Alderaan - Love and Intrigue

The Thule estates were certainly... something. That was about the summary of Arsele's thoughts as she walked up the stairs, letter tube under her arm. Unusually for herself, she wore something not only formal, but austere as well, a tight dress in House Girard colors of red, grey, and white-gold. If her parents wanted her to work with Thul, then she would. For now.

But first she needed to see if this whole thing would be worth her while. If not... Well, it would be a fine line so long as the House was paying her bills, certainly, to put it lightly.

The Duke-Consort had been notified of the newly arrived member of House Girard. He hadn't heard much about her. Something about her being present during the peace talks eight years ago. Either they simply missed each other there or she was completely unremarkable. He suspected the first, since sending unremarkable people to a peace negotiation between the two greatest powers in the galaxy would be silly.

So he awaited her arrival at the top of the stairs.

Arsele didn't know this Zeno that would be meeting her either; Apparently he'd been at Nar Shaddaa for a bit while she'd lived there... but that had just been for those peace negotiations that she'd briefly heard about from Adrianaa and Arali. So in other words, not the sort of person she'd have had a run in with unless they happened to find the Red Light District or Huttball an interesting amusement during such talks.

Still, even if she'd never met the man, he was almost exactly as she'd have imagined him; The crisp clothes, the red skin and imperious aire, the almost bored looking expression... And waiting at the top of such a long flight of steps as a power play no less. Fortunately, Arsele's stamina was quite remarkable, and she managed to only be slightly out of breath despite climbing stone steps in high heels.

"Greetings. You are Duke Zeno Thul, yes?"

He nods, "I am. And you must be Princess Arsele Girard." With the greeting his expression changes to be more pleasant. Any boredom she might have seen was probably because he was waiting rather than because he was meeting her.

"Welcome to the Thul estate. I've had lunch prepared so that we can eat while we talk. We can do a tour after that... if you want. I've always been partial to exploring myself so I don't like to subject visitors to tours if they don't want one."

He gestures for her to join him to head into the main building.

"Lunch sounds nice. As does exploring later."

She gave a glance up at the immense towers of the old Thul estate before looking back down at her host, "It looks like such explorations could be a whole day affair even."

Arsele followed Zeno as he walked, her attention still being pulled this way and that by the sites. Not that the House Girard manor was tiny; It was a two story palace with gardens and all the pomp one expected from an Alderaanian noble house. T the same time though, the manor house would be a footnote to an estate like this that covered two full hills and rose high into the sky.

Leading the way into a parlor not too far from the entrance, the room looks like it is his own personal greeting room. It's got some odd trophies and decorations in it. A guard shoto that's cut in half, a massive tuk'ata skull that seems to emanate malice, a huttball, several miniature starships of Sith, Republic and neutral design, a large portrait of his twin daughters, many books on many subjects that someone of his temperament likely does not read, and otherwise furnished as one might expect of a practical but wealthy man. Fine quality, but more functional than ornate.

"To see it in general, yes. A whole day would probably do it. But it took me a good month to become comfortable with the layout and a year to actually memorize it. The estates of House Deathwright in Sith space are insignificantly small in comparison. Though to be fair, we also operated one of the largest space stations in the Empire, certainly the largest of any noble house there. Dozens of squadrons and our flight school."

On a table at the side of the room there is a selection of food that he directs her towards. Roasted medallions of fresh local meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, a few different types of breads good for dipping or making sandwiches, and a couple sauces. It's a large selection of small quantities. Certainly more than the two of them can eat, but not so much that it is stupidly wasteful... only mildly wasteful.

There is a small table in the center of the room that would be cramped for four people but comfortable for two.

"Please, help yourself," he says.

See, this was one of those reasons why Arsele needed more credits; Wasteful extravagance. Just a room to sit kitschy skulls and art and such in. Not as important as other things certainly, but it sent a message.

As to the food, Arsele was never a super big eater. But a small plate wouldn't be remiss after the long walk. So she took some fruit and meat as she talked.

"You memorized the entire estate then? That's certainly one sort of dedication. Any particular reason?"

Truthfully, there was a lot she could have asked about. But one thing at a time.

He grabbed a plate himself, putting some meat and a sauce over a piece of bread to make an open faced sandwich. He moves to the table and sets his plate down before moving to pull the other chair out for Arsele.

"Mostly habit. Tactical and strategic awareness. Also, because I like knowing where I can escape to if I want to be alone," he says with a smirk. "Sometimes you just don't want to be found, no?"

"I certainly understand that, yes..."

She half mutters that as she takes a seat herself, Arsele setting the plate down in front of her gently.

"I mean, I left a whole planet to find that. I suppose it would be much easier if I'd grown up in a larger estate like this one and simply had some hiding spots. Still, there's only so much one can hide from while nearby to what you're trying to avoid."

"Yeah. I grew up on a space station, so there weren't a lot of places to get alone time there. Free space is hard to come by there," he said with a chuckle. "So having it here is a luxury for me. Though it feels even better still to be cramped into the pilot's seat of a scout or fighter craft. The Void feels like all the space you could ever need. From time to time I'll just fly into orbit and drift for a few hours."

"Well some people think a cockpit is cramped I suppose... but it really isn't if you think of it as an extension of yourself. If you're just part of the craft, you're in as much space as you could like, almost without limitation. At least that's how I view it. So I certainly don't blame you for just heading out sometimes."

He nods at that. "A good ship feels like a uniform to me. Well fitted and comfortable, even if a bit stuffy," he agrees with a smile.

"Do you fly often?"

"More these days than I used to. It feels like, back when I was working so much, that I was spending more on docking fees than fuel, if you know what I mean. Lately I've had more opportunity, though I suspect these festivities will cut down on that for a while."

A small smirk, "Unless House Thul wants me to be up in the skies the entire time."

"If only," he says with a chuckle. "But even I don't get to do that, as much as I want to. I'm guessing that, like me, you prefer a more active lifestyle over all this pomp and circumstance?"

"Oh there's nothing wrong with pomp; People treating you like a princess, as it were. It's the politics behind that stuff that I can't stand. If you want to show you're better than someone or get a leg up on them, I don't know why you can't just do it outright rather than all that doublespeak and backstabbing. I mean..."

A sip of some wine, "...I get it; Doing things subtly or behind the scenes can give advantages and such, but it doesn't send the same message or feel the same."

He nods his agreement with the assessment. "It's not my preference at all. But it's the unfortunate truth of the world that the people that do these things are the ones that make the rules."

"And so we do what we must so we can enjoy the time in-between."

"Or make it so we don't need to rely on those people. That said..."

Arsele set down her eating utensils and picked up the tube she'd been carrying with her, holding it out to Zeno, "House Girard sends its regards to House Thul, as well as one Arsele Girard to help with anything that needs be done during the upcoming festivities."

The letter in the tube is really more of a cover letter than anything, formally written by Arsele's mother and talking both about House Girard's gratitude for assistance provided in the past, as well as formalities of lineage and blah blah. At the end is some about Arsele herself, her mother describing her as 'unorthodox but highly capable in many areas, some less than reputable', though notes such things may be of help if Thul wishes to put them to use.

He took a bite of his food while she spoke.

"A beautiful dream, not needing politics," he replied as he took the letter. He looked it over and nodded.

"Well, it seems like you've been loaned like a tool. Not unlike how I was traded like a breeding animal. Admittedly, my exchange worked out to my benefit, but I do commiserate with the experience. Hopefully we can have this experience work to your benefit as well."

There is a truth there, in his expression. A sense of acceptance, not quite the same as contentment. True, he had come to terms with his place and performed his duties loyally and to the best of his abilities. His wife's appreciation of him helped and the love of his daughters brought him joy. But at the core there was a nagging sense of disappointment over the fact that he had sacrificed a great deal of individuality for the sake of others.

"I guess for right now, a more general outline of what we hope to accomplish? We have a strong relationship with Panteer currently, and we hope to maintain that, or make it even stronger if possible. There are a great many that view Thul with suspicion, and with plenty of reason. We welcome Imperial support and have an ex-Sith as a Duke... scandalous. But the truth is that right now, we seek only to hold our rightful place as a major house of Alderaan and amass wealth, power and respect much as the other houses seek. Peace on the planet is also preferable for us. If we can have influence over the selection of the heir, we hope for Princess Jameela to be chosen. She is level headed, intelligent, and dislikes political machinations. The stable choice that is most likely to ensure the longevity and prosperity of all houses, including ours."

After his long winded explanation he sighs. "Other than that, I can think of no specific tasks at present. Ziandra will likely want to speak with you eventually too. But I guess try to enjoy the estates and the festival?"

Arsele nodded as she listened; Truthfully, it wasn't too far off what she'd expected, though the news about Panteer was new to her. The troubles with House Organa didn't even need to be said of course. As to the assignment, she had preferred Jameela since the announcement anyways, so it was hardly as if she needed to force anything here.

"Yes, I am to speak to her. Eventually. I suppose all of this is formality, really. If I am to be a tool then I am to be 'at hand', so to speak. But it wasn't as if I expected House Thul to ask me to assassinate someone or such. I would hardly be the person for the job anyways, despite my extensive bounty hunting experience."

She'd finished much of her wine as she listened, so Arsele poured herself some more, "It seems as if you almost just wish to get this all over with as well though."

Zeno shrugs. "Well, politics are definitely not my wheelhouse. I was raised with war and violence, so even 7 years into my life here on Alderaan it can be a chore to keep myself in check. But I do so for my family."

"Plus it would be disrespectful to Rist to hire someone else for an assassination. They're the traditional experts."