ON YOUR WINGS
chapter ten: three to tea
Penelo jolted awake to the sound of her door opening. She could hear people bustling into the room and was a little bit startled. Usually she was the first to wake up, rising slowly on her own. She was a lighter sleeper than Vaan was, more keenly aware of the noises in her environment, more able to separate which were regular and which didn't quite fit. The door to her room opening was definitely an irregular sound and it sent her heart crashing halfway out of her chest before she remembered where she was.
"Good morning, Miss Penelo," Trish said, pulling back the curtains on the side of the bed facing the door. Another pair of maids opened the heavier curtains at the window, letting the sunlight in.
Penelo blinked and sat up, a little confused at the commotion around her. Trish set a cup of tea on a saucer next to Penelo's bed. "I will draw your bath, Miss," Trish said, curtsying before disappearing into the bathroom.
The two maids at the window left the room, shutting the door behind them so that Penelo was left to sip her tea and listen to the water running in the bathroom. She had never been woken up by three people before. Well, at least not so politely. There had been that once where Kytes, Filo, and Vaan had thought it would be really funny to throw a bucket of water over her. The three of them had paid for that dearly.
The sound of running water stopped, and Trish reappeared to pull back the rest of Penelo's bedcurtains. "Your bath is ready, Miss."
"Thank you," Penelo said, setting her tea down and getting out of bed.
After her bath, Penelo wrapped herself in a towel. She had forgotten to bring clothes in with her and was a little embarrassed as she stepped back into her room. Trish was standing next to her impeccably made bed on which an outfit rested, complete with underwear.
"I am to help you dress as well, Miss Penelo," Trish said.
Penelo blushed furiously. "Um, that's ok," she said, "Really I'd prefer to do it on my own."
Trish seemed to consider this for a moment. "I will turn to give you some privacy, then," she said before going to look out the window.
Penelo slipped into the clothes that had been laid out on the bed. The dress that was waiting for her had a high, soft collar and no sleeves. It was a light blue trimmed with white that had a darker blue and silver bow sewn around it. Penelo had a little trouble tying in the back and so found herself saying, "Um, Trish, could you help me fix this?"
Trish came around at once and tied the bow behind Penelo's back tightly. "Thank you," Penelo said.
"It is no trouble," Trish said, "Now for your hair…"
She led Penelo over to the dressing table and sat her down on the chair in front of it. She brushed Penelo's hair gently before parting it and braiding it into two loose braids, which she then fastened with pale blue hair ties that had white and gold feathers attached to them as decorations. Penelo marveled at the accessories. "Where did these come from?" she asked.
"Lord Larsa had them ordered," Trish said, "Along with the clothes."
Penelo wondered what kind of stuff Larsa had gotten ready for Vaan. She allowed herself to imagine ridiculous looking golden vests as Trish finished with her hair.
"Let us see how the sandals fit," Trish said, smiling at Penelo. She picked up a pair of shoes next to the dressing table that Penelo had not noticed before and knelt to slip them onto her feet.
"Oh," Penelo said, "I can do that," and as she bent to fit the shoe onto her foot, she nearly knocked heads with Trish. "Sorry," she said.
"It is no problem, Miss," Trish said, standing to allow Penelo to slip her foot into the sandals which were a slightly darker blue than her dress.
To her surprise they fit, just as everything else had. They were comfortable, not too narrow or long, or short, and they were soft under her feet. They had a heel that rose about two inches off the ground, and pretty blue and silver bows at the front that matched the bow on the back of Penelo's dress.
"One more thing," Trish said, and she retrieved a turquoise bracelet from the drawer, which she fastened around Penelo's wrist. "There."
Penelo lifted her hand to examine the bracelet. It was pretty, but not something she would wear normally. Usually she would be afraid of it getting caught on one of the airship controls or throwing off her aim with a bow and arrow.
"You look lovely," Trish said. That at least was something she knew how to respond to.
"Thanks, so do you," she said. And she meant it. She really did think Trish was quite pretty.
Trish blushed. "I—thank you, Miss," she said, fixing the cap in her hair. "If you are ready, we should head downstairs to meet Lord Larsa."
Penelo nodded. "Ok," she said.
"He will be in his morning meeting with noble petitioners," Trish said, "After breakfast he will be attending to business and unavailable until tea at three in the afternoon, we will have lunch prepared for you in Lord Larsa's private dining room at twelve o' clock and you and I will tour the palace in the meantime, if that sounds well to you."
"Yeah," Penelo said, not used to having her day planned out so well. "Sure. Sounds great."
"Lord Larsa will be available to dine with you in the evening and there is a ballet premiering tonight that His Excellency wishes you to attend with him."
Penelo had never seen a ballet before, though she had always been curious about the dance ever since Larsa told her that the dancers stood on the very tips of her toes. It was something that Penelo imagined would be quite difficult and hurt a great deal, though Larsa assured her that the performers had a special kind of shoe that allowed them to do so. She was excited to see for herself.
"That sounds great," Penelo said. "Thank you, Miss Trish."
Trish smiled. "Let us head downstairs."
#
As Penelo and Trish stepped out of the elevator on the 71st floor, they were passed by a group of noblemen walking down the hallway. A few of them gave Penelo curious looks, but they mostly ignored her as they headed off to what Penelo supposed would be a different elevator. They turned a hallway and passed out of view. "Lord Larsa's meeting is likely finished," Trish said.
Just as the words left her mouth, Larsa appeared in the hallway with Bellamy trailing behind him. He walked up to Penelo and bowed slightly in front of her. Penelo wasn't sure what to do when he did that and so she did what everyone else seemed to do and curtseyed in response. "Good morning," Larsa said. "You look lovely."
"Well someone got me a whole outfit," Penelo said, looking down at her clothes. "And of course Miss Trish helped me get dressed."
Larsa's eyebrow curved just slightly at the mention of "Miss Trish," who curtseyed deeply and appeared to be trying to hide her face. "I see," he said. "Best compliments to 'Miss Trish' as well, then."
Penelo saw Trish's face redden and got the distinct impression that Larsa was teasing the girl. Before Penelo could think too much about it, Larsa took her arm and smiled at her. "I will escort Lady Penelo to breakfast," he said to Trish. "You may meet her here afterward."
"Yes, Your Excellency," Trish said, curtsying again and backing into the elevator.
"What's with this 'Lady' stuff?" Penelo asked as Larsa walked her down the hall.
"A mere formality," Larsa said, "All the young women of my acquaintance should be referred to as ladies."
"Should they?" Penelo teased. "Should I only refer to you as 'Lord Larsa' too?"
"In the company of others," Larsa said, "If you remember."
They stopped in front of a door and Bellamy opened it for them, allowing them in. The dining room was as brightly lit as Penelo's bedroom had been, with long windows along the wall. The wall behind the head of the table had an area in the center that protruded a little from the sides, with a recessed top forming a kind of shelf on which a small white vase rested on either side of and over which hung a large mirror. There were tables set in the corners of the room atop which sat elegant vases filled with elaborate flower arrangements. A wooden dining table with seats for eight occupied the center of the room. The chairs around it were chestnut with blue velvet cushions and the one at the head of the table was a little larger than the others, with a rising, ornate back and gilt gold framework.
Larsa pulled the seat to the right of this one back, so that Penelo could sit. Once she was settled in, Bellamy pulled back Larsa's chair so that he could take a seat. Bellamy then went to a door at the back of the dining room and held it open while a pair of servants entered carrying what Penelo presumed was breakfast.
The plates were set in front of Penelo and Larsa before the servants bowed and exited the room. Bellamy remained, standing perfectly still with his back to the door that the servants had disappeared back into.
"Did you sleep well?" Larsa asked, cutting into his ham.
"Yes," Penelo said, "Very."
She didn't think it would add anything to the conversation for her to mention how uncomfortable she'd actually felt with how big and expensive everything around her was. It was all very nice in any case and nothing she could seriously complain about; it was just that none of it quite sat well with her. But then again, what was Larsa going to do? Put her in the servants' quarters after everyone had been running around the palace calling her "Lady" for a whole day?
"That is good to hear."
"What about you?"
"The same," Larsa smiled.
Their conversation slowed as they finished their breakfast. Penelo found that she was quite comfortable sitting in silence with Larsa and the view of the city outside was almost as beautiful from her seat as it had been from her room.
As they finished up, Larsa said, "Did Trish tell you my schedule for the day?"
"Yes," Penelo said. "You sound really busy."
"I am sorry that I will be unable to spend more time with you," Larsa said.
"Oh no, I wouldn't want to take you away from your work," Penelo replied, "Besides me and Trish are going to explore the palace, apparently. Which is good because I can only remember what's on four of the floors…"
Larsa's lips curved into a smile as he said, "I'm sure that will occupy most of the day. The palace is rather large."
"No kidding," Penelo said. A thought occurred to her just then and she asked, "Hey, where is Gabranth?"
"He is taking care of small issue for me in some of the other cities," Larsa said. "He should return in two days' time."
"Oh," Penelo said. "I see."
Everyone seemed to be busy and Penelo couldn't help but feel a little like she was intruding on Larsa's perfectly run life and household. She missed Vaan and thought that if he at least was there with her then Larsa wouldn't feel as obligated to find things for her to do.
"I hope you are not disappointed in your visit so far," Larsa said, face falling just a bit.
"I'm not," Penelo said, realizing that she'd allowed what she felt about Vaan not being there show on her face. "I'm having a wonderful time, really," she smiled broadly to reassure him.
"I am glad to hear it."
#
After breakfast, Larsa went off to his meetings with Bellamy following behind. Trish met Penelo outside the dining room. "Are you ready for the tour, Miss?" she asked.
"Yeah," Penelo said, grinning. "Where are we going to start?"
"Perhaps from the 54th floor?" Trish asked as they headed to the elevator. "Mostly everything above that is offices and guest apartments."
"Sounds good," Penelo replied.
She and Trish walked through a bunch of well decorated, large, and ornate galleries and libraries and drawing rooms. There seemed to be a floor with servants' quarters on it every fifth floor that they skipped seeing. There was an indoor garden on the 52nd floor that Penelo thought was particularly interesting, it was like a greenhouse where they grew certain vegetables. Penelo had pressed her face to the glass to watch the gardeners work and wondered how such a thing could function inside.
"The gardeners are very talented," Trish had said as they moved on.
The 51st floor was somewhat familiar to Penelo. She recognized the main dining hall for state dinners, the ballroom, and the garden. She hadn't realized that across the garden there was a pool for recreation.
"The ceiling is quite high in the throne room on the fiftieth floor," Trish said, "But there are a few lower-ceilinged receiving rooms beneath the pool."
The fiftieth floor held the throne room as well as a drawing room called the "East Room," a library, a music room, and a gallery. There were portraits hanging in the gallery of the Solidor family. Penelo recognized Larsa and Vayne, but not the others. "Who is this?" Penelo asked, pointing to a portrait to the left of Vayne's.
"The late Rhyn Solidor," Trish answered. "And to his left, Gramis the second. Lord Larsa's elder brothers."
Penelo remembered Larsa writing that he had never met them—that they had died the year he was born. Above those portraits hung ones of Emperor Gramis and a woman that Penelo assumed was Larsa's mother.
"Empress Lynea," Trish said, as though anticipating Penelo's next question. "She was a great beauty in her time."
That much was clear to Penelo. The woman looked like a dark haired angel with full cheeks, flawless skin, a fine nose, and wide eyes.
"They say that Lord Larsa has his father's eyes, his mother's nose, his grandfather's soft jaw, Vayne's cleverness, and Rhyn's heart," Trish said.
Penelo studied the portraits. The one in the first most resembled the emperor. The one in the second most resembled the empress with her wide eyes and softer features even than Larsa's. "I thought the two older brothers were traitors," Penelo said.
"Oh they were executed as such," Trish replied. "The details have been lost to us; however the story that I was told was that Gramis the second was one plotting against his father and the Senate. He had taken Rhyn into his confidence and Rhyn decided to try to dissuade Gramis from his plot before telling the Senate about it as he expected punishment would be severe. Unfortunately this meant he was considered an accomplice."
Larsa hadn't said much about it to Penelo and she hadn't asked after the particulars. It seemed after all that he barely knew them and that in any case it was something of a sore subject. "So they were both killed because of one's crimes?"
"Lord Vayne was the one who had to carry out the sentence," Trish said. "It broke the Empress's heart. They say that is why she did not survive Lord Larsa's birth. She was too sad at the prospect of living to see another son sent off to the slaughter. Emperor Gramis was also the only of his brothers to survive past the age of thirty."
Penelo frowned at the portraits. She didn't think she'd ever seen such a sad wall. "Let's go," she said.
As Trish and Penelo crossed the main entrance, Penelo noticed a well-dressed girl standing there speaking to one of the butlers at the entrance to the palace while her lady-in-waiting stood a little behind her. "Who is that?" she asked.
"Lady Margarethe," Trish said. "She is a friend of Lord Larsa's."
"—was just wondering if Lord Larsa would be available for tea today," Penelo overheard the girl say.
Lady Margarethe looked about Larsa's age. She wore a long pink and white dress with a square cut front and scalloped sleeves. It appeared to be of some sort of light material in two layers, one comprising the sleeves and the sides of the dress, and a white skirt under it. She wore long white gloves that reached up to her elbows and were patterned with gold thread. She was really beautiful too, a few inches taller than Penelo, with large brown eyes, silken black hair that was artfully arranged, clear pale skin, and full lips.
Larsa's friend, huh? Penelo thought as an idea suddenly occurred to her.
The butler at the door was telling Lady Margarethe that Larsa was otherwise engaged for tea, and the girl was about to walk away when Penelo walked purposefully up to her and tapped her on the shoulder.
"Hi," Penelo said.
The other girl jumped in surprise and whirled around to face Penelo. Her eyes widened in recognition as she said, "L-lady Penelo?"
Penelo wasn't sure how the other girl knew her name as she was pretty sure she had never met her before, but she decided it wasn't really important. Archadians were so good at finding out information, even Larsa had known her name before she'd introduced herself to him. "Just Penelo is fine," she said automatically. "You're Lady Margarethe right? Larsa's friend."
"Y-yes," Lady Margarethe said and Penelo felt a little bad for startling the girl.
Penelo opened her mouth, about to say something, but instead held up a finger and squinted at Magarethe. "Hold that thought," she said, turning toward Trish and whispering. "Do you think Larsa will mind if Lady Margarethe has tea with us?"
"I-I'm not sure," Trish said, and Penelo got the distinct feeling that she was startling everyone.
"Do you think you can find out?" she asked.
Trish nodded. "I will be back shortly," she said, curtsying and hurrying away.
"I apologize, Lady Penelo," Margarethe was saying, "I did not mean to intrude and I can very easily be on my way."
"Nonsense," Penelo was saying. "I've just asked Miss Trish to go see if Larsa will be all right with having you to tea with us," she grinned. "I was supposed to have a friend here anyway so I don't think he would mind—"
Lady Margarethe looked absolutely stunned at what Penelo had said and Penelo was about to apologize though she didn't quite know what for when Trish returned. She curtsied at Margarethe and said, "Lord Larsa says that he would be honored to have you join him and Lady Penelo for tea."
"Oh," Lady Margarethe said, "I couldn't."
Penelo tilted her head at the younger girl. "Don't be silly!" she said. "The more the merrier! And you were just asking if Larsa was free for tea a minute ago."
Margarethe's lips pursed and she looked as though she was desperately searching for something to say. The only thing she came up with was, "All right. So long as I'm not intruding…"
"Not at all," Penelo said.
She knew she was probably jumping to conclusions, but she thought that perhaps Larsa was shy or busy and lacked the time to properly pursue a relationship with the girl. It was obvious to Penelo that Margarethe liked Larsa, otherwise why would she be visiting the palace to see if he was free for tea? And Trish had described her as a friend. Larsa had never written to Penelo about his friends in Archades and she was glad to have met one.
Women in Archades often walked in pairs, so Penelo offered her arm to Margarethe. "Come on," she said, tilting her head to the side and smiling.
Margarethe took her arm hesitantly. "I… all right," she said.
"So how do you know Larsa?" Penelo asked. Margarethe's eyes widened slightly at the informality and Penelo wondered at the extent of Archadian stuffiness.
"My grandfather was Chairman Gregoroth," Margarethe said.
Penelo recognized the name almost immediately. "I'm sorry," she said.
"Oh, no, don't be," Margarethe replied. "One must not dwell on the past after all."
"No," Penelo said, gently mimicking the younger girl's more formal tone. "One must not."
"You were one of Lord Larsa's traveling partners during the war, were you not?" Lady Margarethe asked.
Penelo nodded. "I met him in Bhujerba. He saved me from a mean old Judge."
"I have not had the pleasure of hearing the story," Lady Margarethe said in a tone that Penelo thought sounded almost cautious, "But it sounds rather exciting. Would you mind terribly if I asked you to relate it?"
Penelo couldn't help but smile at how the way that Margarethe talked was so much like the way that Larsa talked. "It's a long story and it's not that exciting," Penelo said. "Are you sure you want to hear it?"
Margarethe smiled at her. "Yes, if it is not too much trouble."
So Penelo told her about how she'd been trying to escape the mine and gotten caught by Judge Ghis and Marquis Ondore, but Margarethe had stopped her to inquire why she had been in the mine. So Penelo found herself telling the whole story about how Ba'Gamnan had kidnapped her in Rabanastre.
"I guess Larsa met up with my friends outside the mines," Penelo said as they approached the elevator. "Vaan told me that Ba'Gamnan had them cornered and so Larsa threw a rock at his face," she chuckled at the relation. She could just picture tiny little Larsa hurling the nethicite at the huge bangaa. "And then they all ran away. I guess Larsa got out of the mine first—my friends hung back because Judge Ghis was right outside, but of course Larsa being the emperor's son didn't have to worry about Judges."
"He threw a rock at a bangaa bounty hunter?" Margarethe asked incredulously. "How brave!"
"Hit him right in the face," Penelo said. "He was definitely gutsier than he looked."
"And then what happened?" Margarethe asked, eager to hear the rest of the story as Trish hit the button for the 75th floor.
"Well," Penelo said, trying to think back. "Judge Ghis said something about Larsa traveling alone, and Larsa said that he would not walk around by himself anymore and then he escorted me to Marquis Ondore's mansion." She smiled. "I thought it was so strange at first. I've never heard such a little kid speak so well and I had no idea who he was yet. But he knew my name somehow so I'd just assumed he met someone that knew me."
"It sounds like Lord Larsa was quite gallant," Margarethe said.
Penelo grinned. "Lord Larsa is very gallant," she said, "Extremely thoughtful and polite. One of the best people I know."
"Yes," Margarethe said, "Lord Larsa is perhaps the best gentleman in my acquaintance." She flushed then as though she'd said something really embarrassing.
"Mine too," Penelo said, squeezing the girl's hand.
The elevator stopped and the door opened. Margarethe seemed to realize something as she was hesitant to step out. "I… have never had tea in Lord Larsa's personal drawing room," she said.
"Oh he takes tea in his study," Penelo replied easily. "There's a wonderful view… you've really never been up here?"
Margarethe shook her head and Penelo frowned. Perhaps it was some kind of Archadian political thing.
Larsa wasn't there when they arrived, but the settee, coffee table, and a chair had been moved out to the terrace. One of the butlers helped Penelo and Lady Margarethe get seated and poured them some tea. "Lord Larsa will be arriving shortly," he said.
Margarethe watched Larsa's waterfall and looked out over the city as she sipped her tea. "It is wonderful here," she said. "Do you take tea with Lord Larsa here often?"
"Oh no," Penelo said, "Just twice before—once at his fourteenth birthday party and then last year."
"I see," Margarethe said. "Would you mind terribly if I asked you to tell me more about your travels? I have spent my whole life in Archades and so it is rather thrilling to hear of such adventures. Like reading a novel."
Penelo had to think about that one for a second. There were some things she knew that she couldn't say, like any mention of Basch for example. She also didn't want to say anything about the nethicite, manufacted or deifacted. She also didn't want to mention any time that someone had died. It seemed as though Margarethe was mostly interested in hearing about Larsa. After a moment's thought, she landed on the perfect story.
"There was one time," she said, "We were crossing the Ozmone Plain and Vaan—"
"Vaan is your… friend?" Margarethe asked. "Please excuse me for interrupting."
"Yeah," Penelo said with a wry smile. "You could say that. We've known each other forever and he's my partner."
"Partner?" Margarethe asked.
"We own an airship together," Penelo explained, "and fly around doing hunts and exploring and things like that."
Margarethe covered her mouth with a gloved hand. "Like sky pirates?" she asked.
There was a word Penelo had hoped to avoid while she was in Archades. She didn't want to hint at any association she might have with the Scarlet Feathers no matter how tenuous the relation might be. "I wouldn't say that, exactly," she said. "Just travelers."
"Still," Margarethe said, "You must lead such an eventful life."
That's one way to say it, Penelo thought. "Sort of," she said. "It's mostly just small beds, bad weather, and worse food."
Margarethe seemed almost in awe of Penelo for a moment and the older girl couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. She was about to say something else—probably that she was thinking about retiring anyway, but Margarethe seemed to remember herself and apologized.
"I'm sorry," she said, "You were telling a story…?"
By the time Penelo finished telling the story that ended with Larsa needing to use a Hi-Potion on Vaan after the older boy had gotten attacked by a band of irate wild bunnies, Larsa himself had shown up with a thousand apologies for his lateness.
Penelo couldn't help the mischievous smile that crept to her face as Larsa kissed Margarethe's hand to say hello.
#
Lady Margarethe for her part could not guess why Penelo had insisted she come to tea. It had placed the poor girl in a slightly awkward position. Here then, was the woman that Margarethe believed must certainly be the object of Lord Larsa's affections, speaking with Margarethe in an easy and familiar manner apparently bound and determined to be a close friend.
She could see, to her great misfortune, why Lord Larsa was so enamored of this girl who made every effort to become Margarethe's friend simply because she believed that Margarethe was Lord Larsa's friend. She was encouraging and humble and very kind. She must have been strong as well and exotic, Margarethe thought, to live the way that she did. And when the younger girl heard of how Larsa had saved the older one from being arrested and thrown into jail it sounded incredibly romantic to her, no matter how much Penelo had insisted that Larsa was "just a kid."
Margarethe was torn between wanting to hear more stories about Larsa and being pained at hearing how close he was to Penelo. She felt hurt, also, every time Penelo mentioned that Larsa was young and talked about her friend "Vaan." After all, it sounded as though she did not return Larsa's feelings and while this gave Margarethe hope, she also did not want to see Larsa injured in any way. By the time Larsa finally entered the room, though, Penelo had emphasized that she and Larsa were just friends so many times that Margarethe had begun to believe her. To hope that she had perhaps misinterpreted Larsa's feelings altogether.
But then the Emperor himself entered the room and Margarethe could see that he was a bit tense. That even though he kissed both their hands, he lingered over Penelo's. That his gaze kept shifting to the blonde girl who seemed to be making every effort to deflect his attention toward Margarethe. That he seemed almost uncomfortable at Margarethe's presence. That even though he said he was glad to see her, there was a distance in his expression that made Margarethe disbelieve his words.
"Lady Penelo was kind enough to entertain me with stories of your travels together," Margarethe said after all the pleasantries had been finished.
"Oh?" Larsa said, raising an eyebrow at Penelo.
"Yes," Penelo said. "Like how you bravely threw a rock at a rather frightening bangaa and then saved me from rotting in a Bhujerban prison for the rest of my natural life."
"You would certainly not have been let to rot," Larsa said, as though trying to downplay his involvement. "Marquis Ondore would like have let you go just as soon as Judge Ghis and I rejoined the Imperial Fleet."
"Ah!" Penelo said, "So I would have been there when my friends showed up at his manor looking for me instead of on the Leviathan!"
"Perhaps," Larsa said, "Though it is hard to know with such events long past."
A devious smile broke across Penelo's face. "So, technically," she began, "I mean, really what happened was that you actually kidnapped me."
Larsa's mouth opened just the slightest in shock. "I swore to you that you would come to no harm and I had every intention of—"
Penelo was laughing at him though, covering her mouth with both her hands. "Larsa," she said, "You're so easy."
He shut his mouth then and glared at her though he still wore a smile on his face. "Such a brave girl to mock the Emperor so in his own palace."
Penelo stuck her tongue out at him and Margarethe was surprised at how childish the girl was. In the Emperor's presence, no less! But Larsa seemed to take the gesture in stride, merely raising his eyebrows as he sipped his tea.
"Why did you not leave her to her friends in Bhujerba?" Margarethe asked, curious. She did not know much about the war, but it seemed to her that the Marquis's manse would have been much safer than the Dreadnought Leviathan.
"I was not entirely sure of Marquis Ondore's intentions until her friends appeared on the Leviathan," Larsa explained. "I could only be assured of her safety if she stayed near to me. Although the Leviathan proved to be quite dangerous in the end."
Margarethe could see that Penelo longed to change the subject. She knew that the Leviathan had met an ill end and thought that perhaps the other girl did not wish to discuss it. Lord Larsa looked as though he was remembering something less than pleasant as well.
Margarethe was trying to think of another subject which they could discuss, when Penelo said suddenly, "Hey Larsa, the ballet tonight—was Vaan supposed to come to that too?"
It took Larsa a moment to run the question through his mind. Margarethe could see him narrow his eyes just slightly before he flashed a broad smile that did not quite reach his eyes and said, "Yes. I suppose we do have an extra seat. Margarethe would you like to join us?"
"Of course she would!" Penelo exclaimed before Margarethe had a chance to decline respectfully. "Have you ever been to the ballet before?"
"I have," Margarethe said. "I do enjoy the dances and am especially fond of the music. It is usually quite beautiful."
"Larsa keeps telling me they stand on the very tips of their toes," Penelo said, "And they spin around."
Margarethe smiled at the girl's explanation. "Yes," she said nodding, "That is a thing they do most frequently."
"So you'll come then, won't you?" Penelo asked. "It's always nice to have another girl around."
And Margarethe couldn't help but wonder what she was getting herself into when she said, "I suppose I will have to then."
CHAPTER ELEVEN PREVIEW:
A special kind of torture
NOTES: So I kind of didn't have a computer for a little bit, hence the gap in updates. Now that I have one that doesn't freeze every five seconds I'm thinking of going back and fixing the two chapters that came before this one and maybe tweaking this one a little. I dunno yet though, I'll see how it goes.
THANK YOU!
Ariels Lament: I usually hate writing long descriptions. I like to say that liking Ernest Hemingway ruined my life :P I thought they were kind of necessary for that section, though, so I kind of had to grit my teeth and get down to it. I'm glad you thought it worked out! I wish my room were scantily clad, but it actually kind of looks like a hurricane hit it or like somebody went through it looking for valuables to steal, or like a hoarder lives in it... :S I actually googled pictures of what I wanted to write about so I at least had pictures to butcher, maybe something like that would work for you? :D (not that you would butcher them, that's just what I did)
always-kh: Thanks! Re-reading it, I kind of thought that part might be boring. Anyway, tax evasion and embezzlement are pretty serious business and the risk benefit for doing it and possibly being found and having your whole family murdered kind of swings in favor of not doing it. The Tokugawa shogunate did this whole keeping families in the capital thing and managed to stay in power for about 200 years, which is a pretty long time for a Japanese feudal society. More recently, Chinese officials do this thing where they send their families (and assets) abroad where the Communist party can't reach them in case something happens, like the official comes under a corruption investigation. Generally speaking, if you're living under a government that has even a few issues with human rights and democracy, you don't want the government to have your family and if you're stealing from the government then you probably want your family out of the country. I used to be an econ major, so sometimes I think about money a lot :S TL;DR: Tax evasion is actually really serious and people don't like their families getting murdered
Marta: Thanks! But actually, our tax code is like a million pages long and nobody understands it :(
Crow Skywalker: Thanks!
moonmuse: :D!