5.7
- Location
- Great Khanate of Scotland
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Don't worry Iris, meeting your girlfriend's parents is always rough.
The day passed quickly, mostly taken up with an extensive tour of Doncaster, top to bottom. They looked out from the watch towers over the hills and explored the cellars – Doncaster kept going down, down, into basements and sub-basements and cellars (well-stocked with wine and cheese), and some of those had been built into natural caves and others linked up with tunnels, until if you went down enough you could connect to the vast cave system that stretched under all the Harcourt lands. Some of those entrances were guarded, others merely locked, but Alessa said the castle's layout was so old and tangled that there were whispers of undiscovered tunnels and secret passages...
In between there were halls and barracks and armories, larders and chambers, from Alessa's opulent bedroom to little goblin-servant's quarters tucked behind staircases.
"They seem to prefer sleeping in tight places like this," Alessa explained, "Something to do with living underground, I guess."
Iris met a whirl of courtiers, servants, and staff, all of whom Alessa knew by name and knew intimately but whom Iris couldn't keep up with. She remembered the falconer, because he promised to teach her to hunt with a kestrel, and that sounded like the coolest thing ever. Father Clovis was a somber old man in black robes, beardless with lank grey hair, who had exchanged a few pleasant words with Iris before going back to his prayers. The kitchen staff were commanded with an iron fist by a fat, domineering older woman who had taken one glance at Iris and judged her "too skinny", refusing to let her leave without a fresh pastry in hand. Some of the castle staff were goblins, like the kennelmaster who boasted that he still had all his fingers and the armorer who whistled when he saw Fang slung at Iris' hip, immediately sensing that it was magic.
"This place has history," Chiri had said, "It's soaked right into the stones. A lot of it is bloody history, mind, but you don't get a place with this many people living together for this long without some…warmth."
"My family got their place by being warriors," Alessa admitted, "But I like to think we've found out how to bring prosperity as well."
The castle wizard stayed locked in his tower; his apprentices, a brother-sister pair that Iris could barely tell apart, kept the library and crystal balls and saw to the day-to-day work of tending to the castle's magical problems.
"Iris! This place has records going back three hundred years!" Chiri said after a few minutes' conversation with the apprentices.
When Alessa promised her free run of the place, Chiri practically had stars in her eyes.
***
That night, Iris dined with Alessa and her parents in their solar. They shared a pheasant stuffed with mushrooms and cheese while Alessa's parents interrogated her.
"So, how much of what you told us was a lie?" Lady Harcourt asked as she wiped her fingers. Iris practically choked.
"U-um. Look, I may have embellished some things but, most of what I told you was true," she said quickly. She looked at Alessa for help, but her girlfriend seemed just as nervous.
"To be sure," Lady Harcourt said. Her eyes were so cold, quite unlike Alessa's. "But even then, some of the details don't add up. And you don't act like a commoner, you're too…impertinent."
"Right. S-sorry for the deception, my lord, my lady," it felt so weird calling her girlfriend's parents that, but Iris pressed on. "The truth is, I'm an Outworlder. Upon my…untimely death in my world, I awoke here, given a second chance. Your daughter found me shortly after that and she's been – she's been such a help to me, I don't know where I'd be without her."
"I meant what I said in the court," Alessa added, "I might be dead without her. Mother, father, Iris is…she's very important, I can feel it."
Alessa's mom looked at Lord Joseph, who had been busy sucking the meat from a pheasant wing. He tossed the bone on his plate and stifled a belch.
"Oh, I have no doubt about that, Alessa. We sent you to find something to change our fortunes, and you came back with her. The Lady was not exactly subtle. No, what I wonder is exactly how that will occur. This oracle has already twisted on us once, and being destroyed would certainly be a change in fortune."
"Sir, uh, my lord, I'd never want to bring harm to Alessa's family, I'm in…her debt".
"Well, you may not have a choice in the matter. But…as long as your fate is tied to my daughter's, I'm tempted to trust you."
"My husband is a very trusting man," Lady Harcourt said, her tone measured, "You should be grateful for that, Lady Iris Penny."
"I am, my lady, and for your hospitality. I have no other place to go, letting me live here is, uh, it means a lot."
"Lady Iris, as an Outworlder, you occupy a space that is neither noble nor commoner," Lady Harcourt continued, "We offer you the honor of nobility and a place in our home out of respect. The Lady of Light sent you here for a reason – are you alright?"
Iris coughed and reached for her glass.
"I'm fine, sorry."
"…for a reason, and if you earn it, you may find yourself raised to the rank of a noble in truth."
"Oh. In that case I'll work hard to prove myself!"
Lady Harcourt looked at her, judging her. Iris felt herself shiver – she was clearly the harder of the pair, all iron and ice.
"I believe her!" Lord Harcourt said. "From what you've said, Alessa, she showed valor and strength, loyalty to her friends, care for the weak – all good qualities in a knight."
"Yes, perhaps we'll make a knight of her yet," Lady Harcourt mused.
The dinner concluded not long after that, and Iris practically collapsed against the wall the second she and Alessa were alone in the hallway.
"Alessa, what the fuck? Give me a fucking warning next time!"
"You act like you've never – oh, right. Honestly, you did fine, they like you."
"That was them liking me?"
Alessa put her hand on Iris' shoulder and whispered soothingly.
"My mom just wants to make sure you're made of the right stuff. She wouldn't want me dragging some…some brigand, or fabulist home. But you heard them! Prove yourself and they'll knight you."
"That's…that sounds good," Iris said. Alessa looked down the hallway to her parent's chambers and sighed.
"Go back to your room, I'll join you shortly, okay?"
"Okay..."
