Snoops and Snitches

Posted on Mon Jun 15th, 2020 @ 12:06pm by

Mission: Cruel Meridian
2119 words - 4.2 OF Standard Post Measure

The princess' handmaidens were undecided as to what to do. On the one hand, they had been told that their mistress had important matters to discuss. On the other hand, a strange man was alone with their mistress. In her quarters. Back home, no man would have been allowed at all in the princess' presence. The two young women were appalled by the current situation, and frightened at what might happen in their absence.

They huddled together in a corner of the mess hall, discussing their options in lowered voices for a long time before deciding on the best course of action. After two or three hours, they left the lounge, arm in arm, and headed to see the person they thought could do anything about it.

[Later, Cassandra's quarters]

Cassie hadn't heard the chime when it first rang, but woke up as it became insistent. "I'm awake, I'm awake," she said in a coarse voice before getting out of bed and slipping on a dressing gown. "Come in," she said as she exited her bedroom. She rubbed her eyes and hastily smoothed out her hair at the sight of the two young women before her.

"Miss Leblanc, you must help us," the one named Mariska said as soon as she entered. "Her Highness..." her companion started, but couldn't seem to find the words. Both seemed very agitated.

"Please, ladies, sit," Cassie responded , gesturing towards the couch, and ordered some white tea from the replicator. A teapot full of white apricot tea, along with three cups, appeared a moment later in a shimmering gleam of blue light. Cassie took the tray, placed it before the two handmaidens, and started serving the warm drink. "Now, what's going on?" she asked in her most soothing voice in an attempt two calm the two women.

"Her Highness the Princess is alone with Mister Barr!" the second handmaiden, Aleya, exclaimed in indignation, before Mariska could shush her.

"Miss Leblanc," Mariska started, "Her Highness the Princess has expelled us from her apartments tonight, about three hours ago. She claimed that she had important things to discuss with Mister Barr. Matters unfit for our ears and our gossips," she said, much more calmly than Aleya did, and hesitantly picked up a teacup to drink some tea.

"No man is to be alone in her Highness the Princess' presence!" Aleya almost shrieked. "It is law!"

Cassie gently put a hand on Aleya's arm. "Please, Aleya, have some tea," she pleaded, trying to diffuse the situation. "What happened next?" she asked.

Mariska continued. "Despite our protests, we had no choice but to leave. We did cross paths with Mister Barr as we made our way to the lounge, but didn't speak to him." She drank some more tea before she spoke her next words. "We're not afraid for her safety, Miss Leblanc. Mister Barr has been exemplary in that regard."

Cassie didn't need to read minds to figure out what they were worried about. Aleya spoke, seemingly having calmed down. "Miss Leblanc, he have sworn an oath to keep her from being sullied in any way. The Emperor will not accept her as his wife if she is unclean. A man alone with her... I don't even want to think what could happen."

Cassie didn't want to jump to conclusions, and what she was being told was pure speculation. Men and women could, after all, maintain purely platonic relationships. And she didn't feel the Princess would do anything undue to undermine the efforts of her own government, as medieval as she thought they were. At the same time, the handmaidens' concerns were valid, and she needed to treat them as such, no matter what her own opinions were.

"I'd like to thank you for coming to me with this, and I want you to know that I understand your concerns," she assured them, without, however, telling them how she felt about their laws.

Cassie smiled and instructed her guest to stay seated for moment, so she could get properly dressed. She took the time to ask the computer where Mister Barr was, and it confirmed that he was still in the VIP quarters.

She came out of bedroom, in more appropriate clothing, two outfits on her arm, high heels in her hand. "Will one of you be so kind as to hang these in my office, while I pay a visit to Her Highness?"

Both handmaidens curtsied, plucked the clothes from Cassie's arms, and promptly left her quarters.

A few moments later, she left them as well. She walked casually down the corridor in direction of the VIP quarters. She let out a breath she didn't know she had kept in, and pressed the chime.

Leyana sighed, untangling herself from Herbert's arms. "What now," she muttered, as she quickly checked her appearance and made sure there was some actual work on the small coffee table. "Come!" she called out, giving herself another quick once-over.

Cassie stepped just inside the doors of the VIP suite as they opened before her. "Good evening, your Highness," she greeted with a quick curtsy. "I was about to get some documents from my office and possibly something to eat, and I was wondering if you needed..." she trailed off just as she saw, from the corner of eye, Barr emerge from the bedroom, "...anything."

Herbert walked into the living area carrying a tray of various cups, glasses, bowls and plates. “Evening Cassie.” He said with a polite smile as he headed towards the replicator and placed the tray inside for it to be recycled.

Leyana smiled at him, before looking at the visitor. "Madam Ambassador," she greeted, "do please come in."

Cassandra gave them both a thin smile. "I'd like to see you both in my office, say, in ten minutes. Don't be late," she said in a tone brokering absolutely no opposition, and was about to leave when she was interrupted.

“Is there a problem? Can’t we talk here, now?” Barr asked with a frown, confused as to why it felt like they were being summoned to the principals office.

The princess frowned too, not sure what was going on. "You don't order a royal around," she finally stated, while puffing herself up a little. "If you want to talk, we can talk here."

Cassie cast a defiant glance at the princess and leaned on the door frame. Her nostrils also slightly flared up at a faint, but tell-tale scent. "Fine. Here. Now. While you're both in a state of undress. Or do you really take me for a complete fool?" she asked, gesturing at both of them in turn.

"I don't know what's going on," Leyana shot back, "but you don't come here and demand to talk without telling us what is going on. These are my quarters, I dress as I want. And yes we can talk like this or you can give us a second to change." She looked up at Herbert. "Are all women like this in your Federation?" she asked pointedly, before disappearing in the bedroom to get changed into something more appropriate. Within minutes, she returned wearing a simple slip-on dress. Something she could indeed manage for herself.

“Women can speak freely in the Federation, M’lady.” He said with a respectful bow of his head.

"I'll say it plain, then. The way I see it, Mr. Barr came out of the bedroom in nothing but his underwear, and the place still reeks of sex," Cassie said when the princess returned.

"You must have a strong sense of smell," Leyana countered, "because I smell nothing."

The diplomat shrugged. "The act in itself isn't wrong. Honestly, I couldn't care less that you did. But it does come in direct violation of Article 1 of your betrothal contract, your Highness. With the all the consequences that it entails. And we all should be worried about those."

"And the prince is going to know this...how?" Leyana challenged, "I'm supposedly going to be his equal and how many wives is he going to have after me? How many women will i have to tolerate? And then I can't be with someone who actually makes me feel good?"

Cassie, in that moment, took in a deep breath, let it out. Took another. Let that one out. Acting in a confrontational way wasn't going to help matters. Furthermore, she needed to set her own emotions aside, as they were completely irrelevant to the situation. Compassion and empathy were crucially needed at this moment.

After three more long breaths to give herself time to find the right words to say, she spoke. "You're absolutely right. It's nigh on impossible to tell, according to the science. Unfortunately, some people will, and do, go through terrible lengths to satisfy their own agendas or egos," she explained kindly, even subtly changing her whole body language to match her tone of voice.

I want to show you something," she said before asking the computer display the relevant article of the contract on screen. "This subsection in particular, which outlines the way in which the Emperor's advisers intend on 'verifying your virtue', pre- and post-consummation," she pointed out, letting air quotes fly.

“Then the Princess might be released from this contract and be free to live her life how she see’s fit.” Barr added, he had grown quite attached the Leyana and wanted to see her be free from this awful contract.

"Not quite, Mr. Barr. The sanctions for, and I quote, 'the slightest suspicion that Her Royal Highness the Princess Leyana of Tulias is unsullied' are outlined in this subsection," Cassandra continued as she scrolled down to the relevant excerpt. "They include annulment of said contract and all contents within, including the marriage, annulment of the cease-fire between the two governments, and any other penalty Emperor Sozon VIII deems appropriate, up to and including your execution, your Highness. And if I can trust our Intelligence department, and I do, he will not take kindly to even the slightest of suspicions that you are no longer what is considered 'unsullied'."

She paused. It never got easier for Cassie to fight the urge to scream out in outrage, even after reading this for the millionth time. She managed to, with some difficulty. Hopefully, neither the princess nor Barr would notice that she was digging her fingers on her opposite arm just to release the excess energy. "I would like you to ask yourself if you believe these are the words of someone who would treat you, or your people, as their equal."

The princess's lips had been reduced to a very thin line as all colour drained from her face. "Not at all," she whispered, "does this mean I was lied to?"

"I don't know, but it is quite possible," Cassandra answered as she went to the replicator and ordered a cup of tea - a blend favoured by the Tulian people - and served it to the princess, inviting her to sit down. "Unfortunately, agendas lurk beneath games of politics."

“I promise we’ll get to the bottom of this, Princess.” Barr said before looking at Cassie.

"I understand that this is all new information to you, and how it can be overwhelming," Cassie told the princess, sitting down herself. "I'll leave the contract available for your perusal, and we can discuss options with the Captain or Commander Hanover in the next couple of days, once you've had time to process, yeah?"

Looking a little pale, the princess nodded. "I don't want to marry someone who won't treat me as an equal. Why was I lied to?"

Oh, to be a fly on the wall when that contract was drafted, Cassie thought. "I can't claim to know for certain, but I suspect it all boils down to politics. And politics, unfortunately, can get downright ugly, and it can lead some people to do morally questionable things," she explained. The diplomat sensed that she should give the princess some privacy, and rose from her seat to take her leave. "Big talks about politics can wait until we're all properly rested."

"Your Highness," she said as she quickly curtsied, and nodded curtly at the mission advisor. "Mr. Barr."

Herbert gave a respectful nod back to the diplomat. He wasn’t sure where the princess stood in this situation but he was determined to protect her as much as possible.

"Please stay with me," Leyana begged of the remaining officer. "I don't want to be alone.

“Of course, Leyana. I had no intention of leaving.” He said with a warm smile.

---

Cassandra Leblanc-Reed
Chief Diplomat

Herbert Barr
Mission Advisor

Princess Leyana
Alien Royal
npc Lhaes