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Lady Reyne Mordha (heldbytheblade) wrote in watchers_rp,
@ 2017-05-21 23:36:00

Entry tags:

#day 006/06 may, calista, reyne

Who: Calista & Reyne
Where: Elkwood Castle... somewhere
When: Late Morning

A hunt had been planned -- perhaps in progress at that moment -- and while Reyne would usually be at the centre of it, she found she did not trust herself. The Lady Hand herself was in Kingswood, and really, just asking Nevina would confirm that potentially arming the Bringer among all of those fools was just far too much like the time their little brother had followed them out hunting. It painted a target on someone’s back. The last time that happened an arrow had gone through her brother’s throat. Reyne never had been known for her impulse control. She had still been considering whether it was worth the risk until the maid helping her dress -- much to her puzzlement -- couldn’t confirm or deny what she was expected to wear. Ideally it was a question meant to be aimed at Nevina, but she wasn’t there, so Reyne had given the maid a withering glare and donned the first dressed handed to her.

That first dress had brought her internal debate over attending the hunt to an immediate end. Apparently the garments she owned that were classed as ‘simple’ or ‘casual’ and did not involve any form of armour were somehow fussier than the dresses (gowns?) she wore for dinner. Oh, the latter were more eye-catching and obviously there to showcase the woman wearing them, but these...

Her sleeves were all swishy. How was a blade supposed to slide out of these? Keeper willing, I won’t have to kill anyone in this ridiculous garment.

Adjusting her belt (basically silver jewellry for her waist, but nothing like the fake silver-steel bodice on much of her eveningwear) she stopped to fidget in a childish manner she knew would get her that look from her sister, then realised she had walked in on someone else’s privacy. Which was to say she had been wandering around the castle, looking more and more like a feral thing from Ardghal, unaccustomed to attire with a low hemline, and someone happened to be around the corner. While her natural reaction was to curse the Watchers for being fickle cretins, the Bringer’s mouth opened to drop a bizarrely ladylike “Oh.”

Dramatic pause, polite pause, pause while she apparently stopped to think about what to say next even though she didn’t quite need to because if the woman’s dress colours were true to her House, then she recognised them. “Forgive my intrusion--” Reyne’s face was the illusion of a faintly hesitant smile; not that far off from the truth, mostly because she wasn’t sure if she wanted to smile yet. This may yet be the wrong woman and then she would be of no use to the Lady Hand whatsoever. “--all the best hiding places seem to be taken.” Had she really just said that? No matter, she dismissed the thought as she added what could have been a flush of embarrassment to her illusion, then ducked her head to slow any attempt at departure by quite genuinely fixing her stupid belt.

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thesecretikeep
2017-05-22 01:35 am UTC (link)

Calista had had no interest whatsoever in attending the hunt. In fact, after the incident that had occurred with Lady Leavey's son in the training yard only a handful of days ago, she didn't wish for her sons to attend either. She had actually had an argument with Dustin about it. The kind of argument that she knew at least one servant had overheard, and didn't give a single damn for what they had to say about her because of it. Her hands had actually begun to shake in the beginnings of a fit she wasn't prepared for, this matter apparently every bit as daunting as that of Dustin in her bed, before Dustin had informed her the matter was closed. She could keep the girls away from the hunt, but not the boys if they wished to go. Even ladies were going, along with servants, so how bad could it be? They were getting too old to be hanging on their mother's non-existent apron strings, and that was that.

Still in a bit of shock about it, Calista had wandered the palace after the girls went off with their grandmother for the morning. When she caught sight of herself in a particularly reflective window, she wished that she'd dressed differently. She wasn't feeling near charitable enough towards her husband to be clad in Kolite colors. Yes, they suited her very well, but that was not the point. I will make sure to wear nothing but Evencall colors for the next week, just to show him. Knowing it was both childish and unlikely to have any effect, Calista's mind was nevertheless made up. She had likewise made her mind up to go and find something to eat when she realized someone had come upon her. That was forever happening in the palace, but they usually moved on. They did not stop and say something like that.

Despite her mood, Calista felt a small smile pulling up the corners of her mouth as she regarded the woman stood in front of her. She didn't know her, but she recalled her arrival, and there was a resemblance enough between her and one of the Princess's ladies-in-waiting for Calista to feel confident enough to name her. "You are not intruding, Lady Mordha." From Ardghal. A land Calista desperately wished she'd been born in. "I was merely using a window as a looking glass and sending prayers to the Creator to watch over the hunt. You are more than welcome to... hide here." What was she hiding from? Was it a joke?

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heldbytheblade
2017-05-24 12:34 am UTC (link)

Reyne’s features fell into an expression that roughly read guilty as charged when she was correctly identified, and she allowed it to show despite any illusions involving an alleged tint to her cheeks. “Reyne, please. ‘Lady’ sounds self-congratulatory when you’re surrounded by the nobility.” Sometimes a genuine reaction really was worth far more than magic. She did, however, refrain from putting two finger down her throat and gagging at the mention of the Creator. Instead, her head tilted and she asked the first thing that sprang to mind: “That’s well-polished glass if you can truly see yourself in it. I think the windowpanes in my rooms came through an Empyrean sandstorm.” The blonde gave the window a critical eye before the subject apparently slipped her mind -- which it did -- as her cheeks returned to their original colour. Reyne tried not to dwell on the fact she was making small talk, of a kind, with nobility. It was strange. “I am sure they will be well and likely far better entertained than those who opted to stay behind,” she added with a vague smile. “Hunts of such a size tend to invite the least trouble, in my experience.” Unless someone found something large and foolishly decided to jump their horse, leading a brigand of idiots who all thought they were veteran riders when the fresh air hit their brains. Then bones would get broken.

“It is the dress.” Reyne flicked a wrist carelessly as she answered the unasked question. “Jubilation aside, the last time I wore one was my wedding and the twin results of that short-lived endeavour are now eleven.” With that, the Bringer had quite shamelessly declared her daughters legitimate. Announcing herself a widow was nothing, for she was. Multiple times over, in fact. But since someone now knew the hazy details of Tanis and Medeia’s legitimacy, it now had to be the truth. Reyne amused herself. She would have to remember to tell the other Bringers. “I am only in one now because my sister made threats regarding appropriate attire.” A shrug, since she clearly didn’t actually give a fig for appropriate attire. Though she had apparently only just noticed her company’s dress. Apparently. “And forgive me, those are the Kolite colours, are they not? I am terribly sorry--” No, she wasn’t, but still. “--I’ve been nailed up in Hel Mordha so long I forget about introductions.” In case the question arose, Reyne immediately began to do the maths. How long should this version of her have been in that castle? Oh, Watchers be damned.

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thesecretikeep
2017-05-24 05:24 pm UTC (link)

"Reyne then." What was the name of the other sister? Or were there two...? Calista couldn't remember for the life of her, which she supposed was something she needed to work on if she was going to be spending a year surrounded by these people. It would look better if she could remember their names, people reacted better if you did, and remembered you more fondly. That could come in handy should word ever spread of a fight between her and Dustin. As for the glass, well, Calista wasn't actually sure if it was well-polished as the excuse had just sprung to her lips. She could see herself in the windows of her own rooms back in Kolite. I should have come up with something better to say. "This is true. It is simply the first hunt my youngest son is on, and it is natural for a mother to worry." Briar wasn't the martial type, and never would be no matter how hard Dustin tried.

Mention of the dress was all that Calista needed to take a closer look at it, and she could see why perhaps Reyne wished to hide because it was just the sort to draw attention. "My sympathy for the passing of your husband." Sympathy was expected, even if a part of Calista was openly wishing that her marriage had been a short-lived endeavour. It would not do to say such things out loud, however, so she kept it to herself as she did so many of the thoughts in her head. Such as her admiration for the way that Reyne looked in the dress. A lady could say she admired the dress, but to say she admired the figure? Yet another thing servants would be all too happy to gossip about. "Your sister is one of Princess Rona's ladies-in-waiting, is she not?" Calista grasped on that thought to pull her mind away from Reyne's curves, curiosity in her eyes.

Her own dress earned a vaguely dismissive flick of the skirt from her fingers. "They are," she replied, yet again wishing she had dressed in one of her darker gowns. "My husband is Lord Dustin Kolite, I am Calista." If Reyne dismissed 'lady' as self-congratulatory, Calista wasn't going to attach to her own name and be thought a peacock. The title was truly Dustin's after all, not hers, they were not her lands. "I believe that I have seen or met your sister on one of my visits."

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heldbytheblade
2017-05-24 11:02 pm UTC (link)

... and it is natural for a mother to worry. Reyne spent all of five seconds contemplating this. She forced herself to suppress the snort of laughter that wanted to answer it, turning it into an amiable enough chuckle. Or something thereabouts. “Watchers, don’t tell my daughters that, they will wonder what’s wrong with me.” She paused, considering the subject properly for what may have been the first time. “More concerning is when other children want to play with them. They still don’t grasp that not every child has the same strengths in the yard.” Ah, wait. The boy. She was meant to show more sympathy. Or was she? Reyne actually couldn’t tell. “Still, either he enjoys himself or else you can hold it over your husband for as long as you please,” she pointed out.

“I thank you, but I cannot claim condolences over a drunkard managing to drown himself in the bath.” The Lady of Hel Mordha remembered no former Lord with any fondness -- save her father. Even then he was dead and she could recall with bizarre clarity her mother’s funeral, and his assertion that the dead cared not for the mortal sense of sentimentality. It had been over a century ago. Right now she was aware her tone was not what anyone outside of Ardghal may consider an appropriate way to speak of one’s late husband. (Who, now that she actually thought about it, was Iliana’s father and not the twins’ either. She was very nearly believing her own lies.) And yet she would not change her tone or apologise for it when men everywhere were speaking the same way about their wives. Let them gawk at her; Nevina would likely get her own back later. “Nevina? Yes, she is. Which is the only reason I am not wandering the halls in my leathers.” A heartbeat and a twitch in her mind reminded her: “Our younger sister, Iliana is also present this year.” Likely irrelevant information, but there was such a thing as a social network, and it seemed this year it may not actually be something to avoid quite so religiously.

Lord Dustin did not have a happy wife. Body language said so much that Reyne -- whose emotional spectrum did not match that of her alleged peers, thus nor could any physical leakage -- often wondered why more people did not check themselves before acting. Some reactions were spontaneous and involuntary, but that little flick… It was unlikely the problem lay with the cut of the dress. She wondered if she voiced a brief assessment of Lord and Lady Kolite’s marriage from that gesture alone would be as accurate as she liked to believe. Instead of doing such, Reyne gave Calista a bright smile -- the warmth in it coming from the satisfaction she had been right rather than anything else. “A pleasure, Calista.-- Oh? I hope you found each other in good health? My sisters have a habit of hoarding all their interesting news for later, then more than a year has passed and much has been forgotten.” She shrugged, her nose wrinkling at a point beyond the window. “Not that I’m innocent of that particular crime.”

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thesecretikeep
2017-05-25 04:11 pm UTC (link)

"Ah well, for some granting independence is more natural, I am sure." Though if Calista thought about it, she knew that she had given certain of her children more freedom than she had others. She'd not watched as closely when Calan and Derrik had been at their lessons as she had Rose and Briar. What it was that caused that she could not say, she imagined most mothers with as many children as her likely felt the same way, but they gave her comfort. What she refused to think was that her children were more important to her because she didn't have anything else like other women tried to. Women of Ardghal likely had leagues more things to focus on than whether or not their child enjoyed shooting a bow rather than reading. Servants and handmaidens existed for a reason, did they not? That was what Dustin was forever telling her. Emilia gave a faint smile at the idea of holding it over her husband, because she very much doubted that Briar was going to enjoy himself. "I should remember that, and use it if I am right." When I am proven right.

Nevina! That was it, that was the other sister, the one who was always near Princess Rona. "I thought that I recalled a Mordha being here every time I have visited since the Princess came from Valhalla." Which had been just after her own time at court. Her faint smile became a little stronger, amused, at the idea that a woman was only wearing a dress because her sister had told her to. Ardghal truly was a strange place, if one she couldn't deny being curious about. "I do not think I have met your youngest sister, I do not recall an Iliana." Her mind drew up a picture of another dark-eyed blonde woman to match the other two, having no idea at all how wrong that image was.

"The pleasure is mine. I so rarely converse with women from Ardghal and I confess to curiosity about you and your home." The additional fact that Reyne was far from unappealing to look at only helped. Calista had always preferred passing time in the company of woman, though if she thought about it she didn't think she knew a woman for whom the opposite was true. "It was a very brief meeting, I do not think we exchanged anything other than pleasantries before we were speaking with other people. She likely would not know me if she saw me in passing."

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heldbytheblade
2017-05-25 07:25 pm UTC (link)

That smile said that Lord Dustin would have this hunt held over his held for a fair time. Whether he did or did not, Reyne didn’t actually care, but she would guess that perhaps the boy was ill-suited for a hunt, be it through his health or a lack of skill or interest. Such a lack of knowledge about one’s own children was too common in men. She would never claim to be maternal herself, but when Iliana was young she still knew the girl’s strengths and weaknesses as she knew those of Tanis and Medeia. Besides, there would have been the most unholy tantrum had she tried to make them do something they weren’t ready for or even inclined to attempt. If Reyne was really the better parent, then Dustin deserved whatever bee found its way into his bonnet. Even she might have had a hand in putting it there.

“Indeed, she was first chosen as lady-in-waiting. They met at court, if I remember correctly.” Of course she did, because details like that had made her sister’s intentions rather more apparent and real, thus making Reyne choke on her beverage when she was told. Those were the kind of things one did not forget. “Iliana is a full ten years younger than I. The age gap between herself and Nevina is not much less. It makes for… awkward family gatherings.” A pause. “That she is the only brunette in generations of blondes also stands her apart,” Reyne added with a dry smile. The fact those ‘generations’ were just the other sisters not aging (much) was irrelevant.

Reyne very nearly laughed. “The region, or my home in particular?” She was teasing, after a fashion. On this issue the curiosity of others was something of a puzzlement to her, since she almost certainly thought their home simply ridiculous. “Even in Ardghal, I do not doubt some consider me an eccentric. Outside, I am a scandal.” Now she laughed. “You would think some would reconsider gawping and gossiping about a woman in armour lest she be armed. -- Hence the instructions from my sister, else I would be purposefully embarrassing half of court.” Reyne gave a smile that was a touch smug. She did not need the armour to embarrass court. “Oh, I don’t know about that,” she said almost off-handedly, recalling Nevina’s input during their meeting with the Lady Hand. “Her memory is quite impressive.” Naturally, Reyne would have refreshed it. “Besides, you do not have a face so easily dismissed.” It was true, but really the Bringer just wanted to see what kind of reaction the comment received, if any.

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thesecretikeep
2017-05-26 01:00 am UTC (link)

Calista nodded as Reyne explained Nevina and being chosen as a lady-in-waiting. It made sense that they'd have met at court since neither of them were from the same kingdom. She had always wondered what went into being a lady-in-waiting, a part of her wondering if she could've managed it instead of a marriage if perhaps Rona had come to court sooner, before she had been married off to Dustin. "Ah, the tag-along child," Calista said with a smile, thinking of her own youngest. "They are usually the odd ones out. My own youngest is nothing at all like my eldest." Nothing so drastic as being the only dark or light-haired child in generations, though. "Now that you mention it, everything I have ever heard of the Mordha family speaks to light hair." Calista may not be the most well-versed in genealogy or the families of the realms, but some of them stood out. The families of Ardghal were among those. "She must feel a bit of an outsider."

"Hmmm," Calista said as though she were considering. "Would it be greedy to say both? I would offer to exchange tales of my own home, but Arcadie is well known and Empyrean does not have strange cultures. Or at least it does not in the area where I make my home." She imagined other parts may be different, but she didn't have experience with them and would therefore be unable to tell much that wasn't second hand. Her cheeks colored at the remark about her face not being easily dismissed. Calista had no defining marks such as scars or marks, so if someone thought her face remarkable it was because she was pretty. Dustin insisted on telling her that all of the time, which was annoying, and when other people agreed? Calista felt flattered. "Perhaps not, but a face is not always enough to remember." She shifted slightly. "I did mean that I would like to hear about Ardghal, or Mordha. Would you care to walk as we talk? I dislike staying still."

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heldbytheblade
2017-05-26 02:48 am UTC (link)

Something like that… Reyne’s thoughts responded as she wondered briefly how someone like Calista might react to the truth. That Iliana was her daughter and Reyne herself was a century older than the age she claimed. Although she did stop to consider the twins. Both herself and Nevina had an affinity for Illusions, Iliana for enchantments, but the twins? They leaned towards blood magic. It was hardly the kind of difference Calista meant, but it was enough for the Bringer to see she had a point. Or that she would have a point if Iliana were actually her youngest sister. The thread of the conversation seemed to have unravelled in her mind. “Other than strange rumours, that is all you’re likely to hear about us,” Reyne admitted. “We’re a big clan -- or so it can seem, relatives appear from out of nowhere -- so family record keeping went out of the window before the founding of Hel Mordha itself. Iliana will find her place; it’s why she’s here.” Well, that wasn’t actually a lie. None of it had been.

This time, Reyne did laugh, though a last-second illusion drew any of the usual harsh edge out of it. “Ardghal is everywhere else, turned upside-down,” she said simply. As far she could see, that was the long and short of it. She could also see the colour in Calista’s cheeks, however, and her mind turned to the Lady Hand calling her ‘friendly’. Reyne herself considered Calista personable to the point it took effort to maintain a convincingly amiable demeanour that matched any illusion she cast. Although, generally speaking, that likely was not difficult. Still, while the Creator was not mentioned she had no lingering desire to put her hand down the woman’s throat and wrench out her tongue. Which lead her to consider the why behind her apparently being at odds with her husband -- or with her marriage? It was not always the same thing. “Except when it is,” Reyne quipped in reference to Calista’s face. She would put money -- nay, blood -- on Nevina knowing her by sight.

Again, a laugh, though it was genuinely softer this time. The fascination with Ardghal was something she would never understand if she lived to be over four hundred years of age. “Of course.” She very nearly sounded obliging. “Then everyone else can hear me declare that the rest of the Realm lives their lives incorrectly.” Her sister would murder her, but Lady Siobhán might get a laugh out of it if she was around.

“Here, men complain about wives who are somehow lesser for being women. In Ardghal, women don’t complain as much about husbands who are recognised as being a touch lesser because they are men. However--” And this was the reason she believed the rest of the Blessed Realm was doing everything wrong. “--they can still hold military ranks, still be knights. Everything is open to them but inheritance laws.” As though she were in the training yard, Reyne unconsciously dusted off her hands. “Now, Hel Mordha is… Well, where the rumours come from.” She smirked. That was a lie if she ever told one.

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thesecretikeep
2017-05-26 06:04 am UTC (link)

Magic frightened Calista and she had no problem admitting it should the topic come up, which she always hoped it wouldn't. To her, magic meant what had happened to her little sister to change her into that thing and magic was what had happened to her daughter that meant everyone was safer if she grew up in the company of her grandmother instead of with the rest of them, because Calista had no gift. That she knew of. Little flicks and such never happened and even thinking about such things tended to set her fingers to trembling. Luckily, such a topic had not come up and she didn't need to look like someone who had suddenly taken ill. "Strange rumors..." she mused, shrugging one shoulder. "I must have spent my life too far south for I confess no rumors of your family or home having reached my ears." Perhaps Diantha or Aria knew more of the matter and could share with her should she ask. If she remembered to the next time that she saw them. "Though yes, hopefully your youngest sister will find her place. Most of us do." Hadn't she?

"When one place is so different from the other seven, it seems more complicated than that." Especially to women who liked to imagine a life where she would have had more of a say in the matter of children and perhaps the activities that led to them. The color in her cheeks was going nowhere at Reyne's little quip, and she just shrugged helplessly, having nothing to say. She was quick to latch onto the idea of the Realm living their lives wrong. "Most must be used to hearing such things from the women of Ardghal, after all, I am sure the men from other kingdoms insist on saying why they think Ardghal is... backwards." That was one of the most polite terms she had heard. "So in Ardghal... everyone is nearly the same." What must that be like? Did the boys have as much say as the girls when it came to marriage? Or did they still have it drilled into their minds that marrying and having children to carry on the family name was the good and normal thing to do? Calista had the slightest of obsessions with doing everything as normal as she could, and a part of her knew that was because of Aria. Unable to hold back, Calista asked, "What about marriage? I assume it must be as important, children must be had, but I imagine the woman of the family would be the one in charge." A world where Dustin wouldn't be able to decide who Rose or Lily or Lavender would wed, or when. A fairy tale.

Cocking her head to the side, and forgetting that servants may well be listening because they always did, Calista observed Reyne. "What rumors are these?"

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heldbytheblade
2017-05-26 06:29 pm UTC (link)

“How terribly disappointing when your reputation doesn’t precede you,” Reyne quipped with an entertained smile, since a great deal of her own reputation had a tendency to remain utterly disconnected from her for the most part. “I believe she is strong-willed enough to create one for herself, if she must.” We make our mark, indeed. “I was fortunate; my place fell into my lap.” Well, the Hand at the time told her what it was. Same thing.

No, Reyne still did not think it that complicated. She did think that the Lady Hand was going to have fun with this one. “I assume most are accustomed to hearing it from me, certainly. I cannot speak for the others.” But she would love to. “And it has been a while since I’ve met a man aware of myself or my family name who will say such where I can hear, and definitely not to my face.” She gave a light shrug. “The most common reaction is to stare at whatever skin my armour leaves bare or to goad me into a duel -- which only boosts my ego, because I never lose those fights.” Men who deliberately provoked a woman when they knew she’d been trained for combat were usually idiots. It was fun to be underestimated, however. “Nearly the same,” Reyne confirmed with a nod. “It is still important.” She paused. Was it really? “If you’re the firstborn daughter or whichever daughter has become the family heir… And I suppose we have more of a say in who we marry.” Thoughts on her twins, Reyne tipped her head. “Where the rest of the realm will sell their souls for sons, we would really rather have daughters, so illegitimacy is not exactly uncommon. Who would know?” Save any husband. “The child takes the mother’s name after all.” She gave a soft chuckle, as though she had only just realised something about her own countrywomen. In truth, she understood them perfectly well. “And as you say, we are a matriarchy.”

Truly not giving a fig if the servants were listening -- they always did and she loved to play up to that fact -- Reyne grinned. “Hel Mordha was originally built as a coastal lookout -- a fort, really -- so the villagers all have a healthy dose of mariner’s superstition about them.” That was true, but that she had helped it along over a century or so would remain unsaid. “Any man who marries a Mordha is apparently doomed to die an early death. No man has ever paid any heed to that. Probably because the doomsayers leave out the part where pirates were likely involved and the respective Lady Mordha died not long after in similar circumstances. As I said: coastal lookout.” She paused, then added: “Pirates are fun.” Anyway, where was she? Ah. “Our church is, I have been told by multiple sources, cursed by druids. Or the Keeper. Or we incurred the Creator’s wrath. Pick one, they amount to the same thing: we have no church. They keep getting destroyed.” Reyne shrugged it off like it was nothing, but then the stories she spoke of technically occurred long before her time as far as Calista would be aware. “A century ago... or two or three -- who knows these days?” She did. “The whole residing Mordha family was apparently killed inside it. Or so the story goes.” The idea was waved away. Clearly, it was ridiculous. “Whatever the truth, it’s not been rebuilt. The clergy don’t stay long either.” And she even managed to say that without sneering.

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