My My Look At The Time (5/8, morning, Kenna/Nessa/Montrose)

[Kenna Merrick]

So someone had tried to kill the king. Two days after they’d taken out Jon Fitzwulf. The former might have been deemed an accident, but Kenna doubted anyone would think that now. Not if someone had tried to take out the king as well. She had no details, other than it had happened last night after she and Nathanial had left. The messenger hadn’t spoken any other words and Nathaniel had left immediately.

So Kenna had taken her time preparing herself for the day, checking on her children and insisting they stay in the manse with their tutor. Then she took a horse and rode to her father’s to wait for him there. And she suspected some member of her family (hopefully not Cat) would be there to talk to. She wanted to know what was going on as much as anyone else.

She didn’t knock on the door or wait to be greeted when she arrived. Kenna had grown up in this house. It was still as much hers as it was her father’s and she found it almost as comforting, if not more so, than the one she lived in now.

A servant greeted her, bowing, but not smiling. Kenna was not some well loved child of her father’s. Not like Cameron and Kenneth had been. “I’d like some tea in the parlor and alert my cousins I’m here and would appreciate the company.”

[Nessa Montrose]

"My lady?"

Nessa raised her eyebrows to let the servant know she'd heard him, her eyes quickly moving to finish the bit she was reading. Sitting in the sunshine of her room with a good book in her hand, it was easy enough for her to forget the chaos of the last 24 hours. The presence of a messenger, she thought, likely heralded the end of her temporary escapism, however. "Yes?"

"Your cousin, Lady Merrick, has arrived, and has asked that her cousins join her in the parlor for tea and company." Nessa nodded. She barely knew Kenna; she hadn't been the friendliest of children, and she had gotten married and moved here quite young. Nessa was actually older than her, but Kenna had experienced much more of life, for better or for worse.

"I'll be down in a moment." The servant nodded and left, closing the door behind him. For a moment she glanced down at her jewelry box, at the necklace from Elanor and the bracelet from Larson...but she remembered Kenna as being very perceptive, and she didn't much feel like explaining the origins of either of those pieces. Instead she chose a necklace that had been her mother's, a simple chain with a gorgeous pearl dangling from it, and clasped it around her neck. One last look in the mirror to make sure her hair was smooth and she was on her way.

By now it the manor was a place she was quite familiar with, and she smiled at the servants as she passed them on her way to the parlor. She nodded her thanks to the one who opened the parlor door for her before stepping in and greeting her cousin. Smile still on her face, she inclined her head to her cousin, who was looking beautiful, as always. "Good morning, cousin. It's good to see you."

[Kenna Merrick]

Kenna looked up as Nessa came in. She knew nothing about this cousin at all, but then who had she expected? Bruce? For Tea? Certainly not Catriona, who would never wish to sit and drink with her (and Kenna felt exactly the same). But Nessa was a good surprise and a cousin she might like to know. So Kenna rose to greet with, although no smile graced her face. The ice queen always ran in her veins.

“It’s good to finally spend some time with you, Nessa, even if the reason for my visit is somewhat morose.” She settled back down and picked up her cup of tea, motioning for Nessa to do the same. “We received a visitor this morning calling Nathaniel to council with the king. The man said someone tried to kill the king? We left early from the ball last night, as I had a headache. What happened?”

She wanted to know, especially considering the death of Jon and both her husband and father’s involvement in the council.

[Nessa Montrose]

Nessa knew of Kenna's reputation for being a little....icy, and so she wasn't put off by it yet. After all, not every person was made of smiles and laughter; just look at Elanor, and they had become friends. She simply moved on the assumption that, if Kenna found anything about Nessa to be displeasing, she would know it. Besides, it would be very good to get to know more of the family. As large as the Montrose clan was, Nessa couldn't really remember having had conversations with most of them.

She sat and took a sip of her tea, cradling the cup in her hands; it wasn't cold in the room, but still the warmth radiating from it was something of a small comfort. As she listened, it didn't take her long to glean the direction of the conversation, and she noted before she was told that they had left early. She was somewhat pleased to hear it, although she was sorry for the headache that caused their early departure.

"Truly I'm not sure how it all played out. I wasn't really near when it started, and after it had there were so much panic it was difficult to tell what was going on." She took another sip of her tea and tried to remember how it had started, pulling on any memory she thought might have a clue. "For some reason the king was led away from the center of things, to look at a cake, or some such." She remembered the cake flying through the crowd; that had been what really caused most people to panic, before they realized that there was danger. "The next bit I couldn't see, but when I could there lay a Horn on the floor, dead, and another injured quite badly. Another body lay on the floor, as well, and I can only hope that it was the assassin."

Was there anything else? She had been more or less lost in the crowd after that, and had seen very little. "Crowds behave like cattle when frightened like that, so I'm afraid I didn't see much more. I did catch a glimpse of your father leaving, with someone at his side, I think, although I didn't see him for more than a moment."

[Kenna Merrick]

Kenna shook her head. Sometimes their king wasn’t very bright. “You don’t ask the king to come to you. You go the king. What was Adrien thinking? Well,” Kenna actually laughed lightly, “I’ll bet he wasn’t thinking. I’ll bet his head was muddled in wine and his eyes were filled with girls and the last thing on his mind was that someone might try to kill him. I wonder if his wine wasn’t extra strong or if the girl on his arm wasn’t part of the whole thing. Not that I even know who that was, but clearly this was set up well just for the man to get in here.”

Kenna didn’t have a strong love for the king, but she knew her father loved his job as much as he grumbled, and her husband did like the king and for that she would want to see him continue with his reign. And he seemed a good king, at least in heart if not experience. Much better than some war bent tyrant who would all their husbands and children off to some distant shore to make conquest. The Fontenots had never been like that though. Histories claimed they were always content to work on keeping peace with the kingdoms they already ruled. And Kenna knew that was hard enough. Arbrecht to Ahestere, each island was so different.

She breathed a sigh of relief, “I’m glad to hear he’s ok. I didn’t know until now, although I assume he’s at the same council as my husband. Nessa, we must discover what we can to ensure our house is not implicated. Considering the death of Jon, too many eyes will be on Arbrecht.”

[Nessa Montrose]

"You're exactly right there," Nessa said with a bit of a laugh. The king....well, he wasn't the brightest. He seemed to have good intentions, which counted for something, at least. This situation was just a good, if tragic, example of why he had to do things by the book sometimes. "I can't even tell you who he was with at the time...to be honest at first I wasn't even sure the king was the target, until things became clearer." Those first moments of panic, where she'd thought it was Elanor they'd been after...those had been horrible.

Nessa was glad she could give Kenna some comfort in the knowledge that her father had been safe, although her next words layered a new fear onto the events. Politics were never something Nessa had been good at, and although she was cautious, it seemed people were always more suspicious than she ever imagined. "Are you sure that by doing so we won't simply implicate our house further?" Was that really how it worked? She had no idea, truly. "I would love to know what happened and why, but I fear that it'll just make it look like we have something to hide."

Nessa took a sip of her tea and tried to think. How helpful could she really be? "I remember hearing last night that the assassin was in...Prothero garb, I think? One of those houses, at least. And I think just the Horns and council members went to the King's aid." Damnit, she knew so little for sure. And she had been right there! For the end part of it, anyway... "I'm friends with Lady Fitzwulf, and I plan on seeing her soon...I can see what she knows of the whole thing." Other than that she didn't really have anyone to ask...except perhaps Larson. But who knows how much he even knew.

[Kenna Merrick]

Kenna could see Nessa’s logic. “Yes, if we’re too sly or too careless about how we go about this, then we will be seen as guilty. But if we make it such that we’re looking to support the province, to help all the houses... even Fitzwulf, while finding what we need, it will not come off that way. Every house with any sense will be doing the same thing. The king will need to blame someone. And no one wants to be the house in that position.”

She sipped her tea and wondered about Nessa’s last comment. Friends with the Fitzwulf? Now how had that happened. That Montrose did not much like Fitzwulf was common knowledge and yet here her cousin was running around making friends. It could serve though. There were advantages.

“I think your friendship could be the piece we need to keep the blame off our back. The more you are seen with her, right now the better. Let people see you walking and talking, together and comfort her on her brother’s death.” That should not be hard if Nessa had true feelings for the girl. “And then maybe we can find out what we need without the suspicion.... when do you two become friends?”

Kenna did not have friends and nor would Lady Elanor ever be one. That Nessa could just go be their enemies friend was as baffling to her as Nathaniel’s constant smile.

[Nessa Montrose]

Even Fitzwulf...Her cousin's words jerked Nessa back into the world she was supposed to be living in, rather than the one she preferred. Montrose and Fitzwulf were not supposed to be friendly. They were, despite putting on a front of loyalty, quite at odds with one another...if one bought into the political agenda. But to Nessa, people weren't their last names. People were people, and she always had, and hopefully always would, judge them only on that, and never take stock in what she was "supposed" to feel. Sadly, though, that way of thinking was likely going to get her in great amounts of trouble.

She nodded, taking in Kenna's words. Her cousin was her polar opposite: cold, political, calculating. She knew better than to question Kenna's wisdom when it came to how to act in these situations. Still...the way Kenna spoke of the friendship she had with Elanor...it didn't sit well. The last thing she wanted was to betray her friend, to use her friendship with her as a tool. But surely it wouldn't hurt, if she were only acting as she would anyway?

"Shortly after her brother's death." Nessa looked into her teacup, awash with a feeling like she was confessing something shameful. "I was at the melee, so I saw...what happened. I expressed my condolences for her loss, and after speaking we just got on very well." A slight twist of the truth, but not far enough off that it was much of a lie. After all, what she had done was, in her own way, an expression of condolence. And it had led to a conversation, and it just...developed from there. The fact that they should be enemies given their last names had never occurred to her.

[Kenna Merrick]

“Jon’s death is of course sad. No one should have to lose a brother so young, or family at all.” Kenna’s voice was cool though. She didn’t care that Jon was dead. The Fitzwulfs were hated and hated rightfully so. They’d earned the disdain with their actions after all. And Elanor was just unlucky enough to be born a Fitzwulf. Kenna wouldn’t have traded places with her for the world.

“You are a sweet person, Nessa,” Kenna replied. She wouldn’t have thought to console the girl at all. Let the girl’s family deal with that. There were enough Fitzwulf women running around to more than make up for the man’s death. Hell, the girl’s aunt was part of the royal family. “And your kindness is often overlooked as an asset to our family.” That was made up. Kenna had no idea. She’d never even been part of the Montrose clan of the green, but she wasn’t above pretending. Her father still considered himself very much a man of the Green.

“Still, we must always look to what keeps our family alive and afloat. The Fitzwulf would see to stepping on everyone else’s power to keep themselves from tumbling and we cannot be stepped on again.” She sipped her drink and nodded. “What about your father? How does he feel about them?”

[Nessa Montrose]

Nessa sipped her tea, her face composed as her mind ran over everything that her cousin was saying. She knew Kenna well enough to know that she couldn't care one way or another that Jon was dead. Her dedication to politics would speak well enough to that fact, even if her cousin's closed heart wasn't as plain a trait as her blonde hair.

It was the second lie that struck Nessa as most jarring. Even the phrasing of it was something like what someone would say to a child to get them to behave as you wished. She loved her family well enough, but she also knew that they did not know her well at all; her father's eccentricity had been enough to cause most of the family to keep at a distance, and for Kenna to say that something was an 'asset to the family' was laughable. She hadn't been home in years, and Nessa had a sneaking feeling that if the whole of the Green lit aflame and burned to ashes, Kenna would not feel an ounce of sadness. "I thank you; I have always felt that kindness is an important trait, as archaic as it seems to be becoming."

Still, Nessa knew enough to realize that everything she was feeling right now needed to be kept far, far from the surface. Her gaze was even as she refilled her teacup, stirring it with the small silver spoon to let it cool. "I don't know how my father feels about them. I wouldn't dare to speculate his political opinions; I would hate for him to be misrepresented." And she would be damned before she would give anyone else any more reason to think poorly of her father.

[Kenna Merrick]

(OOC: she totes right about Kenna, but Kenna has never left the capital so she's never been to the Green )

“Balance is important, Nessa.” Kindness wasn’t Kenna favorite trait. Certainly it had its uses, but overly nice people were stepped on, crushed, and kicked aside if they weren’t careful. Kenna refused to ever have that happen to her. No one was going to take advantage of her again. “We can’t all be nice, or else the world would stop moving. You know that much is true. Ambition and greed are often the mothers of progress, and we all need more of that these days. Imagine if the doctors actually knew how to fix that plague that we’d all been afflicted by?”

Randomly unconnected statement, but tottering on the edge of sweetness was giving her a headache.

“Well, I don’t see enough of your father to know his opinion either. Has he even been staying here?” He was a drunk, and everyone knew it. Craig has a reputation for fathering bastards as well. Kenna didn’t care, as long as he didn’t do something stupid to get the family in trouble while her father still cared immensely about their future.

[Nessa Montrose]

"Yes, I'm sure you're right," Nessa said, becoming more and more disillusioned with the conversation as it went on. She had not expected to be lectured as though she were simple during this small meeting over tea. Ambition and greed the mothers of progress? And also the harbingers of so much pain, strife, and war that it wasn't even funny. It wasn't even a question in her mind that if the cure to the plague had existed, it would have been hoarded, perhaps sold off at ridiculous prices. The wealthy would have been able to afford it, but the poor would all still be ravaged.

She had been able to contain her displeasure, but the comment about her father made her need to pause lest she say something that would have been unwise. "Yes, he has been staying here," she said, after taking a sip of tea. He had at least made it back to bed each night; she'd convinced the steward to let her know, and she rarely went to sleep without hearing from him that Craig had arrived to his rooms. "While I'm sure he has his opinions, we don't discuss political matters much." A bit of a lie, but Kenna would never know the difference. In truth every time she found herself discussing politics, she ended up needing one or two or ten strong drinks afterwards. And actually, after this tea, she could hear the contents of the flask tucked in her boot calling to her.

"I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you. I'm afraid all of this has me quite a bit out of my depth. Life in the capital is so very much different from that which I'm used to...I must admit I'm quite far out of my element." Maybe if it was believed that she was simply inept at politics, nobody would ask anything of her. Keeping her head down had worked thus far...she just had to hope it continued to work until she got home.

[Kenna Merrick]

Kenna sipped her tea as she watched Nessa. There were two options here. Nessa was either just extremely oblivious, having lived her entire life in the green, or Nessa wanted Kenna to believe that she was oblivious. If Kenna had heard anything from her father, it was how important the preservation of the Green was to House Montrose. Surely Nessa had been exposed to some part of that culture during her upbringing, if she lived in there Green. Kenna was in the capital and her father never hesitated to drill it into her.

She half smiled, as best she could. “Oh, then Nessa. you should stay here. Live with my father and spend some time with me learning this place. My father could use the company anyway, having someone of his own house rather than that ward of his.” She wasn’t sure she liked Nessa yet, but the woman didn’t irritate her half as much as Catriona did, and she really should have her children become more acquainted with their own, even if they were truly Merricks.

“To hear the tales, the court was far more lively before the plague. Well, I have some memories when I was younger.” And she did enjoy it far more back then, when she and Cat were competing to have more friends, more... everything. But now? Kenna had been so distant after she isolated herself from Kenneth and everyone else. Maybe she needed this. Nathaniel would appreciate it at least.

“I hate large gatherings, I’ll be honest. The ball last night, was too much. But a smaller court affair could be... fun.” The hero take her, she was trying.

[Nessa Montrose]

Stay? Here in the capital? She already sort of felt like this place was strangling her slowly, and to hear Kenna propose she stay felt like the noose was getting tighter. Still...perhaps it would be good to get to know the rest of the family, and to spend time with Kenna and her family. "I have already been away from home too long to stay, but I would be happy to come for a visit. My brother Neil would probably love to come, as well. He'd fit in quite well at court, I think." Neil had always wanted more than the Green. Perhaps this would be a good way to give him the chance to be more than a youngest son.

"I imagine everything was more lively before the plague," she said, before realizing that her joke was a bit in bad taste. Oh well...Kenna didn't seem to shy away from speaking about it, so she shouldn't be too upset at a simple play on words. "I'm with you, though...I've never seen so many people in one place before last night, and I don't think I liked it one bit. How are you ever supposed to have any fun if there are people literally everywhere you turn? So much can happen in such a large crowd..." And indeed so much had happened. Rumors were flying everywhere of fights and assaults and various other things, all on top of the assassination attempt.

"I do wonder what this place is like on a normal day. Much quieter, I'd imagine, without people from every corner of the land trying to see and do everything before they go home."

[Kenna Merrick]

“It’s different. Better. Less noise, less people coming and going, no strangers in your house. House Morgandy have been... good guests but there is something to be said for having your privacy back. I will be glad when most of them leave.”

She’d been thirteen when the first news of the plague in Ernsaw arrived. And despite the efforts to keep it in Arbrecht, the plague still managed to find the island. “Court was fun back then. And Catriona was here and we were bitter rivals. There was some fun to be had. But yes, the plague changed everything. People went home and less came and only for business. Everyone was screened for plague, but still, the damn thing broke through. Everywhere I guess.”

She sighed. The plague had not hit her family here. They were lucky she supposed. “A visit would be nice, but not the same. I suppose I am the one who should come see you. In the Green.”

[Nessa Montrose]

"I don't blame you. Even the nicest house guests wear out their welcome after awhile. I'm sure no matter what he says, your father will be glad to have all of us out of his hair. And if he isn't, the staff certainly will be." She chuckled a little, knowing that, of anyone, the staff of the castle and mansions were absolutely the ones who anticipated everyone leaving the most.

When Kenna reminisced about the capital before the plague, she seemed more human somehow. Hearing the longing in her voice as she spoke of having fun, being a rival with Catriona...it made Nessa wonder what had happened to make her cousin so cold. She had never had a reputation of being a warm and friendly person, even as a child, but it seemed deeper than that now. Still, there was no polite way to find out. Perhaps if she got to know her cousin better, it would become more clear.

"It was too much to hope that it would stay contained, I suppose," she said of the plague, with a heaviness in her heart. The plague had freed them from her stepmother, but it had stolen Morna, Nessa's sister and best friend. The loss had hit Nessa hard, and she still disliked speaking of it.

The idea of Kenna visiting the Green...was an odd one. "We would certainly welcome you, if you were inclined to visit. It's a great deal different than here. Everything moves slower, and it all seems much...older, I suppose. There's a large focus on tradition, on the 'old ways'. There's a comfort to be found in the sameness, although many would find it boring." She wasn't at all sure if Kenna would like it there, but she knew there were likely those members of their family who would push her to visit her homeland, no matter how far removed from it she was now.

[Kenna Merrick]

Kenna laughed, “Oh, I’m sure you’re right about that. My father has never much been the social type, nor had he made much room in the past for guests. Cat stayed here for a few years, but she was never in his way and he expected me to keep her company.” Kenna rolled her eyes, “As if Cat ever needed help with that.” She took another sip of her tea. Nessa was not going to stay. And Kenna wasn’t really sure she wanted the woman too, but the gesture had been one of slight good will and perhaps a way to keep the bonds in their family from completely falling apart.

She nodded, “It will be good for the boys to see their roots. I’ll come when they are older and can appreciate what they will see and learn. I’m sure my father might like the excuse to see his homeland again as well. He longs for it, even though he never says as much. I can still tell. There are just things we know about the people we care about.”

She probably should have gone before... she would have if there hadn’t been the plague restricting travel. That it had started in Arbrecht made that the province least likely to receive guests, and the last anyone wanted to go to. Even when the plague was everywhere, there was some fear of something else, something new, something worst coming out of the icy death of the north.

And she wasn’t one for the extreme cold. The snowy days of Forsilvra were enough for her. To hear about the North was like a howling wind that never stopped, a cold that bit through the clothing, ice that built up on fingers and toes if they weren’t well enough covered.

“Maybe in the summer,” she added.

[Nessa Montrose]

"If there's one thing Catriona's good at, it's finding ways to amuse herself..." Nessa couldn't claim a friendship with her more social cousin, but she didn't really hate her, either. Cat seemed to live in a world so far outside Nessa's that it wasn't hard to simply forget she existed, most of the time. But the rivalry Cat had had going with Kenna when they'd been living together was one that nearly the whole family knew of. Secretly, Nessa loved that someone had, for once, given Cat a run for her money.

Nessa nodded, trying to remember how old Kenna's sons were. At any rate, the family was large enough that there was bound to be children their age when they would come to visit. "It'll be nice for them to be able to see something different. Even if they don't like it, they'll at least have had the chance to make up their minds for themselves. Very few children get to do that." Hell, very few people got to do that. All of them had opinions on other places, and very few had actually gone there. "My father and the rest of them would love to have your father come visit, I'm sure of it. As much as they all may disagree and bicker, you can tell they miss one another."

Laughing, Nessa nodded. "Probably best in summer, if your boys have any chance of liking it. Maldenham is not the most hospitable place in winter, that's for sure, although I daresay it's not as bad as some would make it sound."

[Kenna Merrick]

“She amuses herself much in the way of a true cat,” Kenna replied lightly. Cat would prefer the world was filled with mice for her to bat around at her leisure. But Kenna was a cat as well, and not like to let some outsider - how she viewed her northern cousin - come to town and take over the court as though they were all her playthings.

Kenna thought of her father and how relieved he’d been that Malcolm and his wife were staying in the castle. Yet, she knew that Duncan had faith his brother when it came to running the family, and while old wounds cut deep both had the same goals. “I think he would enjoy a visit as well. With all that happened here, some time away might be good for him. But he will stay if the king commands and go if the king says otherwise. My father has always been a man of duty, and since the days he took his oath as a councilor, he has forever been true.”

She had to admit she was proud of him for that. “The boys do like the snow, but I imagine the snow in Malderham is not like the snow here.”