COS: Royal Rune

Across from the Duke Turing was the Second most powerful person in the Empire in regards to both personal and family power, the Ironblood Duke, Duke Orleans. The air seemed to still around the man, as if scared to even flow in its natural way. He exuded a pressure unlike anything that Nassir had ever felt, even from his own father. While it was not stronger, it was more severe. His father was a relaxed man who hid his presence in most situations, while the Duke seemed incapable of holding his in. The man had eyes that were so white they were almost translucent and his face was always line filled even as he held his neutral expression. 

He sat stiffly on the couch with his arms crossed as he looked towards them, Nassir did his best not to falter under his gaze. Sitting idly next to the man was a thin yet tall girl that looked around the same age as him. Even though she was significantly younger than herself in cannon, he still recognized her. The white hair and eyebrows, the glowing white eyes that were so white the pupil was barely visible, and the pretty and unreadable face gave it away. This was Beye Orleans, one of the most talented people on the continent. It seemed his rune agreed that assessment as it gave her an astonishing assessment of level 24-Pinacle Powerhouse. He couldn't do anything, but stare at her in that moment. All thoughts of courtesy thrown out the window at the sight of such an insane prospect.

It was only when he noticed that she was looking back at him with the same dull expression she had when he walked in -though there was hint of red in her cheeks now- that he looked away ashamed of his actions. A small snort of amusement came from the Duke Orleans, he ignored it. 

"Ah, I am glad to see you all have made yourselves comfortable." his mother said as she led him to the couches in the center of the room that were free. They took their seats and his mother continued "I must say I was surprised that you both agreed to meet at the same time. I am sorry for the inconvenience, but we are in a rush for time and needed to move both meetings together. Again, I am sorry." His mother gave the Dukes a small bow of her head. Nothing to severe but enough to show her sincerity. 

"It is no matter, what could be discussed alone can be discussed in group." his grandfather said as he sat his tea down on the table and looked towards the Duke Orleans "What say you Arius?"

The Duke, who he now knew was named Arius, shrugged "We are here, are we not?"

His grandfather snorted, but did not reply. Nassir silently looked between the two men, while they did not seem antagonistic with one another, it was not exactly a friendly attitude that they exuded. He did not care to be truthful, as long as the did not fight in his presence he was more than happy. 

"Good, I am glad we are in agreement." his mother smiled, "Well, I do not wish to take up to much of either of your times so let us get to business." she turned towards her father "My proposal father is for you to allow for your grandson and heir Semion to become one of my sons followers when it is time for them to venture into the infinite planes." before his grandfather could speak she turned to Arius Orleans, "My proposal for you Duke Orleans is a betrothal between my son and your daughter Beye and for them to wed when they reach the age of twenty, should they both live up to expectations. Additionally, I wish for you to also allow her to join him in his planar wars"when she finished speaking she poured herself a cup of tea from the pot on the table and sipped from it and then looked up at the stunned lords, "Well, my lords how do those proposals sound?" 

Nassir had not thought his mother would be so blatant in her intentions, but he did appreciate the directness of it. He did not want to sit through the typical talk around that the Lords and Ladies tended to do with one another. And it seems that the Dukes were just as appreciative as amused smiles graced their faces. 

Although, he was appreciative and it seemed to work in this moment, he made a mental note to not let his mother participate in negotiations on his behalf in the future. Though, given his fathers new rules it was unlikely that would be the case any time soon. 

There was a brief silence as the Dukes considered the proposal. During that time Nassir studied the reactions of the two other children in the room. The first he looked towards was Beye. She was looking at him, her expression was blank - he was curious was it even possible for her to express anything else. She did not seem disgusted by the proposal; though he was almost certain she did not even know what a 'betrothal' was or what it entailed, else she would probably be highly upset. And he wouldn't blame her. If he had to guess her mind was more focused on if he was stronger than her or not. 

He smiled at her, that only caused her to turn away from him with a small blush on her cheeks. He chuckled to himself before looking to the other boy in the room, his cousin Semion. This one seemed far more excited about the prospect than Beye. He was almost bouncing in his chair as he looked up at his grandfather with pleading eyes, the boy did everything but grab onto the older man and plead. When he noticed Nassir looking at him he turned towards him and gave him a bright smile and a thumbs up. One which Nassir returned. 

'This one will be an easy gain', he said to himself. 

It was his grandfather who spoke up first, "I can agree to let Semion become one of his followers." he said much to the excitement of the both parties but before his mother could speak the old man continued "But, I do have some conditions."

"What are they?" his mother asked 

He looked towards Nassir as he spoke, "If they boy turns out useless, then the deals off. I won't waste my heir on some waste prince. And also the prince will share some of his gains from the planes they venture into together with him, lets say it is proportional to the amount that the both put into the venture. If you can agree to that then I will have Semion sent to the royal palace within the week."

Nassir felt a insulted at the accusation that he might turn out to be wasted potential, but he did not express it. It was only normal for a lord of a powerful house to have such worries. It was actually warranted, most of those with great potential do not reach even half of it. He would not be one of them. 

His mother thought over the proposal for a minute for a moment, "It is agreeable. Though we will leave the details to be worked out by Semion and Nassir when the time comes. We cannot do all the work for them can we. Though their is no need to send Semion to the royal palace, Nassir should be leaving for some time. " she laughed. 

"Yes, that is fine. But I must ask, where might the Prince be going." the Duke Turing asked , while the younger Turing cheered in celebration ignoring the rest of the conversation. He looked towards Nassir and gave him a winning smile and flexed his arms. Nassir only chuckled at the antics. 

His mother smiled at her father but did not reply. The Duke only nodded his head. She then turned to the Duke Orleans, who had yet to reply to the proposal, "And what say you Duke Orleans, do you wish to join?"

He looked at the Duke Orleans with hopeful eyes. This is the one he was really looking forward to. Having Semion in his corner would be a huge boost, but his talent was nothing compared to what Beye could be. He did not care much about the betrothal but to have her as a potential follower would be the equivalent of gaining a grade 6 rune.

The Duke chuckled at the question before nodding, "I will agree to the betrothal and letting Beye join as a follower." a huge sigh of relief escaped him this was very *very* good for him, "But," the Duke continued "I do have some concessions that I wish to have." the man said with a predatory gaze that sent of all his alarms bells. He knew that the price for this one will be steep.

"What might those be?" his mother asked with a cheerful smile, though he could hear the strain in her voice.