The Kaitain Daily Gazzette publishes another article on
House Alvstad. They must have one of their more conniving writers assigned to
chronicle the House, and more importantly, its nobility. An excerpt from the
latest article:
...It seems that the new na-Viscount's social calls have
taken him through many levels of Kaitain society. Always quick to issue an open
invitation for dinner and a smile to most all he's come across, the newfound
generosity seems to have risen back to haunt the Alvst. For when the twin Ginaz
Sisters attend dinner with the na-Viscount, only for the Lord Atreides to
unexpectedly show up as well under the grounds of said open door policy,
followed much later by an entire Harkonnen entourage led by the na-Viscount's
rumoredly betrothed Lady Harkonnen, a quiet evening would quickly seem to turn
into quite the circus affair. Bad blood is well documented between the Baron's
daughter and the elder of the Ginaz pair, and rumors are abound of a rift
between the Lady Sisay and Lord Atreides as well. And judging by the Lady
Delana's solemn departure from the Estate, sans her sister late last night, one
can be sure the bad blood served at the na-Viscount's table was boiling hot
last night. But the strangest thing of all is that for the first time in many
months there seems to be no incidents between the family Alvstad line itself...
Library -- Ginaz Embassy (Kaitain)
������� Books, in
every conceivable form, fill the grand shelves of this room. The lighting is
excellent, although its source is unclear as no shadows are evident. Many
different comfortable-looking chairs are strewn around the circular room, and
there are several tables arranged near the center. Stepstools are available to
aid in reaching the higher shelves. The carpet is lush and purple, and may help
to dampen sounds in this room -- every sound is quickly swallowed such that a
normal conversation in low tones would not carry from one end of the room to
another.
Players:
�Delana�������������������������������������������
Exits:
�Sliding Doors
<N> leads to Residential Wing -- Ginaz Embassy (Kaitain)
It is early morning and the soft light of another one of
Kaitain's luminous days shines softly from behind the draped windows. Nestled
securely inside a big armchair, covered to her neck with a brownish blankie,
young Sisay is reading from some papers. Books are tomed up on a table nearby
and from within them rise the warm and welcoming vapours of the Lady's morning
tea. Someone is actually studying hard as it seems, specially with that
bold-faced title on her pages reading something like: "Comparative
bioengeneering. Course 10"
The elder twin makes her way into the library, still attired
in the clothes from the night before. From the judge of her appearance, it is
fairly obvious she has not yet been to sleep. Delana deliberately makes her way
into the room and towards her sister, her voice steady. "Sis, we need to
talk."
Papers are folded back and a few of them escape Sisay's
grasp and land softly on the ground. From within the black curls of her hair,
obsidian eyes squint towards Delana. "Hey there. I thought you were...
nevermind. Come, join me." she becons to another comfortable chair besides
her. Of course it isn't as big as Sisay's custom made armchair, made
specifically to match her standards of a 'cozy place to study in', but it'll do
nevertheless. She also offers her cup of tea should Deli need something to
drink.
Slowly sinking into the nearby offered chair, the elder
sister draws her legs up to curl under her, despite her gown. "No
thanks.." Delana echoes at the offered tea, her gaze settling firmly upon
her sister. Sighing deeply, she finally replies. "I do not want you spending
time with Ulricke any longer, Sisay. You may think I am being crazy, but it is
only a matter of time before her true colors are revealed. She's not a true
friend...true friends do not take advantage of others when their senses are
imbibed."
Sisay shifts her position on the armchair as to be with her
face near her sister's and her legs spread on the other side. Obsidian crystals
meet the violet gaze of her sister's and a smile crosses her face.
"Deli... sister dear... Why are you saying this? Uli might not be the prototype
of a perfect woman, yet neither am I." Her gaze lowers as she tries to
explain: "I owe her a lot... and not only for the... umm... night. It was
she who showed me around Kaitain, it was she who defended me from her own mad
brother." A sigh and she continues. "I might not be the ... whore she
might be, but I have much on common with her. And you know it..." As the
last words linger on her lips, she extends her hand to gently caress the cheek
of her sister.
Pulling away from the touch, Delana shakes her head slowly.
"Sis, you cannot be that naive. Did it ever once occur to you that the
woman may have set up certain situations to further gain your trust?" She
sighs deeply. "No one is perfect, I never believed they were...but you owe
her nothing. She was in the right place at the right time and no offense, but
you are as transparent as glass sometimes. You needed a friend, she had none.
Did you ever really stop to think why? No, you merely accepted it all at face
value. You are both free spirits, but that is the extent of your common
ground." Taking a deep breath, she begins to calm slightly before
continuing. "You cannot have us both, Sisay. You must choose, Uli or
me..."
Sisay sighs deeply and shakes her head, shuttling all her
hairlocks to either side of her cheeks. "Deli, you are still under the
impressions of last night. I wasn't very comfortable either, being tagged as a
weird, inferior creature. Not that I'd care for what matters to me. But try to
reason for a moment. Why would Uncle Jacob have assigned her as my guide and
friend here on Kaitain. Immagine just a moment that he knows more about her
that both of us plus all her lovers put together. And do not make me have to
take such a decision, for you know it cannot be made. Blood doesn't turn into
water and friendships don't shatter with the first breeze... Deli, dear, look
at me..." she says, beconing with her little finger.
Glancing up towards her sister, the violet gaze narrows
slightly. Delana remains silent for several moments before finally replying.
"You have made your choice then, Sisay. By supporting Uli, you have slain
me - not with blades, no that pleasure will belong to Uli alone, but with
words. I have reasoned and I have seen things. Uncle knows none of this. The
woman and her house hunt me...your precious friend evidentally finds me
threatening. So run along and play bridesmaid..just make sure to place the
bouquet upon my grave." Slowly she rises, shaking her head.
Sisay looks as if someone would've bonked her with the
entire Embassy on her head. Cheeks redden with her blush and she says:
"Deli! Don't you walk away from me! Goddamn Uli, goddamn everything. What
is the matter with you?" Only now she turns her face to where her sister
now stands. "This is not Marcinko. This is Kaitain. Uli belongs to another
world. She's different. We treat our people with respect and consideration
whereas the Harkonnens stuff a hoarde of slaves up their arse. That's how they
live. Don't blame people for being what they are. So what if she's my friend? I
learned quite a lot from her and you'd be smart in doing so too." Her
voice raises up with every word she speaks and her hands wave wildly at her
side. "And no one is going to kill you, for God's holy name. What the
_hell_ is wrong with you? Did father turn you against me? Isn't it enough he
put me out of his house, now he wants us separated too?" Her final words
are actually a shout, most probably heard all around the lower rooms of the
Embassy. "Would this please our brother, Deli?" she concludes in a
low voice, a bare whisper.
Turning slowly to look upon her sister, she continues.
"Sisay, I have received warning that Ulricke and her own wish me
dead...cautioned to watch my every step as it appears I am truly the
prey." Delana shakes her head slowly. "This has nothing to do with
father and you know it. You have made your choice, Sisay, not I. I do not blame
her for being different. I do not like their lifestyle, but there are many
lifestyles I have no love of...and I am not entirely convinced they were
innocent where our brother was concerned. You ask me if this would please our
brother...and I ask you, would remaining friends with one trying to kill your
sister satisfy him any more?"
Sisay raises up, shattering the table to the ground as she
fails to step above it, sending the books spawling on the floor, tea and shards
splattered to the ground. "No one is trying to kill you! That evil
Viscount poured all this crap down your ear, huh? God stuff his neck with holy
snakes. And you believe _him_? More than your own common sense or you own damn
sister? How foolish do you think Uli'd be to just walk around and kill her
Master's favorite niece. Just like that." She doesn't even notice the mess
on the ground nor her raised voice. "And just what did I chose, huh?
Nothing! Nothing at all!" she exclaims swirling around on her toes, hands
raised upwards. "I chose to stay alive in this god forsaken universe. I
chose to pick me own path and me own dreams and to stick with 'em. That's what
I chose!" She lowers her hands down. A truly pityful sight.
"When will you open your eyes, Sisay?" The elder
twin's voice begins to equally rise, a flicker flash of intensity flaring in
her violet depths. "The Viscount did not pour anything down my ears. He
merely prefers the death not happen upon his grounds...he is well aware the
action will send Uncle over the deep. But neither do I have any intention of
cowering from that Barbaric bitch. If you were not so busy trying to emulate
her every motion perhaps you would be able to see with reason." She
scowls, her voice matching her sister's in volume. "Uncle warmed her bed
for a time and is biased in his dealings with her, but ask anyone else their
opinion and you will see. It cannot be all of us who are wrong, Sisay. For the
night of the feste I could kill her alone. I warned her to leave you be and she
deliberately encouraged your actions further. Geeze, Sisay, have you no dignity
or do you too wish to be sampled by every thing this side of the planet? Even
Fah disapproves of your actions."
Sisay screams: "Then damn him too, he's more a sissy
than a man! But it is _I_ who intend to sample everything of _both_ sides of
the planet, just to satisfy my selfish lust for depravation!" Here, she
said it, actually yelled it! "I've been a country girl far too long. And I
don't want to end up like those bitchy, self-endulging courtesans at the Court
who down't even know their own name! As long as I don't know what's out there,
I cannot, EVER, be free! There is no 'right' and 'wrong' sister! That is only
for the tiny minds of those back home, or of those like Mintor who think
they're the center of the universe." She gestures wildly with her hands
but apparently the thoughts in her mind swirl at such a great speed that she's
having dificulties syncornizing with her voice. Clearly, she's on the edge.
"You self-indulgent and ungrateful brat! It is always
about you, you, you. Everything and anything must always revolve around you.
You have no right chastizing Lord Atreides for his ego as yours exceeds his by
miles." Delana retorts, her gaze flashing dangerously. "Go ahead and
have your fill of pleasure, explore your damn planet, but you will find nothing
there. Sure, it may be a fun ride for a period of time, but when it's all over
what will you have, Sisay? For all your protesting and all your desire to
avenge the death of our brother, you will never succeed because you care too
much about yourself to ever have room to care for anyone else. So surround
yourself with these false friends, those who only want you for what they can
get of you. Emulate Ulricke and become her twin until she tires of you or finds
you to be competition....but don't you ever come back whining to me of any of
it. I have given my entire life to you since the day our brother died. I have
made the sacrifices so that you could indulge yourself like a greedy child -
but I am threw. I am old and I am tired of being painted as the villain, as
some dried up prude without a notion of how to live. From now on, you shoulder
the responsibilities of the house and family and just see how long you last
beneath the burden."
Sisay stands there, lowering her gaze and hands as she
finally barks: "Very well. You go be the Lady and I'll go back to screwing
with me life." And with this she turns around and stepping over the shards
on the ground she jumps right back on her armchair and pulls the long brown
blanket over herself, covering herself from head to toe. Silence seems to once
again rule the House, yet the clouds of storm have only begun to gather.
