FaRtaL Chpt 28

==From a Ristar to a Lady - Chapter 28 -==
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===Talking smack about Lady Kalinska===
Aubert Estate, Inman
Milligan PDZ, Woodbine Operational Area
19th May, 3061
0200 hours (1800 hrs on local 28 hr cycle)
“Do you remember that wallflower?”
“With her shitty personality, she went around not knowing her place and now it seems she has ended up all alone.”
The ladies sipped their drinks as they chattered amongst themselves.
“Well, that’s the only logical outcome. Who would want to be around somebody like that? Wouldn’t you agree?”
“I see Lady Kalinska hasn’t changed at all.” Richelle Aubert smirked as she swirled her wineglass gently, before taking a sip.
“Yes, I heard she was involved in some sort of scandal.”
“Oh, you mean at Lady Codina’s tea party, right? I heard about that too. Apparently she created quite the commotion.”
“Oh really? Why would she do something like that? Maybe she’s really crazy?”
Another lady demurred, “Maybe not, but I have a guess. Maybe she was so embarrassed that she purposely ruined the mood at the party.”
“Lady Codina must have been so upset that her tea party was ruined.”
Another said, “I don’t think she was, because apparently Viscount Rason and Sir Raymond Haynes also attended. I’m sure she was ecstatic that so many important people turned up.”
“Oh my. It’s a shame I wasn’t invited. I would have loved to meet Sir Haynes.”
“Me too.”
“Well, I’m not surprised Lady Kalinska was invited. She’s the fiancee of a Viscount, after all.”
“My lady!” The other ladies were shocked, and the speaker realized her mistake with a gasp, held a hand to her mouth.
She quickly tried to recover, “An… anyway, there’s no point in wasting our breath discussing Lady Kalinska any longer. She’s just a pathetic and foolish woman.”
“You’re right! I can’t even stand the thought of her!”
Richelle continued to smile serenely. That’s right. Keep it up. You fools just keep trying to appease me on this stage that I control. Her gaze turned cold. Anatasia Kalinska… I will enjoy every moment of your pain for what you did to me, until you disappear from my sight!
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===Insistence of a invitation===
Kalinski Estate, Inman,
Milligan PDZ, Woodbine Operational Area
4th June, 3061
0000 hours (0800 hrs on local 28 hr cycle)
Avryl was in a jungle, armed only with her sidearm. She ran for what seemed to be forever towards the faroff base that seemed to promise safety, but it never got closer. A heavy oppressive feeling pursued her incessantly, but it seemed so nebulous, formless, that she could not fight nor avoid it.
Exhausted, she turned around, her weapon out, ready for a last stand against whatever it was, just to bring it all to an end.
The oppressive feeling disappeared, leaving only a chill that froze her very spine.
She spun around, seeking it out, wondering where it had gone.
A hand clamped over her neck from behind, and suddenly she was not Avryl, but Anastasia. I can’t escape! What is this oppressive feeling? Anastasia, if you’re suffering this much, tell me something! Anastasia!
She woke up in her bed, sweating from the nightmare.
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“What do you mean, there’s no invitation?” Anastasia asked her father in surprise. They were having breakfast together, before he had to go for another meeting at the palatial manor.
Baron Kalinski looked embarrassed as he admitted, “You’ve never shown interest in the event, so I told Viscount Aubert there was no need for an invite.” He asked sheepishly, “Did I make a mistake?”
Anastasia groaned inwardly. While a hoverbike race was no mech duel, it was better than the tedium of being a lady almost every day. She loved her time with Venice dearly, but her life could do with some excitement! And the chance to ride a hoverbike for once instead of being chauffeured everywhere she went was really tempting.
“Father, I would have liked to have a chance to ride a hoverbike.” She admitted.
“Uhm…” Baron Kalinski sighed. “I’m sorry. I should have asked.”
“No, it’s actually my fault.” Anastasia insisted. “I should have checked with you instead of assuming.” She pursed her lips. “But what can we do now?”
She knew that to get her father to ask Viscount Aubert about a change of mind would be a tremendous loss of face, and something that would further erode her father’s already weak position in the social hierarchy of the Trivet. So getting Viscount Aubert to issue an invite was out of the question.
“You could go with Viscount Rason.” Her father offered. “He’s your fiance, after all, and going with him in public is only appropriate.”
She shot him a look of disdain, but conceded, “I will think about it.”
After breakfast, she made a video call to Venice. Although they were not going to meet up today, it never hurt to get a second opinion.
“Ask Viscount Rason? Of course you should,” Venice told her. “He’s on okay terms with Viscount Aubert, so it won’t be a problem if he took you as his partner for the event.”
Urgh, I guess he is my only shot… why do I keep finding situations where I would need his help? Anastasia grumbled mentally.
Her expression must have been obvious, since Venice giggled, “Ana, you look so scary.”
Anastasia asked, “Venice, why would he even take me? He must be busy with his own duties, and he doesn’t seem to be the sort to attend events like this.”
“Well, these events are all opportunities for nobles to interact and network. Even if it’s just to keep up appearances, some nobles will have to attend. As the local commander of the Trivet forces, Viscount Rason must appear at this event since it’s in honor of the contributions of the military veterans. Besides, he’s a veteran too, so it’s doubly important that he attends. And most of all…”
“Most of all?” Anastasia echoed.
“Because you want to go.” Venice beamed at her.
“Huh?” Anastasia felt confused as Venice ended the call.
Finn’s face was grumpy when she video called him.
“I want to say no. If you’re in a position to make such a request, the very least you could do is show your sincerity by asking me in person instead of a video call.”
Anastasia was surprised. Venice, you said he would take me if I asked!
She griped, “How can you be so aggravating? If you want to say no, then just say no.” It was a waste of my energy to even start warming up to him a little.
He grimaced. “That’s not it. I really…”
She did not wait for him to finish talking, then barked, “I wouldn’t ask you ever again even if my life depended on it!” Then she punched the button on the videophone angrily to close the call.
She flounced off to a nearby table, where Luisa was preparing tea for her. The maid asked, “My lady?”
Anastasia replied, “He told me to meet and ask in person.”
Lusia brightened up, “Oh my lady! Do you know what this means? He must have really missed you a lot!”
“What? It’s obvious he’s just trying to spite me! How can you interpret his actions in any positive way?”
“My lady…”
“I’m not going to ask him again! If it means sitting out the event, then so be it!” Anastasia huffed angrily.
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===New arrivals===
Innerman City, Inman
Milligan PDZ, Woodbine Operational Area
6th July, 3061
1700 hours (0900 hrs on local 28 hr cycle)
“Crechies, stay close to me and your father.” Hawise warned her children as they toddled next to her and her partner as they exited their cheap hostel onto the street pavement. She could tell they were eager to run off though, with the boundless energy that kids their age would have. Ava nodded, while swinging her arm vigorously hand in hand with her little brother Paul. The weather was not very cold, but Hawise had bundled them up in thick jackets anyway.
“I really think we should have brought the arm leashes,” commented Winston. He was a member of the scientist caste, specializing in KF drive research, and apparently good enough to have earned the labname Dirac from his peers, which still rankled her a bit since she did not manage to win a Bloodname in her original caste.
She met Winston while on the Exodus Road to the Inner Sphere to support Clan Nova Cat’s efforts to integrate into their occupied worlds. Her taroy deck had turned up The Lovers, so she took the hint and got to know him better. Not a month later after landing on Teniente, she had requested the eugenics section for him to be assigned to her as her mate.
He was patient and kind, although prone to distraction with the equations always floating in his head, and his own mind floating off to another dimension, which was why he had not gotten attached earlier. Hawise was just thankful he had fallen right into her lap. Besides, former warriors like her usually had their pairing requests approved quickly after a quick check by the scientists to ensure no inbreeding.
“We do not want to look too out of place,” she reminded him. “And this is a nice opportunity for us to see how these Spheroids live.”
He looked around the street. “Comfortable, but not very advanced.” He nodded his head at a car parked nearby. “ICE powered vehicles, not a lot of street lighting.” He could pay attention when he had to.
“Well, Viscount Rason did tell us these worlds were not the most developed when he offered to take us in.”
“This is a very nice world though. Shame about their development.”
“Which is why he wanted us here, for our technological expertise. Delacambre, then the rest of the Trivet worlds. Viscount Rason is playing the long game.” They could hear the sound of children laughing from the small park and playground they were heading to.
“I do not know. All I am doing so far is teaching the basics of the fusion engineering equations, and many of the students lack the foundational mathematics. I cannot even think of touching the Kearny-Fuchida equations yet. It would be a very long game indeed.” They had reached the playground, with a number of children running around with shrieks of delight. Ava and Paul were already pulling at her hands, obviously wanting to play.
“Okay crechies, you can go play for an hour. And be careful.” The kids ran off so quickly Hawise wondered when she had installed MASC in their legs. She exchanged nods of greeting with the other parents in attendance, and felt a warm sense of solidarity as they watched over the children playing.
“Oh, your kids are so cute!” said a mother slightly older than Hawise as she stepped next to them.
Not quite knowing how to react, Hawise replied, “Thank you.”
The woman gestured to Winston, who was looking distracted, probably staring at numbers in his brain. “Your husband?”
Hawise nodded. While the institution of marriage did not exist in the clans, when they moved to Delacambre, one of the adjustments they had to make was to formalize the pairings, since there were apparently legal consequences. So Hawise and Winston were registered as a married couple in the Trivet.
The woman continued, “Hi, I’m Leanne. I haven’t seen you guys around before.” She extended a hand.
Hawise smiled as she shook it, “Oh, we are visiting from Delacambre. We are staying in a hostel nearby.”
Leanne gasped softly, “Oh! Are you here for the Day of Honor celebrations?”
Hawise said proudly, “We are part of the hoverbike teams.”
The other woman grinned, “And what a spectacle it will be! My own kids love watching the races, even if it’s just on the TV. Which team are you part of?”
“I am with the Furious Felines.”
Leanne looked puzzled. “There’s never been a team with that name.” Apparently, the various teams participating in the hoverbike race had been established for decades with very little change, and always sponsored by the same companies as well.
“We are a new team. We have some experimental tech we wish to display.”
“Oh,” Leanne looked impressed. “We haven’t had a lot of advanced technology in these parts for a long time.” She sounded wistful, then she perked up again. “Mind telling me where you got them? From a Star League cache?”
“Neg, we are actually expatriates from the Clans, invited by Viscount Rason to settle on Delacambre.” Hawise wondered if it was all right to reveal their presence. After all, when they settled on Delacambre, it was no secret that they were once clan, and surely some of the news should have leaked to the rest of the Trivet by now?
“Wow!” exclaimed Leanne. Hawise had half-suspected her to run off screaming and asking the other parents to stay away as well, but she seemed more curious and fascinated than frightened.
Then Leanne actually dug out a notepad with a pen from her bag, and said, “I’m actually also a journalist with the Inman News Network, mind telling me more?”
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===Next Steps in a relationship ===
Rason Estate
Milligan PDZ, Woodbine Operational Area
7th July, 3061
2300 hours (1100 hrs on local 28 hr cycle)
“There’s only ten days left til the Day of Honor, right?” asked Finn nervously, one finger tapping the top of his desk. “And yet she hasn’t gotten in touch with me.”
Eric nodded, “That’s right, sir. Ten days left, and the preparations are near complete.”
It had been a month since the abortive video call when she asked him to take her to the hoverbike race. Finn was starting to second-guess himself on his decisions.
“That’s strange. It seemed like she wanted to go.”
Eric had noticed his boss tended to tap his fingers when he was nervous or anxious. I should try to leave if he’s going to be like this.
Finn suddenly growled, “‘I wouldn’t ask you ever again even if my life depended on it!’ was what she said. What did I say that she would react this way?”
Please, how many times are you going to keep going over this? Eric suppressed a groan. “My lord?”
“Eric, do you think my response was so harsh as to deserve her scorn?” Finn sighed, then put his face in one hand.
“Uhm…” Eric did not know how to reply.
Finn groaned. “She’s never video called me before and it’s been so long since we last contacted each other! And not only that… it was only one measly request!” He continued to mumble to himself. “Come to think of it, Lady Kalinska has never approached me first. I’ve always been the one to make the first move.” He shot Eric a glance. “Eric, am I unattractive?”
Not this again! Eric broke out in a cold sweat. I don’t want to discuss this sort of thing! “Oh…”
Before Eric could formulate any reply, Finn went on, mumbling, “I’ve tried to take it easy and give her space. I wanted to be considerate since I know she had a lot of trauma to work through… But when she finally approached me for once, I coldly pushed her away…” Sigh. “It wasn’t enough just keeping her from being lonely and helping her re-enter aristocratic society! It’s too late for me to change that now… No, should I just ask her to go with me anyways?”
Eric looked on in paralysed horror, wondering if his prickly boss had finally lost his senses.
“Sigh, I’ll…”
There were a few knocks on the office door. The door opened, and the estate head butler poked his head in.
“Is anything the matter?” Finn asked, emotionally exhausted. “If it’s not urgent, I’ll deal with it later…”
“My lord, Lady Kalinska is here to see you.”
Surprised, Finn sprang to his feet. “Quickly, show her to the parlour.” He reached for his jacket. This is my chance to make up for my mistake!
“It’s a pleasure to see you, my lord.” Anastasia was dressed in an elegant dress and coat, and it really appeared her aesthetic sense had improved since the last time he saw her. She curtseyed gracefully, and Finn couldn’t quite place it exactly, but she really seemed more like a proper lady now.
She held out a box. “Please, my lord, take this. It’s a gift.”
“Huh?” What’s going on? Did I hear her right? He blinked. You’re not sick, are you? I can’t think of any other reason for you to speak to me so formally…
They stared at each other. What does she mean by ‘gift’? She’s never been the type to give presents in the first place. Don’t tell me it’s full of strange medicinal herbs, leaves and stones… His imagination was starting to go haywire, while his heart was starting to beat furiously from anxiety.
She seemed to read his mind, and opened the box, revealing an assortment of beautifully crafted chocolates. They looked expensive.
“Chocolates?”
“This is the first time I’m visiting your estate.” She explained. “I wasn’t sure what you liked, so I just bought the ones that looked the best. Is there something wrong?”
He suddenly exuded a tense aura. “Lady Kalinska, be honest with me. What is your real reason for doing this?” Is she trying to say we should keep our distance from now on? And this is a ‘fare thee well’ gift?
His reaction startled Anastasia, who had not expected him to get straight to the point. But since he had… Well then, I have nothing else to say but to ask directly. “My lord, please bring me along for the hoverbike race.”
At first she had been adamant about staying away from the event, but the news of the expatriate clan team from Delacambre had piqued her interest. She had not even known Finn had taken in former clan civilians, and it was an opportunity to try to make connections. Maybe there were even familiar faces she might know!
Finn looked smugly at her, her desire to go for the hoverbike race now written all over her face. He decided to tease her a little bit. “No, I’d rather not.”
“What?”
“Your gift was insincere and your request was unpleasant since it was so obvious.” He flicked the box with a finger.
“You do not like the gift?”
“I don’t really like sweet things very much. Don’t you know anything about your fiance’s eating habits?”
What? I could say the same about you! You don’t know anything about MY eating habits! She wanted to retort back, but decorum forced her to say instead, “It’s not that sweet, it’s dark chocolate, eighty percent.”
She could not imagine ever saying such a thing when she was Avryl Showers, but she had learned a lot since then. Stravag, the only chocolate she had back in the clans was the much sought after ‘Nickolate’ dessert candy in the military ration packs, with impromptu Trials of Possession sometimes fought over it. But chocolate of all varieties was widely available here in the Inner Sphere! Maybe decadence was not so bad after all…
He scoffed, prompting her to continue. “All right, I’ll admit I could have tried harder.” He looked startled at her admission. “And I apologize for being rude. Now that I thought about it, I did take it too far.”
Finn considered her words, and her demure expression as she apologized to him. This is certainly surprising. Has she always been this naive? Well, I guess it just shows how much she wanted to go. But it was obvious what she was trying to get at. Let me test her a bit further.
“Tell me, what kind of effort will you make as my fiancee? Because the truth is, to everybody else from the outside looking in, it seems like we have a very cold relationship.” They did not even meet up regularly for dates like other couples! Which Finn found himself suddenly regretting. Maybe I should be more proactive myself instead of just giving her space? Maybe a promise to hold hands in public or more frequent calls to each other… that’d be enough.
Her expression was downcast, and she sighed. Wait a minute, did I go too far? Her reaction earlier was funny, but maybe I should stop now… “Lady Kalinska, I…”
With a swish of her skirts, she stepped forward and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
Finn thought he heard wedding bells and shouts of ‘Halleluia!’ in the background. Wasn’t this what he had wanted from her? But the suddenness of it left him speechless.
“If keeping up appearances is that important to you, I’m willing to do this much.” She stared resolutely at him.
Even that much… he smirked. She looks like she’s asking if that’s enough. A chuckle escaped him, and he only managed to say, “Ah, forgive me.”
That was the exact wrong reaction apparently, because her face suddenly blushed tomato red, and she shouted, “I cannot do this anymore!” It was obvious she felt he was laughing at her.
Which was not entirely untrue.
“Are you done with your acting now?” He chuckled again.
“YES, I AM DONE! I WOULD RATHER DIE THAN GO ANYWHERE WITH SOMEBODY LIKE YOU!” She stomped away angrily.
“Again with the insults…” Finn sighed as he gave chase. “Lady Kalinska!”
I should not have come! Anastasia gritted her teeth. It is just some stupid event. I cannot give him any more than this! I would not!
It was Venice who had advised her to visit in person, and to tone down her usual blunt mannerisms when talking to Finn.
“After all,” Venice had reasoned, “he’s your fiance. Furthermore, just making a video call, and not even bothering to ask face-to-face, anybody would have refused, because it would lack sincerity.”
Venice had smiled at her. “So what you need to do, is to show him your sincerity.”
As she stomped away, Anastasia thought. So I came all this way to sincerely apologise, and this is how he reacts?
She felt more than a twinge of regret. If I had never entered Anastasia’s body, her relationship with Finn…would not have become as twisted as it has now. That is why I just decided to give him a chance. But whatever, it doesn’t matter anymore! I will ignore him and all these stupid rituals!
She descended a flight of stairs in fury, ignoring Finn’s cries of “Lady Kalinska, wait!”
She could not care anymore, not after he had laughed in her face. She would rely on herself only, and she resolved to be completely free of any entanglements with Finn once she left his stuffy old estate. Even their engagement… well, she could always approach Count Haynes…
Finn was surprised he had to put in some effort to chase her. When did she become so fast?
She was on the stairs when her heels suddenly lost traction on one of the steps, and she stumbled in the middle of the stairs. She braced herself for a painful impact with the floor at the bottom of the steps. Damn these high heels!
Except her fall was arrested by a strong arm. She looked up to see Finn holding her in one arm, while his other arm held onto one of the stair handrail supports. He was panting slightly from exertion.
They were very aware of their proximity to each other. Anastasia could feel his breath on her, even while her own traitorous heart thumped loudly at his closeness.
“...it’s always something with you.” Finn huffed.
“What?” she protested indignantly.
“Lady Kalinska, while it’s good you’re trying to build up your physical strength, you should also try to get used to moving about in high heels before you try running in them.”
That made her even angrier. “Quit telling me what to do, seriously! Now I have to listen to you criticise what I do with my time too?”
He flinched a bit, while she continued. “Just because you’re a man with power and influence doesn’t mean you can boss me around!”
He sighed, then lifted her up back on her feet. “Let’s go together.”
“Huh?”
“I apologize for my rude behaviour. It’s not because I’m angry at you or anything… but I was just being childish.”
She snorted in an unladylike manner. “At your age, even? But you were saying about going together…?”
“Yes, on one condition.”
“Yes?”
“I’d like it if you’d speak more casually to me when we’re together. Save the formality for official occasions only. Your formality towards me was sometimes painful to listen to.”
“Really?” She looked at him sceptically. “Was it really that bad? Funny, Venice said the same thing, hmm…”
Venice? Finn thought, I didn’t realise they were already on a first name basis. That’s unfair.
“And another thing,” he quickly added. “Enough with the ‘my lord’ nonsense, just call me by my name from now on. I do have a name, you know.”
She stared at him for a while, before replying, “No.”
He was taken aback from the bluntness of her reply. So she’ll call Lady Codina by her name but not even her own fiance’s?
Anastasia explained, “Think about it. Your name is just way too long. How do you expect me to call you Finnickerhet every time I talk to you?”
“That’s easy. Just call me Finn. Everybody does that.”
“All right, I’ll call you that from now on.” She smiled. “Finn.”
He didn’t know why, but that was a distinct sense of deja vu, as though she had called him that before. But he was dead certain she had never called him ‘Finn’ before, so why did he have this feeling?
She added, “You can call me Ana too, since my name is also a handful. That’s settled then.” She started walking down the steps of the stairs again. “See you later!”
He blinked. “Huh? W… wait a second!”
She did not seem to pay any heed to him, and just waved a hand. “Thanks, Finn!”
He found himself staring at her back as she walked out of his house. Then he looked down at the box of chocolates in his hand. “Well, she’s always been like that. Since she came here to get me to take her to the hoverbike race, it’s only natural that she left after succeeding in her objective. So yeah, of course she’d leave.”
“Sigh. Our time together was too short,” he sat down on the stairs and popped a piece of chocolate into his mouth, before continuing his monologue while chewing the treat. “No, no! You should just be thankful that she doesn’t think you’re a dirty bastard anymore.”
He looked at the box in surprise at the rich flavors coating his tongue. “Hey, this doesn’t taste so bad after all.” It was definitely dark chocolate which suited his taste buds.
He sat there for the next few minutes, enjoying the chocolates and wondering how to further his relationship with Anastasia Kalinska.
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==Chapter Notes==
*; Chapter Note from the Author : Actually, Ana doesn’t think of Finn as a dirty bastard…She just thinks he’s an idiot freebirth. Very different meanings, lol.I was pretty proud of myself for that little quip with MASC, but it came to mind when my own kids zipped to the playground a few months ago.
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Chapter 28