A Royal Meeting
Note from Alan: It's been mentioned that Pietro met the Amaquelin sisters once before he came to live at the mansion. Five years ago, a few things were different.
2/3 of the credit goes to Avital and Cass, of course. :)
Two feet up in the air, Crystal darted through one of the many halls of the palace she called home. Nearly crashing into a table, Crystal flung herself to the other side and hit the wall. Giggling, the young girl moved to the middle of the hallway and took off again. Flying was fun!
Crystal's eyes widened as she caught sight of someone in the large room up ahead. She knew that there were visitors, and Medusa was hoping to overhear some of the conversation, but she had thought that the visitors were in with her parents. Apparently, this was not the case.
Recalling warnings from her parents about not using her powers in front of people they were unfamiliar with, Crystal dropped to the ground with a thud. Almost 11-year-old Crystal had not yet perfected her landing skills.
Eyes closed, Pietro lounged in a chair, not quite dozing. Travel might broaden the mind, but he was bored. He thought he would like Attilan--he certainly liked this palace, tastefully decorated in a way that showed pride in its history without pretending to a power the tiny nation had never possessed--but Father's insistence that they keep a low profile had kept him from properly exploring during the week they'd waited for the audience, and now he was stuck out here alone while Father conducted whatever business he'd come here to conduct.
Or perhaps not quite alone, he thought, as a soft thump sounded in the hallway. He straightened, suddenly conscious of the fact that falling asleep--or appearing to--would reflect badly on his father. "Hello?"
Crystal stood up quickly and walked into the room where the stranger was. Good, he hadn't noticed. She wasn't quite able to place his accent, but he definitely wasn't from anywhere around here. "Greetings, I am Crystal Amaquelin," she said brightly, throwing in a curtsy for good measure. "Who are you?"
"Pietro Maximoff," he replied with a politely respectful nod. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Crystal; my father and I have heard a great deal about your family, and he's been looking forward to this audience for some time." He grinned suddenly. "I, apparently, have been looking forward for some time to sitting in the antechamber. But at least it's a nice one."
Crystal giggled, then proceeded with a barrage of questions. "Oh, so your father is speaking to my parents. Why aren't you with him? Why would you look forward to sitting in the antechamber? That is boring! Who is your father? Is he someone important?"
Pietro raised an amused eyebrow, one of his father's gestures that he was trying to pick up. After a few months on the island with Mystique and Toynbee--or Toad, as the other man was insisting on calling himself now--this girl was a breath of fresh air. "I suppose I'm not important enough to sit in on the meeting, though I definitely agree with you that it's boring out here. My father," he added with some pride, "is Erik Lehnsherr, a mutant, and one of the world's leading authorities on mutation."
"Oh." Crystal stared at Pietro, wide-eyed. She had met other mutants before, many of the people employed in the palace were mutants, but she did not usually get to meet new ones. Crystal was very interested in meeting other mutants, but she hardly ever left home. "What is his power? Are you a mutant, too?"
"I am," Pietro replied even more proudly. "My father controls electromagnetic fields--he's probably one of the most powerful mutants on the planet. I, on the other hand . . ." How to demonstrate without alarming her? Pietro glanced around the room; there was a momentary blur, and a vase across the room quivered slightly, now empty. Back in his chair, Pietro twirled a rose between his fingers and smiled. "I'm very, very fast."
"That is very, very fast!" Crystal agreed, excited. She was far less interested in the power of someone who was off somewhere else than she was in the power of someone sitting only a few feet away from her, even if this other person was supposed to be a very powerful mutant. "Do that again, please? I can't move that fast, even in the air! I have tried flying faster but I just crash into things!" Suddenly, Crystal froze, then grinned. "But I am still a lot faster than her! We are playing hide and seek and she doesn't even know it!" So saying, Crystal dove behind Pietro's chair.
Barely a moment later, a red haired teen flounced into the room, the _expression on her face somewhere between a scowl and a pout. Medusa had been trying to eavesdrop on the meeting her parents were having with Erik someone or another when a palace guard had spotted her and shooed her away. She probably wouldn't have cared much about the meeting if her parents hadn't explicitly told her to leave the chambers for the afternoon. Lately, they had taken to letting her sit in on some meetings to learn about the etiquette involved, but her father had said something about children needing time to play. I am not a child. I am thirteen! That is way old.
Medusa halted when she realized there was a stranger in the room, her hands moving to rest on her hips. Head held high, hair flowing out to surround her face, Medusa's looked him up and down appraisingly. She quickly filed away facts - white hair with a young face, an air of self-assurance. He was no noble that she knew of, meaning that he was either a visiting representative or nobody important. Manners catching up with her train of thought, she curtsied shallowly - better to err on the side of caution until she figured out exactly who the gentleman was. "Greetings, I am Medusalith Amaquelin."
And this was clearly the 'her' with whom Crystal was playing her unannounced game of hide-and-seek. Pietro favored her with a polite nod as well. "A pleasure to meet you, Lady Medusalith; my name is Pietro Maximoff. My father is meeting with your parents, though he declined to tell me precisely why. Still, you have a lovely country and I have been happy to visit." Blithely, wondering exactly how much cover his chair gave the little girl behind it, he added "I'm told we share the distinction of having a younger sister, though I would imagine yours has better manners than mine."
Medusa made a face at the mention of her little sister, quickly putting on a more neutral _expression and forcing her hair to settle down since she wasn't supposed to use her powers in front of strangers. "Then I am sure you also realize what a pa...pleasure it can be having one."
Suddenly, Medusa straightened up and tried to adopt the same tone her mother had used during the morning meetings. "I mean, I am glad you have enjoyed your stay in Attilan, Senhor Maximoff. I know my parents will give your father's audience the full consideration it deserves and I hope that we will be able to help assist with your situation." It was fairly obvious that Medusa was pleased with her speech and she watched Pietro expectantly for his response.
Pietro inclined his head, more than tolerably amused by the girl's practiced dignity. "Your hospitality does credit to your family." He grinned. "And yes, I am well aware what a pa--a privilege a younger sister can be. Especially when our mutant abilities manifested." He gave an exaggerated roll of his eyes. "There was no living with her, after that."
Medusa beamed at the praise, not noticing Pietro's amusement. At the mention of mutant abilities, her expressions became openly curious. "For a little sister, she is not too bad. If it is acceptable to ask, what can you do?" She looked around to make sure no one else was visibly present and then allowed her hair to return to it's natural state of motion. She smiled at the older man and raised her finger to her lips, a slight twinkle in her eye.
Remaining behind Pietro's chair, Crystal did her best to keep from giggling as she realized Medusa didn't know she was in the room. She peeked around the chair to try to see if their very, very fast guest was going to be very, very fast again.
"It's perfectly acceptable; my father says we should all be proud of our gifts." He thought for a moment, then gave Medusa a smile of pure mischief, saluting her with the rose. With another momentary blur, the flower was back in its vase--and Pietro, and his chair, had reappeared on the other side of the room. "Mine is speed."
Medusa clapped her hands together in glee at the sight of both the power and Pietro's clear enjoyment of it...that is until she realized just what he had uncovered. A bit of annoyance, that of any sibling when dealing with a particularly rambunctious younger sibling, entered her voice. "Crystal! What are you doing..." She stopped, looking back over at their guest, then composing herself. Smiling serenely at her sister, she clasped her hands behind her back. "Why dearest sister, what are you doing crouched down on the floor like that?"
Crystal looked up at her sister, shocked by her sudden lack of a hiding place. Her head turned as she looked over at Pietro and his chair. "That was not very nice!" she scolded him, then broke into a grin, clearly more intrigued than upset. Looking back at Medusa, Crystal stood and explained innocently, "We were playing hide and seek. I was hiding and you were seeking!"
Since Pietro could not see her face, she stuck her tongue at her little sister. "~Well how am I to know to seek if I do not know that you are hiding?~" she asked, unconsciously slipping into Portuguese. Turning back to their guest, she bowed her head slightly. "I apologize...I did not mean to be rude."
Pietro had been watching the byplay with a slightly wistful __expression, and shook his head at Medusa's apology. "You weren't, at least not by my standards. Actually, the two of you remind me of better days with my own sister. I haven't seen her in some time."
"Why haven't you seen your sister?" Crystal asked curiously. She couldn't imagine going even a few days without seeing Medusa.
"She and our father . . . don't get along," Pietro said carefully. "He left us when we were very small, and she has never forgiven him. So when I decided to look for him, she stayed behind."
"Oh," Crystal said, quite puzzled. "That is very sad." She frowned slightly for a moment, then smiled. "But at least you found him! That's good, right?" she asked hopefully.
Medusa smiled fondly at her little sister. Crystal was always trying to look at the bright side of things and often succeeding in making people notice the positive pieces of their experience. She hoped the nice man was happy that he'd found his father. Perhaps his sister would one day forgive them both.
"It's very good. My father is a great man, and I'm proud to know him." Pietro gave Crystal a curious look. "Now, your sister's power is obvious . . . but what might yours be? Flight, I think you said, but how?"
"Air!" Crystal said proudly. "My power has to do with air! I can create wind and move around in the air...and I can make other things move as well. Want to see my impression of a telekinetic?" Without waiting for a response, she lifted herself into the air and flew towards the vase, landing next to it with only a small thud this time. Grinning, she eyed the vase and it and the rose floated up just a bit. "See?" she said, beaming. Without warning, the vase suddenly flew upwards and smashed into the ceiling.
"Crystal!" Medusa exclaimed with all the exasperation her thirteen years could muster. Walking over to the mess, she paused, then narrowed her brow. It wouldn't do to call one of the maids, they might tell the girls' parents. As Medusa concentrated, strands of hair extended vaguely resembling a broom. The red "broom" proceeded to sweep the vase pieces into an equally red "dustpan." Turning to Pietro, she flashed a brilliant white smile and curtsied. "My apologies, Senhor."
"Oh, that's all right," Pietro replied cheerfully. "My sister's power involves chaos manipulation--you should see the kind of messes she makes when she--"
The door to the conference room slammed open, and a grey-haired man stormed out, his cold fury filled the room. He spared the girls one brief, contemptuous glance before speaking.
"Come, Pietro. We're done here. These people have neither the wit to see the future before them nor the strength to grasp it."
Pietro stood, his expression puzzled. "As you wish, of course, Father." He gave Crystal and Medusa an apologetic look. "I was glad to meet you, ladies. Perhaps we'll see each other again someday."
Crystal's eyes widened as the grey-haired man entered the room. This was Pietro's father? She was quite bewildered herself as she attempted to mentally reconcile the glowing description Pietro had given with the angry man who now stood in the room. "Adeus!" she replied cheerfully, looking at the younger man. "It was nice to meet you, too!" After the two visitors left the room, Crystal peeked out into the hallway and stuck her tongue out at the mean man. Then, giggling, she poked Medusa's arm. "~Tag! You're it!~" she laughed gleefully before soaring off in the direction opposite the one the two men were headed.
