Soleil
32
Single
Council Member of Tresterian court
Tier 1 Character
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Post by Triston deGrey on Aug 6, 2020 22:29:25 GMT -5
"You're welcome," he said to Marinette before he heard Helene sternly whispering his name. He smirked and shrugged his shoulders. He, unfortunately, did not know the sisters well enough to know what their favorite colors were, or what they liked, so he had gone with what he thought a woman might like, and what he felt would complement them.
When Helene came to his side and hugged him, Triston wrapped his arm back around her and squeezed her gently, smiling as she kissed his cheek, "you're very welcome." He chuckled quietly as she handed him the bottle of whiskey. "You didn't have to do this- thank you," Triston shook his head, grateful for the thought that both women had put into making all the brothers feel welcome and part of their lives. It was heartwarming, to say the least.
After Helene walked off, Triston looked the bottle of whiskey over and chuckled again, remembering that day he and his brothers drank too much of their father's and Wesley got into the beehive. Although Triston did not drink fairly often, he did like to enjoy a glass of whiskey here and there, and he was appreciative of the gift.
His attention suddenly drifted over to Olivia as she exclaimed and asked about getting a pony. He couldn't help but laugh again. Poor William. A piano and a pony?! "That's quite a yule wish, Livie!" He grinned and winked playfully at her.
Then, he heard the song on the piano that sounded all too familiar. As he glanced over, he noticed Wesley playing the song and he felt a slight pang in his chest remembering as mother used to play that song. She had stopped after their father died, and he never thought he'd hear the song again. Triston was honestly surprised that Wesley had remembered it and still played it so well. Not that he doubted he would be able to remember it, it was just that they hadn't heard it for so long and he and their mother hadn't played for quite some time. It was nice to hear his brother playing again, though.
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Magpie
26
Unmarried
Noblewoman
Tier 2 Character
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Post by Marinette Roquefort on Aug 7, 2020 14:19:32 GMT -5
Marinette was beginning to feel overwhelmed by all the people in the room and the attention she was getting from each of them. She honestly had never experienced anything like it--all this kindness and affection at once, people giving her gifts and hugs and smiling at her. It was exquisitely beautiful, but something about it hurt. Tears were already beginning to rise in her eyes from Triston's gift and the kiss to her cheek, and then Wesley was recalling a song his mother liked, and she hardly managed to set the name to memory while she was trying to answer her sister about the cocoa.
"Yes, if we can shepherd everyone that direction, I..." she trailed off, distracted as Olivia ran back up to whisper in her ear and pass her a thin parcel. William thought she should have it? What was all this? All these people choosing things for her! She was clearly tearing up now, and by the time Lucian had passed her a bottle of wine and given her a hug, the tears had begun to flow down her cheeks despite the smile on her lips.
"These men are going to do me in," she muttered, "But at least I'll die happy." She set the other gifts on top of the standing piano, then tugged one of the handkerchiefs free from Wesley's well chosen gift to dab at her eyes. He likely hadn't realized when he did it, how soon they would be put to use. She laid a gentle hand on his shoulder as she rose from the piano bench.
"I'm afraid I don't know that one, yet, although it sounds familiar. I'll just have to learn it." She smiled for a moment, then turned to the others and motioned towards the sitting room.
Alright all of you, off you go to the sitting room. This part was my doing, and I'm determined to have all of you relaxed and comfortable." She did her best to look calm and confident, even as the small, nasty voice in the back of her mind tried to argue that making grown men follow her instructions was rude, that they were going to think her childish idea was ridiculous, that she shouldn't even be here, that it was about Helene anyway, her house, her friends. She told that voice to shove it, and held her head a little higher.
"Ma petite, come with me," she called to Olivia, offering her hand to hold. "This one is a surprise especially for you," she whispered to the little girl, crouching slightly to be close to her ear. "My maman used to do this with Lini and I when we were little, so I thought you might like it too."
If the others allowed, she'd move them to the sitting room, where the couches had been pushed back slightly to make room, and a variety of blankets, pillows, and cushions had been set on the floor near the fire. (People could sit on couches or on the floor as they pleased.) On the low table in the center of the room sat a tray of steaming hot cocoa that filled the room with a warm chocolate scent to accompany the glow and crackle of the fireplace.
Marinette neatly took her place near the fire, folding her legs up under her skirt as she pulled a beautifully embossed, rich red book from where she'd tucked it aside. It was thin and wide, clearly a storybook with large illustrations, not just a novel. She flipped it open to the title page and showed it to Olivia. A brightly painted nutcracker was illuminated on the page, the gold-foil buttons of his military uniform winking in the firelight. "Do you know the story of the Nutcracker?" Her eyes shone bright with excitement, beginning to mirror the little girl's energy as she recalled reading this story in her own childhood. Maman used to read it to us every Yule, because the girl's name is Marie, just like my nickname."
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Tendy
27
Widowed
Noble
Tier 3 Character
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Post by Helene Hewitt on Aug 7, 2020 15:44:24 GMT -5
Helene tightened her hand on Wesley’s shoulder, as she nodded to what Mari said about shepherding everyone to the sitting room. She felt a wave of excitement beginning to course through her completely different reasons. Wesley blurted out strange things then, which had her blinking, turning her head to look at him, but Olivia was drawing her attention away as she tugged on her sleeve. She turned away from Wesely and Marinette, crouching down to the little girl's level. She took the parcel from her, her eyebrows arching slightly in surprise, but her face was warm as she grinned at the little girl. “Then clearly he needed an expert lady’s opinion.” She whispered back to her. “Thank you little Dove.” Helene gave her a quick kiss to her cheek before she was running around to Marinette, and Helene looked at the beautiful little hair pieces.
As Lucian came over she took the wine from him, and hugged him back. “Happy Yule! And thank you again for coming.” She whispered under her breath so only he could hear. “And the ammunition.” She had to cover her mouth to prevent herself from laughing again. Olivia was asking about a pony, and A look of amusement crossed her face. “A pony?!” She asked. She kept her mouth shut about all the ribbons she could put in said pony’s hair, thinking she’d done enough damage as with creating a ribbon monster.
Mari was ordering people into the sitting room, and Helene grinned widely. “You all heard the lady!” She began to shoo deGrey’s into the other room. Placing her wine bottle on the table she hurried over to William’s side. “You have great taste in hairpieces.” She grinned at him. Giving him a quick side hug. “Thank you, and thank you for whatever you did for Mari today.” She whispered. The gratitude showed in her eyes. She didn’t know what exactly had happened between the two of them, but she had seen what Wiliam had done for them in getting them away from their father.
She walked towards the sitting room with them, all eyeing the monstrosity of a tree that had been decorated and she couldn’t help but love every disastrous ribbon covered branch. Not caring if four men and a child had decorated. It was the most perfect tree she’d had for Yule, and nothing would change her mind about it. As they all filtered into the sitting room, Helene actually didn’t go in. This was Mari’s time to shine, something she’d really wanted to make special for Olivia, and Helene was going to see to it that it happened.
Before he was even allowed to step foot into the sitting room, Helene would be at Wesley’s side, grabbing his arm, and standing up on her tiptoes to whisper in his ear. “I need your help with something.” She whispered quietly, before she let him go, and then would quietly sneak down the hallway, motioning him to follow her.
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Lunari
34
Widower
Tresterian Ambassador
Tier 2 Character
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Post by William deGrey on Aug 7, 2020 17:08:52 GMT -5
Olivia giggled as her father tickled her sides. "Yes, a pony!" she declared when William, Triston, and even Helene were all alarmed by the wish. Although she asked for a lot of things and didn't get every single one (for obvious reasons), his daughter was never upset on Yule morning. She was already growing up to be this generous person and sometimes he didn't quite understand how. Yet, all he had to do was look around the room. He had a good, honorable family, albeit crazy at times. Even Anne nurtured Livi despite her often cold demeanor. Whenever he felt himself sinking, Will simply had to remember that he wasn't alone, that he had some damn good people in his life, and he supposed her could happily include the sisters in that.
"I bet, if you're really good this year-" he began, amusement flickering over his face as he looked sidelong to his brother. "Uncle Triston will get you that pony for your birthday." He laughed before rising up to his full height. William tried to look apologetic, but it was a poor attempt. Someone needed to help take some of these demands off his shoulders!
Then, Marinette was trying to usher everyone into the other room. While Olivia was already running off, William paused when Helene drew to his side. The smile that graced his face was small but sincere, a quiet sadness flickering in his eyes. He hadn't spoken of it to anyone, not those particular details anyway, but he nodded to her. "Of course. I just...wish there was more I could do right now. She had helped me a great deal," he whispered back. It hadn't been ideal the way the situation went down with Margery, yet he wasn't arguing anymore. It had to happen, and fate wanted it to happen that way.
Following his family into the sitting room with that...very uniquely decorated tree, Will took a seat upon one of the couches nearest the fire, and close to where Olivia was, who was flopping down onto the pillows excitedly next to Marinette. His expression softened again, admiring his daughter's ability to see the wonderful in everything, big and small. It actually made his heart ache because he realized he sometimes forgot to do the same. As his elbow rested upon the arm of the couch, he leaned his chin into his palm thoughtfully while watching the two interact in front of the fire.
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Lunari
7
Daughter of William deGrey
Tier 4 Character
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Post by Olivia deGrey on Aug 7, 2020 17:24:58 GMT -5
Practically skipping, she went straight to Marinette when she called out to her and took her hand. "A surprise for me?" she gasped in delight, a smile spreading across her face. She could barely contain her excitement but did her best since she knew that was the proper thing to do. Yelling out in that extreme enthusiasm wasn't very lady-like! Or so she was told.
Olivia sat near the fire, doing her best to mimic the way Marinette sat before those brown eyes widened in wonderment at the book. Oh, she certainly loved stories! Daddy always tried to read to her before bed but sometimes his work kept him out late. Her favorites were the fairy tales about a beautiful princess.
"No, I don't know it," she answered the woman's question as she scooted just a little bit closer, small fingers hovering over that page with its beautiful illustration. But she didn't touch! "Are you going to read it for us? Will you read it for us?" She wanted to know all about his Nutcracker and Marie! "Is she as pretty as you? Is this real goooold?" Olivia had so many questions and she was trying to contain herself.
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Lunari
30
Secretly engaged.
Head of deGrey Trading Co.
Tier 1 Character
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Post by Wesley deGrey on Aug 7, 2020 17:38:48 GMT -5
Wesley had barely realized half the things that were going on, having been too absorbed in trying to remember that song. It was shoddy at best, and he literally had only tapped a single finger across some keys, but he wondered if he really took the time to sit there and work on it, he could recall it all. It was possibly the only song he had mostly known how to play. However, a smile graced his face when Marinette mentioned she would have to learn it, though a brief flicker of worry sobered his expression to see she was already making use of one of those handkerchiefs.
Had something happened? What did he miss?
Before he could try and figure out why, everyone was moving into the other room. Wesley, for once, quietly began to follow suit, suddenly unable to get his mother's favorite tune out of his head. It was all coming back to him now and it made him smile in the silence, distantly hearing Olivia's giggles and some of the conversations among his family.
He was about to set foot into the sitting room when Helene stopped him, whispering near his ear. His brows shot up in question and those blue eyes blinked when they regarded her. "You mean, I don't get to enjoy story time?" he whispered, whining in a joking kind of way; all the while following her down the hallway, feeling as though he was willingly walking to his doom.
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Soleil
28
Single
Captain of Tresterian Army: Infantry
Tier 2 Character
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Post by Lucian deGrey on Aug 7, 2020 21:17:33 GMT -5
Lucian laughed at Helene's gratitude and nodded, "of course... Anytime." He always enjoyed embarrassing Wesley. But at the same point, he would also speak highly of the man too.
As Marinette was ushering them into the other room, he followed orders and moved, finding a seat on the floor and crossing his long legs underneath him. He could smell the chocolate fill the room and everything looked so warm and cozy.
Earlier in the evening, he had been a bit reluctant about coming. He had never met the two ladies before this evening and he was always wary about spending an evening with new company. At least he had his brothers to fall back on if things hadn't gone well. But he was rather enjoying himself now.
It was seemingly story time, and he hadn't heard this story before, so he was interested to hear it. He remembered long ago when mother used to read to him before bed and it made him miss that time. Just then, his mind wandered to Anemone and he wondered how her evening was going and if she felt just as nervous, yet excited about the Yule ball and spending more time with him. He was anxious to get to know her more and see where things would end up between them. He kind of wished she was here with them. Something about her personality made him feel that she would enjoy this kind of thing.
He reached for a mug of the hot chocolate and sipped at it carefully, a smile tugging at his lips, "I bet she is just as pretty as Marinette," he confirmed to Olivia.
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Soleil
32
Single
Council Member of Tresterian court
Tier 1 Character
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Post by Triston deGrey on Aug 7, 2020 21:40:33 GMT -5
Perhaps he should have kept his mouth shut about telling Olivia that the pony was quite a Yule wish because now William was decidedly throwing him under the carriage. Olivia wouldn't forget that, and he did it on purpose, didn't he? Triston wouldn't be able to say no.
Thankfully, Marinette distracted the girl and she didn't even comment on her father's suggestion. Maybe he would get out of it. Or maybe Triston would do it anyway, because he was the favorite uncle, of course. He'd have to keep up with and ensure he would hold onto that title, after all.
He laughed and squeezed William's shoulder before he moved on into the next room with Marinette's request. The room was warm and inviting and cozy with how it had been set up. And with all the pillows that had been set up, he felt he should choose sitting on the floor so the time put into it did not go to waste. He sat down next to his youngest brother and reached for one of the cups of cocoa, grinning at the sight of Olivia next to Marinette.
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Magpie
26
Unmarried
Noblewoman
Tier 2 Character
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Post by Marinette Roquefort on Aug 7, 2020 22:25:59 GMT -5
Marinette laughed softly at Olivia's antics. "Yes, of course I'll read it to you. And I do think it's real gold, yes, but only very little, pressed so thin that it's even thinner than parchment, and light as a butterfly wing." She purposely skipped the question about being as pretty as her, because, well, no...probably Marie in the story was prettier.
And then Lucian stepped in and said she was, causing Marinette to turn rather pink. But she decided not to argue, for fear that would be rude. Instead, she just cleared her throat lightly, and began to read.
"Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Marie." The page was turned to a picture of a girl in a blue dress, with her hair pulled back in a white ribbon. She was walking with a stack of books on her head."She was the oldest sibling in her house, and her parents expected great things of her. She was always meant to follow the rules, and to behave quietly, or her parents would be very angry.
The next illustration was of a Yule tree (much more organized than their own) and a ballroom full of dancers. In front of it stood a tall man in dark green, holding up a doll.
"The one time of year that Marie could laugh, play, and dance the way she liked was at Yule, when her Godfather, Drosselmeyer, came to visit. He was an inventor, who made wonderful machines, and mechanical toys that could do all kinds of things. When Drosselmeyer visited, all the children of the house were allowed to play with the things he brought, and a great party was thrown in the house. Marie loved to see all of his inventions, not just the loudest and the flashiest."
The next page showed the same man in front of a doll-house-like castle, with lots of little people inside.
"One year, when Drosselmeyer came to visit, he brought a great mechanical castle. When the handle was turned, all the little people inside moved. The maids wiped the windows, the butlers bowed, the king and queen waved to the court, and many more little people did their tiny jobs. All the children were amazed, and spent lots of time turning the handle and marveling at the castle."
She turned the page to show Marie looking at the nutcracker from the title page. "Marie didn't like the castle, because nothing really changed. Everyone did the same things again and again, just like her house. She wanted an adventure instead. She went to look at Drosselmeyer's other inventions, the ones that weren't just for children. When she did, she found a nutcracker in a bright red soldier's uniform. She asked Drosselmeyer who it belonged to, and he told her it was for the whole house, but since she liked him so much, she could be his special caretaker."
"Marie shared the nutcracker with her siblings, and all of them tried cracking nuts in the little soldier's jaw. Marie's brother, John, tried with one that was too large, and when he tried to force it, he broke the nutcracker's arm. Marie was horribly upset, and she snatched the nutcracker back from her brother, and put his arm in a little sling, made from her own hair ribbon. She promised the little wooden soldier that she would make sure Drosselmeyer fixed him up as good as new. She put him back with the other toys and inventions, so that he could rest, while her parents sent all the children to bed."
The next page showed Marie leaning out of a dark doorway, peering down the hallway.
"Marie couldn't sleep that night, so she got up to get a glass of water. While she was going down the hall, she heard the clock begin to strike midnight at the bottom of the stairs." Marinette made her voice sound as much like a bell as she could, just the way her mother had done when she was little. "Dong....dong....dong...
With each chime of the clock, more and more things began to move in the room. Marie watched with her eyes as big as saucers as the toys began to wake up! But then there was a new sound: a scraping and scratching in the walls, just before a huge army of rats poured out from under the grandfather clock. They really were an army, with little uniforms and swords, and they were attacking the dolls!"
Marinette turned to a picture of the army of rats fighting the dolls, with the nutcracker and the rat king in the center. It was clear the nutcracker was not doing well.
"The dolls worked together to fight back the rat army, but the nutcracker was their leader, and he was not doing well with only one arm to fight. Marie wasn't going to let him get hurt again, so she ran the rest of the way down the stairs and charged right for the middle. After all, they were only small rats--she should be able to chase them off since she was so big. But there was just one problem..." On the next page, Marie stood next to the nutcracker, and she was even shorter than him.
"Marie had shrunk with every step, so that when she reached the middle, she was just as small as the dolls! But she still wouldn't let the rat king win. She took off her slipper, and she threw it at his head. When it hit him, the nutcracker managed to push him and his army back. The rat king sent a wave of soldiers after Marie, and she screamed. She fell down onto some broken glass and cut her arm, but the nutcracker and dolls saved her from the army. The rats had to retreat when the clock began to strike again. All the dolls went back to their places, but the Nutcracker stopped to help Marie stand up. 'Thank you!' he told her, 'Without you, we wouldn't have been able to win. That was very brave of you to try and help me again.' Marie told him that it wasn't brave at all, that she'd been very frightened. The nutcracker laughed and said, 'Being brave doesn't mean you aren't frightened at all--it means doing the right thing even when you are scared out of your wits.' He didn't have time to say more, because he was already turning back into a wooden toy."
(Go ahead and react to this part! I'll finish the rest on my next post!)
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Lunari
34
Widower
Tresterian Ambassador
Tier 2 Character
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Post by William deGrey on Aug 8, 2020 11:41:13 GMT -5
William, as always, remained quiet throughout the story, his attention barely wavering from his daughter as he would smile and softly chuckle every time she laughed or gasped in surprise. She appeared to be completely enthralled in the tale of the Nutcracker, and it certainly hadn't been one she heard before which made it all that more exciting. Eventually, those dark eyes drifted to his brothers, hardly realizing Wesley and Helene weren't even there. Everyone seemed to be wrapped up in the story as Marinette told it and he slowly found himself looking back at her, watching every expression as she spoke and put on the different voices, enthusiastic in her story telling.
The soft amusement on his face faltered for but a moment when a flicker of memory washed over him. A memory that never got to happen. Olivia had hardly known her mother for Catherine passed many years ago now...but this was the sort of thing she would have done for her daughter. This gathering of friends that Marinette and Helene put together would have been something Cat would have enjoyed. It was strange how the sudden thought occurred to him this night, how it hurt him after all of this time when he thought he was numb to it, all while he watched Livi listening intently, hanging on Mari's every word. He was suddenly so grateful to the woman and the other two men seated there with her.
His chest shuddered with a slowly drawn in breath and he ran a hand down his face to shove these thoughts away. Maybe the memory only hurt now because of the epic failure that was his relationship with Margery. Nevertheless, it wasn't time to dwell on that. Forcing the hardness away from his features, William moved from the couch to sit upon the cushions with the rest of them.
'Being brave doesn't mean you aren't frightened at all--it means doing the right thing even when you are scared out of your wits.' His face dropped for a moment, a smile curling up the corner of his mouth. Well...wasn't that the truth of it all.
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Lunari
7
Daughter of William deGrey
Tier 4 Character
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Post by Olivia deGrey on Aug 8, 2020 11:55:40 GMT -5
Olivia smiled at her Uncle Lucian, nodding in agreement to his words. She thought both Marinette and Helene were very pretty- she had from the moment she met them. She had gotten to spend a lot of time with Lini (as she recalled Marinette calling her) at the marketplace with the ribbons, and she was quite glad to be spending so much time with Mari right now. She was having such a wonderful time! Olivia didn't want the night to end, just wanting to tie more ribbons everywhere, eat all the cookies, and drink some cocoa!
But she didn't reach for the hot chocolate as one might have assumed of her. No, she seemed very occupied with the beautifully illustrated book as Marinette told the story. It made the girl go quiet, except for the occasional giggles or surprised gasps when they got to the exciting parts. There were rats! So many rats, and she shivered in her spot on the pillows before she was scooting just a little bit closer to the woman to have a better look at the book.
She hung on Marinette's every word, sometimes watching her instead of looking at the drawings before she was forgetting everything else, able to envision the story in her head and she wanted to fight back the lull of sleep. She shifted a little closer to Mari, leaning to rest her head against her shoulder as fingers lightly traced over the drawings in the book.
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Soleil
28
Single
Captain of Tresterian Army: Infantry
Tier 2 Character
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Post by Lucian deGrey on Aug 8, 2020 22:32:30 GMT -5
Lucian settled in and got comfortable as Marinette began to read the story. He loved watching the reactions and facial expressions of Olivia at first, but the more the story went on, the more enthralled he became in it.
Marinette told the story so well, her voice was soothing and perfect for telling stories. It was enough to draw him in, hanging on her every word. He probably looked just as interested and surprised as Olivia did.
It had been a while since he had heard a story like this. Most of the stories he heard were those from the other soldiers, and they were not as pleasant as this one was. So he continued to listen on, waiting to hear what would happen next.
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Soleil
32
Single
Council Member of Tresterian court
Tier 1 Character
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Post by Triston deGrey on Aug 8, 2020 22:55:37 GMT -5
He had heard this story before, but he couldn't exactly place where or when he had. It had been a long time though, perhaps. Still, he was enjoying the way Marinette read it, and he couldn't help but smile as he watched Olivia's reactions. And Lucian's.
His own thoughts began to wander as he sat there in silence. To Eleesa and how things had unfolded between them earlier in the day. Had he made a complete mess of things? Would she ever talk to or look at him the same ever again? Triston held back a sigh just as William was moving from the couch to sit next to him. He pushed back his thoughts and draped an arm around his older brother's shoulder, pulling him closer and pressing a kiss to his head before resting his forehead against it, whispering quietly into his ear. "I am glad we have all remained close and still have each other." He smiled before letting him go and sitting back, eyes moving back on Marinette and Olivia.
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Magpie
26
Unmarried
Noblewoman
Tier 2 Character
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Post by Marinette Roquefort on Aug 8, 2020 23:06:39 GMT -5
Marinette was caught up in the story, hardly pausing even to take a breath. However, she did notice William moving closer, and she most certainly noticed the little girl now leaning against her shoulder. Both movements made her smile. She was still reading, so without her full attention, she automatically lifted her arm around Olivia's shoulder, and toyed absently with the ends of her hair as she continued the story.
“Marie tried to stay awake, but everything went quite fuzzy around her, and the next thing she thought she remembered was her godfather carrying her back up to her bed.
When she awoke the next morning, she wondered if it had all been a dream. But when she looked back down at her arm, she still had the cut, barely healed overnight. She ran down the stairs to check on the nutcracker and the dolls. All of them were back in their places, as if nothing had happened at all.
She tried to tell her siblings about the war between the dolls and the rat king, but they thought she was just being silly. Frustrated, she told her godfather what had happened. He said nothing at all, he just smiled. But he did give her something she hadn’t expected--the nutcracker, all fixed up as good as new! He’d even fixed up his sword so it was shiny and new again, without any of the wear from last night’s battle. And that gave Marie an idea.
That night, before she went to bed, Marie took a sword from one of her brother’s toy soldiers, and hid it under her pillow. Once she heard the clock began to strike midnight again, she ran down the stairs as fast as she could with the sword, so that she could help the nutcracker and the dolls.
The battle was fierce, but with Marie’s help, the nutcracker was able to defeat the rat king. And, when he recovered the rat king’s crown, and put it on his head…
The nutcracker transformed into a normal man! He thanked Marie for her help once again, and told her that she was the bravest woman he had ever met. His kingdom had been taken over by the rat king, and when the rats stole his crown, they cursed him to be just a wooden toy, to hide his true form. Marie had helped to restore the rightful king to the kingdom of the dolls.
Time was running out, though, and the dolls had to return to their places before the clock struck one. The prince promised Marie he would see her again soon, and told her to go back to bed. She was worried, but she did as he asked, and went back to her room.
The next morning was Yule! People exchanged gifts, and ate delicious treats, but Marie was too upset. She had looked all over for the nutcracker prince, but he was nowhere to be found! He had vanished! She didn’t know what to do. Drosselmeyer winked at her during dinner, and told her he was expecting a very special guest.
Just as he said that, there was a knock at the front door, and when Marie opened it, she found that it was the doll king!
The two of them danced at the Yule party until late late at night, and as the clock struck twelve, the king asked Marie to marry him. He told her that the doll kingdom needed a queen as brave as she. When Marie agreed, the two of them shrunk, smaller and smaller, and went through a door in the grandfather clock, home to the kingdom of the dolls.
From then on, every Yule, Marie and the King returned to visit her family, bringing them wonderful gifts and sweets. And they never forgot what it meant to be brave, and how to face their fears.
The end."
Marinette closed the book and looked up at her audience with a soft smile. "Happy Yule, everyone. Thank you for listening."
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Lunari
34
Widower
Tresterian Ambassador
Tier 2 Character
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Post by William deGrey on Aug 9, 2020 13:51:48 GMT -5
Marinette was very good. In truth, she was better at telling stories than he was, and William had always thought he did fairly well. He almost laughed at the thought, as if he could ever be offended by that notion, but he was loving how much Olivia was simply enthralled with the story. And soon enough Mari had three grown men hanging on her every word as well. He would have to find this story for Livi, or perhaps this here, right now, would simply become tradition? William was secretly unsure whether that had to do with what he knew of the sisters, hoping to keep them safe, or that he was truly wishing for this.
It hurt, again, to watch Marinette with Olivia. It was a good kind of pain, but that didn't make it any less painful. But Triston at his side drew him from these thoughts, his dark eyes drifting sideways to look at him. A hand patted the man's chest in a way of returning the affection and he smiled warmly. "Me, too, brother," he told him quietly so as to not interrupt the story. That was when he realized Lucian was totally captivated by the tale as though he were a young boy again, and Wesley was nowhere in sight. "It would appear we are missing one, though..."
At that moment, the tale of the Nutcracker came to an end and he noticed how quiet Olivia was. There was a huge smile on her face but she looked comfortable and content, and William knew she had been just about to fall asleep. Almost. "That was a wonderful story, Marinette-" "Could you read it again?" his daughter was quietly interrupting, turning her face up to look at the woman. "I love how...how-" Olivia paused for just a moment to yawn. "How brave Marie was...and then...the happy ending. All stories should have a happy ending."
If only he could make that remain so. He tried to catch Mari's eyes, offering the same warm smile and mouthed a grateful "thank you". William allowed Livi to cling to that positivity for as long as life would allow. Because not all stories ended happily. It was just whatever fate allowed. His expression faltered for but a moment, turning his attention away from the two towards the crackling fire.
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