Honey and Chocolate Biscuit Rolls
The low roar of conversation was audible from the other side of the panelled doors that led to the banquet hall. Inanna Lumen took a deep breath as she pushed them open – gently and slowly, to avoid drawing any attention to her – and entered.
Inside, the noise grew. Mixed in with the talk of men and women dressed in fineries were the strains of music from the small stage. She glanced up at where the musicians were, and at the strange mechanical contraption behind them. It had been covered with a large piece of white cloth so she could not make out any details, but she had seen the manservants assisting in transporting it onto the stage just this morning. A strange man, hair wild and clothes slightly askew, had been instructing them in a strange, loud whisper.
Well, that was not any of her concern at the moment. Keeping her back straight, like a proper servant of House Ramsesphilios should, Inanna made her way along the sides of the wall, carefully skirting away from too much contact with the guests. It was a practiced movement of servitude, one the nobles of Ankida were coached not to notice from their formative years, and she had become fairly proficient at it over the past five years.
As she moved along, she caught snippets of conversation; mostly gossip about the latest scandals and the state of the country and the state of the continent, and she paid them no mind. It was not her job to be concerned with this. Her brother had always told her that ignorance was safety, that if she knew nothing, no one would think anything of her.
“A rude thing to say”, she had thought at the time. As a child she would have rejected the notion entirely, captivated as she was by the stories of the Octopus Witch that at times fought the Founding Emperor and yet at other times was his ally, and her childish dreams to become such a hero.
But as she grew, and life made its nature known, she came to understand her own status. She was not even going to be some influential nobleman’s wife, let alone a powerful sorceress. She was a maid and the most she would ever experience with regards to flirtations with the nobility were forceful propositions for dalliances. Not that she had accepted any, nor had she had to reject any for a few years now. Lady Orlessa Ramsesphilios was quite well-regarded within both her social circles and that of her husband’s, and that meant that when Inanna’s position as a favoured servant was made known, such propositions ceased.
Of course, that came with other troubles in itself, but…
Her feet stopped, and she curtseyed to a middle-aged woman dressed in a blue and white frock, the official colours of the House. Her hair was tied in a bun and she seemed stern, like a schoolmistress would be. The woman looked at her with a slight, downward curl of the lip.
“You are late,” came the reproachful greeting.
Inanna apologized. “I’m sorry, Head Maid. I had a brief relapse.” Her constitution was not the most remarkable of things, and from time to time she would get a shortness of breath. It was something that she was born with, and no amount of medical attention had ever managed to cure it.
The head maid sighed. “Well, you have never had the most convenient timing with those. No matter. It’s time to get to work. With Maltissa and Rupert on sick leave, we are short on hands for this banquet. Help Lucia in bringing around the appetizers. Did you hear that, Lucia— Oh, for Ean’s sake, Lucia, stop flirting with the guard!”
The head maid kept her voice controlled and low even when berating the maid that had been chatting happily with a young guard by the window. Still, it was enough to get the other girl to stop, and she whispered something in the guard’s ear before primly walking back to Inanna and the head maid.
“Aye, mam,” she bowed, offering no justifications for her dereliction of duty. She winked at Inanna and smiled, while the head maid grumbled about problem children and suitable punishments. Inanna smiled back wanly. She was used to this scene, and similarly, Lucia too must have been used to whatever may come. A bright girl from Etruria about Inanna’s own age, she was an existence that Inanna could only compare to the wind. Free, uncontrollable, uncatchable. It seems that Lucia hailed from a family of merchants that House Ramsesphilios owed a favour to, and so she had been sent here for education in both knowledge and manners, though the latter does not seem to be working out as her parents wished. Still, her background meant that the head maid would not be able to kick Lucia out of the house even if she wanted to.
Energetically, Lucia took up two plates of appetizers from the banquet table – one had lightly fried prawns, and the other thin chocolate biscuit rolls drizzled with honey. She made a show of looking at one plate, then the other, before finally shoving the plate of biscuits at Inanna.
“This one should suit you better,” grinned Lucia.
“I… don’t get it,” mumbled Inanna in return, although she did take the plate offered.
“Well, it’s— “
A short, sharp cough from the head maid interrupted them. The meaning was clear – get to work.
Giggling, Lucia headed out into the center of the hall, navigating the crowd with practiced ease. Inanna took a couple of deep breaths again, and looked around. First, she would head for…
***
A. A dashing young man, dressed in military uniform. She recognized him as one of her brother’s classmates from his Academy days – Vitruvius Camna. They had not seen each other for a year or so now, but she had always found him pleasant to speak to. He was surrounded by a mix of highborn young men and women.
B. Lord and Lady Ramsesphilios, who were surrounded by no small number of guests and still successfully holding court. There seem to be some really important people with them – Inanna did not know who they were, but from their clothes and the way others treated them, they were clearly more important than the usual guests the mansion had.
C. A bearded giant of a man, gulping down alcohol unceasingly. His black hair and features marked him as being from the East, and Inanna vaguely remembered him as a diplomat of some sort. He was boisterously talking to some people in military uniform.
D. A slim young man with an eye-patch, who appeared to hail from the same lands as the Eastern diplomat. He was quietly moving from table to table, seemingly concerned only with eating as much of the food as possible.
E. The strange young man she had seen yesterday, hunched in a corner of the hall all by himself and polishing his glasses. He did not seem comfortable with the banquet, and Inanna could slightly empathize with him.
