Dinner With The Prince

One afternoon, four weeks after the coronation, each of the youngers remaining in Amber receives a note in Gilt Winters' hand.

Prince Martin has returned and requests your presence at a family dinner this evening to discuss all needful things before King Random returns to Amber tomorrow.

Lucas enters rather less fashionably late than usual. His attire is impeccable (well, this is Lucas) - but he's still in French existentialist mode - or at least a modified version of that. He wears a black polo-necked sweater, black trousers and, over it, a white jacket that has a question mark in rainbow hues embroidered on the right breast pocket. His normal pallor is even more pronounced than usual, as though something is worrying him, but he moves forward and greets Martin with a smile that seems only a little forced.

Martin will notice he has changed his hair-style - it has been grown to cover his mutilated ear tip.

Martin is sitting and chatting with Cambina when Lucas enters. Lucas overhears enough of the discussion to suspect it's about their late Chaosian cousin.

Also present are Flora and Llewella, who are leaning together as if they are gossiping.

"Martin!" he says, and holds out a hand in greeting.

Martin rises to take Lucas' hand in a firm grasp.

"You found your father, I see. You've heard about Aisling?"

"Gerard told me this afternoon. Bad business, that." Martin politely spares mentioning that Aisling's demise has spared him the necessity of pounding her or skewering her in a duel.

"I'm glad to see you looking so well. You were in a bad way when I left. Try not to give us such a scare again, will you?"

"The next time someone throws playing cards in my direction," says Lucas, "I shall be first under the table. Even if they're firmly of the pasteboard variety. I suppose one could hope that a second such incident might add symmetry but ... on the whole, I think I would prefer to avoid experimentation."

"I should think so," Martin agrees.

As they speak, Lilly wanders silently into the room. She does not really want to interrupt the conversation and will patiently wait until she is noticed before offering greeting of her own. Of course this does not mean she will stand at the back of the room like a wall flower. Instead she gently make her way to the table, nodding to those present as she does so.

Martin acknowledges her with a friendly nod.

Not long after Lilly's arrival, Caine enters. He offers Martin a nod of acknowledgement, which the young prince returns.

A little after Lucas arrives, but not yet fashionably late, Jovian enters the dining room. To those who have not seen much of him in the past fortnight, he looks well indeed, the windburn and perpetual tousel to his spiky hair simply adding to the generally hearty impression of a face that again seems to smile more than it scowls. The ivory shirt and jabot with black riding trousers from the memorial are leavened this time with a wine-red mess jacket.

Lucas watches his arrival with a certain sardonic amusement.

Seeing Martin engaged, he first repairs to the sideboard for a glass of dry red wine before heading over to find a good point in conversation to interject.

Ossian enters soon after Jovian. He stops in the door for a moment, bowing slightly to everyone, and surveying the room with a worried expression. For this event he wears white hose and jacket with blue ebrodeiry. The embrodeiry is a squiggly line pattern much like the one he wears on formal occasions, this time however the lines do not curve smoothly everywhere, but bend into sharp angles here and there.

Ossian is not as polite as Jovian, and joins Martin and Lucas. He will wait for them to finish their exchange enough fo him to shake hands with Martin, but there is some urgency in his whole posture.

"Is...?" Ossian starts to say something, but then he changes his mind, his eyes darting over the present elders. "It's good to see you back, Martin."

"It's good to be back." In response to the unfinished question, Martin says, "Folly is with Gerard right now, catching up on family business. They'll be up in a few minutes, I'm sure."

As is often the case, speaking of Folly brings a smile to Martin's face.

Ossian looks somewhat relieved. "That's good news." he says with a wry smile.

Seeing that the ice is broken anyway, Jovian closes to conversational range as well. For a moment he seems about to turn grave, but he pushes that away with an effort. "Good trip, Martin? Successful, for whatever definition suits?"

A few moments after Ossian's arrival, the Queen comes in. Venesch is escorting her; he sees her to her seat and departs. Cambina comes to sit by her and they talk quietly in low tones.

Not long after the Queen's arrival, Folly and Gerard enter the room. It appears that Folly hasn't even had time to change out of her travel clothes yet: instead of Amber style (or her own tweaked facsimile thereof), she is wearing jeans and a tie-dyed T-shirt. Ossian in particular will probably immediately notice that her hair is more vividly purple than it was when he last saw her, as if she had traveled in the interim to a place with more advanced hair-dye technology.

She exchanges a few quiet, fond words with her uncle before leaving his side to join the group around Martin, whom she greets with a wide smile before turning to speak to Ossian.

"Miss me?" she asks with a mischievous grin.

Ossian looks very relieved and opens his mouth to answer when:

"Not any longer," Martin says and returns the expression.

Ossian is quiet for about a second before he snaps back: "Well, Mister Centre-of-the-universe, that's easy for you to say isn't it?"

Then he turns to Folly, (unless Martin interjects) and says in a much softer voice: "Yes, I did miss you." ...before he stomps of to find a chair as far from everyone as possible.

Martin looks a bit wide-eyed for a moment, as if he's a touch confused, and then shrugs, turning his attention back to his conversation with Lucas and Jovian.

Jovian lets a concerned, even troubled look follow Ossian for just a moment before returning to Martin. "I suppose we'll get the news of what you were up to this month en masse?" If there's a jibe there about his secrecy, it's a good natured one.

"As much as I can tell, yes. I'd rather not repeat it once for everybody here." Martin grins. "For the rest, I'm sworn to secrecy. But it is all good news, I think."

Folly, meanwhile, catches Martin's eye, gives him a barely-perceptible shrug, and then politely excuses herself to try to have a few words with Ossian before dinner.

Ossian's anger seems to vaporize rather quickly as he regains control of himself. He slumps slightly in his chair. When Folly approaches he greets her with a weak smile and sad eyes.

Folly offers him a sympathetic smile, then leans down to speak to him in a low voice:

"I'd hoped our next meeting would be more joyful, because I already come bearing an apology to dampen it: I loaned your trump to Marius at the Masque, and then I got whisked off on an errand before I had a chance to retrieve it. I felt I could trust Marius with it, but I still feel bad for having treating something so precious with such... hasty carelessness. Forgive me?"

"Oh." Ossian looks perplexed "I forgave you the moment it happened. The Trump was made to be used. I was angry at cousin Marius for a few days though."

Folly smiles affectionately at her cousin. "But you're over being angry at him now, though, I hope?"

"Nope."

He continues in an even lower voice. "I didn't mean to ruin your homecoming. Martin just...played me in a way I didn't expect."

"You didn't ruin it," Folly replies immediately and firmly, also in a low voice. But then her eyes light up with mischief.

"Although... I had meant to tease you about a rumor I'd heard -- that you, too, have recently developed a taste for overbearing Rebmans -- but perhaps now I shan't." She gives Ossian a gently teasing grin. "You know, some days I'm convinced you must be my brother."

Ossian grins back "We can always pretend ...sister." He seems to have relaxed quite a bit by now "And those rumors, well, tease away."

Marius will arrive somewhat closer to "uncharacteristically late" than "on time." He's dressed, for what it's worth, although it might look like he's more dressed for being down in the unsavoury portions of the city than for Dinner. He's clean, though, which is what makes it a terrible disguise. He'll nod at the attendees and take an appropriate empty seat quickly, without much more than a word and a glance at Jovian.

Who responds with a nod, formal, measured but not quite curt, and an expression that isn't really unkind.

Lucas takes a seat too (some distance from his mother) and shakes out his napkin with the snapping precision you can only get with really good linen. His expression is grave once more, perhaps even a little pre-occupied.

By the time Marius arrives, finger foods have already appeared, and people have begun to settle in their seats. Vialle is, as usual, at the head of the table, with Lilly at her left and Gerard at her right. Martin takes the foot, with Folly next to him.

After the servants bring in the soup and depart, Martin says, "All right, I know you guys have about nine million questions for me, and in the interest of getting it over with, I'm going to say what I have to say now. And in the interest of not letting my soup cool too much, I'm going to do it quickly.

"The short form is this: I had a job from my father, which he directed me to do immediately on departing from the masquerade. I'd have stayed around to deal with things, but I wasn't given the option, and neither was Folly. However, we're done with what we were asked to do. We've come this afternoon from his presence, and he's got one last thing to do before he returns, which he plans to do tomorrow. He's going to answer everybody's questions then, and I can't answer all of them now, so you're just going to wait on him for real answers. Sorry about that."

The news of the Kings imminent return visibly brightens Lilly. Good, she thought. Very good. There is far too much we need to discuss your majesty. Far too much.

Martin sees that and grins at Lilly. He dips his spoon in his soup. "And, oh yeah, we left him with friends, so he's safe, too." The spoon arcs its way up to Martin's mouth, forestalling his ability to answer questions immediately.

"Well," says Lucas, "our fait seems to be accompli. We wait for the King, and, no doubt, will have the opportunity to express our delight in learning of his well-being. I am sure I echo Her Majesty in expressing gratitude to you for bringing this news to us. Could someone pass the breadsticks? Thanks."

He takes a sip of soup. "Perhaps," he suggests, "there are questions you want to ask us."

Lilly uses the comment as an excuse to watch Martin for a moment. She was memorizing his mannerisms, looking for clues that might help solve another puzzle. Of course she was also interested in his response but at the moment she was content to simple take in as much as she could from his actions.

"I've had a basic briefing from Gerard and the Queen." Martin's gaze takes in his stepmother, who is currently engaged in a sudden, low-voiced conversation with Gerard and Caine at the far end of the table.

Marius resists the urge to roll his eyes. He's got too much respect for the Admiral to suggest that he doesn't know what's going on despite his challenges, but you combine it with the Queen's, and you have the guy with no legs leading the blind? This is a bad metaphor.

[Martin]
"Gerard said Solace was ill. I hope she's on the mend."

Folly glances at Martin with a slight smile, as if that were the very question on her own mind. She then regards Lucas with a concerned look as she awaits his update.

Jovian, who had been drawing breath to speak, merely holds it, looking with concern from Martin to Gerard to Lucas, the last mildly questioning.

[Marius is] listening, and not just between bites. Marius hasn't had anything to offer yet.

"Ill is an intriguing word for it," Lilly says quietly between spoonfuls of soup. She lets her attention turn from Martin to Lucas for the moment. This, as far as she was concerned, was his story to tell. If he did not or could not, then she would step in.

"She's making a good recovery," Lucas says, with unusual succinctness. He glances at Lilly, and one dark eyebrow lifts slightly, as though in an unspoken question, before he addresses Martin and Folly. "How much did Gerard tell you?"

"Only that she'd fallen ill since the Coronation," Folly replies. "But when he said it, he seemed---" She pauses, considering carefully how to describe her impressions. "He gave the sense that her illness has been difficult to diagnose and treat...?"

Lucas gives a short laugh, without humour. "You could say that. Our ways of dealing with sorcerous attacks are rudimentary, it would appear."

He pushes the soup away irritably.

"She was in the children's nursery when it happened. So were the children."

Martin sets down his spoon. "Sorcery? Are we sure?"

The ripples of Lucas' comment silence the rest of the table briefly, and everyone looks at Lucas, shocked, with a few exceptions. Caine doesn't seem to be surprised at all, and of course, the Queen is not either.

"No, we're not, not yet," says Gerard into the silence. "If you have any access to a sorcerer, this would be a good time to produce him."

Martin says, "I'll call Merlin after dinner and let him see what he can see."

"Thank you," says Lucas, with real gratitude.

Lilly nods in approval. She liked Merlin and felt he could be trusted. He might also be the best source of information concerning Chaos they had. It certainly would not hurt to involve him in this.

"It is worth noting," Jovian contributes in strong but calm tones, "that we are not in agreement about the source of the dreams that troubled us on the trip home. Each of us was visited with disturbing images - but some of those have sounded suspiciously like reflections of things that actually happened here while we were gone."

"You think this might be a manifestation of the same thing?" asks Lucas, with a faint frown. "I believe that those of us who remain behind are not wholly immune to the phenomenon - at least, not since the Sundering."

"I don't know enough about what happened here to say," the dragonman admits. "But I'm not convinced our dreams were part of a sorcerous attack. Lilly's inferences are worth considering, but I'm wary of drawing conclusions from those dreams." He nods his respects to Benedict's daughter, then returns to Lucas. "What happened to Solace, exactly?"

As he nods in Lilly's direction something odd happens, she smiles at him. A real genuine smile. Rather then destroy the moment with meaningless banter though she simply goes back to finishing her soup while awaiting Lucas's response.

"She was in the nursery - I was in our bedroom," says Lucas. "I heard a cry - a thump - and then the children were crying and I went in. Solace was slumped on the floor - it was her fall that had caused the noise I heard. No injuries - no visible injuries - and my uncle declares she has nothing worse than a migraine now. Solace's memories are hazy ... Hope says she seemed all right one moment, then she stiffened and seemed to stare ... cried out ... and collapsed."

Jovian's brow furrows as he considers. "Little to go on yet," he grumbles. "With luck, as Solace recovers her strength, she'll remember what happened. Uncle Gerard, what do you think happened to her, from a purely medical perspective? Do you have enough to go on for a diagnosis?" He faces Gerard to wait for the answer, but his gaze doesn't quite make contact with the former Regent, hitting the middle distance of a man working on complex equations in his head. If he has suspicions, he is plainly not ready to voice them.

Marius shifts slightly in his seat, then shrugs. "Do we have any evidence that it is an assault, or could it be... women's issues?" Honestly, Solace is one of the most "womenly" women he even knows of...

From his place at the far end of the table, Gerard says, "We have no evidence either way, yet, and not much in the way of getting any until Martin's young friend comes. What's wrong with her could be a sign of some magical attack, or it could be that the poor lass had a migraine come on suddenly." The former Regent catches Martin's eye. "You know she's been a touch delicate since her second pregnancy."

Martin, who was looking a touch cranky, nods once.

"We're taking what security measures we can, and we take the possibility of magic seriously, but there's no cause for alarm yet." Gerard says firmly.

Caine says, "Lucas, actually, I've been meaning to talk to you since Gerard brought this to my attention. I've taken the liberty of making a few inquiries, and I think the results might be worth discussing. Would you care to take a brandy after dinner at the Naval?"

"Certainly," says Lucas. "I would be glad to have this set down to no more than Solace's delicacy."

He takes a sip of wine, and then glances around the table.

"Apart from dragging out the bunting and arranging a ticker-tape parade through the streets, are there any particular preparations that the King wants us to make for his return? I rather gather we won't run the risk of a firework display ... "

"I don't think so," says Martin. "He didn't tell us about anything we needed to do. Except one thing, and that's a moot point now." The young prince suddenly decides he has nothing further to say on that topic and develops an interest in the contents of his soup bowl.

"Now that," says Lucas, pained, "is just provoking. When you can tell us naught but one thing, to snatch even that morsel from us is downright cruel. Unless ... "

He breaks off, as though recollecting something.

"Well," he goes on, "surely I cannot be the only one with someone delicious little tidbit of gossip to share?"

Lilly is very dutifully finishing off her soup as well. Her gossip was not meant to be shared at the dinner table. She could wait until the King returned.

Folly, who has been following the conversation with a sort of calm but pleasant neutrality, says, "Alas, some of us have spent the last month abroad, quite far out of the gossip loop. I suppose it's up to you to fill us in." Her smile is friendly and amused.

Flora says, "Gossip we have in plenty, Folly, dear. The Queen has just named her ladies-in-waiting, and the catfighting that followed when Rilga and Paulette performed that duty was enough to dine out on for decades. For the rest, you can read 'the Dirt'."

Vialle looks a little green around the gills.

Gerard says hastily, "I'm sure all the ladies will get along perfectly."

Llewella and Caine look like they're resisting laughter and suppressing it into smirks.

Dinner conversation winds down, and the family begins to break up for the evening.

As promised, Martin attempts to Trump Merlin, but he doesn't get through. He doesn't seem overly concerned, and says he'll try again in a little while. Probably Merlin is asleep, and he'll get him later.

Lucas nods. He seems somewhat relieved that Martin has made the attempt.

Vialle departs with Lilly . [OOC: since Tara is unavailable for threads, so is Lilly, and so is Vialle]

Caine suggests to Lucas that they depart once it is clear that Martin isn't bringing Merlin in at once.

"Certianly, Uncle," agrees Lucas.

He rises gracefully to follow Caine to the club.

The rest of the elders are rising and beginning to ready to depart.

Martin catches Folly's eye and raises his eyebrows.

Folly smiles, leans over and whispers something to him. Her body language shows all the breathless anticipation and giddy glee of a teenager conspiring to cut study hall in favor of something much more fun.

Cambina announces she's going to the library to do some research.

Ossian rises and moves over to talk to Martin. "Martin. I overreacted a bit earlier. I'm sorry about that."

Martin is still grinning from whatever Folly whispered in his ear. "Oh, that. I'd already forgotten about it.. I didn't mean to be rude either, I'm just a little, I dunno, the last couple of days have been a roller coaster and I'm a bit narrow-focused. Sorry about that."

"No problem." Ossian says, grinning himself. "How long are you planning to stay in Amber? The family band has been lacking lately. We don't even have bagpipes anymore."

"Oh, I don't know. I know Dad has some more things for me to do, but he hasn't specified exactly what just yet. Definitely need to get some playing in, though. Learned some new pieces, and I'm anxious to see how they do acoustic."

Martin just can't seem to lose the smile. Something has put him in an excellent mood.

"Just let me know when you have time and I'll try to get as many as possible together." Ossian sounds enthusiastic.

"That smile of yours. I don't think I've seen that on you in a long while." He continues, "Would you care to enlighten a curious cousin with whats making you so happy?"

Martin gets a 'who, me?' look for a moment, but the smile returns almost instantaneously.

"I got some really good news while we were traveling that I didn't expect. It's kind of wound up with some things that are under embargo until Dad gets here."

"Well, I'll have to be patient then." Ossian says.

"I guess I shall go to bed now. Don't want to miss the sunrise." he continues. "Have a good night, Martin."

For some reason, that makes Martin's eyes sparkle with particular amusement, or perhaps general joy. "Oh, I will," he says. "Especially since I don't have to be up at the crack of dawn myself." He gives Ossian a clasp and a good-natured pat on the arm, far more friendly than he normally would give, and beats a hasty retreat from the dining room himself.

Marius is headed back to his rooms. Now that Folly's back, he does have something to return to her...

(Which is the status of things: Marius goes to his rooms, wipes off his forehead with a cool rag, gets the Trump, and then goes searching for Folly, starting right back at the dining room and seeing if anyone knows which way she went.)

Folly is so very on the same page -- which means that unless he departs very rapidly indeed, he probably won't make it out of the dining room before Folly accosts him.

Having unsuccessfully managed to avoid Folly, Marius will quite gladly take her approach with a sigh. "I need to return something to you," he begins.

"Probably the very thing I was coming to ask you about," Folly says with a grin. "Paige didn't collect it from you, then?"

Marius shakes his head. If Folly is sensitive enough, probably because the mere mention of Paige seems to have temporarily taken away his power of speech, he clears his throat. "It's in my room - shall I fetch it for you?" He makes the word 'fetch' fraught with the intentional vision of puppies, as if he'd return with the Trump in his teeth.

Quite amused by that mental image, Folly smiles. "Please," she says. "I'm headed in that general direction myself.... Shall I walk with you?" Her eyes twinkle as she adds, "I promise not to keep you on too short a leash."

"That may not be a promise I want to extract," Marius notes, with the return of his smile, and it's a little flirtatious as well as a little wry. "If you don't mind the bodies scattered on the floor, I'd be delighted to have your company."

Unless Folly shows some squeamishness at this, Marius will take the lead towards his suite, which his player will be sure to check in the archives for any potential descriptive qualities. [grinning]

Folly shows amused curiosity, perhaps a hint of surprise, but no squeamishness. [After all, she has just been traveling with a guy who seems to leave a trail of unconscious, if not dead, bodies in his wake...] She follows along, engaging in amiable chatting and low-key, friendly flirting all the way. She is obviously in a very good mood.

"I would be dishonest if I were to tell you that there was much for you to see," Marius says, opening the door in front of him. As befits a gentleman, he gestures Folly into the room first. This is not so much as to have her trigger any potential booby-traps but because for some reason, everyone always wants to guard the rear.

Erm. I'll take that last sentence back.

Marius follows right behind, and gestures to a shelf near the door with a few odds and ends. "My mementos. I think I need to develop more, and make it look, perhaps, like I might live here."

Folly grins, and there's a mischievous spark in her eye. "Oh, I dunno," she says. "Mementos aren't something you want to rush into, you know? And anyway, I think the current arrangement projects a certain air of having more amusing things to do...."

She leans in for a closer look, intrigued by the objects on display.

On the shelf is a blue-green scale from something that looks as if it might be faintly marine. There's a lovely purple shell, more like a conch shell than your usual mollusc. Both of these biological souvenirs have a faint iridescent sheen to them. In addition to these are a golden coin with the picture of a wolf, a number of small blue nails, and a sketch of the Princess Deirdre. They are all displayed as if they were deliberately there to be seen. You could put a big neon sign up saying "LOOK: MEMENTOS" and it would be just as subtle.

There are some very nets hanging on the walls, braided in very unusual patterns. They do not look as if they've ever been used, more...an experiment, of sorts. Some have more colour than others, more tie-dyed than anything else.

Folly's eye seems particularly drawn to these, and she stares at them for a long moment almost as if trying to work out, or perhaps memorize, the patterns in them.

Marius follows her gaze and looks almost embarrassed. "Have you ever run across the peculiar custom of tying a string around your finger to aid in remembering something? Those are..." he pauses. "That on a larger scale," he decides. The implication there is that he got in trouble somehow with those.

Across from the shelf is a table with a number of maps splayed across it, more like a desk. There are colours of ink and numerous scrawled notes in a steady, if not decorative hand. On the table is a worn pouch, likely made of leather, and drawn taut with a fraying string. Marius strides over to it and slides out something from the top, in this case, the appropriate Trump. He hands it to Folly with a bow and a bit of a flourish. "Be careful, m'lady, these things are precious," he says, and the smile on his face looks as wistful as it does amused.

"They are indeed," Folly agrees with a smile. She's watching Marius with the interest and focus one might give a finely detailed surrealist painting, if one were into such things. "I thank you for showing it proper care while I was away." She takes a moment to examine Ossian's portrait before withdrawing her own Trump case from her pocket and slipping the trump into it.

Marius may notice she doesn't put it on top.

"I believe we'll be seeing each other at breakfast?" he asks, almost rhetorically. He seems in no hurry to push her out, but more has the attitude of, "the mission is complete."

"Perhaps," Folly replies, and the mischievous spark returns to light her eyes. "Although after all the traveling I've done of late, I may well decide to stay in bed 'til noon...." She grins -- and now that she mentions it, it does seem to Marius that she's moving with a certain careful slowness, as if she'd over-exerted herself recently.

"Unless the King returns earlier than that, that is," she adds, almost as an afterthought.

"It really is too bad I'm hearing so loudly the siren-call of bed."

Marius' grin is just on the edge of leer. "Depends on the siren in your bed," he says. "Some bite," he warns mildly. He will hold the door for her.

"I've not forgotten that I owe you a song, and I do intend to pay in full -- but not tonight, sadly, when I'm sure I'd barely manage a half-payment." Folly grins.

"Thank you again for keeping this safe for me," she adds, holding up her trump case before slipping it back into her pocket. Then, with a slight bow and a big smile, she wishes him a pleasant good night.