Alright, so now the story officially begins. It's set six years after chapter 0, right before the events of RA book 7: Erak's Ransom. There are a few characters who we hear very little of in this period, so that gives me the opportunity to "borrow" them and keep them busy in my story.
Thank you for the reviews, I appreciate them so much and they motivate me to keep writing!
Chapter 1: The proposition
Bright sunrays pierced the glass window and woke Maevis from a curious dream. Blinking away the images of a foreign city covered with talking flowers, she sat up and let the energy of a new day fill her body.
She stretched her arms, got up from the bed and opened her wardrobe. Over a brand new white chemise, she chose a burgundy linen kirtle with copper embroidered linings at the sleeve openings. The deep color harmonised with her long, dark brown hair that hung in a braid down to the middle of her back. She undid the braid, strands sticking out because of a long night's rest, and brushed until her hair was a smooth, straight veil framing her oval face. She stroked it with a sigh, before reluctantly tucking and tying the beautiful locks away in a twisted low bun, held together by several pins and a red ribbon. It wasn't her favorite hairstyle, but the most practical for moving and dancing around. Being the Royal Dance Master, Maevis spent a lot of time doing both. She had to practice with her students, a company of twenty-four appointed court dancers with whom she put together performances for various occasions -royal birthdays, holidays, visiting diplomats and noblemen and so on- and put some life in the multiple royal balls. On top of that, she was available for every lord and lady who wished to refine their dancing skills in private lessons. Maevis also liked to attend festivities held by the commoners, to find inspiration for new choreographies and for the fun of it. But she rarely had time for these occasions, because with the more joyous duties of a Master at court also came an endless stream of paperwork, correspondence and errands. Enough reason to keep her hair securely out of the way.
After getting dressed and a breakfast of fruit and bread brought by a servant, she went through the schedule of her day: she'd spend the morning in the village by Araluen castle, shopping for cloth, ribbons, face paint and whatever is needed to perform for the Hibernian diplomatic delegation. After lunch, she'd have an hour or two to manage her correspondence and paperwork, before the rehearsal with her passionate students. Oh, and she musn't forget to prepare her lesson with lady Gwendolyn this evening. The freshly engaged lady requested a few lessons to make sure her opening dance was as perfect as the rest of the wedding. Judging by the looks of her terrified fiancé, it would be best to keep it simple, yet elegant. A slow waltz would suit them best. Maybe she should teach them a few variations as well as the basic steps, so they can focus on each other and the flow of the dance, instead of panicking and worrying about how the next steps were supposed to go. Then again, people who aren't used to dancing aren't often keen on improvising. Which Maevis, who was a natural talent, thought to be a shame, because improvisation is the most fun part of dancing. It gave a dancer freedom to experiment, show off their skills, catch a breath or express their emotions of that moment. It required skill, confidence and a deeper connection between the music and your own body. Most importantly, it gave a dancing pair the chance to completely immerse themselves in one another. Maevis had experienced several instances when she and her dance partner got in a trance, their bodies communicating with movements and excluding the existence of the outside world. Only them, the music and the dance. People who stood by and watched often claimed that there were sparks of magic flying off the pair. She would do her best to give lady Gwendolyn and her fiancé magic sparks of their own.
It was an hour past noon when Maevis was interrupted from her writing by a gentle knock on her door. "Come in," she said, curiously putting her reply to another request of private lessons aside. The door opened, revealing no-one less than the head of the Diplomatic Service, lady Pauline Dulacy, with her standard white uniform.
"Good afternoon, lady Maevis, I hope I'm not interrupting?" said Pauline politely. The apology was only formal, as she noticed with an imperceivable grin how relieved the Dance Master looked to be distracted from the dull paperwork.
"Not at all, please, have a seat," Maevis responded warmly. She gestured to the comfortable chair at the other end of her desk, where her visitor sat down in one gracious motion. Maevis admired the natural grace of the courier, as well as her determination, organisatory skills and ability to calculate any situation in the blink of an eye. Although she wasn't really involved in courier's businesses and political affairs, she had plenty of opportunities to watch Pauline in action at receptions, festivities and of course, royal galas. If the admiration was mutual, Maevis didn't know. The two women barely interacted with eachother due to their occupation and age difference. Maevis was still a child during Morgarath's reign of terror, helping her mother sew soldier clothes while her father was in the army fighting the wargals. When the war was over and her father received an honorary medal and the rank of lieutenant, they moved from Carraway to Araluen. Pauline was already head of the Diplomatic Corps when she became a pupil of former Dance Master Ragald, whose office she now occupied. While Maevis sat pondering about her childhood, Pauline patiently waited until she finally inquired why she was there. The Courier wasn't exactly close to the Dance Master, but she had read her file and knew a great deal about her background and character, just like she knew everything about nearly everyone of importance in the country. Maevis came to Araluen as a little girl, began dancing under Master Ragald at thirteen and became a rising star in the artistic world. She was a brilliant dancer, her style naturally elegant and energetic. Her intuitive understanding and enthousiasm to share the joy of dancing made her an excellent teacher. At twenty one, she took over the position of Royal Dance Master, even though she had a chaotic mind and despised organising things. These minor flaws were part of the reason why Pauline came to visit her.
The silence had lasted a couple of seconds, until Maevis realised she was being impolite.
"Forgive me, where are my manners. Would you like something to drink? I have water, lemonade, wine?"
The Courier immediately answered: "I'll have a lemonade, thank you."
Maevis produced a pitcher and two cups, poured the drinks and asked: "What brings you here from Redmont, Pauline? We rarely cross paths." Pauline accepted her cup and took a sip.
"I've come to discuss a rather secret matter. How are the preparations for your expedition abroad coming along?" Maevis nearly choked on her drink and started blushing heavily. Almost a year ago, she had had the idea to travel to some countries on the mainland, learn their traditional dances and bring them back home. Alas, with a trip like that came her nemesis, organising, and after two months of fruitless attempts to get some papers in order, she began procrastinating more and more, until the whole endeavour was nothing more than a dream in the corner of her mind. Not many people knew about her plans, but somehow the Courier found out. Embarrassed about her fail, she replied: "Well, uh, I'm afraid I was rather busy the last couple months, so the expedition will have to wait."
A hollow excuse, one she tried to believe despite knowing better.
"I hoped you could leave in the near future," Pauline said, "because I see an opportunity in such an endeavour. I want to cooperate with you." Maevis lifted her eyebrows in surprise, wondering how a dance expedition could be useful for the Diplomatic Courier. She didn't have to wait long for an explanation.
"Since you'll visit several countries that are not as sympathetic towards Araluen as we'd like, I want you to take some of my couriers with you and disguise them as dancers. They'll rehearse and perform with the rest of the company, as to not appear suspicious while they gather the necessary information for us. Do you think that is feasible?"
Maevis nodded, already thinking up crash courses and modified choreographies for the undercover novices.
She was brought back to reality by the subtle clearing of a throat.
"There's one more thing. Would you like me to take the organisation out of your hands? I can pull more strings to secure a warm welcome and accommodations, translators, guards..." Maevis had to hold back an enormous sigh of relief, but couldn't conceal the joy in her voice.
"Yes, of course! If you make the preparations, I'm sure nothing can go wrong. To be honest, I was about to cancel the whole thing because it was so much work. I'm not a good planner."
Pauline felt empathetic towards the younger woman, who despite her flaws still achieved so much.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, you manage to bring several splendid shows each year! This is something completely out of your area of expertise. It wouldn't end well if you let me organise one of your performances either."
Maevis appreciated the diplomatic way of taking over the organisation, but still felt ashamed because Pauline had to save her from the mess she made. However, the thought of how the Courier would handle choreographies, rehearsals, dresses and décor was rather amusing. Reassured, she had some thoughts she wanted to express.
"How many couriers would you like me to train? I suggest not more than four, otherwise it would become obvious that I didn't take my best dancers with me."
"I have three very capable students in mind, but one of them is on a mission. We expect them to return in two weeks." Maevis nodded, calculating the time she would need to train three new students. "It's possible, but it depends on when we leave. I think I'll need at least three months to get a novice to an acceptable level."
"You'll get at least five. I'll send pigeons to Gallica, Toscana, Iberion, Teutlandt, Magyara, anywhere else?"
"Definitely Alpina, Skandia and Aslava. And I've always been intrigued by Arrida, the Ambassador that came two years ago looked very exotic." Pauline remembered the delegation, the Ambassador was indeed quite remarkable with his colorful silk kaftan, hawk-like nose and curly jet black hair. He was an avid negotiator, though he didn't seem to take the female diplomat very serious. Until she classfully outnegotiated him, that is.
"Noted. You'll have a tight schedule to follow, if you don't want to spend five years away from home." Judging from the sparkle in her eyes, Maevis wouldn't mind that at all, if it were possible.
They briefly discussed some more details, until Pauline finished her drink and gently put the cup on the desk. "Well, that would be all, for now. Thank you for your cooperation, I look forward to working together. I'll contact you about the layout of the trip and some other details, so I'll see you soon!" Both ladies rose from their seats, and Maevis escorted her guest to the door. "Thank you for saving my trip! I'm glad to be of use. You can send your spies to the ballroom at once, we're rehearsing in an hour, and they'll have plenty to learn before they can pass as my students."
"I suppose they do. Thank you again, and good luck."
When lady Pauline had left her office, Maevis closed the door and frisked victoriously through the room. The dream in the corner of her mind would come true after all, and she got an exciting secret mission as well! With renewed energy, she finished her correspondence - she guessed the baron of Culway fief had to wait for his private lessons- and changed into her rehearsal outfit. The servants who crossed her in the hallway could hear her humming a cheerful tune, practically frolicking through the castle's corridors.
This is an ambitious set-up, I know, but it's gonna be alright. Next chapter will reveal another familiar character, guess who?
It's difficult to find the right formatting. Personally, I like shorter segments to read online, but some find that awkward, apparently. So I've tried longer paragraphs like in a physical book. Let me know which you prefer!
Thank you for reading and reviewing, it means a lot.
May your house always smell nice!