Greetings, welcome to the--- [Kinley x Zel]

The castle during winter was spectacular to behold indeed. Wreaths and boughs of evergreens graced the walls of the castles with ribbons, bells, bobbles and candles everywhere to bring in that warmth that was lost in this season. It was one of the few times that made his magic useful; especially his magefire skill with the colors. Hues of warm red, green, blue, white, gold, and silver danced along the walls and halls. The colors mixed here and there revealing purple, orange, and everything in between. It was one of Zel's little gifts to the castle in the cold winters in the sky; the staff of the castle appreciated the gift greatly.

Today, however, he had just returned from a very tiresome informal meeting with a few of the lesser noble and staffings about the King's birthday party as well as the holy holiday of the Azrein. It had been tiresome so the man probably seemed rather weary. Then again, he was wearing comfortable clothes of brown pants, boots, tunic, and mussed hair. The only thing that probably showed of his rank was the metal pendant that hung at his chest. Barely had he finished stoking the fire in his receiving Chambers in the castle did the sound of someone knocking on door echo. Squinting at it, he stared at the door for a few moments, holding the wrought iron poker in his hand. Who could that be at this hour? Didn't they know he wasn't to be bothered after they practically drove him mad with their stupid concerns for the King's safety?

Wriggling his upper lip, thus moving his well trimmed beard of red slightly, he meandered over to the door with the poker over his left shoulder, thus letting soot get on his dark green winter vest. Opening the door he was rather surprised to see a well dressed woman standing there. Eyes wide with mild surprise, Zel opened the door completely and motioned her in. " Can I assist you, m'Lady? "

Was this another woman seeking something for pregnancy? Apparently it was all the rage thanks to the damned King's promiscuous behavior. The poker was deposited back on the rack and the screen of stained glass was pulled back in front of the dancing flames. The glass of greens, blues, frosted whites, and browns were done in a traditional spiral befitting the architecture and furnishings of the room. Large plush winged chairs were angled towards the fire with a tray of tea sitting on a table between the comfortable chairs. The alchemist motioned for the woman to sit as he went to fetch the practical thick mugs from his cupboard instead of the flimsy looking dainty china things that went with the tea pot set that was on display. " Do forgive me, but I really wasn't expecting any company aside from the absolutely boring and stupid planning for His Magiesty's upcoming celebration. Tea? Or Coffee? I can have someone even fetch some wine even. Or cider if you prefer. I'm afraid I have nothing really befitting a lady in my cupboard. " He gazed at her, quite amused at the woman's beauty...and the tightness of her corset.

No, he wasn't staring at her chest. That wasn't at all what he was doing. Zel frowned for a moment and set the bottle of cider and the two mugs on that small little end table before dashing to the attached suite muttering something about he'll be right back with something. Moments later he was bag with a rather large and bright red robe thing that one would immediatly recognize as an official robe. Best part about it is that it would hide the poor woman indecensy if she should chose to just relax and let her corset out a bit. " Here... You look horribly uncomfortable. I don't want you passing out. You can use that screen over there to release a bit of the tension. Honesly... beauty shouldn't cost you your breath. Bah.... "

When the alchemist greeted her at the door she was still awing and oohing at not only the shear size of the castle but how well decorated it was. Even back at her home it was never this well decorated. Then again, this was the King's castle, so it made sense that he would have everything done to extravagance. "Hello." She said kindly to the man. "I'll manage on my own." She replied, following behind him as he led them into another room that was more cozy and warm. Upon entering she found herself twirling around the room a bit in an attempt to take it all in. When she noticed the alchemist motioning for her to sit down she quickly walked over to the chair and sat down, loosening her shawl that had been covering her and protecting her from the cold.

"Tea will do just fine. And it's alright, I'm not the average lady." Kinley smiled and let out a light hearted laugh. It was after she had said that statement that she realized that he could take it out of context or simply think her to be something she wasn't. "Although, not in the way women nowadays flaunt themselves around." She added, trying desperately to make it clear she was not the type of woman to sleep with any male she came in contact with. In fact it was quite the opposite. Before Zel left the room to get the cloak Kinley had noticed him looking at something on her body out of the corner of her eye, thankfully for him she was to overwhelmed by everything to really react. When he did leave the room she did glance down at her chest and saw nothing that was out of place or stained. What was he staring at? She thought to herself, and then it dawned on her that he was looking at exactly what Ellis had wanted him to, her chest. Kinley's face instantly flushed with a light pink and a quite breath was sucked into her lungs. She felt mortified but at the same time almost proud of herself for him, of all people to notice and for a moment it gave her hope in the prospect of her mistresses plan working.

She had just managed to calm herself down when the alchemist returned with the large red coat in hand, telling her to take off her corset. At first she was shocked at his boldness and felt the need to question the man's character. Then when he finished his sentence she let out a breath of relief. Kinley would have slapped him hard with her shoe had he tried anything funny. "Thank you." Was her simple reply. Taking the cloak in her hand she stood up and turned her back to Zel, tossing it over her shoulders to obscure his view of her. She then walked over to the screen and stepped behind it and began to try and loosen her corset. As she stood their untying her top she felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment. "I usually don't like to wear corsets this tight, but my companion tied it today." She said, turning her head and body slightly so she could see Zel on one side of the screen, but still keeping herself well covered. "I find it hard to do most tasks in corsets as it is." Kinley smiled.

Sadly for her, her mistress had probably anticipated her trying to take the corset off in the carriage on her own before her arrival and knotted it in such a way that there was no chance Kinley could ever do it on her own. She felt as though she could pass out from the pure humility of the situation that was occurring. Why her? Why today? Why now? "I will kill you Ellis." She muttered under her breath. "Do you have a maid or some other kind of woman worker in the castle? Ellis my companion has. . . Well she has knotted this corset in such a way I can't untie it on my own." Kinley said with slight frustration lacing her words. "Other wise I'll have to stay in this dreadful thing and I share your fear of possibly passing out." As she waited for his response she rested her head up against the screen trying her best to gain back her confidence it dawned on her that maybe it wasn't that Ellis had wanted her to be unable to untie it before her arrival but rather that she was hoping someone else would untie it for her. This revelation sent both a shiver of fear and shock down her spine and to her feet. What was wrong with that woman? Didn't she know that Kinley had never had anyone untie her corset before other then her let alone a man? Kinley banged her head a bit to hard and loudly on the screen, almost knocking it over. That was it. She would return home tomorrow in shame and lock herself in her room until she died.

It took him but moments to realize that she was quite proper. Ah! His type of woman. Obviously this one the King hadn't tainted. He thanked the gods for but a few moments before he chuckled, politely mind you, when she was up like a shot and behind the changing screen to see if she couldn't give herself a few more inches to breathe. He was pouring the tea into the larger mugs, keeping his back to her as he wasn't really the type to stare as someone was changing, ( unless they had absolutely no shame... Stupid Azzy... ). " Corsets are an abomination. They constrict and --no offence to your Lady-- tend to be seen as a way to make the ladies far more daintier than they need to at the expense of health. I really don't see the need for them. to be so tight. Ladies passing out in the middle of Court is by far the most disruptive thing I've ever dealt with. "


He was about to go on and on on his rant against Corsets when her request and curse forced him to turn around. The bearded man blinked at the flushed face peeking out from the changing screen. " I.. Uh... I can ...see if there is any in the hall... " He didn't even bother to tell her to wait there because that would have been stupid. The woman was undressing herself, she wasn't going to just waltz from behind the screen and showcase herself off like some brainless tart! Speaking of tart, the cook was supposed to make him one of the brambleberry tarts from the preserves he brought back from his visit to the West. He shook his head and pulled in an elderly looking woman and politely explained the situation to her. How he got a pat on the head and a pinch on the cheek before the nice old lady bumbled off to help Kinley unknot her corset was beyond him.

With a clearing of his throat, he rubbed his hands together and inspected the dust free chair rail while he awaited the relieving of the tight corset of doom. " Well! We really cannot have you passing out in my chaimbers. That would put all sorts of gossip out there, but really they're probably already gossiping since someone actually came to see me. Usually they're all jumping over that hooligan brat that works too damn hard for himself. " Cursing? In front of a lady in waiting? Zel really didn't care. He was more embarrassed that he had the nice old lady in his room that reminded him of his grandmother. On a good day that is.

" Lady Kinley, was it? " he asked, offering out a warm cup of tea to her once that whole nasty situation was taken care of. Thanks to his Skill, it stayed warm long enough for a long chat. " I'm quite sure that your Companion, Lady Ellis seems to fancy herself a match maker? I'm so sorry for you. 'm sure that you've had some very interesting, " Zel frowned, his brow furrowing in thought to pull together the best word for it, then settled on just coming right out and saying it, " encounters with the less than savory noblemen? "

"You can not to begin to imagine just how much I hate these things. I would rather not wear one. But unfortunately a woman without a corset it usually called a lot of names, none of which I ever want to have near my name." She smiled. Zel was easy to talk to which helped make the situation feel less awkward and unbearable. When Zel left the room Kinley waited patiently for someone to come and help her. She felt pretty awful that she was taking someone away from their work for such a meaningless task, but then again maybe they might be the type to enjoy not doing their duties. She could only hope.

Upon Zel's return to the room the old woman went behind the curtain and helped her untie the corset. She offered to retie it a bit looser but Kinley shook her head. "I can do it." She said with a smile. The old woman nodded and lightly tapped her shoulder before leaving her to do what she needed to. When she was gone Kinley took off her corset and retied her top. She placed the corset down on a stool that was behind the screen and then walked out, her chest still as perky as ever, her waist a little bit larger, but still very slim. When she noticed the old woman was still in the room she walked over to Zel and whispered into his ear what she would have said outloud. "Based on your talk of corsets I thought it would be alright if I just took it off. I hope you don't mind." She stepped back and pressed her fingers against her sides as she smoothed them out, more to show that she was indeed not wearing one anymore. "I can put it back on--" Kinley said lowly enough for only him to hear

Her surprise was not hidden at his comment about them gossiping just due to the fact that she was in his room. "Do you not have women in your room often?" Could it be true that this man didn't lie with every woman that hiked up her skirt and opened her legs? She contemplated for a moment hugging him if it was indeed true. But she figured that probably wouldn't be that great of an idea. Especially since the old maid was watching them. Then again her mistress would be delighted that her plan had worked. "Are you more interested in having men in your room?" She asked, not meaning to sound mean or anything. In fact her voice sounded as though it was that of excitement.

Returning her gaze to Zel she nodded and laughed a little. "You have no idea. Men have this pompous air floating about them that makes them think that anything in a dress will lie in bed with them just because they whisper a few sweet words in their ears." Kinley said, now sitting down in the chair with her tea in hand. Kinley's free hand shot up to her mouth. "I'm sorry that was very inappropriate of me." She looked at the old maid out of the corner of her eye, noticing her body language had changed, probably to that of horror at what had just been said. "Ellis is supposed to be my charge, but she has become more like a mother. My whole life she has pushed me to learn every skill a woman can just in hopes of marrying me off to someone 'worthy' of me." Kinley added, doing air quotes when she said worthy. "Yes, Lady Kinley is fine." She replied. Curious to learn more about the alchemist she decided to ask a few questions of her own. She took a sip of her tea and then placed it on the table. "What about you? How did you come to know the King? Do you have a bond to one of the Azrein here? Do you have any hobbies? Would you be willing to show me some of the things you know? I've never met an alchemist before!" Kinley gushed, scooting forward in her seat. Sadly when she did so her knee bumped into the tea mug and caused it to fall on the rug.

"I AM SO SORRY!!!!!" She almost yelled as she dropped down onto her knees to pick up the mug and clean up the mess. She looked over at the old maid and quickly asked for a rag to clean up the mess she had made. "I feel so horrible I just destroyed it." Kinley raised her head to look up at Zel, who was much closer then before. Her eyes widened and she shot up to her feet instantly, brushing her skirt off for a moment. When she had taken a minute to calm her thoughts her head lowered to look at him once more, this time smiling. "Hi, I'm Lady Kinley. I'm a lady-in-waiting for Lady Ellis. Pleased to make your acquaintance." She did a curtsey and then began to laugh, hand pressed to her belly.

Zel had, during the whole releasing of the strings, busied himself with poking around his very organized knick-knacks on the shelves. Namely, he was suddenly extremely entranced with a globe of green glass that he had to blink a few times when the elderly servant was standing by the door looking as smug as a cat. An eyebrow rose and he nearly jumped out of his skin when a soft whisper purred into his ear about someone not wearing their undergarments. Thankfully his cheeks didn't turn the same color as his beard, but they did flush a little bit at that news. Honestly! He didn't want to know that someone wasn't wearing something! Though that didn't stop him from eyeing the changing screen suspiciously, or was it proudly.

Hah, people laughed at him when he installed it. Now who's laughing! Silly people.


Clearing his throat and absently dismissing the servant with a wave he smiled and nodded his head. " Ah? Er.... um. . . " He even scratched behind one of his ears as he thought of the best and most polite response he could muster, " Frankly, my dear, it isn't my call . If you wanted to run around in a bra and a thong, that would be your choice. Though in this weather, I'd be questioning your sanity more than your clothing choice. " He coughed and rubbed his hands together, pretending he didn't notice her hands dance across her body and the natural support her body still had.


Even more surprised when she asked him a very pointed question. " I do. I just don't entertain them the way His Majesty usually does. Its strictly business and mostly they are married or are with their angry mothers. " As he spoke, he gestured to a beautifully crafted crystal Karaf with a purple liquid floating about not but a third of the way full. He also had poured himself a cup of tea and was sipping on it when her next statement graced his ears. His eyes grew wide and his face turned quite a lovely color red while he spluttered and tried not to choke. MEN!? Really!!? He may not be that interested in sex at the moment, but to assume that he was batting for the other team was just plain.... Okay so she did have a point. " What!? No! I most certainly like women better. I just don't have time nor dare I dabble in that sort of act. I don't have time. And frankly, between you and me, most of the court ladies are nothing but whores. " he managed to splutter out eventually, though his voice held a bit of irritation. A tiny bit. It wasn't like she would really know. He wriggled his whiskers and raised an eyebrow and dared to take a sip of his drink before settling down in his own comfortable chair.... that he stole from Azreth's room as soon as the Alchemist had made a permanent settlement in the castle a few years ago.

Recovering from his near choking fit, Zel found himself utterly amused at the apt description of not only the courtly men, but of the women as well. The amusement sparkled in his eyes and he even smirked as he chuckled under his breath. " Oh, certainly none taken. Not in here anyways. Honestly, the way they are raised are nothing more than pompus peacocks that need to screw anything that moves. That just isn't healthy. The nobelfolk are too bored, elseways they would be a better governing and political body. Why else does the King step out for days at at time ? " Out of the corner of his eye he could see the Maid he had thought dismissed flush red and seem to be quite upset that there were vulgar words being swung left and right. Obviously someone must have paid her to stay in the room. He raised an eyebrow and was about to address this issue when Kinsley began talking again. Zel's attention fell upon her fully. The maid was back to being just an annoyance.


So full was his attention that he didn't really register the pause to ready the asault on his own personal life when the tea cup was set on the table. He could do nothing more than blink with his mouth agape, even moving his jaw a few times as he struggled to come up with the best response. Heck! He couldn't even remember half of her questions other than the later ones... " I . . . Um. . . have a few projects in the works at the moment. Nothing terribly interesting. Pocketable smoke bombs the size of beads as well as a Void hole for sneaking about, all at the behest of His ..... eh.. Its not really something I should be talking about. Its a little bit top secret and there are rather large unwanted ears in here. " His eyes narrowed and true annoyance, perhaps anger, flashed in those gentile eyes of his as he glanced at the Maid that now seemed to pretend to dust his .... coat rack? He grimmaced then smiled to the Lady sitting beside him, " But Azzy is practically my younger sibling. He is reckless, annoying, and foolhardy as any I would have ever known as I am an only son. " Not to mention , the King was probably the most important person in his life aside from his Grandmother and parents back in Nod. " I come from Nod. You know, the sleepy sheep village nestled in the western mountains? Its a very long story how I ended up here, and an even longer one if I include how I met His Magesty and his gentile and kind father. "

He mentally kicked himself when she accidentally knocked the cup from its resting place on the table. He should have pushed the cup aside and closer to the center, but he had been so eager to answer and learn about this one for some reason. . Zel, despite his looks, had fantastic reflexes that developed from trying to get killed almost any time he did field work or play with explosives ( which .... everything an Alchemist touches could explode if you really think about it.) . He hadn't grabbed her, but his hand was poised to try to grab the cup that was now shattered on the floor. He blinked, tilted his head to the side, and huffed in amusement. " Well, no harm.. The carpet was too clean anyways. Please don't fret over it. It's just tea.........? "


Zel soon found himself staring, as he was sitting still, at the woman who now introduced herself as Lady Kinsley, attendant of Ellis ( whom he cound't stand one bit because of .... well they didn't see eye to eye). His head tilted to the side, an eyebrow raised, and he took another sip of tea. Honestly.... he was kinda done with protocol. So he held out his free hand to her and grinned cheesily, ' Hi. I'm His Esteemed Grace, Crown Alchemist of the Floating Isle, Grand Master Zel Althos. Call me Zell or Zee if it pleases you, Lady Kinsley. Frankly, I don't give a damn about formality as it mucks in the way of getting things done. Would you like me to get the cook to send up something less dainty? I hear his wife is making some pot pies for tonight's meal.... ? Your Lady has wonderful taste in her attendants. " "