The Line Begins to Blur...

[Salem Ave]

Two weeks after A Fool's Ransom...

“No tie today, Prime Minister?”

Salem Ave looked up at his reflection in the floor-length mirror, glancing to the figure stood behind it – a young, mousy man who was offering up for inspection a selection of neck-ties made from the finest Demicot and Dramassian silk.

“No. I'd thought I'd opt for something less formal. It is a casual lunch, not a business meeting, after all,” he replied, unbuttoning his shirt cuffs. It was a warm day outside, so he rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. “Is my reservation made?”

“Yes, sir... for two hours from now. I believe the host has purchased a selection of wines especially for your visit.”

Salem smiled, tight-lipped. The civilians were always eager to impress. He dismissed the manservant and left his chambers for the palace courtyard, in which he was due to meet his dinner guest.

[Razielle Alastor]

"No! It's all wrong." A pink skirt and a white peasant blouse went sailing towards Lira who was lucky enough to catch them.

She had been changing clothes for at least an hour and was still not happy. Yet another outfit was stripped off Razielle and thrown onto the stack of discarded choices that her maid was holding. The burden was growing quite heavy and the maid resigned them to a chair while she helped the Princess search for exactly what she wanted. Whatever it was..

Half naked and a bit breathless from all the changes, Razielle held up another gown. This one was sleeveless, secured around the neck by a silver choker and made of layers of sheer violet silk. It was perfect! She slid the soft material over her head and checked her image in the mirror, holding up her hair while Lira secured the choker. The dress had very little back to it, but Razielle was planning on leaving her hair down anyway so it hardly mattered that a fair bit of skin would be bared.

"Okay, I have to hurry or I'm going to be late." Sitting down and applying just a touch of makeup, Razielle tried to calm herself. The truth was, she wasn't entirely certain if this dinner was even real, or just another ploy to add substance to the charade that they had created. If the later was true, she wasn't really certain that she cared. She stood, afixing the back to a diamond earring.

"And I'm off.. "

Razielle made her way to the courtyard slowly, willing her heart to stop racing.

[Salem Ave]

To the passing observer, the courtyard appeared empty, save for one lone figure. The guards kept a covert vigil over the square, as the Prime Minister walked casually here and there. He came to a halt in front of a tall stone statue of one of the past rulers of Onderon: a bear of a man with a majestic countenance, who himself watched over the surrounding area with an eagle eye.

Salem glanced at his watch for a moment. He mulled over his plans for the afternoon, wondering as to whether the venture would be a success. If nothing else, it was a pleasant day and he was glad for the change of scenery.

[Razielle Alastor]

Taking a breath, Razielle rounded the last corner to see Salem standing before one of the statuary. Her lips immediately turned up in a smile as she walked forward quitely and stood beside him.

"He looks rather formidable, dosen't he?" She peeked sideways and smiled almost shyly.

[Salem Ave]

“He does. The Queen comes from a noble line, one we can take pride in.” Salem turned from the majesty of the historic king to that of the present princess and offered a disarming smile. “You look beautiful... as radiant as the twin stars of Kira.”

[Razielle Alastor]

Razielle was not immune to Salem even when he was withdrawn and aloof. She was definately at the risk of a swoon with him being charming. Fortunately she knew how to take a compliment well. Her smiled turned from shyness to pleasure.

"Thank you. You look quite fit yourself." The fresh air blew her unbound hair around and she laughed, tossing the lot out of her face.

"So where are we going..?"

[Salem Ave]

“For a stroll,” Salem replied. “Our table won't be ready for a little while and the fresh air will help us to work up our appetite.” He offered an arm out to Razielle. “Though I'm afraid we'll have to take a chaperon out into the city with us, as much as I'm sure it will pain you to do so.”

[Razielle Alastor]

Sliding her fingers around Salem's proffered arm, Razielle stepped close and let him lead on. For once she hadn't even bothered to scope out the location of the guards that she knew were always present. More importantly, she didn't care. She was far too interested in the man at her side.

"I doubt I'll be paying much attention to them today. I'm a bit preoccupied."

[Salem Ave]

They walked away from the fountain and towards the central gate.

“Is there something on your mind?” Salem asked, innocently.

[Razielle Alastor]

Grinning despite herself, Razielle moved even closer to Salem and nudged his arm with her own, leaning in to whisper. "I'll let you know later.."

Her eyes moved around the courtyard briefly, they had long since cleaned up the mess from the Mandalorian attack on the Queen. If that's even what it had been. Every piece of information that could have been taken note of, had been. The investigation was very thorough. However, the answers were still all wound up in a tangled mess. She had drawn her own conclusions, but it remained to be seen what the greater picture was.

Razielle spotted a couple of the house maids, stopped clear in their tracks and trying not to watch them, as they neared the gate. It was one thing to whisper about what they thought was going on, quite another to see it first hand.

"Well, we are drawing attention already.."

[Salem Ave]

The palace grounds were quiet. It was a day of relative rest for most of the hired help. The Queen was entertaining no guests, no dignitaries, so no formalities were required. The staff, who had worked together for many years, functioned almost like a family. It was only the palace guards who retained their stiff appearance, yet their eyes wandered too. Salem was pleased. The entire purpose of their dinner was to confirm the suspicions rife in the minds of so many.

As they reached the gates, the guards their gave their spears and shields a clunk in unison – a salute. Some broke away from their posts and moved to the side of their superiors, while the gate was slowly opened. Ave nodded to the leader of the small squadron of men acting as their escort, a soldier who had been his bodyguard on more than one occasion before. “Lucius,” he acknowledged the man personally and received a curt nod and 'yes sir' in return.

They walked out onto the sky ramp, the bank verged which lead down into the city proper.

“Where would you like to go?”

[Razielle Alastor]

Honestly she wasn't really sure. Princess Razielle had not been permitted to visit the city really, since her arrival. The few places that she had been were not suitable establishments for someone like her to visit. Her alternate identity on the other hand found them quite entertaining.

"Actually, I haven't really been to Iziz on a pleasure visit before. I'll trust you to show me any points of interest. It is a lovely day. I would hate to spend it in doors. What could we do outside?"

[Salem Ave]

“With the exception of the Palace, Onderon has relatively few... tourist attractions. Though I don't suppose you have seen much of Iziz proper, have you?” he asked, then added: “By day, at least.”

[Razielle Alastor]

"Not unless you would count the spaceport and the city wall as 'sights of Iziz'."

Razielle wasn't completely ignorant of the city however. Under the guise of familiarizing herself with her new home she spent a great deal of time researching Iziz. It wouldn't do for the Princess to be completely ignorant regarding her new home planet, so the library had been one of her haunts while she had been recovering from the wound to her shoulder. She had needed to know how to move about the city easily, and leave it if the need arose.

"One of the more frivolous local reporters for Iziz Fair had an interesting article about a synthetic waterway, with a riverwalk and park grounds. It was written up as number one in 'Most Romantic Spots in Iziz'. I should like very much to judge that myself.."

[Salem Ave]

“And what better place for us to be spotted.”

They began to walk and Salem off-handedly wondered whether the journalists were so lacking in newsworthy stories that they had to resort to filling their papers with such drivel as the 'Most Romantic Spots' in the city. The people of Iziz, as a whole, were not prone to romanticism, after all. They were a hardy lot. While their history might have had its moments of flair and drama, they had retained their sturdy nature and would much rather spend the afternoon taming a wild beast than taming a willful lover.

“It is some time since you came to live with us here on Onderon,” Salem observed.

“Do you feel as though you made the right choice in choosing your new home?”

[Razielle Alastor]

"It's a policy of mine to never regret anything I've done. One of those things drilled into me at an early age I'm afraid. Papa said 'Princesses do not make mistakes, they conduct themselves exactly as they mean to in all situations.' That is precisely the sort of drivel that caused my rather erratic behavior."

Razielle smiled. She may not always be the picture pefect Princess, but refusing to dwell on blunders or mistakes was a very liberating quality, on many levels. As for Iziz, she wouldn't be anywhere else right now. She was exactly where she wanted to be.

"I really had little choice, the arrangements had been made for me to reside as a ward of Onderon from the time I could toddle about. Yes, I could have broken them and set off on my own, but I think I've made the right choice. You might call it destiny. For better or worse, Onderon is home now."

[Salem Ave]

“Don't the formalities of life in the royal court ever bore you?”

The sky ramp afforded an excellent view of the city below. Salem cast an appraising eye over Iziz, alive with activity. Ships moved too and fro over head, bringing in supplies, the well-oiled cogs of the Onderon machine.

“You have enough charm and talent to make your own way in the galaxy, in whatever profession you chose fit.”

[Razielle Alastor]

She laughed outright at that. "Yes, I had always considered becoming the galaxies leading female vocalist.. Or was it an actress? I'll have to ask Her Majesty what it was I aspired to, as a child."

"Honestly? All the diplomatic training that I had to undergo over the years. Even if I wasn't determined to remain here, I would likely settle into something similar. It is just in my nature. Perhaps I'll petition the Queen for a political appointment of my own. It will keep me from having to entertain myself by causing anymore scandals, at any rate."

[Salem Ave]

Salem smiled a restrained sort of way that seemed to suggest he thought her suggestion was prudent.

“If it wasn't so unorthodox, I'd offer you a position beneath me.”

They paused at a turn in the ramp, and Salem watched as in the mid-distance two young men struggled to wrestle some 'tame' beasts into their cages. “In the government, that is,” he continued. “You'd make a good minister for something... culture, perhaps.”

[Razielle Alastor]

She smiled and dropped her gaze, shaking her head a bit. Razielle wondered if it was just her warped way of thinking or if Salem was deliberatly filling her head with imagery to make her blush on purpose. For the moment anyways she chose to ignore it.

"Definately a position to aspire to. Many possibilities."

Tucking her hair behind her ears, she straightened and nodded. "I am sure we can think of something suitable?"