[The Pink Wing] Offices of Her Royal Highness, Officer for Public Relations

[Nikki L'Evienne]

he inking The Waiting Room From Winter Era XV onwards The Pink Wing, or the area given over to Her Royal Highness, Princess Nikki L'Evienne, was the hub of the Palace. Or so the Princess believed, and no one ever told her differently. Situated on the left side of the main palace itself, the Pink Wing was dedicated to the public relations and publicity offices of the Royal Family. This was a massive operation, and indeed it seemed it. Assuming that one had gained entry to this part of Prime, to the Palace itself in fact, then there would be more checking of security and reassurance that Visa's were genuine and that no weapons were carried on the grounds. Anyone who was not willing to comply with these two conditions was not turned away, but was placed in a secured room with a number of guards whilst the appropriate member of security was informed. Assuming that the visitor came to discuss something with either Her Royal Highness or one of her assistants, then they would be shown into The Waiting Room. This beautiful room was ornate in the extreme, filled with portraits of His Royal Highness, Crown Prince Milo L'Evienne, previous Emperors and Empreresses and, quite frankly, some portraits of people that Nikki had found and had considered to "look friendly". As well as this there was a beautiful piano, a massive bookshelf and a drinks cabinet which was always well stocked. There was plenty to look at should the visitor wish to be more mobile during their wait, or there were large soft couches should they wish to relax. The person who showed the visitor in to the waiting room, Teresa Mindarves, was a human woman of quite plain features. She was short but had striking violet eyes, her only unusual aspect. She would make sure that the visitor had any drinks that they wanted whilst a member of staff went to find the necessary individual. Teresa was a friendly sort but was quietly spoken and tended not to converse more than necessary with anyone. Once she had ensured that the latest visitor to The Pink Wing was comfortable and had what drinks and refreshments they needed, she would move quickly to ensure that the relevant staff member was informed. Please note the following points:~ This is a PC moderated location. I check this thread on a daily basis and will get back to you asap. Anyone entering this area of the Palace will have undergone a large number of checkpoints where Visa's are verified and weapons are removed. Nikki has a zero tolerance approach to weapons in the Pink Wing and people are given the simple choice - give over your weapon or don't go in. Yes, visitors are searched.

[Alys]

In the early afternoon of a later winter's brightening, some two or three brightenings after the first batch of Spring Ball Invitations had gone out, the junior Adjutant to the Prince of the Kingdom of Aelyria walked through these beautiful corridors of the Palace, her walk dainty and mincing of step as ever. Her long blonde hair was collected into a ponytail with a silver hairclip, which swayed slightly with her walk. As Alys came into the Pink Wing, well, it was really, really, pink, and she began to fret her red velvet afternoon dress was somewhat clashing with the intense decor. Unfortunately, she had not the time to go back and change right now, though she would remember this issue for the future...

For the present, once she made her way to the waiting room, the blonde of sixteen told the Receptionist, "Ah, if Her Highness is presently available, I regret the unfortunate necessity of bringing to her attention," an error? an inconsistency?--such words were not used by Palace Officials to Royalty! "an oversight," Alys settled upon, hoping the word would be neutral enough, "with regards the wording of the Royal Invitations but recently sent out for the Spring Ball."

[Amaranth]

Early Immanis
Winter of Era XV Post Fractum

Your Highness, I would be honored if you could perhaps fit a meeting with my humble person into your surely busy schedule. Public Relations and acts of Diplomacy so often coincide that it is my firm belief that it would be an utter shame for us to not confer on a few of those matters concerning a man we both serve -- His Royal Highness. Please accept these potted candaroses as a sign of good will on my part. I'm sure they will look lovely within your Pink Wing. Sincerely, Sebastienne Baxter, Chancellor of the Realm

[Nikki L'Evienne]

Alys

The receptionist nodded at Alys and smiled slightly "Of course, I'll see if Her Highness is able to see you right now" she said "please wait here".

That done, she walked out of the room and then returned some few moments later. When she returned, she nodded and spoke to Alys once again. "Her Highness will see you now. She's in the Pink Room". The Pink Room was Nikki's office, as Alys would know.

Down a corridor and into the center of the Pink Wing was The Pink Room. On the door, ornately carved in brass was a plaque

er oyal ighness ikki 'Evienne

Teresa knocked the door and Nikki's voice carried across "Come on in". Teresa opened the door and announced Alys, Your Highness" before stepping away and closing the door behind her once Alys had entered.

Nikki's office was as ornate as the waiting room. In one corner stood a beautiful piano, music resting on the stand next to it. There was a large oak desk which curved around in a corner ~ every aspect of that desk was pristine. If the Princess actually did any work there, she hid it well, that was for sure. The desk had a long peacock-feather quill pen which was obviously for decoration and hadn't at all been used, as well as a stack of parchment with a slightly pink hue to it which sat there, unused. Other than that, there was a large blotter at the front of her very comfortable seat, again with pink parchment in the blotter.

Over on the other side of the room were two deep rose coloured couches and three overstuffed rose pink armchairs. Nikki obviously had a love of cushions as there were plenty available. Low tables had fresh flowers constantly in them and there was the always-well-stocked drinks cabinet also.

All in all, this office looked like the kind of place where very little work actually went on. However, Nikki herself was there, wearing a long green skirt with brown flowers embroidered along the bottom of it. Her top was a deep brown shirt with small green flowers embroidered to match the skirt. She wore the outfit with a wide green belt at her slender waist. Her hair was tied back and she was standing from behind the desk and making her way towards Alys as she came in. As Alys entered, Nikki smiled at her with a friendly smile and spoke quietly.

"Serale Alys. What has taken you away from my brother's work this brightening that I can help you with?" she asked, quietly and with a friendly gaze. "Would you like a seat?" she said, motioning to the sofa's.

[Alys]

"Goodbrightening, Your Highness," Alys averted her eyes and gave a low curtsey in response to the greeting from the Princess, dragging the hem of her red velvet dress on the pink carpeting, tightening the velvet across her hips. Straightening, she replied to the queries, "Ah, as I told Teresa, Princess Nikki, I have come to you in regards a possible oversight," now she had thought of the word, it seemed an appropriate one for this instance, "in the wording of the first batch of invitations sent out for the upcoming Royal Ball.

"Certainly, Princess," Alys replied to the offer of a seat, following Her Highness over to the sofas, though of course the onetime handmaiden would wait for the other to be seated before seating herself. "Ah, begging your pardon," she began carefully when allowed to proceed with her speech, "and there have been several inquiries received at the Adjutant Office in regards the specificity the invitation is for the invitee, plus one guest...It does seem some number of..." she almost said 'noble' here, but knowing at least the Prince's disdain for that class, switched after a barely noticeable pause to, "distinguished invitees do tend to have rather more than a single additional guest each would like to bring along...Not only a wife, or in some cases husband, Your Highness might understand, but additionally some sons, or especially daughters, of the house...or family," that word 'house' was one as well she wished she had avoided, but saw nothing for it now but to continue with her point, "even in some cases certain cousins and cousines might well be considered by some...families to be appropriate attendees at a Royal Ball...

"It seems many...distinguished and powerful men, and women," the junior Adjutant summarized the crux of the concern, "simply are accustomed to attending such functions with a retinue of family and relatives larger than one other."

[Nikki L'Evienne]

Alys:

Nikki watched as Alys spoke and her face was unreadable as she did so. She listened to the entirety of what Alys had to say and then nodded "I see" she said, thinking about it and she sat down opposite Alys with a smile. The smile was a friendly one, that was for sure, Nikki's moss-green eyes sparkling as she looked at Alys.

"Well, Alys, that's very very thoughtful of you, and I'd like to put that right immediately. I assume, since you've come to me with such an issue, you must have specific names, specific families? People that have approached you directly, perhaps? Which is strange since my brother's letters do not come to you, but that is by the bye. I know what we'll do, Alys" she said, her demeanour never once dropping from friendly and inviting as she leant over to the low coffee-table, lifting its lid to reveal a stack of parchments and a quill, well hidden in the guise of the room, appearing to be something less than it was - a trademark of the youngest L'Evienne, to be sure "I will take the name of each of the families who have contacted you, and I will speak to my brother. He and I will send a formal letter to them, asking them to contact him directly with any correspondance for him in the future and asking for the precise number of people they would wish to bring with them.."

She smiled once more and looked at Alys with a calm expression, her hand poised over the parchment "So now, tell me then, who exactly has contacted you with this concern, when, by what channels and with any and all details that you can give? I am sure that my brother will be very interested to know of this and to ensure that we do not make the same mistake twice" she said, and she looked at Alys calmly. In that moment there was no humour in the young Princess' eyes as she spoke the next words slowly and deliberately "Believe me. I don't take kindly to making the same mistake twice, nor does my brother. It runs in the family, you see. So this WILL be dealt with, and quickly. So, Alys, thank you so much for bringing this to my attention" she said, and the cheery and friendly smile was there once again "... names?"

[Alys]

Alys sat straight, perched on the front edge of the couch cushion indicated to her after the Princess had sat. "Ah, well by your leave, Your Highness, but you will surely understand there is a distinction between letters sent to what was the Office of the Imperial Adjutant," she used the old form as the exact new terminology, seemed to not have been decided upon yet, "and letters sent directly to the Imperial Regent, or now, to the Prince of Aelyria," the young Adjutant explained, unsure why such a simple matter of how many guests the head of a family ought to bring to the Royal Ball was creating such a fuss, but then, she would not really question why, either, for such fusses were the perogative of Royalty, certainly. "Much as, your own office would send out invitations in the name of the Prince of Aelyria," she finished drawing the distinction. "Certainly no one of any importance has approached me personally in regards this question!" she giggled, putting a hand to her mouth briefly in frank amazement the Princess might have thought there had been.

"The channels used were of course their own secretaries, functionaires, and the like," the youngest and newest Adjutant explained, again amazed by the question, "the ones rather like myself, and Mister Tierney and Misses Stromb, who would have been charged with the final disposition of correspondance, the preparation and maintenance of official and household schedules, and so on, and so would have routinely handled, among other routine matters, the myriad of invitations many in such distinguished positions would be expected to receive--though of course," she thought to add brightly then, "doubtless anyone would have given special consideration to a Royal Invitation. Hence their prompt submission of queries for clarification...

"Ah, I did not think to prepare any such list, Princess Nikki," Alys admitted frankly, "and for this I do apologize, for not anticipating your requirements," she would not of course say she was surprised a set of invitations sent out en masse would need to be corrected with personal letters to all concerned, but for this reason her failure to anticipate was entirely truthful. "However, some of the more well-known names I can certainly recall now," her blonde head nodded solemnly in agreement with her assessment of her recollection, "there were certainly inquiries from some of the lesser branches of de Lylles, and of Maeve. One at least from a Thane Office, my recollection is 'twas Imperia, oh, and the Sultanate...some of the noble Houses of Enamoria, Al'lende and Andares according to my immediate recollection as well as some of the lesser ones, the Clans Gryphon and Kirin...

"Ah, and again begging pardon of Your Highness," Alys asked fairly quickly after she trailed off at the extent of her immediate recollection--she was of course sorry to have been the one who first pointed out this mistake, but then, she could also picture the disappointment on the part of all those daughters and sons, some few of whom she had of course met over the couse of her employ in Dragon Parish, were they simply informed they could not go to the ball because only one guest was allowed, and of course that would have to be the wife and mother!--pointing out one other reason she had not thought to prepare a list, "but it seems likely not every such query has yet been received...I did come to Your Highness once I realized this seeming point of confusion existed, was I wrong to do so?"

[Atl Myrsa]

Third month of winter.

Atl arrived at the Pink wing and submitted to the search, but since he hadn't brought any weapons it was of little concern. The magus was simple dressed in a black suit.

The palace was a place he usually avoided, mainly because it was way to fancy for the simple druid. He did make a visit this brightening though. He nodded to Princess Nikki's secratary, "Atl Myrsa, Royal Magus, here to see the Princess Nikki. I am sorry for the sudden visit, but I found some time this brightening and felt I should pay a visit."

[Nikki L'Evienne]

Nikki's face deepened into a slight frown as Alys spoke. She looked at her with a concerned expression and considered her words carefully as she spoke. It was not until Alys had finished speaking that Nikki sat back in the couch and curled her legs up underneath her. Then, having laid the quill and parchment down she folded her hands in her lap and spoke, quietly and in a tone that was deeper than her normal one. Quiet and deeply spoken was a very dangerous sign in Nikki, not that the young woman in front of her was likely to know this, of course, for Nikki was the flakey and shallow sister of the Crown Prince.... and so everyone could continue believing.

"I don't know what game you're playing, girl, but it stops now." she said, looking at Alys with moss-green eyes that were unwavering. "Let me be clear that I am not an idiot and I am, apparently unlike you, well aware of how things run around here."

She looked at Alys with an expression that few outside of Rioughe had seen in truth, and she continued. She did not stop to allow Alys to speak and if she tried Nikki raised her hand and continued speaking herself.

"Firstly, and very clearly, let me explain to you that I know my brother and I know how he works. There is no distinction between letters sent to the Offices of Adjunct and those sent to the Crown Prince. I know this because I know Milo's systems. Unless a piece of correspondance is addressed to a specific Adjunct, there is a central system. I am well aware of this as it's something that I've been trying to get him to delegate more as it is an enormous workload for him. Mrs Stromb and Mr Tierney do indeed open some pieces of mail, but that is because they are senior adjuncts and trusted to do so. You, as a very junior adjunct will be dealing with what is given to you by Mrs Stromb and Mr Tierney, so don't think to assume that I don't know what's going on in Milo's offices, girl"

Nikki did not waver as she continued to speak, watching Alys with an expression which was best described as irked. Pushing for power was one thing, of this she had no doubt, but this was going too far. This was, in fact, going to be something that would have to be Dealt With and right now.

"Now, since we have that matter quite quite clear, and I'm assuming that you aren't going to treat me like some kind of idiot again, let's move on to the second matter. The invitations were sent out from this office. From my staff, and quite frankly they didn't go to anyone in Milo's office. He has enough to do without my staff adding to his workload. So no, you and Mrs Stromb and Mr Tierney did not send out those invitations, my own people did. Any inquiries relating to them would also arrive here since the wording is very specific in asking people to reply to this office."

And then there was the list of names and Nikki continued, her speech continuing without wavering, without shaking in any way. Which was quite impressive since she was, in truth, getting more and more furious by the moment ~ this girl worked in Milo's offices and whatever game she was playing, Milo did not need it.

"And as for that list, Alys, one of two things is true. Either you are lying through your teeth to me or your are not. I am inclined, quite honestly, to the first one since the invitations stated quite, quite clearly that any replies would come to this office, so they would not come to my brother's. That was, simply put, the whole point. But there is the possibility that you are telling me the truth. In which case, at the first enquiry you should have informed Mrs Stromb or Mr Tierney who would have dealt with it quickly and efficiently."

She looked at Alys and sighed, shaking her head as she did so "So I don't know what game you're playing, girl, but it's over. It's over right now. Stay there" she said, and Nikki stood up, speaking in a quiet enough tone but one that would be heard outside "Sir Alaine. Please see to it that Alys has every comfort here." she said, and the human bodyguard stepped into the room and nodded to Nikki. There was no need for more than that, but the fact that she was asking a Roseman to look after Alys spoke volumes to Sir Alaine and so Nikki could exit the room in the knowledge that the young adjunct was not going anywhere.

That done, she walked out of the room and spoke in hushed tones to Teresa. The door was open so although Alys could not hear what was said, she could, without a doubt, see what was going on. Nikki bent over Teresa's desk and penned a note. Teresa nodded, glanced once at the room where Alys sat and then moved away. Nikki, when that was done, walked out of sight of Alys who was left in the company of Sir Alaine, a Roseman who was one of Nikki's bodyguards. Nikki had allowed Alys no response, and had merely acted immediately. Had it been someone in her own office, things would have been different, but this was someone who worked for her brother, and this kind of stuff just could not be allowed to continue.

ooc One of the things she's sent Teresa to do is find the letters / notes from the families that Alys has mentioned on her desk ~ do you have the links to them or was she making them up? Thanks!

[Nikki L'Evienne]

Amaranth: Replied to the office!

Atl:
Once he had been taken into the waiting room, Teresa eventually returned and smiled politely to Atl "Please come through, Her Royal Highness will see you now" and led him through the door at the back of the Waiting Room. Down a corridor and into the center of the Pink Wing was The Pink Room. On the door, ornately carved in brass was a plaque

er oyal ighness ikki 'Evienne

Teresa knocked the door and Nikki's voice carried across "Come on in". Teresa opened the door and announced "The Royal Magus, Your Highness" before stepping away and closing the door behind her once Atl had entered.

Nikki's office was as ornate as the waiting room. In one corner stood a beautiful piano, music resting on the stand next to it. There was a large oak desk which curved around in a corner ~ every aspect of that desk was pristine. If the Princess actually did any work there, she hid it well, that was for sure. The desk had a long peacock-feather quill pen which was obviously for decoration and hadn't at all been used, as well as a stack of parchment with a slightly pink hue to it which sat there, unused. Other than that, there was a large blotter at the front of her very comfortable seat, again with pink parchment in the blotter.

Over on the other side of the room were two deep rose coloured couches and three overstuffed rose pink armchairs. Nikki obviously had a love of cushions as there were plenty available. Low tables had fresh flowers constantly in them, including a recent addition of some potted pink candaroses and there was the always-well-stocked drinks cabinet also.

All in all, this office looked like the kind of place where very little work actually went on. However, Nikki herself was there, wearing a knee length green dress, the same colour as her eyes. The dress had a long straight skirt and a v-neck top. In and of itself it was quite plain and allowed her to move freely as it was sleeveless. Over the dress she wore a white lacy bolero, which matched her white shoes. Her hair was tied back with a single white rose decoration at the nape of her neck and she turned to Atl and spoke

"Serale and thank you for popping in! How can I help you this brightening, Lord Magus, and what can I get you to drink?" she asked, looking at him with a small smile and a slightly curious expression. The last time that she had seen him had been at his daughters party, and things had been rather hectic for the young Princess since then. However, the brightening was one that she remembered with fondness and even a slight pang of jealousy at the idyllic family that the Myrsa's represented.

So, she moved over to the drinks cabinet and raised an eyebrow at Atl as she awaited his drinks preference.

[Milo L'Evienne]

It was Mrs. Stromb herself who accompanied Teresa back to the Pink Wing…and by the gods it was pink…rather than Milo himself. He’d been caught in the middle of business he couldn’t abandon at present and after reading the letter sent him by Nikki, then questioning Mrs. Stromb herself on a few select points, and Barrett too while he was at it, while he’d intended to dictate a pithy reply and no more, both Nana and Barrett had wondered out loud in the most respectful and private of ways of course, if perhaps the colorful vocabulary contained within the dictation might be better saved for a worthier crisis. He’d ultimately agreed and sent Mrs. Stromb instead with his thoughts on the matter.

”Thane o’ Imperia indeed,” the old woman had grumbled under her breath while she waddled faster than any had seen her waddle before, her own current disposition driving her along suitably enough to keep up with Teresa’s inevitably longer strides. ”Hasn’t been a thane t’ Imperia fer many a month gone by nor even in th’ season o’ Winter at’all,” she informed Teresa whether the other woman wanted to hear it or not, ”not since ‘imself appointed a lord Pr’tector t’ watch over things till a Gov’nor steps in t’ do th’ job.” She’d been asked after the names after all and though she’d a mind like a steel trap and needn’t look in her desk for they’d not have been there anyway, it simply wasn’t the way things were done around here nor had they ever…frankly she’d been insulted by the very necessity.

And the reception was no less pink than the hallway she noted, and would have smiled a fond smile in regards to the young woman who held court here if not for more serious business…and now wasn’t that a handsome likeness of Himself, she noted once inside while waiting for Her Highness to discover her presence.