What They Didn't Know
Malinus pulled out a board much like the board for the scribe selection and then nodded at me that he was ready to proceed. I cleared my throat, “Ladies and Gentlemen, we can start our discussions now. Who would like to start?” Elder Edgar spoke first, “Being as I was in the room, I would like to be the first to speak with respect to Her Majesty of course.” She smiled at Edgar, “I have no reservations; however, I would like to speak next if I may Your Majesty.” I nodded at her and waved for Edgar to proceed, “Immediately when I was strolling through the hall amongst the parade of noble ladies, I heard a woman of lower rank berate a woman of higher rank. It was absolutely uncouth.” He glanced at me, “Please proceed. Who was to aggressor and who was the victim? Also, I believe we should know what was said to properly ascertain whether it was a minor or grave offense.” I had a feeling I knew who it was that spoke out of turn but I wanted the rest of The Council to hear it and judge properly. Edgar drew in a sharp breath and glanced at Elder Pallen then at Malinus, “Lady Maigny spoke in a most uncouth manner to The Batiste. She told Her Grace that she stood no chance with His Majesty, that she was human trash and like humans, who were called cattle, she was the biggest heifer of them all.” A rather loud gasp was heard throughout the room and there were whispers amongst old men in the room. I clenched my fists under the table but tried to show the rest of the room I wasn’t as angry as I was. I sighed and brought the room to my attention, “That is indeed a rather serious infraction. Do you have any other observations Elder Edgar?”
He rose to his feet, “I also observed the ladies from Houses Kellen, Baltilliard, Delnaro and Batiste were the best behaved out of all the party. These ladies showed grace and class. The rest were passing in my eyes. Some had minor infractions but I can bring those up during debate.” He sat back down in his seat and nodded at me. I rose, “With that, I will turn the discussion to Her Majesty. Please give us your observations.” My mother rose from her seat, “I observed that all the ladies were able to bow and greet me properly. Lady Kellen was visibly nervous but from what I understand of her character is that she is shy. I am not sure that is a good virtue for the role in which we are considering her for. Lady Maigny had the best entrance and greeting with The Batiste a close second. I was rather upset that Lady Maigny had taken a lot of cream and sugar then remarked how my tea would not appeal to her. Conversely, I observed The Batiste had asked more about the blend, remarked about how she enjoyed it and complimented me on the blend after she found out that it was my own. As Elder Edgar stated, the four ladies at the rose table were the best behaved.” She sat in her seat and smiled at me. The discussion continued throughout The Council until all members spoke their observations. The only members of the board left were Grand Pretre and myself.
Without prompting Grand Pretre rose, “I am a bit different in my observations. As you all know, I can read auras and I can tell when the ladies are faking their emotions. My observations were favorable to the rose table, every lady seated there were genuine in their interactions. I believe those ladies will probably be friendly with each other for a very long time. No matter who the board chooses from those ladies, they would be excellent diplomats should His Majesty need one of them. Not to mention, each lady from those houses will be powerful allies to each other with House Kellen and Batiste already in alliance. House Maigny faked her way through it, she was not genuine in her interactions and took pleasure in seeing others failed. I would advise against her as a candidate but I am well aware some in here will pull for her nonetheless since biases are unfortunately rampant within this board.” She curtsied and smiled at me while other members at the table hung their heads. I wasn’t sure if it was because they weren’t really allowed to look her in the eye or if they were ashamed of their biases. I stood up, “As you all know, I observed parts of the party within my office. Like everyone else, I must commend the rose table for their grace and manners. Lady Maigny did something that I wasn’t too fond of when she left her friends to not know what the proper etiquette was in regards to napkins. I felt that she should have lent a hand to the ladies who didn’t know better. This does not bode well for any charitable aid that the crown does. She seemed rather selfish in that moment. This is all.” The discussion turned to how we would rank the ladies from the first contest. Unsurprisingly the rank for the top five were as follows: Alexandra, Jess, Lady Baltilliard, Lady Delnaro and Melody. There was a heated discussion on her ranking but Elder Pallen would not back down. In the interest of time, the rest of us conceded fifth place to Melody. None of us, other than Pallen, truly believed that she deserved that spot. If I had it my way, I would have her last.
I rose from my seat, “Now, we will need to discuss escorts from each house for the ladies. As you all know, the rule is that the ladies cannot be escorted by their parents. Their escorts will have to be someone from their own houses be they maternal or paternal. Does anyone have a nomination for each lady?” I heard Malinus cough behind me, “Pardon me, Your Majesty. If I may?” I waved my arm at him to let him know to proceed, “Thank you, Your Majesty. I would like the honor of volunteering for my cousin, The Batiste.” I turned back to The Council, “Are there any objections?” I was met with silence from my question then I spoke again after a while, “Very well. Lord Malinus shall escort The Batiste.” We proceeded through the rest of the ladies with Jess being escorted by her cousin in the citadel that was two years her senior, Cailus. Melody would be escorted by her brother, Meldon. The rest would be escorted by various cousins, brothers, uncles and the like. I rose after all of the discussions were done, “I will ask Malinus to send letters to the respective ladies to inform them of their escorts along with the escorts themselves. Are there any other discussions to be had?”
Grand Pretre rose from her seat again, “I have something. In addition to observing the ladies in the reception room, I would like to have them presented to me right after in the back room. This interaction can be observed but I would like to read their charts to them. Nothing definitive just vague information. I would like to see how they react to their divinations. Would this be amenable to the rest?” I looked around the room and no one spoke, “I believe you have your answer Your Eminence.” She smiled then sat down, “That is all. I will also place a stone in the room so that the ones observing can see.” I rose from my seat, “Okay so now that all the business of the day is complete, I would like to give my sincere thanks for gathering here today along with making and sharing your observations. At the end of the next event, we will announce the ranks we gave here today along with revealing that this party was the actual first event.” All the members of the board rose from their seats and shuffled out of the room. I stood behind so that I could be the last one out. My mother, Grand Pretre, Malinus and I were left in the room. My mother walked up to me and whispered in my ear, “My favorite to win is at the top. I hope you feel the same way my son.” I looked at her and whispered back, “We’re not supposed to have favorites, Mother.” She smiled, winked at me, twirled around and left the room. I heard Malinus chuckle behind me and whispered, “I have a favorite too but you can hardly blame me for wanting my lovely cousin to be Queen. She is well-suited for you.” He started to pack up the folder that I had scattered the contents across the table, along with the notes he took. He stood next to me and waited for me to make my move to leave the room. I trained my gaze on Grand Pretre and furrowed my brows, “Is there something further you need to discuss?” She smiled at me and sat back down, “I have much to discuss but I would like to do so alone. There are fated things coming up that you need to made aware of.”
