In the Lap of Luxury

(ooc: December 13th. Open only to Lottie and Kuzco.)

"Boom, baby! Kuzco is back!"

Subtlety was never Kuzco's strong suit, but hey. After being in the war for as long as he had, he felt it was high time that he return home. He'd kicked the door to open it, as per usual, and he'd gotten the attention of the guards within in the process. Instead of reacting badly, though, the guards seemed relatively okay with their emperor's entrance. They were used to it by that point.

"All right, all right, I know I've been gone for a while but I'm back and I've got some requests. First, have the chef prepare a homecoming feast. Second, tell the servants to prepare my room and the most comfortable guest room. Finally... Meet my lovely lady companion."

Kuzco had entered the palace by that point so he could address the guards, and once he was finished speaking he motioned back to his companion. Well, he said companion but he did think of Lottie as more than a friend. He just hadn't ever said that much out loud. Now, though? Kuzco intended on getting her out of the war zone and into the lap of luxury so she could relax. Hopefully, this would be what she needed after the attack she, Chaos, and Myrtle had suffered ages ago. Kuzco would be lying if he said he hadn't noticed how Lottie had been behaving after the fact. He just hadn't known what to do about it. Now that he had access to his palace again, however, he felt like a bit of a vacation would do some good for the two of them.

A questioning sort of murmur passed among the guards after a bit. Kuzco had turned down every single bride that had been offered up to him before his eighteenth birthday, and now he was bringing home a lady? Someone they had never met? She had to be someone he liked a lot if he was bringing her home. Of course, his parents had died years ago so there would be no awkward meeting of the parents to worry about. Still, it did raise some eyebrows in surprise. Who was this girl Kuzco had brought back with him?

Lottie had kicked her habit.

Sort of.

The pain was still alive in her veins. And it wasn't to say she didn't have a vial in her bag. But she was trying her hardest to kick it.

The female tossed her head back as she looked up at the blasting sun. Her hair had gone frizzy and fluffy a while ago but still looked alright. She was wearing a slender dress and sandles. Kuzco had said she should dress for the heat. She hadn't realized HOW hot it was! She was practically panting as she moved up the stairs. She had the guards behind her pulling up the rear with her countless suitcases. Lottie also had a fan in her hand, waving away the sweat and the heat.

"Dear goodness, Kuzco! Slow down!" The trip had taken a mighty toll on the girl and she wanted to sit a spell. "All right, all right, I know I've been gone for a while but I'm back and I've got some requests. First, have the chef prepare a homecoming feast. Second, tell the servants to prepare my room and the most comfortable guest room. Finally... Meet my lovely lady companion."

"Com...panion?" She gasped, hand fluttering to her heart, a smile on her face. She waved. "Hello," she said shyly. She sighed. "Kuzco, darlin' you can't tell me this whole place...is yours!"

With Lottie having finally caught up with him, he felt safe enough in introducing her to the guards.

"Everyone, this is Lottie. Lottie, these are the palace guards. Don't worry, they're good people. They won't hurt you or anyone else unless I give the word," Kuzco said.

Once the guards actually did take notice of Lottie, they did have to admit to themselves that she wasn't too bad looking. They couldn't tell if she was royalty or not, but if Kuzco approved of her then that was good enough for them. For the moment, anyway. The one who had tried to get Kuzco to pick a bride so long ago might have said something, but he wasn't present and so no one cared to bring it up.

"Well, sure you're my companion! I mean, we're friends but saying 'friend' just doesn't sound quite right. Companion is fancier, right? Right. ...Hey. What are all of you guys standing around here for still? You have your orders, so go on. Scoot, scoot, scoot!" Kuzco said. The first part was directed at Lottie's question, while the second was directed to the guards after he'd realized they'd actually He wanted things to be perfect for a relaxing environment. After all, this was their getaway from the war in general. Did Nasira or any of the others know they were there? ...Sort of. Kuzco might have forgotten to mention it, but that was okay. It wasn't like he was super important to the war as a whole. They could take a break without anything going wrong.

With the guards going off to get things set up, Kuzco shook his head a little and chuckled softly. Man, it felt good to be in charge again. Being with the human villains had been rather constricting in that regard. It hadn't been so bad while he'd temporarily been a part of the hero army, but with Nasira and everybody else? It went without saying that it was constricting.

"Yeah... This is my home. The whole palace is all mine and while you're here, it's yours too. I mean, you're my guest. What kind of a host would I be if I didn't treat you good here," Kuzco said as he turned to face Lottie again.

"Come on, I can show you around. You're really gonna like this place."

"Well, sure you're my companion! I mean, we're friends but saying 'friend' just doesn't sound quite right. Companion is fancier, right?"

Lottie almost blushed, fanning the pink fan closer to her face. She was grinning from ear to ear. Fancier. friend. Well, she'd hope to change that from the llama prince here. She turned towards the gaurds. Kuzco was a true prince. Not that Naveen wasn't nice and kind and all that but Kuzco had power! He was more of what a prince was supposed to be in Lottie's mind. A man in charge with a whole castle at his every whim. She could have almost squealed with delight. But she'd save that for later.

She bounced to Kuzco's side, head dipped slightly as she tucked her hand in Kuzco's own. She did giggle a little before she nodded. "Show me around then," she said with a wave, "But lemmie ask you sumthin'. Do y'all have this heat t'deal with all the time? Why it's hotter than the devil's back here!"

Oh, Kuzco intended on changing his terminology. He just needed to find the right time to actually admit that maybe he thought of her as more than a friend. He found himself smiling, too, when she practically squeaked in delight. Truth be told, Kuzco loved seeing her happy. It was much better than seeing her in pain or miserable like she had been shortly after that attack so long ago. No matter, though. They had come to his palace to relax, and that was what he intended on doing.

It didn't take long for him to nod a little as well before finally starting to lead the way. The palace was huge, and they had a lot of ground to cover because of it, so it was best they get started. The question that followed regarding the heat, however, did kind of catch Kuzco off guard. He had grown up in this land, obviously, so he didn't really get bothered by the heat too often. Lottie, on the other hand, must have thought it was a big change. That much was obvious from her comment.

"Well, yeah. It's not like it's gonna start snowing or anything, but that's what servants are for. They'll keep us cool if I ask them to. Or, if you wanted, we could head over to my summer place after the tour and cool off there," Kuzco suggested. He didn't think Pacha would mind too much if he dropped in, assuming the village chief was even there, so it wouldn't be a problem. At least, Kuzco hoped it wouldn't be a problem. But he'd get to that later. The tour came first.

"Oooooh. Summer place?! Kuzco, oh my!"

Charlotte was very impressed by the surroundings. A less shallow woman than she would be impressed by the history and architecture. Lottie was impressed by the whole package. Not to say she wasn't shocked. It was beautiful around; a castle, kingdom, whatever of epic proportions. it made her forget all about the pain, all about the attack and the pink-red scars on her belly and chest. Now it was all about her, relaxing and spending time with this king who's tan hand was wrapped in her pale one. She had another spaz attack as she passed a few doors in the palace.

Heat was forgotten for the moment. Well, the heat on the air. The red color in her cheeks was still buzzing there.

"Well! Show me around then! I'm dyin' to see the whole palace! I imagine that'd take days though, huh?" She giggled.

Oh yeah. He'd keep layering and layering all the things there were to eventually see if he had to, but Kuzco could tell she was eager to get a move on and he would do just that. He nodded a little, still smiling at how happy she seemed, and motioned for her to follow him.

"Right this way, my lady," Kuzco said. He could already tell they'd be there a while, but it would give the servants an opportunity to prepare the meal and their rooms. Everything was going to go perfectly, he was absolutely certain of it. Now, though, the tour awaited them. He started to move the two of them toward a large room, the throne room, and gave a subtle shake of his head as he thought about the last time he was there. It felt like it had been an eternity ago since he sat in that throne of his.

"First, we've got the throne room. This is where I have meetings with representatives of the village, they come seeking audiences with me about crops, taxes... Fun stuff like that," Kuzco said. Of course, 'fun' was debatable. Dealing with the villagers had never been one of Kuzco's favorite aspects of his emperor-dom, but it was necessary. He certainly gave the villagers more respect than he had prior to his adventure with Pacha.

"That's the throne, way up there on the top of that staircase thing. It's pretty comfortable, can't complain, and, big shocker, that's where I sit when these meetings go on and stuff."

He realized there wasn't a second throne. Prior to his stepping up to rule, there had to have been two at one point. His parents must have needed a second one so they both could rule. What happened to the other one? Maybe it had been tossed out? He didn't really know.

Lottie followed behind the emperor, head lifting as she looked about. The vases, the beautiful tapestries. It was quite lovely to look at. She entered the throne room and listened to him speak. She shrugged. She supposed that was the boring part of being a Prince. She wondered; if she became a princess would she have to do stuff like that too? Or could she just lounge around and be waited on hand a foot? The last one was the obvious preference for the girl. She nodded as Kuzco pointed out the throne. A wide grin appeared on her face.

In a flash Charlotte was off.

It was like she hadn't walked at all. She bounced towards the staircase and up the stairs in a flash. She walked towards the throne with her grin parted slightly. It had been her DREAM to meet a prince and see a real live throne. Now she was here.

And she wasn't really sure what to do with it.

Annnnd... He saw right where she was headed for.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait for me, Lottie!" Kuzco called after her. One advantage to knowing the place as well as he did, Kuzco didn't have to worry about what might happen if he ran up the stairs. He'd been carried up those stairs time and time again before his whirlwind adventure with Pacha, but in the past he had run up them. Now he had to, as Lottie was... Well, he guessed she was eager to see the throne up close and personal. But that was his throne! Kuzco couldn't just...

...Or could he? Lottie was his friend, wasn't she? Surely he could bend the rules this one time and let her sit on his throne if she really wanted to, right? He slowed his step as he made his way up the stairs, considering his options all the while, and finally seemed to come to his conclusion.

Kuzco came up behind Lottie and stopped so he could see both her and the throne. She really would look good sitting on it, he decided.

"Hey, Lottie? If you want... I mean, you could see how it feels to sit on it. Only if you wanted to, I mean," Kuzco said. Lottie wasn't just anyone, after all. She was his friend. Friends got special privileges that the common folk didn't. With that reasoning in mind, Kuzco settled himself into accepting the words he'd spoken. Moreover, he accepted the idea of Lottie actually breaking his rule of no one sitting on his throne but him.