[PRV] S.H.M & Aphrodite

"I apologize, it was not my intention" He smiles at her wonder with the flowers and plants. "They are very beautiful, indeed." Jacen hoped that she could feel some comfort here as she did not tell him where she hailed from, the girl seemed unwilling to speak of it or she did not remember. Much about Siennas behaviour seemed odd to him, like she had never seen certain things, even dresses seemed foreign to her, it was all very strange.

Jacen turns around to face he maid. "Thank you, Alys." his gaze moves to Sienna. "May I escort you back to your chambers, My Lady?" he asks kindly, offering Sienna his arm with a small smile as if to not frighten the girl. "we best not go against my Lady Mothers request" he continues, still keeping his arm out, hoping Sienna would take it, if she knows the etiquette, somehow Jacen doesn't believe she does but it is custom and good manners.

Sienna watched as Jacen offered his arm to her. She was probably going to do the wrong thing, but she decided to guess and hold onto his arm. Why else would he hold it out to her? As she did, she saw that the girl Alys made a face of relief. It seemed that Sienna for once had made the right move. Together, they walked back to the room, which Sienna now understood was called a chamber. There, she was met with another girl and Alys and the girl led Sienna into the room and through a door which Sienna hadn't seen the last time she had been in here. Inside was a tub with water in it. It went rather quickly; the two girls undressed Sienna, and suddenly she sat in the water while the girls were chatting and taking care of her. Sienna hoped that this water would still be here if she had to stay here during the night; this was good enough water to stay in during her time as a mermaid.

The girls dried Sienna with something soft and put on yet another dress, this time a dark red. Sienna was sat down in front of the thing that made her see herself again, and she was still fascinated over it. She saw how the girls exchanged looks and Sienna decided to try and not have such curious expression on her face. The girls worked on her hair and when it was finished, they held out something that Sienna couldn't figure out what it was. Luckily, Alys bent down and put the things on Sienna's feet. Suddenly, she felt more uncomfortable than before, and when she stood up, it was much harder to walk than without the things on her feet.

Alys led Sienna out from the room, and they stood in front of a pair of huge doors. Sienna suddenly felt very nervous. What if she messed up now? She swallowed as the door opened, and Sienna walked inside. There was a table where four people sat, Jacen and Clara but two other people Sienna didn't recognize. A man who was beaming and smiling, and a woman who looked quite.... Harsh.
"You must be Lady Sienna!" the man beamed and stood up. He held out his arms.
"I know you've met my children, and this is my wife, Lady Ella" he said, gesticulating towards the woman. Sienna swallowed. She had to be very polite now. She decided to imagine as if she spoke to the King of Atlantica.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, thank you for taking me in" she said, glancing over at Jacen and Clara. Clara was looking quite intensive at her, and at first Sienna didn't understand why, but then she saw that the girl was mouthing something discreetly. Sienna had a hard time to read her lips.
"My lord" she added, looking at the man, and Clara looked relieved.

Jacen gently taps his foot against the floor while he's waiting for Sienna to arrive to the small hall. Dining was always difficult when his mother was in a mood, as she seems to be now and himself worried about his new ..friend, would that be an appropriate word for her? Hoping that the dinner would be over quickly that his dear Lady Mother would not ask the poor girl too many questions tonight.

He stands up once the doors open, knowing it to be Sienna. The girl did look like a vision in the red dress although her gait was somewhat unsteady, anyone would be when they are not accustomed to walking in those types of boots. "My Lady" the bowing is second nature to him now, but his eyes linger on her form. He's wearing an dark blue and white doublet, their family sigil is sewn on to his chest as well as white breeches to match, his hair is tied back , his blonde locks are getting too long , as his mother cared to mention earlier. "We are very glad that you are joining us" he says with a kind a smile

Not only was she called by this strange name, Jacen was bowing to her as well. In Atlantica, the mermaids only bowed to the King or Queen, out of respect. Here, they seemed much stiffer with their bowing and their fancy clothing. Sienna glanced over at the woman at the table, whose name apparently was Lady Ella. Her mouth looked like a single line, and her eyes seemed to study Sienna from top to bottom. Somehow Sienna got the feeling that this woman wasn't impressed of what she saw. Sienna was trying her best, and she hoped it would take her through this dinner.

A chair was pulled out, and Sienna sat down. She was even more nervous now than before. Was she supposed to say something? She tried yet again to picture herself speaking to the King of Atlantica, but this was much more formal.
"So, Lady Sienna" Lady Ella began. Sienna was kind of relieved that someone was speaking, but was also afraid of what was going to come out of the woman's mouth.
"My son tells me that he found you on the beach" she said, still with the piercing look. Sienna cleared her throat.
"He did" she said, and quickly realized that she had said something wrong. She saw how Clara made a gesture with her hand, indicating that Sienna had to say something else.
"my Lor - Lady" she said, and Clara nodded, but Sienna also noticed how the girl looked down at the table, hiding a grin.

Luckily, Lady Ella didn't have time to say something else, because now the food was being placed in front of them. Sienna looked at it, it was something brown and yellow. It wasn't very much, but Sienna remembered what Jacen had said about having different meals in different sizes during the evening.
"Oh, I love boar!" Clara exclaimed with a smile.
"Father shot it just a few days ago" she said and Sienna looked down at her plate again. What was a boar? She looked up at Jacen and Clara, who now had started to use the little trident and the other piece of cutlery to eat. Sienna picked up hers, and wasn't sure how to use them. She tried to look at the others without them noticing. She tried to imitate what they were doing, but she managed to tangle the cutlery together, and dropped them with a clang. Lady Ella flinched, and now she looked at Sienna. Clara was yet again looking down at the table, covering her mouth with her hand. Her shoulders were slightly shaking, which gave Sienna the idea that the girl was trying to keep a laugh down. Sienna quickly picked up the cutlery with a tad bit shaking hands. She knew this wasn't going very well, and she realized that the others would think of this as strange.
"I'm sorry" she said, not moving her hands from the table. The man that had greeted her before cleared his throat.
"That is alright, My Lady" he said with a smile, to reassure the guest.

The Lord did, however, quietly wonder if the girl was more damaged than was physically visible. Not being able to move her hands correctly to eat, and also not being able to walk properly, could be an indication of some sort of damage. They didn't know what had happened to her before, and the girl didn't seem to know, either. However, this wasn't the Lords work, he had indeed given full responsibility to his son, who was going to take care of this mystery woman. The Lord glanced over at his wife, who looked not impressed at all.

Jacens eyes darts from his mother to Sienna, gives a barely noticeable flinch when she drops the knife and fork. He noticed the look of disgust on his mothers face each time their guest made a mistake, such things did not happen in her world, or so she taught her children. As the scene unfolded before him, Jacen couldn't help but to feel somewhat protective of the girl he had saved.

He eats slowly, hoping Sienna will notice how he eats and what he is using. Lady Ella's harsh voice rings in his ears. "My Lord husband is an excellent hunter, it certainly brings a sense of pride to catch something with ones own hands." The statement was laughable, the only thing the woman had caught and hunted was her husband, in an unseemly way, the stories went around that she had poisoned a girl who was being considered to wed his father when they were young. Lady Ellas family were an old one, bred from the first settlers, so in her mind, she was of a higher standing than her husband. The Lady continues to speak , her eyes never leaving Sienna's face. "Len informs that you do not remember where you are from, mayhaps the rocks and waves did more damage than he originally thought." harsh words from a cold woman.

"Mother, she is our guest, you should leave her be." The moment the words left Jacens mouth he did regret them, somewhat. The glare from his mother only serves to fuel his annoyance with her. Hafvor the Lords steward is present as well, the man keeps glancing at Sienna as if he is trying to understand her strange behavior but there is pity and an understanding gleam in his eyes.

Lady Ella is wearing a rather intimidating necklace, in the shape of two intricate silver spears, they look like spears, the things one would use to catch large creatures and fish, true hunters. The woman is clearly not impressed with Siennas attempts at a civilized dinner.

This dinner was definitely not what Sienna had expected. Of course she had expected it to be hard, but not like this. This woman was rude, but it seemed to be a normal thing, considering her family did nothing to prevent it. The silence after Jacen's word was cold and awkward. Luckily, Clara cleared her throat. She had stopped laughing, apparently it had turned quite serious, which made the situation less fun.
"Father, Jacen has promised me to go swimming tomorrow" she said with a smile, changing the subject. She turned to Sienna.
"I'd love for you to come with us" she said excitingly. Sienna smiled. She had no idea how she was going to swim with human legs, but that was a problem for the future.
"I'd love to do that" she said, beaming towards the young girl.

Sienna turned her attention to the food again and picked up the cutlery, discreetly watching Jacen who now ate slower. If it was because of her or not Sienna didn't know, but she appreciated it. She actually managed to get a piece of food in her mouth when the cold, harsh voice of Lady Ella spoke up yet again.
"My lady" she emphasized and looked at Sienna, who didn't understand what the older woman meant.
"Clara is a high born lady, and her title is Lady" she said with a snapping voice. Sienna blinked. What did Clara's birth have to do with the name Lady? It was obviously important since everybody called everybody it every now and then, and the tone of Lady Ella made it clear that Sienna had done it wrong.
"It's quite strange that your mother didn't teach you that, but maybe it's not a thing to be polite where you're from" Lady Ella continued, making Sienna feel worse and worse. Her eyes landed on the necklace around the woman's neck, which made her feel sick. The things hanging around her neck were miniatures of what had pierced her mother's heart the day the sea had turned red and Atlantica had been grieving the loss of a mermaid. Sienna swallowed.
"No, she didn't" she said, her gaze landing on her food.
"My Lady" she added, her voice a bit hoarse. At least now she understood the name Lady and Lord. She just had to say it in every other sentence.

Lord Richard cleared his throat, hoping to save the situation by changing the subject again.
"How about the main course?" he said, nodding towards the stewards, who quickly gathered the empty (of half-empty in Sienna's case) plates before rather quickly replacing them with slightly bigger plates with lots of greens and vegetables surrounding a piece of roasted duck.
"How wonderful to go swimming, I hope there will be sun" he said with a smile, hiding the fact that he was completely astonished by his wife's behaviour. Sure, Ella was a harsh woman, but she usually never treated guests like this. But then again, they had never had a guest who knew nothing about manners and titles.

As Jacen manages to hide a sigh , he looks up at Sienna, giving her a soft, warm smile, hoping to make her feel somewhat alright again. "The swimming is a fine idea, is it not? it would do Clara some good, and I'll be there to keep her safe, father , I swear it" Upon hearing his mothers harsh words, his annoyance gets the better of him and he as he speaks up. "Mother, she is clearly doing her best, and after sustaining an injury to her head and almost drowning, I am surprised that Sienna is able to sit here and be as polite as she is. After all , Len said that she seems to be having issues with her memory so you questioning and barking at her is hardly helping." there is a fire in his green eyes.

When the main course was served , his Lady mother did not say a word, simply held her head high as she ate.
Jacen turns his attention towards the girls, smiling. "Hopefully it will be fairly sunny, some sun and saltwater would do anyone good, will it not?" he smiles and takes a generous sip of his wine. The servant Hafvor is standing behind the Lord, he is not eating, the steward seems more like a guard at times. The man is clearly human but there is still something strange about his appearance.

At the end of the dinner, Jacen offers to escort Sienna to back to her chambers , with the same warm smile dancing on his lips, hoping she will accept.

The dinner went on without trouble. Sienna still had some trouble with the cutlery, but Lady Ella seemed to have chosen not to say anything, but instead just stare whenever Sienna failed on something that was supposed to be simple. Sienna felt relieved when Jacen stood up and offered to walk back with her to the chambers, which made Sienna understand that dinner was now over. She quickly looked out the window, where the sun was very close to the horizon, meaning that Sienna had enough time to figure something out before she turned back into a mermaid.

As the pair walked down the hallway, Sienna cleared her throat.
"I hope I didn't ruin too much" she said, quickly glancing over at Jacen before looking down on her feet. She was still very unbalanced with those things on her feet, and she was swaying a little bit. Luckily she was holding onto Jacens arm, supporting her a bit.
"It's quite clear that you mother doesn't like me" she said.
"My Lord" she added quickly, not wanting to upset anyone again. She wondered why neither Jacen or Clara had said anything about it before, Sienna had clearly not been addressing them right. She still tried to wrap her head around it all, but it seemed like as long as she kept saying Lord and Lady every now and then, it would please them. She didn't need to know why really, she would hopefully not be a human for very long.

Jacen has a worried look on his face as he sees how unsteady she still is. "Are you well?" he finally asks when they reach the door to her chambers. "I must apologize for my mother , she is not usually as harsh, but she will be better." Were they empty words? he wasn't certain anymore , his mother is usually only so short and ruthless with him and people she dislikes , she has no reason to dislike Sienna, she is a kind girl.

"No no, you did not ruin anything, my mother judges too harshly, I'm afraid" her gives Sienna a gentle squeeze on the arm. "You don't have to call me My Lord when we are alone, Jacen is sufficient" he says with a smile. "I hope you were at least able to enjoy your meal" In the darker light his hair look dark honey colored and it being freshly washed , soft as well. "Perhaps you should try and rest, we're going swimming tomorrow and I doubt that Clara would be happy if you did not join us, she insists on it" another smile , a genuine one, of course. This wasn't like one of the highborn ladies that his mother wished him to court and have swoon.

Sienna nodded.
"I'm well, just a bit unsteady" she said with a smile.
"Thank you, I'd love to join you and Clara tomorrow" she added before Alys was by their side.
"I'll help you lit a fire, my lady" she said with a smile. She opened the door, and gesticulated to Sienna to step inside.
"Goodnight" she said, looking at Jacen with a smile before walking through the doors. She closed them, and looked out the window. The sun's rays were now very close to the horizon.

Sienna watched as Alys bent down in front of the hole in the wall, and did something. Sienna didn't even know what a fire was, but when Alys stood up again, something warm came out of the hole.
"I won't disturb you anymore now, my lady, I hope you'll have a good night" she said before exiting the chambers. Sienna exhaled, quickly moving into the room with the tub. Luckily, the tub was easy to fill with water, and Sienna took off the dress. She climbed into the tub, feeling the water surround her. It only took a minute or so, and a warm feeling spread from her stomach down her legs. Suddenly, her red fish tail was back, and it felt good. Sienna took a deep breath, and leaned her head back. Now she just had to go through the night without anyone coming into her chambers.