[Sophia the Thunder Mistress]

Evinyatar- for your second save spot.

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"Come in!" The command came from behind the sable curtains of the queen's bed. A lone hand protruded from between the matress and the curtain, beckoning toward where Habeth's anxious voice was calling. Inside the comforting darkness of her bed, Beruthiel felt the press of cat bodies all over her, from where Pirro's tail tickled the underside of her chin to where Miaama presided over her feet like purring royalty. The queen wanted no company but theirs, for it seemed that they alone understood her. But Habeth's voice intruded into her misery at regular intervals. Faithful Habeth who had followed her from her homeland. "Come in!" She called again. At least she could talk.

Habeth stood outside the curtains, only her voice breaking the solitude. "Milady, I brought some food." The sound of a lid being removed, and then Beruthiel could smell the meat and vegetables. She sighed heavily, she wasn't hungry. Habeth knew she wasn't hungry, she had only been told five or six times in the past few days. Mosi put his head through the curtains. Beruthiel knew he was giving Habeth a disdainful glare for interrupting. Hearing the Queen's sigh, her handmaid repeated, "But, Your Highness, you haven't eaten in two days... you must stay strong." Silence. Beruthiel heard Habeth replace the metal cover.

"Well, Milady," she was distinctly more nervous. Miaama moved to the opening as well, tipping her white head to the side, and thrashing her tail against the covers. "There is news in the kitchens. Your husband's brother and his family have arrived early." A second white face appeared in the opening, Beruthiel's.

"They are here today?" She whispered it under her breath, before emerging entirely from the four poster, disgruntled cats jumping to the floor all around her. "How could they be here already?" Her voice trailed off uneasily, and Habeth appeared to waver. Haltingly she blurted out the story of Earnil's near brush with death in the market square. Beruthiel sank into an upholstered silver chair, the blood draining further from her face, leaving it paler than before. For a moment her mind leapt from relief to disappointment and back again, before it settled on relief. She resented Tarciryan's son coming to interfere in her house, she resented the fact that Tarciryan's wife bore a son, but she had no wish for the boy to die. She gripped the arms of the chair with her fingers, trying to still their sudden trembling. Habeth stood to the side watching her with great concern, the cats drifting like silent ghosts across the floor all staring at Beruthiel with their wide green eyes.

After a length of time, the queen rose to her feet. "Help me Habeth." she said quietly, a look of desperation on her face. "Tarannon will summon me to dinner tonight, and I haven't anything to wear." Her voice was dazed. Shaking her head slightly, Habeth went to fetch the Queen's hairbrush.
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Nice posts, Alak and Earwen. Three weeks till the end date, everyone.

I believe (though it is not yet final) that SusanDelgado will be picking up the part of Tarannon in place of Orual. Hopefully she'll jump in soon and then perhaps things will really take off! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Sophia