Arcaea/Dining Hall/Tea with the Imperial Magistrate
Madelena was bored. Cypreana was terrible company as she was pining after Aerywyn from whom she was temporarily separated. Besides, Madelena had been told of their betrothal and was jealous. She had no idea where Tenal was.
After going down into the dungeons to inspect Vine, she returned to her desk and decided to peruse the list of nobles then living in Arcaea. She noticed that there were a number of new names on the list and one in particular caught her eye: Lady Esme. She could see from the family name that Lady Esme was related to Lady Desiderata and she knew that the latter had been captured by enemy forces.
"Oh she must be feeling terribly lonely. That won't do." Madelena thought to herself.
She wrote a quick note to Lady Esme:
"You are cordially invited to attend afternoon tea in the rooms of the Imperial Magistrate, Lady Madelena Rossini, at four pm sharp. Please r.s.v.p. by return of messenger."
And with that the letter was dispatched forthwith and Madelena waited for the response.
Lady Madelena Rossini Imperial Magistrate of Arcaea
Esme was sitting in her room, looking out the window thinking about her silly cousin Desiderata, when her messenger entered with a letter for her. She read it swiftly, and a smile lit up her face as she realized she was being invited to tea. Four this afternoon? She looked at the clock. She had just enough time to send a messenger and get herself ready. She quickly sketched out a note for the messenger to take.
"My dear Lady Madelena, I would be delighted to join you! This note should be arriving shortly before myself. I hope this is not too short of notice for you!"
She sent the messenger off, an extra coin for him to move just a bit faster than usual. With a large grin she hurried to ready herself. Not too casual, not too fancy. Well, err on the fancy side. It was tea with a fellow lady of course!
She hurried outside and jumped on her horse, Arian, who was already saddled and bridled. She weighed the idea of riding like a man as opposed to side saddle. Well, she was wearing a gown and it was better to keep up appearances. She arranged herself so she was sitting elegantly on her stallion, both legs on one side.
Soon she was at Lady Madelena's residence, and she handed the dapple grey to the stable boy. As Esme approached the front door, she wondered what this would be like. She rapped on the door lightly with her knuckles.
Esme Lisieux (Dame of Remton)
A footman opened the door and ushered Lady Esme into the stunning apartments which were set aside in the Royal Palace for the Imperial Magistrate while she was in Remton. Rich tapestries hung on the walls and beautifully hand crafted furniture housed an array of fine china and silver. Immediately in front was a magnificent double staircase leading up to rooms above. It was to one of these rooms which Lady Esme was lead which Lady Madelena was standing by the fireside. As her guest arrived she turned a smiled.
"Good afternoon Lady Esme. So good of you to call. I am so terribly sorry to hear of your cousin's capture. I have made inquiries and she will not be harmed during her incarceration. I hope that this at least puts your mind at rest. Won't you sit down while I ring the bell for tea?"
At which point she rang the bell and sat down in one of the two chairs by the fire.
Lady Madelena Rossini Imperial Magistrate of Arcaea
Esme smiled gratefully and she took a seat next to Lady Madelena in one of the cozy armchairs. She looked around her, admiring all of the nice furniture. She had never grown up with such luxuries. She turned her attention back to her hostess as Madelena returned from ringing the bell.
A gracious smile slid onto Esme's face again as she thanked her for the invitation.
"Thank you so much. This is really kind and generous of you. And thank you for your assurances. I've been pretty sure that she would be alright. I'm just a little disappointed in her for her lack of judgment when she was captured."
Esme chuckled. After all, Desi was only 17, and teenagers do tend to lack that part of judgment.
Esme Lisieux (Dame of Remton)
