Tea for Two (Cassie)

[Vĩnh Lý]

The light mechanical clicking of heels and pointed toes resounded in the hallways of the high palace as the echoing noise picked up, it clearly expected itself somewhere and had a schedule to keep, though this schedule was somewhat a self appointed one. A distance from his normal, needle-esque silhouette, the thin and elegant creases in his clothing tapered upwards rapidly into a tumorous growth comprised of more things than a faerie should, by all rights, be able to carry. A large silver platter held an entire tea set, with not one but five central teapots, each brimming over with a different selection. Similarly arrayed was a sizable selection of incense next to a flickering oil lamp, including a long utensil tipped with a wick by which the bearer could light the incense if they so pleased. The incense holder itself was of jade, and depicted a languid female figure with aquatic features, her open hand waiting for a stick of incense that it was designed to hold like a spear, reminiscent of Athena. As the incense selection had each of its scents available in both stick and powder form, there was yet another ornate bowl depicting the writings of undersea fae through a school of sea creatures in a relief on its side, a charcoal disk in the miniature cloister at its top. Alongside this was a stack of fine paper, bound with a black ribbon, an inkwell filled with squid ink, and an unwieldy quill formed from a peacock’s feather. Alongside these was a stack of old books on a variety of relevant subjects, extending a concerning height into the air.



Jin-Hwa seemed glad to be rid of him, and helping Cassandra was also in her interest, though if the princess expected she would be freer once out of his sight, she was gravely mistaken, after all, there was no entrapment that she experienced that was provided by anything but her own blood. Most people had this sort of problem, but they all shared the time to garner a better understanding of the problem as well. Cassandra had recently killed a most ferocious beast, and while it had served as a sort of initiation for her, she was not yet well adjusted to her abilities as far as Vĩnh could tell. The advice he’d given the princess on the surf was woefully sparse, and soon after the incident, he’d compiled some elementary material that could serve her as a better foundation, if she read it all. It was a bit much.  He had other business to attend to of course, but Jin-Hwa had requested he assist Cassandra, so he happily obeyed, though he wasn't sure if the decision was Jin-Hwa's, or if Cassandra was the one who had requested his service.

Somehow comfortably strolling along beneath his immense load of baggage, Vĩnh approached the door with a light step, and, miraculously, extracted his left hand from his burden, and, even more miraculously, kept the whole amalgam both level and completely stable. A crisp knock like a fresh breeze, with an almost melodic rhythm to it. Hopefully he wouldn’t bother her too much, he didn’t know if she was expecting him.

tags- Cassie Eloise Enigma

[Cassie Eloise Enigma]

    Cassie stood at her closet, doors thrown wide open. Her room was a mess. There were books and sheets of parchment strewn over her bed, which she had carefully pored over, grateful for something to do. Jin-hwa’s skivvy little butler had delivered them, urging her to read them and then rushing off. It’s not like there was anything else to do in the palace. She couldn’t go out, couldn’t go find some guard to play with. They would probably behead for it, under the Belladonna Queen’s orders. She sighed and ran her fingers over the shimmering fabrics in her closet. She had been planning on packing some bags, in case of an emergency, for a while now. What better time to start than now? She was confronted by a slew of dresses, each varying in their levels of gossamer frill. She pulled one out, glinting pearly white in her low bedroom lights. This was the dress she’d worn when she met Kallias. She tossed the thing onto her bed. Barely anything had conspired between them and yet she still found herself thinking of his dimpled smile, the way he’d watched her so carefully.

    She shook her head and kept looking through the racks. All of her dresses were so impractical. Didn’t she have something that would be easier to flee in? Winter was approaching, and there were a few fur-lined options she had carefully put away in her wardrobe. Cassie bent and picked up a few pairs of simple boots, tossing them onto the ground behind her. She rose, placing her hands on her hips. This was harder than she’d expected it to be. A knock sounded behind her, and she glanced at the door. Every time someone came to summon her, she wondered whether it would be the time of her sentencing. She hastily shoved the fur dresses, along with some other, more simple dresses, into a bag with the boots and kicked it under her bed. “Coming!” she called, forcing her voice to be chipper, unsuspecting.

    Cassie found herself opening the door, beginning to pull glamours from the air around her, beginning to build up her defenses. The door opened, revealing— “Vĩnh?” she questioned, the glamorous dropping immediately. “What are you doing here?” The man was carrying quite a stack of… things. “Here, let me help you.” She extended a hand, taking a tray holding what appeared to be a tea set and setting it on her vanity. She rushed back over, ushering him in quickly and closing the door. The scent of peppermint and bergamot filled the room, wafting off one of the trays. She turned back to the butler, who was busying himself with his belongings. “Did Jin-hwa send you?” she demanded. “I bet she did. I bet she told you to send me all those books and information.” she scoffed. “I don’t need to be coddled. I thought she knew that.”

TAGS: Vĩnh Lý
Mentioned: Jin-Hwa Mei
OUTFIT

★fai

That's the thing about illicit affairs and clandestine meetings

[Vĩnh Lý]

Vĩnh promptly began arranging what was left of his burden with a surprising dexterity. Generally it would be somewhat rude to place such a mountain of things in another persons space, but some of his things had just been placed by his gracious host on the vanity, and Vĩnh was capable of picking up his many curios as fast as they could be put down.



“Good evening Princess Enigma. I am glad to see a friend of my mistress in such good health!”



Vĩnh’s eyes flicked about the room as he stood at attention.



“I see you’ve busied yourself with your reading material? Quite commendable. If you feel you’ve gleaned from these texts what you would like to understand of undersea hereditary magics, then there are further texts available to you.”



Vĩnh gestured to one of his many accoutrements, a stack of yet more books.



“Would you like some tea? some incense burned? I have a wide variety.”



Preemptively, Vĩnh moved the teapot to an appropriate place and picked out two cups, before closing his eyes and placing a forefinger against his lips, the water in the teapot shooting almost instantly to an even boil. If she accepted he would pour her tea, before his own, if not, he would simply pour his own choice. Vĩnh enjoyed substances created through thermal extraction of essence. It was a reminder of one of his many small privileges, his precise control over the extraction. He could measure taste to near a pinpoint if his finger touched the water, but Vĩnh understood there was a discomfort associated with drinking something someone else had touched, even if it was by his clinically sterile hand.



“Princess Jin-Hwa Mei did send me, though I must admit, I was under the impression that you may have asked her to. Either way, I can assure you neither her intent nor mine is to coddle. Perhaps she wanted to be rid of me for a time. A lot is on her mind at the moment.”



Vĩnh smiled amicably.



“Whatever the case, it remains recommendable to avail yourself of all of your resources. Such behavior is necessary, even in the opening days of peacetime. This being said, have you had any notable experiences with your reading material? Have you attempted any exercises? We remain unsure of your precise court lineage, but don’t let that stop you from exploring the magics of all five seas if you find them tantalizing. I’ve always believed that, to some minor extent, the magics are learned as well as hereditary. Exploration will help you find your strong suits.”

tags- Cassie Eloise Enigma

[Cassie Eloise Enigma]

    Princess Enigma. The title startled Cassie, in a way it hadn’t done for years. Vĩnh addressed her properly, and suddenly she was eight again, having to teach herself to wield the authority that that title gave her, having to hide herself because of it. Being called princess had always been a slap in the face, a reminder of how much had been taken from her when she’d been brought here, and how much she would never be able to gain because of it. If Queen Guinivere stripped her of her title, would it really matter? She was broken out of her thoughts by Vĩnh, buzzing around the room, tidying her things, speaking so quickly she wondered how he wasn’t tripping over his words. He reminded her of the pixies that came in to clean. Their wings buzzed and their voices chittered, doing their work much more quickly than any faerie or mortal ever could. She had half a mind to ask him if he was part pixie, but he might have taken offense to that.

    “Oh, the texts were quite insightful. I would much appreciate it if I could borrow those other books. I’ve learned quite a lot from them. Much that I don’t think I understand, but perhaps you could help with that?” Cassie was surprised at how quickly she was still able to snap back into her courtly attitude. She’d been isolated for quite some time now, and certainly that had taken a toll on her conversational skills. Fortunately, she was still passable. “I would love some tea. Peppermint, if you have it?” She did not respond about the incense though. It made her nauseous. She settled herself on the settee in front of her bed arranging the frills of her skirts properly, and drawing her thin robe tightly around her. “You thought I asked for you?” That was odd. “No that can’t be right.” she murmured, shaking her head slightly.

    “I understood that what happened at the Hunt was the reason for your visit today. As well as the reason for your sending me these texts to study.” She wouldn’t pretend to understand what Jin-hwa was playing at, but she trusted her friend in this. She observed Vĩnh carefully, clinically almost. He was a third party in this situation, one that she could not find herself to trust, despite almost being an extension of Jin-hwa herself. “I’ve tried to replicate what I experienced, but with no luck. I still feel an odd connection to water, something I’ve only been feeling since ater the Hunt.” It wasn’t like the feeling she’d had standing at the edge of the water, there had been currents, and they had felt tangible, like she could reach out and touch them, change them. And she had. But ever since that day she hadn’t gone to the sea, only tried with the water in her bath, in her teacups. Nothing had worked. She had felt that there was some level of control over the water, some connection she felt with it. But nothing like what it had been on the day of the Hunt.

    She glanced back up at his mention of her lineage. “About that, I found something that may determine more about my ‘courtly lineage’.” Cassie rose from the settee, silk skirts whispering around her legs. She shuffled through the assorted pieces of parchment on her bed looking for the one she had marked. “Here.” It was written much more simply than anything of the other texts she’d pored over. Nothing more than a brief overview of the Undersea’s Courts, not even double sided. She made her way over to Vĩnh, still busy with the tea. Extending the paper, so he could see, she pointed to the line she wanted to show him. “Here, look what it says. ‘The Undersea fae are distinguished by their magical abilities. Each ability pertains to the court that a faerie is from.’” She paused, scanning the parchment for another line, further down. “‘Fae from the Coral Sea specialize in currents.’ I had control over the current that day.”

TAGS: Vĩnh Lý
OUTFIT

★fai

That's the thing about illicit affairs and clandestine meetings

[Vĩnh Lý]

Vĩnh poured the tea in the traditional fashion, his free hand moving beneath his arm to hold back the sleeve of a robe that was not there. It was the sort of ceremonial gesture that birthed habit from practice. Peppermint for Cassandra Enigma. A peach-esque flower blend for himself. He did not partake, in the same way he had not poured his tea before she had received hers.



“The books were selected for this purpose.” He murmured, softly referring to the princess’ stated desire to hold on to them for a bit longer. “They belong to you, if you wish it.”



He walked to her, placing the tea on a bedside table before looking up as he again backed away to what seemed to be a sort of carefully crafted shrine to politesse. Every item he’d brought was within his reach, yet not a single one of them was placed anywhere particularly intrusive to the princess’ things, save the tray she’d set on the vanity for him. At the same time, he was able to access all of them from a position at an acceptable distance from a higher born, and able to draw closer and retreat to give these things to her with a fluid, clinical sort of ease. The single outlier being well within his prim little ecclesia suggested that he had improvised most of the system to account for, and include it, instead of performing the indignity of moving something set down by a princess, a taboo that would have been committed by a lesser servant in a desperate bid to maintain textbook protocol.



“Certainly. Any questions you have about the material, I will answer to the best of my ability.”



As the princess hesitantly laid bare her experiences, he replaced his forefinger on his lip, a clearly pensive movement, despite the thin delineation between it and the incredibly rude gesture of silence, one that, when given to an undersea princess, requested death, or perhaps severe mauling.



“I see. May I be so bold to assume you have made these attempts on water within the high court? You do not suffer this difficulty in solitude for, likely, two reasons. Firstly, magic is a form directed by the mind, just as your body. With magic however, you stretch beyond the bounds of your physical form, and the borders of your action become blurred. You may be connected to the water, but if you had little familiarity with, say, your own hand, it would be quite difficult to operate, yes? I say all this because similarly, magic and body are dictated by belief. You performed magic upon the current of the sea, but in your minds eye, do you view it as water? Or as the sea? when you look at your tea, do you see water? Or Tea? the latter, In both cases, serves to throw up a barrier in that you unconsciously differentiate the two, and perhaps even consciously fear as a consequence, that the results of your attempts will be different.”



He paused for a moment, allowing her to absorb this information. Though fae magic was often transformed into formulae and lengthy lectures, the basic essence of it was intuitive. This was a quality that made it very difficult to completely grasp. Even fae with centuries of experience would stall in their development, incapable of escaping their own preconceived notions.



“The second reason is a bit more straightforward. The magic you wield originates in the undersea. Not only is it more intimately connected to primal forces such as the ocean itself, But the seas have played host to millennia of undersea fae. It’s not particularly surprising that an environment both deeply connected to your bloodline, as well as having been manipulated and charged by the magics of that very same blood for centuries, is more pliable to your will.”



He set down a pause in his schooling again, before reassuring her, “You are new to your capabilities, and in a land far from their home. It is perfectly natural to be a bit unsure at such an early stage. As a matter of fact, your use of them on the hunt was quite commendable for a new learner. I began my magical studies struggling to heat a cup of tea a few degrees above room temperature.”



The princess suddenly called his attention to an observation she’d made, showing him an outline of the court lineages.



“How insightful!”



He said this as genuine praise, though it seemed as though he had already surmised this, and simply intended for her to find it herself.



“Yes, that would seem likely, though as I’ve said, there’s plenty of wisdom in the minutia of the various courts, and you certainly have the talent to explore other forms. For now though, it is, as you say, wise to focus on your strengths.”



At their mutual confusion of his presence, however, an amicable line stretched across his face, a perfect and unassuming line so delicate it called to mind the paint on an ivory theatre mask.



“Ah, how strange!”



The features cut into his paper face did not change, but something uncanny arose in an empty space behind them.



“While I’m here then, please, let me know if there’s anything else you’d like me to assist you with. I am at your disposal.”



Nothing had changed. Nothing at all. There was, yet, a strangely faustian air that hovered before Vĩnh’s gentle smile.

tags- Cassie Eloise Enigma,

[Cassie Eloise Enigma]

    Cassie became uncomfortably aware of the shift in Vĩnh’s tone. She sensed she was on to something, but he would not divulge anything until she probed further. If Jin-hwa had sent him to tell her something, why not tell her flat out? Why send her down a trail of parchment and ink, and make her come to conclusions herself? She took a sip of her tea, thinking quickly. She had had quite a boring day, but her mind was now racing, thankful for an escape. The teacup clinked back down onto the nightstand. Vĩnh had always been a little bit strange, from Cassie’s perspective. But now, she felt that there was an odd undercurrent to the way he was speaking to her, it was like he was egging her on, trying to lead her down the right paths, all while trying to appear as if he was not helping her at all. It was curious alright, but she was going to get to the bottom of this.

    “I never thought about it that way.” she pondered his words for a moment, “It cannot be that I am unfamiliar with the sea, as I spent my childhood there. And frequently visited as the Ambassador. But I suppose what you said about not knowing how to operate it could be true. My childhood was quite mysterious, as I was raised by a woman who had no blood relation to me. It was never mentioned, not even alluded to, that there was a possibility that I harbored these powers, or that it was common for the Undersea fae to harbor them.” Cassie thought of the matronly woman who’d raised her. She had never known her name, never thought to ask it. All her years she referred to the woman as her Aunt, though now she did not possibly see how that woman could be her elusive mother’s sister. Looking back on those years with a more mature mind brought several insightful conclusions. For one, she had been raised in an empty manor. Her ‘Aunt’ had a house staff, but Cassie had always been strictly instructed not to interact with them, and they with her. She had never really had any friends her age, though there were children around her, with whom she would occasionally play. None of that ever fostered a true relationship— except for Jin-hwa, of course.

    “Perhaps it was because of my age? I left the Undersea at the age of eight years old. Would I have been informed later that year? Or in the next one?” Cassie nodded at his compliment of her skill but did not take it to heart. It did not feel right to accept a compliment for something she hadn’t even known she could do. She studied Vĩnh again, watching that odd look come over his face, and that odd tone take over his voice. She was onto something, she had to be. Or else he would not be acting this way. “Anything? Anything at all? If you are at my disposal, does that mean you are relinquishing your service to Jin-hwa, and giving it to me?” The corner of her mouth perked up. Not quite a smirk, and not quite mischievous. It made sense, for Jin-hwa to load off this strange man onto her. But he had his uses, and Cassie intended to put him to work. There was a beat, and for a split second, she hesitated. “Teach me how to use these powers. Teach me everything there is to know about them.” She paused again. “And another thing. Find my mother."

TAGS: Vĩnh Lý
OUTFIT

★fai

That's the thing about illicit affairs and clandestine meetings