; [interlude/closed post]

[quote_gentle_unquote]

After a few dances -- with several attendees, but mostly with Lancelot -- Susan liberates two bottles of wine and a plate of food from the ballroom and slips off to go find Janet. Luckily, after struggling to track Lancelot down earlier in the week, she's made a point of mapping the location of everyone's rooms, and so she doesn't have to search to find Janet's.

She raps on the door with the back her hand, careful not to let the food or the wine jostle overmuch. "Diplomatic envoy for Queen Janet of Fillory," she calls.

Comments

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan has done essentially nothing, but she puts a soft hand on Janet's shoulder and squeezes lightly. "Of course," she says. "Anyway, we've got the prettiest company tonight." She flicks a glance over to Janet. "I would dance with you, if you wanted. Or we could -" she pauses, thinking. It doesn't seem tonally appropriate to suggest their third date now. "- get rather drunk and plot a takeover of the Mansion, if you'd rather."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"A good takeover would really hit the spot right now." Janet manages some lightheartedness to it. She does, then, get up to pour some more rosé into her mug, and, totally casual -- of course -- adds, "Rain check on the dance?"

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Of course," says Susan. She tosses back the rest of her wine and holds her mug out to Janet hopefully. "Would you rather a violent takeover, or an insidious and subtle shift of power?"

[sorrowandsorrow]

Obliging, Janet refills Susan's wine mug (that's a thing now). "An insidious and subtle shift of power is definitely a better idea here, but wouldn't plotting a violent takeover be so much more fun? You know, I used to have an army. We had elephants."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Elephants! Rather impressive for a war-steed," Susan observes, nodding her thanks as she takes a sip of her wine. "A violent takeover it is. I do love a good mess that takes days to resolve."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Pegasi too. I miss them. You couldn't always convince them to carry you, but when you could..." Janet plops herself right back down next to Susan, maybe a little closer this time. She can't exactly say aloud how comforting it is to have her here and to know Susan thought of her, but it's a huge relief anyway.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I believe all of the flying horses in Narnia had long since escaped the White Witch's reign and fled for the Lone Islands," Susan says, thoughtfully. "They hadn't returned by the time we left. But I spotted a unicorn once, through some trees. Beautiful creature. Interchangeably brilliantly intelligent or dumb as a bag of rocks, according to the legends."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Fucking unicorns," Janet says with something between nostalgia and reverent respect. "Those bastards can be brutal, you know? Ours can, anyway. I've seen them do some fucked up things to centaurs."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Oh, I can imagine," Susan says, widening her eyes for effect. "Those sharp horns... perhaps we try and get a few of those on our side, too, when we storm the proverbial castle."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Oh, absolutely. An enemy of the centaurs is a friend of mine." Janet nurses her second mug full of wine a little more slowly. "Should we just spring the attack on everyone in the dead of night?"

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"We might be more likely to prevail that way," says Susan, musingly. "Though I worry that our beauty and prowess might go unnoticed."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"That's such an important consideration." Janet clinks her mug against Susan's to acknowledge the brilliance on display. "Sagramore really needs to regret what he gave up as the elephants and unicorns and whatever else storm the place."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Perhaps some form-fitting chain mail," says Susan, thoughtfully. "Under leather armor. He shall rue the day." She thinks for a moment. "Do you think we could train a tiger to let you ride it? Silly question, actually; if it's a Talking Beast surely it will be amenable to the requests of a Queen."

[sorrowandsorrow]

Janet actually musters up a pretty sincere laugh for that one. "The talking animals of Narnia must be more predictable than the ones in Fillory. Still, I bet we could make it work either way. Just figure out what kind of booze the tiger likes and strike a deal."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Alcohol if the tiger should be Fillorian; a boon if it should be Narnian," says Susan with a solemn nod. "Shall I ride behind you, firing flaming arrows?"

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Queen Susan," Janet intones, "I would love nothing more. They'll never know what hit them." A beat. "Actually, they'll know all too well. It'll be amazing."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I do so love to kill multiple birds with one stone." Susan switches her wine mug to her left hand and slips her right arm around Janet's shoulders. "A glorious conquest, and once the mansion is aflame, it neatly solves the problem of inventorying a place that likes to change its belongings every time you dare to look the other way."

[sorrowandsorrow]

Janet's still for a second, and then she lets herself lean against Susan again. "Yep, this place is insane. I'm pretty sure that Jacuzzi didn't exist until I wanted it to. It's like Fillory on speed sometimes." The fact that she still can't figure out any of the magic drives her crazy. Almost as crazy as the fact that she's sure Alice would have the entire thing solved by now.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"There's a closet upstairs that's just full of pencil shavings," Susan tells her. "To what purpose, I can't possibly imagine."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"Jesus Christ." Janet laughs again, then has another sip of wine. "I really wish I was better at magic theory."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"You think there's an explanation for all this?"

[sorrowandsorrow]

"There has to be, right? Magic always has rules. They're not always obvious, but they're always there. I just..." She sighs. "It wasn't my best subject. I passed my exams, but that was a long time ago now."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

Susan considers this for a few moments, sipping her wine while she thinks. "In Narnia there was magic, and then there was Deep Magic. I'm afraid I was never terribly clear on how either sort worked."

[sorrowandsorrow]

"All magic is insanely complicated." Janet pauses around a mouthful of wine. "Where I'm from, anyway. I know we talked about that. Like, it's blood, sweat, and tears just to pull off your first basic spell."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Yes, hence the future welters handicap," Susan nods.