Dinner... Is Best Served Cold!!

Lavinia and Leonora talked for a long time, they laughed as they told each other silly stories, and by the time it was time to go down to dinner, it was as if they had known each other for years.

Of course, Dinner at the Academy, especially on the first evening, is not what most people would consider normal. Firstly, Lavinia and Leonora were expected to 'dress' for dinner... By that, I don't just mean not being naked, but putting on a fancy frock, and even jewellery!

When they reached the entrance to the Great Hall, where that evening's Dinner was taking place, they were met by the Master of Ceremonies, who took the invitations which had been in their orientation packs.

Two footmen in dark uniforms opened the double doors to the Great Hall, and the Master of Ceremonies stepped forward. "May I present to you Lady Lavinia, of the House of Loriel in the Western Capital, and her cousin Miss Leonora Loriel of Brevit."

Lavinia's expression remained placid... However, hidden behind the long skirts of their ruffled evening dresses, Lavinia's hand tentatively sort out Leonora's. In return, Leonora gave it a reassuring squeeze, then gave those already assembled her trademark dazzling smile, and escorted Lavinia into dinner.

Another footman showed them to one of the many round tables that filled the hall, and pulled out a chair to seat Lavinia, totally ignoring Leonora completely. Lavinia looked questioningly at her, but Leonora just gave her a slight nod of the head, pulling out her own chair, and sitting down without any restraint.

"Well, well, if it isn't Leonora Loriel... Aren't you in the wrong place. Nobodies, from places that sound like a frog croaking, have no place at this table."

Lavinia looked up from her lap, where she'd been fiddling with the sapphire bracelet on her wrist, and stared at the young lady who sat opposite her. "You certainly won't find a prince to kiss you here!"

There were several loud snorts of laughter from the gentlemen at the table, though they were hastily suppressed, so as not to attract undue attention from the faculty.

However, the so called ladies at the table, tittered openly with snide laughter. They knew how to appear polite on the surface, and yet still rip a fellow female apart verbally. Lavinia truly hated this kind of woman, they reminded her far too much of her Mother.

When she looked over at Leonora, she appeared unperturbed by the comment, but Lavinia was a master of hiding her true feelings beneath the surface. She noticed that Leonora's cheeks were slightly pinker now, than they had been earlier, when she had finished applying rouge to her lips, and cheeks.

Waiters were starting to move through the tables, it appeared that all the guests had arrived, so they were starting to serve the soup course. Leonora politely thanked the waiter, who placed the bowl of cold consumeé soup in front of her, then she replied to the snide girl.

"I'm escorting my cousin this evening... I'm sure you heard, she's the heir to the House of Loriel. Which I believe, makes her higher ranked than you, Penelope DuBois... so you should watch your manners."

Two spots of high colour appeared on the pale girl's cheeks, and her pretty features twisted spitefully. "I see, so you're here as a companion... tell me, are you getting paid well?"

Leonora flashed the dazzling smile she'd used earlier, when they'd been announced. "You should know... Everyone has to pass the exam to attend the Academy, no exceptions. After all, I heard that your older sister, only passed on her third attempt... a few days before her seventeenth birthday, wasn't it...?"

Penelope went quite pale, that incident had been her families biggest scandal in recent years. So when Leonora changed the subject and continued, Penelope was actually quite grateful, however it wouldn't last for long.

"That's a lovely opal necklace you're wearing this evening."

"Yes, my father gave it to me, for passing the exam, first time!" Penelope emphasised. "I'm told that this kind of opal is quite rare, and expensive. It can only be found in one mine, in the whole of the Empire."

Leonora nodded in agreement, "That's quite correct, I have one right here." Leonora pulled out her seal ring from her reticule... The opal was much larger than any of the stones in Penelope's necklace, and exquisitely carved into the personal coat of arms of Leonora's branch house of Loriel. "May I say... Thank you for your patronage."

The atmosphere at the table almost froze solid, and those that had laughed at Leonora previously, could only start to eat their soup quietly. Penelope hardly touched her own soup, whereas Leonora ate well.

Most at the table breathed a silent sigh of relief, when a crystalline 'ding, ding, ding' sounded through the hall, and the Headmaster of the Academy stood up to make a speech.

Penelope had her back to the Headmaster, so she politely turned her chair, so she could see him. Lavinia was directly facing him, and as everybody's heads turned to face him, she decided to make her stand.

This girl Penelope had really annoyed her, and although it was obvious that Leonora had evened the score. Lavinia was from the west, she knew nothing of the gossip in the east, and had no idea how deep the words had cut. Plus, she wanted some payback of her own... How dare she insinuate that Leonora was being paid to be her friend!

Lavinia stared intently at the unfinished soup in front of Penelope, what she was about to do was difficult, without any kind of focus object, but if you were powerful enough...

The surface of the soup seemed to shimmer slightly, then ever so slowly the surface started to ripple, and then rotate into a miniature whirlpool. However, everyone was concentrating on the Headmaster's speech, or at least appearing to stare attentively in that direction.

Now came the tricky part, Lavinia had done this once to her own soup accidentally, after an incident with her Mother at the dinner table. Lavinia took a deep breath, felt the currents in the fluid that she'd created, and poured in more power, until the soup was actually making waves in the bowl.

Lavinia reached for Leonora's hand under the table, and squeezed it to get her attention, after all she should see this. When Leonora turned, the roiling soup immediately caught her eye, it was as if the cold soup was boiling.

Lavinia gripped her cousin's hand harder, needing it to ground herself, then she reached out with her mind, and twisted the now ferocious current, suddenly in the opposite direction.

As it happens, the Headmaster's speech had just finished, and as everyone was turning back to the table, the bowl of soup in front of Penelope exploded with a wet 'glop'. Leonora's resulting choked off laugh, was thankfully hidden by Penelope's shrieks of dismay.

The soup had splattered widely, spraying Penelope's face, and dripping down into the cleavage revealed by her very expensive dress, which was now ruined by numerous soup stains.

The attractive man sat next to Penelope, had also been splashed. But, he only tried to dab at the soup on Penelope with his napkin, until she slapped his hands away. "Raymond! What do you think you are doing! Take your hands off me at once!" The hand holding the napkin hovered in the air for a moment, and then Raymond used it to wipe at the soup stains on his own sleeve.

The commotion had brought over the Major Domo, who took in the events at a glance, and suggested that Penelope might wish to use the Ladies Withdrawing Room. As Penelope was leaving, flushed with embarrassment, she hissed at Leonora, "I know this is somehow your fault!"

The last thing Lavinia wanted, was for Leonora to be blamed for something she had done, so she spoke up. "Leonora's element is wind, and I don't believe I felt even a whiff of a breeze... So may I politely suggest, that you keep your unwarranted accusations to yourself!"

Penelope's glare shifted to Lavinia, but she was unable to make any comment to refute the statement. She could only turn away abruptly, and follow the Major Domo out without another word. However, everyone in the hall could tell from her gait, and the set of her spine, that this was a very well bred young lady in a high snit.

Penelope didn't return to dinner that evening, that would have been more humiliation than she could bear, she did however, swear that she would get her revenge. As she stomped her feet, and screamed her rage into her pillow, her once lovely dress was thrown haphazardly on a chair. Even further ruined, as it's fastenings had all been ripped apart.