mother of sorrows
𝘮𝘦𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘻, 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘪𝘣 𝘮𝘪𝘳 𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘵
izolda beausejour
of auriche
The ladies circle her like sharks drawn to a drowning sailor, but Izolda is a fair swimmer.
''Oh, tell us please! I've heard so many whispers!''
''Come on, I wouldn't tell anybody!''
''Are we not friends?''
This is how she holds her court; in the corner of the ballroom, half-laid upon a couch with a fluttering fan and the blase smile of a governess that is not listening too closely. Masks like rabbit bone and weeping deers surround her, fluttering dresses settling under them with the grace of dove wings, gossiping and giggling and pointing - it has not been so long, but wine glasses and champagne spill on the glass table, staining precious wood. An army made out of mercenaries that would turn on their queen if not paid proper. Izolda did not care for it. She is not so stupid to reveal anything on her mind; for the beloved mother Auriche, that is a death sentence.
She laughs with joy she does not mean and points a fan to the star-struck ceiling.
''Oh, I don't know as much as you'd think. I only got a peek at the plans.'' There is softness to her features and Izolda hides the lie between her teeth. ''You'd have to ask my father about it.''
They huff and they whine, the friends - a few feet stomp in indignation, but they quickly find that if she is being deceptive or not that it mattered little. Izolda would not speak and they sailed one by one to dance partners or better shores, and she was free of their stifling attentions for at least a few hours. She cannot avoid rumors, that is true - the Aurichean courts have been ablaze with them and she is sure they will burn brighter the more time goes on. Many have tried a peek into the workshop boiling with steam and machine oil, but no one has actually succeeded at figuring out what is that makes such a terrible noise in there - and that is just fine.
Izolda's lips only twitch and keeps whatever smugness rises under chain and lock.
Her date - some Malisian who was drunken blind before they even danced - has long since abandoned her for whatever drink table that caught his eye, and she had not at all the slightest interest in finding him again. A part of her hoped he ends up passed out in a bush before long. As it was, Izolda is not going to sit and wait for the night to come to her; she is not a person that holds an urge to be constantly in the storms eye, but this was a party, after all. And what is a party without a single memory to hold close? If she is lucky enough, there will even be perhaps a new ally in her pocket. With elegance on her shoulders, the woman rose; long, confident strides moved the rose pink dress, it's velvet shining bright.
The crowd is a wall surrounding a capital, tightly packed and hard to move through. Conversation danced like the couples on the floor, drifting with excitement - no familiar mask in sight, most likely lost in wine and music. A pleading-eyed lamb stared out of her own, hiding her eyes but not the pleasant smile. Idly, she listens to a word here, a swear there - but she is not drawn to any of the merry groups, floating around the edges of the room instead.
That is where she sees them.
A hero of golden armor, or a knight that is to burn down the fairytale kingdom. Great, imposing, a man-eating snake laying on a baking rock and waiting. The detail woven into their costume was deeply impressive, even from her short distance away; it made Izolda pause in her step just the tiniest bit, gaze running over the chain-mail and all the ceremony of the world. The mask hid who lies beneath, be in a human or a beast, and Izolda felt herself moving closer without truly needing to think about it. Like a planet around a sun, she thinks.
She bows. Politely and well, all practice and grace. Every word that falls from her lips is like the careful drag of a paint brush;
''I hope the evening is treating you well,'' Not too well, she'd hope. She does not think she can handle another drunk.
''I could not help but notice your costume - it is a work of art, indeed.''
The genuine interest in her voice would be hard to fake, and her gait was open - if she is not wanted, Izolda had no care about leaving, but she hoped the stranger is as bored as she has been for the last hour.
''If I am not too much of a bother, could I ask for a dance?''
''Oh, tell us please! I've heard so many whispers!''
''Come on, I wouldn't tell anybody!''
''Are we not friends?''
This is how she holds her court; in the corner of the ballroom, half-laid upon a couch with a fluttering fan and the blase smile of a governess that is not listening too closely. Masks like rabbit bone and weeping deers surround her, fluttering dresses settling under them with the grace of dove wings, gossiping and giggling and pointing - it has not been so long, but wine glasses and champagne spill on the glass table, staining precious wood. An army made out of mercenaries that would turn on their queen if not paid proper. Izolda did not care for it. She is not so stupid to reveal anything on her mind; for the beloved mother Auriche, that is a death sentence.
She laughs with joy she does not mean and points a fan to the star-struck ceiling.
''Oh, I don't know as much as you'd think. I only got a peek at the plans.'' There is softness to her features and Izolda hides the lie between her teeth. ''You'd have to ask my father about it.''
They huff and they whine, the friends - a few feet stomp in indignation, but they quickly find that if she is being deceptive or not that it mattered little. Izolda would not speak and they sailed one by one to dance partners or better shores, and she was free of their stifling attentions for at least a few hours. She cannot avoid rumors, that is true - the Aurichean courts have been ablaze with them and she is sure they will burn brighter the more time goes on. Many have tried a peek into the workshop boiling with steam and machine oil, but no one has actually succeeded at figuring out what is that makes such a terrible noise in there - and that is just fine.
Izolda's lips only twitch and keeps whatever smugness rises under chain and lock.
Her date - some Malisian who was drunken blind before they even danced - has long since abandoned her for whatever drink table that caught his eye, and she had not at all the slightest interest in finding him again. A part of her hoped he ends up passed out in a bush before long. As it was, Izolda is not going to sit and wait for the night to come to her; she is not a person that holds an urge to be constantly in the storms eye, but this was a party, after all. And what is a party without a single memory to hold close? If she is lucky enough, there will even be perhaps a new ally in her pocket. With elegance on her shoulders, the woman rose; long, confident strides moved the rose pink dress, it's velvet shining bright.
The crowd is a wall surrounding a capital, tightly packed and hard to move through. Conversation danced like the couples on the floor, drifting with excitement - no familiar mask in sight, most likely lost in wine and music. A pleading-eyed lamb stared out of her own, hiding her eyes but not the pleasant smile. Idly, she listens to a word here, a swear there - but she is not drawn to any of the merry groups, floating around the edges of the room instead.
That is where she sees them.
A hero of golden armor, or a knight that is to burn down the fairytale kingdom. Great, imposing, a man-eating snake laying on a baking rock and waiting. The detail woven into their costume was deeply impressive, even from her short distance away; it made Izolda pause in her step just the tiniest bit, gaze running over the chain-mail and all the ceremony of the world. The mask hid who lies beneath, be in a human or a beast, and Izolda felt herself moving closer without truly needing to think about it. Like a planet around a sun, she thinks.
She bows. Politely and well, all practice and grace. Every word that falls from her lips is like the careful drag of a paint brush;
''I hope the evening is treating you well,'' Not too well, she'd hope. She does not think she can handle another drunk.
''I could not help but notice your costume - it is a work of art, indeed.''
The genuine interest in her voice would be hard to fake, and her gait was open - if she is not wanted, Izolda had no care about leaving, but she hoped the stranger is as bored as she has been for the last hour.
''If I am not too much of a bother, could I ask for a dance?''
code by valen t.
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