Of Lords and Reconciliation

[Jacque]

"Yes... please," he murmured as he slid his glass towards the decanter.

A wry grin accompanies his response to her idea, "Oh, I have absolutely no reservations about showing off our crown jewel once it is finished." He shrugged his shoulder halfheartedly, "That may have been vaguely covered under the topic of 'elaborate parties'."

"Hmm," his eyes lingered across her features at the pronouncement of the covenant, "Congratulations are in order, then." He waited for the glass to be returned before raising it in Lenora's honor with a genuine smile, "If you don't mind me asking, who is sponsoring you?"

"Fair enough," he offered, "I've seen Kindred get a bit carried away even with the qualifier of 'friendly' in a competition. Perhaps there's no sense in muddying the waters." He nodded at her restatement, "Of course, I will."

"Good," the choice in his abbreviated verbiage was almost too curt before he added, "I rather delight in being correct and I'm investing a significant amount of trust in our relationship. Your voiced concerns only validate my instincts." Smart, careful and prudent. That will carry her a long way.

His eyes scanned over the maps, "So, are we in agreement to make a play for building in Valencia?"

[Lenora]

Lenora would rise, deftly picking up the glass as it was slid close to the bottle and pouring out another drink for the Whip.

"Ah, but we cannot deny the benefits of a small intimate gathering," she says, "Naturally, the Domain will come to recognize our family's prosperity. Perhaps following a night of hosting the elite, Her Majesty could be convinced to afford the Clan of Kings the opportunity to host a court. The event would need to be contained to a fixed room or set of rooms within the property, of course. Our privacy and security as a family would need to be assured. Further, consequences would need to be agreed upon with Her Majesty's office in regard to those that might try and use the opportunity to violate the sanctity of our estate's more private sanctums. What do you think?"

The glass is returned to Jack offers his congratulations and smile, which is reciprocated with a small, sincere smile of Lenora's own.

"Thank you," she said, "I need not tell you that this has been a goal I have sought for some time. However, I will not rest on my laurels just yet. This new journey has only begun."

Then a slight tilt of his head.

"My formal integration will occur at the next gathering, but Her Grace has already selected Mr. Heinrich as my sponsor," Lenora answers.

His point on his investment and the joy of being proven correct was met with a light chuckle.

You know exactly what you are.

"We are," she affirms.

That was that. Jack had her interest and promise to invest in this shared vision.

[Jacque]

"Of course," he pondered the prospect with the recent news, "A reasonable case could be made for offering the facilities to Judex Twist to host an evening for the unconquered." He nodded in agreement, enjoying the excitement she was showing for the idea, "The possibilities are without limit. It would not be unreasonable to ask her grace to hold such vermin accountable for their misdeeds, but the responsibility is first ours to have proper measures in place to ensure our own security."

He raised his eyebrows in brief surprise, "I like him, though I wish he wasn't quite as... reserved with talking."

"Excellent," he responded as he rose to his feet and began stowing away the blueprints, "I'll have some copies made and you can provide your notes for any alterations you desire with the layout." He carefully slid the chess board back between them before sitting back down, "As far as I'm concerned, your commitment to the project resolves any issue I had with that evening."

Signalling it was her turn to move by motioning to the board he asked, "What else is on your mind, Priscus?"

[Lenora]

The Lord of Lords' smile remained as it was, content and pleased that her an Jacque's ideologies had begun to sync.

"And, in so doing, our value to the First Estate will be made clear," she offered, "Showcasing our accomplishments will relay the understanding that the Clan of Kings is an asset to be respected and worth utilizing."

Then a nod.

"Indeed, both Her Majesty and Her Grace understand the threats of our world," she said, "If called upon, I will not counsel mercy for such ne'er-do-wells, but I doubt my words will be needed."

Lenora would not have mused over the possibility of such an event if she felt Alessandra or Twist would deal with transgressors mercifully. To violate a haven was a deep issue of security, tantamount in Lenora's eyes to treason. Therefore, there was only one punishment for it.

As the words are spoken of her sponsor, Lenora pauses and then inclines her head lightly in agreement.

"Indeed," she offers, "I am inclined to agree, but I am confident in the instincts of Her Grace. Let us hope his reservations do not extend too deeply into his guidance."

If they did though, Lenora was not worried and it showed on her face. Twist had already expressed her confidence in the Lord's rise. Edward would succeed as a sponsor or he would not and Lenora would be faced with the challenge of rising beyond such poor circumstance. In that case, she had no intention of failing.

"Please do," she says, responding to Jack's offer of copies, "I will arrange time to provide my input. Your efforts demand as much."

Jacque had been thorough, Lenora would not disrespect his work for the family by offering only indifference.

The smile twitched slightly wider as the chess board was slid back in place and her ally provided his final question.

"Only the growing comforts of our alliance," she answered, "I do value you, Whip. I am pleased our circumstances have led us to one another."

Then Lenora played her piece, returning a confident gaze as her pale eyes bored into his.

"Together we will rise," she offered, "Consider yourself free to mark my words."

[Jacque]

Jacque nodded to her assurances, "Likewise. You and I are stronger for the partnership." He pondered over the next move of their game as he shared, "They are marked," he grinned before adding, "but I do believe them."

He considered drudging up recent history regarding her predecessor, but there was no point and nothing to gain. What was important was that this partnership would provide stability for the both of them and clarity of direction for the Lords as a whole. An outward expression of power each would work towards instead of the in-fighting that had normalized. A whimsical tone overtook him, "What a lovely evening this has been. Did it unfold as you expected?" He finally had a degree of success in his duties as Whip.

Unless there was anything else I think we're good to wrap with our extended dice rolls. Int+Comp for dice and first to 10 sux sound good?

[Lenora]

Lenora smiled as the pair began the relieving process of shelving business.

How long had it been since Lenora truly allowed herself to enjoy someone's company? The Lord of Lords did not recall. Not with great clarity anyway. It was a necessary evil in the game they played at times, particularly when the establishment of legacies was still in its early years. However, tonight it seemed she would allow an intermission.

"Far better," she offered as delicate fingers lifted her neglected glass and she took a drink. Then the gaze of Lenora moved to rest on the board as the Lords gave themselves over to the evening's entertainment.

I am in agreement! I think 10 suxx is more than fair. Lenora took 9 rolls to reach the requirement

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-05-01 14:34:18	[09] Lenora rolls 5 to Play the Chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	2, 2, 5, 7, 9	1 success
2020-05-01 14:34:18	[08] Lenora rolls 5 to Play the Chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	8, 2, 6, 2, 4	1 success
2020-05-01 14:34:18	[07] Lenora rolls 5 to Play the Chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	8, 7, 8, 5, 1	2 successes
2020-05-01 14:34:18	[06] Lenora rolls 5 to Play the Chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	5, 2, 5, 2, 4	failure
2020-05-01 14:34:18	[05] Lenora rolls 5 to Play the Chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	1, 1, 5, 10, 2, 2	1 success
2020-05-01 14:34:18	[04] Lenora rolls 5 to Play the Chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	1, 2, 7, 5, 1	failure
2020-05-01 14:34:18	[03] Lenora rolls 5 to Play the Chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	5, 7, 10, 9, 2, 2	2 successes
2020-05-01 14:34:18	[02] Lenora rolls 5 to Play the Chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	1, 7, 7, 3, 1	failure
2020-05-01 14:34:18	[01] Lenora rolls 5 to Play the Chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	9, 9, 8, 4, 1	3 successes

[Jacque]

The Lord smiled at the response, and gave the game his full attention. Well, whatever attention wasn't spent on his drink at least. Pieces moved, captured and sacrificed. Checks flurried both ways until finally, he emerged triumphant. "I had hoped that the first use of such a lovely gift would result in a victory. On the other hand, I am most grateful that you did not make it easy."

Looks like he narrowly wins in 8 rolls. Thank you for the wonderful scene!

11 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2020-05-01 14:48:09	[09] Jacque rolls 6 to play chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	4, 6, 5, 5, 5, 1	failure
2020-05-01 14:48:09	[08] Jacque rolls 6 to play chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	10, 9, 1, 3, 2, 7, 1	2 successes
2020-05-01 14:48:09	[07] Jacque rolls 6 to play chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	7, 9, 2, 1, 3, 8	2 successes
2020-05-01 14:48:09	[06] Jacque rolls 6 to play chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	3, 7, 1, 1, 9, 3	1 success
2020-05-01 14:48:09	[05] Jacque rolls 6 to play chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	7, 7, 5, 5, 10, 5, 5	1 success
2020-05-01 14:48:09	[04] Jacque rolls 6 to play chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	3, 2, 3, 8, 3, 9	2 successes
2020-05-01 14:48:09	[03] Jacque rolls 6 to play chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	2, 4, 7, 6, 10, 3, 4	1 success
2020-05-01 14:48:09	[02] Jacque rolls 6 to play chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	7, 7, 1, 9, 4, 7	1 success
2020-05-01 14:48:09	[01] Jacque rolls 6 to play chess (Int+Comp) (10 Again)	7, 3, 7, 1, 10, 7, 6	1 success

[Lenora]

Lenora's pale eyes flicked back to Jacque's face, a pleased smile hitting her features as she watched his contentment at his victory.

"A fitting challenge," she said.

Thus, the night wound down to a worthy conclusion.

The Clan of Kings was strengthened by the alliance of Whip and Priscus, placed as they were on the path to success.

Closing. THank you for the scene!