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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 10, 2009 16:40:29 GMT -5
"I have a fairly good idea what it would cost, and I'm still offering Marie," I said with a reassuring smile. "It would be far more practical than buying it off the rack and trying to modify it."
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 10, 2009 20:21:55 GMT -5
“You’re all about the practical,” I teased as I moved around to another dress.
“Have you ever had anything made for you at Eglantine?” I asked.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 10, 2009 23:28:27 GMT -5
"Oh yes, a few outfits. And a former Eglantine did my Sun Prince outfit as well. We had to smuggle him into Valerian so no one would know," I replied with a grin from the memory.
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 10, 2009 23:34:17 GMT -5
“You were the Sun Prince?” I asked, my voice touched with awe. “When?”
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 11, 2009 0:40:23 GMT -5
"Last Midwinter. The night I met Mala," I said. My grin had turned into a fonder smile as the memories changed. "My life has changed a lot since then."
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 11, 2009 0:42:52 GMT -5
“That is a lot to happen in less than a year,” I said, smiling. “You seem happy though.”
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 12, 2009 17:56:45 GMT -5
"Oh, I am," I assured her with a smile. "A year ago, I was taking patrons regularly, teaching classes, and wanting to rise far enough in Trinette's eyes that she would chose me as her Second. Now... well now I'm engaged to the love of my life, I'm going to be entering the peerage this winter when we marry, and... Oh," I said, stopping short, then carefully continuing. "I haven't told you about Soleil yet."
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 12, 2009 23:05:40 GMT -5
I’d had a list of questions I’d been going to ask him, but they were waylaid by his last words.
“Soleil?” I asked casually, my attention on the yellow dress in front of me.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 14, 2009 16:56:15 GMT -5
"Yes, she's a former patron of mine. She's pregnant, due to give birth very soon actually," I said with a soft smile, hoping Marie wouldn't judge me too harshly. I'd always had the feeling that she tended towards monogamy. "I'm going to be a father."
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 14, 2009 17:02:08 GMT -5
I was very glad that I had not been looking at him when he said this. Engaged to one woman, about to be the father of another woman’s child…indeed, the brother I remembered didn’t seem to be there much anymore. “Congratulations,” I said, moving on to a dark blue and green patterned dress. “This is pretty, don’t you think?” I asked him, holding the dress up.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 15, 2009 1:41:25 GMT -5
My heart sank at her reaction, the way she stiffened and very carefully kept herself turned away. "Yes," I replied. "Here, I'll take it to your room." I took the dress and headed to the back to give myself time to get over the hurt.
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 15, 2009 13:19:46 GMT -5
I watched him as he took my dresses to the room. He was unhappy, you didn’t have to be related to him to see that. I guess he’d expected a different reaction from me.
I lost my interest in looking at any of the other dresses. I sighed and followed him back to where I was supposed to try things on.
“You’re not being fair, Christophe,” I said as I moved past him into the room where the dresses were hanging, kicked off my shoes and began unlacing my dress.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 15, 2009 17:09:34 GMT -5
"Tell me Marie, what is fair?" I asked, my voice calm even if I was still upset. Years as an adept had given me the skill of keeping what I was feeling inside. Granted, I lost my temper every so often like I did with the Queen, but those had been rather trying circumstances.
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 15, 2009 17:22:58 GMT -5
“Fair would be understanding that I might need more than a few seconds to become settled with the idea that in the last year you have not only found a woman you love so much you want to marry her, but also within that time found another woman who you got pregnant and she’s going to have your baby soon,” I said, tugging my dress off and tossing it into the corner, not caring that he or anyone else might see me.
“Forgive me if my uncultured farm girl mind might need a moment or even five to catch up with the ways of the City and how you’ve become,” I added, my tone a little bitter and upset. I took the cream colored dress off the hook and began slipping it on.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 15, 2009 17:29:54 GMT -5
"How I've become?" I repeated very quietly as she took off her dress and threw it into the corner like a petulant child. "Tell me sister, what have I become? How have you judged me, before hearing of the circumstances that I've found myself in?"
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 15, 2009 17:37:27 GMT -5
“You didn’t give me a chance to learn about your circumstances Christophe. You got upset because my first reaction was not the one you hoped for,” I answered as my head came through the top of the dress and I settled it into place. “What you told me was confusing and surprising and that was how I reacted.”
I glanced at myself in the mirror. The dress was beautiful and I knew I should be feeling more excited, but I was having a hard time feeling anything right now. It would need to come in at the bodice and have the hem shortened, but I could do that.
My eyes moved in the mirror until I was looking at him. “And you have changed Christophe. I’ve been stuck in a place where time stands still and every day is the same as the one before and the hundred before that. You’ve been here where time moves forward and you’ve gone with it.”
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 15, 2009 21:11:15 GMT -5
I met her eyes, and made myself think rationally, from her point of view.
"From the look on your face, it didn't look like you were going to give me a chance," I replied, then sighed tiredly. "I'm sorry if that was an unfair conclusion for me to jump to Marie. But I've had so many arguments about this matter, it just seemed like I was going to get another from you. And I really am very tired of fighting."
I sighed again. "That dress is very beautiful on you."
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 15, 2009 23:09:50 GMT -5
How would he know what the looks on my face meant anymore? He was the one who’d gotten to leave. It might not have been the way he would have wanted, but he had been the one who’d gotten away. And left us. Left me. Henri was happy there, he had his land. Pierre was happy anywhere as long as he was getting to be superior and right. Mother and father were never happy after they sent Chris away.
“Thank you,” I said, looking away from his reflection and pulling the dress off so I could hang it up again.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 15, 2009 23:44:25 GMT -5
She just looked at me, and then looked away. I almost asked what she was hiding, but decided that before I could start demanding answers, I was going to have to give a few myself.
"This whole... situation started with a fight," I began, trying to find the right words. "Mala and I had a disagreement, to the point where I left a fete of hers not expecting to ever hear from her again. Not long after that, Soleil came to Valerian, looking for an adept to father her child. I have always wanted children, and offers like that don't come along very often in the Night Court. I took it. If I couldn't have a life with Mala, I could still have a child."
"Soleil and I spent one night together, and not long after that, Mala sent me a letter to apologize. We were reunited at the coronation fete. I told her the morning after, and it's been... a bone of contention between us ever since," I finished.
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 15, 2009 23:49:05 GMT -5
I listened to his story as I tried on the patterned dress.
“I can imagine it would be,” I said, my voice even. My eyes looked at him in the mirror again. “Did she give you that,” I touched my neck where his collar lay on him. “Before or after you got back together?”
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 16, 2009 0:21:52 GMT -5
My hand came up without thought to touch my collar, mirroring her movement. "After. When I bought her engagement ring, she bought me this."
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 16, 2009 0:25:33 GMT -5
“So she’s made peace with it?” I asked, beginning to lace up the dress.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 16, 2009 0:39:22 GMT -5
I paused for a moment, figuring out how to word it. "The short answer is yes," I replied. "Do you need a hand with the laces?"
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 16, 2009 0:43:17 GMT -5
“No thank you,” I said. They were tricky but I got them, I was used to having to do it all myself.
I looked at myself in the mirror, tilting my head slightly to try and decide how I looked. I turned so I could see the back, looking over my shoulder.
“I’m happy for you then, you’ve got everything you ever wanted.”
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 16, 2009 0:58:59 GMT -5
"Not everything. But enough, more than enough," I replied with a smile. "I really like the back on this one."
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 16, 2009 1:03:29 GMT -5
“Me too,” I said, forcing myself back to the place where I was feeling nothing. It was so much easier to feel nothing than the hurt, jealousy and abandonment I would feel otherwise.
I turned around again and began unlacing the dress, making quicker work of undoing them than doing it up.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 16, 2009 1:08:11 GMT -5
"A copper for your thoughts?" I inquired, looking away discretely as I had been doing when bare flesh began to appear.
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 16, 2009 1:11:58 GMT -5
My fingers stopped mid-unlace and I closed my eyes for a second.
“You don’t want to know my thoughts, Christophe. They aren’t worth a copper anyway,” I said softly, removing the dress and hanging it up.
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Post by Christophe Legard nó Shahrizai on Aug 16, 2009 1:26:36 GMT -5
"I do want to know," I replied gently, wanting to look at her face but still being polite. "But you don't have to share them if you don't wish."
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Post by Marie Legard on Aug 16, 2009 1:32:08 GMT -5
He was the person I used to be able to share everything with, even more than Henri. Now, what he wanted me to share would hurt him.
“You don’t want to know,” I said in an almost whisper. I slipped the blue dress over my head, closing my eyes so the tears that wanted to fall wouldn’t wet the material. I kept my head down so my hair hid my face as I began to lace up the back, my arms straining.
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