Taking Ballads proferred hand he rises, smiling at her as he does.  Perhaps there is a hint of a blush in his cheeks.

  "I don't suppose there is a spare room in the castle where I might put my bag and perhaps change into something a bit more fashionable before we venture about?" he asks, looking at the three of them, not sure who will answer.  He adds with a chuckle, "Unless I need to find a room at an inn or make a bed in the stable, or something.  I don't want to be any trouble."

Random seems to think that Lance's behavior is... cute. Endearing, even. A bit unnecessary, but it's certainly not displeasing him.




"Certainly we can provide you with a guest room," says Random, "I should have mentioned it before. Ballad has her own guest room, as well. You're both family."

“I will wait on you in the main hall, Lance,” Ballad declares, definitively, and she gives his hand another squeeze--this will be fun!--before dropping it. This much is clear to all: Ballad likes to be in motion. And although she doesn't seem particularly subtle, there's a certain quicksilver grace to how thoroughly she tries to get everybody else moving too.

“Aunt Flora, won’t you come with us? Everybody speaks highly of your taste and your way with a merchant’s heart. And Uncle Random, I hope you don’t feel left out—you know I’d enjoy more of your company. When was the last time you came down from the castle?”

"I feel I must decline, Ballad," says the king, "though thank you for the offer."

"I shall come, since you invited me," says Flora. "I'll meet you at the main gate... unless you wish to come with me to my quarters, Ballad? I can loan you a little jewelry or other accessories, if you wish..."

Random gestures a passing servant over, and soon Lance is being led to a simple but nice guest room...

Ballad gives Random a Very Tragic Look (although it is clearly at least half-a-joke), placing a hand over her heart. “Later, then. At dinner with the Queen?”

And unless Random stops her or otherwise indicates it would be unwelcome, Ballad—affectionate—bounds over for a hug before turning to, unless Flora indicates unwillingness, link her arm with Flora’s all inviting. Julian's daughter is physically affectionate; she waves to Lance, but they'll soon be jaunting down the mountain.

“Why, thank you Aunt for your exceedingly kind offer. I accept. What should I call you? Princess? Auntie? Aunt Flora? Florimel?"

"Call me Flora, dear," says Flora.

The two of them go upstairs one floor, and Flora unlocks a door and leads Ballad in.

"Except for the king’s chambers, this is the largest of the royal apartments, and unlike the
others it was designed especially by the inhabitant, me. The most recent construction in the castle, it was finished during the turmoil of the Interregnum. I guessed, quite rightly, that no one was going to notice.

The entrance sets the tone for the decor that extends throughout. The furniture is from Lance's Shadow, from a country called France, a few hundred years ago. The portrait hanging on the far wall was commissioned by the emperor of himself as a gift for me.

The sitting room leads to my favorite room in the entire palace. It gives me a
place where I can stretch out and be entirely myself. The tall plants in the corner are full, quickly-growing specimens from Eregnor..."

There are many portraits of men along the walls... But two other items quite naturally attract attention. The first is a stunningly lovely gold harp that stands toward the west side of the room. The other is a stuffed and mounted white horse.

Flora leads Ballad on to the bedroom... The bright red canopied bed occupies the center of the northern wall, its sheets of red satin.

On the vanity are two exceptional pieces of artisanship: a diamond necklace, and a golden bejeweled egg...

"Oh, but first, I must show you the view..." says Flora...

Back through the large room to the doors in the southern wall-- these doors lead to a large, semi-circular balcony that overlooks the city of Amber. Plants line the walls and stand on either side of a round table and round chairs... "Often at night I've sat at this table, a glass of brandy in my hand, and think of the romance that my life has been... Here, come and gaze out over the city..."

"Even at night, however, and even from this distance, the city sparkles from the lights
in the phosphorescent globes that light the streets... From my balcony it is quite beautiful, as all my visitors have been known to say... Bah. Lance should see this. I'll send a servant to bring him here when he's otherwise ready," says Flora, and she heads to the hallway to attend to that errand...

“You must be very fond of your son’s Shadow,” Ballad remarks, as Flora explains the province of many of the objects. "What was Lance like as a child?" She is interested in the portraits of men (only men?) along the walls, studying this one or that one as they strike her. “Who is this?” she asks, of one. “What about this?” of another. And, "He has dreamy eyes." And, "He looks quite inflexible."

Ballad is studious. Although she tends to be a tactile person, she keeps her hands to herself. Mostly. Her fingers twitch toward the harp's strings--generally prefers loud instruments, brass horns and drums, but the harp holds a special place in her heart, and it is part of her personal sigil—and she looks as if she is going to pick up the bejewelled egg before Flora calls her away to the view.

She does take pains to look for any sign that Flora might be connected more closely to the gray men than seems apparent. Ballad is a friendly, happy-go-lucky, vivacious young woman, ready to be passionately pleased by all her relations. She is also highly suspicious.

But she comes and gazes out over the city, resting her palms on the balcony's ledge and leaning as if she wasn't only 99.1% sure Flora didn't mean to push her to her death. It is a view to enchant, and Ballad is thoughtful and quiet. A lovely beacon of brightness, there on Flora's balcony.

She does lean rather recklessly over the balcony's ledge, gauging interesting places to climb from it. Could she get to the rooftop? How difficult would it be?

In reply to Flora (msg # 34):

  Lance allows himself to be led off by the servant, only after bowing to his Uncle, Mother and Cousin.

  The room is nice, spacious, well appointed.  Lance thanks the servant and changes quickly into his renn-fair outfit of red celtic style tunic with gold trim, mustard-gold trews with the brown knee-high boots and billowy red gold-trimmed cape, attached at the shoulders by two large ornate brass rondel pins.  He checks his look in the full-length mirror, runs his fingers through his hair, then buckles on his belt with his sword and dagger.  Satisfied, he finishes surveying the room.  There is an adjoining dressing room and a comfortable looking bronze bathtub.  He finds where the chamber pot is stashed, and wrinkles his nose.  That would take some getting used to.

  Before long, there is a knocking at the door.  He finds another servant there, to lead him to Princess Florimel's Chamber.  Lance thanks the servant, and follows along, trying to memorize the way as he goes.

"Oh, absolutely. It's my favorite Shadow of all, not counting Amber.'




Flora is suddenly stricken. "I... don't know, really. I had him adopted. It was... I was afraid for him. It was for his own protection. He never saw me, before this week... I... Do you know the story of Martin, Ballad...?"




"Don't do that, dear, that's a good girl..."

It is not possible for Ballad to climb to the top of the castle from here. If she had some specialized climbing equipment? Then mmmmmaybe?




Soon, Lance is at the door to Flora's chambers...

“The Story of Martin?” Ballad echoes. She’s curious to hear what Flora will say about her cousin. One never knows what has been left out.

She does not, perhaps, react immediately to Don't do that, dear, there's a good girl--don't do what? She glances quizzically over her shoulder, still quite reckless, before she comes back to more solid ground.

"I mean about Brand's attack on Martin, decades ago..." Flora looks a little skeptical at the notion that Ballad hasn't heard of what Flora's referring to...

“Oh. Yes, I know that Brand did Martin injury,” Ballad replies. Easygoing and unrepentant in the face of skepticism. "You were concerned something like that would happen again?" She looks more serious than Flora has yet seen her niece.

  Lance thanks the servant who showed him the way before politely knocking on the door.  Servants.  That would take some getting used to.  He was looking forward to the rest of the day.  Seeing how his mother decorated her room would give him more insight to her tastes, and the day of shopping and seeing the sights with her and Ballad was going to be amazing.  He had never had family, so it is all quite new.  Even more exhilarating, his mother, such a study in elegance....and Ballad, so...alive....so making him wish that they somehow weren't actually related by blood.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:52, Wed 10 June 2020.

"Yes. Very much so. A number of us who had children after that happened were quite concerned. I had... special reasons to fear it. ...Until these recent attacks of the gray men, when I decided that continued ignorance of his heritage would just be leaving him in increasingly-greater danger."




Lance continues to gather his thoughts before knocking on the door that stands before him...

  Ballad.  Lance couldn't get his cousin out of his thoughts.  So lovely, so lively...just a spirit so...so exuberant!  And beautiful!  Stop it Lance, she's your cousin for God's sakes!  Half cousin, actually.

   Flora had described Amber as being similar to the Middle Ages in Earth.  In the middle ages, there were often marriages between cousins.  Of course, if a bloodline ran too closely, there could be bad implications if there were any children.

  Lance shook his head.

  That was assuming a lot.....that Ballad would even be remotely interested in him as anything more than a cousin, that even if she did feel that way about him that such a thing wouldn't be considered a sin, or against the law, or just plain forbidden.  Gods, what was he thinking?  Surely she had flocks of suitors that weren't compromised by blood relation.  She might already even be married, or betrothed, or handfasted, or whatever the custom here was.  He hadn't noticed a ring though.

  Get it out of your head, Lance.  She is your cousin.  How would she feel if she knew that you were thinking of her as anything other than that?

:::sigh:::

Lance takes a deep breath, straightens himself up and knocks on the doors to Flora's Suite.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:05, Thu 11 June 2020.

Flora hears the knock at the door of her chambers. She very visibly puts on a wrong-what-could-possibly-be-wrong-or-disturbing-how-silly-of-you-to-say-so face, and then swooshes to the door and opens it. "Lance, good! Come and look at the view from the balcony with us...!" She leads Lance to the balcony...

"The city is divided into two primary sections: the eastern portion is mostly residential, while the western section is predominantly commercial. All the standard professions of Earth of the early Renaissance can be found there: carpenters, fishers, milliners, clothiers, stone-masons, brick-makers, and artists and craftsmen, to name but a few.

Shopkeepers live above their shops, and hostels of various kinds keep the poor off the streets-- despite its relative wealth, Amber has its inevitable share of poverty...

Temples exist in the city, too, but for the most part they are found in the countryside. The Unicorn has never been seen in the city itself, and these sightings determine where most of the temples are located...

Well! Shall we go and explore the city ourselves...?"

  Lance enters and allows Flora to lead him to the balcony to share the view with herself and Ballad.  It's all he can do to not look like a big blonde bobble-head as he takes it all in.  Flora's room, the view, Flora herself, and of course his lovely cousin.

  "Whoa....." Lance is at a loss for words, in fact it takes him a moment to remember to breathe.  He had heard of views as being breathtaking, but this truly was.  All the more so because he wasn't just seeing it by himself.

  "...so damn beautiful."

  Without even thinking about it he reaches out to take both of their hands, wanting the connection of the moment of the company and the magnificent view.

  "This is going to be amazing!" he says with a huge grin

Ballad turns toward Flora and leans forward (intent), about to ask a question (or three or ten)—"Special reasons?"—when there’s the knock knock on the door and Flora’s face changes and she swooshes away. Damn. Ballad smiles at herself, rueful, and leans against the balcony's rail again, gazing out as she listens to Flora with Lance coming back down the hall and past the bedroom. Flora sounds like she's in full tour guide mode.




Ballad is ready to be charming and charmed, so Lance's unaffected pleasure in the view draws another dazzle-bright grin from Ballad, as she straightens to greet him (and to get going. Always moving!). "I suspect this probably is one of the most unique views of the city. It's certainly a new perspective for me."

Aw. He wants to hold hands again? Ballad doesn't stop him. This must be what people from Lance's shadow do and, anyway, she understands what it is to be so moved it spills over into wanting other people.

"Yes, let's us sally forth."

  Lance takes in the moment, savoring it.  He smiles even bigger, if such a thing is possible when Ballad allows him to take her hand.  The view, the company, the sheer joy of experiencing Amber.  Almost hesitantly he tears himself away from the view, commenting how magnificent the sunset must be and how he's never seen a city so beautiful.

  As the trio passes back through Flora's room with all the portraits he slows down to look at them, wondering...

  "Is one of these of...well...you know...him?" he asks, a bit hesitantly.

  If these were portraits of the men that had been important to Flora, perhaps one of them was of his father.

"No, Lance... I haven't updated the decor in here for over a century. I've been focusing on decorating my Earth homes. I'll show you a picture of your father soon, if you want... I have some in upstate New York."

Ballad courteously wanders away from the mother and son as they discuss, well, what sounds rather delicate. She's not so courteous she's out of earshot, but the illusion is there!

Besides, plenty of other things to look at.

  "That'd be nice, if it's not too painful a memory or too much trouble.  I know I'll never meet him, but now that I'm finding my roots I suppose I should find out what I can eventually.  That's for another time though.  Today's a more festive occasion.  Let us go see what wonders the city holds!  After all, it isn't every day you have a thirtieth birthday, find out that you're a prince in a magical land, and learn that you have a wonderful family to share it all with!"  Lance grins.  "Speaking of family, do I have any siblings that I should be aware of?"

"A half-brother, David. Like you, he was raised away from me, and like you, he dealt with the gray men himself-- two of them, in his case. Maybe they were more sure about where he was, or who he was...? In any event, he defeated them, and then I found him, and he walked the Pattern, and is off in Shadow right now, but-- again like you-- he has my card, so he should be able to call me if he needs me. He was working as a forest ranger up in Idaho, but I think he's abandoned that job now that he can explore Shadows... He's quite the outdoorsman..."

  Lance smiles.  "A brother!  Cool!  I'll have to look him up someday and say hello."

  A brother!!  The thought is warming.  Happy.  More family.

  As the trio starts making their way again, Lance holds doors for Flora and Ballad, not because he has to, or because they need anyone to do it for them. but because he wants to.

  "So, where are we headed first?"

"You'll see." Flora leads the cousins downstairs and to the castle's front gate, where a carriage is waiting-- it reminds Lance of a hotel that offers complimentary shuttle service downtown.

The carriage speeds downhill, and eventually lets them off at a wide cobblestone street, where the three of them begin to stroll... A few closed carriages roll by... An old man walking a tiny green dragon on a chain leash touched his hat to the strollers as they pass and says, "Good evening."

"Many of the shops, cafes, and restaurants occupy this, the Main Concourse," says Flora. "It is the place of business for most Amber merchants." Strolling reveals various deals being made, goods being purchased, and merchants trying to shout their advertisements.

"At night, the cafes and the restaurants remain open until well after dark, sometimes till midnight during feast days. On a warm summer’s night I walk there myself sometimes, and the people line the Concourse to get to see a member of the family. I come not for me but for them; a royal visit draws them together." Indeed, many people stop and bow or curtsy, smiling. "Despite their proximity to the castle, Amberites are really no different from the subjects of any significant kingdom..."

You keep walking. "Here, Vine Street intersects the Main Concourse, and cuts across the city from west to east. On its eastern portion reside many of Amber’s lesser nobles, while to the west, it leads down to the port district. And 'down' is the precise word. To get to the port district means a walk down cobbled streets to where the lights are much further apart and walking much more... at one's own risk. There's something almost archetypal about unsafe harbor areas, and Amber’s fits the archetype. At one point, in fact, Harbor Road gives way to a stretch called Death Alley. All port cities seem to have such a street... Still, at-one's-own-risk though they may be, the beer-houses and bars near the harbor also serve the best seafood in the city..."

It occurs to Ballad that the eatery called Bloody Mary's is probably down that way...

"But for now, let's do a little clothes-shopping, shall we...?"

(Flora encourages you each to get something, if you want, be it garment or accessory.

However:
--Before leaving her chambers, Flora loaned Ballad one item of jewelry... what was it?

Also:
--Flora states that after the Main Concourse, she'll take the cousins to "the arts and crafts" district... so one might want to hold off unless one finds someone one just can't resist...

Having said that... getting anything in the shops here...?)
This message was last edited by the player at 17:29, Sat 13 June 2020.