Welcome to Gaia! ::

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After the king's speech, Vale took small amounts of everything set on the table and didn't hesitate to begin eating. He picked at his food and wine at a good speed so as to end this feast soon. While he did this he looked over to Eleanora who happened to be gesturing something. What was she doing? Vale looked at her confusingly and begun to trace her line of sight, leading to the Queen of Zimid. He quietly watched the to go at it nonverbally and it was rather amusing. Vale simply sipped at his wine and let them entertain him. Vale assumed the Fae just didn't like meat and she was challenging the Queen to a dare. It took all of Vale's strength not to laugh. He watched her hide the meat and at first, Vale thought the queen wouldn't buy it and that she would simply dismiss the challenge, that is, until the queen's face twisted into a disgusted expression. Vale continued to look at the Queen to see if she was up for the challenge, and apparently she was willing to do something like this if it meant one-upping her daughter. The queen ate it. And Vale started laughing quietly, covering his mouth with is chalice, hoping to not be discovered. That was the most hilarious sight. Vale cleared his throat and continued on with his meal until the feast was to be over.

Some time had passed and Vale just couldn't take it anymore. During the time where everyone was up and chatting again, and the people of Toryn and Zimid were partying outside the castle and within the towns, Vale felt he had been social enough for one day. He slipped away quietly and went off into his father's study. Generally, he wasn't meant to be in there, but Vale knew his father kept a large portrait of his mother hanging over his dark wooden desk. Many bookcases lined the walls and many papers and documents were scattered one every place that could be used for writing. He had found himself sitting in a small couch the king placed in front of the portrait and getting comfortable. He smiled up to his mother's painted visage and even spoke to it just to entertain himself. "Well, well, well. I suppose you won the bet. Although it was in different terms, I really did get married to a interesting girl. Although, she does get irritated with me at times, but I just find that enjoyable. Do you remember? I used to say the only girl I wanted to be with was you." Vale laughed to himself. "You were right about in-laws too. They're terrifying. But her siblings are extremely adorable." As he said this, his grin slowly faded and he sighed. He knew he looked pathetic like this. This was simply one internal struggle he needed to accept sooner or later. With everything going on, he could probably find a way to distract himself. He didn't know how long he stared at the portrait in the unlit room, but by the time the festivities were over in the royal hall, his father had entered. Vale heard his steps and turned around to look to the king and the king did the same. "Why are you in here?", His father asked with a stern tone and with slow approaching steps in Vale's direction. Vale could tell he was in trouble, but he wasn't too bothered by it. Vale turned back to look at his mother once more. "Just wanted my mother to see me on my big day. Why, am I not allowed to do so?" Vale asked, not even bothering to look to him anymore. The king paused for a moment and walked over to Vale. "You know you are not to be in here. Shouldn't you be with the princess? You are just getting married and here you are. Pitiable. Sometimes, I truly question if you are to be a good candidate for future king." Vale honestly couldn't care less. He rolled his eyes and kept silent, standing up and leaving.

Since the entire kingdom were deep in festivities, Toryn was known to have open, friendly jousting matches during these times. Vale headed upstairs and into their room, retrieving a key he hung on a wall. He grabbed his lance as well, and with this in hand, he left the room and found himself at a locked door sitting in the same hallway as their bedroom. Unlocking it, he entered the room which was curtained in Velvet and in the middle of the room stood a case which housed his armor, along with many other armors which belonged to him and his father. The one he wished to don was a shiny black steel plates with golden trim. He opened the case and begun to put on his plated suit which hugged him perfectly. A bit heavy, since he hadn't worn it in awhile but he still felt quite comfortable. He carried his helmet under his arm and his lance in his open hand, taking his leave and locking the armor room's door. Soon he was back down the stairs in no time. With the stables in mind, Vale went to the door that led outside to the garden. Heading out, the first thing he noticed was Eleanora, smelling the flowers she spent so much time on. He didn't really understand why she worked so hard for a garden, but he knew it was somewhere she could be happy so he left it at that. He practically put the stables out of mind as he leaned on a pillar and began watching her, grinning. After doing so for a bit, he called out to her. "You seem to be enjoying yourself! I like what you've done to the place." He said smiling and walking to her, looking around the, now, lively garden along the way.

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Vale smiled to her, placing his helm on the ground. "Yes, I was just about to get Windago. Whenever the festival or large event occurs across the kingdom we do some friendly matches." He paused and gestured at his plating, "Don't I look like a knight in shining armor?" He laughed and scanned her visage. Vale still couldn't seem to take in how nice the princess looked. How nice his wife looked. Was it just the makeup? Possibly. It could be her in all as well. He couldn't tell, but all he knew was he couldn't stop looking at her. It was too weird. Vale dropped his gaze to the floor and when he looked back up to her, he noticed she was holding out flowers to him. He wasn't really sure what she wanted him to do with the plant but with all the sniffing she was doing, he assumed he was to do the same. In a way, Vale felt out of place with this happening. He's always seen men going out of their way to find a bunch of flowers, just to present them to the female they're attracted to. Shouldn't he be getting her things like this? Not because he found her attractive or anything..Because she was now married to him. He wondered what kind of things a husband was to do at this point. Probably nothing, since their marriage was political, but with how much she has grown on him, he wishes her to be happy here. If it meant he had to research what these weird flowers were and learning about gardening or whatever, maybe he would consider it.

Vale leaned over and smelled the flower she was holding out to him. He wasn't really sure if she wanted him to take it but he did anyway, gabbing ahold of it's stem very carefully since he wore heavy plated gloves as well and didn't want to crush the flower. His armor barely grazed her, so lightly it was as if a singular follicle of hair touched her skin. He held it with extra care and smelled it once more, strangely enjoying it's fragrance. He continued to admire it's odor until her next question arose. He smiled, grabbed his helm, and followed her along the path to the stables. "The same woman who used to ride Ahlerich. And she was damn good at it too." He said glancing at her. "She was the only one who used to take care of it. Without her, it took at least six maids and two servants to even attempt to keep up." He paused and grinned at her, "I'm glad I let you have it. You're the only other person who can keep so alive on your own, and love doing it. It's fascinating, really." He ended, as they reached the stables within their short time of walking. He turned to her and bowed slightly, holding out his armor covered hand to her, "M'lady, do you wish to accompany me to my match, or shall you be heading back to the garden?" He asked playfully and raising his head witness her expression.

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Vale chuckled at her response and retracted his hand, following her into the stables and up to Windago's stall. Pulling open the gate that caged him in, he walked inside to give his steed a nice petting and a treat. "Are you ready, Wind? We've got some matches today." Windago whined, which Vale assumed was an agreement. He went off, leaving the stall and going to a small door, which was the entrance to a moderate sized closet. In this closet was the armor for the horses, the barding. He first grabbed the Criniere and Peytral which was the chest and neck gear, since it was the most difficult. Entering the stall again, he began dressing his steed in the proper plating and adjusting it to fit. Windago would struggle at times but he got used to the feeling almost immediately. Next, he set out for Wind's Chanfron, the head gear and placed that upon him as well, which made Windago whine, but in disapproval. "Sorry, I have to make sure you're safe." He said petting him and getting the last item, the caparison, which was the cloth that hung off the rear of the horse, decorated with black and gold designs. Placing on his saddle and reins and holding them, he led Windago out of the stables. He decided it was a nice day and he was in no rush to get there, so walking would be nice. Vale wondered however, if many Fae would be at the jousting tracks, participating, maybe even watching. Then the thought of there being none worried him. Yes, this was more of a human sport, but what if Eleanora felt something about it? Vale maybe wouldn't have thought much since it is only the first day of this "unity" thing but he knew she probably wanted peace among us. He sighed and looked to Eleanora, smiling playfully. "Are you going to cheer for me? I think I would do even better than usual, if I know you're rooting for me out there. Especially if you're staying only a little bit." He said laughing and awaiting her, as always, sassy retorts. "Maybe even if I win, you should kiss me, princess!" He laughed, with Windago making whiny noises behind them.

With the area being so close, they arrived in short time. The field where they had previously rode before, usually open, was now filled with many people, some on horses and some not. Many other men and even women could be seen in dressed in jousting armor, as well as their horses and heading in the same direct they were headed in. Reaching the track, there were two large stadiums with rows and rows of seats filled with humans and Fae. They may not have been buddy-buddy with each other entirely but they were mixed in together, watching a match go on. Vale exhaled happily and paused to see the current match. The men on the horses charged at one another at fast speeds, bringing down their lances from their upright position and one taking out the other in but a fraction of a second. One of the competitors went flying off of his horse and upon instinct, the paramedics go out to check on the man and make sure he receives proper care. Within this short time, Vale's smile became as wide as could be. The blood and sweat placed in this sport was enough to almost make Vale cry. On the other end of the track were four velvet chairs, sitting atop a wooden platform with two servants standing by for royals to witness the sport whenever they please. He asked a nearby attendant to accompany his horse while he escorted the princess to her seat. "And you will be sitting here, princess." He said, gesturing to the royal seats.

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After having her settled into her seat, Vale turned to get prepared but before he went off he heard her encouraging words. Very subtle, but in a way Vale still enjoyed them. He looked to her and smiled, "Thank you, Eleanora." And with that he hurried off to the match maker's direction. Many of the other participants gave a nod and congratulated him with the marriage. He nodded to them in return and continued on, meeting with the match maker, a husky man with a list of participants and their opponents. "Ah! Prince Vale. Nice to see you back on the track! Don't worry, Ill let you have next." He said chuckling and proceeded to scribble down Vale's name. Of course, with Vale being royalty, he was boosted up on the waiting list and was allowed the next match. With the current match now ended, Vale went over to retrieve Windago and waited until the track was ready, putting on his helm and mounting his horse. Another man, riding a dark brown horse, rode up to Vale with a noticeable confident posture. "Hello, prince Vale. I am your opponent this evening. Good luck out there." He stated and as quick as he came, he rode off to the other side of the track. Vale, although unseen because of his helm, rolled his eyes and trotted over to his end.

The match was now about to begin, and Vale sat ready with his Lance pointed up. He glanced over to the princess, seeing if she was watching him. Vale felt especially confident with the encouragement she gave. He even used the possibility of being kissed as his incentive, because, come on, who doesn't like getting kissed after a huge win? He could probably rub it in some faces later, or maybe even use it as a joke for the princess. Whatever the outcome, he would have been at least happy with just the opportunity to joust. The man who called the matches raised his voice to begin the match. "Are both jouster's ready?" He asked, Vale silently raising his lance in agreement as well as his opponent. And just like that the start came and the both of them began to race to the other at a great speed. Almost meeting to the middle, both of them brought their lances down, tucking the end of it under their arms and charging. The cheering of the crowd became loud and just like the previous match, it ended quickly. With Vale hitting the ground, hard. The medics came and took a look at Vale as quickly as they could, crowding around him. They lifted up his helm cover, only to see Vale was practically dying of laughter. They seemed very confused as to why, but they simply deemed him to be perfectly fine with just a bit of bruising and left the field. If the opponent is okay, then another round was to be held. These matches were generally held in best-of-three rounds. Vale picked himself up and saddled back up again. "Wow..I'm out of shape.." He thought to himself, chuckling and setting back up. And once more, the match begun. Vale's adrenaline rush was kicked in and he began to charge in. This time, Vale could see everything, the position the rider was in, how quick he was with the thrust of his lance. And it was the moment Vale loved the most, when everything slowed down for moment and he was able to create a strategy. They were just about to meet in the middle, the opposing jouster beginning to thrust his lance as Vale's chest. But he knew his movements at this point and was able to dodge it just as the second of contact came with his lance to his opponents chest, knocking him off of his horse, just as Vale did earlier. This feeling was almost too much to contain for Vale. Jousting for Vale, was the garden to Eleanora, his happy place. And with both being tied now, Vale's heart was racing, he practically felt high off of this sport.

The medics tended to his opponent, who was still able to joust, adding another round. With this, they set back up and the final match began, with the two racing up the center and preparing to take the other out. With the two rushing and thrusting their lances, Vale tried to dodge just as he did before, but his opponent knew better and adjusted his path, hitting his shoulder and almost knocking him off. But Vale was able to keep himself up and was able to thrust his lance into the opponent's side, making him shaky at first, but eventually falling off. Vale had a victory for this match. As if second nature, not bothering to check on his opponent or wave to the crowd, he and Windago immediately trotted over to where the princess sat. He removed his helm, pushing back his sweated-out hair and smiling his usual idiot smile. "Congratulations, princess." He said swinging his leg over and dismounting Windago, "You have a victorious husband."

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Vale laughed at her remark. "Do I get a kiss, princess?" He asked curiously. For some reason, he was beginning to like her responses to his idiotic jokes, it wasn't necessarily negative and it kept him chasing. In a way, it was almost a game for him. And with her congratulations in mind, he slowly walked up to her grinning "Thank you. It's beautiful." and accepting the flower she offered him, a thing he never really cared for before meeting Eleanora and now handling it with great care. This time, when receiving it, his plated hand touched hers, grabbing the flower by the stem. He took a moment and scanned over the flower's great detail. When he said it was beautiful, he couldn't lie, he was just saying it. But, looking at it at close proximity, he noticed how elegant it truly looked. The ruffles in it's petals, the vibrant color. He could really tell she worked hard to make that garden amazing along with everything in it, down to the last petal. It was at times like this he wished his mother was still around. With the both of them in the garden, they could have probably created a garden similar to Eden. He inhaled the flower's scent before pushing the stem above his ear and letting the flower sit there as an accessory before looking back to the princess.

Vale felt he had tortured the princess long enough and decided one match was alright for today. Plus, with the depleted adrenaline rush, he was beginning to feel sore in his chest and figured it was time to call it a day. With an hour or so the sun will be setting. Before Vale could begin a sentence, his opponent walked up to the two. Vale looked to him with a confused look as to why he came over, he certainly didn't feel like having a sportsmanship chat with this guy. "Can I help you?" Vale asked bluntly, turning to him and brushing his hair back once again. The man removed his helm and Vale's eyes slanted. It was one of the guys from before, when he and the princess were riding out into the open field on Windago and Ahlerich. Specifically, the one that was tugging on the princess's dress before. He smiled to her and looked back to Vale. "I guess it's finally happened. And may I say, she looks a lot better than before. Not that she didn't look good before, of course." He said in a flirty tone. Vale glanced at him and then at the princess, then back to him. Strangely, as serious as he wished to be, his childish instincts over-ridded. "Yea, I know so quit flirting with her, that's my job." He said gesturing him to shoo. The man shrugged and looked to the princess once more and winked, turning on his heel. "Have fun, you two. " He stated, lastly before leaving the two.

Vale look to Eleanora. "Come. We can head back to the castle, if you wish?" He asked, wondering if she wished to leave. With that guy and having to sit here all alone, Vale figured it was only fair to let her do what she pleases now. Vale took off Windago's head gear, which from what it looked like, a relief to the dark horse. "We're done, buddy." He said holding on the his reins Once again he held out a hand to her, to help her step down from the platform. Perhaps he would have her ride with him back to the castle.

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Vale was a bit thrown off by her reaction to the man. She gave him a flower? Not only this, every time he offered her a polite gesture, she would blow it off. Yes, she played hard to get at times, but she wouldn't be impolite on purpose. She proved to be way too graceful for such a thing. Perhaps it was all in his head? Since he met her, she's always proved to be very independent, perhaps it was that? Regardless, he still felt a little down about the situation, but maybe it couldn't be helped. He turned and followed her out of the jousting area, glancing some ways at his previous opponent. He glared at him and continued on.

Vale didn't speak much on the way back to the stables, being lost in thought about Eleanora acting so strangely. And even if she were to say something, he probably wouldn't hear. His thoughts were broken by the sound of Windago's pants and their arrival to the stables. Without second thought, he led his steed into the entrance and began removing all of the heavy armor, bringing it back to the closet it came from. He then, put Windago back into his pen, giving him a treat and a nice scratch on the neck. As he headed out, he gave a quick pet to Ahlerich before exiting the stables. Since he had his clothes on under the many layers of metal and iron, he too, began to strip his heavy garments, removing his chest plates and arm gauntlets. Even with the weight, his armor was something he was used to carrying so he held them with ease. Putting his internal questions aside, he smiled playfully, "I'm going to assume peonies is what this is called?' He said pointing to his new hair accessory. "So can I have the flower that touched your lips then?" He said jokingly, "You said so yourself, it would look much better. In fact, you should teach me to make a flower crown so I won't have to wear my actual one." He said pacing his way back into the direction of the garden.

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Vale blushed with slight embarrassment after being corrected on the name of the flower, since he was sort of trying to prove he knew his stuff. But you win some, you lose some. But he was still a bit happy to receive praise from her. Even more so with how close she got to replace his peony with a new type of flower. With how close she became, he had internal breath of relief since she had been avoiding him for awhile. Why was that? He wanted to ask but then it could have been passed off as an idiotic question and he knew not to ask those around Eleanora. It was strange, having to think about what he had to say before saying it, usually he would just go with the flow. But perhaps this change was a good one.

He had to admit he liked the other one but this one he liked even more. He could catch a whiff of it's scent even from where it sat behind his ear and it had a pleasant smell. Vale could slowly feel himself become more interested in this. Yes, they didn't really do anything but they were nice to look at and to smell which almost felt therapeutic. When he saw her place the peony he once had behind her ear, he couldn't help but smile at the ground for some seconds. He was not stuck in the situation he had been before, should he say beautiful? Of course she looked great, and with her wearing a flower it was almost too cute to bear. It almost felt like pulling teeth. He looked up to her and cleared his throat, "Y-You uh, look. nice." He mumbled, following her to the garden and receiving her command to sit down. She gave him the bunch of she carried and went off somewhere. As he sat patiently he decided it would be a good idea to remove the rest of his armor but it would be rather difficult with only one open hand. Although it proved to be a bit of a hassle, with some time he was able to remove them and push them all to the side and taking a deep breath. Vale looked at the flowers he held and wondered which was her favorite. Should he ask? He looked at the variety and one that looked a bit strange to him was white and looked droopy? It also looked as if it tried desperately to bloom but gave up half way. Was it supposed to look that way? He questioned whether it was even alive or not but still handled it with care along with the others, just in case it was meant to look as it did. Soon his wife returned with a new bunch and sat next to him. With the way it was, he wondered if he should contact a servant to give them finger food and turn this into a picnic but he felt now was probably not the time. Looking at the new flowers she had, these were especially vibrant. And familiar? He remembered he had seen something like this in the medical ward one time but he didn't know what it was used for exactly. He nodded and began to watch her closely, weaving the flowers, binding them together. Vale remembered he wanted to try this as a kid but his father declared it unmanly for a prince to be playing with plants and such. Now, if Vale learned, he would wear it in front of him just to irritate him. "So what are those called?" He asked, pointing to the flowers she was weaving and then to the white droopy ones, "And these?"