I desperately need your assistance.

[Zareen Sethos]

Why had she agreed to this again? Oh right, Rowan had asked, and she was truly trying to get back in his good graces. Zareen had missed him. Losing Muriel had been devastating for the both of them, but she realized that losing Rowan as well had far too difficult to handle. And yet, she suppressed it, ignoring it until she no longer felt anything.

And yet, things happened, and now she was rushing her way through the woods on a grey mare, charging towards Lasairdubh. She promised to meet him there, however, there was a bit of a problem- she had no idea how to blend in with nobility. Zee managed to acquire a lovely but simple white dress, but hadn't a clue as to what to do with her hair and she owned no make-up.

This was embarrassing. This was going to be a disaster.

She didn't care what these nobles thought of her, but she didn't want Rowan to be looked at in any bad light, especially considering this was Lee Frye territory. Drawing up to the small castle, Zareen was swiftly dismounting and handing the horse off to a servent, struggling to adjust the mask upon her face as she rushed through the doors.

Now, how was she supposed to find Arya DeGraff ? Zareen would know her anywhere, however, everyone was wearing a bloody mask! Grumbling in annoyance, she desperately searched the crowd of people, her black hair practically a nest of knots, and she had to apologize to two women she thought was the young DeGraff girl.

Finally, she thought she found her, tapping her gently upon the shoulder. "Arya!" she exclaimed in a whisper. Zareen lifted her mask off her face a little to show her who she was. "I...desperately need your assistance." With her free hand, she gestured to her face and her hair...Arya would probably know exactly what she meant.

[Arya DeGraff]

Arya was dressed in a beautifully White gown that clung to her frame and flared out a bit to make it moveable but it was still mostly to show that she was full grown and ready to meet someone. She was a woman here to make a match and this mask made it even better! She was having a great time, eye flirting a bit with one of the gentlemen here when a hand had her turning to look.

Good heavens this woman was a mess!

Correction, Zareen was a mess!

"My goodness! What happened to you and why do you smell of horse?" she asked her, her tone light but scolding as she smiled at the other woman and quickly took her arm and would take her quickly and quietly to the ladies powder room so that she could give an aid to what was going on with her entire appearance.

"You look beautiful but why didn't you arrive in a carriage or if you did in a carriage did you have the window open?" she asked, continuing her playful teasing of her as she would pull her mask up to then go and find a brush and perfume to help her out.

[Zareen Sethos]

Oh dear, she must have looked worse than she thought!

Zareen actually cringed, glancing down at herself only to be slightly relieved to know her own white gown hadn't been dirtied or ruined in some way. That didn't mean the rest of her looked any good. She knew this was going to be a disaster.

"Am I that bad?" she asked quietly, sounding embarrassed and ashamed. Arya tried to smooth things over as she was dragging her from the ballroom, and Zareen just exasperatedly rolled her eyes. "I clearly look like a mess...but I know you're trying to be sweet."

Once they were in the powder room, Zareen yanked the mask from her face and grumbled at the sight of herself in the mirror. "This was a mistake. A huge mistake..." Zee was talking to herself, attempting to run fingers through her knotted hair. With a sigh, she finally answered the girl's other question. "I don't have access to a carriage, so I had to ride here." And she lived in the middle of Namyca most of the time.

She was a ranger, not a noblewoman.

"Your brother didn't want to be miserable alone, so he guilted me into this." He was going to owe her big time for this already.

[Arya DeGraff]

Arya refused to answer that question as she didn't want to be held liable for the answer. They were supposed to be prim and proper tonight and dressed and looking perfect but Zee had managed to arrive in a bit of a state that Arya was determined to fix for her.

"You look beautiful now stop, it is nothing I can't fix and you know that," she was the best dressed out of her brothers after all and could fix anything that was mussed; a talent her mother had passed onto her.

A light taking sound could be heard from her as she would come over to her and take her arms and guide her onto a cushioned stool to sit, "Then why didn't you ask for a ride? I would have given you one you know this," she lightly scolded her as she shook her head while going to start carefully brushing and smoothing out her beautiful dark locks.

Arya was gentle with her brushes, untangling and smoothing her hair carefully and even plucking a leaf out? Of boy. She would just throw that to the side as she reached into her own hair and pulled out a few pins and would use those to help out Zee's hair.

"Well, you won't be miserable, you are going to knock the socks off of all the gentlemen here; including my big brother," she told her with an impish smile, "And he doesn't know what I look like so don't give me away...my brothers realize how I look they won't let me get one dance in with one of these lords and I'll be putting lemon juice in their coffee for spoiling tonight," she told her, her tone joking as she continued to brush and pin her hair to make it look just as it hopefully had when she left.

[Zareen Sethos]

Oh, Arya didn't actually have to answer...because it was clear that Zareen looked horrible. And now, she felt like her dress was too "simple" or too "common" to be amongst such beautiful nobility.

Why did she let that fucking ox talk her into this? Maybe he needed someone to laugh at.

She huffed dramatically as the younger woman claimed she could fix this. Of course Zareen trusted her- it was exactly why she sought her out. Well, that, and she truly didn't know anyone else to ask. She feared a stranger would have just laughed at her.

Allowing Arya to lead her to the stool, she took a seat as her shoulders slumped. She couldn't even sit with a straightened back, how was she expected to act proper out in the ballroom? "I know," she said. "But it was last minute...and I almost didn't bother coming." It had sounded like such a ridiculous idea...and, well, it was proving to be true and a part of her desired to be back home already.

The moment she began to brush her hair, though, the ranger appeared to relax. It was as though it were the most soothing thing in the world, and she had been fearing all of those knots would make this entire ordeal even more miserable. Arya was a bloody sweetheart for doing this.

Zee outright laughed. "Thank you, but that's doubtful. However, I do plan on knocking your brother out for making me come here." She was joking- mostly. It was actually a little hard to tell, but punching a man in the middle of the ballroom wasn't exactly ladylike, right?

When Arya made it clear that her brothers didn't know what she looked like, her smile grew a little sly. Oh, sneaky-sneaky, little DeGraff. Zareen gestured, pretending to lock her lips and throw away the key before she giggled quietly. "Your secret is safe with me, Ari. But you just let me know if any of them give you trouble, yeah?" Offering her a wink through the mirror, she still meant it. If Arya wanted to flirt and meet a man, then no one should be stopping her.

[Arya DeGraff]

Arya bit her lip a little as she would continue to work on her hair, brushing and gently tucking pieces away while tossing away leaves and the like that didn’t belong in her beautiful hair.

“Well I’m glad you did come, you do look stunning and you’ll take his breath away and make him more of a dolt when we get your hair fixed,” she told her with a little bit of a playful grin at that.

She would continue, pulling out some extra pins from a hidden pocket as she worked her own magic on Zareen's hair. It wasn’t terrible, oh no, she could fix this easily.

Going to the counter, she would pic up a bottle of cream and dab it into her hands and rub it together before going back to her and smoothing it through her hair.

“Oh you have to let me know so I can watch that please, I need that laugh watching him fall on his rump for doing this,” she said with a little giggle as she worked the cream through her hair to smooth it out and make it even softer.

Nodding, “Deal. I’m trying to find some sort of date here…but I haven’t been here long enough to try and trip on their feet and get a dance from them yet,” she said with a little chuckle at that. Oh she was going to make her brothers go mad since she was now of age and available to marry; though she felt bad for any poor soul who had to go through all her brothers and father for her hand.

[Zareen Sethos]

Zareen as finally beginning to calm down a little, not feeling as flustered as she had before while the younger girl ran the brush through her hair. Seriously, she could sit there all day and allow Arya to do that, it was strangely relaxing. However, what she said next had her attention rising quickly to the other's reflection in the mirror; the look upon her face wondering if she heard the words correctly.

"I'm not...looking to take his breath away." At least, not in that regard. If she had to punch the air from his lungs, then so be it, but that was an entirely different matter. Rowan was her friend- they had met through his previous wife, Muriel, before the town fire. Before they had lost the woman they both had cared so deeply for, and there was a falling out. It was only recently that they started speaking again.

But no, that was certainly not why she was here and she almost told Arya to wipe that playful grin right off her face.

"If you aren't dancing with a handsome gentleman, I will certainly let you know," she said in way of changing the subject a bit. "In all honesty, I'm surprised you didn't already arrive with a date. Are there no men that have caught your eye yet?" And wouldn't it be more difficult to do while everyone hid behind a mask?

[Arya DeGraff]

“And yet your so defense,” Arya teased her playfully, an impish grin on her face as she continued to brush and smooth her hair until it was shiny and smooth again. Carefully, she did pluck out another stranded leaf though.

A little laugh left her as she nodded, “Please do then,” she told her as she went to her purse that held some make up in it and would pull out some rouge and a soft brush. Dabbing it into the powder she would gently brush it against her cheeks. “You have seen my brothers correct? The moment a man shows interest in me they scare them off so…I’m here to try and find one right under their noses where they can’t do anything about it…at least yet,” she said with a laugh. Everyone here was a noble so no matter who she ended up dancing with, it could be a good match if they got on well.

[Zareen Sethos]

"Defensive? I'm not de-" Okay, that sounded a bit defensive and she closed her mouth real fast. Instead, she just rolled her eyes and sighed, letting the younger woman believe whatever she wanted to. Zareen had never thought of Rowan in that kind of way before, and it wasn't likely to change. Especially since they had only recently gotten over their anger and were on talking terms again. Muriel would have been furious with them.

Zee cringed a little as Arya pulled out another leaf from her hair. The embarrassment wouldn't end, and she felt absolutely ridiculous at the moment. She wasn't even sure if this dress was good enough but she'd have to make due.

As Arya leaned in to apply powder to her face, Zee actually flinched and leaned back out of her reach with a look of annoyance. But it only lasted for a few seconds before she relented. It was just a habit to flinch away from such...lady-like things.

She was spending too much time out in the woods as of late.

"Well, I'm sure they're not doing it intentionally," she said, trying not to sneeze from the powder. "But, I'm sure they want to make sure you're safe and that whatever man you choose is worthy enough of you." She offered a gentle smile. "Yes, they can make things difficult...but that kind of love is nice to have, knowing someone is looking out for you like that." Zareen had no siblings- only her father who didn't really want much to do with her.