"No." Big eyed, blank faced. "No," Sayo said dully. "No, no, no, no, no." The elegant, gilded letter hung loosely in her fingers. Alanna looked at her, worried, and asked what was wrong.
"Letter," Sayo groaned, letting it fall. "Lovely, charming, darling precious letter. Burn it. Better yet, burn me."
Alanna gently picked up the hateful thing. What had made the girl so upset? This might actually be the first time she'd seen Sayo without a trace of a smile.
The letter was indeed elegant, in a flowing calligraphy...and another language. "See?" Sayo asked miserably.
"Well, no," said Alanna, handing it back. "What language is that?"
"'Anguis hereby declares its intention to begin a formal embassy to Tortall, in honor of ending the 200 year hiatus in contact between the two countries.'" she read. "The Anguan Royal House has appointed Lady Sayo Irissa Dai Madira as 3rd rank ambassador and translator, in hopes of peace and friendship between the two nations of Anguis and Tortall' and so forth. Basically, I'm the only person they know who has learned your bloody language, so- hey, Sayo, we're gonna take your whole life away!"
"I take it your from Anguis?"
"No wonder you couldn't place my accent, huh?"
"Lady?"
"Er, yeah. Sorry. It was a long time ago."
"Madira?"
"Madison is essentially a translation," Sayo said defensively. She glanced at the letter again, and sank despairingly into her chair. "It won't be forever, I think, just until I can train another translator."
"I knew that we were beginning relations with Anguis, but I didn't pay much attention. What should I know about it?"
"It's a big, secluded island with a history of reclusive business. Very rich in jewels, especially diamonds and emeralds...it has a big, rich, stuffy aristocracy made up of three houses, the royal house and two others...It's a rich country, and artisans are very highly valued. Their metalwork is beyond compare."
"And you ran away."
"I don't want to talk about that. Ask me something else."
"I thought I knew you."
"No you didn't."
"True. Which house are you?"
"Madira. Royal."
"Royal. Princess?"
"Dai. Just Dai. I'm the Queen's niece," Sayo said miserably. She noted Alanna's expression. "She has a lot of nieces." Sigh. "It's just none of them ran away, and learned translating skills in the process." She looked completely downcast.
Sayo reached underneath her chair cushions & pulled out a flask of brandy.
"A toast," she said glumly. "To the past."
[Alright! Finally putting a real summary, just, yeah, give away what scraps of plot I've got. Oh well. Please review! This will go pretty well, I think.]