Visit Claudius' Court

Without anywhere else you really wish to go, you decide to go visit King Claudius at court and maybe get a different perspective on how to rule. So, with little fanfare, you head towards the Throne Room. Once outside, the guards allow you to go in without ceremony. This was already different from your court where VIP's were announced at the door.

The first thing you notice is that Claudius's Throne Room isn't nearly as crowded as your own. You guess it's not really surprising, Phebis is nearly half as large as Itheria and enjoys nearly as much, if not more wealth than it's larger neighbor. This allows them to get away with much larger constructions such as this throne room and castle as a whole, but with less to actually fill it with. At the head of the room King Claudius sits on his throne with a flask of ale in his hand and isn't even wearing his crown. Another difference from your own court. Lord Gilbert would have your head if you did not show the crown its proper respect. Beside him you see his wife and you can tell where Clara gets her looks from. Much like her daughter, the Queen of Phebis is very petite and greatly overshadowed by her large and imposing husband.

The emptiness of the room means that it doesn't take long for Claudius to see you. "Bryce! What brings you here? I figured you would be using today to be relaxing. Come here! Come here!" He waves you forward and you go along with it, stepping up to stand in front of the King of Phebis. "This is my wife Mereen. "

Queen Mereen nods politely and speaks with the same quiet voice her daughter has, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty." You give a little bow and hold a hand out and she allows you to take her hand and kiss it politely, "And It's a pleasure for me to meet you. I can see where your daughter's beauty comes from." An expression of surprise crosses her face and you see a faint blush fill her cheeks from your compliment.

Claudius releases a jovial laugh, "Well, she gets some of her looks from me surely. Come on Bryce! Pull up a seat. Grab some wine and enjoy yourself!"

You pull up a seat off to the side, but refuse drink, "I believe I'll save the merrymaking for tonight."

He shrugs and takes a big swig out of his mug,"Suit yourself."

Court with King Claudius is not nearly as interesting as you thought that it might be. There doesn't seem to be many issues that require the King's direct support(or lack there of) and the issues are often solved quickly and assertively. At least of the issues today often what would occur would be that one would bring up an issue and Claudius would bellow out either his support or rejection that would leave little room for argument. His presence easily fills the room and drowns out dissenting voices. He doesn't ask for advice from his adviser and you aren't even sure if he has any of those.

While this is happening, you take a look around. Most people are talking among themselves, or watching the proceedings, but there is a not so small group of people who are watching you. Some of them, younger ladies are watching you with curiosity, or lust. Others seem to be watching you with almost aversion. Near the end of the afternoon, one of these women step forward. She's thin with dark blonde hair and a silvery dress.Without any formal announcement, she makes her opinion known, "Your Majesty. Is it really appropriate to involve foreigners into our affairs? "

"Countess Eria." Claudius growls, "Your opinion on foreigners, namely Itheria is well known. I don't need you telling me how to run things. Bryce is here as a guest and isn't here to meddle in affairs."

"Of course, but all I want and a number of other landed vassals within your realm is decreased dependence on our neighbor. It's going to lead us to disaster. We need to be able to defend ours-"

"Be Quiet!" Claudius' voice booms through the air as he swiftly stands. Countess Eria purses her lips irritably as he continues, "Bryce is here as a guest at my request! I'm not going to sit here and allow you to embarrass myself as well as him! Now, unless you have anything of note on another subject to discuss...Sit. Down."

"I...Yes, your majesty" she sighs and returns to her seat...although her expression is much more discontented. Although they don't stay long and quickly leave.However Claudius doesn't seem bothered by their departure.

Another hour or so passes before Claudius stands, "Well, this has certainly been an interesting day. I hope our friends from Itheria have learned how we do things here. Now. Everyone should prepare...For tonight! We Feast!" A few cheers and claps are heard as Claudius and his wife takes his leave. You stay relaxed for a few moments to allow the majority of people to leave before leaving yourself.

On your way out, a young lady that doesn't look much older than you approaches you. Her hair long dark blonde hair is braided and reaches down nearly to the small of her back and her thin dress is made in such a way that her shoulders are exposed and her large breasts bulge nearly out the top of it. She bows to you politely, "Good afternoon your majesty."

You nod politely, trying your best to look at her face and not her bountiful bust. "And a good afternoon to you."

She gives a little smile, "Thank you. I'm Lady Sera, your majesty. I was wondering if maybe you and I could attend the feast together. It wouldn't have to be anything official, but I loathe to go alone."

Perhaps she didn't hear, or maybe she's just playing coy to get into your good favors. You do recall that she was one of the women staring at you with interest...Although you cannot recall if she was with the aversion or curiosity camp. You frown and put on your best remorse face, "I'm afraid I cannot accept your offer. You see, King Claudius is planning asking if i wish for his daughter's hand in marriages tonight. I don't think he would approve if i brought a lady to accompany me."

Her eye twitches oddly and you would love it if Akina was here to translate it for you. However, her expression quickly turns sultry, "Perhaps..." She looks down the corridor to make sure the two of you were alone. She steps forward and leans down a little, giving you a good view down her dress. "...We could go somewhere then and find a way to 'pass the time' before the feast."

Lady Sera presses herself against you and you squirm a little at the feeling of her breasts pressing against your chest. She smiles up at you warmly and expectant of an answer.

Before you even have a chance to react though, the door answers and Akina enters the hall. She eyes Lady Sera pressed up against you and Sera quickly pushes back away from you. Akina mutters indifferently, "Oh, I thought your voice sounded familiar. You're one of Eria's girls."

"I..." Sera's face goes pale.

"Akina. whatever are you doing?" You hiss slightly irritably at her. While you weren't sure whether you were going to take up Sera's offer or not, you are a little angry that Akina just cock-blocked you.

"Bryce, I'm still your bodyguard. I have been following you this whole time. Of course I wasn't next to you, but that's because would be assassins would be less likely to attack a target that they knew where guarded." Akina steps over beside you and turns to face Sera, "Isn't that right, miss would be assassin?"

Now that you think about it, Akina did say that Sera was one of Eria's girls. Considering how anti-Itherian it seems as if that countess is. It would be odd for one of her followers to be trying to get into bed with you. You turn and await her answer."I..." She looks at Akina and then looks back at you and backs towards the wall away from you. Her hands slide behind her back, "I'm not sure I know what you're talking about."

Akina gives an exaggerated sigh, "Please. The first thing you should learn is not to hide a knife up your sleeve. It makes for the most obvious motions when you go to pull it out. I would suggest between your breasts. They are big enough."

Suddenly Sera's expression stiffens and she shouts, "Bitch!" Then she lunges at Akina. You see the glint of a knife in her hand, but she's too slow for the already prepared Akina. In a smooth motion, she pulls her shortsword out and pushes it forward into the girl's lunge.

Inexperienced in the ways of combat, Sera fails to stop the momentum that carries her into the lethal blade. As the sword sinks into her chest, she drops the knife and gapes in shock at what just happened. Akina quickly pulls her sword out and red blood spills down the front of Sera's dress before she collapses on the floor dead.

Akina looks down briefly at the body to make sure that she doesn't get back up before wiping and sheathing her sword, "Your cock's going to get you in trouble Bryce. See you at the feast tonight."

She walks down the corridor casually as if nothing had happened. You look down at the body of Sera and the puddle of blood pooling under her, the shocked expression still on her face, and the knife now covered in your potential attacker's blood. You call after her, "What should I do about this?"

Nearly at the end of the corridor, you still see her shrug, "You're the king. Deal with it." She then opens the door and leaves you before you have a chance to rebuff her.

"But I'm the King...you're supposed to do what I say..." You mutter a rebuttal anyway before going to find a member of the castle guard to help get this sorted.

After informing the guards about what had happened, the corridor quickly became a flurry of activity. Between the guards cleaning up the mess, numerous servants and courtiers trying to see what happened and Claudius large form. It became incredibly stifling. After listening to the testimony of you, the first-responding guards, and Akina, King Claudius walks over to you. His expression looked perhaps the most serious and kingly that you have seen him this whole time.

He releases a gravelly sigh and keeps his voice low. Despite this, it still fills the halls. "I'm sorry about this Bryce. I truly am. I did not know that Eria would stoop so low. Despite us being a small country, we still have our own little politics."

"Will she be punished?" you inquire.

"That's why I'm frustrated. I don't have anything to go with here. She was one of Eria's girls sure, but there's nothing connecting the assassin to her and her supporters would never believe that Eria would stoop so low. Unless something is found in her bedroom..." He raises his hands helplessly. Your frustration and disappointment at feudal politics must have shown on your face, because Claudius immediately goes from frustrated back to his jovial self. He pats you on the back with a fair deal of ****, "Baaah Don't worry about it Bryce! I won't let that cunt or any of her followers anywhere near our feast and I'll provide you with extra security until your stay is over."

He laughs loudly in defiance of the unfortunate situation and returns to preparing for the feast. You sigh and figure that it's time for you to prepare as well and go to your room to dress in your finest clothing. Only when you exit your room do you realize that Claudius was serious about the extra guards. Four castle guards stand at attention waiting for you and ready to escort you to the feast.