The young Count fidgeted nervously with the hem of his finest suit. Beside him was his Countess, tall but standing slightly hunched over, wearing what was undoubtedly her regular attire, but freshly laundered and minus the layers of worn, stained plate and chain armor. Niklas could no more discern her mood today than any other day because of her eerie, newly polished silver mask. Yet, strangely, he discovered that stealing a glance or two up at where she stood, solid and impassive as ever, eased his nerves a bit. Perhaps it was the reassuring effect of someone so large and intimidating standing at his side, like a mother bear guarding a cub.

He looked back down at the road again and grimaced at the sight of the approaching carriage, which had grown larger as it continued its approach while his attention was turned away. Even at such a distance, it appeared quite opulent, and in fact reminded Niklas of the carriage that he himself had arrived in not a full month prior. This observation came as rather a surprise to him, for its occupant was a mere Mayor of an impoverished County, and not the son of a well-to-do Baron. Regardless, all of the inhabitants of the Castle had gathered before its gates to greet their guest–that is to say, Niklas and Uldred were both there with the two servants at their backs.

Mayor Borney of Coronton stepped confidently down from the rung of the carriage despite how the fashionably delicate vehicle tilted precariously under his shifting weight. He was a rotund man with a similarly round face upon which rested a sizable brown mustache, it's fine tips pointing to eight o'clock and four o’clock, respectively. His short curled hair shone with wax and did not waver much in the wind, and his blue eyes were big and bright. His expression was perfectly neutral, at least until he turned and took in the small group gathered there, at which his face lit up with a wide smile.

"My good Lord and Lady!" He declared jovially, stepping forward enthusiastically and raising his arms as if to hug one of them. "It is so wonderful to finally make your acquaintance, Count! And Countess, why, I haven't seen you since you were but a girl up to here!" With that, he held one hand up flat to his nose and gave a little wink.

For some reason his remark caused Uldred to shoot a glare down at Niklas, who nervously avoided her gaze, although he knew not why.

I suppose she did not want me to know that she was a giant child as well..? Was all he could surmise as an explanation.

The Mayor then took Niklas' hand up in a firm grip and shook it vigorously. As he did so, Niklas internally remarked upon how soft and well-groomed the man’s skin was. "Lord Edmunton Borney, Mayor of Coronton!"

"Ch-charmed." Niklas stammered, stumbling back a step as soon as he was released from the handshake.

Lord Borney put out the same hand towards Uldred, but she only leered down at the gesture as if it were a used cleaning rag or something equally unpleasant.

He retracted his hand as quickly as it had appeared and coughed awkwardly into it instead. "Y-yes, well. It appears you haven't changed a bit!"

With a wayward glance his attention caught upon Hemsley, who was positioned behind the Count, doing his best to stand at attention and appear presentable.

"Another servant already!" The Mayor remarked with a surprised tone. He suddenly clapped a hand against Niklas' shoulder, startling him. "I had heard tell of your wizardry in the realm of stewardship, but you have already doubled your staff so quickly after your arrival!"

Niklas chuckled nervously, unsure of how to respond. He could not tell from the man’s tone then if he was making fun of him, and while a single-person staffing increase was a laughable thing to compliment one on, it was still a factually correct statement.

"Well, I shall do my best to continue not to disappoint." Niklas replied. "Now, shall we take this conversation inside and out of the cold?"

"Why yes, of course. Lead the way my Lord and Lady! I shall just have my footman and my Knight here carry in the gifts that I have prepared as we make our way inside."

Niklas and Uldred’s eyes finally met then as they exchanged quizzical and concerned glances between one another.

…Gifts?

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Soon everyone was inside the Castle and sitting at the long dining table, with Uldred in the head seat, Niklas beside her on her right, and the Mayor sat at the other end. The Count and Countess were quite busy staring, dumbfounded, at the sparkling hoard of fine gold and silver dinnerware that had been prepared by Lord Borney’s equally-mustachioed servant. The sound of vigorous chopping and a loud sizzling could be heard from the nearby kitchen as well. The Castle servants had nearly burst into tears when the Lord Mayor’s knight had, just a few minutes prior, cracked open one of a few heavy wooden boxes from their carriage to reveal a wealth of fresh vegetables, fruits and cured meats packed inside. The bright and plentiful colors inside that box, within the thoroughly cleaned but still dreary walls of Castle Petrice, looked as out of place as a watercolor painting in the midst of a gallery of monochrome artwork.

Niklas did his best to keep his wits about him and maintain a serious façade, though the notion of eating real cooked food, that was not the same bland porridge as always, filled him with a surge of mouthwatering anticipation that was difficult to suppress. Uldred looked much the same: she was stiff and inscrutable as ever behind her mask, but every so often, when Niklas peered over at her, he would see her violet eyes were also drawn towards the kitchen doors.

Meanwhile, upon entering the Castle Lord Borney and his two men had looked around in quite a bit of awe in their own right. Though Borney had not visited the place since the old Count’s time, he still found it quite surprising to see its gloomy halls twinkling and spotlessly clean. His Knight and the Servant whispered between one another as they had looked about; obviously they had heard horrific rumors about the current state of the place and were shocked, though not unpleasantly so, to see them so thoroughly disproved. The Servant in particular had looked at his elderly counterpart with eyes afire with competition, so awed was he to see two lone men complete such a daunting feat.

“W-well,” Borney said then, coughing into his hand to call everyone’s attention to himself. “I must admit that you have impressed me again, Lord Count. It would seem that you have quickly turned the fortune of this entire Castle on its head.”

“You flatter me, Mayor, I could not have achieved such a thing alone.” Niklas replied, attempting to place his hand upon his betrothed in a show of solidarity, an action which she immediately and violently flinched away from.

“Well, I hope our humble gift of foodstuffs will satisfy you. While it is difficult to import such things into the heart of Petrice, I know it surely cannot measure up to the standards of a Count’s feast.” Borney chortled.

Niklas laughed nervously in reply and scratched his head. While the man had delivered his words with a jolly and friendly demeanor, Niklas could not figure any way to receive such a comment other than as mockery, for their guest had obviously known of the sorry state the Castle had been in until just recently.

Uldred evidently was also not fooled by the man’s flippant demeanor, apparent by how one of her eyes twitched sharply in annoyance. A sharp bolt of panic then shot through the small Count, and he quickly attempted to change the subject before her temper had a chance to flare any further.

“A-anyhow, my Lord Mayor, shall we speak of business? I am most excited to go over my proposals with you!”

Lord Borney put up a hand to forestall Niklas’ efforts. “All in good time, my Lord Count, all in good time! First we should fill our bellies so as not to be distracted from such important work later! And it would be a shame if we let the food go cold, after it has traveled such a long way.”

No sooner had he spoken than did Belfort and Hemsley appear from out of the kitchen, carrying trays of fried and roasted meats and grilled vegetables, numerous fruits that had been cut and peeled, and small, glistening sweetmeats which they then arranged upon the long dining table. Yet while Lord Borney clapped in delight at the arrival of their meal, and while Uldred looked awed and slightly overwhelmed by the spread before them, Niklas found himself swallowing his own excitement before any of the food.

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This is…quite the feast. Niklas thought, briefly eyeing the jolly Mayor. He did not voice his suspicions then, but left them to stew within his breast as he moved to tuck into the meal before him.

Lord Borney must have been quite famished after his journey, for he had piled his plate with food in a way that went against any etiquette Niklas had learned about eating in polite company. Niklas peered over towards the Countess again as she lifted more than half of the roast turkey onto her own plate. Quizzically he wondered then if she would eat with that full-faced mask on. As though to answer him, she slowly reached up and clasped her hands upon her mask at the brow and jaw, and began to lift.

Niklas’ eyes widened with sudden interest as he realized he would be seeing his first glimpse of his new wife’s true face. But as she finally pulled her mask, and her hood with it, up over her long black hair, he was met not with some grotesque deformity, as he had been expecting, but soft pale skin, a sharp chin, and long pinkish lips that were somewhat thin. As if feeling the pressure of his eyes upon her, she shot a violet glare down at him through her thick bangs, which mostly obscured the upper-half of her face, casting his attention down to his food, and causing him to turn a little red in the ears. In doing so he did not see Hemsley, who stood at the other end of the table, stiffen and pale at the sight of her other side.

They ate mostly in silence. Despite his long-awaited re-acquaintance with flavorful food, Niklas was not in a state to properly savor it, and tore through his succulent meal as if it were the usual bland and gray porridge. His mind was more occupied with the little bit of the Countess he had seen, and a desperate desire now to see more. Any time he attempted to peek up again after that he was returned a glare more murderous than any he had seen from her before, and so he would relent quickly and go back to staring down at his plate.

There doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with her. I wonder why she wears that thing then? He wondered as he poked his fork at some grill sprout. She had a…beautiful mouth, if such a thought is proper to have. At that thought, he blushed a bit again. He attempted one more glance, but was once again rebuffed.

Meanwhile, the Countess sighed as she ravenously tore into her third leg of roast turkey. The little man was acting strangely today. More strangely than usual she would say, ever since she removed her mask to eat.

I suppose this is the first time he has seen my…seen me since we were wed. She realized, A small anger came over her then at that realization. Even if I am so unpleasant to look at, does he have to stare so much? And she glared down at him again for that perceived slight, making the small man sink into his chair all the more, weighed down by an invisible pressure.

Across the table, Lord Borney made delighted little noises as he dug into his own meal, mostly composed of appetizers and easy finger-foods. But beneath his jolly and unthreatening demeanor, a sharp and calculating gaze rested upon the Count and Countess across from him, who could not even meet each other’s eyes.

Even though he has improved the place so much, their relationship is still quite strained and poor, ey?

For a moment, a small Cheshire grin curled beneath his mustache.

This may be easier than I thought…

But then he popped a small fried morsel into his mouth, and his look returned once again to one of enthusiastic enjoyment.

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Now seated comfortably in the lounge, a proper location to discuss further business, Niklas, Lord Borney, and a newly re-masked Uldred were each served cups of steaming tea by Hemsley. This was not their usual water with vague hints of color and flavor that they were used to, no. Several sizable tins of loose-leaf blends containing a range of spices, smells, and hues had been gifted to them along with the food. As he made to depart, Hemsley leaned down to whisper to the Count.

“If you need anything, just call me. Belfort is a little overwhelmed at the moment.”

In his mind’s eye, Niklas could already see the elderly servant weeping at the sight of new tea leaves after so long, and so hard that he could not hold the pot steady to pour. He had to shield his mouth to stifle a giggle then, so that he did not come off as strange or rude to his guest.

“Ahem!” He coughed into his fist to reset himself. “O-onto business then!”

“Indeed!” Replied the jolly Mayor, sitting forward in his chair. “An exciting series of propositions to be sure! There is much to discuss.”

Niklas felt the looming gaze of the Countess upon his skull again without ever looking over to her. A bead of nervous sweat rolled down his brow, this would be her first time hearing about his plans for renovations about the County.

Lord Borney took note of her demeanor, and once again a mischievous grin parted his lips.

“Yes there were many a useful and interesting ideas for improvements which I, and I am sure the other Lords and Mayors, would be loathe not to take under consideration for implementation!” He continued.

“I agree that for many of these systems implementation would be simple with only the requirement of corvée labor-”

A squeaking could be heard as Uldred’s gloved hands gripped the arms of her chair a little tighter. Niklas gritted his teeth at the sound, and purposefully made certain not to look in her direction.

“-and for the rest, the more expensive items I mean, I agree with your suggestion of the reinstatement of a tax.”

Now the wood cracked loudly beneath the Countess’ fingers, and her gaze burned even more heatedly against the back of Niklas’ skull. He did not appreciate how the man had worded that, although it was technically an accurate description.

Lord Borney snapped his fingers, and his diligent servant entered with a bundle of parchments in his hands. “Your note had not provided specific numbers, so I took it upon myself to come up with some basic figures ahead of time!”

Niklas held his hands outstretched, but to his shock and dismay, the servant leaned past him to hand the stacked papers to the Countess! He shot a quick glare over towards the Mayor, who still for a moment wore that wolfish grin, at least until he noticed the Count’s eyes, at which he quickly slipped back into a jolly and unthreatening demeanor.

Suddenly Uldred shot up to a stand from her chair! She slapped the papers down across the table in disgust, and without a word she marched out of the room.

After a stunned pause, Niklas rose to his feet as well. “M-my apologies, she must be feeling ill from the meal. Allow me a brief reprieve to go and check on her condition.”

And he quickly scurried out of the room after her, while behind him the Mayor waved his arm in a dismissive gesture.

“By all means, go on right ahead my good Count! I shall remain here in comfort.”

As the door clicked shut behind the small man, Lord Borney’s cheerful guise dropped completely and suddenly. He sighed through gritted teeth and lazed back in his chair most improperly.

“Well that should keep them busy for a time.” He mumbled to his servant, who nodded his head in response. “I had heard the new Count was having trouble wrangling the local populace into compliance. Stubborn and disrespectful wretches as they are!”

Reaching forward, the manipulative mayor snatched a handful of his gifted confections from the center table, and began tossing them absently into his mouth one-by-one as he continued to speak.

“I knew the Countess was uneducated and soft-hearted, for all that she is a warrior. Can you believe her one and only decree as Countess was to abolish what meager alms they were receiving from the people?” He scoffed disagreeably at the notion as he took another bite out of a miniature tart. “Utterly foolish.”

“Shall I write to inform Baron Otkorn that everything is proceeding smoothly?” Asked the servant.

“Yes, do that. I think this will keep the Count and Countess fighting amongst themselves for long enough.”

He tossed a final cookie into his insatiable maw, licking his lips in satisfaction and brushing a few stray crumbs off the fine material of his coat. But as he spoke again, his eyes looked even hungrier than ever.

“If these boons were not enough to move the Count to our side… Well, by the time they realize what is going on, it will be too late anyways. Regardless of his choice, it will be our win.”

The Servant nodded his head again, his face adorned with the smallest hint of a smile.

“Very good, sir. I am sure my Lord will be quite pleased.”