bakerstreet | The Royally Common Romance Meme

♕ The Royally Common Romance Meme ♔

❝And I tell you truly, Daenerys, there is no man in all the world who will ever be half so true to you as me.❞

Inspired by an anon comment on rpanons ages ago about a PSL they'd like to play.

Heavy the head that wears the crown, they say, and little could be more true. Of course, there is glamor in the life: power, privilege, lavish feasts, fine clothes...if your monarchy is doing well, that is. But there are also struggles that few others would understand, such as life or death decisions that need to be made to protect your kingdom at best and being a mere puppet with no real power at worst. At the very least, you're lonely. Certainly there are people around you at all times to protect and serve you, yet they aren't truly companions. They're no one you can talk to.

Well, not no one. Not completely. There is one person who's allowed close to you. Perhaps they're even allowed to be alone with you. A trusted advisor, a handmaid, a knight, a court jester, whatever they are, their companionship and support may leave you wanting those peaceful moments and lingering glances to mean...more.

And what if you are the other side, someone without royal birth offering your service to your highness? You may have been born into this life, forced into it, or gave yourself to it willingly. It could be much, much worse - at least you and your charge have a good relationship, to the point that you might do anything for them. Have your feelings for them always been more inappropriate than they should, or is this a new feeling? And such feelings - they can't be returned, can they? Or you could see your charge as the human that they are rather than an ideal. Does that mean you can give them the best advice and service you can? And what of their duties to marry and continue their line? Will you step back and let them be bound to another?

Then there are the pressures of the throne. The most innocent could be corrupted by power, and you would be in no position to stop them, no matter how it pained you to see the one you cared for twisted and become a wholly different person.

To allow anything to blossom between the two of you is risky and perhaps even deadly. Not even royalty can put a stay to an execution of someone who's, for all intents and purposes, committed treason by becoming emotionally compromised. All the same, it may be worth it, in the end. Royalty, after all, has a short shelf life, and the head on the spike may be the one wearing the crown.

HOW TO PLAY

Comment with your character and preferences, any relevant info, and what role you'd like to play, royal or not. You might also want to include if you're open to smut.

Reply to others.

Let your imagination guide you! Stolen moments, keeping secrets, battle plans, discussions about ruling filled with double meaning, jealousy, learning about arranged marriages, just spending time together, or being able to do nothing as your love turns into an evil queen/king are just a few ideas.

~~My other possible picture for this meme was Eridan and Feferi before I settled on Dany and Jorah so there must be a theme.~~ I did it for OP.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ooc: Prince / Knight.]

[ slightly wrong meme, but how 'bout arranged marriage to an Imperial Princess who doesn't want to get hitched? ;) ]

[ooc: But of course! Start us off, and I'll be more than happy to jump right in.]

[ apologies, i totally zonked out last night >< ]

The click of heels on marble was staccato, driven. Every guard bowed low as the Princess swept past, but Claudia saw them not. Word had reached her only just now that the delegation from the neighboring kingdom had arrived, among them her "husband-to-be". Oh, she'd known of the betrothal and all that nonsense, but somehow her doddering, insufferable patron had failed to inform her of this little visit! (Although, truth be told, the Emperor hadn't informed his daughter simply because he wished to save his old ears the torment.)

Her temper crested with each stride; by the time she reached her father's Imperial Office, she'd worked herself into a fine fury, slapping open the doors despite splutterings from his useless--in her mind--secretary, only to be brought up short as she realized her father wasn't alone in the lavish quarters.

"--and this is my daughter, Her Imperial Highness, Princess Claudia Reneè Noel, of the Royal House Chareut and Jewel of all Castell."

[ooc: That's okay! My job has me so exhausted that most nights, I get home, look at my inbox, weep, and think MAYBE TOMORROW.]

Matthew is in the middle of speaking to his future father-in-law when the door to his rooms open with a slam. His entire body stiffens, and he turns, only dropping his hand from his sword when he realizes that the intruder is his future wife.

... And she is unhappy. And so, while he assumes that she's not a threat, his body language shows all too clearly that he's wary, prepared for the unpredictable.

He's got no illusions that her anger is because of their rapidly approaching nuptials. Although his expression remains as calm and as neutral as possible, he feels much the same. Of course, his arguments with his father on the subject haven't gotten him anywhere, either, and so -

Well. Here he was.

"My lady, it is a pleasure."

[ omg, so do i. BUT TOMORROW NEVER COMES. well, it does sometimes, lol. ]

"Charmed," was her clipped reply, saving her withering glare for her father, who simply smiled in that infuriating way and continued on with the pleasantries. After inviting the visiting prince to dinner, informing him that if he needed aught simply to inquire--of the servants, naturally--and wishing him a pleasant afternoon until their next engagement later in the evening, the old man swept from the room, followed by his ever-present steward, leaving his daughter nearly speechless with rage, which she forcefully swallowed and turned chill, so very chilly, eyes on the remaining royal in the room.

"So," Claudia said, breaking the profound silence that had descended, "Prince Matthew. I suppose I should bit you welcome to Castell." Although judging from the frown still marring her brow, it wasn't altogether certain she wanted to wish him anything, least of all to keep on breathing. Yet courtesies--they'd been a strict part of her education--prompted her to add, "It seems I was not properly informed of your arrival, thus, my apologies for my tardiness."

[ooc: Some days, I can get back to things quickly, and sometimes, tags sit for four days. But I do eventually get back to everything. And I will backtag into forever, so there's that.]

As uncomfortable as it is to witness the frostiness between father and daughter, he's been in the same position far too many times to count. And so, it's easy to busy himself with the papers in front of him, only glancing up when he's addressed, murmuring that he'd be honored to join them for dinner, and that he's sure that he'd be fine, but if he has any questions or anything in particular, he knew who to ask.

And then, the older man leaves, and Matthew and Claudia have the room to themselves. He takes a deep breath, and he stands more fully, back straight, nodding as he offers his response. "I would have sent word beforehand, but I too was a bit blindsided by my visit. Thank you for having me."

An eyebrow went up sharply. "I had little say in the matter, Highness. My father apparently arranged this...circumstance entirely on his own." She noted his proper posture, formality almost stiff enough to fence with. Well, her own was hardly warm and cordial, so.

Normally, Claudia's vocabulary bordered on the infinitesimal; rare was it that she have little else to say, regardless of subject. But all of the sudden she realized that she actually had nothing else to exchange with this...prince.

"So." Her tone was flat. "Until dinner, then?" If he presumed she was going to loiter about and entertain him, he was sorely mistaken.

"Well," Matthew starts, his lips barely turning up at the edges, the smiles that it produces not at all as amused or pleased as he would like, "Not entirely on his own. Mine assisted."

There's a coldness in his voice that suggests that he's also less than pleased with this whole arrangement. And it has nothing at all to do with Claudia herself, and everything to do with the fact that because of such antiquated rules, he can't choose his own wife, based on love and respect rather than who can do what for which family.

"Of course," he answers, standing quickly so that he can offer the requisite bow.

The Royally Common Romance Meme

Matthew, a Prince | OC | Het

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