Fit For a Peasant [Robyn]

[Isabel de Massard]

Having to murder people was a horrible bother and had put Olwyn Caen Isabel de Massard in a rather foul mood. True, she had just completed her plan, and that was always something to be celebrated. But there was that horrible emptiness inside her. It was almost as if, because this one goal had been acheived, there was nothing left in her life. She had nothing to occupy herself with anymore. She couldn't just sit and enjoy life - if she could she wouldn't now be a member of one of the most powerful families in Cantia. She would be starving in the street. She ached for something, anything to occupy herself with. And now she had enough money to whatever she pleased, whatever she did next was going to be something grand and indulgent.

She was bored. This was probably the first - if not one of the first - times she had been bored in her whole life. Even as a small child she was always doing something. She always had a plan, a scheme, a goal. Now she had money and a title and a place to call her home. And it all seemed so worthless. This wasn't some form of guilt creeping up on her, no, she felt no remorse whatsoever about her actions. It was just boredom.

A servant - a young girl who'd only been working for her a week (all of her servants were new) - found her mistress gazing out of her window. "Is anything the matter, milady?"

"Nothing. Go back to your work." Isabel replied, perhaps a little more sharply than necessary. She was tired of people constantly asking how she was. As far as everyone was concerned, she had just lost her family. How did they expect her to be? The servant didn't reply, but Isabel heard her leave the room. Once she was alone she let out a sigh. This was not what she had been expecting at all. She'd been looking forward to a sense of accomplishment, not a loss of direction.

"Sorry to bother you again, milady, but the carriage is waiting outside."

Without a word, Isabel left the window and promptly headed downstairs. At least this was something mildly interesting. It was the king's birthday, and in order to celebrate such an event, there was to be a feast with entertainment in the castle. The Massards had always been well favoured by the king, so it was no surprise that Isabel should be invited. This was, however, the first time she had made a public appearance. She stopped, just outside the doorway, bracing herself with one arm behind her, against the wall. She let out a shakey breath, before mentally chastising herself for it. She didn't get nervous. She was cool and composed. With that in mind she brushed a stray hair behind her ear and walked over to the carriage.

**

So far the evening had gone rather well. Nobles from all over the kingdom had been giving her their condolences, telling her how brave and admirable it was that she was here to honour the king in such a time. She simply smiled modestly and thanked them for their concern, and then topped up her wine glass. She couldn't quite understand what all the fuss was about wine - it tasted foul and left a horrible aftertaste in her mouth, but it was something the "better half" did, and so she did it too.

"Are you looking forward to tonight's entertainment?" The nobleman who was sat next to Isabel leant over slightly, clearly unaware of the concept of personal space. He was close enough that Isabel could feel his breath against her skin, which was something she really, really wasn't enjoying. He was rich though, one of the richest of the men here, and not completely unattractive, so she ignored her repulsion and smiled sweetly and innoceently and replied with "I hear it is a great secret," she turned her shoulders slightly so she was now slightly inclined towards him. There was a slight raise of her eyebrows, "I don't suppose you know anything..."

The man laughed, "The king likes his surprises, and even if I did, I wouldn't want to ruin it."

"How positively boring. I do so like being spoiled." She replied, and took a sip of her wine, forcing herself to swallow it. Apart from the wine, she thought the evening was going rather well.


Tagged: Robyn Lester
Setting: de Massard estate (very briefly) and then the Main Hall in the castle.
Timeline: I've put it some time before my other threads, so before/during series two. Just let us know if you want this changed/anything more specific.
Notes: I didn't know if you wanted to be announced or not, so if you do let me know and I'll edit.

[Robyn Lester]

Seventeen year-old Robyn told herself firmly that she was fine. That fluttering in her stomach area was by no means stage fright. Stage fright – ha! A real juggler did not have stage fright! It was not the first time she would be performing in front of higher nobility and even royalty, and it wouldn’t be her last! That this was outside Sugales, in Cantia where she had never been before, wasn’t a problem either, right? She could do this!
Holding her head high, Robyn took a sneaky glance around to examine the other members of the Raven Pack, how they were faring with the situation. Her brother Tybalt, twenty four years of age and still the worst rascal you could find, grinned at her, already holding a flickering torch in his right hand and a handful of clubmoss spores hidden in the other. He probably knew exactly what she was thinking and how she was feeling right now, and Robyn rolled her eyes in annoyance. Clearly, he knew her too well!

Her gaze wandered on towards little Alfie who was nervously fiddling with three juggling balls. Robyn was holding the other three ready, while the rest of the pack either carried various intruments or nothing at all. They had already formed into a line, Jerome on the front who would open the procession with his acrobatic skills, then Alfie would follow, juggling, with Robyn holding the reserve balls, and after he had them all included she would take up the tune the others were playing and start to dance. Tybalt would be the last with his impressive fire-eating and –breathing. All they were waiting for now was the signal that would announce their presence. Robyn was a little surprised that their presence had not been called out earlier. In fact, they were waiting in a back room and had been brought to the castle under utmost secrecy, and Robyn’s only explanation was that the king had wanted to keep them as a surprise for his guests.

Well, more peculiar things had happened.
There, the signal! It merely consisted of the wave of a servant, but immediately, everyone in the group straightened and took one last preparing breath. Out of the corner of her eyes, Robyn saw Tybalt stuffing his mouth with the spores, then she felt a nudge in her back and followed after Alfie, watching him closely to deem when he wanted the next ball. As soon as they entered the hall where the feast took place, they started a merry little tune, and Robyn felt the rhythm course through her veins. Gladly Alfie, even though still young of age, got into the juggling pretty fast, so only after a few minutes, the young girl started to dance. When reaching the large U-shaped table arrangement the group fanned out and each took a previously agreed on spot to continue their performance.

Robyn skipped across the floor like whirlwind, but slowly made her way towards the middle of the U where the king sat. As soon as she reached the spot, the musicians ended the tune on a chord, while Tybalt blew out one last portion of his spores. At the same time, Robyn lowered herself into a deep curtsy and then raised her head, praying for her voice to carry, as she called out:
”Guests from far and near, your gracious king has called you to celebrate his birthday with him! So now it’s time to bow to the crown!”
And the next second the group was intoning another melody, and Robyn started to sing, backed up by Madla who had exchanged the pipe for a tambourine.

Song: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsuKM-oV_AE

[Isabel de Massard]

I have a feeling we may end up going in circles a little bit as they aren’t interacting yet, so I thought after the performance Isabel could request to speak to them? Or the king could and she’s invited to do the same. It’s just an idea, but I figured we need a way to get them talking lol.

Isabel was rather enjoying herself, which was a rarity in itself. It was even rarer that the enjoyment was not coming from either the displeasure of others, or one of her schemes working. It was purely because she was being entertained. This was the first social event since “her family” had passed away, and while it was more than proving a challenge for her, it was definitely worth years of planning and waiting. Of course she had attended feasts like this before, but always as a servant, expected to keep to the shadows and devote all of her time and effort into making sure everyone else was enjoying themselves. She was supposed to put other people’s happiness above herself, well, all that had changed. Now she had servants and people making sure her goblet was never empty and her rooms were never cold. She had people to order about and shout at and control. She had more money than she knew what to do with, and she was loving every moment of it. For the first time in her life she was completely free – no longer tarnished by her humble origins, but respected and admired, just as she always should have been.

The nobleman next to her was still making comments, but Isabel was only half listening. She simply nodded and laughed when appropriate. She wasn’t a fan of small talk, unless she wanted something. In her opinion, people were only interesting when they were of use, and this man – as far as she was aware at the moment – wasn’t. As soon as he started being useful she would be only too happy to smile sweetly and flutter her eyelashes, but at the moment he was just being unimaginative and annoying in his flirtations. She was far too busy watching the performance to be interested.

There was one woman in particular who caught Isabel’s eye. She didn’t appear to be much older than Isabel herself. She was certainly talented, but it wasn’t that which made her so interesting. It was something Isabel couldn’t quite place.

”She sings beautifully, doesn’t she?

Once again the man was far too close, but Isabel found herself not all that bothered. Not because she had found herself particularly wanting to be nearer to him, but because she was too absorbed with what was happening in front of her. “Yes, yes she does.”

”And what about you, milady? Do you sing?”

Did she look like a woman who sang? She turned towards him, an eyebrow raised. “Do you think that is likely?”

The man just laughed and took another swig from his goblet. ”That’s a shame. I would like to see you perform very much.”

Isabel just smiled sweetly.

[Robyn Lester]

Robyn could feel the crowd responding. It was like a sixth sense she had developed over the years, an instinct that could tell her very well what the general mood of the audience was, so she could react to it accordingly. The plays the Raven Pack performed were by no means set in stone, there was a whole lot of improvisation involved, often enough corresponding with what they felt the audience wanted. Now this sixth sense told Robyn that their ploy had been successful. The king sat there smiling, swaying his head to the rhythm of the song and received the toasts of his nobles and knights who felt like being addressed especially by the text of the song.

“Honour the crown and fight for their duty,
The champions of right and of all we should be.
The greatest of burdens, the highest renown,
The first ones to rise and the last to lie down.”

Yes that was flattering, wasn’t it? But people like the Raven Pack partly earned their money with excessive flattery. Especially on a day such as this, a king and his nobles didn’t want to hear what they did wrong, but they wanted to be lauded for their honorable deeds. Robyn had learned the hard way that right and honor was more worth than truth, and had paid the price for protesting against it. She didn’t want to renew this experience anytime soon, and so the Raven Pack would only speak their minds when they were amongst their own kind: the common people.

After the song was through, Robyn rose to her feet and bowed her head low under the applause of the audience. Then she stepped back as inconspicuously as she could to make way for Tybalt and Alfie who were to entertain the crowd a little further with their skills, while the rest of the group provided the jolly music to it. Robyn’s part was more or less over, as there would be no play and also no space to raise a tightrope, so she now could retreat and watch the rest of the performance herself. She was feeling a little dizzy, maybe it was the warmth of the hundreds of candles lighting up the vast room, or it was the delicious scent of the rich food. Afterwards, they might be given something in the kitchen, but that would only happen if the performance had thoroughly pleased the king.

So Robyn tried to make her way to the door they had entered through, but she was distracted by Tybalt’s tricks, even though she had seen them countless times, so that she didn’t mind her way as well as she should have. She couldn’t even tell what it was her foot tripped over, but suddenly she felt herself falling, and she wildly thrust her hand out to grasp for anything at all that could break her fall. Her searching fingers scraped over wood and then closed around what she found out was the back of a chair. Her momentum caused said chair to even waver a bit, even though it was occupied, before Robyn could regain her balance again; and her eyes settled on the poor woman she had nearly caused to fall with her with a thoroughly shocked and apologetic expression.
“I’m sorry, Mylady!” she whispered and cast her eyes down. Submission was the best policy in such a situation.

[Isabel de Massard]

Apologies for the wait.

Isabel was rather enjoying herself, something she hadn't been expecting. Her companion had stopped with his mundane conversation, and so Isabel was allowed to return to her own thoughts, undisturbed by mindless small talk. And yet even though she was grateful she was no longer being harrassed Isabel found herself rather at a loss as to what to think about. Normally her thoughts would be filled with her various plans and schemes, going over every single minute detail, perfecting everything, leaving absolutely nothing to chance. But not anymore. There was no grand plan. There was nothing to work towards. With a sigh she reached for her wine glass, she didn't like the taste, but she supposed it was something she was going to have to learn to like. It was an acquired taste, especially for a young noblewoman.

She did not, however, have the chance to take a sip. No sooner had she picked it up, some force from behind pushed her forward and making her drop her goblet from surprise. There was a clank of metal hitting the stone floor, but not before the liquid contents had found its way onto Isabel's lap. Needless to say, her dress was ruined. Wide eyed and open mouthed, she stared at the red seeping into the fabric. She could hear the man sat next to her trying to stifle a laugh. It wasn't helping the situation. After wiping her wet hands on her dress - it was ruined anyway - she turned around to see what had caused her to drop her drink. It was that girl - the singer, the one Isabel had been speaking so highly of only moments before.

"Sorry? You are sorry? Well I suppose that makes up for ruining my dress, does it?" The anger was evident in both her voice and her face, normally Isabel always tried to keep her cool, but not this time. Some stupid girl had ruined her dress and humiliated her.

[Robyn Lester]

Of course it was not done with a simple jolt. Of course the lady had to have a goblet of wine in her hand when it happened, and of course she had to drop it from surprise. It seemed to be Robyn’s lucky day… not. With a hot sting inside her guts Robyn watched the chaos unfold, without being able to do anything about it. The goblet seemed to almost fall in slow motion, and she could see the drops spilling over its rim and onto the costly dress. Congratulations, Robyn Lester. You’ve worked yourself into the perfect tight spot!
What would happen now? Would the woman scold her and demand recompense? That dress must cost more than Robyn would ever get in a lifetime! They were mostly paid in naturals anyway. Oh goodness, with one single mistake she probably now had ruined the entire group’s prospect of payment and good recommendation…

The shocked silence had been the worst, those split seconds when everything was still in flow, could work out either way, but Robyn found she didn’t like the woman’s outburst either. Sure, she deserved to be scolded, but then, she had not done it on purpose, right?! That woman, however noble, could not treat her like a stupid and blind oaf! Now she looked down, she saw that it had been the trail of just this woman’s dress she had tripped over, so she was even partly to blame herself! Submission was all well and good, but it was not one of Robyn’s best traits. She had done everything she could, had apologized, and even though she didn’t expect so much as praise for it, a little appreciation would not be too much to ask, yes? At least not this kind of treatment!

Taking a nervous glance around to see who else was watching their little argument, Robyn took a step closer and forced her voice to be level. “Yes, I am sorry, Mylady, and I wished I could make it undone, but I can’t. I stumbled over the hem of your dress and your chair was the nearest thing to grasp. And I couldn’t know you were about to take a sip in this very moment.” That almost sounded defiant now, she was getting extremely fed up. And there was no one to bail her out yet, as the rest of the group was still performing.

[Isabel de Massard]

Isabel was aware that she was causing a scene, but she didn't care. Her dress was completely ruined, and everyone had seen it. She had been made to look like an idiot in front of the other nobles, and instead of an apology she was given excuses? Did the insolent girl honestly think that would be enough? She'd had to work for this dress, and a lot harder than this singer had ever worked in her life, she daresay. Honestly. Was there no respect for nobility nowadays?

She had nothing to try and dry her dress with, which, although wouldn't make a difference to the stain, would have at least made the situation slightly less uncomfortable. Not only this, but she was going to have to leave - she could hardly stay at the table in this state, now could she? Well, her evening had been well and truly ruined now. This had been her chance to show the world what she was capable of, to show everyone that she was noblity. And what had happened? She'd been humiliated. Well wasn't that just fantastic. "I appreciate your apology." She said curtly. "Or at least I would were it not riddled with excuses. Do you know how much this dress cost? A lot more money than you've ever seen, I daresay. And that is all you've got to say for yourself?"

[Robyn Lester]

Goodness gracious, that woman was a harpy! Alright, the dress was ruined and a few people who hadn’t been totally mesmerized by the performance in front of them, had witnessed it, but with screeching around like the did, the lady surely didn’t make it any better! Where was that grace, that nonchalance ladies of the court were said to have? Weren’t they brought up to hide any true feeling behind a mask of courtesy? That at least was what the commoners joked about, that the ladies were nothing than lifeless marionettes.
Not that woman here apparently. She had the air of a jangling market-woman, and the thought alone would have made Robyn grin, hadn’t the situation in whole been so unnerving and well-night dangerous. Well, not mortally dangerous of course, but she still should watch her thoughts as well as her mouth. Who knew what ideas this lady could develop, should she get any more aggravated.

Grinding her teeth so hard the sound almost drowned out the sound of music in her head, Robyn forced a semi-polite reply out of herself, even though she really had no clue what more to say. What did this nagging shrew want to hear for hell’s sake? ]”No, Mylady, I don’t know how much this dress costs, and yes I daresay as well it’s more than I could possibly ever possess. But what else do you want me to say? I AM sorry, and I said so, what more can I do?”
It might be dangerous to open it up for her like that, but clearly Robyn was at her wits end. She would have liked to return the unpleasanties tit for tat, hurled something at her about how she could imagine a more pleasant evening than having to listen to a spoilt woman whining about her ruined dress. She probably had a dozen more of them somewhere! She would have forgotten about it the following morning.

But of course she didn’t say any of this. Robyn Lester might be bold, but she didn’t have a death wish.

[Isabel de Massard]

Urgh, this post is meh. I do apologise.

Isabel bit her lip, the initial anger was starting to fade away and she remembered that she was in a very public place so she tried to compose herself. She'd already made enough of a scene but there was no need for it to be any more obvious. So far as far as she could tell only a few nobles sat around her had noticed, everyone else to be either completely oblivious or simply didn't care.

The nobleman next to her appeared to have an increasing interest in the situation which really wasn't helping. "The poor girl has apologised, can you not see she is sincere?"

Isabel bit back the temptation to glare at him. She didn't need some stupid man intereferring, although he probably did have a point. Her dress was already ruined so there was nothing that could be done about it now; any remaining anger would be futile. The young wine-stained woman let out a sigh. She needed to remember that she couldn't just lose her temper like this, especially not in front of quite so many people. Usually she was able to control her emotions but being amongst so many nobles she had already been on edge enough. This was just an exception, she told herself firmly. She would not be quite so quick to anger again. "I may have acted harshly and for that I apologise. It is only a dress after all."