Private Tales Secret Getaway

A private roleplay only for those invited by the first writer
Taliyah accepted the kiss with a smile. She had never been happier in her life. She was going to marry Arastan. He loved her so much that he would do this. She'd still punish him later though.

"It is pretty genius, my love," she relented. "But please make sure the Queen knows that I had nothing to do with this!"

"Also, the answer is yes,"
she beamed at her Prince.

Arastan Aellevanda
 
The first of Taliyah's comments went in one ear and out the other with Arastan because he was only paying attention to her last words. She said yes, that was good.

In truth, he had been a little worried about that before making the announcement. It would be pretty embarrassing for him to make such a big and inevitably far-reaching announcement only to have Taliyah shut it down in his face. He had just put his faith in her that things she loved him as he loved her.

He wrapped her in his arms and twirled her around and the applauding grew at the clear show of affection from their prince. The King and Queen were back to smiling and move to stand next to Arastan and Taliyah. The King made a brief remark saying that he was so proud of their son and plans would be announced soon about future events.

With that said, the King turned to face Arastan and Taliyah, so that no one else could see his face. He was still smiling, but the smile was not reaching his eyes. He motioned to a door that led out of the hall.

"Let's discuss this somewhere more private."

Taliyah
 
Taliyah knew he - they - were in trouble as soon as the King looked at them. She had known nothing of this but I am sure it had been his parents worst fear since she had shown up in his life. She was nobody and he would be King someday. She understood. She didn't give a shit but she understood.

She held Arastan's arm as they exited the bathroom and entered a small drawing room. Two couches faced each other with a low table in the middle. This was supposed to be a cozy meeting area or rest area.

Arastan led her to one of the couches and they both waited for the King and Queen to sit or give their permission before they sat.

Arastan Aellevanda
 
Yeah, he probably should have expected this. He knew his mother was going to be dad, but even dad wasn't that happy. Arastan did not let go of Taliyah as they entered the next room, knowing that they were both about to get verbally assaulted. He would make it clear that it was all his fault and she had nothing to do with it.

The two had made it to one of the couches when the Queen stormed into the room with the King following behind her. It was clear that the Queen was furious.

"What have done! Arastan, I can't-"

"Elmina, enough!"

The Queen turned to talk back to the King but stopped herself when she saw the serious expression on his face. The King was often a lighthearted and relaxed individual and a man of few words, but it was clear that he considered all of this very seriously.

"Everyone sit down. We will speak about this like adults." The Queen pouted, but she assented to the King's command. Elmina was often the loudest and most forceful in her speech so many considered her the leader of the Royal family, but that wasn't the case. The King commanded a silent authority that he rarely used unless he had to.

When the King and Queen finally came to sit across from Arastan and Taliyah, he sighed "You really did not make this easy on us...either of you."

Oh, Arastan might be a little nervous now. It was rare that he ever made his father act like this.

Taliyah
 
Taliyah looked down at their clasped hands and then back up to study the Kings face. He was scary like this. That quiet I am not mad, I'm disappointed look on his face. She wanted to point at Arastan and blame him but she was an adult. She may not have known about this but she knew that they would never be allowed to stay together and she had still fell in love with him.

"Your Highness, I..."
She what? She had nothing to apologize for. She wasn't going to apologize. She just looked over at Arastan for help.

Arastan Aellevanda
 
"It was my fault. I didn't tell her about this beforehand. I just wanted to put it out to the public and..." Arastan was cut off from finishing the thought by a hand his father held up. The Queen's eyebrows shot up at Arastan's admission. Then Taliyah had not officially accepted yet, so maybe they could still forget about this.

"I will not be speaking with my foolish and impulsive son..." Instead, he turned so his eyes rested solely on Taliyah. Arastan was looking down in shame having not felt this much like a child since he was little.

"Do you understand what has been sacrificed?"

Taliyah
 
Taliyah shook her head at the Kings question. Of course she didn't. She didn't know anything except that they were in deeeeeep shit now. It didn't seem to matter that she wasn't in on the plan.

"No, your Highness..."

She held his gaze. She would not be afraid. She could do this.

Arastan Aellevanda
 
"A marriage is a symbol of unity for the couple and often for cities. Marriages have always been used to create strong alliances with other houses...Arastan has sacrificed the well-being of this city...for one person."

Queen Elmina had begun to compose herself once she saw that the King would be not happy with all of this. She took her chance to speak again, "My dear if we hurry outside. We can call the whole thing off and..."

This time it was the Queen who was cut off by a look from the King as he turned his eyes back to Taliyah. It was hard to tell exactly what he was thinking. It wasn't anger, like the Queen, or even disappointment, but it was clear he was looking for something.

"Much more, he has doomed an outsider who has no experience in this world, to a life of bearing responsibilities that she never asked for...What do you have to say to that?"

Taliyah
 
No, Taliyah, don't say it. Don't say it. Do not make the King mad.

"I say that I love him and I will do whatever is required me. I already accepted his proposal...as unconventional as it was."

She paused for only a breath before she continued.

"Furthermore, I would like to point out that since I have been in Arastan's life, he is happier and he actually performs the duties required of a Prince. That is more than you can say was happening before..."

She did it. She had told the truth and it may be one they didn't want to acknowledge but it was there.

Arastan Aellevanda
 
"How dare you..." The Queen quickly challenged and prepared to berate the girl down for her last remark. However, she was cut off by the large chuckle that escaped the King's lips.

"I would have to say you are right. If you were not here, then it is likely he would have not even been here, likely off playing with the deer in the forest."

Arastan was still looking down, but a small smile did crawl onto his face as he squeezed Taliyah's hand. The King looked between the two of them and sighed. "I would ask my son if he truly loves you, but..." He quickly cut off an Arastan who had sharply looked up to speak.

"I already know the answer...I mainly wanted to have this talk because...what Arastan has committed you to will not be easy, Taliyah. The eyes that were watching you all night will become a permanent fixture in your life...You more so than Arastan will bear the burden for upholding the class of the House of Aellevanda same as that burden has been handled by my beautiful wife...It is a difficult task."

The King squeezed his own wife's hand and offered a smile and for the first time, the Queen smiled slightly and blushed just a little.

Taliyah
 
A small smile formed on Taliyah's lips. Difficult was a word she knew well in her life.

"My life has been nothing but difficult, your Highness. I spent eighty years in the fighting pits. I survived that long because I became the best. I bought my freedom before I was taken by the human zealots. I would have died long ago if I didn't know how to overcome and learn from difficult things."

She was not sure how much they knew of her past but she figured it wasn't much.

Arastan Aellevanda
 
A knowing glance was shared between the King and Queen. The King looked satisfied while the Queen still looked like she did not like any of this. The two had had several conversations where they discussed Taliyah's potential origins. What she had just said, only confirmed their suspicions, if a bit more extreme.

"Very well...I won't try to persuade you otherwise. Arastan is aware of what he has done and he will have to live with it...We will begin planning the ceremony as soon as possible."

The Queen looked like she wanted to protest, but knew she could not given what the King had just decided. Instead, she sighed before declaring.

"I do not fully support this, but if this continues then...I will be turning this girl into a proper princess...I will not have her embarrassing this family on my son's big day." With the Queen, that was probably as close as one would get to her acceptance.

Taliyah
 
Taliyah let out a soft breath of relief as the interogation finished and the King announced that the wedding would happen. She squeezed Arastan's hand and smiled at him with the happiest smile ever.

Then the Queen spoke and Taliyah looked over at her. Honestly, it sounded like hell and the type of thing the Queen would find great joy in inflicting on her future daughter in law.

"You are far too kind," Taliyah just with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Arastan Aellevanda
 
"I know. You have given me an incredible amount of work." The Queen responded curtly, although a small smile did appear on the King's face.

The tense situation between the Queen and Taliyah went right over Arastan's head who was now looking back up with a broad grin on his face. He gave Taliyah a big hug as he looked at his dad.

"I knew you would understand."

Taliyah
 
Arastan was lucky he was cute and a Prince because he was a little on the slow side sometimes. She had picked him though. She had picked him forever apparently now too.

"I cannot wait to see the what you have in store," Taliyah said to the Queen before she smiled at the King. She had liked him from day one. He was kind and a good leader. A little scary when he was upset though. That was good to know.

"Thank you, both," she said and smiled at Arastan again after speaking.

Arastan Aellevanda
 
"So...with that decided, I think we are going to..." The entire time he had been speaking slowly while taking Taliyah and guiding her towards the door. He led her out of the room before ducking his head back inside.

"Thanks for the talk. Bye!" Before his mother or father could complain, he was out the door. Arastan took Taliyah by the hand and quickly led her away from the room and the party. It was now a chance that the two of them could finally be alone for a bit.

Taliyah
 
As soon as the betrothed couple had made it to the first deserted hallway, Taliyah pushed Arastan against the wall and kissed him. They needed to make it back to his room now but she needed to know this was real. It felt like a dream still.

She pulled away from the kiss after a few moments and just smiled. "You certainly keep my on my toes, Arastan, and I wouldn't have it any other way!"

Before he could reply, she was practically pulling him down the hall to his room.

Arastan Aellevanda
 
So this was what it was like to be a ragdoll. Even though Taliyah was much smaller than him, Arastan was essentially thrown down the hallway. He was about to make a wisecracking comment, when he was thrown against the wall. Before he could get a word out, his mouth was occupied by Taliyah's kiss.

She finally broke the kiss and he grinned, "Oh you know, I just like to bring a little excitement to our lives. Nothing too major." He laughed while offering a shrug.

He then let himself get pulled off once more, before finally getting his feet under him and scooping Taliayh up into his arms. He carried her, bridal style, yes he recognized the irony, the remaining distance into his room.

Taliyah
 
Taliyah giggled as Arastan scooped her up into his arms and carried her the rest of the way to his room. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started to place kisses on his neck.

"Your mothers face was probably the best thing I have ever seen...she was so mad," she kissed him again. "I cannot wait to be your wife, Arastan!" Another kiss as he paused to open his door and bring them inside.

Arastan Aellevanda
 
Arastan could only smile as he let Taliyah trail kisses up and down his neck. When they finally entered the room, he gently laid her down on the bed as he came to lay above her. He was laughing along with her.

"Yeah, I guess I'll have to have a normal wedding since I nearly killed both of my parents with a heart attack. It's the least I can do...I promise it will be beautiful. We can do it however we want...Although, we may have to invite quite a few guests."

Now, it was his turn to kiss her as he lightly kissed her along her collarbone.

Taliyah
 
A soft hmmm left Taliyah's lips at the mention of a normal wedding. While she had never been to a royal wedding, she knew there was no such thing as normal.

"Your mother is going to enjoy tormenting me with the planning and turning me into a proper lady. I cannot wait," she said with a smile as he kissed her lightly.

"When did you decide on this little plan, my love?"

Arastan Aellevanda
 
He was glad she had said it, because Arastan had not wanted to bring it up. His mother certainly wasn't kidding when she said that...The next few weeks were going to be nearly unbearable for Taliyah. His mom would try to make sure of that.

"What plan? Do you mean the engagement...Well, I loved you and you had told me the same. My parents had been pestering me to get a wife before you even came... every time I thought about it though...I only could see you. It was the only option."


Taliyah
 
"I love you, Arastan. So very much," she smiled at him as a hand went up to tangle in his hair and pull him month down to hers.

To kiss her fiance was so much better than kissing him before. It was no different except for the fact of losing him was no longer hanging over them.

"I suppose I will no longer be your bodyguard," Taliyah laughed after she broke the kiss to breath.

Arastan Aellevanda
 
"I love you too." Oh, that always got to him. Hands running through his hair always felt so nice. Arastan did not realize that he act a lot like a dog.

"I suppose you are right. We'll have to find me a new one...We'll have to find you a new one." He laughed as he continued to place his along her neck and collarbone any chance he got.

"At least this way, you don't have to look so serious now when we are out and about." Arastan knew that Taliyah had taken her role seriously and he loved her for it, but it was also her role that had always kept them from enjoying themselves when they went out.

Taliyah
 
"I hardly need a bodyguard," Taliyah laughed out. "We will find you one and I will keep an eye on myself."

She knew full well that his mother wouldn't allow that but it wishful thinking. She would have play nice with the Queen even more so now.

"I would be laying if I said I wasn't excited to be able to just be with you in public."

That was definitely the least favorite part of her job. She was always with him but she couldn't really be with him.

Arastan Aellevanda