sollie
Member
Beatrice DuVall
C
“Perhaps we will get another opportunity to share a meal together,” Beatrice encouraged with a sweet smile, eyes scanning her plate. She picked through it with heavy judgment before popping a piece of fruit in her mouth. “The two of you make very fine company, I have to say. I am sure my friends back home would be quite jealous I am sharing this time with such brave warriors. I can only dream of being so courageous.”
Devana, on the other hand… Her heart was a secret garden and her walls were very, very high. No vines flowed down the cracked stone that guarded her very being. There was no entry point. Only a peculiar sense of strangeness floated around her otherworldly persona. Devana was a puzzle and Beatrice DuVall adored puzzles. She was very good at solving puzzles. She may have worn that mask, but Beatrice was certain she could shatter it into a million pieces if she needed to.
“A touch of home is what we all need at times,” Beatrice regarded Tejara with her glass, raising it as if silently proclaiming their newfound friendship. “I eagerly await the day I can hear about both of your homes.” Sipping the fizzing liquid until she was satisfied, Beatrice settled the cup back onto the table. Home was a strange thing to the young woman– a skewed concept poisoned from years of unsavory tastes in her mouth. Thankfully, she’d built up an immunity to the poison but that wasn’t to say it didn’t taste vile on her tongue. Brushing a hand against the scar she’d just revealed, she brushed her dark tresses over her shoulders. While it didn’t mask the ugly ghost, the act alone brought an invisible relief.
“My brother would be tickled pink if he knew his childish accident inspired such kind words. I mustn’t ever allow him to know of your beautifully poetic words, lest I wish for his head to become even larger than it already is.” Beatrice did not share the same sentiment– the jagged mark was a constant reminder of the monsters that wanted to fill her lungs with water and sink her to the bottom of the deepest ocean. It induced whispers in the back of her mind in the most isolated of places. That scar tarnished not only her skin but her very spirit. She greatly doubted Devana or Tejara could understand the suffering it brought the Daughter of DuVall.
Are there storytellers in Auriche? She silently thanked Tejara.
Of course, there were– though Devana caught her attention and enrapt her. Like every aspect of Devana, even her recounting of the storytellers of her home was haunting and unsettling. Creeping in her mind was the ghoulish image of fiends luring the innocent with tales of history and ancestors. “It sounds as though you have first hand experience with these storytellers, Lady Acindus.” Beatrice remarked, curious eyes locking onto Devana’s face– or at least the uncanny mask that hid her face.
Below the table, her hand twitched, as if begging her to grab the skull-like mask and smash it to the ground. Lacing her fingers together, she continued. “These sound like admirable and fearsome storytellers– Forest performers– how fascinating. Auriche storytellers are not so fond of…” Beatrice offered a small smile as she readjusted her body. “Luring and devouring their audience.”
“To answer your question,” The Aurichian turned back to Tejara– they were far easier to digest than Devana. Beatrice commended herself for putting on such a great show of indifference to the woman. “Auriche has hundreds of storytellers. It is so deeply ingrained in our culture– Magnificent shows of light, illusion, heartache, joy, catharsis. Theatre is greatly enjoyed by every Aurichian with sense.”
A melodic laugh slipped from her lips. “Oh, how I wish you two could experience the magnificence of Auriche performance. I recall one summer in my youth– My mother took me to see Fome O Sede– simply incredible. The story was so rich and the actors were awe inspiring. I won’t bore you two over a review of a play– But Auriche storytellers are unlike any in this world.” Beatrice indulged in another piece of fruit, letting a small sigh pass her lips. A curiosity clattered in her mind, like a coin purse with pieces of gold bumping around.
“How have you been finding your stay? The rooms are quite lavish. I’ve found many beautiful things to busy myself with. Have either of you found anything most curious during your stay?” The memory of the faint footsteps in her rooms simply would not be shaken from her mind. There were many mysteries to uncover on the Mirror Isle, and the inhabitants, while rich in mystery and intrigue, had done nothing to prove as worthy of her time as the enigma in her room.
coded by xayah.ღ