Open: Party Preparations

[madame_de_fer]

WHO: Josephine, Vivienne, OPEN
WHAT: Preparing the Inquisition for the Soiree
WHEN: 15 Guardian to 14 Drakonis (about a month's span before the event)
WHERE: Skyhold, varies
NOTES: * Josephine is the hostess of the shindig. Matters regarding invitations, guest lists, admittance, entertainment, food, or general complaints/suggestions should be directed to her.
* Vivienne has personally invited three tailors from Val Royeaux to assist with clothes making for the attendees. She is available to assist with design selections and/or advice on how to behave.
* YOU are open and invited to grab your nearest and dearest CR to complain about the party, ask for a date to he event, complain you have nothing to wear.
* Belinda Darrow has donated from her own private purse to the cost of clothing which people could otherwise not afford.

The Orlesian tailors arrived in great state, bringing with them a cadre of servants, workers, and snotty attitudes. They hate everything. It is cold in Skyhold. It is damp. Everything smells of wet dog. The working conditions are abysmal. The food is criminal. There's not a damned thing they don't complain about, except for the piles of coin they stand to make from this soiree. Yes, they are more than content to build a fortune with exclusive work that will be seen by some of the aristocracy's finest.

Harritt apparently doesn't much like them either. They've taken over his Undercroft with their fabrics and threads, designs and opinions. Oh they have opinions. He stays to one corner, attending his work, and grumbling under his breath about the poncy cheesesniffers.

Comments

[madame_de_fer]

"Oh, darling, allow me."

That is correct. Madame de Fer just offered to style Sina's hair. Others may marvel at it if they will, but if they've spent any time around Vivienne in the field, they'll find she's far less fussy than one might think.

Without waiting really for permission, she plucks the stray pins out of Sina's hair, then steps behind the tiny elf to brush it out.

"I used to do this all the time in the Circle as a girl, you know. We'd spend hours brushing and styling. It would drive our mentors mad with how much more time we spent primping than studying."

[eolasemah]

Wide-eyed and intimidated as Vivienne steps forward, Sina allows her to do whatever she wants. She returns her gaze to the looking glass, watching Madame de Fer speak in their reflection.

"What was the Circle like?" she asks, a question that's been nagging at her ever since they were first mentioned. "...were you happy there?"

[madame_de_fer]

Vivienne is remarkably gentle in the brushing, taking extra care not to pull or yank, simply smoothing everything out for a start. Two delicate pieces are separated out for use later, and then she sets to the business of lifting and pinning bits here and there.

"I was delightfully happy there," she replies with genuine pleasure reflected on her face in the mirror. "Though to ask what the Circle was like would be like asking what a man is like or what a Dalish clan is like. They were all of them different with their own politics and culture. I was apprenticed in Ostwick as a girl. Ostwick was very sedate, in fact some would almost call it dull." Wrong. Vivienne would call it dull. That Circle couldn't provide the thrill of politics and involvement like other Circles. "Their focus was solely on learning and research. A student's dream. My dear friend Lydia and I used to while away hours reading and never ran out of material to engage us."

Mention of Lydia causes the Iron Lady's face to fall, betraying an inner turmoil. It is brief, but plan to see in the mirror, before she composes herself and continues.

"I was transferred to Montsimmard in time and Lydia went on to become First Enchanter in Ostwick. Montsimmard was so different. It was an edifice to refinement and education. I'm proud to say our students were among the best educated in Thedas. Of course, we were honored guests among the nobility. Everyone pined to have us grace their homes. Many still do, though that foolishness in Kirkwall did much to tarnish our reputation, despite having nothing at all to do with them."

[eolasemah]

The effect is calming, and Sina finds herself relaxing as Vivenne brushes her hair. She has never been close to her mother, having been whisked away by the Keeper to become the First at her magic's first manifestation, but the moment jogs of a memory of being a small girl with a thin elven woman, pale and blonde with the same large front teeth, humming and doing the same thing. It's strange, but not unwelcome.

"It all sounds so grand," she observes quietly; these places like Ostwick and Montsimmard, titles like First Enchanter, and a life that she can't even come close to imagining. In her world, there are Keepers and Firsts, and clans go where they need to. Cities are an abstract concept; she's never seen one in person.
"And Lydia," she continues, "do you still stay in touch?"

[madame_de_fer]

Her ministrations to Sina's hair pauses for a brief moment.

Vivienne's expression in the mirror doesn't change from her calm demeanor. She lifts a pin to keep something in place. The delay could be nothing more than attending to that business. But it's not.

"I'm afraid not. Lydia was murdered by her apprentice."

More tucking and lifting and pinning, as the work on Sina is just as soothing in this moment as a solitary cup of tea.

"The stupid fool was trying to instigate a rebellion in the Circle. All she got was an excellent woman killed."

It's so very unlike Madame de Fer to use such harsh words in speaking of anyone, even someone she doesn't care for. Not difficult to discern just how angry and hurt she is about the loss of her friend.

[eolasemah]

Well that's... not where Sina imagined this conversation was going. She gives a small start and looks at Vivienne's reflection, her eyes wide and apologetic. "...I'm sorry," she whispers, all the same a bit impressed by how well Vivienne is able to talk about it.