Announcement

[royal_obligation]

Edarial makes a list of necessities for a wife. He has Zevros check it over, who promptly rips it up and throws it at him. He is of the opinion that if Edarial doesn't actually want to marry a specific person, he shouldn't, and Zevros will have nothing to do with any of it. Edarial sighs, rewrites it, and keeps it and a copy of it away from his twin in the future.

He makes the announcement to various interested people that he will be looking for a bride. Just saying it makes him feel sick. Edarial manages to keep it together long enough to give a list of the qualities he's looking for before he flees. He says he's busy, no one will look twice at him being curt and disappearing to get work done. So no one comes after him when he hides in his room and locks the door.

Face buried in his pillow, he realizes that there's no way he can be personable to his - whatever they are. Potential brides, suitors - whatever, he doesn't care. He'll hire someone to vet them, so he doesn't have to torture himself dealing with women trying to persuade him to marry them.

Comments

[aestrix]

"... Ohmygoodness you have him back!" says Zephrys with a smile. Then it drops and she looks fearfully over her shoulder. "... I also just did something really stupid!"

[come_midnight]

"...What?"

[aestrix]

"I may have um - slapped the prince. It was in the heat of the moment! He was just looking at me like everything was normal and I was so angry at him and I just -"

[come_midnight]

"I assume you mean the king," says Iobel dryly. "I don't know how much protection I'll be, but if you can get yourself assigned to work for me or something..."

[aestrix]

"Oh! Yes, um - king, the king. I slapped him. I'm not even sure I can be protected at all! Oh all-powerful one above, what if he has me executed?"

[come_midnight]

"I don't know what I can do," says Iobel, "but if I can do something I will and if you're nearby it will be easier to notice if I can."

[aestrix]

"Okay - um, maybe you can ask for a personal servant and I could - do that? And hide behind you and pray the king doesn't see me again?"

[come_midnight]

"Who do I ask?"

[aestrix]

"... Him, I guess? Or someone in charge?"

[come_midnight]

"The only people in this palace I have met are the guards who took Cricket, and the king, and you, and an incompetent little bureaucrat who told me a week ago he'd look for my cat and never came back. I don't know who's in charge. Who are you reporting to right now?"

[aestrix]

"Um. Mrs. Lyre, who reports to the king."

[come_midnight]

"Okay. Can you show me where she is?"

[aestrix]

Zephrys nods. "Yes. Follow me?"

[come_midnight]

Iobel nods, still holding Cricket; he's purring in her ear.

[aestrix]

She leads her to a wing of the palace that seems to be set aside for servants - there are quite a lot of them, all around. Zephrys leads Iobel up to a woman who's currently barking orders at people while doing what looks like paperwork. She waits until a moment when she's not barking order to address her.

"Um. Mrs Lyre?" says Zephrys.

"Hmm?" asks the stern looking woman, not looking up from her paperwork.

[come_midnight]

"I am," says Iobel, "the queen, and currently don't have my own staff. I like Zephrys. Can she be spared?"

[aestrix]

Pause. Stare stare stare. "Um! Yes, of course, your majesty!"

[come_midnight]

"Thank you."

Iobel turns to Zephrys. "What all are you competent to do, besides what went on this morning?"

[aestrix]

"Um - cleaning, some cooking but I'd leave that to the professionals. I can do lots of fashion stuff, too - picking out clothes to wear for the right occasions so you give off the correct feeling."

[come_midnight]

"All right, I don't care what I wear so I'll leave you in charge of that, do you know how to get miscellaneous - things, from wherever the household source is? Paper and the like? Do you know how the palace interacts with the mail system?"

[aestrix]

Zephrys nods along to this. "I can get you things, and bring you letters and send them out, too."

[come_midnight]

"Okay. I think I'm going to go back to the room I was in the first time we met. Eventually I might want my things from home, but not just yet."

In case she runs after all and thinks she has time to stop home for a box or three.

"To start I want envelopes and stationery and the like, there are already pens up there - and more spellchart paper, and blank notebooks. Can you get me those, and something to sleep in - I've been in the clothes I arrived in for a week except today and this isn't sleepwear - and something to wear tomorrow, and then meet me back there? Mind anything I put on will get cat hair on it, so ideally it won't show too much or be hard to get off."

[aestrix]

"I'll go get all of those!" agrees Zephrys. "And find something that will work even covered in cat hair." She smiles at Iobel, brightly.

[come_midnight]

"Thank you," says Iobel. "What can you tell me about meals around here - where will the queen be expected to turn up for dinner?"

[aestrix]

Directions to where this is are given - there are sometimes larger official functions but the court fell apart under the delicate care of the previous queen. So Iobel will at least not to eat her meals with huge crowds of people.