussied up a bit by his attendant, dotted with perfumes to hide any potential smells that amassed from the days ride as there was no time for a proper bath. His sister underwent a more vigorous transformation as she had four women there to wrestle her into an even tighter corset and force her hair into a style before lacing her into the<a class="link link--external" data-proxy-href="/proxy.php?link=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2Foriginals%2F29%2F58%2F7a%2F29587a632922116dac2e23c54b276621.jpg&amp;hash=9e175467bd5224927ae138d4f38b622d" href="https://i.pinimg.com/originals/29/58/7a/29587a632922116dac2e23c54b276621.jpg" rel="nofollow ugc noopener" target="_blank">gorgeous evening gown</a>her step-mother had suggested for her first appearance. It took no less than an hour for the pair of them to prepare themselves and reconvene at the head of the hall behind a massive pair of closed wooden doors. Everett looked down at his sister and smiled warmly.<br/><br/>“You look stunning, Arabelle … Now, are you ready?” he whispered as he gazed down at her fondly.<br/><br/>“As ready as I will ever be, I suppose,” she whispered, taking in as deep a breath as her corset would allow. Everett glanced over at the guard by the door, inclining his head ever so slightly towards him before turning his attention forward as the doors were pressed open and he strode into the room with his sister on his arm. All eyes turned to them as they entered, and the royal announcer’s voice rang out magnificently over the hushed chatter.<br/><br/>“All rise for the announcement of the arrival of Princess Arabelle of Velorath, accompanied by her brother Prince Everett of Velorath!”<br/><br/>All eyes were on them, but the twins both gazed forward at the head of the room where the royal family stood, their gazes boring into the foreigners. They were strangers in the court, and as Everett stepped forwards with his sister he had a strange feeling that this place would never quite feel like home to little Arabelle. They had entered into an entirely different world.<br/><br/><div style="text-align: center"><div class="bbCodeSpoiler">
<button class="bbCodeSpoiler-button button--longText button" data-xf-click="toggle" data-xf-init="tooltip" title="Click to reveal or hide spoiler" type="button"><span class="button-text">
<span>Spoiler: <span class="bbCodeSpoiler-button-title">Everett Arthur Hughes</span></span>
</span></button>
<div class="bbCodeSpoiler-content">
<div class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--spoiler">
<div class="bbCodeBlock-content">
<script class="js-extraPhrases" type="application/json">
			{
				"lightbox_close": "Close",
				"lightbox_next": "Next",
				"lightbox_previous": "Previous",
				"lightbox_error": "The requested content cannot be loaded. Please try again later.",
				"lightbox_start_slideshow": "Start slideshow",
				"lightbox_stop_slideshow": "Stop slideshow",
				"lightbox_full_screen": "Full screen",
				"lightbox_thumbnails": "Thumbnails",
				"lightbox_download": "Download",
				"lightbox_share": "Share",
				"lightbox_zoom": "Zoom",
				"lightbox_new_window": "New window",
				"lightbox_toggle_sidebar": "Toggle sidebar"
			}
			</script>
<div class="bbImageWrapper lazyload js-lbImage" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-single-image="1" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fattitude.co.uk%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F2016%2F01%2Fphoca_thumb_l_ppz_d017_03956.jpg.750x400_q85_box-0%252C42%252C639%252C383_crop_detail.jpg&amp;hash=f4852776d6f1fc8a5b15af66f7a57d10" title="phoca_thumb_l_ppz_d017_03956.jpg.750x400_q85_box-0%2C42%2C639%2C383_crop_detail.jpg">
<img alt="phoca_thumb_l_ppz_d017_03956.jpg.750x400_q85_box-0%2C42%2C639%2C383_crop_detail.jpg" class="bbImage lazyload" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fattitude.co.uk%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F2016%2F01%2Fphoca_thumb_l_ppz_d017_03956.jpg.750x400_q85_box-0%252C42%252C639%252C383_crop_detail.jpg&amp;hash=f4852776d6f1fc8a5b15af66f7a57d10" data-url="https://attitude.co.uk/media/images/2016/01/phoca_thumb_l_ppz_d017_03956.jpg.750x400_q85_box-0%2C42%2C639%2C383_crop_detail.jpg" data-zoom-target="1" height="" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" style="" title="" width=""/>
<noscript><img alt="phoca_thumb_l_ppz_d017_03956.jpg.750x400_q85_box-0%2C42%2C639%2C383_crop_detail.jpg" class="bbImage" data-url="https://attitude.co.uk/media/images/2016/01/phoca_thumb_l_ppz_d017_03956.jpg.750x400_q85_box-0%2C42%2C639%2C383_crop_detail.jpg" data-zoom-target="1" height="" src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fattitude.co.uk%2Fmedia%2Fimages%2F2016%2F01%2Fphoca_thumb_l_ppz_d017_03956.jpg.750x400_q85_box-0%252C42%252C639%252C383_crop_detail.jpg&amp;hash=f4852776d6f1fc8a5b15af66f7a57d10" style="" title="" width=""/></noscript>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="bbCodeSpoiler">
<button class="bbCodeSpoiler-button button--longText button" data-xf-click="toggle" data-xf-init="tooltip" title="Click to reveal or hide spoiler" type="button"><span class="button-text">
<span>Spoiler: <span class="bbCodeSpoiler-button-title">Arabelle Evelyn Hughes</span></span>
</span></button>
<div class="bbCodeSpoiler-content">
<div class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--spoiler">
<div class="bbCodeBlock-content">
<div class="bbImageWrapper lazyload js-lbImage" data-lb-caption-extra-html="" data-lb-sidebar-href="" data-single-image="1" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fvignette.wikia.nocookie.net%2Ffdk%2Fimages%2Fd%2Fd9%2FSheisSyrenaCropped.jpg%2Frevision%2Flatest%3Fcb%3D20180312190957%26path-prefix%3Dde&amp;hash=715df07e963b7a28d7a4469cb4baad10" title="latest">
<img alt="latest" class="bbImage lazyload" data-src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fvignette.wikia.nocookie.net%2Ffdk%2Fimages%2Fd%2Fd9%2FSheisSyrenaCropped.jpg%2Frevision%2Flatest%3Fcb%3D20180312190957%26path-prefix%3Dde&amp;hash=715df07e963b7a28d7a4469cb4baad10" data-url="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/fdk/images/d/d9/SheisSyrenaCropped.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180312190957&amp;path-prefix=de" data-zoom-target="1" height="" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" style="" title="" width=""/>
<noscript><img alt="latest" class="bbImage" data-url="https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/fdk/images/d/d9/SheisSyrenaCropped.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20180312190957&amp;path-prefix=de" data-zoom-target="1" height="" src="/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Fvignette.wikia.nocookie.net%2Ffdk%2Fimages%2Fd%2Fd9%2FSheisSyrenaCropped.jpg%2Frevision%2Flatest%3Fcb%3D20180312190957%26path-prefix%3Dde&amp;hash=715df07e963b7a28d7a4469cb4baad10" style="" title="" width=""/></noscript>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div></div>