The door to the Public Relations Office was cracked open just enough for an exasperated cleric's normally melodious voice to carry firmly out into the hallway.

"No, no. It's Valkonan. V-A-L-K-O-N-A-N. And the roster was painfully inaccurate. It is an unnecessary blemish on the clinic's otherwise pristine reputation, and the next time I see a misprint, I won't agree to any more licensing on your publication, or for any more interviews." A pause, and the elfess's expression soured. "Frankly, I don't appreciate your tone. I would like to speak directly to Jay Trebb, please," she demanded from her end. Sivanna could play hardball, too. And her influence stretched a bit beyond some snarky, low-level columnist's who hadn't taken a minute out of her underworked day to verify facts and numbers before publishing an article in a well-known science journal.

"Jay! It's Sivanna. Your newest intern has been a touch disagreeable" No, page thirty-seven?" she began pleasantly to the Editor in Chief. Not four minutes later, she was hanging up the phone with a relieved thank-you, and arranging for a lunch date between friends for the following week. As she set the handset onto the base, however, the former general groaned, removed her reading lenses, tossed them onto her desk, and scrubbed at her face roughly. Deep breaths, Siv. Always give people the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the writer was just too worked up over her gossip column to pay attention to' Oh who was she kidding" This was public relations. There was little done in the media that was unintentional; Or if it was, she would be hard-pressed to expect an apology from that woman.

With a sigh, the cleric picked up her ballpoint pen and made a quick note in her planner for coffee Tuesday with the editor. Just as she did so, a passing orderly in purple scrubs poked her head into Sivanna's office.

"Sivanna" Your phone has been buzzing out here?" she pronounced warily, extending the glossy black contraption toward the elfess.

"Did I leave it out there" Forgive me. Thank you, Georgia." The cleric rose stiffly from her seat, smoothed out her wool pantsuit, and crossed her office in two strides to take the phone from the helpful employee. Not recognizing the number, she flipped the phone open and set it to a pointed ear.

"Sivanna Cyredghymn, Public Relations" oh! Hello, AJ! What a pleasant surprise!"

She proceeded back to her desk, hovering by the window as she listened. By the time the mother-to-be posed her request, Sivanna was beaming.

"What a superb idea, AJ! Of course we would take the donations. And I would be thrilled— no, honored to help put this together!" Papers hissed across the flat of her desk as fingers rifled here and there for that precious ink wand. Cursing softly to herself, she yanked a desk drawer open and procured a new one, scribbling the dates the artist mentioned into her planner. Her pen tapped the calendar thoughtfully before she switched ears.

"I'll need a few more details from you, if that is all right. And I would love to be able to sit down and brainstorm with you for an hour or so before I start making things permanent. Would it be possible to arrange a meeting with you? If you would rather not come all the way down here— which I can imagine— I would be more than glad to meet you somewhere!?

"Tomorrow afternoon it is," she replied brightly. The distinct sound of a desk drawer being opened could be heard in the background as Sivanna withdrew a brand new, robin's-egg-blue binder. Maybe it was obsessive, but the clean smell of new plastic brought a euphoric smile to the cleric's lips. New plastic meant new planning. New planning meant inordinate amounts of organization to be had. All disorderliness cower before the mighty cleric!

As all this ran through her head, Sivanna couldn't help but giggle under her breath.

"I have a meeting with the editor in chief for Freeform Marketplace until eleven-thirty, but after that I should be free. There is a great place I know that has wonderful salads— I am sure Stas would approve. It's called La Maison Vert, and is about a block east of Riverview. Shall I meet you there, or would you like me to pick you up?"

The Elven cleric headed into La Maison Vert on an overcast afternoon, looking notably thin and flustered in an onyx pantsuit. Indeed, the tailored outfit looked as though it had grown a size in the past two weeks. Nevertheless, she maintained an air of businesslike decorum, champagne hair swept into a neat chignon. Immediately, Sivanna headed for the register in the little bistro, where she addressed a petite redhead behind the counter.

"Good afternoon, Sophie. I'm expecting someone. Have they arrived?" The French hostess shook her head with an apologetic look. "No, mademoiselle. But we can seat you, s'il vous plait...?" A cursory glance was cast around the cafe, which was just filling up with patrons for a fresh lunch, and the elfess nodded. A table was probably a good idea. Gathering up two menus, the hostess showed Sivanna to a cast-iron table near an open window, where the elfess set down her briefcase and seated herself in a wicker chair.

Meanwhile, moving as quickly as she could manage, AJ hurried down the street towards Le Maison Vert, her messenger bag bouncing on her shoulder as she did. Blonde hair haphazardly tied back from her face, albeit unsuccessfully, she hadn't had a chance to change after work, still dressed in her paint-splattered jeans. She had managed a fresh shirt, though. AJ ducked into the little eatery, looking around curiously, and addressed the little redhead herself.

"Hi, uh, excuse me" Hi," she smiled warmly. "I'm supposed to meeting Sivanna Cyredghymn here" Do you know if she -?" But she was interrupted by a smile from the redhead, who gestured towards the windows.

"Oui, mademoiselle, over here." Drawing a breath to try and calm her over-excited huffing, AJ followed the woman over to where the elfess sat. "Uh, hi ....Miss Cyredghymn?"

Almond-shaped, metallic eyes snapped up as she was addressed, and Sivanna rose hastily in a pleasant crunch of wicker. She exchanged a warm smile and extended her hand politely.

"Sivanna, please. It is wonderful to see you arwenamin....May I call you AJ?"

AJ's lips curved into a cheerful smile as she took Sivanna's hand.

"Oh, sure. Just don't call me Amelia, the only person who gets away with that is my husband," she laughed, turning to thank the redhead before maneuvering her pregnant body into the chair opposite the elfess. "I'm sorry I'm late, it took me longer to get here than I thought."

"Oh that's all right," said Sivanna. "I trust you found the place with little trouble?" she asked politely. A cherub-faced blonde waitress headed over to the table and paid the cleric a meaningful look. "Earl Grey, please. Unsweetened," requested the cleric. The server nodded and smiled sweetly to AJ soon after, posing a silent inquiry. AJ smiled back uncomprehendingly for a moment before catching on.

"Oh! Uh, mineral water, please. Still." She laughed at her own daftness as she looked back at Sivanna. "Sorry, it's been one of those days. And, uh, yeah, I knew where I was going. I nearly had an escort, too, if I hadn't insisted that I didn't need one."

A soft, musical chuckle escaped Siv's lips at AJ's comment. The French maid taking their order nodded appropriately, curtsied, and headed to the kitchen to fetch the drinks. "Coming along, are we?" Sivanna asked after a moment with a kind smile. Steel eyes left AJ's face only a moment to scan her torso. "All is well?"

AJ looked down at herself with a grin, gesturing to the swollen curve of her belly.

"Getting bigger by the day, but yeah, everything's fine," she smiled. "Thank you for asking. People usually say hello to the bump and ignore me." She giggled, shaking her head. "I feel like a beached whale already. How are you, though' I haven't seen you since Stas felt you up at the Inn."

As the waitress daintily set AJ's water before her, and a round mug of Earl Grey before the cleric, Sivanna chuckled again and shook her head.

"Don't think on it, mellonamin. I've done far worse under the influence," she responded honestly. A nod was given to the waitress, who curtsied again, and went about splitting her attention between four other tables. After taking a tentative sip of that tea, the elfess slipped a thin hand into her briefcase and produced an emerald-green binder and fountain pen, and set them both on the table.

"This meeting is long overdue, I am afraid. Not much longer until the event in question, but..." A purse of her lips, and the elfess opened the binder, revealing already extensive notes she had taken on the art auction. "....It is very doable."

As Sivanna opened her briefcase, AJ bent down to pull her own notes and planner from her bag, pulling a plain old ball-point pen from her hair.

"I really hope so," she said. She bit her lip, looking a little guilty for having left this so long. "Everything else for the week is done, it's just the auction that needs arranging. I have a venue, and a list of auction pieces from the Studio, and that's it. I don't have the slightest idea where I even need to start." Hazel eyes looked across at the elfess with pleading sincerity. "That's kinda why I asked you to help. You're the leading authority on organising these things." She poured a little of her water into a glass and sipped it, watching Sivanna thoughtfully.

Another tentative sip of her tea, and Sivanna twitched a half-smile. She would have blushed under the praise had she not disregarded it completely. The former general had a strange aversion to compliments. Nevertheless, the elfess meticulously turned the copper pen in her hand, freeing a steady stream of ink to coat the steel tip.

"You already have a venue. Spectacular. That's the perfect place to begin. What do you have reserved?" the cleric asked.

"The main hall of the Great Hall," she replied. AJ was quite pleased to be able to say that. "I know, it's pretty big, but all the artwork is going to be on display, and it needs a fair amount of space." She pulled the lid off her pen, watching her companion warily. "Is that okay' Not too big, or anything?"

"Not at all. I think that is a splendid venue. I have used it for more than one event," Sivanna replied kindly. Onto the looseleaf she'd before her, the elfess wrote smoothly in delicate Elvish script, making a notation. "That's the hardest part. It's all downhill from there," she reassured AJ with a wink. Turning a page, quicksilver eyes studied a list of Elvish notes carefully before resting on her lunch guest again. "Now. I tend to think a theme is in order for an event such as this."

Opening her notebook, AJ rifled through the pages to the relevant place. She made a note of her own, resting her chin on her hand to give Sivanna her complete attention. "I hadn't even considered a theme. I'm not very good at this sort of thing, I only got the job because I can't do the heavy stuff we're onto at the moment." She snorted with slightly bittersweet laughter, smiling attentively to her companion.

"Nonsense. You deserve more credit than you give yourself," Siv replied firmly.

"Oh, wait, I actually have the list of pieces that the studio's putting up for auction. Just a sec," AJ interrupted politely. As she rummaged through her bag, she spoke up again. "It's actually kind of an overview of what we produce; there are apprentice pieces, pieces that my rank - the journeymen - have done, and of course, the master pieces. And a collaboration between all of us that Master Greg insists on calling 'Chaos'." She laughed, still rifling for the list.

"Chaos..." the elfess repeated. A fond smile tugged up the corners of her lips. The darker side of Sivanna quite enjoyed that name. As she waited for her companion to procure that list, Sivanna studied her own pensively. "Well....before I go into themes....You've seen the pieces, mellonamin. You are an artist. Why don't you give me some of your perceptions" What kind of theme do these works represent?"

Out came the list from AJ's bag, rather battered and many times rearranged, and it was handed over. "At the moment, we have fourteen pieces we can put up for sale," she told Sivanna, giving the elfess a glimpse of the more in-control AJ than not many people got a look at. "That can be changed, reduced if necessary. And actually, thinking about the pieces themselves, I think a medieval type theme would work quite well. We have carving, sculpture in marble, iron and glass, a variety of different paintings ....yeah, I think Medieval could be the way to go."

Sivanna gave the woman a small smile and nodded after taking and inspecting the list.

"I agree. And that makes it infinitely easier," she replied smoothly. That fountain pen danced across her notebook as she made a quick note, and hastily and effortlessly scrawled out the names and descriptions of those art pieces on a fresh sheet in transcripted Elvish writing. "Quick question. Have you decided to set prices, or are we hosting a silent auction?"

"By the gods, Sivanna. You're still here?"

The elfess looked up in time to see an older gentleman from housekeeping wheeling a faded yellow bucket-wringer and mop past her office and though the derelict hallway. Blinking furiously, she removed her glasses and scrubbed at her face, feeling around her desk for her timepiece.

"You're here already, Christopher" What time is it?"

"It's just after eleven."

Sivanna let out a long-winded sigh. Lithe arms stretched tensely as she reached for the ceiling and pushed in her chair away from her desk.

"I'm staying here too late these days. Anya is going to kill me," the cleric admitted softly, gathering up a few business envelopes and tucking them under her arm. As she got to her feet and headed to her door, she froze.

"Ohh thes. You didn't lock the lounge already, did you, Christopher?" she asked, her expression growing exceedingly disappointed. The employee smiled and held his hand out.

"I did, but I'll take care of them for you. What do we have here?"

The former general nearly collapsed with relief as she handed over two envelopes. One was addressed and stamped, while the other was merely sealed with a single name on the front.

"This one goes out with the morning mail, and this one goes into Dr. Ryan's mailbox." Christopher quirked a brow as he inspected the addressed envelope.

"But this one is addressed to his wife. Shouldn't I just put them both into Ryan's inbox?" Sivanna grinned and put a finger over her lips.

"Bai. If you do that, it might give away the other." The employee blinked a few times, but seemed to accept that answer, and tucked both envelopes into his pocket.

"I'll take care of it. You get home and get some sleep, all right?" Spotting the skeptical look on Siv's face, he chuckled. "Or at least get home." The cleric gave his arm an affectionate squeeze.

"Diola lle, Christopher. I owe you one." Paying him a warm smile, she turned on her heel and headed back toward the lobby.

The following morning, each of the Ryans would get a letter from Sivanna. Mrs. AJ Ryan would receive hers via the post:

Verdui, AJ, I have here a tentative list of what I have gotten my hands on so far. The Hall is already equipped with trestle tables and benches, so I plan to use those for the majority of the seating. But I have also made the call to my good friend Eugene to bring in some straight-backed chairs with violet cushions to set freestanding along the walls. I put in the order for a few barrels of ale and mead, and Nuitari bless them, Sarrie's gave me a discount on dishware rental. I reserved silver tankards and goblets, as well as plates, serving dishes, and a few gilded jugs. The Hall already has an extensive silverware collection, and believe it or not, when I went into the storeroom today I found six— count them— six sets of armor! I couldn't have been more thrilled. I worked out a deal with the owner of Artes and Arms; as long as we put a stack of his business cards at each entrance, he has agreed to lend us six shields, twelve swords, and two jousting poles to display— for free! I'll need a little help carrying them to and from the shop, but I think it'll be worth it.

Eugene is renting me scarlet, gold, and violet tablerunners and rugs, and he has recommended a good place that rents tapestries, so I plan to check that out tomorrow. I'm headed to the electronics shop off Greensworth to place an order for some truss par cans to light the artwork, since the Hall already has a great collection of candelabra. I'll head to the party supply store to get my hands on some faux coins and scrolls, and see if I can't find some musicians. I'll also give Guill a call tonight and let you know about the catering.

Apologies if I overloaded you— I wanted to let you know where we were! I'll give you a call or write you sometime soon to touch base again. Until then, if you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Namaarie, Sivanna

P.S. Would you like to arrange for invitations, or shall I"

And to Mr. Stas Ryan:

Verdui, Stas, Your wife seems a bit flustered with this art auction business, so I wonder if you might surreptitiously get her to agree to this. I am sure she needs it. Don't let her know whom it came from!

Take care, Sivanna

Enclosed in the envelope to Stas is a gift certificate to an hour-long massage at the Belle Beautique and Spa in the Marketplace.

Sivanna had finally wrestled with technology enough to find AJ's newly-added number in her cell phone contact's list. Unfortunately, she was not at all surprised to get the mom-to-be's voicemail.

Beep!

"Verdui, AJ. It's Sivanna. Sorry I missed you! I just wanted to give you a quick update. I found a few great scenery tapestries at that store I was telling you about that I went ahead and bought, and I have four saddlebags full of adorable medieval paraphernalia— coins, scrolls, quills....things like that. I also wanted to let you know that I got a hold of Guill, and he's agreed to cater for the event. As for invitations, I suppose you're right. The fliers you've already put up are fantastic, and they should suffice quite well. But make sure that you put a big stack inside the Inn, and go overboard with advertising the week of.

Glad to hear you got a band. I look forward to hearing them!

Everything else is just about settled, and I'll give you a call again soon when we get closer to the event. Have you found a dress yet' If you need help looking, I'd be more than happy to go shopping with you. But I imagine your plate is pretty full these days!

Hope to hear from you soon!"

Click!