It is cold enough that veils and robes have been traded in for a long, fur-lined sweater dress with matching cloak (with hood) and corresponding fur-lined boots. Sabira huddles among the shops in the marketplace, eating hot, spiced almonds as she cranes her neck this way and that way to look through the selection of additional dancing gear, mostly bolts of fabric. Bolts upon bolts. "We should only be forced to buy new costumes in the summer. When it's nice outside..."
     Her sweater dress ensemble is a blend of crimsons and browns -- of fox fur and ermine. Her dainty hands are gloved, and her face, normally veiled, is partially covered by the gathering of her cloak's cowl like hood. Her boots are brown suede, completely lined by red fox fur. Her feet are warm. It's her nose that's freezing!
     "Oh, I like that one, Maddie," Sabira says, pointing to the printed fabric. It is a very fine silk, dyed in a gradient of yellow to orange to red.

     "Hmmm. It is pretty nice," Maddie agrees, giving it a critical look up and down. "I'm not sure how well it'd go with my hair, though." She is wearing a green and blue batik print, which has mostly been smothered beneath white fur.

     Sabira. Fiona is standing somewhere in the Kingdom of the Flowering Tree, high upon a cliff. She is still pregnant, of course. And she is still dressed in her white gown, as she stands in the shadow of a marble statue of an angel with outstretched wings. I do hope you're not too busy, dear, but I'm afraid it's somewhat make or break time. I've sent word to Tanira as well. Could you please bring Madison to me? I've prepared a spell which will open a door here in three minutes.
     She smiles, though the smile is different from the ones her adored grandchildren usually receive. No, this isn't play time. This is business.

     Sabira jerks up her head, her chimes and bangles hanging from her ears clinking. She reaches for Maddie's hand. "My grandma wants to see us," she murmurs. "Here, give me your hand."
     Cardinal songbird wings unfurl, stretching. "Pardon me, excuse me, sorry!" she says as she accidentally bumps into a few shoppers.
     "We can send Jibril to pick up fabrics. He owes me..."

     A blue ball pops into existence several yards ahead of Sabira. "Please clear the vicinity," a politely neutral female voice with a mildly upper class British accent says. "Gateway opening in one minute."
     Some shoppers are caught off guard, but the more experienced with magic (and the royal family in particular) begin hastily to clear people out of the way. The ball, meanwhile, has begun to expand. "Please clear the vicinity. Gateway opening in forty seconds."

     Maddie gives Sabira her hand, looking confused. "Huh? Uh, okay. Is everything okay? We're not overdue for another," twitch, "class, are we?" She spots the ball up ahead, and her confusion only deepens.

     "Oh, god no. Nainie always skipped classes." Smiling to Maddie and pat-pat-patting her hand, she leads her friend toward the blue ball. "I think she watched 'The Wizard of Oz' one too many times..."
     Sabira's wings lift, cupping around you both as she brings you in front of the blue ball.

     The ball chimes softly, and explodes outwards in a radiant blue-white light. When vision is restored, there is a hovering black portal surrounded by shimmering waves of remaining blue-white, about three inches off the ground. "Please mind the gap while crossing," the voice says pleasantly. "Portal closing in forty-five seconds."

     Did nainie tell you what this is about? Tanira inquires somewhat drolly of Sabira. She is somewhere else; she is pursuing a gateway from where she is. And does anyone else think that nainie's been watching too much of our grandfather's sporting matches?

     Maddie shields her eyes. "Oh. Good." She sounds confused, and a little wary. "This thing - it isn't going to bite, is it?"

     "Oh oops," Sabira says with a smile, folding her wings as she walks with Maddie into the radiant blue-white light and into the portal. She sticks a foot in first, that disappears from sight and then says: "I'm melting, I'm melting! And no. You walk in with me, and poof! We are on the other side. You won't even notice it. But, just in case, hold tight. In we go," Sabira whispers to her friend, stepping with her the rest of the way into the dark portal.
     Actually, I haven't a clue. But she seems to mean business. I shudder to think!

     Maddie squeaks as Sabira talks about melting, hanging on very tightly. It's rather like walking into a dimly lit tunnel - and then the lights go out, and there is a wrenching sensation, like a train car putting on an unexpected burst of speed. It only lasts a moment, and then there's another brilliant flash of light.
     The portal chimes obligingly. "Doors closing in ten seconds. Ten. Nine. Eight..."
     The countdown finishes, the ball shrinking rapidly in on itself and winking out like a television going off. Elsewhere, on a rocky ledge behind a really big marble statue, two balls of light expand rapidly, dumping their passengers politely but quickly onto the ledge.
     Fiona calmly takes off her sunglasses as the balls wink out again. "Hello, girls," she says cheerfully to Tanira, Sabira and Maddie. "I do hope you didn't have too much planned for the rest of the day. We're going to be a bit busy. Do any of you need food, drink, or a lav?"

     Tanira brushes off her clothing - she's dressed in a canary yellow and crocus purple sari - and looks to her sister and her brother's lover. "Hello, nainie," she answers with the perfect, if slightly dry composure for which she's become known. "It's lovely to see you, too."

     Sabira hops down and manages to gracefully land and with help of her cardinal wings keeps her balance to help Maddie avoid meeting the turf. She releases Maddie's hand and steeples her together in a prayer pose. "Salaam, nainie. And... ah... no. Class is on break until the coronation. We have our practice for the half-time of the contests but... that is it." She looks to Maddie, peering at her friend. "I think."
     Bundling herself in her furs and wool, Sabira smiles. "I will gladly summon coffee and cocoa..."

     "Excellent," Fiona says briskly. She turns from Maddie's puzzled and somewhat worried face to face away from the cliff's edge (and from the half-naked angel statuary) to contemplate bare rock. "I haven't had to use this place since I built my palace and city, so I'm not entirely sure it's still here. However, if it is, now's the time to use it."

     Maddie looks queryingly to Sabira. "Coffee'd be great, I think. Um. Built it? What is it?" She edges a little closer to her friend, just in case. At least she isn't afraid of heights.

     "Our grandmother built her palace and capitol city in a single day," Tanira explains to Maddie - and to Sabira, if she hasn't heard the story herself, before. "I knew the statue was up here to greet travelers, nainie, but you've never mentioned anything else up here. Why would it have changed, though, if you put it here?" She's actually interested; and that surprises her, slightly. It's so rare these days.

     Ask and it shall be! There is a service of coffee for four now, along with heptagonal tables, exquisitely carved and inlaid with mosaics, and four small stools. Just in case.
     Sabira moves to the table and promptly pours a round for all. The steam of the coffee, fragrant and rich, curls against the chilly air. "Our mother, the Angel Zafirah, knows this angel. His name is Christopher. He is the Sentinel of Dreams," Sabira explains to Maddie. As if any of that makes sense anyway.
     Passing cups of coffee all around, Sabira also looks puzzled. "I didn't know there was anything else up here. And I've been snoopy about it." She smiles to her grandmother. "Nainie, are you going to share your secret?"

     "Hmm? Oh, yes. Secrets. I'll share one or two, but not all of them. A girl's got to maintain some mystique." Fiona smiles at Sabira affectionately, then turns towards the wall. She snaps her fingers; there is a low rumbling as a boulder rolls back and out of the way of what had appeared to be seamless cliff face. "There. After you, ladies. Feel free to bring your coffee. None for me, dear, it'll upset your uncles."

     Maddie is definitely looking as if she's been dropped down the rabbit hole. She grabs her coffee, perhaps grateful for something to hold onto. Okay. This? Is really freakin' weird. I have no idea what's going on anymore...

     Tanira is silent for now. She gracefully takes up her coffee, following her grandmother into the tunnel. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but that doesn't say anything about houris.

     "Excellent," Fiona remarks cheerfully, heading down a flight of carved stairs into what appears to be an almost perfectly round chamber. The walls are smooth and polished like glass, and a waterfall trickles down from the ceiling to splash below. Platforms rise from the floor here and there; she crosses to one, stepping then to the next, moving to the middle. "Now we can begin. I'm sure you're wondering what this is about; I'll be happy to tell you."
     She turns to face the girls, looking at Maddie in particular, smile unchanged. "You see, dear, so far you've done nothing to convince me that Balthazar should be permitted to continue his relationship with you. I've brought you here to see if that is at all likely to change."

     Sabira cups her coffee to her, sipping as she gracefully glides down the stairs, her feet in an Eastern crisscross as she goes. Her wings arch for added balance and she reaches the bottom of the staircase. The coffee service that was left behind reappears at the bottom of the stairs, slightly to the right.
     Her face is serious, even somber as Fiona speaks. It appears to be a pop quiz, she thinks to her friend. Without asking, Sabira sits cross-legged on the floor. She says nothing for the time being.

     I don't know what she wants from me! I hardly know her! Maddie fidgets, looking around. It doesn't help that the doorway out appears to have vanished. "Um. I'm not sure what you have in mind, your - your majesty," she answers carefully, going quite pink and pushing herself away from the other two girls. "But Baz and I love each other. Isn't that enough?"

     "Ooh, wrong answer. Nice try, but I'm afraid, no, it really isn't enough," Fiona answers pleasantly. She snaps her fingers again, conjuring up a throne for herself and plumping herself onto the cushions. "Ah, much better. My feet are far too swollen. Now, look."
     Her look includes her granddaughters, but still focuses primarily on Maddie. "I'm sure you're a very nice girl. I do have my eyes and ears, even in my son's kingdom, you realize! In short, I do keep up. And nice is ... well, nice, but it isn't good, or wise, or skilled, or determined. My grandson has ascended to the throne of the Oak King, the King of Summer and Sun, and that means that he is going to need to marry a queen. Do any of the three of you know why I don't think Madison here is behaving like a queen? Anyone?"

     Tanira looks at her sister and at her brother's lover, then at Fiona. Carefully, she steps away to a neutral ground, equidistant from all parties. "A queen needs to be able to give more than she takes," she answers calmly, expression detached. "She must possess, or be able to create, resources of her own." I'm sorry, sister, but there is no graceful and easy way through this. I will not throw her to the wolves, but neither will I defend her.

     Sabira looks into her coffee as if to scry the dark waves for answers. She hasn't had years to prepare for this. "I speak as her advocate," Sabira offers suddenly, remaining in her seated position. Her violet-brown eyes are deep as the universe. "And as her friend. She has not had months to develop her powers, but merely weeks. I ask Your Majesty's consideration of this."
     That said, Sabira cradles her coffee cup like a cauldron. "But a queen must question. She must think: what more can I become? What more can I do? She must be a match for her king. A partner, an equal partner. She must search out her power for what might be of most benefit to him, through him, for him, and for those she may come to rule."
     She looks to her friend with compassion, and then to her grandmother.

     "Your advocacy is noted," Fiona answers. She manages to somehow seem both grand and sublime with a twist of silliness, the foolish cheer now turned from humor to shrewdness. "As is the point of Time. However, my concerns are less about magic and more about spirit."
     The Queen Mother examines Maddie, and her eyes have gone to ice blue, measuring without pity or condescension. "My concerns are in that you are a very self-centered young woman. You are generous in your own way, but it is not a thoughtful generosity; I see no indication that you give much thought to anything." She holds up a hand. "I don't want to hear protests about how your siblings are 'better' at this than you. I've heard you've used that excuse a few times, and it ends now - but since you do make those comparisons, I will bring them up on my own. I've met all three of you by now."
     She hmms, tapping a finger against her jawline as she regards the girl. "I understand a certain amount of self-absorption. You're seventeen. At seventeen, just about all of us need a good swift boot to the rear, and I was no exception. The difficulty, my dear girl, is that you act as if you have had it 'worse' than your brother and sister; that you've received less parental love, less support, that you've had a harder time of it. Poor little rich girl! The truth is, you've had everything you've wanted handed to you on a silver platter, and the only times that hasn't been true have been when you've wanted things that few sane parents would give to a child without some excellent proof that it's warranted. Oh, I don't say that your parents have always given you the support you needed or wanted, nor that they've treated you all precisely the same. You're different people, for one. But I have observed all three of you, and I have seen what you have and what you have not done since you got here. - Tanira, sit down."

     Tanira, about to open her mouth and speak, gracefully bows and remains silent. She is using her Queen voice, not her grandmother voice. I do not recall the last time she did that. Do you think we'll get out alive? Despite the question, her tone is more of clinical interest than fear.

     "What you have done," Fiona continues, calm as before, "has been to allow other people to steer you - Maria did an excellent job in helping to build up your and Sabira's reputations, but you can take no real credit in that. You had bodyguards, invisible though they were, and every step of it was orchestrated and choreographed by Gruffydd's wife. You chose to join the academy, and you did put effort into that, which is commendable, but apart from that, the only things you've put effort into have been shopping, flirting, and teenaged politics about Balthazar... and at that, it's largely been a matter of handling gossip. That is not enough for me to say that you are showing the potential to be a Queen. If either of you cares to say otherwise, I await your statements."

     Maddie looks as if she's been hit with a cement sledgehammer. Clearly, she wasn't expecting this; just as clearly, she doesn't know how to respond to it. She glowers, folding her arms over her chest tightly. "So what exactly was I supposed to do?" she demands, voice sharp and unhappy. "I'm not from here! I don't know anything about magic! At least I've been meeting people and making friends! It's not like Baz and I're married, and anyway, so he's the Sun King, that's great, but it doesn't exactly come with an instruction manual! From what he's said he doesn't even know what he's supposed to be doing. How am I supposed to know how to help him?"

     While I do agree with her regarding my dear friend, it is a hard thing to have one's universe tilted so. But, to whether we'll get out alive? I'm sure it will be painful but she's not cruel for the sake of it. Such whispers are audible only to her sister. Sabira sips at her coffee, her eyes quiet as a doe's.
     "I will add only, Your Majesty, that Madison has had a lot to learn in a short amount of time. I know you have noted this. But it is not merely to learn a new culture; it is a new paradigm. I will also say that my friend should spend more time discovering her magical abilities. Dance was encouraged to provide a focus. That focus now must become an axis about which you, my friend, begin to open yourself, your experiences outward, to anchor yourself in this universe. You are like a new star come to life, all dust and clouds and fire. But to become a planet, you must find that axis, that strength, that knowledge of self, so you can begin to have a power and a life of your own."
     Sabira pauses, smirking. "Okay, okay, so I spend too much time with my mother," she sighs, realizing just WHO she sounded like just then. She rolls her kohled eyes at her sister, then looks to Madison with compassion in her face. "Speaking as your friend, the one thing I see that I would wish you to improve is pushing yourself. A drive to know who you are, where you are and perhaps even why. Balthazar ... right now... is a sun who does not resolve. He has stopped himself to wait for you, Madison. And he will stay there and wait forever, because that is his nature. He will sacrifice himself and his own growth. That is something he must work on, of course. But he does it out of love and compassion. He will wait for you, but we cannot wait for him to wait for you... I believe that is Nainie's position. I mean, her majesty's position." Sabira glances to her grandmother for clarification, a delicately threaded eyebrow raising.

     "That, in fact, is the point. How are you supposed to be helping him?" Fiona smiles at Sabira, and shakes her head. "It is a part of my position, certainly; however, my concern is not solely for this relationship. It is also a concern for you, Madison." She looks the girl over thoughtfully, tapping her jaw again. "The fact is, you haven't done anything with or about your magic. You've displayed almost no curiosity about it; you've done no research, about it or about this land. You have focused on dance and gossip to the exclusion of anything else. I've known girls like that in my time, and unless you want to be someone's trophy wife, you need to begin to actually work." She pauses, then clarifies. "Someone's trophy wife. Not Balthazar's. If you don't make some very large changes very quickly, I shall state publicly that I cannot support your relationship with my grandson. And while I am not the present High Queen, I am the Queen Mother, and a powerful queen in my own right. There would be some political ripples, to be sure - but I've never yet been afraid of acting when the cause is just."

     Maddie scowls, forcing back tears. She is upset, and angry, and frustrated; flames lick at the ends of her hair, though she remains oblivious to it. "Fine," she answers sullenly. "I'll work on it. I'm not trying to hold him back! What do you want me to do, break up with him?" She really doesn't want to do that. But she has no idea what to do or what to say; she just wants to be out of here. She blinks rapidly, hunching her shoulders and pushing her fists into her armpits.

     Tanira sighs silently. She is just so very young, sister. I really think that is the biggest mistake in this. She is young, and very American in her youth, and I do not see anything which will change that, except time. She draws herself back up to her feet. "It is difficult," she says calmly, quietly, diplomatically, "to be confronted and placed in the middle of a conflict, in particular when you did not know that the conflict existed. A Queen must think of these things, and many other things, Madison. You are not to blame for not having thought of them previously, but it is obvious from what the White Lady, Queen Fiona says, that things must be altered. How would you both propose these changes be made?" She looks between her sister and her grandmother and her brother's lover.

     "Well," Fiona says judiciously, "I think first of all, Madison should move out of the palace and into the dorms. I realize that this will reduce the time they have together," she looks at Maddie, "and that that can be frustrating - but frankly, the time you two spend together is being wasted in romping around in bed. Absence does make the heart grow fonder, and if it doesn't, then it's not going to work out anyway. I will arrange for a few other of the academy's classes to be added to your current course-load. And," she holds up a hand, "there is also the matter of the agreement which you and my grandson both signed up for, which you've been sorely failing to follow through on since you came here. I am going to absolutely insist that it be reinstated immediately."

     I agree, sister. She is so very young and from a Very Young Country that idolizes and all but worships Youth. It is no wonder. I feel greatly for her. It is not her fault that Balthazar robbed her cradle.
     Sabira remains seated, looking at her friend's reaction, her sister's advocacy, and her grandmother's power in meditative glances. "If it would help her, Your Majesty, I volunteer to move into the dorms as well." She glances again to her friend. "But I shall cede to your wishes, naturally."
     Agreement? Good god, what promises did he make to get her here in the first place? Some of this is Balthazar's fault. Can't you spank him, sister? He seems to listen to you...

     Maddie gives Sabira a grateful look, then frowns at Fiona. "Agreement? But I don't..."

     "You agreed to continue your studies via correspondence course, taking any exams via proctor," Fiona answers, looking amused. She remembers blowing off school far too well. She grows more serious. "Only a few days have gone by over there. However, you did promise your grandfather that you would pursue a degree, and while you may have chosen to pursue dance here, that does not answer nor does it remove that responsibility. You and he made a promise; now I expect you to keep it. Both of you need to realize that indulging yourselves comes at a price, and your commitments to others still matter. As to the dorms, Sabira, I leave that choice up to you. However, I am putting an absolute moratorium on any formal arrangements between the two of you until at the very least, you have completed your first full year's worth of college credits." If this encourages her to study like blazes, I will accept that, she tells her granddaughters. If she can find loopholes that allow her to meet my conditions more quickly, then good for her. Then we know that she is thinking, instead of wallowing in self-pity or self-indulgence.

     He beats himself up so much that it's really rather like shooting fish in a barrel. I will speak to him if it seems necessary. I understand what our grandmother is doing, but it is still a bit painful to watch. Still, she has been fairly reasonable so far. I was rather expecting her to throw lightning at Madison's face or the like. Tanira shifts, a trifle restlessly. "I would propose, if I may, Your Majesty, that Madison be granted whatever tutors and access to such resources as will aid her in these matters," she suggests tactfully. "As she will be attending not only her current academy courses but the additional ones you are selecting for her, as well as doing her otherworldly course of study."

     Maddie gives Tanira a cautious but somewhat grateful look, still looking a bit stunned. "Okay, fine, I'll - I'll take extra classes and do the stuff for my granddad, but ... do I have to move into the dorms?" She flinches. "There's a lot of girls who don't like me, and... well..."

     "You'll manage," Fiona says crisply and cheerfully. "If you can't handle a handful of bitchy young women who don't like you, then you'll never manage to be a queen, Madison; certainly not a queen worthy of Balthazar. Just keep your eye on your goal and you will do fine, I am certain. And yes, Tanira," she nods graciously, "whatever resources Madison asks for - within reason - will be provided. I will expect progress reports every two weeks. I also suggest," she looks specifically at Madison and Sabira now, "that the two of you put your heads together to come up with a list of who you wish to be, young lady, and not only who you wish to be, but who, from now on, you wish to be known as. If the little charade Maria arranged has taught you nothing else, then let it teach you this: public and private identities can be very separate things, and what you are known as, and what type of person, is entirely up to you. Try not to go too ludicrously far in inventing your chosen persona, that's all I recommend. Now." She fans herself. "Are there any questions?"

     I thought she was going to throw molotov cocktails at her feet for a moment there. But though she is hard, I understand why she is doing it. It has to happen. Push to shove. But it is hard for Madison. I appreciate you speaking for her as well.
     Sabira rises, the coffee disappearing as she folds her cardinal wings. She bows her head and remains silent. Well, at least to ears. I will help you if and when I may, my friend. Do not despair. You can rise to this challenge if you have the heart and mind to. Her words are soft whispers to her friend's ear.
     "I will ask my seneschals to assist her with the move. How shall this be handled in terms of... our brother? Shall you be speaking with him, Your Majesty? Or should I prepare the asbestos suits for myself or Tanira. Or Madison."

     "I leave it for the three of you to decide how you wish to break the news to him. I don't think he'll be terribly surprised; I informed him I'd be having a word with you, this morning." Fiona struggles to her feet. It is an effort, and it is not the most dignified looking thing in the world, and as she reaches her feet, she looks to Madison again. "Another thing. It is quite likely that as soon as you two do marry, he'll get you pregnant. The pill doesn't work here, and all the men in this family tend to be a little bit baby-crazy. So if you're thinking that this is like modern America and that you can put it off indefinitely - don't."
     She waves a hand, and the blue orbs are back. "Speak your destination, and they'll take you there. Good day, dear girls."

     Maddie looks very subdued, and still on the verge of tears. She nods to Sabira without saying anything, not trusting herself to speak just yet as she blinks back the tears.
     Tanira sighs silently, moving to stand with the other two, now. I will speak to Balthazar if you like, she tells both of them. He is unlikely to set me on fire. And - do not take this too personally, Madison. She would have done this to anyone in your position. She does not add what to her is obvious: that some girls would not have been in this position, in ways both good and ill.

     "Princess Sabira's chamber, of the Royal Basilica please," Sabira speaks, moving ahead. She looks to Tanira and bows her head in thanks. "Thank you, Tanira. You have the delicate touch." She turns to her friend, offering her hand again. Come, friend, we will prepare ourselves for this new adventure...
     Wings out, Sabira becomes like a sentinel herself...

Posted by rowan at January 04, 2010 01:56 PM