The Annex

Chapter 14

"Take a deep breath," Gallo coached. "I have no idea why you're nervous. You climbed a tree in a lightning storm, it's not like this is going to be anywhere near as dangerous."

"These are strangers, that I'm supposed to pitch an idea to," I grumbled, laying my head against the wall.

"Get ready, they're about to announce you and let you in. I won't be able to be inside but I'll listen from out here," he pushed me to the doors just as they opened. I pasted on a smile and walked in. As I entered, I was glad to catch a familiar face, Lady Lasque.

"Hello," I greeted the committee. I sat down at the head of the table as I handed out a budget proposal to the committee. Gallo had sent a copy down to the printing room to have several copies made. "This morning I have come to present my project proposal." The man sitting at the head of the table smiled.

"Let us introduce ourselves and then we'd like to hear a bit about you and your proposal," he cleared his throat. "My name is Zechariah Ubode, I am the chair of the Outreach and Mission committee."

"My name is Beatrice Lasque," Lady Lasque smiled.

"My name is Herbert Dram," a stout and portly man sitting to the right of Lady Lasque.

"My name is Fredrick Louve," the youngest member of the group introduced himself. He seemed to only be a few years older than me.

"My name is Francine Reteaux," the only other woman in the room introduced herself.

"My name is Phillip Prinze," the last remaining member introduced himself.

"Let us hear a bit about you," Zechariah prompted. I was not prepared for this. I had prepared strictly for my proposal. I sucked in a breath and began.

"Well, I am Catarina Vos, daughter of Carter and Lucille Vos. My father was a descendant of the Vos line and my ancestors helped design many parts of the Palace. When I was nine, my father passed away and in her grief, my mother moved us away from the Palace and the Court, eager to escape the bittersweet memories. I trained under several former soldiers physically and my mother hired several tutors to cover my education."

"Tell us something about who you are, something you love to do, something that makes you who you are," Zechariah had folded his hands. I paused momentarily, trying to figure out what made me who I am. It didn't help that six pairs of eyes were trained on me.

"Well, I would have to say for better or for worse, I am stubborn," I cleared my throat. "I'm not good at everything but I won't give up. I keep trying until I succeed. And as to what I like. Well I love my hawk, Torr, and in the summer, I love riding my horse as we follow Torr through the countryside. He always takes me on wild adventures." Lady Lasque smiled gently at me.

"I have a few birds of prey myself, a falcon and a few hawks," Fredrick shared.

"We want this to be more of a conversation, a sharing of ideas and less of a presentation," Zechariah commented. "We'll go around and tell you a little more about our current initiatives. I'll have the leader of each initiative tell you what we're doing."

"I'll go first," said Lady Lasque. "I am currently heading a project that's focused on bringing libraries to parts of the cities that don't have easy access to books."

"I'm heading an initiative that connects small farm owners with wealthy families that can invest in these farms when the farms are in need of money and then the families can earn a portion from the profit depending on the investment amount," Fredrick shared.

"I'm working on a program that's moving towards funding orphanages," Herbert continued. After Herbert finished talking, everyone turned expectantly towards me.