Not Quite Over Tea [Finished]

[Kari Muffin]

Theofilus was quite tense. He wished that all problems could be solved over a simple cup of tea or after reading a book. Life dictated otherwise. He wasn't going to stop because of Life being a bit unfriendly, however.

How many reasons did he have for doing this? His decision affected far more than just him and his family. The whole Diamond Court would change because of this, if he succeeded. Theofilus shook his head at the thought of failure. He wasn't going to think about failing until he was faced with it. He wouldn't be as far as he was concerned. He had to take this risk to get anywhere in life. He wasn't going to be "a" Queen, he was going to be "the" Queen of Diamonds.

The man looked down the hallway that led to Queen Cerevanna's chambers. No matter how long it seemed, it was too late to turn back. Theofilus had no more doubts our regrets.

[Nathalia]

Cerevanna paced her room excitedly. Theofilus would be coming to see her soon, she had spent the entire morning making sure that her fur was straight and in place, and that the dress she wore went best with her Biped form, a lovely royal blue that played elegantly against her blue script. So what if that thrice be damned Taka had lied to her and broken her heart? Theofilus was also handsome and cunning, and he was coming to discuss matters with her!

She opened the door to her room, ready to shout to a servant for some water when she saw him striding toward her. Good heavens but his Human form was lovely, she knew she should have worn her own to match his but...it just wasn't as elegant as his...perhaps she could work on that in the future, she had heard of a new barber shoppe in the Bazaar somewhere.

He was so beautiful, she could only watch him for a few moments, his face set in determination...delicious.

"Theofilus!"

She exclaimed delightedly, waving her beringed paw to indicate he should come in, hoping that he would approve of the cushioned seat she had prepared for him by the tea table.

"Please, do come in, I know we have important matters to discuss...about the Queenship, I can assume."

She laughed lightly, unable to help herself. He was probably coming to hear about her new ideas for the Diamond Court...she had no idea of his intentions.

"It's ready, you know."

She said delightedly, sitting herself down without letting him get a word in edgewise, her excitement making her nervous.

"The first order of guards have already gone through and we've caught a good amount of them, two in one day!"

She exclaimed delightedly, clapping her paws together, watching his face for approval. Could this Sparrow dance? For a brief moment, even as her mouth ran on without her, she envisioned herself dancing with this beautiful creature.

"Soon, perhaps we shall be so lucky that there will no longer be any Aces roaming these lands at all! Wouldn't that be just splendid?"

She felt like singing...she felt like dancing. This man was so perfect, how could he not be excited by her plans? Taka, she knew had loved them...this man would too, she was sure of it. The blight would be removed soon, no more worthless burdens on poor parents, soon they would all be gone.

[Kari Muffin]

Theofilus had already figured this conversation wouldn't have gone well from all of her enthusiasm greeting him at the door. He was quite amazed at how pretty she looked, but didn't have time to compliment or admire her. The one sided conversation went downhill faster than he had anticipated. Not being able to get a word in edge wise didn't help the matter either.

She obviously hadn't done her homework on Theofilus. And apparently he hadn't done all of his either. If he had been drinking something he would have spurted it out from sheer surprise. Instead, the grip Theofilus had on his cane tightened. He shook his head in dismay. "No I think that's terrible."

Remaining calm while talking about such issues was difficult. It was a good thing he had so many years of practice dealing with with nobles while attending to the shipping firm. "Aces have done nothing wrong to deserve such horrible treatment. You may have the authority to do such a thing, Your Majesty Cerevanna, but you have no real right to. Did it ever occur to you in the slightest that an Ace could be loved just like any other child or person?"

This was a very bad start to a meeting if Theofilus ever found one.

"But I suppose that gives me all the more reason to want to talk to you." He would wait for the Queen's response before saying anything else. He couldn't imagine she would be thrilled by his statement, or the one that he was going to say. So much for a civil discussion.

[Nathalia]

"I-...terrible?"

The Queen looked too surprised to be offended and she shook her head slowly, staring at the table as she attempted to take in what he had said...what he was saying.

he was standing there talking about Aces as though they were people! Was he ill? Was the poor man out of his mind? He didn't- no, he couldn't mean what he was saying! Everyone knew Aces to be a burden to their poor parents, even the lowliest twos in her Kingdom didn't deserve that fate. She wanted to help them, couldn't he see that?

"I am aware that some people do treasure their Aces as pets, Sir Theofilus, but I have never heard of one being raised as a child, it just doesn't happen, they aren't people, Theofilus! They're abominations, horrors, losses to their parents! I'm proposing to help our city, all those who live under our rule. If they have Aces, they will be removed and the parents compensated, so that they can finally make something out of the horrors. Do you know how terrified some people are, how upset they become when an Ace is born to them? We could rectify that, Theofilius, you and me! We could make those parents see their worth again, compensate them for the blemish they have suffered, give them hope again!"

She had leaned over the table somewhat in her passion, eyes shining with greif. Her own mother...she would never let the Aces.

Her voice grew softer as she looked him up and down and seated herself once more.

"My mother had an Ace...right after I had turned six, Sir Theofilus...she hung herself from the shame of it...we can stop this...we can make those people feel that they have worth even if they are given a child who would have otherwise shamed them. That they would have been stuck with and unable to send out into the world...we can help them..."

She looked up at him again, meeting his eyes.

"I suppose this means we do have a great deal to talk about, Theofilus... A great deal indeed."

[Kari Muffin]

Theofilus' eye twitched at the statements she was making. He was filled with some combination of frustration and utter rage. He knew full well that most people looked at Aces as nothing more than objects and pets, but... it just wasn't true. A blemish she said. Asha could never be blemish, Myron was never a blemish. They were people that he loved and always would. An "A" on their chest would never change that. Theofilus didn't look away from her as he spoke.

"Your Majesty Cerevanna, you misunderstand me completely. Aces are indeed people and not pets or blemishes. My brother was an Ace. He was very dear to me, and he was my only friend until he drowned when we were children. I couldn't swim, and no one was going to bother saving an Ace." Theofilus bit his lip. He never liked that memory. "It isn't a shame to give birth to an Ace. At least, it shouldn't. I would never fault anyone for having a child. A child is a child regardless of rank. I'm aware I have untraditional views, but I'm not going to change them for anyone. I would love any of my children no matter their rank."

This was not going well at all. Not at all.

"I can't allow you to do something that could harm the people I love," Theofilus said making sure not to lose eye contact with the Queen. He would do anything to protect Asha. Even if it meant murder.

[The Jenn]

((May I just poke my head in and say "Yay mafia family!"))

[Nathalia]

She nearly trembled, almost on the verge of tears. He didn't understand... The parents of these children didn't want them! She didn't know where he was getting these facts from, these ideas that Aces were people and could be loved. perhaps the Ace he had had as a brother when he was younger, had seemed like such a nice toy that he had become overly attached? It was possible, but it still shouldn't be clouding his judgment on something as important as actual members of their society hurting or killing themselves over having such a useless child!

She would not ignore this! Just because he wanted the low end of their society to suffer didn't mean that she would allow it!

"Then I suppose you have made it very clear what it is you wanted from me..."

The Pine Marten hissed, her thin tail whipping back and forth as she stood.

"My mistake for thinking you a rational man deserving of Queenship in this Court. You mean to challenge me, do you not? I can see by your stance...even if that is not what you mean..."

She slammed her fist very suddenly into the wall leaving an impressive dent, not appearing hurt at all.

"It is what I mean! I challenge you, Theofilus! I challenge your sense as Queen and right in this Court! I thought you were a reliable man who would stop at nothing to help the poor in this society, but I suppose that animals mean more to you than people! May the mothers and fathers of our society long curse your name, Theofilus..."

She stormed over to her door, opening it and roaring for a servant. She then whipped back around and pointed a claw at the Sparrow.

"I will see you tomorrow in the Courtyard. bring anyone you like, may they curse the day they met you!"

She was gone with the servant faster than should have been possible, her footsteps ringing for a few moments before they died away.

Mother...I will not let him win...I will never allow him to rule when he feels that animals like her were more important than people like you...

[Kari Muffin]

(( OOC: XD Thank you, Jenn <3. ))

Theofilus watched silently as she flew into a rage. Well, smacking the wall was a very irrational thing to do, so she honestly had no room to talk. She even issued a challenge and stormed out of the room long before Theofilus could speak a word.

He sighed. Bringing someone would probably a good idea, but he didn't want to subject his family or friends to that. He wasn't about to lose everything because of that woman. Not when everyone was counting on him.

---

It was funny how days just decided to be fantastic when you least wanted them to or expected them to. The sparrow sighed as he entered the courtyard. He wasn't particularly thrilled about the reactions he got from his family.

He wasn't going to walk away without wining though. Theofilus was more than determined to see the smiles on his family members faces when he returned. The sparrow caught sight of the current Queen and tipped his hat.

No need to forget all of his manners.

[Shinigami]

Iria stood at the side of the courtyard, hir clothing impeccable, hir face, for once, expressionless. Even the sweet smile that shi normally bore was banished from hir face, all traces wiped from existance by the solemnity of this occasion. Shi had wondered if Theofilus was going to challenge Cerevanna, as he certainly had quite a bit more ambition than shi did, having climbed and clawed his way up to the rank he now held, while shi herself had been born into the title and had to do nothing other than step foot into the Court to become an accepted Queen.

In a situation like this, shi dared not express an opinion one way or another, favoring one candidate to the other. If shi did, there was always a distinct possibility that hir preference would lose, and shi would then be highly suspicious in the eyes of the new Queen who ruled the Courts. Privately shi rather preferred Cerevanna, if only for her gender, but shi...supposed that shi could tolerate Theofilus, if it came to it. He was polite enough, for a male, and he was hir lover's father, and for that relation shi could follow his orders. However, shi didn't know his skills at fighting at all; for that matter, shi had never seen what sorts of abilities Cerevanna posessed in terms of fighting, as no one had challenged The Queen of Diamonds for her rank while Iria had been a member of the Court. Which, admittedly, wasn't all that long...

So shi stood silent witness to this combat of Queens, blue eyes solemn, and waited.

[ooc: I figured this would be appropriate... *grin*]

[Nathalia]

Cerevanna walked out of the palace slowly, her hips swaying her long upper torso back and forth in an attractive manner. In the same dress as yesterday with a few other adornments, she stalked across the grounds, now in her Human form, her purple hair piled on top of her head she smiled at Iria and patted the shoulder of the tall mastiff Biped behind her, whispering something in his ear.

Nodding, he smiled, bowed, and went to stand in with the onlookers, a 9 of Diamonds, he watched his Queen, tail wagging.

Cerevanna moved up until she was within six feet of the other Queen, dropping a slight curtsy out of habit and then straghtening. She was an impressive height for a Human female, her Pine marten nature helping in that respect, a good 6 foot 2, she smiled at the man before her, running her hands gently over the fur shawl on her shoulder, a black hat on her head with a few feathers artfully sticking from the back accented her hair nicely...

But how odd, the shawl was colored in a way that reminded everyone present of a Morganberry...and the black hat had a few strips o purple showing on the wings.

"You like my finery, Theofilus?"

She asked softly, knowing that the fight couldn't begin until the mastiff sounded the whistle she had given him, marking the opening of the fight.

"I had them made for me yesterday...lovely aren't they?"

She readjusted the hat a bit, bringing to light a marking that had been hidden before...

A red "A" and a Heart symbol, a slight adjustment to her shawl revealed a black "A" and a Club symbol as well.

"Even if I lose, Theofilus, it'll be nice to know that the two captured yesterday were put to good use, won't it?"

She whispered, turning to move another ten feet back and then nodding to the Mastiff.

He puffed out his chest importantly and yelled to the others present.

"The fight for Queenship shall now commence! Lady Cerevanna versus Sir Theofilus, to begin at the sound of my whistle! Ready?"

A sharp blast, and the fight had begun.

Cerevanna clicked her fingers together softly, a smile turning up the corners of her mouth as she waited, slightly hunched...ready...