Aleksandra had thought the world a small place for so long, but as she traveled through more of it, that proved to be untrue.  She and her companion, the elderly Storka, had journeyed for nearly a fortnight to arrive in the town of Aeston, based on rumors and small clues.  Some of the people they had talked to were certain that Lord Todori had taken up residence in Aeston years ago, while others claimed he was further north or south of the town.  She had spent her first day asking around, and it led her here, standing outside of the Mocking Bee Tavern.  Storka stood just behind her, cane in hand, and she lifted it to prod at Aleksandra's back.<br/><br/>"Just go in, stop making a fuss about it."  Storka chided.<br/><br/>Aleksandra offered the older woman a scowl in retort, but Storka had already turned her attention to a nearby stall that sold some kind of sweets.  The woman was old enough to be her grandmother, and while she had maternal moments, she often led more with the stick (literally) than with honey.  Aleksandra rolled her eyes and pressed forward, stepping into the tavern.<br/><br/>It was mostly what she expected.  Pirates, sell-swords and all manner of folk enjoying their evening rather rambunctiously.  Aleksandra had tried to be a woman of the people, to spend time with those who lived within her realm, but she had never been in a place like this.  In fact, it was difficult to keep a frown off her features to think that Lord Todori was now forced to take up in places like this.  By her memory her had always been a kind man, his mistake was in trusting his brother, which had little to do with his own actions.  She had thought her father's judgment unfair at the time.  There was little she could do to change his mind though.  It was one of the rare times her father had completely ignored her counsel and kept her out of things.<br/><br/>As she moved among the tables and booths, more than one man and a couple of women gave her a look of interest, but she did her best to keep her features neutral.  Storka had managed to gather some of her mother's dresses from the old days, but in this instance, Aleksandra had opted to wear a clean looking navy blue dress and a gray traveling cloak.  She looked to be a woman of moderate station, but nothing fancy.  For the life of her, as she looked around the room, she could not find the features of Lord Todori...And then, all at once, her eyes settled onto a familiar face.<br/><br/>Not the elder Lord, but his son.  Maleki.  The sudden impulse to turn and leave grew tenfold, but Aleksandra pressed on despite it.  Giving up now was the wrong thing to do, she needed allies and help to take back her throne and to bring the man who had killed her father and sisters to justice.  Even if she was utterly uncomfortable, there was no turning from this task.  Aleksandra steeled herself and pressed forward, reaching out a somewhat-too-soft hand, she touched the cloth of his gray sleeve.<br/><br/>"I beg your pardon, Master Todori, but I would very much like to speak with you about a private matter." She was not even sure if he would recognize her, it had been a long time since they had last seen each other.<br/><br/><a class="username" data-user-id="200" data-username="@Crazy Shady" data-xf-init="member-tooltip" href="https://blackdahliaroleplaying.com/members/200/">@Crazy Shady</a>