Tea Time

[Cecily Demici]

Spoiler: Princess Eleanora Valeria

"She's dying," the doors to the terrace opened abruptly and the Princess of Deeja Peak swept out onto the balcony with her niece, Cecily Demici, in tow. The older woman looked somewhat like her niece, especially her cold blue eyes which were in every way severe. Eleanora had ruled as head of House Valeria for decades and outlived all of her husbands. She was shrewd politician with shrewder ambitions and she had summoned Cecily to her for a specific reason.

"I still fail to see what that has to do with me, Aunt Eleanora," Cecily pleaded, noting that the balcony had been arranged for afternoon tea, "oh, I wasn't aware we would be taking tea together."

"We aren't," Eleanora snapped, "I have invited Lady [member="Jamie Pyne"] of House Pyne."

"Who?"

"Nevermind! All you need to know is that the plans I have put in motion are for the betterment of the entire planet. Too long has House Valeria stood by and let the Techno Union run rampant. Treat her well, she is a good girl."

With that, the shrewd woman left the balcony, leaving Cecily perplexed. Still, she shook it off and took at seat at the small table, waiting for her guest to arrive.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"For what reason must I attend this meeting, mother?" Jamie's lack of enthusiasm for this day's activities was painfully obvious. Rarely were these personal meetings outside of the royal court anything but subterfuge and bribery laced deals. That was the area of politics that Jamie was wholly against. It's what made her decision to take up her Force training seriously. It's why her stance on honorably serving Naboo was so pronounced. The girl refused to circumvent what was right for the sake of appearance or gain. Most subscribed to alternative philosophies.

Lady Pyne was a woman of her late forties, stern, and full of pride. "Because I've asked you to. Because you've been invited by Lady Valeria. And because you have obligations to represent this family and your home, despite your gallivanting about the galaxy with this Force business." When she spoke, her words were to be heard and understood. A true matriarch. The girl's father had always been the more level-headed of the two, with calm demeanor and a relaxed tone of voice. Their chemistry was always a bit of a mystery to their daughter. They seemed to be polar opposites in just about every aspect.

The blonde rolled her eyes, pale blues trailing off in silent protest of the demand. Her mother caught sight of the action and gave a stern glare, more than enough to wipe the expression from the girl's face without need of spoken words. "Very well. As you wish." Jamie proceeded to finish dressing and prepping herself proper before heading to the awaiting speeder. All she could do was hope that this meeting was one of cordial banter, and nothing more.

[member="Cecily Demici"]

 

[Cecily Demici]

Cecily stirred her, now cold, tea aimlessly as she waited. Slumping over onto her hand and humming a sweet melody to herself. As she sat waiting, she wondered what Naboo would do now that the Techno Union was collapsing. Her home planet was traditionally quite isolationist, but her Aunt, the head of the very powerful House Valeria had designs of her own that didn't include independence and neutrality. Personally, Cecily favored the Galactic Alliance. It was the final bastion of hope in the galaxy.

Well, whatever happens, it's better than where we are now, she thought as the doors to the balcony opened again and a finely dressed guard stepped out.

"Lady Jamie Pyne of House Pyne," he said, clapping his heels together to announce her guest's arrive. Presumably, Jamie would be walking in right about now. ( )

"Lady Pyne, I trust your trip was pleasant," Cecily said, standing with open arms, ready to embrace the young lady. They didn't know each other, but Cecily was known for her amicable nature. Besides, given that they were both from noble families, it was likely that they were distantly related somehow anyway.

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Despite being accustomed to the proper dialect of Naboo royalty Jamie still cringed whenever she was referred to as Lady. It made her feel old. Lady to her meant a woman of wisdom, power, and age, like her mother. Miss Pyne or simply Jamie was far more comfortable for her in conversation, though achieving that was often more hassle than worth. The ways were the ways, and she was damned if she had any hope of changing a millennia of tradition.

A kind smile and a polite embrace came before a nod and response. "It was, thank you. Lady Demici, correct?" Jamie was terrible with names, and worse at pronouncing them. Luckily, Cecily's wasn't overly full of syllables and enunciation. Some of the others she'd been introduced to in the past were like trying to speak another language using the same Galactic Basic alphabet - a real nightmare.

The blonde wondered for a few moments whether the woman had heard about what transpired months before at the Theed Coliseum during the finals of the saber tournament. Jamie had been in the final match set against a rather large fellow who she had nearly bested. That is, until he decided that the fight was to become a fisticuffs brawl, rather than a swordplay match. That was subsequently the moment she'd discovered her connection to the Force. While pinned to the ground under the force of the boy laying punch after punch into her she had somehow hurled him over a dozen feet away through the Force. That had become quite the subject of attention for some time. To Jamie the whole thing was still incredibly embarrassing.

"It's a delight to meet you."

[member="Cecily Demici"]

 

[Cecily Demici]

Cecily couldn't help, but laugh when the young lady addressed her so formally. Though she had only a few moments ago addressed her guest with the same pomp and formality, it felt odd being called Lady and Your Grace again after seven months of being called a host of more colorful words by her captors.

"Cecily, please," she insisted politely as she motioned to a chair opposite her under a tall shady tree with bright pink blossoms flowering about its branches, between them was a full spread of tea and finger foods for the two to get acquainted over. Cecily set about pouring herself a new cup of tea as hers had all-but frozen over during the wait.

Cecily had not met the beautiful girl before, nor had she had much time for gossip since arriving on Naboo. Most of her free time was spent in prayer or meditation as she struggled to recover from her capture by the Sith. Yet, her family spoke highly of Jamie Pyne when she asked and that was a good enough first impression for her.

"It is so good to host you at Deeja Peak, remind me, where is your family's seat?"

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

Jamie let out an audible sigh of relief hearing Cecily drop the formality of names. That mild tenseness to her faded and allowed the girl to relax a bit more with the expectations of highbrow etiquette being relinquished. "Cecily, then." She smiled as she took the seat offered, left leg crossing right. Blue eyes fell over the brilliant blossoming flowers overhead. The flowers and trees and the aesthetic of Naboo had always been her most cherished aspect of her home. It was delightful to see others had the same pride as she.

"It's quite a remarkable sight here for sure." The blonde's hand lightly ran along the petals of one of the lightly colored flowers. "Pynewood is to the south. It has belonged to my father's family for generations. Overlooks Theed from the distance on the rolling hills split between the Fork River."

While tea wasn't typically a first choice for her, instead preferring the uninspired water above all else she maintained proper manners and poured a half cup of the liquid, lifting with both hands after setting the pot back down with the lightest of clanks. A light blow of air and a sip later she turned back to the woman across from her. "Forgive me, my mother informed me of the request for my visit, though not the specifics behind it. I'm afraid she left me a bit in the dark." Standard practice for her in truth, the woman rarely told Jamie the reasons behind anything she'd done.

[member="Cecily Demici"]

 

[Cecily Demici]

Cecily watched Jamie over the rim of "cup as she sipped the tea, nodding as Jamie described Pynewood and its position to the south. Deeja Peak was among the first places to be colonized on Naboo and for many generations had been little more than a farming community until House Valeria was granted the place as their noble seat. Now it was a bustling city of its own right, though it maintained the historic beauty of Naboo.

"You mother and my aunt are cut from the same tree, it would seem," she smiled, "while my dear Aunt Eleanor rarely gets by without some ulterior motive, perhaps this meeting was friendly in nature. Then again, perhaps you and I are just pieces on a chess board to our families."

The last bit was more a joke than anything, while Cecily's aunt was a powerful force on Naboo with great ambitions and an intellect to match, she knew better than to try to manipulate her niece into doing anything she didn't want to do.

"Did you study here on Naboo?" Cecily said, referring to academics.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"I've long since given up trying to understand my mother's motives. There's times where I think she might actually be some kind of artificial intelligence." Jamie let out a deep laugh. Her mother was a very focused person. She always had her reasons for the things she'd done. Though she'd never known her to do something malevolent or spiteful, so Jamie was sure that whatever this meeting had been for was hardly worth worrying over. "If your aunt is anything like my mother then you have my sympathies." A smirk behind the cup as she sipped would indicate another joke.

"All my life." She said, "Mostly studied law, ethics, and commerce." There was that one thing she did though as recreation. "Though after much pleading I was able to practice swordplay. I've been fencing since I was eight." It was clear which portion of her studies she was more interested in speaking about, her hands gesturing as she spoke, voice speaking a bit faster. "Been in three championship tournaments in the grand coliseum. Won one of them with a flawless twelve to zero record."

[member="Cecily Demici"]

 

[Cecily Demici]

Cecily smiled, impressed with the younger girls superb record in the tournaments. She had never been one for fighting herself, but now that the subject had been brought up she found herself thinking about the month on Onderon before her capture. Cecily had led a band of rebel fighters against the occupying One Sith. Their efforts had really boiled down mainly to small skirmishes, but at the time she was the highest ranking Onderonian official still alive (to their knowledge) and thus was the commander of those forces. This all had been very recent for her though and not something she wanted to discuss.

"How impressive! I was never one for fighting personally, I won all of my battles in the Senate," she joked, "I also studied here on Naboo... decades before you did, obviously! Then I went on to study at the Galactic Republic University, on Coruscant at the time. I earned the highest degree for Laws and Civics, taught there for many years while in the Senate, but that's all behind me now."

"I wonder, what are you aspirations?" She turned now to the future, particularly interested in things like 'where do you see yourself five years from now?'

[member="Jamie Pyne"]

 

[Jamie Pyne]

"It's quite the rush!" Jamie replied, wide eyed and clearly excited to talk about the subject. There wasn't a great many times where her hobbies and talents were appreciated, or even worth bringing up when considering the grand scale of the situation on Naboo and elsewhere. Her family was proud, no doubt, of their daughter, but it was far less important in comparison to the work that was done on the floors of the royal court, or supplying food and shelter to refugees of war torn planets.

"That's quite impressive as well!" She understood that Coruscant, having once been the seat of the great Republic, was one of the most highly respected institutes of the galaxy. The once great Senate had been established for millennia there. Jamie had seen photographs of it in its' glory days. "I'm not sure." She said, realizing Cecily had asked a question. "I'm kind of torn between two things, though I suppose the end goal is really the same. The road to get there is what I'm struggling a bit with."

The young blonde was aware Cecily wasn't sensitive to the Force, but given her position she had surely encountered Force wielders in the past, right? "I've been training, albeit unconventionally, to use the Force. I want to learn, and use it, to help protect and defend both my home and those I care about, but also those places and people who cannot defend themselves." She gave a nod to herself. "I also want to use my voice in the courts and embassies for peaceful resolutions to conflict. But in the event that words cannot break bread I want to have a fall-back plan." Her voice turned rather serious for a moment, a bit surprising for her rather chipper nature. "I don't want to be the one sending folks to die for my words. I want to stand beside them and support them, mentally, and physically."

[member="Cecily Demici"]