Tired of parties!

[François Valmont]

François scowled at the scene before him. Crowds of well dressed nobles danced, gossiped and drank, whichever took their particular fancy during the third hour of what felt like a never-ending party to celebrate some instantly forgettable occasion. He had dim recolections of it being someone's birthday. Or had that been last week's equally tiresome party? François was quite convinced Tortallan's would celebrate the opening of cake tin if it came with the opportunity to wear jewellery.

The ambassador disliked these occasions at the best of times but on days like today they only grated on his nerves all the more. A couple of days previously he had received a report from the Central Council that there had been a small pro monarchist uprising in one of the border towns along the Drell. Intelligence had it that this had been led by a younger son of one of the exiled Tusaine noble famlies and it was suggested that he had been actively 'encouraged' by elements within Tortall. The uprising had been put down but this didn't eliminate the concern that it caused.

François knew that the Queen was not foolish enough to openly support insurgency in Tusaine but it was well known that the exiled families had managed to find a welcome and a living in Tortall, although many of them were kept at a distance from the capital city.

None the less, François was keen to press Amedessa on the issue and she had convinently avoided giving him opportunity at every turn. He has repeatedly been met with polite, very reasonable politicians excuses from various clerks, clerics and ministers as to why the Queen was indisposed. Even now, at the party, every time François so much as cast a glance in her direction it seemed she was occupied with one courtly duty or another. François knew he would only be granted audience once the Queen had put her own house in order first, so to speak.

He pursed his lips in annoyance and muttered an unpleasant oath about dogs and their mothers in his own language, not loud enough for anyone to hear, but just loud enough to give him a second of satisfaction.

Wincing at a jab of pain from his troublesome left foot, he decided to take a walk to try and ease off some of the pain he always felt when he'd been standing around for too long. In private he sometimes used a cane when things were at their worst, in public he would never use anything that could be construed as a sign of weakness.

He took up his wine glass and walked slowly down towards the doors that opened out on to the gardens. Although it was a chill in the evening air, it was a pleasant change of atmosphere from the stuffy air of the ballroom. He stopped beneath a pretty arrangement of lanterns, where the crowds had thinned a little and the loud, lively music of the ballroom was dulled to more pleasant background noise.

Sipping from his glass and enjoying both the pleasant warmth of the alcohol and the fact that it dulled the pain in his foot a little, he thought to himself philosophically that even if the party was bad - at least the wine was good.

[princessselene]

Selene felt like a wall decoration most of the party, saying little and trying to escape as fast as she could. Even though she wanted away, she was in a jolly mood for once. She felt almost lightheaded from the indulgance in the drink she had done while inside the ballroom. Her head giddy from that and her overall recent pleasent mood made for an annoying specticle or a laughing one, depending on who might view it.

As she ambled along, humming a tune and was rather onkey, rahter suprising due to her slight issues with balance. She was wearing a deep sea green dress that was rather lowcut, as she was feeling a dredge of lonliness and was seeking a bit of solice and this attire, though getting the wrong attention, it did indeed function to draw attention. Feeling a slight chill in the air, she did pull her cloak closer to her. She had remembered to put it on before she wandered outside.

As she wandered along, she spotted a figure and as she drew closer and examined it, she concluded it was a male and one she had not recalled having met before. So she decided to remedy that and put herself near him, a sickeningly sweet smile on her lips. " Good Evening to you.. lovely night for a walk."

[François Valmont]

As he heard the female voice call out a greeting François sighed a little and hoped inwardly that the woman might be addressing someone else. He glanced around and, noting that no-one else stood anywhere nearby, resignedly accepted that she must be speaking to him.

He turned round fully and his heart sunk a little further. This was not just any woman, but one of the Queen's sisters and therefore this would require François to be diplomatic and courteous, neither of which he was remotely in the mood for at this precise moment.

He bowed in greeting as etiquette dictated. "Your Highness." He gave a tight but polite smile and inclined his head in agreement. "It is indeed a beautiful night, if not a little chill."

He steeled himself and recognised that he would have to formally introduce himself. He knew who the princess was, it was his job to, but as Princes Selenity was little involved in affairs of state it was unlikely she would know who he was. In fact palace rumour had it that Selenity's interests were far less political or regal than either of her sister's.

"Excuse my rudeness, allow me to introduce myself Your Highness. I am François Valmont, Ambassador for Tusaine." He bowed again. "It is a pleasure to finally meet Your Highness."

[princessselene]

Selene bobbed her head in agreement as she shivered again. It was a might bit chilly but she tried not to let it bother her too much. She curtsied as proper etiquette demanded and then commited his name and face to memory. " Pleasure and honor to make your aquaintence, Ambassdor Valmont. I would introduce myself but its rather evidant that you already know who I am." She replied, flicking a piece of hair from her cheek.

" I hope I did not interupt your solitude out here... I was just merely being polite and felt it would be rude to just walk right on by and not say hello. Amedessa would have my head if I were rude to people, especially Ambassadors or visiting royalty." She replied, groaning inwardly at the mention of her sister's wrath. She had gotten enough of it over the years to prefer to just avoid it when she could.

[François Valmont]

"Not at all Your Highness." Was François' polite response. What he would actually have liked to say would have probably caused a minor diplomatic incident.

He sipped at his wine for a moment then continued. "I must confess that I have never been one for the pleasures of these grand balls that you so enjoy in Tortall. I am a man of simple pleasures I'm afraid, I must appear quite unsophisticated in Tortallan eyes." He punctuated this with a smile but it was a brittle one and just about concealed the bitterness that he felt towards such nonsense. "I believe that Your Highness will probably not find me good company when compared to the heady delights indoors." The statement carried a note of sarcasm.

The Ambassador properly took in the Princess' apperance as he spoke. She was dressed in a manner that some might call provocative, this was in keeping with what François had heard about the youngest Conté. He wondered how heavily she had been drinking. The alcohol had certainly been steadily flowing indoors. François was always careful not to over-indulge, drinking made loosened peoples tongues and this was only a good thing if it wasn't your own.

[princessselene]

Selene waved a hunter green gloved hand at him and laughed softly. " I would do good staying out of that atmosphere for a spell, I tend to get a bit carried away if I am not careful and you do not appear unsophisticated! Trust me.. I know what that term is and you are certainly not it. I have seen the best and worst of people." The Tortallan royal said, realizing a breath was needed as that was a rather long blurp.

Clearing her throat and thinking about another drink kept the female's feet firmly planted on the cobblestones. She knew if she went back inside right now that she would be bound to resort to old habits and she was trying not to act that way anymore. She turned her gaze to focus on the Ambassador and found he was not really too bad looking but politely reminded herself that she should not overstep her boundries, as she was certain he was making his clear enough. " I suppose we do have these gatherings a bit too often though... and I wish we didn't. Its hard to turn over a new leaf when temptations of the past constantly keep smacking one in the face."

[François Valmont]

François raised an eyebrow as he fought to keep the polite smile on his face. "Corus certainly seems to be a city of temptations and the edifice of this palace a positive temple to them." He replied drily. "It never fails to suprise me that Her Majesty actually finds time to run the country in between the many 'diverting' pastimes that take place here."

He began to warm to his theme. He got the impression that this was not at all the kind of conversation that the young Princess was hoping for but none the less it was exactly the opportunity to vent some ire that François had been looking for. He kept the courtly smile plastered to his face and his tone was just the right side of polite, but his comments vitriolic enough to make himself feel better.

"In Tusaine, all of the time and attention of the Central Council is on the welfare of our people, but then " he paused and a flicker of amusement touched his features, "we are not men and women of class so perhaps we do not know how to manage such a balance in our lives."

[princessselene]

" I'd be interested in knowing what that kind of life would be like personally." Selene replied, pulling her cloak closer to her form and looking skyward for a moment before turning back to the Ambassador. " I beleive that nobility in itself is a selfish illusion, created by those with the wealth and means to control others through that. But I probably should not say such things, but the thoughts to occur to me. It happened more during my years in the University moreso." She said, coughing behind her hand.

The royal honestly wondered why he did not consider his people of class, surely there was people of class there, for his courtly manners and such like were nothing short of flawless. Unless of course he was a very good actor but being too trusting sometimes was another weakness of Selene. " I fail to see how you are not people of class... look at yourself for example."

[François Valmont]

A snort of laughter escaped François before he had time to stop it. He paused for a second with a quizzical look on his face, trying to work out if the princess had been making a joke or not. He realised to his astonishment that she'd taken what he'd said seriously. He didn't know whether to be appalled at the noble arrogance of the statement or deeply amused that a well bred, supposedly well educated person could take things so literally.

He put a hand to his mouth and sighed, tapping his lips with a slender finger as he reigned in the desire to give a brutally blunt retort. Before the pause became over long and strayed in to the realms of the uncomfortable he decided he'd better say something. He summoned his self restraint and carefully replied.

"With all due repect, Your Highness, I must confess that I was being obtuse." His tone was patient, even though his nerves were begining to wear thin. " Let me simplify my point, I was making light of the fact that we do not have, nor are desirous of having a degenerate class system in Tusaine. We are all common brothers and sisters and therefore our concerns are for the common good, not for how impressive a party we can throw on any given occasion. Manners and a title do not maketh the man Highness." He waved a hand in the air as he spoke, puncutating his statements with little gestures that were quirks of his way of speaking.