Old History Revisited [End >_>]

[Tigeress]

"Did you believe the fickle aspirations of a child so much as to think she'd actually end up here?" The one walking up front, a rather sleek and delicately regal doe, was the voice that chimed out in the silence of the courts. Her shining mass of silver mane was swiped from her eyes as she paused, staring in disbelief at the elegant display before her.

"Inconceivable...." She whispered softly, her voice as gentle as chimes on the wind. Though her look was imposing, she could compete with her third sister for who might be the most gentle and feminine. She tried to play it off, being the oldest sister, but the voice and the body didn't match the words or the stares she had perfected along the years. And so many years it had been.

A second form pulled up behind her, hands on hips, a rather sultry look to contrast with the delicate beauty of her older sister. Both had wings pulled close to them, one etched in silver, the other in gold. "Looks like we should have given her more credit..." The second smirked, voice a smoky purr though she was obviously not of the feline family. Her eyes took in the majesty before them, displaying the smile that formed before it reached her lips. Perhaps little sis had done well for herself, very well, found the right man alright to be sitting so pretty in a place like this.

"I told her, all you really need is a good man to support you... or, a man with money, anyway." She chuckled aloud, ignoring the stare of disdain she received for the impolite joke. Though, as much as Sekhmet joked about it, Artemis couldn't say she remembered such wild behaviour in all their time together. Sure, the crimson femme often slept around, it just seemed to be in her nature, but she wasn't as much as a gold digger as her jokes might have suggested. No matter what she said, she was a sucker for good looks.

Artemis was the same, though with more... purpose to her relationships. She thought herself a girl of class, and presented herself in such a way as to reflect that. Nobody could accuse her of any sort of sleazy attitude, for her affairs, when she had them, were kept very personal. Sekhmet had thought her completely innocent almost two years after her first experience with a man. But that was neither here nor there, this journey out together was not for any man... but a very special woman.

"So where is that little sister of ours, anyway? I mean, Dympha did pretty much declare that she would be here." Okay, so that had been oh... ten years or so ago, but the point remained. Sekhmet had confidence that she had achieved at least some of her goals, she'd always strived so hard for them. As a child, she'd felt guilty being a natural ten while her sister was an 8, and the oldest was a natural 10 as well. They were doted on to disgusting amounts, but both the sisters had tried to reflect it down to Dymphna themselves.

She had been the only one to see Artemis out of her stone cold act in years, even Sekhmet couldn't find that soft spot. Perhaps her journey here had been in hopes of restoring many things lost.

[The Jenn]

As early in the afternoon as it was, the day's official Court had only just drawn to a close and Dymphna left the large, crowded great hall with a quiet sigh of relief. People always got so antsy with the onset of the harvest season, rushing their disputes to the authorities and trying their hardest to get a royal settlement in before the year's frenzy of work began and everything practically exploded with activity. This mindset only made the harvest rush start earlier for the Courts, a fact which few people outside of its walls ever seemed to pick up on or remember.

She followed a few steps behind her Queen, carrying a collection of papers that served as his personal minutes from the hearings. He would go over them probably tomorrow morning, reviewing the cases and making decisions with his advisers on the ones that had not been as clear-cut and required a bit of research. Sadly, they were far too many and he - and his advisers and even more so - would be quite busy until next week's large Court session.

Before leaving the room, he had invited her for a small tea luncheon to stave off the afternoon's work and she had readily agreed, not wanting to deal with people right away after such a massive dose of them. She could smile and nod and look polite through as many hearings as it took, but afterwards she wanted to escape the crowds and business for at least a little while. They hadn't gotten a chance to just sit and chat in a while, either, without any of his games or company or event planning between them. It would be nice.



Serafino stopped in front of her as they passed through the large lobby of the palace, taking the most direct, if crowded, route to one of the small sitting rooms. "They're new," she heard him mutter under his breath as she followed his gaze to just outside the room.

...oh. Oh my. Well then. That was...what?

The doe knew she was staring but it took her a moment of startled, wide-eyed stillness to recompose herself. Those wings and manes were eye-catching even in a place as diverse and opulent as the Heart Palace, even more so for their repetition. The pair of deer were garnering themselves appreciative looks all around from lower- and higher-ups, their ranks displayed proudly and enough of an privilege that no one would sneer except the most elitist of nobles. Even then, beauty always lessened the blow.

She felt the curious gaze of her Queen and straightened, turning to look at him with pale blue eyes that still showed some of her surprise, even as she rapidly recomposed herself. "I...had not expected to see them here," she said by way of explanation, then blushed a little at a slowly raised eyebrow. That didn't really explain much of anything. She was only glad her fur hid the expression. "Family, my Queen. Sisters, actually. I'd left that all behind some time ago in coming to the Court and I never really thought...that they would come looking for me."

As the two of them spoke, the crowd thinned out enough that the pair of does might manage to catch sight of their sister's pastel form, pinks and pale blues with touches of yellows whisping across her fur. She wore a yellow caraco jacket-like bodice with white brocade in floral patterns over top of a loose petticoat in a pale, creamy yellow color. Clothing in bipedal form had been adopted as soon as she arrived in the city, the quality and fashion of the garments increasing as she grew in rank and learned what to wear to impress.

[Tigeress]

Artemis allowed a smirk to slip across her normally carefully masked features, one eye raised at the sight she saw. Well, look at the little princess... on the arm of the Queen of Hearts, no less! He was rather... effeminate for her tastes, but, Dymphna looked pleased as she walked with him, and with such power by her side, who was she to scoff? The clothes were new, she realized now that she'd scanned over her sister twice in the crowd simply because of them. Normally one with an exceptionally keen eye, she wouldn't be admitting that mistake, especially not to her sister.

At the stares, Artemis could only regally flip her mane, hands held politely at her sides, back arched just so that her pose was neither plain, or inviting. Pompous business men were more up her sister's alley anyway, or so she spoke. "Should we approach? I'll admit I know little of court niceties, and I'd hate to make a poor first impression after so long." Mostly, she just didn't want to ruin what Dymphna had going for her by making it seem as if she came from a line of sloppy women. No, Artemis and Dymphna had had the 'ladylike' similarity, they both could vouch for being more respectable than most of the higher-up nobles who walked around them. They both also had a thing for... 'shinies'. But one could say that was just a feminine thing.

Sekhmet's mouth was open for longer than she'd intended, a full out grin beginning to spread as she shook her head in disbelief. "I won't say I told you so, but... well, I told you so! Look who she's with, too... is that Queen a...?" She tilted her head, eyes narrowing in obvious confusion at the form next to the smaller shape of her sister. Before she could continue to embarass herself with words, Artemis let out a small sigh, trying to hide the amusement that lay just below the surface when she considered where her sister had been going with that comment... "Yes, he, is indeed a he." She'd learned slight things of the court while in Sorgaire Range, mostly out of boredom, and because you never know where you'll end up in life, better to be prepared. She'd learned that Queens could be male, and Kings could be female, much to the obvious surprise of the fiery coated femme beside her.

"Stop gawking, you look foolish. Perhaps we wouldn't stick out so much if we started to at least move towards them." While it was probably the impressive wings that did it, it was also unusual to see two striking does just standing around like they had nothing better to do. Artemis tired of the attention whereas Sekhmet was aknowledging it enthusiastically with winks and smiles all around. A sharp jab in the side put a stop to that behaviour though. "Come." Artemis muttered under her breath as she began stalking forward delicately, her steps long and filled with purpose.

"Well look at that, you already fit in." The middle sister mocked, mimicking her strides though with an obvious sway of her hips that the older female managed to stifle. Anything to avoid being stared at. As they came up on the pair, Artemis stopped a few metres away, respectfully trying not to crowd the middle of the room and create a barrier, things were hectic enough around here as it was. A small smile was offered as she waited, Sekhmet grinning openly with a wave of apparently manacured nails. To this, the midnight hued femme raised an eye, but said nothing.

"Well well, little sis. It's been a while..." Sekhmet began once the doe was within hearing range, trying to stifle her smug and yet bewildered smile for the sake of appearing polite. Only because Artemis had earlier threatened her, and there were few people she took seriously, but 'Missy' was one of them. She didn't use that nickname, only one member of the family had been allowed the... ah... priviledge.

[The Jenn]

When Dymphna looked over at her sisters again, she saw them staring her way and twitched nervously. The Queen noticed and only became more curious. The doe rarely, if ever, spoke about her family and he only knew that she did indeed have siblings as well as two living parents, all of them Hearts and all of them well-off.

As the pair made their way through the crowds, he noticed the Tens on their breasts and wondered. Dymphna had arrived at court an Eight when she was sixteen, two or three years after he had taken the throne, and worked her way up from there. Had they done the same back home, or were they born with the privilege? It didn't much matter to him either way, but it might help to explain her diligence if she was the lowest-ranking member of her family at one time. His younger brother had certainly been teased, from what little he could remember, for being a Ten in a family of face cards. Nevermind that his parents had both worked up from that very rank.

The doe's thoughts were still slowed with surprise, admiring Sekhmet and Artemis as they approached. They'd grown very well into their beauty and still wore those necklaces proudly. Her own gold star pendant was tucked away in her vanity, hidden but always there if she wanted to take it out and hold it. Instead she wore jewelry with pink and yellow topazes, one lone diamond sparkling in her left ear. It had been His Majesty's gift for earning the rank of Jack and a title within the Court at last. Her lifelong dream come had come true that day...

She smiled at Sekhmet's greeting, taking in the two of them. For all that she and her other Morganberry sister didn't really get along, it was still good to see her. Dymphna honestly hadn't expected that. "Sekhmet... Missy... it's been so long."

Her smile widened a little, honestly happy. They really couldn't have picked a better time to show up. Beneath her jacket, the hint of her rank only just peeked out, which they wouldn't have been able to see from so far off. Her oldest sister had always encouraged her, and Sekhmet...well. She hadn't discouraged her like their parents, so that made a big difference. At a light sniff from next to her, she blinked in surprise and turned her body to face both her sisters and the Highlander. "Ah, yes, how rude of me. Apologies, my Queen. These are my sisters, Artemis and Sekhmet. May I introduce His Majesty Serafino, the Queen of Hearts."

"Interesting to meet you," Fino said with an appraising look at them both. "Did you come for the titling ceremony? If so, you're about three weeks too late."

Dymphna coughed lightly in embarrassment. With all the bustle of completing her Jack quest and keeping up with the busy season, she had forgotten to even inform her family of the event she'd anticipated for so many years. She hadn't even written a letter home since she left, so determined to succeed on her own merits and not wanting any relatives to potentially interfere.

[Tigeress]

All of the sudden it was there, that glimmer in her eye, that youthful smile which lit up her face as if a spotlit of moonlight had fallen onto it. It killed Sekhmet to know that one moment in Dymphna's presence had accomplished everything she tried day in and day out to achieve. Artemis was locked up away from her, and thought she knew why, she didn't understand how she could remain so cold. She only had herself to blame in the end, but she wished for that warmth to fall upon her when the golden femme was in her presence. It could be said that all of Sekhmet's insecurities arose from the fact that she and Artemis would always be the sun and the moon, and Dymphna would always be her shining star...

Shifting her head to the side, she tried to focus more on his majesty, the Queen of Hearts. He was a rather... casual and aloof fellow, wasn't he? Arrogant to the bone, she could tell just by looking at him. Though obviously there was reason for it. Her ambitions had never lead her to want any sort of court life, she was happy with what she had, and understood this was another thing that drove her and Artemis apart. She had almost left with Dymphna that day... she remembered how she cried for weeks in private, afterwards, down by the water whenever the moon came out to comfort her sorrows. She spent so many nights just watching, wanting to know how to ease the pain.

"Too long... I'm glad you're well. Dymphna... I'm so very proud of you." Her voice was soft at the last, her eyes might have been glassy with emotion had she not such good control over them. Just as Sekhmet had been pondering, Artemis remembered the nights she spilled her heart out, torn between worlds and what everyone else wanted for her- to the point where she didn't know what she wanted for herself. This was part of why she came, but Sekhmet wouldn't know this, she didn't intend for her to. It was cruel, yes, but she figured the fiery doe wouldn't care less, now that she would have other interests to pursue. The city was filled with the rich and beautiful, after all.

She turned her head to the Highlander and bowed gracefully at the waist, meeting his eyes only as she came up to stand at her impressive height. "It is a pleasure and an honor to meet you, your majesty. Unfortunately we were not aware of this titling ceremony, otherwise we would have arrived much sooner." Her eyes darkened a moment, not an angry look, but merely quizzical, and perhaps a little hurt, as she glanced towards her youngest sister again. Why hadn't she written? Artemis had always assumed it was because she was enduring hardships and didn't want to embarass herself by telling her sisters of her failure, but instead she had been keeping the entire family out of the most important moments of her life.

Throughout this, Sekhmet was silent, giving only a faint bow when her sister did, eyes mostly on Dymphna, curious as to her reaction to seeing them. She understood the doe was awkward around her, and she was the same, it was really only Artemis that tore them apart so, and the fact that in the group, she was always the odd sister out. Nobody understood where Sekhmet's rebellious streak came from, or her frightening anger, not even her.

"It is good to see you." She said finally, her tone still light with it's usual cheeryness, but suddenly a little flat here and there. Unlike her sisters, Sekhmet often displayed exactly what she was feeling, and passionately at that. She never understood trying to feign your emotions for the sake of others, but then again, she had never intended on a life where she would have to kiss up to someone with every breath she took. She didn't have to look at Artemis to know that there was eagerness in her, just being here. She wouldn't be surprised if the starlight hued doe went missing in the middle of the night to seek out a private moment with her sister to discuss her life, and all the things she was keeping from Sekhmet. Artemis was extremely good at hiding things, but Sekhmet was just as talented at figuring them out without anyone suspecting.

[The Jenn]

Artemis's words affected Dymphna more deeply than she would have thought, that soft voice touched with pride as she congratulated her sister. That almost meant more to her than achieving the rank itself, her sister's congratulations. She had been so long away from home...

She thought things would have changed between them in that absence, though hoped dearly at the same time that they would not. The moon-colored doe had been her best friend and only real confidante ever since they were children. Already she could feel herself relaxing just that slightest bit more, her smile small but bright for all of that. It felt as though she hadn't truly smiled since she had last seen her sister, the feeling of familiarity was so strong.

After first arriving in the Capital and trying to find a way to present herself at the palace without seeming an uneducated fool, she hadn't written out of stubborn pride. Then, as events started whirling around her faster than she could have anticipated, she was honestly too busy to think about it. She had achieved the rank of Nine at maturity, and then worked her way to Ten several years later. With no habit of sending communications back home, it soon drifted from her mind completely and her only thoughts of her family were tinged with bittersweet frustration - or, in Missy's case, simply bittersweet memory.

"I wish I had remembered to write," she said honestly, the look in her eyes a clear apology. She hadn't meant to hurt anyone through her thoughtless lapse of memory, but it really should have occurred to her. The event would have been that much more special with her sisters in the audience. Her parents were the only ones she truly meant to snub.

Everything would have been so much easier if her sister had come with her, a big sister to look out for her when she sat alone and afraid in the middle of Court politics, trying to wade through to safe waters. At the same time, she might never have found so firm a footing as she had, bracing herself against the current and shoving through one step at a time. His Majesty's favor and occasional indulgence had been help enough for much of it.

She smoothed one hand over the hem of her petticoat, feeling suddenly self-conscious in her finery. The first piece of clothing she had ever worn was donned in the city, so many years ago now. Many people at court chose to wear at least one token article, a symbol of culture or modesty or even personal taste. They had the money to spend on finery here, and so they did. Even Serafino wore his breastplate in bipedal form as a nod to propriety and to show off the fine piece, despite the occasional awkwardness with his wings. She wondered if Missy would like skirts, or if they would bee too encumbering for the other doe. Sekhmet would probably hate them.

Observing that things wouldn't move very far without some kind of intervention, Dymphna too off-balance to think of it, Fino looked at the three of them and considered. It always left him thoughtful, seeing people so happy - or at least, not hostile - when meeting up with their siblings. His own sister he would gleefully tear to shreds if he ever laid eyes on her again. "We were just on our way to lunch," he said evenly. "Do you have time to join us, or does other business press you?"

His attendant's eyes widened slightly and she nodded, reaching out to take Artemis's hand. Where she went, Sekhmet would almost certainly follow, especially in an unfamiliar place. "I still have a bit more work to do before I can welcome you properly to the city, but we had decided to take a short break. Please do come."

[Tigeress]

Artemis' smile only grew when she saw that touch of softness in her sister's eyes. She knew how much that comment would mean to her, and that's why she had said it. She should have said it before, but her judgement had been blinded by another, her other sister of course. She'd never understood what compelled her to believe the things Sekhmet had said, or worse, to repeat them to Dymphna from her own lips, so stricken with grief over the potential loss of the doe that she allowed her anger to steal her head for the first time ever.

It wouldn't happen again. She had made a grave mistake that night, and spent years in misery for it. Somehow just being here made her chest lighter and her mind clearer. She had wanted to be on this path, walking beside sweet Dymphna, twin face card markings on their chest. The sheer idea almost brought tears to her eyes, but she was far too controlled to let anything but the smile move her features. Even that slowly stilled into a pleasantly blank expression. It was one she had practiced to hide her pain from Sekhmet. Just because she still didn't forgive her for her actions, didn't mean she wanted her to suffer that badly. She knew the sunset sister adored her, she just needed time to see if she could get past her grudge to feel the emotion in return.

"I'm glad you didn't, in a way. I doubt we would have ever received the letters, or the correct news. I'm sure we would have been told of your pitiful failure no matter the outcome." Her voice held only a tinge of bitterness, though really, she despised her parents. It was common for the parents to favour the children of the higher suit, but it was not common for them to treat an 8 like a 3, it had always disgusted her. Though she had never been the target of their disdain, she had always tried to walk in Dymphna's shoes, just to see, just to try and figure out why. It had never worked, but it had made her truly despise them.

Sekhmet's thoughts were exactly the same, though, she had to admit that being constantly doted on had been nice. It was probably why she craved either a very submissive male who would tend to every need, or a very dominant one to challenge her bored self. Being pampered was nice, but games of dominance appealed to her. She wanted to be the alpha female to someone's alpha male. It was a strange thing to want, a relationship that never ran smoothly, never ran equally, but it was what she wanted. A change, perhaps, might have been all it was she craved, but somehow she felt that even if her parents had neglected her as they did Dymphna, she would have felt the same.

Her sole purpose for coming here had been to try and patch things up with Artemis, Dymphna she couldn't bring herself to try to speak to on that personal level. She would always be too embarassed by her jealousy and fear. Her emotions always ran to the hottest, no event was ever minor, and when Dympha had announced her leave to them in private, she had lost all semblance of control. How could she have left them? She was an idiot! She would freeze and die of starvation, she had nothing to qualify her as any sort of court hand, and she obviously just wanted to get into the King's pants (at that time she hadn't known of male Queens). All things she had convinced herself of, and none of them came true. Well, except the last one. As she glanced back and forth, she couldn't help but smirk. They were definately fucking at the very least.

She was going to ask if the doe had ever considered returning home when her dreams had been met, just to see what had become of her sisters, but didn't want to say anything that could sound arguementative. As she had been in the wrong, she would be the one walking on eggshells to avoid further causing pain. And then... she didn't know what would come after this, the court didn't hold the appeal that it did for them, too bright and perfect, and she was no longer any sort of princess.

Artemis had been fumbling for something to say when the Queen spoke, she'd almost forgotten he was there, which was not only rude of her but terribly dangerous. She was normally much more aware of her surroundings, and she knew a bit of the Queen's history... unless someone liked to run the rumour mill around him in sadistic directions just for the hell of it. She bowed her upper body slightly again as she was spoken to, mostly apologising for her obvious distraction which she could tell by his look, he'd noticed. The Queen seemed to study others not at all unlike a hawk. "We would be honored to join Your Majesty and Her Excellence for lunch." She spoke softly though there was a cold strength to her voice, still ringing pleasantly like chimes it had become the voice of a cold winter.

Sekhmet noticed that her decision had been made for her, and honestly, a free meal sounded just about right if nothing else. She raised an eye at the title of 'her excellence' however, and realized she had a lot to learn about this strange court life that Artemis had been secretly studying. She fought the urge to say something like 'yeah, what she said' and could only smirk, nodded her head in what would have been solemnly except for the smile.

"Sounds good, we could use a tour after this if you have time." For once it was Sekhmet who answered her sister first, and while Artemis' look was one of approval for having gotten up the guts to do it, it was one of intrigue. She had assumed Sekhmet had lost any interest in trying to patch things up with how apathetic she'd been when last they talked about it. Though that had been almost a year ago, it was pretty much a taboo subject by now between them.

"We'd hate to steal you away for too long, but an afternoon stroll around might be nice." She smiled softly, glancing at Serafino as she said the first, assuming that he would be expecting Dymphna back at a certain time to continue her duties.

[The Jenn]

Dymphna's smile turned slightly bitter as Artemis spoke. Yes, their parents would almost certainly have received the letter before either sisters. They had no compunctions about opening their children's mail and she doubt that would have changed in nine or so years. The news would have probably made them laugh, thinking she was lying after all this time, remembering her only as their 'least' daughter. It would have been thrown in the trast before anyone could see it, much less respond or act on it. Better that they find out for themselves here, in the Capital, where the truth could not be denied.

Something in Sekhmet's expression told her the other Morganberry was less than pleased to find her where she was, though her naturally outgoing and self-satisfied personality masked it well from people who hadn't known her for so long. Something in her was surprised that she could still read some of the subtle nuances of her sisters' body language. Then again, she had been working on that skill in a more general sense every since joining the Court scene, trying to judge peoples' reactions and stay one step ahead of the scandals that frequently blew through the palace like a summer storm.

She had managed to forgive her sister the cruel words and betrayal of trust several years ago, coming to terms with it on her twentieth birthday, celebrating alone and thinking back on the week before her departure. It had been like some sort of nightmare, her sister parroting words their parents had spoken so often, trying to shatter her ambitions like so much pretty glass.

The bit that took longest to forgive was taking Artemis to her side, the one person she had counted to always support her, or at the very least never do more than try to shake sense into her when she did something truly foolish. Eventually, after long nights of soul-searching, she had taken the anger and just... let it go. She would never trust Sekhmet again, not like she once thought she could, but the sharp sting of pain in her heart had been replaced with a kind of wistful sadness. They had all been so much closer, once upon a time, even if she and Missy had always been closest.

Watching the Queen nod at the acceptance, Dymphna supposed she would have to take the time and give her sisters a few very definite pointers on behavior in his presence. He was doubtless forming impressions already, but hopefully they would be tempered by their relationship to her. She wasn't at all above a bit of nepotism. It had seemed to work extremely well for his own family once upon a time.

...and hearing her title spoken in Missy's voice made her smile. Perhaps together, they could share the title someday. That would make her happy beyond belief.

Serafino's lips thinned slightly at the suggestion of a break. Family or no, this was a busy time of year for the palace, and he had counted on her presence for several hours yet. Still, this might be a good excuse to get her in for a little while on Monday, at least in the morning. His expression smoothed, then went to a slightly sharp smile. "I'm sure we could spare her for a few hours today, provided she made it up another time, which I know she will. Very well, then. This way to lunch."

The doe had an inkling what His Majesty had in mind and could have groaned, but instead her smile turned rueful and she merely nodded. "That will be no trouble, my Queen," she murmured, fighting to keep the sigh out of her voice.

With Fino in the lead, they made their way through the crowded lobby, people pulling out of his path in a rather gratifying hurry. Through a side door, down several halls, and then to one of his favorite sitting rooms for lunch. Afternoon sunlight poured in through the drapes and he took a seat half in the shade, indicating that they should also seat themselves. Most of the 'chairs' lacked backing, with the exception of the one the Queen had taken. Sometimes his guests had very unusual anatomy that needed catering to. It would likely suit their wings well.

The window was open and a breeze blew the scent of his flowers into the room, competing with the fragrance of the cut roses on the table. This was the same room in which he had met Silvanus a long time before and commissioned the very unique rings.