Ariana's log, Chapter 117

"There seems to be a round of betrothals going around."

Tuesday, August 22, 2994

Ariana and Whimsy chat. Whimsy isn't real impressed with Flora. She isn't anything like Fiona described her. Ariana points out that Flora's pregnant, which has been known to make women a bit short-tempered, at times. Whimsy thinks her mother and Caine are turning into old fuddy-duddies since they came back to Amber.

Ariana spots her kids throwing olives at each other. Whimsy conjures invisible shackles around Morgan's wrists, which throws his aim off enough that the olive he's tossing goes flying towards a noble from the Golden Circle. Ariana deflects it before any harm is done. Morgan complains about the shackles. Ariana checks, but they are gone. She can tell that Morgan is telling the truth, however. She sends the boys out of the room, telling them to go return the items from their collection. They complain that they're not done sorting through all of it. She wants them to return what they've identified so far. The boys head for the door. Whimsy conjures invisible shackles around their ankles, causing Shannon and Morgan trip. The shackles are gone by the time Ariana gets there, of course. Ariana drags the boys back to their room, and makes them start sorting. She knows they're hiding something, but they refuse to say what. She makes a note of this.

Ariana receives a note from Ishmael. He invites her to breakfast the next morning. She accepts. She spends the rest of the afternoon arranging tutors for the boys.

Dinner. Ariana sends Jalana, Ana and Briana down to dinner with Anne, while she stays in her quarters with the boys. The boys are missing dinner because of their behavior at the reception. Jalana doesn't look happy about Ariana missing dinner, too. Ariana says Jalana can bring her up some food. Jalana does so. Vincent gives Jalana a note to pass to Ishmael. It asks for help, saying they are being held prisoner by a madwoman. Ishmael reads it and laughs. He tells Whimsy that he has to go rescue someone and excuses himself from dinner. He knocks on Ariana's door and claims that he's there to give Vincent his art lesson. Ariana allows this, provided the lesson is in her quarters. The boys are happy for the distraction. Ishmael actually seems to know what he's doing. He offers to continue teaching the boys. Ariana agrees, so long as they remain in her quarters. Ishmael says he'll come by daily, after lunch.

Ariana tries to Trump Lucien, but still can't get through. This depresses her so much that she drinks an entire bottle of wine before she manages to go to sleep. She wakes up in the middle of the night covered in sweat, with a severe pain in her stomach. Welcome to liver poisoning. She decides to drink somewhat less wine in the future. She remains awake and in pain for the rest of the night.

Wednesday, August 23, 2994

Ariana has breakfast with Ishmael. He asks why she wants to learn how to make Takaran weapons. For defensive reasons. Ishmael says the making of Takaran metal is like a brotherhood. He learned it from Nicholas. Who did Nicholas learn from? He doesn't know. Has he ever heard of Miranda? Vaguely. He knows she works for Zane. Ariana tells Ishmael how Miranda wound up in Chaos. Ishmael doesn't think Ariana's ready, but he's willing to begin to train her. He won't go into any of the actual techniques for making the metal until he's more certain about her, though. This is fine with Ariana. They discuss the behavior of her sons. Ishmael asks where their father is. Away. Where? She doesn't know. How long? Four days, Amber time. Has she tried Trumping him? Of course. Ishmael thinks the boys need discipline. Ariana agrees, but they don't seem to listen to her, unless she takes drastic measures, and she hates doing that. Ishmael offers to teach them both art and martial arts, since the latter will give them discipline. Ariana thinks this is a good idea. Ishmael says there's one more thing. He wants her to start eating and stop drinking, or he won't teach her. After a long pause to think it over, Ariana reluctantly agrees. He says she can start with breakfast, then. Ariana tries to eat the food, but winds up throwing it all up.

Ariana has her meeting with Nicholas. He knows about the rape. She tells him that a child was conceived from that rape, and that Brand's allies took the baby to Chaos. Nicholas says that Brand will be dealt with, but not until after the coronation. All right. Ariana explains Jack's involvement in what happened to her, and in the creation of the curse that was placed on Nimue. Nicholas says there isn't much he can do about Jack. As long as no one invites Jack to Amber, they should be able to deal with him. Nicholas mentions that he's concerned that Ariana might be unstable, based on what Eric has told him. Eric said she was somewhat insane. Is she? Ariana says that she's not. Is she stable? In what sense? He wants Fiona to examine her. Ariana says she doesn't want anyone else in her mind. Who else was in there? She won't say, but insists that it wasn't an enemy of Amber. Nicholas threatens to sic Fiona on her if she won't answer the question. Why? He wants to make sure she isn't a threat to herself or anyone else. Ariana says she can't hurt herself, and she doesn't want to hurt anyone else, except for Brand. Why can't she hurt herself? She admits it's connected to the person who was in her mind. Nicholas insists on more information. Ariana reluctantly admits that there is block in her mind that prevents her from killing herself. Nicholas assumes this was done by Vetch. He says that he'll leave her be, but if she shows the slightest sign of getting out of line, she'll be scanned and fixed whether she likes it or not. Ariana comments that it's a shame no one ever bothered to do this with Brand. Nicholas observes grimly that he wasn't the king then.

Ariana goes looking for Laughter. Driscoll says she's working on the Ygg project. She notices he looks troubled and asks why. It's a dragon-rider problem. He observes that she's even more depressed than he is, and asks if she'd like to walk with him. She reluctantly agrees. She can't bring herself to explain everything that's happened, but she does reveal that she's lost a child, and that Brand, Jack, and some Chaosites are involved. Driscoll tells her how he coped with losing Elen. He advises her not to drink, and to keep busy. She admits she's finding that hard to do at night. Driscoll suggests she talk to Shard. Ariana mentions that he can't see her. Driscoll points out that there's only one creature that vampires can't see. Ariana asks how he thought she was able to open the faerie gates during Nicholas' rescue. Point. Driscoll guesses that she's Loryn, based on the tragic tale he once heard as a child of Lord Vetch and his faerie bride. The information doesn't bother him. They discuss Jack for a bit. Driscoll reveals that Pattern can hurt him. He also says that Jack usually has a reason for what he does. Ariana mentions how Nicholas threatened to sic Fiona on her, to see if she's insane, and asks if Driscoll thinks she's crazy. Not that he's noticed. Ariana is worried that she's a bad parent, since the boys aren't listening to her. Driscoll blames that on Lucien teaching them to respect men's opinions, not women's. Ariana finds it comforting to know that Driscoll doesn't think she's reacting unusually, given what's happened to her.

Ariana asks Driscoll again what's bothering him. He admits that the dragon-riders are getting anxious to go home. Driscoll plans to return them to Lazarus as soon as possible, once the chasm is mended. Ariana suggests that if Nicholas still wants a dragon army in Amber, humans will have to bond with them. Driscoll says he'll have to find a more compatible species, in that case. They discuss how Lazarians bond with their dragons by sleeping with them. Ouch. Ariana envies the close bond that results, though.

Driscoll offers to go flying with Ariana, in an attempt to cheer her up. Ariana is more than willing to do so, and admits she once considered asking him if she could become a dragon-rider. He doesn't see any reason why she can't, once he finds some new dragons. Clytemnestra approves of the change in Ariana. Ariana rides Mercury. They fly over the ocean for an hour or so, until Ariana begins to tire, then land on the plains just beyond Arden. While the dragons hunt in Arden, Driscoll conjures a picnic brunch of faerie food. Ariana finds that she's actually hungry for this, since it's more compatible with her digestive system. She comments that she'd almost forgotten what an appetite feels like. Driscoll mentions that she looks like a sickly little elf under her glamour, and he thought the food might help. Apparently, his protective sunglasses allow him to see what lies beneath a glamour, and he took a peek at her while he was saddling Clytemnestra. He lets Ariana try them on. She finds being psyche-blocked rather calm and quiet. She realizes in looking at herself that the glasses can see through faerie shapeshifting, too, since she sees Loryn's actual body. Driscoll offers to show her how to make glasses like his. It isn't hard, but does require a certain investment of self. They have strawberries with powdered sugar for dessert. Ariana asks if he has any advice to give her, other than not drinking and facing one day at a time. He says those are the most important things, along with dwelling on the now. As long as she dwells on the past, she can't go forward. Ariana thanks him again, saying it helps to know that someone understands how she feels. As they wait for the dragons to return, Ariana asks if Driscoll ever heard any stories in the Unseelie Court about Loryn's father. Only rumors. Ariana insists on hearing those, since she knows nothing at all about him. He complies. The dragons return from hunting, and they all fly back to the castle. Ariana is feeling drowsy by the time they land. Driscoll helps her back to her quarters. She accuses him of drugging the strawberries. It was the sugar, actually. She thanks him again for his help. He asks her to try and have pleasant thoughts for a while.

Ariana enters her quarters. The girls are playing with dolls, Shannon and Morgan are playing with each other, and Vincent is sketching. Ariana tries to see what Vincent is drawing, but he hides it, saying it's not done yet. She asks what the sketch is of, but that's a secret. He doesn't want to show it if it's bad, and he doesn't know if it's good or not. Ariana assures him that nothing he draws will ever be bad to her. She also tells the boys that she's decided to allow their art lessons with Ishmael to continue, despite the fact that they're grounded, provided they begin behaving themselves. They'll also be beginning other classes, as well. She asks if there are any subjects that they are especially interested in. Morgan wants to study biology and diplomacy. Vincent wants to study philosophy, tactics, physics, math, conjuration, magic and Trump. Shannon wants to study math, physics, magic and Trump. Jalana wants to study music, biology, art and literature. Ana wants to study everything, and Briana says, "I don't know." Ariana makes a note of this, then winds up nodding off in a chair and napping until lunch.

Quotables:

"There seems to be a round of betrothals going around." -- Whimsy
"But I did not foment rebellion." -- Felix
"There's still time." -- Whimsy

"Outrageous Fortune"
Game Logs for Sessions 1-115 | Character Logs for Sessions 116+

Last modified on September 12, 1997 by Kris Fazzari.