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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Jul 28, 2006 22:08:02 GMT -5
"We'll get some food with the next glass," I replied with a mischevious twinkle in my gaze. Motioning to the waitress who had served us before I called her over, but it would take a few moments, as she was busy with another customer. "They usually have wonderful specials and there's always a good amount of food in the bowls."
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Jul 29, 2006 9:22:17 GMT -5
I wondered at the look in her eye, but said nothing of it as I replied. "That sounds good to me. I'd hate to lose my senses before we shop for shoes and jewlery; could you imagine?" A smile appeared upon my lips, wide and joyous, as I fought back a laugh at the thought. "A pale yellow dress, trimmed with silken flowers... And wooden clogs, with a necklace filled with crude iron charms."
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Jul 29, 2006 9:27:56 GMT -5
Eyes wide in mock fear, I replied, "IRON?! I won't be able to step near you all evening! The touch of crude iron is painful and deadly to all of the Fair Folk. I never thought you would be one to kill me for my inheritance." With a dramatic sigh I hid my face with my hands, then looked up at her and winked.
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
Love and be loved.
Posts: 1,724
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Jul 29, 2006 14:20:11 GMT -5
The laugh I'd repressed but a moment before now came out in delight, my head tossing back as I looked to her. "Your inheritance is yours without a doubt! The last thing I want is to be saddled with the responsibilities that you eventually will take on. " A smile stayed readily upon my face as I clasped my hands together in my lap, entwining my fingers with one another. "Besides, I don't think I'd want to wear iron. It wouldn't be the best of statements."
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Jul 29, 2006 14:31:32 GMT -5
"Are you sure? I mean, being free of the responsibility would give me time to travel.." I teased, and knew she understood; I was unerring loyal to my responsibilities and, when the time came, I would do my duty. After all, I would still have my writing.
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
Love and be loved.
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Jul 31, 2006 8:21:16 GMT -5
I took her tease with a smile, full and bright. "I'm quite sure, sister dear." A glint came to my eye as I leaned forward, propping my elbow upon the table and resting my chin in my palm. "Besides, you can travel when you become the Baroness de Mornay... Travel to the fields, travel to the village, travel to the office to complete endless hours of paperwork..." I gave her my most innocent, sweet smile; it was all I could do not to laugh.
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Jul 31, 2006 8:28:05 GMT -5
"Oh yes, the joys of short term travel," I crowed. "No exercise, no fresh air, no running wild where no one knows you- that sounds like a wonderful time! Thank Elua I'm the firstborn!" I needed to work on getting this sarcasm out of my system before the Masque- it could be taken literally and get me into trouble.
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
Love and be loved.
Posts: 1,724
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Jul 31, 2006 8:32:25 GMT -5
I laughed then, but could not help but to feel badly for her. It is a hard thing, that, to have your life directed and planned out, leaving you little room to breathe or have any say of your own. "Well, you could always dress as a boy and run around the fields." I grinned, trying to lighten her mood. "You're tall enough for a thirteen year old, and if you're lucky they might even give you a rake to spread the fertilizer."
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Jul 31, 2006 8:37:29 GMT -5
Smiling widely once again- Joie understood, that much I knew- I replied, "Well, better manure that you can recognize than the sort that is disguised with pretty terms and calligraphy. There are a good deal of nobles who are much better at 'spreading around the fertilizer' than I could ever be."
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
Love and be loved.
Posts: 1,724
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Jul 31, 2006 8:46:34 GMT -5
"Ah, so true. And suitors, scores of them, wishing to be your one and only for the sake of your title and benefits. Love is a fleeting thing if not deeply rooted and tended, but still, Jess, I don't doubt you'll find exactly what you want." I gave her a kind smile, heartfelt and true; I meant what I was saying, and I knew she knew without me saying so. "The only problem then lays in turning the others away with a gentle hand so they might not have anything to complain about."
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Jul 31, 2006 8:50:03 GMT -5
Smiling, I shook my head and let my eyes glint mischeviously. "You can take the suitors- I'd rather live unmarried and just have a lot of friends. Handsome male friends, some of them, if there is any fairness in the world. You or one of the others can get married and have children so I can hand the title off to my favorite little niece or nephew."
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
Love and be loved.
Posts: 1,724
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Jul 31, 2006 19:52:26 GMT -5
My teeth flashed white as Jess talked, a smile adorning my face. "Suitors can be intriguing if properly handled. I.. " What I was to say next was lost as the waitress made her way to our table, and I smiled up with a fair beam. "Bread and soup, please. Chefs choice. And two more ales, if you would?" I looked to my sister and smiled, handing her the reins of conversation with the waitress.
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Jul 31, 2006 20:03:12 GMT -5
"Shepard's pie, please," I chirped to the waitress with a smile. Nodding and smiling back, the woman walked back to the kitchens to drop off the order. "the food should be out shortly and the ale before that. And, I still maintain that if you find suitors to be so much fun, you can have them."
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
Love and be loved.
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Jul 31, 2006 21:59:37 GMT -5
"Oh no no. I never said I -wanted- them. I said they can be intriguing." I grinned at her, shaking my head. "I do not yearn to settle myself and begin raising children any time soon. Oh, Jess. Will you never have children of your own?"
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Jul 31, 2006 22:46:51 GMT -5
"Really, can you see me with a child at my skirts? I would be a better aunt," I said with a smile. "Children require much more patience day and night than I have in even a six-hour span. Let me be a wonderful aunt and be content with it."
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
Love and be loved.
Posts: 1,724
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Aug 1, 2006 14:08:21 GMT -5
"I can -see- you with a child at your skirts, but.. not necessarily it being yours." My smile was genuine in return as I folded my hands together atop the table. "You will be a wonderful aunt, though I can picture you spoiling your darling nieces and nephews rotten and sending them home to their parents. That wouldn't be so bad, you know, if we had any chance to retaliate. " Merriment filled my voice as I spoke to her; Elua, but she would always be the same sweet Jessamine I had always known.
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Aug 1, 2006 14:17:43 GMT -5
"Oh, but see, by keeping myself childless I will always have peace and quiet to write my book in," I said with a grin. "My writing is my child and I don't think I could put up with more than that."
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Aug 2, 2006 14:36:43 GMT -5
I pulled a teasing face, my nose wrinkling slightly. "Probably not, no. You're not going to become the crazy aunt with all the cats running around, are you?" A smile cracked through my tease as I pictured it: pretty little Jessamine standing with her hair arwy, pouring goats milk to her beloved felines and calling them all by name.
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Aug 2, 2006 17:07:39 GMT -5
"Cats could be as bad as children in that respect," I teased with a grimace. "Books require much less looking after. Besides, you know my favorite place to write is outdoors in a tree. My friend Cendrillon calls me a monkey and teases me constantly since I mentioned it to him once."
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
Love and be loved.
Posts: 1,724
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Aug 2, 2006 17:28:18 GMT -5
"I think your friend Cendrillon is a wise man." I bit my lower lip to hold back a grin, leaning forward over the table some and giving her face a quick look over. "Though you know, now that its been mentioned, you do sort of look like a..."
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Aug 2, 2006 17:57:18 GMT -5
Raising a brow, I replied in a mock haughty tone, "At least I don't resemble a tree in autumn like some tall personages I behold."
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
Love and be loved.
Posts: 1,724
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Aug 2, 2006 18:09:13 GMT -5
I laughed; she'd returned it well. "Ah! A double sided retort, that. Rough skinned trees and the time where the beauty falls away. Our sisters most definitely were not as good at banter as you." I gave my sister a fond smile, the teeth of my mouth peeking out as it widened ever so slightly.
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Aug 2, 2006 18:33:11 GMT -5
"One hopes they will learn," I replied with a tragic expression, my eyes filled with woe. "How else would people be able to recognize them as our kin?"
The waitress brought the two ales to the table along with our separate bowls of food, steaming with warmth and smelling delightful. "Thank you," I said with a smile as I picked up my spoon.
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Post by Idaeus nó Mandrake on Aug 3, 2006 1:47:19 GMT -5
I walked into the cockerel and went up to the bar tender to say hi. My blood was boiling a little due to my previous encounters in the White House Manor. I was good friends with a few of the workers here. I liked the place, it was relaxed.
I ordered a drink and sat at the bar. I small talked with him and looked around the room. I had energy to burn and I was looking for a willing victim.
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
Love and be loved.
Posts: 1,724
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Aug 3, 2006 10:22:52 GMT -5
I echoed my sisters gratitude to the waitress with a warm smile, picking up my own spoon and letting it trail through the maze of noodles that filled my bowl. A beef broth, apparently, with bits of vegetables peeking from under the yellowed noodles, giving it a murky display of dazzling colors.
"Have you written anything lately, Jess?" I glanced up to her from my bowl as I spoke, the next unanswered question dying upon my lips before it even had a chance to pass. A light haired man, short and lithe, sat at the bar behind my sister. It were the fire in his eyes, the way the light gleamed from his hair that caught my attention to begin with, though with a blink and an intake of breath I looked back to Jess again, continuing on again with the same tone I'd had before. "How are the sales from your book coming along? Everyone at the estates are abuzz with it. We're all so proud of you." A smile laced across my face again, pulling my lips up in genuine affection and happiness. Jess was an achiever; first born and full of energy, she'd always been driven and willing to test the boundaries. I was somewhat like her, I knew, but more subdued.
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Aug 3, 2006 10:27:51 GMT -5
Even listening attentively as I was I had noticed her lapse in conversation and her glance over my shoulder and turned slightly, curious in my own right. Pale hair and skin, dressed in black but not mourning, looking as though he was going to pounce on prey at the next moment- I knew those signs. "Mandrake," I said to Joie in Eiran, eyes flashing. "Instinct says he's perturbed." Even as a child I'd been trusting my instincts and they had never served me wrong, though certain circumstances had taught me subtlety.
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Post by Idaeus nó Mandrake on Aug 3, 2006 14:03:56 GMT -5
I happened to be looking toward a table that seated two girls of reddish hair, which I found to be an appealing image. When it seemed that I had caught the eye of one of them. It was a brief moment, and I couldn't be sure. Her companion, or possibly a relative, seemed to glance my way, but it was subtle. While I was no where near inebriated I didn't want to jump to any assumptions possibly brought on by a liquor effecting my usually sharp judgement. So I stayed where I was and waited. They where back in conversation, seemingly enjoying their evening. I waited to see if the younger one would look my way again, if so I would try and catch her eye.
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Joie de Mornay
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Engaged to Quinn du Paras; House Mornay
Love and be loved.
Posts: 1,724
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Post by Joie de Mornay on Aug 3, 2006 15:31:14 GMT -5
A delighted smile lit my face before I could smother it at the words from my sister, though I managed to keep my eyes upon her, straight and unwavering. "Mandrake?" I replied in Eiran, my voice as cool as it had been prior. "Thats... interesting. You're right, though; he does seem agitated by something." I trailed my spoon through my soup and finally lifted it to take the first bite. It surprised me, tasting wonderful and full, rich with flavor, the noodles thick-sliced and plump. "This is fantastic." My bread was ignored for the moment as I kept myself to that single bite, savoring it in my mouth, my eyes flicking to the silver-haired man sitting alone. Mandrake. How interesting; outside of my visit to Eglantine, he was the first adept I'd seen.
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Post by Jessamine de Mornay on Aug 3, 2006 16:13:50 GMT -5
Eyes flashing with mischief I watched her eat and did so myself, noticing her divided attention. "I told you the food here was fabulous," I replied with a smile, keeping myself in the lilting Eiran tones.
Once she was finished I hooked her bowl with a finger around the edge and pulled it away from her. "First lesson I have for you- always approach that which entices you. Walk over shyly or with your modesty intact, but never delay- things here move much too fast." Such words triggered a memory, golden sunlight and a ballroom empty of all but Cendrillon and I, the taste of his lips. "Fortune favors the bold."
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Post by Idaeus nó Mandrake on Aug 3, 2006 17:54:01 GMT -5
While I had not been wearing a top that showed my tattoo, favoring a shirt that covered but was tight enough to show I had somewhat of a figure, most adepts do have a way of moving about them. Just like you can often spot members of the royal army by the way they move. A traveler had seen me as an adept but wasn't learned enough to know my house. He started questioning me about what I did, why, and the usual curiosities. I half answered him and half kept my attention on the two ladies.
Their small group defiantly had an air about it that was different than the last one I was harassing. It, however, started to put me at ease, even though I was not with them. I half talked, half watched, and quickly relaxed.
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