Dinner was always a fairly noisy affair. Oh, not the royal court of course. Dinner there was formal, stiff, and mainly silent. Protocol did not allow for people to have a good time. But the mess hall was another story. The trainees, exhausted from along day of training, would be giving voice to their many woes. The staff would be either still yelling at the trainees, mocking the trainees, or exchanging court gossip. All in all, it was a much more fun place to be. It is because of this that practically every palace inhabitant who didn't have to dine with the court (Jon was normally out of luck here) chose to eat in the mess hall.
Adian, having washed and changed into clean leathers, found herself falling into her role of spy and observing the room. In some ways it was as if she had never left. The trainees looked a little younger, and the staff looked a little older. But nothing had really changed. It was still the happy chaos that she had remembered. She gave herself a little mental shake, told herself to stop skulking in corners, and went in.
She managed to fill her tray and slip into a spot beside Daine without anyone noticing. It was her job, after all, not to be seen. So when she reached over to steal a piece of bread off of Daine's tray, the younger woman was surprised.
"Goodness! I didn't even see you come in!" She exclaimed.
"That's my job." Adian smirked.
"You're still being fair cryptic! Plenty of hints, but no actual mention of the nature of your 'job'". Daine fixed her with a hard look. "You promised to fill me in."
"Ah yes, so I did. Well, to put it bluntly, I'm a spy." She paused to shove a ridiculous amount of mashed potatoes into her mouth. Having a full mouth didn't stop her form speaking, however. "Thash bashically wha Ah gulp ahem, basically what I do. I sneak, I spy, I infiltrate, I rat on, I blackmail. I'm generally not terribly scrupulous. All for the sake of the Kingdom. At least, it provides a wonderful excuse." She smiled. "Notice that the others at the table haven't noticed me yet. This is for two reasons. One, they don't expect to see me because I elaborately staged my death four years ago. Two, I am just that good."
"Hmm. And modest too." Daine commented. "Is there nothing you can't do? You seem to have it all covered with a job description like that."
Adian made a great show of thinking about it. "Hmm….well I can't sing to save my life. I have a tendency toward vanity, but I like to blame that on my job. People judge on appearances, you know. Let me see, what else……um, I'm an emotional cripple?" She grinned, showing that she didn't mean it seriously. "Other than that, I'm damn near perfect I'm afraid."
"And yet I don't believe it for a second." Said Daine. She thought for a second as she chewed on her remaining bread. "You know, you'd better let these people know that you're not dead now, or you'll make a scene when the desserts are ready. Cook would never forgive you.
"Ah yes, must not upset Cook." Daine couldn't pinpoint exactly what changed, but suddenly Adian was part of the raucous group at the table, where before she'd been apart. She entered the scene just as Alanna was teasing Buri.
"Don't be so innocent! I saw you and Raoul after the last ball. I wasn't aware that the current fashion in bodices dictated that they not actually be worn on the body…" The Lioness grinned evilly as Buri blushed.
"Mmm, what have you been up to Buri? Indecency with Raoul! I am shocked, to be sure!" Adian interjected, a truly wicked look upon her face.
"Shut it Adian. As I recall, you have no room whatsoever to talk." Buri sent her a sideways look. "I do believe you broke half of the palace's heart, from the nobles down to the kitchen boy. Don't you be trying your tricks again missy!" And with that, she turned back to the Lioness. "Now as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, you and George either have to quiet down or move your rooms. Stone can only block so much."
Adian was sitting there with a dumbfounded look on her face. Glancing around the table, which included the usual suspects (Onua, Buri, Alanna, George, and Thayet, to name a few), she was sorely disappointed to see that no one had broken into hysterics over her return from the dead. They managed to hold this seeming disinterest for a moment more before breaking into hysterical laugher.
"Hah. I'm sorry lass. Thayet and I had to tell them. We knew you'd try some of your theatrics. It was too good an opportunity to get the best of you for once!" George said, wiping tears from his eyes.
Adian was crestfallen. "You all….knew?"
"Only since this afternoon." Thayet assured her. "Jon told me, (damn that man for keeping it from me all of these years!), and well, I may have spread the word." She smiled at the Dragon. "We're all wild to hear about your adventures however."
"And I'm looking forward to your company at this stupid ball." Alanna groused. "My favorite, performing the role of the Lady Knight for the whole cursed court."
"If you don't come with us to the nearest pub immediately and fill us in on every detail of the last several years, however, I can't vouch for your personal safety." Onua chimed in.
And so, laughing and being half dragged from the room, Adian was persuaded to join her old friend for a drink at the Dancing Dove. One drink turned into five, and a very merry time was had by all. Somewhere around the third drink it turned into an impromptu party, with all of the usual suspects making appearances. Even Jon managed to sneak in for a bit. And so, the Dragon was welcomed back to Corus. Back to her home.
Author's Note: This fic has been neglected for a ridiculous amount of time (damn life getting in the way!), but I hope to be able to update it regularly again. This chapter was to get back into the swing of things! The next chapter should have some actual plot development.