Royal Intrigue

Jealousy Becomes Her

Metori said a silent prayer as she saw who had interupted her walk back to her quarters. One of her father's younger wives, a marriage of political necessity rather than love, blocked her way with several of her servants. Technically of a lower rank than Metori, she still liked to demand respect that she felt was due to her. The princess had always found it easier to simply bow her head and move on than to argue over the status of someone who would never move up in the line of succession. Metori was unsure if her father had even consumated the marriage, the grim demeanor of the woman before her and her seemingly incessent need to pick at others seemed to point towards it never having happened.

"Hello Fume, how may I help you today Mother of the Fifth rank with my father's palace?" Despite seeming respectful, Metori wished to remind Fume that her rank was equal to that of many of the Princesses' own ladies, not to the princess herself. The negotiations of her family had earned her admittance to the palace of women, but not to her own rank or placement that would give her any prestige. Had it not been for a series of assination attemps against her father that ended in political negotiations, a member of her family would not have been considered for marriage in the first place.

"Dearest daughter, I see that time spent within the temple has not tempered you own attitudes. It might do you well to focus more on your womanly charms than on trying to eduate those beneath you." The sneer that Fume gave at the mention of the children rankled Metori, she knew the woman considered herself better than the children of the nobles who were sent to the court, despite her not being one only because of her families lack of connections. "You wouldn't want to make it any harder than it already will be for your father to find a suitable husband for you, your reputation after all is one that leaves much to be desired."

Metori grit her teeth as she forced herself to reply in an even and kind tone. "I am sure that whoever my father chooses for me to marry when suitor are brought forth will be honored to be so connected to our family. It is after all a blessing to be so connected to the blood of the empire. I seek only to bring honor to this family, and should hope that you do the same."

"You speak of honor daughter, yet you are found here, with the children of commoners, rather than attending to matters of the court. What kind of honor is it that hides with snivveling monks, too sad and old to even perform their duties to the Emperor, forcing him to come at their very whims."

"My father is the one who wishes me to help educate those who will join the court. The harmony of those around us is important, not just as the royal family, but also for the stability of the country. Families who send their children find it to be an honor for them to be educated and brought up within the palace. To say that I am too good to be part of that education would be a slight against those that have been deemed necessary to our way of life. As for the monks and the temple, my father knows that even the gods can turn their faces from him and that the world moves at their behest, not his. Why should he not come to their home, rather than demanding they come to his. Their presence is a blessing as is his presence within the ceremonies that are entrusted to him."

"You speak so decidedly for a girl with no husband and no child. How are you to contribute to the royal household if you don't fulfill your duty as a woman? Busy work given by your father to indulge you doesn't make you a good child, it just makes you a problem. As for the gods, I believe that they would be lucky to be in the presence of your father, he is after all the soul of the country. How dare you speak as if he is not more important than any other?"

Metori finally lost the battle to stay calm, the slight towards the gods and herself too much for her to take. "Fume, I can see that time here in the palace has not smoothed out your provinicial ideas. It might do you well to attend some of the more remedial lessons given to those who come into the palace at a young age. You do the royal family and yourself dishonor by suggesting that anything my father does or said is forced. Furthermore, you insult him by pretending to know his plans and desires for his children. The books in which the records of visits are kept are easy to access, his lack of interest towards you is well documented and known throughout the court. Should you choose to harass me in such a way again I will report you to the Empress and let her decide what punishment needs to be metted out for such a poisonous tongue. The service that my lord father demands from me is not for me to question nor for you to try and codify. Please do not do so in the future."

The princess lefted the stunned concubine behind, knowing that her anger would turn her even more against the princess and her household. Still, she could not allow that kind of disrespect to continue. A servant slinking away from the scene and another fading into the shadows told her that her actions would be reported to several different parties as well. She was unworried about her mother's reaction, and she knew that no-one would report her defense of the Emperor to him in anything but a positive light, however her enemies now knew how to get her to respond.

Truth be told she was also rather nervous about her marriage prospects. As a favorite daughter of a favorite wife, it was likely that she was considered a great pawn for political gain. So far her father had seemed willing to let her choose her own suitors, but how long would that indulgence last? With this and many other things on her mind, she motioned to her ladies to walk with her, choosing to take in the beauty of the gardens and ponds within the walls rather than returning to her chambers. She needed to make a plan and stick to it, and she needed to find a suitor soon, before the choice could be taken from her.