Confrontation with Lord April (19 May 2002) The Queen meets with Lord April.

Audience Chamber of the Queen
The royal colors of blue and white dominate in a room themed after the vault of the sky. Opposite the double doors that lead into the room, after an empty expanse of plush, deep blue carpet, a throne rests on a raised dais. Shaped of cut, frosted, crystal, cushioned by snowy white velvet, the throne is large enough to be imposing, occupied or otherwise. Feathered wings spread from its back; a swan's head arches over its occupant. A small table with legs of clear glass and a top like the spread wings of falcon rests next to it. Benches and chairs of ordinary proportions, fashioned of white velvet, are located beneath tapestries along the wall. In the sea of blue, they look like a little like clouds on a still day. The room is lit by a soft, yellow-white glow that emanates from somewhere around the swan-head of the throne.

After November's departure, the Queen leans back on her throne for a moment, thoughtful. She takes a sip from her warming apple juice, and places it beside the scarcely-touched breakfast. She makes a face at the remaining food, and waves for a servant to take the tray away. Then she nods to Garrett, who dispatches a page to the entrance of the audience hall.

A moment later, a herald announces the arrival of Lord April. He is a tall, handsome blond man, blue-eyed, whom Alice remembers seeing the previous night passing through the hall to the distant snowy gardens. His look passes over Alice without recognition as he glances at the courtiers and servants, then locks gazes with the Queen.

Lord April smiles, thin-lipped, then steps forward to kneel in formal greeting of the Queen. "Your Majesty," he says. And behind him, there is -- Simon? -- who is dressed as a page.

A curious mixture of emotions rush through Alice as she watches Lord April and his page. At first, she's made nervous by the lord's presence, recalling their chance encounter in the hall the night before -- and remembering Kuon's admonition not to reveal her true identity to anyone vying for the throne. (And Lord April most certainly counts for that!) But then Alice looks at the page following Lord April; it seems so long since she had last seen Simon! She wonders then whether this is really Simon at all -- and if he's really a cat-boy. Seeing him in the company of Lord April makes her no more comfortable, so she just keeps quiet and bites her lip.

"Good morning, my brother." The queen sounds stiffer, more tense, than she had when speaking to Lord November. When he met her gaze on entering, she dropped her eyes. Now that his head is bowed, her gaze lingers on his face. A moment passes before she says, "You may rise." Rushed, as if to forestall any other comment from him, she adds, "Tell me, who is your new charge?"

Simon, if that is who the young man is with Lord April, has kneeled as well. He is a small and thin boy with a brown pageboy haircut, though he does not seem on the verge of starving as Alice remembers the jester; he's seen at least a few hearty meals. His shirt is a light blue, almost white, and his pants are earth-brown; he wears a dark blue tabard over that with a golden lion crouchant.

The expression on the face of the golden-haired lord is hard to read as he rises. A frown flits over his brow at the queen's query, quickly washed away and replaced by another smile. He gestures to the boy as he says, "An orphan, Your Majesty, but a boy of many talents and great promise. His name is Simon."

Nearby, Lady Olympia sighs, casting a flutter of eyelashes toward Lord April. "He's so handsome," she whispers to Nissa. Lady Nissa looks at Olympia oddly and murmurs, "The page?" to be answered with a scornful look and a hiss of "No, Lord April!" Lady Penelope stays quiet, nibbling on a bit of her long, dark red-brown hair.

No, Alice doesn't think she'd want to talk to Lord April at all. He might even be her uncle, but every time she's met him he always seems unfriendly. Now is definitely not an exception to that. She feels distinctly uncomfortable about how the Queen wouldn't hold his gaze for long -- reminding her of unpleasant schoolyard encounters. But as Lord April actually identifies Simon by his own name, Alice is taken aback, and she quickly muffles a gasp by covering her mouth with a hand, and looking away to the other ladies-in-waiting, hoping that her surprise will go unnoticed.

Nissa looks at Alice curiously, whispering, "What was that?"

The page bows, looking discomfited to be standing before genuine royalty. "It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty," he says. His voice sounds just like Simon's as well.

The queen directs her attention to the boy at this introduction. "From you, this is high praise indeed," she replies. Lord April nods in acknowledgement, while she continues to Simon, "Tell me, Page Simon, what talents have won you my brother's patronage?" Lord April raises his head as her attention is elsewhere, directing a single quick, amused glance to the two girls, as if he heard their exchange. Olympia flushes a bright red and ducks her head.

"Oh!" whispers Alice, sounding startled. "I think I knew someone named Simon once. But I'm not sure that's him. I'm not even sure I ever really knew a Simon!" She keeps her attention to Lady Nissa, only casting careful glances towards the nobles and the page briefly. The little girl wonders, too, at the fuss the older girls show the lord. After all, she thinks he's awfully scary.

Simon blushes and dips his gaze again. "Your Majesty, I'm quick on my feet and I'm told that I read and write well, and--" As he gropes for something else to say that might be impressive, he blurts out, "I can do tricks on skateb--" He pauses, as if realizing whatever he was about to say might not be common in Mirari, and looks to Lord April.

Lady Nissa giggles at Alice's comment. "You're so silly," she says.

Lord April's eyes meet Simon's, and the boy falls immediately silent. Then the lord gives an indulgent chuckle, patting the boy on the back, as he adds, "The boy is too modest." He smiles again, and this time the expression feels genuine, flashing even white teeth. "He has a quick wit, your majesty, and I've seen him outsmart men more than twice his age. He will do well."

Tricks on a skateboard! It has to be Simon.Alice just doesn't think the fey use skateboards, or sidewalks, or roads. She imagines it would be very hard for boys to play on a skateboard on cobblestones and dirt. They'd probably get hurt. Thinking about that gets Alice to think about another sort of injury, back when she met Simon and he was running from a bully. It makes her all the more sad to think that Simon may really be a bad person. She decides she won't believe it -- not until she's absolutely sure.

The Queen smiles, too, at this exchange. "You come well recommended, Simon of April. Do your House and your Lord proud."

As Alice thinks on these things, she gives Lady Nissa a big, if somewhat uncomfortable, smile. She also asks the youngest lady-in-waiting in whisper, "Lord April does attend court often, 'tis so? Yet her majesty does not seem gladdened by his presence?"

Simon blushes and bows again.

Lady Nissa whispers, "Oh, they've been fighting forever..."

Lady Penelope corrects, "They fell out in mid-Autumn-- no one knows over what."

Lady Nissa gives Penelope a look, and continues, "And now that the King is missing without having passed on the throne, Lord April thinks he ought to be made King, since the King had designated him his heir since ... "

Nissa looks strained, and Penelope rolls her eyes, hissing, "Since Prince Richard died in that tourney last Spring."

Nissa summarizes, "It's all a big mess!"

Calming somewhat, Alice lets her hand fall from her mouth. "It's all very ... very sad," she says, frowning briefly. "Brothers and sisters shouldn't fight -- not really fight. It's okay maybe to call someone a 'squirt'. It's not okay to fight over the throne. It makes Her Majesty so sad! All of it. And she shouldn't be sad. It's just ... not fair." She casts another glance towards the nobles, this time specifically towards the Queen before she returns to mostly facing the other ladies.

While the ladies-in-waiting hold their hurried conference, Lord April and the Queen exchange a few more pleasantries, as he asks after her newest lady-in-waiting and is answered with, "She was too pretty to be a scullery maid. I do not yet know if she will prove as talented as your Simon."

Now April smiles again. "I am sure they will both do us proud. But, there are other, more pressing matters." He gestures negligently to Simon, who looks a bit disappointed as he retires to the side. "There is yet the matter of a decision to be made regarding the succession of the throne, Your Majesty. Might I urge you to come to a decision sooner, rather than later?"

"Might I say 'no'?" the queen replies to Lord April, almost wistful.

The corner of April's mouth twitches with a wry smile. "Your Majesty says little else, at least to me. The land withers beneath your 'no,' my sister. Will you not yield to reason?"

As the old argument begins anew, Simon adjusts his tabard self-consciously as he walks by the side, his eyes going toward the young ladies in waiting, who are whispering among themselves. "Good morn, miladies," he whispers politely, as if he were reciting from a handbook of how to behave at court, looking nervous. "Might I have the pleasure of your names?"

Alice is startled out of asking another question of her fellow ladies-in-waiting at Simon's approach, and instead she just makes a brief squeak. She tries to recover by hiding her face as if engrossed in gossip. She isn't quick to answer Simon, as she's uncertain whether she should even let him know that she's here. Even if he's not bad, Lord April might be -- and she doesn't know how he treats Simon.

"I am Lady Nissa of June," Nissa says, drawing herself up most haughtily and holding her hand out for Simon to kiss. He blinks, then bows toward her hand to do so -- and she whisks it back, giggling at the silly boy. Olympia and Penelope introduce themselves likewise, omitting the hand-play.

Thinking she'd look very silly if she didn't say something now, Alice fidgets as she thinks of what to do. It is at this point the young girl realizes why ladies in fairy tales and at court have fans -- she wishes she had a fan right now! They're for hiding behind. Not having a fan, Alice takes a cue from Lady Nissa and only turns to just barely face the young page as if shy. She offers a very brief, "Lady Jill." She does extend her hand however, hoping it might distract the young man from looking at her too closely.

Simon is considerably warier this time, having already fallen to that trick once before, and reaches out to take Alice's hand first.

The blonde lady-in-waiting leaves her hand out letting the young man take it.

Simon bows over the hand, giving it a token peck, and then releases her hand quickly, while the other ladies in waiting giggle and watch, all full of curiosity. The young page blushes furiously.

Despite having wholly been trying just to go unnoticed Alice suddenly finds herself blushing too. She didn't really think about what she was doing until it was too late. Just thinking about it makes her giggle immensely. Now she does look away, as much to hide her blushing as to hide her identity.

Simon blinks and examines Alice more closely. "You look familiar, Lady Jill.... Have we met before?" This sets off more tittering among the ladies.

"'Nay!" squeaks Alice in between her giggles.

"Will you not yield to the law?" the Queen has asked of Lord April. The two adults seem a world apart from the young people who titter and blush at one side of the hall. "You know as well as I the Rule of Mirari. We have been over this ground too many times. It is my husband's power to make you King, not mine. My husband is lost but not dead. There is nothing for us but to wait for him to be found. Then the crown shall pass on. But not before."

"It is the height of folly to cling to Rule and Law when the land is dying, my queen. You know as well as I that the Lord and Ladies will follow your lead, if only you would agree. There is precedent -- "

" -- For a dead king, not a living!"

Lord April is somber and wary. "There is some question as to whether your husband still lives -- "

The Queen thumps her fist against the arm of her throne. "The King is not dead. The King is not dead. The King is not dead," she repeats. "There is no question."

The gold-haired lord flinches at her emphasis, falling briefly silent.

Simon looks dubious for a moment, but then is distracted by the verbal battle. "She said that three times," he murmurs. "She must believe it really is the truth. But if the King is really alive, where is he and why hasn't he allowed the Winter to end?"

Alice to immediately breaks out of her fit of giggles and turn her eyes towards the throne. She frowns again, thinking it's very mean to ask if your sister's husband is dead just because you want to get something and almost comments on Simon's words. The latter she quickly decides against; having gone through all that trouble to hide herself, she doesn't want to ruin it.

Lady Nissa says tentatively, "Maybe ... he's being held prisoner somewhere and bad people won't let him go?" Lady Olympia looks doubtful. "Wouldn't we would have heard about it by now, if it were so?" Lady Penelope adds, in a reasonable tone of voice, "Whatever the truth might be, it's undeniably true also that people will starve if this Winter goes on too much longer. If not Lord April, then Lord October, but there must be a succession before too long."

Alice hadn't thought about how people could starve. She knew that the ongoing winter was bad and it needed to be fixed, but she didn't know just how bad it could be. Mirari has been a place of wonders and fantasy, a place that feels like home; it pains her to think that it's being ruined. She hopes Tommy and the others are successful. The little girl isn't so sure what to do to help but she thinks she'll try harder to find a way.

Simon nods stoutly, championing his protector. "He's told me he's not doing it for power or anything; he already rules one of the twelve Months. But if someone without a real claim tries to take the Throne, well, there's bound to be argument and maybe Lords and Ladies will refuse to follow them, and then there'll be civil war...." The young boy turns to speak to the ladies, with less attention for Jill than before. "The Queen has to allow the Succession to take place, if the King's not here. But if she doesn't, there'll be no new King, and no new Year, and the winter will go on forever. You don't want that, do you?"

Alice wants so much to comment -- to defend the King and Queen and tell the others her friends are trying very hard to make things right. But she doesn't want Simon to know she's in the palace just yet. Having to hold it all in makes her antsy, and she fiddles with her hands as she watches the goings-on near the throne. If she can't talk, then she can listen. It might be very important to hear all this, she considers.

After a lengthy pause, Lord April speaks again. "Your Majesty," he begins in a carefully neutral voice, "When did you last hear from our King?"

The queen frowns, puzzled. "December 14th, the day after the Lord Protector returned with Lady Raven's prophecy. The day he disappeared. You know that, my lord."

Her brother tilts his head to one side. For all their dissimilar words, they are almost twins in appearance, equally fair of feature, with the same grace about their gestures. "Ah, my apologies, Your Majesty. I merely thought, since you are so certain he lives, that you must have some information I do not -- some insight which is not common knowledge to the rest of us."

Red highlights the Queen's cheekbones. "I know he is my husband, and I would know if he were dead.... That is all. Are you implying that I am withholding information from the court?"

"I did not say that, my liege."

Penelope responds to Simon, "Of course not. But it doesn't have to be Lord April. Lord October is as good a man, if not better..." Lady Olympia looks offended at this, whispering back, "April was chosen by the King as his Heir! If anyone should succeed, it should be him. Lord October's got no right at all to claim the throne." Lady Penelope, taking exception, points out heatedly, "But if you look at precedents, it was agreed from the beginning that 'neither April nor October should ever rule over the other, unto the fiftieth generation.' and there've only been forty-eight generations in House April since then." Lady Nissa looks frustrated at the entire conundrum.

Having a question now, Alice leans over to whisper it to Lady Nissa. "This prophecy," she asks, "do you know of it?" Again she tries to keep her face concealed. And, like before, her reason is a mix of want for stealth and because she's too embarrassed to look at Simon right now anyway.

Lady Nissa looks confused at Alice. "Prophecy?" But Lady Penelope whispers, "Oh, do you mean the one Lord Melchizedek brought back, when the King sent him to see Lady Raven of Avarre in December? That starts, 'In the Lands Beyond, where fresh dreams are born'?"

Alice definitely hasn't heard of this particular prophecy. She inclines her head a little in a muted nod. "Yes. If it's no trouble for you, I would like you to tell me about it," she replies.

Lady Penelope whispers, though her voice becomes a bit louder as she quotes, "In the Lands Beyond, where fresh dreams are born / The King may answer find, though hope forlorn / Anything can be broken, then forged anew / Rules can be changed, by those with the mind to." She looks at Alice askance. "It's been floating around the Palace for a while, but no one knows what it means."

Queen Seraph's jaw works in silence as she fixes her gaze on April's face. This time, it is he who looks away first. He must have caught the drift of Penelope's voice when she raises it to recite the full prophecy, because he speaks the last line with her, in his strident tenor. "'Rules can be broken, by those with a mind to.'"

Upon hearing the prophesy, Alice smiles and whispers, "Thank you." She ponders just what it might mean. 'The Lands Beyond' must be Ainigton -- or maybe the whole world on the other side of the Siege. The part about things being broken and renewed seems very familiar to her. She thinks that it was Mr. Kuning who told her that. She blinks at the revelation. It couldn't be! Could it?

Simon scratches behind an ear, considering this. "That's very interesting," he whispers. "So the King is in the Lands Beyond... Beyond what?" He looks into the distance.

"Don't let yourself be carried away by the story," Alice whispers, almost to herself. She frowns, then nods suddenly as if suddenly sure of something. "I don't believe Mirari will have a sad ending." She turns to face Simon and raises a finger to her lips to try and quiet his reaction. "Don't you think so, Simon?"

"That is one small part of the oracle, brother," the Queen starts, watching April's face, which has the look of a brewing storm. She sounds desperate to forestall what she knows is to come.

"Does that make it less telling?" Lord April erupts in his counter. "'Rules can be broken, by those with a mind to.' Did King Marc of Umbrecht look forward to the Year's end? No man can wish to die. Did he take the Lady Prophet's words as leave to depart for a safer realm? He has broken the Rule, my sister, and left us -- Mirari -- to suffer for it. Who are we, to cling to the Rule of Law, to insist on a tradition that consumes us alive, that threatens our very existence? Do you not have the mind to?"

Simon looks as if he had almost had it, and then lost his train of thought as Alice spoke to him, and then at Lord April's rise in voice. "Think what, Lady Jill?" he whispers, looking puzzled.

Lady Penelope looks stricken that her recital of the prophecy seems to have sparked a new line of argument between the Queen and her brother. She whispers, "That's just ... unfair!" to the other ladies.

Alice seems briefly surprised by something, but the look quickly fades. She just smiles briefly instead and asks with a growing feeling of apprehension, "What did Lord April mean by 'No man can wish to die?'" She looks amongst the gathered ladies-in-waiting in askance.

Lady Nissa looks uncertain, but then Lady Olympia presses straight to the answer. "It's the Rule of Kingship: a King rules for a Year, and then he passes on into the pages of Historie. Which means, he dies."

Penelope sniffs and whispers, "It is more rarified a concept than mere death. The King lives on in our memories and in the books of the library."

The little blonde girl looks horror struck. "That's awful!" she says just a bit too loud. Her hands quickly cover her mouth in reaction to her exclamation and she finds herself biting her lip as she struggles to fight the emotional reaction that threatens to bring her to tears right then and there and thus make her exceedingly noticeable.

Simon whispers, "If no one becomes King, then everyone will die.... Someone has to do it."

Queen Seraph's fair face turns white with anger. "Lord April! How dare you accuse my husband of such a thing? Myself?"

"How dare you sit here, warm on your throne with a kitchen full of rich food, while the fields go unplowed beneath a blanket of snow, while every peasant and farmer is threatened with starvation?" Lord April retorts. "You must see what has to be done!"

"Enough! " Seraph is standing on the dais of her throne, shoulders shaking. "This audience is over!"

Lord April's blue eyes flash with fire, his hands clenched into fists at his side, as the whole room falls silent at the weight of anger between lord and queen. "Simon," he grinds out. "Come."

Simon casts a significant look at the young ladies in waiting, and then hurries to Lord April's side.

Alice looks even more shocked by this second revelation. "Oh no." She shakes her head in disbelief. "That's why -- and then ... on no ... It can't be." She watches as Simon hurries off, too stricken to tell him good-bye.

Lord April pivots on his heel, neither bowing to the queen, nor backing away from her, as he strides out of the audience hall. He almost knocks the servant holding open the doors with his swift steps.

The ladies in waiting look, as one, shocked by the argument's abrupt ending.

Disturbed by her own thoughts, prophecies, and now the almost violent departure of Lord April from the Queen's presence Alice is left trembling as she tries to make sense of it all. If the King doesn't die, then everyone dies. It's too awful for the little girl to come to grips with easily. So she turns from where she had been watching the lord and his page's departure and tries to find some comfort in the Queen -- even if she is furious. She's still someone special to Alice.

Queen Seraph sinks back onto her throne, her eyes screwing shut before she hides her face with one hand. "Garrett," she says, her voice muffled by her hand. "You may dismiss the servants. I will withdraw to my private chambers now."

The counselor nods, dispatching the servants and pages to errands elsewhere. The other ladies in waiting curtsey to the Queen and depart silently, one by one. None of them seem to know what to say, and so they only cast their own sympathetic looks, even Lady Penelope, as they file out.

Instead of curtseying and departing like the other girls, the last lady-in-waiting instead hesitates while some of the others depart and then approaches the throne by herself. "Y-your majesty?" she inquires in a soft voice. For the moment she chokes down her own fears and worries so she can try and put on a happy face for the Queen. "Do ... do you need someone ... to ... help you? To your chambers?"

Having cleared the rest of the fey folk away, Garrett turns to face the room before leaving himself. He seems on the point of saying something to Jill, but does not. Instead, he departs, closing the door behind him and leaving the two alone in the great chamber.

Seraph takes her hand from her face to glance at Alice, her blue eyes swimming with unshed tears. Her lip trembles as she gazes into the young girl's concerned expression. "Oh, Angel," she breathes out. She leans forward and wraps the girl in a tight embrace. Tears squeeze out from between eyelids screwed shut. "Whatever am I going to do?"

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