Alanna's heart was racing, and nothing she did was slowing it down. She had long since washed up and returned to the manor, but no matter how much she repeated to herself that what happened wasn't a big deal, it was Liriel's idea after all, it wasn't pushing down the sheer giddiness she felt at all. Even now she could still taste Liriel, sweetened by grapes, on her lips.
Yiva had met her in the kitchen. Apparently the manor maintained a strict dinner protocol. The Singor family ate first, waited on by the maids, then the staff ate afterwards. Alanna noticed that Yiva had a few lines in her face, much like Headmistress Sonya. She had heard Elves didn't really age the same way other races did. They could become scarred and calloused like any other when exposed to battle or hard labor, but few of them would ever truly age. Lines in their face is all that could show how long they have walked the earth, all the way up until around their 400th birthday, when they'd pass from natural causes. Alanna felt humbled by the idea that Yiva must have been serving the Singor family for a very long time.
However, Yiva would not give her much time to mull over the age of the Singor household, instead putting her to work carrying plates to the dinner table. Yiva selected the lighter plates, thankfully, the experienced maids took the heavier ones. She could hardly believe the feast they were serving. A large cake dotted with cloudberries, a roasted hog, a salad more colorful than any pastry plate and a pitcher of fragrant wine. It was rather shocking then that they appeared to be setting the table for only three people.
After the table was set the maids lined up along the wall, hands folded over their apron, which Yiva instructed Alanna to emulate.
The doors to the dining room opened and in walked four elves. One an elven woman with silver hair, wearing a long green dress in a style Alanna didn't recognize, save from the cover of books. One was an elven gentleman in an expensive suit, with short, stylish blond hair. The last two were undoubtedly Liriel and Alistar, the former having changed clothes into a longer, humbler dress with the same color palette as her previous one, the former still wearing his uniform.
The man took his place at the head of the long dining room table, with Liriel and the silver-haired woman on each side of him.
After they sat down, the silver-haired woman appraised the line of maids, before doing a double take when her eyes found Alanna at the end of the line.
"What is the meaning of this?" she asked, venom in her words despite the dulcet tone of her voice.
The gentlemen looked to the maids, his brow already furrowed with frustration. When he saw Alanna he beckoned her over.
"You. Who are you?" he asked gruffly. He continued to stuff a white kerchief into the neck of his suit, preparing for dinner as though nothing was wrong. "I've never seen you before, and I know we haven't been hiring. You're clearly not a spy or an assassin either. Anyone with half a brain wouldn't have hired beastfolk for that job. Speak quickly."
Put on the place like that Alanna stumbled over her words. "S-Sir, I was hired to-today. By Lady L-Liriel."
That made the man stop. "Excuse me?" he asked, finally looking at Alanna. His green eyes widened as he got a good look at her this time, looking at her up and down before turning to Liriel. "Liriel, what on earth were you thinking?! You do not have the authority to hire staff! Especially not... Them!"
"We only hire Elves to work at the manor," the silver haired woman chided, her face a mask of composure.
Alanna's heart dropped, but Alistar was quick to jump into the situation.
"I fear that it was my doing, Lord Giullis."
"You?!" Giullis responded in outrage. "I expect my rebellious daughter to pull a stunt like this, but you, Alistar? What could have possibly possessed you to hire a beastfolk into my service? You know how my poor, old mother feels about them!"
If the silver-haired woman had been the one spoken about, she gave no sign. Three of the maids had walked up to the table and were filling each person's plates and glasses with food, and the silver-haired woman took the opportunity to pop a cherry in her mouth, chewing daintily while the argument grew. Liriel apparently adopted much the same attitude, not seeming to be concerned at all.
"Sir, I fear I had your explicit permission to hire this girl on," Alistar responded in his usual deadpan manner.
"My permission?!" Giullis stood up, taking off his kerchief and slamming it onto the table. "I have not given you permission to hire new staff in the last quarter-century!" he said, his face reddening in anger. "And what is this outfit?!" he asked, shaking a hand in Alanna's direction.
"It is unseemly," the silver-haired woman interjected.
"It is!" Giullis agreed loudly.
Alistar faced Lord Giullis directly.
"Lord Giullis," he began, and Alanna felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She recognized anger, but it was but the faintest undercurrent. The man was as hard to read as ever. "The morning, you will remember that after your last heated discussion with Lady Liriel, once the doctor left and warned you about your issues with your blood pressure, you ordered me, to, quote, 'Take Liriel into town and buy her whatever will shut her u-"
"Enough!" said Giullis, whose face had gone from absolute rage to distraught shame that not only did the entire staff now know about his health complications, but that his own words were being repeated back to him as well.
"Enough, you've made your point," he said, taking a deep breath and running his hand over his face. "I suppose I did give you permission, then."
Alistar bowed slightly in response.
"Whose idea was it to put her in that scandalous outfit?" Giullis continued, to which Liriel raised her hand.
"That was me, daddy!" she said excitedly. "After all, if this is my early not-birthday present, then she needed some proper gift wrap,right?"
As Giullis was fighting another outburst, she continued. "Sadly there's no way to return her. I adopted her from the orphanage, which means no backsies!"
"The orphanage?!" he asked, this time a mixture of disbelief and horror coursing through his voice.
"I have the contract right here," Alistar stated, taking the rolled-up parchment from his pocket and showing it to Giullis, who began to read feverishly for a few seconds. He then breathed a sigh of intense relief.
