STARLIGHT AND LACE, ch.4 - Court

Author's Notes: More story, more world-building, yaaay!...Yeah I know that's not what you guys are here for, but give it a shot! Harder stuff's coming later. And to paraphrase a line from Idiocracy, sometimes it's important to know  WHO's butt it is and WHY it's farting. Or in this case, getting fucked.

Have fun in Southworld, and to like/favorite it on Hentai-Foundry, it can finally be found here!

[story]

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Conversation, whether heated or casual, stopped dead in its tracks when Sina T’i Endon arrived in the main courtroom. Lord Endon slouched in the central throne, several advisors and dignitaries flanking him to better whisper into his ears -- but those whispers became no more when Sina entered.

“My Lady,” Tharis half-choked, his eyes widening as his new wife made her way closer, her steps just poised enough to seem to fit in with the loose group of nobles and traders. “You look... lovely.”

“Thanks,” Sina murmured, before clearing her throat and letting out a more dignified “Thank you, my Lord. The servant you appointed me did an... impressive job, picking it out.” She’d never been more embarrassed and exposed in her life -- well, that wasn’t true. Her actual wedding had been worse in that respect, if only marginally. The feeling of eyes then had made her numb, but today, she felt each individual gaze drinking in her frail figure like she was wearing nothing at all. “Have I missed anything?”

Tharis shook his head, trying to keep his composure and extending his hand to his wife, guiding her to the side of his throne to displace a trade advisor that he’d grown increasingly weary of listening to. The advisor backed away, a passively wretched looking individual of darker hair and lighter skin, though of course no match for the ethereal shade of Sina’s. “Little,” the basileus commented drily, gesturing one white-gloved hand at those who had arrived. “Court meetings are as much a social gathering as a political one. Those with the station to attend take some time before hand to talk and catch up, getting the gossip of every corner of Crannith and beyond, whether vital or trivial.”

The man paused then, looking from the crowd back to his new wife. “I don’t mean to explain too much at once. I understand that you’re new in my country... I’m sure it will take some time to adjust.”

“I understand,” Sina said softly, pressing her legs together and lightly sitting on the arm of the throne, her negligible weight putting no strain on the piece of durable furniture. “Anything else I should know? For when court begi--”

“My, my, my! This -- this! -- must indeed finally be this luscious bride of yours I’ve heard so much about!” The interruption came from a larger man who, even at a glance, appeared a walking contradiction to himself. His build was impressive, soft but clearly muscular under a thin layer of meat, his legs long and his shoulders broad, snugly contained in a brocade, ambiguously-military tunic decorated with bangles that may or may not have been badges. Vibrant red hair mounted on a chiseled, if somewhat exaggerated face wound around his ears and into an outstanding mustache. Numerous unmistakable scars swathed across his face and neck made it seem more likely that he may have been some form of combatant... yet it seemed so impossible once he actually opened his mouth. “Simply stupendous. I must say, my lord, you’ve done well for yourself -- bagging two pheasants with one bullet of your sling, I must say! -- to have united with such a lovely, delicate creature even as you cement an alliance with one of the most feared continental nations. Imprrressive, impressive indeed!”

Tharis paused uncomfortably in the wake of the fiery nobleman’s arrival and subsequent diatribe, clearing his throat slightly before turning to Sina. “My lady, Lord Raddeus Thex. An old friend of my father, and a... generous, contributor to Castle Drathwyn and my -- our -- family.”

“Deeply charmed, Lord Thex,” Sina said softly, nodding her head in the direction of the nobleman, who smiled widely as he reached down to take her hand, kissing the back of it gently.

“Raddeus, my lady. Radd, even! You’re going to make my job quite a bit easier, something tells me -- my my, yes. Now I won’t have to worry so much about gathering alliances as keeping soldiers fed... with the Vay on our side, we’ll be able to conscript every mercenary band this side of the Anda.”

“That’s what you do, then?” Sina tilted her head, glancing quickly to the other arriving dignitaries, paying special note to a very small contingent of other Vay arriving before turning her attention back towards Raddeus. “You draft soldiers and alliances for Crannith?”

The man‘s jovial smile widened, his voice bright and spritely as he answered instantly. Either he‘d gone through this interaction many times in the past (the most likely), or he was truly as devoted as he seemed. “I am merely a humble servant of the basileus, my lady. What he and his advisors tell me to do is what I do my best to undertake. That just happens, of course, to be security of the realm.” He paused briefly, furrowing his brow and then offering a great shrug. “Which, yes, happens to include a great deal of securing soldiers and alliances. But as I said, that’s going to change soon!”

“I can’t wait to see how you manage to please my husband,” Sina said with a sweet smile, a more calculated statement than she cared to admit but one that immediately paid off -- Tharis turned to her with a shocked expression, one so quick that a person may have missed it if they weren’t looking for it. He quickly composed himself, however, assuring himself that her choice of wordplay wasn’t indicative of her knowledge of his secret... how wrong he was.

“And please him, and you, I indeed shall, radiant damsel of the moonlit peoples.” Raddeus took one step backwards before gracing them with a short bow. “But I shan’t take any more of your time. I’m sure there are affairs of court the two of you must attend to. No time to waste indulging in small talk with an old sergeant.”

“Come speak with us anytime, Raddeus,” the Vay bride said with a small smile and nod of her head, watching the red-mustached noble return to mingle with the crowd. Finally, she turned back to her husband. “He seemed nice.”

“You’d be among the few people to say so,” Tharis confessed, watching the man leave before his eyes turned to, like Sina, observe the coming of the Vay diplomats -- likely checking up on the ward they’d left in Castle Drathwyn. Sina hadn’t expected them to arrive anywhere near this early. “Many find his company... discomforting. But from what we can tell, he’s loyal to the crown and does good work. He seems to like you, as well.”

“He does indeed,” Sina said vaguely, her mind churning with thoughts as she waited for the Vay to approach, which they now did. Only one of the small company did she recognize -- El-lon, a man she’d studied with. She hadn’t seen him since he’d left to become Valeguard, but now here he was, likely guarding the actual diplomats.

Tharis’s attention appeared to be fully upon the diplomats themselves, however. The other Vay were, like Sina, wispy, ethereal things -- short, slight, and pale, if not quite so waifish as Sina herself. The lead ambassador was a woman, somewhat wizened though not aged the same way a human of her age would be. “Lord Endon, Lady T’i,” she stated firmly, nodding towards man and wife in turn.

“It’s Lady Endon, actually,” Tharis said quickly, glancing from his exotic bride back to the diplomats who had arrived to check up on her. “Human wives take the names of their husbands.”

The woman in front twisted her lips subtly, an expression so thin that Tharis failed to notice it entirely. Sina, however, did not. “Right. Regardless, we shipped out shortly after Sina left Endwood, to... make sure everything’s going well, between the two of you. I trust that is the case?”

“Everything is well so far, thank you,” Sina interjected, immediately berating herself for it. She didn’t realize until the words left her lips, and the diplomat slowly nodded in acknowledgment, that the arrival of a Vay contingent was exactly what she needed if she wanted to leave this place where she’d already been made so uncomfortable. Whether out of politeness or misplaced loyalty, she kept to her statement. “But it has only been a short time. Surely not long enough to know how everything will pan out?”

“A contingent was sent on your heels to make sure any...” the woman glanced towards Tharis, “...Emergencies, could be dealt with before they grew too distasteful to easily manage. Rest assured, Lady T’i, this shall not be the last contingent sent.”

“I should hope not,” Tharis chimed in, offering that wide, trusting smile of his in an attempt to set the ambassador at ease. It didn’t appear to work. “The Vay people are one with Crannith and its royalty, now. You should be present to make sure all is well with Sina -- I’d expect nothing less, to be honest.”

“...Hrm.” The lead ambassador, who still had yet to introduce herself or any of those who had arrived with her, simply nodded. Offering a short, light bow in Sina’s direction, the aging Vay woman made motion to turn and return to the rest of the gathering. “We’ll be here for a fortnight more, before returning to Endwood. Come and see me -- either of you -- if you have any questions. You may be officially wed, but Vay marriages are more... easily dissolved, than those of the Kaldric.”

The contingent left, then, leaving Tharis and Sina alone for a moment before more affairs of court began to fill the gap they’d left. Husband and wife didn’t share words, neither during the proceedings nor after, when Sina returned alone to her quarters. Noble men and women, Kaldric and otherwise, fawned and gasped at the new Lady Endon’s attire and “delicate” beauty, though her degree of exposure hadn’t felt quite as uncomfortable as she’d originally imagined it would be. If only she had some actual undergarments....

The Estyan maid was nowhere to be seen when Sina returned to her quarters, stripping out of the slip of green fabric Issalana called a dress and tossing it across the back of her desk chair before flopping face-first on the bed. She’d learned almost nothing of court affairs or of the Kaldric culture she would one day share in ruling. She’d learned very little of the unique people and relationships to Tharis and the rest of Crannith. What she had learned, was that she was not completely alone in Castle Drathwyn. There were other Vay here, other Vay who had come specifically to make sure she was safe.

That was enough to help Sina sleep well that night.