Arcaea/Dining Hall/Reactions to Gerda's Great Gamble
His Grace, the Duke Goffrey Massey of Nocaneb wishes to announce his marriage to the Lady Gerda Analise Rebane, formerly of Aureus on the East Continent, which, due to the current hostilities, took place quietly in Nocaneb last week.
Duke Goffrey is pleased to introduce Arcaea to his bride, Her Grace, the Duchess Gerda Analise Massey of Nocaneb.
Lady Edara Kindon Duchess of Talex
As Jenred sat, enjoying the unusual lack of activity and using it to catch up on some reading, a messenger came in with...A wedding announcement? From Goffrey of all people? Well...Would have thought to be invited...Who's the lucky...
Jenred screamed.
Sir Jenred Bedwyr King of Arcaea
Edara was agonizing over the reports from the warehouses when the message came in.
“Empty! How can they be empty?”
How could she have failed so badly so quickly? She had never worried about the food in Nocaneb…the Imperial Chancellor had everything flowing in and out. Gods…she hadn’t been paying attention…so busy playing at being Duchess. Her people would starve…and Jenred would be so disappointed in her.
She glanced at the message, relieved to have something to take her mind off of her failure...
Goffrey…married? To…mother? How could her mother have gotten married without telling her…and to…Goffrey?
Edara put her head in her hands. She couldn’t understand this at all, but she would have to worry about it later. Right now she needed to figure out how to get some food into her city. At least…mother wasn’t here to see her fall on her face…that was something.
Lady Edara Kindon Duchess of Talex
Goffrey looked up from his where he was discussing tactics with Eugen, a slightly confused look on his face.
“What is it Ma’Lord,” Eugen said in a concerned voice.
“I just got the strangest feeling...and I could have sworn...did you hear a man screaming just now....” said Goffrey as he looked back at Eugen.
“New Message for you Ma’Lord,” said Goffrey’s scribe, cutting Eugen off before he could respond...
Needless to say Goffrey was terribly confused at how he was able to send any such message out when he had been fighting Ethialans for the better half of a week now...
After an hour of puzzling, he finally decided to shrug it off as one of those things he did, and then forgot about doing later. Those seemed to be happening a lot lately, like the small increments of money that kept disappearing from his purse every now and again.
He was still trying to figure out who could have authorized the purchase of all those new dresses in his name when a messenger walked in, informing Goffrey that Jenred had need of his counsel.
Goffrey hurried off to the palace, the urgency of the note adding a panic level to his step. He arrived at the front gates, with the guards waving the young duke in, ushering himself into the throne room where Jenred waited him.
“Jenred, I got your message, what’s the emergency...”
Goffrey Massey Duke of Nocaneb
Jenred leapt off the throne, dismissing the servants and guards with a violent jerk of his hand.
"GOFFREY!?!? What in all the hells are you doing marrying Gerda in the name of all the gods WHY?!?!?"
He panted, in complete shock and uncharacteristically incoherent, looking at Goffrey with wild and bright eyes.
Sir Jenred Bedwyr King of Arcaea
Harmony was breakfasting quietly with her father in a private room at The Hawk and Phoenix in Remton. She wasn’t sure if they would be moving out or if she would spend another day training with her men and waiting. It was nice that father was here, though. He had spent several weeks in Talex with Edara and was making his way back home to Nocaneb.
Dougal was casually flipping through his correspondence when he made a choking sound.
“Father! What is it? Are you alright?” Harmony lept up from her seat and dashed to his side. His face was an alarming shade of purple and he was shaking all over.
“Are you choking?” She began thumping on his back.
“Read...this...read...it!” He gasped, waving away her attentions.
She looked at her father with exasperation, “Jenkins!” she called out.
“Milady?” Her secretary popped his head in the door.
“Read this and tell me why my father is having an apoplectic fit.”
Jenkins read the short message to her and Harmony began to curse.
“Oh, that poor little lamb! I can’t believe that witch got her clutches into Goffrey...well...dammit...I can...he’s so...naive...but... Blast it! If I’d any idea, I would have sicked Jenred on her...Many a good hanging prevents a bad marriage.*”
Dougal nodded, his face still mottled with rage.
“I should have killed her years ago.”
- Our lovely Bard Will
Lady Harmony Kindon (Dame of Nocaneb)
Goffrey blinked once, then for good measure blinked twice at Jenred’s outburst.
“Oh...,” he said, scratching his head nervously and suddenly finding the floor very interesting,”...I see you read that notice didn’t you...”
Embarrassed Goffrey looked up from the floor into Jenred’s blazingly wild eyes, “I was gonna tell you....eventually...son in law...”
Goffrey said the last part with a nervous sheepish smile in place, before it was washed away by another though...
“I didn’t do anything wrong...did I...,” Goffrey asked, genuine concern in his voice, silently hoping that he hadn’t screw up a relationship...again....
Goffrey Massey Duke of Nocaneb
Jenred took in a deep breath. Then another. He compulsively pulled his hair behind his ears.
"Goffrey. I love you like a brother. I have stood by you, and you by me and mine, through far too many years for us to be anything else. So when I say to you that Gerda is a snake, you must believe me. She willingly sent Edara off, almost uneducated, to Arcaea when we were at our worst. Her own daughter to the middle of the most one-sided war in the history of the Far East. On the losing side. And when I killed that bastard stepfather of Edara's, she barely blinked, and agreed to work with me to get through the wedding, leave, and never ever return. She cared nothing for her last husband. And she tried to have Edara killed. Have you met Dougal? Harmony's father? Good man. He has mentioned before that he wishes he'd killed Gerda before. Idelle, Edara's head of the house? The one who more or less raised Edara? She agrees that Gerda should be dead. The only reason I haven't dealt with her is that Edara still loves her mother, and would be heartbroken if she died."
He grabbed Goffrey by the shoulders.
"Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Sir Jenred Bedwyr King of Arcaea
