Private Latticework

[Dominic Praxon]

The speeches had blurred into a single, polished rhythm. His hand hurt for shaking. There were a dozen faces and names to remember, each with a request tucked neatly behind the pleasantry.

Dominic excused himself with the practiced ease of a candidate, slipping through an antechamber and into the conservatory. The quiet was immediately refreshing. Cool air touched with the scent of damp earth and green leaves.

He crossed to the far wall, where the pale latticework opened to the gardens beyond. Sunlight poured through the patterned gaps. He closed his eyes and embraced the warmth against his face. The light flickered as a passing breeze stirred the leaves outside. For a moment, he let the light and shadow play across his closed eyes, willing the knot behind his temples to loosen.

Somewhere to his right, from the covered porch beyond the wall, came the soft shift of movement. Perhaps fabric, or a footstep. Through the lattice’s intricate weave, he noted...he was not as alone as he had thought.

Loria Sorelle​

 

[Loria Sorelle]

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LORIA SORELLE
Somewhere on Naboo

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The sound of Loria's heels tapping the stone paving echoed gently throughout the garden. A gentle breeze filtered through the elegantly designed grounds, the greenery swaying gently with the wind. Sunlight lit the garden with a gentle glow, offering a sense of warmth as it did so.

Loria's attention was dedicated to a holobook reader clasped in her hands, accompanied by the sound of her speaking to herself softly as she read through her book.

As her journey continued, she took a number of turns and curves throughout the garden, eventually making her way to a path along the lattice bordering the garden.

"…a tapestry woven from many hands, and yet how often we only see one thread..." she spoke quietly to herself, reading aloud as she continued her journey along the garden path.

One or two more moments passed before something caught her eye through the lattice, distracting her from her holobook momentarily.

She continued to trail along the grassy stone paving, her eyes still set on her holobook though not quite reading. A sense of curiosity washing over her instead as she gently meandered along the path adjacent to the mysterious figure.

Eventually, she'd reach the strange figure on the opposite side of the lattice.

With a sense on nonchalance, she'd slowly gaze up from her holobook upon stopping in her tracks.

She spoke softly, "Oh, hello..." Offering a warm, polite smile through the lattice as she did so...

Dominic Praxon

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[Dominic Praxon]

A pain in his chest joined the throb behind his eyes. He was not alone. Damn.

He opened his eyes, squinting against the shifting latticework shadows, and let them adjust to the figure beyond.

"Oh. Hello."

"Hello there."

Dominic shifted a step, peering through the patterned wood. The sight struck him as a perfect portrait of his life - caged behind a façade, delicate yet well-kept. On the other side stood a young woman who seemed to embody the freedom that eluded him - smiling, untroubled.

"You are missing a riveting fundraiser inside," his lips curved into a wry smile,"Do yourself a favour and avoid it."

Loria Sorelle​

 

[Loria Sorelle]

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LORIA SORELLE
Somewhere on Naboo

"Oh no, I'm missing it!" Loria mused back awkwardly, fully aware of the ongoing happenings within the complex. She let on as such, grasping her aged holobook to her chest tightly as she did so.

Should he look any closer, he'd notice the title on the cover: 'Veils of Verity: The Woven Truths'

As she gazed through the lattice she eyed the tall man and his handsome proportions. She wondered to herself whether he was anyone important, assuming he came from the direction of the fundraiser.

The gallery where they both stood was a favored spot of Loria's, she had visited multiple times throughout her studies and a few times on family business. She found a sense of familiarity within its walls, often visiting to admire new artistry or to lose herself in a good read.

"I uh-" she paused for a moment, grinning at her own joke awkwardly. "-I hear books don't have donation speeches. It's quite refreshing, actually!"

She gestured to her own holobook, illustrating her reasoning for being in the garden. Smirking politely as she did so.

"Are you here for the art or the fundraiser?"

Dominic Praxon

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[Dominic Praxon]

Dominic's gaze lowered to the book in her arms, the title briefly obscured in glare of light. Veils of Verity: The Woven Truths. His eyes lingered a moment longer than politeness required, one brow lifting faintly before his attention returned to her through the lattice.

A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He shifted his stance, angling himself so the sun fell across his shoulder, shadow tracing the line of his jaw.

The mention of donation speeches drew a quiet breath of amusement from him, the sound low enough to be almost lost beneath the conservatory's hush.

When she gestured to her book, he let his gaze follow the movement, noting the easy way she seemed at home in the space. His hand brushed idly along the carved lattice beside him, fingertips following the pattern as if to match her gesture with one of his own.

"Perhaps the lady would avail me of a reading?" He said, eyes glinting with mischief.

At her final question, he tilted his head slightly, eyes narrowing in the smallest hint of intrigue. "In truth...I am here for neither art nor fundraiser. Not that I am opposed to either...but priorities and...such."

His gaze, falling on the book title again, averted quickly when propriety was overstepped.

Loria Sorelle​

 

[Loria Sorelle]

​

LORIA SORELLE
Somewhere on Naboo

A glint warmed Loria's gaze as she studied the man beyond the lattice- perhaps lingering a heartbeat longer than politeness allowed. Sunlight spilled between the carved patterns, casting shifting shapes across his face, tracing the lines of a jaw that seemed almost sculpted for such light.

His faint smirk met her own, a small current of ease settling in her chest. The lattice felt like a gentle buffer- close enough for connection, distant enough for safety. Her fingers curled a little tighter around her holobook, the smile on her lips softening into something more sheepish.

"A reading?" Her eyes dipped to the book before finding him again through the intricate woodwork, the hesitation in her tone coloured with quiet playfulness. "It's hardly the sort of thing one expects to be quizzed on in a garden… but I imagine the company might make it worth the risk."

At his mention of priorities, an eyebrow arched in mild intrigue. She shifted her weight, the book's corner catching the sunlight as if to underline the motion. "My, that sounds almost as fun as both art and fundraisers put together," she said, the shy curve of her lips betraying her awareness of how terrible the joke was.

When she noticed his gaze drifting back to her book instead of her eyes, her own expression tipped into a knowing smirk. Turning slightly along the path, she glanced over her shoulder through the lattice, the carved shadows playing across her cheek.

"Care for a stroll?"

Dominic Praxon

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[Dominic Praxon]

A door creaked open behind Dominic. He winced. Knowing what it meant. His galavanting was over before it began.

Shame. She was quite lovely.

"Sir...the patrons are asking where you are."

He knew the voice of his aide, Lysa, quite well. She was a tall, lean, statuesque Brentaali woman with unnaturally high cheekbones. Dominic turned to her and gave her a half wave, and a nod. Hopefully it would be enough to placate her for long enough for a farewell.

"My dear...I fear that neither reading nor walking will be our fate today," he said, as the beams of light cut across his brow, "but instead a cruel...nay...poetic parting. My sweet but fleeting reprieve...I bid thee farewell."

He dipped his head, smirking as if to admit the line was pure theatre, and that he knew it.

Loria Sorelle​

 

[Loria Sorelle]

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LORIA SORELLE
Somewhere on Naboo

A faint crease touched Loria's brow as she caught the motion- the door swinging open behind him. The latticework between them fractured her view into slender panels of light and shadow, each concealing more than it revealed. Sunlight flared across the carved wood, making the space beyond him feel darker, harder to read.

His parting words landed softly, unexpectedly poetic. They settled in her chest before she could muster a reply. And then- he turned, already moving away. Her heart gave a small, sharp kick at the sudden awareness that she knew nothing of him beyond a smile, a voice, and the glint of the sun on his features.

"Wait! I didn't… get your… name…" The words faltered into the garden air, barely carrying beyond the lattice. He was gone before they could find him.

She lingered, eyes tracing the now-closed door as if it might open again. The weight of the holobook in her arms felt heavier, pages pressed shut, the title catching a shard of sunlight. Reading now felt impossible; the silence was too thick, the air too still.

With a breath that curled into a sigh, she turned. The path back stretched long between hedges, the shadows of the lattice still lying in careful patterns across her dress. She followed them without hurry, each step dimming the garden's warmth until only the whisper of the breeze remained...

Dominic Praxon

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