Morning on the QueenIndex | Time Under Chaos | Game Logs | Morning on the Queen
Everyone slowly regrouped back in the main lounge. Once Petra stepped through the doors, her mood visibly darkened, as did Vincenzo's beside her. "You realize we're going to have to stop using that now?" she asked archly. Vincenzo shrugged. "It was time. You have better access these days." Petra gave him a dark look, but nodded curtly and continued down the stairs while Vincenzo secured the doors after the last of the stragglers. "Alright people," she called out over the excited chatter and mumblings of a staff not yet down from the adrenaline rush the morning's events had caused. "Gather round. We had an exciting night, and a morning I would rather have missed altogether, and I would like to get this over with sometime before noon." Tables were rearranged, plates were delivered, and soon enough Petra was left with her 'entertainment crew', who recognized her mood by the color of her eyes and reacted accordingly. Gino wordlessly handed her a stiff drink before taking his seat. Petra gave Vincenzo a last look, and then turned her attention to her notes before addressing the staff. "I know this morning has thrown everyone off. But let's focus on our business first, because I saw pretty much what the rest of you did, so it will do no good to ask me for details I don't have.." She eyed the twins who were both immersed in rather sizable breakfasts with a side of something from the bar. "Ladies..." she said. "How'd it go?" "He was ... " began Angelique. " ... wonderful," said Nereza. The two frequently did this, one taking over where the other dropped. "And he might only be half ... " "Amberite, but his endurance ... " "must be double!" finished Nereza, and they both giggled. Vincenzo's look at Petra warned her that neither sister was aware of Merlin's collapse; these two could be questioned on their night with him and they would answer with cheerful innocence. In the face of her last twelve hours, the smile she gave the two took effort. "I have it on good authority that the lords of Chaos are no slouches in the endurance department," said Petra. She heard the soft laughter of Aura and two redheads down the table in reponse to that. "But, come now. I know I, for one, would like a few more details. It was a momentous ocassion for all concerned." The twins looked at each other and burst into simultaneous giggles. Usually Petra had found them consummate professionals, but a little touch of Merlin in the night seemed to have proved intoxicating. "Well," said Nereza, "he didn't drink, at least not as much as ... " "Rumour says," chipped in Angelique. "He *did* drink ... at least when he didn't have ... " "Anything else to occupy his hands ... " "Or when he was able to use them!" said Angelique. The twins exchanged wicked glances - and made heroic efforts not to laugh again. "But we had two bottles between us all night," Angelique said. "I'm sorry - but it was the best champagne. He insisted." Nereza considered this. "Well ... he didn't insist. He sort of ... expected." "He didn't sleep all night!" added Angelique. "But towards morning, he let us take turns. He wanted to talk ... and he talked to one of us at a time." Nereza nodded. "He talked about us. He seemed really interested in how we came here, what we had done before. He was ... well. Not kingly anymore." "He was kind," said Angelique. "And ... " she bit her lip. "Sort of real. True. Like ... oh, I don't know. A sword of crystal - hard and pure ... " Nereza looked at her and then shrugged. "That was just the hour before dawn. After that - we had a pillow fight. And he started it!" "We'll clear up the feathers," added Angelique guiltily. "Promise." Petra quirked an eyebrow at Antonia. The other woman began checking the entries in the account log for last night while Petra turned her attention back to the girls. Nereza considered this. "Well ... he didn't insist. He sort of ... expected." Petra gave that a dismissive wave of her hand. Merlin always expected that, and they always met those expectations. "He didn't sleep all night!" added Angelique. "But towards morning, he let us take turns. He wanted to talk ... and he talked to one of us at a time." Nereza nodded. "He talked about us. He seemed really interested in how we came here, what we had done before. He was ... well. Not kingly anymore." "He was kind," said Angelique. "And ... " she bit her lip. "Sort of real. True. Like ... oh, I don't know. A sword of crystal - hard and pure ... " Nereza looked at her and then shrugged. "That was just the hour before dawn. After that - we had a pillow fight. And he started it!" "We'll clear up the feathers," added Angelique guiltily. "Promise." "As long as it gets done before we open tonight," Petra smiled. "I'm happy to hear you all enjoyed yourselves, His Majesty is a charming man. I'm not surprised that you look exhausted. Why don't you two go ahead and call it a night and get some rest? We'll talk more later." Petra waited for them to make their cheerful way out of the lounge then shared a look with Vincenzo. As he turned to send Armand with the twins, she turned her attention to the book Antonia had slid in front of her. "Between the three of them, they had less then a whole bottle of Fire Wine, and two bottles of Erdinger Weissbier the whole night," Petra asked with a look to verify that information with Sergio. "Si, according to his tab," Sergio agreed. "It is little wonder they're a bit .. giggly this morning. But that is not a lot for His Majesty, by any stretch." Petra pursed her lips and nodded in agreement. She turned her attention to the rest of the staff. "For those of you that are unaware, Merlin collapsed on the docks this morning. Questions are going to be asked by more then just us. I do not want this discussed with the twins at all until I, or Vincenzo say so. They need to be able to answer any questions without a cloud of self doubt hanging over them." She turned to Gino sitting between Aura and Angelique's vacated seat. "Your game?" "The House cleared five." He flashed her a tired smile. "I suggested they avoid the wheel next time, but I suspect they were too far into their cups to remember." She nodded and made a notation. "I adore generous guests. I think a 15% bonus from the house take for you, my dear." She looked up and smiled faintly at his surprised, but pleased expression. That was a very generous bonus on top of his regular pay and the tips he had received the night before. Petra turned an inquiring gaze to Aura. "We tested out the redone Atlantean room last night," Aura reported. "Sorcha and I.... with Ambassador Ingrey." Ramon looked down the table at the two women and saluted. "He was looking a bit worn when they returned to the lounge." Aura winked at the duelist and Sorcha inclined her head. "Well done," Petra smiled thinly. "How was the room? Was it easier to sell with the improvements?" Aura and Sorcha shared a look before Aura nodded. "It seemed to be." Sorcha replied. "It helps that Ingrey makes the effort to learn our native languages. It seems a small thing, but it made it more real that Atlantean was being spoken, and Aura used a lot of ritual phrases." But the Atlantean shook her head. "I did not. That is not allowed. They only sounded like the ritual words of Celestra's priestess'. It is all in the delivery. But he did not know any different." She cast a baleful look over at Ramon. "Before the Crown's arrival, I also played a few hands of cards with Mr. Anansi at Ramon's request. I made sure we broke about even." Petra looked at Ramon and frowned lightly before turning an inquiring look back to Aura, who just shook her head in the negative to the unspoken question before continuing. "And after that, I gave Morgan an ... art tour," she smirked. "And nothing was broken." "And who says there are no more miracles in the world," Portia noted dryly. Petra smirked faintly. "Very well. Antonia?" "Your cousins are all idiots," the dark beauty declared. "Except for the ones that are just hopeless causes, or who are fools who managed to get themselves stabbed this morning.." Petra gave her a slightly strained smile, ignoring for the moment the startled noises from the few in the room that still hadn't any idea of the scope of the morning's events. "What exactly makes that news?" "First, we have Morgan," she began ticking them off on her fingers. "The deck will have to be refinished and some of the boards replaced. Which means we cannot just have that section done. The whole outside deck on that level has to be redone or the woods won't match properly." Petra held up a hand to stop her and turned to Angelo. "Can we have the gangplank entrance temporarily lowered a deck? We're also going to need to take care of the damage we took today, little though it is, graci, Fortuna." The Captain tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Si. We will have to install a gate this afternoon on this level, seal the outside doors on the regular deck entrance while the work's done on the floors. Best to start today. I will go to the Quarter and collect the crews we usually hire. We'll need to put a rush on it. It is not going to be cheap, Bella." Vincenzo made an annoyed sound and Petra looked over to where he sat with Portia. "What?" "The security patrols are going to need to be able to access that outside deck. The work crews are going to have leave enough room for us to walk." Petra just nodded and turned back to Angelo. "Make sure they understand that, and don't worry about the money because Morgan is paying for the deck work, by the gods, even if I have to put a lien on his horse. In fact, I'll give them a bonus if they can be done completely in ... three days, more if it's faster, but I won't pay for sloppy work. Tell them we'll feed them too. Hire as many as we need to get it done." She turned her attention back to Antonia, who held up her hand again and started counting. "Two, we have Morgan again. He deserves two spots on this morning's list for not explaining just how completely naive Chadwick is. You could not have found a better example of a virgin sacrifice if you had designed one from scratch." Petra just raised an eyebrow and looked at Lily. "It's true," the petite blonde sighed. "I was completely unprepared. For the longest time, he was actually afraid of me." "What'd you do to get past that?" asked Allegra from down the way. Lily grinned. "Suggested we play Clue, or ....Chutes and Ladders." Gino didn't even try not to laugh. Talen snickered into his coffee mug. "That was harsh, Lils." She shrugged at the piano player. Petra sighed. "And then?" Lily looked down at her plate and blushed slightly as she mumbled. Petra just looked incredelously at the blonde. "What? I didn't quite get that." "He thinks I'm his girlfriend now," Lily sighed. "It's not funny!" she yelled indignantly at the rest of them, who were in various stages of laughter fueled by fatigue. Except for Vincenzo, who looked appalled, and Antonia, who continued to look more and more annoyed. "Actually, it kind of ... well, is," Janelle smirked. "How old is that boy?" she asked Petra, who shrugged. She had no idea, and didn't look like she particularly cared this morning. "Settle down!" Petra snapped at her rowdy crew, who silenced themselves almost immedietly. "Thank you. Now, Lily...." The blonde winced. "You're not in trouble, but I think, all things considered, that we may need to change your job description for the time being. Until we can get Chadwick up to speed on, well..." She gamely ignored the various snickers around the room. "Things. I don't fancy Aunt Flora storming the boat and making a scene because we've corrupted her poor lamb." "How's your art history?" "Second in my class." Petra nodded at her answer. "Good. You're now the Queen's Art Conservator, should anyone ask. Chadwick is your prime objective. Get with Aura later. This is all subect to change should Flora manage to keep him away." Lily nodded and looked relieved. "What about the other events of this morning?" asked Ramon. "Merlin's attack - will they blame it on us?" "And the attack," said Aura. "On the Prime Minister. He was visiting here." Petra looked irritable all over again. Had she not said this issue would be addressed after regular business? Still, she knew them well enough to know they would not let it go now that it had been asked and there were still a few that were startled by the revelation of the attack on Mandor. "We do not know that Merlin was attacked at all. If, as I overheard in passing by them, it had something to do with a touch of the Pattern, then there is no way fingers can be pointed at us. Even if it was something else, he has been coming here for decades, and Mandor told me himself he trusted us with the King's safety." She blew out a breath. "As for what happened to Mandor... I do not know. I don't see how it could come back on us." Petra turned to Ornella and sighed. "I am sorry to be the one to inform you, my sister, but Johann tried to gun down the Prime Minister this morning." She ignored the blonde's pale face and sharply indrawn breath. "I know you enjoyed his company when he was still welcome here, but we have known for awhile that he was bound to attempt something against the Prime Minister's person. Only an utter fool would read his impassioned articles and think Johann supported a bloodless revolution, and none of us are fools." Vincenzo snorted derisively, and Petra, knowing what that was about, ignored him magnificently. "I have been asked to make myself available for questioning today, though I cannot imagine what I can tell them. I have not had dealings at all with Payne for years, and he has not been a guest of the Queen since he left Amber. A fact that can be supported by any number of noteworthy witnesses, Damien and Vikund among them." Petra turned at the sound of footsteps on the stairs and looked at the young security officer curiously. "Yes?" "Excuse me, Ma'am. But Her Higness, Larissa is in the Library. She wishes to speak with you. Family busines, she says." Petra turned to Antonia. "Finish the meeting. Brief me tonight. Make sure Angelo has the drafts he needs for today." "Vincenzo, please get me Joahnn's file. I may need it later to prove a point.." Petra exited the lounge and made her way up the Library.
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