22nd Cylus 718
"I need you, please come!"
Aside from her name on the envelope that it had come in and the signature at the bottom of the note, there was no further information. However, she had no intention of refusing the plea given the signature: Tristan Venora.
They'd had a single meeting the previous season, an introduction and a glorious night all at once. Since then, she hadn't seen him; he'd returned to Oakleigh and then she'd gone to Burhan. In spite of the physical distance between them, they'd remained in contact through correspondence. There wasn't a trial that went by when Valeria was ungrateful to herself for taking the chance of writing to him when her mother's summons came. If she hadn't done so, she had no idea if the duke would have gotten in contact with her. Even if he had chosen to write to her of his own volition, there was no telling how delayed his letters would have been as they sought her in Andaris while she was locked away in her childhood home. Without him, she had no idea if she ever would have gotten out of there. Chances were that Raakel Burhan would never have believed that her daughter had successfully caught the eye of the Duke of Oakleigh - not in any meaningful way - and they might never have come to the arrangement that they had. In fact, if it hadn't been for the letters from the man, she might well still be trapped at home in Faerain, refusing to eat and throwing up at every opportunity.
The young woman may be thinner than she had been but her mental state was certainly better and she was eager to see her fellow Elithem and see if she was already well on her way to fostering the addiction for herself in Tristan that she'd promised her mother she'd cultivate. Given the tone of his note, it seemed a positive sign that she'd managed to instil some degree of need in him. She didn't think that she'd ever witnessed quite a hunger for her flesh before in anyone - woman or man - especially when there had been no supernatural means used. The blonde had certainly enjoyed herself with him the last time and if this note invited her to a similar occasion of debauchery then she would struggle to play hard to get. All the same, she had to keep him at bay, at least physically, if she wanted to build a ravenous hunger in him for her form.
The Burhan put careful thought into her appearance. She debated between dressing plainly or dressing up and ended up settling on the latter as she wore the pretty blue organza dress that she'd worn to the Winter Mist Masquerade the previous season. It wasn't a full gown but it was beautiful and elegant, the lace applique adding a definite charm. She settled for flat shoes though, along with simple make-up. There was no point in going overboard after all. She agonised over what to do with her hair, choosing to braid it, an endeavour that took a considerable amount of time, especially as the blonde struggled to remember precisely how to carry it through. When she had the choice, she'd always gotten Ulyne to do such things for her so that alone, she struggled.
She chose to braid her hair in sections, intending to create a multitude of skinny ones. She sectioned off her hair, doing her best to clip most of it to one side so that she could work more easily on the other. Then she set about weaving the hair together, beginning as close to her scalp as possible. Three small clumps of hair that were roughly the same were woven back and forth, the outward ones always looped into the middle. By the end of it, it frankly looked a mess but she couldn't be bothered undoing it. She continued to braid sections of it with differing levels of success. Ultimately, she settled for braiding some of it on each side before tying her hair back in a ponytail, a mix of loose strands and mediocre braids that she wasn't wholly sure worked in her favour.
Once she was ready, she put on her blue velvet cloak and was just about to leave the house when Alena approached and sat to stare at her. Valeria and the cat stared at each other for a few moments before she recalled that Tristan had a cat as well. It was uncertain whether the creature was with him or not but was this not an opportunity for her to introduce feline and man? Her pet might even help her to keep enough physical distance between herself and her prospective fiancé. She went to fetch the animal's travel bag, scooping her up and depositing her on the blankets within. With that done, she set out to find the duke's residence.
It took a bit of time for her to navigate to the appropriate location, having to stop to enquire about the direction from a Moseke Knight. However, when she reached the residence, she hardly took in her surroundings, heading straight for the door to find out if she had indeed come to the right place. A knock brought a servant to her and she waved the note from Tristan airily while softly asking to be brought to the Duke of Oakleigh at once. His seal was like a key, leading her to be ushered into the house. She could only hope that she'd be ushered into his presence as quickly.
She followed her guide with her cat's bag in hand, wondering if it had been a mistake to bring the creature.