An unusual sight indeed. Walking past the stables, Hala was the picture of concentration and heavy thoughts. Her brow was furrowed, yet if anything only made her lovely in the early morning light; and lovely was a rare achievement for the somewhat plain girl. She was dressed in her cream brocaded dress with her golden hair covered in a simple gold diadem she'd borrowed from another courtier. It was a flattering look, and made the color of her hair shimmer. Yet Hala had not been dressing to be noticed today, if anything, she'd dressed distractedly - wanting to get away from anyone who might ask her questions.

Nearby, a pair of servants bustled about - preparing the green for a game of tennis, it seemed. Despite herself, Hala gave them a friendly smile before hurrying on. To any who saw the girl from a distance, she was merely walking - perhaps even seeking company. But the closer one came, the easier it was to see something was bothering her; that something being her mother. Susannah had written regularly since Hala's abrupt departure, talking of the parties, her father, and the life she so missed, and while Hala kept every letter and often read them each night, she never responded. And now her mother's letters to her had ceased - she still wrote to Emma, but there were no longer any letters for the rebelling Hala. The question was, why?

Lady Susannah had never been known for cruelty, not in her entire life. She was often the one people brought stray kittens and loose dogs too, the woman who'd take in most everything out of the kindness of her heart - simply because she was a good woman. So to say she had stopped writing out of spite was an injustice to the woman... yet Hala had no other reasons. Did her mother simply not love her anymore? Had something horrible happened? Had Susannah finally given up on her daughter? Hala knew she would never be the wild, carefree daughter her mother had hoped for, but still hoped in some way she was still cherished, more so after meeting Emma and realizing that her sisters were like her - not plain, but not entirely comely either and certainly not daring and bold.

In Remaliah, of course, Hala had always been strikingly different because of her fair hair and creamy skin - and the difference had always made her feel uneasy. Some found her more beautiful, some found her horrid, but no one seemed to have a neutral opinion on her. In Pemberton, things were entirely different. She was seen as nice enough, if a tad shy, and nearly plain in appearance. She was not unique, she was not special, she was just another Adesian girl. Funny that it wasn't as comforting now that her mother's letters stopped arriving, bringing the scents and sounds of Remaliah back into focus. Was she doing the right thing? Had she made a mistake in coming her, denying who she was?

She had done it again! She had lost Victoria! It was not too often that Victoria was running off from Maria, but it was not uncommon for the Duchess' niece to try to escape any eyes on her. Maria was one of Victoria's friends, they had been raised together, there should be no reason that Victoria would leave her without telling her why. However, ever since the ball, Victoria had been acting strangely.

Maria had been so caught up in pretending to be a courtier that night, and her mind danced over the images of what she had experienced that night, that she did not even really notice until now that her younger courtier companion was acting as if she had a secret. Like any maid, Maria thought secrets were fun. Though, Maria did not participate in spreading rumors, she always found them interesting to hear. They kept life interesting, as the life of a courtie's servant was not all that fun, even with Victoria always finding trouble.

Maria had been sent off to do chores, and should have kept a better eye on the young Lady. Now, she had to search for her, and pray that she is not in some sort of trouble that will get her onto the bad side of Duchess Madeline, or worse. "Lady Victoria Carstairs! Where are you?!" She called out, searching around the Roseworth Grounds.

She was getting frustrated with the whole thing. She needed help, she could not find her on her own. She then saw another Lady of the court, and gave a half smile. She hoped that this girl might know where her Victoria was. "Excuse me." Maria was a bit nervous, as servants were not to address the nobles without being spoken to first, but this was a special thing. "Have you seen a girl, about my age, medium brown, curly hair, half up, and wearing pink, and with the Sherbourne signature green eyes?"

-ignore-

Maybe this was some sort of test? Susannah could easily have stopped writing to her youngest in hopes that it would lure Hala back to Remaliah, back to all that she knew and still fiercely loved. Maybe. But Hala didn't believe it. No matter what she came up with, her thoughts were always that Susannah would never have stopped writing, never. Even if the proof that shewas still in contact with Emma was staring her straight in the face. Hala supposed she could just write to her mother, it would probably be the proper thing to do - and being proper was first and foremost on the young girl's mind - but was almost like giving up. Admitting her rebellion was silly and childish, and that should go back home, where she belonged.

Looking up, it took a moment to register that someone was speaking to her. And still, she managed to stay confused for a few minutes, digging through her rapid thought, before she even processed what had been said. "No, no I am afraid not." Head tilted sideways, utterly surprised by the contact. She'd seen this woman around before, and knew her to be the maid of Lady Victoria - despite being so new the the area, Hala had a knack for memorizing names and faces. "Is she missing?" It seemed odd that the niece of the Duchess could vanish - more so when the maid (Hala had never been given her name) mentioned Victoria wearing pink. A noble, in simple pink? A flamboyant red was a must for almost every occasion, and was a thing that still made Hala feel so out of place with her cream dress.

"Have you asked the guards? I'm sure that they wouldn't let her go wondering off without some supervision. Someone must have seen her." She smiled, reassuringly, not thinking that she ought to be rude or angry that a servant had addressed her so. Despite her 'perfection' Hala indeed had many flaws - a too kind and forgiving heart was one of them. She'd have made poor royalty, that was for certain. "Come, I'm sure with two pairs of eyes she'll turn up."

(Didn't check which account I was logged into xD)

(I did the same xD )

Darn, this girl seemed to have no idea where Victoria was. Maria was not any better off now than she was two seconds ago. Maria stopped for a breath, as the girl asked her an obvious question. Maria looked at her, wishing she had the nobility to tell the girl just how obvious that was, but she held her tongue. Looking at the girl she then realized it was the Lady Hala. "Yes, mi'lady, she has managed to slip away from the sights of others."

The next question was also something that Maria had thought of. "I did ask the guards, but because Victoria was not dressed in her usual scarlet color, they did not know it was her. They had not paid attention to where the girl in pink had gone." What was she going to do? How was it that Victoria was always so good at hiding. Even when they were children, playing hide-and-seek, Victoria was always good at hiding. Though, back then, Maria had been much better at finding.

This Hala lady was kinda nice. She even offered to help a bit. Maria could not help but return the smile. Dropping into a curtsy, Maria thanked her. "Your help is much appreciated." As she came to stand again, Maria's blue eyes were again scanning the area. When she finally looked back to Hala, she introduced herself. "Maria Johnston, at your service. Well, when we find Victoria any way." Maria gave a polite nod. Then remembering more of her manners she spoke again. "I am not interrupting your day, am I?"

Given that Maria was the personal maid to Victoria, Hala hadn't expected that she'd forgotten to check with the guards, but one had to be sure. The question now was where exactly had Victoria gone... and more importantly, did Hala wish to find her? The pink gown was an obvious sign that the noblewoman did not want to be noticed - a day among those who knew her only as someone pretty in a simple dress? With no one to scrape before her? Hala couldn't say any of these ideas deserved any merit, but because of her own lack of a red-hued gown, she could not ignore that important clue. Any other might not have paid much attention to it, figuring the darker dresses were being cleaned. But Hala couldn't see Duchess Madeline daring to let Victoria out in such a pale color.

"They should be paying more attention to faces than gowns." Her voice was slightly admonishing, but towards the guards only. If they were not careful, anyone in a red dress could sneak in unknown if that was the only criteria for entrance. "Though I am curious as to why the niece of the Duchess was not in a color appropriate to her rank; would it be rude of me to ask?" Eyes glanced at Maria as the moved across the Green, trying her best to show that she wasn't asking to fuel the raging fires of gossip that spread like mad throughout Pemberton over silly, little things; she truly did want to know. It might make it easier to find the missing Lady is she only knew where to look.

Scanning the land, seeing that the tennis match was now underway - unsurprisingly, it was her brother-in-law and some other noble she did not recognize. Lord Richard Gavell LIVED for tennis, playing passionately if poorly, with anyone who'd take up his offers. On the sidelines Emma walked with her maid, enjoying the faint breeze. "Not at all, Maria, I was simply walking to avoid my sister's prying." It was the truth, though not entirely in that same context. She'd been avoiding the prying of well-meaning friends and Emma, but only because she was worried and dared not say it, as if by uttering the words aloud it would make them true. "So, where to begin? I'm afraid I know little of Lady Victoria, having been here for such a short duration."

Maria nodded in agreement with Hala, though she knew that the guards here in Pemberton did their job better than most. "They claim that it is more important to watch the faces of those who enter, rather than those who are leaving." Maria rolled her eyes at this. She knew that it was probably more true, but she wished the men were more capable, and could watch every ones' faces.

Maria froze in her words for a moment as she heard Hala questioning Victoria's choice in dress. She thought back to the conversation Victoria and Maria had that morning. "To be honest, she did not give me much of a reason when I questioned her this morning. 'Not every one needs to know I am the Duchess' niece all the time.' That is what she told me. I knew not to question her further. Though, I should have known something was up then, and kept a better eye on her." Maria lowered her eyes for a moment, knowing that the dilemma she was in at this moment could have been prevented.

As they walked across the green, Maria's eyes never stopped moving. She saw the other courtiers, and a few servants following after them. Hala spoke about avoiding a sister, and Maria forced herself not to give her smile a little more than the edge of her lip. "Victoria is like a sister to me, so I fear she is doing the same as you. Avoiding me to keep from telling me the secret that I know she has." Her blue eyes scanned the stables in the distance. She saw no one coming in or out. She found it only a little odd, knowing that it was nice enough day for a ride.

The topic went back to Victoria, and Maria looked back to Hala. "Victoria is very unpredictable. She could be any where. I doubt she would have left Roseworth grounds without an escort of some sort though. So, she is either around her somewhere, or some one is with her and she left." Maria prayed that Victoria was not out some where in Sutton, with some weirdo lord who was demanding things of her. She could not stand it if Victoria was in any sort of trouble right now. The maid always thought of the worse scenario.

Her short moments alone, thinking hard, unfriendly thoughts had turned into a fruitless chase for a woman she didn't know - mostly for the distraction. To avoid thinking unpleasant thoughts, Hala would gladly continue to look for Victoria. "You couldn't have known that she'd hide away like this, so it's best not to punish yourself for it." Hala was a kinder woman than most, and found it hard to fault others for things she herself was unable to accomplish. Elizabeth had quickly ago given up being shocked by Hala's soft words and decent behavior toward her. Such things were often private, of course, but even in the public eye Hala was never cruel, never rude or unkind towards servants. A little aloof, yes, but only because it was expected.

When Maria voiced that Victoria was hiding a secret, Hala did not react in any sort of way. Every one had secrets, why not the niece of the Duchess? It would do no good to pry until the answer came spilling out, and it wasn't as though the blonde needed the information. It was probably unusual for her to express so little interest in the matter, but in a bind Hala could always claim her heritage, if she only accepted it. Her own eyes now settled on the stable, face pulling into a frown. The day was a bit windy, but overall the weather was perfect for a bit of light riding... and even if it was storming out, rarely did the stable seem deserted like it did now. "Very well then, we'll have to go with the assumption that she is here, somewhere. Have you checked the stable?"

(That was blah, sorry x.x)