Take Me Away From This (Private to Il Sara)

Parvada was in desperate need of some kind of escape.

She had been watching her brother, Hui, greet the nobles of the world for at least 2 hours now. He was, once again, trying to find a mate, a queen to sit beside the king, a future bearer to the future of the nation, all of that jazz. It was one of the most utterly boring processes in the history of the Earth Kingdom. Royal families came forth, gave their good words towards the state of the kingdom, said their condolences for the death of the former king, and presented their daughters. Then they stepped back into the fray and brought forward another family to repeat the process.

The former queen Leihsing had gotten so exasperated with Hui's lack of mate-finding that she had opened up the selection to ALL women, which just meant a more taxing and draining process, along with a lot more sweeping up after the Lower Class (many decided to bring in their lucky armadillo goats, which decided to leave lucky droppings all over the carpet). Overall, it was a total mess and Parvada wanted to have none of it.

At least, until she saw a certain beautiful figure in the back.

She clung to the outskirts of the crowd, taking her pick of some of the delicacies that were set out for the nobles. She was dressed in something... dark? It was hard to see with all the desperate families in the way. Parvada stood, her tight leather armor clinging to her skin, and her sword clanking against her leg. Aimi hadn't wanted her to wear her general's uniform to this event, but Parvada was not one for being "ladylike" or "wearing dresses" or "relaxing".

Parvada moved through the crowd, ducking and weaving through the civilians and nobles alike. The armor that she wore and the piercing and formidable glare that she gave everyone tended to cause people to move out of her way, and that was just the way she liked it. Eventually, she made it over to the figure, who had her back turned to her.

She cleared her throat sharply, trying to get her attention. "Um... hello. I'm General Peng of the Earth Kingdom. I couldn't help but notice that you're sort of... alone over here. Any particular reason?"

Well, if that wasn't the awkwardest introduction.

Atsuki really didn't know why she was at this party. She wasn't into men...though she had had some practice with her twin brother and while it had been satisfying, it wasn't the same as doing it with a woman, which Atsuki preferred. Everyone knew this of course, but that wasn't going to stop Atsuki from showing up for the free food, or as she had told her father, to "improve diplomatic relations between the Earth Kingdom and Dark Nation." Personally Atsuki wasn't interested in politics, and preferred to stick to her artwork. Painting, brushwork, calligraphy, and woodblock prints. Those were her politics. The clash of colour and style. That was her war.

Besides, it always helped having a pretty woman to model, and often it led to a little fun after. Atsuki was very picky about her models, but when she found them, she made sure she used them to their fullest. And Atsuki meant that in every sense of the word. Atsuki hoped she would meet some nice subjects to paint, but sadly, she had found no one. Which strongly disappointed, to the point where Atsuki spent the remainder of the party talking to no one and eating from the food table.

Then someone approached. Someone dressed in men's armour, black and leather, which short hair--not too short, but not too long. It was a bit long and messy in places, it was a medium length, just a bit shorter than a bob. She had deep eyes and angular features. She was perfect, Atsuki knew it. Now she needed to convine the girl. This girl introduced herself as some General of the Earth Kingdom. Atsuki didn't care much for titles, only for her art. That too precedence.

"I prefer it that way. Come with me and take off your clothes, your perfect! But before I decide for sure, I need to inspect your body. All of it." Atsuki added a wink. She had never been much for formalities or for double entendres, she had always preferred the direct method. It was so much faster and so much simpler. "Please? You'd be the perfect subject! I don't know what you're being paid, but, I'm willing to pay ten gold a day for thirty days. One painting a day, how does that sound? That's three hundred gold pieces, that's a small fortune! What do you say?"