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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 23, 2008 12:28:08 GMT -5
“Then a drink it is,” I replied, smiling. “Decide on a place while I pay up and off we shall go.”
I went to the counter to pay for my purchases and arrange delivery to my house.
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 23, 2008 18:00:00 GMT -5
I nodded, watching him leave with a caring smile. Where to go? Not the Cockeral, I decided. I didn’t feel like the Parrot or the Adept’s Inn. While he was closing the deal, I pondered two options, waiting for him to return.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 23, 2008 20:25:31 GMT -5
Business wrapped up, I returned to Dine.
“Have you decided?” I asked with a smile.
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 24, 2008 14:34:32 GMT -5
I nodded with a grin. Upon his return, decision had come about, and I said, “I thought perhaps to try a new place. I’ve never been to the Black Boar, is that to your liking?” It was that, or the Tsingani pub, and I’d decided, for some reason unclear to me, that the Alban pub would suit either of us much better.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 24, 2008 16:39:56 GMT -5
“Ah, that sounds wonderful,” I said with a wide smile. I held the door open for her.
“Shall we walk or take my carriage?”
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 25, 2008 0:17:15 GMT -5
I smiled mischievously. “I have a fondness for walking,” I said honestly. “But if you prefer to have a ride, I don’t mind.”
I liked how widely he smiled for my choice – he was charming, truly he was.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 25, 2008 10:37:39 GMT -5
“Walking suits me just fine,” I replied. “It’s such a beautiful and with good company , not walking would almost seem a tragedy.”
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 25, 2008 12:56:39 GMT -5
“Oh, and we don’t like tragedies, now, do we?” I commented merrily. “I prefer any day an Eglantine comedy to a Tiberian tragedy,” I said with a happy grin. “Besides, the street is lively, and from a carriage, one misses too much,” I added with a little amused shrug.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 25, 2008 15:17:31 GMT -5
“True, though there is a certain level of privacy afforded by a carriage that can be preferable at times,” I said as we walked.
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 25, 2008 15:54:45 GMT -5
I couldn’t help but blush a little, remembering a certain ride in a certain carriage with a certain Duc. “That is very true,” I said with a smile. I raised an eyebrow, looking at him teasingly, “would you have preferred it just now?” As I asked, I found myself unwittingly toying with my lower lip. That was incredibly bold of me.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 25, 2008 16:01:25 GMT -5
“Whether I would have preferred it or not is not so much the matter, since I know the rules you live by and would never try to entice you to trouble,” I replied, smiling.
My smile melted into a grin. “Well, not so soon after meeting you anyway,” I added with a wink.
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 25, 2008 16:32:21 GMT -5
I chuckled back. “How very respectful of you, My Lord Duc,” I said with a little grin that belied the formal address. I ignored the fact that he had neatly sidestepped the question, and moved on.
“So,” I said as we continued our trek, “have you been to the Alban pub before?”
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 25, 2008 16:34:32 GMT -5
“I have, a handful of times. Have you?” I asked as we turned a corner onto another street.
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 25, 2008 22:27:39 GMT -5
“No, never,” I said with a little smile. “It just never quite came about. What is their specialty, then?” I asked curiously.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 26, 2008 10:48:57 GMT -5
My brow furrowed a little as I thought.
“You know, I’m not sure what exactly their specialty is but everything I’ve had there is wonderful. The ale is very potent, much more than the normal ale.”
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 26, 2008 14:16:26 GMT -5
I couldn’t help but grin. “I take it you enjoy potent ale,” I asked curiously. For myself, I’d see about having some mead, perhaps. It wasn’t something I usually did, but it would do fine for me – I’d never quite taken a liking to beer.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 26, 2008 16:07:39 GMT -5
“Ah no, I’ve learned my lessons about Alban ale,” I said with a chuckle. “It was more of a warning than a recommendation.”
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 26, 2008 21:59:08 GMT -5
I couldn’t help but chuckle amusedly. “Then it’s a good thing ale was never my favorite drink,” I said with a merry smile. “Is there a tale to tell?” I asked, genuinely interested in his story.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 27, 2008 13:49:54 GMT -5
“There’s always a tale to tell, isn’t there?” I replied with playful mischievousness. “Behind the experiences worth remembering anyway.”
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 27, 2008 14:02:09 GMT -5
I smiled brightly, nodding. “Yes, stories and tales, anecdotes… we’ve been sharing our knowledge by rote for so long, have we not?” I gave him another grin, and added, “I like stories, very much so. They are a game for the mind, and can soothe anguish.”
Such was my secret for calming the little ones. Tales and dreams that made them forget the fear of the night. I tried to collect them as I could, though it seemed I never had enough.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 27, 2008 21:07:14 GMT -5
“But then some stories can revisit old anguish and make it new again,” I commented.
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 28, 2008 1:53:01 GMT -5
“I guess,” I replied thoughtfully. “Or they can exorcise it definitely. I once read that to heal is also to face anguish, and to overcome it.”
I didn’t want to argue over it, but I did believe in what I’d just said. Escaping reality only led to further pain and angst.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 28, 2008 11:19:15 GMT -5
“Agreed, there are some times when facing anguish is the only way to overcome it,” I said, nodding my head slightly. “However, there are some things that can’t be overcome, don’t you think?”
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Géraldine Grangier
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 28, 2008 12:38:17 GMT -5
“Perhaps,” I said with a little smile. “Though I will admit I am not able to think of one right now,” I replied humbly. “Mayhap it is just a longer process, rather than an impossible one?”
It was true – I’d been taken in at Heliotrope at the age of 8, and had not been met with unmanageable obstacles just yet. The harshest ones required more work and patience than others, though. Even finding my mother’s dead body was a trauma I’d over come. The only thing is that it had taken me a good ten years to do so.
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Post by Alain de Mauvais (D) on Mar 28, 2008 16:04:45 GMT -5
“Mayhap,” I said, letting the topic go as our destination came into sight, giving Dine a smile.
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Géraldine Grangier
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Thou, and no other.
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Post by Géraldine Grangier on Mar 28, 2008 16:42:27 GMT -5
And thus the matter was dropped, and the tavern found. I let my eyes take in the sign, and smiled. It didn’t look at all like D’Angeline styles of decoration. I smiled at Alain, agreeing inwardly that not every one reacts to adversity in the same way.
“We’re here,” I said with a grin.
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