ShadowPlayOnTheQueenIndex | Time Under Chaos | Game Logs | Shadow Play on the Queen From the small landing, one had an excellent view of the floor below. Aura knocked on the door and gave the pair a smile as she waited for permission to enter. There was a long moment of muffled voices before a woman's voice answered. "Entrare..." Aura beamed and opened the door, stepping inside first and holding it open for Tera and Vikund to enter behind her. "Mr. Anansi and Baroness Helgram are looking for Goran." "How fortunate that he is right here," Petra replied smoothly from behind her desk. The large office was elegantly decorated in burgundy and gold with accents of pale rose and rich cream. To his left was a sitting area with a rolled back fainting couch and two brocade covered chairs around a small table. Over the grouping hung a large painting done in painstaking, almost Trump-like detail of the ghostly city of Tir. The point of view and angle give the impression that the artist was closer then current events would allow. Opposite the sitting area was a beautifully hand carved massive desk of unidentifiable wood polished to a high sheen. Two comfortable chairs sat facing the desk, Goran was in one. Over the desk hung another painting, this one of the long missing Benedict captured in a scene lifted straight from the history books, gloriously and single-handedly holding the pass against the Moonriders of Ghenesh. To the eye of an experienced appraiser of art, the painting was clearly far older then the combined ages of the room's occupants. As impressive as the rest of the room may be, the woman behind the desk dominated it with her presence from where she sat in a high back chair of pale leather. The blood red, one shouldered gown with its complicated neckline was clearly not something that would have been found in Amber. Deep red rubies and diamonds dangled from her ears; a thin gold chain around her neck ended in a priceless Etruscan Singer's Tear, the iridescent surface shimmering faintly in the light; a large oval shaped women's signet ring on the second finger of her right hand completed the only jewelry she wore. Vikund hadn't seen the astonishingly detailed paintings of Tir and Benedict's hold of the Pass that now hung in Petra's office. They were not in her style either. The silver framed pictures on her desk and the table behind her were also new. As for Petra, if he had thought her stunning just the night before, it was nothing to how she looked now. Petra gestured with a finger, and Aura took her leave. "Thank you, Aura," Vikund said, before offering a polite bow to the hostess. If he was dazzled by the display, he hid to well. Goran rose as soon as the pair entered the room. "Mr. Anansi. Baronness," he greeted them with a formality that might have surprised Tear. However, the way he looked her over, as if scanning with his eyes for signs of injury or distress, revealed him to be her friend still, but simply on duty. He barely glanced at Vikund. "How might I assist you?" Tear slipped from Vikund's arm, ready to run over to Goran. But his professional manner gave her pause. She stepped back and offered him a thin smile; her violet eyes awash with worry. Although there were no outward injuries, the young man had known her mannerisms for long enough to see that she'd changed somehow, held herself with a new confidence. But he hadn't the time to study her further. "We are sorry to disturb you, Ms. Rossi, but there are matters of security closer to home we thought should be brought to Goran's attention at once." He turned to Tear expectantly, no doubt hoping she would elaborate. Tear nodded to this and opened her mouth to speak, but her words died on her tongue. Petra just gazed at him coolly for a long moment. "Dein Nerv verblüfft mich sogar jetzt." Then she turned her calculating gaze to the young Baroness. Tear's eyes narrowed and her back bristled at this. She met Petra's gaze for a moment, studying the woman intently. She sniffed, unimpressed, and then turned her attention on Vikund. "I don't know what's going on here," she said darkly. "It will wait until later. But I will find out." Vikund merely smiled, as if at some private joke. Petra just looked amused at Tear's reaction. She smiled and picked up a glass of wine from her desk, taking a sip before she gave her attention to some paperwork in front of her. Goran remained still, but he glared at Vikund icily. Containing his sneer took great effort. Only when Tear spoke did he unlock his gaze. Tear brushed the wrinkles from her dress and then steeled herself up with a deep breath. "Goran," she said, forgetting the others present in the room for the time being. "There was a break-in at your house." His eyebrows arched in surprise as she continued. "Three men. I didn't recognize them. I was about to apprehend one when. Fortunately. Or unfortunately depending on which way you look at it. Master Vikund interrupted me. They got away. So, I thought I should warn you. And came. Here." The last word dripped off her tongue like poison. Petra looked up at her cocked an eyebrow. "You are welcome to leave at any time, child," she said, her voice laced with cool amusement. "In fact, you are not even old enough to be on this ship without a parent or guardian. Mr. Anansi should have known better then to bring you. I have no idea what he was thinking, when he could have simply asked for Goran to meet you on the docks." "I'll vouch for her," Goran cut in coolly. Petra's eyebrow honed in on her employee. "That is not quite what I meant, caro," she said lightly. "But by all means." "It is possible they will return," Vikund added, "but rather than loiter there we thought it best to bring you the news, so you could decide for yourself the best course of action to take." "Thank you," Goran nodded to Vikund. At Tear though, he smiled. "It's good to know someone's watching the place while I'm gone." Petra moved her attention to Goran. "When you go home in the morning, please take Ramon with you to check over everything and watch your back until you are certain they have left no surprises. Perhaps the Baroness will be good enough to use her talents to check for traps of a sorcerous nature before you declare it safe." "I am certain she shall." This time it was Petra who received Goran's icy formality. "If you will pardon me, Signora, I will make arrangements for the skiff and escort the Baroness to a safe location where her... youth... will cause no alarm. You and Mr. Anansi will be free to conduct any further business in private." The slight hang on the word "business" was probably only noticeable to those who knew Goran well or those who were generally streetwise to begin with. In other words, anyone currently in the room. He turned to Tear without waiting for a reply and offered his arm. "Baroness?" Petra appeared to not be at all bothered by Goran's chill, or the tension in the air. She simply waved a hand to indicate her permission to leave and went back to her paperwork. Tear continued staring at Petra, her tiny fists gnarling into balls of white skin and knuckles. "I don't know if I can, Goran," Tear said dismissively. "It might be past my bedtime by then. I am just a child, after all." "Baroness," Goran said more firmly, nearly thrusting his arm at Tear. The message in his glare was unmistakable -- Come with me. NOW. It took him a moment to draw her attention away from the focus of her tension. And when did, Goran may have regretted it. Her eyes shone like polished onyx as they rose to meet his gaze. An oily tear wet the corner of her left eye, threatening to stain her cheek. But it wasn't inspired by sorrow or humiliation; this was the essence of pure hate. Tear took his arm and gave him an unembellished nod. "Thank you, Goran" she said, following him out. She glanced back at Vikund, her face filled with hurt and confusion. "Goodbye," she said in passing and headed through the door. Vikund stayed where he was, patiently watching Tear and Goran depart. "Do we have further business to discuss?" He enquired. Perhaps it was the closing of the door. Perhaps it was the rocking of the ship. Perhaps it was just plain bad luck. But Petra's wine glass suddenly went spinning end over end, sending its remaining contents splashing towards her with surprising accuracy. The Rambling Queen was too large a ship to rock unless there was a storm, and if the slamming of a door would upset a wineglass across the room, Petra would go through a whole lot of wine glasses on a ship with Antonia living on it. Petra pushed her chair back from her desk. She watched the trail of wine run over polished wood and papers on its way to drip onto her carpet, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. Then she laughed, and stood up to move paper. She set the glass upright. "How cute. I hear time out is supposed to be the proper punishment for children throwing tantrums." Petra moved from behind her desk to fetch a hand towel from the bar cart to the side of the room. While doing so, she glanced at Vikund and answered her earlier question. "I don't know, caro mio. Are we going to actually talk, or will you be doing your song and dance in which you avoid answering anything I ask that is in the least bit personal? Because, really. I would like to know just why you thought I would be alright with you bringing her here. There's a vast difference between 'you may hear rumors', and waving her under my nose, mio tesoro." "It's not something I planned," Vikund said evenly. "I believe Tear and Goran are close, and she wished to convey the news in person. I could hardly abandon her to come here on her own." "Do you mind if I sit? There's a few things we need to catch up on," he continued, as if the last few minutes had completely passed him by. "And I promise, we will actually talk, if you wish." Petra waved him to pick a seat as she cleaned up the wine from the wood of her desk. The rug was something best left in the hands of the people who had made it. Fortunately, the glass had only been less the half full. When she was done, she sat in the seat beside Vikund and looked at him expectantly. Vikund sat and folded his hands in his lap. "Apparently Duke Uther Helgram has arrived in Amber. He's described as a hard-liner, which probably means bad news for all of us. I doubt he is here as a philanthropist. His visit happens to coincide with the starting of some sort of feud between House Ishtar and Sawall. Apparently Lord Sawall cut off Princess Fiona's hand. Given Mandor's ties to the parties involved, it is hard to see how Amber will escape being embroiled in the aftermath," he said. Petra didn't look in the least bit surprised at the announcement of the Duke's arrival. Her eyebrow did move up a notch at the news of a feud, however. "This is probably why we have had a recent influx of visitors," Vikund commented. "They're being kept at arms' length of the conflict itself, though I don't think it will be much safer here, with Duke Helgram in town. This duke is supposed to be close to the Emperor, and as such will only cause trouble." "I don't know how much this will affect you directly, but I thought I'd best warn you," he continued. She tapped a nail against the arm of her chair and hummed quietly a moment, as if trying to come to a decision. Then she was out of her chair and prowling towards the liquor. "Things are worse then you think, mein lieber Lord Schwansee. The Duke is a religious fanatic who believes the Serpent has spoken to him. He has managed to get the Emperor to declare him Minister of Ordered Affairs." She poured two glasses of very good Scotch and handed him one, catching his gaze and holding it before she continued. "He believes it the Serpent's Will that all remaining manifestations of the Pattern be destroyed. All of them, geliebt. That includes us." Vikund's face fell at this news. Clearly, it was worse than he thought. "That is bad news. The question is, what to do about it?" He accepted the Scotch, swirling it about his glass pensively. "I'll need to find out what his itinerary is. It may be necessary to stop him reporting back to his masters in Chaos." "He will be in Rebma in two days," She offered as she sat back down. "After that, I cannot say. But I suspect Tir will be on that itinerary at the rising of the next full moon." Vikund rubbed his chin pensively. She paused to take a drink. "Some of this, I have already told Mandor. He may give me the creeps, but it is in his best interest to not allow Helgram success." "True," Vikund said, taking a sip of the whisky. "That was an astute move." "There's something else, too. I understand Goran got involved in that little dust-up on the Dockside. I followed that guy in the Kashfan cloak. If I didn't know he was locked up in Amber's dungeons I would have said it was Johann. He got away, and that's no easy trick," Vikund remarked. Petra quirked a smile. "You are close, mein lieber. My best witness narrowed it down by voice recognition and being familiar enough with the regular guests and their coaches. I have my suspicions, but I am going to try and verify a couple of things before I share them." Vikund smiled in return. "Well, you seem to have everyting under control, as usual. I should let you get on... and I am already late for Mandor's little soiree." He stood and finished the last of his whisky. "The treadmill never stops. Not long enough, anyway. Alas, I must go." Vikund stepped around the desk to kiss her, the look in his eye suggesting it was never enough. "Take care, my Lady Schwansee." She smiled lazily up at him. "Try not to be a stranger, my Lord Schwansee." But then what he said registered with her and she cursed quietly. "Is it that late? Damn. I am supposed to be there too." Petra glanced at her watch and said something nasty about Mandor's possible parentage as she stood up. She made a shooing gesture at him. "Out. Unless you plan on helping me change for dinner." Petra smirked. "Then, of course, we would never get there." She turned to head for her private rooms. Vikund laughed, and took his cue to leave. "Oh, and get that girl off my ship before she tries her little tricks around someone who will just use her for target practice. Even nasty little shapeshifting witches can be poisoned. But it would upset Goran." "Consider her gone," he said, and pulled the door closed behind him. He made his way towards the exit, reflexively checking his pocket watch to see just how late he was. Perhaps he would leave the chaperoning to Goran. |
