From Pumpkin to Prince

[Emilia McIntyre]

There was a shift in the spring air, as Emilia McIntyre made her way through the barracks. A woman on a mission, her low heeled shoes clicked against the stone as she took confident strides towards the man she sought.

It would have been far easier to just send the invite through page or messenger, but this wasn’t just some regular guest getting invited to the ball her and her sister were throwing at Lasairdubh. Oh no, this guest was going to Emilia’s guests of honor, and she did not trust a commoner to dress themselves for such an event such as her sisters parties. He’d most likely look like a servant, or someone that had snuck in. No, the key to this was making him look like he belonged. And so, she'd accompanied Rosemary to Ethion. Rarely letting her daughter out of her sight now, and when she was, she was either well guarded with the Princess, or she had one of her brothers with her. 

Besides making her little commoner bumpkin into fit in with nobility, she had a lot to thank this man for despite his lack of title. Despite scandal, her Rosemary was safe and after Emillia had finally learned what had happened to her daughter, her and Catriona had been very busy women indeed. Nothing was more terrifying then a wrathful set of Lee Frye women protecting their own.

Emilia held her hands in front of her the invitation she’d taken to writing out herself held carefully between her fingers in a crisp white envelope with her seal on the back. Addressed to one Mr. Sebastian Arcturis . Her honey blonde hair was done up in it’s usual updo with a few stray curls that hung over a shoulder and she was dressed in a black gown with hints of silver. She had to do some asking around, as the barracks were not a place for a woman of her station, but she’d found his office non the less after badgering her youngest son for directions. She came to a stop at the door, smoothing a hand over a hip before she rapped her knuckles against the wood.

She’d wait patiently to be told to let in, and the moment she was, the door would swing abruptly open with her standing in the door way. “Captain Arcturis I presume?”

[Sebastian Arcturis]

"Enter," came the brisk clear command. He wasn't expecting anyone and even if he had been expecting the King himself, he would have answered the same way.

His "office" was a small room to one side of the barracks. It was both office and his bedroom, with enough space for the barest collection of furniture one would need in order to call it both. The bed in the far corner was more of a well kept cot, clearly often used with a slight dip in the middle. The sheets and blankets were clean and beyond tidy. They looked to be much less worn than the bed. New, if somewhat cheap quality. A fine green cloak was draped over the bed, a pair of dark leather gloves tossed on top. A small bedside table sat next to the bed, a neat stack of worn books sitting on it, taking up most of the space. There were coffee stains worn into the top of the table, but not a mug or tea cup or any other cup in sight, a legacy of wherever the table originated from perhaps.

Against other side of the room and nearer the door, a simple desk with built in drawers stuck out from the wall framed by two matching wooden chairs, one on either side. The one closer the door was pressed up against the wall, at rest and empty. The other contained the man in question. Sebastian looked up from his desk. There were three small tidy stacks of papers on the desk. One of completed and sealed reports and letters, one of paperwork that needed no follow up, and another of unread pages. There were a few candles on the desk, a small seal stamp, pens, ink, sand, all the accoutrements of someone who spent a lot more time writing than Sebastian actually did.

There was a small window at the back of the room, the curtain open to let in a soft indirect natural light, the view some internal courtyard and more stone wall, at that. Beneath the window sat a terrarium, a brown snake settled inside, somewhat hidden in the rocks and foliage.

Sebastian looked up at the woman in his doorway, not immediately recognizing her. There was something familiar about the woman. He had likely met her before, however. He set down the paper he was reading and stood politely. He'd come up with her name in a moment. He had always been good at that, despite not being a people person. He noted the missive in her hand, the expectant motherly air, and the bold power move that was her styled up hair and dark dress.

The captain inclined his head to the noblewoman as she named him. "Yes, my Lady," he articulated. His tone didn't suggest much of anything except perhaps a bit of expectation. She had come to him for something, clearly, and he was prepared to listen.

[Emilia McIntyre]

Brown eyes took in the man behind the desk. Noting right away the blue of his eyes, and the rather handsome look of him. Emilia’s eyes didn’t wander around the room, as she had no interest in the life of a commoner Captain. The only she might have noted was that he was at least tidy which was a trait she could appreciate.

She watched him stand, eyeing him up and down in an almost scrutinizing way. She’d certainly heard the rumors of him being in her daughters room, and according to Rosemary it was for protection. Though she trusted Rosemary to tell her the truth, she couldn’t help but be curious as to why this man would want to help her. They’d only known each other a short amount of time, and yet he was willing to not only put his reputation, but her daughters on the line for her protection.

Color her intrigued.

A small smile finally graced her lips as he confirmed he was who she was looking for. The smile had a particular edge to it, possibly implying she was up to something, and she certainly was. “Excellent,” she voiced her pleasure in finding the man. “Countess Emilia McIntyre.” She introduced herself quickly, letting her head dip for a brief moment as she did a small curtsy, so he would know exactly who had paid him a personal visit. As she straightened, she started to walk towards his desk in a slow, almost casual manner. “I believe you know my daughter, Rosemary.” She said coolly, eyes narrowed a fraction as she studied him.

She came to a stop with a respectable distance between her and his desk. Still holding the envelope between her fingers, which hadn’t moved. Her eyes would tell him for a brief moment she knew exactly what he and Rosemary had done, as the rumor mill had certainly been at work, and she was none too pleased about it. But she was even more displeased with a one, hopefully soon to be dead, Magnus Bournemouth.

She inclined her head slightly as she studied him more, before she held up the envelope with the invitation. “I wanted to thank you, for what you did.” She said slowly. It wasn’t everyday she was thanking commoners, and it felt rather...strange, to have to thank one now, but what he’d done for Rosemary had certainly put him leaps and bounds above others. She held the invitation out towards Sebastian then, where if he took it, he’d find her seal on the red wax on the back. The contents would be hand written in her own hand, inviting him to the Masquerade Ball that her and her sister were hosting.

[Sebastian Arcturis]

Countess McIntyre. He studied her another moment. It was painfully obvious she was up to something. Nobles didn't simply approach him unless they were up to something. And he had an idea what this was about even without words.

Sebastian had been expecting he would hear from someone in Rosemary's family about his less than subtle 'associations' with their daughter. To be honest, he wasn't sure if he had been expecting her father or mother more. Of course, considering what he knew of Rosemary's relationship with her father, the man wasn't surprised the Countess had approached him and not the Count. He wondered if the woman knew what had happened between them exactly, if Rosemary had spoken to her or if it was simply the rumors that had spread.

The captain watched her take the step from the door to his desk (it was not a very large room, with hardly any space to properly walk to the desk. The room might as well have been a closet compared to what the woman was used to. It was enough to get her clear of the door and allow it to close on it's own however, which afforded some alarming privacy that Sebastian immediately disliked, considering what he had walked into with the woman's daughter. He nodded once when she mentioned Rosemary but didn't feel the need to say anything. It was formality only that the woman prefaced the conversation with niceties, at least so he thought. Her narrowed eyes and cool tone weren't lost on him, they simply...didn't elicit an outward reaction anymore than her mentioning her daughter did.

So perhaps...he didn't know what this was about. Thanking him? For muddying the waters around her daughter's reputation? Clearly not. Rosemary must have said something. The Countess was being vague on purpose. He accepted the letter without hesitation but didn't open it right away, studying the seal and the fine parchment in his hands. Expensive. Official. Serious. Sincere. For that reason alone, he opened the letter. It took him only a heartbeat to read the invitation.

"I can't accept your gratitude," he said immediately, looking back up at the woman from the letter. He knew what he had done. Perhaps it was something to be commended for privately, but publicly, she should be condemning him. Inviting him to a ball was...the opposite. Perhaps his hastily decision was due in part to his active desire not to go dancing.