[Veril]
In the days that followed the move from the silversmith's shop to Lord Solin's estate on the outskirts of the city, the Lady Vivian and her assistant the lovely Yvonna Heline had occasion to take a carriage into the middle city to make final payments on some of the larger purchases for Lord Solin. The brief excursions were a welcome interruption in the schedule Lanaera had set for the c'hanati and a'dalin in the household, one in which every waking moment was spent preparing the marble floor of the ballroom for the mosaic. And, privately, Veril wondered whether Lanaera sometimes sought excuses to send the others away so she could ponder the etching and plot a way to control the mosaic the way Kallin could.
Not that such was Veril's concern as she stepped into the respectable middle-class tavern (with a slight pang, for this was where they had last seen Deanna and Silverfox). She tried to stay as far from the continuing struggle of authority in the household as she could. And now, for this afternoon, she was Lady Vivian, Lord Solin's poor cousin, the administratrix of his estate, there upon his sufferance, and she sailed across the room to the indicated booth with a gracious nod to the waitress.
"Not much more to settle," she said softly to Fredia, "before his arrival." Spoken aloud, it could apply as easily to the fictional Lord Solin as to his real-life counterpart, Kallin So.
[Fredia]
"Very true," Fredia said, as she settled in
the booth and smoothed her pale blue gown. These days, much as she enjoyed
the outings, she felt a strange sense of dislocation. Or maybe more properly
- a sense of unreality. During most of the days, and a good part of the
nights, they wore the grey of Politi mages and worked on the mosiac. And
when they went into Jord they wore color and moved amongst the crowds of
cityfolk, dealing with everyday matters; occasionally dodging her three
suitors.
She blessed the fact that they hadn't yet
braved the estate with their gifts.
The estate reminded Fredia of a tomb or a temple in its hush. Ever since Lanaera arrived they had all been careful of what they said or did; the atmosphere building in tension like the pressure that came as a warning to an approaching storm. Even the children were wary and did their best to stay clear of the adults of the house for most of the day.
Some part of her yearned for the make believe of an everyday life, where they could just deal with normal matters and people. As they had done in their first few days in Jord.
And like Veril - she also missed Deanna, whose spirit and humor normally would ease the situation.
Finally Fredia said, "I wonder what Lord Solin will make of some of our purchases?" She smiled a bit - again letting the image of that horrible humidor give her some amusement.
[Elizabeth]
There was a slight murmur among the crowd as a stranger entered the tavern. It was obvious that she was out of place, from her unusual clothing to the strange black case she clutched protectivly. The stranger wore black, a shirt and pants both tightly tailored. Over those she wore a large coat whose hem came down to her knees. Her boots were not of a familiar design either. She walked cautiously across the room, to the empty stage. Brushing her long raven hair over her shoulder, she set down her case and opened it. The instrument within was an unusual metal horn. It was curved and covered with odd valves. She examined the brass instrument briefly, and then stood. She looked over the assembled crowd with her emerald eyes, and then lifted the saxophone to her lips.
Elizabeth closed her eyes and relaxed as the first melodious notes drifted across the room. The song was slow and sad, a mornful blues tune.
[Veril]
Veril had glanced across the room as the crowd acknowledged the arrival of the woman. In Montfort, she would not have seemed so out of place among the variety of strangers at the Dragons Inn, but in Jord she did draw some attention. Though not unfriendly notice; these folk apparently had seen her before, and as she approached the stage, most settled back and quieted to listen to her play. "Lovely girl," Veril remarked, as if she were indeed the middle-aged cousin of Lord Solin rather than a journeywoman in her mid-twenties.
Her attention turned back to their table as the waitress placed a plate of fresh fruit and bread before them, and poured two glasses of white wine for them both. But before she could reach for a slice of apple, the melancholy music made her pause, a sudden ache in her chest catching her by surprise. "Oh, Fredia," she breathed, and felt the sting of tears in her dark blue eyes. "It's so ..." 'Sad' seemed inadequate, and Veril groped for a better description of the music.
Veril allowed her eyes to drift back towards the stage, and froze again at what she saw. The raven-haired woman, garbed all in black, was awash in light. Only then did Veril notice what she had ignored before, the pull of the threads spooling across the floor to wrap themselves around the stranger's feet, twining around the odd metal horn, ebbing in rhythm with her music, all in dark colors of sorrow. "Fredia," Veril said again, this time with a note of warning, and of discovery..
The woman played on, oblivious to the ribbons of fire moving around her.
[Fredia]
Fredia looked up from slicing the bread and for a moment stared at the black-garbed musician. Now it was all too apparent why the music seemed to grab hold of one's heart and squeeze - for both music and magic were mixed together by this young performer. Whether she realized it or not.
The journeywoman forced her eyes away from the play of light around the musician and back to the bread.
"Lady Vivian," she said quietly, "Would you like butter on your bread?" Fredia had not missed the fact that Veril had called her by her own name in public.
[Veril]
Veril started, and forced the haughty mask of Lady Vivian back onto her face. "Thank you, Yvonna," she murmured, and folded her hands upon the table-top to quieten the tremble of fear, or excitement, that she had felt. The threads did not quieten though; if anything, they only increased their humming as the woman continued to play, slipping across the floorboards and around the tables in time with the music. ::What should we do?::
Two facets of a Politi mage, the ability to perceive the threads and the
ability to influence them ... even if the woman apparently lacked
the former, she already demonstrated an innate gift in the latter (in rich
contrast to Drywen Regelli, Veril would think later, who saw colors more
brightly and more clearly than anyone, but who seemed handicapped in his
efforts to seize the threads and command them). Theirs was a teaching
Order, and under other circumstances, in another life, Veril would not
have hesitated long in approaching the woman. But this was not Talvis,
or Hatham. Or even V'ezal, from whence Drywen himself had come.
This was Jord, which after all was not so far from Montfort; and they were
Lady Vivian, her assistant Yvonna Heline, not Veril Tennant and Fredia
Rinil.
Still, as the threads moved towards the woman, and whispered, Veril longed to know more of her.
[Elizabeth]
She continued to play, drifting from one
song into the next. She filled the tavern with deep blues.
Memories of loss came back to everyone who heard the sad music.
[Veril]
Veril only barely managed to choke the bread down, forcing it past the
growing ache. Not as great as that which Lanaera might feel, or Linnell
... or even Fredia, who had held Wyland and Uralia at their last
... but the loss, still, of a household torn asunder and set against itself.
When the waitress stopped by to pour more wine, Veril regathered her composure
and slipped two silver coins into the woman's hand. "Please, ask
the lady to join us when she has finished her performance." Just
a note of haughtiness, all she could manage, to imply that perhaps Lord
Solin would be interested in hiring a musician for his household.
Especially one as lovely as this.
[Elizabeth]
The music faded slowly, and Elizabeth took a deep breath before she opened her eyes to look around. There was some applause, and a smattering of coins in the case. She collected the coins quietly, slipping them into her pockets. As she stood, the waitress spoke to her directing her towards the two women.
Elizabeth walked towards the booth looking carefully at Fredia and Veril. As she approached, they could see that she was thinner than she should be. Her eyes were drawn to the fruit and bread as she stopped at the edge of the table. She spoke with a slight quiver in her voice, "The waitress said you wanted to speak to me. Was there a song you wanted to hear?"
[Veril]
Somehow, even in the face of the woman's distress, Veril managed to maintain the facade of Lady Vivian. A slightly supercilious, yet gracious Lady Vivian. "Please, join us," she said, introducing herself under her alias. "This is Yvonna Heline." Once the woman had taken her seat, Veril indicated that the waitress should bring a third plate and glass of wine. And watched as the threads settled in around the three of them, whispering to themselves. ::We can't simply leave her,:: she sent to Fredia, with the slightest nod to indicate the movement of the threads around the woman's ankles. ::But what do we do next?::
[Fredia]
Fredia had managed to hide her pain by looking busy with slicing bread and fruit, but when she looked up her brown eyes held haunted shadows. Quickly even these shades faded, and she sent, ::Let's see what she has to say for herself - once she fills an empty stomach.::
As Yvonna Heline she gave the musician a prim nod, and moved over to let the lass sit herself. She saw the threads that Veril indicated, and saw that they were not wary of any threat. But even with the threads' message Fredia was hard put not to prepare a warding - to have on hand in case the stranger knew more of magic than she was letting on.
The journeywoman realized that it would be a long time coming before she would ever completely trust again.
[Elizabeth]
She took the seat and smiled at them. "Thank you for asking me to join your lunch," she said. "I am Elizabeth Gaszi, a traveling performer." She took an apple out of the bowl, and took a hungry bite from it. Continuing a moment later, she said, "What is it I can do for you two?" The woman's colors were deep blue and drifted slowly about her. There were also streaks of shimmering silver running through her and the blue, setting off the darker color and dancing about her.
[Veril]
Veril pulled her eyes upwards towards the woman's face to watch the colors flickering around her black hair. So this Elizabeth Gaszi was not shielding herself from being read, and for a moment Veril had to fight the impulse to snake a thread <out> to try to pick up the other woman's thoughts. "You are a stranger to Jord," she said simply, stating it as a fact rather than asking a question. "We ourselves are relative newcomers." The musician didn't look like one with a connection to the local social grapevine, so she might not have the slightest idea who the as-yet-unseen "Lord Solin" was supposed to be.
[Elizabeth]
She put the apple core down, and took some bread. As lean as her pickings had been of late, she was going to at least get some food out this meeting. She looked at the two women again, "Ok, so we are all new to Jord. That doesn't exactly tell me why you asked me to join you." Elizabeth was getting the feeling that there was something going on here, and she had no idea what it was. She cautiously sipped her wine. Her colors shifted slightly, dark blue becomming indigo while the streaks of silver moved closer to her.
[Fredia]
The brown-haired journeywoman sipped on her wine, and kept a watch on the musician's colors. Though as a c'hanata and Veril's equal she had every right to speak it wouldn't fit with her role as Lady Vivian's secretary. So she kept her counsel.
[Veril]
"Lord Solin -- my cousin," she added, remembering to inject a note of pride-by-association, "is a great patron of the arts. When he arrives in Jord to take up residence at his estate, we would like to celebrate with a small, private celebration." A lift of her chin, to denote that the list of attendees would be *very* select, but Veril continued to watch how the silver snaked in and around the other woman. "I believe your music would appeal to him."
[Elizabeth]
Elizabeth nodded and ate another piece of bread while Lady Vivian explained. "Ok, I'm interested," she said. "Give me the details, and we'll discuss my payment." She smiled. It had been a while since she had managed to work for more than spare change. The hint of violet in her colors faded back towards blue. Elizabeth sipped some more wine.
[Fredia]
::Nicely done,:: Fredia sent to Veril before signaling the waitress. The two Politi journeywomen had only been daintly eating, but the young musician was making good in-roads into the fare on the table.
When the waitress approached "Yvonna" cooly said, "Another loaf of bread - with some honey butter. Plus some shaved beef."
[Elizabeth]
Her eyes lit up at the prospect of more food. If they were this generous over lunch, then she should end up quite well paid for this party. Elizabeth smiled again and took the last piece of the current loaf of bread.
[Veril]
::Details? She wants details!:: Veril sent to Fredia, taking the opportunity presented by the woman's continuing feeding to think up some details. "Lord Solin should be arriving within the next three days. The celebration will be small, just members of the household." She paused as the waitress arrived with the additional food, then resumed. "If he is pleased with your performance, you may be offered a more permanent position with the other retainers." She glanced towards Fredia, and added, ::Now we just have to figure out how the hell to work this without Lanaera finding out.::
[Fredia]
At Veril's comment Fredia fought the urge to laugh - she could just picture the looks that both Lanaera and Kallin would give them when the journeywomen told them that they had hired a musician for a party. The thought of Kallin and the fact that he and several of the house were still trapped in Montfort sobered her.
Finally she had enough control to send, ::Which part are we going to avoid - the party or the possibility of a student?::
[Elizabeth]
*A permanent position* the thought caught Elizabeth's attention fully. Traveling wasn't something she did because she liked it, and these people seemed quite well-off. "I would certainly be flattered by any sort of proposal, but for now let's discuss your party. Within the next three days is a bit vague, when's the party going to be? and where?" She looked over at Veril expectantly.
[Veril]
"Lord Solin is still some distance away," Veril answered half-absently as she pondered how to arrange the 'party', "so we cannot give you an exact date yet. If you could tell us how to reach you, we can let you know the morning of the day he arrives." If Lanaera turned out to still be focused on finishing the mosaic -- and Veril suspected she would be -- it might be possible to bring the woman into the house and have Nalin and Lisabeth arrange the last-minute festivities. After a moment, she remembered to explain where the estate was located, outside the city, and assured the musician that they could have a carriage bring her out to the house.
[Elizabeth]
She smiled slightly, "Well, I've got a room
at..." she paused. The nearby flophouse she was at wasn't exactly
the sort of place that people of these lady's station would care for.
"At a nearby inn. But I perform here each morning and afternoon.
Just send the message here when you're ready for me." Elizabeth sipped
some more of the wine. "Or you can just send the carriage here to
pick me up. I'll make sure I'm ready."
[Fredia]
Fredia managed to keep a cool and haughty expression while she listened and nibbled at a buttered roll. She was also trying to picture Kallin So's reaction to the discovery that they had brought in a possible student, and were proposing a party shortly after his arrival. She had a sneaky suspicion that his commentary to the situation was going to be as memorable as what he had to say about the humidor, but in a far different way.
She decided to wait to bring that up after
the musician was gone. It looked like there was going to be a need for
quite a bit of planning.