winter's last dance

RICHARD.

since when  did richard  CARE  whether or not auburn would know that he had eaten ice cream before having proper lunch? it was not like the redhead was on his case all the time about his dietary habits --- at least she had not been the last time fay had checked, though that had been a bit ago. the complications of her own relationship with auburn were, most of the time, a valid reason not to think too much about the bonds the woman had forged with other immortals. especially not when she  knew  that richard was  auburn’s favourite  between the two of them.

no, she  was not jealous. she just wished the other would actually own up to it rather than to make it awkward and potentially hurtful for everyone by trying to hide the truth. fay would be  ALRIGHT  if auburn would openly admit it. gods, it was not like she was a  CHILD.

❛ don’t rush me, rich, i’m right behind you, gods, ❜ she grumbled as she caught up with him in the door. there was a certainly  PLEASANTNESS  in his company because his manners were, as long as he bothered with them, and because she held a certain  appreciation  for his manners  and him, by logical extension, ❛ and no worries,  mother dearest  won’t hear about you eating too many sweets from me. give me   SOME  credit,  please. ❜

@liathleoness

every city had  spaces that belong to no one, that could be used by just any vampire --- as long as they did not hunt there. fay did not particularly enjoy places like this as they tended to swarm with unpleasant people. however, she  was  scouting this city to see if maybe, she would settle down there for a bit --- she had only heard good things about the neighbourhood, so far, and maybe it would be nice to abandon the vast lands she currently held in scandinavia in favour of something smaller with a bigger population.

however, before she  could make a decision, she found herself face-to-face with another vampire just after she had stepped out of the train station. quickly raising her hands at the other woman, she took a step backwards. ❛ last time i was here, this was  public  territory, ❜ she said, because more important than a proper greeting was a swift declaration of her intents --- which were, for once, utterly boring as she had not come to fight. ❛ should this have changed, i apologise. i did not mean to step on anyone’s toes. ❜

RICHARD.

food had always  been something that had been a fast way to  appease  fay when she was annoyed. because in about five times out of twenty, she  was  more easily aggravated because there was hunger  GNAWING  on her stomach. and it proved that despite all their conflicts along the past centuries, richard  KNEW  her. and that was something she  never  really knew how to deal with.

however, he was  much easier to deal with than most of their classmates. in his case, she knew what she was doing, most of the time. they had figured each other out a long time ago --- and in all the incarnations of their relationship, she had never felt indifference towards him. he was someone she would  always  have an opinion on. the same could not be said for their classmates. some of them were surely nice people, but she had never cared enough about them to  test  that theory. and even if they were nice, she had never been good at dealing with nice people.

slipping into her  jacket and leaving her map of the city in her suitcase, she nodded quickly. ❛ i have a vague idea what i want to get him so it should not take long. oh, and do you remember that one restaurant where we ate with noel back in --- 1975? 1976? ❜ she asked as she grabbed her bag. ❛ if it’s still like then, it’ll have  great  pizza and --- i heard that there’s a  gelateria  that offers basil and sage ice cream. we should definitely go looking for that. ❜

RICHARD.

❛ haven’t been in rome since last summer so i figure we could just ... let ourselves drift? and avoid tourist hot spots. and churches, ❜ she added with a grimace. it was a slight nod to his remark regarding the catholic church, but she supposed that he would either appreciate it or not really care to begin with. ❛ we could see if we find a museum or something. oh, and i wanted to see if i can find a souvenir for noel? ❜

because noel was  one of the very few people fay would bother buying a souvenir for. well, since dion had insisted to give her spending money  ( and a significant amount of that, too ),  he would be receiving a present as well, though she still thought that this would have been easier if they had gone to athens rather than rome. however, more important than the  gift situation  was that she had to berate herself for doing  this  ( spending time with richard which could end so  BADLY as she knew )  to herself. she should know better than this, especially when she was  FAR TOO TIRED  to fight with him these days.

so pretty, so smart, such a waste of a young heart

PRINCESS EMERY.

@hiemaliis

something like this  would  never  happen in galanthus and while fay did not  miss  the court she could usually be found at very much, she did miss the lack of questions she encountered there. she had not spent the better of her adult life around prince noel, serving as an adviser despite her age, so that a foreign court suddenly  QUESTIONED  her qualifications. and even worse: she was the only one who had had to deal with this kind of  nonsense.  and while she hardly envied her fiancé  ( the amount of  VULTURES  circling over his head was ridiculous, truly ),  she wished that she would not have to constantly introduce herself.

( especially since her patience for these people was dwindling down, quickly, and she was growing increasingly irritated with everyone around her. )

❛ fay  hunter,  your royal highness. daughter of the duke of astrinas. i advise the prince of galanthus.  you  are princess emery, unless i’m mistaken? ❜ an eyebrow rose. because fay had done the reading, would be able to recite everything galanthus knew about each and every person at this court in her sleep --- not that anyone would  dare  to wake her. ❛ is there something i can do for you, ma’am? ❜

@borealiis

ROME WAS ALWAYS  worth the trip. that was a statement fay was willed to sign on most days, but it was doubly true when she could  explore  the city without a guide breathing down her neck. as richard felt similarly, they had devised a shockingly  simple  plan to ensure that they would not be bothered by classmates and teachers during their day. she  was  known for her frail health, for the many sick days she had amassed over the time she had been a student at the academy --- and now, on the day when her class wanted to visit the vatican, it was finally something she could  USE.

❛ can’t believe that my bad health  finally  came in handy, ❜ she said with a scoff as she threw off her blanket and stood, her posture  slightly  less strict than usually. ❛ time to let the  actual  vacation start? ❜

BARONESS CRUZ.

fay found herself in a state of  SPEECHLESSNESS  at the other woman’s nerve for a split second before she remembered her upbringing, something that could apparently  not  be said for the other woman. it was near insulting that the other  CLAIMED  not to know the blonde --- everyone who was not  living under a rock  would know that prince noel had arrived in ianthe with his advisers in tow. and while right now, fay was starting to  loathe  the country, she was  still  proud that she had been  CHOSEN  for this trip despite her youth, despite their being people at her home court that were potentially  better suited  to steer the prince through the challenges ahead.

❛ the pleasure’s  all mine. ❜ a lie --- and it was not even a good one. because if they were not surrounded by other noblemen  and guards  right now, fay’s hand would surely have found the shorter woman’s throat by now. however, she was no child anymore and although she  still  hated the idea of others taking what was  hers,  she had grown much better at keeping herself in check since her childhood. ❛ and yes, i saw you were talking with  my fiancé  earlier. ❜

and the  awfully smug  baroness would have to be  quite the airhead  to miss the message in the blonde’s words. it was a warning, perhaps even a threat ---  fay did not  care  very much about the specifics but she  did  care about the other  KINDLY  backing off before things could get ugly and alliances tested. fay was in no mood to play around and she was  certainly  aggravated at the prospect of someone --- anyone --- threatening her engagement. because despite the many  staged  arguments she had had with richard over the years, she  was  looking forward to eventually marrying him after twenty years of being engaged to him.

// @nightchased​

❛ excuse me, i believe we haven’t been  formally  introduced yet? fay hunter, i’m with the northern delegation --- the duke of astrinas is my father. ❜