Receiving Guests

Jaquelyn de Vere, Queen of the Shadow Court, hardly listened as the chamberlain announced the arrival of the latest Italian ambassador—a tall woman who did a much better job than the rest of her retinue at hiding the intimidation most humans felt at seeing the Shadow Court in all its dark glory. Jaquelyn, of course, already knew everything she could about this ambassador, from her political views to who she slept with on the way up: all knowledge was worth having, and the Court had ears everywhere.

She always found it interesting to see the reactions of newcomers to the Shadow Court. With a large part of it being composed of vampires, most of whom couldn’t withstand the daylight as long as Jaquelyn, most of its business occurred at night; for the sake of the humans, though, visitors were typically received just after sunset. The sky hadn’t quite gone black, but it was dark enough that no light came through the narrow slits of windows high up on the walls. Instead, most of the light in the room came as a dim glow cast upon the walls from hidden lights around the edges of the room, with similar lighting above, just barely bright enough to emphasize the architecture of the vaulted ceiling. Candlelight flickered off the polished surfaces of obsidian statues lining much of the back wall. Centuries ago, just after this palace had been built—it was only one of several belonging to the Shadow Court—Jaquelyn had enlisted the help of Barbazul and several mages to cover the dais and the center aisle leading up to it in a permanent, unnatural darkness. It gave her gilded ebony throne the appearance of floating over an abyss, and the fear on the faces of everyone about to take their first step onto the “rug” that appeared ready to swallow them never ceased to amuse.

Even more impressive than the room, though, was the Court itself: many ancient vampires stood in an arc to her right, with her human officers among them, while to her left, elves and mages practically dripping power completed the semicircle. Those who didn’t bear weapons seemed to be even more of a threat than those who did. On the bottom step of the dais, to her left, stood a mage representing the missing Aletta; she had been gone on business for several weeks. In the opposite position, to her right, was Jalen, the commander of her military forces, which were much more extensive than the human political powers knew. In the center of it all, the Queen sat in her throne, radiating confidence and authority. No mere figurehead like so many monarchs remaining today, her authority was real and absolute. She had built this from nothing, and everyone in the room knew it.

As the foreign diplomat began the walk along the path of darkness to the dais, Jaquelyn rose from her throne, descended to the bottom step of the dais, and gave the same traditional words of welcome for foreign ambassadors that she had a hundred times. Humans had such short lifespans.

Aletta had finally returned home. She had learned much over the course of the day about her young charge. Who would have thought that this timid firestarter was the daughter of the Duke of Orange, the daughter who had disappeared from society with little explanation several months ago? She had seemed determined to hide it, but she surely hadn't expected Aletta to recognize her family name on the passport and start asking questions. Jaquelyn kept a close watch on everyone of influence, and the disappearance of a child so close in line to the British throne hadn't gone unnoticed. She had also discovered that the girl was afraid of crowds--no doubt why her magic had flared up during the parade--and men in particular. In the trip through the airports, Alexia had stayed attached at the hip to Aletta, who spent much of the time talking her through breathing exercises. She might as well start learning meditation, if she couldn't handle being around people. That and occasional shielding got them through both airports without causing a scene. The driver sent to pick Alexia up at the airport hadn't expected another to be with her, of course, but it was no problem. Jaquelyn gave Aletta a very loose rein, due to the long history of trust between them, and people seldom questioned the Archmage.

Upon arriving at her suite of rooms, she left Alexia with a servant with instructions to get her cleaned up and find her something fitting to wear for a formal audience with Jaquelyn. The formal audience wasn't really required, but Aletta had been told the Court had gathered tonight to receive visitors, which meant there would be no chance of catching Jaquelyn alone tonight. Aletta, finally alone, retreated to her bathroom for a long, relaxing shower. It was good to be home, where the hot water never ran out. She finally emerged, wearing a long ivory dress with silver embroidery and trim, and waited in her living room for Alexia to return while servants pinned her traditional silver circlet dripping crystals into her hair to denote her status among her people.

After meeting up with Alexia again--who actually looked like she could be the daughter of a noble now--Aletta led her to the throne room. She had arrived in time to see Jaquelyn greeting the ambassador, and waited for the chamberlain to announce her before entering, expecting Alexia to follow. She had intentionally not given him Alexia's name, unsure if she would want her identity that she seemed so keen on hiding to be announced in front of all of these people. Jaquelyn was the only one who needed to know.

The grounds that the Shadow Court called head quarters were sprawled across at least a hundred acres, all settled in the middle of a hulking forest. The sun might have disappeared only a few moments ago, but to Alexia it seemed like it had been missing for hours. Relief settled in as Aletta pointed her to a room with a heavy wooden door, a nice warm shower, and a closet that contained a vast array of dresses in every shape, size, and style available. Everything was sorted according to color, and every style in numerical size order. The closet itself was overwhelming, but Alexia headed for a color she knew looked good on her: sea green.

One dress, a shimmering green with blue overlay and a simplistic strapless sweetheart neckline stood out to her, and Alexia was surprised to find that it fit perfectly; it felt like it was made for her. She smiled, pulling it off the hanger and holding it gently, and then headed for the bathroom. After a nice long shower she called the servant in to help her with her hair and the slight amount of makeup she felt needed to make the acquaintance of such a leader like Jacquelyn. First impressions were everything, her mother had made that fact very apparent. With a sigh she let the servant go and pulled on the dress herself, rubbing foundation over the few scars at various places on her body in an attempt to hide them.

When Aletta came around again she was back to looking like she might have come from a noble bloodline, and with the slight look of shock in her eyes let Alexia know the Arch mage had never imagined she could clean up as well as she did. As per tradition, or maybe just the nagging feeling that she wasn't nearly as deserving as Aletta she stayed behind her, nervously fidgeting whenever they were made to stand still. The one thought she couldn't get out of her mind was the fact that she'd be meeting a vampire at night. A vampire! She hoped no outburst would occur... but she couldn't be sure.

With her eyes trained on the ground she didn't see the blackness that Jacquelyn was floating over, and refused to look up until the nauseating feeling of terror left the pit of her stomach... or until Jacquelyn wanted to acknowledge her.

The past week and a half had been….strange for Barbazul. Sent out on assignment by Jaqueline, her Royal Shadowyness to dispatch a pesky potential rebel vampire leader near the volcano Kammerbühl in Germany. Upon his arrival, he’d quickly dealt with the minor militia, then chased the leader up to the rim of the volcano, and the ensuing conflict cause the volcano to erupt, at which point Barb hopped onto his black unicorn, and proceeded to ride down, hauling ass as the pyroclastic flows nipped at his unicorns heels. Barbazul had never known that a fire mage and a volcano were poor combinations. He’d have to keep that in mind for the future.

Upon his return to the castle, he had a sip of his delectable chalice before leaving the unicorn at the stables. They were the only mounts that didn’t immediately shy away from or outright flee from Barbazul’s presence. There was a tinge of wrongness about him. Almost an aura. Striding boldly through the castle, a cloak of shadow billowing ominously around him. Currently dressed in a suit also made of shadow for the times, his hair spilling over his shoulders, bangs obscuring one of his eyes, but not his wicked smile, he knew only one more element was needed for his entrance.

Calling upon the shadows, Barbazul drew them around him in a shroud, obscuring him from all but the most concentrated of inspections, he entered the already darkened throne room. With a powerful leap, he was in the rafters, and maneuvering so he was in front of Jaquelyn’s throne. Seeing the Italian ambassador, Barbazul grimaced, glad that it seemed she was leaving. Ambassadors were so boring. Most of Jaquelyn’s job was boring. Waiting for them to finish their business, he entertained himself by tossing shadowy knives into the air, catching them at the last moment before they plummeted into the head of whatever unfortunate individual below. Then, he began laughing, first quietly, rising in a slow crescendo until it echoed uncomfortably around the room. Naturally he utilized the shadows to make it seem like the sound was coming from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Then, with a leap and a flip, Barbazul plummeted the 20 feet to the ground, landing kneeled directly in front of Jaquelyn.

“Greetings, Your Royal Queenlyship, Barbazul reporting a resounding success. Care for a drink?”

He held up his chalice, which was filled with a dull red liquid.

“It’s filled with the blood and tears of thine enemies. I did try to scrounge up some children’s laughter for added flavor, but all they did was scream.”

Jaquelyn’s telepathic link with her closest retainers had alerted her that Aletta and Barbazul had both returned. Aletta would no doubt show up at Court soon enough. Barbazul was probably lurking in some shadowy corner, as he was wont to do. She glanced up upon seeing movement. That shadow, apparently. Directly over the head of the Italian ambassador, knives were being flicked around in the rafters. Focusing very closely on the ambassador’s face to avoid calling attention to the ceiling, Jaquelyn finished up her official business and dismissed the ambassador. Servants would ensure the ambassador and her retinue had anything they needed, and discreetly gather any knowledge they could from them.

The chamberlain announced Aletta, but didn’t mention the name of the young human that entered with her. Unusual. Almost as unusual as Aletta bringing home a human from an overseas trip. Barbazul chose that moment to drop in from the ceiling, though, making one of his usual overly dramatic entrances. At least he had waited until the ambassador was gone—that would have sorely tested the woman’s admirable composure.

A human, recently promoted, laughed at Barbazul’s greeting. A glare from Jaquelyn was enough to immediately quiet him. Barbazul had always been granted a good deal of leniency, due to his positions as her most useful assassin and lover. No one else would have taken on his most recent job single-handedly, nor would she have trusted them to. When a kneeling Barbazul offered her the chalice, she took it even though she didn’t need it, saying dryly, “I would hope more blood than tears. You don’t get paid for the latter.” And they did nothing for the flavor of blood, either. Taking his hand to help him up from kneeling—the only sign of affection he commonly received in formal settings—she gestured for him to take up his usual bodyguard position just behind and to the side of her.

“Archmage Aletta Silverbreeze,” the chamberlain called into the room, cueing Aletta and Alexia to step into the room and onto the unnatural carpet for the long and unnerving walk up to the dais. The room had been designed with intimidation in mind, and the long walk across the room while in full view of the entire Shadow Court was intended to unnerve. Of course, Aletta had been around longer than most of the people in the room, and her appearance was nothing unusual, so all their focus would no doubt be on Alexia. Only one human she saw out of the corner of her eye seemed awed by the sight of the elven Archmage. He must be new here. Aletta didn’t keep track of humans at Court outside of her own magic users.

Suddenly, a shadowy figure dropped from the ceiling in front of Jaquelyn. Half the magic users in the room opened their mouths or raised their hands to fend off the intruder before recognizing Barbazul, and Aletta heard at least one sword come unsheathed from the other side. Probably Jalen. When Barbazul was away, Jalen seemed to think protecting Jaquelyn was his duty, and Jalen made a nervous bodyguard, being unaccustomed to the role.

Aletta held out a hand in front of Alexia, directing her to wait. Once Barbazul finished his usual dramatic entrance, Aletta stepped forward and knelt until Jaquelyn acknowledged her. It was tempting to look back and see if Alexia had followed suit, but since she was from a noble household, Aletta expected her to know what to do already.

“Thank you, your Majesty.” Normally Aletta didn’t need to address Jaquelyn so formally, but after Barbazul, she felt like she needed to set a good example for Alexia. “This is Alexia Nakia, my new apprentice.” A middle name wouldn’t tip off anyone else to her true identity if she wanted it hidden, but Jaquelyn could always read between the lines, and missing nobility didn’t go unnoticed by the Shadow Queen.

Alexia entered hot on Aletta's heels. No matter what angle she stood at the piercing eyes of the Court made her feel extremely nervous and uncomfortable, hence the sticking close to the only person she knew. The Archmage didn't appear to be the least bit bothered by all the attention, and then she noticed the last two shadowy knives that dropped down after whoever was deciding to leave. It took a bit but she was finally able to convince herself that the knives had been something of her imagination then, as if to ruin her mini-victory in staying calm someone dropped from the ceiling!

Very much unlike the proper person she was trying to present herself as, she screamed. Then she took notice of the blackness around the lady on the throne, obviously Jaquelyn de Vere. She gulped, watching the man only halfway visible through shadows that seemed to come from nowhere hand the Queen a chalice of what he claimed to be blood. It likely was. The panic was unbearable!

Just as Alexia was about to tap her on the back Aletta took a few steps forward and told her to stay back. She whimpered softly, trying to look anywhere but whatever creature had jumped down with a blood-filled cup, and away from the Queen. Her hands started shaking and to prevent it she clamped them tighter behind her back. "Aletta.." she whispered urgently. "Aletta..." but the mage didn't seem to hear her.

Her eyes began watering, her palms burning behind her back. Alexia was trying desperately not to make a scene in front of the queen. Without warning a small bolt of energy left her hands, smacking the back wall with a dull boom; she yelped, bringing her palms in front of her and trying to blow them out like one would fire. "ALETTA!" she yelled, sending another, larger one into the floor. Thank goodness it was stone, and not something more flammable. "ALETTA HELP!"

Eyes glittering with amusement, Barbazul took Jaquelyn’s proffered hand, and stood. It was good to be back home, in this place of Night. It relaxed his bones to once again stride the fortress grounds. As half of his job and duty was to protect Jaquelyn, he was deeply uncomfortable to be away for any length of time, no matter how fun the current job may be. Though saying that, watching a volcano erupt as you stood on the rim was almost worth it. Shaking his head slightly, he banished the images from his mind to return to the present. As he stood, he chuckled at his employer’s words.

“Quite a bit more, actually. Do you have any idea how hard it is to make your enemies cry into a cup? Took me hours to get what’s in there.”

Grinning down at the seated Jaquelyn, he took up his regular position next to and slightly behind Jaquelyn, casually leaning on her throne. It was only then that he noticed Aletta had arrived. This piqued his curiosity. It wasn’t often that the Archmage visited. Also, he breathed in deeply. A human? Little more than a girl, she stood behind Aletta, and reeked of fear. He had heard her scream, he realized belatedly, it just hadn’t lodged in his brain yet. Now she began screaming again, and bolts of magic began spewing from her palms. Snarling, Barbazul immediately stepped in front of Jaquelyn, producing two battle-axes made from shadow. At the same instant, most of the magic users in the room rose, casting all the barriers they could between them, Jaquelyn, and this insolent human. The guards of the room drew their swords, but didn’t move just yet. Every one of the guards here was aware just how deadly magic could be, especially with no magical defenses. Barbazul called upon the already prevelant shadows and made them thicker, then in reaction to his emotions, they began to swirl around the room in a maelstrom of power. In that moment, everything rode on the tip of a knife. Everything was still and balanced. The next moment would either result in chaos or silence. Barbazul growled, and waited.

Alexia Nakia. The missing O’Hara girl? It was likely, but given the way Aletta had avoided giving her full name to the chamberlain, something she didn’t want known. Why would Aletta bring home a missing child? Where had she found the girl, anyway? And calling her an apprentice? Aletta hadn’t taken an apprentice in over a century, and she didn’t work with beginners. If this noble child had ever received magical training in the past, it had been hidden very well.

About to reach out to Aletta’s mind to silently ask some of these questions, she heard a whisper, then a scream, as the girl released her magic. It struck the wall with little effect, and before she could release another one, the air was thick with magical barriers. She couldn’t see if another one was released as Barbazul stepped in front of her and shadows blocked her line of sight. Reaching out again to try to find the girl’s mind and stop this madness, she could sense nothing but the numerous shields blocking her way. Sometimes having too many magic users trying to solve the same problem backfired, but at least she knew they were all prepared in the case of conflict.

When Alexia screamed, Aletta didn’t think much of it. Surprise, no doubt, from Barbazul’s sudden appearance. The Court was used to his antics by now. Among some, it even became a game, trying to guess when, where, and how he would make his next appearance, though accurate predictions were rare. In some ways, Barbazul was difficult to predict.

Aletta had only just finished introducing Alexia when she looked back in time to see the clearly panicked girl fire a bolt of magic at the back wall. She immediately threw up a shield around the two of them to prevent anything else escaping, and sensed other shields rising outside of hers. She had thought the girl was only afraid of crowds and being close to men. If she had known Alexia would’ve reacted this way to the Court, she wouldn’t have brought her until she was more stable.

She crossed the few steps to Alexia, shielding herself separately in case Alexia’s magic hit her. It did seem to always come from her palms and go in straight lines, which made it easier to predict. She made the conscious effort to solidify her shield until it glowed in the yellow shade of her magic, making it difficult for Alexia to see the rest of the throne room, and for everyone else to see in. If the environment was what had triggered this, maybe not being able to see it would help? It worked with panicked animals…sometimes. Aletta began counting slowly the way she had been teaching Alexia to begin meditating on the airplane. “Breathe. You’re safe. In, 2, 3, 4, 5. Hold, 2, 3, 4, 5. Out, 2, 3, 4, 5…” At least, she would be safe if she calmed down before someone deemed her too much of a threat and took more aggressive action.

All at once everyone rose, as if being controlled by the same person. Aletta’s magic naturally reached her first, cutting off the second explosion and containing it. Alexia’s breath caught and she gasped, watching the shadow man step in front of Queen Jaquelyn as magical shields appeared to her left and right, making the room feel much smaller and contained. Another bolt ricocheted off Aletta’s shield before Alexia realized she was talking. The boarder around her yellowed and everything fell quiet enough that the tear dropping from her cheek hit the rug, sounding oddly metallic on the plush surface.

Everything paused as she tried to listen, and then realized what the Archmage was saying. She drew her breath, closing her eyes and focusing on calming her emotions. “Breathe, 2, 3, 4, 5. Hold, 2, 3, 4, 5. Release, 2, 3, 4, 5,” she whispered to herself over and over. The burning in her hands dissipated slowly. When it was entirely gone she fell to the floor. The amount of power she’d been dealing with was enough to leave Alexia gasping and trying not to cry. “I’m sorry Aletta.”

She closed her eyes, waiting to be yelled at, attacked, or otherwise greeted in a not so friendly fashion. Undoubtedly the Queen and most of her followers hated her at this moment. Alexia could feel shadows pressing in and clouding out the air. She wiped her hand across her eyes and stood up, looking fearful but brave, a look often used by nobility in the face of danger; though like a child she folded her hands in front of her dress and kept her head down, breathing deeply to keep from having another outburst.

This was not how she had expected this introduction to go, but at least Alexia recovered reasonably quickly. After allowing Alexia another moment to pull herself together, Aletta slowly lowered her shield, giving Alexia time to adjust to the sight until they were in full view of the Court once again, quietly telling her to keep breathing like that. She almost motioned for the mages to drop the shields, but stopped herself, still unsure if Alexia would have another outburst.

She curtseyed lower than she had ever needed to in her life, given her status as an already high-ranking elf before she had ever come to Court, and stayed down, eyes at Jaquelyn’s feet. “I apologise for the behavior of my apprentice. I misjudged her emotional stability and take full responsibility for this.” She prayed Alexia would follow suit and stay calm until they could leave. It would take centuries for this incident to be forgotten.

Glancing up, she saw the stern look she knew she would find on Jaquelyn’s face. How could there be anything but? Aletta had put at risk the lives of Jaquelyn’s people, and that could never be tolerated. She lowered her eyes again, waiting for the ruling. It was highly unlikely that Aletta would lose her position, given how long she had been there and how much Jaquelyn trusted her, but that trust would surely be lessened, and that was enough of a punishment.

The already long A-line dress piled on the floor as Alexia followed Aletta’s lead, using a grace she’d forgotten she had to dip into a deep courtesy for both the court and the queen. Through the transparent shields those of the Shadow Court focused so intently on her that her back felt as if it were on fire. She gulped, forcing herself to keep counting and not say anything until spoken too. A few seconds in and her eyes were watering. Then Aletta started up with the apologies. If the shame of having an accident in the formal hall of the Shadow Courts was not enough, the pang of fear that shot through her when she heard the Archmage speak made it worse.

Head hanging low in shame she thought of a thousand apologies she could give to the Court and its Queen, but none would ever be enough to make up for causing Aletta to feel this bad. Alexia knew all too well the consequences of messing up during a formal occasion. Maybe Aletta was wrong; maybe Alexia didn’t belong anywhere. Maybe she should just have burned to death in the student housing.

There were two gazes in particular causing her problems: the Queen’s and Shadow Boy’s. Both were the harshest in the room, even though she’d made a conscious effort to direct the bolts in the entirely opposite direction. A slight ringing in her ears brought a growl that was so un-human it was almost impossible. Pure rage; as if she’d never heard a more hate-filled remark. Her breath caught but she pushed the growing burning away, concentrating on breathing and watching to see if Aletta would leave, or if the Queen had some choice words for them both; for Alexia.

((“le omnious growl in 200 words” c; ))

Aletta’s inner shield glowed yellow, partially cutting the two of them off from the rest of the room, but Jaquelyn could still hear the Archmage instructing the girl in a basic meditation exercise. The problem was dealt with fairly quickly, which worked in Aletta’s favor. Knowing how difficult Barbazul could be when he felt she was in danger, she didn’t bother telling him to stand down; he wouldn’t until the perceived threat was gone. It made him a wonderful bodyguard, but that didn’t make it any less infuriating when he chose to ignore orders for her protection. Telepathically, she commanded him to step aside; he usually cooperated at least to that extent.

Reaching out to Aletta’s mind to find it already opened to her, she scanned the memories of the past few days, from Aletta discovering Alexia—who was, in fact, the missing O’Hara girl—until their arrival here. It only took a minute, but everyone in the Shadow Court knew what was happening, and waited expectantly for the verdict. Aletta may not have realized that the Court would trigger an outburst, but it was foolish of her to allow the girl to be around so many people with no real indication that her self-control had improved since the last incident. Aletta wasn’t accustomed to dealing with beginners, and that was probably where this issue had stemmed from.

“The training of your apprentice will be closely supervised by Darian. He will determine when she is ready to appear in public again. Until then, she’s clearly too unstable and a danger to those around her, especially humans like those she has already hurt. Since you have taken responsibility for her, I expect you to personally cover the medical expenses of those she injured.” Jaquelyn was referring to the other three students rescued from the burning dorm building that she had seen in Aletta’s mind. While that incident was no fault of Aletta’s, Aletta had removed the girl from the country and prevented the trial that may have given the injured some compensation, or at least the satisfaction of seeing the firestarter in prison. Jaquelyn didn’t want unnecessary legal problems following Aletta back to the Shadow Court.

Aletta visibly flinched from that contact with Jaquelyn’s mind; Jaquelyn’s cold judgment had never been directed at her. One of her strengths, though, was the ability to remain objective and deal fairly, regardless of relationships and emotions, and the verdict, when she finally pronounced it, was fair, as Aletta knew it would be. Grateful, for Alexia’s sake, that Jaquelyn hadn’t turned her training over to a complete stranger, she was relieved to hear Jaquelyn still refer to Alexia as “your apprentice.” Who knows how Alexia would’ve reacted to being turned over to an unfamiliar man, especially with already being afraid of men.

Paying for the medical expenses out of pocket was no issue for her, and was fair enough. The hardest part about all this was taking Jaquelyn’s disapproval in front of all of her colleagues. Being, or even appearing to be, out of favor with the Shadow Queen would make things difficult for her. This would likely last until Alexia was presented at Court again, assuming the next time was more successful. Aletta would ensure that it would be. She really hadn’t thought much of bringing Alexia to Court this first time, which was the problem Jaquelyn had to address.

There was only one acceptable response to this. “Yes, your Majesty.” Aletta rose, took the requisite three steps backwards, and curtseyed again before turning to leave.

As she focused on her breathing her mind began to wander. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5... A simple count, no doubt. But the rate at which you counted could result in hyperventilation or suffocation. A ‘better safe than sorry’ kind of person, she forced herself to do the later, holding her breath for as long as possible, releasing it as slowly as possible—it became almost a game. Because of said game she didn’t realize the room had fallen silent in waiting for Jaquelyn’s judgment. When it finally hit her that said judgment waiting was the reason she still stood in the room her mind jerked back to attention.

When the cold voice spoke it was nothing like Aletta had talked it up to being; a harsh, icy shard that cut through the sanity of anyone and everyone to hear it. The only thing worse than the voice: the voice’s words. Aletta would have to pay for her mistake, both literally and reputation-wise. The knowledge of that was nauseating, so much to the point that it almost trumped the feeling of happiness she felt upon finding out that she was not to be seen by anyone aside from Aletta and select other people until she felt more comfortable with whatever curse the Archmage was claiming to be magic.

Following the lead set, Alexia curtseyed and the followed her new instructor out, ready to be away from everyone, but not quite sure just how many sorrys to give to Aletta.