... announcing her royal highness, ( ‘nuan’ samrongthamma mahidol ), the ( 24 ) year old ( princess ) of ( thailand ). she is often confused with ( nychaa nuttanicha ). some say that she is ( overly sensitive & passive ), but she is actually ( kind & empathetic ).
i’m very very excited to introduce to you all the sweetheart that is princess nuan !! she’s quiteee a change from my other characters which means opportunities for new types of interactions ^^ under the cut is some more info about her, and anyone who likes this post can expect me shortly to plot !
in a family of loud personalities, constant schemes, and greed for power, nuan is easily forgettable. quiet and shy, she is often relegated to the background ﹔ she prefers this, however, uncomfortable with the ruthlessness that others seem to wield at a moment’s notice.
her mother is the second of nine total wives married by king rama xi, and the only one to have three children ( all daughters ). nuan is the middle child, not smart enough to have a chance at power nor sociable enough to charm the court. even among all the thai princesses she is in the middle, fifth out of thirteen total sisters. all this meant that nuan was a consistent figure at the palace but nothing more — unnoticed by her father, second or even third choice to her mother, distant from her half sisters, and not useful to the extended relatives seeking for influence. despite all this, she was a fairly happy child, untouched by the change in status and location that several of her sisters faced.
when her mother realized that she was basically useless as an active political instrument, nuan began learning cultural activities in an effort to boost the family’s reputation. quietly obedient, she did as she was instructed, playing traditional instruments and dancing traditional styles. although none of these were started because she actually wanted to, she worked hard and grew to enjoy them. the only pastime which she chose was riding, and it quickly became a solace as well as a joy, which is still the case today.
the other attempt to use nuan begins when she is a teenager. her schedule suddenly fills with charity meetings and appearances at non-profit organizations, all of which are attended by paparazzi who aim for supposedly impromptu shots of the princess. the actual work is not a problem, as she likes working to help people, but the publicity is dreaded. as the years pass, the number of photoshoots thankfully lessens, though her efforts with those organizations do not.
life is simple and quiet — until her father dies in late 2020. her uncle takes the throne, but there the male line ends, and all of the former king’s wives are suddenly met with the possibility that their daughter might be the first queen of thailand. everyone seems to jump into motion at once, and with schemes and plots abounding, nuan is not allowed to stay on the sidelines. an engagement is finalized to increase her older sister’s chances, completely ignoring nuan’s opinion or even the chance to meet her future husband. there are still more plans to be fulfilled, but nuan would much prefer to be ignored in this situation as she had been in years past.
when the news of the earthquake reached her, nuan was very concerned — now that the program has moved to japan, she is using the proximity as an excuse to join, both to meet other royals and ( hopefully ) reunite with one of her estranged sisters.
Nuan had purposefully postponed arriving in Japan until after everyone else was supposed to, and attempted to get up to her apartment as quickly as possible to avoid the chaos ﹔ soon enough, however, hunger prompted her to venture back down to the main foyer. The hubbub and rush of people proved to be just as overwhelming as she had feared, but her desire to leave was complicated by the fact that she had no idea where her actual destination might be. A moment to muster up her courage, then: “Excuse me —” her voice was soft, and could quite possibly have gone unnoticed had she not moved to stand in front of the person near her. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I seem to have gotten a bit lost. Do you happen to know where a main eating area would be? Or if there even is one?”
“ oh ! you must be araya’s sister, right ? ” her eyes immediately brighten at the sight of the other girl. her name is lost on her, but the face did look familiar to the ones lotte had shown her when she had gotten to tokyo. what a surprise to know that one of araya’s sisters would be joining them ! it was like a family reunion. “ any family of araya’s is family to me ! ” or quite literally, they were related somehow, right ? her arms immediately wind around the other girl before stepping back, “ oh, i’m sorry. that was rather pushy of me, i was just excited to have another cousin around. ”
“I – yes, I am one of Araya's sisters.” Nuan is more than a bit confused as to who the other girl is, though the furrow in her brow loosens a moment later. “You must be a relative on her mother's side.” A side of the family which she does not have much prior knowledge about ﹔ banished family members are an unofficially forbidden subject in the palace. A hug is one of the last things she expects to bring her out of such thoughts — to say that it is different from the formality of the Thai court is an understatement — but Nuan barely has a chance to register what is going on before she is released. “It's fine. I was just startled, is all.” Their actual connection is a bit murky, but that does not seem to bother the other girl, and a cautious smile grows. “That’s a kind thing to say, thank you. I hope we will be able to get to know each other during our time here.”
the timing isn’t exactly ideal. the exhaustion is evident on her features and her lack of upkeep is probably not making this first impression any better. “ yeah — it’s nice to meet you too, ” speechless as she stares with wide eyes. “ sorry, i — i was just, i was with my cousin, i hope you weren’t waiting too long. ” for as long as she could remember, all she wanted was to meet her estranged sisters, but with everything going on, it didn’t feel right to be excited about it. “ oh, it’s all good, ” quickly unlocking the door, opening it for the both of them, “ did you want to come in? ”
“No, I just got here. To your room, that is. But also to the program.” It is times like this that she wishes she had even some of her mother’s eloquence ﹔ the woman had spent years charming Nuan’s father, and here she is, putting her foot in her mouth right from the start. The other’s question helps with some of the worry, however, and she nods ( hopefully not in an overly enthusiastic way ) then steps through the door. “I’d like that, if it’s okay. But I don’t mean to intrude if you’re busy — something about your cousin, you said?”
it’s only been a few days since belle arrived to tokyo. taking care of her cousin was her only priority, she barely had any time for herself. she only enters her own apartment when seeking out a change of clothes. boxes were and suitcases were left untouched. her place was left unfurnished which is unlike araya to leave such a task unattended. as she steps out of the elevator, she spots someone standing in front of her door. she adjusts her baseball cap incase it’s someone she wants to avoid, hoping she’ll be able to walk by undetected and stand around the corner until they leave. “ uh — ” she’s dumbfounded by the sudden greeting, did she just speak to her… in thai? she takes a closer look at the girl, eyes widening. “ h-hi, ” slowly removing her hat. “ nuan, right? ”
Nuan had fully expected the other person to ignore her greeting and be on their way, so even the interaction is a surprise. As the cap is removed, however, Nuan’s eyes widen even further — she had, of course, seen pictures of her half sister, but the reality is quite different. None of them had shown her quite this unkempt, for one. “Araya?” An even closer look confirms the other’s identity, and suddenly Nuan is at a loss. Should she hug her? But that would be like hugging a stranger. A handshake? Much too formal for sisters. Unable to decide, her hands stay at her side, clenching a few times as she tries to decide what on earth to do with them. “It’s nice to see you. Or, to meet you, I guess.” Not the most promising beginning. Nuan stays still for another moment, then realizes where she is standing and quickly steps away. “I’m in front of your door, aren’t I? And you probably want to go in. Sorry.”
Finding out where her sister’s rooms was simultaneously easier and more difficult than Nuan had expected ﹔ after what had felt like an hour of talking to people, a staff member somehow knew exactly which apartment the Thai princess was living in. From that point, it only takes a few minutes before she is standing in front of the door, anticipation and nervousness battling at the prospect of meeting Araya ( for the first time in either of their lives ). A deep breath, one knock, then she waits a moment — nothing. Another knock, slightly louder this time, but still nothing. Nuan looks around, biting her lip and gaze darting around in hopes of finding out what to do, only to see a figure walking towards her. “สวัสดี ค่ะ — ” beginning in Thai before remembering where she is “— I mean, hello.”
