Fleeing in Badly-dubbed Terror (June 1, evening)

[Princess Nanshe]

“Please.” The attendant shuffled the open box slightly, allowing the orbs to clink against each other. It was apparent the young girl didn’t know what they were for, so some persuasion was in order. “You must be hungry after your flight.”

The attendant decided to leave it at that, lowering the box to the table and slowly backing away. Still, her eyes remained unwaveringly on the visitor, like those of literally every other woman in the room. No doubt it made for the best and most welcoming atmosphere for their guest to speak freely.

That was sarcasm, by the way.

Regardless, the bluette brunette spoke with little other effort. The explanation was shaky at best, though. The guards briefly looked amongst themselves, doing their best to silently validate their guest’s backstory. Titania, like any Uranian territory, was known for their brash, competitive, and dare say, barbaric ways, so the remark about an executed loved one came as little surprise.

But that didn’t mean there wasn’t any concern whatsoever.

“Cynthia of Titania.” A guard folded her arms behind her back, giving a cold and stern gaze. “Why would they search for you if your loved one was the one slain?”

To be honest, it sounded like there was some kind of criminal conviction at play. But at least they’d give her the chance to explain herself further.

Whether or not that would dig her deeper was the question.

[Princess Ciela]

The attendant shook the box, and the delicate little bubbles clinked together like glass. None of them broke open, however, and she still had no idea of the nature of what was inside. Her only clue was when the attendant said she must be hungry after her flight. Well, honestly, she was, but she had no idea what was in those bubbles or how one was meant to eat them.

"Thank you," she said as she picked up one of the spheres and looked at it uncertainly. It seemed pretty solid, so she was afraid to try to bite it. What if it were made of glass? The last thing she needed was to cut her mouth trying to eat glass, and then be unable to eat much of anything else for a couple of weeks. She hesitated, looking to the attendant who had offered the bubbles for some clue as to how she was meant to eat them.

Meanwhile, all eyes in the room were locked on her, scrutinizing her, trying to feel out what kind of person she was and whether they should believe her story. She couldn't get enough of a read on them to know whether they were believing her, or had any kind of sympathy for her plight. One of the guards spoke her assumed name, and Ciela tried to keep any traces of guilt out of her eyes. What would happen if they caught her in a lie? Would she be punished? Or maybe just returned to her homeworld to face the wrath of her parents? She was sure nothing these merpeople could do to her would be any worse than what would happen if she were forced to return home.

When asked why they would search for her if her lover had been slain, she lowered her eyes and said quietly, "It was my fault, you see. If I hadn't been so stupid and-and prideful, we would still be together now. We could have run away together and made a life for ourselves. . . somewhere out beyond Pluto, maybe. . . somewhere nobody knew who we were. I just wish--" The tears began to sting her eyes. "I just wish things had turned out differently. I just can't--"

She hid her face as she failed at holding back the tears anymore. How was she supposed to keep going without Kai?

[Princess Nanshe]

Nanshe’s entourage exchanged looks amongst each other as Cynthia poured her heart out. The story was so vague, but she was acting too distraught for it to be made up. Probably. At least none of them picked up overt traces of lying, and they were trained to do that. If they saw any guilt in her, it was because she was clearly keeping everything bottled in.

At least that’s what would benefit the plot the most.

Uranians were rough and violent anyway, often placing ridiculously high stakes on trivial competitions. Neptunians were much more laid-back about such affairs, and rarely felt that execution was a gift to be given to anyone. That kind of pride in her people made Nanshe’s posture improve somewhat, hoping this new girl would enjoy being around a calmer and more civilized people on Neptune.

Wait, were they going to going to take her back to Triton? She wasn’t sure what protocol was, come to think about it. Then again, being the princess just meant she had to sit there and look pretty, even when off on her latest adventure.

And what do you know! She did be that. Therefore, independence. The guards and attendants were the ones to fiddle with the finer details.

“As a young woman, you pose no threat to us.” The guards arrived at the next steps for the young woman, seemingly with no verbal discussion beforehand. It was almost eerie how much they were in-sync. “We will escort you to our capital on Triton for further sentencing. Until then, you will remain captive aboard our ship.”

“Unless, that is…” An attendant spoke up. Knowing there were auto-piloted escape pods in the station, she figured another option could hold a certain appeal. “You wish to leave right now.”

The unfortunate part was, the attendant didn’t specify where the visitor was to ‘leave’ to. Llama-vagueness for the win!

Getting bored, Nanshe imagined she was eating one of the candy bubbles on the table. They probably weren’t going to offer her any, seeing as how she’d eaten candy that morning and the guards were careful about her intake of sweets. Still, she could imagine inhaling the sweet flavor within, and was unwittingly motioning how to hold the bubble to her lips and suck in, like one would to a non-solid bubble one might make out of soap. If Cynthia watched, she’d figure out what to do.

[Princess Ciela]

She had told them next to nothing so far, but no lies. . . well, except for her name, and that was a necessary evil. If they knew she was the Uranian princess, they would send her back home to face her parents, for sure! Without knowing that, well, they should have no reason to punish her in any way, right? Subsequently, the attendants basically said as much, as they stated their opinions that she posed them no threat. They intended to escort her to their capital on Triton. . . for further sentencing?! Wait, what?

"Sentencing?" she repeated as if to make sure she had heard them properly. "For what?"

Her brown eyes darted around the room, looking from one face to another for some sign she had just misunderstood or that they were having a joke at her expense for some reason. Finally her eyes came to rest on the Neptunian princess, only to find the girl engaging in some sort of strange pantomime wherein she pretended to take something up to her mouth and suck it in. Ciela blinked. What was that supposed to be all about?

"Your Highness?" she said in a small, questioning voice.

[Princess Nanshe]

“You refused relocation to your home planet.” The attendant closed the box of treats and slid it back towards herself. The visitor clearly had no interest in them, and would rather discuss whichever details she and the royal entourage were at liberty to discuss. Thus, their guest may be able to picture where she’d wind up, should she ask the right questions. “We need to determine where to place you in Neptunian territory.”

Nanshe, being the quiet little bird she was, simply stared off into the distance as she was questioned. She hated being spoken to directly except by those who knew her for years; those whom she could trust. She wanted to withdraw into her flowing robes, but splat would be dishonorable and childlike.

But it did bring attention to several of the guards. The trouble was, trying to get an answer out of Nanshe was like trying to get a clear answer out of a llama in a wig- except Nanshe was surely not going to dance to a song whose title she purposely misunderstood.

“There are more important matters at hand.” One of the guards spoke in Nanshe’s place, almost in defeat. Cynthia could probably hear her forlorn sigh.

[Princess Ciela]

One of the attendants reminded her that she had refused to go back to her home planet, but did that make her a criminal in need of sentencing? Or was it some sort of peculiarity of language that had caused her to misunderstand? Ciela couldn't be sure, though she was sure if she argued with the guards she would certainly end up in a criminal court for real sentencing. With a sigh, she brushed a hand through her still-damp hair, securing it behind her ears, before she gave a resigned nod.

When one of the guards said there were more important matters at hand, Ciela looked up, head tilted slightly, silently questioning. She had to wonder whether those important matters would be discussed in front of a stranger, however. More likely they would take her out of the room before they discussed anything of any real importance.

[Princess Nanshe]

“We will find a place for you,” a guard said, taking Cynthia by the shoulder. It wasn’t an affectionate gesture by any means, and unless the visitor was completely clueless she’d realise she was being prompted to stand up. They were going to leave, and the windows of the room resuming transparency hinted at such.

Another guard swept around the brunette’s side, poised to take her other shoulder if need be. However, for now she was merely flanking the girl alongside the other guard. There was still no guarantee their captive wouldn’t try to escape. With that, she finished the other guard’s statement. “…On Triton.”

Being rusty on such processes, Nanshe wondered if this was normal for newcomers. The girl was bound for the capital, no doubt as a refugee to be assimilated into daily life there. Hopefully the young lady didn’t turn out to be another one of those insurgent terrorists.

Strangely, her greatest concern wasn’t potential danger; no, she merely hoped this didn’t mean she was supposed to spend time with this girl. Who needs new friends when you can just be an antisocial weirdo?

[Princess Ciela]

<<I think that's a place to end the thread, so we'll close it there and go do something else.>>