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Lady Lilith Neveah: "Sea of Sharks"

Even Trade
Fri Nov 14 16:35:56 2003

"My Lady, Lord Hallwick is here to see you."

The woman who sat at an ornately dark table made no motion, no sound to indicate she had heard the servant speak, her golden, glossy head bent over in concentration that could not be broken for the mere words of a servant. He waited patiently for her attention, however, as to remove himself from her presence without leave would be grounds for punishment. And the punishment would not be so simple as a dismissal without reference; no, she was not so kind to those who displeased her. Instead, he waited in silence, shifting from foot to foot every so often as the Lady turned one more page over, writing side down, to heavily waxed surface. During this interval, he took a moment to peruse Lady Neveah, although her features had not changed much but to mature in the decade she had spent in Mist Manor. She was pale in a beautiful, porcelain way, the ivory hue of her skin a compliment to the honeyed tresses that usually fell about her face in a carefully arranged coiffure. Her cheeks were high to her face, sharp angles defining a strong personality. He didn’t have need for her to glance up, either, to know that her eyes were as dark as coal, and sometimes as hard.

She was a beautiful paradox of strength and fragility, and it was with relief that she looked up moments later, after the last page had fallen to the table, perused and catalogued. Giving one single nod, she spoke, the low alto of her voice cultured and perfected. "You may send him in, Pieter. Have Cook make an arrangement of minced meat pies and her wonderful cherry tarts."

He gave a deep bow to her, "Of course, my Lady. For two?"

"For one, Pieter."

To hide his surprise, he bowed once more and backed out of the room, allowing her solitude and to retrieve a Lord of Illian that would, no doubt, be agitated for waiting so long, even if the parlor offered a smooth peach brandy and many books laying around to skim through. He might have shuddered to know exactly how carefully arranged the parlor was for each visit. Pieter might not have ever been nobility, nor could he completely understand their ways, but his intuition regarding the Lord was accurate. Large and blustery, Lord Hallwick’s face was splotched with irritated crimson, while his short legs ate up the distance from wall to wall with agitated rapidity. When the door opened, Lord Hallwick spun from his position, mouth open to deliver a scathing welcome until he saw that it wasn’t Lady Neveah after all, but Pieter.

Bowing deeply once more, "Lord Hallwick, my Lady Neveah will attend you now, if you will follow me." There were precise phrases he was to use for her guests, he had been informed three years ago when he was hired. Pieter was too terrified to find out if he strayed from those phrases, wondered if she were omnipotent enough to know when he failed her instructions.

The Lord followed, barely waiting for Pieter to lead him toward the Lady Neveah’s study. He nearly ran into the closed doors of the study in his haste to meet with the Lady; Pieter hastily swept open the door to allow him passage, heaving only an irritated huff of breath and the soft stomp of his shoes on the thick carpet. It seemed the Lady Neveah might have her hands full with a Lord that had a bee in his bonnet about something.

Lilith looked up to see Iain Hallwick storm into her study as if he intended to strangle her where she sat for merely making him wait. She was amused by his agitation, allowing him to stomp and snort in front of her a few moments before she extended her hand to him. Lilith didn’t rise. "Lord Hallwick, how good of you to agree to this appointment. It delights me that there is time in your day for me."

Her gracious words left Hallwick bereft of his anger, she could see his brain actually stop and reverse itself in order to provide her with an equally gracious response. He was left with no other option than to take her hand and bow over it, even if his breath came nowhere near close to brushing her knuckles, let alone his lips. "Of course, Lady Neveah, it do be equally my pleasure to share your company." The Lord’s words were stilted and forced, but after her reception of him, he couldn’t be rude. Not to a Lady.

"Of course." Her head dipped and her smile formed perfectly; it was, after all, a art. "Please be seated. Is there anything that I can offer you to drink?" She knew full well that he’d already taken at least two glass’ worth of her peach brandy. Potent stuff that was, a liquor brewed in Altara and had a bigger kick than the apple brandy of Andor. The flush to his cheeks was not entirely that of ire. Lilith could see that his mouth worked to find yet another polite response to her query, even as his mind no doubt wanted to get to the meat of the matter and to vent his frustration. She had, after all, kept him waiting nearly a quarter of an hour. She was so delightfully rude, sometimes.

"No, but the offer do be welcome, my Lady."

Lilith watched him from behind her mahogany table for many long moments. In the interim, Lord Hallwick once more became agitated by the silence, shifting in his chair restlessly, finger creeping to the neckline of his high collar and once smoothed the hairless upper lip, while fingers stroked the beard on his chin.

He was like any other Illianer man; stocky and powerfully built, and wearing the tradition dress of his nation. With dark hair, nearly black, and a face so tanned by the sun that he nearly turned as dark as some Tairens, Lord Hallwick was, in Lilith’s opinion, a man made for the common class, rather than the nobility. He was brash and outspoken, fond of ale to drink and it was not quite so infrequent that he was seen with a very well endowed young lady from any one of the inns that he’d patronize. The rough edges about him were enough to cause ripples wherever he went.

He finally leaned forward a little, eyes reaching hers and meeting them with trepidation. "If I do not be forward, Lady Neveah, why have you asked to see me? This entire appointment do be confusing to me."

Ah, it was always so much better when they asked the questions first. Her smile widened until she showed white, even teeth behind her slightly tinted lips. "Yes, of course, Lord Hallwick. You always were a man to get to the crux of the matter, weren’t you?" He gave a nod, although the slow response indicated that Hallwick wasn’t entirely certain if she were complimenting or insulting him. "The reason I’ve asked you to come here tonight, is very simple." Lilith produced a piece of paper from her carefully ordered stack and referred to it a moment to refresh her memory. "Three years ago, you entered into a consortium with four other partners. They were Lords Allwight, Millint, Brichten and Lady Reptchick. The consortium was to look into producing more leather from tanneries that you would buy in the marshes."

The Lord had been, up until this moment, looking anxious and curious, but upon Lilith bringing up his consortium, his gaze became riveted to Lilith, unwavering and suddenly darkening. "Yes, that do be correct, Lady Neveah. Of what importance do be that information?"

"Well, it seems that three years ago, you were required to borrow heavily against your holdings to bring your portion to the table and complete the consortium. When you borrowed, you borrowed an Illianer provider who has since gone defunct and could no longer remain in business. I purchased this business only recently, you see, and found that is has been nearly two years since you have attempted to make any payments against his loan." Lilith allowed the paper to drop to the table where it would be clearly visible to Lord Hallwick. His signature at the bottom of the contract was unmistakable.

"Then that’s what this do be, Lady Neveah, this do be you playing at being a businessman? You do ask that I pay you back for the money that I borrowed?" His face contorted, but if was fear or anger, Lilith could not discern.

"No, Lord Hallwick, this is not about you paying your loan. In fact, I will allow it to extend for another two years beyond the original date that all monies would be required to be paid in full. But there is something that you will do for me." Lilith spoke in precise tones; even with a decade spent in Illian, she had never adopted their terrible speech.

His eyes narrowed. "What makes you think that I do want to do something for you Lady Neveah? I do have the option to walk out of this room and pay back all I owe and then this do be the end."

The corner of her mouth tugged up. "Of course. You could do that. In fact, if you were smart, that would be the best thing for you, Lord Hallwick. However, you are stupid, and because of that, you’re going to ask me why that would be it could also be the worst thing for you."

There was only a heartbeat pause before he responded. "Why do that be the worst thing for me to do, Lady Neveah?"

"Because if you do not do what I ask of you, two things will happen to you." She extended one long, slender finger. "The first is that I will foreclose on this loan. It was to be paid as of yesterday at midnight and you are now in debt to me for the entire sum of what your holdings are worth. I will take away your home, your holdings, your companies; all of it will go to me and you will be left nothing." The Lord Hallwick paled as he realized the full depth that he had fallen into with the loan. "The second thing that I will do is inform the Lady Hallwick of one bastard son that you have been supporting for the past twelve years, and who lives in a small village not a day’s ride from Illian. Your wife is rather naïve and believes you to be one man who does not follow the ways of some of your peers. And yet she never suspected that you have two illegitimate children by two separate women running around Illian. It would break her heart to know that the second child, a young girl by the name of Laina, is actually the child who stirs her porridge in the mornings."

Hallwick fell back into the chair, his face desolate. "You would ruin me in one stroke, Lady Neveah. You would be that heartless to a man of the Peer! By the Light, I never knew what a bitch you did be."

She smiled, "Come now, Iain, one does not speak that way to one they are indebted to. You should thank me for holding the loan longer than the original contract and for not saying a word to your family of your children."

He looked up at her, broken. Lilith was nearly disappointed that it had been so easy. His backbone had broken with barely an effort. "What do you want of me?"

Her face might have done for the feral grin of a cat stalking prey. "Two things. Two things to trade for the two items I hold back for you. The first is that you’ll pull out of the consortium, all support, all monies will transfer to another consortium that I will direct to you when you have withdrawn from the first. The second is that you will approach Lady Cholinda of the Council and you will ask her to put to the table a proposal to distribute rights of trading docks to this company immediately." Lilith slid a piece of paper over the slick tabletop, holding it there until he took the paper. "If you do not do these two things within a week, Lord Hallwick, I will ruin you. Make no mistake. Now if you will excuse me, it appears that my dinner is ready. You may go."

Lilith watched the Lord leave, his gait even more stiff and agitated than when he’d arrived. As one of her maids placed the meal before her, careful not to touch any of her carefully stacked papers, Lilith gave a smile. Ahh, the game has begun.

Casting the Net
Thu Nov 27 10:09:38 2003

"It is done, Lady Neveah." As colorful hues swirled past Hallwick and Lilith to the lively beat of a stringed quartet, Hallwick plastered a false smile to his lips, to all intents and purposes enjoying the dance that he and Lilith shared. But the smile was indeed false, stretched thin over his mouth to pull his eyes tight with anger and—strangely enough—curiosity. Or maybe not so strangely enough. "Brichtin was, as you can imagine, not entirely happy that I withdrew those funds, and promised a very painful humiliation unless I changed my mind."

"I trust that you did not, Hallwick." Lilith’s face was a smooth pond, unmarred by ripples of worry, perfectly opposite that of her dance partner.

Teeth bared into a rictus that held no warmth or friendship. "Of course not, Lady Neveah; you made it abundantly clear what would happen should I defy your wishes." Hallwick was, surprisingly enough, a deft dance partner, adeptly leading her through the steps of their dance with flawless grace, his hand firm on her back, even if she could feel through the thick emerald velvet his fingers clench every so often in his restrained anger. Perhaps his hands wished to be closer to her neck than her waist. "It seems your punishment would be far worse than what Brichtin could do to me, so I disregarded the threat."

Of course he had. Hallwick valued his status among their Peer very highly, in addition to wishing the best for the wife in which he still bore some strange affection for. Brichtin was powerful, but not so much as Lilith, and he lacked imagination. Public humiliation to that particular cut of Lord meant setting him up to be named a cheater at cards, or forcing Hallwicks hand to a duel. Utterly pathetic and insipid and it was without surprise the same words to describe the Lord himself. "As well you should have, Hallwick and I commend you for your fortitude in the face of such a man. Tomorrow my solicitor will present your own with an instruction of funds to another consortium, and it would behoove you to act promptly upon these instructions."

Hallwick looked, to all of the Peer, as if he enjoyed the encounter with Lady Lilith Neveah, but she saw all too easily the murder that lay behind his eyes and the strain on his nature to not kill her at that moment. "You enjoy this game, don’t you, Lady Neveah? You move us around your tiny little board, pushing us with your blackmailing bidding to do what you wish, when you wish, and give no thought to anything else but that game. Tomorrow the consortium into which I entered will be null and ripped apart by your whim, and four people will drown in debt because of my inability to fight back against your threats."

Her gaze grew flat as coal and nearly as cold as the winters in the Borderlands. Hallwick flinched away from her stare a moment before returning it reluctantly. "You should not hate me for what I have done, Hallwick. That venture you had entered into has been standing at a precipice for nearly a year now and would have failed with or without your backing. Removing your funds nearly precipitated that downfall and surgically rent that which has been waiting to happen. You should not hate me for what I have forced you into, and rather thank me for removing your funds from one venture that will fail and given you an opportunity to arrange them to be transferred to one that will make you climb out of my debt in one year rather than three."

Hallwick paused long enough to nearly collide them with another couple before resuming his expert maneuvering around the floor. "How can I know you tell the truth, Lady Neveah; your methods for directing my funds is unorthodox."

"It doesn’t matter, just know that by tomorrow Allwight and Millint will be in further debt than even you had fallen and they will be forced to leave Illian for their folly. Brichtin never placed all of his wealth into your consortium and Lady Reptchick will merely turn to her husband with empty hands. You, however, I have saved, and you should be grateful for it. The consortium will fail because tanning in the marshes is falling in value as the war against the Seachan grows closer. Blacksmiths and forges will now be more important than leather, as well as shipping and trading with fast ships. The Seanchan have large monstrosities of ships, and women who can channel to help attack, but the Sea Folk are finding ways to outrun them, and trade to countries who most need support will be more important." Lilith waved a hand from the perch on Hallwick’s shoulder. "That is why your money, which I hold in my possession, will be moved to something profitable."

The dance ended while Hallwick stood and stared at Lilith, shock and dawning comprehension coloring his cheeks. "You surprise me, Lady Neveah."

She gave a graceful nod of her head, "And you do not Lord Hallwick. Good evening." Sliding away from him into the crowd, Lilith smiled another smile of pleasure. The game was going smoothly indeed, and if all went as planned, which it most likely would not, she would move a step up in the Peer and become a force to be reckoned with.

Of three separate drawing rooms, Lilith sat in one that was punctuated by the scent of Andoran tabac, smoked by women who considered themselves free of the constraints that the Peer had placed upon them. For the most part, they were eldest daughters who were secure in their dowries who believed they had the fortitude and strong will to do as they wished when they wished. Lilith’s sources indicated that they had created a women’s Club much in the manner that men had and had gone so far as to purchase a structure and decorate it in the same manner as those Gentleman’s Clubs. They smoked pipes leisurely in this club, they placed bets in a book for anything from horse races to which Lady would become involved with which Lord. They even gambled at tables and it wasn’t surprising to find that these girls would go home and have to beg allowances from their fathers for the large losses at these tables. It was, to Lilith, an amusing and creative pastime that no Lord of the Peer knew about, and most certainly not the fathers of these young chits. If any Lord caught wind of this affair, it would be shut down before the girls could even cry foul.

Lilith generally avoided the young women who involved themselves in such a foolish notion, however tonight was special and her arrangements had been perfect. Four girls sat at a gaming table and played a deep game that could be seen in evidence by the piles of coins on the table. One lady in particular, Emilie Dellarue, had quite an impressive pile of coins before her and swept another pot of winnings that was deftly stacked by nimble fingers in moments. It just would not do to have this girl walk away a winner from this table, so in a stage whisper to a young girl beside her, Lilith leaned over. "Did you hear that Lord Pellnore had the audacity to make an appearance tonight without his wife, and instead brought his youngest son?"

The girl beside her, Laeni Urichten gave a small gasp as her green gaze slipped to Emilie once before returning to Lilith, "Arick Pellnore is here? You’re certain?"

"Positive, and it’s said that Arick Pellnore has shamed his father twice already tonight by refusing dances with two very personal friends of his. It’s said he’s about to take his son home and write up a marriage certificate to the first woman that comes to mind to teach him a lesson." Lilith spoke softly, yet from the corner of her eye, she saw Emilie’s hands shake and haphazardly toss coins to the pot. "I think that if he turns down one more woman tonight, it will happen and Pellnore will be rid of his last son."

Emilie’s winnings dwindled so fast that in the space of an hour she was suddenly in debt to two of the girls by a startling severe amount. "Oh, Light, what has happened to me? I don’t have that much on me to cover either of my debts to you, Liria and Prue!"

Prudence gave what could only be described as a nasty and smug little smile to the Dellarue chit. "You know the rules, Emilie, you have 24 hours to settle your debts. I would go home quickly so that your father might help you."

Emilie hastily gathered her reticule and hurried from the room, followed closely by Lilith on her heels. The girl walked quickly, whether it was her eagerness to join with Arick Pellnore or to simply get away from those atrocious young women with predatory instincts, yet Lilith caught up to her quick enough in the darkened hallway. "Oh, Lady Neveah! I apologize for not seeing you earlier—I—is there something that you wanted?"

"Of course, child," Lilith smiled over the young girl, and most certainly young, even if Emilie wasn’t even half a decade younger than she. "I couldn’t help but overhear that you are in debt to Liria and Prue."

Emilie shook from head to toe for woeful remorse, her small and petite frame as light as a feather. Should Lilith merely blow hard, she thought that Emilie would blow away. "I am, and Father will be suspicious if I ask him for more money. Last time I almost didn’t come up with a convincing lie. This time—" she shuddered in fear. "And Liria is an absolute silverpike when it comes to debts. I—I will probably have to ask Arick for a loan to cover it, I just can’t go to Father again!"

Lilith placed a hand on the girl’s arm and restrained the amused smile at Emilie’s fear that shook her entire body. "I may be able to help you, my dear…"

A Flash of Silverpike
Thu Nov 27 20:07:40 2003

Llilith tapped one enameled finger on the card held deftly in her hands, her eyes scanning the contents of it once more, even while the pads of her fingers brushed over the roughened texture of the heavy parchment. Illumination and embossing made the intent to call nearly ostentatious, but it served well and at least gained her attention in the most direct of manner. Lord Cholinda was, if not impressive in his cards, more powerful than Lilith was in her own right. His impressive circle of men and women in his debt far outshone her own small flock, and she had thus far eluded his clutches. There wasn’t a doubt in Lilith’s mind that he sought a means to control her for his own, and thus add her growing crowd to his own and utilize for his own game, and yet Lilith was determined to dance a pretty step to remain free of the Lord. Looking down once more, she read the words already memorized:

Lady Lilith Neveah,

I seek the pleasure of your company and wish to call upon you on the third hour after midday two days hence.

Yours,

Lord Alheim Cholinda

The reason for his appointment was not clear to Lilith, and all attempts to discern his motivation came up dry. It irked her to say it, but Lord Cholinda was a rank above her in this game and if she hoped to play among those of his caliper, she would need to step up her own and get there by sheer guile. It wasn’t lost on Lilith, in any event, that the sole person she required a vote of confidence in was his own wife, Lady Cholinda; it was her necessary vote for rights on the trading docks referendum that she had directed Hallwick to. It made her question the decision to send Hallwick to petition for her, yet in honor of directing him to Erewyn’s consortium, it only made perfect sense that it be he to make the supplication to Lady Cholinda, rather than Lilith, who had no concrete stake in this particular game. Hallwick’s only tie to her were the funds she now controlled and directed for him, and this would have been a fact not lost on Lord Cholinda, an inference easily made by one such as he.

The bells chimed on her waterclock the hour, and punctually, Pieter rapped upon her door to announce Cholinda’s arrival. She was dressed somberly in a simple gown of navy silk, neckline cut low enough to satisfy any Illianer Lady, while matching shoes of the same fabric, heavily embroidered in silver thread and visible by the lifted hem of her skirts. Lustrous golden hair had been piled on her head in loose curls and adorned with a chain of silver and sapphires, her cheeks and lips tinted only barely with carmine to bring out the pale and luxurious ivory of her skin. Only a solitary necklace hung on her neck, the gold chain gathered at her throat while the ends slipped down into her cleavage to draw the eye purposefully. "Enter." Her voice slipped into one used to holding attention on herself through the power of her mere presence and confidence of one who holds all of the right cards.

Lord Cholinda was not an attractive man, and many might compare him to something akin a toad. He was short and squat, and in his earlier years, the frame had been powerfully muscled; however, in his latter years, the muscle had softened and the chest was nearly equal to his waistline, a fact most aggrievously accentuated by the wide gold sash drawing tight over a deep green velvet coat and trousers that fit, perhaps, a bit too tight. Lilith stood with a wide smile of welcome for him and swept across her room to take his hand with a slight dip of respect. "Lord Cholinda, you must know how welcome your presence is at Neveah Manor. It was a delight to receive your request."

Lord Cholinda’s eyes were watery and blue and sharp as an assassin’s blade. His smile was equally wide and he bowed low over her extended hand in the fine steps they danced. She knew he was not fooled, and he knew that she knew he was not fooled, yet they still smiled. "Please be seated in any chair that suits your comfort. May I summon refreshment for you?"

Cholinda settled himself into the chair that she normally occupied and by the glint in his eye as he dropped into the richly upholstered furniture, she was aware of his knowledge of this. Unflustered, however, Lilith merely stationed herself into another chair that would cause him to twist slightly in his seat to have his full attention on her, a fact that he gleaned the instant she fell elegantly into her chair. "No, Lady Neveah, however I do appreciate the offer. Perhaps later."

"Of course, Lord Cholinda." As the conversation paused, Lilith was visited with a strange sense of having been in this situation before, yet reversed. Here, in her parlor, was a man more powerful than she, and the reason for his call was unknown; she felt a pang of instant empathy for Hallwick on the night he had visited her a month prior, but only for an instant. She was well versed at playing the waiting game, and because Lilith was entirely comfortable in her position of power, felt no unease at the silence that drew out for more than half a minute. It was a pleasure to note that she won, as Cholinda broke the silence.

"You must wonder why I have asked to call on you, Lady Neveah." The statement’s tone dragged up in the most subtle of manners, the barest hint of a question, yet still unasked.

She smiled and brushed imaginary dust from her skirts, feet crossing easily beneath the chair, tucked away. "I could only hope it was for my charming company, Lord Cholinda." Her chuckle was returned for the jest made, forcing Cholinda to be the one to break the sociable atmosphere before he was prepared; her smile widened when she saw his eyes narrow. Indeed, to catch Cholinda off-guard once was reward enough for her ignorance of his visit.

"If only that were the simple truth, Lady Neveah, as much as I do enjoy your company." Such a fine actor, Lord Cholinda was. He shook his head in regret and Lilith was nearly convinced of his sincerity. "However, it do be on a much less personal basis than I might enjoy. It seems that in your possession you do have Lord Erewyn in your debt; would you assess that as a correct statement?"

Unwilling to be caught off-guard by the unerring yet surprising statement, she gave a smile and spread her hands wide. "What is a debt between friends, Lord Cholinda? I call it merely a favor between us, nothing more. I offered him something he had no means to possess on his own, and now I may ask to borrow his manor for a party of my own someday." That he had found out about the debt was a surprise to her, more so, she was worried about the manner in which he had received his information. A servant in his employ who happened by at the right time, someone who had been employed to follow her and mark her movements and conversations through stealth and eavesdropping. Most disturbing was the most likely solution that Erewyn was in his pocket and her friend had been forced, or willing, to tell of his debt between them. She had always considered Erewyn an ally, and if Cholinda was as sharp as she surmised, he would have construed that and used it as a means to put herself in Cholinda’s debt. It was a heavy game she played, indeed, and the players had just increased.

"Of course. Sometimes favors do be much more powerful because friends be willing to do anything for you; I find that having a friend owe one a favor is easier to call on then forcing another to do one’s bidding unwillingly, wouldn’t you think?" His apparently innocuous question raised the proverbial hackles on her back instantly, and the smile he gave her much too open to do anything else.

Lilith knew there were two options. The first was that he wished to scare her into admitting to her plans with Erewyn by bringing up something that would force her hand. The second was that Cholinda wished to deceive her into believing he was as open and friendly with her, counting on the fact that she would like to count him among her allies, and thus share her knowledge with him in a cooperative partnership. To further aggravate him, she did neither. "I find it best to trust no one and nothing, not even my friends." The statement caused Cholinda to blink once in surprise, a rush of pleasure coursing through her at making the Lord pause in his thoughts and reassess her. In that instant, she knew she had changed the game entirely, and a man who might have dabbled in hers was now immersing himself as her opponent completely. "Did you wish to request something of me, Lord Cholinda? It would be a delight to have a Lord such as yourself owe me a favor."

The Lord smiled, sending a thrilling rush of anticipation throughout her. "In fact, there was something I wished to ask of you, Lady Neveah, and if there is a favor I can offer in return—" His hands spread wide in an imitation of her own moments earlier. She understood what he was doing the instant his offer was given; he was looking to force her own hand and ask for the vote for his wife, to show her own association in the consortium.

Equally gracious, Lilith returned the smile, "If it’s within my powers, Lord Cholinda, I will do what I can."

"Excellent." She could nearly imagine the toad-like Lord rubbing his hands together gleefully and laughing in some overly-dramatic, diabolical manner. "What I would like for you to do is to ask your friend Lord Erewyn to place a small portion of money, mere copperage, into a small business by the name of Wheelwright Ventures. Is this something you believe your friend would care to participate in at your request?"

Lilith stood, causing Lord Cholinda to stand as well; she was closing their conversation and his call, and by the expression on Cholinda’s portly countenance, irritated him. As the hostess, however, she had power to direct his departure. "I can place the request before him, and if he agrees, I will be most happy to hold your favor for when I require it."

Cholinda bowed, his shiny pate gleaming at her in the waning afternoon light, and rose with a crafty gleam to the oily smile. "With the utmost confidence in your ability to persuade Lord Erewyn, I would be most pleased to perform a favor in return for that which I’ve asked, Lady Neveah."

Lilith smiled, this time forgoing the slight dip of a curtsey to the Lord. "Don’t worry, Lord Cholinda, I never name my price now, but I will and always do, call in my debts sooner or later." Cholinda’s eyes narrowed and his sharp gaze stabbed at her for a few long moments before he gave a nod and a smile. "Good day, Lord Cholinda; we must meet again sometime, it has been most pleasurable."

"As well as you, Lady Neveah. I do be most pleased by this engagement with you. Do call upon me when you feel the desire. Good day." He stepped from the parlor, the door swinging open in perfect time as Pieter performed his duties with superior skill. As the door to her parlor began to close, Lilith was already exiting the decadent room and bearing for her study, where she would find the details on one Wheelwright Venture.

The meeting had been more than informative, it had been incredibly prosperous as well; Lord Cholinda had made the worst mistake and had underestimated her. This mistake had cost him a favor due to her, and it had not been the favor he was anticipating. He’d expected her to be a silly chit and play her hand too soon and show the direction of her game, yet forestalling from cashing in on the debt now placed him off-balance and curious. Not to mention, she had in her hands now a very powerful card to play.

And she’d be a Light-blinded fool if she were to give up the debt that Erewyn now owed her for bringing Hallwick into his consortium. It would take a few days of working out a plan, but when it was finished, Lilith was certain that Erewyn would place funds into the Wheelwright Venture of his own accord, and she would not be required to give up another highly valuable debt. Once this particular plan was carried out, she would need to make certain that distance was placed between herself and Dierk as a means to protect herself from retaliation by a Lord highly placed near the Council.

Retribution
Sun Jan 18 15:45:46 2004

Erewyn had gone missing only half a week past, but Lilith still felt the tightening of concern and panic well up in her; he had sent her a note earlier in the week, asking for her attendance in his home, and she had sent a reply in the affirmative. Yet as her slippers paced the thick Tairen rugs with long, measured steps, the Lady Neveah could not help but feel concern over the absence of Dierk. Last night she had arrived at the appointed time to meet him for an intimate dinner, and the maid had expressed he’d left the manor one evening and not returned. For Erewyn, short disappearances were not unusual; he could, and would, shut himself up in some private townhouse somewhere in Illian with some noble’s daughter and enjoy her company until he grew bored with her and came back home. Such disappearances were not uncommon for him, but what was uncommon was the length of his absence now. Five days he had gone missing; her sources indicated that he had not tried to withdraw funds, nor had he left the manor with anything but the coat on his back and the cane in his hands.

Cholinda was aware that she had failed two weeks ago in convincing Erewyn to enter into the Wheelwright Ventures, but her message to him had offered an alternative, for him to enter in as a fifth to the consortium Erewyn had put together, a fair 25 percent cut going to him for the capital he could bring to it. Dierk had not been happy by the alternative, but it was still better than placing his own money in the hands of Cholinda’s ventures, where it could most certainly fail at the most inopportune time for him. That Cholinda had agreed reluctantly was of no concern to Lilith, but what was of concern to her was the knowledge that Cholinda had of her own personal life, and the dependency she had begun to develop on Erewyn. Romantic or financial made no difference, she had offered her back to the powerful lord and the weakness of that was in Erewyn. She couldn’t even think that Cholinda would stoop so low as to kidnapping a nobleman of the Peer, nor would it be profitable for him to kill Erewyn; should Dierk come up missing and then dead, Cholinda would know that even a hint of suspicion in Lilith’s mind could tear Illian up into an all-out war between them.

Settling behind her mahogany desk, Lilith steepled her fingers together and rested her chin on the tips. No, the problem with having an all-out war was the lack of profit to be earned and the high-risk, low return one received in crushing one’s enemy so openly and blatantly. If she were to win over Cholinda, she may gain some respect and power, but none so much as what she could earn through subtle and tiny manipulations of the power she already had. And if Cholinda were to win over her, she was not nearly so ripe a fruit to pluck yet; he would know to bide his time and watch her rise, carefully, with the patience of a spider laying a trap.

She wanted to scream in vexation; finding out what happened to Erewyn would cause her to cash in on two debts owed to her, possibly finding herself owing a favor as well, if it turned out that Dierk was well and truly disappeared. What truly irritated her was that the truth of the matter remained that she wanted him back enough to cash in on the debts, and whoever caused his disappearance knew this. Sitting back into her chair, her fingers picked idly at the gold embroidery along her sleeves while Lilith bit down on her lip as she thought. She would need the aid of the Dellarue chit, a fact that aggravated her for the debt being called in so soon, and one other debt by Lady Demetrius herself. That had been a long and hard earned and burn it all, she was not happy to have to burn it finding Erewyn. Yet if she didn’t expend the effort to find him, it might cost her more than just missing her friend, it might cost her part of what she had been building up for an entire year. Burn that man for getting himself caught like that and forcing her to use some of her debts to find out what happened to him!

Snatching two pieces of paper from a small, ornately carved box from the Sea Folk Isles, her hand scrawled two notes, one to Emilie Dellarue, the other less hastily penned to Lady Evadne Demetrius, both offering to call on them at appointed hours. Although she asked for the audience, her words were such that she would not be refused the time and day she specified in her letters.

"Lady Neveah, it’s such a pleasure to see you again! Do come in." Emelie curtseyed deeply to Lilith; there were a handful of years between them that was as wide as the Aryth Ocean when Lilith came into the presence of the young girl. She was dressed "young", as the fashion dictated, her silks dyed to a light pastel of pink decorated by light embroidery along the raised hem of her skirts, displaying matching shoes embroidered far heavier in silver thread. She was dressed as the eldest and most eligible daughter of Lord Dellarue, but there was a maturity difference between Lilith and Emelie that could not be crossed if they had a decade of years to remedy.

Giving a small smile that was meant to show she was amenable to Emelie’s hospitality, Lilith drew the long white gloves from her hands and tucked them into her reticule before occupying a seat opposite the young girl. "Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, Emelie, I truly appreciate your generosity." Emelie was still very young and very naïve, giving Lilith the opportunity to go forward without the usual niceties and tap-dancing of pleasantries that would be required for Lady Demetrius later. "I will be blunt with you, Emelie; Lord Erewyn has disappeared and I fear the worst for him. He is an old and dear friend to me and no one is willing to help when I ask for it."

Emelie chewed her lip, an action that made Lilith immediately resolve never to do so again; it made the young girl look even younger, unsure of herself, indecisive. Only when it would be truly necessary would she ever do that silly action again. "I’ve heard of Lord Erewyn’s absence, although no one seems inclined to be as worried as you are, Lady Neveah. But what can I do to help you?"

Lilith leaned forward, her dark eyes searching into Emelie’s clear blue ones. "Emelie, if I may be so bold as to make this presumption, I know that you are partial Arick Pellnore and there have been warm feelings that pass between you two." The girl’s eyes widened with surprise at Lilith’s surmise, which was little stretch compared to the wagers being placed around Illian over when they would defy their parents’ wishes and elope. "I need you to ask him to have his father check into Lord Erewyn’s disappearance. He needs to ask the following people these particular questions…"


Lilith knocked on the top of her carriage, feeling the vehicle lurch into motion and begin its course toward Lady Demetrius’ manor. Emelie had been more than willing to assist her with Lilith had dropped a hint that the concern was more than just on a friendly basis. Young women were always seeking some way to find the romance in any situation, and although grating and irritating at most moments, it provided her with a plausible excuse for the concern that was far more complex than her feelings for Dierk. The ride was smooth and short, and when Sian opened the door for her, extending his arm for her balance, Lilith took a moment to peruse the grand manor that Lady Demetrius had procured for herself.

Stretching three stories high and taking up nearly an entire city block, she certainly spread herself out for the stay in Illian. Evadne had been, the rumors speculated, a woman who had tread the boards at different houses, and was a good actress to boot. During one particular run during a play, Lord Athame Demtrius had fallen in love with her, pursued her and was kind enough to keel over only two years into their marriage. No one blamed Evadne for never marrying again; she had too much money to want to share it with some other man who wished her money, holdings and properties. That didn’t stop them from trying from time to time, some pompous peacock of a minor lord trying to throw his considerable girth in her path and plead with her heart to marry them.

Evadne had become, in the thirty years since her marriage, a power to be reckoned with, and if one was smart, as Lilith was, one stayed in her good graces and owed the woman a favor or two during the course of their long and lengthy, not to mention severely profitable, friendship. Lilith had paid up a particular debt to Evadne only six months past, when it was said that the Dragon Reborn had come to Illian and destroyed several pieces real estate. None of those were Evadne’s she was never so unlucky as that, however, some strange destructions had happened when the rumored and fabled Dragon Reborn had destroyed some works of art laying around, one of those being a commission Evadne had hired personally to paint her portrait. Lilith had offered Evadne the name of one impossibly hard to get artist who had just vacated her manor two weeks past, along with a hand delivered thank-you note from Evadne and an offer to Lilith that should she ever require help—

The reception into Evadne’s home was certainly less enthusiastic than Emelie’s had been, but there was an underlying warmth in the kiss the elderly woman placed on Lilith’s cheek. "Lilith, it is such a pleasure to see you! That Tairen artist, Pietro, was a true master and I owe you big for getting him for me!"

"Evadne, I appreciate your welcome and I hope that I won’t impugn on your gratitude too much when I ask for your help in something." Lilith sipped the tea offered to her and let her opening statement settle in the air a moment before continuing. "As you know, there have been some ventures into the Wheelwrights, and I’m afraid that one of those members that have become involved in it has come up missing. You most likely understand what this could mean to the project that I’ve underwritten; if one member is gone, this presents something of a problem for me if I wish to make any money off of it."

Evadne leaned over, "Of course, Lilith dear. What can I do for you?"

Lilith took another sip of her tea, "I need you to speak with Soterios Popcyk for me and find out how much Dorcas is losing currently."

She knew the story now, the whole story, and within a few hours, Dierk would be brought to her manor and cared for; in the two weeks he had been missing, Lilith had ascertained that he’d been severely mishandled and abused for what amounted to be nothing more than a slight gain over her in regards to the naval projects of Illian. As far as she could make out, what had happened was simple. Dierk had become involved in one other consortium beyond the Royalton Shipping, this consortium was founded on the basis that with the rising costs of shipbuilding to build faster, stronger ships to face against the Seanchan, so would the costs of tar and pitch rise. However, the consortium had grown very bold and began dabbling with fluctuating the costs by buying and selling from their own private stocks, controlling, in a sense how far up the prices would rise, and testing to see how controlled their measures were.

However, due to Lilith’s involvement in underwriting the Royalton and her own participation in a small venture dealing with canvas sales, it was discovered that when the costs of tar and pitch rose, so declined the cost of canvas. Further, when Lilith began purchasing outlying companies also producing canvas, she began to show her hand in control of the market. When the cost of the canvas rose at her own control, the cost of tar and pitch fell, fell severely low; Dierk had been angry with her until she found his fifth partner, assuaging the rift between them quickly. However, while the price of canvas remained in her iron grip, the value remaining static, it began to cause a decrease in the value of wood to compensate for the high cost of her fabrics, which could not be purchased easily and at less cost anywhere in Illian or Tear.

That was where Lord Dorcas had come in; he speculated that if the cost of tar and pitch could be decreased further, then the cost of wood could rise easily and it would be purchased from his companies as well. It had taken Dorcas literally no time to discover that the main principle in the tar and pitch consortium was Dierk, and if he were to disappear, so would the control over the prices of tar and pitch. The worst part was that Dorcas had speculated correctly and he had begun to prosper again in Dierk’s absence, until Lilith discovered the reason for his disappearance. She might have been a target; her own capital was far easier to take control of and split up, should anything happen to her, however, with Sian and Elthin constantly at her side, Lilith was untouchable for such a maneuver, so he had turned to the less lucrative but easily accessible Lord Erewyn.

The clatter of hooves and the rattle of carriage wheels outside brought her out of her reverie, feet swiftly taking her to the front door where Dierk was being carried by Sian. His face was swollen beyond recognition, lips nearly black from caked blood while he cradled one arm carefully to his body. He looked broken except for the fire of fury in his eyes. Lilith motioned for Sian to take Dierk to the upstairs guestroom she’d prepared and pulled Elthin aside. "Elthin, I need you to do two things immediately. The first is to find a Mother to look over Erewyn and tend his wounds. The second is much more important." Elthin merely nodded; words were usually not his strong suit anyway. "I want you to kill Lady Dorcas and their youngest son Mattias tonight."

Elthin nodded once more and disappeared back out into the night. Lilith stood there, the chill air cutting through the silk of her gown, but she didn’t feel it. Dorcas would find out that she was not to be underestimated.

Lucrative offers
Mon Jan 19 20:09:31 2004

"Lilith, I must thank you again for rescuing me; I still don’t know if I understand half of why it happened, but—" he shrugged shoulders that were more slight and frail than when he had disappeared three weeks ago. The corners of his lips turned up into a smile that could only be described as warm and blatantly inviting. "What can I do to repay this debt that I’ve earned?"

Lilith tilted her head, smiling but her face still closed to this non-verbal advances. She had considered circulating the rumor that the two of them had been locked up in one of their various townhouses in a tryst, but she immediately discarded the idea for the simple fact that Lord Dorcas had just lost his wife and youngest son last night to a most unfortunate carriage accident, and if she began linking herself to Dierk, Dorcas would need no letter of explanation to draw the line between those facts. Worse, Dierk was acting weak and looking at her as if she were some Light-blessed savior, nearly throwing himself on the table in supplication. "Dierk, dear, you know that I never name my price—"

"—but you will and always do, yes, I know this all too well." Dierk sat back into the chair with some degree of rejection. Yet it was only moments before his shoulders were squared once more and he tossed the fine linen napkin to the table, standing. "Lilith, my dear, I must express my gratitude to you, and when possible, I will throw a party in your honor."

Lilith gracefully rose from her chair as well and shook her head, dark hair glimmering with streaks of gold in the candlelight. "No, Dierk. If you wish to thank me, be ready to repay the debt somehow, someday. I’m not so arrogant as to think that I’ll never need help someday in the future, and I would hope that as friends, you and I can count on one another in a time such as that."

He stepped toward her and gave a warm embrace, pulling away a moment before she would have broken the contact herself. Smiling at her, he rubbed a thumb on her cheek. "You are dear, wonderful friend, Lilith. I will see you again soon." As Pieter helped him into his coat and threw Dierk’s coat over his shoulders, the door shut quietly behind him, leaving Lilith to her own thoughts.

Dierk was popular among the Peer in Illian because of his ability to throw a good party and because he was so bloody charismatic, everyone loved him. There was no guile or artfulness to him unless he was wooing some beautiful young woman to his bed, where he could be as vicious as a silverpike among the reeds. Zaccheus had been friends with Dierk over the years, and it was a friendship that had transferred to Lilith upon her husband’s death. But as their friendship continued, Lilith became uncomfortably clear that Dierk’s attraction to her would bring a head to their friendship; if she couldn’t find a way to gently rebuke him, then she would have an enemy. Why not share yourself with him? It was a question she wasn’t sure how to answer; Dierk was certainly handsome enough for her, and she did find herself attracted to him in some minor fashion. Any offspring they would have would her dark, ivory skin to match the light color of his eyes, more than attractive given they were both beautiful people. Yet she could not bring herself to it; she suspected that Dierk’s attraction went much deeper, a conviction Lilith held to staunchly since they had met ten years ago at her very first party as Lady Lilith Neveah.

Slipping her eyes shut a moment, shuttering the world from her gaze, Lilith felt a bone deep weariness before her resolve hardened once more. Dierk was on his way home, the story he constructed with her meant to indicate that he knew Dorcas was behind the kidnapping of his person, but she knew that his attentions wouldn’t be on Dierk’s re-emergence back into society. Everyone had heard that his wife and son had died in the carriage accident, and Lilith was fully aware that he would understand that it had not been an accident. She fully expected his retaliation at a time that would prove most inconvenient for her and most beneficial to him, but it didn’t stop the questions from stirring in her mind. Why had he tread in a pool too deep for him yet? Dorcas, although powerful enough in his own right, had never directly dealt with Lilith before either personally or through mutual business interests. So what had caused him to tip his hand early in the game and cause her a minor inconvenience?

As much as she hated to admit it, Lilith would be required to call on Hallwick and look for his own insight into the fortunes of a man he had known back when they had dabbled at being soldiers. Both were middle sons of Illianer lords and never expected to be tossed into their roles as heads of their houses; the only thing that left her uncertain was if Hallwick had actually known Dorcas, or if they had been strangers to one another, even with their shared and similar upbringing. Lilith resisted the urge to bite her lip, instead she tightened her mouth into a grimace of displeasure. Another debt would need to be called in prematurely, for Hallwick would not acquiesce to offering aid to her without canceling the debt he had incurred. Penning the note quickly, Lilith offered an appointed time for her to call on him, then ascended her staircase to attend a gala that would be thrown by the Council of Nine.

Stepping from her carriage, Lilith smoothed the deep sapphire velvet over her hips and smiled at her reflection. Her hair was pulled back and curled into ornate ringlets that brushed the back of her slender neck, dark tendrils caressing her face gently as the breeze touched her. A gold chain decorated with sapphires wended through her ringlets, studding them with nearly black beauty, while a matching necklace of gold and sapphire teardrops circled her neck. The neckline of her gown was low, as all Illianer noblewomen dressed, the bodice tight and pressing up her ample cleavage to their best advantage. Slipped heavily worked in silver and gold embroidery were daintily displayed by the raised hemline of her skirts, while the full velvet skirts trailed behind her, the hem marked by a single sinuous vine of leaves in silver and gold. She was severely beautiful, dark eyes looking up from the shadows and carmine tinted lips curving into a smile to the waiting footman. "Thank you," she murmured, pressing a small copper coin into his palm.

The footman bowed and backed away, tucking the coin into his jacket as Lilith swept past, the elaborate Great Square of Tammuz at her back as she entered into the Great Hall of the Council. The Ogier-built palace was one of the few wonders of the world and never hesitated to take her breath away for the living beauty that was captured in the soft stone molded and sculpted hundreds of years ago by Ogier builders. Lilith knew that when she became powerful enough, she would appropriate one of those buildings for her own, so that she would be surrounded by the splendor and beauty of craftsmanship that could never be duplicated by clumsy human hands.

Stepping into the Great Hall, she was immediately suffused by string quartets playing soft, yet beautiful melodies among the throngs of men and women in attendance. This was a great celebration, great enough that members of The Assemblage had also been invited to attend, a bridging of bad blood between them that Lilith could only determine would not bode well for her plans, should a truce be called between the two bodies that aided the King, or the Dragon Reborn, in ruling Illian. Since the death of Mattin Steppaneos some years back, the Dragon had not made another appearance in the King’s Palace to her knowledge, and in the interim, it had been a political struggle between the Council and Assemblage for total control over Illian. Lilith was counting on them never coming to terms to make decisions for the best of Illian.

"Lady Neveah, now aren’t you a sight for sore eyes!" Although portly, Lord Tromikeos had the visage of a loving and affectionate grandfather, down to the ruddy complexion and "mutton chops" he adopted that did nothing but accentuate the heavy-set nature of his face. She was never fooled by the convivial disposition he showed to the world, however; Lord Tromikeos was on the Council of Nine, far beyond her reach to have indebted to her, and too wily to fall into her traps. Twice she had made subtle attempts to lure him into her bed in some endeavor to loosen his tongue, but the man was too clever to be deceived by her advances, leaving her with empty hands and no Lord Tromikeos. As he bent over her hand, she resisted the urge to pull it from his clammy grip, instead dropping into a curtsey for the revered Lord with a smile that would have put the sun to shame.

"Lord Tromikeos, what a pleasure to see you tonight!" Lilith smiled at him in an artless display of affection mimicked by the Lord. "It’s been nearly a year since I’ve had the pleasure of your company; do say that you’re available for one dance tonight with me."

"My dear, I was about to beg the same of you, if you would be so kind. In fact," his eyes gleamed, dark as coal from beneath bushy brows that were winged enough that she thought he mimicked the Winged Guards of her own homeland. "If you are available an hour past midnight, I would be most pleased to have you join myself and three other men in a discussion that could be most profitable to you."

"Lord Tromikeos, you flatter me and I would be a fool to decline an invitation as favorable as that." Lilith couldn’t help but feel elated over the turn of events, opportunity that landed in her lap without effort, without guile.

"Then we shall meet in the Gold Room at midnight then, Lady Lilith. I will anticipate the pleasure of your company until then." Bowing over her hand once more, the corpulent Lord ambled his way back through the crowds, leaving Lilith to bask in her newfound fortune.

Weaving through the host of lords and ladies all vying for some sort of lucrative accord with each other, she plucked a glass of bubbling wine from a silver tray and sipped thoughtfully. Although pleased by her good fortune, she wouldn’t allow herself to be blinded by it; the chance had been too well timed, the luck in attaining Lord Tromikeos’ favor too coincidental with everything that had been happening lately. Although she wasn’t so arrogant to believe that the Council Lord himself would take interest in her, he might have the ear of one or two others she had begun dabbling with, and a favor released in such a manner. What would it matter to the elderly Lord that she would be ruined in the space of a few weeks by men he was allied with? No mind to the pretense they upheld in public, Lord Tromikeos had never expressed interest into the veiled hints of treaties, nor had he ever pursued her business ventures with any sort of concern. She was beneath his notice, a minor Lady with a title earned only because of her marriage to an equally unremarkable Lord.

Throughout the night, Lilith circulated through the crowds, earning more than one plea for an appointment with her, and one appointment made by one she considered to be on equal footing with her own power. She considered the possibilities and silently approved of the choices she had made and the potential contacts that would abound from these three meetings. When the water-clocks read a quarter to the hour of midnight, Lilith discreetly removed herself from conversation with a pleasant, elderly Lady and ascended the stairs to the third floor. Golden sconces lit the expansive corridors, leading her to her right from the landing into the heart of the Great Hall of the Council, and although she had never ventured this far into the Great Hall, Lilith had memorized plans of the palace upon the death of Zaccheus and the subsequent plans she had instigated in order to ascend into the true power of Illian.

She didn’t rap on the elaborately gilded door and the handle turned easily in her hands, door swinging into the room soundlessly on perfectly oiled hinges. At the motion of the door, all four men looked up to watch her entrance, and she felt the blood drain from her face. Besides Tromikeos, Lord Popcyk, Tellarin, Cholinda and Dorcas sat in the room comfortably sipping on their brandy. Tromikeos shattered the silence by waving a hand, "Come in dear, I believe you’ll be more than interested in what is about to transpire."

Fallen
Fri Feb 6 20:04:50 2004

While Lilith stood within the doorway, her hand appearing to simply brush against the jamb, but in truth holding her up, she shook. Lord Tromekios seemed impervious to her bloodless countenance and drawn lips as he heaved his cumbersome frame from the chair he had recently reclined in comfortably. Passing her by, his heavy jowls pulled tight as he smiled, the portly lord gave her what should have been considered a friendly pat on her arm, but nearly sent her diving to the floor. Her legs were weak and shaking like leaves in the fall, ready to crumple beneath her as the four other men stared at her impassively, curiosity the only thing that lit those depths. She knew what their presence meant, how it impacted her and what had happened to bring her here, to this moment. The alarm that had overtaken her was not unfounded; each and every one of them stared at her with the anticipation of a mountain-cat on the brink of overtaking its prey. And she was the prey about to be shredded to pieces, consumed by their very nature.

She had played the game and lost. She had lost in the worst way.

The door clicked shut behind her, startling her from her feigned pose at the doorway; a flitter of a smile curved the lips of Cholinda. It was a shout of triumph to her gaze, one that she couldn’t stop herself from glancing away from, bitter and envious that she had tried to play so deep and come up so short. They would take joy, no pleasure, in telling her where she had mis-stepped and fallen from grace, and then explain to her in every detail what would become of her. Standing there, Lilith began to shake with anger which transformed slowly into rage for making her wait and drawing this out. Tromekios had been absent a full minute and they had yet to speak, attempting to force her lips to move and demand an explanation, perhaps give herself away. No, I will not do that. I won’t give them that pleasure of the kill. This was a game, she knew, a game far more deadly than that of predator and prey; this was power that they played with. It broke nations and created rulers, and those who pulled the strings were more dangerous than a trap-door spider.

Someone gave, and it was with satisfaction that she had not been the first to speak; rather it was Dorcas who spoke first, taking the first step they would make in fashioning her destruction in society. Of course, his wounds were still fresh and raw, his wife and son dead by her orders, but certainly not her hand. Popcyk’s alliance with Dorcas was unknown to her, but it took no logical mind to draw the line between them and come up with a proper conclusion. While Cholinda remained staring at her with those penetrating eyes, Lilith knew what their connection was; Cholinda held them in his power for the time being and were drawn together by Cholinda’s insistence. Tellarin, however, remained a mystery she could not unravel; he was the brother to Emilie Dellarue, that was all. But with his presence in the company of Cholinda, Dorcas and Popcyk, it didn’t matter to her. Emilie’s debt was paid, but Tellarin had just incurred one that would not be cancelled without his blood spilled.

"You must wonder why we’ve brought you here, Lady Neveah." Dorcas’ voice cut through the silence, but their mistake had been in attempting silence to disconcert her. Rather than weaken her, it had given Lilith time to compose herself back to her customary hauteur; blue eyes glittered at them in malice that would not be quieted, but her entire body was still and calm, awaiting their final hand to be played.

"Dorcas, you must accept my condolences on the passing of your wife and son." She dipped to a curtsey as her head remained steady, eyes watching for his reaction, which the lord did not fail her in. He blanched away from her gaze, face spilling crimson as he attempted to hold his grief and anger in check. The jibe was petty, but it gave her one last chance before they ground her down beneath their heels.

"Enough of this, Lady Neveah. You’ll find that in a few minutes there will be little that gives you reason to even show your face in the grand city of Illian." Cholinda’s voice was cold, cutting the warmth of Dorcas’ face immediately. Popcyk and Tellarin remained the ever-silent lackeys before the wealth and power of the Illianer lord.

"Then get it over with Lord Cholinda. I tire of your games." The words, spoken in irritation, could not be called back.

Cholinda roared his pleasure at her comment. "My games, Lady Neveah? You stepped into them willingly and you’ve lost. Now you must pay the price, and by the Light if that means that I hold you here until sunup describing in great detail what, precisely, will happen to you, then I shall!"

"Then get on with it." She growled the response, bitterness etching her words with acid that made even Dorcas blanch from her glare.

"Well dear, it goes like this," a voice drawled from the curtains, feminine and husky. It was the well cultured voice of a woman long used to treading the boards and commanding attention with a single hushed word. "Either inadvertently or not, you have caused the ruin of Lord Tellarin here through your machinations with Hallwick and Erewyn." Lady Demetrius, handsome in her fashionable gown and heavily embroidered slippers, emerged from the windows until she was bathed in artful splendor among the candles placed in quite the exact place. "Oh, don’t look too surprised, my dear, you couldn’t have known the extent of my own power. You simply made the mistake of believing yourself the most clever and ambitious woman in Illian. Assumptions, my dear." Evadne wagged one elegantly ringed finger at her and clucked her tongue. It was a cunning performance that she played especially for Lilith. "By forcing Hallwick to remove himself from the venture where he was partnered and losing considerable money, you merely perpetuated the loss that would eventually occur in the consortium, but in the process you disrupted the carefully laid plans of Lady Reptchick."

Lilith merely stared. She could already see where the web was spinning and where it stopped; on the mysterious presence of Lord Tellarin and a rumor whispered to her once behind the fan of a Saldaean nobleman that she’d discarded and simple hearsay. "Well," she murmured, attempting to gain back something of her senses in seeing Evadne staring at her with amusement glistening in her eyes. "It seems that this is the game for the ladies."

Although her gaze remained locked with Lady Demetrius, she heard the choked gasp of Popcyk, a man she knew only by reputation and had wished to remain on such terms until only a few moments ago. Now, if what they threatened came to be, she would know his habits and himself as intimately as she had known of her husband. "So it seems, Lilith." The woman shook her head and if she hadn’t been such a fine actress, Lilith might have believed the words that came out of her mouth next. "I truly regret that it has come to this, but you see, Lady Reptchick is most distraught by the shreds you had made of her plans by obtaining Hallwick into your fold."

Cholinda shifted in his chair, a glint to his eyes that bespoke of his irritation for being pushed aside by the two women. Clearing his throat loudly, "But she didn’t have sufficient—erm—resources, I could say, to bring her revenge to completion. So I offered to help her out, with the aid of the fair Lady Demetrius, and I think that we will all come out of this highly satisfied."

"So you traded a debt to ruin me, Lord Cholinda. Yes, I get that and I’ve figured it out. You have a debt owed by Lady Reptchick, but rather than pay it herself, she’s offering the services of her young lover here, Tellarin. But you couldn’t bind him without something more and that would be the influence of Lord Popcyk here, who has been offering marriage for his youngest sister Emilie, a marriage that she has thus far managed to deny because of the feelings that she has for Arick Pellnore. Arick’s father, Lord Pellnore has managed at one time to cause a venture to fail for Tellarin, and this desire to block him has transfigured into ensuring that Arick will not marry into the Dellarue family. Petty and small, but he is just beginning." Lilith raised a hand, the shaking subsided and all shock replaced by sheer determination. If they were going to take her down, she would ensure it was with as much dignity as she could muster.

Raising a brow toward Dorcas, "It would have been easy for you to sway Dorcas into this; he has his own private revenge to attend to, I’m sure. But Lady Demetrius, I can only imagine your stakes in this is to rid a rival; have I grown so powerful that you allied yourself with this man?"

Evadne looked to her and shook her head with a mysterious, cool smile. "My dear, where would I be today if I shared all my little secrets?"

Matching her chilling smile, Lilith responded, "You probably wouldn’t have made it out of the stews and off the boards." To her credit, Lady Demetrius did not blanch at the outright accusation to her sordid upbringing, yet there was a hint of pink that flushed her cheeks, enough to give Lilith a small victory over the woman. "Don’t worry, Evadne, if I don’t now, be rest assured I will know when I destroy you."

Evadne laughed the practiced laugh of one used to turning heads with the simple sound, but the sound lacked any amount of mirth. "I’m sure, my dear. To be sure."

The sextet all stared at one another, or rather everyone stared at Lilith while she stared back impassively; she had control once more of herself and became certain that whatever they did, she could counter and escape. Popcyk finally spoke, staring hard at her, "Aren’t you going to say, ‘There’s just one thing I don’t understand—‘ and then expect us to elaborate?"

Fixing him with an icy stare that caused him to shrink back from the sapphire depths, she responded coolly, "I understand everything from beginning to end, Lord Popcyk, but if you think that it will be so easy to ruin me and sweep me under the rug—"

She swept a finger to Cholinda and smiled; it was brittle and cracked. "In addition to the displeasure of Brichtin, Allwight, Millint and LadyReptchick, I believe that you have incurred the wrath of those in the Royalton Shipping venture, as it has gone belly-up, so to speak, as of today when it was found that the prices of canvas were being controlled by none other than you. When the lumberjacks and tarheels heard of this—well, you can imagine that the shipping industry is now in an uproar and set back on its heels. With the Seanchan vessels sitting just beyond the horizon, and ships only half finished in the harbors, you can imagine that the Council of Nine and The Assemblage took notice and were not happy with what they saw."

Lilith felt light-headed as the blood drained from her face once more. "How? How did you possibly pull that off. There is no way that it could have—"

"But we did, Lady Lilith." Dorcas nearly chortled with glee, his hands a mere inch from rubbing together as he cackled. "You see, the Royalton Shipping lost two of their prime investors in one night and the other three have been placed under house arrest for treason; deliberately raising the prices of canvas so that it would be too expensive to be bought by the nation was cited as the reason, but does the Council or The Assemblage truly need one, Lilith?"

Staring at the four men and one woman, she realized she had made a mistake; she had put all of her resources into Royalton so that when it fell, she fell too. Not just financially, she still had enough tucked away in other small ventures, but socially. Those who had been ruined by her play with Hallwick would not care for her presence, the nations true rulers believed that she had orchestrated a scheme to cheat them for canvas sails, and the Royalton Shipping—"Wait. Three were imprisoned for treason but there were five members. What happened to the other two?"

Cholinda, reclined casually in his leather armchair, thick frame nearly oozing out, replied casually, "Oh, you mean Hallwick and Erewyn? I’m afraid there was a strange accident, carriage accident to be accurate. They were riding on their way to this very ball when the horses bolted and overturned. Broke their necks and are quite dead now."

Before she felt the bile rise to her throat, Dorcas stared at her with a gleam of satisfaction to his eyes.

The Cursed Five
Thu Feb 26 16:20:07 2004

The slam of a door was never so much as the adage implied; it was closer to a final click of the latch and the sound of a bolt driving home that shut one out and left them standing, in the cold, at the front door. At the hands of a butler who had heard the name and began swinging the door shut, Lilith became aware of how far and how fast she had fallen from grace in society. Her oldest, dearest friends, they walked past her without pause, the hardest earned, most lucrative secrets she had held close to her for precisely the right moment were now dead cards that could not be played. They smirked at her. Smirked! Those men and women had passed by her with triumph on their pasty, well oiled faces, nodding toward her, now with the upper hand, now with their freedom from her and her debts. The Cursed Five and their hand they’d played against her had utterly destroyed everything she had carefully cultivated over the years. Two men closely associated with her had befallen bad accident that had proven fatal and that rumor had taken no time to make its round in the Peer of Illian. Oh, the Cursed Five had no doubt started the rumor with only an offhand comment made lightly, even a devilishly small innuendo placing her hand on their deaths. But rumors surged through the Peer faster than a hurricane came through the Fingers, even without help.

Lilith was not destitute, however. She had managed to hold money enough from various ventures to maintain her staff and keep a tenuous grip on the two outlying manors in the countryside. But no one would go into a venture with her any longer; it was perfectly clear what happened to those associated with her. Two dead, three marked for treason. The charges could not and would not be challenged, not when it had come from the Council itself and was unofficially backed by the Assemblage. Yes, the Cursed Five had been thorough; not even a merchant would look her way favorably unless she had cash ready on hand and was purchasing for the immediate. No promises or contracts could be made with her, no matter how small. She was tainted, just a hairsbreadth shy of a traitor. Her hand had been overtly out of the proverbial pot when all chaos broke loose and it had saved her the title she still held with a fragile and weak grip.

She couldn’t take the time to lick her wounds; Lilith was aware that as time progressed, the less she did the less chance she would have to exact revenge on each and every one of the Darkness Cursed Five and destroy them. They had failed even as they believed they had succeeded. They shouldn’t have been content to simply destroy her socially and even financially. They should have destroyed her totally, removed her titles, land, money, respect, all of it. They should have killed her.

So long as she had breath in her body and lifesblood flowing in her veins, she would exact her vengeance on each and every one of them, taking away everything they had taken from her and even more. So much more.

Striding away from Lord Kouretas’ residence, Lilith felt strange a strange mingling of fear and uncertainty paired with the resolution of her decision and revenge. Kouretas had been one of her oldest and staunchest supporters until her fall. Yet it seemed that his support had been based out of a fondness for her deceased husband and respect for the power she had enjoyed. Worse, she couldn’t blame him or anyone else who had turned her away with a slam of the door; if the positions had been reversed, or more accurately, when the positions had been reversed, she had done the same exact thing. Weak and powerless nobles were good for only one thing, and that was manipulation, exploitation and using them for pointless errands that merchants should do. They were to be constantly reminded of their places and what had brought them to that position, and never, ever given a chance to rise again if the Peer could help it. Those she would have gone to were dead, or had betrayed her.

Dorcas, Demetrius, Cholinda, Tellarin, Popcyk.

She picked without enthusiasm at the meal that her cook had prepared. It looked and smelled wonderful, yet her appetite was non-existent. How could she possibly eat? Her power was gone, blown away with the power of the Cursed Five and their coup. How could she have possibly been so blind? She recalled the conversation between herself and Cholinda, it seemed Ages ago, the pact they had made, the favor she had accumulated from him and her overwhelming pride at her achievement. How vain and blind she had been, the game she had played in so deeply had cost her nearly everything, but certainly everything that was important. What did she feel for the loss of Erewyn? Of Hallwick? She hadn’t thought on them except in the most shallow of thoughts; they had sided or been coerced to align themselves with her and known what the costs could be.

She pushed them from her mind and focused once again on her revenge. Dorcas, Demetrius, Cholinda, Tellarin, Popcyk. They would pay, each and every one of them for what they had done and never finished. Their mistake was her profit. But where to start? She held no position in Illian any longer, no power. The consortiums had dissolved her partnership in some loophole or another, each citing different reasons, different legalities that had left her cold in the winter and without any sphere of influence or cash flow. There was what continue to run her manors, but it would dry up eventually, too quickly, if something wasn’t thought of soon.

"My Lady," Pieter’s elderly frame entered her downcast reflection, his hand creeping forward to remove the uneaten platter of food. "I hesitate to interrupt you, but something has arrived by pigeon."

She glanced up to Pieter with only mild interest. Pigeons sent to her could only mean one thing, her family had, if not heard, had caught wind of the rumors were floating around Illian—but that was it. "I shall take the message, Pieter." Her hand extended, palm up as the small scroll was carefully laid in her grasp. Fingers curling over the rolled parchment, he bowed deeply, backing out with respect. At least in her own household, she remained mistress of her domain. Yet with the plan that began to formulate in her mind, that domain would widen again until she would ruin the Cursed Five.

Only three words decorated the pale sheet as it unfurled.

Come home, Lilith.

"Lady Lilith, I’m afraid that I do not understand your desire to sell your family manors and holdings. I do have he—that is to say, your accounts do remain full still and do be in no danger of ba—that is to say, I simply do not understand." The broker’s thinning hair allowed Lilith a glimpse of the sheen of sweat that shone through the thing strands and trickle slowly to his furrowed brow. Of course the broker would know of her ruination, despite the clumsy attempt to tip-toe around the fact; he was a member of the Assemblage and they carried gossip much further than the Council ever could.

Bereft of power, Lilith could not be stripped of her dignity and self-control. Fixing a dark gaze on the sweating broker, she saw him flinch away as her voice rose with icy contempt, "It is not your place to understand. I wish to sell my three holdings, with the price earned from that going to my account. It will continue to grow at the interest points you locked in for me after Lord Neveah’s passing. If this changes—" her voice hardened while she frowned at him. "The prices have been set on this paper are the lowest bids that will be accepted. Bidding for all three manors, unfurnished, shall begin tomorrow at low tide and continue for a week. At the end of the week, highest bidder shall transfer the funds to my account and the deed shall pass over to him or her."

"And—and if the manors do fail to sell, Lady Neveah? It’s entirely possible that no one will want—"

"I doubt that my manors will remain unsold." Lilith interjected with a cool smile. "In fact, I can guess at who will win the bids. Good day to you, Master Broker. I shall look forward to your missive on the final fund totals deposited into my account." Sweeping out of the brokerage firm, Lilth left the broker to gape after her and shake his balding head.

The ride to her manor was brief; the horses and all properties would remain storage, a small fraction of the cost compared to the upkeep of an empty manor. By now, she was certain that Cholinda, Dorcas, Demetrius, Tellarin and Popcyk had heard through their sources that she had packed all of her belongings and stored them, and the first call for bids on her holdings would reach their ears before they began their evening dinners. In time, they would purchase her lands either overtly or through various brokers and firms that they owned to conceal their hands in it. If it had been she to play this game now in their place, she would purchase the holdings in her own name to grind the dagger into her back just a little deeper, a little further.

She was counting on that.

Handing the reins of her spirited mare to the groomsman for the last time, having provided them with pristine references and hefty parting salaries to hold them for at least two years comfortably, she took one last look at the manor that had become her axis of power. Soon it would be in the hands of the Cursed Five, but it didn’t matter. Not now. Lilith raised the heavily embroidered skirts, alighting to the carriage that waited her, helped into the contraption with an expert hand of her footman, while Pieter and her driver waited patiently. They would make fine additions to the staff of the Sidra household.

Lilith felt the carriage surge beneath her, setting her back against the soft velvet cushions. Tilting her head, she could look at what she left behind; her manor, her lands, and the staff that she had painstakingly accumulated through loyalty and their fine skills. She would miss the fine meals of her cook Dreama and the expertise of her lady’s maid Kassa.

But it would be hers again someday.

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