Heaven Hath No Rage - Book Two

Successful Attempt

At court, the dinner spent next to Jona and her father had gone well, conversation was kept neutral and strayed away from entering into politics. It was neither good nor bad and Ava could handle that for once. She appreciated the nights that went according to plan, without too much emotion to overwhelm her. After dinner, before her father retired from court for the evening, she pulled him aside to request a meeting for the following sun. It was granted to her and set for early in the morning.

It was far earlier than she would have preferred to wake up, given she was usually lingering around court most nights out of duty and commands from her mother to get closer to Ammyrett. But at the end of it all, she had been granted a meeting without much hassle so she would have to take the small win. Oceane had dropped by to help her and as soon as the last pin was put on her head and her wig was slipped on, she abandoned the cause and crawled into Ava's bed for a nap. Oceane had made constant jokes about never having an easier job and Ava believed it.

Oceane only really helped with dressing her, both because Ava was forced to ask for help to get into the often complicated garments and because Oceane loved to help her dress up. Beyond that, Oceane's chambermaid duties went undone. More because Ava would not conceivably ask for her to perform any of the duties that a chambermaid would. If her time at the estate could serve as a vacation for Oceane after cycles in prison, then Ava would accommodate that.

Ava often cleaned her room, organized her wardrobe, and did most of the upkeep of her chambers by herself. It was something she was never allowed to do; once she had a room on the ship, it was a habit she had grown fond of. At the estate, she kept up the routine of cleaning she had formed and it doubled as a form of control. It was the one thing she could do to impact her own life, the one thing that no one else had a say in. It brought some sense of normalcy to everything too. Something that she felt in her gut would be sorely lacking soon.

Ava had Arnelo escort her to her father's office as soon as she was ready and no one was there yet, his office wasn't locked and there were no guards posted outside so she slipped inside. She closed the door behind her, leaving Arnelo outside as she stepped into the room with tall ceilings that echoed her footsteps. She had never spent much time in her father's office; it was always more of an in-and-out affair. She would get in trouble, be dragged to his office, he would deliver a lecture, and she would be sent off. But even those times were sporadic. Most of her punishment was handed down by her mother and Ivon who acted as his proxy. Except Ivon was always much ruder than her father.

She took the time to soak in the magnitude of the room, being alone in it for the first time. As she peeked through the books, they all seemed rather mundane. All approved, nothing scandalous or against the Baethan code. Everything that was on display looked to be carefully curated to not clue anyone in on Umbar Vaith. Colors were muted, no trophies were on display, and all that was visible were possessions that an upstanding, and upscale citizen of Baethos would have. The door opened behind her and she turned to see her father walk in.

"Good morning, Avery. Apologies, I was not aware that you had come in so early. I was going to send for you," he said as he took a seat and motioned her to also sit.

She followed the command, "I've only been here for a few minutes. Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

"Why have you requested an audience?"

"To speak about reforms. You said that we could start talking about it."

"Yestersun."

He let that comment hang in the air, almost like an indirect admonishment for her enthusiasm and gall.

"Well, the longer we wait on reforms, the longer it will take to remedy what is going on and reach both of our goals," Ava argued and pulled a small booklet with notes from her dress, "I have been up most of the night thinking of what to do first."