Zuria Kingdom

[Apollymi]

Extra bowing?! This lad was earning himself several points, he had no idea she had going within her mind. To be honest, she'd been a bit distraught that the previous night hadn't worked out according to her plans. But if he could behave so nicely when feeling apologetic, she could obviously use him to a greater extent now. All the while, Leorio seemed to be trying to make his way higher and higher up her body. This was always his way after all, such groveling for attention. If he happened to reach her thigh with his nonsense she'd give him a none to gentle kick back down to the appropriate level. She couldn't well afford his antics in such a way right now. There were more important players present than him. Ah, oh well, she'd offered him more than his fair share of happiness so long as he stayed to that, she'd not be bothered by his continued attention. 'Ugh, I like groveling as much as the next girl. But at this point with my sights set so much higher its practically annoying,' she thought in the most absent way possible. More people came through and with even stranger requests. One person in particular spoke of finding some exotic creature, with white hair and pointed ears, not common on the continent for something or another. They spoke to the queen as if she'd promised them this and they still hadn't received the goods. "That situation didn't pan out properly. It's only a minor delay you can expect those goods along with at least one extra in the closing offer. You'll have to be careful though, I doubt they'll be easily tamed."

[Bloodedge]

Leorio did, in fact, continue to move his way upward. His tongue managed to reach the queen's exposed thigh just before he was literally knocked into a lower position. It was painful, yet satisfying... and so, so worth the reward. When he sat up again, he seemed almost unbothered while licking the sole of the foot which kicked him. It was almost like this was something exciting for Leorio, as if the pain delivered in Kolin's response was an expression of endearment. It surely wasn't, but his twisted mind said otherwise. She would have to do much more to dissuade him, as most things she did were simply additional treats to the clearly perverse king.

Arthur remained silently attentive. The matters being discussed were odd, but of no concern to him for the most part. That is, until one specific topic caught his ear. An indifferent expression was maintained by Arthur all the while, but the discussion Kolin had with this most recent guest was disturbing. Finally, he had an idea about the bounty which brought them here. Those poachers he 'arrested' were making use of the young Emilia, who clearly had a connection to the castle. Kolin's general demeanor would imply a desire to execute those who slighted her directly, and even leaders of her type tended to consider their servants in such a way. Those men, though, were simply arrested. So then, was it Kolin who sent those men? It seemed so from what Arthur could take from context clues. Perhaps then, the extra she spoke of... was the sorceress, Merlyn. Regardless, Arthur wondered what she may have been offered in exchange for an elf from her kingdom. . .

[Apollymi]

Leorio was kicked, but just like always when he received any form of attention he simply became happier about it. He even went so far as to lick the foot that had so recently injured him. Still Kolin barely registered his efforts, she was more concerned about Arthur and her apparent arrangement with someone to have them acquire some creature from her Kingdom. Along with those statements came a question of how many to prepare for, Kolin thought about it briefly. "At least 2 maybe 3, it's hard to say right now..." Queen Kolin mentioned. A bow occurred at the number mentioned and the random person disappeared from sight. It would appear that such things were fine and normal maybe. Too bad for Arthur things were always just as bad. Though Kolin acknowledged herself as the most beautiful person who was deserving of worship. She thought of literally everyone as as a means to her ends. In this case, all the female members who were in this Kingdom presently could be sent to her little pet project to fulfill the needs of the clientele. She didn't think any of them would potentially draw as much attention as she would when she arrived, but making sure people spent money and were spending money within her personal Kingdom was her top priority. After all, she had to ascend, if a few extras had to go into a life where they used their bodies to get there as well, it was hardly worth the extra consideration.

Besides all of that both of those girls had earned her ire long ago. Those angry eyes of Guin's never went unnoticed and Emilia was far too precious a resource to allow her to be protected constantly by Cador. Besides, she didn't like the idea that Cador cared more for those two young girls than he did for her. Yes, he was quite the Knight and a good servant. And yes, she'd been responsible for the fall of his Kingdom under a different name as his Queen. That changed nothing about the attention and care those two received that belonged to her instead. As for the third, she considered freeing Merlyn and tipping off someone to her whereabouts. It wasn't as if she assumed the lass had any real prowess, as such she was likely just going to end up a place like that anyways, look how badly her adventure with Arthur had gone. The lad distrusted her so much, he ran into the arms of a complete stranger. Granted, she was a great stranger to run into but... still it didn't bode well for that woman's future as an advisor to anyone. Besides, the name she bore garnered hate in Kolin, she couldn't allow her to stick around and potentially poison Arthur against her. No, it was definitely better that she be made useful to Kolin's cause.

[Bloodedge]

No matter how long Arthur stood at attention, his mental workings led to little progress in his overall plan, if any. Every time he thought he was making headway, there was another thing to consider. Now... there was the chance of Queen Kolin treating her servants and prisoners as cattle for something. Arthur had no proof of this, and couldn't act just yet. Ah, but he still had two days. Perhaps he could manage a meeting with Guin later to acquire some answers.

Soon enough, Kolin's most recent discussion reached its end. Two of her knights arrived in the throne room. The first of them was, at last, Cador himself. The Spirit Knight had finally managed to assign other guards to Merlyn's cell, but even the difficulty he had with that did not make him the final arrival. While Cador bowed in preparation to take his position, another knight who looked surprisingly like an older, more well-put together version of Leorio, sauntered into the throne room. This male with slightly redder hair than the lookalike king, bowed to the queen while visually showing disgust at the king's antics. All the while, Cador was speaking to offer Kolin an update of sorts. "Your grace. The sorceress remains bound in the dungeons. Twenty men have been assigned to her guard, though convincing them took some effort. My apologies for tardiness," he spoke. The other knight standing beside Cador, oddly enough, had nothing to say regarding his own lateness to court. No, it seemed he was far too busy being repulsed by the king who... once again, seemed to be getting a bit too friendly. Most disgusting of all, this man could see what was happening to the young king. There was no discretion applied even to his positioning, as his legs were parted for the space between to be quite visible. A bulge was present in the groin area of the king's pants... if it could be called as such. Perhaps there was something in his pocket? One such as this new knight could only wonder how he managed to be king to such a queen.

[Apollymi]

Oh, how the day was changing. Strangely, the still active boy at her feet still garnered no extra attention. Instead it would be the approach of two of her knights which made Kolin address them next. How itneresting. Cador in his usual manner decided to address the business at hand. He was always like this, she'd not bothered trying to bed him since coming here, knowing that the man would likely recognize her as his former Queen if she did. Even so, he had a certain amount of reliability she'd yet to find in the same quantity elsewhere. The news he bore along with the apology for his tardiness was quite annoying. But in this case she technically had no one to blame but herself. Sorcery was quite problematic in this area, and those without proper magic resistance were taught to fear it from a young age. Many knights only had physical skills so most would likely be fearful around Merlyn regardless. Cador at least had the resistance that meant that regardless of Merlyn's skills she didn't have to worry about it. Besides, Cador was truly a good man, he didn't have treachery within him. "Twenty men? For one lonely girl, that's pitiful. She's not even proven to have any frightening magics, but I suppose I can only expect so much from them. I assume you saw to her guard overnight. At least someone around here is useful," she said offering an exasperated sigh. "I suppose it is only kind I forgive your tardiness. Don't make a habit of it~" she stated, pleased by her own generosity in these moments. "You can take your post Cador..." she mentioned without much else offered the man.

With Cador given his orders for the day, she went back to the red haired man who was still bowing before her. She stared at him absently wondering what he'd have to say for himself. "And you Lot?" she asked of him. It seemed the castle duties were winding up pretty swiftly. Perhaps she'd retire for a while and do something. She needed to take her mind off the lad at her feet, but also to finish punishing Arthur for his bad behavior. Obviously so long as he understood his place they would have no problems but... first and foremost he needed to know he was replaceable in as many aspects as possible. If he didn't feel too secure he'd make sure to behave. That was the idea anyways.

[Bloodedge]

True enough, assigning twenty men to a single sorceress was pitiful. For all of Kolin's pomposity and ability to manipulate, she kept the most lackluster, ragtag bunch of servants he'd ever had the displeasure of working with. No matter. According to Kolin, Cador's self-appointed duty for the previous night made him useful. "Your flattery knows no bounds, my queen~" he stated while seeming to be in good spirits. This was far from Cador's first rodeo, in a manner of speaking. Kolin's ways were easily dealt with by the likes of him, so he'd wear that false smile with gusto as he ascended the stairs to the queen's right.

The other knight, apparently named Lot, was addressed next. When spoken to, his gaze lifted toward the king once more. What did he have to say for himself? Well if nothing else, Lot was quite the snarky servant. He hadn't a single cross word to say regarding Queen Kolin, but as for King Leorio... "Begging your forgiveness, my liege. I was checking our fearless king's chambers, inch by inch to ensure he didn't wet himself in anticipation of seeing you today," he snipped. Interestingly enough, this warranted an immediate bark of a response from the king himself. "Be silent, cur! Save your jealous ramblings for your lonely days, and be lucky I am tending to my queen instead of dealing with you~" said Leorio, barely managing to even fully remove Kolin's foot from his mouth long enough to speak.

[Apollymi]

Cador was really the best knight she had access to, it was almost a shame she couldn't keep him properly. He even knew how to answer her summons and accept her praise. She could only hope that such information was being passed on to her newest charge. Whatever the case, something of a light argument broke out between this pair of individuals who obviously knew each other. As Lot gave information of his morning which detailed in a rather snarky manner why he was late. An amused chuckle slipped past Kolin's lips, it was obvious that Leorio was way too pleased to see her this morning. Even, as a joke such behavior from Lot would technically be acceptable. Though she knew well the red haired man was simply speaking in such a manner because it upset the King. But as Kolin was amused any person normal to the court would know that nothing would happen if she didn't wish it to. Funnier still was Leorio's reaction to such teasing. It seemed he was content to tend Kolin and not do anything about the word spoken to him. Of course Kolin was fairly certain he wouldn't have done anything himself... still it was funny to think the lad thought himself threatening while he literally had a foot in his mouth. Another giggle escaped the blonde as she considered this. "Well, that does seem as good a reason as any. Do avoid being tardy though, Lot. I won't always be amused by such answers..." Kolin was apparently in a much better mood over the last few moments.

[Bloodedge]

What a shame. If Kolin hadn't been such a detestable woman, Cador would have willingly served as her knight until the end of his days. He had little else going by way of a purpose, so serving as a knight was about as satisfied as he could be in this world now. Others seemed to either be ignorant of Kolin's ways, or accepting of them. One such example was Lot, who spoke in a snarky tone toward the king, knowing Kolin would only be amused by it all. In the queen's own words though, she would not always find the humor in such answers. "Not always amused by the dog-king? Shame; that's most of my material for entertaining you. Understood. Guess I'll workshop something else," he said, apparently content to continue jabbing at King Leorio. Of course, the king took exception to this as well. . .

There was something Arthur took special note of. None of these knights made even a single movement until the queen spoke. Even this redhead did not move to his post, as he'd yet to be told. How extreme, and yet... what useful information for Arthur. He would interestingly have use of the knowledge immediately, all because of Leorio's next outburst. "I've had enough of you!" the king spoke. His tongue lashed out betwixt the toes of Kolin, and his eyes traveled from one knight to another. Arthur happened to be his selection. "You there, the new one! Teach Lot a lesson immediately," he ordered. Arthur wouldn't have expected such a thing to come so quickly, but it was already time to apply new knowledge. Never did he acknowledge Leorio's orders, instead deferring to Kolin. "My queen?"

[Apollymi]

The follow up from Lot made Kolin chuckle once more. Of course, she wasn't always amused by the dog-king. His existence was one thing, but she felt her Knights shouldn't become to reliant upon their ability to tease him and amuse her, especially seeing as she planned to get rid of him at her earliest convenience. Still she hadn't given Lot the order to go to his post, and as such, she was left to deal with a potential tantrum from Leorio, who apparently didn't like being the but of his look-a-like's jokes. Still, Kolin herself found it rather amusing that he would continue to work on material to keep her entertained, such was her nature.

Leorio tried to order about Arthur, and Kolin wasn't left wondering long what Arthur would do in response to this outburst. Arthur immediately deferred to Kolin herself. Kolin's eyes widened and that amused grin crossed her face once again. This was exactly the right thing to do. After all, Leorio obviously wasn't in charge here, she was. And for his outburst he got another swift kick instead of anything resembling praise. "Even Arthur knows, that orders only come from me~" she said, though this was for Leorio the kick did the same thing only speaking to indirectly praise Arthur's newfound understanding of his situation. "There is no need Arthur. Remain at your post," she said but there was a light of amusement in her person. At the same time her attention returned to Lot. "Take your post Lot. I'm amused enough for now~" she mentioned. In a moment like this, she felt exceedingly pleased. It was obvious by this set up of men around her, who actually had a harem worth anything... the misguided boy in the floor was hardly more than furniture around a group of men. Especially when Kolin herself barely found his existence worth acknowledging.

[Bloodedge]

Leorio's outburst would not be tolerated. Kicked again, the king stumbled back and appeared winded. Even so, the little 'tent' he was pitching in his breeches featured a rather prominent wet spot at the tip of it. What it was, may have been in question. Perhaps he'd wet himself a bit, or perhaps... he'd been enjoying himself far too much. Regardless, he was soon on both knees silently addressing that foot again.

There were so many problems in this castle, Arthur hardly knew how the kingdom still stood. Nevertheless, Queen Kolin ordered the knight to remain at his post. He bowed. "As you wish." Meanwhile, Lot returned to a state of disgust. That bastard king truly thought he was in a position higher than any other man in Zuria, when in fact, the very woman he serviced clearly saw him as nothing more than an annoyance. He was the scum of this world in the eyes of many, and Lot was no exception. "If the king requires reminding of his position, Your Grace, I freely offer myself to the cause," Lot said in the most casual manner, before ultimately stepping toward his post just under Cador's, albeit on the queen's opposite side.