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[right][sub]Interacting with: [Achronum] [Trainerblue192][/sub][/right]
Once again, Aaron was thoroughly shocked by Salem, having a particularly strong urge to grab the man by the ears and shake him out of whatever bout of insanity had clearly gripped him. While his first remark had been foolish enough, he hadn’t said anything that wasn’t at least true; after all, anyone who knew anything about politics knew about the financial border-pushing between the Sinnenodels and Astorios, and the incident Aaron thought he’d been referencing wasn’t exactly a secret. But now he was simply hurling insults, at a [i]Count[/i], and Aaron wasn’t sure what to do about it. 

However, Aaron’s fourth heart attack of the evening was interrupted when his head snapped in the direction of a familiar voice, only half-listening to the Princess’ explanation. After a second he composed himself again, bowing his head to the Princess. [color=CBBA2E]“How fortunate,”[/color] he replied, albeit a little flatly, [color=CBBA2E]“It’s been a while since I’ve seen Aunt Dora. Thank you, Your Royal Highness.”[/color]

It was not fortunate. Not even a little bit. Any other night he would have been thrilled to see his aunt, but tonight, looking like he did and joining a rival household for good, was [i]not[/i] how he wanted to see her next. He had been hoping he would have some time to work out how he’d break the news - which reminded him, he [i]did[/i] need to speak to Dora about that later - before he would have to face anyone he knew from home; the clothing and the ridicule were another matter entirely, and one he wasn't quite prepared to explain.

Still, he smiled weakly as they approached; as much as he didn’t want her to see him like this, he couldn’t deny he took some measure of comfort in seeing another familiar face. She was dressed in her usual style, showing very little skin with her hair covered, though everything was a notch above the norm in formality, as was proper. His ears burned as he passed her, comparing himself to her almost as a reflex, and his embarrassment only worsened when he remembered that she could probably vicariously feel everything he was feeling. 

He halted when the Princess turned on them, straightening further as he listened. He even briefly made eye contact before nodding, to assure her that he understood. When they continued, he obeyed, both the Princess’ advice and Varis’ warning remembered as he kept carefully within a step or two of Varis. When they paused to wait for the dining room door, he took a long breath, steeling himself for what lay beyond it.

The doors opened and they entered, Aaron staying close to Varis as instructed and throwing Salem a look to do the same before he turned his attention to the dining room. Everything was pristine and elegant, as would be expected, and the familiar architecture - if not a touch updated - did help to put the mage just a little more at ease. 

However, as they entered, a sound caught his attention, something like a faint tapping on a window. At first Aaron thought it might have been someone tapping a wine glass, or a musician tapping his foot, but the table was bare and the sound was coming from the wrong direction. He wasn’t sure why it caught his attention, but when he turned his head slightly to follow the sound, it simply faded away. 

He gave his head the tiniest shake and took another breath, chiding himself inwardly. Clearly his nerves were getting to him more than he’d thought, turning every little noise into some great mystery. Soon he’d be spooking at his own footsteps. Come on, it wasn’t as if this was his first time meeting Council members. He needed to calm down.

Approaching the table, Aaron let his eyes skip over the Queen briefly, that now-familiar nervous spike shooting through him again when he noticed her scowl. Knowing her that could be directed at anything - at the moment, all clues pointed to the Princess' dress - but he also knew her preferences too well to think his condition might slip under her radar. Back home, when he still served her, he’d have probably been caned for presenting himself so poorly in front of the Queen. What would happen to him tonight?

Somehow, though, the Queen hardly compared to Lady Sinnenodel had to offer; he'd heard dozens of rumours about her, regarding everything from her ever-changing tastes to reckless speculation about the treatment of her mages, but Aaron hadn’t been prepared to see her looking so... [i]edgy[/i]. Suddenly Varis' clothing choices made a lot more sense, though the thought didn’t do much to quell the quiver in his gut. 

While he’d been looking at Lady Sinnenodel through the corner of his eye, he looked more carefully at her mages, particularly the blindfolded woman sitting at the table in her place. Her attire didn’t seem as extreme as the rest until she twisted in her seat; his stomach turned when he saw the state of the poor woman’s back, two grotesque rows of piercings running up either side of her spine and lashed together with a ribbon like some sick mockery of a corset. Aaron reviled at the sight and had to look away, hardly able to stomach looking at her front-on with the image burned in his mind. Good Lord, was that the sort of thing that awaited him?

Doing his best to banish the thought from his mind, Aaron bowed appropriately when it came time to take his seat, first to the Queen and then to the Lady. He looked pointedly away when the mage woman whispered in Varis’ ear, instead sweeping his gaze over the table. Not a single place setting, not even a glass. He might have smirked had he not been wound so tight. Now [i]there[/i] was something familiar. The Queen, like anyone, had her eccentricities, one in particular being her insistence to choose place settings only [i]after[/i] guests had been seated. Aaron had seen firsthand her collection of dinnerware back at the castle, an impressive stock of over two-hundred full sets. She even insisted on choosing them personally in her own, careful way. No one was quite sure why - rumour had it among the servants that it was something of an inside joke between her and Lady Sinnenodel - but whatever the reason, it seemed that Princess Ryner was playing along. 

Once they were seated, nervous anticipation began to grip him, and Aaron looked across the table to offer Salem a reassuring smile; whether it was for Salem’s benefit or his own, he couldn’t say, but he was willing to try anything to save himself from drowning in his own thoughts.