[b]Tamara Sendai in Elband - Morning[/b]

Tamara resisted the urge to check for scorch marks on her skin as she walked out of the Morning Room. Queen Alisande Tarmalene, the Grace of Light, certainly had a tongue on her and a temper to boot. She cursed her friend, the Mahdi Mother Marna Domios, for volunteering Tamara for this job.

It had been simple enough: deliver the sealed letter and conduct quiet inquiries into the royal bloodline. But the first part had proved so difficult that she was left wondering if the second part could be attempted at all.

The Queen had received her warmly enough, to be fair. White Island and Menaria have always been allies and the Sendai are respected. Queen Alisande had honoured her by meeting in the Morning Room, reserved for close friends and relatives. And she had also met her without her retainers or advisors.

But when the Queen had read the letter, she flew into a passionate rage that would quiver even a Turmen. Tamara did not know but suspected as to the contents of the letter, written by the Mahdi. It certainly had something to do with the peasant rebellion in Balenia and the inevitable civil unrest there. Did the Mahdi 'advise' the Queen as to the proper course of action? That would certainly be reason enough for her anger. Friends or not, no one ordered the Queen of Menaria about.

She had threatened to cut ties with White Island; to stop the princess from attending her training. But Tamara, thanks to her silver tongue, prevailed. For years, Tamara had negotiated peace between the warring Three Kingdoms and it had given her the ability to soothe tempers and present her arguments with reason and logic. It would be disastrous to not use this opportunity to have a truly powerful monarch on the throne of Menaria. A Tarmalene who is also a Sendai would make Menaria much more powerful than what she was.

In the end, the Queen had relented and cooled down. She even served tea for Tamara and talked proudly about her daughter, Esmee. Tamara hadn't met the girl yet, but the Mahdi had, when the princess had been a mere child. The Mahdi had told Tamara the potential in the child, and Tamara was quite thrilled to finally have a chance to meet her.

She walked across the carpeted corridors of the palace, admiring the artifacts from around the world: jade figurines from the Gor desert, ancient armours and weapons, relics of Emperor Altalan. The opulence in the palace was at once understated and impressive. Walking here, one could feel the powers of the world converging under this roof.

She had some trouble finding the right quarters and had to stop several liveried maids for directions. Finally, she reached the North Wing of the palace where the Queen and her daughter have their residence. She approached the pair of guards near the entrance.

"Guardsman. I am Tamara Sendai of the White Island and I would like to meet the Princess Esmee if it pleases her," she said. The men immediately inclined their heads in a respectful bow and one of them departed to seek the princess's permission. Tamara waited by the entrance, watching a pair of swans swim lazily in the fish pond.