Yuletide Troubles

[Triston deGrey]

The chase had been a disaster. Maybe not at first- but it certainly ended as one. Triston hadn’t been allowed much time to sit and reflect on the event and his feelings, because he had been dragged out by Wesley to go to dinner with his brothers at Helene and Mari’s home. The evening had been a nice distraction, though, but it did not erase what had happened and as soon as he returned home, all his emotions came crashing back down on him.

How could he show his face at the Yule ball? Or anywhere around Court if Eleesa would be around? He had humiliated not only himself but most likely her as well. That night, he decided it would probably be best if he did not attend the ball. He would visit with his family in the morning and spend the evening burying himself in his work.

The next morning, he got himself ready and made his way to his older brother’s living quarters. He was concerned about William, honestly, because of what happened at the chase with Margery. They had all been telling him that he deserved better than the woman, but he understood that his loneliness most likely got in his way of seeing that. He would make sure that he was doing alright while he was here.

With a few wrapped presents in his arms, he gently knocked on the door and waited until the servant answered and let him in, claiming that William and Olivia were eating their breakfast, and she led him into the dining area. He grinned and playfully called out as he entered the room, “Where’s my beautiful niece, Livie!?” He set the gifts down on one of the side tables so he could prepare himself should Olivia decide she wished to jump into his arms as she often did.

[Tagged for William deGrey.]

[William deGrey]

The chase for him, as the rest of his brothers already knew, had been both a blessing and a curse. He was surprised he hadn't heard from their mother yet about it, because surely most of the castle knew of what happened. Last he heard, Margery had rushed into the castle screaming and ranting as she trailed mud in her wake. As funny as an image as that seemed, he couldn't bring himself to be completely happy for it. Because he wasn't really worried about himself after that...not after what Marinette had told him.

He tried to eat, but barely touched his food as Olivia seemed happy and preoccupied with her new kitten. She already loved the devious, little thing so much, and it warmed his heart to watch her run around with a couple ribbons tied to the end of a stick for Dinah (as his daughter named her) pounced and chased them. At least not all of his heart ached.

Attention drifted over to Triston as he entered and he gave his brother a warm smile. Olivia immediately stopped, turning so that she could, indeed, rush towards her uncle and leap right into his arms; the ribbons following her in a flurry. "I'm right here!" she giggled. The kitten had followed, now rubbing herself across Triston's leg.

"Good to see you, brother," William said, sitting up a bit straighter in his seat to sip at his coffee. "And happy Yule. Would you like some coffee or tea? Did you eat?"

[Triston deGrey]

He caught Olivia and pulled her into a tight embrace, squeezing her gently. He kissed the top of her head and chuckled softly. “Happy Yule, little love. I’ve brought you some presents!” He felt the kitten rub up against his leg and he looked down to see the cute little thing, which made him laugh. “Although, they’re not nearly as good as the kitten.” He crouched down to scratch under the kitten’s chin and pet its head gently before he stood back up to his full height.

“Good to see you, William. Happy Yule!” He reached for the two wrapped gifts he brought for Olivia and handed them over to her.  He watched as she took the gifts and ran off to open them, smiling softly.  When she opened them, she would find a simple wooden jewelry box with a metal flower as the handle to lift the lid off the box.  The smaller gift box had a necklace made of ribbons (since she seemed so obsessed with ribbons lately) with a pendant that had three roses.

He picked up the other wrapped present and walked over to the table where William sat, pulling out the chair before he sank down into it with a deep sigh. “I would love some coffee, thank you.” He paused and then shook his head. “No, I haven’t eaten yet.” He looked to his brother’s full plate that looked as if it had barely been touched, he tilted his chin up as if gesturing to his own plate. “Doesn’t appear you have either?” He handed over the gift to his brother and looked to William with curiosity and concern. “You doing alright?” Maybe it was a stupid question for what he knew his brother was dealing with at the moment, but he was concerned and wanted Will to know that he was here for him.

[William deGrey]

"Ooooh, presents?! Is it a pony?" Olivia exclaimed, her voice high and excited. She, too, looked down at the kitten with a wide grin. "I named her Dinah."
William immediately shook his head and laughed, "You already have a kitten, sweetheart. There's no room for a pony right now." Oh boy, he had to be careful with this one. She had her uncles wrapped around her little finger, and there was no saying one of them wouldn't cave some day.

Regardless of the gifts clearly not being a tiny horse, his daughter still squealed with delight as Triston handed them to her and she scurried away to sit down to see what she got; the kitten following right after her. Although he hadn't anticipated needing to care for a small animal, Olivia was doing her best to learn and help with doing it, and Dinah made her smile and giggle more than she had in awhile.

"Thank you, Uncle Triston!" she called out, already back up on her feet to rush over to him and give him a hug. "Will you put this on, please?" She held the lovely necklace up for him to take. "I can't wait to show Mari and Helene! I suppose they will be at the ball tonight, right, Daddy?" Oh, of course, because of the ribbons. That made Will chuckle softly again. There were worse things his daughter could be obsessed with, he supposed.
"I suppose they might be, love."

As his brother took a seat, he reached over to pour him some coffee that was still steaming hot, pushing the cup closer to him. There was cream and sugar on the table should he desire it. There was also an array of food if Triston wanted some of it as well. He always knew he was welcome to whatever.

William glanced down at his own plate, pausing in thought before he tiredly grinned, gesturing silently to Olivia who was crouching on the ground to show Dinah her new jewelry box. "It's just been a busy morning already," he said, and it was only a partial lie, in all honesty. He wasn't entirely sure why he was in this current mood. Was it sadness? Relief? Both? Maybe because yesterday had been such a whirlwind of unexpected events, he was just feeling the residual impact of everything now.

"Olivia?" he gently called to his daughter. "Would you go get your uncle's gift?"
With a nod, she scampered away into the other room before she was returning within moments to hand Triston the gift from both his brother and niece. It was placed inside a nice box, about the size of his hand, and of course wrapped with a nice ribbon.

[Triston deGrey]

Triston laughed and shook his head at Olivia. Unfortunately, his gift was not even close to being a pony. He smiled as she told him the name of her new kitten, and after William turned down her hope for the pony, Triston crouched down and placed a hand on Olivia’s shoulder. “Maybe next year,” he whispered, winking to her.

He watched her for a moment as she opened the gifts and before he could make it to the table where William sat, she was rushing back over to him to give him a hug. He squeezed her gently and kissed the top of her head. “You’re welcome, love.” And when she asked him to put it on her, he smiled and crouched down again, taking the necklace from her and putting it on around her neck. “Let me see!” He waited for her to turn around so he could admire the necklace on her now and he grinned. “Makes you look even more beautiful than you already are!”

He stood, then, at his full height before he sank down into the chair at the table and took the cup of coffee, silently thanking William for it. He busied himself with adding cream and sugar to his cup as William answered his question and he nodded in understanding. “I’m sure…” He smiled softly, but he could tell there was more past what he was telling him. He’d not pry, however, and he sat quietly, taking a sip of coffee.

William was requesting Olivia to get him his gift and Triston looked at William and smiled. He would tell him that he shouldn’t have- but he knew his brother would turn that around on him and state he shouldn’t have either. So instead, he motioned for him to open the gift that he had set down on the table for him.

As Olivia returned and gave him the nice box wrapped with a ribbon, he grinned and thanked her. He carefully opened it and found the pocket watch. “Oh, thank you, Will… This is perfect.” He smiled at him and nodded. While he was never the type of person to show excitement, especially when it came to receiving gifts, he truly was appreciative and liked the pocket watch. Truthfully, he had never owned one and had always wanted one. He at least gave his brother a genuine smile, proving that he was honest in liking the gift. Triston even fastened the chain to his vest before slipping it into his pocket. It was something that would most likely become a staple to his wardrobe now.

As William started opening his gift from him, he made himself busy by adding some food to a plate so he could eat. “I figured we could start a new tradition together.” He grinned as he motioned to his gift before he had it opened fully.

[William deGrey]

Olivia giggled from her uncle's compliment, and once Triston had his gift, she became preoccupied with her own and Dinah again, politiely excusing herself to go play.

William nodded at his brother's thanks. He had figured, were he to campaign for the regency, he'd need to keep track of all his meetings and appointments, thus keep track of time. It would also look nice with all of Triston's fine suits. His grin widened a little more to watch him already fasten it to his vest.

He recalled their previous conversation, before Edward had been brought back to Tresteria. William really did believe his brother would be a good fit for the regency- well, everyone seemed to think so. Triston would probably deny it, but he had the mind for such things and could look beyond what was bred into the brains of every councilman. Will believed he would do well, if not be great.

Taking a sip of his coffee, he turned his attention to his own gift to open it. The smile that spread across his face was wider now and more genuine. "Wow, this is wonderful. Thank you, brother." He took a moment to admire the wooden chess pieces. "I remember when father would play with us. Even with the two of us teaming against him, we could barely beat him..." His smile saddened a little, but not terribly so. It was a fond memory, and one that made him chuckle softly.

"We will certainly have to play...if I can remember how to." It had been awhile. Setting the chess set aside carefully, he poured himself a little more coffee. He seemed to suddenly be in a slightly better mood now. "So...how are things? I feel as though we haven't been able to fully catch up since the funeral."

[Triston deGrey]

Triston couldn’t help but grin at Olivia as she ran off to play with her gift and her new kitten. He was glad to see her smiling and so happy and although William probably already knew this, when Catherine died, he had made it his personal mission to help keep Olivia in good spirits; to help Will in any way that he could. His older brother was his greatest friend, and he would do anything for both of them.

He had been so grateful and honored that William offered to become an advisor to him if he were to claim regency. The two of them working together, he felt they both could do some real good for Tresteria, and at least he would not be left alone to deal with all of it. Perhaps William wanted to look after him too, it would seem.

A grin formed on his face as William thanked him for the chess set, and he nodded before sipping his own coffee and taking a few bites of his food. A laugh escaped him at the mention of the two of them playing against their father. “Ah, yes. We were horrible in comparison to him. And he’d never let us win.” In truth, Triston had always appreciated that about him- he always challenged them to try and not give up-to not expect others to concede to them, and to just try harder each time. Oh, how he missed Arden deGrey’s lessons and stories.

“I would like that very much,” Triston nodded in response, letting out a slight chuckle. “I’m sure we will both be a bit dusty at first.” He couldn’t remember the last time he played chess.

He took another bite of his food and washed it down with his coffee as William asked him how he was. He forced a slight smile and leaned back in his seat. Triston was a horrible liar, and even if he said he was fine, William would know him well enough to see right through him. So Triston sighed and folded his arms over his chest. “Yeah… It’s been pretty hectic, I suppose... With dealing with the council and everything...And Yule coming up.” Alright, so he’d try to hide it a little bit. And then, deflection. “What about you?” He looked across the table at his brother and frowned a little. “I’m really sorry about what happened at the chase...With, Margery.” He was a bit cautious at the end of his sentence. Truthfully, he felt horrible that she had intentions of going after him instead of William, yet he had no idea why since he had never really given the woman the time of day. “I honestly wish I hadn’t participated in it.”

Triston leaned forward again and took another bite of food, his eyes averted from William and down at his plate as he pushed around some eggs with his fork. If he hadn’t attended the chase, Margery would have either gone after him or maybe she would have chosen another man to go after- he wasn’t entirely sure. Either way, he never liked her and felt William could do better. He deserved better. Perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. Triston also would have avoided the mess that occurred between him and Eleesa, and he’d not be questioning whether or not he should be attending the Yule ball.

[William deGrey]

It didn't take much to keep Olivia in good spirits, he realized, and he was thankful for it. She never truly asked for much, and the little things tended to make her happy. She was a good kid, and William couldn't be anymore proud of her. The little girl seemed to take things in stride, handling them far better than he could.

Finally, he was able to eat somewhat. Maybe seeing Triston doing so seemed to silently egg him on. Still, his appetite wasn't what it normally was, and he rather drink cup after cup of coffee over anything else. At least it wasn't liquor, because yesterday's fiasco certainly wanted to drive him to that point.

The smile remained upon his face, although softened a little bit more. "It will seem like I might have more time on my hands, too," he chimed in. If he was fortunate enough to leave his position as ambassador and remain home. Of course, he'd certainly be busy as advisor to the possible future regent, but the fact of the matter was that he would be home, and not have to travel unnecessarily to friendly and enemy courts alike. He could be here for Triston, and more important, be here for Olivia. William already felt like he had missed too much of her life already.

He eyed him over the rim of his cup as he took another sip of the warm coffee. Triston seemed a little less himself this morning, he felt, but things have certainly been a bit crazy. Could he really blame him? Much was happening, and not all of it good, or easy to handle for that matter.

And then came the apology. Ah, yes, well that would explain the slight tension he was feeling.

Placing his cup down, Will sighed lightly as he shook his head; his hand rising up in a dismissive gesture. "Don't," he said, but it wasn't said cruelly. If anything, it sounded understanding. "You have nothing to be sorry for, and I...should have seen it coming." A pause, he shook a head at himself. "No, I did, but refused to acknowledge any of it." Fingers ran across his moustache in light frustration as he leaned back in his seat. "I'm just...sorry she even tried to put you in that situation."