Just...great... (Dris)

[Xphy]

To be perfectly honest Calyse was not in the best of moods as she rode through the gates of the city the Valarus family had control over. Being the heiress to the most powerful House in Altas Verde definitely had its advantages, but it was times like these when she really regretted being born the first of her siblings. She had always hated when her mother had insisted that she accompany her whenever she decided to visit the Houses of the province. There were few things that she found more boring than sitting there while her mother discussed politics with a bunch of highfalutin nobles and it was even worst when they had children her around her age, particularly when they were males.

She had long since grown tired of young noblemen practically throwing themselves at her, telling her all of the things they thought she wanted to hear, and for what? At best it was only to gain just a bit more favor within her House, but she knew more often than not they want more. They wanted to court her so that they could hopefully gain the title of High Lord when she eventually took control of her House. It was sad really, but she had eventually decided that it was just something she would have to put up with until she found the man she would marry.

This visit in particular seemed only that much more unpleasant to her when her mother 'suggested' that she went by herself for a change, but again there was nothing she could really do about it. She was already on the High Lady of Altas Verde's bad side after that stunt she pulled with Thandryon's heiress, and while she did like to push people's buttons she knew better than anyone else it was not a good idea to be on the receiving end of Sephiria Feyal's wrath.

So here Calyse was riding toward Fort Deityi the home of the Valarus family, one of the province's noble Houses that had made their fortune through logging. She had brought along three knights to serve as her bodyguards, a tall Serenian looking woman who riding beside her while the two who were Adelan males brought up the rear with their things in tow. The woman, if their armor was any indication, seemed to hold a much higher rank than the two men. She also seemed to be very close to heiress, chatting casually with her as they drew near to the fort itself.

More than anything Calyse just wanted to get this thing over with as painlessly as possible.

[Anonymous]

Another hard day at work. Really now. No work no fun, right? Well, at least that was what Kay thought. He was one of those people, those noblemen, who wasn't as arrogant as the others. There were really few of his kind these days. He stretched as he left his work, the commoners, no, his friends waved to him. He had corrected himself, they weren't commoners, well, they were, but not to him, they were his friends, and those that weren't were treated no less. The sun was still high in the sky, but he had business with paperwork.

"Working hard there?" A voice said right by his ear. Kay leaped forward a few feet, spinning in the air to land facing the unknown person. The man put his hands up in mock defeat. "I surrender!"

It was his father. "Are you trying to scare me to death?"

"No, actually that would be bad, for no one would be able to caring on our name." Kay's father said. His face grew a bit more serious now. "It seems that I have business elsewhere, and I need you to meet her." This caused Kay to jump again. "Are you serious?!" Kay exclaimed. "She is coming here?!"

His father nodded. "Actaully she is already within the city gates." Kay was already running before his father had finished his sentence. Damn his father. He could at least tell him a bit earlier so he could clean himself off. And probably put on some nicer clothes. It was one of those times where someone of higher rank was coming to meet his father and his father decided that there was "urgent business" somewhere. Kay sprinted all the way to his room and cleaned himself off as best as he could, washing himself a bit, a little bit of that and this. He brushed his hair, he put on more formal clothes, first impressions had to be good. It was never good to start off on the wrong side, you may never get back.

He happened to spot himself in front of a mirror. It was strange to see himself like that, all cleaned up, dressed nicely, hair brushed. Everything. He sighed, it was not like he didn't like dressing up. It was just all the people he met always got on his nerve. He doubted he was going to like the heiress to the most powerful house. But even if he did not, he would make sure it looked like it. He pushed open his doors and walked to his study, and started on his paperwork. Maybe if it looked as if he was really busy when the heiress came in, she would leave quickly. Or maybe he should be charming. He shrugged to himself, she was probably so annoyed of all those "charming" people that tried to court her.

He really tried to look busy, but he his mind was elsewhere. Maybe he should act like a gentlemen. He had heard that the heiress Calyse was beautiful. He steeled his mind, he always was a fool for beautiful, strong-willed women. This really could end bad.

[Xphy]

As her party rode up toward the fort Calyse took a second to compose herself, straightening her clothing and wiping the sweat from her brow just in case any of the baron's family members were waiting outside for her. Appearances were just as important for her as a representative of her House as they were for them as her host, and she wasn't about to show up all sloppy and sweaty. It would have reflected poorly on her family, and she was in enough trouble with her mother as it was.

When they were just outside of the gates the heiress signaled for her escorts to stop, and rode closer to the female knight. After giving the woman a nod she spoke. "I'll be expecting a full report later." Truthfully she envied the knight. She would have much rather have gone with her to speak directly with the townspeople. It probably would have been much more interesting than meeting with the Baron Valarus, and it at least would have given her a chance to see the city. But she couldn't, not if she wished to get back on her mother's good side anyway.

She would just have to wait until later that afternoon or tomorrow morning to explore.

After dismissing the knight Calyse signaled for her two remaining escorts to follow her inside and rode toward the people that were waiting for her arrival. One person among them stood out to her, an older woman dressed too finely to be a simple servant. This woman was probably the baron's mother, a fairly safe assumption considering that the previous baron had already handed his title to his son, and after mentally checking herself she politely addressed her.

"Good day, Lady Valarus. I trust everything has been well with you and your family?"

[Anonymous]

While Kay was nervously pacing the room back in his home, his mother had went ahead to meet the heiress. She was quite a beautiful lady, but Calyse was indeed one to be reckoned with. She was almost as if a shining jewel that was an exception among jewels. Becca noted the guards around her. Not for any reason besides a knowing glance. She was good at that type of stuff. Knowing people just by looking at them. A rare talent. It seemed that Kay had inherited as well.

She curtsied. "Good afternoon to you, Lady." She straightened and smiled. "Everything is fine, my husband messing with out son who goes out of his way to work among his people." Lady Becca nodded to the path. "Shall we go meet my son then?" There was not much a chance that this heiress would like Kay. Becca knew that she did not like many because they always courted her.

Back inside his study, Kay heard noises from outside. It sounded as if someone was cursing. Curious, Kay opened his doors and saw a young boy trying unsuccessfully to lift a large chair somewhere. Probably to his trouble-making father. The servant looked afraid of Kay. The young lord sighed and smiled. "You need a little help there?" The servant shook his head and again, picked it up before dropping it. Kay rolled his eyes and picked up the chair for him. "Who needs it?"

"Your father, my lord." The servant squeaked out. Kay sighed again. "What is your name young one?"

The boy shrunk back, looking even smaller. "Tam, sir."

"Well Tam, I'll carry it for you, but next time, if he asks for something, tell him that all servants and maids are no longer able to do anything for him, a message from his son." Kay smiled. He straightened and took a single step around the corner to see his mother . . . with the Lady heiress. Not good. He almost dropped the chair in surprise. Quickly, he moved the chair to the side of the hallway and turned to Tam. "Run off now, tell my father what I have said!" The boy nodded and ran off. He turned back to the heiress quickly.

With a flourish, he bowed. As he did so, he also winced, he might have overdone it just a bit. "My lady, I welcome you to Fort Deityi, my humble home."

[Xphy]

When the Lady Valarus greeted her the heiress simply nodded before swinging her leg over her horse and lowered herself from its back. She then walked over to one of her escorts, unhooking her sword from her waist and gave it to the man to hold while she went with the older woman. It was a gesture of good faith; an indirect way of showing that she would be in the care of the Valarus family guard for the remainder of her visit. She highly doubted that she would need it anyway. If something were to come up she still had her magic to fall back on, and she could always use it to create a weapon for herself.

While she walked with Bella Calyse took her time taking in the fort's décor and looking for anything that seemed out of place; something that gave it some character. Most people went overboard with cleaning up their homes when they knew she was planning to visit them, wanting it to be as presentable as possible when she arrived. Honestly though she really couldn't care less about how 'presentable' their homes were. She wasn't so easily bought as to care about presentation; she only cared about how the land was being used, and how the people were being treated.

As for what the Lady Valarus had said about her son she would be the judge of that when Ilavel returned with her report. It wasn't that she didn't believe the Lady. In fact Calyse was almost certain there was a kernel of truth in what she had said. She just had learned that people tended to embellish things when they spoke, and that while you should trust people you should also verify what they say. If the Baron really did 'go out of his way' like his mother had said then her knight's report would reflect that.

Eventually they would come across the Baron, though Calyse did notice the odd behavior when he had first saw them. Now why would he jump back behind the corner instead of welcoming her right away? It wasn't until they turned the corner and he gave her his greeting that she caught an idea of what he had been doing. There was a young boy running down the hall behind the Baron, and while her eyes hadn't settled on him for long before turning to Kay she did take note of the servant.

When he gave his greeting she curtsied and then gave her reply. "And a lovely home it is my Lord Baron." She wasn't too thrown off by his greeting. Bows were customary when dealing with people of nobility. Plus she had seen much worst greetings, like the men who would take her hand and kiss it as though placing their saliva on her skin was somehow supposed to impress her.

[Anonymous]

It was kind of embarrassing to be caught helping a servant. At least in front of someone as . . . well . . . important as Calyse. He sure hoped that his father would not be a problem. Kay almost winced as he thought back to all the troubles that his father had brought him when someone . . . special was over. Not good memories. He would make sure that nothing bad happened. If anything came up, he would be sure to take care of it swiftly and efficiently. No need in giving anyone the wrong idea of how he ran things here.

"Welcome," he repeated. "Would you please follow me so that we may find a more . . . suitable place to talk?" He nodded his head in a direction before he began walking swiftly in that direction. The quicker this went by, the better. No matter how beautiful this . . . princess was, she would only be trouble. She had been for all the other people that she had met. They kind of had it coming though. They arrived back at his office. The guards standing outside of his office stood at attention and opened the door for him. "Thank you." Kay muttered, trying not to say it too loud. He took a seat in behind his desk and gestured for his guests to take a seat as well. His mother dismissed herself as well.

"You've probably heard this a dozen times, no hundreds of times." Kay began. "But I really do care for my people and my lands." He paused before he continued. "You may send your people to take a look around, to ask around about me, whatever it takes to convince you that I am doing my work efficiently and fairly." He let this sink in, though he doubted that she had undoubtedly heard everything up to that point many times. But he was just guessing. "Now I apologize for not cleaning up more for your arrival . . . but I was a bit busy helping my people, a lord should not sit and get fat while his workers work long hours." He shrugged. "It's just not right."

"You know, I – " there was an urgent knock on the door. Kay sighed. "Please come in." A ruffled looking man ran in and noticed Calyse, bowing low before addressing Kay. "We have a problem out in some of the rural areas, the bandits have begun a large scale attack." Kay almost groaned. Perfect timing. He stood, it was time for battle mode. "Gather our troops, we must stop them before too much damage is done, go GO!" the man ran off and Kay sighed again. "I apologize . . . for all of this . . . but it would be best of you were to stay . . ." he thought this over before he began again. "I recommend that you stay here . . . but I doubt you would take my word . . . but I ask of you to be careful if you are to come . . .'

[Xphy]

Calyse would simply nod at the baron and followed him to his study. Once inside she would sit where he had motioned for her to, calm and upright as she had been taught a noble should. Slouching was something she would never do in the presence of people she wasn't familiar with. It was rude and disrespectful.

Not to mention is was bad for your back.

While he spoke she couldn't help but feel the urge to yawn or roll her eyes. Of course she wouldn't as both would have been rude and unbecoming as well, but the desire was certainly there. It was the typical 'I treat my people better than everyone else' speech, the kind rife with things people assumed her family wanted to hear. She had long since grown tired of people trying to win their favor through words. It was quite annoying really. Then again she would never expect someone to admit to their wrongdoings to her face. Few people were that bold... or that foolish.

Whether his words were true or not she would only judge when her knight returned.

By the time the man had knocked on the door she had already stopped paying attention to the Baron's words. Of course she had continued to feign interest, but she hadn't really been listening. She did listen to the man once he had entered however. The fact that they were having problems with bandits brought a frown to her lips. Outlaws had a bad habit of choosing the worst possible times to cause trouble, it seemed.

Once the men were done talking Calyse simply rose to her feet and walked toward the door before calmly speaking. "Have your people prepare my horse. I wish to observe your men." If the baron and his men were going to take care of the bandits she might as well take the opportunity to see how competently they could handle it. After all their defensive capabilities was among the things she was here to inspect, and what better way to do that than to watch it first hand.

[Anonymous]

There was much to do. It did not help that there was someone there watching, but it didn't matter. Whether or not she believed him or not was up to her. She could look around and listen to the gossip as much as she wanted. Bandits did seem to pick the worst time. If anything went wrong, any chance with a good report from the Princess would be gone with the wind. He gave a slight bow to Calyse, who decided to come with them and hurried out the door. No longer was there any time for formality, it was time to protect his land, even if it cost his life.


"I believe that it would be best for you to ride near the back of the battalions, I have no wish for you to get hurt, though I doubt any of those bandits could hurt you anyways," Kay said. "Just a precaution. If you choose to ignore this, I cannot stop you."

Despite his concern for Calyse, Kay had no care for his own safety. He had donned his armor quickly and raised the alarms fast enough. Soon, he gathered enough men and set off the counter the bandits. He rode at the front of his men, after all, what leader were you if you could not lead them? As they left their fort, it did not take long for them to see the bandits in the distance. Kay had dealt with many bandits in his time already, but nothing could prepare him for what he saw. An impossible vast number of bandits and mercenaries had gathered on the fields opposite of him. They could certainly hold their own against his men. This was definitely not good.

"Where is my messenger, I need him!" He shouted. The messenger arrived, breathless within a few minutes. "I want you to go to all cites within my boundaries and gather more men, it seems we need them now."

The messenger hurried off and Kay sighed. What a day indeed.

"Lord Kay, we can take them, we don't need anymore men!" one of the soldiers behind him said. "As long as we have you we cannot lose!"

"I thank you for that," Kay laughed. "But even I cannot hope to best them without losing a great deal of men."

In the distance, Kay noticed someone heading out with a white flag. Kay steeled himself for what was to come and headed toward the center of the battlefield.