Kill The Prince, Steal The Crown // Private rp

Rhydar smiled when she looked up at him, when he noticed how they flickered to green for some time. He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers, bumping his nose against hers. He loved how her eyes were never the same color for long. It sometimes hinted towards how she was feeling at the moment, and it also reminded her of a diamond being looked at in different lights. "Sounds perfect to me as well. Could I have a kiss before the guests barge through the door? I think I can hear them in the palace."

Rhydar smiled sadly, though he dipped his head down to return the kiss, their lips molding together perfectly, slowly. He wanted to reassure her that she would be fine, that no one would go up to her like that man had the last event they've gone to. He might not know the extent of her worries, but he could still sense her slight agitation. So he tried to calm her with his touch, his kiss, anything that would help.

"I love you," Rhydar murmured against Lily's lips, not wanting to pull away but knowing that the stream of guests would arrive any second. As if on queue, Rhydar heard the distinct patter of noble footsteps, clicking from both men and women, dresses swishing as they dragged along the floor. He sighed and pulled Lily closer, not wanting to go away just yet. "I love you, not them," he grumbled.

He scrunched up his nose when she poked it, then returned the favor. "Unless, of course, the interruption is wanted and a headache gets you out of doing something. Then they are loved. But not in this case." He glanced over her shoulder at the growing crowd, then kissed her forehead and lingered some. "I gotta go. They'll be expecting me to greet them with my siblings."

Rhydar smiled and quickly pecked her lips, with a whispered "I love you," before he slipped away to plaster on a fake smile and greet the people there to grovel at his feet and cling to his arms in hopes of obtaining his affections. The twins took up their usual posts next to the refreshment tables, Cinthia subtly wiping off chocolate smears from the corners of her mouth while Wolf observed the people filling up the room. Both twins had the observational skills of a well-trained spy, though it wasn't always clear. Wolf was looking for a particular servant as they started to come out and serve the guests.

Wolf spotted his favorite serving girl as she made her way over to him, and he bit back his grin as he straightened some, allowing a friendly smile to slip through. Cinthia glanced over and rose a brow, then tracked where Wolf was looking and found Yvonne. "New friend?" she questioned out loud, tilting her head. Cinthia was perhaps the only one that was fully in the know of Wolf's sexuality, as they often swapped sentiments on the attractiveness of certain men they decided to pick on. Cinthia was much picker then Wolf was, but they usually came to an agreement. Wolf shifted and busied himself with fixing the lapels of his jacket. "I ran into her earlier and invited a friendly face for this thing. Gods know Mother isn't the best with servants." Cinthia snorted and smoothly caught a glass of champagne between her fingers, lifting it off the tray of a passing servant that hadn't spotted them.

Wolf smiled and gratefully took a drink, taking a long and deep sip from it before looking back to Yvonne and listening to her talk about the people. He chuckled and nodded his head towards the general crowd. "I apologize for those heathens. I swear, the more 'classy' and 'noble' they claim to be, the more like animals they become. I've met those of lesser class with more class than all of them grouped together." He downed the rest of his drink while his twin answered Yvonne's question directed towards Cinthia, as it was habitual between the two of them to talk in turns.

"I've been… Alright," Cinthia said slowly, realizing that she didn't need to put up a front with this girl her brother was so casually talking to. She blinked, doing a mind and body check. "Haven't slept much, and I think I might be coming down with another illness, and I'm certain I'm seeing things again."

Wolf frowned at Cinthia, even though he knew about her condition, then offered Yvonne a smaller smile than the one he had greeted her with. "Needless to say, we could be better."

Cinthia eyed Yvonne for quite some time, possibilities going through her head in rapid succession. Sleep like that sounded tremendous, but there had to be a catch. Not to mention all the work she was taking off of Rhydar's plate without his knowledge. It was clear from her brother's disinterest in being King that he was planning on stepping down, and Magnus already had plans to move to Kora's country with her, so that would be a useless King to this country. Wolf was younger than her, so she was the natural heir. She couldn't afford any more compromises to her health and capabilities. What if this 'cure-all' did something Cinthia couldn't predict? Or Yvonne?

While his twin overthought the offer like how she overthought everything, Wolf smiled warmly at Yvonne. "Well, what if I said you wouldn't have to?" he asked, then went on before she could say anything. "I'm planning on asking my mother to order a transfer. You'll be constantly on the clock, but I highly doubt you'll be doing half the tedious work my mother orders. There's just one condition," he added, sliding his hands into his pockets after setting his empty glass down and smirking, "if you agree."

Wolf practically melted at the sight of that glint of hope in the girl's eyes. This is what he hated about his mother's treatment of the servants. They were beneath her, no better than human mules she could order around until they dropped, as replaceable as toothpicks. That's what pissed him off the most, how she thought of them. But he couldn't do anything about it besides this small act of rebellion. Wolf smiled and slid a hand out of his pocket, holding it out palm-up to Yvonne. "A transfer to me, as my personal servant. And the only condition is that you be a friend, not 'the help' as you've been oh-so-kindly called."

"If my mother has a problem with it–"

"–she can take it up with me," Cinthia smoothly said, sipping from her glass with her eyes on the crowd. "I'll try your miracle medicine, if only because everything the healers have tried is only temporary and never last long." The princess' gaze settled on Yvonne for a moment, a flicker of trust in her artificially colored eyes before she turned them back to the crowd.

Wolf glanced over at his sister, then looked back at Yvonne with a shrug and smile. "If anyone can get anyone to shut up, it's Cin. I'd hate to see you constantly overworked because of her arrogance, so consider it an offer of partial freedom. It's the most I can offer, despite being a prince. Honestly, it seems like the higher ranking you are, the less you are actually allowed to do."

Cinthia looked back over to Yvonne and dipped her head slowly in a nod. She would watch Yvonne, if only to learn how to do it so she could do it herself if it worked. With that over with, Wolf smiled warmly and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms over his chest to examine Yvonne and her expressions. She seemed happy to have the opportunity, and there was something else underneath that. He wanted to help her, he really did, and it starts with this small retaliation against his mother and typical royal-commoner interaction. He spread his arms out and offered a crooked grin.

Wolf immediately wrapped his arms around Yvonne and hugged her tightly but not too much so that it seems constricting. He rested his head on her shoulder and murmured, "You don't owe me anything." And she really didn't. This was of his own free will, and what he would be gaining from it wouldn't need anything from Yvonne. "Just stay safe until I can get my mother to stop being a bully," he added with a soft chuckle.

Wolf smiled and lightly kissed Yvonne's cheek. "Anytime, sweet, anytime."

Rhydar lost count of the drinks he's had, but he was aware enough to know that he was slightly tipsy. He was getting irritated with all the people trying to hog his attention, ladies swarming him and asking questions about the 'clearly false' rumors about him and Lily. Just the thought that they didn't believe he could possibly pick a commoner had him wanting to leave, but he knew he couldn't ditch without due cause. So, he settled with seeing Lily again and letting her steal his attention for a bit.

He spotted her in the crowd and did what he normally did—snuck up behind her for a surprise hug. He didn't yet realize she was stressed already, and the alcohol had addled his mind enough to make him forget to be careful when touching her, so he slipped his arm around her waist and pressed a soft kiss to the side of her head. "Hey," he murmured.

Rhydar knew something was wrong almost instantly, that alone enough to sober him up. A glass shattered at Lily's feet, and that was all the movement he could see from her. Beyond that, she was as still as a statue, barely breathing, barely reacting to the world around her. He slowly retracted his arm, not wanting to move too fast and spook Lily, and stepped away. He didn't move too far away, just enough to maneuver himself around her so he was standing in front of her. "Lily," he said softly, "Lily darling, it's me." He reached out to her out of instinct, but his hands stopped halfway to her arms, fingers curling in and dropping to his sides.

Panic, he suddenly realized, she's panicking. It was similar to that of when Cinthia broke down randomly when the hallucinations got bad, though his sister was more disturbing than this. He pushed that train of thought aside and repeated Lily's name again, keeping a safe distance from her. Bystanders were starting to form around them, desperate for some gossip. Rhydar whirled on them and snarled at them to back the fuck off, startling them all. From nowhere, Demitri smoothly stepped in and shepherded them away with a distraction, though Rhydar's attention was back on Lily, so he didn't know what the spy had done to garner their attention so quickly.

Anything he could try to help Lily was either risky or already not working. Rhydar didn't know what to do. He knew that they were causing a scene yet again and that it was the last thing Lily would want to happen, so he had to think fast. They needed to leave, now. But anything he'd do would trigger her, and she wasn't in the greatest state of mind to give him any indication that she was okay with something or that she even heard him. She wasn't responding to him calling her name. His eyes narrowed in on the bubbling of blood beneath her nails.

Rhydar clenched his jaw and stepped forward, dipping his head down so he could whisper into her ear. "I'm sorry. Please forgive me." He wasted no time and snuck his fingers around her arm, prying it out of her grasp. His grip was firm and unrelenting, not about to let her go in her panic. With his other arm, he wrapped an arm around her body and used that as a way to force her body to move out of its position while his grip on her arm kept her from clawing at herself and him, at least for the most part.

He dragged her out of the ballroom and into the hall, though he didn't stop once they were out. Something else was up. So he did what he did last time and pulled her into the courtyard, the night almost prickling with its low temperature. He sat her down onto the edge of the fountain, dipping his fingers into the running water and running it over her brow, nose, cheeks, collarbones, arms. He swiped his damp and freezing thumb over the veins of the inside of her wrist, dripped some water over her brow so it trailed down her nose in racing droplets. "Lily, come back to me," he pleaded softly.