Mihua watched as the princess of Arukov paced the room. The silk slippers she wore whispered softly over the stone floor as she walked past her waiting servant. Worry was evident in the way her eyebrows drew together and in the way she bit at her thumb nail. A tension hung undisturbed in the air. It was risky business for the princess to be seen in the streets below the castle. And the risk hadn't lessened in the slightest as she had slipped through a door into the house of what she hoped was an old friend of the family.

Mihua bowed her head. It was her duty to serve the princess in any way she could. But there was nothing she could say at the moment that would ease her mistress's anxiety. Nor was there anything she could have done to stop the events leading up to this chancy nighttime meeting. Mihua could not save the princess's father, the king, from the illness that had swept away his strength, stolen his sanity, and in the end, taken his life as well. Nor could she lift up her skirts and produce a male heir for the kingdom of Arukov. Such a blasphemous thought sent a blush sweeping across the servant's features before she could will the thought away.

The princess's movements stilled, bringing the servant's attention back to the current predicament. Nervously, Mihua ventured, "Princess Elisa, if I may offer, I am sure Madame Corrin has been delayed but for a short time. Everyone knows she is an eccentric woman and bides by her own rules."
Princess Elisa glanced to her fretting servant. Despite feeling that it wasn't prudent to relax, Elisa allowed the tension in her shoulders to ease. "Mihua, I appreciate your kin-"

There was a soft rap on the wooden slats of the door. All movement within the room halted as Elisa and her servant waited for the door to admit their guest into the room. A pair of owlish green eyes peeked around the door and blinked. The eyes were preceded by a large, hawkish nose.

"Deary me, I do wish you would pick a more agreeable hour of the day to have a chat," Madame Corrin lightly scolded. "I am aware you are King Vertis's daughter, but that does not give you the power to keep more sensible folk from their beds at this time of the night." As the aggrieved woman finished speaking, the rest of Madame Corrin sidled her way into the room. She was a stick thin, tallish woman, with a nest of flame red hair. Notorious for her fashion sense, today she sported an electric blue dress that hugged her curves (or lack there of) and a lime green stole was draped about her shoulders. She was also bedecked in more than a few pieces of jewelry, with several rings adorning each finger and a fat, red stone clinging to the spot between her cleavage.

"Madame Corrin," relief was evident in Elisa's voice. "I am sorry for the inconvenience I have caused you, but if it could have been avoided, I certainly would have."

By this time, Madame Corrin was seated in one of the few cushy chairs that furnished the room. "Well, well, all water under the bridge now, I suppose. So? What was this urgent matter you wished to discuss with me? Come, come, deary, I haven't the night to waste away."

Without so much as missing a beat, Elisa took a chair opposite the one Madame Corrin occupied. The princess's raven black hair settled about her shoulders as she composed herself. "As I am sure you are aware, when my father passed away, he left no male heir to sit upon the throne." At Madame Corrin's nod, Elisa spoke on, "As a result, the council members have decided to elect my uncle, Kellen, sit upon the throne. This turn of events has caused me great concern for the people of Arukov. To put it simply, Kellen is a tyrant. The council thought to put a figure head on the throne, but they underestimated my uncle's ambitious nature. He imposes harsh taxes on even the poorest of villages. He has reinstated the Old Laws of Arukov, now, if a person is caught stealing on the first offense, he is to immediately loose his left hand instead of repaying his debt to the people he wronged. There are no more trials, a person is found guilty if a guard says he is guilty. And the gaurds are becoming corrupt! They are something for the people to fear!" As the princess spoke, a fire had entered her voice and the hands in her lap curled into fists. But as she next spoke, a grim humor shown in her clear blue eyes. "However, the Old Laws are to be my uncle's downfall." She reached up a pale white hand to rest ontop of Mihua's tan arm. "With thanks to my servant's memory of stories she heard from her youth, I have found my uncle's bane. There is a law, very old indeed, that may help free the people of Arukov. Madame Corrin, have you ever heard of the Crown of Apple Blossoms?"

At this, Madame Corrin nodded and sent the waves of red hair piled atop her head tossing about. "My dear, what you have told me is hardly news to me. But what could the Crown of Apple Blossoms possible due to rectify the wrongs? Of course I know of it's story. A crown infused with the power of the elves, a long ago prince of Arukov gifted the crown to a mountain princess from the country of Polislav. A few generations passed, and the crown was handed down through the line of Polislav princesses. However, a civil war broke out within Polislav and both the crown and the country were lost. Now, where Polislav used to be lies in ruins and it is rumored that bands of orcs roam the mountain country. Or at least, "she finished, "that is how the story goes." A skeptical look had crept into the back of her eyes as she ended her tale.

Elisa nodded enthusiastically. "And this is where the Laws of Old will gain me the throne from my uncle! According to the Laws, "Any princess who wears the Crown of Apple Blossoms upon her head shall have the undenied right to sit upon the throne of Arukov and rule".

"There is but one flaw in your musings, deary," Madame Corrin objected. "Where shall you find this crown? And how will you get it? If the rumors I have heard hold some truth, were you not ordered by your uncle to stay within the walls of the castle?"

"Yes," Elisa fidgeted in her seat, "he has so ordered me. But in this I shall not obey him tonight. I need you, dear Madame Corrin. You are the only person I can turn to in this matter. I can not organize an expedition, nor can I fund it. It is this that I seek your help with. Please," she fell from her seat and lighted on her knees at Madame Corrin's feet. Taking the eccentric woman's hands into her own, blue eyes desperately searched started green ones. "Please, help me, help rescue the people of Arukov from the greedy clutches of my uncle's hands."

Taken aback, Madame Corrin was speechless for the first time in her life. Her mouth worked like a fish seeking air before words again came to her. "Princess Elisa! I-! Of course you can count on me, dear!" At this, she blushed. "I have always thought of you as one of my daughters when your mother died." She quickly pulled the princess to her feet. "Come, it is dangerous for you to be here. Take yourself and your servant back up to the castle. And don't you worry your head about the crown; I shall take care of the expedition." With a determined nod to herself, Madame Corrin prodded a thankful Princess Elisa towards the door.

Outside, in the night air, Madame Corrin watched as the princess and her servant warily worked their way back towards the castle. Shaking her head and sending more locks of red hair tumbling free, Madame Corrin sighed to herself.

"Madame?" the question came from the shadows next to the house. "Did the visit not hold good tidings?"

The eccentric lady sent a scathing glare into the shadows. "You know perfectly well it did not, Tessandra! Now come out from there like a normal person." The shadows shrugged, and out stepped a young woman. She wore brown britches and a loose shirt. At her belt was buckled a shortsword.

"As you wish, Madame." They walked briskly down the street for a few short minutes before Tes broke the silence. "What task did you have in mind for me?"

Shaken from her thoughts, Madame Corrin glanced over at her strange protector. "Go to The Blue Frog." She frowned disapprovingly at the grin that flashed upon the young girl's face. "Find me some sturdy adventurers there. It seems I shall be sending you off on some quest or another." The last was said with a sigh of frustration.

((*offers a plate of cookies and a glass of milk* There you go folks! Happy posting! I'll introduce my two real characters later. (Although you just met one of them.))