Jacopo d’Arrigo, Jackson Woolf, and Faith Jagan walked to the Royal Garden, eager to get out of the stuffy hall and into the fresh air. As they grabbed drinks and conversed with each other, Woolf heard Rico call out to chat. Nodding goodbye to his fellow Furnifolds, Woolf walked away. The Magistrate, ever the opportunist for an open bar, muttered a farewell to the Chancellor as she talked with another Kuthernburg dignitary, and went back to the bar to grab another drink, a glass of champagne this time. He turned around and saw Queen Lilith of Yuno standing by herself at the bar. I better seize the moment before Queen Naomi comes to grab her, he thought. Walking over to Lilith, he stole a glance at Woolf, who was chatting with Rico and did not seem to notice the Magistrate. Jagan seemed similarly occupied.
d’Arrigo walked up to her with a smile on his face, made a show of nonchalantly leaning against a nearby table and remarked, “What a lovely coronation. My Foreign Secretary, Jackson Woolf, lives for these kind of things. I prefer to be in the air myself. This could have been much more exciting if we were up a mile-high, you know? Also, I don’t believe we’ve been introduced, you’ve probably communicated only with Jackson. I’m Jacopo d’Arrigo, Magistrate of Furnifold.”
[hr]
The Merciless Deity, Lilith, had watched the religious customs of the infant child, masking her disinterest in the religious ceremony, for the baby princess would not become one of her fanatics, unlike the customs at home. She didn’t bother to spread imperialistic Lilith-devotion so she kept silent; Naomi was her friend and she wanted Nao’s children to grow to become happy, independent royals. When all the rituals had ended and the participants were relocated to the Royal Gardens, she watched her ‘friend’ Naomi, Naomi’s daughter, escorts, and other dignitaries huddle up in a group socializing. Lilith frowned, she hated groups, and hated a lot of things, homicidal tendencies were what raised her into power, and much of her dark success stemmed from false friendships and kindness. The woman felt needles of loneliness inside her, but there were even more knives embedded in her back, figuratively of course. There were scars. She drank down a large glass of alcohol. Lilith NEVER drinks alcohol. Never at home where everyone wants their Goddess dead. Never in public, not in private. For some god forsaken reason, she slipped and drank.
She didn’t bother looking at other occupants, she was only here for Naomi (who to her severe displeasure was socializing, which was to be expected, why would she expect otherwise? She held no right to be angry, it was Nao’s granddaughter’s coronation, not a worship Yuno festival,) and she was eager to finish up early. Her ‘best friend’ Naomi had so many -friends-, while Lilith held her brainwashed citizenry and jingoistic war fanatics at a distance, while being paranoid that a number of her followers were probably assassins and sycophantic liars waiting for her back to turn. She had enemies beyond the borders too. So many people wanted her dead, but no one dared to look at her wrong. She had no blood family; a dictator needs one, and she didn’t have one, only the Divine authority. That increased her bounty further. Maybe I should consider adoption. She poured another strong alcoholic glass and drank.
She felt another pang of neediness and glanced briefly at the clock-tower looking at the TIME to finish up early. "Naomi you fool… leaving me by… " She pushed her unsteady body up, and turned her head to look at/for Naomi again, because she obsessively watched her “best friend’s” social nature this entire time because the self-proclaimed deity was definitely a masochist for jealousy. Make-believe friends were annoying, pathetic, useless. So she had none, but a large shadow blocked her view and she stepped back surprised, her fingers twitching almost reaching for any tool that could be used as a weapon. She saw d’Arrigo’s non-combative posture, watched the champagne he held and listened for any inflection of his tone as he spoke to her and she… What the fuck was she doing? Her silence and isolation has caught the attention of…
“You should visit my hometown, I reside at the tallest building in the nation. The sights are glorious…You could…watch the world underneath the clouds, underneath you, and you lose your fear of heights and every frightful thing- just be careful not to step over the ledge.” She was smiling, the passionate words had slipped out her tongue before she even started thinking.
She didn’t act like a drunk alcoholic. At first. In fact, she was smiling deceitfully, before she suddenly stumbled onto d’Arrigo, knocking his glass over…
“Jacopo d’Arrigo…” She said his name in a husky, threatening growl, for she DID seem to have an axe to grind, “You should have bowed before approaching…On your knees… I’ll let it slide, though,” Damn it felt good to socialize… Everything inside her common senses and wisdom and genius strategic mind screamed this was a terrible idea to even socialize, but it was just this once. “My name is Lilith, you may call me that…for now…” *Why was her mental state so foggy? Or was it just an excuse for herself? She didn’t want to think about it, and attempted an intimidating stare at her newest victim, Magistrate d’Arrigo. Then, she released her strong grip on his shoulders and reached into her purse with mechanical speed, and flipped out her pinkified cell phone which had one Naomi contact and that was it, and pushed it onto his hand. “Add your cell phone number here.” Upon saying that, she turned around, and poured herself a second glass. “So tell me about yourself, J…” Did she forget this insignificant piece of grass’s name already?? She was in a gloomy mood, irritated and envious, not to mention her vision was hazy. Naomi had family, children, marriage, and what did she have? A blood soaked legacy that would put the Motherland back into chaos when she dies, hopefully just temporary chaos. She stumbled over and plopped the glass towards her newest victim with a loud clang of glass against table and looked him into the eyes serious, making sure to interrupt him before he would finish his speaking, with: “One more drink… And I will get unconscious. I know it. So you: drink this.” It was an “obey or die” tone that tolerated zero dissent.
Steady yourself… strength is only relative: Being weak doesn’t matter if you’re the strongest in your proximate crowd… Get this 100% sober piece of thing intoxicated…
[hr]
Jacopo d’Arrigo was beyond intrigued. When he approached the Queen, she appeared to be sober, until she started talking. Words slurred together, his name repeated a couple of times, then forgotten, her pink cell phone pushed into his hand, the implication being obvious. The Queen was clearly not herself, or was she? he thought. Maybe I’ll save the gift I got her for later, when she’s more sober.
No sooner than he had typed the keys to his cell did she ask him to talk about himself. “Well, besides being the Magistrate of Furnifold, of course, I am also a conservationist.”
Lilith snatched her device back with a smug look. Jacopo thought, That face she gave me, am I one of her conquests?
Time to do an intelligence report on this guy later. she thought.
“Conservationist…birds…” Lilith couldn’t help but have the image of nukes rather than legitimate birds in her mind for a second. She blinked and turned her thoughts back to the Magistrate of Furnifold, surprised.
He continued, “I studied the migratory patterns of one of the native birds of Furnifold, but, get this, I did it while flying alongside these things. Have you ever flown on a hang glider, my Queen? I’m always looking for an excuse to get in the air, and would love to take you out flying sometime.”
d’Arrigo was rewarded for the smooth pickup with a serious look and fluttering of eyes from the Queen, though he was pretty sure it was due to the alcohol. She responded with a sultry, “drink this,” command, and handed him an unfinished glass. “Sure, don’t mind if I do. Now, enough about me, what about you? I don’t understand how someone of such, intense beauty, can stand alone like this. I figured you would be with Queen Naomi. But, to be honest, I’m glad you’re not with her, because there’s no way I could approach the both of you together. You’re both much too intimidating for me alone, but together, you would be a tour-de-force.”
The Magistrate hoped this flirty small talk was acceptable, it was just so tough to understand Queen Lilith. But the Queen was a nut the Magistrate wanted to crack. However, Jacopo felt that there must be something the Queen wants from him, some puzzle he has yet to piece together.
[hr]
Lilith had snatched her cell phone back quickly, because it had Queen Naomi’s number; and despite being intoxicated, the female tyrant would NEVER let that girl’s number fall into someone else’s hands in fact, letting Jacopo onto her cell phone for a few seconds was already a high enough security risk. This number better be real, or I’m going to have him assassinated, Lilith thought darkly and unrealistically. After pocketing her cell phone, her hand slid onto Jacopo’s shoulders and pressed him down onto a seat, as she slid onto the seat beside him.
She watched him finish her glass. She grabbed another bottle and reached for his cup, poured the drink up to the rim, and pushed the glass back to him.
She pressed her chin over her knuckles, as she watched him as though he were an interesting lab specimen, with the hungry eyes of a chemist.
She’d pour him more if he finished. She didn’t bother with pills or drugs or anything, she was confident that she didn’t need them.
The man told her, “I don’t understand how someone of such, intense beauty, can stand alone like this.”
There it was.
Lilith felt heat rise to her cheeks, she blushed and blinked and looked aside, demure lashes and slowly looked up at him blinking demure eyelashes.
“Thank you, Jacopo,” she said… “I…”
Lilith had full control of her emotions. She had actually intended to fake her blush and receptive mannerisms, but in this case, her body naturally reacted, due to the alcohol and the combination of all her other emotions. She was faking it, but this time it was absurdly, suspiciously easy to fake.
“You’re very appealing to stare at, yourself, too… If I may feel that,” she reached for his face to see if it felt real.
She knew she didn’t look THAT scary right now, which was her intention.
“You’re innocent, too. You’re afraid to approach us, but Naomi and I are just like you, leaders who have unweighable responsibility and want to relax sometimes, and that’s why we’re friends. I know this is a feeling you could very well relate to, Magistrate. We have the lives of millions of people weighing on our shoulders, and the world, that’s the present.” She pressed her face over to her new friend and leaned her mouth to his ear. “And the past haunts us worse. Innocuous, random things remind us of our past, at the most unexpected times of the day. For example, I look at the turtles in this garden’s ponds, and get triggered thinking of the turtles I killed for turtle soup.” The turtle example was a lighthearted analogy, what she wasn’t saying consisted of the wars she partook in to establish herself as supreme leader.
She noticed her arms around the man as if constraining him. She noticed she was standing behind the man and pinning him to his spot, so she released Jacopo and quickly she tried to think of an excuse for her actions. Nah, she was just keeping him rooted so he would pay full attention to her and not leave. She poured him another glass of the thick wine.
“Turtle soup is very bitter, but ultimately healthy,” she added. She leaned herself against the wall near him and thought aloud. “It’s very difficult to stand up straight,” her body felt like iron, but still she made sure her posture appeared stiff.
“You’re a conservationist who studied birds, and flew with them… That’s brilliant…” Lilith bit her lip and decided to consent, due to largely Machiavellian reasons. “I’d love to try it, but I’m only willing to if you’re the one taking me.”
She tilted her head. “And it’d better be within the next two months, don’t forget. If you forget…” She pushed herself off the wall and walked around the Magistrate, her vision was blurry but she knew it would fix itself, later. “I’ll use everything within my power to bypass your security, and send a prominent reminder to your home… and family, if you have one.”
One doesn’t just have the audacity to ask out the Devil herself and expect zero repercussions. But of course that didn’t -sound- like a bomb threat or whatever, she ‘made sure’ to say that in a sultry and drunk voice.
“I’ll tell you more… But the party is ending soon…” And I’m very sleepy and have no idea if I’ll be able to hold myself up, but if this man passes out before me… “I’ve made a decision, Jacopo d’Arrigo: I’m keeping you. If anyone else asks you to do something for them that you don’t want to, which by the way, you definitely don’t want to: Answer them and tell them you’re being held hostage by the Empress Lilith of the Expansive Empire of Yuno, the most powerful country on the planet, and claim that you’ve got infinite combustible microchips embedded on your body. That she can activate any time. So, don’t be intimidated anymore. You have nothing and no one to fear.”
But if they were both intoxicated individuals, or at least almost incredibly intoxicated, that this barbaric and surreal statement will probably fly by without a diplomatic disaster.
She patted his back, acting as though she just did him a huge lifetime favor and solved all his life problems with one single answer. As though she’s either crazy and delusional, or she’s right. She pushed herself up, getting ready to leave.
This man was almost ten to twenty years older than her, maybe more, maybe less, but she treated him like a baby toy. She lowered her eyelids and looks DOWN at his eyes, “Show me where youre residing at, my friend. I’m just curious.”
Her mind was very slow, but NOT slower than this person’s… ALSO IS HE GONNA PASS OUT BEFORE SHE DOES? Lilith held his arm reassuringly, shielding her intentions, keeping a hold on him so he didn’t feel by himself “My dear friend, relax, ok?”
[hr]
Jeez, this chick doesn’t play around, does she? Jackson wouldn’t touch this little crisis with a ten-foot pole. Wait, am I really thinking of him right now? Get out of your mind, Jacopo d’Arrigo thought. The constant touching, flirting, and handling from the Queen was overwhelming. d’Arrigo could see how the people of Yuno adore their Queen Lilith, the air surrounding her was simply intoxicating. d’Arrigo, though multiple drinks in, did not feel drunk from the alcohol, but drunk from being around Lilith. He couldn’t take her right now, there would be too much of a diplomatic hoopla. But, later on this night…
So, when she asked him to point at where he was residing, he wrote his room ID on a note, pointed to the tower by wrapping his arm around her shoulders and having her follow the arm to see where he was pointed. Lilith instinctively leaned in as he made this move, but sobered up when he touched her. Though Jacopo felt the tension at the move, the Queen’s face betrayed her. Too smooth, you’ve still got it. Look at her blush, that stoic demeanor has cracked. Now, let’s indulge her some more.
Though a dignified individual, something about being handled the way he was by the unreadable Queen, coupled with the amount of alcohol that lowered his inhibitions, caused him to say to the Queen, “My esteemed Lady, I know your subjects bow and bend at the knee for you, allow me to do the same while I present something to you.”
He got down on a knee and gave a deep bow, as he pulled out a small ornate box from under the chair he was sitting on. The Queen lowered her eyelids and looked down at him as he bowed to her, she crossed her leg slightly and kept her back straight, that was the right position. No one had the right to make her look up to him/her. If he knew his place, he should stay like that.
“It’s funny, because I accidentally was going to give this to the newly coronated child Griselda, but when I realized my mistake, I decided to give it to the most beautiful woman at the coronation. And that is you, my Queen.” He handed her the box, popping open the top as he transferred it to her hands.
She took the box, impressed by the rich material and enthralling texture of d’Arrigo’s girdle, and carefully hid all her thoughts and one couldn’t read what she was thinking, but in reality she was thinking a dozen-million things at once as he talked to her. Holding his gaze, she listened to his descriptions, and beamed a smile. To indicate that she was truly listening, even if she weren’t. Jacopo, unperturbed by what he supposed was surprise at the product, continued his description of the sash.
“It is a sash of majesty, and it showcases all Furnifold has to offer. The silk was cultivated by Sahibu in the southeast, was sewn by natives in the Gwex-Hai jungle, and the diamonds were mined and crafted by our desert artisans in Kwoleck. And it was kissed…” He wrapped part of it on the Queen’s hand and planted a long, drawn-out kiss on it; her stasis completely vacated and replaced by a beaming smile, with the thin line of silk as the barrier between lips and skin. “…by the leader of the nation. This Royal Furnifold Girdle has seen all of my nation, and it is both my gift to you, as well as my promise to show you the world.”
He stood up, suddenly self-conscious and hoping that there weren’t too many dignitaries watching, especially not Jackson Woolf. He addressed Lilith again, lightly touching her arm as he spoke softly. “I hope this is to your liking, and believe me, you’ll be getting that hang-gliding lesson real soon.”
“I bid you ‘gusezera,’ which means ‘goodbye’ in my native language, and I hope to see you very soon.” Jacopo ceased touching the Queen’s arm, and stepped out of arm’s length so she could not grab him again, on the off-chance that she causes even more of a scene than the two have already caused.
Had he not moved that quickly, he would have been captured, Lilith knew that he had dodged her intentionally, or he simply had surreal timing, to her displeasure.
Even after they had separated, she couldn’t contain her flustered expression. During the entire affair she felt urges to just give the other a hug for all the things that mattered.
She dumped her glass of alcohol and poured herself a mid-glass of pure water and drank. Those feelings were real, she thought. She wanted to meet him again. And she was pretty certain he would return to her. She finished her drink and got up and left, casually grabbing her long sheath case (which still needed washing) on the way out.
Jacopo picked up his phone to see a few messages from Jackson Woolf, indicating that he is in his room and to let him know when they should meet again. Jackson really needs to bring Virginia to these things, it’s painful how much he clings to me at times. All of a sudden d’Arrigo realized that he never got Lilith’s number. Crap! How will I contact her? Well… actually this may work better, now the ball is in her court to message me for a rendezvous… He smiled, full with anticipation, with the drunken belief that he was reeling her in, and he had her, hook, line, and sinker. After all, he thought. Why else would she ask where my room was? Jacopo walked back to his bedroom, thinking of a possible visitor gracing his presence that night.[edit_reason]Joint post with Yuno[/edit_reason]