Ruby
Ruby, to say the least, was not having a great day. She had arrived in the country of Lanaria by boat that morning, then rode in a carriage to the castle. The carriage part was cool, Ruby had read about them but she didn't have any in her home country of Kutai. The getting-out-of-the-carriage part and what followed was what made her day so crappy.
She wasn't expecting the Lanarian people to know even the smallest thing about her culture so she had tried to dress in an outfit that was closer to their own fashion, but it clearly was still too different. A man that looked to be a servant of some sort was standing outside of the castle waiting for her when she had arrived. He had taken one look at her, then hastily dragged her inside and into a room, turned, and ran back out. The room seemed to be some sort of greeting room, with many couches and a short table. Ruby thought the decoration was quite silly looking, with an obnoxious mixture of bright colors, dark wood, and dyed animal fur.
Ruby assumed she was supposed to stay in this room, so she busied herself with trying to figure out what about her had caused the man to have such a reaction. She wore a navy blue top that came close to her neck, but the bottom was cropped shorter. It had no sleeves, and was quite plain. Her bottoms were the same navy blue color but in a more sheer fabric. She wore loose pants that pulled tighter at her ankles, a long slit on either side of both legs. A golden belt held a thin skirt that was split open in the front on top of it, hiding any leg that showed through the pants. Her curly hair fell past her shoulders, and there were small ornaments of gold and gems braided into it. A thin gold chain wrapped around her upper left arm, and another adorned her right ankle. She wore no shoes because she didn't own any, shoes being quite uncommon in Kutai.
Suddenly a group of female servants rushed in with a blur of bright red fabric. Ruby took off her pants, skirt, and top at their prompting. They tried to get her to take off her jewelry and the white wrap around her chest as well, but that was where Ruby drew the line. Jewelry was very important in her culture, and the wrap would only come all the way off in private. If what the maids wore, plain but brightly colored dresses that hung loosely save for a tie at their waist, was anything to go by, they would all be covered anyway. Ruby ended up in a bright red dress of the same style and a hood that covered her hair. They put her in shoes as well, but those were discreetly discarded not long after. The dress was long on her though, so nobody would be able to see her feet.
By the time Ruby made it out of that room, she was fed up with the people. The negotiations of her mother, the queen of Kutai, had been the only reason the Lanarians allowed Ruby in their country, but she hoped they would do at least a little more to learn about her country. No Kutairians had ever been in Lanaria before, and the opposite was also true. The two countries were across a Sea and they had known about each other for as long as anyone could remember, but they hadn't actually interacted until Ruby's mother was elected. Lanarians had never had any interest in any countries other than their own, and had cut off nearly all communication to Kutai. Lanaria was a patriarchal monarchy, while Kutai was a democracy. Long story short, in general the two disagreed with many things. However, Ruby would be lying if she said it was only Lanaria that made communication difficult until her mother was elected. Most of the people of Kutai saw Lanaria as a country full of people too stuck up for their own good. A huge, ornately carved door stood in front of Ruby, not doing much to discourage the stereotype, and she heard someone call it a "throne room". She wondered if it had actual thrones in it, a concept that seemed rather pretentious. The king and queen stood to greet her and the crown prince, who had already been standing, barely looked up. There were indeed two gaudy thrones at the head of the room, and a rich red carpet leading from the entrance to them. Ruby walked slowly, keeping her bare feet hidden and trying to mold her face into a pleasant smile. She knew her annoyance couldn't get in the way of this meeting, even if she wanted it to. She curtsied as she reached the thrones, hoping she did it somewhat correctly but not truly caring if it was "good enough" for the king and queen. Ruby noticed the crown prince was staring at the king's throne like it was both the best and worst thing in the world, but she ignored the strange expression to observe him more. His name was Philip if she was remembering correctly, and he was her age. He appeared quite handsome, with medium length golden hair that was half tied behind his head, a strong jaw, and round eyes. He was the only male Lanarian that Ruby had seen with longer hair so far, and she thought it suited him rather well. The color of his eyes was indistinguishable due to the distance and the fact that he was still staring at his father's throne.
Ruby grew worried when she realized that the crown prince, who would one day inherit the entire country, was infatuated with a glorified chair. He never looked up and Ruby never spoke, relieved that the introduction was over quickly. She wanted to get the horribly uncomfortable clothes that she had been put in off of her body then sleep for the rest of the day.
Unfortunately, as soon as she stepped out of the throne room she was met by a small army of servants, including a butler with an impressive mustache standing at the front of the group.
"You are sure to be weary from your travels Miss Ruby, please allow us to escort you to your room." The man with the mustache said, and his accent fell across his tongue in a way that couldn't have been natural. He seemed like he wanted to sound fancy, but the message didn't really get across. Ruby signaled for him to lead the way and grew increasingly unsettled as the horde of servants followed at her heels.———
1,132 words. Should I make the chapters longer than this or break them up into smaller segments like I've been doing? Also sorry for literally one line of dialogue, but I promise not all chapters will be like this.
The answer to last chapter's question was
B) Ruby
if it wasn't clear from this chapter.Question of the chapter:
What will Philip find most shocking about Ruby when they talk for the first time?
A) Her hair
B) Her voice/accent
C) Her height
D) Her personality
YOU ARE READING
Shoes are Stupid
RomanceTwo people from completely different countries. Two people with completely different cultures. Two people with completely different personalities. And what in the world could these two people have in common? They both think shoes are stupid.