Nolan should have been working with his family, or visiting the people to keep the peace and keep up appearances after the incident with the manticore’s– but he hadn’t been at the jousting tournament; he hadn’t experienced the same hell everyone else was still reeling from. So, as per usual, he found himself in one of Valtolia’s many taverns (though this time he wasn’t in some kind of disguise.) drinking the night away; and it was easy to do when everyone wanted to buy him a drink just so they could pretend to be in the Prince’s good graces.
You’d think, with most of the Kingdom’s people being so worried in the wake of the attack that no one would have the mentality to drink and be merry– yet the tavern Nolan was in was rowdier than ever. People were screaming and cheering, hooking arms around shoulders, and drinking as if they had something worth celebrating. It was… refreshing, honestly. Slipping away from the personal guard that had come to keep an eye on him, Nolan lost himself in the tangle of strangers hands and constantly pouring alcohol. For a moment, everyone was having the time of their lives. Then, in the blink of an eye, someone’s elbow swung out and connected with Nolan’s mouth; causing his lip to bust open against his teeth as he stumbled back and fell onto his knees before the bar behind him– and everyone froze as their attention shifted down to Nolan. The tension in the air was so thick the Prince felt like he was being suffocated as he lifted his hand to his now bleeding lip.
Rather than staying on the floor, he shook his shoulders and relaxed himself as he rose back onto his feet. He knew it was an accident, but all his years of fighting– both publicly for sport, and behind everyone’s back in secrecy– had his body ready to retaliate. This wasn’t a fight though. This was just some drunken stumble. With a smile, that earned a wince as his cut lip moved, he waved off the silence as if people shouldn’t be worried about him at all. “I wish I was having as much fun as you are,” he teased, a soft but forced laugh on his breath as he cupped the man that had hit him on the shoulder. “What do you say you help the barkeep make everyone another round so we can all try to catch up with you.” Once that was out of the way, and people realized he wasn’t mad, the happy chaos ensued once more. Leaning up against the bar, Nolan dabbed at his lip again when the shadow of someone moving to stand beside him fell over him. “I’m fine, really. You don’t need to worry about me– but if you really want too, then you could get me another drink?”
Louis was still resting, and he’d managed to convince Sylvain to take some time off for himself and to get away from his bedside. Despite not wanting to he was eventually ordered to do so, and so the Gentleman in Waiting found himself in a tavern, he wasn’t drinking really, he just wanted to get out of the castle for a bit as he hadn’t since the attack. He was far too busy looking over the prince and making sure he could do whatever he could for Louis to ease the pain, or simply make things easier on him at the moment. There was a commotion of some sort and Sylvain thought there was going to be a fight when he realized it was just an accident only to notice Prince Nolan, one of Louis’ brothers in the tavern. Grinning, he approached only to hear the other address him,
“And what kind of gentleman in waiting would I be to your brother if he knew I was buying drinks for his brothers, and getting them drunk? I would reckon not a very good one.”