Office 14, Tuesday Afternoon

[glacial_queen]

So, all the work Karla had wanted to get done last week had been co-opted by chaos-spewing...whatever it had been...and the ponification of her daughter. Which meant she was back on the island today, hoping that the island would be kind enough to give them some downtime and she could actually work a little bit. Kayla had been left to spend the

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[crimson_sister]

Lucille wouldn't admit it to herself, but she felt intimidated by Karla. Still, she was here today to discuss one of her attempts at writing, although she hadn't written a word of the story yet, and probably never would. In fact, it was hardly a story at all, but she still wanted to talk about it with Karla. So here she was, knocking on the open door.

[glacial_queen]

Karla would be surprised to hear that; on the island, at least, she tended towards the relaxed and informal, as opposed to the intimidating, take-no-shit persona she had as Queen. She'd also be a little pleased to hear that, but that was just how Karla rolled.

"Lucille," she said, looking up from the screen with a pleased smile. "Come in, darling. I was just about to make tea. Would you indulge me in the chance to prove that I'm capable of making a decent cuppa?"

[crimson_sister]

"Please," Lucille said. "That would be lovely." She took a seat opposite Karla, sitting straight-backed. "I have been considering a romantic story and would like your opinion on it."

[glacial_queen]

"Oooh, that's definitely the kind of thing I like to hear! Do tell me all about it." Karla said as the tea supplied popped into existence on the desk in front of her. Tongues of witchfire danced on the surface of the water in the kettle and Karla called in several sachets of tea. "Preference between peppermint chocolate, honey hibiscus, or--" She paused to smell one. "Pomegranate ginger?"

A fourth sachet, she moved away slightly. She added a third of the sachet to her own cup, then vanished it away again. The scent was bitter and acrid, even without the water.

[crimson_sister]

"Whatever you are having," Lucille said, before smelling the one Karla had chosen for herself. It seemed impolite to change her suggestion after that, so Lucille prepared herself for a not very tasty cup of tea.

"There is a young lady," she began, "who loves a gentleman. They grew up together, their families being close neighbours." A slight adaption there. "This man is her true love. But fate has them separated. The young lady learns more of the world, of friendship with women, of... a wider range lf experiences." She looked hopefully at Karla.

[glacial_queen]

"No," Karla said, giving Lucille a small smile while shaking her head . "I'm sorry, darling, but my tea is not for sharing. It's highly poisonous, and I try not to make a habit of killing my students. Especially the ones I like. May I suggest the honey hibiscus? Though the ginger pomegranate has a nicely hidden bite if you'd prefer that."

Okay, maaaaybe the intimidation thing made some sense. A bit.

"It sounds like the lady is quite sheltered," she continued, as if knowingly drinking poisonous tea was quite the normal thing. "And this story is as much a tale of self-discovery for the lady as it is a romance. Has she a name yet?"

[crimson_sister]

Lucille looked a little uncomfortable at the mention of poisonous tea, but she decided not to comment on it. After all, a teacher drinking poison was not the strangest thing she had encountered here, but rather interesting.

She hadn't a name. "Christabel," she said. "Her name is Christabel. Self-discovery? I hadn't thought of that." She bit her lip.
"She knows little about how her love spends his time, but she trusts he is faithful. She, on the other hand, is... I suppose it depends."

[glacial_queen]

She drank it for her health! Literally!

...Look, Black Widows had weird physiology. Just you wait, Lucille. Karla's get stranger in a minute or two.

"In Kaeleer," she said, picking up the kettle that was now at a rolling boil and pouring the water over her leaves, "such a thing is common. Of all our males, only Warlord Princes can expect and demand fidelity. Females are generally expected and allowed to take lovers where and when they choose. If it is truly a lovematch, then obviously fidelity is often the result, but otherwise..." She shrugged. "Clearly, your Christabel needs to learn more about the world, herself, and what she is looking for before going home to her sweetheart."

She held the kettle up inquiringly at Lucille, who still needed to choose a non-poisonous option.

[crimson_sister]

"The ginger pomegranate, please." Perhaps a hidden bite was what she needed. Especially after what Karla had just said.

"In my world a man would be expected to reject her," Lucille said. "The... males," she would try Karla's vocabulary, "in your world don't mind at all? Unless they are Warlord Princes?"

[glacial_queen]

Excellent choice. Karla approved. But then again, Karla was wont to bite when least expected.

"Because your world still somehow equates a females' worth to the number of males she's had between her legs," Karla said, rolling her eyes as she set about making Lucille an excellent cup of tea. (Look, she had the disaster of last time to make up for.) "Granted, we have a similar belief about males and the number of women they let ride their--" She swallowed back the word she'd been about to use, not wanting to shock Lucille. "--Their person," she finished instead, handing the cup over

[crimson_sister]

Lucille had many questions about this, but wasn't sure what to ask. "Why would a lady prefer a Warlord Prince? It seems that they are more complicated than other men."

She accepted the cup. "Thank you. I wish my time was more permissive about the needs and passions of women."

[glacial_queen]

Every conversation with Karla often involved a thousand questions. Her world was very, deeply bizarre to most people. And Lucille's questions likely only grew when Karla held the ring finger of her left hand over her teacup and let fall three drops of a clear liquid fall from...what looked to be the underside of her nail

[crimson_sister]

"Your world is very different from mine." That was an understatement.

Lucille's eyes followed what Karla was adding to her tea, while stirring her own. She was curious, but wasn't going to ask, as whatever Karla told her about herself and her world unfolded more questions.

"I believe so," Lucille said after sipping her tea. Karla had been quite right about the taste. "She should travel to a different place, where she is less confined, but her newfound freedom, and new experiences might cause a distance between her and her love. Especially if she... finds pleasure with other men."

[glacial_queen]

"My world is very different from most people's," Karla agreed with a laugh. "And that's before we even get into the talking unicorns and the dragons

[crimson_sister]

Lucille leaned closer to get a better look. "Black Widow? Like the spider?" And then there was another question. "Is that what killed the man at the wedding?"

And then back to her story. "She doesn't require fidelity as much as expect him to be incapable of unfaithfulness," she said. "That is different, isn't it? And..." Lucille struggled with the next suggestion, "...if that's not to her taste?"

[glacial_queen]

"Like the spider," Karla confirmed, though mercifully refrained from explaining more about it. She didn't want to set the girl's head spinning. "And yes, though I needed poison almost immediately afterwards because I drained my venom sac on the idiot. Fortunately, I am rarely without my blend of poisons."

And so the police had questioned her while she daintily sipped at tea filled with enough poison to fell an elephant.

"Hmm." She'd get back to the 'incapable of faithlessness' later, that was a very odd belief to hold, but Lucille's second answer intrigued her far more. "Why not?" she asked. "It is a voyage of self-discovery, isn't it? Can she be so sure it is not until she's at least indulged? It is very easy to cross the line between a passionate friendship to just passion." Trust her on this, Lucille, she knew. "Why should you limit who she finds pleasure with or how?"