Gift Giving - Anemone to Lucian

[Anemone Sellar]

Anemone felt a little bit silly preparing her gift for Lucian so close to Yule, but she hadn't really known what to do for his, and so she'd let herself procrastinate. After all, she had all the supplies she'd needed for everyone's gifts already in her rooms, so it should have been simple...except that she'd changed her mind about colors and shapes and sizes and started over three different times before she finally wound up with something she liked. She'd stayed up half the night, but she didn't care in the least.

The sweets would be the same as what she was doing for her friends--little chocolate macarons that she'd "helped" make down in the kitchen by measuring ingredients just like the cook told her and then not touching anything once the mixing began. She was a decent dancer, and good at making flower crowns, but absolutely garbage at cooking. She'd learned a long time ago it was safer if she stayed out of the kitchen. Still, she figured that measuring things was at least something so that she'd put her own energy into the food. 

Thankfully, Lucian deGrey and his brothers were already around before the ball officially began, so she had a chance to sneak up behind him and tap him on the shoulder while he was watching his little niece chase one of his brothers around. When he turned, he'd find her holding out a boutonniere with a blue paper rose as the centerpiece, and a few teeny tiny paper anemones, only the size of her thumbnail, as an accent. She didn't think anyone except maybe one or two of the ladies would catch on to what she'd done there, but it gave her a little thrill to basically be pinning her name on his jacket for the day. Along with that she had a white paper box that contained three of the macarons, just for him. 

"Happy Yule, Lucian."

[Lucian deGrey]

It wasn't quite time yet for the ball to begin, but he, some of his brothers and Olivia were already down and just outside the ballroom. He had told Anemone he would meet her there and so he stood, watching Olivia play and laughing.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and quickly turned to see Anemone there. He instantly smiled and watched her as she pinned the beautiful paper rose onto his jacket. Underneath his jacket, he wore a vest that was grey with accents of that shade of blue Anemone explained--or as close as he could find to it.

He didn't know all the names of the flowers, or even that her name was after a flower, but if she had told him, he would have thought it was adorable of her to pin little anemones on him.

As she finished pinning the boutonniere on him, he lifted the bouquet of flowers he had brought for her and handed them to her as she handed him the box of macaroons. "Thank you. Happy Yule, Anemone... You... Look..." He paused for a moment and smiled, "...absolutely stunning."

Lucian peeked inside the box, seeing the three macaroons and he grinned before returning his eyes to her. "These look delicious, thank you..." With his free hand, he reached into the pocket of his coat and pulled out a small box, handing it over to her.

He hadn't had a lot of time to get a gift planned out and prepared for her since his brothers dragged him to a dinner, but he did the best he could with the time he did have. Lucian had spoken with one of Eleesa's other ladies, Avalynn, to find out what kinds of things Anemone liked. He was told the sea and seashells, so he went with that.

When she opened the box, she would see a simple necklace with a seashell charm and a single pearl dangling from a chain. "I was told you like seashells..." He smiled and looked to her, watching her face and the expression it held as she saw the necklace. He hoped she would like it, but he wished he had more time to find something, perhaps better.

[Anemone Sellar]

Anemone accepted the flowers with a glowing smile, taking a moment to smell them and sigh at how lovely it was that they smelled like spring. His compliment had her turning as red as the flowers, and she found herself keeping them near her face to hide just a little. It wasn't that she didn't think she was pretty, but having him tell her so made her feel all fluttery.

The box he handed her caught her by surprise, and she tucked the bouquet into the crook of her arm to open it. She didn't know what he could have gotten her--she'd kept her gifts simple partially because she didn't get much time to leave the castle (she could have if she asked, but she never felt right being away from Eleesa for long) and partially because she hadn't known what was appropriate. She didn't want to assume things that she shouldn't and--Oh. Oh, it was lovely.

She gasped out loud when she saw the little seashell pendant, and her eyes flashed between him and it as she tried to figure out whether she should argue or not. She couldn't though, it was too beautiful, and he was too sweet for her to protest. She wound up smiling and speechless for a moment. His gift also answered her question about making assumptions; she could have gone further with her gift to him, but she had been too afraid.

"Lucian, it's lovely," she murmured softly, trailing her finger over the little ridges in the shell. Even being so tiny, it looked real, just like the shells she'd collected as a child. "I do love the sea. It's where I feel happiest, usually...in the summer, with the sun shining and the water making you feel like you could float forever..." She spoke slowly, somewhat dreamily, as she remembered the way the sun warmed her shoulders and the sand under her feet. Perhaps when the weather was warmer, she could take Lucian to her favorite spot. They'd walk on the beach, and the breeze would ruffle his hair, and they could act like children and splash in the water without anyone to tell them to grow up.

She suddenly felt shy, realizing that she was daydreaming again. She shouldn't really...but the more time she spent around Lucian, the harder it was to stop herself from doing it. "Will you help me put it on?" she asked, changing the subject at least a little.

 When he agreed, she traded him the cookies for the bracelet box, so that he would have both his hands to put the chain around her neck. His fingers brushed the back of her neck as he fastened the clasp, and she almost shivered.

When he was in front of her again, she smiled and passed him back his cookies. "I might have to take this as an excuse to get you something nicer, now. I didn't think you'd want a flower crown like I made for the ladies." She giggled, imagining him in a crown of blue roses. She thought it would look nice in his hair, actually, with the rich blue against the dark waves. "And I didn't want to do something too grand, and make you uncomfortable..." She made a face. "I suppose I was overthinking it, just a little."

[Lucian deGrey]

Lucian watched her reaction as she opened the box with the necklace inside. He had also wondered if it would be too much, or too forward and inappropriate, but the more he thought about it, the more he found he didn't care. They had shared a few kisses and it was obvious that they liked one another. Anemone had made it a little obvious that she had not been treated fairly in the past, so he felt he wanted to make up for that for her. So he decided to be a little daring.

As she spoke about loving the sea and that it was where she felt happiest, he smiled brightly, pleased that he had given her the necklace now, if only to remind her of her happiness. He loved how spoke with such a dreamy tone as if she were standing on the beach describing it to him, and he watched her, his smile never fading from his lips.

"Of course," he nodded as she asked him to help put it on. He handed her the box of cookies and took the necklace, removing it from the box and putting it around her neck, fastening the clasp for her. When she turned back to face him, he glanced down to see how it looked on her and smiled. "It looks lovely on you."

When she spoke of having an excuse to get him something nicer, he shook his head but said nothing as she rambled on. He laughed, "You do not need to get me anything else, my lady. Maybe just a dance this evening? And perhaps another kiss?" He smiled softly and shrugged his shoulders, "it's all I'd really want, anyway."

[Anemone Sellar]

Anemone frowned and crossed her arms over her chest, although she was careful not to damage the flowers. She pouted up at him, looking shockingly put out for someone as happy as she was. She couldn't hide the mischief in her eyes, though. "Now, that's not fair, I would have given you both those things anyway," she complained, "I want to do something that's special. You were so thoughtful with yours..."

She squinted at him, trying to puzzle out what she could do for him that really would be special. All of a sudden, she was realizing that while the two of them had fallen together so naturally, she hardly knew anything about Lucian--she knew he was a soldier, and that he was kind, and respectful, and generous, and a better dancer than he let on...He was quiet, but that didn't mean he had nothing to say; he was just thinking about things before he really said them. Oh, and with his brother, the wild one, he was much more playful. She also knew his favorite color was blue...but that was it. Not his favorite foods, or hobbies, or whether he liked pets...How strange.

She felt like she knew him in a different way, knew his spirit somehow, but the little facts had fallen to the wayside. The realization showed on her face and her head fell slowly to the side as she considered. They would have to fix that. Tonight might not be enough time, but they could start. She brightened back up and straightened up in tandem.

"Alright, you'll get what you asked for, and I won't get you a thing for Yule, but I'm determined to get to know you better, so that we can do something special. I'm not sure what, yet, but I'll make sure it's something we'll both like. An adventure, sort of." She hesitated, just a little. "Does that sound alright?"

[Lucian deGrey]

Lucian smiled at her put-out expression. He could tell by her demeanor that she really wasn't, so it made him laugh softly. His smile only grew as she admitted she would have already offered to dance and kiss him. But as she stated she wanted to do something special, he shook his head, "what if those things are special to me already?" He gave her a challenging look. He really wasn't much of the type to want things or possessions, but he preferred creating memories. Like this one, especially.

He grinned as he listened to her talk and he nodded. She was planning on getting to know him better and spending more time with him, which he felt relieved about. It meant she wanted to be near him-- he hadn't scared her off with his kissing her at the chase and with the gift he had just given her. He breathed a quiet laugh out his nose and nodded again, "an adventure sounds perfect to me."

He couldn't help but look her over once again. She really was beautiful. "Would you like to go in? Or would you like to stay out here until more people arrive?"

[Anemone Sellar]

Anemone grinned at his quiet agreement--he said it sounded perfect! That was definitely good. She was going to make sure it was the best adventure EVER. She just...had to figure out what it would be. The beach sounded nice, but it was much too cold for that right now. They'd have to wait to do something outdoors until it started to thaw a little more...

His question brought her back to the present, and she pursed her lips for a moment as she considered. "Let me just go drop these flowers off in my room. I have a pitcher of water by the bed that should keep them happy until I find a real vase to put them in. I'd hate to have them get wilted while we're at the ball! And you can probably leave your cookies with your coat, while I'm gone. Alright?"

When he didn't protest, she hopped up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek, giggled, then ran off down the hall to put the flowers away. Turning past the mirror on her way, she realized she'd completely forgotten to put any flowers in her hair. She looked back at Lucian's bouquet with a grin. What a lovely coincidence... She snagged one of the beautiful dark roses out of the pitcher and used her sewing scissors to snip the stem down to a reasonable length before she tucked it into the twist of hair behind her ear and pinned it in place--she didn't want to chance losing it while she was dancing!

Grinning at her quick thinking, she hurried back to Lucian and gave a little twirl when she arrived, holding up one hand to gesture dramatically to her hair when she returned. "Your gift completed my outfit just perfectly! Which means I'm ready to go in if you are."

[Lucian deGrey]

[ Thread continued at The Yule Ball. ]