Preparations for a Festival

[Kahlan Lothair]

Flipping through a few pages as she walks down a long corridor, Kahlan exhales slowly. So much to do, so little time! There were invitations still left to send, food to prepare, most of which had to be prepared the very day of the festival. There were decorations, druids, and many other things to tie together before the festivities began.

So far, Kahlan had managed to nail down the paperwork for the festival. The invitations to allied nations such as Xexoria and the Pendragons would go out soon. All would end well. A sigh of relief passes the High Queen's full lips as she pauses to hand the papers to an attendant whom had been following her around like a lost puppy all morning. Cracking one of her trademark smiles she nods at the incoherent babbles the young woman makes as she rushes away with the important documents, only to be replaced by another attendant. Turning she rolls her eyes, out of sight from the attendant, it wasnt his fault now was it?

Ever since her reawakening the castle attendants and the council of ulster had insisted that Kahlan have an attendant on hand at all times. Unfortunately for the High Queen, this often times inhibited her rather than helped things move smoothly. Ah well, if it helped everyone breathe easier...

Passing through a corridor of glass, Kahlan pauses for a moment to clasp her hands behind her back and look into the courtyard beyond the panes of glass interposed between elegant stained glass portraits of people, animals, artifacts, and other such important things of the present and past. A gentle smile finds its way to her lips as she watches her daughter, now 5, play with Amelia and a few guards. The child is sheltered, and this Kahlan knows for good reason. Yet every day, the presence of her young daughter made Kahlan's life worthwhile. Willow didnt seem to mind that she didnt have friends her own age, in fact she appeared to be -glad- that she didnt. She enjoyed being spoiled by the adults and older people of the castle.

Today, dressed in fine clothing that appeals to her high status, Kahlan turns her head with the silver coronet of intricate celtic knots woven together in beautiful patterns, and glances at the attendant. "Send a message to the Lady Aerillia Khisu. I would like to speak with her immediately about a very important issue." The young man looks fearful for a moment and Kahlan can do nothing but let a peal of laughter fill the hall. "Do not fear, Theoren Roullier is away and Lady Aerillia will not bite. Hard anyway." Covering her mouth to hide the smile that has found its way to the surface, Kahlan watches as the young man hurries to do his duty without the characteristic zest that usually accompanies her young attendants.

Alone. Ah what bliss could she possibly ask for than a bit of time by herself? In an obscure part of the castle, it would take some time to send one or two attendants to follow her about. Reaching toward the glass with a delicate but strong hand, Kahlan touches the glass. Willow, seeing her mother for the first time on the other side of the glass hall, as it was characteristically called, runs over and puts her hands on the glass and babbles about something that she has found. Grinning Kahlan crouches down and places her hands against Willow's on the glass. Her tie to fire warms the glass so that it almost seems that she is touching her daughters small hands.

A shaft of sunlight spills over the two, the older inside the hall and the younger outside. Hair like spun threads of gold falls elegantly down the shoulders of the High Queen as she watches her daughter exclaim about some finding that day. "Willow, Aria, it sounds absolutely fascinating! Maybe we can ask the good Doctor to tell us more about it?" Willow had found some artifact from an earlier reign of her great grandparents. Daniel would no doubt be willing to look it over for history's sake. Willow agrees that the doctor would be a good choice on whom to ask. After talking a few more minutes through the glass, Kahlan hears footsteps and glances down the hall to see two attendants coming her way. Giving her daughter a quick smile and pecking the glass where her cheek should be, she winks at her. Oh what mischief could the High Queen be getting into now?

Rising from her crouched position, Kahlan smooths out the silken fabric of her dark blue gown and straightens the silly dangling necklace of sapphire gems that the women insisted she wear. Kahlan much prefered to wear the emblem of Ulster around her neck, but today she was void of such an artifact. Smelling subtly of roses she nods to the two attendants as they nearly buckle with the new found glory of following the High Queen around. "Now then, shall we?" Grinning dumbly, the two young attendants follow her as she makes her way toward the throne room where she would meet Aerillia.

[Lady Aerillia Khisu]

The timid knock at her chamber door raises a slender brow. Who could want her now? Rising slowly from her chair where she had been sitting for most of the morning writing out something for the High Queen, Aerillia strides to the door. Clad in a dress of a gauzy white fabric she looks the epitome of her namesake, the Desert Rose. Caramel colored skin rivals the cool white fabric with a warmth that is denied to most women of the area.

Reaching the door she pulls it open and glances to the attendant. "Yes? Can I help you?" The attendant shifts his weight slightly before issuing his order of audience with the High Queen. Ebon tresses dance gently as she nods to the boy before turning away to grab a coat to keep herself warm. Her insides felt distressed but that was a normal thing these days. Dizzy spells would come and go, nausea often accompanying them. Sliding the coat over her shoulders she pulls her hair free of the coat. The rich ebon tresses are drawn back from the temples to keep hair out of her fiery blue eyes, but succeeds only just so, as a few whisps fall freely about her slender face.

The attendant had told her to go to the Throne room and while she ponders what Kahlan might ask of her, she holds onto the tiny golden trinket she has only recently started wearing openly. It resembles her namesake, the desert rose, in such minute detail that it is astounding that something so small could be so intricate. It was something that her Foster mother had given her days before Theoren and his crew had raided her village. It was of great sentimental value to the Desert beauty, and often she drew strength from the small golden rose as if it were the strongest talisman on earth.

Before she knows it she is in front of the Throne room and a quick glance inside tells her she is there before Kahlan. Idly she slides inside the room and awaits the presence of the honored High Queen and what news she may have to offer.

[Kahlan Lothair]

Still fidgeting with the sapphire necklace, not really liking the way it feels around her neck, Kahlan walks into the throne room and spies Aerillia standing nearby. "Oh good, you decided to join me. I have a proposition for you that I know you will enjoy." Without hesitation Kahlan moves to her throne and settles into it, draping her wrists over the arm rests. For all intents and purposes she looks as regal as they come. Dark lashes framing succulent blue eyes, as blue as the sapphire gems around her neck now. Though they do not rival the sheer contrasting beauty of Aerillia's eyes.

Kahlan admired the woman for who she was, and it was rare that she could do such a thing. Aerillia was true to heart and fiercely protective of what she deemed worthy, and so far Kahlan had found her to be strikingly loyal to her. It was nice to have a confidant in the castle, but Kahlan knew what it was like to live at court, and Aerillia just wasnt cut from that cloth.

"I would like to offer you a place to stay outside of the Castle. A Dun, as it were." Raising her hand to quell any objections before they can start, Kahlan goes on, "Do not object to this offer, I know you are miserable here and with a baby on the way I want you to be comfortable. I am willing to offer Dun Caric to you for use as you see fit until you have the baby." Kahlan herself had been born at Dun Dalgan, scarcely a stones throw away from Dun Caric, roughly fifteen miles south, as the Raven flies, of the Capital city of Emain Macha.

"I understand that this is sudden, but you appear so unhappy while surrounded by the clucking of court hens that I thought I would offer you solace. Dun Caric has its own war band, though small the Dun is in a strategic place on a hill, so you have nothing to worry about when it comes to attack. Fighting an uphill battle is fruitless after all." Finding herself rambling on, Kahlan smiles for a moment before moving back to the subject. "You will also be supplied with a visiting priestess, a midwife, a cook, a few cleaning women, and a host of others that will ensure that the Dun is in working order during your pregnancy." Without looking to Aerillia, she smiles lightly. "So please accept my gift as a token of gratitude for your friendship and loyalty to my crown. I doubt I could have made it through reawakening without your diligence."

[Lady Aerillia Khisu]

Fiery eyes watch the Queen with an intense curiosity. The Queen and the Desert Rose were not that un-alike. In fact they both seemed cut of the same proverbial cloth. So when Kahlan starts to talk Aerillia listens, each moment becoming more and more amazed at what the Queen has to say. It is as if the Queen knows exactly what Aerillia is going to say when she wants to say it for when she goes to open her mouth, Kahlan simply asks her not to object. Finally when it is all said and Kahlan looks pleased, Aerillia sits down in a chair nearby.

When Kahlan looks worried Aerillia simply waves a hand, and then looks directly into the eyes of the Queen, never one to say what she didnt mean. "I am truely honored by your gift, but you have already been so kind to me that I could not ask for any more of you M'lady." Long whisps of clouds gather in the sky above the nearby shores of the pristine beaches below the castle in the little fishing village near the thriving metropolis of Emain Macha. What could she say to Kahlan? Obviously the obstinant woman not hear any sort of plea against leaving. "It seems as if you have made your mind up Kahlan." She says using the womans name as a sign of friendship, kinsmanship. She had to listen to what others had to say, she wasnt able to think of only herself anymore, she had more than one person to look out for.

"I shall depart immediately, but only if you accompany me the first day. I do not know the journey well and would like some company." She hoped, but secretly knew the woman could not grudge her this one small comfort.