Tiara- Part One

by Robin Roseau

  “I will, Your Highness.”

  I sighed. “My name is Darfelsa. Say it.”

  “Darfelsa.”

  “Better. We’re going to have to go over this again, but in short, I’m going to put on the princess.” I explained the term, and then explained the suggestion had come from Belolad. “I want people able to take notes.”

  Renishta got up and retrieved paper and pencils, making sure everyone had access. She and Tess would become the official note-takers, but others would make their own notes.

  “What is the basic plan, Darfelsa?” Mariya asked.

  “The basic plan… We’ll host events here. I’ll come back to that. And I’ll be seen about town. I’ll accept social invitations. Mariya, you’re going to be busy, but you have final authority. I won’t accept any invitations that make you uncomfortable.”

  “Being here makes me uncomfortable,” she said. “But I understand what you mean.”

  “I will be attending these events with a variety of people.” I let that sit there. I think nearly everyone at least threw a glance at Flame. I outlined our reasoning.

  “And that’s why my brother is invited,” Flame added.

  We talked briefly about the nature of events we would hold. Flame, with a few suggestions from Tess, talked about the sort of events I could attend away from the embassy. I asked Mariya what she thought so far.

  “I can make most of those work. Darfelsa, we’re going to need to watch what you eat and drink, if we’re being serious about security.”

  “I think we should wait to discuss that once Mother and Castia arrive,” Flame said.

  “Agreed,” I said.

  We talked, and over the next half hour, our guests arrived, Talith first. Rather than go over it multiple times, I simply greeted the guests and offered tea and easy conversation. But finally, we had everyone, and it was time to start over.

  I started over. Castia smiled broadly as soon as she understood. When Blaze learned we hoped for his help, he smiled even more broadly. “I would be absolutely delighted.” I finished explaining, and Talith asked, “What did you want me to do?”

  “That’s what we’re here to discuss,” I said. “For now, we’re planning. Are you uncomfortable helping to plan?”

  “No, Your Highness.”

  “Darfelsa,” I corrected.

  “Are you asking me to escort you to events?”

  “You mean, to continue to offer the friendship you’ve already offered? Is that a problem?”

  “No.” But she flicked her eyes at Flame.

  “Darfelsa will spread her attention around,” Flame said. But then she took my hand. “She won’t be sharing anyone else’s bed. If any of you had your eyes on her, that’s too bad for you. I caught her first.”

  I snorted, but Flame was watching Talith, so I turned my gaze back to her. She looked between Talith and me. “Is that a problem, Talith?” Flame asked.

  “No,” said the woman. “You’re wondering…”

  “I’ve seen the way you look at her,” Flame said.

  “Flame.”

  “Let them talk about this,” Castia suggested.

  I considered then nodded.

  “I don’t look at her any differently than her staff does,” Talith said. “Why are you looking at me?”

  “You’ll notice they’re all here, too,” Flame said, “and hearing every word we’re saying.”

  Mariya suppressed a laugh. I think it was intentional. “They’re devoted staff,” she said.

  “We should address that,” I said with a sigh. “I took them from Barrish. Well, not Tess. She was here. But I took the others from Barrish. They barely knew me, and I hauled them first to Ressaline, then here, and we knew we were coming to a mess.”

  “She listens to us,” Renishta said. “I attend most meetings with her, and she asks my advice. She does it in front of other people.”

  “She’s asking us to help form policy,” Terla added. “Princess Darfelsa, Renishta told us she’s vowed herself to you. I want to do the same.”

  “Terla.”

  “Don’t you want me?”

  “You work for the foreign service,” I pointed out. “And my duties will be more varied than that.”

  “You’re going to need a permanent staff. I want to be on it.”

  “So do I,” said Selzen. “So the question is simple: do you want us?”

  “Yes,” I said. “But it won’t always be foreign service.”

  “It will be helping you, which means helping Flarvor,” Selzen said. “And you’ll let us do more important things than anyone else might.”

  “Being on my staff may also mean being on my sister’s staff.”

  “Oh, the horror!” she said mockingly. “Being part of the future queen’s staff.”

  “They talk to you like that?” Tess asked.

  “Sometimes,” I said. “As I said, I don’t invite people to a meeting then expect them to hold their opinions to themselves.” I nodded. “Both of you?”

  “Both of us,” Selzen said. “I vow myself to you, Princess Darfelsa.”

  “I vow myself to you, Princess Darfelsa,” Terla echoed.

  “And I already did,” Renishta added. She shifted her gaze. “We’re devoted staff.”

  Talith and I locked gazes. I nodded to her. “Your choice.”

  “You tell them,” she said.

  “All right. Nothing we’re talking about today should be shared outside this group. Talith will be joining my staff, once the current most immediate negotiations are resolved. When we leave Dennaholst, she will be going with us.”

  “I vow myself to you, Princess Darfelsa,” she added.

  I reached out a hand. We squeezed, then I did the same with the others. We all turned to look at Flame. She was gazing at me, a soft smile on her lips. “You’re a wonder,” she said.

  “I’m glad you think so,” I replied. “I’m going to suggest this for conversation. I think I should in turns be escorted by everyone here.”

  “Including staff?” Renishta asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Will you make that look like a date?” Castia asked.

  “I think it should look like comfortable friends. I’ll probably treat them like I grew accustomed to in Charth. That may not be the same as how people here behave, but it’s what I know.”

  “That can work,” Castia declared.

  “And are we comfortable friends, Darfelsa?” Blaze asked.

  “No,” Flame said. “That’s a date, but you’ll be very, very proper, Brother.”

  “That’s a bad idea,” Blaze said.

  “That you be very proper?”

  “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. Are you forgetting Edeena?”

  “Ooh,” I said. “Who is Edeena?”

  “A troublemaker,” Nautila declared.

  Both Flame and Blaze looked uncomfortable. I looked back and forth between them then repeated my question.

  “A woman,” Flame said.

  “Not just any woman,” Blaze added.

  “No, not just any woman. This was last year.”

  “She asked me out,” Blaze said. “We had a nice time.”

  “I knew my brother had a date, but I didn’t know with whom, and then she put herself in my path.”

  “And she’s absolutely stunning.”

  “Oh, my,” I said.

  “This went on for six weeks,” Flame said, “before I saw them together.”

  “Did you know?” I asked Blaze.

  “Not until she went after me the next day,” he replied. “But that wasn’t the worst of it. While we didn’t know she was seeing both of us, half of Dennaholst did.”

  “And you didn’t know?” I asked Nautila.

  “Somehow she managed to avoid letting it come to my attention. I’m not entirely sure how she managed that.”

  “You were visiting Grandmother a lot,” Flame said. “And you know the gossip rarely makes it all the way to the vineyard.�
� She turned to me. “She had this idea about twins.”

  “We’re not going there,” I said immediately.

  “I haven’t even reached my point. Blaze and I figured things out. I wouldn’t want a repeat of that fight, but we figured it out. That was when I talked to my friends. They all knew and assumed I did.”

  “She destroyed her reputation,” Blaze said. “You can’t be seen as dating both of us. You can date other people, but if you’re dating Flame, you can’t give the impression of dating me.”

  “He’s right,” Flame said. “But I was depending on you for this, Brother.”

  “Well, there’s nothing wrong if I make friends with the woman you’re dating,” he said. “But I shouldn’t, for instance, take her dancing. I think, Sis, that you should make sure we have an audience when you ask me to take her somewhere.”

  “That’s a good plan,” Castia said. “Nautila, you can’t introduce her to any other potential suitors, but I can.”

  “Not in front of me,” Flame said.

  “No. That would be ill taste. How do you feel about older women, Darfelsa?”

  “I feel just fine with older women, to a limit.”

  “I’m asking for a friend,” she added.

  I laughed. “Which friend.”

  “Liri.”

  “I like Liri,” I said. I turned to Flame. “I don’t know if I should have this conversation in front of you.”

  “Not in public,” she said. “It’s fine.”

  “I’m not sure it is.”

  “It’s fine,” she said. “I’m in this plan, Darfelsa. But you’re mine no less often than twice a week. However, you’re openly sharing your social calendar with others. You’re not sneaking around behind my back.”

  “Okay.”

  “Good.”

  We talked. We made a plan.

  * * * *

  And it began with afternoon tea, two days later. Notice was short, but we invited people who wouldn’t take offense.

  It was a pleasant afternoon, and so it was decided I would greet our guests from the embassy gardens. I wore a sun dress and hat, and my staff was dressed similarly.

  By arrangement, Talith arrived first, coming alone. She looked lovely and accepted a Ressaline greeting. Then, still holding hands, she asked, “Princess Darfelsa, is it appropriate to greet the others like that?”

  “It depends on what you mean by ‘the others’ and how well you know them. It is appropriate when the desire for the greeting is mutual.”

  She shifted her eyes briefly to Renishta, standing a few feet away. “How do I ask?”

  “The standard in Ressaline won’t work here, and it won’t work in Flarvor, either. In Ressaline, the women tend to be very forward, but they also tend to be accepting. I did not typically instigate this greeting unless it was with someone I knew well, but I’ve had people do so with me on our first greeting.”

  “Were you ever offended?”

  “No. But I had grown accustomed to it by people I already knew.”

  “What do you recommend? Should I drop this?”

  “Let’s do the obvious: ask.” I lifted my voice. “Renishta, a moment.” The woman in question stepped over. “We are working on a question of protocol. Talith wonders if she should offer to you and some of the others the same style of greeting we just shared.”

  “Sure,” Renishta said easily. “Princess, no one on your staff is going to be offended. I can’t speak more widely.”

  “Well, I can.” I lifted my voice again. “Tess, attend us, please.” She was further away, but she stepped over with a quizzical expression. “Tess, you are aware of the Ressaline style of greeting I share with some people.”

  “Yes. It’s…”

  “Unusual here,” I provided. “As well as intimate and a little forward. How would you respond if someone learned this greeting from me then greeted you in a similar fashion?”

  “It’s someone you greet that way?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  “Then it’s fine with me, if it’s fine with you.” She looked at Renishta. “Did she answer differently?”

  “No, but you and I don’t have the same relationship, at least not yet.”

  Tess smiled, but it was brief. But then she stepped to me and initiated a Ressaline greeting. “Am I doing this properly?”

  “Yes,” I said. I gave her ear a little kiss, and she did mine.

  And from there, the custom spread, a little further. At the same time, Talith and Tess both became a little more integrated into my group, which fit my purposes just fine.

  Nautila and Blaze were next, and they weren’t alone. Blaze had a lovely woman on his arm. Nautila also had a woman on her arm, and when I saw her, I practically squealed. “Lark!” I didn’t even think, but I greeted her as I had grown accustomed, and it wasn’t until I kissed her ear that I realized what I had done. “Um. Have I just offended you?”

  “Surprised,” Flame’s grandmother whispered back. “But you may do that any time you want.”

  At that, there was nothing to be done but greet Nautila similarly, but I offered my hand to Blaze. He put on a pout, but then smiled. “Princess Darfelsa, this is Salle Chante.”

  “You’ve met my mother,” Salle said. “Was that a Flarvorian greeting?”

  “Ressaline, actually,” I said.

  “Will you teach me?”

  “I’d be delighted.” She smelled heavenly, and she smiled broadly.

  “Oh, I like that. Nautila, I think this is a custom we must steal.”

  “I believe Princess Darfelsa hopes more will agree with you,” Nautila replied. “And I believe I do as well.”

  I provided remaining introductions, and then my staff helped people to mingle about the gardens.

  Castia arrived, her sister, Mealonnieh with her. “Garnier couldn’t come?”

  “He asked for a future invitation,” Mealonnieh provided. “I’ve never been here. This is quite lovely, Princess.”

  “I can take no credit, but on behalf of the staff, thank you for the kind words.”

  In all, we had fifteen guests, plus my staff. Flame was nearly the last to arrive, her short walk from my office allowing her to time her arrival carefully. Yes, that was planned. We greeted warmly, and she took possession of my arm for a few minutes, but when we sat, it was separately.

  It was hard not to sneak glances at her.

  We sat for tea and easy conversation, my immediate staff with us. Politics came up twice. The first time, I stopped it; the second time, Nautila did.

  After tea, we mingled, intentionally making small groups. I gave a little tour of the garden, and then Salle stepped to my side, taking my arm. “Show me the garden, Princess Darfelsa.”

  “I would be enchanted,” I told her.

  It wasn’t a large garden, but it was lovely, and we wandered along the paths. Once we were outside hearing range of anyone else, I told her, “I found your mother delightful.”

  “Everyone finds her delightful,” she replied.

  “I imagine they feel the same way about you.”

  “Not the same, but thank you. Mother laughed about you. She was impressed someone of your youth could handle her.”

  “She was being kind to me.”

  “Perhaps, but when she heard Blaze had invited me today, she asked me to offer her hopes to see you again.”

  “She will. I had a lovely time. I’d also like to invite her to our little events here. Can you make sure someone on my staff knows how to contact her?”

  “I will. And will I receive invitations outside those Blaze offers?”

  “Is that what we’re doing here?” I asked.

  “It’s one of the things we’re doing here.”

  I brought us to a stop looking at some plants I couldn’t name. “You and Blaze?”

  “He invites me when he needs someone pretty. I do the same when I’m looking for ruggedly handsome. We are good company for an afternoon or evening, and I think there are some wh
o would enjoy seeing us together more often.”

  “But that isn’t your plan.”

  “Nor is it his,” she confirmed.

  “We’ll be rotating guests,” I said. “And for this event, you are encouraged to bring a guest.”

  “I would not be your guest? Perhaps that is only to be Flame.”

  “You are all my guests. Flame and I will continue to spend time together, but I’ll be spending time with others as well.”

  “Well then.” She tugged, getting us moving. I walked her back to Blaze, collecting Flame from him and leaving Salle. We went on a similar circle to the one I had just completed.

  “Did she ask you on a date?”

  “No. She asked for future invitations to tea. I’m not sure she’s her mother’s daughter.”

  “She is very much her mother’s daughter, but she is also her father’s daughter. She’s not… She’s not reliable, I guess.”

  “Reliable in what way?”

  “Oh, if she says she’ll be somewhere, she’ll be there. But if I were making a list of people I’d have invited to our little meeting, she wouldn’t have been on the list.”

  “Because she’s a gossip?”

  “Well, she can be, but no more than anyone else. She has no staying power. She’ll make an event, but she won’t make a campaign. Luckily, Blaze knew that about her before he began giving her any attention. Her older sister works at Bashful, but Alexi doesn’t count on Salle. But she sure does like to associate herself with her mother’s success.”

  “You don’t like her.”

  “I don’t respect her,” she countered. “Everyone likes her. She’s stunning, charming, and gently witty. She’s never intentionally hurt anyone.”

  “But you wouldn’t trust her with responsibility?”

  “Not durably, no. It wouldn’t hurt you to be seen with her, but cautiously.”

  “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  “It’s a perfect idea,” she replied.

  “I think I might rather be seen with her mother.”

  Flame laughed. “I’m sure you can make that happen, but don’t rule Salle out. You would enjoy her company.”

  “I’m fairly sure she wants more from me than I’m willing to offer.”

  “Everyone who takes you somewhere is going to want more than you’re willing to offer. She won’t be put out as long as you are, well, yourself. Take her dancing.”