Confrontation the First [ 4/14, Sedrick and Fiona]

[King Sedrick Carlisle]

Taking the air was something he did not typically indulge in. Sedrick was a busy man; the work of rulership did not wait on any man's leisure or good-will. Aware that his aunt had a mouthful to spew kept firmly behind her teeth, he kept her waiting for over a week before granting her the opportunity to spill her thoughts before him. He had little regard for Fiona's opinion or her advice; after all, if she was half as powerful as she claimed, why hadn't she deposed him or worse, framed him to be regarded in light of a mad-man?

Sedrick's laugh was a low, humourless rasp as he strolled the gravelled pathways, hands clasped behind his back. He wore no crown, finding it ostentatious. No true King required ornamentation or symbols to remind others of his rank. If a King could not be recognised as a King from his posture, stance and confidence, he was no true King. A lesson, he was aware, that Riordan had yet to learn. If he could instill it in Tristan, then the boy would be King and Riordan could throw himself on his younger brother's mercy.

The notion amused him as he made his way to what had been his Queen's private garden. It offered a place where Fiona could shout at him with little fear of eavesdroppers. The last time a guard failed him in allowing that damned Master of spies too close, he'd had the man publicly flogged. They wouldn't fail again, of that Sedrick was sure. A nod acknowledged the quartet on duty, stationed at the four breaks in the hedge that provided access to the garden itself.

He stood, calm and proud, waiting for the storm to break over him in the form of Fiona Carlisle Lancaster. The Iron Princess - that was a laugh of a moniker - was thinking to dress him down. He couldn't wait to hear this. It promised to be incredibly amusing.

[Lady Fiona Lancaster]

The man was not only insane, but he was also an ass. Fiona thought on her history of the man, trying to place just what had happened to him. To be certain, Sedrick Carlisle had always had manners about him that left much to be desired, but he had not been... mad. That had only started developing within the last few years. Was it really some sort of illness? Fiona couldn't think of what else it might be. At least the man had finally come out and admitted that he was ill. However, that still didn't excuse his actions.

Opting for a deep red gown with gold trim for this meeting, Fiona strove to look every part a Princess of Demeria. Sedrick may not take him very seriously, but she was determined to leave an impression. Fiona approached the gardens, going over in her mind exactly what she wanted to say to him and how she would go about doing so. A great number of possible events were going through her mind, each just as plausible as the next.

There he was. Standing like the pompous ass he always had been, as if the very ground beneath his feet should feel the honor of bearing his weight. It took all Fiona had not to curl her lips with disgust and roll her eyes with disdain. Fortunately for them both, she was more ladylike than that. As she came before him, she afforded him the courtesy she was due and dipped before him. Once he signaled (or otherwise) for her rise, she did so.

Anger was burning in her eyes. So much vitriol threatened to come spewing out. "What has happened to you, Sedrick?" She began, her voice cold, "I know you've always been cunning and ruthless in executing your plans, but never before have you been like this. A princess of the realm she may be, and she will do her duty, make no mistake about that, but she is your daughter and a grown woman. She deserves to be treated as such."

[King Sedrick Carlisle]

The icy tone of his aunt's voice washed over him, no doubt intended to cow or shame him, but Sedrick merely skimmed her with a look. It had not escaped his notice that Fiona was increasingly shrill, living down to the nickname given her. A shrew was what she'd become, if he was truly honest, and he was already tired of listening to her. She wouldn't be content until she had her chance to deliver her dressing-down, vent her spleen and otherwise pour her venom free. Schooling himself to patience instead of rolling his eyes, he waited until she was finished.

"You treat your own daughter no better, Fiona. I did not expect hypocrisy from you, but then you are acquiring quite the reputation for hamhandedness lately, I hear." Sedrick's reply was as arid as the desert in the heart of the Jardinier duchy. He smiled icily at her. "I think you forget yourself at times, dear aunt. You retain your title as Princess at my indulgence, and it is a mere courtesy. I could command the same of you if it amused me. Perhaps I should do so. A husband to keep you busy would prevent you from putting your pretty nose into business that does not concern you further."

Women were a constant thorn in his side, especially this one. If he didn't know better, he might suspect Fiona harbored some royal ambitions of her own, but there was one thing that kept her in her place. She lacked the support and power to supplant him or his chosen heir.

[Lady Fiona Lancaster]

"And your tendency toward being arbitrary is getting the better of you," she countered, not bothering to evade the insult he had laid to bare. She was not above admitting she had own her faults. Fiona knew full well that she had been too heavy handed with Selena Lancaster, and thus she refused to give Sedrick the pleasure of knowing he had needled in her. "We can be honest with each other, Sedrick, We're old creatures of the court now. I may have to make hard and firm decisions for my daughter, but I at least treat her like an adult and include her in the discussion."

As for the threat of a husband, she gave a smile in return. "Oh, I think you and I both know that shackling me to a man is going to do little to stop me. Everything I have done, I have done it for the benefit of the Kingdom. Whether you strip me of the title or not, I am still a Carlisle by blood and I will do what I see is necessary to keep the Carlisles in this castle." She pointed toward the structure to emphasize her point.

[King Sedrick Carlisle]

"I learned it from you, dear Auntie," he drawled in retort. Sedrick's patience with Fiona's recent tendency towards shrewish behaviour was waning indeed. "Honesty from you is a rare gift. I wondered if you would present it to me. As for my daughter, had I any confidence in her ability to think cohesively and logically, perhaps I would be more inclined to treat her as an adult. But between you and my late, unlamented wife, you've turned her into a brainless, mewling ball of fluff. She is fortunate that Sarkozsy is taking her on. Treniata turned her down flat."

Turning away, he hid his wince. He'd gone too far there, his leash on his temper and tongue loosening more frequently of late. Sedrick chose to ignore her bleating about their shared blood and her self-justification, instead abruptly changing the subject. "I need you to set up a dinner. One for the Carlisles and our Sarkozsy guests. Since you are the ranking lady, I'm sure I can rely on you to make it a pleasant occasion."

His head thrummed, pain flickering at the back of it until he wanted to strike at himself just to end it. The blue eyes were reddening with it as well. Something was wrong, but he struggled to hide it more.

[Lady Fiona Lancaster]

Sedrick's comment frankly stunned her speechless, and it had to be turned over in her mind several times to make certain that he actually said such a cold thing about his daughter. The urge to slap him hard across the face rose sharply within her. However, she tamped it down, for there would be no coming back from physically assaulting the monarch of the realm. What angered her even more was the abrupt change in subject.

"I'll see it done," she spat out, "More for Emmaline, than yourself." Fiona refrained from curling her lip in disgust. "I don't know what has happened to you, Sedrick, and I am not certain that I want to know. If you have any love for your daughter, cherish the times with her while you can. That is, of course, if you can see her as a beautiful and capable young lady rather than a mewling ball of fluff."

Fiona narrowed his eyes at her, wondering... just wondering. What had happened to him? Why was he being like this?

[King Sedrick Carlisle]

He curled his lip at his aunt, already sick of her shrill scolding. Sedrick knew this was a mistake, a hand rising to grip his head for a moment in the futile hopes that the pain might ease however briefly. It was getting worse and worse, making him see things, think things, say things that were not who he was. Or, if he was honest with himself, who he used to be. Sedrick hardly recognized the gaunt, grim featured man in the mirror any more. If this was what getting old was like, he hoped a war came along to spare him the indignity of dying by inches.

A hand waved her off in dismissal as he staggered and dropped onto a bench, all but snarling at her, "Just do it, get it done. I can't be bothered with this nonsense."

[Lady Fiona Lancaster]

Now Fiona was actually getting worried for the irascible bastard. "Sedrick?" She asked, her voice suddenly sounding with some concern as she started to approach him and then stopped herself. The man had staggered, she saw this. It was also clear that something was giving him considerable pain. Something had to be wrong with him. She was sure of it now. "Are you unwell? Do you want me to fetch your Physician?"

An ass, he may have been, but she was not going to stand and watch him suffer!

[King Sedrick Carlisle]

He fought through the haze of pain that threatened to swamp him in blackness, his head gripped now in both hands as he swallowed down the animalistic groan. It took considerable effort for him to gasp out an affirmative, confirming it was best that the physician be summoned and soon. No sooner had he done so then he slumped over, conquered for the moment by the malady that was slowly, steadily stealing his mind from him.

[Lady Fiona Lancaster]

"Sedrick!" Fiona called out, clearly alarmed at what just transpired. Moving forward quickly, she caught him before he fell and hit his head upon the ground. A snap of an order was given toward the guard to fetch a litter discreetly and also to find the royal physician. The fewer people knew about this, the better. Already, she was planning a route through the castle and plotting out possible contingency plans.

Her work truly was never finished.