AmberCourtThreadBrieanneHarkTheHeraldComesAmber Court Thread Brieanne Hark the Herald Comes"A whole other lifetime ago." Brieanne flashed a wistful smile and glanced at the mirror. "Good enough, I think. If people are looking at the lacing, I'll be insulted. It can't be said that you have to show a lot of skin to leave nothing to the imagination!" Covered from shoulder to ankles, the pants hem just brushing the floor, Brieanne donned the arm guards for otherwise bare arms, put her quiver and WoundWeaver in place, strapped the hunting knife to her thigh and gestured for Noys to lead the way. "First, we find Pollux and your men." Noys says, sweeping out of her rooms and looking about for a moment, looking pensive. With a sudden decisiveness, she leads the white-clad Brieanne through the Castle. Briarsting and Smoketredder fall into line as escorts, the hyperactive former next to Brieanne, the more levelled headed darker of the two giving Noys respect enough to pad beside her. Few of Brieanne's relations outside of her father or brother have had the privilege. So arrayed, Noys leads the group to a door. Just coming out, providentially, are the three men that Brieanne seeks. Still dressed in his Begman-style uniform of black, red and gold is Gazalarnith of course. Standing next to him is Pollux. While Castor prefers a more naval style uniform for formal meetings, Pollux' outfit accentuates his diplomatic credentials, the formal green with gold outfit that he might wear to a court in the Golden Circle. Galen's clothes have changed, too. Pollux has given him a black shirt to go with dark blue pants. Given his expression, Galen seems to be still getting used to it. "You're fine." She brushed her hands across Galen's shoulders, a ceremonial tweak meant to reassure. "And we're ready." Brieanne made the pronouncement evenly. Glancing over the group, she gave a nod, satisfied, and then turned on a heel. "Lord Henden should already be at Court, yes?" The question was more or less directed at her cousins, but she was already striding purposefully down the hall, her usual impish air dampened while she focused on the task at hand. Noys looks at Pollux as if the pair are deciding who should field the pop fly question posed by Brieanne. The fact that the group now includes Brieanne, Gaz, Galen, Noys, Pollux and the two hounds is not lost on the servants and other passers by that the group meets on their journey. "Well, yes, of course." Pollux says. "Random DOES call him his booking agent, after all. I'm not sure that master of ceremonies is the right way to describe his role, but its a central one. He keeps things moving once everyone is in the throne room and pronouncements and pleas and petitions are being made." "He's the one you want to see in particular?" Noys puts in. "I thought you wanted to see his Majesty?" "I do." Brieanne agreed, still making a direct line for the throne room, the bootheels of the men around her echoing her quiet steps. "This is something that needs done proper and Lord Henden is how to do it." "Master of ceremonies." Pollux agrees. The convoy of people led by Brieanne does part servants and stragglers as they make their way through the Castle. Progress continues unabated until the final corridor before the anteroom to the throne room. It is here that the logjam hits in earnest, as a number of people are trying to form up in a line and press of humanity that reminds Brieanne of the more crowded regions of the city more than anything else. The fact that Brieanne has brought a Prince, a Princess, a Moonrider, and an imposing tall man in Begman military uniform does not seem to be decisive factors in getting people out of their way. The presence of the hellhounds, however, is another matter entirely. Brieanne can hear some mutterings up the line which seems to move as much as it can to get away from the group. A woman, one of the petty nobles of Amber, points backward at Brieanne as she talks with one of the guards. The guard makes his way toward where Brieanne, Pollux, Noys, Galen, Gaz and the hounds are bottled up. "Your highnesses..." the guard says in a questioning tone, clearly unused to both Brieanne, and her canine companions... At that moment, there is an amplified voice that echoes in the hall. "Princes, Princesses and all attendees of Court. This session is now declared open. You may enter." comes the amplified voice of the Chamberlain, Lord Henden. "I need to speak with Lord Henden. Immediately. You can move the crowd. Or they will." Brieanne indicated the hounds. "You will get more credit for preventing the scene than being the log-jam who prompted it." The tone was factual. Businesslike. The stare a fair imitation of the one her father leveled people with. Pollux and Noys say nothing, watching the guard carefully. With a more detached viewpoint of outsiders, Galen and Gazalarnith watch the proceedings carefully. She gave him exactly three heartbeats to answer and then turned, hand raised to signal the hounds. Briarsting and Smoketredder seem ready, nay, eager to be unleashed on the crowd of people. The inescapable fact that Brieanne seems ready to wield them, and that two more royals of Amber seem unwilling to stop her spurs the guard to action. He begins to move forward. "Make way, make the way clear for the Princesses Brieanne and Noys, and the Prince Pollux. Immediately. The other guards start to act in concert, especially as one of them gets a glimpse of Brieanne's hellhounds. "Have they been fed today?" Noys asks quietly as the way becomes clear. "Not well enough. No." Brieanne answered just as quietly, taking advantage of every inch of room she had to squeeze into the anteroom, her gaze slicing back and forth in search of Lord Henden. The old man had to be here somewhere and she was rather surprised the commotion hadn't already brought him to her. "Maybe there wasn't enough barking. Or screaming." She mused as she pressed on to the throne room. "Let's get into the throne room..." Pollux says. People have given way,or moved forward as fast as possible to get into the Throne Room and out of Brieanne's way. Brieanne does push through the anteroom, even if some of the people intending to go through to the Throne Room have not yet done so. "Not again! This is unacceptable!" a voice booms. Brieanne bounced forward, picking up her pace at the familiar, disapproving voice. The spectacle, brass and fortitude of Brieanne and her companions does finally bring out of the throne room, with a guard trailing uncertainly, Lord Henden. "Princess Brieanne. This is the second time in seven days that you have unleashed these beasts of yours in the Castle. And to Court! What possible reason..." Having found her target, and undaunted by the tirade, Brieanne continued straight toward Lord Henden, quickly closing the gap. Henden stops, since until this point he hasn't really *looked* at Brieanne, just at the group and the hounds. Something clicks in his head as looks at Brieanne in her uniform. Henden's voice moderates and modulates. "What's happened, Princesses, Prince?" he asks, in a much more reasonable tone. He looks at Gaz and Galen briefly and suspiciously, but looks back at Brieanne for the answer. "I need to speak with the King. Probably before he starts talking to everyone else." Addressing her purpose, Brieanne completely ignored everything else. Her expression was still serious and business-like, more like her father than her usual self. Henden does not throw his hands up in the air. However, the body language that he conveys is that of being asked the improbable, if not the impossible. "You don't understand. He's about to come out now. Right Now. His Majesty is probably wondering at this point why I am not announcing him at this moment. By the time we get back to the throne room, he'll be out there. You know the King. Not particularly well, and Brieanne continues to regard Lord Henden as if she expects him to pull this off. Noys sighs as if in agreement. Pollux shakes his head. Gaz and Galen look warily around. "If it is that needful..." Henden says "leave the hounds and come with me, and you can address him first. *Is* it that needful, milady Princess?" Henden asks, looking keenly at her. "Tell him." The dragon rumbles. "Tell me *what*?" Lord Henden says, never looking at Gaz and instead focused on Brieanne, Pollux and Noys. "I have Chaosians camping in Arden, and the boys stay with me because if I have to bring them here I want the teeth close." There was almost a note of apology that she couldn't grant his wish to have the hounds outside, but it was all delivered as a statement and she wasn't going to negotiate, although she did offer a small consolation. "They'll be good. They only chew on the people I tell them to." "Chaosians camping in Arden." Henden considers this for a moment and a half. He looks from Brieanne to Pollux, to Noys, and then to Gaz and Galen. The former two gives nods, the other two are imperturbable. "All right..." Henden looks up at the ceiling for a half moment. "Keep them in line, and follow me. All of you. You do have rights as a Princess, irregular as all of this might be." Henden turns with the expectation and confidence that Brieanne and her companions will follow her into the Throne Room... With a snap of her fingers Brieanne summoned her hounds to 'heel' and fell into step half a pace behind Lord Henden.
Given the abilities that Brieanne has...to say nothing of Gerard's third son and fourth child, the contact, even without a card, comes quickly and easily as Brieanne faces the King and Court. Hadrian (and Dora) are in a large, familiar clearing. As Brieanne and her father decided and agreed, the Chaosians have encamped in the wide festival grounds that not so long ago was a source of merriment and entertainment for the Festival of the Unicorn. Now, its a series of tents and encampments similar to the one that Brieanne herself encountered and tangled with the characters within. Hadrian is walking between two of the tents. Providentially, perhaps, he is speaking with two Chaosians, one of them being Kennard Chanicut. The other is not familiar to her. Dora is not in evidence.
But now Henden was announcing her and her attention turned fully to Random with Hadrian in the background as voyeur. Backlinks |
