Scene 2

Scene 2: LeGrande Mansion, Parlor

Opulence wasn’t accustomed to Ruby nor was she to opulence, nonetheless she was put in a position where she’d had to grow accustomed to it and yet she still hadn’t. Gaudy jewels set into a golden chandelier hanging far above fancy carpet and marble flooring made her every step feel expensive and pulled her eyes to the remarkably reflective tiles.

She wondered if she should have taken off her boots and if she’d trailed dirt in with her. Certainly since this was an area of the house meant for entertaining guests that it might be fine to dirty it a little and of course no a single servant had said anything about it, still her guilt would driven her head down even without the wealth hanging over her head.

Her stomach gurgled as a man in a butler uniform entered.

“Duchess LeGrande will be just a few moments longer, Ms. Wright.”

Ruby nodded silently, embarrassed by the loud noise of her stomach. The butler retreated with an awkward half smile.

She had been eating rations the last few days, in fact she’d only just returned from carrying out her duties when she’d been summoned to the LeGrande estate. The reasons could be a number of things, good and bad, well probably bad, mostly bad, especially since it was the Duchess LeGrande and not the duke she was seeing.

Her stomach gurgled some more, “Shh” she attempted to quiet it. It was a futile effort. The combination of lack of food and nervousness was wreaking some kind of havoc on her digestive system. It would be more than embarrassing if she had to get up right as the Duchess came in, it was probably better to wait. She clutched at her stomach, her heel erratically tapped the floor.

A moment later the sound of a different set of heels began to click across the room. The footsteps were a lot lighter that her own. They were careful but deliberate.

“Now, presenting Duchess Revelia LeGrande of the Bellevander Queendom.”

Ruby sucked in her gut and stood board straight. The woman who had entered the room was tall and commanding, she must have been at least 6 foot without heels but with them she was almost 6’5”. She carried an ornate gold staff with a heart design at the top the came up to just above her curly silver-haired head. Her face had very little slack which embellished how sharp her nose and eyes were. She looked directly at Ruby as she entered.

Once her large, swaying dress and two attendants were fully through the double doors, it shut with a thud and locked.

Ruby stood at attention her lips trembling slightly. She realized now how unprepared she had been for this meeting. It wasn’t her fault, entirely, but to blame the Duchess would be unconscionable. Ruby hadn’t had time to get a change of clothes. She was given a towel to wipe off the worst of the grime… Ruby was about ready to faint from embarrassment, she wouldn’t have been surprised if her skin was turning from ghostly pale to asphyxiated blue.

“Ma-ma-ma’am.” Ruby bowed as a sign of respect but also to hide her complexion and to avoid looking the Duchess in the eyes.

“You may be seated, Miss Wright.” Said the butler who was standing near the large window toward the back of the room along with the other two. It struck Ruby as odd that they were keeping such a distance, but she had more pressing concerns such as keeping her head attached to her body.

Ruby sat stiffly making sure to keep a proper posture. The Duchess was unable to sit due to the large, frilly ball gown she was wearing. The Duchess stood about 15 paces from Ruby who looked around the room, making a point to look anywhere else.

“That’s rude, I should say.” Were the first words out of the Duchess’s mouth.

“I’m sorry!!! my battalion had just gotten back from a long battle when I was summoned and I was just given a towel but how is a towel supposed to get everything. And I’ve eaten nothing but preserves and jerky for the past two weeks so my stomach won’t settle. And I know I smell, I just can’t do anything about it, I wasn’t given enough time to prepare, and I’m so nervous and your so intimidating and I want to keep my head, please!”

Ruby’s words echoed through the room bouncing off the expensive ceiling and floor tiles. She bowed her head and prepared for a berating and/or prompt dismemberment but several moments passed in silence with nothing happening.

“Is that all, dear?” The Duchess finally spoke.

“I’m sorry.” Ruby was about ready to cry.

“No, I must apologize.”

“Huh?” Ruby lifted her head, looking up at the Duchess in disbelief.

“I should apologize, it appears my tone made the courier think there was urgency in your summoning. I’ve been told by my butler, Thomas, that I can be quite hard to read at times. I apologize for causing you undue stress.” The Duchess bowed her head slightly.

“It’s fine! It’s fine. Don’t apologize. I mean, you just did, so apology accepted but it’s really unnecessary.”

“Very well. Now, I believe you interrupted me before. I shall continue. I find it very rude that you have not been offered any snacks of beverages.” She looked over to her butler, “Thomas, cookies and tea. Now, please.” She snapped her fingers at him and he ran out of the room.

“Are you sure about sending him out of the room, isn’t he-”

“Decoration. He can fight, somewhat, but Gemma and Ginny are part of my special defense squad. Men always assume us women are so much weaker than them, smaller bodies, smaller Ods, tinier voices. It’s how it is, with some exceptions. I’m lucky to be one of those exceptions and I snagged a few extra just to be safe. You’re one of them, I believe, yes?”

Ruby couldn’t exactly argue. She was the youngest knight captain in over 20 years and the first ever female knight captain. She knew that she should be proud of her accomplishments and she was but she still felt inadequate.

“I can’t argue.” The tea and cookies arrived. Thomas sat the overflowing tray onto the coffee table in front of the couch. The Duchess carefully lowered herself to the ground with help from Thomas. Strangely her staff remained standing. Ruby stared.

“Hmm.” The Duchess smiled, “Some secrets ought not to be revealed yet. I am privy to a lot of things, in fact, you should assume I hear everything. I know things even the Queen doesn’t. I can see you’re concerned, perhaps I’ll let something slip that could get you killed.” Her eyes hid something fox like and devious, “Allow me to assure you and interpret this how you like, nothing I say or do in this room will ever leave it and you don’t have to swear anything to me or mutilate your hands or make some empty gesture to me. It’s just how it is.”

The Duchess bit into a cookie, “The chef has done a fine job as usual.”

“Umm, Madame Duchess, may I speak freely?”

“May you? You may. Please, by all means.” She teased.

“Why have you brought me here, you said it wasn’t urgent but I came here urgently and we’ve been talking for a bit.”

“I suppose I should, my dear. There’s been movement on the northern border.”

“The beastmen.”

“Yes. Commander Sullivan’s had them in a stalemate for over a month now, or so we thought, but it turned out they were waiting on reinforcements from the western beast tribes. They rushed our northern checkpoint and overwhelmed Sullivan’s men. In a last ditch effort, Sullivan blew up a mana vein killing himself and the enemy forces.”

“I knew Sullivan…”

“He was one of the good ones. It was certainly devastating to hear of the loss. I believe he recently had a son.”

“I-I didn’t hear about that.”

Ruby had trained under Sullivan, he was a great soldier and even better company. She would have to find to visit his wife Liesl in the near future to give her condolences, they’d met once but Sullivan and Ruby had been close in the early days, it’s would be bad manners not to.

“You were close.” She said it as a matter of fact, “Very close.” It was clear what she was implying and they had gotten that close a time or two. Ruby wanted to ask how the Duchess knew as it had been so long since she’d last seen her former commanding officer.

“Did he say-”

“Not a word, my dear. As I said, I hear everything.” She took another cookie, “Pretty soon my corset might pop.” She joked.

Ruby took a sip of tea.

“Now, as you may or may not know, disturbances to the mana veins can have wide reaching consequences on the surrounding environment, errant gravity wells, freak storms, tectonic shifts, tsunamis, any number of things can occur. I would like it if you could lead an expedition north to survey the damage.”

Ruby knew this wasn’t a request, it was an official order and as such couldn’t be refused.

“You’re welcome to take a brief rest bit before embarking, say sunrise three days from now. Is that sufficient, my dear.”

“Yes, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am.”

Thomas glided to the Duchess’s side and helped her up. Once she was standing, Ruby stood. Duchess LeGrande was a towering woman, sitting on the ground had made her seem smaller, but once again Ruby was hit with a sense of terror. This was not a woman to be taken lightly she had a rulers magnetism, her presence took up the whole space.

“Thomas.” Her butler handed Ruby her written orders.

“I do hope to see you again, my dear.” The Duchess turned and began her exit, Gemma and Ginny bunched up behind her. Once she was gone, the butler escorted Ruby out.

As she crossed the threshold she was suddenly hit with a sense of vertigo, the butler took Ruby’s hand as if expecting this. He guided her to the seating area outside the parlor.

“The Duchess was chattier than I expected. I’ve met her before but I don’t remember…”

“And what is it you talked about?” The butler inquired.

“It was… we talked about…” Ruby shook her head, she had just been talking with the Duchess and yet she wasn’t able to recall what about.

“You should go to an inn and get some rest. You’ve had a taxing couple of days.”

Was it some kind of magic? The more she thought about it the more ephemeral and disjointed the memory became.

“You’re right. I suppose it has.” Her stomach gurgled once again, “Oh, god.”

“How about I show you to the restroom?” The butler smiled.

“Yes! Please!”

“Very well.” Ruby and the Butler set forth at a brisk pace.