A Little Test

[Lady Samantha Rose]

A great deal had happened during the course of the Summer festival. Several pleasant events coupled with polite exchanges, but they were unfortunately overshadowed by the news of Prince Nikolai fleeing the place. It would be fitting that Samantha's return to court would be wrought with some form of drama. The cynical part of her refused to be all that surprised, however. She was curious as to her eldest son's thoughts on the matter. Though she was hardly an old maid, she was not getting any younger and neither was Tomas. Tomas was certainly a man in his own right and he was her heir. It was only fitting for her to be curious.

Samantha had a page summon her son to their pavilion, wanting to have a quiet lunch and talk with him. A small table held a light meal, containing some of his preferred items. She was tempted to have a small glass of wine, but decided it was best to wait until the evening before imbibing even her own spirits. So, instead, it was lemonade and water. For now, she merely waited patiently for his arrival.

Lord Tomas Rose

[Lord Tomas Rose]

Tomas was finding his own way to entertain himself. He had yet to meet anyone his own age and was having trouble grabbing traction just yet, after all they had not been in the capital for that long, he had just arrived and they had been moved up to the Lake for the summer festival. All the people around him had grown up together and knew each other for years and he was the new face, having to break through and he had yet to really get the chance. He was exploring when a page came up to him, he had been summoned.

So straightened up and followed the page to where his mother had summoned him. He was not entirely surprised, she must be curious on how he was already doing in his first attempts at court, he had been intrigued by the drama and going ons in the court. There was so much fun to be had and he had yet to meet someone. It was exciting and he could not wait to embroil himself in the fun that was going on around him. So he walked up to his mother and bowed his head slightly. "Mother, you summoned me"

Lady Samantha Rose

[Lady Samantha Rose]

"Hello, dearling," she responded with affection, deciding to drop all of sense of formality. Such things were not necessary, were they? "Please, come in and sit down. Make yourself comfortable. I had a meal made ready for us." She then took a casual sip of water as she studied him for a long moment. He looked a great deal like his father: dark hair, dark eyes and handsome features. For a moment, she took to missing Esteban and wishing for his safety on the seas.

"Have you been enjoying yourself during the Festival? And staying out of trouble?" Her eyes twinkled with mirth as she asked.

Lord Tomas Rose

[Lord Tomas Rose]

He smiled softly at her as he took a seat, looking over the spread that she had made for them, it was a light meal but it all looked good, he had always enjoyed the food that was prepared by the cooks in Honeyvine but the food here at the capital was something else, new and enjoyable he had been having to restrain himself from trying everything, the food at home was a mix between Demaria and Linten foods. A mixture of the two countries that heavily influenced the Duchy but in the capital it did not have the Linten influence as much but a little of the empire and the other kingdoms blended making each meal an adventure in its own. He was enjoying that.

He looked at his his mother as she asked him a few questions, niceties one might say, about his time so far, it had only been a few days. He sipped a lemonade and mulled the question over. "I am learning a lot, still getting traction on meeting my peers, not easy to meet people when they meet in private or at their own parties and they are all of equal rank or higher. I am still looking for the time to meet them, although I did run into a couple of De Lac's the other day, that was interesting"

Lady Samantha Rose

[Lady Samantha Rose]

"Oh, good," she commented idly with a gentle smile. "The de Lacs are a good people, despite the strife they are going through. I'm afraid I am going to have to call their mother to the carpet sooner rather than later. Her behavior has become most deplorable." She wondered how much Tomas knew about that, but she was confident that he would indicate such to her. "Their fishing fleets are becoming one of the best in the kingdom. I believe they wish to become the true lords of the sea. I wonder how we could help them."

She continued to smile in the face of his worry, "That is the nature of Court, Tomas. Backroom dealings, secret meetings and whispered conversations. Only a few are brave enough to do such in the open eyes of everyone. That is what tournaments, dances and feasts are for. Tell me, though, who are you truly hoping to meet?"

Lord Tomas Rose

[Lord Tomas Rose]

He listened, he knew that she was right they were good people, he had not heard a bad thing about them, not at home and not from any of the peasants that would occasionally come to Honeyvine. Over all they seemed to be a well liked bunch at least by the people he had run into thus far. They had their head on their shoulders and were good vassals. They were quite loyal as well. The Dukes and Duchesses of Rosewine had always treated them well and in return they had been quite good vassals. "What problems mother, I seem to be a bit out of the loop on that subject." He smiled at their goal of being the Lords of the Sea, he liked the idea and supported that. It would be good for all involved. Good for their fief and even his families Duchy, just the extra jobs for the common folk and the claim to the Duchy would be a huge bonus not to mention the money. "I like that idea, having them be the Lords of the Sea like that, I do think it would be a good idea to sit with them and see how they can use our help toward that goal. I can see it being beneficial for all of us."

He listened to her advice and he sighed softly. He knew she was right, he was feeling frustrated because of the position he was in. They met in private and backroom dealings and he could not meet them because of that so he couldn't get to meet them. He did not want her to help him though he needed to do it himself. If she did it then it will look like he was not capable and look bad on him in front of his peers. He had to do it himself. "I know, it is just frustrating, still being blocked out at the moment, in time I will find my way in, I just hate waiting around mother. I don't quite have your patience" He paused when she asked and he smiled, he had hopes and dreams. "Well I want to meet the princes, the crowned prince too, I will need at least a good relationship with him one day. But I really want to meet Princess Emmaline, with the foreign prince on the run there is an opportunity." He finished right then, he was not sure how the princess would receive him the unsureness of the idea was kind of exciting and frustrating at the same time. Now at court his plans all seemed to hinge on people he had never met and out ranked him so he just had to prepare himself and hope for the best.

Lady Samantha Rose

[Lady Samantha Rose]

"Lady de Lac," she began slowly and thought for a moment, "From what I have heard, she is quite vicious with her children emotionally speaking. Very demanding, very cruel and brooks no failure in the slightest. She's been a terror to them and I believe she's even ordered the death of a few people. I can't substantiate the latter, of course, since that is a very serious allegation. I am planning to meet with the de Lacs soon to discuss the matter. Perhaps you should join me in that meeting." It was a good way to get his feet wet, though the de Lacs might not appreciate the gesture. Only time would tell.

Samantha's eyebrows rose slightly at his desire to meet with the royals. "It is wise to maintain a good relationship with the royal family, but remember that there are other members of the nobility. Don't focus solely on them." The mention of Princess Emmaline gave her noticeable pause. "Really?" She thought on it. "How do you plan to approach so that you do not come across as taking advantage of her situation and present emotional state?" It was a harsh question, but a necessary one. Tomas could very well be playing with fire and she wanted to know if he could handle getting burned.

[Lord Tomas Rose]

He listened as his mother told him what the lady did, how she treated her children and the people around her. It was horrible, Tomas was having trouble believing that someone could do that to their own children, to their own people and he was beginning to realize that he may have been lucky to have the Duchess as his mother. True she expected the best from her children but he allowed each one of them to pursue their own dreams and goals, she did not mind failure if it occurred but did want you to learn from it. Which was not a bad thing to expect what is the point of making mistake if nothing came from it. He nodded when his mother said that maybe he should join her in the talks and he agreed, he should, it would be a valuable learning experience for if one day he had to deal with unacceptable behavior from one of his people. "Yes mother, I think that is a good idea."

He nodded again when she said to not focus solely on the royal family which was apart of his plan. His plan was broad, he wanted to meet and build good relations with the royal family but they were the crown jewel of his plan so to speak not the whole thing. He wanted to build as many good relations as he could muster which means he could not focus on one or two. "Of course mother, they are the highlights so to speak, the rest are in the plan too."

He noticed the change when she asked how he planned to handle it without looking so opportunistic. He had a rough plan, he did not much like it but it was the best plan in the given situation or so he thought. He knew that it was a delicate matter of which to much to fast would ruin it all and he took in a deep breath. "I am going to try and make it look like her idea, sadly that means the first part of the plan is left up to fate and I hate when I have to do that, especially when I don't know her and can't predict a possible outcome. I have to meet her by accident and continue to do so or be summoned until a relationship is built, never seek her out. If I seek her out it could make her suspicious, but if I am myself, the charming, passionate new man at court I might draw her attention. At least that is the try for now, if after a while it does not work tactics can be altered a bit, even the not coming after her right away is the right decision in any case. It is to soon for an all out attempt especially in my first days of coming to court. It would be suspicious and look like all the princes that are hovering about and against that all out in the open I doubt I would stand a chance."

Lady Samantha Rose

[Lady Samantha Rose]

Samantha listened quietly to his plan, deciding to start in her light meal as she did so. It was clear that her son was thinking and she had to give him credit for that. He was not about to go into this blindly, that was for certain. If he went charging in like a bull looking to rut, it would not end well for anyone involved. "Subtlety will be your friend, I agree, but I'd like to give you something to consider. She had just been jilted so to speak. Not at the alter, by any means, but in front of the entirety of Demeria. That is enough to make a woman question their worth and being. It hurts. It elicits anger. A person who is angry will not listen to all reason, no matter how right it is ... and especially from someone they do not know."

She paused, "To that end, I suggest you give her time and you be patient. I know you said you want to make it seem like her idea, but it is going to be a short time until she is healed enough to be out in public again, meeting new people. Her family will be especially protective of her." She smiled, hopinghe would understand. "Like you said. I see your points, but take the long and slow approach for now. Then, when the time seems right, you can move in." She just hoped he did not get his hopes too high. Acquiring a princess would be daunting, especially if Sedrick wanted to use her for an alliance with another nation.

"Also," she paused, "What do you think of our relations with Sarkozsy? In light of recent events, do you think we should still pursue an alliance?"

[Lord Tomas Rose]

He nodded he completely agreed, the long slow approach was the best way to do things, he had not really thought to much about it but that was a point, the princess would be vulnerable and feeling unworthy, possibly untrusting of men outside her family and his status as a complete stranger might be helpful but in this situation it would be very inconvenient. He could not take to many liberties he noted that making friends with her family if possible would be helpful in a way. He just hated that so much was up to chance but in truth there was little he could do to control the situation, so much of it was in the air that it was impossible for him to coordinate with all. He knew he was attempting something difficult but he felt that it was not completely outside the realm of possibilities. He also knew that if he gave plenty of space curiosity of the unseen ducal heir might overcome some people. As far as he knew he was the only one that had never been seen at court before and that did give him an advantage in some ways. "Your right mother, the slow long route is the best. I am not putting all the eggs in one basket I know there is a long shot. She may not take to me as a person or the King might have other ideas for her, but at the moment there is a small chance. It is not like a princess has not married into a ducal family before. The kings oldest daughter married a Jardinier and they don't have the agreement or tradition that the St. Claires and Lancasters have with the crown. "

He sipped his drink and took a small bite of his food while he listened to the question and he mulled it over for a moment before answering, he had an idea or two on the topic and he smiled softly. " I think it is to soon to discount, with the Prince vanishing like that, it gives us a major advantage in negotiations and it would be stupid to discredit with the rumblings in Linten and the Empire. I think they will be struggling to repair the damage caused and that can be useful I would like to see what is offered in reparation before dismissing them completely"

Lady Samantha Rose

[Lady Samantha Rose]

"The only person who truly knows what they want for their daughter is his Majesty himself. I do not know what his plans are for his daughter," she smiled faintly, "And, yes, I know. Princess Fiona also married a man of Lancaster. The St. Claire females are typically queens, but now that has been shifted on its head. Very interesting development. I hear Prince Riordan is seriously considering Selena Lancaster to be his future queen. We should become better acquainted with her. I have a feeling Prince Riordan is going to allow her a great deal of influence."

She brought the topic back to Tomas's future marriage prospects, "I would also plan contingencies. If you cannot gain Princess Emmaline's hand, we will need to seek another. Another who we feel would not only make for a good Duchess of Honeyvine but help our relations. I've been too insular and I know it. Perhaps we could look to the ladies of our bordering duchies and counties. St. Claire, de Vere, and their vassals. While you may not feel they are as influential as the royal family, there are other ways to gain influence."

She leaned back to consider her son's words. "So, you'd like to see what they will do to apologize for the situation and go from there?" It was a sensible approach, giving her son a nod of approval.

[Lord Tomas Rose]

He listened and mused, his mother had acknowledged his plan had some merit and was not completely ridicules which he knew but it was nice to get confirmation. Maybe he was a natural at this court thing, maybe it was his fathers blood coming out in him again, he had heard that his father had been quite the savant at Linten court when he was a young count and since his marriage to the Duchess of Rose he doubted that influence waned much over the years and absence from the court, but how was he to know, Tomas had never been to the Linten court either he only knew heresy. He heard the words about the princes considering Selena Lancaster as his queen and that interested him. He had not heard that tidbit of news that was interesting and could be useful information for a contingency plan of some sort.

He mother turned the topic back to marriages and Tomas was not quite ready for this chat but knew it was not going to go away, he had a duty to his Duchy, family and people to make a sound choice for their future duchess. He mused for a second, his mother was already going down to the less influential but he already had a few idea in mind. "I know Lord St. Claire has four daughters and we always have tension with De Vere but I have an idea first that could still be influential at court. Do you know the plans for Lady Serah? She is close to my age, intelligent I hear and cousin to the king, second cousin to the prince and cousin to his possible chosen queen. You don't by any chance know how close she is to her cousins do you? Could be a idea, gain alliances with Lancaster and the Royal family."

He sipped his drink as his mother mulled his idea for the situation, he thought it was to soon to make an all out judgement, to many things in the air and the country needed them more for the food. So they would come, they would try and make it right and he thought it was right to give them the chance, plus they had two princesses and a prince sticking through it which had to prove something. "Yes, lot of things are changing but we could come out on top if we give this chance, maybe a standing army joining our troops on the borders, not an army to come if we needed it but a show of strength their armies actively defending ours now, they could give the empire and Linten pirates something to think about twice."

[Lady Samantha Rose]

His mother was considering all possible angles. It was poor planning to put all of ones eggs in a basket. The mention of Lady Serah made her tilt her head, remembering that she was the daughter of Fiona Lancaster, the infamous Iron Princess. She had to smile faintly. He really was quite determined to get as close to the royal family as possible. Samantha had never considered taking the approach, but she supposed she wasn't going to actively discourage him otherwise. Perhaps he would learn in his own way. Young men did have a tendency to be as stubborn as bulls when it came to getting what they want.

"Lady Serah Lancaster? I am not certain. I've witnessed her spending time with the Treniatan Grand Duke, Frederick Von Arles, but I dare not make any assumptions. Explore that possibility, as well." She gave him a small smile with a spread of her hands. "If you'd like, I'll gather as much information on her and other eligible ladies as I can."

The idea of a standing army gave her pause, "As far as I am aware, only the Empire of Arton has a standing army. They can be horrendously expensive to maintain. Are you confident that both nations can afford to maintain such an army, especially for a conflict that may never come to be in the first place?"

[Lord Tomas Rose]

He tilted his head to the right and smiled at her as she smiled at him. He was not sure what she was smiling about but she seemed to be amused, she did not seem to deter him from the ideas, his plan was simple, he planned to put himself in the most influential place he could, connections were necessary and alliances. At this point he did not want anything to do with Linten or the Empire it would help him none, he was already half lintenese after all.

He listened as she spoke, about her keeping company with a grand duke and nodded. He would do better at this if he met some of these women. He did not want some with just an influential position but the will to use it. He wanted power and influence and to use it. But she mentioned gathering information and he smiled and nodded. "Yes mother, I think that is a good idea. It would be expected anyways since I am eighteen and we are at court for the first time, people would expect us to scope out our options."

He listened to her comments on the idea. He smiled he had not meant for it to be a permanent standing army. He had meant more on a temporary basis. "Not a permanent thing but I think a way to deter the Empire would be to give a show of strength. We have been at peace for many years they have forgotten the last time we repelled them. Show them we are not defenseless they may reconsider. "

[Lady Samantha Rose]

"Ah. They've been rattling their sabers, so to speak and now it is time for us to rattle ours." She considered the suggestion, finding it an interesting one. How would Arton respond to such an act? Were they so desirous of war? Then again, if they were, they would have struck years ago. Samantha had to wonder what was keeping the Empire at bay. "That would be a good temporary measure. In truth, my son, I hoping that we can reach a treaty. I know the Empire desires to expand but surely they have enough land..."

She winced and then looked down at her hands. "I suppose that is rather childish and hopeful thinking, isn't it?" Truly, Samantha simply wanted peace, quiet and a chance to grow her grapes and make her wine. It was not the most exciting life, but she was rather content with her lot. Perhaps her son, once he'd learned the ropes of court, could stay behind as the duchy's representative. Now there was an idea... hmm.