[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/019bf21c-4359-754b-bbbc-48a99ebf447a.webp[/img][/center][hr]The ceremony in the Cathedra went off without a hitch, with Maya of course playing along to perfection. Marching up to the dais with her eyes fixed reverently on The Mother and listening to the sermon with rapt attention, she was the very picture of graceful contemplation - no one would guess that before the Larme Incident, she had never been the churchgoing type. And it wasn’t exactly an [i]act[/i], per se. She was certainly no apostate, and in her position she’d be an idiot to be an atheist; moreover, she gladly blessed hospitals and when people asked her for prayers, she really did make them. But the whole thing didn’t exactly move her to tears on the inside, and she wasn’t spending her free time reading theology books - no matter how many times Edmund tried to recommend them. 

But nobody in the pews knew that. Maya played her part as the Scion of Water flawlessly, as always, and if some of her followers were moved in the spirit (or whatever the phrase was), then power to them. For her part, though, Maya was much more excited to smile at the cameras on the way out and check social media in the limo after it was all wrapped up. 

[color=dodgerblue][i]“Freakshow…”[/i][/color] she muttered in a sing-song voice as they drove to Duke Giles’ manor, her glossy blue-black nails clicking on the screen. 

She was initially upset, but now Maya was almost glad she’d arrived at the Cathedra early. If social media could be believed, it looked like the red carpet turned into a veritable circus after she left it. Instagram was teeming with clips of the Templar of Shadow showing up out of the ground like a cartoon villain; meanwhile, the Prince of Veradis was dressed like a Yu-Gi-Oh character and the new Scion of Storms had apparently come straight over from an important meeting in the 8th century. While it was true that no press was bad press, Maya wasn’t too upset about getting a little separation from all… [i]that.[/i] Honestly, where did The Mother find these people? Would it kill them to just be normal? 

In better news, it was good for a laugh to see Princess Belle smile sweetly and admit that she lost out on that commercial deal. Maya really had no idea what she originally did to get under Her Highness’ skin, but it was just so easy to rile her up that she really couldn’t resist. She’d have to make sure she found Her (Second)Highness at the party and see what she could squeeze out of her. 

Maya was in a great mood by the time the limo arrived at Giles’ manor, especially after checking her photo album for the pictures Edmund took. [color=dodgerblue]“Oooh, very nice,”[/color] she purred, throwing her icy Templar a teasing smile. [color=dodgerblue]“Hey, if this Templar thing doesn’t work out, I’ll keep you on as an Instagram photographer.”[/color]

She entered the venue on Edmund’s arm - her followers would fall all over themselves for [i]those[/i] pictures - but quickly lost track of him as she set about working her magic. A gathering like this was tailor-made for Maya; everyone who was anyone in the Federation was here in all their finery, every one of them champing at the bit to make a good impression on each other. And the Scions, the very chosen of the Goddess Herself, were the ultimate winners. There wasn’t a single powerful person on the continent who didn’t want a Scion in their pocket. 

Maya herself really didn’t have much brain for politics. She didn’t much care if this Duke or that Count was entertaining her merely in hopes of gaining support for international matters or prestige. What mattered to her was likes and follows, and pictures with other famous people brought them in droves. Besides, even if she didn’t much care about petty border scuffles or trade route disagreements, she knew plenty about networking and banking favours, and one could never have too many friends. 

So Maya floated around the room like a butterfly on the wind, all smiles and charming small talk, touching down just long enough for a chat and a photo before taking off again. It was lucrative, but exhausting, and it wasn’t long before she needed a break. 

She considered the buffet table, but it was currently being orbited by Scion Spaghetti or whatever her name was, talking about putting ketchup on fish or some other such nonsense. Maya suspected drugs, but she’d been online long enough to know you could never really tell with some people. She thought about sending Edmund over to fetch her a snack and save her the awkward encounter and started to look for him in the crowd, but she forgot all about food when she caught sight of something [i]much[/i] more appealing. 

Princess Belle was sitting down, looking pale as she talked with that creepy Templar of hers. Maya followed her gaze to a redheaded man across the room, who might have been handsome were his features not entirely too familiar to Maya as coming from the wrong side of the Larme. She approached in time to hear the Princess name him Andres Colton, of Kaudus. 

[color=dodgerblue]“Oh Your Highness, I’m sure you don’t have to look [i]that[/i] far afield,”[/color] Maya commented innocently as she approached, boldly taking a seat at Belle’s table without invitation. The Princess wouldn’t dare snub a fellow Scion, surely. She smiled sweetly. [color=dodgerblue]“I’m sure there are plenty of much more suitable matches for you on [i]this[/i] side of the Larme.”[/color] 
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