Social Obligations

"Your Highness, please wake up," The little maid begged. She sounded a bit desperate now, she must have been wishing that it was appropriate to tear the blankets off the soundly sleeping princess. Ava only waved her hand sluggishly in a dismissive manner before rolling over, curling further into her bedsheets. As she rolled, she accidentally lightly kicked the sleeping dog by her feet who let out a dissatisfied groan as he was rudely awoken.

The maid by her beside could only silently swallow her grievances and hold back the urge to cry. "Please, Your Highness. It's nearly noon, Lady Merin will be here soon to meet with you."

The figure curled in silk lined blankets finally stirred, turning her head to peer at the maid with one eye that was only half opened. "Meet with me?"

"Yes Princess. There are many of the noble ladies that wish to meet with you since you are now a member of the Eden royal family and the wife of the prince. They all wish to get to know you better. Lady Merin was the most keen and insisted on coming by today to have tea with you."

Ava let out a very un-princess-like groan as she let her head fall back against the pillow. She sighed before instructing the maid while she tiredly rubbed at her eye "Bring Mila here."

Mila was all bright smiles and liveliness as she helped the grouchy and tired Ava from the bed whose expression was nothing but annoyance and gloom. The other maids who hadn't a feel for their new mistress observed from the side, stepping in to assist but otherwise standing nervously aside. Ava grumbled while Mila helped her dress, nodding along although none of the words Ava said even came out as audible. Finally, Mila led Ava by her shoulders over to a plush armchair she had pulled to sit by the window. She sat Ava down, gave her a cup of tea to cup in her hands then retreated away. Mila tried a few gestures to communicate with the other maids, taking a few attempts to get them to understand to leave Ava be for a bit.

When they returned a short while later, Ava had defrosted in the sun and seemed more alive as she sipped at her tea. The dog who had previously been lazing on the bed had moved to her feet, sleeping belly up in the sunshine. Seeing this, the little maid from earlier seemed encouraged and stepped forward to address the princess with a bow of her head. "Your Highness, Lady Merin will be arriving soon. Shall we prepare the tea room?"

Ava hummed. "I'd prefer to be in the garden. Prepare for us to have tea there."

"Yes Ma'am." The maid acknowledged and left.

Shortly after, Ava didn't feel like waiting much longer and rose from her chair to head to the gardens but she paused once she got past her door. She firstly wasn't supposed to know her way around, and secondly didn't have Covin to accompany her as he was preoccupied today. So she wandered over to the nearest guard, Mila and Rodney trailing after her.

"Could I bother you to accompany me for the time being? I'll be having tea with Lady Merin but I can't find my way to the gardens on my own and I haven't my guard with me today," Ava requested sweetly, her hands daintily clasped in front of her.

The guard was startled but he was quick to bow to her. "Of course, Your Highness." He only gave a fleeting glance to the princess, maid and dog before him before he gestured in the direction of the gardens.

Ava offered him a smile as she followed along beside him while he led the way. "Thank you, I greatly appreciate it."

Seeing how she talked so kindly, even saying thank you when it was unnecessary due to the massive status gap between them, the guard felt comfortable enough to ask, "Is Sir Covin unwell today?"

"Oh, no, he isn't. He has other matters to attend to."

"Matters more important than Your Highness?" The guard asked in confusion, he was her only personal guard afterall.

"Hm? Well, yes. Even the most loyal of guards and servants have lives of their own, don't they?"

The guard seemed a bit stunned by this response, stumbling as he replied, "O-oh, yes, Your Highness is quite right."

Ava only smiled a small smile, looking ahead as they walked through the hallways, the picture of the refined princess she should be.

When they reached the garden, she let out a small sigh of awe. It was truly much more impressive during the day, pale trees that elegantly stretched out their branches, golden streaks of sunlight pouring through the gaps in their leaves. All kinds of beautiful flowers covered the ground to either side of the white stone paths. In the center of the garden, underneath the gazebo of carved wood with plants weaved around their pillars, a table had already been set, maids and servants fluttering about to fill it with plates of baked goods.

But Ava felt it wasn't quite complete yet, twirling her fingers to bring to life the image of a white, faintly glowing butterfly on her finger. It fluttered its wings a few times before taking flight, flying about the garden in lazy arcs before landing on one of the flowers. Mila grinned as she tiptoed her way through the garden, following after the butterfly. She then gathered her skirts and crouched down, plucking the flower it had landed on. The guard who stood at the ready behind Ava watched on with interest that quickly turned to horror, looking aghast as he watched a servant pluck a flower from the royal gardens, a skip in her step as she brought it back with her. She held it up to Ava with a bright smile.

Ava smiled softly in return as she took the flower, slipping the stem behind her ear. "Thank you Mila. It's beautiful."

Seeing as the princess had approved of such actions, the guard could only close his half open mouth, keeping silent but he eyed Mila with some interest. He found it was becoming harder to keep quiet as he spotted Ava's dog out of the corner of his eye, snuffling about in the flowers and bounding about through the garden as he explored. Ava took her seat at the table, her gaze passing over all the treats that had been laid out. She turned to Mila, signing to her, 'Are you hungry?'

Mila tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear then shook her head. 'No, I'm fine.'

The guard cocked his head as he saw this, stewing for a moment before his curiosity won out. He figured it was okay to keep asking questions, afterall, the princess had been nothing but friendly and seemed very laid back. "Your Highness, you're using sign language, aren't you?"

Ava raised a brow as she looked over at him. "I am. Mila can't hear so this is one of the ways we talk."

"It's just… It isn't like the sign language I've seen before."

Ava's brows rose further. "That would be because it's one that's used in the area I used to live in, it's a bit different from the one that would be used here. I'm curious about how you came across sign language, it doesn't seem to be very common here."

The guard lowered his head slightly. "My younger brother can't hear either. I've been trying to find a way to learn to talk to him."

"Oh?" Ava regarded him for a moment. "May I have your name?"

"My name is Marl, Your Highness."

Ava hummed in response, seeming to be thinking about something else. That is, until the guest arrived. Lady Merin wore quite a splendid dress accentuated with heavy gold and gem jewelry, her red hair piled up and pinned in place at the top of her head. "It's a pleasure to see Your Highness today, you have my gratitude for accepting my invitation." She greeted with a proper curtsy but Ava was distracted by watching the way her hair bobbed and swayed as she moved her head. Only Ava knew the real reason behind the smile at her lips.

"It was my pleasure," she lied easily as she gestured for the other to take a seat. She was only here because she was obligated to be.

"How have you been finding Eden, Your Highness? Is it much different from Yandil? It must be hard to have moved so far away to be with your new family," Merin cooed softly, her hand pressed lightly to her mouth as if she were truly concerned. Ava knew however that these noble ladies were only trying to gain the favour of the new princess and introduce her into their clique, raising their status and giving themselves an edge. Ava truly didn't enjoy the game of politics and dramatics that the nobles played. It previously hadn't been an issue, who would bother to be friendly with an unfavoured princess who had been sent so far away to live? But now she could only smile politely and bear the headache, skirting around with light, empty words while she did her best to keep herself out of it. She was sure she'd soon gather a reputation for being unsociable as she was most definitely going to avoid as many events as she could. But she felt that better than being entangled in what was sure to come along with getting friendly with these nobles. Besides, she rather enjoyed spending her time with only limited company, curled up somewhere comfortable.

Ava maintained her hollow pleasantries throughout the entire conversation, leaving nothing to complain about but frustratingly leaving so much to desire still for Lady Merin, who persisted in her attempts to get on better terms with Princess Avaline, hiding her annoyance behind an obnoxiously pleasant tone. Lady Merin even had to quickly cover up her shock and horror at the medium-sized mutt that plopped itself at Ava's side, a far cry from the beautiful, and usually tiny, companions that were normally kept. The corner of her mouth kept twitching as she struggled to get out, "What a… cute dog you have, Your Highness."

"He is, isn't he? He was covered in such muck and fleas when I first brought him home,the poor darling was terribly skinny. He's certainly grown up fine," Ava chirped quite happily as she stroked Rodney's head that rested on her knee.

Much to Ava's secret pleasure, Lady Merin's face suddenly looked quite pale as she suppressed her utter disgust.

At this point, Covin appeared in the garden, stopping to quickly talk back and forth with Mila before stepping over to Ava's side, bowing first to Ava, then to her guest. Lady Merin's gaze roamed over Covin with approval, waiting for him to address her. However, to her surprise, he didn't, instead turning back to Ava and signing to her. 'We've received contact from the traitor.'

Ava's smile widened. 'Arrange to see him tonight.'

Mila lightly tapped Ava's shoulder to gain her attention, reminding helpfully, 'You're required to have dinner with the prince.'

Ava's smile sank as she sighed, waving her hand slightly in glum acceptance. 'Organize it for later tonight then.'

Covin nodded, bowing once more to the two women before turning to leave again.

Lady Merin seemed absolutely bewildered. "Your Highness.. What was that?"

Ava tilted her head with a false look of innocent ignorance. "Sign language. Do nobles in Eden not learn it? How do you talk with those who can't speak?"

"No, of course not. There isn't anyone like that in the upper class."

"And what of those in the lower classes? Do you not talk with them?"

Merin frowned at that. "We can simply talk to someone who can speak, or they could write."

"Not everyone can write. You'd never be able to know what those who can't speak wish to say, that isn't any good. There's nothing for you to worry about however, Lady Merin. I'll be sure to set up classes." She would start with offering it to nobility and those in service of the royal family and work from there. In a more common sign language that is, she still had no wish for others to be able to understand the conversations she held with Mila and Covin. Even though they spoke important topics in code while in public, it was even better if not a word was understood.

Merin opened and closed her mouth a few times, wanting to object and express she had no interest in such a thing but finding that she couldn't, especially not in the face of Ava's earnest gaze and soft smile. "Of course, Your Highness… That's a wonderful idea. I really must be going now, thank you once more for the lovely chat and the tea." She stood, seemingly finally at the limit of her patience, offering a curtsy as she gathered herself to leave.

"It's been a pleasure, Lady Merin. We really must do this again sometime." Ava gave a small wave goodbye, watching as Merin's figure disappeared into the hallway beyond the garden's edge. Once she was safely out of sight, Ava let out a sigh, the smile that had been fixed on her face melting away. Rodney nuzzled against her hand as if to comfort her and she scratched him behind the ear absently with one hand. He stretched his neck out and thumped his leg in response. She collected up a small pastry in her other hand, pushing it up to Mila's lips who had been standing at her side, pouring fresh tea into Ava's teacup. "Try it, it's quite good."

Mila hesitated but opened her mouth to let Ava push the pastry in. She then placed the teapot down, covering her mouth with one hand as she chewed at her mouthful of sweet pastry and strawberry filling. Her eyes promptly lit up, bobbing her head in agreement as she continued to chew.

Ava smiled lightly, letting her head lean against the back of the chair behind her but with her head tilted slightly toward Mila so she could still clearly see the movement of her lips. "How many more of those do I have to attend…"

Mila held up five fingers and Ava's expression immediately fell further. This time Ava mouthed her words without speaking so Marl who was standing somewhat behind her couldn't overhear 'This is too much, is it too late to ask for a divorce?'

Mila's shoulders shook as she held in her giggle.