[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/231109/0ba929c62ce0023295985d603785fcba.png[/img][/center][hr]The last few weeks had been quite a whirlwind for Ionna. Following the assault on the manor, things had at once moved incredibly fast, and also very, [i]very[/i] slowly. It seemed like the whole of Estora waited with baited breath for the next tragedy; the king’s death, the vanishing of Nadine Lucienne, the gut punch that was Kasper’s passing. 

Then, of course, there was Theobald. 

Ionna’s heart had sunk to hear she was being reassigned, at first believing she was to be removed from Scion Duty altogether, and might be spending the rest of her career guarding hallways, or sweeping latrines, or whatever soldiers did after they made the wrong people grumpy. The reality was more…complicated than that. 

Losing Dom was deflating. Not that she didn’t trust Sara—in fact, she believed there were few people in the world Dom would be safer with—but all the same, it troubled her. Their time together had been so short, and it felt like they were only just starting to bond. She hoped their brief dueling lessons would stick, and the practice would continue under Sara’s tutelage. After what happened it did feel a little silly to think the Scions shouldn’t at least be [i]capable[/i] of defending themselves. 

But, that left her with Theobald. The Scion of Fire. Ionna had relayed the news of her transfer to her father, and found her own worries echoed. Theobald had proven himself, both over his long military career and his shorter, yet engaged Scionhood, to be a dangerous man. To some—no doubt to most of her homeland—this would be seen as a great boon, but to the Ranis, he was proof their vigilance was required. 

Ionna didn’t love it when her views on people aligned with her father’s, She liked to think she was more generous, more forgiving, and when she chose to see the potential good in people, she liked to think she was correct more than she wasn’t. But with Theobald, she worried. Navigating this partnership without getting scorched would be difficult enough, to say nothing of trying to sway him towards a gentler attitude. 

Not that she wasn’t going to try. 

Arriving at Lucania Castle—had he named it after himself?—Ionna was pleased to see it was a more modest abode. At least, modest insofar as royalty could manage. She carried with her another small box of cookies, which had once again required a slight delay at their security screening. She’d whipped up more or less the same medley; chocolate chip for Dom, sugar for Rosemary, with the addition of a few triple-chocolate-chunk’s for Hollyhock. Naturally, there was already plenty of food spread out, so, rather than make another announcement, she instead slid her box of sweets in alongside the rest. 

They weren’t free, of course. A little note attached to the box read: [i][u]“Help yourself! 1 cookie = 1 compliment to your Scion / Templar :)”[/u][/i]

That done, she wasted no time in grabbing herself a plate. With such a busy day, she hadn’t had time to eat after her morning exercise, and she worried if she waited much longer, the rumbling of her stomach might shatter whatever deafening spell surrounded the meeting room. She’d just have to be careful not to get any crumbs or stains on her uniform. As nice as it was to see friendly, familiar faces, now that they were all together again she knew Dame Irina could be lurking around any corner.