Sisterly Competition RP

"Very nice... I am afraid the groggy feeling hasn't been fully shaken off yet." Scipio states with a chuckle. Marisa... she was the younger sister of Ethel, and it showed. Oddly enough she acted more reserved than Ethel did at the meeting, although it wasn't too surprising. He was betrothed to her sister, so why would she be more excited? Scipio scanned the table, and looked at Marisa. She was very properly dressed, and her corset was clearly tight. Not wanting to be disrespectful, he didn't focus on her. What is with these people and gagging themselves to death because I am here, he thought to himself and looked back at the statue.

Starting to wonder how they would socialize, he considered taking Ethel to the library later. Would she like that? Honestly, he didn't look forward to the encounter. He felt awkward enough sitting at the table alone, and Marisa being there just made him feel tense. Sitting quietly, waiting for Ethel.
 
"My sister's excited to have you here" Marisa spoke quietly trying to break the silence that and if they were talking she had an excuse to look at the handsome man. Sitting across from him she fiddled with her fingers in her lap as they waited for Ethel. Where is she? She wondered unsure of where her sister may be and what was taking her so long. "She's a dancer" She smiled a bit, sure that he was already aware of that, "Though I'm sure you already know that" Marisa wanted to be able to help as much as possible right now. She knew that at the beginning of their relationship it may be a bit awkward as they tried to figure out what each other liked.
 
"I heard..." Scipio says and manages eye contact with her. "I am a scholar, actually. I specialize in politics and history, although my free time is reading fiction." He says, feeling it was his turn. After saying it he started to regret it. Who would be impressed by a scholar? He asked himself as he looked at her, he realized how beautiful she was. Her long hair was pale and blonde, it looked softer than a kittens fur. He shook these thoughts from his mind, he was betrothed.

He noticed a spot of paint on her chin, "I take it you are an artist?" He asks as he gestures towards the chin area as a hint.
 
Marisa blushed lightly as he pointed out the paint on her skin, "Yes I am, I obviously don't have the most control over the paint though" She laughed at bit at herself. She had never been too neat when painting, which was only enhanced by her somewhat clumsy nature. She couldn't imagine being a scholar in politics or history, two subjects which she'd always found quite boring. Well anything that was structured really so math and science were included in the umbrella of things she disliked.
 
Ethel was found by her own maid poring over a small history book at her desk. The maid had been preoccupied with cleaning the nearby lavatory, having forgotten about reminding Ethel and Ethel losing herself in the history of foreign lands. The maid entered the bedroom and Ethel turned her head. "Pardon, miss, but supper's ready," she said softly. Ethel looked towards the small clock on her desk and shut the book over. The older princess had a specific few dresses she wore for suppertime, and the one that she wore that night was her favourite of the bunch. It was another bertha neckline dress, this one coloured pale pink with lace around the full-length sleeves and the hem of the skirt. The corset was done up tight, but not as tight as it had been before, since if it had been chances were she wouldn't be able to eat.

The older princess walked to the dinner room, tucking one of the curls at the side of her head behind her ear. When she entered, she found her fiancé and younger sister already in conversation. "Terribly sorry," she said with a slight smile, not really realising how late she was. She pulled out a chair next to Scipio's, sitting with her hands folded in her lap and back extra ordinarily straight. "You haven't been waiting long, have you?" She asked as her porridge and ale were poured out by a servant.
 
"All is well, good evening to you." Scipio says as he begins to eat, the food tasted good. There wasn't much meat compared to his home, but the feast was more than the three could possibly eat. He didn't realize how ravenous he really was until his grogginess faded away.

He snacked on the cheeses and berries on the side as well, but he tried to restrain himself around two princesses. His ale was almost gone two minutes into the meal.

"Well... how are things around the castle?" Scipio asks as he takes a break from gorging himself, he was curious about the incident that was happening. He also wanted to know what the castle life was like, hoping to spend some private time with Ethel after the feast. No, that is too invasive... if I talk to Ethel, her sister ought be involved as well rather than be the black sheep, he thought to himself as he absent mindedly made a solid eye contact with his fiance.
 
Marisa easily noticed the eye contact Scipio was making with Ethel and kept her mouth shut. She was well aware of when she was an after thought of a conversation, though she found herself wishing she wouldn't be. Either way he wanted to talk to her sister and her sister probably wanted the same so she simply returned to eating her meal quietly letting them talk. She was only there as a formality after all, since the engaged couple usually wouldn't be allowed to be together without a chaperone. But since their parents were busy the duty was placed on Marisa to be the third wheel.
 
Ethel ate slowly, having never been too fast of an eater even without a corset. She mostly ate the berries, though had a few spoonfuls of porridge as she felt like it. She stifled a chuckle at Scipio's obvious hunger, though it wasn't really all that surprising, considering that he had likely been on the road most of the day. She spooned some porridge into her mouth and turned her head as Scipio spoke. She swallowed her food and then opened her mouth to speak, before realising that she didn't quite know how things were going. She quickly closed her mouth and improvised. "Just as they normally are," she assumed, hoping that he wouldn't ask about anything specific.
 
Scipio arches his eyebrows at the response. As they normally are? The king and queen normally are absent? He doesn't think about it too much, and continues eating. His gaze returned to the food.

"How grand is the library? If it is at all correlated to this dining hall, it must be impressive." Scipio says as he fantasizes about locking himself in the library and relaxing the rest of the evening. Drinking the remainder of his ale, a bit milder than he was used to, he decides to quit as he felt full. He rode for a while with little food, little sleep, and little company, this was obviously reflected in his mannerisms. He wipes his mouth with a handkerchief and leans back a bit in the chair.
 
Ethel gave a slight chuckle. "I'd say it's a little bigger than in here. You'd never reach the end of it." She said, voice sounding somewhat dreamy. She crossed her legs under the table and refolded her hands in her lap, taking a break from eating for that moment and just sipping on her ale every now and then. "The further back you go, the older the books get. For the history books, you want to turn left just as soon as you go through the door. We do have so many," she said, hoping that they would be the sort of books he would be interested in.
 
Scipio nodded his head thoughtfully as he imagined the library.

"Do you happen to have much folklore?" He asks as he looks around the dining hall once more. He couldn't help but admire the beauty of the place, it was fairly quaint. When Marisa was finished eating, he would offer to go to the library. With Marisa as a chaperon there shouldn't be an issue hopefully.

He did find himself interested in the history books, the kingdom must have many tales. Ethel seemed oddly fascinated with books as well, although she never struck him as a bookworm by the way they describe her. He shifted his gaze to Marisa, seeing if she was eating.
 
Marisa picked at her food little by little, eventually halting her consumption of the delicious food and ale altogether. She wanted to input her own thoughts about the library, will all the time she spend painting in there she knew quite a bit, though she held her tongue as they discussed. She couldn't deny Ethel and Scipio made a cute couple, though Scipio was definitively the more attractive of the two, in her opinion that is. She smiled lightly at his mention of the folklore stories, they did indeed have quite a few. Those stories were more often than not near the windows since they were the happier stories.
 
Seeing that Marisa was finished eating, he decided it was time they could relax.

"I am intrigued by the library, would you two like to join me?" He offers as he arches an eyebrow towards the two. The library would be a blissful place to relax at, hopefully he learned a bit more about this castle. Ethel would love to spend time with him, and Marisa seemed like she wanted to be part of the group as well. Noticing her smile after the folklore he wondered if she was more sophisticated than her sister...

Waiting for a response, he snacked on a small pastry on the table. The berries inside of it were potent, tasting of baked apples than anything else.
 
Marisa nodded lightly after his question, "If Ethel would like too I'll accompany you" She smiled softly, knowing she'd be able to finish her painting from earlier in the day if they were all in the library. Though it was Ethel and Scipio's decision. "I'm sure Ethel can show you our extensive folklore section," She smiled lightly, "Its been a favorite in our family for generations I think since its one of our largest collections"
 
Ethel smiled, barely keeping back her teeth. "That'd be quite nice," she said, as if she wasn't just a few moments away from overwhelming excitement. From the outside, it looked as if nothing had changed, as her posture stayed the same and her body stayed still. The only change was that her smile finally reached her eyes. She looked at Marisa and gave a small laugh with a nod. "Yes, I'd be willing to bet that some of the things in there are the only copies of them in the world." She said, and despite not being quite sure of what she said, she radiated confidence as she did.
 
Scipio let out a slight chuckle at her enthusiasm. Standing up from his chair, he walks over to help the sisters up.

"I am afraid I don't remember every turn." He says, implying that he would rather have one of them lead. As he saw Ethel smile, he had a subtle grin stuck on his face. He imagined sitting on a couch amidst the library, reading until he fell asleep. It was a nice break from the tense politics that plagued kingdoms, he barely managed to lose his stress from his home. No doubt he would have the same job here, sorting and signing papers all day.
 
Ethel saw the grin on Scipio's face, and tried to calm her own smile down to no avail. She politely took his help with standing, nodding a thank you. "I can lead, but Marisa spends more time there." She admitted, smiling softly at her sister. "She knows it better than I."
 
Marisa blushed softly as her sister mentioned her frequency in the library. "Yes I'll show you to the folklore once we get there, but until then Ethel knows where it is" She smiled lightly as she saw her sister happiness, though internally she knew that meant she really liked Scipio.
 
As Ethel led them to the library, Scipio was still obsessed with the interior design. The maids gave a curtsy as they passed, although Scipio didn't notice.

After daydreaming a bit, he was faced with two doors. He assumed, of course, this was the library that they led him to. Opening the doors revealed a room full of bookshelves, a labyrinth of literature. Scipio let the sisters go first, and then entered the haven he longed for since arrival.

"It is everything you said it was." Scipio says in admiration. It was rather quaint feeling, compared to the rest of the castle, but that was a better atmosphere to him.
 
Marisa nodded as she looked around the library standing behind the pair, "Its one of the jewels of the castle" She smiled slightly. "We have so many books, plus the library is home to some of our chess sets, easels and a few other things" She smiled slightly thinking about everything that they had in the library. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it in here"
 
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