[Fic] "Opening Bid" -- Vorkosigan Saga
joyeuce01 said: I would love to see Habits and Routines - Ekaterin or Laisa from The Vorkosigan Series by Lois McMaster Bujold. I thought they would be interesting as both are so new to high Vor society. But with other female characters is fine too.
Note: This was annoyingly difficult to write, but I triumphed in the end! (1,050 words)
[ETA: the AO3 crosspost is now up!]
---------------------------------------------
Opening Bid
---------------------------------------------
The difficulty of marrying Gregor -- no, be specific, Laisa admonished herself. Vagueness of speech led to vagueness of thought and then nothing useful got accomplished. So. The difficulty of marrying Gregor that she found herself tripping over most often in daily life was not, as she'd half expected, anything political. It was the sheer sense of isolation, of suddenly finding herself tossed out of a familiar dome with only a single breath mask and recharging station, to live among people genetically adapted to a choking lack of oxygen... and who all were quite sure that she not only could learn to breathe vacuum but was being shamefully slow at her lessons.
She thought Countess Vorkosigan might understand her feelings, but that formidable woman was, firstly, quite far away and busy on Sergyar, and secondly, her mother-in-law in all but name, which was just a bit too awkward for Laisa to consider making her a regular confidant.
The Countess's soon-to-be daughter-in-law was both more available and approachable. And while Madame Ekaterin Vorsoisson was Vor to her fingertips, upon reflection Laisa thought she might also feel a bit displaced in high Vor society, though for different reasons.
Naturally she invited Ekaterin to tea.
The meeting was as informal as Laisa could manage, but there was no getting away from the defensive and opulent realities of the Imperial Residence. Unfortunately, intruding on Ekaterin's own space so early in their acquaintance would be even less likely to set the other woman at ease. So Laisa settled for insisting that Gregor make himself scarce and stressing that the invitation was for Ekaterin alone, not Ekaterin and a plus one. (One meeting with Miles Vorkosigan had been more than enough to convince Laisa that he was an asset one deployed only in great need, and otherwise kept in secure storage. Preferably on another planet.)
"Hello, Madame Vorsoisson," she said as one of her relentlessly unobtrusive ImpSec shadows escorted Ekaterin into the sitting room. "Thank you for coming."
"Your Highness," Ekaterin murmured, dropping a deep curtsy.
Laisa concealed a wince. "Please, call me Laisa. Since your fiancé is my husband's cousin and foster-brother, it seems only prudent to be on first-name terms. Please also feel free to help yourself to any food or drink you'd like. I wasn't sure what you would prefer, and when I asked for a variety the kitchens responded... enthusiastically."
"That does seem to be a pattern among the Counts," Ekaterin said as she sat across the overladen table from Laisa, maneuvering her skirts with a reflexive grace that Laisa envied deeply. (She would persuade high Barrayaran society to accept trousers on women before she died. Not that dresses were by any means terrible, but she missed having options.)
"I've heard tales of Ma Kosti," Laisa agreed with a smile. "However, exchanging kitchen gossip isn't the main reason why I asked you here today."
Ekaterin tilted her head in a polite expression of interest. "I see. How may I be of service?"
Laisa took a deep breath and folded her hands on the table, a practiced gesture of seriousness and sincerity. "I have two business propositions for you. First, I would like to commission a refit of the Residence's gardens -- not all at once, of course, but preferably with some sort of unifying theme. I'm aware that you don't have extensive formal training or experience, but I like what I've seen of your aesthetic sense and I want you to either help me hire a design team or put one together yourself. Second, I want you to do me a favor in return: namely, join me once a week for tea after our garden planning meetings and help me learn how to feel Vor, instead of merely copying surfaces."
Ekaterin took a deliberate swallow of tea before setting her cup, equally deliberately, back onto its saucer.
Laisa waited with a patient half-smile.
"Please pardon my bluntness, but I want to be very clear," Ekaterin said. "Is the second part merely to make me feel less like I'm benefiting from either nepotism or charity?"
Laisa allowed her smile to warm. "Not only, but yes, of course. Just because you know it's one of the motives doesn't mean it won't work. And I do need a guide through Vor society, preferably one who both has some familiarity with Komarr and who is also approaching the particular intersection of power and culture that comprises High Vor from an outside vantage, rather than a lifelong insider. Lady Alys Vorpatril, for instance, is a wonderful woman but she and I often spend a good half hour talking past each other before we can find our latest point of miscommunication."
"Mmm," Ekaterin said, and raised her teacup once again.
Laisa nibbled at something that might have had baklava in its distant ancestry, so as to make the silence seem less oppressive and more companionable.
"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to look around the grounds," Ekaterin said eventually. "And I remember the... lack of balance... I felt my first years on Komarr. I'm uncertain I can be the person you're seeking, but we won't know unless we try."
"My thoughts exactly," Laisa said. "Now, would you rather see the gardens immediately, or would you prefer to finish the tea and listen to me blather on about culture shock first? It's your choice entirely, I promise."
Ekaterin smiled. "It seems a shame to put the cooks' work to waste, and we have hours of sunlight left."
"We do," Laisa agreed. "Which is one of the many things that keep tripping me up. Do you know, I got sunburn the first week I was on-planet? Sunburn! The entire concept still feels halfway fantastical, even though I know Komarr is the exception when it comes to human habitations. I felt especially ridiculous since I've been on planets with normal insolation before for business meetings and son on, but those are mostly in offices and hotel conference centers and certainly didn't involve horseback riding. Which is yet another astonishing thing--"
This, Laisa thought, as she let her mouth ramble and watched Ekaterin to ensure she didn't either bore her to tears or press any emotional bruises unaware, pausing now and then to see if Ekaterin were ready yet to contribute more than brief interjections, might just work out.
---------------------------------------------
End of Ficlet
---------------------------------------------
And that's that for this round of my intermittent mini-ficlet prompt meme. *dusts hands, moves on to other projects*
If you want to comment on this post, you can do so over here on Dreamwidth, where there are currently (
comments)