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Plottings
Genectel’s Royal Palace - 02/07/2011
“Sissy, your neck looks broken! Fix your head!” Chandillia whispered to Aughraysiah as they “enjoyed” dinner with their parents and the upper crust of the country’s nobility.
“But Dolores is next to me and I don’t wanna see his stupid face!” Aughraysiah whisper-grunted back through clenched teeth.
“Stop it!”
“No!”
“Stop it!”
“No!”
“Please? It’s my birthday!”
“That doesn’t work on adults you idiot!”
“You’re not an adult. You’re 17!”
“I help run a kingdom when I’m not in class.”
“And yet, you literally can’t seem to keep your head on straight.”
Aughraysiah sat with her mouth hanging open as she glared at her sister, her eyes narrowed to slits. She had no comeback.
“Aughraysiah, dear, are you well?” It was Vance Eroboks. His black eyes showing genuine concern accompanied by a slight frown. Even though his lips were the same shade of green as the rest of his face rather than a darker shade like most people’s would be, Aughraysiah thought they suited him perfectly. The chatter of the people around her faded as she took note of his particularly sharp jawline. It seemed only to increase her expectation when preparing to take in the wonder of his physique.
“Um, Sissy? Vance asked if you were okay,” Chandillia said, effectively breaking Aughraysiah’s increasingly wanton trend of thought. Suddenly, Aughraysiah’s head was perfectly capable of assuming its correct position over her shoulders.
Aughraysiah could feel her lips pulling themselves into a grin as she replied, “If I say no, can you make it better?”
Chandillia face-palmed and muttered, “Oh God, Sissy no!”
“What?” Aughraysiah asked incredulously, refusing to acknowledge how awkward she was making the conversation.
Dolores snickered beside Aughraysiah as Vance covered his own grin behind his napkin. Chandillia couldn’t stop herself from giggling at Aughraysiah’s obliviousness. Aughraysiah changed the subject.
“Vance, can you tutor me in swordsmanship? I was supposed to spar with the buffoon next to me for two weeks as punishment for disrupting class; but my teacher has extended the time since I can’t beat him.” As she spoke, Aughraysiah batted her eyes rapidly and cocked her head at an angle that she’d heard one of the maids say always made men melt.
Nearly spitting out his food, Dolores covered his mouth with both hands in an attempt to control his laughter. Chandillia had given up on trying to control her laughter and the commotion had captured the interest of a few adults at the table.
Vance, doing his utmost to keep his facial expression in check replied with feigned calm, “I cannot say that my expertise is on a level at which I can be of much help. However, I will be happy to offer my assistance. If you would like lessons in flirting, I can be of service in that area as well.”
“Can I join too?” came the voice of Duke Eroboks, from two seats above Vance, his face alight with amusement.
“Father, don’t make it weird,” Vance replied quickly. “Since there is no world in which I can imagine Chandillia being called a buffoon, I am going to assume you are referring to Lord Vitae, correct?” He continued smoothly. Even though his words were for Aughraysiah, his eyes drilled into Chandillia’s as he spoke, invoking a purple blush from the princess’s dark green cheeks. Aughraysiah didn’t notice. Dolores frowned at the exchange. He couldn’t have his prey getting swept away by some man with intentions better than his own.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Aughraysiah watched Vance and Chandillia intently later that evening as they began their third consecutive dance for the evening. Although she had made herself look like an oblivious ditz at dinner, the behavior had its purpose. The Vance that Aughraysiah remembered from two years prior would have willingly flirted with grass if it seemed to be sporting a pair of breasts. She was well aware of Chandillia’s feelings and she wanted them to be protected at all costs. Tonight however, Vance’s behavior contradicted all her memories. He hadn’t even looked at another girl for the entire night and, though it was kind and laced with humor, she had been directly rejected when she made her play for his attention.
“I’m so smart!” she whispered to no one in particular, her chest filling with warmth as she watched Vance and Chandillia glide effortlessly across the ballroom, looking entirely enamored with each other.
“Not smart enough to snag the guy you like apparently.”
Aughraysiah groaned as the familiarity of the masculinely nasal voice reached her ears. Closing her eyes and counting to three, she opened them and turned her back to the direction the voice came from, contemplating her escape through one of the 3 exits that lay before her.
A hand that was much too smooth for a boy who was supposed to have spent the last month practicing swordsmanship grabbed hers before she had taken more than 2 steps, roughly spinning her to face him. Dolores grinned leeringly at the expression of irritation on Aughraysiah’s face.
“Won’t you give me the honor of a dance, Princess?” he asked mockingly.
“Do you promise to drop dead right after?” she retorted, mentally kicking herself for her lack of wittiness. She tried to pull her hand from his grasp. Although he was not squeezing her hand or causing her any pain, her hand seemed stuck to his. A silver chain link illuminated across their hands. It was numbingly cold. She pulled harder.
Dolores closed in on her as she struggled fruitlessly. “If I drop dead, do you promise to follow suit?” he whispered in her ears. Aughraysiah’s eyes filled with tears, not because of Dolores’s words. They made no sense to her. The feeling had returned to her hand; but, rather than the usual pricking feeling of returning sensation one usually experienced, Aughraysiah’s hand felt like the skin was being burnt off in the same area where the chain link had appeared.
“Is no one seeing what is happening here?” Aughraysiah thought as she began searching the room for someone she could call for help.
“If you call for help, you will look like a lunatic,” Dolores sang eerily, calling her attention to his eyes. They had turned silver and shone as his body began to fade. “No one can see you next to me.”
“I will have you arrested!” Aughraysiah growled, rage causing heat to fill her ears.
“You can’t arrest someone who isn’t here, Princess.”
At that moment Aughraysiah felt a light tap on her shoulder. Her hand was suddenly released as she turned to see Chandillia and Vance scrutinizing her.
“Who were you talking to, Sissy?” Chandillia asked slowly.
“What do you mean?” Aughraysiah responded. “I was talking to --” she turned to point at Dolores, but he was gone. Looking at her hand which was no longer in pain, she noticed that the chain link was also gone. Her heart sank as Dolores’s words echoed in her mind: ‘You will look like a lunatic.’ She sighed.
“Myself.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Dicora inhaled deeply as she lightly touched the surface of the water in the golden bowl before her. She had just witnessed the exchange between Dolores and Aughraysiah. His method had been less gentle than she would have liked, but the job was done. Her plans were progressing smoothly. As the image before her became distorted, she felt the presence of another person in the room.
“Couldn’t you have been more gentle with the girl, Dolores?” she asked as she turned to face her son. “I told you to create the link to the anchor, not frighten her.”
“Aughraysiah is no fool mother. I just watched that girl pretend to flirt with her sister’s paramour to test him right in front of said sister without causing conflict. No matter how smooth my words had been, I would not have found a valid enough reason for her to let me hold her hand.”
“That is what seduction is for, you fool! Attraction works best when it defies common sense. No matter, everything is in place.”
“How will we get her to the anchor?” Dolores pondered. “Maybe you can present it to her as a gift on her birthday!” He exclaimed excitedly, pleased with his self-perceived cleverness.
“No, no, that will take too long. We need her to be in possession of the anchor as soon as possible after creating the connection. Besides, birthdays seem to be a happy time in this palace. The anchor works best when the host is emotionally vulnerable.”
Dolores shrugged at the rejection of his idea. “What will we do then?”
Dicora smiled smugly, placing her hands on her son’s shoulders. “We exploit her weaknesses, of course.”
Dolores sighed in exasperation, “How am I supposed to find time to sleep with Aughraysiah’s sister if you have me chasing Aughraysiah down in an attempt to uncover her nearly nonexistent weaknesses?”
Dicora’s smile hardened as she cupped Dolores’s face in her hands gently. Dolores’s breath quickened and he shut his eyes as he anticipated the pain that usually accompanied prolonged physical contact with his mother. Even if he was physically stronger than her, she had the magic of the moon. Her thoughts alone could end his life. However, the pain did not come. Dicora pulled away from Dolores and returned to the golden bowl. The water had settled and she had more work to do for the night. Dolores took that as his queue to leave and began making his way to his bedroom.
“You already know one of her weaknesses,” Dicora stated, turning to face Dolores’s back as he reached his bedroom door. “Start there.”
© River R.
“Sissy, your neck looks broken! Fix your head!” Chandillia whispered to Aughraysiah as they “enjoyed” dinner with their parents and the upper crust of the country’s nobility.
“But Dolores is next to me and I don’t wanna see his stupid face!” Aughraysiah whisper-grunted back through clenched teeth.
“Stop it!”
“No!”
“Stop it!”
“No!”
“Please? It’s my birthday!”
“That doesn’t work on adults you idiot!”
“You’re not an adult. You’re 17!”
“I help run a kingdom when I’m not in class.”
“And yet, you literally can’t seem to keep your head on straight.”
Aughraysiah sat with her mouth hanging open as she glared at her sister, her eyes narrowed to slits. She had no comeback.
“Aughraysiah, dear, are you well?” It was Vance Eroboks. His black eyes showing genuine concern accompanied by a slight frown. Even though his lips were the same shade of green as the rest of his face rather than a darker shade like most people’s would be, Aughraysiah thought they suited him perfectly. The chatter of the people around her faded as she took note of his particularly sharp jawline. It seemed only to increase her expectation when preparing to take in the wonder of his physique.
“Um, Sissy? Vance asked if you were okay,” Chandillia said, effectively breaking Aughraysiah’s increasingly wanton trend of thought. Suddenly, Aughraysiah’s head was perfectly capable of assuming its correct position over her shoulders.
Aughraysiah could feel her lips pulling themselves into a grin as she replied, “If I say no, can you make it better?”
Chandillia face-palmed and muttered, “Oh God, Sissy no!”
“What?” Aughraysiah asked incredulously, refusing to acknowledge how awkward she was making the conversation.
Dolores snickered beside Aughraysiah as Vance covered his own grin behind his napkin. Chandillia couldn’t stop herself from giggling at Aughraysiah’s obliviousness. Aughraysiah changed the subject.
“Vance, can you tutor me in swordsmanship? I was supposed to spar with the buffoon next to me for two weeks as punishment for disrupting class; but my teacher has extended the time since I can’t beat him.” As she spoke, Aughraysiah batted her eyes rapidly and cocked her head at an angle that she’d heard one of the maids say always made men melt.
Nearly spitting out his food, Dolores covered his mouth with both hands in an attempt to control his laughter. Chandillia had given up on trying to control her laughter and the commotion had captured the interest of a few adults at the table.
Vance, doing his utmost to keep his facial expression in check replied with feigned calm, “I cannot say that my expertise is on a level at which I can be of much help. However, I will be happy to offer my assistance. If you would like lessons in flirting, I can be of service in that area as well.”
“Can I join too?” came the voice of Duke Eroboks, from two seats above Vance, his face alight with amusement.
“Father, don’t make it weird,” Vance replied quickly. “Since there is no world in which I can imagine Chandillia being called a buffoon, I am going to assume you are referring to Lord Vitae, correct?” He continued smoothly. Even though his words were for Aughraysiah, his eyes drilled into Chandillia’s as he spoke, invoking a purple blush from the princess’s dark green cheeks. Aughraysiah didn’t notice. Dolores frowned at the exchange. He couldn’t have his prey getting swept away by some man with intentions better than his own.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Aughraysiah watched Vance and Chandillia intently later that evening as they began their third consecutive dance for the evening. Although she had made herself look like an oblivious ditz at dinner, the behavior had its purpose. The Vance that Aughraysiah remembered from two years prior would have willingly flirted with grass if it seemed to be sporting a pair of breasts. She was well aware of Chandillia’s feelings and she wanted them to be protected at all costs. Tonight however, Vance’s behavior contradicted all her memories. He hadn’t even looked at another girl for the entire night and, though it was kind and laced with humor, she had been directly rejected when she made her play for his attention.
“I’m so smart!” she whispered to no one in particular, her chest filling with warmth as she watched Vance and Chandillia glide effortlessly across the ballroom, looking entirely enamored with each other.
“Not smart enough to snag the guy you like apparently.”
Aughraysiah groaned as the familiarity of the masculinely nasal voice reached her ears. Closing her eyes and counting to three, she opened them and turned her back to the direction the voice came from, contemplating her escape through one of the 3 exits that lay before her.
A hand that was much too smooth for a boy who was supposed to have spent the last month practicing swordsmanship grabbed hers before she had taken more than 2 steps, roughly spinning her to face him. Dolores grinned leeringly at the expression of irritation on Aughraysiah’s face.
“Won’t you give me the honor of a dance, Princess?” he asked mockingly.
“Do you promise to drop dead right after?” she retorted, mentally kicking herself for her lack of wittiness. She tried to pull her hand from his grasp. Although he was not squeezing her hand or causing her any pain, her hand seemed stuck to his. A silver chain link illuminated across their hands. It was numbingly cold. She pulled harder.
Dolores closed in on her as she struggled fruitlessly. “If I drop dead, do you promise to follow suit?” he whispered in her ears. Aughraysiah’s eyes filled with tears, not because of Dolores’s words. They made no sense to her. The feeling had returned to her hand; but, rather than the usual pricking feeling of returning sensation one usually experienced, Aughraysiah’s hand felt like the skin was being burnt off in the same area where the chain link had appeared.
“Is no one seeing what is happening here?” Aughraysiah thought as she began searching the room for someone she could call for help.
“If you call for help, you will look like a lunatic,” Dolores sang eerily, calling her attention to his eyes. They had turned silver and shone as his body began to fade. “No one can see you next to me.”
“I will have you arrested!” Aughraysiah growled, rage causing heat to fill her ears.
“You can’t arrest someone who isn’t here, Princess.”
At that moment Aughraysiah felt a light tap on her shoulder. Her hand was suddenly released as she turned to see Chandillia and Vance scrutinizing her.
“Who were you talking to, Sissy?” Chandillia asked slowly.
“What do you mean?” Aughraysiah responded. “I was talking to --” she turned to point at Dolores, but he was gone. Looking at her hand which was no longer in pain, she noticed that the chain link was also gone. Her heart sank as Dolores’s words echoed in her mind: ‘You will look like a lunatic.’ She sighed.
“Myself.”
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Dicora inhaled deeply as she lightly touched the surface of the water in the golden bowl before her. She had just witnessed the exchange between Dolores and Aughraysiah. His method had been less gentle than she would have liked, but the job was done. Her plans were progressing smoothly. As the image before her became distorted, she felt the presence of another person in the room.
“Couldn’t you have been more gentle with the girl, Dolores?” she asked as she turned to face her son. “I told you to create the link to the anchor, not frighten her.”
“Aughraysiah is no fool mother. I just watched that girl pretend to flirt with her sister’s paramour to test him right in front of said sister without causing conflict. No matter how smooth my words had been, I would not have found a valid enough reason for her to let me hold her hand.”
“That is what seduction is for, you fool! Attraction works best when it defies common sense. No matter, everything is in place.”
“How will we get her to the anchor?” Dolores pondered. “Maybe you can present it to her as a gift on her birthday!” He exclaimed excitedly, pleased with his self-perceived cleverness.
“No, no, that will take too long. We need her to be in possession of the anchor as soon as possible after creating the connection. Besides, birthdays seem to be a happy time in this palace. The anchor works best when the host is emotionally vulnerable.”
Dolores shrugged at the rejection of his idea. “What will we do then?”
Dicora smiled smugly, placing her hands on her son’s shoulders. “We exploit her weaknesses, of course.”
Dolores sighed in exasperation, “How am I supposed to find time to sleep with Aughraysiah’s sister if you have me chasing Aughraysiah down in an attempt to uncover her nearly nonexistent weaknesses?”
Dicora’s smile hardened as she cupped Dolores’s face in her hands gently. Dolores’s breath quickened and he shut his eyes as he anticipated the pain that usually accompanied prolonged physical contact with his mother. Even if he was physically stronger than her, she had the magic of the moon. Her thoughts alone could end his life. However, the pain did not come. Dicora pulled away from Dolores and returned to the golden bowl. The water had settled and she had more work to do for the night. Dolores took that as his queue to leave and began making his way to his bedroom.
“You already know one of her weaknesses,” Dicora stated, turning to face Dolores’s back as he reached his bedroom door. “Start there.”
© River R.
