The Taste of Blood

[Feena]

"Marea, what is my schedule like for the rest of the day?"

The young handmaiden obediently brought up the Queens schedule. She was always so busy, the Queen. Most days there was not even time to stop for proper meals. She would often have to eat during meetings. To Marea's shock, she found the Queens schedule nearly clear for the first time in months.

"in about six hours you have a meeting with the Princess of Theed," she replied, "Shall I ask if she may come sooner?"

Queen Feenarah shook her head, staring at the holographic portrait at the corner of her desk.

"No, no. Best not to inconvenience her. I'm sure she is quite busy up until then. I have something else in mind for today. Is that boy, oh, what is his name?" she snapped her fingers, the name just at the tip of her tongue, "The Barnabus boy. Felicity's little friend. O...something. O...Owain? Is that it? I think that's it."

"Yes, your majesty?"

"Is he still on Naboo?"

"I have not received news to suggest otherwise," she answered, "Yes, I believe so."

"Good!" the Queen stood up, "Then invite him to the palace gardens for a light lunch. I think it's about time I met this boy."

Marea bowed low before scurrying off to do as she was told. As for the Queen, she was off to change into something a bit more appropriate for a garden lunch. The sooner she could take this makeup off, the better.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

"Aaaaah!" yelled the youth as he was sent flying out of the cantina. The security guards sure took their jobs seriously. How did anyone have any fun if they weren't allowed to brawl even a little bit? How boring. Dusting himself off with a scowl, Owain threw a rude gesture at the backs of the guards before setting off down the street, grumbling under his breath. Nabokov was so boring. All so peaceful and nice. The only fun to be had was with teasing the local girls, and most where too shy to interact with him. Being an off-world ear did that though, especially so soon after the invasion.

Felicity was busy with her polite and nice guard, so there was no chance of spending time with her for a while. He sighed in boredom when his comm-unit beeped. Thanking his luck for the distraction, he checked it, frowning when he read who the sender was. There'd Palace...the home of his uncle's employers. An invitation to lunch? ...oh no. Felicity. She had said something and he was going to get in trouble. He just knew it. A pity there was nowhere he could hide on the planet. Shaking his head, he headed towards the palace, typing out a reply. Might as well get it over with. Plus it would certainly liven up his day.

[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

At the front of the palace, Marea was already waiting in person. This boy was not from Naboo, so she had her doubts that he would know how to behave. Best to give him a heads up. Offending the Queen wasn't easy, but it was always something to be avoided when possible. Queen Feenarah could be very harsh.

When the boy approached, Marea gave a polite nod in his direction. So this was the one Miss Felicity called a 'friend'. Curious.

"Mister Owain Barnabus? I am Marea Devala, handmaiden to the Queen. If you would just follow me, please."

Straight to the point. It was one of the reasons that the Queen favored her so highly. She was never one to waste time or words when she didn't have to.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

He looked over the woman as he approached the gates. Obviously waiting for him - he did have an appointment after all. He let her speak first before nodding and following. She addressed him with a honorific - that was rare. Not even Felicity at her most condescending did that. Curious. He just smiled as he followed this...Marea. "So, Miss Marea, any idea why I've been summoned?" He idly asked. Sure he was here for lunch and a. Chat, but it would help to know the tone the conversation would be taking.

[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

The handmaiden glanced at the boy over her narrow shoulders and shook her chestnut curls.

"Her Majesty requested your presence. I simply follow the Queens orders. It is my not place to question them."

She led them under a stone archway and she paused. Best to get this out of the way.

"When you meet with the Queen, you will bow until she bows back. You will address her appropriately and never, ever think to use her first name in conversation. Speak softly, but speak often. Her majesty hates dull conversation. If she offers you tea, accept it. And no matter what you do, if the topic of her daughter comes up, you will call her Miss Felicity. Do not use nicknames. Any questions? No? Great."

Not that she gave him a chance to ask any questions before she started walking once again at a brisk pace to the gardens.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

This was going to go badly, he knew that now. Still, at least the queen wouldn't execute him out of hand. And besides, diplomacy was never his strong suit. "I'll act out my duties as a guest, but nothing more," he said, swiftly following the handmaiden. Tea? Really? Maybe if it was sweet and not that horrid bitter leaf water his uncle had made him try...

[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

Marea didn't respond. There was no time. Through the gate, she could already see the Queen sitting at a white table behind a low neatly trimmed hedge. She led him into the gardens, down the path to the clearing where the Queen was waiting.

"Majesty? Owain Baranabus as requested."

The Queen looked up at the sound of her handmaiden with a smile. She felt younger out here. Something about being free from all that makeup made smiling feel easier.

"Ah! So this is the boy I've heard so much about," she rose to her feet, "I apologize it took so long to meet you, Mister Barnabus."


[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

He stood at attention and bowed stiffly, trying to imagine the woman now in front of him as a with overseer. It was hard. "A pleasure, your highness," he responded in a neutral tone. He had no idea what she had been told about him, so decided to remain vague in his responses. "You have me at a disadvantage, I have not heard a lot about you." Alright, so maybe he could have phrased that better...

[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

The Queen bowed in return and the handmaiden took her place at the edge of the clearing, standing silently until she was needed.

"Really?" The Queen tilted her head to the side, long black curls sweeping across her shoulder, "That's... unusual."

Her eyes narrowed some suspiciously, but her smile was fresh as ever.

"Well, please take a seat," she motioned to the empty chair across the table, "I can think of no better way for you to learn about me than this."

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

Personally, Owain would have preferred a dossier. This smacked too much of entering an ambush. Probably the intention. Suppressing a sigh he nodded and took a seat. "I believe my uncle preferred I form my own opinion of you, your highness, without him colouring my judgement." He saw no reason to mention that Felicity had only shared the basics with him.

[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

"Mmm."

That was her only response as she took her seat as well. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Marea shift uncomfortably. That did not bode well for this meeting.

"And what is your opinion of me so far, young Barnabus? Just from these first few seconds?"

She could almost feel the handmaiden cringe. Good. Comfort was not to be encouraged here. She had questions for him, not as a Queen, but as a mother.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

"Too early to pass judgement, your majesty," he replied curtly, sitting at attention. "Nothing distinguishing you from any other royal has manifested itself yet," he added as a justification.

[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

For a moment the queen was quiet, staring across at her guest. Then after a pause, she smiled, and then finally laughed.

"Oh my... And how many 'royals' have you met?" she asked, voice just dripping with amusement, "So blunt you are. No wonder you and my daughter are friends."

She reached across the table to the delicate tea pot and then began pouring tea into two cups.

"How do you like your tea?" she asked, setting the pot aside.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

"Met, none. Briefed on, a few, your highness," he freely admitted, still tense. The woman was a politician. That meant manipulator. He couldn't let his guard down. The young man glanced at the tea the Queen was pouring. "Ah...sweet, your highness," he answered. In truth he liked it made by someone he trusted. But that wouldn't have gone down well. So many things to stay silent about...

[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

Sweet. He liked his tea sweet? She tried not to look surprised. One scoop of sugar, then two. She glanced at him before taking the bowl and pouring half the sugar inside into the one cup before passing the sugar filled goop over to him.

"So, you are Elliot's nephew. That's strange. He never mentioned a nephew to me. And from Korriban too, yes? Interesting, intersting..."

She put a bit of citrus in her tea, but that was it before raising it to her lips. He liked sweet. She liked sour.

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

Wow. That was incredibly petty. It was almost hilarious if it wasn't such a blatant display of her disdain for him. He nodded politely as he took the...drink, sipping it. Strangely, it was ideal. His constant running about and trouble making tended to use up a lot of energy, so he had long ago taken to eating a lot of sugary foods to keep his metabolism up. He had no honest idea how that worked, but such was life. "He wasn't aware of me, your highness. After he went MIA from the Sith, he never really contacted his extended family..." he quietly explained, eyes flickering around, taking in the details of the garden. He was sure the handmaiden was more than enough protection for the supposedly fearsome Queen of Naboo, but he was curious as to what other security measures where in place. He didn't say anything else, letting the woman direct the conversation. She had the upper hand for now. his best hope was in evasion and rapid retreat.

[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

Interestingly enough, she hadn't ruined his tea out of spite or dislike for the boy. She was honestly that unsure of how 'sweet' was too sweet. She actually thought she was doing him a favor. She had no idea how much she had put him on edge already, but if she did know, she might had adjusted her tactics.

"Ah. What a shame," she replied, but her voice made it very clear that she was done with that subject, "So! How have you been finding Naboo? Are you comfortable here?"

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

Of course the Queen would be curious regarding how people saw her world. She wouldn't be interested in honesty, Owain realised - he just had to say what she wanted to hear. "It's peaceful, your highness," he stated, sipping his tea again. "Quiet. Quaint," he added, putting the cup of tea down on his plate with a clink. "Very different from Korriban."

A tad obvious, but what else did she want him to say?

[member="Feena Mason"]

 

[Feena]

"No it's not peaceful," The Queen set her cup down as well with a faint clink, "Not like it used to be."

She wasn't smiling anymore. It took her a moment before she realized that, but the moment she did she cleared her throat and put on a new glittering smile.

"But never mind that. What is your favorite thing about Naboo?"

[member="Owain"]

 

[Owain]

He felt himself cock an eyebrow at the older woman. Not peaceful? Had she even SEEN some of the other planets in the galaxy? Naboo was still a perfect little garden in the eyes of the galaxy. Almost sickeningly sweet, in his opinion. Owain wanted to shrug, but he knew that response would be construed as disrespectful, so took a moment to think over his words before speaking. "I suppose, your majesty, what I like most about this world is the people. Welcoming, friendly, and though a bit too quaint for my tastes, unable to hold a meaningful grudge when it's pointless."

Drinking and fighting were great companions after all. Having a drink in the hospital after a good fight was an important bonding experience.

[member="Feena Mason"]