A Garden Party (Meliorna)

[Titania]

It wasn’t often Titania had visitors over.

Okay, that was a lie. A big lie, actually. Titania had visitors over all the time, especially if they were her own children. There was just something about having the gardens full of children, little footsteps padding everywhere, that made her heart swell. Even though her children, or at least most of them, were grown and off ruling their own little slice of land, it still warmed Titania’s heart to see them and have them visit their mother.

Usually, it was the children who came and visited her, but today was different. Today, she would be having a Faerie over that was almost as old as Titania herself. She was a creature of ice and cold, and thus Oberon should have been the one to deal with her. But Oberon had issues with the land of ice, especially after his mother’s betrayal and subsequent defeat. And besides, Titania was a much better politician, whereas Oberon delivered the punishments to those who would dare defy their King and Queen.

Lunch had been set out in the garden, near the heart of the rose maze. This place had always been one of Titania’s favorites, especially since she had made it herself. She and Oberon had been young when this garden was formed, and they, like all young ones, enjoyed the chase. Oberon used to chase her quite a bit, and she, always the good sport, would run and laugh and try to avoid him. That was how the maze was formed; by her laughter, and his love.

Titania did not sit yet; she knew her guest would be arriving soon. She had summoned the Royal Guard Meliorna, who Gregory had told her many good things about. She was a strong warrior, quite tough, with nerves of steel and a heart almost as cold as Mab’s. Though that last part should have frightened her, Titania knew what kind of warrior one had to be to defend both the castle and the land from whatever dangers might be nearby.

There were many things to discuss, and it was time to get down to business.

There was a war approaching.

words; 362
music; N/A
tag; Meliorna
outfit; [ Click! ]
credits; zie @ CAUTION!
words; by SHAKESPEARE

[Meliorna]

Meliorna was honored at the Queen’s request to meet with her. She was the Royal Guard, and had been for awhile, but that certainly didn’t mean she was often in the presence of the Fae Queen, the fair Titania. The fact that she, and she alone, had been called to the Queen’s garden, and not the other Royal Guard, just boosted her pride (ego) even more. Lorna was a very good guard, and one of the oldest at that-she knew it, and she often had proof of it from others by how they treated her.

What had been a long, rather boring period in the Winter Court, stagnant in any interesting activity, was coming to a halt. There was a lot of tension with the humans and Pluses, which was not a huge surprise, but now some kind of uprising was coming about. It was only a matter of time before those two species, similar but oh-so-different, butted heads. Mel personally thought that the humans and the superhuman Pluses were idiots, to say it bluntly. She didn’t join the Unseelie Court for no reason. She didn’t like leaving the Fae plane, and she didn’t like interacting with humans in any way, shape, or form.

Yet, if they were going to implode on themselves, that would be something that Meliorna would be very pleased to witness. Of course, the Fae Royalty would never let that happen, because in that happening, the whole world and all species would be totally screwed up. If the humans and Pluses were talking about a battle, they would be dragging everyone else into it-witches, spirits, were, and she was sure, even Fae. And if the Fae got involved in battle, Lorna would have to be right there to fight and more importantly, protect the royal family, along with the other guards.

Meliorna was sure that this would be the topic of conversation, because it was the topic on everyone’s minds and mouth at the moment. She would be ready to talk about it, respectfully but bluntly to her Queen. She was not one to hide her feelings and words, but she was also not one to be discourteous to her higher ups. These, in fact, were probably the only people that she was never ill-mannered to.

And so, she walked out of the cold harshness of the Winter Court and into the beautiful, happy garden that Titania had made herself. Lorna’s dark cloak brushed along the bright green grass in a harsh contrast as she made her way through the maze and to the center where her queen was. Despite not coming to the gardens too often (too bright and cheerful for her taste-in too much contact, sunlight starts to bother and even hurt her), she wove her way quickly and accurately through the maze and found her lovely Fae Queen sitting there, waiting for her.

“Your Majesty.” Lorna said, bowing deeply and removing the hood off of her cape. It was rude to leave it on in front of such a high figure, even if the sunlight was slightly irritating. She stood tall and rigid, always aware of everything around her, as she had become accustomed to as guard. She waited for permission from Queen Titania before doing anything further.

[Titania]

Titania beamed when Meliorna made her appearance, bobbing her own head in return, in greeting. "Meliorna," she said, and moved around to bring the Royal Guard into her arms. It was a brief hug, something meant to both comfort and relax, and the Queen did not linger. 

She pulled away after a quick moment, reaching down to straighten her skirt, but something caught her eye as she raised her gaze. It was just a quick flash across Meliorna's face, but still the Faerie Queen had noticed it. Discomfort. She was uncomfortable, more than likely due to the brightness of Titania's garden. Without a thought, Titania raised her hand, beckoning the trees closer. The trees reached high, then stretched towards each other, until they had formed a sort of covering over their lunch spot.

"There," she murmured, and flashed Meliorna another smile. "I hope this is all right. Tell me if you need more shadow, though. And," Titania added, almost as an afterthought, "do not think it will bother me. My husband is of the Winter Court. I'm used to living in partial shade."

With that taken care of, Titania moved to the table, taking a seat. She poured them both a cup of tea, adding milk and sugar into hers, then brought it up to taste. Another two sugars later, Titania was content, and she added a few sweets onto her plate, completely ignoring the sandwiches for now. She knew she should have had her lunch first, as she was supposed to be an example, but Titania could not be bothered. There were more important things than her motherly nature.

"Go ahead and get something to eat," she said, and motioned to the food. "And take a seat. We can talk and we. We are, after all, civilized creatures."

Titania would not mention how she had made everything before them. Cooking was such a mundane art, compared to how the Fae could usually just create food. But cooking was creating, and Titania loved to create. She loved to see the work of her own two hands blossom. It was a rare treat, but one she indulged often.

words; 348
music; N/A
tag; Meliorna
outfit; [ Click! ]
credits; zie @ CAUTION!
words; by SHAKESPEARE