[center][h2][b][u]Lalrial, The Heartlands[/u][/b][/h2]
[i]13th of Gerna, 1200 AU[/i][/center]

	“Now announcing Her Highness Princess Lynette Zarand, First Princess of Acitha and second in line to the throne, Marshal of Acitha, and Defender of the realm. And His Highness Prince Aldrick Zarand, Second Prince of Acitha and third in line to the throne, Prime Magistrate and Ambassador to the Heartlands. And Count Lakatos Zarand of Taros.” The three mentioned nobles stepped into the room, Lynette in the lead with Aldrick to her right and Lakatos on her left. For her part Lynette did a somewhat decent job at not looking uncomfortable despite the fact that her brother had insisted that we wore a more [i]dedicate[/i] dress than she would have liked. 

	"Who is that?” She gestured towards the woman who was dressed quite differently than any other present. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she looked at the outfit of the same design as Laliafa was said to have worn.

	Aldrick looked at the woman for a moment, a frown spreading across his face, before answering “That is Lady Sophsi of House Valarian. She is-”

	“No warrior.” Lynette cut him off.

	“No she is most certainly not. I doubt she has ever even held a sword before. Now wait!” He placed a restraining hand on Lynette’s arm before the woman could head over toward Sophsi. “Do try and keep it civil.”

	“Can’t you overlook this?” Lakatos inquired, earning a scowl from Lynette.

	“I won’t bite her” Lynette said to Aldrick, choosing to ignore Lakatos’ request. She then shook off Aldrick’s grip and started towards Sophsi.

	“Oh by Ra-hun-ru why won’t that girl listen?” Lakatos muttered. “What are you going to do?” He turned to Aldrick.

	“Why converse with the other guests of course” Aldrick answered.

	“Well do try and pay some attention to the male guests as well.”

	“Yes, yes.” Aldrick said as he looked about for a person of interest. “We’ll talk later” He said as he spotted one such person and started off in her direction. It was Isa Valarien, the young prodigee magician of the house. She stood slightly off to the corner, having arrived almost unnoticed behind Jakinius’ party, and took easily to standing in the shade of the portico, admiring the flowers of the peristylium at a distance with red wine in hand. A content smile dwelled on her porcelain face, almost hiding from the direct sun whose color matched her formal dress, almost giving her meeker frame the look of a slim flame from a white candle. 

	“I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of introducing myself before” Aldrick said as he approached her. He swept into a low bow as he said “I am Aldrick Zarand. May I ask who you are?”

	“Well it makes sense,” Isa tilted her head in acknowledgement, her content smile changing to one of welcome, “because we never met before. I am Isa Valarien.” 

	“Lady Isa, it might be presumptuous, but I must say that dress you are wearing certainly brings out your natural beauty. But I must ask, what is a lady such as yourself doing tucked away in a corner such as this?”

	Slightly caught off guard by the sudden compliment, Isa stumbled to provide a thank you before suddenly descending into an awkward silence. 
	
 “Well,” after a second she was quick to defend herself, “it is a peristylium, it’s all corners.” Her smile returned, content with her answer, as if scoring a point in some invisible sport. 

	“Ah” Aldrick said, his smile widening further. “So your physical beauty is matched by your quick wits.” He paused for a moment before adding “Then if this is all corners,” He made a vague gesture towards their surroundings, “why pick this specific corner?”

	“She was saving my spot, and you’re standing in it,” a defensive grunt snorted from behind Aldrick, the eyes of Gowa digging into the intruders back. A suppressed laugh was caught in Isa’s throat, and her eyes drifted to the leather clad warrior woman behind the man.

	“Lady Gowa!” Aldrick legitimately looked and sounded startled. He quickly recovered himself as he stepped to the side as if to return Gowa her reserved spot. “How great it is to see you again. I haven’t had the opportunity to thank you and Duchess Allianna for visiting me when I was recovering. How have the two of you been?” He eyed her armor, quietly thanking Lyriel that he had been able to convince his own sister to come in more proper attire.

	“We’ve been just fine, it’s good to see-” Gowi looked Aldrick up and down, almost skeptically, “it’s good to see you’re doing better than last time.”

	“He was just telling me about my wit,” Isa said with a smile, inviting Gowa into the previous conversation. Gowa smiled at Isa, and then at Aldrick, “what about me? How is mine?” Her voice was almost teasing, and malicious.

	“You know how the saying goes” Aldrick answered, “birds of a feather flock together. That certainly seems to be the case for you two. Not often do I get the opportunity to speak to two ladies as fair as yourselves.” He seemed to contemplate something before adding “I’m sure you two must be quite skilled at fending off unwanted suitors by this point.”

	“What do you think this is for?” Gowi tugged on the sword belted to her hip while Isa rolled her eyes.

	“Yes well… please don’t use that on me. I’ve already seen more healers this month than I’d like.” He held his hands up in front of himself, although his warm smile and tone indicated that he was speaking in jest. “Joking aside, I must say that it pleases me to see a woman such as yourself. At times I fear that there are not enough strong women in the Empire. Seeing ladies such as yourselves help allay this fear.”

	“Are you afraid often?” Isa asked, just as Gowa opened her mouth.

	“Ouch” Aldrick said with a wince. “So the rose has thorns. Well I suppose I walked into that one. In a more serious note, yes I do feel fear often for the well being of my homeland.” His voice seemed to lose its jovial tone.

	“Oh no!” Isa’s entire demeanor turned to guilt, “don’t worry about your home! It is safe under the phoenix wing.”

	“If only that was true” Aldrick said with a shake of his head. Unfortunately the north has been largely left to fend for itself as of late. And I am not confident that all who seek the throne cares about the north.”

	“I don’t think you should doubt the heartlands and the Empire so quickly,” Gowa offered a serious consultation. “A lot of our northern bound forces were stunted five years ago, and while it is slow to recover, we are recovering, and do see the need in every corner of the Empire.”

	“Perhaps” Aldrick said after a moment. “But while we are safe here men and women, not too different than you and I, are dying to ensure that safety. And I need not remind you who I believe to be the cause for my recent injuries.” He leaned in towards Gowa. “I am not keen on seeing what direction he takes the empire in, all things considered.”

	Isa looked horrified and lost in thought as Gowa put on a more stone faced expression, even crossing her arms, “I’m aware of the horrific events of the borders, we are doing what we can and we hope to do more as soon as this summit passes. Please don’t think ill of Imperial intention, the border lands are of the utmost importance to us.”

	“I know” Aldrick said after a moment. “And I appreciate it. Still, it is difficult to shake the feeling of abandonment. And I fear that that feeling is starting to seep into every crevice in Acitha. To make matters worse she” He gestured towards his sister, “is here instead of leading our troops back home. Although it shows just how important father thinks this election will be, having her here instead of there is only increasing the number of casualties.”

	Gowa went silence behind her stone faced facade, imitating Isa’s silence. After a short exhale from her nostrils, all that was said was, “I’m sorry.”

	“If anyone should apologize it is I.” Aldrick said, allowing a bit of a smile to return to his face. “I shouldn’t have brought it up in the first place. Neither of you are at fault for any of this. Though I must admit that I do feel a little better after speaking my mind, so I must thank you for listening to me.”

	“Of course,” Gowa nodded stoically, “well, I hope you are enjoying the party and yourself.” A forced smile formed and dissipated on her face.

	“Probably not as much as others, but it is a nice distraction nevertheless.” Aldrick responded. There was no sign of the earlier tension on his face or in his tone. “And, if nothing else, speaking to two fair ladies such as yourselves has made this party worthwhile.”

	“I’m glad,” Gowa replied, “at the very least, there is some happiness the Valariens can dish out during such trying times.”

	“Everything is going to be fine,” Isa wedged her opinion in, optimistically, “we rise, strength in unity!”

	“We stand ready” Aldrick answered with his house’s saying. He flashed Isa a smile, thankful for the shift in tone her comment brought to the conversation.

	Gowa pursed her lips, “I’m happy that your people do.” Her ears seemed to suddenly perk, and her brow furrowed, “seems I am needed elsewhere!”

	The woman suddenly bounded off towards the Duvard party, leaving Isa and Aldrick alone and confused.

	Isa shrugged her confused expression away, “she can get a little touchy with some subjects.”

	“So can my sister” Aldrick said with a laugh. “If only you could have seen her face when she caught sight of Lady Sophsi. It was… well priceless.” We waved at a passing servant and asked for a glass of wine. “On the subject of sisters,” He said as he took the glass the servant offered, “where in the grand Valarian family tree are you from?”

	“From a far off marriage between the Imperial line and a local noble family long extinct now that arose from a Duvard family line even longer past, with a few more houses sprinkled in over the years, and yet a Valarien,” Isa paused, “comes from a lot of Valarien males, in fact… only Valarien males is the reason I am a Valarien. I’m not as contemporary as the other Valarien lines, and it might die with my marriage.”
	Isa remembered her long standing glass of wine and took a narrow sip, “as opposed to the many growing branches of the other Valarien lines.”

	“Interesting” Aldrick said as he stroked his chin. “No siblings?”

	“Several, but one has been missing since before I was born, and the other two died shortly after a twin birth along with my mother,” Isa added cleanly and without emotion, “I wasn’t very old when that happened though and have no recollection of it.”

	“I’m sorry. It was thoughtless of me to ask.” He seemed to be genuinely distraught over having broached the subject. He took a long sip of his wine before attempting a change in topic. “Lady Gowa mentioned you were something of a prodigy in regards to magic, no?”

	“She said that?!” Isa exclaimed, her mouth opening in shock, “she always tries to bring that to attention for some reason. It’s nothing really.” 

	Isa furrowed her brow and let her posture break and fall against a column lazily, “I practice divine magic through prayers.”

	“Ah. So the chosen one of a god. My aunt used to serve the shield sisters as a Valkyrie, so it’s not as if I am unfamiliar with the concept.” He shifted his stance slightly to favor his right foot. “So can you use healing magic? Or does your talents lay elsewhere?”

	“I can give strength where it is needed and close wounds,” Isa remarked, attempting a quiet and humble tone, “a lot of things with the body or mind really, Kammeth willing.”

	“Well darn. I’d much rather have had you tend to my wounds than the old man that had” Aldrick commented. “I suspect you have a much better bedside manner than he did. If nothing else you aren’t hard on the eyes” He said with a wink. “Still I wish he had done a better job on my arm. It still hurts quite a bit.”

	“You’re probably using it too rigorously,” Isa commented seriously, a slight curl giving hint to an underlying joke, “rest is the best of magics for healing.”

	Ah, well I never could rest that well so far from home,” Aldrick scrunched his nose in a dismissive thought, “everything just seems different sometimes, puts one on edge.”

	“I can imagine,” Isa frowned slightly in empathy.

“I miss the lakes by my home, you know? Glistening black waters and white swans. They are true sights to behold in the winter when the water freezes.” Aldrick’s eyes had focused on something that wasn’t there as his thoughts turned to home. “It might be hard to comprehend how I could come to love the winters of my homeland, even my siblings don’t seem to understand, but the freezing winds of winter changing to the warm breeze of spring is a thing of true beauty.”

	“That does sound beautiful,” Isa’s eyes were like saucers as she stared intensely into the open air, imagining the scene, “it almost reminds me of this little pond I used to go to as a child.”

 	“Hopefully someday you will get the opportunity to witness it” Aldrick said. After a moment he perked up. “Actually… I do have some of my brother’s paintings back at my house’s estate. I could show you them if you’d like.”

	“Oh that sounds lovely!” Isa lit up at the mention of paintings, “I sure would.”

	“Excellent!” Aldrick said with a smile. “How does the day after tomorrow sound?”

	“Yeah!” Isa smiled wide, clearly excited, “I bet Gowa could come too!”

	“Oh? I didn’t realize she was interested in paintings.” Aldrick said after a moment.

	“She isn’t,” Isa laughed, “but come on, it sounds fun!”

	“If you’d like you could invite Duchess Allianna to come as well.” Aldrick said. “I’m sure that, if nothing else, my sister would love to have the opportunity to speak to you three in a more private setting.”

	“Yes,” Isa agreed immediately, “this is gonna be great.”