Phew, this was a difficult chapter! Had to make sure I got everything in as usual, but so many personalities to juggle left me rather exhausted.

I'd like to apologize real quick for any out of characterness that comes out in this chapter. I know Colleen and Jake really aren't this snotty and Mira is nowhere near the character she portrays in this story in the game. But I needed faces to fit these roles, and so the villagers became puppets of mine. So, MikariStar, I'm afraid the information regarding these characters is often false. Family relations, too. The only characters I'm keeping close to their game counterparts are Julius, Gill, Toby (with a struggle), Hamilton (though he's not suffering from dementia in ToT/AP), and… some later characters you've yet to meet. So, sorry about any confusion. Also, this description of the house Mira owns is completely made-up. Hope you enjoy the story anyways!

Thank you to anybody who's still following along!

Table Philosophy

The house was absolutely exquisite. A growing connoisseur of beauty, Gill let his eyes freely roam the large foyer from the expensive tapestries on the wall to the thick carpets from distant nations under their feet. Gill's hat and coat were more or less taken from him as he followed after the colorful form of Lord Julius. They were led through a whitewashed hallway where pictures of family members stared down at them while a woman in the front chattered aimlessly on. Something about their tardiness and how it was hardly surprising for a party being led by Julius Wotton.

Gill Gray found himself in a richly furnished dining area. The table was long and made of a dark cherry wood with an elaborately stitched tablecloth. Unlit candles rose out of a candelabras mounted on the dark green walls. Dark cabinets filled with foreign and antique china lined the walls around the high-backed chairs. A woman with bright orange hair sat next to her grey-haired husband, both of whom were dressed to the nines. She was looking cheerful as she prattled on, her husband nodding at random intervals. The girl across from them had a light shade of lavender as a hair color that she wore in massive ponytails on either side of her head and she was wearing a frilled white dress. She looked openly bored. That is until Gill stepped in.

"May I introduce my nephew Lord Julius Wotton?" A bell-like voice asked her guests. She was still blocked from Gill's view by the Lord Ramsey.

"I am Lady Colleen and this is my husband Jake," The woman with orange hair and the brightly contrasting green dress introduced with a smile. She swept a hand across the table. "This is the Duchess of Monmouth, Luna."

Julius nodded and did the favor of introducing his uncle and Gill. Already, a girl dressed in serving clothes was setting out a new place for him at the end of the table. The girl named Luna with the lavender hair gave a cat-like smile and patted the seat next to her. "Set Mr. Gray up here. I'd like to know him better."

"Yes, Duchess," The girl bowed, quickly remedying the problem and disappearing as fast as she had come.

Though disappointed that the Lord Julius was distanced from him, Gill took his seat without a word.

Now that everyone was seated, Gill had his first look at the Lady Mira. She was a sad looking woman with many life lines that made him cringe slightly at the thought of his own to come. She was full of laughter, but she was also just as full of comment and when she thought comment was due, she would not hesitate to interfere. Her dark violet hair fell in waves just above her shoulders. She must have been beautiful in her time. She cleared her throat easily, "You walked in at a lovely time, Julius, we were just discussing the cause."

Lady Colleen turned to him energetically, her husband giving a nod whenever she finished a sentence. "Yes, of course! Terrible conditions there are these days. We must do all we can for those who are less fortunate."

"Why, I like to think of it as a civic duty," Lady Mira quickly added, folding her hands in her lap. "One can never do enough for the poor."

"We cannot let our fellow man suffer so," Colleen agreed.

Always surprising Gill, Julius leaned thoughtfully back in his chair and said: "I have no pity for those who suffer. It's an altogether unpleasant, uncomfortable thing. It's self-inflicted and self-deprecating. Suffering is an undeserving state."

To recover first from the shock was Lord Ramsey. "Yes, suffering is unpleasant, Julius. That may be true, but aren't you being a bit… brash?"

"Ignorant," Lady Mira offered. "Ignorant of our poor brothers. For someone of your state of wealth, Julius, I half-expected you to be eager in the opportunity."

"Why, isn't it beneficial to us as well?" Luna put her two cents in. Gill was half-hoping she'd be on Lord Wotton's side, but she proved she was as uninteresting as everyone else. "We may teach and aide at the same time. Not to mention the… The moral obligations of helping the poor, I mean?"

Julius' eyes sparked at the mention of morality, and the Duchess of Monmouth felt she was prey of the beast. "Interesting, Duchess, but I've never been one for forcing reason and help on others. The concept of influence has always been intriguing, but I prefer physical force to mental force. It's a very dangerous thing to toy with."

This seemed to fly over everyone's heads – expect that of Gill, of course. He was completely lost in wonder at the fresh intellect and pure audacity that was Lord Julius. He quite didn't hear Lady Colleen asking his opinion about joining 'the cause.'

Julius took a sip of wine. "Leave the boy alone with all of that."

Lady Colleen squinted at him. "But isn't Mr. Gray quite well-off himself? He could be quite a help to the cause."

"Philosophically, morally, or financially?" Lord Julius asked with a mocking tone, helping himself to an apple from the center piece.

The Duchess looked confused, so Lady Mira gave her arm a pat. "Don't listen to a word the Lord Julius says – he never means a thing."

"And never a thing worth mentioning with meaning have I found among my peers," He smiled wryly, taking a bite and dropping the conversation.

Fed up with Julius, Luna ignored him and turned her attention to Gill. "So, Mr. Gill Gray? You're the mayor's son, correct? Where exactly have you been hiding? I've never heard of you before this evening."

"I…" Gill began, only half-listening to her.

"He's been studying in dark corners with high desks. Moral obligations of society, you know," Julius cut in, having quite a good time poking fun at his dinner companions under their noses.

Luna picked up the parts she wanted to hear. "Oh, so you've been educated? Where? What's the world like, Mr. Gray? Is it as big and full of adventure as they say? Will you be going off again in the future?"

Not taking a quarter of the interest in her as she was showing him, Gill replied: "I'd have to say… I'm rather disappointed with the world. A world of suffering and fading beauty and rotting of things that are good. So, Duchess, I cannot answer you straight. I do not concern myself with the future for I would much rather live in the present while it lasts."

Somehow the Duchess found this wildly attractive and continued to question him for the remainder of the evening. Gill looked across the table at Lord Julius who gave him a slight smile before settling back into his 'approve and disapprove of nothing' attitude. This elated Gill, feeling he was on Julius' good side and so the Duchess of Monmouth was quite forgotten to him.

Food was brought and the guests continued to discuss the world as they dined. Shortly after the meal when the dessert was cleared away and coffee was brought, Julius stood. "Thank you, my good Lady Mira, but I've been in one place for far too long."

"You're leaving? Already?" Lady Mira asked. Lord Ramsey looked quite disappointed. He would be left with these people he was less than fond of, but he made no action to follow Julius out. Julius' aunt looked up sadly. "But where are you off to?"

"The air is crisp and the skies are clear. A walk about sounds best."

Gill suddenly stood, making Luna frown. "I do believe I will join you. Thank you, Lady Mira… for your hospitality."

Julius smiled with a nod to his fellow dinner companions. "Excellent. Fare well or poor, whichever you prefer. We'll be off then!"

Gill Gray followed quickly behind Julius back to the front room where they took their hats and things and left straight away into the night.

As the door closed behind them and their feet found the path to the gate, Gill shrugged his coat onto his shoulders with some difficulty in the dark. He wondered how the Lord Wotton could so easily throw his coat about his arms while he carried that silly cane of his. Julius opened the gate and Gill stepped through first. With a quick look up, Gill saw that Julius was right about the air. It was pleasant outside, really not coat weather, and the stars shined brightly in the blackness. A few wisps of grey cloud passed overhead.

"In a hurry? It seems you've remembered you were to see Toby today," Julius reminded.

Gill had indeed, completely forgotten. "It's far too late for that now. Besides, I would much rather follow you. Yes, I will. If you will talk along the way."

Julius laughed, taking his cane up in his fist and carrying it in the air by his side as he strode along the cobblestones next to Gill. "I believe I've said enough for one night! I prefer to watch the world, but you may watch with me if you choose."

A/N: That last line was a butchered quote of one of my favorite Oscar Wilde lines. "All I want now is to look at life. You may come and look at it with me if you care to." I simply had to include it somehow. Ah, it's so lovely! Honestly, this would probably be the best pick-up line to use on me. 100% effective.

Well, other than to tell you how much I love Mr. Wilde, this author's note at the bottom here was also to explain a slight rift in the chapter. I never mentioned Toby inviting Gill over at any point, but feel free to assume that Toby invites him over often. He really likes Gill, so this isn't a rare occurrence. So… Sorry if you were confused. That was my fault!