The Long Hunt

Warm shafts of sunlight burst through exposed glass, illuminating a grand bedroom and waking up its single hungover occupant. The distant sounds of chirping birds provided a soft, ebullient melody that was simply too sweet to ignore, piercing the flimsy protection of a pillow thrown across a sleepy head. Light footsteps, barely louder than a mouse, shuffled across the carpeted bedroom floor, trying not to disturb the sleeping Prince who wished for the comfortable slumber to drag him back into it's loving darkness. The muted barely noticable drone of Italian traffic blared in the distance, reminding the young man that the day had started a long time ago and he was very much thrust back into reality in the early hours of the afternoon. Yes, Cilian Blanc, the wily French prince of thrones had managed to end the previous night with several bottles of wine and great company...fitting for a spontaneous vacation in the bustling European city.

A barely audible grumble escaped the handsome man's throat, raspy from the lack of fluids and making it quite clear that he still very much wanted to go back to sleep. A light female giggle illuminated the groggy frenchman's senses, alerting him to the fact that someone was still in the room with him. He felt no danger, his tattoos would have gone haywire if there was a possible threat standing in his bedroom...he recognized the distinct light feminine melody and instantly grinned, his eyes still closed but his mind fully aware of his visitor. No sooner had he slowly removed the large embroidered pillow off his head to allow the fresh air to hit his face did a lithe body crawled onto the large mattress, the slow movements that edged closer to him causing his inked skin to tingle. A dainty finger poked Cilian's nose, the soft warm flesh hitting his own sparking his eyes to creak open, flooding his view with a particularly beautiful sight.

Crouched next to him on the bed was an angel, or so he believed anyway, her pink lips curled in a smile and big bright eyes gazing at him with warmth and playfulness, it was none other than Anna...his gorgeous lover and friend. "Good morning sleepyhead", she cooed, brushing strands of black hair out of his face before lightly dragging her fingernails against his stubbled jawline. "I'm just borrowing your swimming trunks okay...", the white haired woman softly spoke, revealing black and white shorts neatly folded under the crease of her arm. "We have a new knight and he needed swimmers..", she pursed her lips, blinking those beautiful big eyes that not even he could resist. Her hand was curled up on his bare chest, rising and falling with every breath he took. Cilian raised an eyebrow...she obviously could have borrowed some spare clothes from the cupboard down the hallway, she just went out of her way and simply made an excuse just to creep into his room. "It would be nice if you said hi to him...Chelle likes him," she grinned, hopping back onto her knees as she readied herself back onto small slender feet.

"Once I say hi and do all the pleasantries we're going out to have some fun..." he mumbled, a grin slowly creeping across his lips as he dragged the back of his index finger along her pale forearm.

"Oh you better be quick, you can't keep a girl waiting," she smiled cheekily, brushing hair out of her face before placing a peck on his lips. "They're down by the armory...oh and we're having spaghetti for lunch", and with one lasting glance at her sleepy partner she hopped off the bed and skipped back to her Queen...expecting the smirking prince to follow sooner rather than later.

~

Anna was not lying, the familiar mouth watering smell of spaghetti bolagnaise had eventually wafted into the Prince's room forcing him to flop his body out of bed and drag his numb legs down to the kitchen..not caring that he was only wearing his boxer shorts. It was an easy task convincing the portly chef to give his hungover body a double serving and no sooner had he gobbled down half of the meal he snuck some more onto his plate...quickly exiting the kitchen like a not-so-subtle gourmet food thief. Holding the plate of spaghetti in one hand and clasping a leftover bottle of red from the night before in the other he slowly made his way down to the armory the level below, not forgetting to give any passing maid a dazed nod of the head and a slurred "Good morning..", even if it was one o'clock in the afternoon.

Eventually he had waddled down the stairs into the expansive and well lit armory, the loud...almost unbearable gunfire making his throbbing head feel even worse. Blinking away the sleep from his eyes he kicked open the door with his knee, hobbling into the Thrones weapon room like it was nothing out of the ordinary. Present was his Queen, as dazzling as ever; Anna, who was stifling a giggle under after seeing her barely dressed 'boyfriend' waltz into the room and some newbie...who was wearing Cilian's shorts. His entrance was typically fitting of the slightly flamboyant prince and as he came into view the looks of amusement from various parties was enough to tell him that his arrival was well received.

"Good morning Queen," he mumbled, trying not to appear as hungover as he felt, bending down to kiss her hand. A brief grin flashed across his lips as let the tattoos swirl across his body in their silent playful amusement...apparently the sentient designs enjoyed being around fellow Throne buddies. Turning his head to the new fellow he raised three free fingers to shake the man's hand...not daring to let go of his wine nor his spaghetti."Nice to meet you, welcome to the family! I hope you're enjoying my shorts...", he smirked, chuckling under his breath before turning his attention to the grinning white haired woman standing not too far from him. "And good morning to you Anna...care to join for some wining and dining?", he grinned, attempting to remain as subtle as possible, he wasn't sure if his relationship with Chelle's personal maid was a known fact amongst Thrones.

Anna bit her lips, blushing a bit before gazing at her Queen, "Ma'am may I be excused...it appears Prince Cilian has had a rough night and may need some asssitance behaving himself today..." she said with complete and utter clarity, trying to sound as genuine as possible without letting slip of their plans together once they were in a private location...

Isaiah sighed in satisfaction as he stretched, then replied to Chelle's question phrased more as a statement. "No, not really. It's more catharsis than anything else; it feels good to be able to waste ammo like that, as I do my best to conserve mine. It's expensive in Pittsburgh, and buying several hundred rounds every month is far from subtle."

The elevator door slid open, allowing a couple people to walk in. He turned to face the newcomer, or rather newcomers, though he had met Anna before. The man was taller than Isaiah, but he was whip thin and moved with grace even in his apparent hungover condition, signs that he was a pretty good fighter. He reached out a hand to awkwardly grip the three fingers that were offered. He had to admit that the aroma emanating from the plate heaped full of food smelled very good, just like was promised.

He glanced down at the mention that the swim trunks were the man's own, and he glanced briefly at the fox-girl to give her an expression that said 'Really?'

"Well, I guess that's why they're a bit long for me." The newly anointed Knight said, resiting the urge to snort in the hilarity of the situation. When Anna spoke up about escorting Prince Cilian, he again had to resist an urge, but this time it was to barely stop himself from smacking his forehead with his open palm. It was quite obvious that they were together; to his practiced eyes, anyway. Still, they weren't exactly doing the best job concealing it. He wouldn't be surprised if everyone else found out in a week or so, if they didn't already.

Isaiah turned to face the Queen when she put her hand on his shoulder and started speaking. He nodded solemnly as he replied. "I am very much ready, ah, my Queen. You could say I've been working towards something like this for years." He took one last look at the armory before following after Chelle and entering the elevator. The doors slid shut, and he was back on the main floor within seconds.