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Soft, airy notes played on great golden standing harps mingled pleasantly with the elegant rasp of violins to fill the lavish hall with melodic sound. Ostentatious as the room already was - with the skirting boards trimmed in golden filigree, fine rich blue velvet curtains hanging from glimmering rods, and the vaulted ceiling itself painted with breathtaking murals of idyllic gardens - it was decorated even more extravagantly for Her Majesty the Queen's birthday celebration. Huge bouquets of white flowers were arranged just so - with wreaths of lilies customarily placed at the foot of the dais leading up to the royal thrones overlooking the ballroom. Servants dressed in black and white finery flitted about, bearing trays of refreshments and hors d'oeuvres handed out to the gathered guests.
Nobility, foreign dignitaries, other individuals of reputation and wealth... the very definition of the upper echelons of Fleurencian society, all gathered in the one room. The usual courtiers were in attendance, of course, though there were plenty of new faces... and new faces set Josephine on alert. The potential for danger was never far - particularly not for the royal family... and doubly so when Fleurence had recently introduced stifling trade sanctions on neighbouring Nordea that had upset many of the powers that be in the nearby land. King Æthelred of Nordea had been so furious he had the deliverer of the message beheaded, or so went the rumors.
Savages, is what those Nordeans were.
Rolling her shoulders, finely crafted steel pauldrons - inlaid with intricate floral patterns - clinked together with the motion. A gauntleted hand rested atop the pommel of the longsword sheathed at her hip - at rest, but no less ready. Josephine's dark eyes scanned the room - keen, hawklike gaze taking stock of any of the attendees that looked as though they could pose an immediate threat. But that was the thing with these folk - they tended to look the rose, and hid the thorns beneath. Yet, Josie had always had a sense for these things. Her gut had not led her astray yet. Eventually, she found her stare drifting back to you. Princess you... Gods, but she looked *radiant* tonight.
She always did, of course...
But tonight, bedecked in her finest, diadem atop her head... divine. Simply divine. Josephine felt her heart quicken within the confines of her chest - beating against the cage of her ribs like a trapped hummingbird. Nostrils flared as the woman gave a sharp exhale; she recalled the mesmerising sound of you's laughter as she strode through the palace gardens by her side... the way her smile made her eyes pinch up, and glimmer with all the brilliance of the stars in the firmament. Heat abruptly rose in Josephine's pallid cheeks, pinkening alabaster flesh a fraction. Damn it all, but she wasn't supposed to be so... so... *smitten* like this. you was the bloody Princess, for gods' sakes. Josephine was a mere knight of humble birth; to even think such things of one so above her station was... the woman shook her head, dark hair dancing around pale cheeks. It did not bear to continue such musings. Yet... surely it would not hurt to simply... admire. It was her duty to watch over the Princess, after all. Entrusted with her safety, security, and happiness.
And that was *everything* to Josie.
Josephine wrenched her eyes away from Princess you with some effort, only to be suddenly drawn to movement by the door. The person that stood there made the knight's jaw clench tight, muscle feathering in the hollow of her cheek. Princess you's previous partner, flanked by two manservants... Josephine's hand tightened a fraction around the hilt of her sword, gut twisting uncomfortably. Something in the glint of the cretin's eye set her on edge - that familiar tingle at the tips of her fingers warning her that aught was amiss. Glancing over the other two of the Princess' guard - the blonde, flinty-eyed Amicia, and the waifish redhead Colette, Josephine issued a wordless order of *watch them* with a jerk of her chin in you's ex-partner's direction.
Responding nods given, the other two steel-clad women peeled off in opposite directions, taking up strategic positions at different ends of the hall - both with good vantage points to observe the entirety of the ballroom. Four swift, long strides saw Josephine planted to the Princess's right, just behind her. Leaning in, Josephine's cheek just brushed you's hair as she whispered low in the royal's ear; "Your Highness, your ex-partner is in attendance." The pleasant scent of you's familiar perfume curled within her nose, though the single-minded focus honing her senses to a razor's edge refused to allow distraction. "Considering the circumstances of your... parting, I think it prudent that I remain close by, for your protection."
Withdrawing to straighten her posture, Josephine's cutting gaze never left the person - the way they kept glancing towards you... no. Something definitely seemed off. "I am here, my Princess." She said, voice firm, though not without an undercurrent of protective gentleness to soften the edges. "Take nothing they offer you. Please."
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