Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

“We will need to throw a party for your return, Titania,” Sophia Krome announced as she barged into her daughter’s study, standing behind the chair set in front of the desk. Even in the heat of Saun, the older woman still wore a fanciful, layered dress that seemed quite uncomfortable. She had exclaimed that they still need to look their best even with this sort of weather. Velaine did not bother following her mother’s lovely advice, opting to use a short, flowy white dress instead. “It’s been a while since you returned. The nobility needs to know that.”

The younger Krome had to stop herself from sighing out loud and slowly looked up from their family’s financial records. She had been scouring through them for most of the day, trying to plan what she could do to gain more gold. Her parents had not cut back on their spending even on their current conditions and she did not even know what Xander was planning to fix it. Of course, now that he had run off to Astedia, she doubted he could help them. Instead, Velaine put up a tired smile for her mother. “There is no need, mother, honestly. I do not want to trouble you and father with unnecessary parties.”

“I know you have been away from our society for a while, dear, but you need to know how important it is for us to introduce our new heir. Especially when you have been gone for a long time. I am sad to say, that some people might even have forgotten your beautiful face. We can’t have that, can we?” her mother countered swiftly. “Anything for my only daughter will never trouble me. Certainly you’ll allow me to pamper you a little, Titania?”

Velaine winced slightly at the word only daughter. She had tried hard not to think of Zara over the arcs – the thought was enough to bring up unwanted emotions. Thankfully, her mother did not seem to notice and simply continued on her rambling about why the party is what they need. The young woman tuned most of them out, honestly. The real reason her mother wanted this party was so that she could show Velaine off to potential suitors and believed that she would not realize it. Sophia claimed that a few noblemen had been asking about her, but in her words: None of them deserves you If she had to guess, that meant none of them had enough title to satisfy her parents.

“Of course, mother,” Velaine finally replied amiably, even if her mother’s request would probably her last priority. Especially when their finance was not stable enough to throw massive events for now. “I’ll plan the party soon. However, I have to finish my work first.”

Sophia Krome fortunately relented and smiled. The older woman certainly seemed pleased with herself. “Seems like sending you off to Ne’haer is good decision on our account. You’ve become quite responsible.”

Having no response to that, Velaine simply grinned, as if she was a child pleased with a mere compliment. She was actually slowly getting sick of her mother’s constant patronizing and pestering, of needing to pretend like she actually needed to be guided and praised. And as always, when she was sick of all this, Velaine reminded herself of why she was here. Xander was out of the way and she was the heir. When the time comes, her parents would be out of the way and she could take what she wanted.

Fortunately, Sophia suddenly remembered that she need to go to the capital to find a seamstress to make a dress for her and left.

Picking a report on their latest food stores, Velaine leaned back against her seat and stared at the empty chair in front of her, then around the room. She had never truly spent time in the study before her return and never really realized the comfort of the room. It was one of the few places where servants were not going back and forth, busy with whatever tasks they were assigned to. In this room, with its walls covered with bookshelves, Velaine could almost imagine she was back in Ne’haer.

Just as she was about to continue her work, a knock interrupted her and a young man peeked in through the already open door.

“A guest looking for you, my lady,” the servant announced timidly.

The young woman finally glanced up from her table and placed down her notes, sighing with mild annoyance. She did not expect any guest and she could not think of anyone wanting to meet her for now. “Who is it?”

Velaine began standing up as the servant mentioned a baron, readying herself to greet her guest. She wasn’t quite sure who the baron of Solavora was, but she did at least know that it was part of the Venoran lands. What could possibly a baron would want, traveling all the way here? Before the servant could finish, a handsome-looking man suddenly appeared from behind, completely sure of himself.

The man immediately seemed familiar to her, but it took another moment for her to realize that he was the man with the armor back in Xander’s wedding. Her mother had even pointed him out amongst the crowd, though she never got his name as the ceremony had started immediately. Not that it would be a problem, considering that the man immediately went off to state his quite impressive titles. Sessfiend Killer. Kin Killer. Ouroboros Guard. That definitely got her attention, especially considering the man could not be that much older than her. He must have wonderfully interesting tales to tell.

Andraska Venora… Was he a friend of her brother’s then? His way of greeting who he expected to be Xander was certainly tinged with familiarity. A smile tugged at her lips as she watched as Andraska got over his puzzlement and composed himself into a more subdued manner. Clearly, he did not expect anyone else besides Xander Krome to be waiting for him.

As she took in the Venoran style clothing, Velaine could not help noticing how terribly underdressed she was compared to him, with her knee-length dress. Too late to do anything about that now.

“Velaine Krome, Daughter of Jersey Krome, Stewardess of Northern Krome House, at your service. Please do come in, my lord,” the young woman replied, mimicking the man’s earlier tone with an amused grin on her face. Walking past her desk, Velaine gestured at the servant to leave before turning her attention back to the green-eyed man. Truth be told, she felt quite unprepared talking with the Venoran baron – especially when she still knew so little of her family’s state of affairs. Still, it wasn’t like she had any choice. “I am afraid if you’ve come all this way to meet my brother, it is for naught. My brother is in Astedia, tending to his baron duties. Since I’m here to replace him, I fear you’re stuck with me. I do hope there’s something else I might help you with?”

Velaine smiled mildly and ran her fingers through her hair. “By now I am quite used to the surprise, actually. After all, I have been away from Rynmere for arcs. My brother is probably also not the sort to tell a lot of stories about his personal life.” It was vexing at first when she kept needing to introduce and reintroduce herself to people. It only dawned on her later that it was good that most did not remember her – she could become anyone they wanted to see.

While most of the nobilities she saw had been predictable, Velaine was certainly pleasantly surprised by the man in front of her. When people mentioned the word baron, the image that appeared in her head would be a somber older man. Meanwhile, Andraska seemed quite the opposite so far. The young woman couldn’t quite decide if this made their interaction would be easier or trickier. Was he truly as playful as he appeared to be? “He glowers at a lot of people. You’re not that special, you know,” replied the female Krome, her tone light and teasing. When she took Andraska’s hand, Velaine did not miss the way his thumb brushed over her skin.

The young woman then returned to her seat, her mind whirling on what the young baron might want. “You’ll have to forgive me for the mess, my lord,” Velaine said as she gathered the papers spread all over her desk. Partly to tidy it, partly to make sure the baron did not see anything he shouldn’t. “I wasn’t expecting any guest.”

“There’s no need to be formal with me, truth be told. I haven’t been home for so long, I have nearly forgotten all of the proper social etiquettes.”

The female Krome leaned forward as she shifted in her seat. “Have you discussed any sort of terms with my brother before? What do you have in mind currently?” Velaine already had the basic knowledge of the dealings with the other houses, but this was her chance to hear from an actual Venoran. A story told from a different side always offered more insight.

Velaine usually would engage someone in a small talk, trying to feel out what sort of person she was talking to. Unfortunately, the baron wasted no time and went straight for what he had in mind. Scanning the paper he had offered her, she mused whether the Venora’s sudden appearance was a gift from the saints or a test to prove whether she was ready to return to this twisted world of politics and wealth.

Furs… of course. It was the one resource her family could count on. Which wasn’t all that much considering that their export was only on high demand at certain seasons. With Zi’da closing, Velaine had wanted to increase the price of their furs. It would be nowhere enough to replace all of their losses, but it should keep their family afloat longer. She had even considered an effort to monopolize the market on furs. Not a lot of people were as ready for the cold as Krome was.

The young woman gave the baron a wan smile. “I’ll have to agree with you, my lord. Though out of all people, I certainly do not expect a Venoran to point that out.” After all, as far as trades go, this deal benefited the other house. Especially with the debts her family managed to pile up from them. She hated how her house had become something so dependent on another house.

Velaine honestly didn’t know what to make of the striking man sitting in front of her. He came here because he wanted to keep his people warm, though there was no way if it was the truth. Venorans were known to be a rather ostentatious bunch and the man’s fanciful attire certainly reflected that. Yet the way he carried himself… Andraska Venora was certainly not the sort to beat around the bush. Her eyes wandered at his raised hand, wondering if it was the hand of a nobleman or a warrior. “You seem like a straightforward man, Lord Andraska, I hope you do not mind that I am being frank with you. Just like you, I want to take care of my people and admittedly it has been rather… difficult. As you said yourself, Krome had been put in a slight disadvantage.” By your family. “So, yes, I am definitely interested in a new start for our future trade.”

For a moment, Velaine felt herself falter. She was still new in this world of trade deals and politics and wealth. Too make even worse, Andraska’s visit had caught her completely caught her off guard. The young woman had made a habit of turning an idea over and over again in her head, picking out weaknesses and strengths. There was no time for that clearly.

Leaning forward, the female Krome smoothed out the paper on her table and met the man’s green eyes. “We can agree on a fairer price of furs for Venora, of course. In return, I am hoping we can come to terms about the price in which your family ask of mine for your harvest – hopefully, not just for this arc but in the future too. After all, without the Warricks, we must turn to you. Especially now that Zi’da is around the corner and we will certainly need to start storing food.”

The young woman allowed herself to grin as the Venora’s words. “I suppose I’ll take that as a compliment.”

For a moment, she let her eyes drift to the windows, inspecting the gardens outside her home. Krome estates didn’t usually have sprawling gardens, but her home was an exception since her mother was obsessed with fancy Venoran things. Her own study felt quite stuffy after the thought and she wondered if the baron would mind if she had suddenly offered them to take a walk instead.

“But why haven't I heard of you before? Were you away?”

“Yes, actually,” Velaine replied with a small smirk, running her hands through her hair. There was an easiness in the air between them and the young woman felt the tension slowly seeping out of her skin. “The explanation is rather boring, I’m afraid. I spent the last few arcs in Ne’haer, to study business and management, though in the end, I ended up devoting most of my time to psychology.”

She leaned back to her own seat, eyeing the man in front of her from top to bottom. As attractive as a Venoran should be. “I have just returned to attend my brother’s wedding.” Velaine had seen him there, clad in a handsome armor, impossible to miss in the sea of silk and velvets. He did introduce himself as an Ouroboros guard just now. “Also, to take over his duties here once he got busy with his new wife. That and I have a sneaking suspicion that my mother dragged me back here to marry me off.”

She imagined that even if she had stayed in Rynmere, most people probably wouldn’t have heard of her either. Velaine had been just another noblewoman, common in every way with only her physical traits to boast of. Or not. If given the chance, Sophia Krome would likely have announced to the world of her daughter’s availability and found her a husband ages ago.

Velaine definitely didn’t regret the fact that she didn’t come home any sooner.

“What about you, my lord? Is it to prying of me to ask how a handsome young man like you inherit the title baron so early in life?” She kept her tone light, but interested. She was ready to change to change the subject should the man refused to answer.