The Vipers' Nest - A Baroque Court RP [Closed] - Announcement post #303
 

Information
 

Re-Application : Marie-Elisabeth, Comtesse de Valois
 

Re-application: Comtesse Isabella Devine and Duchesse Christine Du Fontaine
 

Joséphine de la Vallière, Marquise de Mont-de-Marsan
 

Elena Lahance (née Sánchez de Suárez y Torre)
 

Re-application - Octavien Lahance
 

Name: Octavien Lahance

Age: 21

Title: Has gone from untitled, to Baron, to Comte, to Prince.

Personality:
Octavien was a young man with a hunger for nothing more than fun and adventure. Unfortunately, this lead to quite a few precarious situations, and after having been seen leaving the bedroom of one too many married women, his parents sent him away from home, to the court, in the hopes of having him discover that there's more to life than just having "fun". And he did. He discovered power, and the perks of having friends in high places. Now he has his mind set on earning a title, one way or another, and although still a carefree thrill-seeker, he can also be a cunning, ambitious trickster. He's watching the aristocrats and learning what he can from them. And the higher the title, the bigger his interest. Thus, he has taken a special interest in the Queen herself.

Picture:



And one and two more, just because. :P

Re-application - César de la Vallière, Marquis de Mont-de-Marsan
 

Name: César de la Vallière
Title: Marquis de Mont-de-Marsan
Age: 23
Bio: Imagine for a moment the untitled Octavien Lahance, not yet a courtier at the Palace of Light and Air, as a cartoon character, with the classical angel on one shoulder, beseeching him to behave and be good, and a tiny devil on the other, constantly tempting him to be naughty and bad.
That tiny devil, would be César de la Vallière; Marquis de Mont-de-Marsan and one of Octavien's best friends since childhood. Good-natured, charismatic, and with eyes rarely lacking a spark of humor and mischief, the two years older César was the ringleader of sorts, of what one could call the late 17th century 'brat pack' - the circle of friends - that Octavien was part of before being sent to the court by his parents, to mature.

César is very much a man of his time, and his social standing. With his father having died a few years ago, he's now the man of the house and the estate, and the head of the family, consisting of his mother, his wife, and two (legitimate) daughters, whom he adores. He spends a great deal of his time on the favorite past times of the young and the wealthy, such as riding, horse racing, fencing, hunting, parties and balls, playing cards, visiting the opera and the theatre, etcetera, and despite being married at the age of seventeen - an arranged marriage, but not one he objected to, or even minded much - he's still a ladies man. However, he's not the kind of man to leave a woman's bed, never to return. The affairs he has are rarely 'one-time' things, and do not limit themselves to nothing but bedroom activities. Over the years, he's had a few select mistresses, to whom he keeps returning, and has only occasionally had brief flings. But even with his wandering eye, and even though his mistresses tend to end up rather well off - recieving gifts of money, dresses, jewelry and perhaps even a small mansion - he would never flirt with another woman or look at her excessively, while in the presence of his wife. Despite his affairs, he does love her - her wits, her passion, her beauty, not to mention the firey temper that he so loves to tease - and he will never spend too many nights in a row away from her bed. He simply believes it's a man's privilege to have a mistress or two. Still, he might have a tendency to neglect her and take her for granted every now and then. They are married after all, and so in a way he's already and always entitled to her, whereas a mistress isn't bound to him by anything but interest alone. Thus, Joséphine might not recieve as many and as romantic gestures as her rivals.


Picture:

(Expect another pic later. I was trying to get him to flash that mischievous smile of his, but I'm not quite happy with it, it makes his face look a bit weird.)

Larkin d'Marius, Baron de Aurvilies, Re-App
 

Title:Baron d'Aurvilies
Age: 34
Bio: Larkin, the queen's paternal uncle, was rather awkward for his parents [the queen's grandparents] to deal with. As a small child he was told, in no uncertain terms by a governess that being the youngest son meant that there was no way he would inherit anything useful and was essentially another mouth. Not that the nobility of France couldn't handle it, she had said, but it had a profound effect on young Larkin. He proceeded to ignore the lessons of fine statecraft imparted to his older brothers, and instead study the more... abstruse sciences. Those of ambition, of greed, of efficiency.

Upon his twentieth birthday Larkin's father died, and, as expected, gave the eldest brother most of the duchy, and leaving small, infertile, essentially useless baronies and marquedoms to the younger brothers. Larkin, being thoroughly uninterested in any of the day to day administration of his barony, and having been responsible for deflowering a few women he shouldn't have gone near, went to court. After a year he was appointed ambassador to Zimbabwe, ostensibly for experience abroad, but actually because the bastards he fathered were starting to want more than the stipend he was giving.

While there he maneuvered brilliantly amongst the natives, bearing technology to them and piles of gold and trade goods away, all for the good of France. He has been there for well over a decade, missing his brother's wedding, said brother's daughter's birth, and said daughter's rise to queen. However in his capacity as ambassador he was able to cultivate a firm friendship with the king. Due to some small insurrections in Zimbabwe, Larkin was exiled from there and has returned to the court, as he still has no interest in his barony, and it is capably run by a steward, who leaves the appropriate revenues to his Baron's disposal.

Larkin d'Marius is rather pleased to return to his native land, self imposed exile does get tedious after more than a decade. He remains ambitious, wanting a better parcel of land for his long suffering steward to administer to, but at the moment is quite content to enjoy real food that is not spiced to death, and real women that go about leaving something for a man to think about during the occasional dull days. As opposed to the ladies of Zimbabwe... who provided things other than thought.

Picture: Forthcoming (Hopefully)

Marie-Elisabeth & César - Riding (Horses you dirty minded people)
 

In all honesty when she initially made the comment about the horses, Marie-Elisabeth had been referring to the animals. It was only afterwards that she realized how apt the descriptions seemed to match César and herself, and covered up her shocked amusement with a giggle. It really was funny how she had ended up with a pretty golden coloured horse, which seemed perfectly happy to wait until they were ready to go. While he had gotten a much darker coloured stallion, one that the stableboy seemed to have difficulty in keeping under control.

She had been quite unable to control her less than innocent mind when he had helped her into the saddle of the horse, and was sure her abbess sister Marie-Anne would have dunked her in the baptismal font full of holy water if she could hear them. She of course noticed that his hand lingered around her waist far longer than most would consider necessary or even proper, but she really didn’t mind in the slightest. In fact, the close contact was really starting to make her wonder why she had acted like such a scared little girl this morning in the first place.

The reigns securely in her hands, she concentrated on staying properly up in the saddle as he got onto his own horse. She had hoped most of her childhood experience would come back to her, and she wouldn’t make a complete fool of herself. After her marriage to Charles, riding hadn’t really been encouraged to her at all due to the belief that it was one of the leading causes of miscarriages. And there were no chances taken with her being, at least she had heard it said, the last chance for Charles to produce a son and heir.

Marie-Elisabeth had, to her relief, found that her assumption was largely true. The way she was supposed to sit, how tightly she was to hold the reigns, it was still right there in her mind. And after re assuring César two different times that she was perfectly fine, the two of them set off on the roads leading away from the palace.

"Why, Comtesse de Valois", César soon said, in a teasing way that made her laugh "I believe you must have played me for a fool when saying you were out of practice. You're doing quite well."

“No, I really haven’t done this in quite a while” she said, smirking and tucking a stubborn strand of hair behind her ear “I used to go all the time with…”. She paused for a moment, not really wishing to bring up the memories of her father again. She was in such a wonderful mood there was no way she was going to take the chance of dragging herself back down into it again. ‘Well I used to do this a lot when I was little” she finally continued, shaking her head slightly “I suppose it’s one of those things, amongst others, that all you really need to do is get back in the saddle and try again and it all comes flooding back to you”.



(((OOC: First RP post in the new thread! HUZZAH! We’ll still have the banker aspect in here as well right? I was thinking of making a visit: P

And Lahance stud farms? *dissolves into snickers* Okay, bad bad thoughts there. Whaaaat? The prince is pretty dang good looking you know :P)))

Larkin decided, upon looking more closely at the girl's attire, that either she was casually dressed-eccentrically so- or could not afford better. He would not act on his assumption of the former of course- judging natives' stature in Africa and judging courtier's status in France were two very different things, but it gave him some gorunds for comparison in case he did need to act on an assumption of station.

She spoke again saying "A pleasure to meet you, Monsuier Larkin. You may call me Padme." in that same elusively melodious accent. That further confirmed Larkin's initial opinion; the words were too clipped for anything but a commoner, and the French too good for it to be foreign.

She fell silent for a few moments, and Larkin was perfectly content to gaze about idly, even on a plain stretch of lawn with naught but a rose trellis and the forked tree, the air was scented in a charmingly woodsy way and Larkin was quite pleased to stand there and inhale. A grin flickered momentarily and- to his companion, inexplicably- onto his face. The sun was shining, it was a lovely day, so far his companion did not seem particularly insane, what wasn't there to smile about? The fact his reasons were perfectly good did not make the grin linger however.

He realized soon after that there had been a stretching silence, and for a moment he fumbled as to whether he should fill it, but, happily, Padme took that off of his hands by saying self consciously, "Lovely day isn't it? I was inside most of yesterday, so I figured I'd catch up on fresh air."

Larkin allowed a smile to creep onto his face, thsoe were his thoughts exactly. "Of course Mademoiselle Padme, the weather was rather bad for afternoon strolls yesterday. It is a delight now that the weather's broken though, I only recently arrived here, and haven't had a chance to view the gardens in much detail. The gardeners truly must be outdoing themselves."

Bella, Octavien and Joséphine - The Palace
 

“Good evening, Baroness,” Joséphine’svoice and countenance seemed somewhat lacklustre and devoid of the sociability that had been present the night before, suddenly bare and vulnerable like a soldier stripped of his armour. She must have been hurt even worse that she looked, Bella decided. Or something else was playing on her mind, something enough to mask the injuries that most ladies of court would writhe about. She decided not to ask regarding the cause of their wounds, the first priority was to get them both some help, even if she had to do it herself.

“Oh these? No need to worry yourself over them, they are barely skin deep. I have already suggested to Octavien that he had his cut tended, but I'm afraid the gentleman in him prevailed and he insisted on keeping me company a while longer,” the Marquise continued on in the daze that had seemed to have overcome her during Bella’s approach. Bella felt her eyes glance back to the growing bloodstain on Octavien’s clothes. Granted, that did look somewhat more serious, but Joséphine seemed equally affected in other ways.

“A Prince by name and nature, then,” Bella slid an appreciative smile Octavian’s way before glancing between both her patients. The other courtiers seemed to carry on regardless of the rather alarming appearance of the Prince and the Marquise while Bella stood there compelled to do something about it. “It’s no trouble, Marquise. I feel it would be better to err on the right side of caution.”

It probably wasn’t persuasive enough and glancing back at the scratches on Joséphine’s arms, she knew it was best to have those tended to, along with Octavien’s wounds. It would be a lie to say Bella was a stranger to treating injuries, days of anarchy at the Abbey did not see the young girls walk away from their escapades unscathed. In fact, Bella had been lucky she did not scar or bruise easily and for those that did, her treatment became mandatory. Of course, escaping exposure in their raucous acts did mean that Bella had to learn the tricks of the trade when it came to being the makeshift physician.

“It won’t take very long, I’m sure,” Bella encouraged, again forming a compromise between looking at Joséphine and Octavien. Right now, her concern lay in getting the both of them some deserved treatment, but Bella could not help but wonder the reason for Joséphine’s depression of spirits. She found herself looking over at Octavien in help to persuade the stubborn Marquise to accept the treatment she may well need; those scratches did look fearsome against the pale skin that they had been inflicted upon. Then again, there was the possibility that she’d stumbled onto an awkward situation that didn’t need the input of a third party.

(((OOC: Hope there are no problems with that. Please let me know if you'd like anything changed,
P.S. I agree with Furry, poor Jo!)))

Octavien w/ Joséphine and Bella
 

There was only one word to describe the feeling welling up within Octavien as he and Joséphine were making their ascent up the marbled steps of the Palace stairway, and she suddenly froze, causing Octavien to turn to look at her in slight confusion, wondering at the sudden stop, until his gaze fell on the sight that had just all but hit the young lady by his side square in the face; horror. Complete and utter horror.

Making their way out the grand doors of the Palace entrance, were none other than César and the Comtesse de Valois, both of them too engulfed by what seemed like rather merry conversation to notice the other couple watching them. Apparently, for some reason. César had decided that not only was it a good idea to chase a woman living far closer to him and Joséphine than any of his mistresses had ever done before, but that another equally good idea was to be seen in public getting along very nicely with said woman. For everyone, including Joséphine, to see.

Horror. There really was no other way to describe the feeling that gripped at Octavien's gut. Horror at witnessing the one scenario that just could not happen, horror at failing César, horror at seeing realization dawn on Joséphine, horror at witnessing the look on her face, of congeniality and warmth shatter under the sledgehammer that was heartbreak. Even long after César and Marie-Elisabeth had disappeared through the doors and out of sight, she remained frozen to the spot, staring at the doors, but seeing nothing.

What did one say when disaster struck like this? Especially when one had known it was happening, but had given no warning? Octavien searched frantically for something that he could possibly tell her to ease her shock, or her pain, but nothing came to him. He kept drawing blanks.
Instead, it was Joséphine herself that was the first to speak;

"You do not have to say anything. I know why you couldn't have told me."

The words came slow, and were uttered with such omnious calm and detachment that it felt as though the iron fist that had seized Octavien's gut, suddenly tightened it's grip.

"Joséphine...", he started, almost stuttering her name, unsure of whether her words meant she understood, or simply felt she knew by assuming that Octavien's loyalty laid with César, and that he had thus played along willingly with César's doings. "I... I'm sorry..."

There really was nothing more he could possibly say. The damage was done, and if Joséphine didn't know that Octavien had been a most unwilling participant, it was hardly a good time to try and explain anyway, as it would do little good right now, considering Octavien's attempt to cover for César was not what hurt her the most. She simply would not be susceptible to any explanations, at least for a while.

And, just as though fate had suddenly decided to intervene and put the whole situation on hold, it was just then that a familiar voice was heard from a few yards away;

"You know, there's a time, place and attire for adventure..."

Approaching them was the young brunette with the amiable and relaxed demeanor Octavien had had the pleasure of meeting the day before, and gotten to know a bit during the course of the evening. Bella.
Though no matter how pleased he was to get to meet her again, right now, he wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or increasingly distressed. Considering what had just happened, Joséphine would hardly be in the mood for socializing, and quite frankly, neither was Octavien. But at the same time, the interruption was a most welcome one, as neither the Prince nor the Marquise had seemed ready to say something else, and were most certainly not comfortable with the sudden and suffocatingly tense silence.

Yet even when Bella had reached them, and Octavien saw her eyes widen as she took in their entire appearances where they stood in all their dishevelled misery, he still could think of nothing to say. He wished he could have thought of something fairly witty, to try and smooth things over and spare Joséphine the observation Bella might make, that the Marquise was clearly not in the best of moods. But yet again, Joséphine was the first of to regain her composure, and as he watched her retreat behind her mask of pleasantries, it occured to Octavien that such skill did not come without alot of practice. Practice most likely offered by her husband's indescretions... Octavien knew she had realized a long time ago that César might not be entirely faithful to her. But could it be that she knew alot more than that, and had simply mastered the skill of pretending she didn't? When seeing César with the Comtesse de Valois, she had seemed shocked, but not all that surprised. And considering the two had merely been walking and talking, it would take either a person of an incredibly jealous nature to react the way she had, or a person who knew they had every reason to be concerned.
Joséphine had never appeared to be the jealous type.

Greeting Bella with a simple nod and a gentle smile, as he himself had practiced his wearing of masks almost to perfection, especially as of late, Octavien then listened in silence as Bella expressed her concern about his and Joséphine's injuries, and as Joséphine tried to dismiss her own, firmly but cordially.

"A Prince by name and nature, then", Bella said in response to the Marquise's comment regarding Octavien's own stubborness, and flashed him an endearing smile, before continuing; "It's no trouble, Marquise. I feel it would be better to err on the right side of caution. It won’t take very long, I’m sure."

By now, Octavien had joined in the studying of Joséphine's scratches, and while they would hardly be life-threatening if going untreated, he did have to agree with Bella. If infected - Lord knows what had crawled around in that tree - they could become quite a nuisance, and add yet more to the burden on a slender pair of shoulders that really did not need it. Joséphine's burden weighed quite heavily on them already.

"I agree," he said and gave a nod as he registered the way Bella looked at him, as though seeking his support on the matter, to try and persuade Joséphine to get her cuts looked after. "Skin deep or not, no harm can come from having someone tend to them."



(((ooc: Sorry, kind of bleh, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting any longer. Will try and have something up for César later, but no promises.)))

César & Marie-Elisabeth - riding
 

(((ooc: After this RP, I don't think I'll ever be able to look at horses the same way again. Yes, Lahance stud farms. *nod* That's how Octavien's family made their fortune.)))


Riding slowly away from the Palace and it's court, so far keeping to the main road, there was a beautiful landscape opening up before the eyes of César and Marie-Elisabeth. Early spring had begun painting the surroundings with the colors of new life; the light, healthy green of leaves and grass, sprinkled with the white, blue and yellow of early season flowers such as crocuses, irises and dandelions. The sky above a radiant blue, and the gentle caress of light from a sun that was minutes away from announcing the start of it's descent towards the horizon.

It was a most vivid and breathtaking visual. And yet, most would say such beauty was indeed wasted on the Marquis de Mont-de-Marsan, since his focus was currently not on the scenery. At least not the one consisting of trees, bushes and vast, open fields. His gaze kept lingering on Marie-Elisabeth's slender form, presumably to be quite the attentive instructor. And he really was. He just happened to make sure that he would make the most of the opportunity that was offered along with it; the opportunity to watch her as much and intently as he pleased.

The only exception he made, was whenever his attention was torn away from her by the temperamental beast he was riding. The impatient stallion seemed to want nothing more than to burst off into a wild gallop, and had he been alone, César would've let those desires loose a long time ago. He too loved the thrill of riding at breakneck speed, and leave all inhibitions behind while freedom embraced his very being, in the form of the wind flushing his cheeks and ruffling his hair.
But, he wouldn't, for even though Marie-Elisabeth appeared to be a far better rider than she had given herself credit for, he doubted very much that she was ready for such a wild chase.
Another time maybe? Because he very much intended for there to be more times like this one. Only they would have to happen far less publically than this one had. Being seen together with a young, pretty lady such as Marie-Elisabeth would probably have gotten rumours started already, unfortunately, and being seen with her repeatedly would be considered 'confirmation' of such rumours. Neither of them could afford that. César because of Joséphine, and Marie-Elisabeth because as a lady, her reputation was far more easily tarnished than his.

"No, I really haven’t done this in quite a while", Marie-Elisabeth assured him in response to his playful accusation/compliment. "I used to go all the time with..."

Suddenly she stopped, as if having caught herself about to say something she felt she shouldn't. And sure enough, when she continued, she did so by re-phrasing;

"Well I used to do this a lot when I was little", she concluded, and shook her head ever so slightly, yet enough to make that rogue lock of golden hair that was giving her such trouble, seem as though it was about to escape from behind her ear once again. "I suppose it’s one of those things, amongst others, that all you really need to do is get back in the saddle and try again and it all comes flooding back to you."

Unable to resist a renewed smile at her efforts of keeping that golden lock under control, César let a soft chuckle slip between his lips, deciding to pretend as though he hadn't registered that slight pause of hers. He'd already made the mistake of pushing her too far once, when a victim of that tunnel vision often caused by male desire, and he would not make the same mistake again. Or at least twice in the same day.

"Indeed, it does seem like it", he said and gave a slight but firm tug at the reins to keep the fidgety stallion from falling into a trot, before giving Marie-Elisabeth a glance that looked simply too innocent to be sincere, coming from César; "But alas, if that is truly the case, I take it you shall no longer require my assistance?"

Padme and Larkin in the Gardens
 

((hahahahaha, Lahance stud farms....wish we had those around here...hehehe))

"Of course Mademoiselle Padme, the weather was rather bad for afternoon strolls yesterday. It is a delight now that the weather's broken though, I only recently arrived here, and haven't had a chance to view the gardens in much detail. The gardeners truly must be outdoing themselves."

Larkin smiled as he said this, but Padme couldn't figure out why. But was there a reason not to smile? Padme's suite had only a small window, not enough to glance up from her book and see outside, so good thing she planned to stay indoors and get settled.

"Truly. I only just arrived yesterday morning, I can't wait to see them in action. When did you arrive yourself Monsuier Larkin?"

She answered, much quicker this time, seeming to actually be involved in the conversation as opposed to the surveying of the garden. Then again, who could blame her, lovely though the carefully maintained trellis was it was not something to hold a young lady's eye for a great while, unlike the nostalgic old man that Larkin seemed to be rapidly becoming.

"Truly. I only just arrived yesterday morning, I can't wait to see them in action. When did you arrive yourself Monsuier Larkin?"

Larkin was about to attempt to disect her accent again, but he gave it up as a fruitless cause, and besides which, the day was too lovely to obsess over social status, especially since so far she did not seem to be doing so. "I too arrived yesterday morning."

He saw at once that that was a rather blunt way to phrase it, mayhaps the more proper thing to do was to inquire after her journey, or some such. Either way, it almsot sounded to him as though he wished to end the conversation, not that she had given him overmuch to work with. A light of inspiration kindled, he could kill two birds with one stone rather easily given this conversational lull. "You arrived yesterday you say? Where from? I confess that your accent, lovely though it is, is unfamiliar to me..?"

Not to subtle... but ah well, it would do for his purposes. He suspected very highly the woman was common, or above her station of birth, and if not then he would be able to talk his way out of it.

Marie-Elisabeth & César - Riding Horses
 

Marie-Elisabeth was all but certain that if her mother could hear her thoughts at the moment, she would be shipped off lock, stock and barrel to join Marie-Anne in the convent. Not that she would ever allow it of course; no she had already done her duty by her family and was determined not to have to do it again. She had already evaded it once, about a year after Charles died and her mother attempted to get her betrothed again. The man in question was intended as a husband for her older sister Marie-Josephine. But when she unfortunately passed away after an outbreak of smallpox, their mother had decided Marie-Elisabeth would be the replacement. But Marie-Elisabeth wouldn’t listen to any of it. She didn’t want to get married to another old man and wanted to devote herself to raising her son. And somehow, she had managed to persuade her mother that was better.

And right now, Marie-Elisabeth had to agree that not being shackled down with a husband was far better than having one. A husband certainly would have objected to the game she was so enjoying right now, and probably would have stopped it all together. She certainly didn’t want that, there was no fun in stopping a game just when it was getting interesting.

“Oh no, quite the contrary” she said, returning César’s glance and tugging on the reigns of her horse to keep him at a steady pace “Just because one has proved to be a halfway competent rider, doesn’t mean that there isn’t much more to learn. I’m afraid your assistance will still be very much required. After all, practice makes perfect, does it not”?


(((OOC: I can’t look at them the same way either, I can;t even hear the word ride without giggling now! LOL. And where is said farm by the way? Errrr purely for curiosity’s sake……yeah that’s it…..Octavien has a brother riiiiight?

And I keep having to look up the names I have for her siblings, make sure I don’t re use them, add details of what I have used, the word file I have for details is like 3 pages )))

César & Marie-Elisabeth
 

(((ooc: The stud farms are located in Gascony , where both Octavien and César are from (if you look at the map, you'll even see the modern town of Mont-de-Marsan. ). )))


"Oh no, quite the contrary."

It would seem César's statement had the much desired and anticipated effect, of having Marie-Elisabeth assure him that his skills and 'services' would indeed still be needed for a while yet. And having her do so with a glance that let him know that she saw right through that angelic facade of his.
Well, really, he had expected no less of her, since he had made it quite obvious to someone with a mind as similar to his own that there was far more hidden underneath his innocent inquiry than it would perhaps seem to someone truly virtuous. Although... There was a kind of slyly lecherous flame dancing in those vibrant blue eyes of his, that would require one to be deaf, blind and stupid to miss the full extent of his words.

However, luckily, that didn't matter, as with their progression along the rather deserted road, came the freedom of no longer being watched, neither openly nor in secret, by anyone. There was no longer need for charades to keep up appearances of there being nothing improper going on. And if there were charades, it was simply because César and Marie-Elisabeth both seemed to enjoy them. It added yet a bit more excitement to their game of coquetry, toying with words and innuendos, and was one of the very things from which their connection had sprung in the first place. Thus, in a way, charades seemed inevitable.

"Indeed it does, Comtesse", he said with a nod, and allowed a satisfied smile to spread on his lips. "Indeed it does. Please rest assured then that I will do my best to remain at your disposal."

Pausing, he watched as she quickly took control when the stallion's energy seemed to start to rub off on the gelding, and then gave her an appreciative and encouraging nod, silently commending her slight but firm maneuver.

"Now", he then continued, and the moment he opened his mouth again, that subtle mischievous tone found it's way back into his voice at the irony of what he was about to say; "I hope you don't find me too bold, but as it seems we are to spend some time together, will you allow me to call you by your first name? I do find the use of titles to be somewhat... reserved and distant."

Marie-Elisabeth & César - Horseback Riding
 

"I hope you don't find me too bold, but as it seems we are to spend some time together, will you allow me to call you by your first name? I do find the use of titles to be somewhat... reserved and distant."

Now that was something Marie-Elisabeth wholeheartedly agreed with. As much as she was a stickler for showing the proper respect to a title, and never trying to presume to be above yours, in a situation like this one it hardly seemed to matter. Even if their game wasn’t in play, César didn’t seem like the type of person who cared overly much for them. And honestly, neither did she.

“Oh I wouldn’t deem it too bold at all” she said with a smile, as she attempted to focus her attention back on her horse. It would be just her luck to fall off and make a complete fool of herself “In fact, I’d prefer you call me by my name. I much prefer it to being called Comtesse. Especially by those I intend on, as you put it, spending time with in the future. Titles do seem dreadfully impersonal in such personal situations don’t they?”

This time when she looked over at him, the smirk was indisputably there. Perhaps not quite as much as it had been in the past, because she was still slightly embarrassed by the events of the morning. But it was as close as it was going to get right now, and she was sure it would still have the desired effect. “I do hope Marquis” she added “That this means I can call you by your name as well”.

César & Marie-Elisabeth - riding
 

Restrictions, reservation and distance being the last thing César wanted ruling his conversations with Marie-Elisabeth, as well as any other 'encounters' that the future might hold for the two of them, César was pleased to find that once again, the Comtesse seemed to share his sentiments. And not only that, she also allowed him to glimpse that smile that during their rather brief acquaintance, so far, had begun turning into something he very much looked forward to seeing, whenever it was not already present.

"I do hope Marquis", she concluded her agreement, "that this means I can call you by your name as well."

To that, he first gave simply a nod, he himself feeling, much like her, that he would much rather have a beautiful woman address him by his first name than by his title, or even as 'Monsiuer de la Valliére', as the use of first name held a magic of it's own, as far as growing intimacy was concerned.

"Of course, Marie-Elisabeth", he said, wasting no time after having been given her blessing to make use of that beautiful name, and pronouncing it as though he was carefully tasting it on the tip of his tongue. "In fact, I insist that you do."

That being said, he darned near gave a slight yawn, as a quick glance around the surrounding landscape and the setting sun alerted his subconscious that nighttime was approaching, and that there was a previous night of no sleep whatsoever behind him, that should be taking it's toll on him right about now, if not sooner. Though he managed quite successfully to suppress it, and much to his relief too, as yawning in a lady's company, regardless of the reason, would hardly be considered a compliment to said lady.

Still, with darkness only an hour or so away, and his vigor now dwindling, it would probably be best to return to the Palace. Funny, how it seemed they had only been riding for minutes, when in fact they must have left the stables behind quite some time ago. It would only go on to prove that whoever said that times flies when one is having fun, had not been exaggerating.

"I regret to say it", he said and shot the increasingly firey horizon another glance, before turning his gaze back to Marie-Elisabeth, "but it would seem that evening is upon us, and as much as I have enjoyed our ride, I do believe we best start turning back."

Marie-Elisabeth & César - Riding Horses
 

With the exception of those she was blood related to, Marie-Elisabeth could probably count on both hands the number of people that she let call her by her given name. Everyone else called her Comtesse de Valois, or at the very least Madame, without fail. Because if they didn’t then there would be problems. She wasn’t one to let anyone pretend to be overly familiar with her whom she didn’t know well. But present circumstances of course, were a unique exception. And one she did not mind making in the least.

Although among those that called her by her given name, only her mother, more elderly relatives, and occasionally older siblings would actually use the full version. Most often she would just get called Elisabeth, or Lisabeth. It had been a necessity to shorten their names in childhood. Having eleven girls that all had first names starting with Marie got to be confusing. Not to mention their mother being a Marie as well. She was about to mention the fact to César, but he spoke first.

"I regret to say it, but it would seem that evening is upon us, and as much as I have enjoyed our ride, I do believe we best start turning back."

Herself finally turning to look at the vibrant sunset, Marie-Elisabeth was surprised to find that she hadn’t noticed it before. In fact she was quite surprised it was this late at all. It really only seemed hours ago that she had been awoken and told she had been delivered a note, and now the sun was setting and it was getting dangerously close to being dark outside.

“Regrettable indeed César” she said, tearing her eyes away from the sunset “But you are right, we should get back to the palace. I didn’t realize it was quite so late, it seems as though I’ve gone and monopolized your entire day again. How absolutely dreadful of me”. Of course her tone of voice made it obvious that she thought it was anything but dreadful, as well as the grin she made when she carefully turned her horse around on the path so that they could make their way back to the palace.

Bella, Octavien and Joséphine - Palace Entrance
 

(((OOC: I hope this is all okay. Feel free to have her go to the suite )))

"I agree," Octavien joined in on Bella’s lobby to get the Marquise and the Prince tended to, having understood the said and gave a nod as he registered the way Bella looked at him, as though seeking his support on the matter, to try and persuade Joséphine to get her cuts looked after. "Skin deep or not, no harm can come from having someone tend to them."

“All right, all right,” Joséphine reluctantly caved in once she’d considered her options and whether the other two were intent on being as stubborn as herself. “I was about to retire, but I have changed my mind and wish to stop by my daughters' suite instead. There are bandages, water and antiseptic there, a small caution when travelling with children. You may join me if you wish, and Bess our housemaid who is quite the expert at tending cuts and the like can look after our injuries.”

Her gaze then momentarily wandered over to Octavien, as if he was expected to derive further meaning from the look as Bella had expected of him. Bella could not help but wonder whether whatever Joséphine had been disheartened over earlier – though her recovery had been most rapid and efficient – had something to do with Octavien or César and Marie-Elisabeth’s departure.

“I would prefer to avoid the fuss of summoning a physician. If you aren't opposed to a brief wait and two young children, you are welcome to join us, Baroness.”

“Most definitely, Marquise,” Bella accepted, having proposed and insisted on the idea in the first place, she really did have to ensure that it played out properly. She glanced over at Octavien, her eyes falling on the injury that has escaped deserved attention thus far. “We really should put a tourniquet on that as soon as possible.”

Octavien w/ Joséphine and Bella
 

Completely surrounded by onlookers, it was difficult indeed for Octavien to find an outlet for the things he wanted to say but have only Joséphine hear, or attempt to offer her some comfort in order to try and soothe her torment somehow. It was such a futile task, that finally, his worry about the inner pain she must be experiencing, simply manifested itself the only way it could, with so many witnesses watching, and Bella well within earshot; as concern for Joséphine's outer injuries, be they 'mere' scratches or no.

Not that they were not deserving of such concern, but much like he suspected was the case with Joséphine herself, his thoughts were on far different, and, as it would seem to the both of them, more serious matters. Matters whose existence neither of them wanted to let on, even infront of Bella, regardless of how sweet and understanding she seemed. Maybe even because of it. There was nothing like heartfelt sympathy, to make even the strongest walls of restraint crumble to dust, and knowing Joséphine, she would hardly want to suffer the indignity of a public display of tears or rage. Not now, not ever.

"All right, all right", she finally conceded, sounding in that instant as though she was still fighting to stay in control of her emotions, or at least the showing of them - and who could blame her?

But then in a flash, she seemed to find some kind of stability within herself, and was back to her usual, amiable self, inviting the Prince and Bella both to her daughters' suite, where Octavien and Joséphine herself could have their injuries properly looked after. Bella, still seeming rather concerned and eager to get Joséphine's scratches tended to, immediately accepted, and then added, with a glance at the still slightly growing ruby blotch on Octavien's white shirt;

"We really should put a tourniquet on that as soon as possible."

Having temporarily lost all awareness of his own injury in the disarray of emotions caused by having Joséphine see César with Comtesse de Valois, it was only then that Octavien himself glanced down at his shoulder again, and realized that Bella was probably right. Though in a sudden and very brief moment of bitter and gloomy self-reproach for ever going along with César's infidelity instead of trying harder to put an end to it, as the three of them started moving towards the suite currently housing the de la Valliére girls, Octavien muttered something to himself about how it seemed most fitting somehow. But whether 'it' was looking after the cut, or bleeding in public, his cryptic mumbling did not reveal.

No more than two minutes later, the three of them arrived at the suite, guided there by Joséphine, and they all slipped inside. Only to have two excited girls immediately storming towards their mother and 'uncle Octavien', apparently overjoyed to see them both, and still not in bed, despite their nanny's best efforts.

"Mama!" Angélique called out, raising her arms demandingly towards Joséphine, while her sister assaulted all three of them with what seemed an endless flood of statements and questions, making it difficult to know what was directed at whom;

"Who are you? You're pretty. Papa says you are a prince now. Are you, oncle Octavien? Do you know my papa? Mama, where is papa?"

Confusion still complete for the most part as to who should be answering what, that last question was clearly directed at Joséphine, and Octavien found the smile on his lips at seeing the lively girls again, stiffen somewhat as Adéle gazed expectantly up at her mother. Trust a sweet oblivious child to add salt to an already open gash...


(((ooc: Sorry if it's messy, and rushed, but I have to get going for a little while, and wanted to get this in first. If it's too confusing, let me know, and I'll do my best to explain or clean it up. Also, if it doesn't work, or either of you had other plans for what would happen, let me know, and I'll change it.
Also, César coming soon, promise.)))

César & Marie-Elisabeth - riding
 

It would seem that César had not been alone in finding that he had apparently been oblivious to the rapid progression of time. Judging by the surprise overtaking Marie-Elisabeth's features when his words made her turn to gaze at the horizon as well, she too had lost track of time; yet another thing that César would happily take credit for. And why wouldn't he, when her company was to 'blame' for his own ignorance? Such things did often work both ways. If one had the way with women that he had, of course. There were always the poor sods that could be so completely captivated by a woman's beauty, that they remained equally oblivious to the fact that she was trying her very best to get away from them.
César, however, had never been one of them, nor would he ever be. Self-proclaimed expert on women that he was, he figured it would be a cold day in hell before his charms stopped working their magic on the fairer sex.

"Regrettable indeed César."

Marie-Elisabeth's voice, and most of all, the sound of his name passing through those luscious lips of hers, instantly brought him back from his figurative patting of his own back, and he flashed her his most charming smile in appreciation. Though it soon faded gradually, due to the current topic; returning to the Palace and parting. Such a shame indeed. César really was quite ready to spend a few more hours yet in Marie-Elisabeth's company. But, it would be too soon for her, that much he had learned during the course of the day. Besides, he really ought to return to Joséphine and make sure that she was alright, even though he was certain that she was, or else he would have been otherwise informed by now.

"... it seems as though I’ve gone and monopolized your entire day again", Marie-Elisabeth concluded, looking just as innocent as he had seconds ago, but sounding anything but. "How absolutely dreadful of me."

At that, César's own smirk made itself known by stealing slowly across his lips, her words and tone of voice having dragged his mind right back into the gutter. Or the area around it, at least.

"Dreadful indeed", he said, in that same tone of voice which spoke of an opinion quite the opposite. "Perhaps I better try and teach you some proper manners instead?"

However, wanting to spare her the possible discomfort of going down that road again, he gave only a moment's pause before continuing;

"As for any future riding lessons... Please, I ask you not to think ill of me for saying this, as I have only the best interest for the both of us at heart, but I believe that from here on we better not be seen riding off together, lest we risk setting tongues wagging."

Marie-Elisabeth & César - Riding Horses
 

By now, Marie-Elisabeth was certain that even bathing in holy water wasn’t going to do anything to clear her mind of the naughty thoughts dancing through it. Not, of course, that she would actually consider doing it. Oh no, she was enjoying them and there was no way she wanted them out of her thoughts any time soon.

Hearing César say "Perhaps I better try and teach you some proper manners instead?” just sent them into overdrive. Just because she was, by her own admission, not very experienced, didn’t mean she was unknowledgeable. In fact, her mind was starting to conjure up a few very interesting mental images of just what his statement could imply when she was interrupted by him speaking again.

"As for any future riding lessons... Please, I ask you not to think ill of me for saying this, as I have only the best interest for the both of us at heart, but I believe that from here on we better not be seen riding off together, lest we risk setting tongues wagging."

Marie-Elisabeth knew he was right. It wasn’t as though people wouldn’t be talking already, there had been a rather large crowd gathered around the palace entrance when the left. And seeing a man like César go off with a pretty young woman like her had more than likely, as he said, started tongues wagging already. And then there was the issue of his wife. The Marquise had already shown that she wasn’t overly fond of her, and Marie-Elisabeth wondered just what she was going to think after today. After all, her husband had been gone all day; she had to wonder where he had been. Marie-Elisabeth was already anticipating the no doubt interesting encounter that would occur when they next met. Which when they lived in such close quarters was going to be unavoidable. Not that she minded, as she was never one to back down from any kind of challenge.

But unfortunately, she knew César was right, there would be a greater need for secrecy in the future. But that didn’t stop her from being disappointed about it.

“Oh no, I understand” she said, as they continued their journey back to the palace “I’m sure that there will be other opportunities for lessons though. It is a rather large palace, and despite the old saying that the walls have ears, it shouldn’t be overly difficult to locate places where the walls don’t have said appendages”.

César & Marie-Elisabeth - riding
 

All things considered, César would have to say that the day so far had been quite a good one. Despite the involuntary and unplanned lack of romance. When running off and leaving Octavien to 'distract' Joséphine earlier, he had been quite determined to get far better acquainted with a certain young lady that had sparked his interest. And even though he had, it hadn't been quite in the way that he'd had in mind.

Not that he could complain, for he had indeed enjoyed himself thouroughly, disregarding that one particular incident that had found him and Marie-Elisabeth both a bit flustered. Though it really had provided him with knowledge well worth learning, for it offered some very useful insight into the mind of this particular young woman, and that was something for which he could only be grateful, as it was sure to serve them both well in the future.

A future that, judging by what she had to say about their next encounter and the walls that would be surrounding them, was not all that distant. For as far as César knew, the only place where there would be walls around, was indoors. And indoors, one did not go horseback riding. Which could only mean that in the future, their acquaintance might already start to extend beyond simple riding lessons. So to speak. A most promising prospect indeed, albeit a somewhat unexpected one, given that certain turn of events earlier this morning. He had not expected her aversion to wear down quite so soon and sudden.
Although, just because she hinted at something, it wouldn't necessarily mean that she was ready to follow it through, or even meant it the way he interpreted it. Communication between the sexes could sometimes be as difficult as had they spoken two very different languages.

Still, whatever they may or may not do, it best happen out of sight and earshot of those other nosey courtiers, for Time had indeed seen quite a few foul rumours started over much less than a young man and a young woman being observed talking or walking together on a few occasions.

"The Palace might be a preferrable place to dwell, as far as comfort and luxury goes", César thus replied with a faint smile, somewhat reverting back to his original plan, the way it had looked when he had first come to see her, "but do keep in mind, that it is not the only place for two people to meet."

Marie-Elisabeth & César - Riding Horses
 

The palace was quickly appearing in front of them, getting closer and closer and they went. Marie-Elisabeth was both relieved and annoyed by this. Relieved because with the approaching evening it was starting to get rather chilly, and her current dress wasn’t particularly one built for warmth. It almost made her laugh to think that she would have been warmer in the outfit she had originally put on this morning. The reason for her annoyance with the prospect of returning to the palace, however, was far more obvious.

It would mean departing her current company, and that was a most dismal prospect indeed for she had really enjoyed herself over the course of the day. Admittedly she was surprised that she had, days when she started out in a mood like she had today rarely turned out anything but a mess. Thankfully this one hadn’t and, perhaps what was more important to her, she had managed to successfully weather what could have been an extremely embarrassing incident. It was an immense relief to her that, despite her strange explanations and outbursts, César had somehow understood what she really meant.

"The Palace might be a preferable place to dwell, as far as comfort and luxury goes", César had said, distracting her from contemplating the rapidly approaching palace "but do keep in mind, that it is not the only place for two people to meet."


She turned her head over to look at him after he finished speaking. “Of course it’s not the only place, but it indeed is the most comfortable” she said, nodding her head “But thankfully when one grows up with 15 siblings, one develops a certain talent for finding places without eyes and ears. It’s almost a necessity or else you’d never have any peace and quiet”.

Octavien and Bella - The Palace, having been kicked out of the suite ;)
 

(((OOC: Atropa, I hope it's okay that I made Octavien and Bella walk on, however, I left the middle bit ambiguous in case you wanted to add anything. If there are any problems, let me know )))


Bella was unsure of exactly what was going on while the trio made their way towards their destination. Whether it was Joséphine unnaturally fast pace at her advance to the suite or Octavien’s practically inaudible grumbling beside her, Bella could not help but return to her contemplation as to what had transpired before she’d entered the scene at the staircase. Perhaps it was that, defying Bella’s ever curious nature, that the Marquise simply wanted to see her daughters as soon as possible after what was clearly an ordeal and that the Prince was somewhat adverse to bleeding in public. Or perhaps there was something else.

As they entered the suite, Bella, Octavien and Joséphine found themselves attacked by two beautiful young girls who’d made it a point to defy their hapless nanny. At the sight of their guests, the sisters had decided to divide and conquer as one ran to her mother while the other launched the Spanish Inquisition on ‘uncle Octavien’ and Bella. Bella could not boast proficiency with children, being an only child herself, and her time at the Abbey saw her as a ringleader and commander rather than a sister. However, these two girls seemed somewhat far from the little monsters children were made out to be and perhaps that was just for first impressions. Well, she would try at least.

“Mama!” the youngster in Joséphine’s arms had exclaimed, wanting to be picked up immediately by her mother. The de Vallieres seemed to be a close knit family, and as expected Joséphine was every bit the maternal creature she seemed to be and the sight of her children had done wonders for her previously subdued demeanour.

“Mama, where is papa?" the girl who had been launching questions at Bella and Octavien turned to her mother, suddenly, in expectation of an answer. There, the joie de vivre broke like a mirror that had been shattered with a sledgehammer. She could feel Octavien assume an uncomfortable stiffness beside her while the smile froze on the Marquise’s face before she composed herself and walked over to her other daughter.

“Papa cannot come to see you now, beloved,” she told the girl, kneeling to her level. “But I promise that tomorrow he will be here when you wake up. Now-” she added a little louder, perhaps for the benefits of her guests. “How about you two show Oncle Octavien and Baroness Devine what good girls you are and get to bed? Young ladies need plenty of sleep to grow tall and beautiful.”

Now there was no doubt to it, César was at the root at this problem and there was little doubt to it. Perhaps it was his affiliation with a certain Comtesse that was the crux of the problem?

The girls conceded to their mothers request and retired to bed with cordial good night wishes, leaving Joséphine to make unnecessary apologies for her young daughters and allowing them to proceed to see to the injuries with the help of Bess. Following that, the Marquise made a quick apology and excused herself to bed.

This left Octavien and Bella standing outside the suite, having bid their farewells to the Marquise. Rather unsure of where to start the conversation, and still somewhat guilty at interrupting the privacy that Joséphine and Octavien may have needed earlier, Bella lingered in silence for a few moments while contemplating which subject to approach with Octavien; the reason for Joséphine’s depressed spirits or what she had noticed over his injuries. The former was frankly no business of hers; what happened between the Marquis and Marquise was their private affair and Joséphine had been somewhat majestic in handling the sudden truth of her husband’s possible infidelity. The latter was something she’d seen for herself and was more curious about. Perhaps, she was being a coward over it, but Bella caved in to her better judgement.

“About earlier,” she started, not looking at Octavien directly, but at the corridor before them instead. “I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything?”

She stayed silent for a moment, biting slightly on her lip as they walked and she immersed herself in the possible ways of which she could address the question to Octavien without seeming too probing.

“And I couldn’t help but notice,” she turned to him, looking directly as her mind finally clicked into place. “Your wound, its a few days old. There was some healing.”

She paused again, justified, given that the next part of her question was more delicate than its predecessor as the nature of the wound had been more worrying than the timing of it.

“It was clean cut, as if made by a blade,” she finally uttered, glancing pensively down at the arm before her honey brown eyes glanced up to meet Octavien’s azure orbs. It was an uncomfortable topic, surely, if the wound had been made by a blade and Bella momentarily regretted giving in to her curiosity. However, her attempt at lightening the conversation found its way to her in the form of a slight impish smile over her lips.

Men and their little wars. She could imagine that [b]Octavien[/s]'s cut was the result of a display of male pride, if anything.

“Pistols at dawn?” she asked, almost whispered in the quiet corridors, only half-joking.

Octavien & Bella - Palace hallways
 

In life, there will sometimes be days that you remember only as a string of frozen moments of time - fragments seperated by hours you know where there but don't remember - rather than a smooth flow of doings and conversations, of chores carried out and duties fulfilled, of relaxation and enjoyment, together forming a continual story of what your day has been like.

To Octavien, this was one such day, consisting only of the first sentence in randomly chosen chapters of the tale that was his journey from dawn to dusk. Being coaxed into covering for César, finding Joséphine dangling precariously in a tree, seeing the look on her face as she discovered the truth that he himself had helped keep from her, and now the violent death of the only genuine smile he could remember seeing on her lips that day.
The culprit?
Not a snide remark from some gloating courtier, not an impatient dismissal that she was simply imagining things, not a lie told by César in an attempt to reassure her that he had not been doing what he had been doing. Not even a truthful confession.
No, the culprit was a question as innocent as they came, asked by purity itself in the shape of a girl who simply missed her beloved papa, and could not in all fairness be called a culprit at all.
Yet, it had the same effect as a violent stab of a dull blade; painful, and ultimately lethal to the smile that had dared to venture across Joséphine's lips.

Once again that cold hand of steel twisted Octavien's insides until he almost physically winced, feeling his heart fill with sympathy, and his gut with churning guilt. Perhaps it had been for better if he had just been honest and told her. No matter how much he had wanted to spare her the pain and the embarrassment, by trying, he had only managed to make things worse. For not only had she caught César enjoying the company of another young beauty, but she had also been lied to, even if it was indirectly, by someone who she considered a friend. Though perhaps not anymore...

"Papa cannot come to see you now, beloved", she told her eldest, once again regaining her composure and answering the question as though there was nothing wrong at all.

Just like any good mother would, to spare her children the worry and the frustration often caused by the knowledge that something was not right, but not understanding what it was. From there, she went on to send the girls off to bed, and only once that was done and the small children were no longer at risk of being exposed to the sight of blood and an open wound, nor of their mother being tended to as though she was sick, did she request her maid's skills in cleaning scratches, and in Octavien's case, cleaning and redressing a cut.

Though while Bess was indeed as able a nurse as she was fast, her skill did little to lift the sudden awkwardness that filled the room for a moment or two, when it became obvious that Octavien would have to partly undress in order for her to see to his cut. It hardly seemed proper, for the Prince to rid himself of such intimate articles of clothing infront several ladies, neither of whom was wife, betrothed, or even lover.
The moment soon passed, however, as Octavien decided that right now, he didn't give a hoot about conventions. Joséphine had seen him barechested on a few occasions before, as a direct result of some of the shenanigans he and César and the rest of their small gathering of close friends had gotten up to over the years. And Bella... Bella had come across as being of a similar mindframe as Octavien himself, and thus would, hopefully, not be a whole lot more bothered by it all than Octavien himself was. Not that he was perfectly comfortable with pulling his shirt over his head with two women he hardly knew present, along with one with him he had recently shared a rather... intense couple of seconds. But, he did realize that the best thing to do, was indeed to remove the shirt; not only in order to have the wound more easily tended to, but also because it would be for the better if he changed shirts altogether. And it just so happened that a trunk of César's clothes had ended up in the children's suite, thus providing Octavien with a shirt to 'borrow' until he was back in his own suite, and his own clothes.

Both patients finally on the mend, Joséphine then turned to her guests and, as it was getting rather late, explained that she wished to retire. It had been quite an eventful day, she said. But, no matter the amount of undeniable truth in such a statement, and no matter how sincere she sounded, Octavien couldn't help but get the feeling that it was not all due to the climbing around in trees, and seeing her husband with another woman. He felt that, on some level, she really didn't care for his company right now. And really, he could hardly blame her. He was after all part of the reason for whatever it was that she must be feeling right now, and so was most likely not one of her favorite people at the moment. But, he did realize that even if that was the case, this was hardly the time to try and make things right. Joséphine clearly needed to be alone with her thoughts for a while, not to mention be allowed a chance to express her anger, her disappointment, and her sorrow, without an audience.

And so it came to pass that no more than half an hour after arriving at the de la Valliére children's suite, Octavien and Bella exited it once again, after bidding Joséphine a good night, and Octavien shooting her yet another heartfelt but silent plead for forgiveness. Though whether or not she believed it, or even saw and registered it, he didn't know.

"About earlier", Bella started somewhat apprahensively as the two of them slowly begun making their way back towards the main hall, thus putting an end to what had fast grown into another awkward silence. "I hope I wasn’t interrupting anything?"

It was a question that Octavien didn't really know how to answer, as in a way she had indeed interrupted, yet at the same time she had offered an escape route from something neither Joséphine nor Octavien had seemed ready to deal with right then and there. But there was no way he could explain that to her, without letting on that Joséphine had reason to be troubled. And that really wasn't for him to do. Thus, he kept his gaze aimed straight forward, as way of not revealing to Bella his frantic search for something fairly vague to say, by looking straight at her.
Luckily, Bella did the same, thus granting him some extra comfort in knowing that she wasn't even watching his profile in anticipation of an answer. And not only that; she also seemed to realize that the question was perhaps not one best asked now, and so she quickly continued with another, before he really had a chance to say anything, regardless of whether he had something to say or not.

"And I couldn’t help but notice", she said, and this time, she did turn her head to look at him. "Your wound, it's a few days old. There was some healing."

At that, Octavien shot her a brief glance. Slightly puzzled at first, before realization dawned on him. Right. She had just arrived yesterday, and thus must still have been on the roads when the 'attempted murder' happened. Add to that the fact that she really hadn't had much time to socialize with the other courtiers - partly because she had spent a good amount of time in Octavien's company, and partly because she had been at court for little more than a day - and it was obvious why she might not have heard the latest gossip.

Though before he'd had time to formulate a reply that he felt would not somehow embarrass her by pointing out that she was slightly behind on current events - he'd already managed to do quite enough of that the previous evening, thank you very much, and did not wish for history to repeat itself - she'd continued once more.

"It was clean cut, as if made by a blade," she suggested, shooting his injured arm a brief glance before her eyes returned to look at his face, her gaze fully meeting his this time as she added; "Pistols at dawn?"

Registering the somewhat jovial tone, Octavien gave a slight smile, though it would perhaps seem more like a mirthless tug of bitterness at the corners of his mouth, than an actual smile. Though if it did, it was not because he resented her question, or was otherwise bothered by it, but because he simply was not in the mood for genuine smiles.

"Dagger in my suite", he corrected, and then gave a slight nod in confirmation of her first suggested scenario; "A blade. It would seem there are some that feel very strongly that I am not deserving of the title I have achieved, and will resort to any means necessary to see to it that I am removed, one way or another."

There it was his turn to pause, ever so briefly, before offering her another glance along with a somewhat softened smile, and adding.

"Hence why yesterday I decided to seize the opportunity of being just Octavien, when you presented it to me."


(((ooc: Hope it makes sense. I'm so tired at the moment, I honestly can't see straight. :gnight: )))

Morning Announcements
 

César
 

(((ooc: Ghanima - Works for me. Oh, and, everyone; just a reminder that I probably won't be around all that much for about a week, starting tomorrow.)))


The previous night, when after seeing to it that one pretty, young lady was returned to her suite safe and sound, César had gone to make sure that a certain other equally pretty, young lady had been as well, he had, much to his surprise, found that she had not. Or rather, as he would find out when inquiring about the Mistress' whereabout to one of the maids, she was indeed safe and sound, but had decided to spend the night in the girls' suite.

Well, that couldn't be good. It could only mean that his darling Joséphine was upset with him, for some reason. Had she left a note for him, or even a message through one of the servants, it would have been a different matter, as then she would have left a willing trace for him to find her. But leaving none? That only went on to suggest that she was not particularly interested in his company at the moment, and would prefer to be left alone. Which meant they were probably both better off if she was.

As for the reason why she would be angry... Completely oblivious to the fact that she had witnessed his and Marie-Elisabeth's merry exit through the grand doors of the Palace entrance, to César it was plain as day that it was all because of the very same reason why he had been feeling slightly guilty during the course of the day; that he hadn't made sure that things this morning had gone according to plan, and that Joséphine was alright. Perhaps she was even angry with him for talking her into it in the first place, because, looking back, the plan did leave her to shoulder most of the burden of carrying it out, while César himself didn't do all that much.
But then again, she had been perfectly free to object or refuse, so surely, she couldn't blame him all that much for that side of the matter? She was a rational woman, after all.
Most of the time.

But, if she was angry, regardless of the reason, it was better for him to leave things alone, for now, and stay away from the girls' suite. No matter how tempted he was to go over there to try and make up for his lack of attention during pretty much the whole day, he really didn't want to risk a full blown argument flaring up with Adèle and Angélique around to witness it. So instead, he went to bed in his and Joséphine's own suite. Alone.

And when he woke up the next morning, it was in the same manner; alone, without Joséphine by his side, and thus unable to pull her close to enjoy her warmth and doze off for another while with his face buried in her chocolate locks, or the soft curve between her shoulder and her neck.
If all mornings were bad, mornings like this one were even worse. César absolutely hated waking up alone. Not just alone in bed, but alone in the room. Especially when he'd had little choice in the matter. Usually, even if Joséphine had already risen, she was still around, and could be persuaded to return to his arms, or at least make facing the bright light of morning a little bit easier in some other way.
But mornings like these, he was left to fend for himself, and cope with that blasted sun in whatever way he could. And so, without Joséphine there, or even one of his mistresses, to make the experience a less torturous one, César saw no point in dragging it out either.
Within half an hour of waking up, he was on his feet, washed, fully dressed, and on his way out the door.


(((ooc: Not approachable at this time, I think...?)))

Marie-Elisabeth - Thinking Bad Thoughts
 

Morning announcements had so far proved to be one of the most boring aspects of living at the court for Marie-Elisabeth. Before she had arrived at court, she was used to staying abed until she felt like getting up. And that usually wasn’t until close to noon hour or unless Charles came barging into her rooms insisting he needed her for something. But she had missed the announcements yesterday, and she wasn’t going to tempt fate by missing them again.

So she had made sure to arise bright and early that morning, and give herself ample time to get ready. Since it was now springtime, she was thrilled to be able to put away the heavier, warmer clothing she had been wearing and bring out the light, pretty springtime gowns. The one she chose to wear today had just been finished for her before she left home, so she was thrilled to have a chance to wear it for the first time. The ivory and white creation was sprinkled with a pattern of flowers and leaves, with a similarly adorned hat that matched it perfectly. And of course the sleeves were such shorter than winter clothing, tied with ribbons at her elbows, which meant her wrists weren’t covered up and her new piece of jewelry could clearly be seen.

Admittedly, it was mostly said bracelet and the one who had given it to her that she had been thinking about through most of the announcements. Marie-Elisabeth couldn’t keep her mind off of the events of yesterday, and was still marveling that everything hadn’t blown up in her face. To her great relief it had been quite the opposite and she was certainly looking forward, albeit somewhat nervously, to their next encounter. She also couldn’t help but notice that neither César nor his wife seemed to be present that morning. She couldn’t say she was surprised by this, she had figured he would have to do some sort of damage control after having disappeared all day and spending it with her. She couldn’t help but smile at the memory though, and ran her fingers across the bracelet at her wrist.

She quickly exited the room after the announcements were finished, mulling over what had been said. It didn’t come as much of a surprise to her that the Prince had been betrothed so quickly after the death of the Princess. She had almost suffered a similar fate herself soon after the death of her husband, and she wasn’t royalty. Royalty waited even less time to arrange advantageous matches than the nobility did, and she felt sorry for the Prince being pushed into such a situation at such a rapid pace.

With that thought, among many others less proper and talked about in polite company, mulling about in her head, she decided to wander about the palace for the morning again. Hoping she could discover if there indeed was a place with no eyes and ears.

(((OOC: The picture of Marie Antoinette i used for her dress/hat is exactly what she would look like, but no gloves. With her locket and bracelet on as well of course.

I was also thinking about having her bring her son to the court for a while, not as a permanent thing obviously, but maybe just for a few days for a visit. I'll even put up a little profile of him if you like

Oh and approachable btw.)))

Bella - Palace corridors - The night before and the morning.
 

(((OOC: Atropa, I hope it's okay that I added a little to that conversation, it didn't feel right to end it there? If not, do let me know or feel free to add anything more, I left the rest of it open.
Robyn, I hope this is all okay? If not, please let me know )))

Bella groaned softly at the light that penetrated the drapes of her bed, falling cruelly over her eyes as she struggled for the remaining moments of sleep she could win for herself. No such luck, as she discovered that sleeping while the sun developed a vendetta against you was out of the question. She instead turned on her side, scorning the light for the shade while she lay in bed recounting the previous day’s events, particularly the final moments.

She’d finally given in and asked about the cut, fuelled by the suspicious nature of the wound. She had abandoned the question into the matter of Joséphine and César as it was awkward and actually had had little to do with her or anything she wanted. But, on the topic of Octavien’s wound, she had offered no compromise and he had made no such hesitation in answering as opposed to the former subject.

"Dagger in my suite” he had clarified to her suggestion of a duel being the cause of the injury. That had intrigued Bella as to his past more than all his ambiguity the night before last. An attempt on his life? What had he done to deserve that? And yes, of course, trust Bella to inadvertently ask a man about an attempt on his life.

"A blade,” he had continued with his explanation as to what had transpired while giving as little detail as possible. That wasn't helpful. “It would seem there are some that feel very strongly that I am not deserving of the title I have achieved, and will resort to any means necessary to see to it that I am removed, one way or another."

The small, almost bitter smile that had manifested on his face suggested that she was not welcome to pursue the topic further, whether due to his painful memories over it or shame, she did not know. So while he paused briefly to formulate more of his answer, indicating he had not finished yet, Bella watched him, studying the emotion that flickered over his face in that moment. Bella had barely had a fragment of time to truly take in what his face had said about his heart before he turned to her with a soft, genuine smile that had somewhat caught her off guard.

"Hence why yesterday I decided to seize the opportunity of being just Octavien, when you presented it to me."

Words to which Bella could not immediately respond, she lingered momentarily before finally deciding to answer to his previous statement.

“That must have been terrible for you,” she soothed, her cold fingers falling lightly over his hand before she almost instantly drew it away. She then glanced down at her own hands, still somewhat taking in that an attempt had been made on his life and that it had affected him enough to force him into episodic escapism, her mouth opening and then abruptly closing without the right words to say.

Finally, while she could not imagine what the entire incident must have felt like, she did know how she felt over how he’d reacted to it.

“But I am glad, that because of it,” she glanced back up into his eyes in all honesty, biting down on her bottom lip at the mild selfishness the statement initially carried. “I was able to meet ‘just Octavien’.”

“He’s a remarkable young man,” she'd said with the lingering honesty, making a quick arch of the eyebrow as a slight smile spread over her lips once more.

Bella thought back to that brief exchange of conversation. He’d been stabbed by a man in his suite because he had been deemed unfit to be Prince. While it was believable enough, Bella could not help but wonder who the attacker was and why exactly he’d decided to attack Octavien. Of course, while this meant more work, she had little choice over it.

Therefore, with a defeated sigh at the sun, Bella finally pried herself out of bed, sliding both legs over the side in order to balance herself before attempting to stand up. She called for Grace, requiring help in getting dressed and arranging her coiffure for the day and the girl bustled in immediately, eager to get started.

Soon, Bella was washed, dressed and ready in her blue silk dress with white lace lining the rather low neck line and the sleeves that stopped at her elbow. Her hair was twisted and tied at the nape of her neck, letting the remainder of the loose curls hang free. It was time to attend the morning announcements.

It was a most boring session but for the final news delivered to courtiers; “On a more joyous note, we would like to announce the engagement between Prince Octavien Lahance and Her Excellency Elena Sánchez de Suárez y Torre of Spain who shall be arriving today. May the union be blessed with love and happiness and seal a bond of everlasting friendship between our lands.”

While Bella had spent the previous part of the announcement wishing that some divine intervention occurred and the King realised that no-one actually cared, this was a piece of news that had grabbed her attentions and provoked her thoughts. A small, dissatisfied smile that was to mask a silent scoff spread over her face as considered the news. Elena was arriving today, soon to be married to Octavien.

He had neglected to mention that little fact, but then again, one does not go around saying 'Hello there, I am engaged" to every person they meet.

Well, good luck to him. He’d need that to get out of it alive and sane. Spanish aristocracy was known to be fearsome and Elena... well, she could hardly be the exception, could she?

Well, it was a miracle she got out of the morning announcements alive and sane, in any case, so Bella took the first opportunity she was granted to leave the room as soon as possible without looking like she sprinted out. Worse yet, she knew she’d have to return the next morning to keep up with the current events and that was enough to depress anyone. And the morning only looked to get even more fantastic as her eyes fell on Marie-Elisabeth, the woman whom she had the pleasure of offending on her first day without even knowing how. Actually, Bella could take a few educated guesses at the ‘how’. She smiled slightly to herself, realising that she wasn’t going to get anywhere by antagonising anyone. Not at this stage, anyway.

Therefore, when she wandered over to Marie-Elisabeth against her best wishes, Bella kept a warm smile planted firmly on her lips. While watching the other woman, she could notice that more than average effort had been poured into her appearance.

“Good morning, Comtesse, may I compliment you on how lovely you look?” Bella greeted her with the same smile.

Application - Adele Rousseau
 

((OOC: I hope it's alright if I submit an application. It seemed interesting so I decided to join ))

Marie-Elisabeth & Bella
 

Marie-Elisabeth hadn’t gotten very far in her searching, when she noticed Bella walking up to her. “Oh by the saints” she thought, trying not to roll her eyes or take off running “I would run into the pretentious little thing first thing in the morning. And after I had such a lovely day yesterday”. She smiled to herself then, a few of those leftover unladylike thoughts attempting to come to the surface. But she shoved them away and focused her attention back on Bella. She resolved to at least be polite to her; after all if she could carry on a normal conversation with Josephine she could certainly do the same here.

“Good morning, Comtesse, may I compliment you on how lovely you look?” Bella said, and Marie-Elisabeth couldn’t help but be pleased with the compliment. She knew she did indeed look good in the dress, and it certainly displayed her figure much better than what she had worn yesterday.

“Why thank you Comtesse” she said, smiling at her “It’s such a relief to get back into pretty, light dresses again isn’t it? The shade of blue on yours is lovely by the way”.Tucking that seemingly constantly errant curl back behind her ear, she looked around for a moment before continuing. “So what do you have planned for today” she asked politely, mentally congratulating herself for being able to do so “Myself I’ve gotten it into my mind to do some further exploration of the palace. It’s such a vast place I feel as though I’ve hardly seen any of it”.




(((OOC: Bugger it’s hard for me not to have her curse like a brit (Since she hates their guts) because that’s how I tend to curse LOL. Elena STILL scares me by the way. Seriously, I’d probably run if I saw her in the hallway.

And welcome paintdgrey Glad to see some new people joining up! She certainly seems to have similar tastes to Marie-Elisabeth! )))

Adele Rousseau: Throne Room and Hallways
 

((Hello everyone! I hope this post is good enough. I just wanted to post something before I went to bed))

Morning
1677,

I hadn’t been able to sleep last night. I lay awake in my bed thinking about my father, wondering whether or not I had made the right decision. As the days pass by the memory of him begins to fade; yet his death was not that long ago. I can imagine him weeks before his death, sitting in his study, lonely and heartbroken. But I as hard as I try, I cannot seem to forgive him for the horrible things he has done to me. Though the past is the past and all should be forgotten, I will not allow myself to give in. He should have been there when I needed him, but instead he chose to marry that dreadful woman. How could he choose her over me? Am I not important enough? I am his only daughter, his own flesh and blood!

I do not wish to speak of this anymore. Thinking about the past brings back too many painful memories; too many emotions. All of this is just plain nonsense anyhow. I could yell a loud as a long as I wanted, but it would never make my father love me the way I wished he would.

Until Later
-Baroness Adele Rousseau

Sealing the envelope I opened the top drawer of my desk, tucking it safely near the bottom where no one could see. I was not about to leave it out in the open for some stranger to read. My letters are private, and I will try everything in my power to keep it that way. My father may have diminished my happiness, but I will not allow the things that he has done destroy my reputation. No one is going to learn about my past, that I am sure of. Quietly walking across the room I opened the curtains, revealing the bright rays of the sun as they shined down onto the floor. Smiling I slipped into my blue gown, which was covered by an assortment of white bows. There was one at each elbow, two in the front, and a large bow located in the back. Giving a quick glance out the window I realized that if I did not hurry, I would be late for the morning announcements. That was not the way to make a good first impression.

I arrived shortly before the announcements began, taking a seat where the least amount of people were. I gazed around the room, looking at all the unfamiliar faces. Though I have lived here for quite a while, I have never bothered to make any conversation with my peers. Instead I prefer to spend my time reading, for I find it stimulating. Yet perhaps if I had been more outgoing, I would not be quite so lonely.

Hearing footsteps I turned to face King Edouard Rotherham, who looked about ready to give the morning announcements. Patiently I listened as he rambled on and on about meaningless things; I found no point listening at all. But I did hear bits and pieces here and there. When I heard that Prince Octavien was to marry Elena Sánchez de Suárez y Torre of Spain, I raised my eyebrows slightly. She was coming today? I smiled a bit, knowing that if I was able to meet her, it could help me in the long run.

Turning around I pushed past everyone, trying to find my way back to my room. I was still quite tired and felt the need to rest. I had a long day ahead of me, and it would not make any sense to spend the day falling asleep because I did not get any rest the night before.

((Approachable))

Bella and Marie-Elisabeth - Palace Corridors
 

(((OOC: Yay, welcome paintedgrey78! And Adele sounds pretty ambitious!
, Ghanima, awesome! Elena sounds formidable - and Juanita sounds a little... unhinged - I'm gonna have the Jaws theme playing in my head all the time when Elena's around!
Robyn, hope this is all okay )))

Bella could imagine what was going through the Comtesse’s mind as she approached. Exasperation, she supposed, featured predominantly above anything else that the sight of Bella may have triggered. While, she expected nothing less than cordiality from the Comtesse – obviously raised to abide by social decorum – she did warn herself to be wary of the inner distaste that she no doubt elicited.

“Why thank you, Comtesse,” Marie-Elisabeth replied with a pleasant smile planted over her features, successfully masking any such ill-feelings if they indeed had been brewing underneath the surface. “It’s such a relief to get back into pretty, light dresses again isn’t it? The shade of blue on yours is lovely by the way.”

Bella returned the smile that Marie-Elisabeth had thrown her way as an answer for the compliment the other Comtesse had paid her. The gaze of the other woman wandered momentarily, making Bella wonder in she had yet again managed to provoke her somewhat. Well, this was a new record.

Apparently, that wasn’t the case, as Bella discovered while Marie-Elisabeth’s attentions returned to her soon.

“So what do you have planned for today?” she asked through apparently feigned nonchalance. Perhaps Bella was just scrutinising everything that Marie-Elisabeth did simply because she was that convinced of the other woman’s dislike of her.

“Myself, I’ve gotten it into my mind to do some further exploration of the palace. It’s such a vast place I feel as though I’ve hardly seen any of it.”

Now, Bella was not sure whether this was an invitation or not, but she could guess that it was the latter than the former. Well, it’d be rather cowardly of Bella to run from the opportunity of undoing some of the damage she had caused the other day, regardless of how difficult and unpleasant the task was likely to become. Marie-Elisabeth had been at court considerably longer than Bella and therefore was privy to more information.

“Thank you,” she replied to the compliment with a slight smile before lowering her gaze to her hands while composing her response to the rest of Marie-Elisabeth’s statement.

“I had no plans for the day, Comtesse,” she looked back up at the other woman with a pleasant look over her features. “But yes, it seems a splendid idea to explore the palace, especially when there is so much to admire. I’d very much like to join you, if I may?”

Marie-Elisabeth & Bella
 

“But yes, it seems a splendid idea to explore the palace, especially when there is so much to admire. I’d very much like to join you, if I may?”

Marie-Elisabeth’s very first thought was an absolute no. Spending the morning with someone she was much less than fond of was not very high on her to do list. She had intended on using the morning to search for some of the places she had mentioned last night, and being forced to be polite to Bella was about as far removed from that as she could get.

However, she quickly realized the presence of another person would have the added benefit of looking much less suspicious than a lady wandering around on her own. Two eyes looking around were also much better than just one after all. She also knew she was going to have to go through even more uncomfortable encounters than this in the future, so she may as well bite the proverbial bullet now.

“Your company would be welcome actually” she replied, fingers fiddling with her locket as she spoke “I confess I’m on somewhat of a mission this morning, and an extra pair of eyes would be nice”. She smiled and glanced around for a moment at all the other courtiers passing in the halls.

“You probably know as well as I do” she continued “That everyone needs time for him or herself sometimes. And it just won’t do to lock oneself up in ones suite like some sort of dreadful hermit when privacy is desired. So I was hoping to seek out some of the more solitary places in the palace, like I used to do at home when I was a child”.

This at least was true, Marie-Elisabeth always had a particular talent for finding spaces to herself as a little girl. She smiled at the memory and added. “I don’t know if you have siblings Comtesse, but I’ve got 15 and those moments of privacy kept us all from waging war on one another growing up”.



(((OOC: HAHAHHAAH! OMG Alissa, that is almost exactly what I thought to! Now I'll have the Jaws theme going in my head when she walks around too! And ME and Bella are totally reminding me of the part in Marie-Antoinette where she walks by the aunts and they made fun of DuBarry :P

EDIT: OMG I moved a family into my historical/non modern sims hood, and look at the welcoming committee I almsot died, I thought Cesar was going to..well act like Cesar and get slapped. But he surprisingly kept his hands to himself!! Will wonders never cease)))

Larkin had been somewhat discomfited by the woman he had been speaking to making her excuses to leave, but he was not that offended by it, 'twas surely his intimidating presence.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a pleasantly dull haze of wandering the gardens, occasionally chatting with passing courtiers, and eventually having a small- but comparatively sumptuous meal and retiring to his suite early. He was not particularly tired, but then again, he was not particularly wide awake either.

Ambrose met him at the door with his usual cheerful greetings and offered a carafe of fruit some other servant had thoughtfully left. Larkin didn't take any, having already eaten, but gave the boy leave to take what he wanted as he filled Larkin in on servant's gossip. Not the most reliable method of gathering information Larkin had found, but until he got his bearings in court it would have to do. Apparently some women had left court for an undetermined length of time- nothing Larkin had to worry about, and apparently the girl, Bella had gotten a change in rank. That gave the Baron d'Aurvilies some pause, was it merely an honorary rank, a token honor, or did she get the land that went with it? Most likely his land, given that her other neighbors was a rather wealthy, rather paranoid old codger who would not trade any of his property for anything, and the other neighbor was another country. Which left Aurvilies. Ambrose had been watching his face and interjected before Larkin could speak that all of the scribes had said it was token, as nothing had been written to either noble's steward.

Thus reassured Larkin listened as Ambrose rattled on cheerfully about the general gossip he had heard- one Marquise d'Magenta had a ring of fighting dogs on her lands that had bankrupted visiting dignitaries, some couple in the palace had a cheating lord- Larkin idly expressed surprise that it was only one- and that the prince was to marry a Spanish girl. He was not overly concerned with any of that, if some one wanted to make a bit of cash on the side he didn't care, if a man wanted outside entertainments, Larkin would just make it a point to avoid the man's wife- mayhaps one of the reasons that Larkin remained a bachelor despite a few overtures toward his brother asking if the queen's uncle and a land owner was interested in marriage to some rich merchant girl. The few times said brother had approached Larkin the merchant was firmly rebuffed. As for the Spanish girl, he contemplated approaching her for the still whimsical delight he took in conversing in a foreign language, but decided such decisions should be put off until the woman actually arrived and he was fully awake.

_______________________________________________
The next morning the sun rose bright and cheerful, and Larkin rose too, if not with anything approaching the brightness and cheer of the sun, or his valet, who obliquely urged him to go to the morning announcements. Muttering sour imprecations at such a thing being timed as such to delay a moderately late sleepers' breakfast he settled in to hear the announcements. Nothing interesting- the Spanish girl, whom he already knew about, had arrived. The Duc d'Lorraine had left, which did bother Larkin, he remembered the man vaguely and had hoped to get together to reminisce. It was not a setback of any kind however, and once the announcements were over and the vital requirement of breakfast taken care of, he wandered the halls vaguely, having been in the palace for two days the ever varying and omnipresent frescoes and tapestries were still fascinating and magnificent.

Walking along, staring at the walls, Larkin quite did not notice a young woman walking along the same hallway until he had accidentally bumped into her. He apologized profusely and swiftly and wondered vaguely if he was going to offend everyone in the palace by the time he was here a week.

((OOC: He bumped into Adele, and paintedgrey, just a friendly word of advice? The RP is in third person. Letters and diary and such can be in first but the RP post s themselves (anything not OOC or in italics) is third person))

Octavien
 

(((ooc: FurryPanda - There is no rule to state that it has to be third-person. People are free to RP any way they feel comfortable doing. And back when Haylifer was still around, she RPed in first person too, so... No specific rule for this RP. )))



Like so many other mornings before it lately, this one found Octavien sitting by one of the windows in his suite. Ever the early riser, he had been sitting there since before the sun had even made it past the horizon, and wisps of mist were still lingering in the open fields as well as along the edge of the nearby forest, draping the entire scenery with a milky, illusive veil that would have you think you were still asleep and dreaming. He had been sitting there in silence, while the hues of the sky slowly changed, and the shadows crept over his motionless form. Though not perched in the window as usual, but comfortably slumped in one of the plush chairs, with only his feet resting on the ornamented window niche carved in stone. Alone, and deep in thought.

At first, thoughts of the previous and baffingly eventful day had occupied his mind; César and his cursed inability to remain faithful to his wife, Joséphine's observation of said inability and her discovery of Octavien's deception, Bella's heartwarming words and concern, and... the nameless something that still lingered in the air between Joséphine and Octavien himself.
But, as of an hour ago, that had all changed, when a note had been unexpectedly delivered to the Prince's suite, and forced all other thoughts to be scattered by the winds. It had been a note from the King himself (what, no henchman to forward the message this time, but an actual note written by the King's own hand? My, King and son-in-law were making progress indeed!), holding what to Octavien first had seemed like the oddest of requests; that he would refrain from parttaking in the offical greeting of Her Excellency Elena Sánchez de Suárez y Torre - his betrothed - when she arrived this morning. Apparently, he was to be somehow 'indisposed'. The reason being... Well, the King must have happened to just conveniently 'forget' to tell him that part, mustn't he?

Though to a man of Octavien's mental abilities, it was no mystery, once he thought about it. Duc d'Lorraine must have reported back to the King Octavien's reaction and, more importantly, his opinion on all of a sudden finding himself engaged to be married once again, and so now, they were worried that if given the chance, he might cause trouble, and ruin the whole thing. Quite a preposterous idea, if you asked Octavien, considering the lenghts he had gone to already in order to spare the royal family a great deal of embarrassment (which, granted, only three people knew about; himself, Isabella and that wretched Mercy Flight or Venn or whatever name she went by this week). But then again, the King had already proven that he would rather eliminate any threats to the execution of his decisions, regardless of whether they were real or even plausible or not, than bother to try and find out if they were. So, no surprise there.

And, Octavien had to admit, while they were being foolish indeed, there was something resembling a compliment hidden in that kind of reasoning as well; despite the overwhelming lack of recognition, they still considered Octavien a force to be reckoned with. For surely, the King must realize that it took a man quite out of the ordinary, to dare to cause his country and his sovereign such trouble? It would take either a very brave man, or a very foolish one. And Octavien had proven himself to be not among the latter.


Having been staring absentmindedly at the same spot beyond the glass as all these thoughts darted back and forth in his mind, a sudden movement there roused Octavien from his ponderings, and his eyes regained their focus as he placed both feet on the floor and leaned slightly forward to try and make out what it was. Far away in the distance, one black dot after another appeared on what he knew to be the main road leading to the Palace, and while he couldn't yet make out any details whatsoever, he knew it could only be one thing; his much resented destiny.

With a sigh, he reclined in the chair once more, and did not move again until he could hear the caravan of carriages roll along the well tended gravel path between the Palace gates and the Palace itself. Only then did he stand, to watch as his future bride emerged from what, in Octavien's opinion, looked more like a funeral carriage than anything.
Well, wasn't that appropriate?

Leaning slightly against the cool stone of the window niche, he followed the movements below, watching as a young page hurried to assist Her Exellency in making her grand entrance (or exit, depending on how one saw it). Opening the door of the carriage, the boy then offered the new arrival his arm as support, and out stepped Elena Sánchez de Suárez y Torre; a most magnificent creature of crimson and charcoal. A raven-haired woman, clad in a dress of the finest fabrics, and the vibrant colors of excess luxury, with golden jewelry to match. Back straight, and head held high. By all standards, it was quite an impressive entrance, and one that would not be soon forgotten, that much was evident as the flocking courtiers were clearly quite taken by the sight of their new, soon-to-be Princess, if not overwhelmed. Which, in court, was the same as being green with envy.

Now, the Prince on the other hand, had assumed a somewhat more cynical stance, and was watching the scene from above, with an enthusiasm that could be described as remote, at best. In his mind, he was going over the list of things the Duc had had to tell him about his betrothed, and was analyzing them one by one, in light of what he was now able to witness.

'Very spoilt': Very likely, judging by her entire appearance, and the awe-struck crowd down there. She obviously knew how to handle herself around people, and nothing of what he saw of her suggested timidity.

'Very fearsome': Just as likely, but right now, remained to be seen. Such a thing was impossible to tell without meeting a person face to face. Unless, of course, they decided to abuse the help or sneer at the other courtiers. Which, thankfully, Her Exellency did not. Right now, at least.

'Slightly advanced in age': Hard to tell from this distance. Her Exellency moved with vitality and effortless grace, but so did Octavien's mother, so that didn't really tell him anything. However, from what he could tell, she didn't carry any signs of being that much older than him, as the men down there seemed quite intrigued, and that dark hair of hers was indeed pitch black, rather than the matte and faded shade of black on the verge of turning grey.

'Could be extremely unpleasant to the eye': No, she looked beautiful enough - quite striking, actually, with a poise that could only be described as regal - for her looks not to pose a problem, as far as liking her went. Though perhaps a plain wife would have been more preferrable, as the beautiful in general had a tendency to be somewhat... difficult, as they had often recieved enough attention to turn awfully conceited and demanding, whereas women not equally blessed with exterior assets tended to have been blessed with a fairly likable personality instead, and knew the meaning of mutual respect.

Furthermore, there was something else about the raven-haired woman down there that made Octavian hesitant about forming his first opinion of her just yet. Something in the eyes, that would send shivers up the spine of any lesser man. At least that's what he thought he saw. He couldn't be too sure, standing this far away, and with the sunlight reflected in the bright white marble steps below, thus partially blinding him.

No, he would wait until he met her in person. He himself knew all too well what it was like to be a book judged by it's cover, and would not be guilty of making such a mistake himself. Until then, all he could do was hope.


(((ooc: Sorry, kind of rushed, but I have to get to bed! Not approachable.)))

Bella and Marie-Elisabeth - Palace Corridors
 

(((OOC: OMG, so true, Robyn! I don't know why, Octavien and Elena remind me of Ever After, the French Prince forced to marry a Spanish bride... )))

Bella watched closely as Marie-Elisabeth considered her response to the proposal. She expected the first reaction to be one of complete horror at the idea, something which Bella had to keep herself from laughing about. Marie-Elisabeth’s civility, given Bella antagonising her somewhat the other day, was a far stretch enough, but Bella pushing the boat out further had expected nothing less that the other woman to turn and run down the hallway, never looking back.

Well, she didn’t. While helpful, Bella was somewhat disappointed that the vision of Marie-Elisabeth fleeing in revulsion had remained just that; a vision. Again, it was helpful and therefore Bella decided to put her childish indulgences to rest.

“Your company would be welcome actually,” Marie-Elisabeth turned her attentions to a locket adorning her neck as she replied to Bella. “I confess I’m on somewhat of a mission this morning, and an extra pair of eyes would be nice.”

This surprised Bella to no end. Firstly, Marie-Elisabeth, while not sprinting away, was clearly not objecting to the idea – far from, in fact. In all honesty, Bella had not expected an outright refusal, rather something along the lines of ‘Yes, if you insist, but do not blame me if I make an attempt on your life somewhere along the way’. But no, this was nothing like that, it was a reaffirmation of that half-invitation, making Bella wonder exactly what Marie-Elisabeth wanted from her.

And what exactly was this ‘mission’?

“You probably know as well as I do,” Marie-Elisabeth continued with an explanation to her previous statement. “That everyone needs time for him or herself sometimes. And it just won’t do to lock oneself up in one’s suite like some sort of dreadful hermit when privacy is desired. So I was hoping to seek out some of the more solitary places in the palace, like I used to do at home when I was a child”.

Ah, alright, she wanted to stop being a hermit so it made sense to find some other hidey-hole to shut herself up into? Yes, that made perfect sense. Solitary places were often sought after, quite ferociously, by conspirators, lovers and well, hermits. Except hermits often chose their own rooms and Marie-Elisabeth did not fit the role of hermit one bit. Therefore, she fell into either the conspirator or the lover role, whichever. Bella could make a fair stab at which it was. Then again, she saw her own benefits in joining this mission; she discover the nooks and crannies of the palace and etch out her own secret place for the clandestine meetings that were sure to occur.

“I don’t know if you have siblings Comtesse, but I’ve got 15 and those moments of privacy kept us all from waging war on one another growing up,” Marie-Elisabeth added with a distant smile, probably at her childhood.

“Fifteen?” Bella exclaimed slightly, more than just surprised; being and only child herself, she couldn’t imagine sharing with one, forget fifteen, siblings. “My, that must have been a lively childhood, Comtesse.”

“I agree, I fear I was in danger of becoming a hermit myself therefore made it a point to attend the morning announcements today,” she confessed and continued nonchalantly.
"Surprising news, the Prince's engagement, so soon after the loss of the Princess,” she remarked. “It should bring some light back into the royal family and I do hope it does him good, especially after that shocking attempt on his life....”

“It’s such a heinous crime, do you know who attacked him?"

Marie-Elisabeth & Bella
 

(((OOC: Marie-Elisabeth wouldn’t make an attempt on Bella’s life! She’d hire someone to do it for her later No way she’d get her hands all dirty)))


Marie-Elisabeth was already starting to think that perhaps she had said too much. She really didn’t like the look on Bella’s face when she had mentioned her plans for the morning and figured it was probably best to figure out a better, if slightly alerted, reason for her search. And fast. “Lively’s certainly a good word for my childhood” she said, using something she could easily talk about to give her time to think “Though when you’re practically the baby, it’s much more fun. You’re all but spoiled to death”.

She considered saying “Obviously no one knows who attacked him for certain you twit, or there’d be an extra body in the dungeons”, to Bella’s questions about the Prince, but wisely held her tongue. She was trying to be polite after all. “No one’s certain about who attacked him, though I’m sure every effort is being made to track the vile culprit down” she said aloud, letting go of her necklace “And as to his highness’ engagement, it’s not very much of a surprise to me to be honest. He’s an eligible young man, and a member of the royal family. Men like that, even in such tragic circumstances, don’t stay un wed for very long”.

Marie-Elisabeth smiled and glanced around for a moment, before looking back at Bella. “But enough about that” she said, gesturing down the hallway “Let’s be off. I’ve been thinking about brining my little Charles here for a visit you see, since I’ve missed him so, and I was hoping to find some places where we can spend time alone together. You know, without the general population interrupting us”.

Bella and Marie-Elisabeth - Palace Corridors
 

(((OOC: Oooh, I thought everyone knew Marquess Berini had apparently ‘tried’ to off Octavien?
Bella, ME and an assassin. I do love the two of them, they’ve ticked each other off so much! Oh, and I got them two walking, I hope that's okay?)))

“Lively’s certainly a good word for my childhood,” Marie-Elisabeth said before quickly proceeding to offer further explanation for her quest to find a hiding place as if she expected Bella to be suspicious. “Though when you’re practically the baby, it’s much more fun. You’re all but spoiled to death.”

Bella simply smiled and nodded at that, unable to relate and unwilling to give Marie-Elisabeth the satisfaction in thinking that she’d managed to cover her tracks. While any thing that may or may not be happening between César and Marie-Elisabeth was mildly entertaining to Bella, it was far from what she was actually interested in; Octavien.

“No one’s certain about who attacked him, though I’m sure every effort is being made to track the vile culprit down,” Marie-Elisabeth responded to Bella’s inquiries about the attempt oh the Prince’s life if somewhat too much of a controlled manner, making her wonder what exactly was going on in that pretty blonde head of hers. “And as to his highness’ engagement, it’s not very much of a surprise to me to be honest. He’s an eligible young man, and a member of the royal family. Men like that, even in such tragic circumstances, don’t stay unwed for very long.”

Fair enough and besides, if that wasn’t the case, she’d have little to do here anyway. Surely, there must be someone else in the entire palace who knew who tried to kill Octavien? The matter of this being so very hushed up intrigued Bella more than it had done this morning.

“But enough about that,” Marie-Elisabeth dismissed decisively, gesturing down the hallway to prompt them both to set off on their exploration. “Let’s be off. I’ve been thinking about brining my little Charles here for a visit you see, since I’ve missed him so, and I was hoping to find some places where we can spend time alone together. You know, without the general population interrupting us.”

Little Charles? She had a son? And the secret hidey holes were for him? Oh dear, César will be disappointed.

“Oh, I did not know you had children, Comtesse,” Bella turned to Marie-Elisabeth as they walked. “How old is your son?”

Adele Rousseau and Larkin: Hallways
 

((OOC: I think I'll just post in third person anyway, it's a lot easier than posting in first person))

Adele found herself bumping into a man much older than herself. Slightly startled, she looked up at the man, giving him a confused look. Surely he hadn't done it purposely; she didn't believe that someone would go great lengths to do so. He quickly apologized for running into her, seeming to be in a bit of a daze. Smiling politely she looked towards the man once again and nodded her head, accepting his apology. "It's quite alright," Adele replied. "It's partly my fault, no one's perfect." Gazing down the hallway, Adele realized she was only a few feet from her room. A few minutes of rest and she would be good as new. But she couldn't just simply take off without a proper introduction. Not only would it be incredibly stupid, but quite impolite as well.

"Baroness Adele Rousseau," she said, giving another smile to the man. "I do wish to know your name." Adele looked down upon herself for not getting to know everyone in the palace. It certainly would help a lot in situations such as this one. She sighed, wishing that she wasn't so quiet and distant. But there was nothing more she could do about it now, and crying over spilled milk isn't going to do anything either. Instead her thoughts trailed over to Elena, whom she was in fact, dying to meet. Who knows what that could do to her status? It would certainly make her noticeable, and quite well known to everyone at the palace. Yet she would have to do it another time, for Adele she had forgotten about the man she had run into. She had become so absorbed in her thoughts that she seemed to have forgotten his presence. Leaving her thoughts for a moment she turned her attention to him, letting him know that she knew he was there.

"I'm so sorry, really I truly am." She looked at him apologetically, hoping he wouldn't think any less of her. So many thoughts are traveling through her mind at this point, that it's become exceedingly hard to concentrate. "Please, do except my apology. I'm just a bit overwhelmed, with everything going on and what not." Oh I haven't had a decent conversation in so long, who says I won't make a fool of myself? It was entirely true. Adele has hardly spoken to anyone ever since she arrived at the Palace. She wouldn't be surprised if no one even knew of her exsistance.

Marie-Elisabeth & Bella
 

From her curiosity and the way she was looking at her, Marie-Elisabeth was definitely suspecting that Bella somehow knew something was going on between her and César. How she wasn’t certain. Perhaps she had been outside somewhere yesterday and had seen them before they left. That was the only thing she could think of, but if so it was easily explained away. There was nothing outwardly wrong with going out for a ride to enjoy the lovely day, and she could easily argue that fact. Though mercifully, she seemed to be more interested in what had happened to Prince Octavien than anything else. Which she supposed most people were, but really what was the point in speculating about it? Marie-Elisabeth was certain whoever did it was going to be caught, and quickly escorted to their rendezvous with Monsieur Guillotine for treason.

But as it always did, mention of her son distracted her from any other topic of conversation. She did feel slightly guilty using him as a decoy for her true intentions, but it was better that then tell the truth about what she was up to. “I just have the one, my darling Charles. He’s 6 years old and just the most wonderful son any mother could ask for” she said, a genuine smile lighting up her face “He looks quite a bit like me actually, except that he has his late father’s dark eyes”.

She continued smiling and tapped her locket. “This has a portrait of him in it” she explained, looking at Bella as they walked “I wear it all the time.” She paused for a moment and added, almost as an afterthought, “I’ve got a pair of stepdaughters too, Sophie and Helene. But they’re practically my age, and they live off in the country. Delicate health like their mother had, the air out there is goo for them”.



(((OOC: It’s just fine! They needed to move their bums anyway! And yes, frenemies are so much fun to play with Oh crap, I didn’t realize that Atropa. I guess I didn’t read that far back into the thread, sorry I gues we’ll have to pretend they haven’t heard yet

And of course there’s an assassin, he’s probably a family one or something. The Valois family WERE the Kings of France before the Bourbons, they’ve got connections )))

Bella and Marie-Elisabeth - Palace Corridors
 

(OOC: Yup, frenemies are lots more fun! Bella’s having way too much fun with ME!
‘Tis okay, Atropa and Ghanima, I’ll just have her find out from someone else and thanks for clearing that one up!
Lol, despite the Devine Italian royalty thing, Bella would probably just do the assassination herself. Just to add the personal touch Or get Ashton to do it seeing as he did get his title stripped down from Duc to Baron for shooting someone in the heart. Men. )))

It seemed that the mention of her son had distracted Marie-Elisabeth from another array of thoughts. Whether this array was centred around César or Octavien, Bella wasn’t sure. The latter, fair enough, she had possibly probed the matter sufficiently with Marie-Elisabeth, who seemed rather poorly informed. The former, however, was a different story; Bella had no agenda where César was concerned and in any case, during her two days here so far, she had only managed to more-or-less befriend and perhaps even gain the Prince’s trust. That was good work enough, now it was time for fun.

“I just have the one, my darling Charles. He’s 6 years old and just the most wonderful son any mother could ask for,” it was undeniable that Marie-Elisabeth lit up in pure affection for the boy. Well, who would have thought, Marie-Elisabeth the doting mother. Hidden depths indeed. “He looks quite a bit like me actually, except that he has his late father’s dark eyes.”

Bella could not deny that the display of parental love did not tug at the corners of her mouth, bringing a distant smile at the thought of her father and deceased mother. Her father, Ashton. Was he out there somewhere telling people of his ‘feisty Izzy’, the darling daughter in substitute for the son he never had? Well, if he was alive and well out there, deliberately putting her through this farce, she had a good mind to kill him herself.

”This has a portrait of him in it,” Marie-Elisabeth’s fingers returned to the locket upon which she had lavished attentions all through the morning. “I wear it all the time.”

As Bella thought she was finished, Marie-Elisabeth quickly added another annex to her words. “I’ve got a pair of stepdaughters too, Sophie and Helene. But they’re practically my age, and they live off in the country. Delicate health like their mother had, the air out there is good for them.”

This Bella almost laughed at, how the step-daughters were a postscript while the main body was the son. Fair enough, which mother did not love her own flesh and blood over others’? Still, the thought of the girls saddled with Marie-Elisabeth for a ‘mother’, well… entertaining, to say the least.

“He sounds absolutely adorable,” she smiled at Marie-Elisabeth with a genuine smile at understanding how it felt for the child or doting parent to separate from the other. Of course, Bella, being the child in that scenario, could empathise with the boy, as she added softly: “He must miss you very much too, Comtesse.”

Damn you and your ridiculous need for atonement, Daddy, she thought angrily to herself, careful not to let anything show over her features. Her thoughts were her own. And damn your self-imposed exile, too.

“I am sure he’ll enjoy his time here,” she assured with a warm smile at Marie-Elisabeth as they walked. Now that Bella was being nice, she could not resist one more childish indulgence at Marie-Elisabeth’s expense. So, making her face to be a picture of unadulterated innocence, she added: “I expect he would make firm friends with les enfants de la Valliere.”

“Have you been at court very long, Comtesse?” Bella attempted to move on the conversation before she gave in to her urges to burst out laughing and so straightened her face to carry that pleasant smile once more. "You seem so very at ease here."

Marie-Elisabeth & Bella
 

“He certainly is adorable” Marie-Elisabeth replied, still smiling and running a finger over her locket “And yes, he does miss me. I’ve already had a letter from him telling me so. Of course I sent the first one even before he had the chance to so I probably miss him even more. But it’s important that he stay where he is and continue learning, so he can take over for his father someday. I can’t keep running everything forever”.

However she was soon hard pressed to keep the pleasant smile on her face with Bella’s next comment. “Firm friends with the Valliere girls indeed” she thought, silencing the urge to say some most unpleasant words “That little twit must know something. She must have seen us leaving yesterday, there’s just no other explanation. Oh well, it’s not as though it matters. As I thought, just because two people go off riding together doesn’t mean anything inappropriate happened….well except for the fact that it did but she doesn’t need to know that”.

Marie-Elisabeth tried not to smirk as she looked over at Bella. “Oh I’d have to disagree with you on that Comtesse” she said, laughing slightly “No matter how lovely said girls are, he’s at that stage where all girls are just the most horrible things to exist in his mind. Except for me of course, but to him I’m his mother, not a girl”.

Marie-Elisabeth was definitely pleased with the final comment Bella had chosen to make though. Her mother would be proud. “And I’ve only been here for about a week” she finished “I suppose it’s a credit to all the lessons mother had us given as children. We were taught how to deal with everything and anything”.


(((OOC: Oh it’s very entertaining, the girls would have been….7 and 9 when their father married 13 year old Marie-Elisabeth Mother indeed XD

And I was talking about the French Bourbons, not the Italian ones)))

Bella and Marie-Elisabeth - Palace Corridors
 

(((OOC: Awkward! And not to mention now illegal! Poor ME! )))

“He certainly is adorable,” Marie-Elisabeth responded as the attentions bestowed upon the locket seemed to bring her more memories of her son somehow. “And yes, he does miss me. I’ve already had a letter from him telling me so. Of course I sent the first one even before he had the chance to so I probably miss him even more. But it’s important that he stay where he is and continue learning, so he can take over for his father someday. I can’t keep running everything forever”.

Well, to be fair, Marie-Elisabeth obviously wasn’t running very much herself while she was here at court. However, it was none of her concern and Bella made sure to hold her tongue over it.

“Oh I’d have to disagree with you on that, Comtesse,” Marie-Elisabeth seemed to out rightly refute Bella’s suggestion that the children might find good company with each other as if Marie-Elisabeth herself would see to it. “No matter how lovely said girls are, he’s at that stage where all girls are just the most horrible things to exist in his mind. Except for me of course, but to him I’m his mother, not a girl.”

If Bella was allowed to do everything that jumped into her mind, the opportune face she would have picked for now would have been an incredulous stare at Marie-Elisabeth. Alight, boys will be boys and consider all girls contagious somewhat, but if he really wanted to simply hang to his mother’s skirts when there was really no other children his age to interact with, then anti-socialism was really the way for him. A bright future with the ladies, young Comte. Perhaps she was indeed scrutinising everything Marie-Elisabeth decided to say, Bella decided. Being so closed minded was never the way forward.

“And I’ve only been here for about a week,” Marie-Elisabeth’s contentment at Bella’s final question shone through in both her words and countenance. “I suppose it’s a credit to all the lessons mother had us given as children. We were taught how to deal with everything and anything.”

Well, now, did that actually include the courtiers that Marie-Elisabeth apparently found incessantly annoying, such as Bella, and the wives of men whose attentions she courted, such as Joséphine, Bella asked silently. No, probably not. Actually, wait, quite possibly yes. Without doubt, Marie-Elisabeth was just one of those women who were destined to be at a social hub, entirely capable of the pretentiousness that the social class both of them belonged to. Except of course, the difference between Bella and Marie-Elisabeth almost definitely lay in the fact that Bella knew it wasn’t real, it was just a façade, while Marie-Elisabeth made a ritual out of it and lived it.

Again, however, she found it wise to hold her tongue. It was fast becoming a habit – nonetheless a most beneficial one – to hide her thoughts behind the placid mask of reserved pleasantness.

“Only a week, Comtesse?” she asked nonchalantly with small surprise mixed with a slight smile etched over her features. “My, your mother must be a very effective teacher and you an avid pupil, indeed.”

Marie-Elisabeth - Trying not to call the Assassin
 

Marie-Elisabeth had already decided to write to her mother and thank her profusely for the lessons throughout her childhood. They were all truly coming in handy, particularly the ones about keeping your true emotions hidden no matter how difficult the situation was, or how annoying the company. Lessons about the way you walked, or how to dance were all well and good, but it was these ones about holding your tongue that were truly invaluable.

“Oh my mother is a formidable woman indeed” she replied, nodding her head “She’s always been the boss of the family, no questions asked. It’s thanks to her I’ve been able to run the estates so well since Charles passed away. You wouldn’t believe how much work it is. And I thought it was bad at home, now I get piles and piles of letters and reports every day. I’m tempted to use some of these hiding places to hide from the messengers”.

She paused for a moment to glance out the window, seeing the Orangery in the distance. “If you don’t have any particular idea about where to go Comtesse” she said, turning back to Bella “How about the Orangery? I’d like to see all the rare flowers they have in there. And I’m sure I’ll be able to find some places for Charles and I to spend time together while we’re out there. I just hope he doesn’t want to bring some of his cousins with him. Half the time I could swear my sister Marie-Caroline’s boys live at our home and not their own”.




(((OOC: HAHA oh lord, this is getting way to fun. And Orangery is like a big fancy Greenhouse type thing right? That's my understanding anyway. I just couldnt think of anywhere else for them to go!

And it's not that I was making little Charles out to be an antisocial skirt clinger or anything, he's just a 6 year old boy so he doesn't like girls much He'd probably tell Adele and Angelique they had cooties and throw dirt at them or something! He's got a few dozen male cousins he prefers to play with instead, with a family as big as his they're around a lot )))

Bella and Marie-Elisabeth - With frenemies like this, who needs actual enemies?
 

(((OOC: Lol, I know Charles isn’t a mama’s boy, I was just having Bella be harsh on everything ME says because, well, its fun and they can't stand each other to a point where... well, you can't keep them apart! :laugh:
And you’re right, this is awesomely amusing!
Imagine Cesar's face if he actually did that!)))


“Oh my mother is a formidable woman indeed,” Marie-Elisabeth affirmed the idea strongly. This, Bella could certainly agree with. Anything that gave rise to Marie-Elisabeth and 15 derivatives would be a force to be reckoned with indeed. Then again, what gave rise to Bella, being her parents, the abbey and the entire English court, was certain to be far worse.

“She’s always been the boss of the family, no questions asked. It’s thanks to her I’ve been able to run the estates so well since Charles passed away. You wouldn’t believe how much work it is. And I thought it was bad at home, now I get piles and piles of letters and reports every day. I’m tempted to use some of these hiding places to hide from the messengers."

Now, what kind of example would that be for Comte Charles, jnr? Bella asked silently. And worse yet, you're actually showing him what a good hiding place would be. What would mother dearest say to that?

Added to that, Bella could easily imagine how much work it was managing a man's estates when said man vanished off the face of the Earth for whatever reason. In fact, that was pretty much what she was doing. It was probably much worse for her, given that when Duc Devine lost his title, he lost only that, keeping his vast lands and riches intact and now leaving his daughter to manage it, despite the little power that the title Baroness armed her with. Thanks for that, Daddy.

“If you don’t have any particular idea about where to go Comtesse,” she proposed after a small pause, prompting Bella’s vision to trace the path that Marie-Elisabeth’s had travelled. “How about the Orangery? I’d like to see all the rare flowers they have in there. And I’m sure I’ll be able to find some places for Charles and I to spend time together while we’re out there. I just hope he doesn’t want to bring some of his cousins with him. Half the time I could swear my sister Marie-Caroline’s boys live at our home and not their own.”

Oh, not so anti-social after all? Bella thought to herself as she exuded a contemplative smile at Marie-Elisabeth. She looked down at the Orangery and the only image that sprung to mind involved countless insects, worms and God only knows what else. Oh, yes, the company kept getting better this morning.

“I would love to, Comtesse,” she agreed with a small nod. Well, if she was going to have to make do with slimy creatures, then so would Marie-Elisabeth, and that thought was satisfying enough. “I cannot wait to guess the botany they have there. I hear it’s a beautiful sight this time of year.”

((Alissa, out of curiosity, how extensive are the Devine lands supposed to be? Because I've been acting under the assumption that its an insignificant little backwater like Aurvilies, and if it isn't than i need to edit a bunch of my posts. so if you could please clarify, thanks))
Larkin was somewhat discombobulated to have the girl accept his apology very calmly and with a polite smile, and then glance longingly down the hallway. Larkin obligingly stepped aside to let her continue on her way, but she had stopped dead in the hall upon his bumping into her and she continued speaking after a moment of distracted silence, saying with another pleasant smile, "Baroness Adele Rousseau, I do wish to know your name."

Larkin would be the first to admit that he was not always familiar with social customs, and that he was all too easily engrossed in thoughts usually having nothing to do with a situation. Even so, the girl, Adele's sudden and inexplicable change of subject was impressive. And Larkin found himself doing little more than blinking owlishly for a second before his usual expression of polite disinterest could scramble back onto his features. Not that she seemed to be paying any mind, the smile having melted off her features and left her staring down the hallway a bit vacantly.

"Larkin d'Marius, Baron d'Aurvilies" he answered. For good measure, and for politeness sake he added, "Pleasure to meet you Baroness"

She did not answer, and Larkin knew full well that that was rude. It had been a convention to answer pleasantries politely or make excuses when he had last been in court, and even the natives in Zimbabwe had that as a custom. So Adele was making a calculated insult- it was not impossible- even though he had never met the girl- that Aurvilies's trade policies could have hurt her and his name was enough to make her flinch back to examine her next course of action. Or maybe some other thought before hand was more engrossing than his company, and Larkin made a careful point to not think about that, he preferred his acknowledged delusions of grandeur to the somewhat iffy truth that no one so far had ever stated clearly.

Larkin, in a fit of generosity decided to assume the latter, and offered her a conversational escape- "So, have you been in the palace long?" A forced- but sufficiently pleasant- smile graced Larkin's lips. And slowly melted off as the girl continued to ignore him.

Just as Larkin was about to say something rather cold and harsh to Adele she blinked and looked up apologetically saying quickly and with a breathless quality that could only be sincere, "I'm so sorry, really I truly am. Please, do accept my apology. I'm just a bit overwhelmed, with everything going on and what not."

For some reason her words triggered some sort of fiercely paternal response- or at least not a sharp lecture on decorum, or anything romantic- and he calmly repeated his name and asked slowly, making an effort to have his words sound kindly, "So Baroness, what could be overwhelming a noblewoman in the palace? Surely there is some elusively obvious way to deal with whatever it is?"

Adele and Larkin: Hallway
 

Curse me and my inability to make simple conversation, Adele thought. Realizing that the man was trying to make conversation she abandoned all her thoughts, giving her full attention to him. But unfortunately, he seemed to be quite upset already. Although she apologized, he didn't seem the least bit satisfied with it. After repeating his name once more he replied calmy, but Adele could see right through his calm exterior. "So Baroness, what could be overwhelming a noblewoman in the palace? Surely there is some elusively obvious way to deal with whatever it is?"

Adele couldn't seem to repond to his question. There were many things overwhelming her; some of them involving her personal life. But instead of giving the full truth, she looked at him and replied with a simple answer.

"It's complicated," she replied quietly.

She smiled, hoping that he wouldn't take offense to her response. It was in fact, complicated indeed; there were many things going on in her mind. Sighing quietly, Adele realized that she was being impolite. She quickly tried to cover her tracks, in fear of upsetting him even further. She had already messed up once, by letting her thoughts get the best of her. She would not allow herself to become carried away for a second time.

"I wouldn't want to bother you with my petty problems, Baron."

She gave a genuine smile, wanting him to know that she was trying to fix her mistake. She made a bad impression, but she didn't want it to seem like she could carry a simple conversation. Resting one hand over the other, Adele thought it would be best to change the subject. She didn't want the Baron to pry about it any further. "Have you heard about Prince Octavien's engagement?" She paused for a second, and a giggle seemed to escape her lips. "Quite wonderful isn't it? I only wish him the best, of course." Her eyes danced wildly with excitement at the thought of the engagement.

Larkin was carefully gauging the girl's reaction to his words. A tiny, slightly panicked look had come into her eyes after he answered her apology, mayhaps she actually thought he was offended? That amused him to no end, far from being deeply offended by being mostly ignored he was simply impatient to be on his way, a bit irked at the social conventions that did not allow him to do so, and above all, woefully unimpressed with the creature standing before him.

Her expression went back to neutral eventually, before Larkin had finished speaking, and she said quietly with a blunt simplicity bordering on rudeness, "It's complicated." Larkin waited expectantly for her to continue, and much to his surprise was not disappointed. Insofar as that she actually spoke, not in that she said anything useful. "I wouldn't want to bother you with my petty problems, Baron."

Some small flight of curiosity stopped Larkin from expressing that he wouldn't mind listening. For one, it would sound like he was gossip mongering, and when he needed to do so Ambrose was far less noticeable than him. And of course, as she had demonstrated a moment ago, silence was a fine way to get another person talking.

Once more he was half right- she did indeed speak, and within a perfectly reasonable time frame, but she was changing the subject. Glaringly obviously changing the subject. She had let out another smile, this one much more sincere in character than the ones preceding it, and said, "Have you heard about Prince Octavien's engagement?" She paused for a second, and Larkin had to fight not to roll his eyes. She continued, "Quite wonderful isn't it? I only wish him the best, of course."

Larkin made a conscious decision to not get offended- the girl really had done nothing wrong in inquiring about his opinion on Octavien's marriage- and very few people knew of Larkin's revulsion to arranged marriages. Not from any effort to keep to secret, but the fact it rarely came up outside of the occasional exchange of letters with his brother. Therefore there was no reason to let an icy tone slide into his voice- the girl was very young, probably only in her twenties, and undoubtedly the topic of marriage was far more romantic and fascinating to her than to a jaded old bachelor like Larkin.

"I have indeed heard about it, and I do hope it works out well for them." Larkin could not help but notice that a touch of bitterness was creeping into his voice. It was tiny and he squelched it quickly, but it was there. "I can't really bring myself to say its wonderful though, arranged marraiges don't tend to work out that well, especially when one of them has been widowed recently, regardless of whether that was an arranged marriage. The entire custom simply strikes me as barbaric."

Larkin had kept his face mostly expressionless and his tone even save for that initial bitter twinge in intonation. Still the words themselves were such as would be picked by a deeply emotional issue, and anyone with ears and half a brain would pick up on that. And that was not a good thing- some things Larkin did not choose to share, and he had no idea how the Baroness Adele had managed to coax even that much out of him. Heck, not even Ambrose had any suspicions regarding just why Larkin so bitterly hated arranged marriage.

Larkin did not continue speaking, lest he reveal anything more untoward. What he had said had not been nearly specific enough to tell the girl anything, but still.

Marie-Elisabeth & Bella
 

Marie-Elisabeth had almost, though of course she wouldn’t admit that aloud, hoped that Bella would have found some pretext to leave by now. Her mind was running at a mile a minute trying to figure out one for herself. But she couldn’t think of any plausible ones and for someone who had used any and every excuse under the sun to persuade her tutors not to have to do her work, this was a strange occurrence. All she could think to hope for was a messenger showing up with a letter for her, but that chance was a slim one.

She had already made up her mind that she was definately going to send for her son to come for a visit. Mostly, of course, because she missed him and wanted to see him. She knew that he couldn't stay of course, he had to many things to learn and do to remain at the palace. But with the wedding of the Prince coming up, it seemed like a perfect time, and excuse, for him to come. It was only proper that a nobleman like the Comte de Valois come to the wedding of the Prince of the realm, and it was better for Charles to start meeting all the other nobles sooner rather than later.

So instead of taking off like a shot, Marie-Elisabeth just smiled over at Bella and returned the nod, gesturing down the hallway to where the palace entrance was. “I’ve heard the same. I’m very interested to see it actually” she said, starting to walk down the hallway, with Bella following along beside her “We had a small one back home as a child, but I can only imagine how lovely the one here will seem in comparison.


(((OOC: sorry I took so long. My muse abandoned me so I had to drag him back kicking and screamng by his hair. Tempremental buggers muses. Feel free to have them end up outside if you want Alissa )))

Bella and Marie-Elisabeth - Outside the Palace
 

(((OOC: No problem, Robyn Feel free to send her into the Orangery
And Ghamina, poor Jo!)))

It seemed to Bella that Marie-Elisabeth was somewhat regretting extending the invitation to join her expedition, for Bella herself was beginning to somewhat regret it in light of the impending encounter with insects and their lovely habits of feeding on human flesh. While Bella was not one of the fragile aristocratic ladies who shied away from the slightest hint of nature, actually anything that didn’t involve absolute luxury, she was not ‘green’ enough to allow miniscule things to feed on her. One being draining her energy at a time, please and the role was apparently filled by a reluctant Marie-Elisabeth.

No, Bella loved nature, riding in the forest, the lakes and vast gardens, but they all had something that the Orangery lacked; open space. She was not looking forward to spending what was left of the morning locked up in a hot greenhouse with bugs, worms and Marie-Elisabeth. But, despite Marie-Elisabeth obviously sharing the same feelings, she had not backed down and neither would Bella. Oh, the lost fruits of cowardice.

“I’ve heard the same. I’m very interested to see it actually,” Marie-Elisabeth nodded towards the entrance of the palace as Bella matched her stride in approaching it. “We had a small one back home as a child, but I can only imagine how lovely the one here will seem in comparison.”

Bella almost stared for a moment, resisting the urge to say That’s the spirit, Comtesse. I’m sure they have far more exciting diseases hiding away in this one.

But instead, as they ventured outside, she simply smiled courteously at the other woman and said: “It is most exciting,” with a nod in agreement. Then, she breathed in the air in the anticipation of what was to come; bugs and more Marie-Elisabeth. “Especially when one loves the beauty of nature.”

“I would love to hear more of your experience here at court, Comtesse,” she smiled encouragingly at Marie-Elisabeth to move on conversation.

César - running into Joséphine and daughters
 

If there was a single thing more torturous to someone with restlessness raging through their youtful body, than having nothing at all to do, César had yet to discover it. Finding himself faced with a full day ahead of him, and no one to accompany him on the road through it, nor any ideas of how to spend it alone, he felt as though he just might start climbing the walls. Octavien was apparently 'indisposed' for some reason or other, and even if he hadn't been, he still wouldn't have been free to help keep César entertained, as he would be preparing for the arrival of his soon-to-be wife. Marie-Elisabeth, although a most tempting possibility for some pleasant company, was not an option either. César simply couldn't risk being seen with her first thing in the morning when they had been officially together until last thing the previous night. And Joséphine... Well, she still didn't seem all too interested in César's company, considering he still had neither seen nor heard from her.

And yet, she was the reason which kept him from setting off to try and find something to do elsewhere for very long, such as going riding or hunting, or even seeking out any of the other courtiers to get further acquainted with them. Granted, he did spend a little while talking to one or two of them while ingesting his breakfast in the Grand Diningroom, and he did join the crowd watching the arrival of their future princess - a remarkably mysterious and enticing beauty if ever César had seen one, so what on earth Octavien had to complain about, the Marquis simply could not understand - but found himself too impatient to hold a longer conversation. He kept being drawn back towards the hallway where both de la Valliére suites were located, in the hopes that Joséphine would soon emerge from the girls' one, and thus allow him the opportunity to do some damage control. He hated being in the doghouse, or even feeling as though he was, and would itch to try and make things right first chance he got. If he knew he was the one at fault, that is. In the case of an argument where neither stubborn spouse had been willing to back down, and were convinced they were right, he could be far more tenacious.

But not this time. This time, he knew she had reason to be upset with him, even though he was unknowingly mistaken regarding what that reason was. Not having been otherwise informed, he still thought it had to do with him failing to show his concern for her well being yesterday, or even the outcome of their plan to improve Octavien's standing among the other courtiers. Thus, when he tried to think of a way to make it up to her, he focused on her torn dress, and not her torn heart. For when inquiring about the Mistress' health the previous night, he had learned from the maids that while she had escaped fairly unscathed, her dress had suffered greatly, and would need extensive repairs if she would ever be able to use it again. And so, César decided, a new dress would be a good way to compensate his darling wife for the one that got torn, and that an additional one just might help compensate his lack of attention.

Therefore, when returning to the suite for the second time, he did so not only in order to once again ask about Joséphine and whether she had returned while he was away, but also to send one of the maids to forward an order for two quite costly dresses to the Palace head seamster, and to return with a selection of fabrics and patterns, so that Joséphine could choose the colors and designs herself. But first she'd have to decide to acknowledge the fact that she had a husband, so that she would know he was trying to apologize, and that it wasn't just a decision he had made on her behalf. It seemed unlikely that she would thik it was, but one could always trust a woman to take things the wrong way.


Once the maid had been sent off, César lingered in the suite only briefly. His intention was to wait there until Joséphine showed up, and so he had sat down in one of the comfortable sofas with a book to pass the time. But in just a matter of minutes, he'd grown too impatient to just sit around and wait, and so with a sigh, he'd set the book aside again, and left the suite for the fourth time this morning.

Back in the hallways, he shot one more in a long line of glances towards the door behind which his wife and daughters were still supposedly keeping themselves occupied, and gave yet another sigh, slightly more exasperated this time. Patience really wasn't a virtue of the Marquis de Mont-de-Marsan, and it was starting to grown quite thin. He would not stand for this much longer. One more hour, and he would just have to go there himself, no matter if Joséphine was ready for him, or still desired to be left alone.

However, as fate would have it, he'd done little more than turn away from the door and started towards the main entrance once more, when a sudden delighted squeal shattered the silence, it's echo bouncing between the walls, and causing César to stop and turn again, as he immediately recognized the sound.
And sure enough. Careening happily towards him from the other end of the hallway was indeed Adèle, curls bouncing wildly about her shoulders, and arms outstretched in anticipation of being scooped up into her father's strong ones on arrival. Trotting behind her came little Angélique, as fast as her tiny legs would carry her, and even further back, trailing gracefully behind the two children were their mother, and their nanny Bess.

Not that César was given much of an opportunity to acknowledge the two of them, as Adèle and Angélique immediately demanded his full attention. At the mere sight of them, his lips had parted in a wide smile, and he couldn't help but laugh as Adéle threw herself around his neck when he bent down to greet her and her sister. With two sets of arms around his neck, and his own gripping their bodies tightly, he then straightened his back, while finding himself being showered with questions, most of them various and repeated forms of where he had been, as apparently, he had not been around in 'forever and ever'.

"I'm sorry, mes chéris", he said with a smile, while planting a soft kiss on each girl's forehead. "Daddy had a promise to keep, and it took a little longer than expected."

Knowing that many had seen him and Marie-Elisabeth together, César thought it useless to lie or be too evasive. Not that the girls would be any the wiser anyway, but Joséphine, whose presence he was now very much aware of as she was crossing the last remaining distance between them, might have heard about it. If she had, it would be most suspicious of him not to mention Marie-Elisabeth in some way. And besides, there was no harm in being truthful, was there? It wasn't as though anything had actually happened, and so there was nothing to hide. Well, except maybe a few details, such as the giving of a certain bracelet, and the topic of a certain conversation. But other than that, there was nothing to suggest anything illicit had been going on.

"Good morning", he said as Joséphine finally reached the three of them and came to a halt, and despite his cheerful tone, the smile on his lips had faded a little bit and the look in his eyes turned slightly apprahensive, as though he was trying to determine her state of mind. "I've missed you."


(((ooc: Ghanima - Hope it works?))))

Adele and Larkin: Hallway
 

Adele smiled at the thought of the marriage between Prince Octavien and Elena. Marriage made two lovers bound to one another, and frankly, she believed it to be quite romantic. But of course, marriage could also be complicated as well. There are many who get married for all the wrong reasons, such as her father. Money, power, lust; they’re all very foolish reasons to get married. In fact, it's those exact reasons which cause Adele to question the true intentions of others. Her father chose marriage for all the wrong reasons as well. She grimaced slightly thinking about her father's pathetic marriage, but managed to quickly hide her disgust. Yet the thought of him with that woman made her cringe.

She never quite understood why he wished to get married once again, to be tied to one person until the day you die. She always believed that mother was father's one true love, but she couldn't fathom the thought of anyone loving her father. Who could possibly love such a horrid man? Adele frowned at the thought. Fortunately, she never let her father's horrible marriage taint her desire for love. But not just any love: she believed in true love, the type of love that never burns out. Yet it is quite hard to find that type of love, for many others are corrupted by the benefits that come from marriage.

Looking towards him, Adele listened intently as Larkin spoke about Prince Octavien's marriage. "I have indeed heard about it, and I do hope it works out well for them. I can't really bring myself to say its wonderful though, arranged marriages don't tend to work out that well, especially when one of them has been widowed recently, regardless of whether that was an arranged marriage. The entire custom simply strikes me as barbaric."

He remained expressionless as her spoke, and Adele could sense the fact that the Baron was not particularly fond of arranged marriages. A curious expression emerged on the young girl's face, and an assortment of thoughts began to creep into her mind.

There aren't many out there who are fond of arranged marriages, she thought. I'm sure the Baron has a good explanation for his disliking of them. As she looked at him, there was still that question in the back of her mind: could it possibly be something much more?

"Would you like to take a walk Baron?" Adele asked curiously. She did indeed want to know him better. He appeared to be kind enough, and she saw nothing wrong with him. If she was able to know those around the palace, it would help her greatly in her quest for power. Giving him a quick smile, she gazed down the hallway, her dark brown eyes glistening. "It would only be for a while." Adele quickly saw her suite near the end of the hallway, knowing that her rest would have to wait. She had more important matters to attend to.

Everyone, it is now Afternoon for our courtiers

(and you got a few extra hours because I forgot to call it last night :P)

Octavien - meeting Elena
 

Octavien didn't take well to being ordered around and told what to do. He never had, not even since long before he rose to the position of Prince of the most splendid realm of the entire civilized world. For while being made Prince had changed alot of things in and around him, his aversion towards taking orders was not one of them. Anyone who knew him could surely testify to that. As could a certain Duc, who'd lately had the opportunity to experience this aversion first hand.

The young Prince was a noble man, who took pride in serving King and country to the best of his ability, without having to be ordered to do so. In fact, to men like him, having their heartfelt loyalty completely disregarded in favour of depersonalizing commands when not even in actual battle, was nothing short of an insult. A virtual slap in the face.

So then, when after in the early morning having been sent a note telling (not asking) him that he was to be 'indisposed' and thus unable to greet his betrothed on her arrival to the Palace of Light and Air, things were hardly made better when shortly after said arrival, he was sent another note, this time telling him he was now expected to properly introduce himself to Her Exellency, as soon as possible.

Had he not known any better, Octavien would have thought the King to be as fickle as a teenage girl, if not more, with apparent mood swings every five minutes, first saying one thing, and then turning around and saying something completely different.
But, he did know better - alot better - and so could see through it all with the greatest of ease; they (meaning the King and his advisors) had been afraid that Octavien would cause a scene, a minor or even major disaster, if being there to greet their new Princess alongside the King himself. They still were. But, while they could prevent a possible disaster in public, they couldn't keep Octavien and his bride from meeting forever, and so since it did have to happen sooner or later, it was better if it happened in private, where no one would be shamed infront of an audience. Her Exellency wouldn't be shamed by some possible snide remark, or loud rejection on Octavien's part, and neither would the royal family. As though a private first meeting would somehow eliminate all chances Octavien would have in the future, should he really desire to cause trouble?

Preposterous indeed. So many useless precautions, when all they really had to do was to actually talk to him, instead of treating him like some kind of mindless yet unpredictable puppet. He was not a fool, nor was he unreasonable, much like he had stated to Duc d'Lorraine only a few days ago. The Duc had even seemed to agree, although perhaps not in so many words. And had Octavien not shown there that he would indeed submit to His Majesty's decisions? Even if he wasn't particularly thrilled about them?

Well then, he would just have to keep signalling his dissatisfaction with being treated as a mute pawn, while still carrying out his duties. And this was a perfect opportunity.

He was to present himself to Her Exellency 'as soon as possible', the note had said. Well, didn't that leave things open to interpretation? It was really a matter of prioritizing, wasn't it? There could be a dozen things that took priority over introducing himself to his future bride. Lunch, for one. After all, wouldn't it be a shame if he was to go ahead and meet with her, and end up saying something stupid simply because he wasn't thinking straight, due to being so very hungry?
Another thing that might be far too important to not be dealt with first, was the matter of choosing the right clothing. He wouldn't want to look too dark and gloomy, even though he'd just been widowed, but then again, he wouldn't want to look like a darned peacock either, would he? Men that dressed too flashy would often seem like they were trying to make up for some lack of their, or to draw attention away from some serious flaw.
The list could be made very long indeed, and therein lay the method of Octavien's silent rebellion to being ordered around; he procrastinated the meeting, when he knew he was expected to instigate it immediately.

Only once a few hours had passed did he dictate a small note for Her Exellency, scribbled down by Gilles' steady hand, telling her to expect him within the hour; a time frame wide enough for him to keep her waiting, thus showing her, and everyone else for that matter, the 'proper' arrogance of royalty - that things only happened when the Prince, in this case, decided that it would, and that others were expected to wait for as long as the royal in question chose to keep them waiting - yet not wide enough to insult her by keeping her waiting too long.

Still he did wait until there remained only ten minutes of the announced hour, before he left his own suite, and headed for the one right across the royal floor; the Princess' suite, which Her Excellency now occupied. Having chosen a deep sapphire frock coat of lustrous brocade that brought out the intensity of his blue eyes and the golden shimmer of his hair, along with matching breeches, he knew that while he would not out-do the lady as far as radiating with wealth and luxury went - which, in all honesty, was as difficult for a gentleman to do as it was impolite - he would at least match her. In garb as well as in poise. He carried himself with his usual dignity and pride, and his stride was purposeful yet unhurried as he crossed the floor with a small entourage of servants trailing behind him, with the exception of one that darted ahead to announce his pending arrival to the Princess' suite, so that when he approached, Her Excellency would be prepared, and the doors immediately pushed open for him. God forbid he should be made to wait outside.

"His Royal Highness, Prince Octavien", the footman officially announced for all nearby to hear as Octavien passed through the gilded doors, and came to a halt, his eyes landing on the woman whom he had watched arrive a few hours ago, from the window in his suite.

This was it. It was his first encounter with the woman who was to be his wife: A complete stranger.

"Buenas tardes, su Excelencia", he greeted her with a slight, polite inclination of his neck, in response to her graceful curtsy. "And welcome. We are most honored to have you with us. Though I must apologize for not greeting you on arrival. I'm afraid this morning found me a bit under the weather."


(((ooc: I hope it's okay I had her curtsy, Ghanima? If I'm not completely mistaken, as royalty, he shouldn't acknowledge her/greet her until she did, yet she would not have the right to actually address him until he addressed her first. Or something.)))

Larkin had gotten over his discomfiture at the topic of arranged marriage fairly quickly- that did not mean that the damage his small slip in composure had caused was gone however. A curious expression had wandered onto her features as he spoke, and Larkin found himself wondering what precisely she might be curious enough about to let it display so clearly. The reason for his sharp and transparent dislike of arranged marriages? He hoped she would simply understand the principle- two people, thrown together by power plays, usually not even their own, to live in each other's company until one dropped dead, what person wouldn't dislike it? Then again, the nobility grew up expecting such a thing- marriage for the nobility was not for love- not for any country, not even for France, that bastion of civilization. Hence why his reaction was so harsh.

He gloomily realized that there simply wasn't another rational reason for her to bother showing curiosity. Unless of course she thought marriage to truly be something that was only a symbol of love and devotion. In which case she was either very very daft or mind numbingly naive.

She did not speculate when she answered- for which Larkin was duly grateful- but instead asked, "Would you like to take a walk Baron?"

Now there was a non sequiter if ever there was one! Larkin did not have anything significant demanding his attention- even with Ambrose having gotten the fastest courier money could buy there was no chance that the courier would have even gotten to Aurvilies yet, let alone given the steward a chance to reply. In the absence of current information about his barony there truly was nothing he had to do. And besides which, Baroness Adele was a fascinating quandry- too young to be as cynical as Larkin, old enough to not unintentionally be an idiot, and not difficult on his eyes either. Not that Larkin would think about such things, especially when the awkward topic of arranged marriage was on his mind.

He gave a small warm smile and answered just as simplistically as she had been, "I'd be delighted to."

Marie-Elisabeth & Bella - The Orangery
 

“I would love to hear more of your experience here at court, Comtesse,”, Bella had said and Marie-Elisabeth tried not to roll her eyes and scoff. “Oh I just best you would you nosey little thing” she thought, as they made their way through the grounds toward the Orangery “But you’re not getting anything out of me. Not that there’s anything to get, but if there was you’d be the last person I’d tell”.

“Oh I’ve hardly got anything interesting to tell” she said, pausing to admire the pretty swirled pattern the grass had been cut into “Obviously recent events haven’t permitted anything of a noteworthy nature to occur. But I suppose with her Excellency’s arrival that’s going to change. All the events and festivities to celebrate the Royal marriage will be most exciting; I do hope I’ll be able to get my little chou d’amour here in time to witness everything”.

She smiled and fiddled with her necklace as they continued down along the pathways lined with trees. “You know what’s more amusing than my less than remarkable experiences here at court so far” she said, laughing slightly at the memory “ When she first came to live with us after their wedding, my eldest brother Joesph’s wife, Isabelle wouldn’t go near the Orangery. She was somehow convinced it was full of deadly tropical diseases and all sorts of horrendous insects. They didn’t have them where she was born you see, so it was really quite funny to see the look on her face when Joseph would talk about picnics in the Orangery. We were all rather hard pressed not to laugh at her, have you ever heard such a silly notion?”


(((OOC: Sorry again for taking a while. I’m in the same boat as Ghanima, my muse will not cooperate. But I’ve got him by the braid and I’m threatening it and his wardrobe with scissors so he should behave himself for a while.

And I’m using the Orangery of Versailles as my mental picture for this one, I hope that works. I figured it was a good one to use

Picture One

Picture Two )))

Bella and Maire-Elisabeth - Palace Grounds
 

Bella knew full well that Marie-Elisabeth would volunteer practically no information when asked, especially by Bella herself. To be expected, if anything. It was quite clear that the dear Comtesse had no warm feelings towards her, all developed in the space of two days. Bella could not help but wonder whether Marie-Elisabeth was on better or worse terms with Joséphine. Perhaps amorous friendships with one spouse warranted for lesser cordial relationships with the other. Oh, life was a balancing act.

“Oh I’ve hardly got anything interesting to tell,” Marie-Elisabeth replied, her vision turning to the greenery before them as Bella’s thoughts wandered to the ample greenery that was to come.

“Obviously recent events haven’t permitted anything of a noteworthy nature to occur. But I suppose with her Excellency’s arrival that’s going to change. All the events and festivities to celebrate the Royal marriage will be most exciting; I do hope I’ll be able to get my little chou d’amour here in time to witness everything.”

Oh, yes, do show him the wonderful fleurs de mort, too. He can add those to the list of things he doesn’t like.

“You know what’s more amusing than my less than remarkable experiences here at court so far,” she continued as Bella watched her attention’s return to the locket that held her son’s portrait. “When she first came to live with us after their wedding, my eldest brother Joesph’s wife, Isabelle wouldn’t go near the Orangery. She was somehow convinced it was full of deadly tropical diseases and all sorts of horrendous insects.”

What?! Bella thought sardonically to herself. Scared of insects and she admitted it?! How dare she?

“They didn’t have them where she was born you see, so it was really quite funny to see the look on her face when Joseph would talk about picnics in the Orangery. We were all rather hard pressed not to laugh at her, have you ever heard such a silly notion?”

Of course insects don’t live in plants, Comtesse, Bella thought silently as she laughed along with Marie-Elisabeth. And insects don't carry odd diseases.

“Preposterous,” she uttered as the laugh came to an end. Isabelle, indeed, not a far cry from Isabella. Or was Isabelle a pseudonym for Marie-Elisabeth herself? Terrified of the Orangery and still reluctant to admit it? Oh, Bella simply had to see this through now.

“Yes, the wedding certainly should be a wonderful event,” she remarked, refusing to let her mind wander to how exactly Octavien was going to deal with Elena and how exactly Bella was going to deal with her part in it. “I do have one confusion that has been playing upon my mind, Comtesse. I had heard that the Prince's name was Duc Silvius, while it is now Octavien Lahance?”

Octavien and Elena - Elena's suite
 

Living at one of the most splendid, if not the most splendid of courts in the known, civilized world, there was quite alot to be said about a good, wholesome upbringing. One of the most significant things being that it was something to be truly grateful for. To talk properly, to move properly, to eat properly... In short, to do everything one did, properly.

As a child and a teenager, this wasn't something Octavien had reflected on very much, busy as he'd been playing and enjoying life to the fullest back then. Even the days before dashing off to join the court at the Palace of Light and Air to learn a thing or two about life, had seen him carefree and unconcerned by what was expected of him once he arrived. Regardless of the things that had landed him in trouble and caused him to be sent off in the first place, there were very few that had found a reason to complain about his actual manners. He had always carried himself well and had an amiable way about him, one that people could not help but to find endearing. But to Octavien, it had never been anything but the way one simply acted. His upbringing had molded him into a well-behaved youth, who saw no reason to act otherwise. If there were darker thoughts stirring in one's mind, one simply hid them and pretended they didn't exist, until one could find a suitable outlet for them. It was simply the way things were, and he had never found a reason to be either thankful or disgruntled because of it.

However, now he did. Now, he realized he was indeed very lucky to have been born wealthy, especially considering he hadn't been born a noble. Because despite the lack of blue blood in his veins, he had been raised with every luxery usually reserved for and enjoyed by nobility only, recieving ample tutoring in reading, writing, conversating, fencing, riding, archery, literature, history, and everything else a young man from a prominent family might benefit from knowing. He had even been taught a number of foreign languages, such as Latin, German, Russian, English, some Italian, some Portuguese and, of course, Spanish. For indeed, one could never know what prominent foreigners he might encounter at parties or during his travels. Why, it might even come to pass that he ended up a diplomat, and just think how handy it would be then, that he already spoke the language of every nation that was even remotely worth dealing with.

Now, while during the few months in court, he had not yet come to actually need all his linguistic knowledge, he was still thankful for it nonetheless. Especially now, when faced with his future Spanish bride, as it allowed him to show a good measure of good will and respect, by greeting her in her own native tongue. After all, although he wasn't particularly interested in actually marrying her, the arrangement was really no fault of hers - or so he thought - and there would be no honor in making things difficult for her. They had to be quite difficult enough already, considering she was a stranger to their country and their customs, and any gentleman would see it as his duty to make her feel welcome.

Though try hard as he may, he remained ultimately unable to fully shake that thin veil of reservation he could feel cloaking his eyes, and suspected Her Excellency had little trouble picking up on it. But then again, it was to be expected that they both felt somewhat constrained, wasn't it? They were perfect strangers, who in a mere few days would be man and wife. Of course their first meeting would be slightly awkward, if not completely so.

Thank goodness he had begun to shed that fateful self-consciousness that had laced his actions since first becoming Prince, and reached it's peak when it became clear to him that the woman he loved would be leaving court indefinitely. Since then, the old Octavien, with his amiable confidence, had started slowly returning. Granted, there was still a bit of a distance to go until the full extent of his previous self-consciousness had been completely discarded, but he WAS getting there, slowly but surely. Although, despite his old self easing it's way back into his character, there was still one part of him that seemed it would be forever lost; his ability to trust in others. That part of him remained a huge void, and one that didn't seem like it would be filled or closing any time soon. Thus, the only ones currently able to enjoy the now rare luxery of his trust, were César and Joséphine, and they had both known him for years.

So, needless to say, while Elena seemed to be quite pleasant - so far - with her soft, cordial smile and her agreeable tone of voice, lightly sprinkled with remnants of her Spanish heritage, it would take more, alot more, before Octavien felt completely at peace around her. However, that was not to say that he would not be able to relax and be truly and perfectly friendly towards her, and in a casual manner too once the timing was right. He might even come to enjoy her company. But, it would be quite some time before he would dare to trust her, if ever it happened.

"Gracias, su Majestad", she said in response to his greeting and his excuse. "The honour is all mine. There is no need to apologize, such things are unfortunately beyond one's ability to control: though I trust your health has improved?"

She sounded perfectly sincere and as concerned as would have been expected, but... There was just something in her eyes that reminded him of what he suspected was visible in his own as well. Deception. She didn't believe him any more than he believed himself, and given the way they were both carefully scrutinizing one another, assessing looks, intelligence and mental strength, it came as no surprise. She was studying him as intently as he was studying her, which was most likely the reason why she didn't believe him, and why he could tell that she didn't.

Well then. He clearly was wasn't the only one to see through the lame excuses the King had made. Or, in Octavien's case, failed to make. Which would mean that either they were truly so transparent that even the blind would be able to see through them, or Her Excellency was at least fairly intelligent. Another thing that, just as was the case with her comely exterior, could be as much a blessing as it could be a curse. Dimwitted women might cause trouble at first, but would often turn out to be quite easily controlled eventually, and kept from making fools out of themselves and their spouses. Intelligent ones, however, although they could be most stimulating company and, if fate would have it, valuable allies and accomplices, would also be likely to cause alot more problems, if they did not see eye to eye with their partner. And not by something as easily handled as making a fool of themselves.

With silly goose obviously not being the case with Elena, it only remained to be seen if she would be friend or foe. She seemed friendly enough, but then again, one would indeed have to be a silly goose to act any different in their first encounter with a Prince.

"Please", she said, motioning towards the set of comfortable couches and sofas in the room, as an invitation for Octavien to sit.

Octavien's gaze followed the gesture, but instead of landing simply on the group of furniture, it swept across the entire room, from one side to another, as he took in the view he had only seen once before; on his first and, so far, only wedding night. A mock consumation of the marriage to Adalita. He had been relieved then to not have to actually bed her, as she had already been far beyond the border of loosing her virginity. And while the girl had been pretty enough, she hadn't appealed to him. She'd proven herself to be quite crude, naive and gullible, and... Ah yes. A goose. Add to that the fact that he had been in love, and still was, with Isabella, and he hadn't been the least bit interested in doing anything beside sleep next to Adalita, at the most.

Nor was he particularly interested in doing anything more with Elena, when the time came for their wedding night to be shared, but... sadly, he doubted he'd enjoy the same 'luxery' of having his 'work' already done for him. Her Excellency was a chaste and pure woman. Or so he'd been told. Which would mean there was no easy way around that one. He'd be expected to... perform, not just by everyone outside the bedroom, but by the other person inside it as well.

However, that was something to be pondered later. He was getting far ahead of things now, and while it might be a good idea to prepare for what was to come, this was hardly the time. Not in the company of the woman who was part of the problem, and not during his very first encounter with her.
Thus, within a mere few seconds of starting it, Octavien finished his brief inspection of the room, noting to himself in passing that there was a certain girlishness in some of the details that he felt clashed with Her Excellency's womanhood. Adalita had still been very much a girl, despite her age, and Elena, while still seeming fairly young, was most definately a grown woman. Octavien could only hope that changes would be made to the room, and that they would be made before the wedding. There simply was something... additionally off-putting about the idea of going to bed with another woman in the very room where his previous wife had died.
Granted, it still would be, technically, no matter what changes were made to the decor, but as long as changes were indeed made, it would no longer actually be Adalita's room.

Accepting the invitation to sit with a slight nod, Octavien moved to one of the sofas, and sat down, reclining back against the lush comfort it offered, while his gaze returned to Elena.

"Indeed it has", he replied to her question, having decided that while he was made to lie to her, he would do it as little as possible.

Thus, he spoke with his actual injury in mind. After all, it wasn't a very far-fetched or deceptive thing to do, considering what had happened yesterday. He still did require a bit of attention from the royal physician, just to make sure the wound kept healing nicely.

"I shall be back to perfect health in no time," he added with a slight smile. "Or so the physician tells me. Though I thank you for your concern."

That being said, the matter could be regarded as over and done with, and as he had little interest to dwell on something she most likely didn't believe anyway - lest she'd been informed of the 'attempt' made on his life, or the observations made by the other courtiers the previous day - he moved on to other matters;

"I trust your journey through our country was safe, and hopefully pleasant as well?"


(((ooc: Sorry so long, and possibly messy. My head's all over the place.)))

(((:doh Completly forgot about this! Luckily my friend unknowingly reminded me when she rented "The Other Boleyn Girl" today...(which Padme's picture has been updated to something a bit more...."accurate"....Even though its over 100 years earlier than the current RP year. I will try to have an RP up by tonight. Slytherin, Alissa, do you mind if Padme joins you?)))

Marie-Elisabeth & Bella: Smelling the Fleurs
 

Nervous laughter was particularly easy to identify. And as keen of an observer of people as Marie-Elisabeth was, she could detect it straightaway. And Bella’s laughter had a distinctly nervous quality to it. However, it was less simple to judge the reason behind the nervous laughter. Maybe Bella was afraid of the bugs herself, and was masking it with the laughter. That thought almost made Marie-Elisabeth laugh out loud but she kept it in.

“I agree” she said instead, pushing the doors to the orangery open with Bella following closely behind her “Being afraid of such little things is so silly. She didn’t have any brothers growing up though, so I suppose she didn’t become accustomed to them. With five mischievous brothers running around, we girls were always finding all manner of insects and creatures in our beds or desks. My little brother Max actually managed to sneak a frog into our dessert at dinner once. Mama had a fit”. She giggled remembering it, the look on her mother’s face when a little green frog stared back at her from her plate was priceless. But she was distracted from her memories by Bella’s next comment, which she had wondered about too.


“I do have one confusion that has been playing upon my mind, Comtesse. I had heard that the Prince's name was Duc Silvius, while it is now Octavien Lahance?”

“You know, I was wondering the same thing” she said, leaning over to smell one of the exotic flowers, and smiling at the pleasant aroma “I was rather confused about it when I received the initial announcement of engagement with one name on it and then the wedding announcement had a different name. I’d like to know what happened there myself”.



(((OOC: Again, SO very sorry for taking a while. I don't know what's wrong with me lately, my writing just isn't coming to me when I want it to)))

César and Joséphine - hallways
 

Feeling that perhaps it wouldn't be the most ideal situation to have the girls present to witness a conversation in which Joséphine just might like the opportunity to clear the air, following the couple's day and, more importantly (at least as far as César was concerned) night apart, César had just barely finished speaking when he bent down to place both daughters gently back on the ground again, despite their protests ringing in both his ears. Still at the age where they had yet to learn to control their demands for the things they wanted, they left it no secret that they really didn't want to leave their father already. Yet, somehow - some might even call it a minor miracle, while others would simply call it the skill of a resourceful and experienced nanny - both girls were persuaded only seconds later to go with Bess, leaving the Marquis and Marquise with an opportunity to talk freely, without their children around to possibly pick up on anything less than harmonious going on between their cherished mama and papa.

It was an opportunity which César had thought would involve angry words, annoyance, or at the very least a bit of sarcasm on Joséphine's part, considering her decision to keep her distance from her husband during the night, and the morning as well. She wouldn't have done that, had she not been cross with him.
So, imagine his surprise then, when in response to his somewhat apprahensive and wary yet fairly cheerful greeting, recieved one that was equally cheerful, but lacking any and all signs of apprahension or annoyance.

"And I you", she said in a tone so soft he couldn't discern even the slightest bit of gal in it.

Huh.
It was not at all what he had expected. Hoped for, but not expected. To be perfectly honest, he didn't quite understand it. It hardly seemed she had been upset in the first place, or else there would be something to suggest she had a firm opinion of what he had and had not done the previous day. But why would she spend the night away from him if she wasn't angry with him? And why, if she was angry with him, would she act as though she wasn't? Unless, of course, she had been angry last evening, but changed her mind during the night or morning?
Or, could it be that she really was pregnant, and was becoming irrational and emotional already? César had heard a few friends describe the erratic behaviour of their pregnant wives, and how they had gone through phases of not wanting their husbands anywhere near them, let alone touching them. Joséphine was very much aware of César's tendency to be 'friendly' in bed, so could it be that she had forsaken their marital bed in order to avoid being touched by him? It seemed odd. Very odd indeed.
But then again, women in general could be quite difficult to understand sometimes, even to 'experts' such as César, whereas pregnant women were darned near impossible. Most of the time, not even they understood what was the matter with them!

But oh well. If she wasn't going to yell at him or snap at him, he sure as heck wasn't going to question it.

"It is a pity you left yesterday, you missed quite the spectacle in the gardens", she continued with a small laugh, as though the details of what had transpired amused her still. "I daresay there will be talk of 'His Majesty's brave rescue' for some time to come."

Those words made the smile on César's lips widen momentarily, as his mind wove images of how it all must have played out, as well as in appreciation of the fact that their plan had indeed turned out to be a successful one. Though it was a smile that would soon fade ever so slighty, as he was once again reminded of how he had neglected her, especially since at the time he hadn't known she was alright. He'd suspected as much, based on the fact that if something had happened - God forbid - they would have sent for him. But he hadn't actually known anything for certain until he had returned and been informed by the maids. And now, coming face to face with Joséphine and hearing her tell him about it, he felt twice as bad as he had the day before, while in Marie-Elisabeth's pleasant company. And twice as proud of having such a spirited wife, that would even consider doing what she had done. She truly was one of a kind.

"I can honestly say I know of no other woman who would have dared to do such a thing", he said and met her gaze, not without admiration and adoration. "Let alone do it as successfully as you obviously have."

Drawing closer, he then took her hands in his and gave them an affectionate squeeze as he continued, softly now;

"And, I am truly sorry, my love, for disappearing the whole day. I had promised to take Comtesse de Valois riding, to... Heavens, what have you done? Is that from yesterday?!"

While he spoke, he had brought her hands to his lips in order to plant a soft kiss on each of them in between the words of his explanation, and so the scratches on them and on her arms had been bound to catch his attention. Needless to say, at that moment he forgot all about the explanation he'd been giving, as well as the kisses upon her hands that had been meant to accompany it. Instead, he carefully turned her arms to examine them, inspecting the blemished skin.

Bella and Maire-Elisabeth - Orangery
 

(((OOC: Robyn, so sorry for the delay, I just managed to get this done. Also, take your time replying, I can't get another reply in for a while. Been a bit busy lately.
Elektra, I have no objections )))

Bella was afraid. That was all. She was afraid. Not of Marie-Elisabeth, not of Elena, not of anyone, but rather something. Spiders. Eurgh. Disgusting, ugly, filthy things. What on Earth was the point of their existence?! What on Earth did anyone have to gain from ridiculous little eight legged things crawling over everything and everyone. Why?!

It was not a baseless fear, however, Bella having had her own unpleasant brush with arachnids as a child. It was most disturbing and every time she even looked at another one of those disgusting things, she was simply reminded of that particular incident alone in the woods, aged seven. It was true then, something you simply cannot change about yourself.

Therefore, while Marie-Elisabeth continued to lead their way into the Orangery that was sure to house as many of the vermin as possible, all Bella could think of were the spiders. They were sure to be there. Waiting, watching. God. Yet, no, she would not give in to petty fear, she wasn’t going to give Marie-Elisabeth the satisfaction of watching her squirm. She would stand her ground. She would wield her perfected skill of masking her true self. Or at least try.

“I agree,” Marie-Elisabeth spoke, giggling, oblivious to the inner turmoil brewing inside her companion. “Being afraid of such little things is so silly. She didn’t have any brothers growing up though, so I suppose she didn’t become accustomed to them. With five mischievous brothers running around, we girls were always finding all manner of insects and creatures in our beds or desks. My little brother Max actually managed to sneak a frog into our dessert at dinner once. Mama had a fit.”

Oh, I bet she did, Bella thought tightly to herself, struggling to let go of the tenseness that was beginning to take hold of her. Though, I wouldn’t tell darling Charles that, he might get ideas.

“You know, I was wondering the same thing,” she answered Bella’s question while admiring flowers as they passed. “I was rather confused about it when I received the initial announcement of engagement with one name on it and then the wedding announcement had a different name. I’d like to know what happened there myself.”

Bella liked nature, there was no questions in that. It was probably why she had run off into the woods in the first place that day. Nature, she liked, spiders, definitely not. They weren’t a part of nature, they were abominations, eight-legged freaks.

“Well, I suppose it’s all in the past now,” Bella superficially dismissed, inside vowing to get to the bottom of it, as her fingers played over the silky surface of the flowers, the colours vibrant against her olive skin. It was becoming increasingly obvious that Marie-Elisabeth either knew nothing or was paticularly intent on keeping quiet about what she did know. The former seemed likely, given that the Comtesse had only been at court for a week - and already so friendly with a particular one of it's courtiers - while the latter, was most certainly something invoked by Bella herself. “Have you been at court before, Comtesse, or is this your first time?”

Glancing subtly at the blonde woman, Bella decided that she was either very dim or very clever. While it was likely that Marie-Elisabeth was as airheaded and pretentious as she seemed to be - certainly matched by Bella's own tactlessness the other day - it posed no harm to simply allow the Comtesse to talk about herself - which she was quite obviously dying to do - to truly assess her. And of course, it would give Bella enough distractions from... unwanted visitors.

Marie-Elisabeth & Bella: The Orangery
 

Despite her intense dislike for the proliferation of women in her family with the Marie prefix, Marie-Elisabeth was now making a solemn vow to name her first daughter Marie-Therese after her mother. The amount of things her mother had taught her that had come in handy over the past week both astonished her and made her exceedingly grateful. Being the youngest girl, aside from other obvious good points, had meant she reaped the benefits of experience. Having already had ten girls by the time Marie-Elisabeth was born, her mother was well versed in what kind of lessons and information were valuable and worthy of passing on to a young lady.

One such lesson was never to tell anything worthwhile to anyone you didn’t trust. You could chat to them about the weather, family, how ridiculous that woman looks in a bright green dress, but you never told them anything serious. Marie-Elisabeth didn’t trust Bella and farther than she could throw her, so she was following that advice perfectly. It was similar to the tactics she employed to get things done the way she wanted. Merely pretend ignorance so no one sees you as any kind of threat until it’s much too late to do anything about it.


So she nodded and smiled as Bella agreed with her statement. “It is indeed” she said, while inwardly enjoying Bella’s subtle, but still noticeable, discomfort at being in the Orangery. She wasn’t quite sure if it was because of she herself or, as she was beginning to suspect, that she suffered the same lack of fondness for insects as the sister in law she had mentioned. Now that was certainly something that, if true, could prove a great source of amusement. Marie-Elisabeth herself wasn’t overly fond of them herself, but she was hardly about to shriek and run away at the sight of them like many ladies would. She had grown up with quite a few brothers after all, who all seemed to be fascinated with them, and had gotten used to them.

Unfortunately she couldn’t spot any unpleasant insects at the moment, but she did note that they were the only ones roaming about the area. That made her grin as she realized that meant this area of the palace was not overly popular, and could be counted as one of the places she had been looking for. But letting her mind wander that way in current company was highly unwise, so she turned her attention back to Bella’s question about her experiences at court. “ No, this is not my first stay here” she said, shaking her head “I was here once or twice as a child with my father, the late Duc de Normandie. My husband and I visited once before our son was born as well, but since Charles wasn’t overly fond of extensive travel we mostly spent out time at home. He said he’d done enough travelling as a young man with the army, and I was perfectly happy to stay at home with my little boy”.


(((OOC: Don't worry about it Alissa, I understand I took a while with some of mine too so I won;t say a word against you taking some time off )))

Octavien & Elena - Elena's suite
 

During the course of the past couple of weeks, Octavien had started wondering if he had been far more naive than he had ever realized, when coming to court, with his mind set on climbing the social ladder, gaining if not power and wealth, then at least power. Wealth he already had, to a certain extent, though not a fortune of his own. And while wealth could often buy power, it was equally often a power that could be just as easily taken away, while power gained through deeds and effort, would in comparison be far more long-lasting and durable. Deeds tended to manifest themselves in people's minds, often turning over time from fragmented pieces of gossip secretively shared behind the safety of delicate fans or closed doors, to elaborate tales of honor and bravura, or, in the case of somewhat more shady methods having been used to obtain this power, of masterful trickery and deceit. Either way, your journey to power would be respected, perhaps laced with admiration, perhaps with fear, and not scoffed at, as was often the case with those that simply "donated" a hefty sum to the royal treasury in order to be rewarded a grander title for their "loyalty".
Octavien, having been taught and intelligent enough to know the difference, had hungered for the former. And he had earned it.

Yet, in retrospect, he now realized that he had been so focused on what he was determined to achieve, that he had not spent a single minute reflecting on the cost. He had gotten to where he wanted through a mix of honor and deceit, which ironically rendered most of those around him unaware of his true path to the position as Prince of the kingdom. As far as they were concerned, he had gotten there simply because Princess Adalita fell in love with him and chose him for her husband. A way rather similar to that of gaining power by buying it. They didn't know of his sacrifice, they didn't know of the loyalty and the devotion towards the royal family that was behind it. They knew nothing of the decision based on honor, nor did they know of the less-than-honorable affiliation he had with the Queen, which had been the reason why he was able to make that honorable decision in the first place. He was, in short, unable to enjoy the respect he himself felt he was entitled to. Especially from the King and Duc d'Lorraine, who at this point seemed to be two of his most prominent advesaries, in a roundabout, stoical way, when they should in fact be among the most grateful ones, as far as Octavien's marriage to Adalita went.
His relationship with the Queen, however; not so much.

Furthermore, his new position had forced him to adapt a bit of a new disposition, peeling away the many layers of Octavien's faith in people. Yes, he had known people in general were prone to stabbing one another in the back over the slightest chance of recieving a measly few more crumbles of the pie, at court more than any other place. But he had never actually experienced it all first-hand, until just recently, and reality was always a most cruel teacher. Effective, but cruel.

It was, in part, because of this loss off faith and trust in people, that he was currently dead set on not trusting Elena. He didn't trust her, and he didn't trust the King. For all he knew, the two of them could be conspiring together, for some reason or another. And with the King so obviously incapable of realizing Octavien's true potential, the young Prince decided that instead of letting it just annoy him, he might as well end up using it to his own advantage. Which was why, during this very first encounter with his future and possibly misleadingly congenial bride, he decided to hold back a bit, to give Her Excellency the impression that he just might be a little more simple-minded than he really was. If she intended to decieve him somehow, like so many others had tried to do lately, or try to control him, either for her own purposes or on behalf of the King, having her think her future husband to be fairly easily fooled or manipulated, just might help expose her agenda, and to expose it rather quickly.

And so, he didn't show any signs of having caught that somewhat displeased glint in her eyes at the cordial but obviously rather reserved reply he had offered her. However, that was not to say that he DIDN'T catch it. He did, and it only spurred his inner musings even further. There was indeed something stirring in the mind behind those piercing eyes of hers, and at the moment, it obviously wasn't all pleasant.

"Certainly, we have encountered no trouble", she replied, with that faint flicker of impatience now gone, "and I could not have wished for a more picturesque journey. Although I confess I am looking forward to a night's rest in a proper bed, even the most comfortable of coaches tends to become uncomfortable and stifling after a while."

At the mention of 'a proper bed' her eyes wandered briefly to the lavish and feminine, yet rather robust piece of furniture that dominated the room, followed by Octavien's, as her words conjured a few mental images to him as well. First and foremost that of the pale, emaciated form that had been the dying former Princess, soon replaced by memories of the first wedding night he had spent there, and notions of what his next one might be like.
However, they didn't get much of a chance to manifest temselves in his mind just yet, as his attention was still focused mainly on Elena, and so when next she spoke, his gaze immediately returned to her.

"Your Majesty...", she started, sounding almost hesitant, which, as she continued, Octavien would clearly see the reason for. "I would also like to express my condolences for the loss of your wife; I cannot imagine how difficult it must have been to bury your bride... a mere few days before taking another."

However, while sounding rather apprahensive for the most part of her statement, with her final words her tone of voice changed ever so slightly, to something that Octavien couldn't quite pinpoint. Was she just trying to carefully break the ice, or was there something else hiding beneath the surface?
Well, time would tell. For now, Octavien decided to appreciate it for what it was, at least in part; a sign that she was not an all too strict follower of 'proper' protocol.
Thank God for that. They just might end up having an actual conversation. And, it would've only been too ironic if she had been an ardent follower of all social rules and etiquette, leaving Octavien to have lost a wife whom he'd wished was a bit more conservative and correct, in favor of one he would have wished was less so.
But, as it would seem, this one was at least prone to valuing a meaningful conversation over a completely correct and forgettable one. Much like Octavien himself. It was only fair then, that he met her halfway, and didn't leave her to go out on a limb all on her own. Even though he suspected there was a bit more of a purpose to her statement, than just breaking the ice.

"Thank you", he replied, his lips now forming a modest variant of his usual but lately increasingly rare, amiable smile. "And please accept my sympathy, as I know your position is indeed a difficult one as well."

It was a calculated statement that went on to show compassion and warmth, which, while they were both pleasant qualities, were not necessarily the qualities of a sharp mind.
For indeed, it was true; Princess Adalita, regardless of her flaws, had been loved and admired, by the court and by the people. Thus, marrying the upstart and very recently widowed Prince, and claiming not only Adalita's title, but her husband and her very room as well, was not a position to be truly envied. Especially not this soon after the Princess' death. People were still very much fond of the memory of her, and just might see Elena as her illicit rival, despite the very real and undeniable difference that one was dead, while the other was very much alive.

Bella and Maire-Elisabeth - Orangery
 

“It is indeed,” Marie-Elisabeth continued her bland conversation as Bella’s sharp eyes scanned the area. No, no spiders yet. Had they all gone off somewhere and started plotting or something? Well, the further they were from her, the better. While her eyes worked diligently, so did Bella’s mind. Her thoughts at joining Marie-Elisabeth’s quest this morning had lay in the promise of finding somewhere for clandestine meetings. This simply was not the place. She didn’t care how much both she and Elena wanted discretion, but this simply was not the place. It would be a cold day in hell before she subjected herself to this repeatedly. On the other hand, Marie-Elisabeth had little discomfort in this place. She could only hope a certain Marquis had no fears to rival Bella’s as she watched a grin widen over Marie-Elisabeth’s features.

“No, this is not my first stay here,” she continued her life story as Bella stretched her shoulders slightly, smoothing down the expensive material of her dress to distract herself from her growing uneasiness. “I was here once or twice as a child with my father, the late Duc de Normandie. My husband and I visited once before our son was born as well, but since Charles wasn’t overly fond of extensive travel we mostly spent out time at home. He said he’d done enough travelling as a young man with the army, and I was perfectly happy to stay at home with my little boy.”

Yes, and why didn’t you continue to do so?! the words played out in Bella’s mind, but no words escaped her lips as she glanced up at the Comtesse and exuded a warm smile.

Marie-Elisabeth, as air headed as she seemed, could not possibly be this boring. Therefore, she was obviously unwilling to share. Honestly, Bella would truly, gladly watch paint dry than sit around listening to Marie-Elisabeth. Right now, she didn’t have that luxury. It was either the Comtesse or spiders, though the difference was a little blurry.

“Well, that must have been nice,” she said simply, her voice now somewhat hushed. Compose yourself, Bella!

Adele and Larkin: Courtyard
 

((Sorry it took so long for me to reply. I've been very busy with sports and exams, but it's a lot better since it's all over now . I also hope that you're okay with Adele and Larkin going into the courtyard? I wasn't sure whether or not you would want to do that.))

"I'd be delighted to." Hearing his response Adele turned to face the Baron, smiling at him politely. She had hoped he would accept her offer, for it would give her the chance to become well known to all those who live in the palace.

"Wonderful," she replied, looking down at her dress. It was quite wrinkled from all the fidgeting she was doing, so she quickly smoothed it out and continued speaking. "Shall we head to the courtyard then? I think it would be best if we had some fresh air." Holding out her hand, the two of them strolled out into the courtyard. Afternoon had arrived, and the sun was at the peak of its height. Its rays beamed down on Adele, causing her to her to sigh quietly. Since spring had arrived the weather had made a drastic change, going from chilly to warm in a matter of days. It seemed as if it would take quite a while for her to get used to the hot temperature.

Due to the brightness of the sun, she closed her eyes slightly as she searched for a place to rest. Gazing around the courtyard her eyes rested upon a nearby bench, and she strode forward, gesturing for Larkin to follow. “Would you like to sit down and rest?” she asked curiously. “The choice is yours.” She gave a smile, hoping she wasn’t coming off a controlling. She didn’t want to force the Baron into doing something he didn’t wish to do. Besides, whether or not she wanted the him to do something, she couldn’t possibly control him. He did indeed have a mind of his own and if he didn’t want to sit down, then he wouldn’t.

Resting her hands by her sides Adele stood next to the bench, waiting for Larkin to reply. She gazed towards the older man, hoping he didn't think she was some pompous, overbearing woman.

César and Joséphine - hallways
 

The Marquis de Mont-de-Marsan liked to make things easy for himself. A true hedonist, he was simply too busy enjoying life and it's many pleasures, to waste time on matters of an all too serious or irksome nature, sometimes even going as far as to pretend they simply did not exists. As was the case with the sharp mind and keen sense of perception of his wife, in relation to his infidelity. Blissfully unaware of the fact that while she might not know about some of his affairs for sure, she had her suspicions about all of them, César still carried on with his small charades of having to go away on business every now and then, or being at a party or a meeting that ran so late that he had been asked by the hosts to stay the night, as riding home on a deserted road in pitch-black darkness could be quite the dangerous endeavor. All the while seeing on Joséphine's face the look he wanted and chose to see - that of believing his every word - when he offered his various explanations for missing from their bed, or, such as now, Joséphine's company for a notable period of time. Somewhere in his mind, balancing on the border of his consciousness and his subconscious, was the decision not to catch onto Joséphine's actual awareness of what she pretended not to see. An act, of which he saw only half the stage, mostly due to not being interested in the other half, while Joséphine herself saw, and watched, all of it. Usually, when it came to women, César would be able to discern what emotions were hiding behind their display of whatever feeling they were trying to enact, but when it came to that faint glow of bitterness in Joséphine's eyes when he himself acted as though nothing was wrong and no lies were told - or rather half-truths in his case, as he tried to avoid actually lying to her - he was as dense as a brick wall. (Apparently, cheating on her was not a problem, but telling her lies, that would leave a stale taste in his mouth.)

That was why he didn't see the diminutive, cynical twist to the smile Joséphine had offered as he greeted her, and it was why he didn't see the way she seemed to wince ever so slightly at his mention of a certain Comtesse. That, and the fact that he had now forgotten all about his intentions with Marie-Elisabeth yesterday, as he stood there, inspecting the tiny but noticeable scars running across the soft skin of his wife's arms.

"You are not going to work up a fuss about them too, are you?" she said, and César was once again perceptive enough to pick up on her tone of voice, this time being one of slight amusement hidden beneath a layer of sternness, as a way of disarming his concerns, which was helped along nicely by the smile on her lips. "Octavien and Comtesse Devine practically hounded me to have them treated yesterday."

Still, there lingered a little bit of skepticism in César's eyes when he glanced up at her, as though not yet fully convinced. Like most, he too had that piece of him deep down, that doubted everyone's good judgement but his own, and thus wouldn't believe in full that Joséphine was perfectly alright, until he himself had made sure of it. Though he didn't say anything, and when she made a move to withdraw her hands from him as she continued speaking, he reluctantly let go.

"But enough about that", she dismissed any further worrying, giving a small wave of her hand for emphasis. "I promise you, mon cher, they do not even pain me any more."

That being said, the subject was indeed closed, and she continued once more;

"You and Comtesse Valois went riding yesterday? I see you are getting along well; it reminds me I should perhaps socialize more, I seem to be missing all the news. I wonder if anything at all worthwhile has happened this morning."

Re-enter César's ignorance. With no effort at all, he completely missed the tell-tale intensity in her gaze as it locked with his, and the ever so faint innuendo of her awareness regarding his interest for Marie-Elisabeth, that stirred beneath the surface of the words about 'getting along'. Though he did remain observant enough to be thankful for the fact that she didn't leave that particular statement hanging in the air with a pause, forcing him to give some kind of reply, but simply continued with a much more welcome topic of conversation.

"It has", César confirmed with a nod, and his face lit up slightly with a rather sly smile. "Octavien's bride arrived not too long ago. A very attractive woman, if you ask me. I don't expect Octavien will have any problems enjoying... her company."

Words that from anyone else might have sounded innocent enough, but from the Marquis and his sometimes rather one-track mind... Well, suffice to say there was a hidden meaning there, brought to life even further by the slight twitch of his lips as he tried to suppress a chuckle, thinking about the reluctance Octavien had expressed to him in private, regarding sharing bed with a woman he didn't care for, and would have preferred not to meet at all. Especially considering he had been given no choice in the matter.

Marie-Elisabeth & Bella : Launching the arachnid invasion
 

As a testament to her infamous composure skills, Marie-Elisabeth was able to resist the urge to do a triumphant dance around the room. It was difficult to do so, but she managed somehow. It appeared as though her “conversation” with Bella was having the desired effect of making the woman bored stiff and thinking Marie-Elisabeth had no worthwhile thoughts in her head, which was precisely what she had in mind. She inwardly laughed at the fact that she could probably keep it up for hours if she chose, with such an extensive and colourful family there was no shortage of stories to tell about them. It was also amusing her immensely to watch Bella’s continuing discomfort which, she was now all but certain, was due not just to her own presence but to the surroundings as well.

Marie-Elisabeth was actually quite enjoying the Orangery herself. She had loved spending time in the one that her family had at home as a child, admiring all the pretty flowers and trees growing in it. She wasn’t much of a person for traipsing about in the woods like her brothers were, but the peacefulness and beauty of the Orangery had appealed to her immensely. It was always relatively quiet and, in a family like hers, quiet was much sought after. She was actually rater amazed she hadn't thought to come here sooner.

“It was nice” she mused, bending down to pick up a flower that had fallen off the bush it was growing on “I wish he was still around to spend time with like that”.

She distracted herself from the impending sad thoughts that tended to come when she thought of her father by looking at the flower. It was a lovely creamy white colour that ironically reminded her of the bracelet she wore around her wrist. “There really are such pretty flowers in here, it’s amazing” she said, glancing down at it and noticing a spider on the stem. “Whoops, spider” she said, idly reaching towards the flower with her other hand and flicking it off.

“There, much better” she said, taking the flower and tucking it into her hat where it matched the false ones already winding around the brim.

Bella and Marie-Elisabeth - Biological warfare in the Orangery
 

“It was nice,” Marie-Elisabeth continued what was now quite literally beginning to bore Bella, picking up a fallen flower. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the other Comtesse, telling her that she frankly didn’t care how nice her marriage was. How very, very nice it was to sit at home all day. “I wish he was still around to spend time with like that.”

Possibly a minor tinge of guilt crept into Bella at the last statement. Quite evidently, Marie-Elisabeth missed him and for all her annoying traits, she was still human and worthy of compassion. However, Bella was not about to launch into a bout of sympathy for the woman. Compassion was one thing, sympathy was quite literally another kettle of fish and Marie-Elisabeth would be waiting for the cows to come home before Bella spared her any sympathy. So, she simply smiled understandingly as Marie-Elisabeth spoke.

“There really are such pretty flowers in here, it’s amazing,” she continued in admiration of the flower in her hand as Bella’s gaze wandered over to it.

Well, who would have thought, Lizzie? A pretty flower in an Orangery. How unexpected.] Bella thought sardonically to herself, watching the other woman. My goodness, I am shocked.

“Whoops, spider,” Marie-Elisabeth noticed and casually flicked off the disgusting life form. Meanwhile, Bella’s fears betrayed her. The sharp gasp of air that fled into her throat was uncontrollable as the step back that she took away from the Comtesse and her new friend. It was a blessing and a curse. A blessing because she was so expertly in control of all her other emotions and reactions, creating a perfect façade when she wanted to, but for the matter of spiders. A curse because it always seemed to break though every wall she ever raised, getting through to the real Bella.

“There, much better,” Marie-Elisabeth tucked the flower into her hat as Bella watched with slightly widened eyes. Oh, she had to get out. She had to leave now. She would drag Marie-Elisabeth out herself, in needs be, but she had to get out of here and now.

“Well, Comtesse, that certainly completes the hat,” she commented, somewhat hushed as each hand cupped around the elbows of the other arm. Tilting her head towards the door of the Orangery, the much desired exit, Bella forced a convincing smile. “Shall we continue our exploration of the palace?”

Marie-Elisabeth & Bella: Aftermath of the arachnid invasion
 

Looking over at Bella’s obviously fearful posture, despite her trying to hide it, it was hard not to smirk for Marie-Elisabeth right now. So very hard. It was taking most of her willpower not to break into a very unseemly grin, akin to that of a child on Christmas morning. This particular discovery was possibly one of the funniest things she had found out in a long time, and watching Bella jump back like she had just made it better.

“I would’ve flicked it in her direction if I had’ve known” she thought, settling for inwardly grinning “Accidentally of course. But I can’t believe it, the little twit is afraid of itty bitty spiders. Of all the stupid things to be afraid of, she picks spiders. I’m really going to have to thank Max for chasing after me with them so much”.

Distracted from her thoughts by Bella’s suggestion of continued exploration, she looked outside and realized that it was later than she had originally thought. She had initially possessed every intention of delaying their journey in the orangery as long as possible, hoping to find some more flowers with arachnid friends nestling inside. But with night time rapidly approaching, she thought better of it. That and the fact that if she had to stand around being pleasant with Bella much longer she might scream, despite her amusement at her discomfort.

“It appears as though we’ll have to delay that until another time” she said, gesturing outside “It’s gotten quite late, we had best be getting back to the palace before they serve dinner without us. I’d like to get a letter written to my little chou d’amour too, since I do so want him to be here in enough time to witness the wedding”.


(((OOC: HAHAHA I totally meant her dad by the wish he was around thing. She was a huggge daddy's girl Charles it's kinda like...poo he's not around to pay attention to me and give me things anymore LOL Feel free to have them leave Alissa)))

Octavien and Elena - Elena's suite
 

It is curious, how virtues never cared about before, can all of a sudden become so very treasured when they are no longer free to be practiced. One always wants what one can not have; the very essence of the human psyche, put into words.

In Octavien's case, the virtue in question was, of course, that of honesty. Where before he hadn't suffered the burden of harbouring too many scruples about telling lies at his own convenience, he now realized that through the recent turn of events, being truthful had somehow transformed, and was no longer a right, but a luxury. One that even as Prince, with the overabundance of the royal treasury at his disposal (officially, at least), he could not always afford. Not that he had been a compulsive liar before, or even come anywhere near the term, but he did use to have very few qualms about telling a little white lie here and there to help keep his life running smoothly.
Now, however, he found his preference to be that of telling the truth, rather than lies, even the small white ones, but that his current situation allowed him to do so only to a certain degree, lest he'd end up throwing away what he had worked so hard to achieve.
Or, it could be that his sudden urge to tell the truth, simply had to do with freedom of choice. When free to pick the when's, the where's and the what's of lying, Octavien still harboured few scruples, as proven by and to himself a mere few days ago when ridding himself and the Queen of the threat posed by a certain Marquess. But, when forced by others, such as the King and even César using his own benevolence against him, Octavien wanted nothing more than to rise against them and seize back control from out of their hands, but didn't, because of other people or factors involved.
If the wish sprung from immaturity, rebellion, or simple determination, he wasn't quite sure. Probably a little bit of all three, if he tried to look at it objectively.

Regardless, it was a wish that stuck with him. Even now, when with someone he absolutely did not trust, and would rather not have even met at all for that matter, if one was to be perfectly honest, he did his best to remain truthful, directly or otherwise. It was why when offered Elena's condolences on his wife's passing, he did not throw himself into a lenghty account of woe and heartbreak, and empty words of hopeful expectations regarding the union the two of them would soon be embarking on. No matter if it was what was expected of him. He did see the way her eyebrows rose, even if it was just barely noticable, in what appeared to be slight surprise at his lack of customary drivel, but if they had now both willingly deviated from the path of perfectly proper protocol, then he saw no reason to feed Her Excellency lies, when he himself remained skeptical to the entire affair. Furthermore, she obviously was bright enough to catch on to the deceit offered to her by the King, partly via Octavien, and so would surely catch the deceit lurking in such a phony statement as well.

As for the part about Adalita's death... Let them think he was too numbed by the pain to show his grief, or that the extent of the earth-shattering tragedy had yet to dawn on him, that he was struggling to shield himself from the moment that it would. Let them think that he hadn't loved her, that he had only used her as a way of rising to fame, wealth and power. Frankly, he didn't care. There were already so many theories popping out of the ground like mushrooms, that one more or less wouldn't matter. And to be perfectly honest, he was currently tiring of all these pretend games. The previous day, of trying to pretend to Joséphine that César was not off chasing other women again, had left a bitter taste in his mouth, and him feeling that he'd had quite enough of it all for a while. It was those games that got to him; when faced with someone with whom he wanted to be honest, but couldn't, lest he'd end up hurting someone else he cared for. Compared to those, the games of politics were a piece of cake.

"Finding oneself in a position one isn't accustomed to is never an easy task", Elena said, with an undertone to her voice and smile that would have left little doubt that her own was not the only situation she was referring to, had her final words not spoken for themselves. "One has two choices: either adapt and survive, or accept defeat and allow oneself to be overwhelmed by said difficulties. I believe Your Majesty understands best."

Gazing back at her, two sets of scrutinizing eyes locked with one another, Octavien couldn't help but feel a faintly amused smile tug at the corners of his mouth. She didn't exactly beat around the bush, did she? A mere few minutes into the conversation, and she had already touched the two subjects anyone who was even the slightest bit more timid would probably have avoided like the plague, for now. To most, a first meeting associated with sorrow and difficulties would mean a very glum first impression, and everyone knew how the first impression would make for quite a challenge, when trying to change people's opinion about oneself. Few soon-to-be Princesses would have dared to venture there, and risk causing the Prince, their future husband, to think of them not as a new and cheerful breath of life in his existence, but as a reminder of loss and trials suffered.
Ballsy lady, he'd give her that. He could even appreciate and respect it, for if there was one thing he wasn't interested in, it was another flimsy goose that had the attentionspan of a two year-old, and would forget all about promises and agreements and whatnot, at the drop of a hat. And if that meant his future wife would be an intelligent and thus possibly difficult woman to handle, then so be it. At least there was more to gain from such a woman, than a headache.

However, respect and appreciation or not, Octavien was still determined to keep a bit of a low profile, until he'd had the time and opportunity to observe Elena enough to decide whether or not she had her own agenda, if she was sharing an agenda with the King, or anyone else for that matter, or if the impression he currently had of her was simply caused by his bitterness turning into paranoia, and she was simply intelligent, but agreeable.
And so, he continued down the path he had already started on. With a small detour, as he couldn't help but make an observation;

"True enough", he agreed. "Though there are those that adapt too well too soon, I'm afraid."

More than once over the course history, upstarts such as himself had incited anger and fury in people, nobility and commoners alike, by turning arrogant and presumptious over night, forgetting their humble background or whatever other asepcts of their rise to power that were ill-advised to forget so easily. Neither the Prince nor the soon-to-be Princess were currently the darlings of the kingdom, and while Octavien genuinly hung onto his humility as a previously untitled man, and at the same time tried to live up to the expectations placed on the shoulders of a Prince, it still was no easy task. Nor would it be for Elena, even if the people and other nobles were not overly zealous in honoring Adalita's memory.

With those words, however, the small detour from his main path was over, and he continued after allowing the briefest of pauses to pave the way for a slight twist of the current topic;

"Does it bother you, Your Excellency?" he asked bluntly, though his voice was still pleasantly soft. "My rather modest and widely known ancestry? Or lack thereof, as some might say."

It was a question that, while it to Octavien was meant to cause a reaction, even just the tiniest sign of one, that he might learn something, could also easily be interpreted as the frank straightforwardness of a simple mind, unrestrainable by savoir-faire and subtleties, unbothered by the wisdom of putting things a bit more delicately.


(((ooc: I'm afraid this is all I'm gonna be able to post today. Working the night shift again, leaving in half an hour, and won't be home until the morning.)))

Bella and Marie-Elisabeth - Escape from the Orangery
 

Damn it! It was clear Marie-Elisabeth had realised Bella’s deepest and truest fear. Damn. Argh! It was frustrating, to say the least, that the one thing she lacked control over had proved to be so embarrassing time and again. Wait. So what if Marie-Elisabeth knew? There were so many people afraid of ridiculous things like peas, why shouldn’t she be afraid of spiders? It was perfectly natural.

“It appears as though we’ll have to delay that until another time” Marie-Elisabeth replied to Bella’s request that they leave the Orangery as soon as possible. “It’s gotten quite late, we had best be getting back to the palace before they serve dinner without us. I’d like to get a letter written to my little chou d’amour too, since I do so want him to be here in enough time to witness the wedding.”

Oh, thank you God, I always believed in you, Bella sighed softly as she looked out the window the Orangery into the falling night. True, time had passed alarmingly and the morning’s encounter with Marie-Elisabeth had gripped her attentions until night time so that she was stuck in an Orangery with the other Comtesse. Furthermore, the woman had proved a worthless source of information and now only really fit for Bella’s breaks for entertainment. Good enough, she supposed. She’d continue to play the ‘silly little girl’ with Marie-Elisabeth, lest she was discovered to be what she really was.

“Yes,” she almost hissed with a smile at Marie-Elisabeth. “I must admit, I am simply famished.”

With that, she moved with even catlike grace towards the doors, the intentions in her steps not waning as Marie-Elisabeth followed her exit.

César and Joséphine - hallways
 

From the moment of his conception, life had always been good to César. The gods were always smiling at him, it seemed, blessing him with looks, charm and a way with words, and, as would be discovered as he advanced from childhood to adolescence, with the ladies as well. He was born into a wealthy and prominent family, and as an only child was practically spoilt rotten. Furthermore, once he was of age, he had the good fortune of being engaged to be married to not only one of the most beautiful and intelligent girls he had ever met, but one he instantly fell in love with as well, and would come to have two equally beautiful and bright girls with.

Sure there had been hard times, such as when his younger brother and his father died, but even then there had been circumstances to easen the blow. When his brother died, following a childbirth with so many complications that his mother could have no more children, César had still not been old enough to even understand the meaning of the word 'brother'. And when his father had passed, he had already grown to be a man, aware enough of the fickleness of life and death, and thus able to handle it accordingly, with a little help of his darling wife and the then newly born Adéle.

So, it really was no wonder then, that he was the kind of person to take the long and adventurous journey that was life, fairly lightly, and enjoy everything that could possibly be enjoyed. Nor was it any wonder that, since he had a tendency to judge everyone else's situations and tribulations according to his own views of the matter, he would find Octavien's current dilemma to be no dilemma at all. He didn't know about his friend's infatuation with the Queen, though he did know his marriage to the former Princess had not been one based on love, and so he didn't see the problem of marrying that dark, mysterious beauty they had all gotten a glimpse of a few hours ago. She was a magnificent creature; beautiful face, intelligent eyes and a build that suggested a body any man would be lucky to find in his bed, even though perhaps the many layers of fabric of her dress had left a bit too much to the imagination. And the fact that she was a Spaniard, why, that was only a bonus, wasn't it? Everyone knew how passionate and fiery Spanish women were.
Octavien ought to be quite pleased.

But then again, he might be. What he had expressed to César had been thoughts and fears harboured when he had yet to meet his future wife and see what she looked like. Apparently and for some reason, the Spaniards in charge of the arrangements had failed to send a portrait of Her Exellency, or even a description of what she looked like, so of course, as far as Octavien had known back then, she could've been hideous.
Now, however, he must have changed his mind, surely? He couldn't be that picky. Especially not since he, by his own admission, had not had a woman since coming to court. Hard though is was to believe, considering he'd seemed quite friendly with a certain brunette the other night. But oh well. Octavien always had been a bit of a slow operator, when compared to his smooth philanderer of friend.

Though while César was rather certain that Octavien would be overcoming his issues right about now, Joséphine on the other hand didn't seem quite as convinced.

"They are complete strangers though," she said. "Some men require more than a comely exterior to enjoy a woman's... company."

Along with the highly skeptical look and the shrug she offered, it all suggested that she would sooner believe Octavien's problems remained. And she hadn't even heard him talk about them.
Or had she? César had left her and Octavien with the opportunity to talk for quite a bit yesterday. Perhaps Octavien had expressed his concerns to Joséphine then? Or perhaps she too sensed that there was something going on between the Prince and the pretty Comtesse Devine, and didn't see it as a possibility that both relationships could co-exists, much like César's own marriage and affairs did.
Ah, sweet naive Joséphine.

"Nonsense", he said and gave a curt, dismissive wave, not even giving a single thought to the fact that he was pretty much about to incriminate himself. "When it comes to carnal pleasures, men are simple and easygoing creatures. It is women that recquire the work."

Mostly, he just said what he said in an attempt to instigate another one of the usual and highly entertaining sessions of playful bickering that he enjoyed so much, rousing her argumentative side by provoking her and simplifying something to a point in which he didn't fully believe, but could still argue as though he did.


(((ooc: *snickers* 'Sweet naive Joséphine'. If only he knew, eh? )))