Cosette no Orchis/Rumors

{|style="text-align: left; border: black solid 2px;background:#DDDDDD;-moz-border-radius: 10px;margin: 0.5em 0 0 0" !style="color:#99CCFF;background:#CC3300;font-size: 120%; text-align: center;width: 1500pt;-moz-border-radius-topright: 10px;-moz-border-radius-topleft: 10px" | Rumors IC Date: April 8, 1207

"Who cares about all this who-slept-with-who drama! Don't you know that the world as we know it forever is going to change?"

"You're being dramatic as usual. What in all of the Companions' names are you talking about?"

"Cosette no Orchis came back from a visit to the Comte Edwin Shahrizai...and she had a monkey on her shoulder! It was the cutest thing, and just seemed to adore her!"

"Goodness! I wonder what she had to do for him to get it..."

"Oh, here we go again. Can't you talk about something else for for a change?"

IC Date: Jan 16, 1207

"I think this is the first time in a long while that either the Dauphine and the Prince have been seen with the Royal Companion! Where has she been, do you think?"

"Well, I heard that she's been upset because she still hasn't received the monkey she's asked for." says one young noble.

"That's not what I heard," says another. "Do you remember when there was talk of Evony Shahrizai becoming their consort? Or maybe just Princess Liana's consort? I bet Cosette didn't react to that well at -all-. I'm sure her little vacation had something to do with that."

"I don't know," says a third. "The twins have always been fond of the Orchis - maybe they sent her off for a break as a reward? To Caerdicca Unitas, or Aragonia, or perhaps just her family's farm. Don't they just make the most excellent cheese?"

IC Date: June 4th, 1206

On the docks of the Avaline River, a merchant and a ship's captain are heard speaking.

"Monkeys?" says the captain disbelievingly.

The marchant replies, "Yes, monkeys. A Courcel-liveried servant came to my shop yesterday wondering if I knew where he could get any. Said he'd pay a pretty penny to get his hands on one. Do you have any?"

"Of course I don't! Where am I going to get monkeys? They must come from Bhodistan, or farther."

The merchant sighs and goes in search of another ship.

IC Date: May 18, 1206

"But Orchis just doesn't seem to suit them /at all/! Is there any explanation for why they've spent so much time there?"

"I suspect it has something to do with that fetching blonde Servant who completed her marque last year. How much would you wager that at least half of it was earned under contract with the Royal Twins?"

"That's not a bet I'd take. But speaking of Cosette no Orchis, you'll never guess what I saw this morning!"

"Do tell!"

"A carriage, several trunks, and the courtesan herself, apparently preparing to take residence in rooms at the palace!"

"Cosette no Orchis?! She is undoubtedly one of her House's most popular, but moving into the palace?! That's improbable, sir...hasn't she claimed on numerous occasion to be a -dairy farmer's daughter-? She has -freckles-!"

"I know! And I've heard the Dauphine and the Prince know the exact location of every one. And I saw it with my own eyes..."