"Would you like so tea, Lady Diana?"
Diana was t with one of the maids imdiately upon exiting her bedroom. She had beco used to this by now, but the first few tis it startled her. Apparently these won in plain clothing were ant to attend to their every need, at least that was what they were expected to do. It was a given that the sons and daughters of royalty and influential political figures would be used to having soone ready to serve them at their beck and call, however Diana was not used to this.
"I think that would be wonderful, Cherry. I am heading down to the study, would you be able to bring it there?" This maid in particular was Cherry, apparently nad as such because of the color of her hair. Diana initially had suspicions as to why she had an English na, however they cleared up once she ca to the realization that she wasn't nad after the fruit, but after the color. A color Diana would recognize as 'cherry'.
"I most certainly can! Do you have any requests as to the taste for today?"
"As always, I shall leave that to you. I cannot yet claim to have a favorite, though that blend you made three days ago that slled like flowers was quite delicious." Diana appreciated the unceasingly cheery Cherry, enough so to unofficially appoint her to be her semi-personal attendant.
Apparently she was sothing of a klutz, so the rest of the mansion's staff were more than happy to offload tea duty onto her. Speaking of her tea, Diana found she made a an cup. Even the less appealing examples she had been presented with were of high quality.
"I will keep that information in mind when brewing your next cup, Lady Diana. Was it the sweetness or the aroma that pleased you?"
Diana raised her head to look at the ceiling ahead of her, trying her hardest to rember that experience. "I believe it was a combination of the sweeter taste and the subdued aroma, though I must admit the fact I started drinking it when it was lukewarm may have played a part."
"Mhm, I see! I'll get sothing whipped up for you right away!" Diana noticed Cherry curl her pinky finger inward out of the corner of her eye. Cherry was very forgetful sotis, so Diana had told her to attach a task to a furled finger. Apparently she had taken the lesson to heart. "Was there anything else?"
"Oh, the fruity water. Have you guys been enjoying it?."
Cherry actually clapped her hands, not unusual behavior for her but still surprising to hear this soon after waking up. "Oh it's just the greatest! Fruits! Especially the juicier ones are expensive. Being able to extend the duration of our fruits while keeping ourselves refreshed and maintaining the taste has just been delightful!"
Diana frowned internally, despite the translation Charry was still sowhat nonsensical from ti to ti. Diana couldn't pin down a reason, but she felt there to be a good chance Cherry might be ntally impaired. So far, Cherry was the only one whose sentences sounded incorrect. Manama's accent didn't count.
"That's good. I'd like to also ask you to inform the staff at the door to co directly to should there be knocking. We have a very important guest coming over today, you see, and I would like to avoid her from going crazy around other people."
"Crazy? Like the Nemo lady from yesterday?"
Diana sighed. She felt that analogy to be wholly inappropriate if a bit on the mark. "Yes, though she shouldn't be nearly as violent. She isn't used to other people, so I really don't want her doing sothing stupid."
Diana was, of course, referring to rcedes. She was still just a puppy, and it had been almost two weeks since they had separated. It was entirely possible she would go ballistic once she saw Diana, and practically guaranteed to once she got a whiff of Don. They had been practically inseparable during their stay on the Oberlux, and she shuddered to imagine how depressed that pup was without him.
Hopefully she found the Arboreal Maiden to be suitable company.
"I will relay it. I'll bring you your drink shortly."
"Thank you Cherry."
- - - - -
The Arboreal Maiden guided rcedes to the front door of the barracks, holding on to her leash far harder than may have been strictly necessary for the occasion. This wasn't because she feared that rcedes would try and run, but because she was nervous that her disguise might not work as well as she thought. She had completely forgone her characteristic clothing and regalia, instead wearing more 'normal' clothing. This included her blindfold, though she had to get creative with how she dealt with her hair.
This nervousness, however negative it might normally be viewed, was exhilarating to her. How long had it been since she had taken a chance with sothing? Sothing that could actually affect her in a aningful way? It had to be a few hundred thousand at minimum. How reclusive had she beco.
Shaking her reservations away, she knocked on the door. She was fully aware of the fact that rcedes could faintly sll her most favoritest of people, she could make them out as well, but she trusted the canine to hold herself together until she had visual confirmation.
"Excuse , I believe my arrival was anticipated?"
A voice from inside. "One mont. The lady of the house has requested to greet you personally."
The Arboreal Maiden nodded, understanding why Diana would arrange their eting this way. Not only was there rcedes to deal with, but she had to be introduced as well.
"Oh dear . . . I hadn't considered that." The Arboreal Maiden ca to the realization that she hadn't co up with an alias. The disguise would be aningless if she didn't change her na. Fortunately it would appear she had so ti to ponder it.
It couldn't be sothing that could be related to her symbolically, not that she thought anybody would connect the dots without a serious misstep on her part, yet it should also probably have a relationship with her physical appearance as was common with most nas.
'Violet' after her eyes maybe? No, that seed to be a bit too on the nose.
'Snow'? Maybe 'Crystal' on account of her complexion? No, she had been watching too many dramas. She wouldn't be able to detach those nas from pets or strippers.
That really only left her hair then. 'Chestnut' was probably the best color for it, and it had the side benefit of translating to a type of tree. As far as she could recall, that was also a common thing to na people after.
She ca to this conclusion just as Diana pulled the door open.
- - - - -
"Hello babyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!" Diana made certain to lower her body as close to the floor as possible, blocking the entrance so rcedes wouldn't make it past her. It wouldn't do to have her urinating on the rug in her excitent.
As expected, rcedes practically flew into her arms, screaming and whining in the breaks between her desperate licking. The Arboreal Maiden had, understandably, let go of the leash. It wouldn't do to have the dog get tangled up while she endlessly spun around.
In the anti, Diana leaned into the affection with all of her might, aggressively ruffling rcedes' fur with both hands and pressing her face into the incoming kisses. "Did you miss da momma? Did you miss ?!" As Diana's hands reached the dog's rump, rcedes switched her attention from Diana's face to her hands and arms, bestowing upon them both love nips and aggressive kisses.
"How have you been? Did you have fun?! Did you have fun with the Maiden!?"
As expected, rcedes began to tinkle a bit. As planned, it stayed on the stone platform and away from the wood and rugs.
"We had a great ti." Chestnut adjusted her dress as they had their mont. A disguise was not a reason to appear less presentable. "She had so much fun chasing the Skwiven around the forests of the Inner Sanctum, and she had a steady supply of aty treats courtesy of the Scholar."
"Really now?" Diana dropped her high energy tone for but a mont, returning back to it when rcedes demanded her attention.
"Indeed. Whenever she wasn't eating or playing, she was asleep or resting in the shade. I tried to train her from ti to ti in accordance with your wishes, however she did not seem particularly motivated to listen to ."
"Oh? Where you a bad girl rcedes? Did you ignore the Arboreal Maiden? Bad girl rcedes, bad girl!" Diana said this, but she very clearly didn't an it. At least not for the mont.
"I would like to be called 'Chestnut' for the ti being."
"Chestnut?" Diana was genuinely taken aback by this, only upon looking up a the Arboreal Maiden did Diana understand. She looked far different than she normally did, though she had done little to manipulate her physical characteristics.
Her dress was made of a light blue fabric with a green floral pattern and barely reached her shins. Her shoes, the sa blue hue as her dress, could be described as stylish, though Diana had no idea what type of shoe they actually were. They seed to be so sort of combination of a high heel and tennis shoe, albeit made of markedly more 'primitive' materials. At least they weren't straight wood though, Diana could clearly make out a leather strap.
Her hair, what Diana once believed to be her most striking feature, was now thickly braided. To be honest, Diana thought it looked a little bit like she had a brown scarf hanging from her head. Diana was fairly confident that hair was not supposed to be worn like that. That said, Diana had to admit it looked okay on her given what she was working with, and the green kerchief she was using to cover the top of her head was a nice touch in hiding what was likely the least visually appealing portion.
What was truly blowing Diana away at the mont though was her eyes. A deep purple the likes she had never seen before, they seed to cut through her in spite of their gentle focus. The Arboreal Maiden's pupils, solid black circles, stayed fixed on her own while four little black slits slowly rotated about them. Diana had a feeling that, should the appearance of these eyes be paired with the hairstyle the Arboreal Maiden usually sported, she would understand what true authority would look like.
Not that she had any idea what that ant.
"Chestnut, is it? I can't say it's the most creative."
"Creativity was not the focus." Chestnut did not reveal the fact that she had completely forgotten to even think of a na, not that she thought Diana would have minded.
As they talked, rcedes flopped over and positioned herself to receive belly rubs. rcedes loved belly rubs, as every canine deserving of heaven should, and she was not above biting at Diana's knees to get them.
"Ow! Stahppit!" Diana was quick to cave to rcedes' demands, moving both hands to the ribcage and shaking with vigor. "Does that satisfy you? Greedy greedy!" Diana pushed her face into rcedes's neck, blowing out of her mouth to annoy her. As expected, rcedes began to growl playfully, biting at Diana's hair and rolling onto her back.
Chestnut couldn't help but laugh. rcedes was incredibly goofy, not understanding abstract concepts such as rank and status, making her a joy to watch in the monotonous sea that was 'everyone else'.
"Alright! Who wants to go see Donovan?" rcedes froze in place, the tip of her tongue touching the ground from her inverted position.
Taking advantage of this mont of calm before the impending storm, Diana grabbed hold of the leash before saying anything further.
"You want to go see him?!?!"
In an instant she was up and at attention, her ears alert and her tail wagging with a furious vigor. Diana had to be careful here. She had the leash, but not the strength to keep it if rcedes really pushed it. Thinking quickly, Diana faked sticking her hand into her pocket and fishing around for sothing before taking it out and keeping a closed fist.
"Alright, follow."
Chestnut didn't need to be told what was Diana was doing, it was more than obvious this was nothing more than deception. There wasn't actually a reward in her hand, but rcedes wouldn't understand that until she opened it. By that ti, hopefully, it wouldn't matter. rcedes' attention would be entirely on Donovan.
Silently and without changing her expression, Chestnut followed Diana into the Barracks halls, keeping an eye on the German Shepherd to make sure she didn't do anything rash.
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