paradisalost | (no subject)

Entry tags:

ishtar,
miguel

(no subject)

Who: Miguel

royal_rebellion
What: Ishtar shows up to Miguel's room to show him around the castle.
When: Evening?
Where: About and around the castle
Rating: PG, but perhaps borderline PG-13 for language.

Ishtar ran a brush through her hair hurriedly, making sure she looked okay for meeting a new friend. Her meeting with Farfarello had made her a bit skeptical of her appearances so the emerald green dress she wore had sleeves to cover her shoulders and the neckline fully covered any and all cleavage signs. One could never be too careful.

After deciding she looked fine enough the princess hurried out of the room (locking the door behind her this time) and made her way towards the room Miguel had specified. Luckily, she had been getting better acquainted with the castle the past few days and found it without too much difficulty.

With a bright smile Ishtar rapped on the door. Miguel definately seemed like a nice guy, and it'd be even better to get to know him in person.

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"No no, it isn't a problem," Miguel was quick to deny. "It's just... well, I wouldn't have guessed it, that's all. Not that I have any experience with royalty, I just wouldn't have expected someone who rules a kingdom to be so... friendly."

I'm probably making the biggest fool out of myself, he thought glumly, even though he gave Ishtar a small smile.

Well, he'd at least be as honest as he could be. "I'm sorry if I sounded like I disapproved or anything like that..."

The frown on her face immediately shifted back to a beaming smile. Ishtar placed a hand on his elbow and happily said, "No need to be sorry."

She chuckled, removing her hand from his elbow. "Thank you, though. That means a lot. I just can't stand all of that princess crap though, so just keep on treating me like a normal person. We're all equals here~"

Miguel chuckled. "I can do that," he answered when she requested she be treated normally. Although that had kind of killed part of his planned conversation. He was going to ask what she did in her world. It seemed pretty obvious now. Then again, maybe that was a good thing, because then she'd probably ask what he did in his world, and he was probably sure that 'conman' had negative connotations no matter where you were from.

"So," he said, casting about for a topic of discussion. "Do you like music?"

"Music?" Ishtar gave it a short thought. She normally spent more time on her lessons (and ditching her lessons), but music wasn't really something a person could say they didn't like.

"If its played correctly, then yes," she replied with a nod. "You seem like the type to like music a lot, though. Do you?"

"I do," the blonde conman answered with a wide smile. "I always have, in fact, I play the mandolin." Then, on the off chance that Ishtar had no idea what a mandolin was, he added, "It's a stringed instrument. Kind of round-bodied, long neck..."

Ishtar put a finger to her chin, thinking. "Mandolin... Hm." Looking back towards him she continued, "Can't say I've really heard it before."

A thought flashed across her mind and she beamed, excitement apparent. "Maybe you could play for me?"

"If you'd like," Miguel replied. "It's so strange, but after someone said that this castle provides what people need, I went looking around my room and found one in my closet."

"So what kind of things are in this castle? There was something in the journals about a library, I remember that..."

"Library? Oh, yeah. The one here is ginormous!" Ishtar waved about her arm in a wide arch for more effect. "I've never seen so many books."

Letting her arm drop back to her side the princess asked, "Maybe you'd like to go over there?"

He laughed lightly at her obvious enthusiasm. "We can go anywhere you'd like," he said agreeably. And really, seeing the various parts of the castle was the secondary intent of this little tour anyway. He was just as happy to be spending the time with Ishtar, listening and talking with her.

"Okay then~" Ishtar thought over where their next destination should be. Somewhere agreeable, where anyone could hold interest and find it useful.

And... lightbulb!

"The kitchen, then! Maybe there's something to eat there." Ishtar unhooked her arm from Miguel's, but only so she could grab his hand and hurry off in the direction of the kitchen.

Miguel gladly let himself be pulled along. "I suppose the kitchen is a good place to have located." He liked to cook too -- mostly because Tulio had hated cooking, and they had to eat somehow.

Come to think of it, he hadn't eaten since he's arrived. No wonder he was so easily distracted.

"Something to eat sounds great," he added.

"Awesome! And maybe we could even get a drink or two," Ishtar replied, a hint of slyness in the last statement. She missed Darres, her bodyguard, to every extreme but at least being able to drink without him around was a slight perk.

After a bit of walking, the two found themselves on the first floor. Ishtar turned to Miguel, still holding his hand, and cheerily said, "There are all sorts of servants wandering around this place, and they can get us something. But we could go and poke around if you want."

"A drink would be... very nice," he answered, wondering what kind of drink she liked. Probably wine or something like that. As for him, he could drink just about anything.

Ishtar's hand was warm and soft in his own. He followed a bit dreamily... he was in supposed Paradise, being guided around by a beautiful and kind lady, and she seemed genuinely interested in his company.

Could things get any better?

"All right then, drinks it is!" Ishtar briefly wondered if Miguel would still be willing to share drinks if he knew she was only sixteen. Well, maybe people from Spain were more understanding towards that sort of stuff.

Spotting a servant nearby, the princess loudly called her over. "Heeey~ Me and my friend here would like two glasses of your best beer, please!"

The servant girl bowed her head, muttering a quick, "Yes, of course," and then disappeared to retrieve her order.

Ishtar looked over her shoulder to Miguel and flashed him her trademark, sly grin. "You can hold your drink, right?"

Miguel smirked, "Is that a challenge, dear lady?" he teased, leading her to a table and pulling out a chair for her. He may not be royalty but he could still act the gentleman.

The servant quickly returns with two mugs of beer and Miguel accepted them, sitting down across from Ishtar. He would have sat next to her, but that seemed very forward.

Ishtar would have normally assumed such a polite attitude would have stemmed from a person knowing about her royal blood, but with Miguel it seemed natural.

"It can be a challenge if you want it to be," Ishtar replied with a matching smirk as she sat in her seat. She took her beer and raised it slightly. "Cheers, Miguel."

With that, she took the glass to her lips and took a deep swig. Her ettiquete teachers would have a heart attack if they saw her now.

"Cheers," he echoed automatically.

Wow, Miguel thought, and tilted his own mug back. She certainly seems eager to prove herself!

It reminded him a little of the late nights in Barcelona, drinking in taverns with Tulio, and yet at the same time, was totally different.

He drained about half his glass and swallowed, comparing the taste. It was rather light, as far as beer went, and not like the dark ales of Spain, but still very good.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

While Miguel had drunk half a glass, Ishtar had already chugged down her full glass. She exhaled happily and licked her lips of any remaining drink.

"Not as strong as I'd like," she admitted, "but still tastes pretty damn good."

Even with one drink, her blood was already feeling warm and a bit of her mind was a bit fuzzy. Regardless, Ishtar called out, "Hey, could we get another two glasses over here? Thanks!"

Turning back to Miguel as the servant fetched the second order she asked, "So, what's this partner of yours like?"

Miguel chuckled when she said it wasn't as strong as she would have liked it. He was a little impressed with watching her drain her whole mug at once, though. Maybe she'd taken that 'challenge' thing seriously? He had only meant to tease her with it a little, as it wasn't even noon yet.

"Hey now, I thought we came for something to eat," he laughed. "Or did you trick me?"

It was kind of obvious by the way she called out for more drinks that she was used to having people bring her things she wanted.

Then she asked about his partner.

"Tulio? He's..." A number of unkind things came to mind right away, and Miguel was mortified. That wasn't how he thought about his friend, was it?? The blonde lifted his mug and drank the rest of his beer to give himself a moment to think.

"He's... smart," Miguel said, when he'd finished. "He was always the one with the plans. I suppose you could say we were each other's opposites in a lot of things. I was always looking for adventure, and he was always looking for --"

Gold. Women.

No no, that was a bad topic to get into. Miguel cleared his throat. "Uhh..."

"Glory? Wealth?" Ishtar put her elbow on the table and leaned her cheek against her palm. The servant arrived with the beers and placed them on the table but the princess decided to hold off on the second drink for a moment.

"That's how it normally is with opposites," she began to say. "One will do it for the thrill or just the sake of doing it. The other, being different, wants something more tangible and something others can see. Am I right?"

She reached for her drink, sipping it this time as she waited for the answer.

"Both, I suppose," Miguel said, impressed with Ishtar's quick deductions. "He was always looking for something bigger, richer, and better than what we had."

He exchanged his empty mug for the full one and also sipped it. Despite his earlier criticism of it, the taste was beginning to grow on him. "He used to say that he'd never be happy until he had more gold than he knew what to do with."

Miguel considered, then sighed. "But I guess that wasn't the only thing that made him happy..."

It was almost like a past situation Ishtar had been in with her cousins. Three brothers, Seiliez, Laphiji, and Vord, all fighting in a tournament to win her hand in marriage. The throne was a promising win, but one of the main perks to Vord and Seiliez was having Ishtar for a bride. To be king and have a queen.

After taking a quick swig of beer Ishtar casually replied, "Money may be the root of all evil, but its women that make men go really nuts. To have both is a real bonus." Another sip. "Didn't you mention that this Chel girl was like the breaking point?"

Miguel shrugged a little. "Chel and Tulio... get along really well. They're a lot alike. They want the same things. I guess that made me the odd man out, not her."

"Hey, if this Tulio guy is swayed by a cute can and a bit of shiny stuff, I don't think that's a really good partner," Ishtar argued, holding up her index finger for emphasis. "That's not really an adventurer at all."

Ishtar downed the rest of her mug. Darres would be having a fit, that was for sure. The thought blurred away as the alcohol settled.

"Anyway!" Ishtar grinned, a bit of sloppy one, and raised her now empty glass. "How about we drink away those thoughts? How's that sound~?"

Miguel wasn't sure what to think of Ishtar's observation. "He was a good partner," he said, not noticing that he was using the past tense. "I mean, we've known each other for years. He's my best friend, not just my partner."

He raised an eyebrow at Ishtar's smile. She seemed a little less uptight now that she had before the two mugs of beer. He began to wonder exactly how old she was. It wasn't in his nature to ask, but he didn't want to be getting himself into trouble.

"And what thoughts could you have to drink away?" he inquired.