Cleaned up and (mostly) ready to face the day, Meli makes her way out of the boarding house and to the dining hall across the grassy quad to break her fast. Her waist-length hair has been pulled back into a braid woven with white ribbons, her personal way of showing her dedication to the healing arts. She wears a mauve vest of suede over a short-sleeved pale pink shirt, and a long maroon skirt that just covers brown boots from Loho. Her necessary materials for her single class today are stored safely in a woven shoulder bag handmade by artisans in Daila.

It's Watersday today, so the dining hall isn't as full and noisy as it could be – there just aren't that many classes scheduled on early morning Watersdays that would encourage lazy students to get out of bed to eat properly. Meli finds herself disconcerted upon entering the hall: she'd been hoping that the presence of other lives would distract her from her own, at least enough to get over the shivers caused by this morning's news so that she could think a little more clearly. Nevertheless, she picks up a bowl of mixed fruits and a glass of water, and goes to sit down in a relatively empty corner to eat. She's interrupted halfway through her meal.

"Is something the matter, Meli?" asks a young man standing right behind her. He has angular cheekbones and dirty blond hair cut straight along his jawline. In contrast to Meli's understated outfit, he wears something more worthy of someone from noble lineage: a black vest with silver embroidery over a shirt and pants of midnight blue in a formal cut, with fine leather boots. There's also a silver chain around his neck that sports a teardrop-shaped ruby. "You look rather...dark, for lack of a better term."

Normally, Meli would be as civil as minimally required upon seeing Gregor Alerio, him being the persistent suitor that he is. Today, however, she finds the encounter a bit of a blessing; she'd meant to seek him out later in the day anyway. "Good morning to you," she responds, setting her fork gently on the edge of her fruit bowl. "I am, in fact, feeling a bit 'dark', if you wish to put it that way." She smiles in a manner that she hopes won't be construed as flirty or anything along those lines. "And perhaps you can help me."

Gregor takes the seat across from her and returns the smile. There's genuine concern in the expression, but also too much obsequiousness in it for Meli's liking. "What do you need?" he asks.

Meli quickly glances around, then lowers her voice. "You're a close relation to the princess, aren't you?"

"A cousin."

"Do you talk with her often?"

"Very. She visits every couple of days. She's very good company."

"How often does the Izuman accompany her?"

"Minayo? You'd think that they were sisters at the hip from the way she hangs around Thea." He snorts. "Though I've heard that Izuman girls are even more loyal than trained dogs, so perhaps I shouldn't be so surprised. I merely wonder why Minayo is so attached to Thea."

"Is there any way you can arrange for me to meet with both of them either later today or at some point tomorrow?"

Gregor gives Meli a quizzical look, thin eyebrows both raised. "What's this all about?" He suddenly grins. "Researching the sort of family you might be marrying into?"

Meli glares at him. "Nothing like that!" she insists, wishing not for the first time that she were the type of person to lash out at someone else for such a presumptuous comment. Not everyone can be like Jenna of the Catalysts, she supposes. "There's something I would like to discuss with her Highness, that's all."

"You can't tell me?"

"Can you arrange the meeting or not?

A cocktail of emotions flit across Gregor's face: annoyance, resignation, curiosity, and then something that wasn't quite sly but something not entirely innocent either. "What do I get out of this?"

"Anything but my hand in marriage or my maidenhead in the bedroom," she responds, her words clicking as sharply as heels on marble. "Be reasonable."

Gregor laughs and shrugs. "Of course, of course." He takes a moment to think. "Very well. I would like to take you to the Ildelia Gardens at some point within the month, before the sunroses wilt."

The Ildelia Gardens are the only part of Solzea Castle that is open to the public on non-festival days. They are a popular attraction for native Valerians and visitors alike, boasting some of the best displays of mundane gardencraft fused with the magick of Venus Psynergy. It's also a favored spots for lovers to make their promises of everlasting devotion, particularly while lost in the labyrinth of sunrose hedges.

Meli gives a measured sigh. "On the condition that you don't try to convince me or coerce me into any sort of contract with you."

He leans back in his seat, the beginnings of a sulk hanging over his head. "Really, must you be so...frigid?"

"I've made it clear that I'm not interested in marrying you, and you've made it clear that you're not interested in being anything less than my husband," Meli says. She doesn't like the turn this is taking; it's a turn that previous conversations have taken before with Gregor and one that serves to ruin her mood for a good couple of hours at least. "We have no common ground at this point. I'm merely being practical about this situation between us."

"What is it that you don't like about me? I'm willing to change if you need me to..."

"Oh, it's not that I don't want to marry you specifically. I simply don't wish to marry at all."

"But you're getting old," Gregor points out. "Twenty-two years of age and no indication of where you'll settle down? It won't be long before you're a winter hen, and no one will want to marry you by that time."

"My parents find no fault with a solitary arrangement for me, which I suppose is the blessing of having multiple siblings to carry on the family heritage. Even so, I won't require much to live on. After finishing my studies here, I can take up residence at the healers' guildhouse, and they would provide me with my daily needs."

Gregor makes a face; he clearly doesn't believe her. "Well, answer me this, then: does taking the oath with the healers' guild have any requirements about celibacy or anything of the sort?"

"No, but..."

"Then you should find a husband. People won't respect you if you don't."

Meli is exasperated beyond belief now. She doesn't have it in her to strike him...but things around her have had a tendency to catch fire whenever she's upset. "And by 'people', do you mean yourself, Gregor?" she snaps, her normally quiet voice even quieter now with restrained anger. "If you can only respect me by virtue of who I'm attached to and not by my deeds or my person, you're not even worth conversing with, never mind marrying." She grabs her bag, gets up, and storms away, leaving the remainder of her breakfast with a bewildered Gregor.

She's almost completely crossed the quad before she realizes what a stupid thing she's done. Idiot! There's no way he's going to talk to Princess Thea after thatPanic stops her in her tracks. She wonders if she should return to attempt reconciliation with Gregor – she needs to be able to talk to the princess. But she's still fuming; she might only make the situation worse. Gregor, too, would not be in a state fit for discussion. Perhaps she could pen an apologetic letter and reassure him that she would still go to Ildelia if he so desired, as long as he did that single favor of her – the only favor she's asked of him in the three years she's known him.

That will have to come later, though. She has a class to attend...and another person to talk to.