Tea-time of the Soul [Finished]

[Shinigami]

Iria picked up the red pawn from where it sat on the chessboard across from the opposing group of black chesspieces. Idly shi caressed the piece, the diamond inscribed on the pawn flashing in the light. It was such a pretty set, all ruby and jet. Shi was very pleased with the craftsmanship, and just wished that shi had someone to properly challenge hir in the game. So far shi had face opponents who, while skilled, weren't quite up to hir own level of skill. There was also the fact that many Cards underestimated the delicate, gold-clad Queen, taking hir slight form and supposedly weak magic powers for granted. After all, the greatest of hir abilities was merely passive.

Setting the pawn down, shi turned and headed toward the elegant doors that lead to hir courtyard. Gracefully descending the steps, shi approached the small table that waited there, obviously having just been set up for her presence. An elegant tea pot rested on a tray, right next to a pair of delicate china cups. Cream and sugar were set to the side, though it hir servants knew that shi drank hir own tea black. One never knew if one was to have company, correct?

Seating hirself, Iria carefully poured tea into one of the cups, setting the pot down where it had been before lifting the cup to hir lips. Ah...a perfect rosehip tea, imported from the Highlands. It smelled simply decadent, at least to hir senses, though it was nowhere near the extremely strong scent as some of hir other samples.

Slowly, shi took a sip, feeling the hot liquid pool in her belly. Perfect.

[carcinoGeneticist]

If only her brothers knew what she was doing... They probably would not be able to believe it, even if they could see it with their own eyes.

Since her mother had left with her irritating younger sister and that noisy Bander, Ceren had taken it upon herself to become educated in the ways of the court of herself and her father. It was with confident steps that she had waltzed into the Diamond Court, eyes sending a challenge to those who paused to glance at her. Surely, they all knew her as the daughter of one of their very own Jacks! It did not take long, however, until the young bird's desire for activity got the best of her, and she slipped into one of the side corridors.

She had moved with what she thought to be the greatest of silence, creeping through the grand court. In truth, she did not have even the slightest of ideas where she was headed, and a small twinge of fright had entered her breast. Her footsteps became rushed, and her wings fluttered with a desire to take to the skies. Only the desire to remain unnoticed kept her landbound, darting in and out of the shadows.

It was with an expression of awe that she found her way into the courtyard of the golden queen, her small blue and white from shuffling through the gardens, eyes wide to take in even the smallest of details. This place... This place was beautiful beyond even her wildest of dreams! She wondered to herself what sort of creature could possibly be elegant enough to call such a place home. Her nervous twitchings began to calm as she walked along the paths, a little bit of her confidence returning to her footsteps as her mind wove elaborate daydreams: This was her garden, and she was wearing a human form all draped in the richest of clothing...

Then she heard the sound of steps.

Her heart stopped in her chest, and she froze cold where she stood. Someone was coming. The Queen whose courtyard she had infringed on... Was coming. Terror gripped the small bird, and in her panic she dove under the table, prayers that she would not be seen tearing through her head. Whoever it was pulled one of the chairs that were helping to hide her, and her small form flattened further to the ground. She was shaking all over, her vision blurring with tears. Oh, she was in so much trouble if this Queen was as cruel as some were said to be...

She couldn't help it, and as Iria sipped peacefully at hir tea, Ceren began to cry. The noise was soft, but more than obvious in the quiet of the courtyard.

[Shinigami]

There was something there that quite simply didn't belong. At all. It was, truth be told, the fact that hir table was apparently crying.

Tables don't generally cry. In fact, they're well known for their ability to be strong and silent, and not make much noise aside from a vague creak when tilted too far, or a thump when something heavy is placed upon them. Nowhere at all in that list of noises was crying included. Thus, Iria deduced, there must be something under the table that was crying, something small enough to fit under there without alerting her to its presence. Something like a child.

And Iria's instincts were kicked into high gear. Setting hir cup once more upon its saucer, shi stood up again, pushing hir chair away from the table. Crouching down as gracefully as shi could, shi lifted the edge of the tablecloth carefully, peering underneath it. Hir sight revealed to hir a young Selkie Lakes bird, Ten of Diamonds emblazoned on her breast, and she relaxed just a hair. If the little bird had been male shi wouldn't have felt quite so warmly, but the matter was moot now.

"What's wrong, little one? Here, come out from under there, and talk to me," shi said gently, backing up so that there was room for the child to emerge. Hir tone was warm, and hir posture was welcoming as shi invited the little one into hir Courtyard. Normally shi would be annoyed that someone had interrupted hir time in hir Courtyard, not to mention apparently got past all of the guards on the way here. Shi may not have been The Queen of Diamonds, but shi was still a Queen of Diamonds, and thus deserved a great deal of respect. However, Iria had a soft spot toward children, especially when they seemed to be in as much distress as this little one.

[carcinoGeneticist]

The little bird could hear Iria's movement, and knew too late that even her soft sobbing was heard. Her eyes shining with tears and fear, the little bird raised her head, meeting the surprised gaze of a Queen. Her feathers quivered slightly, and she bowed her head low, eyes closing tightly.

Hir words to the little bird were gentle, and though terror still gripped the small bird, she did as she had been asked and took several shaking steps away from the table. She raised her eyes in wonder to look upon the figure that stood before her, both struck by awe at the Queen's beauty and fear of the consequences for her tresspass. She had known long before she had snuck into the courtyard that she did not belong here, but she had wanted to prove to herself that she could do it. There was no turning back now, this much was obvious. It was her job to accept whatever was to come. She lowered her eyes again, body low to the ground in respect.

"I-" Ceren stammered, her voice squeaking slightly as the sound came out. The child was clearly beyond terror, and her voice locked up once more. When she was able to speak once more a few seconds later, the words seemed to tumble out in a stammering rush. "I-I'm so sorry, Your Majesty.. I-I just w-wanted to s-see what was here. P-please forgive me." She stood awkwardly for a moment before slowly raising her eyes again, gazing nervously at Iria.

[Shinigami]

Iria smiled at the youngling, absently brushing back some of hir blond hair as shi stood up once more. Even at hir tallest, though, shi was still comparatively short compared to most other Cards. Hir mother had considered this to hir advantage though, as it emphasized hir slight, feminine figure all the more; and anything that took attention away from her daughter's birth defect was all the better.

"Oh, don't be afraid. It was awfully brave of you, coming all the way to my courtyard by yourself. You even managed to sneak past my guards! I'll have to speak with them on that,"[/color] shi said, the last spoken quietly to hirself. Shaking hir head, shi turned hir attention back to Ceren, blue eyes kind. "Come now. Won't you join me for some tea? It's an excellent blend, and tea is finer when enjoyed in company."[/color]

Shi gestured hir impromptou guest to take the second chair, and with a flick of her fingers summoned an elegant saucer to replace the second cup. It would be far easier for a young bird to handle, as opposed to the delicate cup that she herself had. With manners befitting someone who was raised with the ceremonies, she poured the Lakeland bird a measure of tea, fingers drifting over the extras. "Would you care for some cream or sugar, sweetling?"[/color]

Once the answer was given and the request fulfilled, the Queen returned to her own seat, sipping contentedly at her tea. While she could have easily had a servant do all of that for her, she prefered that they not interfere with her tea times any more than was necessary. She was perfectly capable of pouring tea, after all!

"Now, my dear. What is your name?"[/color]

[carcinoGeneticist]

The little sparrow was still trembling slightly as she looked the other over, in awe of the Queen's beauty. Hir hair was beautiful, and the clothing that shi wore.. Well, it was befitting of a queen. As Iria spoke, Ceren's trembling slowly began to subside, as though she was still frightened, she began to feel safe in hir presence. "T-tea... My father always drinks tea. I w-would love some, please. she was babbling slightly, but she was completely unaware of that fact as she pulled herself up into the seat opposite Iria.

When the saucer slid before her, she looked up at the Queen once more, smiling openly and finally looking comfortable. The saucer was a truely thoughtful gesture, one that Ceren appreciated hugely - It was difficult for her to drink from a cup, and the last thing she wanted to do was make a fool of herself in front of this beautiful Card. "I like sugar best, Your Majesty, thank you... I really appreciate the saucer, too."

She sipped as delicately as she knew how from her tea, pulling from the corners of her mind all of the ettiquite her parents had tried desperately to teach her. She was glad she had listened at least some of the time because she would have hated to make a fool out of herself at this moment. The tea was beyond delicious, and she sighed softly as she drank. When Iria spoke, she looked up a little shyly.

"M-my name is Ceren, Your Majesty. It's a huge honor to meet you and have tea with you." she was so glad that her brothers weren't here at this point. How they would laugh at her nerves!

[Shinigami]

Iria made sure that the young sparrow's tea was properly sweetened, smiling at her comment about her father drinking tea. "Personally, I believe that tea is one of the most useful things that Cards have come up with in the past. While the development of magic is nice, yes, and the technology is always useful, tea can achieve what nothing else can. It can calm the nerves or wake one up. It can comfort the depressed, soothe the angry, and make joy all the sweeter. It is over tea that a great many wars have begun and ended, and many things celebrated. What else has such a tie to everything in the world?"[/color] Shi paused, and sipped at hir tea, pleased with hirself. Shi might be just a little bit fanatical about tea, but everyone had to have their thing, right? Tea was hirs. "Besides, it tastes good."[/color]

There were times when Iria was highly relieved that shi was not The Queen of Diamonds, and instead was just a Queen; this was one of them. Were shi The Queen, there would be so much more work that shi would be required to do: holding court all the time, and adjucating the major disputes, and all sorts of other things that shi'd seen Cerevanna dealing with. Instead shi just had to hold Court occasionally, and take care of minor disputes, and things like that. Plus, there was the fact that shi didn't worry as much about her position within the Court as shi would if shi were The Queen. Even recently shi'd heard some disturbing rumors around the Court about a newcomer or two...

More than all of that, though, if shi were The Queen, it would be doubtful that shi would be sitting here, having tea with her delightful little Ceren.

"You may call me Iria, Ceren. And I too am quite happy to meet you here, though I'm distressed that you were so upset upon our initial meeting. Speaking of such a thing, just what is it that you are doing here?"[/color]

[carcinoGeneticist]

Ceren listened quietly, for the first time in her life, to Iria as she spoke about the wonders of tea and all the good things that they could do for you. Indeed, as the hot liquid poured into her beak with each sip, she couldn't help but become more and more relaxed, even in the presence of such an amazing Card. She wondered, in a way, if her father had ever met this Queen - they both loved tea, and were both Diamonds! She beamed at Iria, nodding her agreement - especially at those final words - and took another deep drink of her tea. "This blend is delicious, Your Majesty, and it is definitely having an effect of calming my nerves." her smile grew a little shy as she lifted her eyes to the beautiful person sitting across from her once more.

Ceren felt strange around Iria. First, she had been wildly intimidated by even her presence, but as time grew on, she felt the actual desire to be nice to the Queen, and then those feelings had begun to grow into full-on respect. Ceren was used to putting a mask of respect on for those who were higher ranked than she was, but this was the first time when she actually felt it.

"Y-your Majesty Iria, then. She smiled down at her tea, looking at it thoughtfully. When the question was directed at her, her head snapped up, and she hesitated for a moment. "I... I was trying to see how far I could go. I wanted to prove to my siblings that I belong in this Court, too." her voice rang with honesty, and she met Iria's eyes, looking more than a little embarassed.

[Shinigami]

[ooc: I figure I'll make one final post to wrap this whole thing up. ^^;; Hope you don't mind this?]

Iria smiled warmly at the little sparrow's reaction, hir own blue eyes shining wih pleasure. Yes, this little one was quite charming indeed, and was developing an effective turn of phrases that could help her out in this Court. When one thought of potential violence in the Courts, one generally thought of the Hearts and their violence - the Diamonds, however, were just as vicious, if not more so. Instead of open warfare, they waged silent, deadly duels between unwitting pawns, tweaking the tides of the Court one way or another to take advantage of each other. Iria was not as guilty of it as some, but shi kept hir forces grounded and prepared for all sorts of assaults, even if it meant dealing with others that shi found bothersome. Males, mostly.

However, this little sparrow seemed to have more potential than a mere pawn, and shi would happily help her find her way up in the Court to the best of her potential. From a little pawn...all the way to a King, maybe.

It seemed that the sparrow was more than willing to comply with the Queen's plans, and shi hid hir pleased smile behind hir teacup, sipping delicately before placing it down once more, expression smoothed back into polite warmth. Oh, how lovely! Such a brave little girl, to come charging into the Court, all brash feathers and confidence.

"How far you could go? Well, you've come all the way to the Courtyard of a Queen, hm?"[/color] Shi couldn't help the hint of amusement in hir voice, but it wasn't condecending, or at least shi certainly hoped it wasn't. There was no need to alienate the child, after all. "So it seems that you should have no problem fitting into this Court - indeed, I think that you would be...welcomed. Warmly welcomed, at that."[/color]

After the tea was drunk, and light sandwiches consumed, Iria guided the young sparrow back to the entrance to the Court. "You are welcome to come visit me whenever you wish to - I would very much enjoy your presence,"[/color] shi said warmly, making sure that the guard noted Ceren down as being on the list of those allowed entrance, not only to the Court, but to hir private chambers as well. "I look forward to seeing just how far you will go, and if you ever have need of me...Well. I shall be waiting."[/color]

[carcinoGeneticist]

[[OOC: Yep, this is fine for a wrap-up to me <3 sets us up nicely for the next post, which I am working on right now ^o^]]