Callie's Heroes

PART IV: BARMAID TO LADY

Upon arriving at the top of the hill, Callie and Pixyl found lots of people already there. Some were gathered around a raucous bumpball game, while others were in general conversations, some in the sun, but most in the shade of the big temporary meal tent, the extended awning over the bleacher seating, or surrounding trees. It was still early for the official picnic dinner to start, but there were plenty of snacks and drinks out to keep everyone happy.

It had been about an hour since Lena had left Ogre House to track down Vanis and Juniper, which had afforded Callie and Pixyl a little private time for themselves that necessitated a sock on the door handle. After a little post-coital snuggling, the pair got dressed and made for where the late-afternoon and evening festivities would resume.

"Who do you see? Anyone we can hang with?" Callie asked.

"Uh, Lhawni is over there," Pixyl said, pointing. "But she's w-w-with the Legate and someone that looks important." Indeed, the freshly-minted sub-captain was in conversation, which largely looked as if she was not a participant. She was with Galin and a Fairy visitor with a very evident military feel to him. Lhawni appeared nervous, and Callie had a feeling she was getting a few unsolicited 'pointers' on how to be an officer.

"When she's done, we'll rescue her," Callie said, resuming her scan of the people. "Oh, there's Lena, and she's with both Vanis and Juniper." She pointed out where the trio were sitting under a tree quite a distance away. Pixyl wasn't really able to make them out at this distance, but Callie could easily with her Ranger skill.

"How does Juniper look? Any tears?"

Callie focused hard and didn't see any, instead seeing Vanis grab his belly in laughter at something. Juniper grinned at that, and Lena suddenly put her hand to her face, probably having snort-laughed. "Actually, all three of them are smiling. Laughing even. Either Lena hasn't dropped the bomb yet, or they worked it out. At least they're talking, though."

As they continued to scan, slowly resigning themselves that they'd either need to stake out a new spot of their own, or worse, would need to actually mingle, Pixyl spotted Lady Winafria close to the Ranger area. She was standing alone at the edge of the field as she looked out over the little valley below the camp. Callie couldn't fully see her face from this angle, but could see she was smiling, seeming to simply be enjoying the view, the fresh air and the late-afternoon sun.

"Weren't you supposed to speak to her?" Pixyl asked.

"Vanis asked me to, yeah."

"Well, she's alone, so now is a g-g-good time."

"I don't want to interrupt if she's having a peaceful moment," Callie said. "And besides, I'm sort of nervous about talking to her. She's like … nobility and in the Parliament. She's important, right? What if I say something stupid? I'm really good at saying something stupid, you know."

"Just be p-p-polite. She's not a queen or anything."

"Easy for you to say! You know all about this nobility stuff!" Callie swallowed, or tried to, her throat tight. "Want to come with me?"

Pixyl just shook her head. "I d-d-don't want my stutter to get in the w-w-way of the message. You can do it."

"Fine," Callie whined. She had honestly expected Pixyl wouldn't be willing to join her, and for that exact reason, but had wanted to extend the invite all the same. "I'll just say this. You better have a drink waiting for me when I'm done. Maybe two."

Callie took a step, and then stopped. "Hey, where'd they go?" She pointed to where Lena, Juniper and Vanis had been sitting just a few moments before. Now the area under the tree was empty, and the three couldn't be seen anywhere. She curiously turned to scan for the trio. Pixyl also turned in a circle, not seeing them either.

Then Callie laughed in realization. "They must have teleported to Juniper's tree. I'm pretty sure I know why."

"Oh, that would be a fun sight to see!" Pixyl said with a snicker.

Slowly Callie turned to her girlfriend. "You sneaky little voyeur! Is that one of your things?"

Pixyl just blushed a bit, offering only a half-hearted and cheeky shrug in return.

Callie bent to give Pixyl a kiss. "We're going to have a conversation about this later." Then she added a sultry, "I want to know more." That, of course, just embarrassed Pixyl worse.

Taking a deep breath, Callie approached Winafria, making a point to make a little bit of noise so as to not startle her. It wouldn't be a good thing to do when the startle-ee might be able to blast your face with a fireball or something. Once she saw some body language indicating the Elf knew she was there, Callie then walked close, taking up a spot to her right.

"Pretty view, isn't it?" Callie said, instantly regretting such a trite opening. Should she even be making smalltalk? A Lady's time would be valuable, right? She was overthinking this, she knew it, but also couldn't help it. Inwardly, Callie screamed at her brain to get its shit together.

"Yes, it is," Winafria said. "It's quiet here, not like in Imor. There, something is always going on to interrupt any serenity."

Callie almost replied that she knew exactly what Winafria was talking about, because Chicago was the same way, but managed to catch herself before any words leaked out. "You should get out of the city more, then," Callie replied as a suggestion, instantly regretting how stupid the words sounded. Maybe she should just run and hide before it got even worse.

"Perhaps you are right." The Lady turned to look down at Callie. "So, Little One, is this where you regale me with observations about how wonderful the work being done here is; of how capable the soldiers are? Did Galin send you over to give me a few words about championing support for this endeavor?"

It hadn't been the Legate that had sent her, and she had been planning to entwine the message with an offer to demonstrate the Turret skill to make it a bit less obvious, but essentially Callie had been planning to do exactly that. Her words stuttered for a moment as she looked up to the gray-eyed Elf, losing her momentum. But the Lady returned the look with a bit of a twinkle in those very eyes, and there seemed to be almost a mischievous friendliness in the statement. "It wasn't him that sent me," Callie said, "but otherwise, pretty much." She grinned, and Winafria grinned back.

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"Then let's skip it, and we can pretend you've said all that you need to. My brother is already repeating himself at this point, and I've heard the same sentiments from the General, both colonels, and the Major. Even that visiting Arkan and the Prince have made sure to say their piece, too, so I think I get the idea." She added a laugh, and her smile warmed even more. Instantly, Callie couldn't help but like her. Gone was the rather stuffy first impression from the evening before.

"Vanis mentioned you were the youngest member of Parliament ever. How long have you been there?" Callie asked, making conversation, but also curious.

"I've just finished my third year in the Assembly, and second year of being appointed to the Parliament. I'll find out in two weeks if I'm appointed for two more. I suspect I will be, but if not I'll continue to serve my time in the Assembly."

"Do you have to be a noble to serve?"

"What? No, not at all." Then she recognized Callie's confusion. "Oh, you mean the title of 'Lady'? That comes with having been appointed. I was actually only a barmaid when I was elected to the Assembly. I have no noble blood in me."

"Really? Barmaid to member of Parliament? How?"

"Oh yes. Twenty-six and angry at one of my district's representatives for a position he took on a worker's rights issue, so I ran against him out of spite. Trying to get elected in his place was a silly notion for a silly girl, and nobody thought I would win, including me, honestly. Certainly not him! But somehow I did, and that placed me in the People's Assembly. After a year in that role, the other six representatives from my district appointed me to the Parliament."

Callie's face was interested, but obviously clueless as to what she was talking about, and Winafria frowned. "You don't know how the Parliament works, do you?"

"Sorry, no. I'd like to, though, if you'd be willing to tell me. I can ask Vanis, otherwise."

Hearing the Prince's name, Winafria seemed to stiffen just a little bit, as if suddenly recognizing that Callie knew him quite well. At least well enough to refer to him so casually by his first name.

"It's quite simple, really," the Lady began, quickly disguising the tiny moment of formalness. "There are thirty-four districts in Imoria, sized based on geography and population. Each district elects seven representatives to the Assembly. An elected term of service is seven years, with one position elected every year in a rotation. In turn, those seven choose two that will serve in the Parliament for two years, rotating between the two every year."

"So you became a 'Lady' for being one of the two chosen?"

"That's right. It's more of an honorary title today. I hold no lands or power beyond my role there, after all. In the beginning, only noble Lords and Ladies could hold the position, but that was done away with decades ago. The titles still remain as tradition."

"What's the difference between the Assembly and Parliament?"

"The Assembly is charged with being the voice of the people," Winafria began. "They travel between their district and Imor, switching between three months at home, and then three months in the capital, with the month of Midsummer as a break and the election for those whose terms are up. In turn, issues and concerns from our district are brought back, and the Assembly will sort through and debate to determine priority and such. What they produce eventually flows upwards to the Parliament for further debate, including the allocation of the funds needed, or any laws needed to address the issue. By tradition, proposed law or expenditures could also come directly from King Feldwin for debate, bypassing the Assembly, but he never does that, preferring things flow through both bodies."

Callie absorbed all this, immediately comparing it to how things worked back home, and seeing several similarities. There were differences, which as she thought about it might be necessitated in part by the travel times required for the more-distant districts. Considering medieval monarchies on Earth as a comparison, the people here really did have a big part in the politics, and it seemed like a functional representative democracy.

"We also have committees and such devoted to specific tasks and oversight," Winafria continued. "I serve on several, including the Committee for Justice, and the Budget and Infrastructure Committee. I'm also on the War Committee, and I'm sure that's why Galin brought me here, although it is still nice to see him. It's been a while."

"That must have ruffled some feathers, being elected so young," Callie laughed. She knew it would have driven some people crazy back home. Someone under thirty in Congress? She'd seen heads explode when that had happened!

"Oh, you have no idea!" the Lady said, tossing her head back in outright laughter. "The one I replaced had been in the Assembly for over twenty years, and appointed to Parliament for fourteen of them! He, of course, was livid at the loss, and it took a lot of work to gain the respect of my peers that first year. But, let's just say I'm not a quiet person, and ultimately they didn't have a choice." She winked and Callie grinned right back.

"So what happened to the guy you beat? Did he slink off to plot revenge or something?"

"Him? Oh, I married him."

"No!" Callie gasped, instinctively turning to look for Lord Cessel.

Winafria smirked and nodded. "He ran for the open position a year later and won, which put us working together. In fact, he was the one that mockingly championed my appointment to the body Parliament after he returned, even though I'd only been in the Assembly for one year. He suspected I would be a complete failure, and then grew to respect me when I wasn't. Last year, he was re-appointed again. Over time, we grew close, and eventually closer."

"That's a great story," Callie laughed,

"We still disagree on a few things, but Cessel is a good person, and another excellent representative for our district. We've become … a good team."

A bit of a silence descended between the two as they continued to look out over the green below. Really, the Elf wasn't much older than Callie, and had managed to rise from barmaid to a Lady in Parliament simply by the force of will. You had to respect that, and Callie did.

"You know, sometimes I miss working in the taverns," Winafria said quietly. "It's much simpler, with none of the mess that politics is. People are always making secret deals and stabbing each other in the back. Figuratively, of course. It's a game, in a way, and there are very few rules to keep it fair for the players or the people it affects."

"Would you ever want to go back?"

"Probably not. I'd like to believe I'm very effective in my position, and helping a great number of people. Certainly many more than I possibly could simply serving drinks. I can do good where I am now, and I want to keep doing good. That's hard, sometimes. A political body starts to crush itself under its own weight, given the chance. Power is too easily consolidated and corrupted in ways that can poison the purpose. I want to do all I can to assure that kind of corruption never wholly takes root in Imoria."

"You're a good person," Callie said absently, the words sort of slipping out without even thinking about it. They were heartfelt, though.

"Thank you. Sincerely, Little One. It means a great deal to me to hear that." Looking down the field towards the big tent, Winafria sighed. "I suppose it's time to return to my own duties." Glancing longingly back towards the valley below, and then at the sun above, she said, "It really is quite lovely here."

Winafria started to leave, but Callie quickly interrupted. "Before you go. Vanis mentioned you commented on my Turret skill. If you'd like, I'd be happy to show you one-on-one tomorrow."

"I'd like that. Sometime in the morning?"

"Sure."

"We'll find each other, then," the Lady said, before turning to walk away, raising her hand in response to Lord Cessel's distant wave. As Callie watched her go, she couldn't help but wonder again what her own future might bring, after the Demons and after helping Vanis root out the kingdom's rot. Go into politics? Absolutely not! No fucking way! But Winafria had shown her that anything could happen, if you had a passion to do it, and that brought Callie a moment of comfort. The future was out there, coming towards her like the train that sent her here. After talking to the Lady, though, Callie felt a little more ready to face it.