The Estate, Sidra, Glacia, Thursday (Fandom Time)

[glacial_queen]

Winsol had been going on now for several days. The family had just decamped from SaDiablo Hall in Dhemlan back home to Glacia to continue the festivities in their own home. There would be several more days of formal events, but this evening was just for family and close friends (specifically friends close enough to be family). The children were tumbling around like puppies, a mix of Earth and Kaeleeran carols were playing from floating music spheres scattered throughout the suite, fires crackled in the large hearths, and food and punch and hot spiced rum were piled high on the sideboards throughout. "Happy Winsol!" Karla said, holding up her cup in a toast.

"Happy Winsol!" the room chorused back to her.

[Open to residents of Glacia, dear friends, and anyone who thinks they'd have gotten an invite]

Comments

[future_sandworm]

Cultural differences like that was so much fun.

"Karla, won't this make the holiday so much more fun for you?" And Leto was so happy to help.

[glacial_queen]

"I can honestly say it would," Karla said, nodding. And holding her drink up high as a small blonde bit of baggage went dashing past, giggling in a way that signified she was almost certainly up to no good. "It would make an excellent Winsol gift if, say, someone were of a mind to give me one."

[future_sandworm]

Hania followed, giggling too. She tried to tug at Leto's hand, the one where he held the drink, but failed, and then disappeared again. Leto was about to scold her, but since she was already gone there was no point, was there?

"Haven't I already as good as promised you that gift?" How could he resist?

"Do I get one in return?" He didn't need one, but he wanted to hear Karla's response.

[glacial_queen]

"Good as promised is not the same as actually did," Karla reminded with a husky laugh. "And of course you would! The question is, what does one get the Emperor who already has everything?"

She eyed him thoughtfully for a few moments, sipping her rum as she turned over possibilities in her mind.

"A visit," she said slowly. "A visit of my brood to Arrakis to annoy and confound your courtiers...while I teach you how to play Kaeleeran chess."

A strategy game that had convoluted rules and bore only the faintest resemblance to the Earth game of the same name? She rather thought Leto might enjoy a bit bit of entertainment.

[future_sandworm]

Leto watched Karla as she considered her options, a smile on his lips. When she told him he laughed. "I couldn't think of a better gift, and I'm sure it will please both Alice and Hania too."

He turned very serious but there was still laughter in his eyes. "And as I always keep my promises," well, most of the time, "my offer of a gift still stands."

[glacial_queen]

"Oh no," Karla said, eyes dancing. "To Hania and Alice, I'm going to teach cradle."

Several males around the room groaned in unison as they heard the dreaded word.

[future_sandworm]

"What is that?"

He sounded just a little bit worried.

[glacial_queen]

"Just a card game," Karla said with an innocence that Leto didn't need to be prescient to see through. "A card game the coven used to play as children."

"Twenty-six varieties of a card game," Warren groused from where he was filling a plate with fruit and cheese to distribute to the children. "All you need to play is a game board, colored stones, bone discs, a deck of cards, and sadistic ingenuity." He gave a long-suffering sigh. "The basic rules are easy enough to understand, so the coven spent years coming up with a whole bunch of other rules to add or subtract on a whim."

[future_sandworm]

"And you want to teach this to Alice and Hania?"

The 'What have I done to deserve this?' needn't be said aloud, did it?

[glacial_queen]

She was just keeping your life exciting, Leto!

"Don't you think they'll like it?"

Karla, nobody was believing that face. Nobody at all.

[future_sandworm]

Nobody.

"A game where you can adapt the rules to your liking? Of course not."

It wasn't lying if the lie was obvious, was it?

[glacial_queen]

"I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree," Karla said brightly, amused by Leto's lie. "I'll bring a spare cradle board on our visit and see if I can't get your ladies to play with me." She fluttered her eyelashes at him like a coquette. "What a lovely family activity you can enjoy together."

Warren muttered something dour under his breath.

[future_sandworm]

"And is this supposed to be a gift to the whole family?" Leto asked, now quite certain he wasn't going to enjoy it as much as the rest of the family.

Oh! He could get Farad'n to play! He would probably be really bad at it.

"How many players are there in this game?"

[glacial_queen]

No. No he wouldn't. Not until someone invented variation twenty-seven that gave males an advantage.

"Well, it's mostly a gift for the ladies, but the whole family can play it!" Karla said merrily. "I don't think I've played beyond six people, but with an extra deck of cards and more discs, you could include more."

[future_sandworm]

He'd get Farad'n to play. And maybe Duncan Idaho. Even with Karla giving the message that he was going to lose, he would at least win over those two.

Occasionally Leto could be childish. And a brat, apparently.

"I'm sure Alice and Hania will be very grateful." And possibly make their own adaptions.

[glacial_queen]

Karla was counting on it! More adaptations the better.

"I'm so glad my gifts will be appreciated by everyone in Arrakeen. I'm a giver that way!" Karla was a brat, too. Probably why they got along so well.

[future_sandworm]

They could be brats together. Poor Sparkle if he ever met the two of them at the same time.

"I know you are always very generous, which is why I love you." The expression on Leto's face might be hard to read.

[glacial_queen]

Well, he was quite used to them being brats separately. But their brattiness tended to multiply when they were together, instead of simply adding.

Karla reached up, intending to brush her knuckles over his cheekbone before cupping his face. "I know you do, dear one. I quite love you, too."

[future_sandworm]

That was what inspiring each other meant. Leto reached up to squeeze Karla's hand, then kissed her palm lightly.

"And I'm so happy I've found the perfect gift for you."

[glacial_queen]

"Harassing my aristos is always a delight," Karla agreed, brushing her thumb across Leto's lips before letting her hand fall back to her side. "And I'm sure you'll enjoy at least one of my presents. I can see you taking to my version of chess well."

[future_sandworm]

"I'm going to trust you there," he said with a laugh. "Apart from presents, are there any other news you haven't told me yet?"

[glacial_queen]

"Nothing leaps to mind," Karla said after a moment's thought. "The children are doing well, though neither Nyles nor Cora appreciate being called 'the children' much anymore. Things are quiet in Glacia and while I was in Fandom for their most recent spot of trouble, I was trapped in an alternate-Raven's Netherverse, so I missed most of it."

She was still grumpy about that, though.

"Apparently the alternate me was an evil spider-Queen and I didn't even get to see!"

[future_sandworm]

"Evil spider-Queen?" Yes, this was funny. "But do you remember that time I didn't get to meet the alternate evil vampire version of myself?" That had been disappointing too, as that version had made a strong impression on Karla, ans Dinah and Kate as well.

"Last time I visited Fandom I ended up in a depressing world with thinking machines and drugs, where it rained. I wasn't too different from myself though."

He took a sip of rum.

[glacial_queen]

"Okay, but that evil version of you was terrifying," Karla said. "And he and that other Ender had, like, a bet going over who could make me go crazy first or something."

Which was horrifying and kind of awesome in equal measure. And also so very them.

"But I think I missed that exciting bit of Fandom whimsy, thank the Darkness. Sounds unpleasant."

[future_sandworm]

"So I understood, from the way you and Dinah reacted afterwards," he said. "But didn't you bring me ice cream afterwards? As an apology for killing him? At least there was an apology, I think." That had made him realize how much it had affected them.

"Yes. I ended up in a reality where it rained, and that version of myself was still sensitive to water. Added to that I declared my love for Sparkle, which got a little awkward."