fandomhigh | Practical Etiquette, Period 3, Class #6

Miss Bennet had ~~handwavily~~ notified her students to meet her in the Danger Shop, this week, and added that they might wish to wear something elegant, but not to concern themselves if they were unable to accomplish the latter. She herself had worn one of her favorite gowns, with a stylish hairpiece and opera-length gloves.

The Danger Shop looked identical to Miss Bennet's classroom, save the two ornate double doors off to one side, and a far more ordinary one to the rear.

"Welcome," Miss Bennet said, smiling at her students. "First, I should like to say that you have my apologies for my absence last week, though I am glad to know that I left you in quite capable hands. Secondly, I wish to inform you that, as last week is our last time together, I will be giving a final exam. Pray do not distress yourselves studying; it will not be the sort of examination which requires rote memorization. More a practical application of what we have learned so far.

"And now, we may progress to today's lesson. Today, we will be discussing etiquette as applies to more formal setting; that is to say, a dinner party." She clasped her hands in front of herself. "One arrives, and mingles with the other guests, making polite conversation. Nothing too serious, and nothing which may cause offense. When dinner is announced, guests follow into the dining area by order of precedence -- their social standing as regards one another. When you find yourself in doubt in such situations, it is wiser to err on the side of caution, and rank yourself slightly lower than your own estimations. It is better to be elevated by an attentive hostess than demoted.

"Always stand until your hostess sits. Soup is the first course; do take care not to begin on your own food until all have been served, and even then, it is wise to wait for one's hostess to begin. Converse with those seated near you. Do not shout over several individuals in order to have a loud conversation with someone on the opposite side of the table altogether. Do please remember that it is considered rude to snub the food with which you are presented; if it is not to your liking, make an effort to eat enough of it that your dislike will not be noticeable, lest the party think you are insulting your hostess. For silverware, there is a simple trick: start on the furthest utensil out, then move inward for each course."

Miss Bennet then straightened up, and walked purposefully to the door at the back of the room. "You all look quite lovely," she said, regardless of whether any of them had actually worn anything formal. "But we have several minutes before our dinner party is to start. So should any of you desire, you may sample the Danger Shop's wares." She opened the door, revealing a small storeroom filled with dresses and suits, with changing areas to the side. Her eyes were dancing. "Do please hurry, so our food does not turn cold."

(~~Wait for~~ OCD up!)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Rose stared. "Does that mean you want a kiss? Cause you probably should try the kid on the other side for that."

Karla grinned and shook her head. "Greeting, not request. Or invitation," she added. "I'm Karla."

"I'm Rose," she laughed. "Now I'm not all worried you'll jump and kiss me."

She was totally teasing. She liked being jumped and kissed.

"I think I might fail the class if I did," Karla pointed out with a grin. "I'm not sure how much of this world's Protocol overlaps with Kaeleer's, but I'm pretty sure not kissing strangers unexpectedly is a compenent of both."

Her smile turned sly. "Though we're no longer stangers now, nor would it be entirely unexpected. That might be just enough of a loophole."

"I wonder if Miss Bennet would mind if there was sudden kissing at her dinner table," Rose said, smiling back. "Does - Kaeleer's? etiquette allow for it?"

"It really depends on the kind of dinner it is," Karla said. "None of the ones I was ever attended ever did. But a few of Glacia's Province Queens are known for exactly that kind of party. And it's expected at any banquet held at a Red Moon House, regardless of how formally its presented."

Rose looked curious, but she shook her head. "Yeah, I didn't get anything after the first sentence."

"In Kaeleer, each Territory is ruled by a Territory Queen," Karla explained with a smile. "The Territory is divided into Provinces, and each Province has its own Queen, who answer to the Territory Queen. Each Province is made up of any number of villages, towns and cities, many of which have their own Queens as well."

Karla took a sip of water before continuing. "And Red Moon Houses are what we call brothels." She probably could have found a politer word than that, but was pleased she hadn't just said 'whores.'

"So many queens? Your people don't do so much with titles like 'princess' or 'duchess' or whatever, huh?" It seemed weird to Rose, but whatever. She only had to concern herself with a Princess.

She didn't address the brothel thing. Blood whores were probably blood whores.

"In my world, Queen isn't a rank, it's a caste. The rarest caste, actually. You don't become a Queen or anything, you're born one. The only question is whether you are a ruling Queen or not," Karla explained.

Had Rose actually mentioned the blood whore bit, she would have confused the hell out of Karla.

She shook her head. "I'm glad I don't have to deal with all that."

"Make sense to me," Karla pointed out. "It's this world that's crazy with all their princesses and duchesses and things you mentioned. And males ruling, but that's a completely different story."

"We just have Princes, Princesses, and a King or Queen," Rose offered. She couldn't help grinning. "Guys aren't allowed to rule? That's awesome. Don't they hate that?"

"Most of them don't. Males serve and protect; that's what they do." Karla couldn't explain why that was. It just was. "Queens were created to be the caretakers of the land, we have skills males don't. Why envy an Eyerien for flying when you weren't born with wings?"

Rose nodded. This part sounded familiar only with the whole sex thing. "Do you need protection?"

"Depends on what kind of protection you mean," Karla said lightly.

Her smile only looked forced if someone was watching very closely.

"The type that means there's a whole group of people there to protect you," Rose said, studying Karla.

"Well, human nature is human nature, I suppose. And it provides an outlet for males and their tempers beyond bossing, sulking, and grumping."

She'd been brushing up on her deflection skills with Ben.

Rose was torn between not falling for that and being offended on behalf of the guardians.

"So gracious of you to allow 'em that."

Offense wore out apparently.

Karla laughed ruefully. "Oh, the males don't wait for me to 'allow them' anything. Serving doesn't make them servants any more than swimming makes me a fish. And protecting takes many more forms than simply fighting in my defense or something. When I was a little girl, it usually meant yelling at me to eat my vegetables, growling at me to wear a hat outside so I didn't get wind- or sunburned, and threatening to throttle me when I did something stupid. Which was frequently."

Her voice grew soft and reflecting. "Looking back, I see now that the males in my mother's Court were my best guardians, teachers, and friends. I miss them more than I ever thought possible."

Practical Etiquette, Period 3, Class #6 - Thursday, June 18

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]

Re: Dinner [ET-6]