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

[glacial_queen]

Warren had gone to graduation, but Karla hadn't been able to get away to go, too. That had been disappointing, but it had meant she'd been able to make sure that there was literally nothing about to go wrong or that would need her attention for the next week or so.

Why?

Because Ben and Ender were visiting, eeeeeee!

While she couldn't ignore her responsibilities entirely (more's the pity), she had informed her entire First Circle that she would be largely unavailable for the duration of the visit and was to be bothered only in the direst of emergencies. And if there was a dire emergency, they needed to inform her on psychic threads and never in front of her visitors.

If anything happened, Ben and Ender weren't going to know about it, dammit. And most certainly wouldn't be involved in fixing it. But nothing was going to happen. She was Quite Serious about everything going smoothly. Were you listening, Kaeleer? Nothing bad was allowed to happen.

[NFB, open to residents and the expected guests!]

Comments

Arrival

[glacial_queen]

Karla certainly wasn't bouncing around waiting for the portal to arrive. That would be undignified and she was a Queen now. All dignity all the time.

Really.

That also wasn't a constant squeal of 'eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee' under her breath. Again, the dignity thing.

Nope, she was standing there in regal silence and anyone who suggested otherwise was going to get kicked in the shin.

Re: Arrival

[endsthegame]

If their arrival had been met with regal silence - well, Ender would have ascribed it to the years of war getting to Karla. He was the first to step through the portal, a faint smile on his face.

"Karla," he greeted.

Re: Arrival

[glacial_queen]

Not even war and months of ruling as Territory Queen could keep Karla from at least a little bit of bouncing and squealing at a visit from her boyos. She had learned some measure of regality in the intervening time, but it was still something she could don (or ditch!) on a whim--much like the fancy clothing that generally accompanied it.

War hadn't made her regal. It had just made her tired.

None of that was present in her exuberant greeting, though. "En--Andrew!" she said, all but bouncing over to him, arms extended. "Hi! Welcome! All that good stuff! Yay, you're here!"

Re: Arrival

[endsthegame]

"And with only limited time bouncing around the multiverse," Ender said. "Definitely all the good stuff."

He took a step forward. He might not have been so exuberant and touchy as she was, but he didn't begrudge her a hug this once. It had been a very long time, and he suspected she'd appreciate it. So he took advantage of the extended arms. "It's good to see you again."

Re: Arrival

[glacial_queen]

There was an equation in Karla's head that she used to figure out how many hugs she could reasonably expect from Ender. Number of months they'd gone without seeing one another, divided by the amount of trauma she'd personally gone through, minus the number of violent situations he'd been in (and actually told her about), multiplied by the mood he was in for the duration of the visit...

It was complicated, but then, so was Ender. In the end, arrival and goodbye hugs were the only ones she could really count on, but the equation gave her a rough estimate of how many she could ask for before he got visibly annoyed.

"Warren must have bribed Portalocity again," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm pretty sure it's the only way of getting anywhere without multiple pit stops in unsavoury locals."

Re: Arrival

[momslilassassin]

Ben could feel her excitement even without the Force, and he grinned eagerly over at her. "Ho, Karla."

The ferret-beard was gone, replaced with a few days of stubble instead.

Re: Arrival

[glacial_queen]

Aww, Ender must have told him her plans! Probably out of a sense of self-preservation.

"Ho, Ben," she said with a grin--before flinging herself at him because, hello, it was Ben and what she did. "So how much have you missed me? Feel free to exaggerate."

Re: Arrival

[momslilassassin]

"I cried myself to sleep for a week," Ben assured her. "Don't tell Warren."

Re: Arrival

[glacial_queen]

"One day, we'll be free to be together the way we were meant to be," she promised.

It would involve copious amounts of ice cream, bickering, terrible movies, and probably a lot of booze. In fact, that 'one day' would probably be sometime this week.

"You're looking well and not at all hobo-like. I approve."

The Estate

[glacial_queen]

The estate was huge, which meant there were plenty of places for people to explore if they felt so inclined, as well as an entire suite of rooms for Ben and Ender to share. They'd made a lot of progress in de-uglying the rooms since the last time anyone from Fandom had visited.

Thank the Darkness.

Outside

[glacial_queen]

Regardless of what the Fandom calender said, it was late summer here in Glacia. The days got warm enough for the large lake behind the estate might be appreciated.

...And if there were some raft-making supplies conveniently and randomly placed off to one side, well, who knew how it had gotten there?

There were also many gardens, including the Queen's own garden, the stables, the practice yard, and a deep, old-growth forest to be explored. Plenty of outdoorsy things to do, either in a group or by oneself.

Re: Outside

[furnaceface]

Yeah, Jono had made the trip to Glacia for a visit after his group therapy session at the clinic on Monday night. But he wasn't making his way directly into the Estate to say hello to people.

He'd been given homework, to find a place outside somewhere, to be surrounded by nature and calm and to just sit alone with his thoughts. He'd found his way out into the forest, wandered not very far in, and, with Joni on a leash poking at leaves and insects not far off, he did just that. He wasn't so far in that he couldn't be found if anybody was out for a wander, but he was still neatly tucked out of the way.

The kitten mercilessly stalked a cricket.

Jono closed his eyes and ran through some of the meditation exercises that Cable had one taught him.

Re: Outside

[glacial_queen]

He was able to enjoy roughly fifteen minutes of uninterrupted meditation, which, to be honest, was practically a miracle around here.

*I can feel you,* Karla sent, with concern thrumming down the link. *Any reason you're not coming in?*

Look, being worried about Jono was as natural as breathing--for people who weren't Jono, anyway.

Re: Outside

[furnaceface]

Nah, being concerned about Jono was about as natural to Jono as breathing was, too, since he really didn't do either quite the same way anybody else did.

//Just appreciating some me-time alone outdoors before subjecting myself to the joys of playing 'social butterfly,'// he replied, cracking open one eye and looking toward the estate. //It's homework, technically.//


[Pinging from work means default icon funtimes, whee!]

Inside

[glacial_queen]

Filled with places to go and people to see!

[Feel free to add places if you feel so inclined]

Ben and Ender's Suite

[glacial_queen]

A large and airy suite, it included a bedroom (with double doors that open onto a balcony above the gardens), a bathroom with a tub big enough for both boys and several guests if they were so inclined, a study, a small dining room in case they didn't feel up to sharing a meal, and a parlor where they could entertain guests without having the privacy of their bedroom or bathroom invaded.

The study and the dining room also made an excellent buffer for nosy witches who could pick up emotions from the walls.

Re: Ben and Ender's Suite

[endsthegame]

Ender dropped his bag off in the hallway and took a moment just to take in the whole length of the suite. "Well," he said to Ben, "She certainly spared no expense."

Re: Ben and Ender's Suite

[momslilassassin]

"Well, queen," Ben said with a little smile. "It's a bit like visiting Tenel Ka."

The Queen's Suite

[glacial_queen]

Laid out much like the boyos', though on a far grander scale, of course. In addition to the public rooms they had, the Queen's suite also had a dressing room attached to her many closets (most of which were still empty), her personal library, a solar that looked like it was being used as a stillroom with a large loom in the corner, several offices-cum-meeting rooms, and a few other rooms that didn't appear to have been put to much use yet.

One of those rooms had a brand-new TV in it, hooked up to a nearby laptop. There were also several battered couches and a bunch of huge pillows and bean bag chairs scattered about. The perfect room for, say, a movie night?

Re: The Queen's Suite

[endsthegame]

Regardless of how many rooms she had, Karla had, at least, a door. A door that could be knocked on, now that the choice in movie had been finalized.

And knock Ender did. "I wonder if we can get lost in there."

Re: The Queen's Suite

[momslilassassin]

"Probably," Ben laughed. "Think how much bigger her suite must be than ours."

Library

[glacial_queen]

Filled with books and comfortable chairs, as is only right and proper. Not as large as the library at either the Hall or the Keep, but still filled with thousands of books spanning hundreds of years.

Dining Room

[glacial_queen]

While there was the great formal dining room (and several other rooms of equal formality but varying size), it was only used when the Court was hosting some kind of obnoxiously fancy event. Fortunately, Karla didn't feel like subjecting Ben or Ender (or herself) to that.

The dining room used for family and First Circle was much more comfortable and intimate. More importantly, there was always food set out on the sideboards. Even during the most random hours of the day or night, one could find platters of sandwiches, baked goods, and fresh produce to pick at.

Look, it was never a good idea to let the Blood get hungry.

Sidra

[glacial_queen]

The River Sid and a mile or so of road (or, more properly, a damned long driveway) separated the estate from Glacia's capitol city. There were many shops, restaurants, and attractions to visit if the boyos were so inclined.

While Karla wouldn't stop them from visiting on their own if that's what they wanted to do, she would strongly suggest taking at least a footman along with them (or, y'know, going with a group), just to prevent any Protocol mishaps.

Since Sidra was in the south of Glacia, there were many outlying villages and farms they could visit. They could also schedule a trip up north to the mountains, or even Haven in Arceria.

[Again, feel free to add places here if desired!]

OOC

[glacial_queen]

So the world doesn't end!