Holding hands, Celina, Valeria, and Silhouette step from the Xanadu longboat into the chill waters of Rebma. The Trump rainbow shift ends. Celina drops Llewella's hand and gives her aunt an informal hug. The hug is much warmer than the nearby glimmering crystal braziers.
"Conner has taken the lead in Xanadu," Celina states without preamble. "He asked me to withdraw. So I agree we should have troops standing by if he calls. Volunteers preferred for the first wave. I suspect nasty magics are going to be loose, so if we have some mages who wish to make their reputation, we are taking those sorts of volunteers also."
Celina smiles at Llewella. "Would you debrief Lady Valeria this time?"
Llewella smiles back. "It would be my pleasure."
Valeria swallows, and looks visibly pale. "I had no idea the situation in Xanadu was so dire. If you need trusted family members at the front, Your Majesty, I am at your service."
Celina's face does not express it, but she admires how Valeria covers her reaction to personal questioning by Llewella, with a reaction to front lines combat.
Silhouette bows her head respectfully to her aunt, but keeps her distance. Instead, she focuses on the other woman, dutifully looking her over. She makes special note of Valeria's movements and measurements... as she'd likely need to provide her with armor.
"We must be ready, things could move fast and my favorite uncle may be in jeopardy," Celina adds.
Then she makes a small follow gesture to Silhouette as she heads for her own chambers. "Let me see what sort of armor I can salvage from the Queen's wardrobe. Valeria is more my mother's build than I am."
Celina leaves Llewella and Valeria to chat and exits. She moves through the corridors but stops halfway to the Queen's chambers. She turns around and looks at Sil. "You mentioned Blood Magics of Huon as if you knew quite a bit about it? What principles are involved?"
Silhouette cocks her head, "While negotiating his surrender, Lord Huon and I communicated through the utilization of Blood Magic. Regrettably, circumstances prevented me from observing more beyond this. However, I hypothesize its core principles revolve around the shaping and manipulation of our divine quintessence through one's willpower. Huon formed small birds, which would bind with my flesh - thus allowing us to speak through Shadow, not unlike a Trump. Said creatures can traverse Shadow and possessed rudimentary intelligence, so carry a portion of our Nature, as well." She pauses for a moment, reaffirming they are alone.
"Our Blood's destructive effect the Pattern and the sympathetic connection it provides makes the form of Magick highly dangerous and likely frowned upon. But its potential is virtually unlimited."
Celina nods slowly. "Oh, that's not what I expected at all." She considers, twists, and discards her previous strategies. "All right. So what do you know about seduction magic?"
Silhouette lightly smiles, "That you would not require its use to achieve the desired effects, my Queen?"
A low chuckle, "It is beyond my purview, but in my homeland, alchemic and soul magic could be utilized to twist the heart. I suspect our kind would be adept at seduction magic, due to our unconscious manipulation for the world around us."
"So I want you to guard yourself as best you can. Armor against seduction. There is something wrong with King Random, and if it worked there, it could sweep other Family up." Celina thinks for a minute, then asks, "Will you take my blessing as Queen?"
Silhouette cocks her head, curious. "Of course, my Queen. I am yours."
Celina concentrates then, bringing herself to the steady intangible place that allows her fear to melt to the smallest thing and her heart to be ready to walk the Pattern. She closes to Sil and puts hands gently on her shoulders.
"Rebma, hear my blessing on Silhouette, Designer of Dragon Beauty, and
Earthen Guard of the Sapphire Throne,
May her sight always be True,
May her enemies always be Late,
May her Necessity always be First,
May she honor and cherish the Privileges you Bestow."
Celina leans in and lightly kisses Silhouette on her Third Eye.
Closing her eyes, Silhouette remains stock still as Celina delivers her blessing. Her skin radiates with heat like sun-baked stone.
At the end, she opens her eyes and smiles, "Thank you, My Queen. You honor me." For an instant, she leans forward as if seeking another kiss, but quickly catches herself.
Celina makes a tired noise and looks in the direction of the Queen's own suite. "I'll have to review troops that Llewella has assembled, which means I need to change and take a catnap." She strokes a finger across her collarbones. "I wish I knew more about what sort of Sympathy may be involved with this Seduction."
Silhouette cocks her head, "Sympathetic magicks typically require personal possessions or bodily products, such as hair, blood, or nails. These are the correspondence for the fetish. Anyone close to the King could have acquired these. A servant. A family member."
She steps forward, touching the Queen's wrist. "Let me be your handmaiden for tonight. I will assure you are rested for the coming matters, as well as lay out your attire."
"We are to be ready for battle," Celina says, looking down at Sil's hand on her wrist, "so it shall be armor from the treasury. And we will find something to fit you as well." The Queen studies her face. "You will assure I rest?"
"I shall inspect the armor myself," Silhouette says. "I am certain it will require adjustments. My Queen's protection is paramount."
She smiles under the scrutiny, "Yes. Rest. You deserve a moment without troubles weighing upon you. In this, I wiIl be most persuasive."
"Then I agree," Celina nods once.
Celina turns and continues to the royal suites. Upon passing the guards and sending a page with notice of what is required of the armory, she tells Sil, "But I disagree, I don't deserve a moment without troubles until Rebma is safe."
"Forgive me, your Highness, but that stance is foolish and ill-advised," Silhouette says plainly. "Rebma will never be safe. There shall always be threats within and without. It is the natural order."
She glances over at Celina, narrowing her eyes. "Even tempered steel breaks under fatigue. You will be no use to your people, if you do not pause."
Celina turns and begins taking off her clothes, her voice is urgent, intense, but not angry, "No! That same logic says the natural order is for threats to come through me before reaching my city. Rebma will never suffer because I shall never break. I shall bend, and twist, and be the Flow that endures. My people, my Court, will understand I'd rather be lost than undone. My banner shall be Necessity and the Sapphire shall be besilted or hidden, but never anything but sharp and hard."
Silhouette collects the shed clothing as Celina speaks, folding each item to crisp perfection before laying them aside.
As the silence falls, she walks over to the young Queen and takes her hand. With a gentle, yet insistent tug, she guides Celina to the bed. "Lie down," she says softly, yet leaves no room for dispute.
Celina looks at Sil, searching her face. She does lay out upon the bed.
"Forgive me, my Queen. Normally, I would have prepared aromatic oils for this," she sighs, Using a combination of friction and nerve-touches, she begins massaging the tension from Celina's upper body. Between her strong fingers and preternatural warmth, she is exceedingly deft at this.
Her voice draws out like a blade. "Celina. I've buried untold nations beneath ash and bone. I've erased entire civilizations in the name of Progress. So, heed my words now, for I know of what I speak. Rebma shall not be consumed by the currents of time. Your people shall know your character and strength. Your banner shall endure in the sea of blood to come."
She leans over, lightly blessing the tip of Celina's ear with a kiss. "So, you can afford yourself a moment of peace tonight. So be quiet. Or I shall be forced to take measures to see you do."
Celina chuffs a sound that may be rude agreement. She relaxes under the persistent fingers. The queen's muscles seem to side completely with Silhouette, and they melt into good order.
And then, Sil can feel a vibration, a tiny trilling sound from Celina at rest. She is definitely asleep. Snores? The sound beat was low, indescribably mellow, a music so fantastic that it might defy description. The trill seemed to filter from everywhere; it was as if the very water were saturated with it.
Satisfied, Silhouette blesses the back of Celina's neck with a kiss. For a moment, she hovers, feeling the gravity of the woman's body calling to her, pulling her down into serenity. The weight of wanting is almost too much.
And then, reluctantly, she rises and goes about her duties. Walking on cat's feet, she prepares the room for the Queen's awakening - laying out everything for ease and expediency. She contacts the staff, arranging for all possible correspondence to be delivered, along with the Queen's armor, which she inspects personally. With uncanny precision, she has food and strong coffee arrive as Celina returns to the world.
Celina awakes, not in her bed, but floating on a current above it, just under the surface of a running stream, her hair loose around her. It seems no time has passed at all, but she knows that cannot be. She feels a stirring, like a trump contact, but before she can ask, a strange voice speaks. "Who calls?" it says, the standard response, and a way to buy time. The voice is old, female, and unfamiliar. Celina can not quite make out the woman's face, hidden in currents and shadows.
"Who calls, I say again?" The voice is sharper this time, and seems used to being obeyed.
Celina wipes at her eyes and says, "It is Celina, mated to the Rebma Design, sitting Queen of the Sapphire Throne."
She chuckles, ruefully. "Not while I'm alive, which means I must be dead to you. How stands the circle of cities in your time, child?"
"There is danger from the Lady of Air and Darkness," Celina responds, holding half her mind ready for betrayal. "Is this my grandmother, the Queen Moins? Or some deeper mystery?" Celina centers and balances, ready to defend or attack.
"Thou speak'st aright. I am that merry wanderer of the night. Although perhaps not as merry as the Puck, for all that. My sister Queen is, in my day, contrary and warlike but given our brothers, it can be hard to blame her o'ermuch.
"Is it she, or her heirs who vex you? As if there were a difference."
Celina remembers this moment now as it happens and later when she understands she has fallen in love with the voice of a mentor she may never meet. "Vexed of Her and her Art, all of Oberon and his Art, all of my Moire and her Art, all left, all returned, and all me and my Beloved Pattern, guarded in this one dear Sleep by a daughter of Pattern I would have as a true Sister and more."
She is asleep and calm and only herself now so she weeps. Even a Queen is allowed to confess in her sleep, if she keeps up her guard.
"My Conner carries the Forged Edge of Rebma to stand opposed to Lady Air and Darkness. Upon waking Llewella and I shall gather Our Best. If I have your Blessing or Counsel it will be a better morning than I have seen in a very long time."
"The Warlike Queen stands beside her mount, all caprisoned for war, while her protectors, the heirs of Lir, stand between her and her foe. The card is clear and the meaning is less so, which is the way of the cards. I know not how to counsel you, for in my days we had peace, then war, then peace again. But I ask you this: if you cannot defeat her without destroying her pattern outright, how will you make peace with her?"
Celina sees a current of faces, recognizing a few, Huon, Conner, Martin, Brennan, her father, and others. She sees Llewella's shocking extremes of kindness and fierceness. She also sees herself draped in graceful red silks and bright shells. "I can give her an heir and access to realms that do not go through Xanadu. Would she make peace if not bottled?"
"You are asking the wrong dream-of-the-past, my dream-of-the-future. But the four connected realms are connected, and just as the sea-realms Rebma must always be separate from Amber and Paris, so too must be her sky-realms be distinct, lest she lose herself completely.
"So, her Kingdom must be her prison, as mine is, but it should be enough, in its infinities."
"And if her Kingdom is half as lovely as Rebma, why should she War on Xanadu? Why is she not already at Peace? Is it a truly a Madness for Deeds done by Oberon then?"
The queen's voice gets harder, as if she has suddenly changed. "The war was hers, not from madness, but love. The madness came later, as she tried to repair the damage she had done. She broke herself, her pattern, and threatened to destroy us all. If father had not sacrificed himself, the imbalance would have ripped everything apart. The question is simply has enough time passed for her to try peace and sanity, or is the doom upon her too great for her to overcome, even now?"
"The Ocean Throne is deep with secrets, my Queen," Celina says. "I have walked the Pattern of Rebma and lead our People. I am willing to try Peace. Is there a cache within your Chambers? A place where you might leave Trumps or personal effects? I could try to parlay with the Lady of Air and Darkness." Celina is cold with the idea of what she might lose by trying such a thing.
"Child. Our trumps are written in stone.Masterwork self portraits written into the living rock in the darkest, most protected part of our realms, You need but find a way to take in the entire thing, and you can use it just as you use a tiny pasteboard." The voice pauses, and adds a warning. "Do not make physical contact, though, it would not go well."
Celina pauses. The entire thing? She cannot mean walking to Tir to access Her Pattern, so she must be saying the Patterns allow the connections between rulers. But am I written into the stone? "I hear, Grandmother. I can reach other rulers through the Rebma Pattern. I shall parlay but not touch."
The voice stops her there. It doesn't sound exactly patient, although the words are not harsh.
"No, child. You can reach me through my pattern, for what truer picture of me can there be? And each King and Queen the same, even those that came after the first order. If you wish to achieve the ambitions I see in your heart, you will need to train yourself to think in larger and longer fields than you now imagine possible."
"I shall do as you say," Celina whispers, "and speak to you again whenever it seems right. Grandmother, an unworthy hand has taken the Sapphire from Rebma. I would imagine a current bringing the Stone back where it belongs. Do I have your blessing to call every ocean to this task?"
"You will need it, or the master gem, or else you cannot master my pattern ." She pauses. "As to my blessing, I presume that if I am dead, then I have left a Death Benison for all Rebma. I will share with you what I planned, from the day I learned that the death of a Princess of the Realm meant that she could offer a Blessing instead of a Curse. 'No matter how long it be, may Rebma be the last of the four realms to fall, and the first to rise again.' It was a desperate ploy during a desperate war, but if you are here, then it has at least worked summat.
"Do all you need, for I bless your necessity, as long as it serves Rebma. That is all a Queen can do."
The voice fades, and Celina's dreams turn to a disturbing fight at the base of the stairs. Her sleep is not restful.
And there is the Shining Gallant Conner felling enemies of the Pattern. Halosydne weaves and sings. It lifts Celina's heart.
Celina knows Necessity. She once held it close in her heart without knowing the Dark Depths it would take her to. She is sad and frantic to realize how many times she has allowed Necessity to push her hand, whisper choices, feel the anxiety now in this dream.
Celina sees what turmoil would arise if she pushed her Necessity to Conner's aid.
It would lend opportunity to the Lady of Air.
Instead she wrestles her fears, turns the energies aside and sings encouragement and love to Halosydne. And trusts.
Finally, she rests, and awakens.
Celina realizes only once she is awake, how far she had to travel to come back to Rebma. A soft word brings the cindercoal braziers in the corners of the chamber up to temperature.
Celina sits up. She knows, wants, to move immediately into her TaKhi exercises. She remembers Silhouette then, guarding her, insisting she rest with a watch.
Today could be war. Bright armor, blood in the sea, are the things a Queen must encompass and celebrate in order to hold a Truth steady. Celina puts her forehead on her drawn up knees. She brings her attention to her Pattern but does not close her eyes.
Truth doesn't survive without a defender.
And once Celina settles all that she is upon the Device as if holding hands after the Vows, she turns her head to smile at the congregation. Silhouette will want to fit her to war.
Upon her return, Silhouette's home greets her with silence and shadows. Its interior is darkened, except for the stray phosphorescent glows from neighboring buildings. All is peaceful and as she left it some days ago.
Mostly...
Yet, she immediately knows she is not alone here in the dark. Silt drifts lazily in the store area, tiny motes of sediment disturbed by currents which should not have been present.
Silhouette smiles vaguely, "You can come out now," she says to the gloom. "If you wish this encounter, let us do so without pretense."
A moment later, an emerald skin woman drifts into view from the rear shop. Her coral hair is pulled back; her athletic body painted in shark's skin. A predator, so different from the demure creature who'd visited her shop weeks before. Had her hooks finally caught the fish she'd desired?
"Sedna, wasn't it?" Silhouette says.
A faint nod, still framed in darkness.
"So, do we talk... or dance?" Silhouette says, touching the thin blade hidden along her forearm.
"Talk, Lady. But it may seem as a dance. You are newly come beneath the waves and have heard only a few beats of the great symphony, and it is unclear if the new melodic line will hold or just be a brief counterpoint to the main theme."
Relaxing slightly, Silhouetted drifts toward her pantry, "Then may I offer you refreshment, so we might clear the way between us and begin this shared performance of words?"
She fixes two bulbs of green tea, shaking them to stir the leaves and release their flavor. She offers one to the woman.
The woman takes it, but does not drink. "I am but a messenger, you understand? I have nothing to offer, my death or torture would reveal nothing of importance. I am expendable, and thus not worth expending.
"It is like dancing on the edge of a knife, but that is the role I am destined to play."
"I honor the life of a messenger beyond most, yes?" Silhouette said, nodding. "For they provide Enlightenment and Opportunity. To shirk either is to invite Discord and Ignorance."
She takes a seat, gesturing to the chair across from her. "Sit and fulfill you destiny."
She laughs, "The crux of my destiny shall be much later in my life, Lir willing." Sedna leans in. "Opportunity would be a sudden change, for instance, and to take advantage of it one would need to be considered... if not sympathetic, not hostile to the ascendant faction.
"Opportunities have risk, but offer reward." She puts down her tea. "And trust is built over time. What would you offer as a token, that my friends might trust you?"
"I would say my word, but I suspect your friends may not understand its worth," Silhouette replies.
"That leaves coin and information, both of which may only be provided in proper amounts and only when requested. Which would best sate your associate's misgivings?"
"Coin is not an issue, Lady, for my patrons, and information is a two-edged sword, in that the use of it can expose one as much as the passing of it.
"We would prefer something more... demonstrative. Trust generated through shared risk.
"Would you wear a copper starfish on your lapel at court? One will be delivered to you here. Those who knew, would know."
There is a scratching at Silhouette's door and Sedna rises, ready to retreat to the shadows once more.
Silhouette's head snaps around like a moray eel, eyes narrowed. She hisses faintly through her teeth in frustration. Without turning to the shadows, she nods. "Yes. Deliver it and it shall be worn. There's a green sewing box in my workshop, if you must hide it."
She rises, "Go now, before your risk outweighs the rewards."
So saying, she heads to open the door, slipping back into her mask of warm indifference.
The woman fades into the darkness of the inner apartment, and somehow Silhouette knows she will find neither her nor her egress route easily.
The page bows when Silhouette opens the door. "Her Majesty the Queen is awake and asking for you, Lady."
Silhouette nods, "Of course. If you wait, I shall be with you momentarily. If you need some tea, do help yourself."
She heads off to change.
The Page waits and when Silhouette returns, leads her to the Queen's chamber.
Celina appears in the doorway of the Queen's chambers wearing the soft spongewraps that fit under armor.
She sends a page with message:
to the Honored Hierophant
the Throne asks for volunteers from the Triton brothers
those who know war and wish to deepen their legends
there may be activity from the Bionin Stairway or the Nedra Kelp Forests
beware outlander invaders
send the Brothers to the Palace
yours
Celina, Queen of Rebma
She sends a second page to let Llewella know she is rested and prepping for conflict.
She sends a third to find out where Silhouette may be.
She sends a fourth to alert the mages Conner was working with that there may be hostile magics gathering outside of Rebma.
Conner's mages are the only ones who answer promptly, sending the page back with dire warnings of astrological and aqualogical catastrophe that the Queen must prepare herself against. They are quite emphatic about this, but they fail to specify how the Queen may prepare.
In the privacy of her own chambers, Celina is annoyed with these mages. Perhaps all mages. She regrets she ever became one for several heartbeats, then she remembers the dark dreams of strangulation and Khela easing her through hard TaKhi relief of the flow of magics.
Awake, Celina seldom thinks of Khela. She is not queen in public for the nonce. She begins to sob. It's my city and I'll cry if I want to...
Before she has spent her tears, there is a scratching outside the door. Most likely one of the pages returning.
There is something to be said for the timing of the Pattern. Celina puts the heel of her hand to mouth stifling her emotions little and goes to open the door. Pulling at the heavy metal door she sees the page and Silhouette. Apropos of little, she says, "Aqualogical catastrophes be frelled."
This may be the first time any palace staff has heard the Queen swear.
Silhouette curtsies, her arms filled with properly folded clothing. "My Queen. I hope you slept well."
Celina gestures Sil into the chamber, waving off the page, "Yes, I slept well enough."
Once the door closes, Celina grasps Sil firmly by the upper arms, "What happened to you? I thought you were going to be here?" Celina holds an intense gaze.
"Forgive me, milady," Silhouette says, bowing her head. "I needed to fetch some items for your armor. You woke sooner than I'd expected."
She sighs, "I should have remained. Perhaps I..." Her eyes look up into Celina's for a moment, cheeks flushing uncharacteristically. She wants to say something, but swallows it down.
Instead, she stands taller, "I will understand if you dismiss me for my failure and graciously accept it."
"Is that the best way to not tell me what took so long, ask to be dismissed?" Celina lets go. She shakes her head at herself. "Do not trouble over it. Nothing was wrong and nothing should happen within these walls. It was a comfort to think you were there... or here. But I am safe and so are you. That's what matters." Celina slides her hands up along the outer upper arms as if to warm herself. Plainly not needed here.
Silhouette pauses for a moment, considering. Then tentatively reaches over and touches Celina's hand, as it rests upon her upper arm. The fingers are strong and smooth, radiating heat like cooling metal. "Celina," she says, her voice wavering. That she's uttered Celina actual name is something of an admission, in of itself.
"I believe I used my Duty as an excuse to distract myself from other... thoughts. And for that I am sorry. I've not dealt with these feel... these issues before."
Celina covers Sil's hand with her own off hand, "Oh, Dolphin. We all distract ourselves from Necessity as she is a hard lady."
Celina leans closer, lowering her voice, "I found a measure of peace in sleep. That's more than I expected. I wish to assume it had something to do with you offering to guard me so. But I admit the sleep was full of wondrous concepts and fearful royal measure. The Throne is a mountain and sometimes I am but a hungry dance scholar. I get to be a queen, even though I failed my Queen. It makes me feel a wretch often enough. I shouldn't yell at you because I'm angry with myself."
Silhouette cocks her head lightly, "You did not fail her, my Queen. If I may be so bold, I believe she would be proud of how far you've come. And how far you shall go."
She offers a smile, "And do yell at me, yes? I deserved it in this case."
Celina runs her thumb back and forth over Sil's knuckles. "Mmm. All right then, you deserved it. Now we shall get ready. I sent messages to Llewella and she will expect me to be prepared. The Tritons should send someone to me, if only a few. We should be wary of Nedra at our backs." Celina moves back to the armor laying in wait.
Changing subjects, only a little, Celina adds, "These Rebman mages are more politics than magic. Look at this message, 'beware and be ready'. And not even a guess to the portents of that. Useless."
Silhouette follows, falling into her more subservient role and preparing the Queen's armor. Its sublayer appears exceedingly light, almost sheer. The exterior layer resembles shark's skin, smooth and grey. "Do not run an unprotected hand against it," she warns. "However, a backhand or block can cause significant damage to an opponent."
She begins fitting Celina, "Are you concerned of Loyalists within your ranks? And who will protect Rebma in your absence?"
"Those are fair questions," Celina watches Sil closely to learn the proper fitting of custom made armor. This is something a queen should know. "Not lightly answered. I shall answer them because you are so much more than a kinswoman. Rebma protects its own and itself. That is why Khela is not here and I am. If I am away, it can call me if it knows I can help and I will rush back. But I do not anticipate being far from the City. Random and the Others will not think me a warrior to add to what they are doing, and providing a strong place to have at their backs is most of what we provide right now."
She adds, "As to Loyalists, such an odd term. I am not concerned for what they do to me, but what they do to my City. If the Loyalists find a better person to sit the throne, so be it. I only know of one such and she does not want it. Hence, the Loyalists are thinking we are enemies when we are not. I can try to protect them, but it is also my work to discipline them to Truth." She thinks of Loreena then. Mutual failures. "In my absence, if that happens, you and the Court can protect the Realm."
Silhouette dresses Celina with care and precision, making certain everything is tailor fitted to her body. It requires surprisingly few adjustments,and adheres to her form like a second skin. Suddenly, she drives her fist into Celina's side - a blow strong enough to crack ribs. And yet, the Queen feels little more than a dull thud like a child's punch.
She steps away, pressing wounded knuckles to her lips - scarlet plumes drifting through the water. "Be wary, my Queen. You have enemies closer than you think. If Rebma is to prevail, trust no one."
She goes to fetch the armor's outer layer, "What are your wishes, if events transpire for the Court and I to govern in your absence?"
Celina watches this with obvious small surprise. She frowns at the blood in the waters of her chamber. She sniffs at the crimson stain.
"You are a twice-made outsider, Sil," Celina says carefully and kindly, "Some will have been digging to find out your story. They won't like the hints they might find there. I think largely you are safe regardless. However, my wishes if events transpire are that you give all your loyalty to Llewella if it comes to that. If my Aunt is absent or dead, you will not be the first choice of the Families here for leadership. Protect the Pattern at all costs. Let no one into that chamber that you do not personally trust with a knife at your throat. And then sing me a nice lullaby in the Pattern Room and I'll find my way home. If possible."
Silhouette nods to this, clasping the last of the armor in place. "The Pattern shall remain protected beyond all else," she admits. "And, as I trust no one, those I allow shall be a small group, indeed."
She touches Celia's bare hand, "You do not wish me to sing a lullaby, my Queen. Although the cacophony alone might make your return easier." She leans in closely, whispering with shy warmth, "Please, do not require me to do so, Celina. Return freely and expediently."
"I shall always return as I may never leave," Celina whispers. But she adds, "you sing as you like, and my heart will hear what it needs, and my limbs will pull me to where I may always lay my head."
Though she knows she shouldn't Celina leans to Sil and kisses her soundly.
Silhouette stiffens at first, but soon melts into the kiss, pressing forward longingly. The forge heat of her skin warms the waters around them, as she gingerly pulls Celina to her.
She leans back, slender fingers tracing Celina's jawline. A tinge of guilt flickers in her eyes. "Celina. No matter what happens. No matter what you see or hear. No matter the betrayals you endure. Remember this moment. And that I am yours."
"How would I forget?" Celina wonders.
"What you perceive may cloud this memory," Silhouette replies. She kisses Celina again and then floats back from her.
"I should cease my affections, for the moment. Otherwise, this armor fitting will quickly be reversed." She smiles, "Your Majesty."
Celina looks briefly at Sil and then towards the Bionin... "Very well," she says.
Then she gives herself a blessing, expecting it will find resonance with Sil and the City, "may such clouds stay far from the Throne."
She tests the fit. She steps and kicks. "Likely the threat above pushes another at us even now below. We should get to the throne and receive news from the Hierophant."
Silhouette makes the appropriate adjustments, of which there are few.
She falls in beside Celina, "Could you not close the Way above, so you can focus upon what is Below?"
They move through the busy galleries. Celina gives consideration, then looks at Sil, "What advantage would I gain? If I close a door, I cannot face a challenge or grow. If I knew my defeat was likely, that might be a responsibility to my people, but we are not in that situation. And then what sort of Queen would often be closing the ways to her city? Fear would come to live in Rebma and I'd rather not become my mother."
Silhouette nods lightly, keeping pace. "You follow Progress and your people shall benefit from it, even if they do not recognize this. Simply remember, although we must forever look forward, our foundations must remain secure."
Her feet leave the floor for a moment, drifting lazily as she weighs her next words. "My Queen, do or should you consider your new niece a possible threat?"
Celina's expression is suddenly remote, she slows so they do not arrive in the most public court before the question may be ...addressed, "Explain quickly. I'm not sure what you mean."
"Although Prince Martin and his grandmother are estranged, his daughter might be of interest to her," Silhouette says. "An apparent heir might serve as a focal point for unrest. With her appearance in public, it may have already stirred the waters."
Celina slows further and speaks crisp and soft, "That doesn't make the young one a threat, that confirms the old one is corrupt. I don't see that future, but if such attempt came to pass, it would be a terrible end of my mother's story. I would move the double dozen oceans to teach a lesson in succession. That young one has more future than I do. She shall be protected. And that's enough on that subject for now. Ask me again when we are more private."
Celina pauses only long enough to provide an eye to eye look that provides no hint of anger at the question.
Silhouette dips her head, "Of course, my Queen." A hint of a smile, "Although, next time I have you in private, I do hope talking will be secondary to other interactions."
The water around her shimmers, as her impenetrable persona returns. She opens the door to allow them back into the public sphere - and all the scrutiny that comes with it.
Last modified: 6 April 2019