FaRtaL Chpt 6

==From a Ristar to a Lady - Chapter 6 -==
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Innerman City, Inman
Milligan PDZ, Woodbine Operational Area,
27th January, 3061
0100 hrs (1700 hrs on local 28 hr cycle)
When Anastasia returned to the estate, it was almost the end of siesta, and the servants were all in an uproar. They seemed to know already that she had put herself in danger. As she walked in wearily, the waiting doctor ran up to her and started fussing over even the tiniest scratch.
Meanwhile, the butler seemed to be looking for Viscount Rason. Anastasia cleared her throat.
“If you're looking for the Viscount, he is gone," she said.
The butler's face seemed to say, 'but he is your fiance... ’, but Anastasia did not bother to make excuses for Finn Rason. In fact, the reason that he left was because she forced him to. He wanted to accompany her in the hoverlimo into the estate, but she instructed the driver to stop at the main gates, and even got one of the security guards to drive the vehicle in, dumping Finn and his driver outside the gates.
It was petty, it was insulting, but Anastasia did not care. Angry at her firm refusal, the Viscount just stomped away from the estate entrance, already calling on his mobile for his personal transport.
“Any news about Luisa and Ben?” Anastasia asked, lightly freeing herself from her doctor’s hold. She cheered inwardly when they did not correct her, which meant she had finally gotten the names right for once.
Luisa was her attendant maid, so she should always be with her. For her to be at the hospital away from her mistress could be considered a dereliction of duty. Thankfully, Anastasia had already squared it with the head butler.
But what happened with the 'mech would be much harder to explain. Anastasia hoped nobody would ask.
The head butler Kevin nodded. “Luisa called from the hospital. Ben has a concussion and is under observation. Her ankle is only badly bruised, the x-ray showed no fracture.”
She sighed in relief.
“I’ve sent somebody out to fetch Luisa back. She will have to face punishment. Ben too, once he is back.”
Anastasia blinked. “I thought I already said they didn’t do anything wrong?”
Kevin grimaced. “My lady, they are supposed to serve your every whim, and if necessary, sacrifice themselves before allowing you to be in danger. They have failed their duty and will be punished.” He seemed terrified of her response.
Anastasia looked at him, and thought, I need to control the situation. They are not back yet, so there is still time.
He seemed to belatedly notice her condition, “You are hurt and must rest! We will discuss this later when you are better.”
Before she knew it, Anastasia was changed and tucked into her bed. She tried to focus on thinking of ways to get Louise and Ken out of their fix, but she was still so tired…
She was asleep within moments.
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27th January, 3061
0900 hrs (2500 hrs on local 28 hr cycle)
“Freebirth!” Anastasia woke up with a start. She looked out the window. It was dark outside. She had slept for so long that she had woken up just before the long sleep period.
I slept so soundly that I forgot about Louise and Ken! She thought frantically. She quickly threw on a dress suitable for indoor activities without calling for a maid, and rushed out. Even at this hour, there would still be servants around, getting the household ready for the night.
She was barely five steps out of her door when a maid intercepted her.
“Bring me to the head butler.” she ordered in her most imperious tone.
The maid nodded anxiously, “Of course, my lady.”
Kevin was giving instructions to some of the household staff in the dining room when she was brought to him. He turned with a start to face her.
“Oh, my lady! You should still be resting!”
She ignored his comment, and asked “How are they?” Savashri, she forgot their names again, so she used a blanket ‘they’ instead.
She saw the staff around them exchange glances nervously. Because of what happened, Luisa was going to be fired, but they all felt it was pitiful for her to receive Anastasia’s cruel wrath as well. No matter how much nicer she had been these days, there would not be any mercy this time around.
Kevin sighed at the situation. For the lady to wake up at such a timing, she must be really angry at them and eager to punish them. Ben was still recovering in the bunks for their guards, but he would be fired soon without severance pay, while Luisa had been taken to their confinement room reserved for unruly or rude servants who needed punishment. Thankfully, her ankle was only badly bruised, not fractured as initially feared.
Anastasia took his silence for reluctance to answer her. She said, “Bring me to her then.”
"Huh?" Kevin grew even more worried. Although the room where the servants were confined was located inside the mansion, it was a place that Lady Kalinska had never visited. If she was asking to go there, perhaps she may have had something else in mind. Perhaps something even worse than whatever had happened before…
He tried to head her off, “My lady, first of all, you need to take care of your…”
At the butler's words, Anastasia quietly raised a hand and stopped him. There was somehow more power in that brief gesture than in her anger-filled voice, and the butler could only acquiesce and led the way quietly.
The disciplinary confinement room was located in the most secluded part of the mansion. It was a dark, narrow, and gloomy place, as befit its position for punishing servants.
They stopped at the entrance of a hallway. Anastasia glanced at the door at the end of the hallway and gestured with her chin to open it.
The servants opened the door.
There was hardly any light in the room. Inside, Anastasia could hear the sound of a girl sobbing on the floor. As the door opened and light leaked in, she startled and looked up, and when she saw Anastasia standing there, she looked terrified.
Ana glanced around the room and then directly walked over to Louise.
Everyone thought that Anastasia would finally take her anger out on her. To the servants, their lady’s anger was natural. Regardless of the circumstances, it was her maid’s duty to protect her mistress. And Anastasia had been very close to getting killed by the deranged Harvester.
“Oh, Miss, I’m sorry, I was wrong!” Louise begged, putting her hands together as she wept.
When Anastasia reached out with her hand, Louise cringed from it. Anastasia adjusted and tapped the maid on the shoulder instead. "Get up."
Louise stood up, trembling, favoring her injured ankle. She seemed to want to say something, but was too afraid to do so.
Anastasia looked at her face. “She has not been beaten yet, right?” she asked the butler standing behind her.
"Yes, that’s correct. We had to wait for my lady’s decision,” the butler answered, a bit afraid of what was about to happen.
Anastasia nodded her head and breathed a sigh of relief as she examined the maid’s face. "I'm glad."
Louise’s face grew pale with fear, expecting the worst when Anastasia meted out her punishment personally.
Anastasia gestured with her eyes for the maid to follow her. She gestured to another maid to support Louise so she would not aggravate her ankle injury.
The servants look puzzled. What? Did she intend to punish her in her room? Then why did she come all the way here and take her? They simply thought that Anastasia would punish her maid, so they did not dare to guess that she had simply acted out of goodwill towards her maid.
As they walked off slowly, Anastasia leading the way, she noticed out of her peripheral vision a terrified Louise looking at the butler. Kevin kept his mouth shut and looked at her sadly with a silent gesture for her to just ask for forgiveness. Louise burst into tears, obviously afraid of what was going to happen to her.
Anastasia controlled her own facial expression. Was the original Anastasia really so barbaric? So much so for the servants to fear her wrath to this extent? She knew there were other Smoke Jaguar commanders almost as depraved, but even then their cruelty did not seem so petty, so wasteful…
More importantly, on some levels it could be argued they had earned the right to do so, via martial skill demonstrated in brutal Trials of Positions, Bloodname contests, and the like. While Anastasia had simply been born to it, and taken it as her natural right, when it was anything but.
"My lady." When they reached her room, the butler tried to follow her into the room, but she raised her hand to stop him. The butler was so surprised at her gesture that he halted.
Upon entering the room, Louise immediately fell to the floor, head bowed, and knelt on her knees. Ana tried to lift her up. “I am sorry. I caused you to be hurt..”
“…Huh?"
Anastasia saw Louise raise her head. She could see the doubt and the fear in the girl’s eyes, wondering if her currently kind words were just another trick to get her into even deeper trouble.
She patted Louise’s shoulder gently with one hand to express her apology. Louise was so startled that she almost let out a scream.
Anastasia did not know why, but she felt sad at the maid’s response. “I’m sorry, it was my fault.”
“Oh, no. I… I… I should have been more careful. I should have been more aware…”
Anastasia shook her head, “How would that have changed anything?”
She looked at Louise, who was still frightened.
“Tell them I took care of your punishment. You must have been so scared back then, and your ankle was hurt too. I will tell the butler that I scolded you in moderation. If you say you were not scolded, you'll get even more punishment."
“…Miss?"
Anastasia sighed, “What else can I say? If you want to be angry at me, then be angry. I deserve it. I placed myself at risk.”
“…!” She could see the shock on Louise’s face, in her eyes.
“If you don’t have anything to say, you can leave. Go and get some rest. Ask one of the other maids to get you a walking stick or a crutch so it does not hurt your ankle when you move about.”
Anastasia noticed Louise staring at her, her eyes looking down at the purple bruises on her arms, exposed by the short sleeved dress she was wearing. She could only guess at what the other girl was thinking.
“Oh, my lady!” Anastasia was surprised to see her maid suddenly burst outright into tears. When she first met Louise, she had been a quiet and professional maid so seeing her crying over such a small thing was a shock, and she was especially defenseless to those who cried.
Like most clan warriors, she was rarely exposed to others crying, since the ethos of militaries everywhere was the same - you do not cry since it does not solve the problem or defeat the enemy; you suck it up and focus on the mission, get the job done. And especially in the clans, most tears had long been beaten out of the cadets in the sibko.
Anastasia felt woefully under-equipped to deal with crying people. And being harsh in a military way would not be appropriate here.
“Louise, don’t cry. Please stop crying, Louise."
“Aww, miss, I was wrong! Never again!”
“Yes, yes.”
Anastasia, not knowing what to do with her, went closer to Louise and patted her on the shoulder.
“And it is Luisa, my lady. It’s not Louise,” corrected Luisa through her tears.
"Oh, sorry. Luisa. I must have hurt you.”
Luisa was a simple girl, and when her mistress finally showed her kindness, she let go of the lingering resentment she had built up ever since she started working for the Kalinskis.
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Haynes Palatial Manor
3rd February, 3061
Raymond, the second son of Count Haynes, looked like any other bookworm, with thick black spectacles, a nerdy disposition, and always seemed meek and submissive to others. He smiled as he greeted Renard Haynes.
"Brother, what a pleasant surprise to see you here!”
Baron Renard Haynes sat right in front of him at the tea table in the garden of the manor, conversing with Countess Priscilla, their mother.
The Countess smiled brightly.
“Come and sit down, Raymond,” she said.
Unlike the brightly smiling Raymond, Baron Haynes frowned. Either way, Raymond sat down next to the Countess, smiling.
“It’s good to see you two together after so long,“ the Countess said with a kind smile.
“If it looks that good to you, Mother, I think we should visit more often in the future,” responded the Baron.
The Countess’s hand trembled lightly as she held her teacup. Raymond smiled. So, she knows.
He said, “Brother, the responsibilities of the heir are many, and you must be busy with government affairs, yet you still found time to visit? If so, the rumours that you and mother are not on good terms will disappear. I bet father will be happy too.”.
Renard frowned. Even jokingly, it was clear that he was reluctant to spread the word that he had a good relationship with the Countess.
The current Countess Priscilla was the second one to be married to Count Haynes, and Renard was not her son. The former Countess Feodora died of an illness when Renard was only five years old, upon which Count William raised his mistress Priscilla, Raymond’s birth mother, to become Countess.
Renard was about to say more, but Raymond interrupted him. “So, what were you talking about? Is this something I can hear?”
Renard smiled twistedly. “We were talking about the upcoming banquet for the Feast of Bounty.”
“Oh?”
Inman was initially settled by poor rural farmers from Europe, disenfranchised by the growing divide between the elites and the rest of society. Generally adherents of the New Avalon Catholic Church, the people of Inman did not have many official holidays for celebration. Other than the national holidays of the Federated Suns (Day of Honor, Festa Piepa, Federation Day, New Year, while Kentares Day is a day of mourning and does not count as a holiday), and a few religious holidays that were simply too important to just ignore (Good Friday, which actually goes with Festa Piepa, and Christmas), there was not much respite from work, especially in the earlier part of the standard year.
Therefore, the early settlers of Inman decided to celebrate the harvests of their agricultural world in late February, and also to spread out the holidays a bit. The Feast of Bounty was one of the biggest celebrations on Inman, and the ruling Counts would hold an elaborate banquet as part of it. It was the biggest banquet besides the Federation Day banquet, and even the nouveau riche could snag invitations and try to curry favour with the established aristocrats.
Besides, the incident of the Harvester gone wild had shocked everybody into inaction, putting all the protests on hold, buying time for the administration to defuse tensions. Vague promises of action from the authorities managed to placate many of the populace, while a number of officials were fired as scapegoats for their involvement. Many of the private firms were also given fines.
Renard got away with a mere rebuke from Count Haynes, and since it was not strictly illegal, no further action was warranted.
So Renard went back to enjoying his life and making it difficult for others.
Raymond asked, “Is there a problem?”
"No." Renard looked like he couldn't contain his laughter as he shook his head. "I have someone I want to invite. I’ve come to make a special request personally to the Countess herself."
“Oh, who is it? I'm curious too."
Renard giggled again at Raymond’s naive question. The sound of laughter was vulgar, but neither Raymond nor the Countess frowned, because Renard might have taken offense.
"Baron Kalinski."
“If it’s Baron Kalinski, then he’s already been invited.”
"No, it's not just Baron Kalinski…”
Renard turned the teacup on the tea table with his hand and wiped his mouth.
“Anastasia Kalinska. I want to see his daughter.”
The Countess's face turned pale. Everyone knew that Baron Kalinski's daughter had jumped into the manor lake longing for Renard's love.
“Mother, as you are in charge of the banquet, please help by using your power. I want to see her too, as I never had a chance to see her after the incident. I couldn't even visit her at her estates.”
“Renard, the Baron’s daughter hasn’t recovered her health. And haven’t you heard? She’s not feeling well again because she was recently involved in that riot.”
As Baron Kalinski was part of the faction that supported Renard, no one dared to ridicule him openly. But Anastasia was a different story.
The incident was less than two months old, and the ridicule and contempt that Anastasia would face due to the harsh social nature of women was beyond imagination.
"That’s why I am upset. Seeing her again will make relieve my worries. Mother, please do me this favor."
“Renard, that might be difficult.”
At her response, he flung his teacup at the white statue next to the tea-table.
The Countess was startled as red tea soaked the statue’s surface. He felt the faces of the maids standing next to him shift to fear.
“Excuse me, mother. There was a crack in my teacup. I think the maid in charge of this should be punished,” Renard said with a smile.
At Renard's glance, one of his guards roughly grabbed the arm of the maid, who was standing right next to him serving the tea. She gasped in terror despite her efforts to keep her face emotionless.
“Baron Haynes!”
He smiled when the Countess called out as if to dissuade him.
“I don’t think you ordered her to bring me a broken teacup on purpose. I hope you didn’t do this because you hate me."
Despite the tense confrontation, Raymond drank his tea quietly, not interjecting in any way.
"It's said that Baron Kalinski's daughter had an accident, and to order for her to show up so quickly may put the Baron in an uncomfortable position."
“Baron Kalinski is my uncle on my mother’s side. How can he be angry with me?”
As his guard clasped the maid's wrist and squeezed, a whimper escaped from her mouth. She was well trained, so she did not openly cry or beg for her life, but tears were dripping from her eyes.
There was no way there could have been a crack in the teacup she served. Renard had simply made an excuse to force the Countess to comply.
“Do it, Mother,” Raymond said softly. "Renard wants to see her, so there is no reason not to listen. Brother is heir, he knows what he is doing. I am sure Baron Kalinski will not mind."
“...”
Renard smiled smugly with Raymond siding with him.
Raymond had always been meek in front of Renard, and since he took his side, the Countess had no reason to refuse either.
“I will do it.”
“Thank you as always, mother,” Renard smiled brightly.
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6th February, 3061
This was serious, very serious. Not the rumors swirling around, but the conclusions others had made publicly. It happened not long after the incident with the Harvester.
After that incident, the security guards became more vigilant, but for some reason, her maids were more relaxed than ever before.
Anastasia’'s own apology and waiver of Luisa’s punishment had been heard by the other servants.
It was only natural that the reputation of the young lady would change, as she had even apologized to her maid and said that it was her own fault, rather than getting angry with her, even though she had almost died.
Moreover, as if she was regretful about what she did, Anastasia complied with the servants’ requests quietly without being annoyed. She followed their instructions without complaint. She had already nearly died a few times in the short span of a month, but this might have prompted her to become the ideal mistress to the servants.
But some very serious problems remained. She had lost her memory and they welcomed the change in her personality, but the problem was that she seemed to have forgotten everything except how to speak.
She was much more active nowadays, working out everyday, and it was impossible to ignore her strange mannerisms, especially the way she walked. Sometimes her tone of speech was fierce and startlingly direct too.
The maids tried to rationalize it by thinking that it could be an aftereffect of almost dying, or she was feeling ill because she was hungry and cranky. However, that was just them trying to ignore the seriousness of the situation.
Her gait was clearly different from that of commoners, but it wasn't the gentle gait of a nobleborn woman. That was to say…
“It’s like the footsteps of a soldier, not a lady. Like a bullet, purposeful and direct.”
As if shocked by the butler's words, the Baron’s face turned white. That was the conclusion that the butler of the mansion, the one most sensitive to Anastasia’s changes, had reached.
“It seems that the aftermath of the… uhm… accident is rather serious because she lost her memory.”
“No, what…”
“There is not a lot of time before the banquet for the Feast of Bounty. We have to find a way somehow.”
“How do I do this… How could this happen…”
Stravag, why are you talking about me so freely when I am right here? Anastasia listened to the conversation between the butler and the Count without interrupting while drinking her tea. The Baron’s face turned pale as he saw the way she drank the tea.
Avryl was a trueborn, raised to be a mechwarrior from birth. Everything she learned was about how to kill and conduct war more effectively and efficiently. Social etiquette, especially that of the aristocracy of the Inner Sphere, was unknown to the clans. Besides, the greedy nobles of the Inner Sphere were widely considered to be one of the reasons for the fall of the Star League, and anything associated with them was frowned upon.
Anyway, Avryl had never learned the manners of a noblewoman, and she did not think she would be able to do so in the short time available.
The easiest solution to the problem for the Baron was to say, “Anastasia can’t go because she is still sick”, but that idea was immediately rejected. The Countess had sent the invitation directly. No one turned down a handwritten invitation from the Countess.
Anastasia, unaware that Baron Haynes and the Countess were not related by blood, assumed that the Countess was furious that she had marred her son's dignity.
It looks like I am going to be embarrassed, she thought indifferently.
"It's the first time she is officially out in public after the announcement of her engagement, so she will also have to dance with the Viscount Rason,” said the butler.
Oh, that was just perfect. Anastasia laughed as she thought of putting on heels, preferably sharp ones, and stepping on his feet. It was fun just imagining what expression Finn would make. It would be fitting payback for the times he thwarted her on the battlefield.
“I can learn to dance,” she said.
“In two weeks? Absolutely not. My Ana is smart, but that's not possible."
First of all, she knew she was lacking in aristocratic knowledge or manners, but when it came to dancing, she was confident she was able to learn.
She remembered Camille once telling her that dancing was similar to physical combat, in that both were about moving the body. Difference was, combat was about mutual resistance, while dancing was about mutual cooperation. But they both relied on good body control, which was something Anastasia was confident about, especially after her physical training in recent days. And it seemed her reflexes were not much different from when she was Avryl.
She yawned to show her disdain. The Baron gave her a concerned look, but she ignored him.
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*; Note from the Author : The festivals and holidays of the Federated Commonwealth/Suns can be found in Handbook: House Davion. Btech players should be familiar with what Kentares Day is about.Calculating holidays, especially Good Friday and Easter Sunday in 3061, was a pain, but I managed to find a spreadsheet that does that up to 9999.So in the Trivet (Inman), the official public holidays in 3061 are:
New Year Celebration: 1st January
Feast of Bounty: 21st Feb (3rd Thursday of each Feb)
Good Friday: 29th March
Easter Sunday: 31st March
Festa Piepa: 31st March - 2nd April
Labour Day: 1st May
Federation Day: 26th June
Day of Honour: 18th July (3rd Wednesday of each July)
Assumption Day: 15th August
Kentares Day: 4th October (1st Friday of each October)
All Saints’ Day: 1st November
Landing Day (Founding of Inman): 30th November
Christmas: 25th December
Is it enough public holidays? Or do you think there should be more? For those wondering about Thanksgiving, that's an American holiday, while Inman was settled by poor rural folks from Spain and France (hence the catholic holidays and siesta).
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Chapter 6