FaRtaL Chpt 26

==From a Ristar to a Lady - Chapter 26 -==
<<Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter>>
----
===Plotting Her Next Move===
Kalinski Estate, Inman
Milligan PDZ, Woodbine Operational Area
28th April, 3061
2200 hours (1000 hrs on local 28 hr cycle)
Anastasia shook her head vigorously, trying to dislodge the memory of a laughing Finn from her mind.
Even if he was her fiance, she felt she could not keep owing him… Even at the tea party, if Finn had not been there, would she be able to keep her composure in front of Pence the whole time? She cannot always just rely on him, nor did she want to. Considering I have gotten into so many sticky situations recently, it will be impossible to try to do everything on my own. I am no longer a Star Captain. But I will be in trouble if I am not careful. What I really need are information and opportunity.
But the information she could get from the maids and servants alone was limited to trivial affairs, and lacked specifics. She could not rely on her father either. Then the only other source would be other noblewomen, as much as she disliked it.
There is no other way for a flouncy dress-wearing aristocrat to gather intel, she mused ruefully. Making friends with the other ladies would have opened up a whole wealth of information.
By some miracle, she had gotten that invitation from Lady Codina, but… Anastasia almost slammed her hands onto the table with frustration. Considering her behavior at the party, she might as well have torn it up with her own two hand and she could not even blame it on the original Anastasia’s reputation!
Even more vexing was that Venice Codina fulfilled all her criteria, was the one person with influence among the nobles and was aware of everything that happened on Inman, and did not show outright hostility to her.
But she had to wreck that gathering!
Anastasia groaned in silent frustration. Lady Codina was perfect! Exactly who I needed! What have I done? I would not be invited to another tea party ever again! She shook her head and frowned. Instead of making a good impression, I just dampened the mood!
How was she going to approach Lady Codina, who had seemed the most useful by far…
“My lady.” Madame Iris reminded her that she had been consulting with the older woman for advice. “What were you so deep in thought about? I would have told you that such indecent behaviour belittles the dignity of your House.”
“I’m sorry.”
“If you’re going to just keep worrying about it, then why not send out letters? That you will be hosting a tea party?”
“A tea party hosted by me?” Anastasia perked up, suddenly enthused. “That’s a great idea! I don’t really know anything about tea, so should I serve them a similarly expensive one? The purple coloured tea I had the other day that turned pink when a bit of lime was added was so amazing!” A corner of her mind that belonged to the hardened clan mechwarrior was shocked at her own enthusiasm.
“It’s called blue mellow,” replied Madame Iris. “A favored drink for nobles in the Draconis March.”
Anastasia was impressed. “Even the name sounds fancy. Anyway,” her eyes narrowed, her caution coming back to the fore, “you were just teasing me about hosting a tea party myself, right?”
Madame Iris shrugged, “I was half serious, but I concede your point. Nobody might even turn up.”
That was a definite downer, but Anastasia understood. At least you are honest with me. And it’s not really friends I need, it is information!
“You received an invitation before, didn’t you? If luck is on your side, you may still receive another invitation from the Codinas, so don’t worry.”
Anastasia grimaced. “What? There’s no way that’ll happen again.”
“To be honest, you’re probably right.”
“Ahh, you’ve hit the nail on the head again, Madame Iris.”
The doors to the room suddenly opened, and an excited Luisa burst through. “My lady!”
The maid brandished a letter proudly. “It seems Lady Codina enjoyed your company at the last tea party! As expected of our lady!”
Anastasia blinked. “Luisa, what are you talking about?”
Lusia placed the letter on the table. “Look! It’s another invitation from House Codina!”
Moments later, Anastasia placed the two invitation letters she had received side by side, comparing the seals. “It’s the same House Codina seal that was on the invitation I received before. What is going on here, Madame Iris?”
“I’m not sure.”
Anastasia grinned. “I guess I’m lucky this time.”
Madame Iris frowned sternly. “Even if Lady Codina seemed harmless enough at the last tea party, that too may be an intentional calculated move. So you mustn’t let your guard down.”
Anastasis nodded in agreement. She is right. It may have been out of curiosity at first, but there must be some motive behind this second invitation. But even if I do not know her motives, I cannot pass by this second chance!
----
===Unlikely admirer===
Codina Estate, Inman
Milligan PDZ, Woodbine Operational Area
3rd May, 3061
1300 hours (0900 hrs on local 28 hr cycle)
It was two days after Labor Day when Anastasia stepped carefully into the Codina mansion and was led to a waiting room by a maid. To prepare herself mentally, she arrived a bit earlier than the stipulated timing, thinking she could use the time to figure out what was going on.
The maid bowed to her. “My lady, if you would please remain in the room and wait a moment. Our young master had just arrived from the palatial manor and is meeting with Lady Codina.”
“Oh, that’s fine. Don’t worry about me. I’m a bit early, after all.”
Anastasia sat down on one of the comfortable sofas, and could not help but fiddle with the invitation letter. Madame Iris had warned her to be careful and not let her guard down, but she really could not think there was anything to be careful about in her situation. The letter had even stated that Lady Codina had wanted to talk to her first.
How could I refuse? Anastasia took a deep breath, and balled her hands into fists in determination. I’ll definitely make a good impression this time! I can do this!
She was still waiting twenty minutes later in the quiet guest lounge, and yawned in boredom. Their conversation is taking longer than I thought… in the end, it did not matter how early I was. Do not tell me that same braggart left the palatial manor just to come here? Do the soldiers here have nothing better to do?
Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a shout.
“How dare you try to deceive me?” It was Vince Codina’s voice, if she was not mistaken. “Why you little…!” There was a sound of something shattering, jolting Anastasia from her malaise.
“Do you think you can fool me because I’m more outspoken than other girls?” That was Venice Codina.
Anastasia sprung to her feet. What is going on?
She walked over carefully to the adjoining hallway, opening the door.
“Vince, stop!”
“Let go!” More crashing sounds, of things being flung to the floor and shattering. “I said let go! I want to see her myself!”
Vince Codina started to rant, “It’s all because of that blasted Viscount Rason! That smooth-talking rich kid bastard! What makes him so special, huh?”
He is your superior officer, Anastasia thought, and he has fought enemies you could never have dreamed of. Well, maybe she was giving herself too much credit, but Finn Rason was definitely the much better man, even if he was an idiot.
“My lady, if you will just follow me to the parlour…” A maid said anxiously, obviously trying to head her off.
“I’m the one who invited Lady Kalinska here!” That was Venice Codina now. “So why do you insist on meeting my guest?”
Vince retorted, “Do you think you could hide her from me? Besides, I only want to see her for a moment, why are you making such a fuss? And her fiance says she’s being harassed? What is that about?”
“Please, Vince, stop! I can’t believe you are saying such things! You’re not thinking clearly!”
“Thinking clearly? Huh?” Out of Anastasia’s sight, Vince Codina’s hands trembled as he reached for his sister. “Oh Venice… how dare you. Are you afraid I’m gonna do something to her?”
Anastasia had ignored the servant’s plea, and stood outside the room where the siblings were confronting each other, listening quietly to the argument with her back to the wall next to the open door. The servant had run off, presumably to get help to hide their household’s dirty laundry. She sighed, why are the men here all such dezgra ******?
Vince continued to rant, “If you want to get along with that amazing fiance of hers, you’ll keep your mouth shut!”
“Stop saying such foolish things!”
SLAP!
“Ahhh!” The sound of somebody falling to the floor.
Shocked, Anastasia spun around to the open door.
“Venice, since when did you start disobeying me?”
She saw Vince reaching with his right hand for the pistol at his belt, while Lady Codina cried out, trying to make her brother pause in whatever he was going to do, “Vince! Wait…! I haven’t finished…”
Anastasia could not take it any more, and she stepped in. With his back towards her, she had the advantage of surprise over Vince. She grabbed his right arm, wrenching it behind his back, while her left leg swept his right leg, causing him to tumble off balance to the ground. She followed him down, maintaining her hold on his arm, then exerting pressure on him by placing her body weight on his back. Any movement he made could be countered by wrenching his arm harder, and she also had control over his hand, so it would be easy to break his fingers if necessary.
In all fairness, with his strength he could probably break out of her hold if he knew the correct techniques, but it seemed he did not. Maybe he should spend more time training than boasting of his unimpressive deeds.
“Arrrgggh!” He groaned in pain.
“Well, isn’t this interesting! Pulling a gun on your sister to relieve your anger… How dishonourable.”
“Lady Kalinska?” A confused Lady Codina stared up at her.
Vince roared angrily, “Lady Kalinska, what the hell do you think you’re…!”
Anastasia sighed, then exerted pressure again, wrenching another groan from Vince. “Sir Codina, I hope this will not escalate into an issue between our families. I heard very clearly what you just said.” She smirked. “If you want to get along with that amazing fiance of mine, you’ll keep your mouth shut, right? She placed more pressure, and his groans became louder, but he nodded to indicate his understanding.
She released the armlock, but before one final painful wrench that inflicted excruciating pain on his shoulder joint, just short of dislocating it completely, eliciting another loud groan. “Sir Codina, your actions here were quite shameful. It would be a scandal if anybody were to know of this. I do hope you will keep it quiet.”
She walked up to Venice Codina. “Are you all right? Can you stand?” She offered a helping hand.
“Huh? Yes…” Lady Codina took her hand.
“Can you take me back to the drawing room? I seem to have lost my way.”
They left Vince Codina lying on the floor, clutching his shoulder, groaning in pain and stewing in frustration.
----
===Confronting truth of Lady Codina===
In the drawing room, Anastasia looked over Lady Codina with concern. The noblewoman was still shaking.
She asked, “Should I ask for some cool water or tea? Or a cold towel for your cheek?”
Lady Codina stayed silent, her head down, her hair obscuring her face. She has been like that for a while now. What should I do?
“My lady?” Anastasia reached out with one hand to pat Lady Codina to provide some assurance.
The moment her hand made contact, Lady Codina shouted, “Don’t touch me!”
Anastasia withdrew her hand in surprise.
“You really are the absolute worst! Why couldn’t you just turn a blind eye, like everybody else does? Were you hoping to start a rumor?” Lady Codina said angrily to her. “Why did you interfere back there? Were you hoping I’d be embarrassed and ashamed?”
“What… What are you talking about?” Anastais blinked in confusion. I really cannot figure out what these nobles are thinking. “Your brother is the one who’s at fault here, so why should you feel ashamed?”
Venice Codina still seemed peeved.
Anastasia tried to mollify her. “Oh! If you care about this kind of stuff, you don’t need to worry. I won’t tell anyone. I didn’t mean to see it at all, so stop your cry…”
“No!”
“Huh?”
Lady Codina shouted, “Why would I care about that? I just hate that you were there!” She covered her face with her hands. “It’s so awful.”
Anastasia was thoroughly confused now, but realisation slowly gnawed at her. “Lady Codina, did I do something wrong?” Her tone turned colder. “I said, did I do something wrong?”
“What have I done to make you so angry? I only interfered because I was afraid something bad might happen to you. Is that so wrong?”
Venice Codina replied softly, “No one else stopped it from happening. Not a single person in the entire estate! So doesn’t that mean that everybody was okay with it? Even though they knew what was happening? Not just me, but anyone else who might have been in my place.” Lady Codina seemed almost resigned.
“Well, I won’t say anything about it if that’s what you want…”
She was cut off by a scoff from Lady Codina. “Lady Kalinska, you know that I hate you, right?”
Wow, she said it so easily… “What?” I just saved her, so what is with the attitude? It seemed that Madame Iris was right after all. Still, Anastasia could not help but ask, “Why is that? Are you upset because Count Haynes took such an interest in me that day?” That was a vague memory she had from the original Anastasia.
Lady Codina flinched a bit.
Anastasia continued, “You’re a beautiful woman with a noble background. What reason do you have to be jealous of me?”
“What? What are you talking about?” Lady Codina seemed outraged at her question. Enough to finally look up straight at Anastasia. Her left cheek was slightly reddened from her brother’s slap.
“Think about it, even if you didn’t thank me, I at least thought you’d have enough manners not to say ‘I hate you’ to my face. You have no reason to hate me unless it’s because you’re jealous. Isn’t that why you lost your temper and insist on this argument with me right now?” A bit parched from talking, Anastasia took a long sip of her tea.
“Lady Kalinska! That’s not true! Why would I be jealous of you?”
“I see you’re still denying it.”
Lady Codina seemed even more incensed now. “I’m aware that you think very highly of yourself, but how can you just live like this?”
“Huh?” Her confusion was back.
“It’s like you said, my family’s status is higher than yours and I am considered a great beauty!” Lady Codina really seemed furious now. “So why would I ever be jealous of you! You’re saying I’m jealous of that thing?”
Anastasia got the distinct feeling they were talking past each other. “Hey wait… what do you mean by ‘that thing’? And no, that’s probably not what I meant.” She sighed. “Anyway, you don’t even have to say anything for me to know that you hate me. You and your friends made that quite clear during the Feast of Bounty banquet.”
Lady Codina arched an elegant eyebrow. “Who said they were my friends? Seriously you still don’t get it, do you?”
Anastasia just felt more and more annoyed. “Ugh, whatever! I have no idea what you mean, and stop talking in circles!”
“I wasn’t jealous of you, I was trying to help you! Really!”
Anastasia felt well and truly flabbergasted. “Am I misunderstanding something? How is that trying to help me? It doesn’t make any sense!” She added, “You’ll have to come up with a better excuse than that.”
Lady Codina sighed. “Isn’t it funny? It’s so easy for people to accuse women of jealousy.” She chuckled lightly. “Why does the reason I hate you have to be because of jealousy?”
“Oh, well…” Anastasia could not refute her. That is true. She is right. Why did I think it was jealousy? I simply assumed she was jealous based on what I heard from others. Because… I always thought women in the Inner Sphere were easily jealous of others.
But jealousy wasn’t the sole domain of women. Men could be jealous too, based on what she saw of Vince Codina’s behavior.
Anastasia sighed. She had been thinking too simply about other people’s intentions because of her own biases. It took only a direct refutation by Lady Codina to teach her that. But even so… she was sure Lady Codina still hated her, which did not align with her claim that she wanted to help her.
Anastasia really wanted to clear things up.
“So then, why do you hate me? If you don’t like me, why try to help me? If I’ve wronged you in some way, then I will apologize. Just try to help me understand.”
Lady Codina sighed. “It’s a bit of a long story…”
----
===A Forgotten past===
It turned out that years ago, Anastasia had saved Lady Codina from a difficult situation with her brother at the Haynes palatial manor. Venice Codina had wanted to make friends with the young Lady Kalinska, but Anastasia was extremely standoffish and never mingled with the other noble ladies of the aristocracy, and as a result had no friends and no allies.
Throughout the years, Venice Codina saw how this led to Anastasia being isolated and ostracised by the majority of the noblewomen, not helped by the intense jealousy directed at her as a result of the ‘White Lotus’ nickname bestowed upon her by Count Haynes. Having no power back then, Venice could only fall in line with the others until she could carve out a more powerful social status for herself.
The worst offender was Lady Richelle Aubert, the daughter and heir of Viscount Aubert. She led a pack of ladies who delighted in selecting ‘targets’ for bullying during banquets and gatherings, and even Venice had to tread carefully lest she offended them and became a target herself. They often spread nasty rumours about people Richelle disliked, and Anastasia was one of their favourite targets due to her social isolation and lack of allies.
Two years ago, Anastasia announced she was in a relationship with Baron Renard Haynes, and all the bullying stopped. Although Renard was already known for his short temper and ill-treatment of women, Venice had thought Anastasia had finally found a way to establish and protect herself.
But… that turned out to be a ruse by Renard. Venice choked when she recounted how she was a witness when Anastasia threw herself into the manor lake. How she had to scream for the servants to save Anastasia, and how Renard had laughed at the drama he had created. When it had been clear to everybody that Anastasia had truly loved Renard.
By the time they carried Anastasia’s unmoving body from the cold lake, Venice was utterly dismayed at the cruelty of it all.
“I don’t even know why I’m so angry, but I felt that you aren’t somebody who should ever be treated like this. You were called the ‘White Lotus’, and rejected society’s pretenses of what a noblewoman should be. I just wanted that image of you to last forever…” Lady Codina sighed. “When you jumped into the manor lake, it was the most foolish version of you I’d ever seen, betraying what I thought was your truest self.”
Anastasia asked, “So you actually saw it happen?”
Lady Codina nodded. “I guess you really don’t remember after all.”
Anastasia fidgeted uncomfortably for a while, trying to digest all the new information. Then she asked, “Then why did you try to pick a fight with me?”
Lady Codina looked confused. “When did I ever do that?”
“Don’t even try to deny it. Are you saying that it wasn’t your fault that Lady Seydoux tried to shame me during the banquet?”
“Oh, that?” Lady Codina explained, “It was to give you a good reason to leave the ballroom. You showed up before all the rumors had subsided, so it was obvious what the outcome would have been. I couldn’t help you outright though, so I had to use Lady Seydoux as my cat’s paw.”
“But,” Lady Codina smiled at her, “strangely enough, for the first time you looked me right in the eye and acknowledged me. Until then, we had only just ignored each other.”
“So the tea party…?”
Lady Codina’s smile grew wider. “When you finally acknowledged me, I felt the time was right.” She extended a hand towards Anastasia. “I want you on my side.”
Anastasia blinked.
“Let me explain. Your return to Inman tells me that you’re not planning on running away again, and that you’ll continue to participate in social activities as a lady here. I can help you.”
Lady Codina gestured to herself. “It’s not like how it used to be. I’m no longer someone who can be ignored in high society anymore.”
“Oh.” Anastasia was elated and wary. It was something she had been hoping for, and Venice Codina now offers it up to her on a silver platter? It was definitely to her advantage, but…
“I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t have any social standing at all, let alone connections. You won’t gain anything by helping me, and you might even get hurt in the process. So… why help me?”
Lady Codina just blushed red.
“Huh?”
“How can I answer that? I don’t know, so don’t ask me any more.” She turned a bit away from Anastasia, who was left speechless at the reply. “It’s not like I have a crush on you or anything, so don’t take this the wrong way!”
Somehow, I understand what she means. Sometimes, regardless of the circumstances, you feel a strange and subtle affection for the other person, beyond all logic and reason, and they keep catching your attention. Finn’s visage appeared in her mind.
“It’s normal for attraction to exist between two people, so don’t worry about it.”
Lady Codina glared at her. “We’re talking about you right now! And can you please stop talking like that?”
Anastasia smiled sheepishly, “Yes, you are right…” Lady Codina did try to help her via various means, such as inviting her to that tea party, or trying to keep her brother away from her even though she was afraid of his wrath. She felt Lady Codina deserved some measure of trust from her.
“To tell you the truth… I’ve actually lost my memory.” Well, not the whole truth, because who would believe her?
“Whaaat?” Lady Codina gasped. “You lost your memories? Because of the incident at the lake?”
“I’m not really sure. I remember bits and pieces,” thanks to Anastasia’s residual memories that she had some access to, “but not everything. I want to be honest with you because you were honest with me.”
Anastasia grimaced. “I forgot things like etiquette and the local political situation. I only remember a little bit.”
“Oh my! No wonder your manner of speaking became so strange…”
Urgh, I’m still too direct in my speech! “That’s why my tone is sometimes strange… my apologies, Lady Codina.” Anastasia giggled nervously.
Thankfully, Venice seemed to consider it seriously. “As expected, people can change. You seem like a completely different person, Lady Kalinska.”
Anastasia mentally gulped. Venice Codina was very clever and caught on fast. She would need to be careful.
“However…” Venice smiled, “I think it’s better for us to speak more casually to each other. Trying to force yourself to be something you’re not, won’t work.”
Anastasia coughed self-consciously. “Anyways, Lady Codina, I fully understand that my previous behavior was foolish and I will be more mindful in the future.”
“Why this sudden change? From what I know, even if people lose their memories, their behavior doesn’t change so easily. Besides, you said you didn’t lose all of your memories, right?”
That was correct. Behavioral changes are often triggered. To convince her, rather than hiding and avoiding it, Anastasia decided to be honest again… to a certain extent. “Lady Codina, I must admit I have a motive.”
“Motive?”
“It might sound strange, but honestly, I don’t know anything about what I should do or even how to start. But I should get used to living as a lady of the aristocracy.” So that I can get my revenge on Pence. “I thought it best for me to get close to you. I thought it was the only way for me right now.”
Lady Codina stayed silent, so Anastasia continued, “I guess you could see it as me trying to use you. That’s how it must seem. Because of that, my intentions seemed to lack sincerity. And you have already tried to help me.”
Anastasia concluded, “Anyways, that’s the truth of it. I completely understand if you feel upset and wish to keep your distance from me.”
Lady Codina was silent again for a moment, then she rose to her feet abruptly. Anastasia was slightly taken aback. Is she angry? Of course, since I hurt her feelings, no one likes to feel they’ve been used…
“Pffft!” Lady Codina chuckled. “Come on, Lady Kalinska! Don’t be silly. I’ve been trying to show you that I can be useful to you.” She looked extremely pleased with herself, a far cry from the frightened woman from a while ago.
“Wait… what?”
Lady Codina reached for Anastasia’s hands. “You see, I’ve long wanted to be friends with you. And I wanted to show you how I can help you. So I invited you to the tea party and you finally realised how useful I can be! So where’s the problem?” She squeezed Anastasia’s hands.
“Oh, I’m so happy! The tea party was a success after all! How can we judge each other before properly getting to know one another? So I think we should try to become better acquainted from now on.” She smiled brightly. “Knowing everything about everybody is one of my many skills. I’m happy that you can see that now too!”
Woah, she is even more beautiful when she smiles… Anastasia wondered, if she had met Venice Codina as Avryl Showers, would they have been friends too? Even if she was not a warrior, even though she wore a dress instead of a cooling vest… they could still have been friends. Maybe she had been more close minded than she thought.
Of course, the whole chain of events stemmed from the fact that the original Anastasia saved Venice from Vince when they were young. In some ways, despite her capriciousness, Anastasia was not evil and did try to help in her own way. It was just that the death of her mother, her own self-imposed isolation, her mental issues, and the social hierarchy she was trapped in, all prevented her from ever growing past her issues.
“Well, it seems like I still have a lot to learn.” Anastasia laughed, finally relieved of the tension between them.
“That’s right, you do.” said Venice bluntly, giggling gently. “Speaking of which, let’s start with this big leaf pendant you’re wearing!”
“Huh?”
“It’s super tacky! People might assume it’s a primitive trinket from the stone age.”
“What do you mean ‘stone age’!”
----
==Chapter Notes==
*; Chapter Note from the Author : In my headcanon, many clan warriors would choose specialisations in various forms of combat after they had mastered the basics. For Avryl Showers, her unarmed combat style was essentially grappling and BJJ techniques learned alongside Tiaret.
----
<<Previous Chapter - Return to Story Index - Next Chapter>>
Chapter 26