The rays of the early morning sun shone brightly through Sierra's silk curtains, accentuating the natural luster of her equally silky mulatto skin. Slowly and cautiously she slipped on her stark white dress, firmly applying her magical bangles as the final part of her morning procedure.
Though usually quite swift in her movements, the commotion caused by last night stilled her usual push for punctuality. Even after personally sweeping the castle, she made every move with a weather eye looking behind her. These assailants wouldn't have attempted a direct infiltration into the castle just because the spirit struck them- they were professionals, and as far as she knew, this could be simply the beginning.
This was probably the purpose for her most recent summon. Her last investigation into a black-market merchant (which, after one too many misunderstandings turned promptly into an assassination,) had left her bed-ridden and unable to engage the infiltrators directly. Were she a betting lady, she would bet that the Queen was going to sanction an investigation into the recent attack.
She strode gracefully from her room, with much less haste in her step than usual. She was not fond of being caught unawares, and sleeping through a direct assault was borderline embarrassing. Her room was not far from the throne room, so truancy was hardly a concern.
She recognized the deceptively commanding tone of Lord Alterez calling for the adjournment of a meeting. After nodding to a few unrecognizable advisers, her eyes brightened at the sight of the General. This man had been a comrade to her father quite some years ago, and has remained a friend to House Shaeffer since her older brother Wolfe was born. She had always thought of the man as a second father, and working as his colleague in the castle had only heightened her respect for him. Even though her paygrade would suggest that they are of equal rank, he was every bit her superior, and she savored every opportunity to seek both his council and his company.
"General, good morning!" Sierra greeted, clasping one of his gargantuan hands with two of her own petite palms. Her strict adherence to a professional demeanor prevented her from succumbing to her usual 'bear hug' routine, but the two had been through far too much for her to resist all forms of affectionate contact.
"I trust your meeting with the Lord and Queen went well? What news do you have of the assailants of last night?"
"Ah, my dearest Madame Verseaux!" Wolfe chided to Dream, adopting a feign drunken stupor convincing to all but the Queen-to-be herself, "Dare I say that you simply radiate all the grace and beauty of a Tavern Harlot this fine day! Allow me to buy you a drink- nothing but a hard tankard of ale will do to adequately compliment that exquisitely pungent aroma of sensual fluids and regret!"
Wolfe quickly scanned the tavern, noting multiple suspicious patrons whose attention suddenly turned from the auspicious Lady Dream. His stunt hadn't turned away all of them, however- he noted three particularly hardy looking interlopers, who also happened to be concealing some form of blade within their doublets. Wolfe suspected that these gentlemen would not be so easily swayed by his coy acting- he hoped that he wouldn't have to let his old friends Fame and Fortune speak on his behalf, but if the fate of the Rising Queen depended on it, then he would allow them to speak until their vocal folds succumbed to fatigue. He couldn't afford for her to fall.
At least, not here...
"Milady, you really aught to consider doing things less Queen-y." he spoke to Dream, losing the drunken persona, "Most people don't show up to greasy spoons like this drawn in a carriage and looking like ten thousand gold pieces personified!"
His attention was momentarily interrupted by the appearance of Dream's latest potential recruit. He took a moment to flash Starlight a wink.
"And you must be the pirate that we're trying to recruit! I'm a politician myself, so I couldn't be happier at the prospect of having someone around who's just as much of a bottom-dwelling, scum sucking criminal as me!"
He didn't take long to observe the pirates reaction before immediately turning his attention back to the Lady Dream.
"I've managed to cast most eyes off of you, milady, but you've got two on the northeast corner and one at the entrance who are still gazing this way. They all conceal similar blades from the looks of it, so I imagine that they're together. I'll warn you if they start doing anything un-gentlemanly, but do try to make this quick!"
With that, Wolfe sat down at one of the tables, resuming his drunken act with a couple of the local bar wenches. It would become crystal clear soon enough that he was enjoying the act far more than they were!