Hey! It's Ja-chan (former lilsweetcherryblossom, a.k.a. Cherry) with a Tamora Pierce story! Yay! This one, obviously, is about Varice Kingsford. If you haven't read the little songfic (Miss You) that goes before it, I think you should because I think it goes great with this story. It's currently not on Fanfiction.net because I'm trying to fix it so I can have italics on it. You can read it on my website though. I know not a lot of people like Varice, so I try to make her less snobby than what most people would think, so they could maybe see stuff in her POV. I hope you like this story and I hope you review!
Disclaimer: Tamora Pierce owns all the characters, except for the ones that you never heard of like Catherina and Aden.
~*~*~ – time change
~~~~~ – begin/end of chapter
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Life In the Perspective of Varice Kingsford
By Ja-chan
Chapter One – Reuniting With ArramI bolted up in my bed. For once, it wasn't because of those awful nightmares. Something about today felt special… Something that I don't remember! Oh pooh! I reached over to my nightstand, searching for my hairbrush when I hit my picture frame. Luckily, I put a non-breakable spell on it before or else the precious glass would have shattered. I bent down to pick up the picture, and found myself staring in the handsome face of my former lover, Arram Draper. Wait a minute… That's it! The people from Tortall are coming here for some peace thing, and it's rumored that Arram is coming with them!
I hopped out of goose-feathered bed and quickly brushed my hair. I pulled my plush velvet curtains and stepped out onto my balcony to look for the sun. It was just above the horizon. The sky was golden with sunlight, with touches of blue on the edges of the sky. I gazed at the beautiful sunrise for a while, then got ready for the huge imperial welcome party.
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I added the final touches to my makeup and stood up to open my huge oak wardrobe. I pushed through my loads of silk, velvet, and satin dresses to find the dress I was looking for. I finally found the dress at the back of the wardrobe, wrapped in paper to keep it safe from dust. I gingerly took off the now dusty paper, and stared at the dress in awe. It was a northern-style rose-petal pink silky dress that was given to me from Arram those many years ago. I put it on carefully and stood in front of the mirror to look at my appearance. I know this sounds really vain of me, but I look beautiful. Seriously… I would knock every guy that looked at me off his feet. I twirled slowly in the dress. The dress was cut to draw attention to my thin waist and showed-off my perfectly curved figure. Really, I look hot! I strutted around my room a bit, trying to build a little confidence when my maid walked in on me.
"Lady Varice?" the 19-year-old girl, Catherina, asked shyly. "His Highness would like you start working on setting up for the banquet this evening…"
"Yes, tell him I will be there in a minute," I replied from inside my dressing room. "Would you carefully put this back in the wardrobe? Thanks, Cat." I took off the dress and gave it to Catherina, then put on a less fancy, yet still pretty dress.
"Yes, milady. Right away, milady," she replied. She gently placed the dress back into the wardrobe and rushed off. I stepped out of the dressing room and put on some comfortable shoes. Sure, heels would be nice, but not when I'm going to be working… I ran to the mirror to check my appearance once more and walked off to begin my work.
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"Kadeem! Bring this to the main cook, Bella," I shouted, shoving a sheet of directions to him. The kitchen was buzz with activity. "Hurry, everyone! We only have 2 hours to complete this! Quickly! Quickly!" I rushed over to look at the pastry mages forming a beautiful cake. It was pretty simple today, just a 15-layer cake decorated with the finest icing, creams, and sweets of the realm. It was plain cake with an exotic sweet and tangy fruit from the Copper Isles called pineapple between the layers of the cake. It was covered with white frosting and topped with more pineapple and sweet candies. I would have designed a fancier cake, but my head was in the clouds this week.
"Lady Varice, we have finished the food," announced one of the servants. "Shall we go set up the outdoor banquet hall?" I snapped out of my thoughts and nodded.
"Yes, please, Giolla," I replied and checked the food. Each and every one of them has to be perfect or I'll make them do it ALL OVER again… It may sound mean, but hey, I'm dedicated to my work! Once everything looked okay, I rushed over to the banquet hall were the slaves were setting up chairs, tables, and decorations. I gasped in amazement. It was beautiful. Well, of course. Everything I come up with is nothing but beautiful. But this… this was even better than usual. It was marvelous. It was gorgeous! There aren't words to describe how wonderful the room looked. I stood there and supervised the decorating, while I add some of my own touches.
"Lady Varice…" I turned to see a slave bowing down to me.
"Yes, Saidi?"
"His Imperial Majesty would like you to go get ready for the imperial welcoming party, milady."
"Yes, I will in a bit," I answered, stringing up some lights and lighting them up. "Would you go get a hot bath ready for me? And then come to my room in later to do my hair."
"Yes, milady. Right away, milady," she answered quickly and ran off. I strung up some more decorations and stood back to look at my work. Absolutely breathtaking, I tell you… Absolutely breathtaking…
"Lady Varice?" asked Giolla again. "Shall we set up the audience chamber now, as well?"
"Yes, of course now!" I exclaimed. "If not now, when?!"
"Yes, lady. I am sorry for asking a stupid question."
"It's okay, Giolla. Don't apologize," I said gently. "I'm just a little high-strung today. Just hurry with the decorations. I'm going to go get ready for this welcoming party."
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I scrubbed myself vigorously, cleaning myself with the palace's finest fragrant soap. I finally got out after about 10 more minutes of scrubbing and put on a robe. I sat down at my vanity and began applying makeup. Let's see now… If I'm wearing a pink dress, I suppose pale pink eye shadow would work well. I put a thin layer on and put on some pale blush. Oh! I can't forget that cute pink lipstick I just bought! I smacked my lips together to even out the lipstick and looked at myself in the mirror. God, I look gorgeous! The men are just going to drool when they see me!
Let's see now… Where's that dress? Ah ha! Here we go! The dress I tried on this morning! Still beautiful as ever, even with that slight wrinkle on the arm. Fooey!
"AIDA!!!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. The girl rushed in, hair in a mess, bowing at my feet.
"At… at your… service, mi…milady," she panted.
"My dress has a slight wrinkle on the arm. Would you mind ironing it out?" I handed her my dress. "Careful with it, mind you. I'll have your head if it's ruined." The girl shivered at my threat and hurried away to fix the dress. Just as she left, my personal maid, Catherina came it.
"What was wrong this time, Lady Varice?" she asked, grinning. "Spill something on it?"
I shook my head. "Nope. Had a wrinkle in it. And I told you to call me Varice! I'll have your head if you don't listen!"
Catherina smirked. "I doubt you'll ever have one's head off… You're too afraid of death and blood!"
"Oh shut up, Cat…" I mumbled.
"What about your fear of rats and bugs? Shall I bring you some t-" Before she could finish, I clamped her mouth together with my hands.
"Instead of talking so much, would you mind painting my fingernails?" Catherina looked over me first, then went through my vanity, looking for the perfect nail polish. She found out instantly. After all, I DO have a lot of perfect nail polish…
"So what's today again? Some peace signing with the Tortallans, right?" she asked curiously, slowly painting my nails a shade of pink a bit darker than my dress.
"Yeah. It's rumored that my former sweetheart is coming with them."
"Is that so? Arram Draper? That gorgeous guy sitting on your nightstand?"
"Yes, that 'gorgeous guy.' And by the way, that gorgeous guy is mine, so don't go fantasizing about him, you hear?"
She grinned widely and giggled softly behind her hand. "Whatever you say, milady…"
She continued to paint my nails as I drifted into deep thought. I wonder if Arram's really going to come back today, after all those years… I wonder if he'll recognize me, if he does remember me. What if he already married? After all he's about 30 or something by now… If he did marry, I wonder if-"
"Done!" exclaimed Cat, jolting me out of my thoughts. If she noticed the fact I nearly jumped out of my skin, she didn't mention it. "Want me to do your hair?"
"Yes, please! Saidi was suppose to come up here about 10 minutes ago, but I guess she forgot… And where's that Aida! AIDA!!!!!" Once again, Aida came rushing in holding my dress far in front of her, and bowed down in front of me.
"H-here's…your… dress, mi…milady…" she gasped. "I-I just finished…"
"Thank you very much! Put it on my bed, if you would. And get my mage's robe too." She did both, bowed, and left my room.
"Sheesh, Varice… So harsh on the new girl…" Cat said, shaking her head as she curled my long blonde hair.
"She'll get used to it! I'm doing her a favor and making her fast, you know!"
"Uh huh… Sure, Varice…"
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"You're all set!" cried Cat, beaming. "You really look great!"
"Thanks for your help, Cat," I said. "Couldn't have done it without you."
"Of course you couldn't, dear," she mocked. "You're a helpless noble lady. What do you expect?" She grinned like a Cheshire cat as I glared at her. "Okay, okay… I was kidding… Didn't have to bore holes in my head! Go knock Arram off his feet! If he's there, that is…" I smiled softly at her and walked quickly towards the audience chamber. Halfway there I was stopped.
"Hey, babe. Wanna get a room?" a husky voice asked. I turned to see some old man giving me these flirtatious looks. That is just totally disgusting…
"No, I don't. So if you would, leave me alone. I have plenty of work to do right now," I said as calmly as I could and continued to walk on. Thank Shakith he left me alone… I continued to the audience chamber, until I finally got there. Slaves dressed in nothing but a loincloth bowed and opened the grand French doors. I took a deep breath and stepped inside…
I gasped at the magnificence of the room. My creations never cease to amaze me… The room was filled with people, not only with the regular Carthakis, but also Tortallans. That reminded me that Arram might be here… I walked up to the front of the room where Emperor Ozorne just finished introductions.
"To you, representatives of our royal cousins Jonathan and Thayet, we say, welcome to Carthak. We pray that peace will reign between our lands and know that with such a distinguished company to smooth the way, peace is all but assured. And now, there is food outside, and drink, music, and good company. In your time among us, we have arranged for entertainment that we hope will arouse wonder and interest in our empire. Enjoy all these things, please. If you desire anything, only voice it to our servants. Within reason it shall be granted you," said Ozorne.
Dismissed from the imperial presence, the Tortallans bowed as they backed up, until they were outside again. Once they left the area, a gong sounded and a grinding noise filled the air. Everyone, including myself, froze in place. Slowly the walls that cut the audience chamber off from the antechamber sank into the floor. Now Emperor Ozorne's dais commanded a view of the combined rooms. Everyone bowed or curtsied deeply to His Highness on the golden throne. He waved a hand; talk and movement pick up where they'd left off.
I began looking for Arram through the large crowd. Where is he? Is he even here at all?
"Hey! Varice!" I turned abruptly searching for the person. I sighed disappointed when I saw just plain old Aden Chilton.
"Hello, Aden," I said, trying to put on a smile. "How are you doing today?"
"I'm great!" he exclaimed. "Want to go sit with me? We can talk about… stuff…"
"Sorry, Aden," I said, trying to sound honestly apologetic. "I… already have to meet someone else here."
He frowned. "Well, I'll be over there," he said pointing to the seats by the slave carrying my famous creampuffs, "if you need me. See you later…" I sighed in relief when he was out of hearing range. Aden can get annoying…
I continued to look for Arram. My heart skipped a beat when I finally spotted him. He was still handsome as ever. He was sitting by the Tortallan representatives and… with a young girl, a cute one, at that. The girl had smoky brown curls, and was about maybe 15. She was wearing twilight-blue silk gown with silver embroidery that showed off her gray-blue eyes. Sure, she was just a teenager, but for some reason… she feels like a threat…
Should I walk over there? Yes, said an inner voice. Does he remember who I am? He might, said the inner voice again. But then what if he hates me? What have you done for him to hate you? What if he has a new lover? You can still say hi. I finally decided that it wouldn't hurt to talk to Arram, even if it was just for a few minutes. After all, what's the worst that could happen? I took a deep breath and walked over.
"Arram," I said when I reached his table. Everyone looked around. I stepped up a little closer, holding out my hands to Arram. I saw everyone examined me, especially the pretty girl, who suddenly sighed. Arram rose with a surprised look on his face. A short redhead slid into the place he just left.
"Varice?"
I smiled. "The same old Varice Kingsford. I'm surprised to still remember me." And I am surprised…and glad…
Arram kissed one of my hands, then the other, and continued to hold them both. "How could I forget you my dear? You're lovelier than I remember. You must tell me everything I've missed. What are the changes in the palace, and at the university? Are you married; may I kill your husband-" I laughed and leading him to a niche across the room, but not before looking back at the table. The young girl scowled at me, then quickly drew her attention back to her party. Arram sat and pulled me down next to him. Next thing you know, I'm throwing my arms around his neck, pulling him close to me, feeling his warmth and breathing in his wonderful scent of spices, soap, and clean clothes.
"I missed you so much," I whispered, tears starting to form in my eyes.
"I missed you, too, Varice." He pulled me even closer to him, and we stayed this way for a few minutes. Finally, he pulled back to look at me. "You're more beautiful than I remember," he murmured as his kissed my lips. I kissed him back, savoring his sweet taste.
"I know," I said giggling, when I broke the kiss. "You told me when we met a few minutes ago."
"And no matter how many I say it, it's always true," he said grinning, still holding onto my hands.
"You still like to flatter people, don't you, Arram?"
"Just you," he said. "And by the way, it's Numair. Arram Draper is such an…ordinary name for a mage, don't you think?"
"Whatever you say, A- I mean, Numair," I said, correcting myself. "So who was that pretty girl sitting next to you? New girlfriend?"
He turned crimson. "W-what?! Girlfriend? N-no way!" he exclaimed.
I grinned, but was a little hurt. What if he really DID like her? "If she isn't your girlfriend then who is she? And why did you turn so red?"
"She… she's my new student. Her name's Veralidaine Sarrasri, but she likes to be called Daine. She's a powerful Wildmage," he explained. "She's a really great student. Learns quickly and always strives to learn even more."
"Ah, I see," I said slowly. "So she isn't your girlfriend?"
Ar- I mean, Numair turned red again. "I said NO!"
"Okay, okay," I said, grinning. "That's just a plus for me." I kissed his cheek.
"So what's happened at the university? The palace? Are you married? D-"
I laughed again. "One question at a time, dear," I requested. "First of all, I have no husband and no boyfriend, so I'm all yours."
He grinned. "Well, that's a relief! Now tell me about the university and your studies…"
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Heheh… Like the chapter? I hope so. I'm trying my best to add all the actually events from the book into this fan fic. I also tried to make Varice a little snobby and conceited, but I also wanted some niceness in there because I don't really believe that she's all that snobby. If you wanted her snobbier, I'm sorry, but it's not going to be that way… Anywho, the next chapter is going to be about the Tortallan's tour of the menagerie. If you could, review!! I would love constructive criticism.