[Manardariel]

"I heard it, too, from one of the most reliable sources!"

Tessa took a sip of her tea, trying not to snort in her teacup. This was just too funny. She let her eyes wander over her hosts. Pelien looked impatient, fluttered, disbelieving. But there was something more. Tessa could just see the brain- work going on behind her elaborate hairstyle. Come on, believe is! It is likely, come on! Tessa silently pleaded. She sat the teacup down, and watched Pelien. The lady seemed to seriously consider what she had just heard.

“What I wonder,” Pelien said. “Is that nobody has found out about this before.”

Vieana started to cough on her biscuits. Tessa quickly patted her on the back, asked the bystanding maid for a glass of water and looked Pelien straight in the eye.

“You see, what I think is that many people just do not care for the rumors. I mean, surely the noble, influencial ladies like yourself have better things to discuss than such idle talk. At the provincial court back in Dol Amroth, yes, that´s another thing. You see, we´re used to finding out things like this. At a boring court like in Dol Amroth, it´s all you can do before being bored to tears, if you see what I mean. But here, in the political center of the country...surely, you talk about politics and such with your friends. We country girls, know so little about all that... I hope we haven´t bored you with all this!” Tessa finished with a half embaressed sort of head-hanging, trying hard not to burst out laughing at Pelien´s very forced smile.

Instead, she turned her attention to the young lady Adrama, next to her. She was a pretty lady. Tessa guessed her a bit younger than Finduilas, though there was something around her that made her look girlish and vulnerable in some sort of way. Tessa couldn´t quite tell what it was: maybe having to live with a cobra as a mother? She coudn´t imagine Pelien being a very loving mother, couldn´t see her embracing her little daughter, couln´t imagine Adrama coming to her with a bloody knee or a mean dream to tell. There was a hurt in her eyes, a pain of some sort that made her gain Tessa´s sympathy. The younge girl frowned- before coming here, she had thought her parents were demanding. That was nothing, nothing against these women. She decided to keep a close watch on Adrama for the next few weeks.

“You know,” Adrama said. “I think it really is a pity about Elena though. She´s a bright girl, and friendly, too. I just hope this doesn´t go into the public, she wouldn´t deserve it.”

“Yes,” Tessa sighed, and this time what she said was not an act or a lie. “We can´t choose our families, can we?”

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Elven maiden Earwen's post:

The tea party was going quite well, Eleniel thought as she listened to Averyll converse with Pelien. She hadn’t spoken much during the whole party. Tessa was quite right. Pelien was a Cobra. At least twice Elen was ready to drop her cup and run. But her daughter Adrama didn’t seem so bad. A beautiful woman she was. Probably only a few years older than myself.

Eleniel took a dainty sip of tea. She listened to what the girls were saying. She had to hold beck her laughter as they said something about Elena. Elena was a nice woman, but, as much as she liked the girl she still thought what they were saying was quite rude, but funny.

“We can’t choose our families, can we?” Elen straightened up at this comment by Tessa. A pity it was she thought. She took a small bite from her biscuit. There was an awkward gap in their conversation and Elen couldn’t think of a thing to say. She couldn’t help but hope to leave soon.

[ August 22, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]