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OOC: Wow! The pictures of the characters look absolutely stunning! <3

Finn shrugged playfully at Bridget's comment, not really taking the time to notice the sinister feelings that she felt underneath. Indeed, she was trying her best to keep them under control, and however much that was, it seemed to have worked. Finn was oblivious for the moment. Diana's attempt to change conversation worked too, though it did bring his mood slightly under the weather. "Well, my dad's a little sick... I think he may be coming down with something... Nothing that he can't handle, though!" He said towards the end of his response, purposely trying to brighten up what he just said.

At this, Carmen took a moment to look up. Although Bridget had been friends with Finn for quite a long time, he hadn't been invited to dinner with them for ages. She had forgotten just how 'positive' he always was. This, on the other hand - demoting his father's coming illness, as he had just said moments ago - was a bit too much. She had no idea how to handle it, though. Her daughter, Lilith, spoke before she did.

Lilith put down her fork with a quiet clang against her plate. "How bad is it?" she said casually, in an attempt to coax it out of him. Usually, no one would need to convince Finn to divulge information; he was all for it. Matters like this, though, concerning negative aspects of his family, we something that could be considered 'touchy'. He always liked covering up any of the troubles he had, attempting to keep himself happy at all times - as hard as that was. This, his greatest friend Bridget knew all too well. "It's nothing..." he said quietly, unable to keep the waver out of his voice. Lilith did not take her eyes off of him, worried already for what he was going through. She finally tore her eyes away to sneak a glance from Bridget. "He's fine, really," he continued. "Just a cold."



Evalynn gathered up her wits and stood beside her father. Her father may have been oblivious to her needs, wants, or desires, but at least he was just that - oblivious. Her mother... she was an entirely different story. Evalynn was not stupid; she knew her mother disliked her. She also knew that her mother ignored her and demoted her any chance she got. Her father did it by accident; her mother did it on purpose. Reina could care less about her younger daughter, though, which is why she held no qualms in doing so.

At the moment, Reina stepped inside the second carriage, right after her older daughter, Rosalinda. As soon as one of the servants closed the door, she smiled serenely. "So, do you like your future husband?" she asked as casually as possible. "He seems quite... manageable," she finished, unsure of what else to say about the boy she knew nothing of yet. Besides, it would give her daughter the nudge she would need in order to get the hint that she was in control, not some blasted prince destined to be the new king.

Ooc:// Thanks for the compliments on the pictures!

Bic:// Bridget watched as her entire family tensed up at her comment, shrugging at her father's look and forging innocence. Her attention quickly turned back to Finn as he mentioned his father. Bridget instantly knew by the tone of his voice that there was more wrong with his father than he was letting on. She stared at him with concern cressing her eyes, but she couldn't think of anything to say that would convince him to share that information in front of everyone. Bridget made a mental note to talk to him about it after dinner. Perhaps he would be a bit more willing to tell only Bridget instead of her entire family. For now, Bridget thought it best to steer the conversation to a more light subject. She nodded at Finn's excuse that his father only had a minor cold and smiled at him as if she believed this. "Well, I hope he gets better soon," she said nonchalantly before adding, "And your mother? She's well?"



Gerald grinned kindly at the boys as they piled into the cariage, nodding approvingly as Caspian took his seat across from the king. The door clicked shut, and the carriage jerked forward as the horses began their gallop of the hill to the not so distant castle. "Can I assume your journey here went smoothly?" he asked the boys, but mostly directed the question at Prince Caspian. Gerald at least wanted a feel for this boy before he handed over his daughter to him.

Anthony knew the questions of the king were expected to be answered by the prince whose wedding was the point of the three of them even being in this strange new land. Anthony didn't want to overstep his place and instead decided to stare at the tiny square window to catch a peek at this new kingdom. From this view, though, all he could see was a large village settled into the valley between two large mountains. This late in the evening, it looked very peaceful. Beyond the cramped part of the village, Anthony spotted a few lamps or fires that revealed the shadows of shabby farm houses, pastures of horses and sheep, and a couple stables. It was very easy to see the socail structure here, but more than in his home kingdome. Anothony hoped he would be able to get used to it.



William mounted Corr as the royal carriages started up the hill. He was about to nudge his stallion after them when he spotted Evalynn standing amongst the maids and stablehands. William knew the whole story of her not being accepted by her parents, but he still not understand how a couple could do that to ther own child. Feeling especailly sympathetic today, he trotted Corr towards the girl as asked, "Would you like a ride up?" He held out a hand to her to help her up on the sadle.

Dianna winced slightly; she hadn't meant to touch on a touchy subject. Still, if something was seriously wrong, she knew that Bridget probably would be able to drag it out of him later, or maybe Lilith would be able to coax it from Finn; her blood sister was nearly as good with people as she was animals. Either way, it was none of the youngest girl's business to ponder or pry.



Rosalinda's gaze shifted ever-so-slightly to outside the carriage window...only to witness the scene between chivalrous William and her twin. White hot jealously coursed through her, causing the princess to grip the seat cushion tightly with her right hand (which happened to be the one closest to the door) and nearly miss what the queen just said. However, the blonde heard it loud and clear all the same. Rosalinda didn't even bother to hide her peals of scornful laughter.

"Manageable, Mother? I think not! I will not settle for a fop of a husband! No, I will not have anyone by my side as king who isn't my equal! Why not marry off Evalynn? She's of royal blood -certainly that's a use for her that you approve of!" Rosalinda seethed, raising her volume level until she was at a near yell. Towards the back of her mind, her seldom-used logical self warned Rosalinda of the possible consequences for tempting the queen with her tantrum, but the selfish teen stubornly remained simply too consumed of indignant rage to pay any mind.



"Our voyage went well enough, your Majesty," Caspian answered politely. "Clear skies and fine weather. Though, the storms that moved through Adosnia a few weeks ago made the waters rough, but then again, I'm not much of a sailor," the prince confessed hessitantly, picking up the same tune as the king. It was still too soon to consider this a lost cause; besides, he'd come too far to give up completely now.

Darius cracked open an eye, casting a short protective glance at the prince before observing what his other companion was doing. Caspian seemed to be hitting it off well with the king, and Anthony appeared to be studying their surroundings. Satisfied that everything seemed to be well enough -compared to when they first landed- and trusting Anthony to relay anything that he observed later, the giant of a ginger allowed himself to doze slightly for the greater portion of the carriage ride.

OOC: I refered to Evalynn as Rosalinda's twin because they're the same age.

Finn looked down a bit at the silence until Bridget decided to turn the subject. He was eternally grateful, and he grabbed it the first chance he got. "Oh, yes. She should be returning any day now. As you may know she had to travel farther into town to get some supplies for the house." He ate a bit more, managing to put a smile on his face. He couldn't help it; he just loved being happy - even if the glass was not always half full. "This cooking is good," he said in a soothing tone. He was glad to have something made by a mother. It tasted like his own mother's food, and he missed her although she had only been gone for a week.

Lilith decided that it was too late now to breach the subject again, so if Bridget didn't touch it after dinner, she would. Most likely, her step sister would manage to pry it out of him. After all, they were best friends. She continued eating her food gently, nodding at Finn and Bridget and the others as they took turns speaking.



Evalynn was hesitant at first to ride behind a stranger, but she knew it was her only way home. Otherwise, she would have to walk. Besides, the man seemed kind enough. She hadn't known at the moment that he was the captain of the guard, for she never truly left the castle - parent's rules - but she slowly started to figure it out. She smiled innocently and nodded. "Thank you, that would be nice..." she took his hand and mounted the horse, suddenly thinking to herself how beautiful it looked beneath the moon...

Reina blinked in slight shock, but she quickly overcame it and said cooly, "That prince is indeed a wimp; that is precisely the point, dear daughter. Why have a prince who is equal to you? Then the people might think only of the king rather than the queen as well." She gave up at that point. Rosalinda most likely wouldn't see it her way so soon. She probably needed time to mull it over. "We shall never marry Evalynn off. She may be of royal blood but her only real use is as another servant, understood?"

Bridget nodded at Finn's reply, not really paying attention to his answer. She already knew that his mother had been traveling and that she was due back any day now. The question had simply been to change the conversation, not really to learn any new information. That would have to wait until after dinner when she could get Finn alone and talk about his father. "We'll all be glad to see her back home," she responded politely, not even bothering glancing up from her food to do so.



Gerald processed and analyzed every word the boy spoke. He sensed a gentleman in him with his polite tone of voice, and he was honest enough to admit that the waters hadn't been completely peaceful the entire journey. The bit about not being a sailor lingered in Gerald's thoughts as he pondered exactly what they meant. Did the boy have a weak stomach or did he not enjoy being so far from home? Perhaps he simply did not like traveling by sea. Deciding the point wasn't much to think on, Gerald said, "I am happy to hear the journey went smoothly enough. If I am to be honest, I never grew a pair of sea legs myself." He chuckled slightly at his own joke, trying to lighten the tension in the carriage. He glanced at the prince's companions, and the king quickly realized he only had the attention of Caspian. "Well, I do hope you find these new surroundings comfortable. We've readied the best three rooms in the castle for your arrival."

Anthony glanced away from the window for a moment at the mention of a bedroom. An actual bedroom! With a real bed! No more sleeping on those cots at the bottom of a ship, falling out everytime a forceful wave hit. A clean bed with clean sheets in a clean room seemed like heaven after the journey.



William helped Evalynn mount the saddle behind him, then kicked Corr forward. Normally, he would make it up the hill at a gallop, but with a lady behind him, even a lady dressed as a maid, William took it a bit easier and only nudged Corr to a steady trot. They quickly passed the carriage holding Rosalinda and Reina, their horses weighed down by the carrage and its passengers. Corr fell in to step between the two carriages, slowly leaving the second carriage behind and catching up with the King's carriage.

Rosalinda opened her mouth to argue once more, but closed it quickly at the queen's cool dismissal of her sister. Blood seemed to have been from her fingertips and toes, leaving them feeling tingly and cold. The girl never knew quite what to make of her sister's predicament, so usually she adopted her -no, their- father's indifference or played along with her mother's scorn. She glanced out the window again, and witnessed Eve's hesitant acceptance of Sir William's offer. Rose turned her attention back to her mother, finding her voice again.

"The golden years of our kingdom have always been led by both a strong king and queen. Why should I want any less?" she said finally in calmer tone.



"I am certain we will, your majesty," Caspian replied with a slight dip of his head. He glanced with barely suppressed amusement at Anthony's sudden expression of interest on a usually sullen face, but if he were completely honest, he was feeling the same elation himself. A feather mattress would certainly be an improvement, but more than anything, Caspian was looking forward to a warm bath and a hot meal.

Darius's head bobbed slightly seemingly in rhythm to the gentle lurches of the carriage as he dosed.



"I'm certain she will," Cedric Malone agreed.