Onine/Cynis Orchid

"Even a perfect pebble pales before a flawed diamond." --Old saying

Cynis Orchid

Background

Just north of the Imperial city is what's commonly called the 'Palace of Trees'. Its a large sprawling mini-metropolis of buildings and wings built around a central spire reaching many stories into the sky over Pangu.The Palace of Trees is a famous, or rather is an infamous place to say the least, as the home of the House of Cynis, the palace is viewed with something close to immense disdain. The people of Pangu are farmers and workers- hard ones at that. They wake up early, toil their fields untill sun-down and hold restrained and quiet get-togethers. As a result of their discipline they are also incredibly high and mighty when it comes to their moral grounds. They would never allow their lovely sons and daughters to work at the palace - they never even sent their ugliest stable-hands to us - for somewhere out their there was a man or woman who would want them. Those farmers never took the chance. When young ones were in bed the people frequently gossipped about the disappearances that happened in Pangu and the surrounds. And not to mention the bodies that a friend of a friend saw being buried by Cynis slaves along the coast. Theorising where bodies are buried is a morbid hobby for the farmers and its little wonder that they live such dull lives when they fill it with such negativity. People disappear all the time, river dragons and restless spirits take some, and others merely run away. In Pangu, the reason for disappearances was House Cynis, but this is largely untrue. Largely. But it didn't stop the gossip and the accusing stares up at our walls. We were pure evil.

Really, they're no more moral than we are, they just face life on a different angle, an angle that we do not share. Love. Monogamy. Its all alien to us, instead we have passion and enjoyment, the thrill of the moment. When you live for three centuries finding the beauty in a moment and trying to enhance that is as important as eating and drinking. It isn't wrong, not really, but as a result the people rip us off for grain and milk. That was fine by us. We simply seduced their daughters to make up for the cost, no harm done. Even. They saw it differently, but then I suppose I can understand that.

In the Palace are some of the most sensual rooms in the entire world, rooms to fit every desire. On the sub-terranean levels are rooms that can fit every nightmare - because sometimes desire and nightmare are one and the same. In my time I have visited nearly every room in the Palace of Trees and behind most closed doors I have found something to appease me, though of course there were some rooms I would not touch. I heard whispered once that the family had managed to keep one of the skin-shifting anathema buried in one of its lowest of chambers, drugged and chained for the amusement of the more blasphemous of lovers. As the story goes the Immaculate Order found out and after the unpleasentries Falen took care of the beast. The Immaculates took a large ammount of money to their coffers to stay quiet on the matter. That chamber is now filled to the brim with blackwater, a powerful water-born algae lethal to mortals and exalted alike. I found the doorway to this chamber on a whim one cool winter night. All chained with jade, the stone around it pitted and blackened from the seeping poison. When I heard movement inside I ran. I think Falen still uses the chamber, but I have never been brave enough to investigate further and that suits me fine.

If the dungeons below cater to the depths of human desire, then the balconies and terraces cater to the very heights. At the very peak of the palace is a great domed chamber, the Atrium of Roses. To describe the harmony of this room, the intricate patterns of the silk, the wildflowers that grow with wanton abandon and the sweet smell of every earthly nectar known to man would do it no credit. The sensuality of this chamber takes people's hearts away on an intoxicating voyage of pure bliss. Such a room is reserved only for the House and its most honoured guests for most of the year, but on the first day of Ascending Wood there is... how shall I put this - a party?

As far as I have ever known this party has never had a name, and likely it never will. How can one put an apt name on a mass of writhing nubile flesh on a bed of silken pillows and discarded clothing? How can one even consider naming the blissful cries of so many wrapped in that much passion? The music, the drugs, the scents and the sounds come together in a massed cacophany of sexual enjoyment that I doubt the magnitude of such ever happens elsewhere in creation - beyond the wyld of course. For the sake of convenience I'll call it the Flower Soiree. Invitations are extended to the most valued members of the house and its allies - exalted or otherwise. This party recognises those that make us strong regardless of their position on the road to enlightenment. There everyone is an equal in desire - Dragonbloods freely intermingle with mortals and patricians and vice-versa. It is an event in ones life that few ever forget and fewer still ever refuse. I ran invitations for a few years, and in that time I have only recieved one letter of declination.

To such an event, it is rare for a person to recieve an invitation more than once. In a way, I have been present twice.

My mother, Cynis Fenwilde, was a well trained patrician's daughter, and as is tradition for family members at the Palace she began as an apprentice servant to learn how things were run. As one grows older and more experienced they become organisers and coordinators and then envoys or they move on to other lines of work in the Realm. It is perhaps a life that entraps, though I myself have found it invigorating. In any case, Fenwilde was one of a very special group of servants that worked on the Flower Soiree some years ago. Such an event requires very well trained men and women to oversee the preparations, smooth running and clean-up - though they are usually exempt from the third task and I will soon explain why. At any given time, there are approximately seventy drunk, drugged and 'carnally active' men, women and... other... active on the silken pillows of the Atrium of Roses and in wealthy years sometimes more. With perfumes, drugs and the sweet pollens floating in the air it is allarmingly common for the appointed serving overseers of the Soiree to become swept up and taken in by the proceedings. This is not frowned upon, nor is it specifically forbidden. Though it is never said, it is quietly accepted by the House as something that they are powerless to stop. Things start off smoothly but by the end hearts, minds and posessions are broken - and more often than not the overseers themselves are drunk, unconcious, hungover and in many cases still in in a pile of limbs. Hence why they are exempt from the cleanup duty - and how lucky for them. I personally have seen the ruins of such an event and am quite frankly glad I never drew the assignment of 'working damage control' in my time.

As expected, Fenwilde was drawn into one of the larger masses of participants and good for her. This evening is largely considered to be the moment of my conception, (among others). As most family members are, my mother had frequent trysts in and around the Palace of Trees, but she and I swear that I was conceived then. I consider it no small matter of pride that I was the product of such a grandious display of human depravity. After my exaltation this was narrowed down considerably, though the father of my exalted blood will likely never be known. Due to the social stigma, the records of the participants of this event are never kept. It's common courtesy. So I was born fatherless to an orgy.

Mortal Life

And so an appropriate time later I was born Cynis Fenwilde Orchid. Because of the dubious nature of my conception and the mystery of my true family and blood, I was made a ward of the palace due to the laws that regard such things. Fenwilde was an 'upwardly mobile' young woman who didn't need her already busy life complicated by a child, and though you may find this strange I admire her for that. Responsibility over emotion - I wouldn't have changed a thing. Though my life was different by all counts even for the high society of the Realm, to me it was a rich an happy one.

At the proper age, or to my belief a little younger, I began my duties in the Palace of Trees as a first tier assistant. The duties were dull, mending and cleaning fabric and pillows, caring for the intricate chandeliers and gems that studded the walls and ensuring that everything was ship shape before an event - and rectifying damage afterwards. I rose fairly quickly through the loose ranks and learned fast the day-to-day running of the Palace. I found that I had the ability to read people, what would make them 'tick' if you catch my drift. Part of my quick rise was due to a few whispered words to superiors on how to deal with a certain diplomat here, a certain prefect there. I was well rewarded in a way. Because of my skill my superiors began to grow fearful of my position and thus I was transfered to different sections many times. Never down though, always up. The new surroundings were good, I learned more and it kept me on my toes.

I got a lucky break when the coordinator of a particularly important and difficult to please ally's event fell ill with some exotic sexually transmitted disease. I think he died, but I'd have to check on that. Apparently, this dragonblood and his party were *very* important to the House, and impressing him was important for a marriage or business deal or some such, I wasn't paying attention - my focus was on the raging fire aspect in front of us. Wisel's apprentice Rura was furious, if things did not go well for this ally, things would 'not go well for her' if you catch my drift. A combination of me being mortal, the highest ranker present and simply being there caused the dragonblood to make me an offer. If I was able to make the night go smoothly, she would see to it that I was well looked after in return for my success. Should I fail, she would feign ignorance and I would become the scapegoat. By the sounds of things she wasn't so much 'offering' as 'telling'. I found out later that even the best of our coordinators had not found out which way to stroke this ally in regards to the more carnal levels. I had no desire to take the fall for her, but my ambition and youthful cockiness contributed to me accepting Rura's offer. When I look back on it, it was a pretty foolish thing to do.

That man surprised me.

I watched the entire event through numerous observation devices. I can honestly say the experience was fascinating, colourful and perhaps a little traumatic. I wont go into details as to what pleasures I provided for the Dragonblood, but needless to say I was forced to pay the sorcerer a great deal of jade both for her skills and silence. Also I had to provide a certain degree of benefits and appreciation rewards for the clean-up servants. In my more caring moments I feel for them.

Coordinators are given a certain degree of independance when looking after guests, they are alowed to requesition people, items and sometimes livestock with speed. After all, when a guest asks for a mule, he wants a mule right now, not in half an hour while you scoot around the chain of command to ensure you are ALLOWED to borrow one from the stables. No. You send one of your people to the stables with a diplomatic tag, and he gets the mule and may or may not have to deal with strange and understanding looks - with no complaints or questions asked. Its this way that we are so efficient in our business of pleasing people. Certainly there is cost and the coordinator must be trusted not to abuse his authority, but to the higher ups in the family, the gains are worth loosening the noose here and there.

Such relaxed regulations meant that our guest left with a smile on his face and seemed a great deal more relaxed. He thanked Rura and I personally for our hospitality and though he only came back twice, thankfully, in my time as a coordinator at the Palace of Trees - he would ask for me personally. From his stay our house was granted a 'blind eye' towards our activities in Eagle's Launch and a marriage. Unknown to him we also had a fine bargaining chip to use against him should our business relations turn sour. Rura was impressed and of course I was very pleased with my performance as well - it feels good to not spend the remainder of ones mortal life in a pain cocoon. And that's exactly what it sounds like.

From there on I was looked after bu Rura, she ensured that I was given only the choicest assignments - as choice as they get for a mortal of course. I became a high level organiser and supervisor for only the larger parties at the Palace and Imperial City. I rubbed shoulders with the highest echelons of the Dynasty (metaphorically speaking as it is against the law to touch an exalt without permission.) I have met personalities such as Cathack Cainan, Tepet Ejava and though few believe me, I have even seen the Empress. I was not allowed to speak to her and I am somewhat glad - never have I met a more ravishing woman with such an aura about her. Every eye was on her for the moment she entered the hall - it was magic! In fact, now that I think about it, it probably literally was.

Exaltation

After a particularly fruitful year, my seventeenth, I returned to the Palace of Trees to learn that I had been chosen to organise and run the yearly event - yes *that* yearly event, the Flower Soiree. Rura had recommended me to Wisel, and she approved my selection despite the complaints and reservations of the household. Though House Cynis has many mortal organisers and coordinators of ceremonies, the running of the yearly event was something that was largely restricted to exalted members. I heard numerous rumours that I was only selected because no other exalts were available, but let me tell you that is hogwash of the highest calibur. I was easily the most qualified to supervise and run the event. Though I feverishly wanted to participate, the honour of actually RUNNING the event was something I could not confuse. An enourmous social and political feather in the cap of a mortal.

I spent nearly a month shouting, cajolling, ordering and firing my staff preparing the Atrium of Roses. I took advantage of my granted level of creative control and made many sweeping aesthetic and structural changes to the usual ceremonies involved. I was detirmined to be the best and one way or another I was. I was not kind to my people, but they all knew just how much was riding on this event and failure was unacceptable. They and I had all heard that an entire array of workers had been quietly executed after a spectacularly disasterous year. Truth be told they are all (well some) still locked away in the darker rooms of the Palace to be used as the more morbid playthings of twisted exalts and our darker allies. Dead or toy, all the same I did not wish to fail, and I impressed this upon my people with shouts, slaps and the occasional kick.

The outrageous and decadent ceremony began quite dignified with music and idle chit-chat about insipid things - the kinds of things that preceeds gratuitous and meaningless sex. People try to put up the facade of high civility, but one thing is on everyone's minds as they laugh, nod and agree. They go along with it, because it is polite. Like an epic piece of music, an orgy begins slow and sweet, with ample civility and grace. Then the drums and horns chime in. Some say that things degenerated from that point on, but in my eyes they progressed sensationally.

I made it my duty to patrol the masses of writhing bodies to ensure that their needs were being met - did they have enough bright-morning? Were the smoking pipes still filled? Was the spilled wine on the floor becoming a safety concern? There is a lot of meaning that can be divulged from the moans of the sensuous, and I interpreted that they were enjoying themselves. Immensely. This was around the stage where things started to get out of hand. Earlier I had spied a particularly proud and beautiful woman, she was haughty and vain, and she looked down on me even though she was *my* guest. If memory serves she was a wealthy merchantman's wife, daughter or mistress or some such. Dont ask me, I no longer remember and at the time I didn't much care for the facts. Maybe she was all three. Leaves quite a lot of moral, let alone metaphysical conundrums for the mind to unravel. I was passing one of the more sizeable groups of women when a hand darted out and grabbed my hand. No it wasn't her, but I'll get to that...

Ortegan silk is a fine material. Every tunic is hand woven by blind six-fingered craftsmen trained since birth to weave the most intricate paterns through feel and desire alone. Each tunic is a work of art, a reflection of the desires and whims of the weaver on the each day he worked. There is but a single strand of silk, coloured intricately to make metallic and luminescant designs so fine one needs to look through a magnifier gem to see the details - even the hems are sewn from the same strand. I read that the strand of silk is over a mile long though I'm unsure if that's true, so I'll leave guessing up to you.

It was a shame to rip it.

I was pulled into this group of women, and the combination of their perfumes, drugs already in my system and their cooing voices took a great deal of my willpower away. I gave into the delicious temptation. I considered counting them, but leaving the number blank means that I can embelish such a tale without feeling guilty - not that I would. They stripped me down and well... you can imagine what happened. Time was no longer something I concerned myself while I caressed, touched and nipped at the nubile masses of flesh that pierced the blurr and euphoria. Then my thoughts turned to that proud woman and the conquest area of my mind took control. I had arleady guessed what would make her tick. Recruiting the group of women, we began searching the Atrium of Rose Petals for this woman.

I do occasionally wonder what was going through her mind when we interrupted her partner (singular) and swarmed her en masse, though I still remember the look on her face and it makes me smile to this day. Some fond memories never fade, no? She tried so hard to resist me and that only made me more determined to have her, more determined to make her mind and body mine. At the time I attributed the sudden rush of the floor falling away and the dizzying spin of the room to the hard narcotics that swirled in the air in a bonfire of colours. But then without warning the room swirled back into a focus that was unlike any I have ever experienced before or since. The sensations increased tenfold - the scents were intoxicatingly strong, the moans quiet and feathery yet clear and crisp. I could feel such subtle things through the skin, every heartbeat, every subtle shiver and every pleasurable tremour. They reverberated harmoniously worked in synch with the beat of my soul. I worked with inhuman dexterity and finesse, my body moved with delicious precision. The cries of pleasure were almost deafening.

When she opened her eyes, instead of exhausted satisfaction I beheld fear. She and the other women quickly moved back, their faces wore masks of shock and the few hushed gasps I heard were not ones of pleasure. I remember saying something foolish and remeniscant of 'are you not entertained' before I noticed that an eerie emerald, amber and lilac light took precedence over all the other colours in the room. They all stared at me, and taking the cue I looked down at my naked body. At first I thought I was standing in a field of water reeds, then I looked at my hands. Luminescant phantom flowers bloomed just above my skin and then faded, the petals shooting off and dancing about, making way for another flower to grow from the bud.

I must admit, for the first time in my life I didn't know what to do. I just stood there naked, gaping like an idiot while nearly a hundred people stared. Thankfully another dragonblood there stepped in and calmed people before taking me aside to allow the orgy to continue. Admittedly though he allowed me a signifigant time to stand there to build embarassment and enhance the shock so that people would gossip. I heard good things, though I suspected that people kept a lot from me. The dragonblood ordered a servant to bring me food and a hot drink while he explained 'what happend, what you are and for the dragon's sake put something on.' In the confusion he'd managed to find himself a robe - I had not. He was quite and his explanations divulged little that helped, I mean, how do you give the facts of life to a teenage dragonblood when all you want to do is get back into a hall full of naked aroused people? I didn't blame him.

Likewise I wanted to rejoin the party, but my exaltation had created a disturbance that didn't go down well. I was ordered to sit the rest of the festivities out while Rura was summoned. There was a lot of shock in the Dragonblooded household, untill then none had suspected my blood to bear the power of the dragons. They were of course pleased, but what would they do with such an unexpected Dragonblood with no ties to the dynastic family? I could belong to any family, but since they at least knew the identity of my mother it was decided I was definitely part Cynis, part unknown. More confusing was the circumstance of my exaltation. Usually the second breath is drawn during a time of great need, when a young man or woman has to overcome a great obstacle and reaches into reserves far beyond that of a mortal to succeed. Hunting, sailing into a storm, horse races. I have heard occasional rumours of people exalting during particularly demanding intellectual pursuits, but to exalt in the midst of carnal acts? It was almost unheard of. Perhaps overcoming that resistance was the 'moment of great need' that sparked my exaltation?

No matter. Somehow I dont think that haughty young woman has forgotten that night

Life as a Prince of the Earth

Despite what is often said about your whole life changing after the second breath, it is more accurate to say that ones life is *enhanced*. Exaltation provided me with an impressive insight and ability to read people's desires and moods. Even as a mortal I was good at what I did, but with the Elemental Dragons' blessings and powers people became almost an open book to me. As a diplomat and organiser under Rura I travelled across the Blessed Isle and achieved successes the likes of which the acomplishments of my past life pale in comparison.

I was highly sought after even by other Dynasts and the House would be happy to loan me - for a price. I lived fast, women of all ages literally threw themselves at me (and upon me behind closed doors.) I pursued sexual encounters with a passion, though on numerous occasions I was pursued myself. I was happy to oblige, and I even played uninterested when I felt that there was more to a potential partner than she was showing. The chase made them that much more savage between silken sheets, and the competition of other women I entertained made them that much more satisfying. My conquests were many, my stamina of legend and the jealous stares of their men would cut flesh as soundly as the finest jade sword. My skills did not end at parties and womanising however.

The time I spent between the sheets of many young women and a few nubile men was time I spent honing my skills in interpreting the human animal. Through sexual encounters and the reactions people have to them one can learn a great deal about how the heart works. It was not all play, my many affairs were spent learning both technique and the greater meanings behind them. The house sent me out to learn the darker secrets of its enemies - I was a spy, and a damned good one. After all, who suspects the man climbing down your manse walls with his clothes over his shoulders as he escapes your daughters bed-chambers while your guards bumble up above? Few. I spied upon their hearts where others would spy on their minds and their actions. The way I see it, the thought and the act are dependant on the heart, to know a heart is to know thoughts and acts before they happen.

And so I danced from party to party and bed to bed discovering for the House just who could be pushed and how far.

It was after exaltation that I began to make many enemies above and beyond enraged fathers, husbands and brothers (and wives, sisters, mothers...). A few more powerful individuals complained and I found myself prone to the harrassment of a more morally uptight Magistrate of the Realm - Mariposa - who found her own pleasure in pursuing me between performing feats for the Empress like a trained dog. I learned to run fast naked. As you can imagine my speed was enhanced somewhat by that crazed woman swinging that Grimcleaver about like it was a party-favour. Our little feud has led to some amusing and embarassing situations, thankfully her embarassments far outweigh mine though this has added to her zeal in the task of catching me. And really, I wouldn't have it any other way, I don't want her chasing with only half her heart in it! She's quite the looker, maybe I can soften her with my charm in between swipes. A project for later.

It was around that time I decided that it was high time to learn a little self defense. I was able to secure through contacts an impartial trainer, a young immaculate monk named Brya. She was kind enough to instruct me in the defensive martial arts, something for which I thank her every time I deflect a blow from an angered lover. Every blow to the testicles that I fail to block I think of her twin brother, Danj. He has had it in for me ever since I met Brya. It was entirely her choice to leave the immaculate order, but he simply will not listen to reason. Paragons of virtue indeed. If you can ever manage it my friend, the flexibility that Immaculate training provides a body is unbelievable.

I found I became fascinated and later addicted to attempting to woo and sleep with the exalted. Not that mortals were not fine lovers in their own right, but the conquest was soon far too easy. Exalted are more difficult to read, more difficult to charm - and more dangerous when wronged. I have waged extensive and elaborate campaigns for the hearts of dragonblooded women, some have taken months and have been rife with danger and intrigue. It makes the trysts far more exciting, and each one fills me with a sense of accomplishment. Those trysts that were at the behest of the House were of course reported, but those I took for my own amusement were mine alone. It was this attraction to bedding my Dragonblooded kin that brought everything crashing down.

The name of my downfall was Sesus Leola.

Leola

Around two years ago I attended a ball in the Imperial City, one of the many that the Dynasty threw for itself so that its members could plot against one another and generally make itself feel better about the total lack of progress it had made since the Empress' disappearance. Since there would be a lot of connections and blackmail attempts possible for the House, I was sent along with a sizeable delegation off dragonbloods and patricians from the Palace. Remarkably for a change we were not in charge of the festivities, the other Houses prefered a more neutral party to make preparations though you can bet that in some way we were involved to ensure things ran smoothly for us. Besides, it was a more 'civil' event where people kept most of their clothes on, so in a way, this was not work for me.

I felt quite free at this gala event since I did not have any responsibilities beyond mingling and making connections. This suited me fine.

I spoke to an enormous variety of people on subjects ranging from military tactics to horse-racing to music. Through my varied discussions I learned that there was to be an announcment at some stage during the evening if the Dynasts of House Sesus and Ragara were to be believed. I could not however glean the nature of this despite my subtle digging - and that frustrated me. I left the knots of conversationalists and headed for the ballroom dance-floor. Resting my head on the slender shoulders and drinking in the perfume of a maiden would help me clear my head.

The Spring Forktail dance is a popular dance in the realm, and I have seen many variations of the theme of this dance in cultures across the face of creation but none match the intricate and pure beauty of the Spring Forktail. The dance is based off the Amber Forktail, a small bird common to the southern field prefectures of the Blessed Isle and some of the threshold Satraps. During the mating season the birds come together in swarms of up to fourty couples. There they fly in a dizzying circle untill they pair themselves up with a strange male or female that they have not mated with before. The new couples then fly off and raise their young - and return next year for a new partner. The more romantic dynasts revere the dance as a worship of the beauty of nature, but to the more moral and brighter individuals its just a way to shack up with a stranger for guilt free pleasure. In truth it is a combination of both and neither at the same time. The dance is most frequently used to meet people - and if you manage to find some guilt-free pleasure good for you.

I allowed myself to get caught up in the whirling mass of gowns and uniforms, linking arms and swinging my varied partners around in an elaborate and beautiful circle in unison with the other dancers. I exchanged a few words with my dance partners, but nothing came of it at first. After a while I was paired up with an enchanting earth aspect in a yellow gown cut in a more traditional style. It allowed me to imagine what she hid under fine paterned silk and velvet. She had silvery grey hair and ice blue eyes that you could dive into. When I looked into her eyes I didn't see something akin to prey, I just saw... her. Her greeting smile stopped my mind, and for quite some time I danced on autopilot, ignoring the musical cues to change partners.

"You missed the cue." She said at last. If you can hear nectar, that was what it sounds like.

"Orchid." I said almost in a trance, my attention still locked on her eyes as the other dancers continued around us.

She laughed at my bumbling response and answered. "Leola."

"Leola..." I savoured the name. "Doesn't that mean something...?"

"It means Levity in Firetongue." She replied quickly.

"No... it means something else..." I mumbled and trailed off.

I've never felt so tranquil. I willed myself to bring out my smile and sweep her off her feet, but the power just seemed to escape me. For the first time, I didn't feel like myself. I felt... normal. We continued to dance, ignoring the song while we became lost in our own little world. Her words provided me none of the insight that I normally recieved from people, and at long last I felt content that hers were secrets I did not need to learn faster than was needed. I remember every word, but I wont bore you. We circled slowly to the music which had at last died down, the other dancers capes and dresses blurring together in a kaleidoscope of colours around us. She was explaining some frustrating family matter when the trouble started.

"...Which needless to say I find really-"

"Inconvenient." I said dryly.

"That's right!" She laughed. "You took the word right out of my mouth!"

"I'm sorry to disappoint, but my remark was refering to her." She followed my gaze to the entrance of the hall. Two conspicuous looking thug-types were skirting the room in either direction, they were looking for someone. They had their hands under their cloaks, on swords most likely. I was not as terribly concerned about them as I was about Mariposa who was standing in the hall's great doorway. The Magistrate had crashed the party. She was scanning the faces of those in conversation before the dance-floor. I couldn't see her Grimcleaver, but that didn't mean anything. I hoped that she had a better reason than me to brave coming to the Imperial City, but I soon discovered my poor fortune.

Leola looked back at me, a hint of entrapping amusement in her pale eyes. "An ex-wife?"

"Hardly." I replied, my eyes still on Mariposa. "Just someone who took an instant disliking to me."

"Any reason in particular?" She asked raising a lovely brow.

"Well, I accidentally shot her dog with an arrow during a fox-hunt." I smiled as best I could.

"Must have been some dog." She replied.

This was technically true, though it was a hunting dog and I was Mariposa's fox. Plus the event happened long after she had taken that instant disliking to me. With her magic Mariposa must have clicked that I had seen her and her eyes snapped immediately to the dance floor and locked on mine. She threw aside her cloak, revealing that she was in full armour, the red jade contrasting with the soft orange light of the lanterns. She wasn't here to fool around. I heard her shout to one of her archons over the music and thats when I grabbed Leola by the arm and dove into the throng of dancers.

We danced slowly in the mass of other Dynasts, lost in the sea of gowns and faces, weaving around and between other dancers as Mariposa and her hired-help eased through the crowd od party-goers. I could have joined the other members of my House where Mariposa could not possibly touch me in front of all the witnesses, but the thought of ending my dancing flight with Leola was almost unbearable. I was frightened both at the fact that I was a few dance moves away from an axe through the head and the fact that I could not let go of this racishing woman when I had cast away countless others in my life. The music sped up and the dancers around us began to pick up their pace, growing more elaborate and flashy in their moves - Leola and I obliged and continued to dance toward the rear exit. We were like magic together, we moved fluidly, anticipating eachother's movements and working in unison to escape the Magistrate's eyes. Leola leaned close to me and whispered in my ear. Her hot breath tickled and sent shivers through me.

"This is exciting!" Her face was alight with exhileration and nervousness.

"Exciting is hardly the word I would use..." I replied, though I knew I felt the same and by my face she could tell.

Mariposa was getting angry, and we got our break when she knocked a servant carrying a tray of drinks onto a patrician in an expensive dress. Or at least it sounded expensive by the way and the volume at which she wailed. Regardless though, Fringe Peach wine will stain anything. Anything. The only tried and true way of removing the stain is naked flame, and that of course frequently destroys whatever you're trying to clean. There were lots of people milling around the scene and in the confusion Leola and I darted out the exit and up the stairs, but not before one of Mariposa's thug archons spotted us and raised the alarm. The mess she had made on that woman's dress delayed the Magistrate - but not for long.

We led Mariposa on a merry chase across the rooftops of the impressive mansion, leaping over pathways and between wings. Our feet barely touched the tiles and through the entire run, Leola never let go of my hand. I wasn't kidding myself, I knew that pursuit was a Magistrate's game and she had more than enough magic to make such a chase short and anticlimactic at best. Stealth was our only option. We were able to lose the Magistrate by hiding in the gardens - after all, wood is my element. Once she had her back turned we fled out the gates and into the night through the glittering streets of the Imperial City. We didn't go anywhere in particular, we ended up just watching the night-time traffic on Peony Parade and talking about simple things. After a while we decided that Magistrate or no Magistrate it would be better for us to return to the ball before people began to ask too many questions about our absence.

We entered the hall, her hand still in mine. I could feel her heartbeat through her skin, and it was faster than it should have been. I felt something was wrong. Everyone in the hall was facing the stage where the apparent announcment regarding Sesus and Ragara was being made. We stood in the entrance and listened. The man making the announcment, Sesus Terrad was wedding his daughter to some Ragara son. My grip on Leola's hand slacked and I felt it fall away as she was pulled away by the movement of the crowd of dynasts and patricians.

"I'm sorry Orchid." She said. Despite the noise of the applause in the hall and the fact that her voice was so faint, I heard every word. Everyone was celebrating and congratulating the couple while I stood alone in the entrance. Well, almost. The two archons gripped my arms and Mariposa walked around in front of me and rammed a gauntleted fist into my stomach for good measure. I couldn't take my eyes off Leola.

"Guess it's not your lucky night, eh Orchid?" Mariposa laughed and thats the last I remember of that evening.

Mariposa and her thugs beat me good, and I hurt. Bad. I hope that she got some sort of closure from it, because I got nothing from the broken bones and bruises. My nose healed well, you cant even tell that she broke it - the House has good doctors. I was quite a mess inside and out. I didn't reveal what had happened to me to Rura or anyone else, and they mostly attributed my poor performance afterwards to the beating. I prefered them thinking that than to soil my reputation with mention of lost love. The hard talks I recieved did provide me with some motivation, not to perform my duties for the house, but to find a way to see Leola.

I was quite inventive, and we were able to see eachother quite a few times. We would steal horses from her father's stables and race off across the fields on the outskirts of the city, or row the Scarlet River at night. With my attention well and truly taken up with my activities in the city, I hardly provided any use to House Cynis or anyone else and I rapidly fell out of favour. I didn't just gain the emnity of my family - I managed to win the attention of Leola's father Terrad. I got careless, and he found out about me, but to my surprise he did not send assassins to do away with me.

Instead he and a sizeable group of armed family members approached me one night. They took me to his office where Terrad offered me a simple deal. I could stay in the Imperial City and continue to see Leola. If I did, he would destroy me. He elaborated that he had observed my fall from grace in the Palace of Trees and quite accurately pointed out that he could do far worse than kill me. Without my family's support, and without the sufficient information to blackmail him back, he could politically and socially make me worse than an Outcaste. And he would beat me sensless of course for good measure, his fellows present would see to that. They all carried clubs and maces, so that I would live through such a beating. He told me he didn't want that, and presented option two. He would give me money, a ship, artifacts and the use of a manse in the northern Isle. In return I would not interfere with Leola's wedding and her married life, and never set foot in the Imperial City ever again.

Don't ever believe any of that nobility garbage you read in books where the dashing hero defies the father and triumphs over the adversity to win his love. This is the real world and in the real world that kind of nonsense simply does not happen. I knew I was beat, so I accepted his bribe as gracefully as I could. He was satisfied, and at that he left to make the preparations to transfer the valuables to me. I asked if I could see Leola one last time to say goodbye.

He refused.

I was mad. Very mad. But I took solace in the fact that I knew something that Terrad didn't. I hadn't given up on Leola, and I knew there was still time before she was to be wed. What I had done was make a tactical retreat so that I could regroup. Terrad had just unwittingly supplied me with funds to begin my campaign to destroy him. Amongst the things he gave me is my sword, a reaper daiklave I have renamed Faithless; one of his finest horses, Lotus; a pair of very fine bracers; some sets of fine clothing and jewelery; the ownership of a small manse in the northern forests and of course a generous supply of jade and silver.

But I need to accumulate more. More money. More weapons. More allies. Then I can face him on even footing. He beleives he's taken care of me - well... he is in for a surprise. A rude surprise. I sold my dignity to him, but when I return I will take far more than that.

Leola is the Old Realm word for love.