08-25-2018, 03:01 PM
Cecily held herself back from slapping Satsume when his response was a lighthearted one. Perhaps he meant it? But he corrected himself.
"No, milady. No regrets," he said.
Whether he intended to or not, his words gave Cecily some relief. Ever since she fled from Laus, Cecily had been doing whatever she could to fight back against her relatives. Satsume was not alongside her the whole journey; he happened to be in the right place at the right time (or possibly the worst of both) to help her. But he joined her on his own volition, accepting the pains and triumphs that accompanied it. If he truly was not bothered by what has happened all the way up to this point, then Cecily knew that she played her hand as well as she could.
In the dining hall, she busied herself with the display of treats set out for everyone so that she did not have to look at any of the wyvern knights. Cecily was not in the mood to do much socializing given her state of mind. In fact, she drowned out all of the chatter rather than listen closely as she normally would. But it seemed that her social preferences were not to be held. Cecily silently cursed to herself as she saw Sir Alan approach her from the corner of her eye. Her last few seconds of freedom were spent quickly building composure before the knight butted himself into her life.
Of course, Sir Alan dispensed the standard pleasantries, until Cecily's lips froze at his final words.
"... Lord Faren's ball."
She had been to Bern on Lausian business before. Back then, Lord Faren went beyond simply wooing her: he had a full blown crush on her. By contrast, Cecily found Faren abhorrent to be around and simply hated his tendencies to throw parties at every opportunity and felt that every gift he had presented her to be hollow, soulless, and unrepresentative of her personality. If there was one person Cecily despised having to deal with, it was Lord Faren of Geneva.
"Your words are too kind," Cecily forced herself to say, cutting short her moment's hesitation. She added a smile for good measure before taking her seat. Sir Alan kept her hand in his and kneeled to match her seat instead of retreating to his own seat.
"May I, perchance, know the name of this beauty?" Sir Alan inquired further.
Her instinct told her not to oblige him. The last thing she wanted was another flurry of Faren's fawning around the clock, perhaps even ahead of the ball if he (often) had nothing else to do. No matter the pampering he provides or the special attention to comforts, the two's personalities could not be any less compatible. At the same time, there were benefits to getting close to Lord Faren. He is inclined to woo her at every turn and make an extraordinary effort to impress her, making him easy to manipulate. If they were to wed, to Cecily's own chagrin, it would provide her with access to wealth and material that would otherwise be held entirely at Faren's whim. In the meantime, it would be better if she was prepared and Faren was not.
"Cirina," Cecily told him.
"I pray you enjoy your time here and at the ball, Cirina," Sir Alan said with a smile. He touched his lips to her hand again and turned his attention back to his fellow knights.
It seems he took the lie.
Cecily turned her attention to Satsume, who seemed tense for some reason. "What?"
"No, milady. No regrets," he said.
Whether he intended to or not, his words gave Cecily some relief. Ever since she fled from Laus, Cecily had been doing whatever she could to fight back against her relatives. Satsume was not alongside her the whole journey; he happened to be in the right place at the right time (or possibly the worst of both) to help her. But he joined her on his own volition, accepting the pains and triumphs that accompanied it. If he truly was not bothered by what has happened all the way up to this point, then Cecily knew that she played her hand as well as she could.
In the dining hall, she busied herself with the display of treats set out for everyone so that she did not have to look at any of the wyvern knights. Cecily was not in the mood to do much socializing given her state of mind. In fact, she drowned out all of the chatter rather than listen closely as she normally would. But it seemed that her social preferences were not to be held. Cecily silently cursed to herself as she saw Sir Alan approach her from the corner of her eye. Her last few seconds of freedom were spent quickly building composure before the knight butted himself into her life.
Of course, Sir Alan dispensed the standard pleasantries, until Cecily's lips froze at his final words.
"... Lord Faren's ball."
She had been to Bern on Lausian business before. Back then, Lord Faren went beyond simply wooing her: he had a full blown crush on her. By contrast, Cecily found Faren abhorrent to be around and simply hated his tendencies to throw parties at every opportunity and felt that every gift he had presented her to be hollow, soulless, and unrepresentative of her personality. If there was one person Cecily despised having to deal with, it was Lord Faren of Geneva.
"Your words are too kind," Cecily forced herself to say, cutting short her moment's hesitation. She added a smile for good measure before taking her seat. Sir Alan kept her hand in his and kneeled to match her seat instead of retreating to his own seat.
"May I, perchance, know the name of this beauty?" Sir Alan inquired further.
Her instinct told her not to oblige him. The last thing she wanted was another flurry of Faren's fawning around the clock, perhaps even ahead of the ball if he (often) had nothing else to do. No matter the pampering he provides or the special attention to comforts, the two's personalities could not be any less compatible. At the same time, there were benefits to getting close to Lord Faren. He is inclined to woo her at every turn and make an extraordinary effort to impress her, making him easy to manipulate. If they were to wed, to Cecily's own chagrin, it would provide her with access to wealth and material that would otherwise be held entirely at Faren's whim. In the meantime, it would be better if she was prepared and Faren was not.
"Cirina," Cecily told him.
"I pray you enjoy your time here and at the ball, Cirina," Sir Alan said with a smile. He touched his lips to her hand again and turned his attention back to his fellow knights.
It seems he took the lie.
Cecily turned her attention to Satsume, who seemed tense for some reason. "What?"
Insurrection - Lady Cecilia "Cecily" of Laus, third in line to the Laus marquessate