At Henrietta's apology for her monarch's absence, Ælirn simply smiled and waved it off, "Oh, it's no trouble. Monarchs have obligations of their own; to be perfectly honest I did not expect as many to show up here personally as did. And I would be absolutely honoured to attend the expo; I believe my Aunt Kallax would be very interested to attend as well." And when offered the book as gift Ælirn gingerly took it from Henrietta, carefully turning the pages as she slowly looked through the book, "I will have to thank King David at the Expo; it is a lovely gift. I look forward to having a chance to read it."
Young Ælirn wasn't entirely certain of what to make of the Cabbagelandiet leader; she knew of the nation and of how backwards and strange it was, of course. But knowing and seeing are two very different things; and that wasn't even getting into the woman metaphorically hanging off of him. But Ælirn was nothing if not polite, and when Brassicus introduced himself he received a respectful nod in return. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Grand Preacher," she said, as a servant approached and took the wodden box for her, "And thank you for the gift; I am sure they will be a... lovely addition to the garden."
When Orion offered his hand, Ælirn simply stared at it for a few moments before looking up and smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry, but there are certain, uh, purification rituals and such before the enthronement, like..."
"The Crown Princess is not permitted to come into physical contact with any man for 24 hours before her enthronement as Empress," Llyri interjected, explaining much more succinctly than Ælirn would have.
The Crown Princess nodded her head, "Yes, that." And as a servant took the offered gift, "And I thank you for such a gift; I am sure it will taste lovely."
As Beatrice made her way forward and spoke Ælirn was truly glad she had taken the time to visit her mother, as otherwise she would've likely had a rather undignified reaction to Beatrice's mention of her passing. Ælirn takes the piece of paper, her eyes still growing wet, "I truly appreciate this, your Majesty. Although my mother is still a wonderful listener." She stuffs Beatrice's number into her pocket, as she is offered the bottle of mead. "This is a lovely gift, and I am sure it tastes just as lovely," Ælirn smiles rather gingerly, "It's a pity I don't drink." Then as Beatrice continued Ælirn face grew steadily more red and flustered, when she finished Ælirn stammered out a respond, "I, uh, I... Thank you this is all very appreciated."
By the time Peter was introduced she had already regained much of her composure; though it was unfortunate that the colour had yet to drain from her face. "I would love to visit Achkaerin," she smiled, "And despite my Empire's lovely climate, I am not necessarily a complete stranger to the cold." Her gaze turned northwards to the great mountains that, while many miles away, could still be easily seen.
After the various delegations were introduced and they made their greeting and presented their gifts, regent Llyri stepped forward once more. "Now everyone, if you would please," she gestures and a number of servants step forward, "You will be shown to your rooms in the guest wing, and once you have settled in you will be shown to throne room where there will be refreshments, entertainment, and a proper place for socialization."
"And afterwards, I would be more than happy to have private conversations with each of you," Ælirn says, "It will be nice to get to know all of you."
As the delgegations would make their way inside, Ælirn and Llyri spoke in hushed tones in their native tongue. "You're doing wonderfully, Ælirn," said Llyri, her voice noticeably softer than when she was addressing the foreign delegates.
"Please kill me before it's over," Ælirn said, "Most of them seem lovely enough, but I feel like I'm going to be violently ill."
"It's just nerves."
"I am aware Aunt; doesn't make the feeling any less real," the soon-to-be-Empress sighs, "Well at least with the fasting I won't have to eat anything."
Llyri smiles as she puts a hand on her niece's shoulder, "I am sure you will do wonderfully. You are one of the sweetest, strongest women I know."
Ælirn sighs again, "Yeah, I know. And if I'm to be Empress I'll have to deal with it eventually."
"It gets easier," Llyri says, comforting her, "It gets much easier."
------
The rooms the visitors are shown to are extravagantly decorated, with those delegations with more than a single person who are not couple being given enough rooms. There are enough rooms that no delegation need be directly adjacent to another, and even so any potentially issues are kept away from one another; Brassicus and Alys' room is on the opposite side of the guest wing as Empress Beatrice's, for example. There are servants to unpack anything the visitors may have brought with them, leaving them free to get a look at their opulent surroundings or prepare for the coming event. Whatever strikes their fancy.
