Backscene: When in Orlais... Who: Vienne Reyer and Jill Sorrel Where: Val Royeaux When: 9:43 (exact date tbd) Summary: Jill is unwashed, Val Royeaux is huge and maybe Vienne is lurking nearby? Rating: M Status: In progress
She had no idea what the message was. But as she crossed rivers and plains, mountains and valleys, Jill Sorrel thought to herself that it had rather be a damned important one. Unlike many other messages, this one had not been rushed; there had been no warning that the Teyrn was going to send someone. He had simply shown up one afternoon to watch his messengers practice, and then later that night he had called Jill into his office. And one thing had led to another, and for the first time in her life, she sincerely hoped that this another would involve a hot bath…
Because the journey had taken days. A lot of days. Even to a woman who had spent most of her life in the saddle, it was wearying. By the time Val Royeaux appeared at the horizon, Jill was cursing the skills that made the Teyrn choose her for this special mission. But as she drew nearer, the buildings and houses growing larger as she approached, the frustration and exhaustion filtered away to give place for excitement. Suddenly the sense of adventure she always carried with her while on the road returned. Salma was tired, her head held lower than usual, but as Jill straightened in the saddle, the horse’s ears perked up. So this was Val Royeaux, the capital of Orlais and the seat of the Divine…
Repeating the instructions she had received, inside her head, Jill slowly made her way through the great city. She was too proud to stare at her surroundings like a simple farm girl, but she kept an interested eye open for her surroundings. There a baker, dressed as finely as a noblewoman was hawking her wares; small cakes and pies decorated in bright colours. In another street corner a shoe maker, his stand filled with….shoes? It had a slight resemblance to footwear anyway. Wherever Jill looked there were new smells, foreign colours and accents, and dark eyes watching her.
When she reached the right address and came to a halt in the courtyard, immediately there was a stable boy by Salma’s head to take the reins as Jill jumped down. He didn’t even blink as the horse smelled his hair. Jill stood staring inelegantly after him, too perplexed to react, as he led the unresisting horse away. She had never before arrived to find the servants used to horses. Another one appeared by her elbow, and after explaining her errand, she found herself quickly passed from servant to servant until she stood in front of the master of the house. He took the letter, and just as quickly she was bundled out of the room to stand in the deserted hallway outside. Looking around in confusion, her gaze caught a glint of light to her left. Turning she found a beautiful gilded mirror, or at least she thought that was what it was. She could see herself reflected proportionally, without funny discolouring or distortion. The small polished metal mirror Lena had, was nothing compared to this. Jill thought she looked tired and dirty, but never before had she known how her eyes looked just like her mothers, even though her nose was an exact copy of her fathers. She made a face at herself, and then laughed. Meeting her own eyes in the mirror, for a moment, Jill was totally blind and deaf to her surroundings.