A Conflict of Duty and Heart

A formal invitation

Constance surveyed at herself in her bathroom mirror, frowning slightly. The golden furred Abyssinian fiddled with her white, short sleeved blouse ensuring that it was properly tucked into her black, high waisted pants. The royal summons she had received had insisted that she would be fine attending in casual clothing. Casual however, was not a word Constance would use to describe a private audience with the queen. She wanted to be sure her appearance was more than appropriate for the occasion.

She scowled a bit as she rubbed the scars on the bridge of her muzzle, debating whether or not to attempt to cover them up with concealer. Eventually she opted not to, they were located at the part of her face where her primarily golden fur melted into a lighter cream color and blending her makeup to cover them convincingly would take more time than she was willing to put in today. She didn't even bother worrying about the notches in both her ears, two on the right one on the left, there wasn't a concealer in existence that could cover those up.  Constance instead chose to lightly outline her teal eyes some black eyeliner. Once she was satisfied with how that looked she fastened a simple, black  choker around her neck.

Satisfied with her appearance Constance exited her bathroom and glanced at the time. Someone would be here to pick her up in roughly ten minutes. She should probably leave now, this was not something she wanted to be late for. She picked her purse up off the counter and exited her penthouse apartment, making sure to lock the door behind her. She walked down the hallway leading to the elevators and waited.

As the elevator door slid open Constance stepped inside and selected the button for the lobby. As the elevator began it's descent Constance quietly wondered what Queen Sekhmet needed from her this time. It must be something important, perhaps it was another mission regarding the safety of the kingdom. Maybe the so called "rebel" anarchists were causing trouble again. As a member of the queen's elite it could be any number of dangerous things.

The gentle ding of the elevator roused Constance from her thoughts as she stepped out into the lobby. To her surprise she could see her ride, a small black car with tinted windows, was already waiting outside to ferry her to the palace at the center of the city. Hurriedly, she made her way outside and over to the vehicle where a chauffeur was waiting to usher her inside. As the car door closed behind her Constance couldn't help but feel like all of this was a little unnecessary, she could have easily driven to the location herself making things much more discreet in her opinion.

A few minutes into the drive Constance's phone began to ring. Upon checking the caller id she realized it was her older brother. She sighed quietly in frustration before answering.

"Now isn't a good time Djoser" she stated quietly "I'm working".

"Well hello to you too Connie," a gentle voice chuckled, "don't worry, this will only take a sec".

"Fine," Constance sighed begrudgingly.

"I just wanted to check in with you and make sure you were doing ok. I know you've been having a rough time lately and I was thinking that coming back home for a bit might do you some good".

"I'm sorry Djoser but things at work have been really busy lately and I can't afford to take time off. Maybe next month."

"That's what you said last month, and the month before that, and the month before that. How much longer do you plan on putting this off? We're all really worried about you. It's a three hour drive from your place to mine, can't they spare you for a weekend?"

Constance fidgeted guilty in her seat. It was true that she had been putting off visiting her family for a while now.

"I'll see about putting in a request for a week off sometime next month but I can't promise anything." She relented.