The Forgotten Zodiac

"You assume the moutain villages aren't on this side of the Alps. Unless everything on the Alps is disqualified from being on this side, but that seems rather limiting." Alexander was now only arguing to be arguing; he had no commitment to the conversation, so he was unaffected when Morgan changed the topic. "Dagan usually feeds the animals before or after. Or both. I'm sure they're all fine."
"Animals?" Isabella bounced in her chair and turned to Morgan expectantly. "Who's Brutis? Can Morgan and I meet him? I like people and animals, and probably people animals, even though I've never even seen any. Do I like them? Are they nice?"

"I'm not concerned. I just like Brutis..." Morgan trailed off as Isabella spoke. He blinked in surprise, then glanced at Alexander. "Er...I'd like to let you see the animals, but we best be careful, Isabella. Let's wait until Vi and Dagan are ready to show you them, alright? They're very special animals, that's why...they're not like Morgan Jr., they're a bit more complicated..."

"Oh..." Isabella's excitement deflated visibly, but she nodded in acceptance. "Okay, Morgan. Maybe next time? I can be good and wait until next time." She leaned onto  her side and reached her hand under the table to rub Morgan Jr.'s head. "I guess not everything can be as good as my Morgan."

Morgan decided not to mention the unicorn. He didn't want Isabella to get too excited. He'd tell her once he had Vi and Dagan's permission to see the animals with her. "No, not everything can be quite so obedient. I'm surprised he didn't ask for any food."

"We fed him back in our room," Clarissa smiled. "He's still training, but he's a very bright dog. You made an excellent choice, Isabella." Morgan Jr. licked Isabella's hand, resting his furry head in her lap.

"That's because he's a Morgan. Everybody knows that all Morgans are wonderful. That's how come I named him Morgan, so he would be wonderful." Isabella reached a hand up toward her cousin's head, wanting to ruffle his hair similar to the way he would pat her head. Stroking the dogs head gently, the girl turned to Clarissa and Alexander. "You two are pretty good too. Almost as good as Morgan."

"Well," Morgan chuckled. "Just be aware that not all Morgans are good. There may be some unkind people out there with the name Morgan. But that won't be me, will it?" He smiled and shrugged. "Just try your best not to talk to strangers, and I'm sure you'll be okay. All done with your dessert?" He questioned, holding his happiness on his face.

Isabella looked at Morgan skeptically. "That's silly, Morgan. If they're named after you, they have to be nice. It's a rule, so you must be mistaken. You don't have to worry, though. I already have two Morgans, so I don't want any more. That would be selfish, and selfish and nice are not the same thing," She informed him grandly. In answer to his last question, she held her empty bowl out to him.

Morgan frowned for a slight moment, but then shook his head. "Alright then. I suppose I can't argue with a face like that." He took her empty bowl, then stood. "Time to show you around, then. Which would you like to see first, the Library, or where you can find me if you need me?" He asked, already starting to walk to the door.

Isabella jumped to her feet, grabbing Morgan, Jr.,'s leash from Clarissa as she did so, and latched onto Morgan, Sr.,'s arm. "Where I can find you, because then, if I get lost, I can just come find you and not be lost, and then we can eat ice cream together." She waited to keep walking until Morgan had taken the lead but, once he had, she half-turned to wave to Alexander and Clarissa. "Bye, Clarissa! I'll see you later!"

"Okay, sweetie! I'll see you back in our room!" Clarissa waved, smiling. She sighed and looked back at her empty ice cream dish. "That Morgan...he's a very interesting man. How much do you know about him?" She glanced at Alexander, still smiling. "He's a man of many secrets, I can tell that much...it intruigues me. Even when he first came to the orphanage with her, I knew he'd be back eventually..."

"Well, I think I know a fair amount about him, but it's hard to tell. I mean, if I knew nothing about him, I would still think I knew plenty, wouldn't I?" Alexander questioned. "It's in his nature to be mysterious, I think; but he's also surprisingly straightforward, I've found. He keeps the information to himself, but not his motives."

((Idea. I D E A.

Exorsists.))

Clarissa giggled a bit. "Yes...I'm sorry, we shouldn't be talking about him behind his back. It's very unprofessional. I honestly want to know a little more about you...how has your business been as of late? Obviously it must be going very well, considering the...fantastic commodities here, but how are you doing in your business? It must be hard, being head of your House and all..."

((Mmm...I might kill Clarissa. She's kinda annoying. More than Vi.

Also, if you wanted to expound on the intricacies of the whole 'house' thing, go ahead.))

((Exorsists! Sounds fun!
I will now butcher history and historical context.))

Alexander shrugged. Nobles were allowed to be unprofessional about their servants, and Morgan and Alexander's relationship was technically servant/master. However, Clarissa lacked his advantages, and her topic change was interesting enough, so Alexander didn't mind in particular. "It's not particularly hard, I don't suppose. No more than anything else. Most Houses are full of internal politics and strife, by nature of being full of relatives. All mine are either dead or illegitimate, with the exception of my mother, who resides in London. Beyond that, my father's rather intelligent investments have kept money from being a problem, and I'm at the perfect distance to be able to flatter the king without gaining his displeasure. Mostly, it's just a lot of paperwork."

((Seeking a demon. To them, Morgan would be a troubled, brainwashed soul with nothing more than a demon infection and they'd undoubtedly try to purify him. So they'd probably join in on the attack on the castle during the ball thing. The Protestants can add 'affiliation to demonic forces' to the long list of crimes they'll prattle off. xD))

"London! Such a wonderful city. I lived there when I was young. It was so very beautiful." Clarissa beamed. "I haven't explored much of this city yet, though. It it troublesome, dealing with so many people at once? I mean, you oversee an entire town...do they come to you with all of their issues, or do they take a lot of problems to the judge?"

((Oh, perfect. For once, the accusations will be true.
Oh, and I am thinking up plans for Alexander's mother.))

"It's really quite simple," Alexander explained. "The judges handle the problems. What the first-level judges can't handle goes to the second-level judges. They do that through three levels, and anything they can't settle goes to the council of nobles, which I'm a part of. It's rare for many cases to get that far, though. When I judge between problems, they're usually to prevent noble feuds." 

((Oh yeah, most of them will be true.

I've got, 'stealing from Landstuhl's citizens by way of taxation, affiliations with the traitorous Vatican - including but not limited to monetary funding - kidnapping and holding the innocent Albrecht family against their will, and affiliation with demonic forces. For these reasons, you will be executed on this night, the 25th of blahblahblah...blah.'

Yeah.))

"Noble feuds! So the folktale of nobles settling their disputes over swordfights wasn't entirely true." Clarissa smiled. "I should have known better than to believe such silly gossip. What about the Landstuhl Throatslitter? I heard the third judge was considering handing the case over to the council, but I didn't know what it was at the time. But they were going to give the case over to you and the other nobles?"

((Awesome.))

"They were, but, ultimately, it was obvious he needed to be executed. It didn't have to go to a vote, which would have delayed the inevitable." Alexander commented. That case had been quite high-profile, so it wasn't surprising Clarissa had heard of it. "Noblemen have been known to swing at each other, but we try to avoid having them kill each other. It's not really beneficial."

"Duly noted." Clarissa giggled. "Well, I should be getting back to my room. I haven't finished unpacking yet. It was very nice talking to you, Alexander. I hope we can chat again soon." She beamed, standing up and stacking her dish on Morgan's, and then on Isabella's, even though she knew a busboy would come pick it up all the same.

((Bun, where to now? That's scene.))

((Hum. We could skip to something we've planned ahead for. Perhaps to Vi and Isabella shopping? Or the dance practice? Or we can just skip straight to the ball.))