Ekaterina, Tat'iana, and Jenaa on the Reserve

[Jennifer Ryan <nefijer@yahoo.com>]

Imperial Reserve -- Imperial Palace (Kaitain) 

    This sprawling expanse, the largest part of the
conservatory, seems from the outside like a great
mushroom, protruding from the comparatively small
stalk of the lower levels to rest comfortably again
against the outlying hills around the Imperial Palace.
It houses four hundred acres of verdant hills,
forests, rivers and lakes, every concievable
geographical locale from which to hunt. Game of the
most prized and rare breeds inhabit these areas,
flocks of Carintheen geese flying overhead as the
silver glimmer of the elusive Silvershark is seen
beneath the ripples of an artificial river. This
monstrous construct has been completed with the utmost
of care, climate controlled and both wildlife and
natural habitats carefully selected and maintained to
give the utmost of pleasure to those who come here.
Spread throughout the wide hunting grounds are several
comfortable resting points: tables, covered platforms,
and even a couple ostentatious cabins to offer rest
and relaxation to those who come to enjoy this true
wonder of the Known Universe. 
    
Ekaterina:
    Her eyes are the signature pthalo-blue of the
Rastanyev ruling family. Loosely braided and bound at
the bottom with a ribbon of blue silk, her hair's
tendrils are like a nimbus of copper around her lovely
face. She bears a tiny freckle by the corner of her
right eye and smells of portyguls, the citrus smell an
exotic tang in the nostrils.

    Casually attired in a white sorochka (long
blouse), her loose collar is fastened to the side with
ties. Wide areas of silken embellishment appear at the
garment's wrists and it has been belted with an
ornamental yellow goloshiikoyu (narrow cloth belt).
Atop, sleeveless blue navershnik (knee-length open
caftan) has been lain. Long cossack-style pants have
been fastened beneath, and tucked into knee-high black
boots. On the third finger of her left hand rides the
silver crest ring of Rastanyev.

Jenaa:
    Jenaa Corrino is a slight young woman, a bit
shorter than average, although she is fit and clearly
athletic. Her dark hair is cut short, and provides a
stark contrast with her smooth, clear skin. Dominating
the refined, youthful features of her face are her
eyes; large, expressive and intelligent, they appear
black in all but the brightest of light and not even
the faintest hint of blue touches the whites of them.
In a jarring contrast to her otherwise smooth skin, a
deep scar traces a faint curve across the left half of
her neck. 

    She is wearing a black riding jacket over a stark
white shirt, the stiff collar of which rises and
encircles her neck. A gold loop closes the collar at
the front, and bears the tiny figure of a lion. Snug,
white riding breeches cover her legs, and shiny black
boots rise to her knees. 


Perfection. This is every day on Kaitain, and for
those who appreciate the simpler settings, the thrill
of the hunt, or just simply a construct of nature,
most particularly in the Imperial Reserves.

Awaiting some folly, the dom-Tsara Rastanyev stands on
the verdant roll of land, gloved hand grasping the
bridle of a modest palfrey, brown of color with a dark
muzzle, hooves, mane, and tail, though the latter of
these has been ornamented.

Patting the creature's neck, the woman is setting
about detaching a few small bells from its mane.

Jenaa walks up towards the dom-Tsara, helmet under her
arm, and attendants following a few paces back. One
young man walks beside her, and the two of them appear
to be having a rather lopsided conversation: The
princess' demeanor is relaxed; a soft, if crooked,
smile frames her face as she speaks, while the young
man in the uniform of a Corrino house servant is
frowning gravely even as he nods to her words.

As they approach, the servant steps aside and allows
the princess to come near to you alone. In a light
voice, she says, "dom-Tsara, I wish to thank you for
taking the time to join me today. It is a great
pleasure."

Ekaterina snaps off the final bell to tuck away, and
though she presses her fist to her heart, and bows
deep with flourish, one hand remains to steady the
mount. "No need, for your highness has been most kind
to me beforetimes-- I could not be happier than I am
to attend on you for even a short time. No, I am quite
sure I have the lions share of pleasure from our
meeting."

She eyes the servants in a cursory way. "May I inquire
after your health, and that of your family and
retainers, highness?"

Jenaa smiles, and speaks softly, "I have been well, my
Lady. Thank you for your kind inquiry." She shoots a
brief glance back at the servant with whom she had
been speaking, "Our retainers are also well, though
you wouldn't know it to look at them. I fear I may
cause them undue stress at times."

Ekaterina glances at the frowning-ones again sideways,
and chuckles in a reserved way into her glove. "You
can assure them that I am not so stupid as to endanger
either your life or your reputation, if you think it
would help?" Switching hands on the reigns of her
snorting companion, Ekaterina asks, "Forgive me, but
stress? More than the norm?"

Jenaa smiles wryly and shrugs, "I think they have been
sufficiently convinced as to your relative safety.
Their stress, I think, derives largely from the fact
that the Lord Chancellor has been very strict
regarding protocol as of late. In particular, he finds
my rather loose adherence to such an annoyance, and
has planted several eyes and ears among my
attendants." She gestures to the frowning servants, "I
suspect that they're feeling somewhat caught in the
middle of our dispute. They will suffer consequences
from me if they report my activities to the
Chancellor, and consequences from him if they do not."

"Something of a quandry for them, I must admit,"
remarks the Regent, absently pulling the end of her
coppery braid, so much on the verge of falling further
into disarray. "Reminds me of the two women in the
fable; pulling two ways upon a babe until the king
offer to rend it into two equal parts."

Jenaa nods, "Indeed." She looks back at the young men,
who are now conversing animatedly. "I fear the
Chancellor's tactic may work, however. He knows that
this quandry will weigh heavily upon me, and has
probably calculated that I will modify my behavior
accordingly. If I adhere more vigorously to the
Chancellor's precious protocols, their anxiety will
dissipate. The man is frustrating in his tactics."

Ekaterina comments with a very slight shrug, "You
could always instruct him, the Chancellor, yourself on
your activities... with such frequency and inanity
that he ceases caring to know whether you adhere to
his protocol or not. I believe I once played a game
like that with my mother-in-law."

Jenaa furrows her brow and nods as she bites her lower
lip, "Perhaps. Though I walk a dangerous line with the
Chancellor. He has His Majesty's ear . . . and if the
Chancellor believes I am being troublesome to the
throne, I could well find myself raising the His
Majesty's ire, which . . . is something that would be
highly unwise."

Just then, Corrino stableboy arrives with Simarron, a
large thoroughbred stallion with a rich chestnut coat
and a black mane and tail. His powerful muscles and
the easy confidence with which he moves both serve as
strong indications that he is exceedingly well-bred
and trained.

The palfrey stomps and swishes it tail obstinately in
reaction to the other equine, even tosses its head.
Horses too, observe a hierarchy, and Ekaterina's mount
is rather on the spoiled side, thus reluctant to
acknowlege a better. Eventually though, she quiets,
and lowers her bit-free head to take deep breaths of
the earth below. 

"What a splendid animal... is it yours, Highness?" As
an aside, she says quietly, "When one dances one
coals, one developes quick feet and thick soles. I am
sure your highness will think of something clever to
make the situation tolerable... few men who are not
mentats ever think as fast on their feet as the
average woman, I think."

Simarron snorts and shifts his weight as his reins are
handed to Jenaa. She reaches up and strokes his snout,
then reaches into one of her jacket pockets and treats
him to a few carrots, which he eagerly devours. She
smiles broadly at the sight of him, nodding, "He is
mine. . . at least insofar as it is possible for such
a creature to be owned. I'm glad you approve of him."
She moves to his side and inspects the saddle
carefully as she adds, laughing and nodding, "You
might right about quickness-of-thought, my Lady,
though I must say that in most cases I've found it
dangerous to underestimate the men in my life."

Ekaterina tightens the girth on the palfrey, who
swings her head around making an earnest attempt to
snap. The tempermental display is patently avoided,
and ingnored by the diminuitive Regent, who tests her
weight upon one primitive looking stirrup of carved
mahogany.

"Your highness has, I must admit, a most... unique
position. It is unwise to underestimate anyone-- the
trick is that it is very difficult to tell what
someone's real ability is, in a virtual sea of
artifice."

Jenaa laughs brightly and nods. Obviously your words
have resonated with the princess. "It is difficult
-indeed-, my Lady." She lifts herself up onto her own
steed, slipping comfortable into the saddle. Patting
the side of Simarron's neck, she says, "Though I would
imagine that judging such things is in some ways more
important in your own position than it is in mine."

Ekaterina mounts up, a trifle stiffly, for she is long
without practice, wobbles slightly when settling her
knee around the saddle-horn, but dispite a slightly
embarrased coloration flooding her cheekbone, she
seems in all other ways, rather cheerful.

"Perhaps... there is no way to gauge from day to day
the importance of what things we do. A great meeting
to seal a bargain, for example seems very important,
while a comment you make in passing may alienate you
from prospective allies. Which is the more
earth-shattering?" A slight shrug. "Each woman weighs
the value on such an ability as good judgement
differently."

Jenaa regards you for a long moment, then nods
thoughtfully, "I couldn't agree more, my Lady." She
gestures to a well-trodden path which winds its way up
through the tall grass to a hilltop some distance
away, "I know a lovely pond and brook over that rise,
my Lady. Would that interest you as a destination?"

Giving a dimpled smile, the Baroness Stalinsky nods.
"That is, providing that I do not kill myself in the
process of getting there... acceptable risk, I
suppose." She pats the horse's rump, more to reassure
herself than to cosset the beast, who is looking
unhappy about the whole affair. "If your highness
would be so good as to lead on, I will do my best to
keep up."

Jenaa pulls up on Simmaron, who snorts again
contentedly, obviously pleased to be out in the open
reserve once more. She turns him and begins to head up
the trail, turning back every so often to see that
you're comfortable. She speaks loudly enough to be
easily heard over the rustle of the breeze through the
grass, "You must forgive my manners, my Lady ...
perhaps the Lord Chancellor isn't entirely incorrect
in his assessment of me... but I've failed to inquire
as to your own family's well-being. I do hope all is
well with them?"

Ekaterina answers with similar volume, trying her best
to retain the ladylike veneer in unfamiliar context.
Horses have never been accused of being her best
friends. "Oh, I did not even notice if there was a
lapse, highness. Rastanyev is well, if very quiet.
Perhaps we are boring, but I think stability at the
cost of excitement is to be preferred to the
opposite."

When they reach the pond, it is still, though the
slight breeze does send small ripples across its
surface. But then even bigger ripples puncture the
serenity of it, as something lands out in the middle
of it with a definitive >plunk!<.

Seated on a large rock next to the pond is a
dark-hairedwoman garbed in a midnight blue riding
outfit. Behind her is her own horse, munching almost
disinterestedly on random bits of grass just off the
trail. She lifts her hand again, and gives another
toss. One more rock skips across the surface of the
pond, three hops before disappearing beneath the
water.

Jenaa comes to a stop at the crest of the trail, just
before it drops down alongside the pond. She lifts a
hand in greeting to the young woman sitting on the
large rock, "My Lady!" she calls out, across the water
to get her attention, "Are we interruping you?"

Ekaterina can be seen sitting up slightly straight to
see who is so leisurely seated by the pond, tossing
pebbles. With moderate effort she manages to pull up
and reign in beside Jenaa... the fear of falling keeps
her hands clasping the reigns.

Tat'iana looks up in surprise, and almost a small
measure of horror, caught mid-point in raising her arm
for another toss. Quickly, she gets to her feet and
drops the pebble, giving Jenaa a slightly sheepish
grin. "No.. not at all..." she calls in reply, raising
a hand to shield her eyes to better see up to the
small rise.

Jenaa grins in return, "There are lots of nice flat
ones over there, aren't there?" she says, "I've gotten
one or two all the way across, but I've never quite
managed it." With a slight nudge of her knee, Simarron
continues down the trail, and Jenaa dismounts near
Tat'iana, "It's a beautiful day for a ride, isn't it?
I'm told we'll be having rain later in the week."

Minutely, Ekaterina can be heard to say something
under her breath that is not quite warm in tone, only
then having a mind to straighten up. A few seconds
later, she nudges the mount into a loping canter to
join the two other women below... awkwardly, she
lingers atop her horse for a moment before giving a
militant little smile as she slides down, reigns in
hand. "Lady Tat'iana." she says, inclining her head.

"Rain? This is good to know, I'll be sure to get all
my outdoor activities in beforehand." Tat'iana glances
across the water, as if trying to guage how much it
would take to get one of the stones across the pond.
When she turns back, it is in time to see Ekaterina
dismount. Almost strained with the effort, she keeps
her expression the same - light and pleasant, as she
nods in kind. "Baroness Stalinsky."

Jenaa shifts her weight slightly, as she air becomes
thick with tension. She opts to hold her silence and
looks down, kicking a bit of dirt from her boot.
Ekaterina clears her throat in a weak attempt to
regain her stride, so to speak. "Your highness, you
did not say how lovely the area was, to attract such
fine company. May I inquire after your health, my Lady
Tat'iana?"

"I come from Rastanyev stock, Baroness. My health is
as it should be," Tat'iana replies smoothly, reaching
to straighten the already straight phoenix pin on her
jacket lapel. "I hear you've settled into the embassy
quite well thus far."

Levelly, "As well as can be expected, considering the
haste with which it was so recently vacated."

Score one for the Baroness. Tat'iana merely shrugs
slowly, a small smile still on her lips. "Ah well..
he'll be back, I'm sure. I wouldn't make any permanent
changes, if I were you."

Ekaterina smiles with some note of coolness, and
reaches down to find a flat rock for herself. "Short
of having to old place demolished, Lady, there is
little in the way of indignity that a building or even
a city can suffer that is not repaired with time,
patience, and effort... Vladstok for example. Dowager
Ivanova II was able to restore it to its
characteristic charm in a matter of a decade."

Tat'iana remains unimpressed by Ekaterina's statement.
She reaches to the horse slightly behind her, and his
head comes up from his nibbles at the grass as soon as
her hands close on his reigns. Jenaa is given an
inquiring glance, an eyebrow slightly raised. "Is
everything ok there? Your saddle isn't giving you
trouble, is it?"

Jenaa scuffs a bit more dirt from her boots and wraps
Simarron's reins around a large nearby branch, "I
think the saddle's fine . . . the new stablehand tends
to overtighten it, though."

Ekaterina turns the pebble over and over in her
fingers, saying, "Fine, fine. So I am given to
understand in this morning's message. And no, my
saddle is not the problem... I have a seat like a
broken couch. There has always been too much to do,
since my marriage, to go riding." Regarding her stone,
she asks with a saccharine smile, "What a charming
game... how do you do it? Make it bounce like that, I
mean?"

Tat'iana bends, picking up the pebble she'd dropped as
the two approached. Likewise, she turns it over in her
hand, then draws her arm back and gives it a
light-seeming toss. It skips four hops, before dunking
into the water this time.

"It was my brother, and our other cousins, who taught
me ... when we were children," she explains, watching
the rock skip.

Ekaterina ahhhs smoothly in her alto voice, in
understanding. "How fortunate you are, to have been
born with siblings, though I was given to understand
you spent a great deal of time away in your youth. Our
paths did not much cross." Holding the edge of the
stone against her crooked finger tip, she tosses the
stone in a flinging motion, sidearmed.. it gives three
tiny hops before sinking.

Jenaa's eyes flick back and forth between the two
other women silently as she hops up upon a large flat
rock. Lifting her left foot above her right knee, she
absently picks at the black leather.

"Later in my childhood, yes, I went off to school,"
Tat'iana says, then, something occurs to her. "You say
you got a message from Vladstok just this morning? How
odd. Perhaps the couriers have forgotten their way to
the palace, or perhaps my messages aren't being
delivered to me for other reasons? I have heard
nothing for too long now." She glances to Jenaa again,
giving her a small nod of understanding.

Ekaterina looks to Jenaa also, and makes a seat for
herself on the ground before answering Tat'iana, "What
have you been waiting to hear, my dear, and from who?
Communication is, as ever, regular from the Garrashu
system."

The faint note of accusation fairly makes the hairs on
the back of her neck prickle, and the iris of her blue
eyes expand. Score one Tat'iana. "Perhaps the messages
simply have not caught up with you. Afterall, the
gossip running about the city implies that you are a
busy young woman."

Jenaa's head remains down, her face directed at her
boots, but her eyes rise briefly at this comment.

One brow rises every so slightly, arching like the
back of a black cat squinching up to hiss. The rest of
Tat'iana's face, however, remains absolutely cool. "My
brother's messages, of course, Baroness Stalinsky. Or
is this another of your oversights, as in the case of
the announcement of the births of my nephews? I am not
so busy, Baroness, that Imperial staff cannot find my
suite to leave my correspondence from Garrashu upon
the writing desk, with all the other correspondence I
do so regularly receive."

Ekaterina politely master her voice to be one of
tranquil, "Perhaps you should visit me at the embassy,
then, to discuss it. You have my sympathy that the
Right Honorable Earl has not deemed it necessary to
make contact with you, but it has very little to do
with me, or the couriers. If there is no message," she
says tensely, -there can be no delivery."

Pausing she glances to Jenaa with a weary expression,
and inclines her head. "I beg your pardon, your
Highness, Jenaa. This is not the time and place to
discuss this. However, to straighten accounts, the
matter of the birth announcement was conducted two
weeks standard before I had any formal power in
administration of house affairs."

Jenaa lifts her eyes, somewhat surprised at being
addressed. She draws a breath and lifts her knees up
to her chest, wrapping her arms comfortably around
them as she says, "Your ladyship, I have neither the
power to resolve any such matters, nor the desire to
come between the two of you in your disagreements. But
perhaps it is . . . possible that this difficult
situation has been inflamed by misunderstandings on
both sides?"

"Formal power does not equate to one's hands being
non-functional to the point of not being able to send
a message to one's family," Tat'iana says icily,
stepping towards her horse and vaulting into the
saddle. As he dances to the side under her tension,
she swings him around to give Ekaterina one last
glance. "I'll not return to an embassy where I have
been made to feel singularly most unwelcome. If you
wish an audience with me to discuss this issue
further, you may join the other courtiers here in the
palace for an afternoon. This... is my home now."

"Enjoy the rest of your afternoon, Highness," Tat'iana
says gently to Jenaa, before spurring her horse
forward to leap the rock she sat on just before and
return down the path towards the stables.

Ah, that Rastanyev temper.

Ekaterina says to Jenaa quietly, "I swear to you, I
never meant for you to do so. You have been so kind
that it pains me that you may think badly of me for
this--" Tat'iana's outburt draws a glare from the
Regent that could drop the temperature to well below
absolute zero, if properly applied long enough.

"Long may you strive to be worthy of it, 'cousin.'"
she says as she stands, and looks after the retreating
woman, and then presses her hands to her warmed
cheeks, and eyes, to cool them, and to take that
precious moment to restore what she can of dignity.

Jenaa's brow is deeply furrowed as she watches
Tat'iana ride swiftly down the hill towards the
stables off in the distance. She gnaws on her lower
lip for a short while, then abruptly stops -- as
though she's just realized she's doing it. She draws a
long breath and sighs, saying nothing.

Ekaterina rubs her eyes for a few minutes longer,
facing the pond, letting the cool air off its still
surface bathe her warm skin. And then her back
straightens, and she turns around with an exhalation
of defeat. "I apologize, my lady," she says, and her
eyes look-- well, glassy and full. "I had meant to be
good company, but I can see that all I will manage is
to spoil your day. Please forgive me... I should
return to the embassy and... get Lady Anya's things
boxed for transport."

Jenaa's expression, as she turns to face you, is calm.
She smiles pleasantly and shakes her head, "Think
nothing of it, my Lady. It only seems a shame that the
two of you are at such odds with one another." She
gestures to the horses, "Shall we return to the
stables?"

Ekaterina picks up another pebble from the ground, and
holds it in her palm. It is with something akin to
competance that she mounts her horse, settling the
length of her coppery braid over her shoulder. "I
never sought her ire, nor did anything to make her
feel unwelcome as she claims, highness. She has been
back to the Embassy but twice since I arrived, which I
took to mean that she had no desire to see me. But
then," she says, "-I suppose I should expect it, from
what my mother warned me. She is, afterall, like her
brother, no relative of mine." Wiping a finger under
her eyes which though they leak a tear or two
discreetly, have begun to take on a steely cast, she
waits a moment. Before departing, she flings the
pregathered rock viciously at the pond.
Bounce-bounce-bounce bounce-bounce bounce-b-bounce
bounce bounce. It skims quickly across the pond's
surface, and then sinks into its depths.

Jenaa mounts her own steed quietly, nodding in
understanding to your words, but offering no opinions
of her own. After a short while, when you've proceeded
down the trail she points to a distant stand of trees,
visible only as a speck on a remote hillside, "Perhaps
we should go there, sometime. I think you would find
it pleasant."

Ekaterina nods her head, trying desperately for an
unclouded smile. "Yes... someday. I would like that." 

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