Gavin seems oogier now that he's back from Chaos. It is announced
that there will be a ball on February 15 to celebrate Nicholas' return.
Ariana asks Tamaryn over for tea. They catch up on each other's
families and what happened in Amber while Nicholas was gone. Ariana asks
Tamaryn if she's ever heard of Angelique. No. Ariana fills her in on the
current situation. Tamaryn warns that anyone trying to change the
profession of the House will be destroyed, one way or another. Especially
with Lucien's daughters there, since they would never allow it. Then why
do they want Lucien back, given that they despise him? Because he could
bring the house back to its former glory. Prestige is all in Chaos.
Tamaryn guesses Ariana doesn't understand the Courts very well. Ariana
points out that she didn't spend much time there, and even when she was
living there, Lucien shielded her from much of it. Tamaryn guesses he
thought it would ruin her. No doubt. Well, this would explain why Ariana
is in Middlecourt. Yes. Tamaryn doesn't think she should avoid Amber
completely, because letting Angelique drive her from her home would cause
her to lose ground. Good point.
Lucien tells Ariana that she needn't hide herself in Middlecourt
any longer. Why? Angelique gave her word as a Sawall that she wouldn't
harm Ariana or her children. He didn't feel he could ask this for
himself, however. Ariana frowns upon hearing this. Neither of them are
inclined to move the children back to Amber, of course. She mentions that
she spoke to Tamaryn, who concurred that she should spend some time in
Amber. She also relates Tamaryn's opinion on what would happen to someone
who tried to change the House. He agrees that would be the case, if it
was done quickly. Ariana doesn't like the idea of him going back to
Chaos. Neither, supposedly, does Angelique, who thinks they need more
time. Ariana agrees.
Ariana goes to Amber to talk to Whimsy, but she's not there.
Elaine
says she left on vacation. Ariana Trumps Whimsy, who says she's in Chaos,
so Ariana won't go through. She says she's concerned about what Whimsy
might do to Edwin. Whimsy says she merely wants to chat with him, but
he's left. She'll wait for a while, but if he doesn't come back, she may
start burning his house down. Ariana is unable to convince her that this
might be a bad idea. She ends the contact and Trumps Ishmael, who
complains that she's being loud. She whispers, which is better, and
explains the situation. Ishmael doesn't know anyone in Jesby who could be
contacted, but suggests Nicholas might. Ariana thanks him and writes
Nicholas a note explaining the Whimsy situation, then goes into town to
work on the hospital.
While in town, Ariana is approached by Angelique. Angelique
suggests
that they not go to Chaos for a while. Ariana is fine with this.
Angelique likes Amber because she feels safe there, and her daughter is
safe. She mentions that when Nicholas' army invaded Chaos, many people
who were thought assassinated were mysteriously released. Angelique asks
after Vincent. He's recovering. How is Anne-Marie doing? Quite well.
Angelique would like Anne-Marie to meet her siblings. And how does she
suggest they explain Anne-Marie's relation to them? They will simply say
that Anne-Marie is the daughter of one of Lucien's former wives. Ariana
says she'll talk with Lucien about it. Angelique asks what a lady does in
Amber. Ariana suggests talking to Flora. Angelique has no interest in
spending time in court. It would be too high profile. Does Ariana do any
charitable projects? Ariana explains about the hospital. Angelique
offers her assistance. Ariana thanks her, but says that mostly all that's
going on at the moment is the building renovation and training the staff.
Angelique suggests bringing instructors in from Shadow. Ariana asks what
Angelique likes to do. Operatic singing, riding and dancing. She spent a
lot of time taking care of Angelique. Ariana asks how it is that
Anne-Marie is only eight years old, when so much more time has passed.
Angelique kept her in an enchanted sleep. The spell wore off every
century or so, and Angelique would take her someplace pleasant for around
a year. Angelique also has a hobby of bookmaking. She claims she never
got into politics. She spent quite a lot of time hunting Vetch, but she
couldn't get across the Chasm. She tried going through Faerie, but
Auberon wouldn't allow it. Ariana mentions the Abyssal demon approach.
Angelique wishes she'd thought of that. She invites Ariana to have dinner
with her the next night. Ariana accepts.
Ariana gets a Trump call from Whimsy, who says that Edwin is in
Amber.
She asks Ariana to tell Edwin that if he doesn't return within three
days, she's going to burn down his house and everyone in it. Ariana finds
Edwin in the Hall of Mirrors, introduces herself, and passes along
Whimsy's message. He notes that she's rather persistent, and says this
will move up the time table of his meeting with the Emperor. Ariana tells
him that Whimsy insists that she doesn't want to kill him, she just wants
a divorce. Edwin comments that he didn't go through this much to lose her
so easily. Ariana suggests he not piss her off if that's his goal.
Ariana returns to Middlecourt and tells Lucien of her conversation
with Angelique. Is he OK with the children meeting? Yes. Where? Amber
would probably be better. They decide to do this the next afternoon.
Ariana makes arrangements with Angelique, then breaks the news to the
children. Jalana is excited, the boys less so. Ariana tells them to be
nice to Anne-Marie.
Wednesday, February 14, 0
Anne-Marie plays with the girls while the boys chase each other
with squirt guns. Jalana likes her. Morgan squirts Anne-Marie, who runs
crying to her mother. Ariana offers to give her a squirt gun, which
causes Angelique to frown. Lucien explains that Anne-Marie's been raised
as a proper child of the Courts. Lucien takes Morgan's gun away and makes
him apologize. Ariana then gives the gun to Anne-Marie, who crushes it.
Morgan gets drenched by his brothers. Despite all of this, Angelique
makes arrangements to have the children spend time together again.
Ariana and Angelique have dinner. They mostly discuss their children
and views on raising them. Ariana thinks children should be allowed to
enjoy being children while they're young, rather than be forced to grow up
too soon. Angelique feels it's best for them to learn proper behavior
young, rather then be given freedom and then have it taken away. Ariana
asks if Angelique has any concerns about letting their children play
together. Angelique would prefer that Anne-Marie not be exposed to coarse
or lewd language. Ariana assures her that her children don't behave in
such a manner. Angelique inquires about Edwin and Whimsy, but Ariana says
it's not her place to tell what passed between them. Ariana asks what
Lucien's daughters in Chaos are like. The way Lucien used to be, without
his pride or sense of honor. Angelique expresses an interest in meeting
Tamaryn, since she's rumored to be so different from Lucien's other
daughters. Ariana admits that she is, attributing that to the fact that
Lucien was rather different when he was younger.
Ariana returns to Middlecourt and tells Lucien about her
conversation
with Angelique. Lucien teases that she's become good at being a pawn.
She conjures a snow ball and hits him with it. He finds this
disconcerting and takes Ariana's form. She thinks this is oogie. Lucien
enjoys her reaction and decides to torment her this way for a bit. She
teases him and asks if he wants to go work on the hospital. He frowns and
says yes. But he can resist. Not if he's still her. He says that she
really is worried about Vincent. Yes. She knows Sand won't kill her own
flesh and blood, but that doesn't mean that she won't use him. They talk
jokingly about her deficiencies, like her temper and the fact that she
wears too much clothing. Gérard thought the opposite was true.
Gérard needs to wear tighter pants. Ariana finds that thought
amusing. Lucien says it must have been her influence. What other
deficiencies does she have? She can't cook. Is she supposed to? All
homemakers do. Ariana says she's been remiss, then, and should start
cooking for him. She'll figure it out eventually. Lucien looks
horrified. Ariana plays in to this. He tells her he'll only eat it if it
smells edible. She says she can probably make it *smell* edible. He
tickles her. She tickles "him." Jalana walks in, sees two Arianas, and
thinks this is oogie, since the second Ariana is either a glamour or Dad.
Lucien doesn't help by mimicking Ariana exactly, so Jalana can't tell who
is who. She beats a hasty retreat. Ariana is amused by this, and says
Jalana must get that prudish streak from Lucien. Lucien denies he's
prudish. Then why was he so uncomfortable when they went to Rebma? He's
not an exhibitionist. She teases him. He complains that there were some
advantages to being a bachelor. Oh yes, like all of the wonderful women
he slept with. He decides that's enough, shifts to have a better warfare,
and tickles her mercilessly. She shrieks. Somewhere, Jalana shudders.
Ariana spends the rest of the evening with her family. After the
children have gone to bed, she points out to Lucien that the war in Chaos
seems to be over, and asks if he's changed his mind about having another
child. If she still wants to, he has no objections. She still wants to,
so long as it won't add to his worries. It won't. She asks if he'd mind
having a boy this time. The idea grew on her while she was pregnant with
Grayson, you see. He can easily arrange that. Despite Angelique's
promise, he still wants Ariana to hide the pregnancy for as long as she
can. Ariana admits that she's not ready to trust Angelique just yet,
since her recent change in behavior could be just a ploy. At least it
gives him the time he wanted. True. He comments that he thinks she
enjoys being pregnant. She says she doesn't enjoy the labor, but admits
that the end result is worth it. He tells her he will never be able to
deny her something that makes her happy. She says she hopes she never
asks something of him that doesn't make him happy too, and asks if he'd
tell her if she did. He thinks so. Does he still likes the name Bryan as
a name for the baby? Yes. She says she wishes she could be of more help
to him, right now. He'll manage. She frets about not being useful,
mentioning that Angelique asked her what a lady does in Amber and she
realized that she had no idea. Lucien finds this very amusing, and after
laughing long and hard about it, he comments that he doesn't think any
amount of schooling would turn her into a proper lady. He doesn't seem
bothered at all by this, however. Ariana suggests they take a walk in the
garden, and is rather surprised when Lucien takes her there by simply
picking her up and jumping off of the balcony. After they walk for a bit,
Ariana suggests that they could start working on the baby now. Lucien is
unwilling to risk getting caught doing such a thing in Mandor's gardens,
which amuses Ariana greatly. She points out that for all he knows, Mandor
has used the garden for such a purpose himself. Lucien says she'll kill
the mood if she keeps up that line of thought, and takes her back to their
bedroom.
Quotables:
"You guys are wimps. You should spend your points *before* you get them."
-- George (AKA demon-bait) to the group
"I'll play Whimsy's child." -- Sean
"(Whimsy's) child is dead." -- Matthew R.
"So was (her) husband." -- Sean
"Who all has a high psyche in this game?" -- GM
<Ishmael raises his hand>
"Yeah, right." -- GM
"I build a hotel out of the crabs." -- Alexandra to GM
"I'm a shapeshifter, I don't sunburn if I don't want to." -- Alexandra to
Jack
"Deirdre has excellent taste, as a woman or a man." -- GM to Ishmael
"Mom's dead, I get her stuff." -- Ishmael to the group
"You could not fill this house with children in Maddy's lifetime." --
GM
"Is that a challenge?" -- Ishmael
"For all I know, Jack filled the entire Shadow with mutant deer. Little
elves, little pixies, mutant deer." -- Whimsy to the group
"No one messes with the daughter of my mother." -- Alexandra to Whimsy
"I don't want Jack's child, I'm not going to have Jack's child." --
Ariana
"And I don't want to have any child, least of all my own." -- Whimsy
"You said you needed a brain." -- Jack to Alexandra
"She still does, but not Whimsy's." -- Kris
"You'd better take (Whimsy) back, she's cranky." -- Alexandra to Jack
"I'm always cranky." -- Whimsy
"Maybe you should try doing something else with your husband (besides
killing him)." -- Alexandra
"Resentful wives chop you up and hang you in a meat locker." -- Whimsy to
Jack
"Outrageous Fortune"
Game Logs for Sessions
1-115 |
Character Logs for Sessions
116+
All text on this page is © 1998 by Kris Fazzari, with the exception of
the attributed quotes.
Last modified on November 22, 1998 by Kris Fazzari.