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.

(((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.”

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.)))

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."

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”.

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."

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”.

(((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.

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: )))

(((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...?)))

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.)))

((ooc: Atropa, thanks for letting us know. Enjoy the festival! :D(that's where you're going right?)

Robyn - that's perfectly fine, and of course you're free to add a profile for him to ME's bio, or in a sepparate post if you'd like that

I'll try to get a post in today as well, but I'm not making promises ))

(((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.

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

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! )))

((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))

(((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?”

“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))

(((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.)))

(((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?"

(((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”.