Log:Once Upon a Time, Scene 3

Once Upon a Time 2010/04/13 	 Lorelei Merilwen 3

As per the regent's orders, the visitors from Earth are not allowed about the castle without an escort present. So when the time comes for Lorelei to call upon Princess Merilwen, she has a palace guard with her. As Lorelei and her escort approach her chambers, singing can be heard...

It's the lullabye again, performed in by a single female voice.

Lorelei listens to the song as she approaches. She's very nervous: if this is her aunt it's the only mother's side relative she's met. And she's not sure if she made a good impression earlier. She joins in the song.

Lorelei asks her escort, "Should I knock, or...?" Not knowing local customs is a nuisance.

Lorelei thinks. o O (I should have brought some better clothes. I'm dressed more for camping - I must look quite barbarous to them...)

The voice from inside stops. It's Merilwen. "Please, come in," she says. The guard opens the door for Lorelei.

Lorelei goes in, and curtseys. At least, it seemed to go down ok with the regent, and erring on the polite side seems advisable.

Merilwen has a suite that overlooks the courtyard of the castle. She's sitting along the sill of a large panoramic opening, in a position where she can easily see the grounds and the evening sky above. She turns and greets Lorelei's gesture with a nod. "You may leave us," she says to the guard.

The guard seems reluctant for a moment, but the steps outside and closes the door. "Yes, your highness."

Lorelei says, "Thank you for seeing me, your highness."

Lorelei watches her apparent aunt for signs of her attitude towards her.

"Yes. Please, make yourself comfortable," she says, gesturing towards a couple of wooden chairs. She watches Lorelei closely, scrutinizing Lorelei's appearance and her movements. "Are you really her daughter?" she asks.

Lorelei goes to sit on a chair. "I believe I am, your highness. All I have said was true - though I don't understand how she can be alive. I was told she was killed in a car crash when I was seven. Had I known her longer, I would have more evidence...."

"You resemble her," Merilwen begins, in a somber tone. "Only... breathtaking..!" She pauses, seeming to take a moment to try and find the words to describe Lorelei's appearance. She shakes her head and smiles, mentally moving on. "She always did have a knack for creating beautiful things. You are no exception." She turns away from the open window, to face Lorelei fully. "The others do not see it yet, but I know that you're telling the truth."

Lorelei says, "Thank you, your highness... I thought I might not be so - well, in your eyes. I am half human, after all." She pauses. "Is my presence a trouble for you. I really had no idea about the king's health or anything - it's sheer chance I arrived when I did. I have no interest myself in the throne, I assure you, if that's even possible!"

Merilwen shakes her head. "I don't understand what my sister was thinking. She never breathed a word about you or your father to anyone, not even me. It's none of your doing, but your presence does raise some awkward questions."

She adds, "Who is your father?"

Lorelei asks hesitantly, "Will he get into trouble? Someone said that Palanir is my stepfather - does that mean mum's married to him?"

Merilwen says, "Not from me -- I just want to understand what's going on. And yes, your mother is married to Palanir. They were betrothed to one another, from their youth."

Lorelei nods. "My father is named Quentin. He's a professor of biochemistry, and a good, wise and intelligent man. I don't know the full story of how they met, but I do know he helped her when she got into some trouble with an alchemist who kills the fae for their blood."

Lorelei says, "I will say, too, that they were married under human law. If she was already married, I don't believe he knew it."

Merilwen scoffs. "Earth. It seems like such a barbaric place," she says, referring to the be about the alchemist. "But your mother was always so curious about it. "

Lorelei nods. "It can be. But very few people there are that barbaric."

Merilwen says, "They're all sightless there... it's practically the same thing."

Lorelei says, "Sightless?"

Merilwen reaches for a small bowl on her window sill. It contains a collection of white pebbles, and she takes one of them. She closes her hands around it. When she opens her palm to offer it to Lorelei, it contains a gold coin.

Lorelei nods. "Ah, now I understand! Yes, they are - or the vast majority of them, anyway. For myself, the sight came to me a few years ago."

Lorelei says, "There's so much I want to ask - too much really - would your highness mind? I know nothing about this place."

Merilwen nods, "It's in your blood - your birthright. Your mother was an exceptional talent with magic you see, and you can't create anything without out being able to truly see it as it is..."

She pats the open space on the windowsill beside herself. "Come," she says. "What would you like to know?"

Lorelei goes to sit beside her aunt. "Well - perhaps most urgently - is there anyone here who will resent me? Enough to be a danger?"

Lorelei says, "Of course there's so much more - about my mother, about this world!"

"No one would try to harm you here," Merilwen says. "Silidhor has about as much suspicion about Earth as anyone can possess, but his bark is worse than his bite. Things may change however, depending on the succession vote."

Lorelei nods. "If the king dies, that is. But how would they change? Who's likely to win?"

"Originally, the crowd was supposed to pass on to Palanir and my sister, since she's the elder. But after they were married, she sequestered herself to the swamp -- it became clear that there would be no heir. So, the king then bestowed the honor upon myself and my husband, Delanu..."

Merilwen says, "But now with our son missing in the swamp, and your appearance, the waters that were once clear are now muddy."

Lorelei frowns. "How long ago was this? She can't have been in the swamp that long, can she?"

Merilwen says, "Time passes differently for those on Earth than it does here. What seems to you like a few minutes could be days or weeks here."

Lorelei says, "Wait - she went to live in the swamp after she married him - was that after she returned from Earth?!"

"She's been out there long enough for my boy to grow into a man." Merilwen says. She nods to Lorelei. "She was lost there for some time, once, before Palanir was able to find her. After they returned, they were married. And soon afterwards, she left the court and created the swamp."

Lorelei thinks. o O (So mum married dad first? Yikes - my claim to the throne may be better than I thought!)

Lorelei says, "What's she like - my mother? Or... what was she like before...."

Merilwen smiles slightly, as she thinks back. "Perfect. Beautiful, graceful, and she had a gift for crafting with her magic that was unmatched in the kingdom. Oh, how I hated her back then. If you have a sister, then you will understand - we were in constant competition for our parents' attention. There were some times I desperately wanted for her to slip up, to show some deficiency..."

Lorelei nods softly - the decription certainly fits her vague memory. "And now...?"

Merilwen says, "She wasn't the same when she came back. Her light was gone, her magic turned sour... I had always imagined that Palanir had rescued her from something awful and traumatic on Earth. I was too afraid to ask, and she would never tell." She shakes her head. "But now, seeing you... I am not sure what to think."

Lorelei shakes her head. "I don't think so... not from the time my father saved her to the car crash - and I'm now thinking that wasn't a car crash, was it? Humans, as you say, lack the sight.... That must have been to cover up when she had to go, when Palanir came for her...."

Merilwen says, "Perhaps. I may have a word with Palanir at some point, to revisit what happened on Earth exactly.

Lorelei says, "I thought I might talk to him myself. Unless you'd advise against it."

"No go ahead. It is your right, if you really do seek to learn more about your mother."

Lorelei asks, at the thought of talking to someone, "I'm hope I'm not being crashingly rude, am I? I don't know your customs. And my clothes must seem quite outlandish."

"They're a sight, certainly," Merilwen says. "I can offer you something more appropriate, but it would be appropriate to wait until after the Trial of Blood."

Lorelei says, "I thought that might be the case."

Lorelei thinks. o O (Not least so they establish what clothes I'm entitled to wear, no doubt.)

Lorelei says, "Oh - something's been bothering me. Someone said the king was poisoned by goblins - but who or what are these goblins? And is it really possible they could have got in here to poison him?"

"The goblins are our neighbors to the west. They live in the woods out there. After the Dragon Wars, my, really, our ancestors were given the realm of Undermoon for our contribution in the effort. The goblin's ancestors made a lessor contribution, and they were given the woods -- and they've been covetous ever since."

Lorelei says, "Given by whom? And, again, could they really have done this?"

"As agreed upon by committee of all the kingdoms. As for the crime itself, Captain Lothven led the investigation. There was very little evidence, aside from the poison itself. It comes from a rare serpent that only lives in the goblin woods.

Lorelei nods. . o O (Perhaps Jenn will get more from the good captain.)