An Alliance To Un-Princess Katarina (and Guests) Interlude
As a matter of practicality, the "Katarina Cannot Possibly Fulfill The Duties Of Queen" Alliance tended to meet at the Hunt Manor. There were many goods reasons for meeting there rather than anywhere else. While Duchess Claes and Keith were the main, founding members, meeting at Claes Manor had never been an option, because there was too much Katarina there, and she would either walk in on them and probably be sad they hadn't invited her, or one of the other members would sneak off to be with her. So no, too distracting. They never met there. The Alliance also couldn't meet at the Ascart Manor, as Nicol was the best friend of The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance, and therefore there was a non-zero chance he might show up to talk. Alan's rooms in the Castle were equally out of the question.
So, it had fallen to Mary Hunt to provide the meeting venue. After all, there was nothing suspicious about Alan going to see his fiancé. And of course Sophia and she were friends, so visiting each other was perfectly natural. And if she bought along her brother, why, there was nothing strange about a young lady having a chaperone. The excuses sort of broke down when Duchess Claes and her son were coming over and giving only the most perfunctory greetings to Lord Hunt, the ostensible master of the manor, and his heir, Lilia Hunt, who was set to replace him as Marchioness when he retired.
And he would retire, because Mary had made it clear she would not be tolerating any of the usual Marchioness nonsense, was that clear all of you, yes Mary.
Thus had the Alliance met in relative secret in the Hunt Manor over the years.
Today was another such meeting. While they took relatively little time to gather, meetings were an irregular affair, as they usually happened in response to developments, with no set schedule. Today, the call had rung out, and as always the members had gathered with alacrity. Everyone showed up quickly for meetings. After all, next time, they might be the one calling the meeting together, and would want the other members showing up just as quickly.
This was the Hunt's ballroom, plush in red and gold, the windows open to let in the light. The light of the sun was reflected by the mirrors around the walls, brightening the place up even further. In the center of the room were several chairs around a circular table, on which were nothing but crystal cups and chilled sweet wine to drink. The chairs were the old fashioned kind, the backs curving out and up to form a deep leathery arch that had, presumably, been designed to keep out drafts but could also give their occupants of their own deep pools of shadow to lurk in, had the place not been so brightly and cheerfully lit.
Normally, only a half-dozen chairs would have been present. However, on this occasion, four more chairs had been added.
"Hear ye, hear ye," Sophia Ascart, who had called them meeting, declared. "I, Lady Sophia Ascart, most definitely not the paledrake it's-not-offensive-when-I-say-it, hereby call this meeting to order!" She banged on the table with a ladle, a reproduction of the feared and most ancient weapon of the Protector Of Firekeepers, said to have been wielded by the Bearer of the Curse him/herself. "Name yourself and be recognized!"
"Duchess Millidiana Claes," the duchess said, lazily flapping her fan. She sat on her chair as if it were the Throne of Want itself, and it seemed to be an effort of will on her part not to turn where she sat into the head of the table.
"Lord Keith Claes," the duke-to-be said, eyebrow twitching, glaring across the table.
"Lady Mary Hunt," their host said, eyes narrowed as an evil smile played on her lips, followed Keith's gaze.
"Why do we keep doing this? None of us are wearing masks and we all know each other," Alan sighed.
"Alan…" Mary growled, not moving her gaze.
Alan sighed again. "Prince Alan Stuart. You all realize I outrank you, right?"
"What's a little anarchy between friends?" Sophia said.
"Lord Nicol Ascart," Nicol said, face serene.
"All are in attendance!" Sophia declared. "Thank you for coming! However, I must apologize, as I have called you here under false pretenses. It was the quickest way. But don't worry, I'll explain."
"Oh, good," Mary said, still glaring. She jabbed a finger. "First, tell us what he's doing here!"
Her finger, like an accusing spear, pointed straight at The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance, on the opposite side of the table from her.
"I must say, this is extremely novel," the Third Prince said, looking amused, as he usually did at new things. "Sophia, I'll have to agree with Mary this time. Doesn't having me present sort of defeat the point of having a meeting somewhere I'm not likely to go visiting?"
"Perhaps if this were a real meeting of the 'Katarina Cannot Possibly Fulfill The Duties Of Queen' Alliance," Sophia nodded.
"Wow. You're saying it to my face and everything," the Third Prince said, studiously trying not to look at the Duchess Claes, who had snapped open her fan and was using it to cover her mouth.
"However, this is not a meeting of the 'Katarina Cannot Possibly Fulfill The Duties Of Queen' Alliance, and you are not here as The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance," Sophia continued.
The Third Prince stared at her. Then he looked at everyone else. "Seriously? Who came up with that name?"
"She just started using it and it sort of stuck," Nicol said apologetically.
"It's a really catchy name," Mary grinned.
"There's nothing catchy about it at all! I demand a shorter name that rolls off the tongue better!"
"Motion denied, this isn't that sort of meeting," Sophia said. She was chairing, after all. "Rather, this is a meeting of… 'Maria Campbell's Friends'." She looked around the table. "If you will deny you are a member of this most honorable organization, then leave now and forever hold your peace as to the events you have witnessed, on pain of Mary doing horrible things to your social standing."
Mary finally broke her glare, glancing towards the door for a moment. She asked herself if Maria Campbell was really any worse than the man across from her. She thought of lost mothers. Mary Hunt stayed seated.
"Ah," Diana Cavendish said, sitting in one of the chairs near The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance. "So that is why I was invited. I had been wondering if this was some sort of strange Student Council reunion."
Matthew Romani, sitting next to her aunt and adopted cousin, also nodded, not breaking her flat stare at The ADVERSARY And Enemy Of The Alliance. "Is something the matter with Dame Maria?"
"Has someone decided that they will 'put her in her place'?" Duchess Claes said. Her eyes were a glare promising evil, her tone the growl of an ancient dragon roused to anger.
"Not that I know of," Sophia said. "No, this is something far more fundamental. A concern that I only became aware of recently, when we attended Lady Selena's party." She coughed. "Who I will add was invited to this meeting, but sent her regrets. I'll update her myself at a later date." Sophia took a deep breath. "Maria doesn't know how to talk to people."
There was silence.
"Sophia, have you been reading a weird book lately?" Mary said.
"I'm serious," Sophia said. "And please, no jokes about the old Student Council President. Maria is only capable of talking to people about things related to work. Think about it. Has she ever talked to you about your hobbies? Or better, her hobbies? Knight stuff doesn't count, as she's a knight and therefore that's work stuff."
Everyone fell silent as they all considered Sophia's words, parsing through their memories.
"The student council play was work…" Diana mused. "And when we exchange letters, it's… mostly about the status of her estate or the status of the student council…"
"Black powder was with the intent of making money," Alan said. "If that's not work…"
"Our meetings have always been about common interests that she felt duty-bound to inform me of…" Duchess Claes said.
"The closest I can remember was that time she flirted with Sophia," Keith said. "And that was after she asked Katarina what she'd do after the Academy."
"Wait, what?" Sophia blinked. "I think I'd remember Maria flirting with me!"
"No, I remember that one," the Third Prince said. "Didn't she call you 'a classical beauty with aesthetic symmetry and wonderful skin tone' and 'an ethereal, otherworldly goddess seemingly bathed in perpetual moonlight'?"
Sophia blushed as she suddenly recalled those words exactly. "Hex you and your stupidly accurate memory!" she cried, covering her face with her hands.
"Should have said something when you had a chance, since she's engaged now," Alan said with a smirk.
Shaking, Sophia looked up, face still red. "Not relevant! B-besides that, can anyone else remember Maria talking about things that isn't work?"
"The sleepover at the castle?" Diana ventured. "Though she was very… um…"
"Maria?" Mary suggested.
Diana sighed, truly unable to think of a better descriptor. "We all gave our opinions on… certain things. I forget the questions. But as I recall, Maria barely participated beyond giving direct answers to questions."
Everyone glanced around. Finally, they settled on the last person present, who had yet to speak.
Clad in her maid uniform, Anne Shelley sat silently and with well-hidden nervousness on the last chair.
"Anne?" Sophia said. "Do you have anything add?"
Slowly, the woman shook her head. "I'm afraid cannot think of anything, but that is mostly because Maria has a… very extensive view of what she regards as her duty," she said. "Protecting the women and children in her manor is her duty. Taking care of the people in her lands is her duty. Training Lady Katarina is her duty. Protecting her mother, caring for her, and being prepared to impart violent, bloody death should anyone try to harm Alice is her duty. While she enjoys baking, she does it because it brings happiness to the children, which she would regard as part of her duties, because it has been arranged with the student council, or because as a host she has a duty to entertain her guests."
"Doesn't she have hobbies?" Mary asked.
"As her friends, shouldn't we know that?" Sophia said quietly.
"In my observations, Maria does not have hobbies," Anne said quietly. "She has duties, some of which she happens to enjoy performing." She tilted her head. "The closest she has to a hobby, something she does with intention of enjoyment, would be…"
Everyone leaned forward to hear.
"Trying to entice her fiancé to, and I quote, 'Ravish her'," Anne said, making everyone twitch. "And even then, I cannot claim that she is not doing it because she believes it is her duty as his betrothed. Certainly, there are some men who would see it so."
"Why is everyone glaring at me?" the Third Prince said.
"You know why," Duchess Claes said, her eyes glittering with evil. With her fan still up, no one saw her evil smile.
"I have done nothing wrong, this is uncalled for besmirching of my good name," the Third Prince said. "And this isn't about me, it's about Maria. Can we please focus?"
Duchess Claes looked away. "A good point, your highness. You're right, this isn't the time. So… what do we do?"
Silence fell around the table.
"I don't know," Sophia said quietly. "But she's our friend, right?" She looked around. "For some of us, she's the only one we can consider a friend with no complications, hidden agendas or anything like that. Sure, she's frustrating sometimes… but she doesn't do it because she's moving against us. She's just doing something that turns out to be inconvenient for us. If we asked for her help, she'd give it, as long as it's nothing stupid." She paused. "And maybe even if it is something stupid, if she didn't think it interfered with her duties."
"Normally, this is where Katarina would solve the problem by being Katarina," Alan said wryly, eliciting chuckles. "But we've already seen how that turns out. She decided it was her duty to teach Katarina to behave properly. Or at least be better at faking it in public."
Another silence.
"Is it really so bad?" Diana said quietly.
"In my experience," Duchess Claes said slowly. "One who throws themselves so strongly into their duties is doing so because they're trying to forget something. Something that won't leave their mind. Something that haunts them, and only putting their full effort into something almost constantly lets them function."
Mary thought of her father after her mother's death, so preoccupied with work he ignored his daughters, her daughter's pain…
Sophia thought of how she had come to like books, to escape this world into another, where no one called her scary or creepy…
The Third Prince thought of why he'd fallen in love with Katarina Claes.
"Maria told me she was alone before she became part of the student council," Sophia said quietly. "I remember what that sort of loneliness can do." Her brother reached out to hold her hand. For once, the word 'lewd' didn't whisper through her mind.
"You latch on to the first thing that drives that loneliness back," Mary said, just as quiet.
"You want it in your life always," the Third Prince said, looking down at the table.
"Stay with them, even if it hurts because you misunderstood something," Duchess Claes said.
Nicol nodded.
Keith, about to add his own rumination, blinked as he realized something. "Wait. Are we all coming to the conclusion that the reason Maria is so duty-obsessed is because working in the Student Council has the first time she's socialized in years, and thinks being dutiful means she won't be alone anymore?"
Everyone blinked in surprise, even Diana and Matthew who were wondering what everyone was being so dramatic about.
"I want to say no… but it's Maria, so it's starting to make a weird sort of sense…" Alan said. He tilted his head. "All of us not showing up to the Student Council when Katarina fell into a coma and left her alone with—er," he glanced towards Diana, who raised an eyebrow at him. "Sorry Diana, secret stuff. But yeah, I can see how Maria might have come to the conclusion that doing her duty is what led to her finding happiness. She might not be consciously aware of it, but the conditioning could be there… "
"Not helped by the fact that objectively, her life has been getting better because she's been doing her duty, taking on more duties, and accomplishing them," the Third Prince said.
"So… the reason Maria can only talk about work is because the work she's been doing has been what's been leading her to be happy?" Sophia said, a complicated, confused look on her face.
"We shouldn't just assume that's the case," Matthew interjected. "While it sounds right… it would be best if we just ask Maria herself. At the very least, we can explain your reasoning for her to consider and make her own conclusions about."
"What… just talk about problems face to face? With words? Just like that?" Mary said, shocked. "What kind of twisted person does something like that, instead of being circumspect, subtle, probing and dropping hints?"
"Katarina," Duchess Claes said bluntly.
Silence.
"I'm not sure that counts?" Mary said, already blushing as she realized she'd inadvertently insulted the woman she loved. "I mean, Lady Katarina is Lady Katarina… she defies all common sense!"
"Maria defies a lot of common sense herself," Diana said. "To solve a problem that lacks common sense, we should try something outside of common sense." She frowned. "Wait, why isn't Lady Katarina here? Isn't she Lady Maria's friend as well?"
"Squire training," Matthew said. "She can't come. Also, I don't think we've been introduced yet. Dame Matthew Romani, at your service." She made a seated bow.
"Lady Head Clerk Diana Cavendish, President of the Academy Student Council," Diana replied, bowing in return.
"Oh! Can I talk to you after this? I have a sister going to the Academy next year… "
"So…" Sophia said, sounding incredulous, "are we actually coming to the conclusion that the best way to help Maria with being able to only talk about work is to go up to her and… just start talking?"
"It's probably not that simple," the Third Prince mused. "We would also have to introduce the idea to her that it is possible to find happiness without following your duty." He had a strange look on his face. "As a member of the royal family, I'm not sure I want to encourage that kind of thinking, especially in Maria Campbell. That path leads to crazy Marchionesses. As her friend… I'm not sure she'd even understand the concept."
"Then we'll have to explain it to her," Nicol said, as if it was the most natural thing in the world. A small smile twitched on his lips. "We'll tell her it's part of our duties as her friends."
Sophia blinked. "Duties as her friends… That's it! You're a genius, big brother!" She put both hands on the table and leaned forward. Her grin was so like Katarina's Mary found herself vaguely aroused. "She's our friend, but we're her friends too!" She paused. "And we have to talk about that next, but this first. If we have a duty to her as her friend, than she has a duty to us as our friend. We just have to show her how you're supposed to go about fulfilling it!"
"One problem," Diana said blandly. "You all tend to be horrible at being friends to each other, in my experience."
Sophia deflated as everyone who wasn't a duchess, knight, maid or had given their name to a banana bowed their heads in shameful acknowledgment. True, they were friends… but given the circumstances, weren't very good at it.
"I can help there," Matthew said. "If you all think you might be bad examples of being friends with each other, then why not be friends with me? I'm always happy to have more friends. And as a knight senior to Dame Maria, it's my duty to help her fill gaps in her skillset in out eternal journey to git gud." She smiled at nearly everyone at the table.
Nearly everyone.
"I'll see what I can do," Diana said hesitantly. "I think I can find the time to visit Maria's manor…"
"Ooh, tell me when, we'll go together," Sophia said. "Literally go together. Maria's very stringent about letting people into her estate because of spies, and I'm not sure you'll be on the list." She blinked. "Actually, why haven't you visited before?"
Diana shuffled nervously. "Student council work…" she mumbled.
"That's fair," Alan said. "Maria nearly exhausted herself doing everything last year before she got her steward, remember? And she had Light Magic to deal with it. Expecting you to have as much energy is just too much."
Diana gratefully accepted the out being offered. "Regardless, perhaps I should visit her soon."
"Why not today?" Sophia offered. "I'm going that way anyway, we can go together and I can get you through the gate."
Diana nodded. "I would be grateful, Lady Sophia."
"We should all go," Duchess Claes said, surprising everyone. "It's about time I went to Lady Maria to pay my respects. And if she is busy, we can simply leave."
"Maria is, by definition, always busy," Sophia said. "So yes, any time is as good as any other."
"I suppose we're all here already," the Third Prince said. "Let's all remind her she has friends."
Katarina Claes stared at the knight—no, the nervous young woman in front of her. "Um, could you please repeat that? Er, Dame Campbell? I'm not sure I heard right."
"Lady Katarina," Maria said, and Katarina ruthlessly—or at least as ruthlessly as she knew how, which wasn't very ruthless—stifled the happiness at being on good friend terms again, instead of student and teacher, "what do you talk about with your friends?"