“There is never an outage of wine,” The woman called out, picking up the pitcher and pouring the pure red wine into her glass so that it was full. “I DO not know how one can travel for months on end. “ Valentina huffed a gentle sigh as she turned her attention back to her drink. Her eyes then linger to the window, watching as the white clouds pass by. It was a random thought really, as the day grew utterly boring and things to do became limited to satisfy the young woman.
“Neither. I was quite lucky in that sense.” Most people who arrived from Europe were. It was the rest of the world that had the issue. Adjusting her skirts, she rested an elbow on the table. “How long did it take you to get here? Coming from Scotland surely it couldn’t have been too extended.”
esme smiles, scrunching her button of a nose as she giggles. “i have. since the voyage here. which, admittedly, was not nearly as far as the trip for some.” she nods. “my name is …” a hesitation, almost easy to miss, “esme.” the name feels new and welcome on her tongue. “it’s almost done. i intend to give it to my oldest sister.”
“That’s quite lucky for you then.” Valentina just caught the hesitation. It was barely noticable and could quite easily be brushed off as if it were nothing. Leaning over, she took a look at the younger woman’s work. “It’s beautiful, I’m sure she’d love it.”
“corsets ?” much like a curious dog, hyunjin titled his head to question. he hadn’t been educated on women’s attire in the western courts, and outright refused to wear any of the western-styled clothing, so he was mostly oblivious to their terms. the prince himself was dressed in his blue gonryongpo, the heaviness of his gakdae weighing around his waist, with silk pants and another layer of plain white clothing underneath. so, he could at least understand her complaint about the layers. “winters in my country are quite similar, seeing the snowfall is always a joy to watch whilst staying warm. we would very well melt away if we did such a thing now.”
“It’s an undergarment, to shape the body in a preferred way.” Valentina had been wearing one everyday since she was a child. However, she had not worn one in such heat as this. It was a new and unpleasant experience. Despite her discomfort, his words made her laugh. “That we would. I doubt that wouldn’t cause issues, if the two of us simply melted away and disappeared.” Putting most of her weight on one leg, she let her stance relax. “Perhaps we’ll be here long enough to see it get cold.” What exactly would happen after all of this? WOuld she even be able to go back to Austria?
summer days were both a blessing and curse, for there was always a thin line between being comfortable or uncomfortable. today was paticularly uncomfortable in the stuffy castle, leading the crown prince outside to a veranda and a few staff in tow. he’d requested ice water and fruits, perfect for dining, to cool off in the miserable heat. “is it always this humid here ?” hyunjin mused aloud, in his accented english, while wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. “i feel as though i will melt…weather such as this has me missing joseon.” a hint of laughter was present in his words, he knew full well that returning to his home country would not be possible for quite some time.
“I have found it to be so. Consider yourself lucky without a corset and layers of skirts.” While she aware that she no longer needed to look like she did back in Austria, she kept up with it anyway. It gave her a sense of normalcy, to be dressing just as she had for the past twenty years. Even if nothing was the same and nothing would be the same ever again. “I miss the cold, being able to wrap myself up and sit infront of a fire. Such a thing would be almost a death wish here, I believe.”
esme embroiders the delicate cloth, nimble hands moving needle and thread with grace and ease. the moroccan princess is excited to be in italy. she’s never left the palace walls before, never experienced life outside it’s walls. and yet, here she is. seemingly worlds apart in this strange land. she doesn’t mind it. she sings to herself, a simple little french tune her mother taught to her when she was younger. she smiles at a passerby, waving shyly at them, “come sit with me.” she all but begs, desperate for company.
Valentina wandered a lot. She didn’t like staying in her room. It didn’t feel right here. Without the Queen. Her hours had spent constantly in the company of the other woman and now they were without. It felt like some cruel nightmare in a place of peace. So saying no when asked to sit with someone, even someone she didn’t know, seemed a ridiculous thing to do. Small smile on her lips, she made her way over and sat down, gathering her skirts a little. “Have you been working on that for long?”
“Yes, very… it is a wonder anyone can get anything done here. It is nearly catatonic.” Eric had found himself snoozing off in one of the palaces many charming gardens. He was embarrassed when one of the gardeners had gently nudged him awake, afraid he had succumbed to an illness. “Really?” he laughed, “my sisters were absolute monsters with a snowball. It will be shocking to me if my brothers and I produce any heirs…” He cleared his throat, smiling. “They had excellent aims to incapacitate a man, you see.”
“Maybe that’s how all the issues shall be solved. Everyone’ll be so calm and just agree to leave it all.” Valentina’s lips turned up into a smile. It was only her fairly reserved upbringing that stopped her from bursting out into proper laughter. “I hope for your sake that their ability wasn’t as good as you remember it.”
“I am told the weather is always this balmy,” Eric said quietly, gaze looking out over the large second story balcony and out to the ocean, which could be heard breaking upon the cliffs below. “I think I would like this all year round… but as a child, I enjoyed the cold Norwegian winters. A child should be able to sled and ice-skate.”
“It’s almost calming, isn’t it?” Valentina smiled a little, gaze turning from him back out to the ocean. How could the world look so calm when it was in such turmoil? “I always liked building the snowmen, and the snowball fights. Not that I ever won them.” Unless her brother let her win, of course.
my intro is out and i’m honestly so excited to be here. while i’m filling out the character sheet, hit me up for some plotting! or like this and i’ll come to you!
( stana katic, she/her, female ) HEAR YE, HEAR YE! Allow me to introduce VALENTINA ACHAZ of AUSTRIA. The 40 year old BARONESS is known to be ADAPTABLE and PASSIONATE, but rumors about court claim SHE can be SECRETIVE and UNFORGIVING when crossed. Only time will tell where their interests belong.
Valentina’s family was a rich one. Not quite nobility, they lived in Zadar, travelling to attend when needed. She was the extra, the expendable child. Her brother’s six years older than her and being both male and firstborn, got the most attention out of the two. Not that that was necessarily a good thing. The pair were as thick as thieves, even despite the age difference.
She had very different relationships with both her parents. Her father was warm like a home fire and her mother, the opposite. Unfortunately, her father grew ill once she reached her teen years, which made it easy for her mother who to force the idea of marrying her off to an Austrian baron when she hit eighteen. The day she was sent away to be a stranger’s wife was the last time she saw her family. Her mother, she couldn’t have cared less. Her father and brother however, they were different. Letters were swapped between the siblings, however after the announcement of her father’s passing four years later, they stopped.
Of all the types of husbands she could have had, Valentina knew she was lucky with hers. Ten years older then she, he had wanted a companion. He was kind and warm like her father, with a sharp wit and a bubbling laugh. A few months into the marriage, Valentina’s walls were dropped and the pair became close.
It was then he revealed his sexuality to his wife. This revelation and her acceptance of it caused them to grow even closer. They weren’t in love, but there was no one else in the world they loved more than each other.
Other than their son. He still needed an heir so they did what they do and their little boy was born in the spring of 1635. He had brown eyes like his mother and the start of a shaggy black mop like his father.
The following summer, Valentina was appointed the position of the future Queen of Austria’s lady in waiting. Her husband had pulled some strings as the role also meant a higher quality of care for their son.
For fourteen years, things were perfect. Valentina and the now Queen were as close as sisters and while balancing her role with her family was difficult, it was manageable. The Queen always had to come first. However, the bubble was popped on the day father and son went on a hunting trip together. The pair were close and it was one of the few activities Valentina could not find a love for.
The pair were ambushed by bandits as far as anyone knows. The Baron was a skilled fighter and their boy was learning but that was no match for the number of men. He only said no to guards so he could spend some quality time alone with his son. No one thought this would happen.
After losing bother her husband and her child, Valentina’s only solace was with the Queen and the rest of the royal family. That, and her books of course.
Things were turned upside down again when the Queen and her daughters were accused of the witchcraft causing the world’s current devastation. Everyone tried their best to protect them, yet the palace was destroyed and the body of the Queen was found and it almost felt like war.
Now, in Sardinia, she is struggling to find her place, struggling through the grieving of a woman she called family. Yet, there is hope and she is holding onto it for all it’s worth.
A smile spreads across her face as she looks down at the book herself, shutting it and running her fingers gently across the intricate binding. The art put into binding but a single book is breathtaking to the princess; she adores large collections of books for both the words hidden within them and the sheer awe she often feels while thinking on the people who so carefully craft the bindings. “Oh, wonderful!” She keeps a hold on the book, looking up at the shelf and thinking for a moment, “Do they have your favorite in the collection, here?”
“I haven’t found it yet, but there is no shortage of books here. So perhaps, I’ll be lucky.” Valentina’s own copy was left behind in the rush to get out of the country. As the Queen’s Lady in Waiting, it wasn’t to far fetched to think their anger wouldn’t have turned to her. Forcing that thought from her mind, she turned her attention back to the books and the wonders they held. She rose her tiptoes and plucked a book out from one of the to shelves. “This one’s older than you, but I think you’d enjoy it. His childhood was always my favourite part.”
“Do you like this one?” This one is a book Marie-Madeleine pages through carefully, eyes focused on the fluttering pages rather than Valentina. “I do not think I’ve ever heard of it.” Curiosity is clear in her voice and in the look on her face, head canted just slightly to one side as she pauses on the first page of the text to scan over the words inked within. @avlentina
Valentina looked up from the book she’d been flipping through and turned her attention to the young blonde beside her. Placing her book gently back on the shelf, she tilted her head to read the title. “That one came out around a decade ago. Haven’t read it since then but from what I remember, I quite enjoyed it.” It wasn’t the older woman’s first time being placed in an unknown country, but the unfamiliarity of it all was still quite unsettling. So it was nice, finding someone as else so passionate with something she was so familiar with.
