How Do You Do? II

Posted on Wed Jan 25th, 2023 @ 12:42am by Amalie Cochrane & Princess Royal Giana Orsini & Empress Cosima Orsini & Crown Prince Paolo Orsini
Edited on on Thu Jul 13th, 2023 @ 8:49pm

Mission: Historiae Terrae Et Imperii
Location: Zephyr Estate
Timeline: Date 2371-07-21 at 1500
3752 words - 7.5 OF Standard Post Measure

Giana was quite aware of her little brother’s issue. She had been around boys that age enough that it was obvious, and she actually seemed sympathetic. A walk and some quiet away from the crowd would give him a chance to calm down again. Mentally and physically.

Paolo went with her without another word. He was fairly ashamed of his problem and certainly didn't want to discuss it. He was hoping she would say nothing, but he saw no way of escaping it. They walked together into the thick of the gardens where no one else had gathered unless they themselves were on a stroll.

"Remind me to pay Lord Sibiya a visit when I become Emperor in 30 years." Paolo said, a small smile on his face. "I can't believe you dated that idiot. What did you see in him? Is it because he's handsome? I can't tell if he's handsome or not, but surely he's not that handsome. And Anabela was...quite brazen."

He paused then in his speech, his mind wandering back to what he'd seen in excruciating detail. He visibly shook his head to try and clear the image, to no avail.

"We should go back to discussing politics with old people. At least they wear clothing and brown-nose like civilized lords. I don't know what that was..."

"That was an out of fashion dress from two seasons ago worn by a slut hoping if she waved her tits in your face, you'd marry her." Giana said, straight to the point and brutal as was her way. "Not unlike a certain someone else in your life, I feel." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and finished her wine, leaving the glass on a railing they were passing by to be quickly collected by one of the servants. Assuming they were good at their jobs.

"As for Sibiya, I didn't really date him, I attended two events with him. He is handsome and charming in his own way, he rescued me during a party where Edward humiliated me with the host. Handsome and charming only got him two events though and then well... that started to show." She waved a hand back toward where they had come from as if indicating Sibiya's attitude.

"Marry? Me?" he asked, sounding surprised. Sure, he'd met fathers and mothers who wanted him to marry their daughters, but never the daughters themselves, and never ever so much older than him. "Who does it remind you of, Giana? What are you talking about?"

The rest, about Lord Sibiya, had gone to the wayside. The man had shown enough of his personality for Paolo to make sense of what she was telling her about him.

"Oh nothing, nothing." Giana gave a wave of her hand and continued to just walk with Paolo. Every now and then she would glance down to see if he was more appropriately put together for this next part. Thankfully there were plenty of gardens to explore.

"No no no, you have to tell me now. I'm like a dog with a bone. I'll never be able to let it go." he said, displaying a surprising degree of self-knowledge for a 14 year old boy.

Giana quirked a brow and looked down at her brother. "Come now, Paolo, can you think of no one else in your life right now who enjoys wearing tight, low cut tops to show off her assets to you?"

"You mean Contessa Pennington?" he asked, quirking a brow of his own. His tone was already dismissive. "That's just how she dresses. She did that long before she met me."

"Yes, and why does she dress like that, Paolo." Giana asked, knowing already he likely had no grasp of the why.

"Because she...likes attention?" he asked, skirting the real answer and pretending he was stupid for a bit.

Giana looked down at him, her expression indistinguishable outside of not being a positive one. “You don’t really think that, do you?”

He hesitated, looking away for a moment, and then shook his head.

"No." he said, and sighed. "My Governor said its a normal part of becoming a man.."

The pain on his face for the awkwardness of the conversation was obvious. His mind was clear of Anabela; the shame had driven anything else out. He took a deep breath and stood up straight then.

"Anyway, let's get on with it. What's your next form of torture, sister?"

"It has nothing to do with you becoming a man Paolo and has everything to do with Contessa waving her tits and ass in the faces of men to get what she wants and then opening her legs to seal the deal." She looked down. "Even father says it himself."

She shrugged. "We're walking the gardens, I thought you might appreciate the break."

Paolo seemed to think for a second, considering his sister's words. He resumed their walk without speaking, for his mind was still working.

"Does she open her legs to seal the deal?" he asked, looking at her with an atypically manly expression. As soon as the words left his mouth, he shook his head in regret. "No, don't tell me anything else. Nothing good will come of it. Let's talk about...anything else. Like, for example, when are they going to serve the cake? There's always cake at these things and I don't want to miss it."

Giana rolled her eyes. He was going to be like any other man; maybe that was good... in a way. As long as he didn't turn out to be a rake. She wasn't sure how their father would react to that, actually - she knew how he felt about both her and Elana doing any such thing, but he was just as likely to chirp "boys will be boys" over Paolo doing the same.

"The cake probably won't be for at least another hour." She paused and added, "I didn't know you liked cake that much."

"I love cake." Paolo said with a smile as he ran his hand gently over the petals of a flower. "Doesn't everyone like cake?"

"Mm... I guess I've just had too much cake at parties like this to really love it anymore, but I enjoy some." She watched him touch the flower and mused how innocent of a gesture it was. He wouldn't be for much longer, and somewhere in a dark corner of her heart she felt for him. They walked for a few minutes more and then Giana looked around. Finally, she spied the reason she had brought Paolo into the gardens at all.

"Ah, come on. There are a couple of the Cochrane brood, let's go say hello."

She turned with Paolo and walked with him toward who appeared to be Royce but they couldn't see who else. Finally, they were close enough and Giana greeted them.

"Royce, hello again."

Royce turned to greet Giana and Paolo and they were finally able to see who he was blocking. She was one of his sisters, the oldest of the Cochrane girls. She wore a pale pink chiffon dress with an off the shoulder neckline and a bit of white lace detailing around the hem of the gown. It was modest on her budding figure. A fashionable white belt lay around her waist with a gold buckle and around her neck was a simple gold chain with a pearl pendant paired with matching earrings. Her golden hair was in a half up, half down style that framed her pretty face. There was a sweet shyness in her warm brown eyes and she clasped her hands in front of her.

"Ah, Highnesses! I hope you are enjoying yourselves?" Royce smiled and placed his hand on his sister's back. "Allow me to introduce my sister Amalie Cochrane."

Paolo had only just been talking about cake when another social interaction threatened to begin. Now that his mind was clear, he looked up and saw Royce once again with blonde hair and pink chiffon behind him. He offered a polite smile. It was only when the girl stepped from around her brother and was introduced did his smile grow slack. Beautiful straight blonde hair, dark delicate eyebrows, a dainty nose, perfectly formed pink lips, gorgious big brown eyes, and a kind expression. If love at first sight existed, Paolo was experiencing it.

Having learned his lesson from the incident earlier, he quickly reigned in his amazement and smiled back at her shyly. After a few seconds, he realized he'd failed to speak.

"Amalie...you're lovely to meet you...it's lovely to meet you." He blinked suddenly and looked down anxiously, his hands going in front of him in a defensive gesture. His years of training, however, stopped that, and he suddenly forced them back to his side and stood up straighter again, like the prince he was. "It's lovely to meet you. I'm Paolo and this is my sister, Giana."

She was so amazing and angelic to him that he was desperate to hear her speak; to say anything. Even to scoff at him for his Freudian slip.

Amalie blushed slightly at the attention she was receiving and slightly averted her eyes, but not totally. She caught him momentarily warring with his hands, but unlike most she also didn’t seem to be critical of the moment. When he recovered and spoke directly again, she brought her eyes up and gave him a sweet smile. With grace, she curtsied to him and finally spoke.

“I’m honored to meet you, Prince Paolo, Princess Giana.” Even her voice was sweet, melodic in a way.

Above the two youngsters, Royce and Giana shared a knowing look while the two were too entranced to see it.

“I’ve never seen you at Court, I’m sure. I’d remember you.” Paolo said, his eyes searching hers anxiously. His heart ached like it had been pierced with an arrow.

“Oh, no, sir. I haven’t been to Court.” Amalie looked down and shifted a bit, playing with her fingers in front of her. “My father and mother prefer to keep the younger children away from court politics for the most part until they are older, but I believe they were intending on presenting me to court this coming season.”

Paolo brightened immediately upon hearing that. He was overwhelmed with the fear he wouldn’t see her again, and the prospect of her coming to Court in just a few months set his heart to soaring.

“Reallly? This season?” He asked, watching her fingers move together. “For what purpose will you be coming? Just to be familiarized with the politics of the Empire? Family relations?”

Giana wanted to remind her little brother that one or two questions was usually the polite maximum, but she also didn’t interrupt the moment.

Amalie took a breath, clearly quite nervous herself to be in this situation. She looked up to her older brother, and he smiled kindly to her and gave a nod of encouragement. Like siblings should.

She turned her attention back to Paolo. “To start familiarizing myself with political aspects of the Empire, sir. We are not a large or overly influential family, but we have always tried to keep politically informed.”

The truth is, he didn’t really mind why he was coming. She could have said anything in that moment and he would have felt excited. He took a respectful step closer, closing the unusually large gap between them which he felt was needed immediately.

“The Feast of Heroes is coming up in just a few days. Some very interesting things will be announced, politically. Will you be there?” Paolo asked, an overly hopeful expression on his face.

“I’m not sure, sir.” Amalie replied honestly then looked to her brother again to see if he knew.

Royce turned his attention to Amalie first and then Paolo. “We have not yet been invited to attend, but if I may be so bold as to say it, I believe my father was hoping for your mother’s favor today to receive an invitation.”

It was a bit of a white lie. They were of course going to be there for reasons obvious to both himself and Giana, but for the sake of Paolo and Amalie, the song and dance was being put on. They had wanted to see how the two got along together before anything official was announced; if Paolo truly hated the girl, it was likely the engagement would have been broken off quietly with a sum paid to his family in apology. That didn’t seem to be a worry though.

“Oh?” He asked in return, immediately planning to try and prevail about his mother and get them exactly what they were wanting. He would talk to her and see. “Parades and celebrations are large at Court, of course, but my father is hosting the court aboard his newly commissioned flagship. Have you traveled much off Tera, my Lady?”

"Not too much, no, sir." Amalie smiled a little. "But I would like to see more of what our home has to offer. There are so many fascinating cultures and histories to learn about."

"Well, which is your favorite? Or which one are you most interested in studying?" He asked, his hands now more comfortably at his side. He was having the hardest time looking away from her face. Everything about her, by his estimation, was totally perfect. He found himself going back and forth between gazing in awe and searching for flaws that might make her seem mortal for him.

Amalie shifted like a girl who wasn't used to such focused attention. She played with her fingers a bit more and looked down at his feet. "Um, well," she made herself look back up, "I find Japanese culture particularly during the Sato period to be very interesting."

She referred to a period of 116 years spread out over a space of 123 years when Hoshi I ruled the Empire. When she died, her clone, Hoshi II, usurped the throne from Hoshi I's eldest son, Haruto. 7 long years of battle ended in the death of Hoshi II and the ascension of Haruto to the throne. Then, after 18 years of rule, Haruto was murdered by Imperial Starfleet Officers and Philippa installed herself as Empress. After 7 years of rule by her, her cousin Alexander with a 2 month long reign, and the 6 month reign of Michael Burnham, Hoshi III, yet another clone of the first Empress, wrested control of the Empire from the Usurpers. It was only the machinations of Commander in Chief Spock that brought that glorious dynasty to an end.

"My tutors have given me loads of books on Imperial history from that time. Their house preceded the Orsini by only 21 years, though it feels ancient to me." he responded, his interest piqued. "I don't know very much about Japanese culture though. What fascinates you most about it?"

“Honestly the fact that so much of their cultural traditions and identity has endured through centuries despite war and strife. Their arts and dedication to service are especially noteworthy.” She offered shyly. “They have a deep, enduring heritage in the art of music and theater especially.”

“I read recently that the Empress didn’t care about art or theater at all and that, often, she would send a body double to performances. She did it for the prestige.” Paolo said, but then realized his fact had been a bit of a bummer. He tried to clear it up. “But I’ve recently been composing a ballet based on a famous story from the time. It’s…not very good, by my arts tutor says I’m making progress.”

He was unlike his father in some days, it seemed. But he hoped the years would hone his natural talent.

“Do you like music?”

“Oh yes, I love music. I know how to play several instruments and can usually play music pieces by ear unless they are extremely complicated.” She paused and tilted her head, the gesture sweet and innocent in its curiosity. “You’re composing something yourself? Really?”

“It’s a skill my father insisted upon.” Paolo said with a nod and a smile. “He always told me that’s what he would have done with his life if he weren’t born into the Imperial Family. I wanted to share that with him, I suppose. He says I will get better as I mature.”

He shifted his weight from one foot to another, the endorphins he was getting from talking to this girl starting to make him a bit jittery.

“Being able to play by ear is a rare skill. I can only play what I see. I can do so very well, yet still. My creative mind is still developing.” He said. “You would fit in well at Court with skills like that.”

"Well, I do hope so, sir. Maybe I could even play something from your ballet." She offered with a smile. "Do you enjoy composing then? I know you say your father insisted and that you did it to share with him, but do you enjoy it?"

Paolo felt himself demure at the idea of her playing one of the pieces from his mediocre works in progress, but his response to it was only half, as he’d been trained out of excessive demurring. It wasn’t prince like. Instead, he leaned back a bit for a second and smiled, averting his gaze.

“Don’t think you’d want to be doing that at this point.”he said, showing some humility. Then he stole another glance at her that went on forever. “I think my feelings on the matter are much like those of any other: I like it when it’s good and I don’t when it’s bad. So often we like subjects in which we excel, don’t you think?”

"I do, but I also think it is very important to make sure that we persevere even when we may dislike something." She noted with a smile. "I'm sure your ballet will be beautiful`

Giana approached the two with what appeared to be an apologetic smile and looked at Paolo. “Paolo we should be getting back for now. We have been gone a while and we didn’t finish saying our hellos properly.” She really did seem like she was sad to interrupt them, but she was trying to teach Paolo more of the general social graces and this was one of them. Besides, she didn’t want to give anything a chance to go awry between himself and Amalie.

Paolo gave Giana a look like a wounded puppy, but he didn’t let the expression get to his eyes and he was careful not to let the part that appeared elsewhere linger for long. He knew she was right, and as much as she wanted to stay with this girl here in the gardens for hours and hours, he knew that wasn’t what was done at events like this, especially for a member of the Imperial Family.

He looked back and set his eyes on Amelie again, hesitating with a subtle sadness before he spoke.

“My sister is right. We must be off. It was a pleasure to meet you, my Lady. I hope to see you again very soon.” He said, and then he looked at her older brother. “You as well, Royce.”

“I hope the same, your Highness.” Amalie smiled warmly and curtsied to both Paolo and Giana. Royce gave a respectful bow and bid them farewell as well.

Giana walked away with Paolo, waiting until they were a respectful distance from Amalie and Royce before she looked down to her little brother. “She seemed quite nice.”

“She’s wonderful.” Paolo said with a bright smile, looking over his shoulder to steal another glance at her as they walked away. Such a thing was hardly princely conduct, but he simply didn’t care about that in this case. “She’s the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen.”

Giana gave a slight smile. "Well, that's good... because this wasn't entirely just a social visit, Paolo. Mother and Father wanted us to come here so you could meet Amalie as well as working on your social graces; she is to be your intended and your betrothal announced during the Feast of Heroes announcements."

He had been listening, of course, especially considering the object of his own personal thoughts was the subject of the conversation he was having with his sister. Despite this fact, he was confused by the statement and didn’t have time to process it.

“What?” He asked, looking at her like she had a fly on her nose.

Reaching out, she took Paolo by the arm and moved with him to one of the stone benches and took a seat. "Father and Mother picked Amalie Cochrane as your future wife." She offered to her brother in simpler words, making sure there was enough room for him should he need to sit down.

“Right…” Paolo said as he tracked the information given to him in his head. His face was frustrated and pensive at first and then, slowly, it expanded into a smile. It was quiet and bright. “Oh.”

It had been a simple response, but had said a lot about how he felt.

“How long will it be then? Surely we won’t have to wait 4 and a half years, yes?”

"That part I am not sure on." Giana admitted honestly. "At the very least though I would imagine that you would need to wait until you are both sixteen. Father may intend you to wait the full four years though, that would be a question for him." She studied Paolo's face closely and the emotion displayed there. She couldn't really ever remember feeling that about anyone.

He nodded, seeming both unsettled and satisfied at the same time.

“Alright, well…” he started, looking at her. “That’s very exciting news.”

"I'm glad you think so." Giana smiled again and tried to make it genuine. The truth was she didn't really feel anything either way which was, she supposed, better than what it had been previously. "Shall we get back then?"

"Yes, let's get back." he said, starting them off on their journey back to the party. "Hopefully we haven't missed the cake."

END