they wanted darkness ; victorian homestuck au

- chapter 2 -

Eridan stepped into the mansion, being greeted by many maids. He gave them all a smile and asked how their day ways while he gave one of them his coat, setting his shopping basket down. He'd known these maids his entire life and had always treated them with utter respect, unlike his father. His father had treated them like peasants. He never talked to them, looked at them - he barely had even acknowledged their presence. Dualscar was quite cold hearted.
He shook himself out of thought and picked his basket up. He made his way up the stairs. As Eridan reached the top of the stairs, he could see his father exiting his office. His father glanced at him and nodded at him. "What do you have there, son?" Dualscar gestured towards his basket. Eridan grabbed the blanket out of the basket and held it up.
        "A hand woven fur blanket. Isn't it just beautiful, father?" He shook it out a bit and proceeded to fold it up again. Dualscar sighed as his son placed the blanket back into the basket. "What have I told you about buying things from the peasants, Eridan?" His father crossed his arms. "There is nothing wrong with doing it! This is an am-"
       "I do not care." He interrupted with a stern voice. Eridan immediately went quiet, he knew not to talk back to his father when he used that voice. "We are royalty, Eridan. I will not have such things in this house. Don't do it again." Dualscar gave him a firm glare and continued down the stares, past his son. Eridan huffed and picked up his basket, carrying it to his room. He set it down in his room and rolled onto his bed. As he stared at the canopy above his bed and thought. He thought about the boy who looked like art, he thought about how his father would never be accepting of him, or anyone else that is below them. He wished that it would just... stop. He wished that he could simply tell his father, 'this boy was nice, I want to befriend him.' Eridan almost chuckled at the thought of that. His father would literally shun him from the family.

Eridan, be the young lady.

The pressure of such an event is unbelievable. I feel like everyone is staring at me, like a lone sheep in a pack of wolves. Not to mention the anxiety formed from all of the noble men at the event, wielding swords and standing tall in their armor. There is about 30 other women here, I presume that the noblemen spread the word to other villages. Most of the women in my village were terrified of this. They looked at me in awe when I told them I would be attending, some of them didn't even believe me. I'm dressed in my favorite dress, one that mother had sewn me before she has fallen ill. Sewn from fine fabric that she had found at the market. It was a dark green shade and had no patterns, with sleeves and a collar. Though the corset under the dress was quite uncomfortable. I could feel the cold metal of my pendant on my neck. It was a silver pendant with a purple gem in the middle, I had found it in the dirt when out with my smaller sister one day. I had a feeling that it was some sort of luck charm, so I brought it along in hopes it will bring luck. I pray to the all mighty that it does.
        All of us were standing in a large ballroom with enormous windows. People mingled with eachother, but most just kept to themselves. One of the guards slammed his cane onto the ground a couple of times, the loud sound echoing through the room.
        "Attention! Please form a line in the center of the room." He boomed across the room. We all scrambled towards the center of the room and formed a line. Hushed whispers were scattered across the line as the women stood, awaiting their fate. The doors to the side of us opened as the king walked through. The room fell silent as we all bowed our heads in respect, and the a knight spoke.
         "Good morning, all. We are gathered here today because king Makara, is looking for a maiden. He will inspect you and ask you questions in which you will answer. In the end, one woman shall be picked and the rest shall return to their homes." the guard glanced at us as he said this. 
        "Raise your heads." an unfamiliar voice spoke. It was bold.. quite loud. It was slightly rough, but in the best way. As I raised my head, I soon realized it was the king. I had only seen paintings of him before. His hair curled around itself, one side tucked behind his ear, the other side dangling. He looked completely royal. His eyes scanned the room, they were a whole different story. His eyes were deeper than the depths of the ocean. Green and filled with stories of war, rage and exhaustion, I feel like I could sit and stare into them for days.