Completed When Courtship Calls

[Naiya]

Summer, Day 13, 513 AV
Early evening

"Rue. Rue come out here." Rue's mother's voice called, soft and inviting, a pleasant change from the usual. She answered her with a sound of acceptance that proceeded her into the main room.

The tone should have been a warning, or maybe the lack of other sounds in the room, but hope was blinding. Her father was waiting beside mother and his two other wives, all of them sitting in the common area waiting for her arrival. It was an unpleasant surprise. A hush from the other room denoted the children waiting silently to hear what was to come.

Ambush.

No one spoke, but she wouldn't fall into the trap. She turned her eyes to the ground at her feet, submission in every line of her body. Her glaringly red hair followed the bowing of her body, falling softly around her shoulders to protect her from whatever was to come.

The room felt ominous, unwelcoming - more so than usual - and Rue found she wanted nothing more but to flee. Her bare feet sunk into the ground, digging into the biting dirt as a distraction.

She waited, and the silence grew.

[Naiya]

Her father was the one to finally break the silence, not an unexpected turn of events.

"I expect you behaved yourself this afternoon?" His voice was firm, riddled with not quite anger, but not pride either. It would be a talk about the man that had called, Aran. Suddenly the silence from the others was not nearly so strange. Even Rue found she was curious about where this discussion was headed.

"I did my best, Father." Her reply was neutral, carefully chosen. She could have offered more on the topic, but she would save such things for when the conversation turned for the worse.

The weight of their eyes was nearly staggering, and Rue grew smaller, meek, beneath their gazes.

"This man seeks to court you, Rue. You should be excited, proud." That was her mother, always searching for the silver lining. Rue nodded, more apparent by the swaying of her hair than the actual movement of her head.

"Don't mess this up. It is not likely you'll have another chance at finding a husband." Reiana that time, Ara's mother. She was never one to mince words, or at least not to spare Rue.

"Of course, you will do everything you can to prevent this man from losing interest in you, Rue. Short of laying with him of course - we must pretend you have something to offer this man if he marries you." That was her father, of course, and his tone prevented any argument. "Make sure that he leaves you after a visit without a doubt in his mind of your interest in him. Don't let him feel there is anything you would rather do but to spend time with him. Do you understand, Rue? Do not mess this up, and maybe you will have done something right for once."

[Naiya]

"He did ask to see me again, Father." Rue added, subservience coloring the shape of her body to temper the words that could come across too strongly. She hoped that her comment would please him, let him know that she was trying to do what he asked, what they wanted of her.

After all, she had done her best, avoided saying things that would chase the man away, and followed along with the man's desires. It was behavior that was proper from a woman, and hopefully she could keep up the trend. She didn't want to think what this conversation would look like if things did not pan out.

"Did you accept?" Mayeve's voice finally chimed in, her words added to the conversation on behalf of her husband, and because of her standing as third wife of the pavilion. Rue nodded once more, but spoke to explain further.

"I told him I would enjoy another such visit, given that my Ankal was accepting of such a thing." Her father gave the slightest nod, as close of a sign of approval as she was likely to get. She curtsied, something that had become habit to her recently, and turned to leave.

"You should do something with your hair, Rue." Her father added, a sort of after thought, "Leaving it to hang about in a mess like that is not very becoming."

She nodded tightly, knowing that there would be little help from the others in the pavilion with achieving such a thing.

"Yes, Father."

[Khida]

Rue Nightsong

Skill	Points
Diplomacy	+1
Etiquette	+1

• Aran Windblown: a declared suitor
• Diplomacy: moderating tone with posture
• Etiquette: performing a curtsey

Notes

Not a lot here award-wise, but clearly an important thread for character development. As I've said before, I'm definitely looking forward to further developments in Rue's plots.

As always, please let me know if you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade. Also, please edit your request to show this thread has been graded.