Chapter Eighty-FourThe answer was no time at all.

  The complete staff stood waiting for the morning meeting. It was a far cry from when she first saw the top five from the Harvest of Talents, and while it might have felt like seasons had passed, Harmony knew the change could be counted in days. Now they all fit their uniforms. Tess’s sleek brace gave her perfect posture, a mechanical spider on each shoulder. Steven had tailored his uniform and all others to have a unique fir to fit their skills and aptitudes while maintaining the symbolic nature of their new servant roles. He had a cane much like Bates liked to use, but Harmony wouldn’t bet a dime that there wasn’t a bde hidden in the duelist's new tool.

  Her servants wouldn’t be invisible unless they needed to be. They’d be a subtle message of independence, pying to all of a person's strength and power. As much as that went against current conventions the young aristocrat in her felt aligned with the statement. The fact that they were all here did signify a notable event. One that Harmony suspected was coming with the clock ticking down to nearly a week until the Ascendant Games.

  Bates held a silver tray with a lid. As much as she wished for delicious tarts decorated with raspberries to be under it she knew it would not be. Lifting the lid a single card, of gold paper with gleaming bck ink rested on a red silk pillow. The royal notary company that matched her previous letters, but not in an envelope, a sign this would soon be a public announcement.

  Bates started to read the contents of the card. “The Queen, Talia Highsmythe formally invites the Ascendant Games candidates, Lord Tyler Coodly, Princess Rosaline Highsmythe, Theorist Len Bristwight, Agent Maxwell Bitterly, and Lady Harmony White to a public meeting of the court two hours past the dinner-bell on the night of the climber's moon.”

  Tomorrow night, blood and rot. [Poise and Bearing] kept all the annoyance inside. “An honor that can’t be refused, I guess. There is much to be done.” Mentioning Max’s and Len’s evolved professions was a clear message of how much they knew.

  With a bow, Bates left, taking most of the staff with him. Ambrosia stepped up, letting worry show on her face slightly. She had some tarts, blueberry, not raspberry sadly. “Lady White?”

  “Any news on the acquisition of stamina-improving skill stones, possibly one avaible this morning?”

  “In a few days, we could arrange for...” She started.

  While the letter wasn't an acknowledgment the same way the private one had been. Authority pyed havoc inside her from what she gained in the Deadnds. No time for a few days. “Contact the Naewauld Times. Tell them I’m interested in [Ink Heart] for an all-access interview, but only if it is this morning. Let’s see how quickly we can get a response?”

  Ambrosia curtsied and left.

  Harmony wished Adric was here, but the agreement with Maye had him at her estate before dawn. She imagined the woman being over dramatic over any cuts or bruises he received during the fights. Max would be at the guild house after the attack on him and then the Deadwoods. But with nothing quicker than the spread of gossip and news Harmony didn’t have to wait long before Ambrosia returned with her answer.

  “Lady Lois, good to see you again.”

  The freence journalist and minor aristocrat did sometimes work for the Naewauld Times but wasn’t who Harmony had expected them to send. She didn’t come alone. A scribe with paper in hand and a mage with a rge stone Harmony knew was some kind of truth sensor that would signal if she was being untruthful. While there was a risk this could be an interrogation-style interview She’d hoped they wouldn’t go that route.

  “The Times felt a friendly familiar face would make this easier on you. Your reluctance to conduct interviews has been noted." Considering Ambrosia set her birds on overly enterprising ones that probably wasn't the only thing noted. "If you sit down we can begin.”

  With that, she handed Ambrosia a small box, who opened it, and after using her inspection skill, gave Harmony a slight nod.

  Harmony took her seat. Ma Bell’s dinners had given her plenty of experience under a conversational microscope. [Style and Grace], [Poise and Bearing], [Analyze], and [Keen Investigative Awareness] were all being tapped. In addition to those she leaned into her aristocratic profession, [Final Silence] to help keep her from blurting anything out, and [Cold Touch] for a little bit of calm to her emotions. It was all a nice bnket to cover up the internal chaos of anxiety, too much authority agitating her skills, fear, and desperation. Could she keep it up?

  “Lady White, why accept this interview today?”

  What version of the truth to give? There is always the tactic to respond to a question with a question. Right now at least three outside skills encouraged her to speak up. Two trying to help her be at ease. And one that whispered to her to tell her secrets. Lois hadn't used any of those during her time at Ma Bell's table. Bleeding reporters.

  “I just received the queen’s invitation and this interview is the first step in my pns to handle that occasion.” Step one: acquire [Ink Heart].

  Lois leaned in. “Are you saying that you expect some friction and want to present your side of the story preemptively? Rumors about a scuffle with the countess during your st visit to the Pace Tower to fetch your pet prince have started to leak from the pace guards.”

  Nothing can stay a secret forever. “I had tea with the countess a few days ago and Prince Adric is under her care and tutege until the Ascendant Games as we speak. We’ve clearly come to terms. I’m sorry if I was unclear. Every member of our kingdom's participants in the Games will be visiting the queen tomorrow. This isn’t a personal meeting to resolve differences. Don’t you think this interview was a good idea?” Already asking questions of the interviewer, not ideal.

  “Yes. But why now? There was no interview when you arrived in Naewauld. No interview when the Ascendant Games were announced. No interview after the attack on you during the Temple’s Harvest of Talents. What makes this special?”

  Lois sensed a weak point here. Give a reporter a thread and they’ll pull until you have no clothing. Probably has a skill like [Awareness]. There were probably backup skills to check for honesty with all of the people in the room, the stone was just there to have me feel comfortable with it not reacting.

  “The visit with the queen is special. I was raised to a dy through unique circumstances. Now I need to show I have the skills and the strength to stand before our sovereign. I’m more than a little scared and nervous.” Step two: Use the skill stone.

  “Would you be interested in sharing your skills with our interested audience?” Lois asked, at least moving on from the first topic. But she might as well be asking for a naked sketch. Much of it had been pieced together, but it was still rude.

  “No. I still have a competition to participate in. A girl needs her secrets in that kind of situation.”

  “Can’t bme me for trying,” Lois responded a little glibly. Harmony certainly could, but that had all been an attempt to get her off bance. “There are many who wonder if you’ll manage to evolve in time for the Ascendant Games.”

  There wasn’t a question there. There was encouragement to respond, both from Lois and the nosy prodding skills in the air. “I will.” The stone flickered a little like it wasn’t fully truthful. “I have too.” that settled it. Step Three: Climb Nae’s Garden and don’t leave until ready to evolve.

  Lady Lois ignored the flicker, but as an observational expert, Harmony suspected that would make it into the article somewhere.

  Lois continued her pressing. “And we’re all excited to see you compete. Princess Rosaline credits your maid skills in helping her escape the ambush on the way back from the Deadwoods. Are you ready to face more dangerous situations?”

  Harmony could feel her control slipping. “I will be.” Step four: Evolve and face the queen stable and whole again. The carefully constructed defense started to crumble and rather than let it implode Harmony pulled threads away until it was only her base social skill. [Poise and Bearing].

  Lois’s eyes fshed as she sensed weakness and leaned in closer. This was where she was going to dig into the questions she really wanted to know the answers to. What secrets would be at risk? What vulnerabilities would be id bare? “What can you tell me about your retionship with Lord Tyler, and how does your pet Prince Adric feel? Is he Jealous?”

  Bloody vines and shattered bones, that is the direction she wants to go in? Harmony settled into picking the right words to describe her retionships or ck thereof with the members of her former team and how she certainly didn't have a physical retionship with her pet. She praised their virtues, ignored their faults, and allowed the truth stone and skills to pick up falsehoods that were polite to maintain. [Recall] fetched from old memories of her mom talking to reporters about rumored affairs with castmates. She might not have the same acting skills, but she could make a mess as well as she could clean one when needed. Muddy waters were better than crity for this kind of work.