25th of Frost, 120 AoSxx
Mae was exhausted. The better part of the last four weeks had been spent in strict written negotiation between herself and Sir Jamie Silva, a noble from Kalzasi in possession of one particularly rare piece of history. His sloppy, haphazard handwriting now engrained in her mind as if it had been branded there irked her as she studied the words on the page for the seventh time that morning.
Lady Mae Eloeth,
I simply cannot give up such a piece of my collection for that price. If I were to, I'd have a missing hole in my display and whatever would I put in it's place?
However, I will meet with you as you have requested. Let us discuss an arrangement at your museum on the 25th of this month. I will have my servants bring it, for should we come to an agreement I would prefer the transfer of goods to be quick.
Sincerely,
Sir Jamie Silva XIII
Her brow twitched, she chewed on the inside of her lips as she threw the papers down on the lacquered mohogany desk in front of her and scoffed.
"Lady M-mae..?" A voice called from the door. She looked up to see her assistant, Kikku, standing in the doorway. He was a scrawny little brown haired boy with a stutter, but he was an remarkable worker, diligent, and hadn't complained once since starting. Which is more than she could say of the rest of her staff. They enjoyed their jobs most of the time of course but often had to be pushed to perform to their limits. Perfection, always, was expected of them. As it had been of her.
"What is it, Kikku?" She asked, pinching the bridge of her nose. Truly, he did like to to interrupt her at the most painfully annoying times.
"S-sir Jam-mie Silva is here. Shall I sen-n-n-d him in?" The boy fidgeted with a stack of papers in his arms, nearly spilling out like a waterfall. One might wonder why someone like Mae who demanded a diamond-like perfection would have hired a boy with such a quirk. Kikku especially had questioned her the very day he'd gotten the job, if society itself had made fun of him, teased him, bullied him into silence for most of his life, then why not the Rose? She didn't answer at the time, simply gave him his work and ushered him to begin. But through working at the museum had learned that it wasn't so bad. Lady Mae never chastised him for it, and treated him not a hair special than anyone else. When his nerves would act up and the stuttering would force him into a spiral of the same letter for what seemed like forever, she would simply watch. No judgement, but no kindness either. It had been odd getting used to, and when he did exceptionally well he'd swear he'd see a smile. Not that she'd admit to it.
Mae pulled her hand from her brow and rested her chin on top of her knuckles. "No. Make him wait half an hour."
Kikku bowed and slipped out of the room, closing the door gently behind him. When he had finally gone Mae removed the letter from her desk and filed it into a folder in the third drawer of a cabinet situated directly behind her. Hundreds of names, artifacts, ledgers were kept carefully organized in that cabinet. Her lifes work. Her entire history of success in the museum; but it wasn't enough. She had only recently come up with the idea to use the prince's collection in her museum, had her letter sent off just that morning, but if he agreed that would only mean one half of her seasonal exhibits were completed. And she planned to make Silva's the other.
So she waited. Hands folded atop her desk and letting her mind settle to stone, to sky, to water, to fire. Like her father had taught, each of the elements can be used as inspiration for inner balance. Your mind of stone like a weight of your emotions, your thoughts, holding you steady against the storms brought on by your enemies. Your inner sky, a place to peer up at the clouds and look at every available option. Endless possibilities, never ending, and always moving. Your mind of the water. The surface completely still- a place of reflection. To see your own mistakes, wash away your insecurities, and forget they ever existed as each ripple takes them away into the expanse of nothingness. And your mind of fire, of passion, of success and victory. An eternal flame that never dulls or dwindles and pushes you forward to see just how far you're willing to go.
And lastly, the lock and key. To protect your inner self and let none else even catch a glimpse of what makes you you, lest they take it for their own and use it against you.
Half an hour later, after her meditation had concluded she opened her eyes to the knock on the door once more. It opened, and in fumbled a very aggravated Jamie Silva. He was a tall human noble with long brown hair tied back in a now-messy ponytail that he quickly fought to smooth over. His shoulders, broad, pulled back to puff his chest out as he gathered his pride back. He adjusted the bright red jacked over his shoulders as if it had been torn off and huffed.
"I say, I have never had such an entrance-" He looked positively fuming.
'Good'.
Mae's eyes flicked to Kikkus as he left, searching for the answer to why the man, while impatient of course, seemed so out of sorts. But Kikku simply smiled back. His perfect, innocent, 'I've done my job as I've been asked' smile plastered on his face and left the room. But she knew. He'd done something else, something the museum nor its employees could not be blamed for, but would set the man in the perfect place for Mae to console him. Butter him up. Win his mind over before the negotiations had even begun.
"Whatever has happened, Sir Silva?" Mae questioned, her face quickly contorting to one of concern. Professional concern, of course, and perfectly feigned, as she stood from her desk and moved to greet him formally.
The man adjusted his lapel, then brushed his hair back once more to finish smoothing out his appearance. Once again looking every bit the established gentleman he was, or at least wanted to be, he let out a long sigh as he centered himself and gave a short bow to Mae
"The guests, just at the front entrance- they flocked around me like vultures. Nearly scuffed my brand new Byuell's I just got imported from the master Illie' Eli Noct himself in Sol Valen. One of them nearly touched my jacket- it was like a sport getting through that maze of peasants."He spat it out. Mae nodded, her expression softening as she gave a return bow and extended her hand to the chair in front of her. "I am truly sorry for your treasured shoes, Sir Silva. We've had some construction on our normal VIP guest entrance. Would you like me to fetch the restorationist? I believe she is free at the moment, could polish them up right away. It is only befitting of such an honored guest, after all."
Mae was inwardly smirking. Once again, Kikku had done the impossible. Surprised her. And with a perfect execution of one of her favorite tactics without even having to be asked. And that, exactly, is why Kikku was her chosen assistant.
"No no, it's quite alright." He said, clearing his throat and sitting rigidly on the leather chair in front of him. Of course he would say no. What noble in their right mind would take their shoes off in public, after all? But it only meant it was time for their discussion to begin. Mae nodded and walked back to the other side of her desk, and like a feather sat down with no more sound than the brush of fabric against chair. Even her heels made no noise. She was absolutely in her element.
"Well then, why don't we get started? The Mirror of Memories.."
