GM: Meeting with Linna finished, things in motion... what do you do to prepare, and how do you plan to travel?

Helena: I have things in order and running along as they should, collect Boss, and Trump my father. I figure I'll come back by way of one of the place Trumps Birkl made me.

GM: You contact Loren, who asks if you've run the side-errand he asked you to.

Helena: "I plan to go there directly after arriving. I have means to return here, now, and I have been looking forward to coming home."

Loren: "And I look forward to seeing you again," he replies, offering you a hand through.

Helena: I smile with relief and go through to him.

Loren: As there is no one in his office, he takes the opportunity to hug you - albeit a tad formally - and welcome Boss through as well.

Helena: The hug lasts a bit longer than is completely correct from her end, so his proper formality is a bit spoiled.

There is much doggy grinning and wagging, too.

Loren: You break his formality down a bit, and he makes no protest. "It is good to see you well. Have you the Mission Trump still, or will I have to fetch you mine," leading you from his office to his study, where a modest lunch awaits.

Boss gets a treat.

Helena: "Yes, but I wanted to come here first and see you. I will depart straight after lunch."

Loren: "No trouble, I hope..." he says, settling into the chair slowly enough to show his age more than usual.

Helena: I sit as well, but hesitate to answer. Finally I say decisively, "No. Things are if possible smoother than we might have guessed. Whatever factions exist in the royal house of Amber, those that support this effort appear to be at the fore."

Loren: "Excellent!" and you see at least one weight drop from your father's shoulders. He bids you eat, raising a squirming confection to his own lips.

Helena: "I have contracted with one of the Princess Florimel's advisors for assistance with our opening. If you or Lord Jesby have any requirements that she should fit into the ceremonies, it would be good to know soon. We intend the opening for about 6 weeks from now."

I eat with him, enjoying the familiar room, the company and service, the particular foods. And the feeling that I am not a stranger or an enemy.

Loren: Loren seems quite pleased with Princess Florimel's involvement. He promises to ask Lord Jesby if there is anything to announce, and chats idly about your fortunes without prying, more interested in your trips to market than your dealings with Princes.

Helena: I give him good detail about what I've seen and my talks with the locals. It's only a few days since Julian's "visit," however, and that is a little hard to shake off my mood. I also report on the folks I've hired, both from here and in Amber. Good reports, all, so far. I tell him about the King's dinner, which I think I hadn't spoken of in detail before.

I would like to find some way to reach out to the Princes Admiral, but not at the expense of my goodwill with the King.

Loren: Loren's thorny brow creases slightly a time or two, but he doesn't pry. He spends some time digesting the events of the dinner, but in the end applauds your handling of the situation. "I'm afraid I've had few dealings with the Admirals... regrettably, you'll have to find your own way through that. Are you concerned about the sea transport issues of our venture?"

Helena: "Not yet, but obviously that could become a concern if the situation turns hostile. I don't believe it has gone that way as yet, and sincerely hope it will not, but the Prince General Julian has sway with them from what I gather, and given his disposition towards the Embassy." I shrug unhappily. "I may have very few opportunities to impress them separately from what they might hear from their brother."

Loren: Loren shakes his head. "They chose to attend the first event you appeared at, likely knowing you would be there. Perhaps they will answer an invitation to another. I have every faith that they will see your quality through the haze...." He chooses not to finish the thought.

Helena: "On a separate matter, the Imperial House has not taken any stand on the embassy, or taken issue with it?"

Loren: "King Merlin is well pleased with our efforts. The only difficulty we might face is from the Houses we shamed by being first." He smiles as if pleased at that turn.

Helena: I smile at his pleasure; that at least is something we have no trouble taking pride in!

Loren: He pours wine, raising his glass. "To our continued success!"

Helena: I raise my glass with him and drink happily.

GM: More snacks for Boss, and then some quiet together. Does Julian come up again?

Helena: I let most of the meal pass in happy silence. Then towards the end I say, "Father, I... It may not be something you are able to share with me. On two occasions my lineage has become a subject of... discussion. Both times it was clear that others knew more or pretended more knowledge than I had myself.

Loren: "What more would you have me tell you, my daughter?" Despite his best efforts, there is just a hint of defensiveness beneath his words.

Helena: "Is it possible for you tell me whose cooperation and consideration was involved? If not, I am content of course to defend our family as I always have. It just... becomes awkward when some of those defenses are countered by facts I do not have." To explain I add, "For example, the Prince General guesses the identity of my mother -- incorrectly I believe."

Loren: "I...." His face discolors uncomfortably for a moment, and he raises a napkin to his lips until his humors settle. "I'm not sure...." Again words fail him. He lays his hand over yours. "Let me tell you after you have spoken to your mother, that what I say does not show on your face during your visit."

Helena: "Of course. I am sorry to pain you with this." I look around at the decimated lunch, and try to lighten the mood. "I will stop at the Black Zone mission and then see her, and return afterwards."

Loren: "I will be at the Estates (another Black Zone possession), awaiting your return." It seems he does not want to have this conversation here, for whatever reason.

Helena: I stand and give him a short bow of thanks, and use the trump to take my leave.

GM: You appear outside the Mission, facing the entrance. You could go inside to purchase what you seek, or roam the pasturelands in search of harvesting your own fresh from the ground.

Helena: I will gather some of my own, for the exercise and the time to think, and then go in to purchase anything else that might look interesting to take with me.

GM: It seems like a good season for the root you seek, and the labor is refreshing. You find a few pretty mugs for tea at a local potter that seem a good complimentary gift.

Helena: Items in hand, I head home, stopping in my own rooms to wash and change, and leave Boss happily bothering the staff. Tea and cups in hand, I head to my mother's ways.

GM: Boss is overjoyed to be unleashed upon them, and they don't seem dismayed to have him.

Your mother's chambers of the ways seem deep, as always, as if they were beneath so much as to be under pressure. You part a last curtain to find her comfortably propped on pillows like the favored concubine of a sultan, warmly dressed, reading some nothing book.

Helena: My skin tone reacts to it, always, with a sort of dark grey dappling that runs under the alabaster. I see her there and break into a broad smile.

GM: It takes her a moment to notice your presence, but she lights up to see you. "Helena!" (softly but enthusiastically) She struggles slightly but finds her feet to meet you

Helena: "Mother." I step forward into her arms, hugging her tightly with the cups and tea held carefully. I stand back from her. "You look well." I gesture towards her with the tea things, and set them down on a side table.

Alma: She assumes demon form, and a sense of stability washes over her and the room. You look almost nothing alike as humans, but could have been carved from the same marble by the same sculptor as demons.

Helena: I ease into demon form to match her.

Alma: Helena would consider Alma the more beautiful of the two, but your mother would assert the reverse just as fervently. "I am well," she replies, as if testing the sound of such a statement. "Gifts from your posting?" she asks, peering sideways at the things you brought.

Helena: "When I realized I would have time to come see you this afternoon, I gathered these, and purchased the cups from a shipment to the Jesby Mission." I evade slightly. "Boss sends wags." I grin. "Shall I make us some tea, or would you rather go for a walk?"

Alma: Alma shows some mock disappointment at Boss' absence, smiling easily. (So long as Boss is quiet, she loves him, but she cannot bear his barking for long.) "I think I have stretched enough but not drunk nearly so much," she says in that roundabout way that accompanies her best moods. She begins expanding her nest of pillows to hold you both, leaving the tea to you.

Helena: I busy myself heating the water while I slice and steep the roots. I bring our cups over and nestle down in the pillows at a conspiratorial distance. I kiss the side of her cheek abruptly and smile. "We should go to some parties while I am here. Surely Hanla or Ogerio is hosting something low-key. We need dresses! And if there are no parties, we still need dresses."

Alma: Almost snuggling, Alma laughs aloud, like a little song you'd never forgotten, but hadn't heard in too long. "I just told Hanla that I couldn't make her high tea social, and here comes my pretty savior to make me a liar. Do you remember who made our dresses the last time?" A sharp but gentle fingertip traces the side of your face, as if re-memorizing you for your next absence. "So little time, but I know you won't be denied."

Helena: "You mean Ria? Or that young man from Helgram... I get the dresses mixed up. Mm!" I bounce over to the closet, walk in and hold out a sapphire and silver number, waving it a little. "This one was Ria's from two years ago. Last time I was here it was..." pause while I hunt a moment, "this. The Helgram dresses..." The smallest streams of black water silk are shot through with bands of translucent diamond-gray, "Corum Helgram? Cormun? There was some scandal I recall." I pretend I can't remember. "Ah, yes, Hanla's friend from the Expeditionary felt you up thinking you were me. Father loves this dress."

Alma: She smiles at that memory, relaxing even more as she watches you dance through her closets. "Cormun. We should see him next turning, if he has the time. Since we nearly made his reputation by nearly ruining Miklin's that season, I think he'll make time." She laughs softly. "Did Milkin's hands ever find the rump they initially sought...?"

Helena: "Mother! Please." I give her a scandalized look. "It's Miklin; you had it right the first time. Sadly, Father cut off his hands." I look at her completely serious.

For about three seconds. When I stop laughing I sit down on the edge of the bed. "Seriously, Mother. The captain did make an effort, but decided it wouldn't work since I'd been out with two of his lieutenants. I think it undermined his morale."

Alma: Rather naughtily, "And I'm sure the morale of his unit was his primary concern...."

Helena: "Yes, his unit did seem rather intimidated."

Alma: More laughter. ;-)

Again her claws gently trace their way along your contours, this time shoulder to elbow. "I apologize for making you so perfect, Helena. I never meant to make matchmaking for you so hard." Her smile is full of pride, tinged with only the slightest stirrings of melancholy.

Helena: "I forgive you." I hold her hand, smiling fondly. "I will just have to aim higher." I mock-contemplate a moment. "Lord Jesby... too old. First Son Eran Jesby... three wives already... Ah. Hendrake! Top end there remains unmined... Or there's the KIng. Though that icky cousin thing." I shudder. "Well, anyway, we shall just have to get our friends to expand their pool of invitees. Do they not know this is serious business?"

Alma: Once she can stop giggling, "Has anyone at the Mission caught your eye in all this time?"

Helena: I tilt my head and review the men I've met there. Reasonable, nice, boring young men -- a little too young, as my taste runs towards experience. Miklin wasn't half-bad, actually, but it really was awkward for him. The Hendrake thing was only half a joke; their military men are smart and competent, and not much for showboating.... I realize I'm daydreaming. I look at Mother and sigh. "Not really, no.

"We'll just have to see what Hanla comes up with for 'tea.' When did she suggest?"

Alma: Alma turns to the ornate vapor clock sprawling on one of her dressers, does a bit of figuring in her head, and says, "Just over five turns hence... which means I should rescind my refusal quickly and see to another place setting."

GM: You know that your mother does not have the mind for Trumps or the stamina for much travel, especially if the two of you intend to submit to a dress fitting soon, so she might appreciate your help in reaching Hanla somehow, even though she's too proud to come out and ask.

Helena: "I have to go talk to Father this afternoon. Shall I stop by Hanla's and let her know?"

Alma: "If you're not too busy, I would appreciate it. A messenger is so... impersonal. It will have to suffice for Cormun, but I believe that is what he prefers anyway... if the little demons he keeps around are for what he says they are for. How soon will you be able to meet me for fittings, so I know what to arrange?"

Helena: "I am at your disposal, so long as I have time to get to Father, visit Hanla, and get back here." I think a moment. "In your message, have Cormun send the meeting time to me in my Ways. While I'm out, I'll also arrange for carriage for us to the tea; we'll go completely in style." I smile happily. "I'm quite looking forward to it."

Alma: "As am I." Her smile matches yours. "I'll see my part done, and await your carriage at Ponbrige (a carriage balcony at the 'highest' point of the Ways)."

GM: What next? Visiting Father, as she told Mother, or some other preparation?

Simone: Oh, yes, I have to meet with Loren. His tissue of lies is too flimsy to withstand the pressures of society gossip, I fear :-(