Redfork Menace

A very dull affair

{sorry for the delay. Work is crazy!}

Shanda woke with a pounding headache as her handmaiden shook her awake.

"Hurry up my lady, they are all waiting for you."

It was the third time the woman had shaken her and she groaned as she pulled herself upright. The room around her spun ever so slightly and she felt so terribly nauseous as if she were aboard a ship. She allowed the handmaid to pour her into a gown not bothering to care which it was the woman had picked for her.

"We haven't the time to bathe you, oh dear." The woman fussed with her hair and Shanda regained the hiccups.

She waved her off. "It doesn't matter too much. Just throw it in braids and we'll be off."

Her hair was certainly the least of her worries at the present moment. Keeping her feet firmly on the floor was enough of a challenge, she hoped Lord Elmo would make this a quick affair.

Once she was dressed and presentable, Shanda was swiftly led into the great hall by the Tully guard that had been outside her room. She wondered when the guard had shown up and what schedule they were following. It certainly wasn't a very good one by her own accounts. It was a worrying problem across the riverlands. It shouldn't be so hard to source non wandering guards.

Inside the great hall she found most of the people in a similar state to herself, grimacing and looking half green. There were a fair few though who appeared haughty though and smirked at the rest of them who had been less successful at handling their spirits. Shanda wished those people would choke on their dinner as she made her way to the Blackwood table. She sat beside Alysanne who seemed better off than most and more put together than the rest of the table combined.

Lord Elmo sat impatiently on his chair at the front of the room, his fingers tapping along the armrest.

"Right, now that we're all here we can get started."

He gave Shanda a very pointed look but she did not feel bad at all for being late. In fact she was mostly angry she had to get up at all. Must she be present for this? It didn't matter if she was here or in bed, the outcome would be the same.

"I've allowed you all to say your peace. I've heard the arguments from both sides and I've got years of experience dealing with this under my belt now. I think we can all agree we've explored this as far as it can be."

No one protested his words, not a single murmur went up when the Lord paused. Shanda was under the impression he could say quite a bit without earning the crowd's ire tonight. They didn't have the energy. And a good portion of men was missing from just about every house. The fight had been wildly successful in that everyone had gotten involved. None of the men who had been escorted out for fighting had ever returned and she shuddered to think of what Lord Elmo was doing to them.

"Ultimately this dispute boils down to the same thing it always has, stubbornness, nosiness, and a lack of discipline. Dispute it as much as you like but that's what it is. You don't have enough to concern yourselves with so you spy on your neighbors and start something there instead. No matter, we've all been victim to this squabbling behavior. But no more."

Now murmurs did go up and Shanda looked for Martyn across the room. He would not meet her eyes though and it seemed he had not gotten up to any drinking last night. Her eyes then darted to Royce's, who were bloodshot and droopy. They were a predictable trio, she thought grinning.

"Let's move to the first order of business. I should think that this will not be a surprise to anyone, Benjicot Blackwood and Shanda Bracken are to be married."

Shanda nearly rolled her eyes when the Lord looked at her. She could still remember the way his gaze had burned into her blushing face during the questioning.