Day 34: Lunch

[thatdamnedninja]

Yuffie bounced all the way through collecting her lunch, all the way to a good seat- one with a nice view of the whole cafeteria, which was something she'd been missing out on during the past day or so that she'd been stuck in the Institute- and hell, she even bounced into her seat.

A good mood? No, reallyDespite the occasional blip, talking to

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[gray_gambit]

Lia had decided she was already very tired of needing her nurse's help with anything as simple as gathering food for herself. Unfortunately, that didn't at all erase the need to actually balance her tray and gather food. It was only the relative emptiness that allowed her to avoid being seated with someone of the nurse's choice. Instead she badgered her way into a spot with a good view of the room.

She took a spoonful of soup, blowing on it to cool it before actually putting it in her mouth. Even so, it stung when it hit the scraped-raw portion of her lip. After a few more bites, she raised her eyes from the table to actually watch the cafeteria. While she hadn't been there quite long enough to be certain, she thought there were indeed some new faces, even as empty as the room seemed. It was a little unnerving, and she found herself wondering just how many people had now been pulled away from their worlds and their lives.

[Unknowingly waiting for Rainier]

[deathandfudge]

The time spent thinking in the courtyard had blunted the edge of Rainier's temper a little. Very little. He was beginning to get the impression that he'd spent an awful lot of time dancing the killing edge in this place if what Daemon and Lucivar had said was true. At least he could feel content that Surreal was not in this place, although she would have been more than capable of protecting herself.

He paused while the nurse filled a plate for him, something brushing along the edge of his senses. He homed in on the source almost immediately, taking in the sight of the woman sitting alone. A Queen? Here? He felt his anger prickling again at the thought of someone daring to imprison a Queen, but forced it down for the moment as he made his way over to her. He smiled warmly at her. "Lady."

[gray_gambit]

Lia looked up, hesitating for that brief instant that bespoke unfamiliarity and wariness. It was enough to string together a few swift impressions; not a member of one of the long-lived races, likely a few years her elder. Not immediately hostile, which she could admit was a relief, if only privately.

She offered a smile of her own, the expression pleasant, if a little guarded, and inclined her head in greeting. "Prince." She hesitated a moment, then lifted one hand to indicate the chair opposite her own in invitation. "Would you care to join me?"

[deathandfudge]

He let her look him over, taking a few moments to do the same with her. Younger than him, perhaps the same age as those of the Coven and wary which he could understand if her own awakening here had been anything like his.

He nodded in response and moved to sit down opposite the Queen. "Price Sadi didn't mention that there were any Queens here," he said dryly. "I'm Rainier. And yourself, Lady?"

[gray_gambit]

"Perhaps it slipped his mind," Lia replied quietly, though she didn't sound as though she truly believed that. Her brow creased slightly in thought, but after only a few seconds she gave it up as futile. Male logic was something that would forever escape her, and she couldn't say she was truly sorry for that most of the time.

"I'm Arabella Ardelia." And then, after a few seconds' pause, offered the more familiar, "Lia."

[deathandfudge]

Rainier's smile widened a little in amusement at that thought. "I rather think I took him off guard so I believe that may be the case." Or it could be that he simply understood the nature of Warlord Princes and knew that Rainier would have found her sooner or later anyway.

"I'm pleased to meet you, Lady Lia," he replied, relaxing around her. She seemed pleasant enough. "May I ask what territory you hail from?"

[gray_gambit]

Lia winced, the flicker of expression faint but evident. Though she'd not truly expected to escape without that question being asked, she had hoped to avoid it a short time longer. "Dena Nehele. My home territory is Dena Nehele." She fought the urge to bite her lip, the nervous habit one of those carried over from girlhood and never quite shed. "How much have you been told about how this place works, Prince?"

[deathandfudge]

Dena Nehele? "Terreille?" he asked curiously, the name not familiar which auggested that it wasn't in the Realm of Kaeleer. "Not enough, I'm beginning to think," Rainier admitted. "Prince Sadi and Yaslana told me a little but I believe they were rather shocked to see me here. And Prince Sadi apparently doesn't remember me."

[gray_gambit]

"Terreille," Lia confirmed. "And he mentioned that, when we spoke..." She frowned to herself, briefly abstracted as she considered possible explanations. Finally, she admitted, "I'm not certain how it works myself but...this place does something to time. I suppose the simplest way to put it is to say that while we're all here at the same time, we're not all here from the same time. And for some of us there are...larger gaps than for others."

[deathandfudge]

So, a Terreillian Queen? But Sadi had spoken to her and he didn't doubt that Lucivar would have spoken with her as well, and she was still alive. Knowing what he knew about the two of them, if she had been a corrupt Queen, a threat, then she would not be sitting before him now. Although trying to predict what a Warlord Prince was thinking was difficult at the best of times. He should know.

He listened in silence to the explanation, frowning as he thought it over, his displeasure palpable. "I see. I suppose it would explain why neither of them seem to remember events which just occurred for me although... how large?"

[gray_gambit]

"It varies, I think, even within groups who know one another. A week here, a month there. Perhaps even a few years in some cases. There are those here who understand far more of this place's workings than I do. You could probably work it out, using events and dates last remembered." Lia smiled a touch wryly. "But the larger gaps? Centuries in my case, apparently. I'm not the only one, judging by what discussion there is of the situation, but we seem to be rarer."