[center][img]https://txt.1001fonts.net/img/txt/dHRmLjEwNi4wMGYyZjguUTJGc2JIVnRJRVJoYm5KdmMyVS4w/conformity-personal-use.regular.webp[/img] [h1][b]& [color=DAF6C7]Ríoghnach "Riona"[/color][/b][/h1] Interaction(s): Callum [@Helo][/center] A sharp clap and the sound of glass breaking turned the heads of people who were ignorant of its source. It even turned Riona’s head, though not for the same reason as the bystanders. Unlike them, it was the force of the noble’s hand that pushed her face away from the original direction she was facing mere seconds ago. Her cheek stung belatedly, but it didn’t especially hurt. Not that a noblewoman with string beans for arms was capable of inflicting any significant damage on her. Slowly, and as calmly as she could, Riona faced the perpetrator that slapped her and bowed deeply, as was expected of her. After the dance with the shahzade, Riona returned straight to her duties. Nothing out of the ordinary happened for awhile. Whenever a mess was made for one reason or another, she and her colleagues swooped in to clean it. Rinse and repeat. It was simple, mindless work. On occasion, she was asked to do things outside of her assigned work because the guests had no way of telling which staff was responsible for what, but they had been manageable. Trouble came knocking when Riona heard a woman shriek. A brief sound of distress, nothing serious based on how the other guests more or less ignored it and no guards rushed in to defuse the situation. There was a group of nobles surrounding a crying woman with an empty wine glass in one hand, a shoe in another, and a large purplish-red stain on her dress. The first casualty of the night and a trend that past experience taught Riona would continue as long as alcohol flowed. Riona approached the woman to offer her assistance when she saw the woeful expression transform into rage as soon as the noblewoman caught sight of the maid. “[i]You![/i]” She hissed, “This is all your fault!” [color=DAF6C7][i]Excuse me? How is what my fault?[/i][/color] As if she had read Riona’s mind the noblewoman stomped her way to the maid with an unstable footing, shoving the shoe she was holding into Riona’s face. At the bottom of it was a mess that Riona initially thought was a smashed-up insect. After a closer inspection, she realized it was the remnant of a grape. “Don’t you dare play dumb! Your incompetence ruined my dress!” Riona could smell the alcohol in the other woman’s breath as she continued to yell at her. “This is why you should never hire commoners! No work ethics! Inherently lazy! You do the bare minimum work and expect to get paid handsomely for it! Even though you can’t even do the simplest task!” Riona stared blankly at the noble. From what she could piece together from the ramblings of the intoxicated woman and the evidence she provided, Riona guessed that someone had dropped a grape and the drunk noblewoman lost her already deteriorating balance when she stepped on the fruit, which resulted in her spilling her drink over herself. All this, was apparently the servant’s fault because no one picked up the grape before she stepped on it. Riona was being scolded purely as a representative of the servants. The maid bowed her head, [color=DAF6C7]“Many apologizes my Lady—...”[/color] “I don’t want your hollow apologies! You ruined a dress that is worth more than your life and you think an apology is enough to absolve you? Shameless wretch, take responsibility for once in your life. I expected better from the Danroses. They are too lenient on your kind.” [color=DAF6C7][i]Too… lenient?[/i][/color] [i]A spark flickered and died in the darkness.[/i] [color=DAF6C7][i]Too lenient? Is that what they call it? Where the f**k were you when Leo Over-Polished-My-A** blamed us? What about our reaction gave you the f**king impression that they are too lenient on us?[/i][/color] A question Riona already knew the answer to. Even if the noblewoman was standing next to the servant whose knees buckled, she would’ve said the same thing. Because she saw nothing. They all saw nothing. Not the servants’ dread, despair, or fury. They were invisible and what was invisible was nonexistent. Their anguish didn’t exist. “I know that words don’t work with your kind. You just never seem to understand. Reasoning is simply not your forte.” The noblewoman began to sway back and forth. Her foot jetted out to the side when she leaned too far in one direction in order to maintain her balance. “You are… Like, like, a…” One of the nobles who had been watching the spectacle with amusement suggested, “Human-shaped animals?” The others chimed in with similar terms. [i]Another spark, brighter than before, failed to ignite once again.[/i] “Beasts in human skin! Like any wild animal, you only understand strength. As such, you can only learn by receiving a good thrashing.” [i][color=#DAF6C7]W[/color][color=#D9F4C5]h[/color][color=#D8F3C4]a[/color][color=#D7F2C3]t[/color][color=#D7F1C2]?[/color] [color=#D5EEC0]Y[/color][color=#D4EDBF]o[/color][color=#D4ECBE]u[/color] [color=#D2E9BC]t[/color][color=#D2E8BB]h[/color][color=#D1E7BA]i[/color][color=#D0E6B9]n[/color][color=#CFE5B8]k[/color] [color=#CEE2B6]o[/color][color=#CDE1B5]u[/color][color=#CCE0B4]r[/color] [color=#CBDDB2]u[/color][color=#CADCB1]n[/color][color=#CADBB0]i[/color][color=#C9DAAF]f[/color][color=#C8D9AE]o[/color][color=#C7D7AD]r[/color][color=#C7D6AC]m[/color][color=#C6D5AB]s[/color] [color=#C4D3A9]c[/color][color=#C4D1A8]o[/color][color=#C3D0A7]v[/color][color=#C2CFA6]e[/color][color=#C2CEA5]r[/color] [color=#C0CBA3]u[/color][color=#BFCAA2]s[/color] [color=#BEC8A0]f[/color][color=#BDC79F]r[/color][color=#BCC59E]o[/color][color=#BCC49D]m[/color] [color=#BAC29B]h[/color][color=#BAC19A]e[/color][color=#B9BF99]a[/color][color=#B8BE98]d[/color] [color=#B7BC96]t[/color][color=#B6BB95]o[/color] [color=#B5B893]t[/color][color=#B4B792]o[/color][color=#B3B691]e[/color] [color=#B2B38F]f[/color][color=#B1B28E]o[/color][color=#B0B18D]r[/color] [color=#AFAF8B]m[/color][color=#AEAD8A]o[/color][color=#ADAC89]d[/color][color=#ADAB88]e[/color][color=#ACAA87]s[/color][color=#ABA986]t[/color][color=#AAA785]y[/color][color=#AAA684]'[/color][color=#A9A583]s[/color] [color=#A7A381]s[/color][color=#A7A180]a[/color][color=#A6A07F]k[/color][color=#A59F7E]e[/color][color=#A59E7D]?[/color] [color=#A39B7B]W[/color][color=#A29A7A]i[/color][color=#A29979]t[/color][color=#A19878]h[/color] [color=#9F9576]a[/color] [color=#9E9374]m[/color][color=#9D9273]a[/color][color=#9D9172]s[/color][color=#9C8F71]h[/color][color=#9B8E70]e[/color][color=#9A8D6F]r[/color] [color=#998B6D]l[/color][color=#98896C]i[/color][color=#97886B]k[/color][color=#97876A]e[/color] [color=#958568]E[/color][color=#958367]d[/color][color=#948266]i[/color][color=#938164]n[/color][color=#928063]?[/color][color=#927E62]![/color] [color=#907C60]H[/color][color=#907B5F]A[/color][color=#8F7A5E]![/color] [color=#8D775C]W[/color][color=#8D765B]e[/color] [color=#8B7459]h[/color][color=#8A7258]a[/color][color=#8A7157]v[/color][color=#897056]e[/color] [color=#886E54]m[/color][color=#876C53]o[/color][color=#866B52]r[/color][color=#856A51]e[/color] [color=#84684F]i[/color][color=#83664E]n[/color] [color=#82644C]c[/color][color=#81634B]o[/color][color=#80624A]m[/color][color=#806049]m[/color][color=#7F5F48]o[/color][color=#7E5E47]n[/color] [color=#7D5C45]w[/color][color=#7C5A44]i[/color][color=#7B5943]t[/color][color=#7A5842]h[/color] [color=#795640]s[/color][color=#78543F]l[/color][color=#78533E]a[/color][color=#77523D]v[/color][color=#76513C]e[/color][color=#75503B]s[/color] [color=#744D39]t[/color][color=#734C38]h[/color][color=#724B37]a[/color][color=#724A36]n[/color] [color=#704734]w[/color][color=#704633]i[/color][color=#6F4532]t[/color][color=#6E4431]h[/color] [color=#6D412F]a[/color][color=#6C402E]n[/color][color=#6B3F2D]y[/color] [color=#6A3C2B]o[/color][color=#693B2A]f[/color] [color=#683928]y[/color][color=#673827]o[/color][color=#663626]u[/color] [color=#653424]a[/color][color=#643323]r[/color][color=#633222]r[/color][color=#633021]o[/color][color=#622F20]g[/color][color=#612E1F]a[/color][color=#602D1E]n[/color][color=#602C1D]t[/color][color=#5F2A1C],[/color] [color=#5D281A]s[/color][color=#5D2719]p[/color][color=#5C2618]o[/color][color=#5B2417]i[/color][color=#5B2316]l[/color][color=#5A2215]e[/color][color=#592114]d[/color] [color=#581E12]p[/color][color=#571D11]i[/color][color=#561C10]e[/color][color=#551B0F]c[/color][color=#551A0E]e[/color][color=#54180D]s[/color] [color=#53160B]o[/color][color=#52150A]f[/color][color=#511409]—[/color][color=#501208].[/color][color=#501107].[/color][color=#4F1006].[/color][color=#4E0F05]![/color][/i] [i]The spark this time produced a small glow. A tiny, insignificant fire. Unworthy to kindle the embers. Quickly blown out with a single rational thought.[/i] Riona dug her nails into her arm, gloves preventing her from breaking skin. [color=DAF6C7][i]She’s drunk Ríoghnach. They’re drunk. She just happens to be drunk [b]and[/b] upset. Just have her get her servants and they’ll know how to deal with her.[/i][/color] The maid took in a deep breath through her nose to calm herself, [color=DAF6C7]“I am sorry that you feel our services are inadequate, my lady. We will endeavor to do better. In the meantime, would you like me to call—...”[/color] The woman in front of her suddenly stumbled forward. Riona’s hands shot out to stabilize her when the woman jerked away from her touch, dropping both the glass and the shoe from her hands so that she could slap the maid across the face. “How [i]dare[/i] you!” The noble screamed, “How dare you touch me without my permission! Who do you think you are!? Know your place!” If her previous crying and rambling hadn’t attracted that much attention before, it had done so now. Even with her head bowed low, Riona could see from her peripheral vision a little crowd forming. Amongst them, she saw her colleagues. They stood there with worried looks, but as soon as they made an attempt to step forward Riona raised her hand slightly, stopping them in their tracks. The situation, though not as nearly spectacular as Duke Vikena’s entrance, garnered enough attention that it was impossible the head housekeeper wouldn’t be made aware of the situation. If she was, that meant the noblewoman would eventually get what she believed the Danrose servants needed. It was bad enough that they were going to have to be punished to some degree because of Lord Smithwood’s complaint, the other servants didn’t need to deal with more of this nonsense. Not if it could be avoided. The noblewoman turned to the other nobles around her, “You saw that, yes? She touched me!” The others nodded in agreement. “What if I contract something? I heard that they are carriers of diseases! Didn’t they spread that plague in Kolonivka a while back?” Riona didn’t appreciate being equated to fleas on a rat, but more than that, she wondered how the woman contracted anything when both she and Riona were wearing gloves. “Don’t fret,” a nobleman hiccuped, “I have it on good authority that alcohol can eradicate the cause of any illness.” Another scowled at the inebriated man, “And where, pray tell, have you learned that from?” “Some, publication from … the, the,” he poked his head with his fingers to get the next words out, “Varian Royal Institute of Science. Something about… creatures so small…we can’t see them, but they can make us sick. Heat and alcohol can kill them.” “Hogwash.” “I agree, but if it’s the kind of hogwash that allows me to have more alcohol, I have no complaints.” The nobleman grabbed a bottle from the table and uncorked it. He tilted the bottle in the noblewoman’s direction. She took a few steps away from him, shielding herself as she demanded him to stop and that she already decided to burn her clothes. Cleaning it was apparently no longer an option. The dress had been irreversibly ruined by the wine and the stupid maid. No longer could she wear this ensemble without remembering the humiliation. “You’re no fun at all.” The nobleman faced Riona. A snide grin formed on his lips, “Then again, how can we trust what the Varians say? I think we would be doing a service to them by testing this theory of theirs.” He flipped the bottle upside down over Riona’s head, dumping rather than pouring the wine onto her. By this point, everything the nobles did was steel striking flint near tinder. Every word spoken, every action they did or did not take grated on Riona. [i]It didn’t take long for the fire to flare up.[/i] Her nails dug harder into her skin as she clenched her teeth. The maid was only able to avoid contorting her face into an ugly glower by breathing slowly through her flaring nostrils. She tried to remember the meditation techniques Wystan suggested so that she wouldn't completely lose it, to focus on anything except what was happening at that moment, but her mind kept wandering back. How the woman thought it was a logical conclusion to burn clothes that were worth more than a single life because of a wine stain that could be washed out and a maid who “violated” her. How dumping perfectly good vintage wine was the pinnacle of hilarity for these people. How the wine pooling on the floor looked redder than it was supposed to be. Why did she even bother? [i]A soft glow emanated from the embers.[/i] Once the last drop of wine escaped its glass prison the nobleman peeked inside, “Huh, that’s the last of that … and she’s still alive. I suppose the Varian Royal Institute of Science aren’t as credible as they claim to be.” [i]The flames from the kindling burned with stronger ferocity and as it does, the ember’s light glowed brighter, full of anticipation. Unabashedly hungry for the flames. It yearned to consume it all.[/i] “Mayhap another one will do the trick?” The group snickered. [i]Fueled by the fire, it would burn brighter than any star. Set Sorian ablaze, for all to witness. They… [b]he[/b] would burn in the all-engulfing flames. And it would be glorious. All the girl had to do was just let the embers touch the fire.[/i] “You may be right,” the nobleman uncorked another bottle. [i]Firewood crackled and popped.[/i] The wine bottle rose up. [i]The ball of fire flew its way to the embers… and was immediately caught mid-air, extinguished with one swift motion by a hand paler than Ríoghnach’s.[/i] Riona snapped back to reality and turned her head to see Callum standing there. [color=00F8FE]“Bold of you to insult the king by wasting his favorite wine, a vintage carefully chosen to honor our guests from Alidasht.”[/color] Callum snatched the wine bottle from the lesser noble’s hand. With ease, he found himself mimicking a look of absolute disdain, one normally found on his father’s face with Cal often on the receiving end. The commotion had quickly escalated into something impossible to miss; most of the time these things sorted themselves out, or more accurately the staff sorted them out in ways normally undetected by most. The shrill-voiced noblewoman was easily ignored as someone who couldn’t hold her drink, bemoaning her own mistake, but the slap had echoed through the room. It drew his attention and seeing that it was a wine-drenched Riona on the receiving end of the slap, one of his home’s own staff being assaulted, rather than a scuffle between two equally insufferable nobles, had made all apathy towards the commotion vanish. [color=00F8FE]“Then again, boldness without cause is base stupidity. You are on thin ice, you will leave my presence, and will be thankful I do not bring this insult to our king’s attention. Should I have the misfortune of seeing any of you again, you will be conducting yourselves in a way that does not embarrass Caesonia.”[/color] Cal asked, making an effort to look at each of them the very same way his father would look at Kier the ferret. He then spoke his last sentence slowly, the way one does when speaking with a young child, [color=00F8FE]“Do we understand?”[/color] Callum did not wait for a response, instead, he waved them away with his free hand while looking at the wine bottle as if it were a precious thing and shaking his head. It was a sad truth that to chastise them for the waste of wine, over the mistreatment of a person, would be more easily understood, but it was the truth of the world they all lived in. Assaulting a servant would be seen as nothing, but an action that could be seen as an insult to the king, to embarrass the king and country in front of another nation, bordered on treasonous. It was a simple enough spin on the situation, but one he hoped wouldn’t add any further insult to Riona. Many of the nobles, including some of his family, laid claim to a favored servant, one they treated better than the rest, occasionally even calling it friendship. These nobles treated others as a pet, all so that they could feel better about themselves, and brag about their generosity and kindness. So, although Cal liked Riona better than he did most people, he knew better than to entertain such notions and knew better than insult someone by claiming them as a favored servant. Not a favored servant, nor even really a friend, because to call someone a friend in a way that meant something required a more even distribution of power. What existed was a strange relationship that had begun with a failed assassination attempt against him and continued fueled by the mutual hatred of one man who sat upon a throne. There were debts owed to Riona for so many things that he could neither repay nor even give voice to; days when just knowing he wasn’t alone in his hate made life bearable when consuming darkness had been fended off by simply being understood by another. Just as Riona understood him, he understood that she held a dangerous temper that simmered beneath a composed surface. [color=00F8FE]“I think I could use some fresh air, would you like to join me?”[/color] Cal quickly dropped the stern-prince voice, ensuring his words did not sound like a command, offering it as a true choice. His face, however, did not change, he maintained the look of anger and annoyance as he spoke knowing full well it would not due to look soft on the servants in front of those who still watched. It was better for them both if it appeared like he was berating an out-of-line servant. [color=00F8FE]“I’ve got a bottle of wine, there’s an empty balcony over there, and you could probably use a break.”[/color] He added gesturing with the bottle. Riona watched silently as she witnessed firsthand what power words held when spoken by a person of higher status. The pack of hyenas who were cackling at her now exposed their bellies in submission. A pitiful sight to behold. One that threatened to bring a smile to her face and served as a painful reminder of how weak she really was here. She faced her rescuer and curtsied in greeting, [color=DAF6C7]“It would be my greatest pleasure to accompany you, my prince.”[/color] She signed her colleagues to come out of hiding, [color=DAF6C7]“Can you clean this up for me?”[/color] After they nodded, she added, voice louder so that anyone who continued to stick around could hear, [color=DAF6C7]“Also, could you find our… fine guest’s servant? There was an unfortunate accident and she is very distressed. She may need to change clothes, but I believe she would feel more comfortable with familiar faces assisting her.”[/color] She didn’t give a damn about any of the nobles’ mental state, quite frankly, but she kept appearances up —for Callum’s sake, if not for hers— as she bowed to the general direction of the crowd, [color=DAF6C7]“My deepest apologies for the commotion. Everything is now under control, please continue to enjoy the party.”[/color] Finally she turned to Callum. [color=DAF6C7]“After you, Prince Callum.”[/color]