Peace for a Price (1x1)

Eleazar heaved it aside carefully. "It is a fine gift," he said delicately. He retrieved the note saying who it was from and attached it back onto the statue so they could remember who to make out the thank you card to later.

The next gift was another statue, this one of metal strands woven to look like a golden roc. This one Eleazar liked a good deal more as he was fond of the giant bird, even if it did have a tendency to guard its territory extraordinarily fiercely and attack anything that dared fly too close. He commented on that to Malisia as he set it with the world-carrying turtle.

The following gift was not as large but just as heavy and turned out to be a cheese board, charcuterie board, and serving set made out of marble and gold. It seemed a little ridiculous to him, but he set it aside to be given to the kitchens later.

More kitchen supplies came in the form of an entire large table setting of plates, silverwear, and anything else you could possibly need made out of silver. There were enough for twenty four guests, and it was bulky and difficult to handle. Two other people had also send tableware, each in a different style and number. It made for a rather intimidating pile.

More gifts piled up, and Eleazar doggedly dug through them, talking to Malisia casually as they went, telling her what he thought of them, any special significance they might have, or a bit about the sender. He was far more relaxed and a bit more talkative now that he had something to do while speaking. He was not overly impressed by the majority of the gifts, seeing them as expensive plees for attention and good graces, each person trying to show up the next, but he did appreciate the kitchen item one family sent that was half magical, half mechanical and supposedly made hot beverages at the touch of two buttons and the addition of ground beans. That was a handy gadget that he hoped the kitchen would at least attempt to use.
 
Malisia listened to his words with interest, nodding as she learnt a few new things from Eleazar, such as his interests and what he didn't like, which gifts he was more fond of, more about people from the kingdom and such, it was a rather pleasant time.

Her attention was also on the strange device Eleazar had found, this was more like it, she thought. Eleazar was wealthy enough that he wouldn't ever need any decorations made with jewels or fancy cutlery or anything like that coming from another person, but the strange mix of magic and technology seemed like an actual thoughtful gift with a clear use, not to mention, it was functional.

She didn't really feel the time pass, given how comfortable and content she was in their current situation.


The princess was starting to think that perhaps, in another time they could've been good friends. Sure they didn't have that many things in common, but their personalities didn't particularly clash, nor did she find herself thinking ill of him anymore. Though, of course, it wouldn't always be as pleasant as today, she at least had high hopes for tomorrow.

Silence or small talk, she didn't mind, as long as she was by Eleazar and he didn't completely ignore her presence, she would be okay.
 
Eventually, they neared the end of the pile, and Eleazar sat on the floor, exhausted and surrounded by bits of wrapping. He'd saved the largest pieces and ribbons to be reused at a later date and put all the small pieces and the bits of string in another to be thrown out. All the gifts had their givers' names attached, and everything looked as organized as one could make such a mess.

A few of the gifts had been edible. Those, thankfully, had been marked as perishable, and he was able to take those from Malisia's careful stacks and put them in yet another pile for the kitchen. It was mostly treats or specialties from across the kingdom.

"There's the first batch," he said bleakly. "I think it will take us at least another three times to get through the rest. I believeit is nearly time for dinner." He paused before leaning over and retrieving a box of exotic chocolates from the perishable pile. "Unless you'd rather stay here. I think there is enough food here to feed two people for twelve days." He held out the box to Malisia.
 
Malisia gently took the box from Eleazar's hand, brushing the tip of her fingers accidentally against his.

"Thank you... Perhaps we should stay, just for today." She smiled sheepishly, sitting on the ground in front of Eleazar.


She carefully opened the box and placed it on the floor between them, for easier access of course.

Her hand slowly hovered over the options, unsure of what to pick at first, but deciding for what looked the most familiar to her.

Eventually, she looked over to Eleazar, showing him a nervous smile as she savored the treat, perhaps not going out to the gardens tonight was better.
 
"Of course, dinner will be served in your room eventually," Eleazar sighed. "It is likely better that we eat something healthy." He picked up what looked like a loaf of bread studded with jewels. It was actually a sweet bread with chopped fruits designed to look like jewels. "I do not think a child could handle this much sugar in one sitting."

He set the bread down and shifted to stretch better, working the kinks out of his shoulders. "I noticed a few gifts from your kingdom and others. They must be appreciative of you."
 
Malisia giggled at his comment about the sugar content of some of the gifts, she didn't want to admit it, but her younger self would've definetely been willing to devour the fruit cake if she was given the chance.


Her smile faltered for a moment, as he mentioned Valeskiar, but it didn't take long to return, though with a hint of nostalgia in it now.

"I know many of them personally, some treated me as if I was their family. They are very good people, noble unlike any other." She sighed, thinking back on the time she spent with them. "I hope you don't mind how often they might come and visit to give their blessings to you for taking my hand..."
 
Eleazar shrugged as he dug himself out of the pile of wrapping and gifts and stood up. "If they are willing to risk the journey, then it is fine. Though our border guards do look at all who cross with equal suspicion. We have had... problems... in the past with visitors." He glanced at her. "Meaning that if you vouch for someone, and they cause harm on my land, you will also be held responsible."

It was a cold statement, and not a happy one, but necessary to know. It was not that long ago that Daefur wings were a prized item to hunt for, like the antlers of a deer, and werewolf pelts were still in demand in many places. Not so much in Valeskiar, which was one of the reasons why he had been willing to make a peace treaty with them, but black markets were almost never fully gone. People had used lies of goodwill to get across the borders of Cravonid before, and it had never ended well.

He shook himself and tried to pick off the pieces of twine that had gotten stock on his clothing. "If you are ready to leave this room, I will ask the servants to finish sorting it out. We will need to write..." he paused and looked at the stacks before heaving a sigh that seemed to come from his toes, "so many thank you cards."
 
Malisia nodded to his warning, it was, rather blunt maybe even out of place given the lighter conversation they were holding previously, but she didn't mention much about it, understanding his concern.

She heard his worry about the cards, she stood with little effort in one swift movement and thought of another way they could spend time, even if in silence.


"Well, your highness, I am fast at writing. You had a long day... How about you allow me to write while you rest, yes? I will stay in bed and go name by name while you sleep, I will give them to you once I am finished tomorrow so you may review if they are good enough to send back... Beside. We may as well start sharing a bed after all..."


She wasn't sure the king would agree, but then again, it wasn't like she minded writing.
 
Eleazar raised a brow at Malisia as he opened the door for her and guided her in the direction of their rooms. "Perhaps we could split the list in two," he remarked. "That may make things go a little faster than if only one of us writes the notes."

He chose not to say anything about the bed situation. He did not want to share a bed with her, not yet, possibly not ever, but he did not want to hurt her feelings by saying it outright, either.

"We can start after dinner unless you still desire to see the gardens before we leave tomorrow."
 
She thought about the gardens, while it would be nice, she was already dressed for bed, and truth be told, the gardens were just an excuse to spend more time with Eleazar, but now that didn't need to happen, they were already here after all.

"Splitting the list would work, yes..." She nodded in agreement, though she didn't agree completely, she wasn't going to defy him on this ocassion.

"And starting after dinner is alright, the gardens can... Wait."


That's what she hoped.

The gardens, they'd not go anywhere... Unlike her.
 
The servants were just setting up dinner for them in Malisia's room, and they bowed before leaving quickly, giggling as they left. Eleazar pretended to ignore them and let Malisia choose her seat at the table before taking a seat for himself. As promised, dinner was a lighter affair and mostly made up of leftovers from lunch and the previous day's feast redressed so it seemed new. It was just as good as it had been before, and he ate with relish. He could pack away a lot of food for someone so small, and he wasn't the slightest bit self conscious about it.

After dinner, he started looking through the list of people they needed to thank and what they'd given. It was quite a task, but he figured that if Malisia and he each took half, they could write out the notes and be done within an hour or so. Maybe more or less.
 
Malisia didn't seem to notice the laughter among the servants, remaining unconcious to what most people thought about Eleazar and her.

She sat down calmly, and enjoyed dinner, she did notice the familiar food, but rather than being upset or judging it severely, she was quite happy to dig in once again, though with less care than the one she had back in public, she wasn't eating like an uncivilized beast of course, but she was not as mindful of taking small bites and using this or that cutlery, she was... Happier.

Once they were done she helped her best to go in order with things, she remembered what they opened first and what last, and for the piles they hadn't touched yet, she had been mindful to look at the names to put them in order later.
 
Eleazar took the names of the senders of the gifts they'd opened and split them in half. He gave Malisia the half with the most people from other realms and took the half that the most people from Cravonid. That way, they might have some idea of the people they were talking about. He sat on a little stool near the table and started writing out the cards. When he finished one, he put it in a pile next to Malisia so she could look it over and approve. For a rough and tumble man, he had surprisingly neat handwriting, and while most of the cards were nearly identical (there were only so many ways to say thank you), he did try to personalize where he could and made certain to state exactly what gift they were thanking the person for. Then he double-checked to make certain he was thanking the right person for the right thing. Thanking someone for a teapot when they sent an area rug was definitely embarrassing and potentially offensive, which was not good in the political realm.
 
Malisia nodded each time she read one of Eleazar's cards, taking more time to admire his clean and precise writing than she probably should.

She didn't have terrible skills when it came to her lettering, but it was not as perfect as his.


Although, she did deliver on her statement about writing fast. She was mindful of what she was doing, of course, she didn't want to write anything offensive or nonsensical, therefore she also made sure to show Eleazar what she had written.

The princess only stopped to think for a bit longer whenever she found familiar names, and even then, she tried her best to be impartial and keep things generally thankful rather than too friendly. After all, if she had to thank someone in a more personal way, she'd make sure to do so if they came to visit Cravonid or if she had the chance to go back home at some point, not that she was too worried about doing so now.
 
"I think that is all of them," Eleazar sighed, sitting back and stretching out his hand. "That was quite a few. I suppose I should be grateful for the gifts, but I cannot shake the idea that they are all just to buy our good graces."
 
Malisia nodded, sighing in relief, the hard part was done at the very least.

She rose an eyebrow at his comment, though at first she wanted to deny it, and contradict him even, she pondered about it for a second, and... He was right, expensive, non functional things that were just, expensive trinkets. Sure she loved collecting trinkets, but like it or not, she had to agree that most of these were simply not practical to keep, thankfully, the castle had quite a few corners that could use a random selection of jewelry to brighten up a bit, not that a place as grand as this ever needed it.


"Well- If I was the leader of any nation. I would also want good graces from someone as powerful as you, my lord. Though, I suppose they are lucky you do not mind receiving several pounds of gold in different shapes."

She joked lightly, her hands held behind her back as she stood in the middle of the room, scanning what was left with her eyes.
 
"In that, you have a point," Eleazar agreed as he stood up. His wings twitched and resettled across his shoulders. "I shall have to ask Lance how long is appropriate to keep gifts before regifting them or selling them. I cannot imagine needing that many mismatched plates. I suppose we can find a corner for the World Turtle to haunt, and... I do rather like the roc. I might keep that. If there is something you especially like, even silverware, be sure to speak up so you can keep it. These are yours, too, after all."

He turned toward the door, ready to leave for the evening. He needed to stretch his legs after that much sitting.
 
Malisia looked through the current gifts, but, other than the roc, she didn't encounter much in particular. She wasn't a big fan of most of the cutlery sent, most of it was far too fancy and made her wonder if it was worth using a spoon that looked more like something that belonged in a museum to eat rice pudding, no sir, she didn't want that guilt.

"Perhaps something in the smaller gifts might catch my eye, but, keeping the turtle and roc seems good enough for now."


She was still thinking, but seeing Eleazar turn to the door made her snap out of her train of thought with a slight jump.

"You- You are leaving, your highness?" She caught herself sounding more worried than she intended. "I meant to say- If you would like to go for a walk... Though of course, if you prefer to be on your own for a while that's understandable too."
 
Eleazar glanced back at Malisia. "It is growing late, and since you are already in your bedclothes, I assumed you might prefer to remain in your room and prepare for bed," he said calmly. "I was going to say I would be back shortly after informing the servants and Lance of our intentions with the gifts and to ensure that everything was ready for tomorrow."

Not to mention, he was starting to feel crowded and slightly suspicious of her constant need to be with him. Such worry over someone approaching a door! He had things he needed to do and legs to stretch, that was all, but he wasn't accustomed to having to explain that when he did nothing more than walk to a door. He would have told her something before he left, he wasn't so rude he'd just walk out, but he didn't think he would need to until at least opening the door or putting his hand on it. What would it be like if he walked past a door?
 
Once more, Malisia found herself blushing, bringing a nervous hand up to fix her glasses' position and biting her lip for a moment.

"I apologize your highness-" She said, unprompted.

She looked at the door for a moment, a feeling of weight falling onto her shoulders, forgetting to stand straight during that short amount of time.

How would she explain this? She was being a handful, and although she'd forgotten the humilliation she'd gone through a while back, the idea of it happening again was simply not pleasant. She took a deep breath and forced herself to smile.


"-Apologies, for the reaction. I am, a bit nervous about tomorrow's trip. I should probably sleep, yes, that will help my nerves a bit." She nodded to herself.


"Please, do say hello to sir Hearthrune for me." She dipped her head, remaining in position until he left, or spoke to her again.
 
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