[Thread] Heads of State

[dynast-king.livejournal.com]

Characters: Vayne and Garnet
Progress: Complete!
Summary: Vayne is taking his first steps into finding his way back where he belongs. It starts with befriending local royalty.
Location: Alexandria Castle
Date: March 18th, 1803
Warnings: Conniving bastard? At least he's not a despoiler of innocents. Also, FF12 spoilers. Lots of them. In Vayne's perspective.

Vayne had taken a couple of days to regroup and begin to strategize after his less-than-satisfactory meeting with Larsa in the streets. It galled him no end to have to pander about for information. He might as well be living in Old Archades for how utterly foolish he felt scraping up what little bits of information he could acquire. It didn't take him long to discover that the ruler or the nation he found himself in was a young queen and that she was recently returned from a vanishing. How quaint. A naive girl playing at leadership and taking time out for an unannounced sabbatical. Somehow it reminded him of that Dalmascan princess, which put him in a mind to discover if this one was as equally naive. If so, getting her to move as he wished would be an easy task to accomplish.

However, first he needed to acquire an audience.

He found the gates to the castle guarded by female guards, which was an intriguing choice to say the very least. There were but few women judges in Archadia, and unfortunately given to more emotional outbursts than the men. Yet when he approached them to request an audience with the queen, it was not as a displaced soul out of place, but more in the vein of who he was, the Emperor Vayne Solidor. He was polite and charming in his dealings with the women, without a shred of arrogance. Yet he maintained a confident bearing, not expecting to be turned away. The situation was unusual, but only a fool of a leader would not at least meet with other leadership. One always needed to know who the other players of the game were.

Eventually, one of the guards left to pass on the message, directing Vayne to wait until she could ask after Her Majesty's schedule. He inclined his head graciously. "But of course. I understand full well the pressures and demands placed upon one in leadership." And wait patiently (on the outside), he did.

Comments

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

Garnet shook her head ever so slightly, closing her eyes.

"What is most important now, is keeping the peace. With so many people being pulled from their homes, and so many going missing, there's bound to be growing unrest. We cannot find the answers fast enough..."

Opening her eyes, Garnet turned her gaze over the city once more. "We have all been effected by the circumstances."

[dynast-king.livejournal.com]

Vayne nodded once. It was quite true that everyone was affected and it was not necessarily in a positive way. "I quite agree. Peace and order is of the utmost importance. I have always felt it to be so. These times are a challenge to them, but I am confident we will find a way to safeguard them."

He turned slightly, so that he could gaze at the city himself, without fully turning his back on Garnet. They were far enough away that the sounds of everyday life were inaudible, so it appeared entirely tranquil and calm. After a long moment, he said quietly, but with conviction, "I will protect the peace of your country as I would my own."

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

The young queen glanced at Vayne from the corner of her eye. Such a grand declaration, and one she wanted to believe whole-heartedly; She just wasn't sure how a stranger could care as much about her home as he would his own. After a long pause, she smiled, and lifted her chin, turning back to him.

"I can arrange for transport to Lindblum for you, whenever you would like. You are of course more than welcome in Alexandria as well, for as long as you would like."

[dynast-king.livejournal.com]

After a moment longer, Vayne drew his gaze away from the city. His offer to safeguard the peace was sincere. He was a man who appreciated order, no matter the cost needed to effect it. It would be his show of gratitude for the acceptance thus bestowed on him.

"Your offer is most generous. I thank you." Vayne nodded to Garnet politely. "I believe I will stay here for a few days more. I wish to locate books of history and geography, so I might better educate myself and not squander everyone's time with puerile questions."

[crowned-jewel.livejournal.com]

"May I suggest the palace library? It is one of the more extensive collections in Alexandria," said Garnet, and she stepped around the throne, beginning to ascend the short staircase. "I'm afraid I have some things to see to and cannot escort you myself, but I'm sure one of the guards would be more than adequate."

[dynast-king.livejournal.com]

It was obvious that the audience had drawn to a close, and in truth, it had proven far more productive than Vayne could have hoped for. "I will take heed of your suggestion and explore there first. Be well, Your Majesty." Hand on his chest, he performed a slight bow at the waist, which was really more of a head dip. He then turned to the guard, requesting her escort to the aforementioned library, where he intended to spend a vast quantity of time the remainder of his stay in Alexandria.