The first thing Elwen noticed when shown the rooms that would be hers for the duration of her stay was the windows. High, wide, with only sparse decorations in the form of stained glass. A couple people with crossbow on the opposite roof and she'd be in a whole heap of trouble. Presumably, though, the looming threat of military intervention held that eventuality at bay. Even so, she found herself increasingly uncomfortable in spite of the lavishness of the rooms.<br/><br/>The first, bottom room was the bedroom. One of the things she couldn't bring herself to find worrying or distasteful after one too many nights on the road and on the ground. It looked to be an antique, a sea of dark, varnished woods, white linens and marine blue covers. She might have preferred something that she could have jumped out of quickly if such was needed, but a bit that was as wide as she was tall had its own charm.<br/><br/>She staggered back out to the next room, from carpet to wooden floor. With a grunt, she set her muddy pack, the one the maids had already given dubious looks, in the corner and then sank down along the wall. The windows were too big. Already now, she could feel eyes, imaginary or not, prickling everywhere. She sighed, and then forced herself to take deep breaths. Had she been at home, or with an army, she might have taken this out on an unfortunate chair, table or some other piece of furniture. But these people wouldn't understand such a thing.<br/><br/>Elwen ran fingers through her short hair, and sighed once again as her palm caressed the ridges of her facial scar. To her sisters and brothers, something like it was a mark of valor and experience to be embellished. So they tattooed it. To her, it was a mistake. One she forced herself and others to see daily. With help from the pack, she stood again and walked to the first window, freeing the drapes from the rope holding them back. Over the next few minutes, she repeated this for most of the other windows, leaving the rooms in near-darkness. Too dark for humans, certainly, but low-light vision enhanced the landscape into greyscale sharpness for her.<br/><br/>Soon enough, the girl would be coming. The wild elf looked around the middle room again, making a snap decision. She was unlikely to have any dinner parties, so the stately table and accompanying chairs were moved out of the way. It could serve as a makeshift practice room. The front room, with its tea-table and chairs, desk and writing supplies would serve well enough for receiving anyone, or writing the few things home expected of her. With that, there were only two tasks left for the day.<br/><br/>From her pack, Elwen pulled two simple scabbards, both containing blunt, smooth training swords. She moved to the front room, placing them on the desk before cramping herself into a chair that was too small, pretending to set about writing a letter to the general confirming her arrival, as pointless as that was. She smirked to herself, though it faded quickly. It was not what she had wanted originally, this, but the girl's family would hardly understand. Petra would probably not understand either. So it had to be this way. She had only managed to write a line or two when someone, a practicing pair of guards or the like, shouted outside. The wild elf looked up from the document, her eyes growing distant.<br/><br/>It wasn't until several minutes later, when someone knocked on the door, that Elwen emerged again. She cleared her throat, disoriented for a moment, then pushed off from the table and walked to the door. The maids had been sent away, much to their protest. She did not want to get too used to the comforts of this place too quickly.<br/><br/>She opened the door, and offered a notably more respectful bow of her head than she had offered the gathering outside, and then withdrew a half-step, giving the girl room to enter. "Thank you for coming so quickly, my lady," Elwen said. She closed the door after Petra and turned, gesturing towards a chair opposite the desk. "Perhaps you'd like to have a seat? I'd just like to talk for a little while. Feel free to take whatever you need while you're here, too."<br/><br/>The last comment was accompanied by a motion towards a tray of drinks and light snack food, dried berries and nuts and the like, presumably arranged for the envoy's benefit. Certainly it wasn't normal noble food, but Elwen did not seem perturbed by it. It was normal.<br/><br/>Elwen remained standing at the side of the desk in the half-light of draped-over windows, fingering the two scabbards she had placed on the desk. After a few moments, perhaps verbally continuing some line of thought, she spoke. "Your parents masked their eagerness to get rid of you quite well during the initial negotiations. Are you happy, here? Do you blame them for being used as a bargaining chip? Blame my Commander, perhaps?"<div class="messageTextEndMarker"> </div>