((Eeek! I typed royal didn't I XD no I meant noble, of course Juliet would be only too well informed on the entire Royal family, pressumably having researched before pushing the Isabella/Edouard marriage herself.

I shall relinquish Juliet to you, to save me having a conversation with myself, when you do meet her would you just interjected an opened mouth Mercy into the picture as they leave the hall.

Naturally Juliet could stay, however soemone else will have to roleplay her as whilst the persuader can and did run the roleplay, and the gossip can and shall run the roleplay, to be the gossip, the 2nd persuader and the host is a bit overstepping the mark.))

The veil shielded the Comtesse’s eyes from any scrutiny. “And it just wouldn’t do for the mother of our Queen to be greeted by anyone less than a close friend of the royal family such as yourself. I should just let you go on with your business, I would only be a bother to you”.

“On the contrary, I anticipate the Duchess would be grateful to have another woman to keep her company. Even though it is very humble of you to decline.” His voice remained polite, but the hint was clear:

“Not many would pass the chance to be introduced to the Duchess.”

He had lived long enough to recognize—or reasonably guess—when and why a woman feigned disinterest; the missing wedding ring only augmented his suspicions. But she was choosing a very bad time to try it out. The Queen mother’s visit was second to none: whatever mischief the Comtesse was up to, it was in her best interests to subordinate it to the royal visitor. Did she not realize how, by declining the invitation, she was inadvertently insulting the Queen’s own mother and, by extension, the whole royal family?

Perhaps old Charles had been too indulgent with her, showering her with affection but grooming her for little else. Perhaps the Comtesse was too used to having her own parasol carried to realize that, at Court, it was the female courtier who carried the royal parasol for the Queen, the Queen’s mother, the Princess, the Princess’ horse…

“Now, I shall be off. As your husband’s friend, I should be taking better care of you, but all things considered, I pray you will forgive me my recent inattention,” Dimitri’s voice was grim; in this duty, at least, he truly felt he had failed in. “Should you face the slightest problems, however, know that you have my ear and aid.”

He did not pause to specify what “problems” she may find, or even to highlight the word itself. It flowed unaccented from his lips, insinuating in its very indifference.

______

((slytherin-girl, if Marie's done with him, just have Dimitri leave to collect the Duchess. I would've written it myself except I wanted to let the dear girl get a word in. XD

Hah! Good to know I'm not the only one acting out my character's family/past in my Sims game... Well, I will, once I finish making Dimitri's giant damned family... Can't wait to download the two Charleses. :D

Fay-- no prob, I can hold Juliet for a while. Even just through writing Dimitri, I'm getting a very fearsome image of her in my mind. Yeah, I guess the main concern is to get a third party involved. Whether the third person wants to keep Juliet as the 2nd persuader or introduce a new character comes after that.))

(((OOC: I'm mostly haivng her say no because I'm going to be away for the nxt few days *till Sunday evening* and didn't want to tie anyone up. I'll add and RP to this post later on. And I don;t wanna think about doing Marie-Elisabeth's whole family o.0 Sorta basing them on Marie-Antoinette's, so she's got...well a LOT of siblings)))

(((ooc: Seiza - Large family, eh? *wink wink, nudge nudge* Sorry, couldn't help myself, as I'm starting to make a habit of hassling people to submit their RP related sims. Marie-Elisabeth shall be up soon, hopefully, as will Octavien's father. Eventually.)))


Had anyone known what had been going through César's mind the previous evening when in the company of the lovely young Comtesse de Valois, as well as knowing César himself, they may not have been surprised to learn that this morning did not find him in his own bed. What might surprise them however, was that it did not find him in the Comtesse's bed either. Nor in any other woman's bed for that matter. In fact, it did not even find him in a bed at all.
When the gentle rays of the morning sun peaked through a set of curtains in search of him, they found him sleeping peacefully on one of the plush chaise longues in Octavien's suite.

Parting from the Comtesse, after having escorted her back to the door to her suite, he had settled for seizing her delicate little hand as gently as though it had been made of glass, and brush his lips against her knuckles while the look in his eyes suggested that had they not been his only choice, perhaps they would not have been his primary one. Then, once she was inside and he was making his way back through the hallway, his thoughts returned to Octavien, and to what César had promised himself to do, had he not heard from his old friend by now; to seek him out himself.

Much to his surprise, he had found that gaining access to the royal floor proved to be far easier than he had expected. He had expected to have to resort to persuasion, maybe even threats that he would be sure to inform the Prince that his good friend the Marquis had not been allowed to pass, to which the Prince was not likely to take kindly. But, all he'd had to do was introduce himself, and he'd been escorted by one of the guards to Octavien's suite. Though it had all gotten it's explanation seconds into his reunion with Octavien, and the slight and smug satisfaction he had felt at obviously being recognized as someone important to the Prince, had mellowed, as after the brotherly embrace between the two young men, Octavien told him that he had just informed the guards that they were to let the Marquis pass, should he happen to come seeking the Prince.

Ah, yes. For a moment, César had actually forgotten just how well Octavien knew him and his tendencies for waywardness.

They had spent the rest of the evening, and a good portion of the night as well, simply talking and catching up, just like old friends should. Though at first, Octavien had been somewhat distracted. His thoughts still lingered on the all too brief conversation he'd had with Isabella during the afternoon. There had been so much for them to talk about, but they had not been given enough time, as Isabella had recieved a message from the King that he wished to speak with her. But in the few minutes they were given, Octavien had learned two things; Isabella's mother was to arrive at the Palace the next day, to support her daughter in her time of need, and that Isabella too had had a conversation with a certain Baroness, regarding her doings during the wee hours of morning.
Though judging by the sounds of it, Mercy had not been nearly as aggressive with Isabella as she had been with Octavien, nor did it seem she had attempted to sway Isabella's feelings on the matter. Which had been at least one cause for relief in this whole messy affair.

But, rarely one to play second fiddle to sombre thoughts, especially not when such sombre thoughts needed dispelling, César soon had him thinking of other things, and they both had to occasionally try hard not to laugh at the various memories that snuck their way into the conversation. At least not in the presence of servants, as eyebrows were sure to be raised if they did, the very day after Adalita's passing.
Only once they were almost too tired to form a coherent thought, and the voluminous amount of wine consumed took care of the rest, did they turn in.

And such was the story behind why César awoke this morning, on a precariously comfortable chaise longue in the Prince's suite.

"Ah", said Octavien when the sound of César's yawn reached his ears and made him turn his head. "I was beginning to wonder if you had lost your head for wine."

As always, Octavien himself had risen early, and had spent the past hour or two writing letters to family and friends. Now, he was in the middle of the process of getting dressed, with the assitance of his servants.

"If I ever do, it will be because I have lost my head altogether", César smirked from his chair, lazily watching the meticulous procedure of clothing and grooming that his friend was currently subjected to.

Octavien simply offered a smirk of his own in return, as a silent way of saying that he didn't put it past César to one of these days do something that really would risk getting him beheaded. But considering the circumstances and the company, it was a remark that remained just that; silent. Speaking of beheadings, especially in a lighthearted manner, would be most improper this morning.
So instead, he changed the subject.

"Will you join me for breakfast?"

Just planting his feet on the floor and sitting up properly, César yawned again, and then shook his head.

"Thank you, but no", he said. "I better return to my darling wife, for even if she got my note, which I doubt, considering how the one I sent you seems to have magically disappeared, she too must be starting to wonder."

While he spoke, he moved on to stand, and as he did, one of the young servants surrounding Octavien hurried off towards one of the other chairs to retrieve the frock coat that César had discarded the previous evening, when the wine had warmed his body and rendered the coat superfluous.

"Besides", he added with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "I'm curious to find out what reaction it'll bring, me being seen leaving your suite this morning in the same attire I wore when coming here last night."

That comment, however, succeeded where the other one had failed. It brought a genuinly amused smile to the Prince's lips.

"I would like to say that I believe the other courtiers to be far too free from sin to notice", he said. "But in all honesty, I fear that yours is indeed not the only mind in the gutter."

It was a somewhat diplomatic way of expressing what he knew to be true. For indeed, of all the places he had been, few had held more sinners and corrupted minds than the Palace of Light and Air and it's court. Thus, the only thing likely to protect him and César from becoming the targets of foul rumours, were the tragic circumstances. No one could openly question César's reasons for spending the night in Octavien's suite, as it was only natural that a good friend would offer his support to a man who had just lost his wife. Though the bitterness that had recently begun to stain Octavien's thoughts left him thinking not saying something was not the same as not thinking it. There were people in this court with minds that were bound to turn the friendship into something sordid, if only for nothing more than to amuse themselves.


Having gotten a little assitance of his own, in putting on the coat that along with the implicit snugness of the dark breeches not only accentuated but also complimented his virility, César soon left Octavien's suite, but was still buttoning the delicately embroided piece of garment as he started descending the stairs, which proved a most difficult task, as his movements allowed the small buttons to easily dodge the equally small buttonholes.

"Curses", he muttered to himself over another failed attempt, just as he reached the main floor.



(((ooc: Sorry if it's crappy, messy and yaddi yadda. I'm still struggling with all the loose ends in Octavien's situation, and I ran out of time to write... César's approachable though.

Oh, and, Marie-Elisabeth is now available on the site, thanks to slytherin who was kind enough to share her. )))

((It was excellent Atropa! Hehe I quite like they way their minds work together...

Anyway below is sort of a brief bio for Juliet... detailing things the courtiers would pressumably know.))

Marie-Elisabeth was starting to wish she had just given into the temptation to stay in bed this morning. Just about anything would have been more pleasant than standing where she was right now. She could practically feel the well hidden disdain coming off him in waves.

“Ugh” she thought, her wish to have remained in her rooms doubling “I had to run into him this morning, of all mornings. Then again there are few of the older generation Charles didn’t know, I suppose it would have happened eventually”.

“Oh it isn’t that I don’t want to meet the Queen’s Mother” she said, desperately trying to find a polite way out of the situation she seemed to have worked herself into “I had just assumed she would immediately want to go and see her daughter, which would be the only company she’d desire at the moment. I don’t want to put myself in the middle of things I have no business in. Perhaps it would be better for you to introduce me to her later on, after the current…situation is over with. Believe me it would be an honour to meet her, I just don't want to intrude upon things”

She smiled at him, despite her annoyance at the insinuation he made with his last statement. “Don’t worry about looking after me, really” she said “I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself, though it is lovely to know there’s someone I can talk to if I need them”.


(((OOC: Sorry, I had to figure out a way of getting Marie-Elisabeth out of there without her being rude. I didn't intitally intend for her to say no to him, but me going away for the weekend kinda forced me to. Sorry again And i think you hit it right on the head about her and Charles Seiza, I've kind of pictured them as having a relationship similar to Henry VIII and Katherine Howard. Minus the whole beheading and cheating part of course LOL )))

((No worries, slytherin, Dimitri's not meant to be the cuddly-well-liked type either. So Marie's response makes sense.

Atropa-- if I ever finish them, I'll definitely bombard you with Dimitri's sim-family. Then you shall rue the day you offered to host my Dimitri sim >DDD

Fay-- If I made any mistakes with Juliet, just lemme know.))
______


Dimitri duly listened as the Comtesse prattled on, subduing the urge to check her frantic speech and to tell her, in the same way he used to warn young Edouard when he blustered about, that the best excuses were made with the least words. He was not responsible for her as he had been with the former Prince, but it was a habit hard to break nonetheless.

He did, however, have other responsibilities, the most crucial being the regal presence at the palace doors.

“Don’t worry about looking after me, really” she said “I’m perfectly capable of looking after myself, though it is lovely to know there’s someone I can talk to if I need them”.

“Very good. Then I bid you good day, my lady,” Dimitri tipped his hat to the Comtesse, taking his leave.

His booted feet gliding to the palace entrance, he mentally recounted what he knew of the Duchess de Margoles, only to realize that it was not much. Isabella and her family were certainly formidable, but their reign in Court had been after his departure from it. The Duchess, in particular, was supremely inscrutable; nobody knew anything significant about her before her marriage to the Duc de Margoles. Any “information” people gathered were as smoky as whispered suppositions, as solid as the morning mist.

Baroness Venn was there, with only a few other noble ladies. He could not see what the Baroness was doing, but the other women flittered nervously around the Duchess’ central figure, reminding him of nervous children afraid—but desiring passionately—to touch an exotic bird. It was still early in the morning, which would bring a most solemn afternoon; so the palace grounds were stupendously emptier than usual.

“Duchess de Margoles,” Dimitri greeted formally, removing his hat, and bowing, and everything else. “On behalf of His Majesty King Edouard Auguste Louis Rotherham IV, welcome to the Palace of Light and Air.”

“Dimitri,” Juliet replied coolly, turning her nose from where it had been lifted over the noblewomen’s bowed heads. She stood tall and straight, permitting the Duc to kiss her on both cheeks. Despite her smaller size, her icy eyes somehow managed to look down at him. “I did not expect to see you here.”

“I arrived recently, in fact.”

“Finally tired of that quaint little village, did you?” An embroidered fan slipped open, and she fanned the Chinese phoenix delicately over her bosom. “Just as well, perhaps we shall find time to acquaint ourselves here. You must forgive me for not visiting.”

Dimitri nodded, clearly ignoring Juliet’s lack of an excuse. “Lorraine is peaceful. She shall await your visit as long as it takes.”

“Indeed, she will.” The fan snapped shut. Juliet sighed. “You are very generous to greet me here. Did my daughter send you to escort her dear mother? You would certainly make for a more appropriate reception than…”

An elegant wave in the general direction of the nobles said it all.

“You might say that, my lady. Although if Her Majesty sent Baroness Venn, it is by no means an insult to you.” The Baroness was concealing a slightly opened mouth, although he could not be sure what the cause was. Perhaps she could not fathom the coy authority with which Juliet addressed the Duc. Or maybe she did not expect him to imply her high position, little did he know of her position in Court to begin with.

When the Duchess took his offered arm, he began leading her to Isabella’s suite.

((Perfect Seiza, utterly perfect!))

((lol, thanks! :valentine Ohoho, Juliet's gonna be fun.

Though I'm kind of stuck now. I can take her straight to Isabella's room (unless Octavien decides to pop in~), but I'll probably wait until some other posts get made first, in case anybody wants to jump in.

Also, I've updated Dimitri's profile with a pic of his uniform: the baldric is the belt-like-sword-holding thingie around his waist. All I'm missing is a white sash of France. Plz to be disregarding historical inaccuracies, such as this possibly being a British style or from the wrong century (18th c., fyi) kthx.

And yes, this pic was just my lame attempt to get one of my characters to FINALLY WEAR A TRICONE HAT.

:jig:

WITH A FEATHER.

:jig:

Although the tricone is, as far as I read, historically accurate. Give or take a couple of decades. w00t.))

(((ooc: Octavien will pretty much stay in his suite right now, I think, unless his presence is called for somewhere else.

César has just set foot on the main floor though... But he's not likely to do anything but give a bow when Dimitri and Juliet pass by him on their way up... :shrug: )))

((@Atropa: Mmm, figured as much. I might take my time dropping off Juliet to keep Dimitri occupied, then, since I have an essay deadline coming up...

Well, we'll do what we have to when we have to! Simple! No need to overthink things. :D

Oh, I just thought-- if Octavien wants to/has to/is compelled by some unholy force c/o Juliet de Margoles-- to meet Juliet, he can always have an RP session with her through PM. Maybe not this "RP day" since it's supposed to be the funeral day, but maybe later. Either I or Fay can take care of Juliet. Just throwing out an idea for the poor dude to have something to do. :einstein ))

Name: Gustav De Margoles
Title: Diplomat/King's advisor
Age: 28
Bio: Gustav, Queen Isabella's older brother, is a great diplomat. He has stopped wars, reunited kingdoms, an saved lives. But he always cared about his family. So when Princess Adalita passed away, he rushed to the castle to comfort the King and Queen. He always loved the girl, and it crushed him to here that she passed on. But life must go on.
Picture:

((Hello people

As you can see above we have an application for our new persuader! Yay! However to honour the wonderful shenan's desire to stop drive-by-roleplaying I am not operating a first-come first-serve system, however the new character will be introduced tomorrow morning (RP time) so there will be a time limit I''m not going to drag it out too long for the people who have been kind enough to apply.

Afternoon and the funeral will been in approximately 26 hours, as I am busy until this time tomorrow and some final details must be put into place.

One last thing Omarion the last name of the Queen's family is de Margoles.))

(((ooc: I'm sorry but... Isn't "advisor of the King" the title we're all trying to achieve? No one had achieved it yet, so I didn't think anyone could just grab it? Or am I missing something here?

And since no one else seems to be around for RP, I'll just leave my characters where they are. No point in RPing with myself.

Also, has anyone heard from funheart? She just disappeared... As did Hay. But funheart hasn't been logged on since late last month. Hay has been, but she's not responding to PMs so... :shrug: )))

((Omarion means advisor to the king in the way that Dimitri is and Isabella and Adalita were.

and as for the others, i personally haven't heard from either of them but those of us in the Victorian Roleplay may know a little more?))

((Haven't heard from funheart or Hay, though I think I saw an old post by Hay saying she was half-buried in schoolwork. (Speaking of which, did Shenan ever tell anyone who poisoned Adalita? Not trying to find out who did it, but I was wondering if we could continue this plot/what Shenan had in mind.)

I've been thinking of starting a second character as soon as my exams are over (early May). I love Dimitri to bits, but his personality and position (and, admittedly, the general grimness of the funeral) make him a little less accessible than most player-characters should be. A trouble-maker, on the other hand... :D

I will make a post dropping Juliet off at Isabella's sometime today. It's 5AM now so I'm gonna go crash.))

(((ooc: A troublemaker, eh? Something tells me he/she would get along nicely with César. :D
Oh, and yeah, it was supposed to have been Adalita's first lover... can't remember his name... that had her poisoned, through one of the servants, I think. Let me rummage through all old PM's, and I'll see if I can find it.


*edit* Well, I'm only finding the PM saying William (Adalita's ex) poisoned her, but I'm almost POSITIVE Shenan said somewhere that he didn't do it personally...)))

((Indeeeeed, he/she/it will~ :evil: César better stick around long enough for them to meet!

I kinda recall Isabella speculating that it was an inside job too. I'm quite interested in following through with this plotline, who knows what it could morph into ))
______


If the reception had been disappointing at the palace entrance, the entourage that greeted them at the grand staircase was its very antithesis. The glittering stairs were lined with the upper echelons of the domestic household—from the First Almoner pulled from the chapel to the Chief Steward himself—bowing with a professionalism unrecognisable in a royal staff Dimitri had written off as irredeemably disorganised. Yet the guards stood rigidly when they reached the upper landing, their bayonets gleaming in the morning light; even their uniforms shone a little more.

Juliet seemed marginally pleased with the greeting, which was to mean that she showed no pleasure at all.

She did, however, nod appreciably at the Chief Steward.

“Duchess de Margoles, Her Majesty the Queen awaits you in her chambers.”

“Her chambers?” Juliet arched one eyebrow of relative displeasure.

“I believe the Queen is still in consultation with the Grand maître des cérémonies.”

“The King has been involved in his own preparations all morning,” Dimitri explained—although, to his best knowledge, Isabella had taken charge while Edouard stayed in his salon. It did not seem right to the Duc, who thought funeral planning provided a particularly excellent cathartic experience for anguished fathers. But she had insisted on letting Edouard grieve for his daughter as long as he wished. “Of course, His Majesty shall only be too happy to meet you once he is finished. As will the Prince.”

Dimitri was not in any position to make promises for him, yet he knew that if Octavien had any objections to meeting the Queen's mother, it would soon be buried by the Duchess’ own wishes anyway.

“Of course,” Juliet cast one measured glance at the Prince’s quarters before turning back to Dimitri. “On this most tragic of mornings, I bid you good day, Duc d’Lorraine.”

Dimitri bowed low, waiting in the hall until the Chief Steward re-emerged from Isabella’s suite. Th latter’s forehead shimmered. The triangular slip of perfumed cloth in his pocket must have felt as attractive as the peek of a woman’s tongue between her red lips; but in front of the Duc, he could not reach for it, and so the beads of perspiration remained on his wide forehead.

They shared a glance, before Dimitri tipped his hat in a gesture more of sympathy than anything else. “I leave the Duchess in your capable hands.”

***

After sending a messenger to the King’s chambers informing him of the Duchess’ arrival, Dimitri decided he needed to get away from the royal family.

For an hour, at least.

It was not that he had tired of their grief and all-around depression—he had been meticulously raised to not tire of the royals over anything, and so such an emotion could not possibly exist within him—but that he felt today to be an absolutely essential chance to observe the palace inhabitants.

In the end, Adalita did not die a natural death. Would her assassin be bold enough to watch them lay her at peace?

Returning to the main floor, Dimitri found slightly more courtiers milling about. In an odd turn of events, his military maroon coat stood out against a general black-and-greyness about the palace floors. Yet everyone was dressed in differing degrees of sober extravagance—a funeral this may be, but it was still a social event, and only a royal funeral could bring as many important personages together as a royal marriage.

((Approachable.))

((Sounds good Seiza! I have a second charcter all mocked up and their app. is actually posted but I want to wait for a more opportune moment to introduce her. But for the love of :smurf: s I have no idea when that will be.))

It was an interesting thing, fate's sense of humor, and how it sometimes seemed to be a mischievous partner in crime to the young Marquis de Mont-de-Marsan. The comment he had made to Octavien, about wishing to see the reaction his unchanged attire would bring, had mostly been a simple joke. Not that his words had been untrue, for indeed it would be interesting, but he had not thought there would be very many to witness and notice it. However, as it turned out, now fate decided to provide him with an audience worthy of... well... He supposed to he'd had to label it an audience worthy of royalty, as the reception forming on and around the stairs he had just left, was clearly not meant for him, but for the Queen's mother, Juliet de Margoles. Octavien had mentioned she would be arriving today, and considering the commotion that had commenced behind César now, with servants and everyone else of the household staff hurrying into position, the lady coming towards him in the company of Duc d'Lorraine was none other. And it left César to be seen by every servant, and every guard, and - as the members of the court started gathering as well - every courtier that had observed him the previous day, and for them to notice that he had just left the royal floor, wearing the same striking, albeit now slightly wrinkled ensemble as the day before.

How many actually noticed, however, was a different matter. They all seemed rather preoccupied, and understandably so.

As the Duchesse de Margoles and the Duc d'Lorraine drew closer to the stairs, César tactfully stepped aside, and greeted them both with a bow as they passed him by. Though considering everyone was supposed to, and bows and curtsies were all around, neither of the two seemed to pay much attention to who did, just as long as they did.

He remained there, at the foot of the stairs, until they had reached the top of it, as he supposed it would be considered bad manners for him to pay no more interest than to be on his way just as soon as they had their backs towards him. In the meantime, he allowed his eyes to roam the rest of the grand Palace entrance, to see who else was there, though found only two faces he recognized; that of Comtesse de Valois, who earned a slight smile from him simply for being there, and the lady whom he had seen in the Duc's company the previous day, and whose name he had yet to learn. However, as the distance was too great between the two of them and himself, and this was hardly a time for socializing, he settled for offering a slight but curteous nod in their directions, before resuming his retreat to his own suite.

((OK with this post I declare afternoon all current courtiers should be at the funeral, so you are invited. I hope you don't mind this new style. As shenan posted morning announcements etc. as if she was looking down on it all, i have gone for a mix of that, my perspective as Mercy and the perspectives of other characters.

A little man handling of Dimitri and Octavian here, so if you do not wish for it to be Seiza, Atropa feel free to tell me.))

Mercy was suprised to see she was in fact the first person inside the chapel besides the Prince, the King, the Queen and her mother and the unknown clergy man at the front of the ornate chamber, she had passed Dimitri giving instructions to the King's carriage drivers outside She had no doubt that every other member of today's congregation would recognise the man, but Mercy had never found any solice in the christian church, in deed if she had any belief in God her past would have been more or less unbarable. she sighed as she settled in a pew to the side of the Chapel and two behind the Royal's, in such a way she could coin peoples expressions through out the precedings without it being obvious.

******

Juliet looked around the Chapel it was beautiful and ornate but very small, she sighed Isabella had said it was a beautiful place to pay tribute to a beautiful life they had lost, Edouard had said it was good as it was not far to trouble and they could monitor who came to the funeral, strangely Isabella had been most adimant that this was vital, which was a strange thought. The Prince, her step-grand-daughters husband had been remarkably quiet as far as she could ascertain, it seemed his grief was beyond tears and beyond very much speaking at all, the Queen and herself had taken one carriage and the young Prince had gone ahead seperatly with the King and his Comrade, the Duc. So she had not had a chance to say more than "I'm so sorry to the man on the way into the chapel."

She glanced at the preacher, the Royal family's ethical advisor. Old, cantankerous and decidedly barmy. You really would need to be desperate to approach this man when you were seeking Goddly advise, she wished once again she had requested the presence of her nephew the Bishop of Chanterie with her on this trip. He could have performed this ceremony excellently.

******

Father Montrei popped back into the vestry and "checked" on the wine for mass on sunday, fortunately it was not a sin, for he needed something to cut down the stress of the day, A royal funeral! Mind you he seemed to be getting stressed quite alot recently...

******

Father Montrei stepped out of the vestry and silence fell.

Oh Lord give me strength he thought.

Oh Lord give me patience Juliet prayed.

Oh Lord what is she wearing? Mercy muttered under her breath.

The ceremony that followed was simple, but heart filled. As they moved outisde folowing the coffin, there was a social line, the Royalty followed by nobles, the Ducs and Duchesses, Comtes and Comtesses, Barons and Baronesses filled out of the chapel, the stood around a small crypt, the entrance was slowly sealed by young men in dark suits.

The father gave a final reading...

"What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,

'For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.'

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord."

And the people disbanded, whilst women cried and men walked quietly and respectfully away Isabella cried from behind a vail, Octavien simply stood looking down into the dark crypt entrance his fringe obscured his face so the look, which was obviously sad was still hard to decipher, Edouard grasped the shoulder of a very dear friend and Juliet placed her hand across the well at the bottom of her neck, Mercy however returned to the church in search of a black velvet rose from her dress, that had fallen off, she found it caught on the edge of the pew where she had been sitting a chunk had been removed and it had snagged the rose, causing it to tear leaving loose threads on her dress she turned to leave and then heard a shuffling in the vestry, the door was slightly ajar and Mercy, beng Mercy, advanced towards it, she caught a glimpse of a certain father. She coughed and dropped a certain black rose, the father turned, realised what had happened and went to see who had caught him, but only finding a black rose and a door swinging shut he slammed the vestry door and threw the bottle at the opposite wall.

Mercy left the chapel once again, only to see the Queen hanging rather limply in the arms of her husband, her feet supported by Edouard's support system, the handsome Duc and her head by her mother who was saying very loudly, "she is not holding up well, not at all, we shall return to the palace to back and tomorrow she shall return with me, this is too much, to lose Adalita, she needs a change of scenery." The first royal carriage pulled up, the driver jumped down to open the door of the carriage, Juliet however waved him away as a female noble, whom she had seen briefly yesterday had already opened the door. She nodded to the Duc and the King and as Isabella was laid down upon one of the long seats of the coach Isabella muttered something quietly Juliet gestured for the woman to join her. And the carriage pulled away leaving the King and his Companion to take the second Royal carriage.

******

Mercy knelt by the side of the queen and checked her forehead, she was warm but not too warm.

"Can you supervise the packing of the Queens belongings for me?" Juliet asked as she held her daughters hand.

"Ceratinly your ladyship," Mercy nodded her bowed head.

When they finally reached the palace Juliet stepped out of the carriage to give orders the servant.

Mercy smiled gently at Isabella, and said "I'm glad you found happiness, and I'm sure it will still be here when you return. As for your kingdom, it will be well cared for." She gently kissed the Queen's hand and left in order to find Margaret who would need to help back the Queen's things and her own clothing as well.

Marie-Elisabeth had sat quietly in one of the pews of the Chapel, her hands folded in her lap. She wasn’t overly religious, but she had always thought there was a certain beauty to chapels. All the beautiful ornamentation and stained glass were definitely works of art to be admired.

She had followed in the line to the crypt, the size of it causing a momentary panic. It was so small and so easily filled, it made her think that it could easily be her own child lying there. She had a sudden urge to want to hold Charles in her arms, to assure herself that he was real and he was okay.

But she knew she couldn’t do that. He was miles away, being cared for by people that weren’t her. She was surprised at how much the loss of his presence was hurting her, and she hadn’t really been prepared for it. The funeral had really brought into focus everything that she had lost, as well as bringing up unpleasant memories of Charles’ death years earlier. He might not have been any kind of handsome knight in shining armour like young girls dreamt about, but he had loved her and she missed that feeling.

As soon as the proceedings were over, Marie-Elisabeth left with one hand holding her locket closely to her. She had almost been entertaining the idea of sending for Charles, but didn’t think it would ever come to fruition. She knew that a court like this wasn’t the place for a child, at least not right now. Even a normally pleasant and fun loving person like her was starting to become affected by the general gloomy atmosphere. She wanted to go and write a letter to her son, but figured she would wait until she was at least in a better mood and could write something cheerful to him.

So she settled for simply walking in the general direction of her rooms, thinking she might write to her sister instead. She still hadn’t written to Marie-Caroline since she had arrived, which was surprising considering she has her favourite sister. And in a family of 11 sisters, that said something. She knew her dear sister wouldn’t mind hearing from her now, she was half expecting a displeased “Why didn’t you write to me sooner” letter to be waiting for her when she got to her suite.



(((OOC: Approachable, she just basicly wandering the halls)))

Mercy had located Margaret and informed her of the Queen's emminant move back to her parents palace. And after dispatching Helena to help Margaret with her own packing and insisting they sent for her when they got to packing her Magesty's. Mercy herself needed some time to compose a letter, she was planning on placing it inside the queen's lugage as a small comfort, showing the people at the Palace of Light and Air missed her. Also if Mercy was constructing a letter herself, she could seal easily seal another inside with it, perhaps she had been too harsh on a certain Prince...

She was still pondering this fact when she came across a young woman, "Good day Comtesse." She gave a reasonable bow, but felt a slight pain in her back after doing so. It would seem age and corsets were taking their toll on Mercy. Marie-Elisabeth was an attractive young woman, such a shame to see a young widow, even Mercy had been in the region of 12-15 years older before she was widowed. She sensed however the age of their becoming a widow was not the only difference in those chapters of their lives.

"The funeral was very moving was it not?" Mercy gave a half smile, so as not to seem to hapy on such a dark day, and to change the subject from things making her feel old.

“Ah good afternoon Baroness Flight, It was indeed very moving. I've never seen a Chapel so lovely” said Marie-Elisabeth, releasing her tight hold on the locket around her neck. She was glad to actually have some female company to talk to, seeing as everyone she had met over the past few days had been male.

Not that she mad minded the male company; on the contrary she had rather enjoyed it. In fact she was hoping to enjoy that same company again sometime soon. But for now she was perfectly content to talk to another woman. One she was hoping wouldn’t quite fault her as much on things like removing a wedding ring when your husband was long dead. And judging by the use of what Marie-Elisabeth had gathered to be her maiden name, she was thinking she could just be right.

“Times like these really make you think about everything you’ve lost in life” she said, realizing her thoughts had wandered again and not wanting to seem rude. “And of course be very grateful for everything you’ve still got. It must be such a comfort to the Queen to have her mother here, and for the King to have such a close friend in the duc d'Lorraine. I had one of my sisters come to stay with me for a while after Charles passed away and I don’t know what I would have done without her”.

In this world, no matter where one was from or what social class one belonged to, there would always be things that one could not effect, but that would rather effect oneself instead. Death being one such thing. There was nothing like a funeral for someone so young in body and spirit as Adalita, to dampen the high spirits of even the most cheerful of men. Especially not when the man in question was a father, and the deceased was little more than a child.
Prior to the ceremony, César had nourished the notion that he would remain somewhat unaffected by the whole affair. Properly sombre, and sad on Octavien's behalf, of course, but relatively unaffected. He did not know the deceased, and thus the loss was not his, nor did he have any personal memories of her. And Lord should know he had been to his fair share of similar funerals, even though none had been so grand as this one, for the simple fact that while the people he had seen buried had been everything from wealthy commoners to Ducs and Duchesses, none of them had ever been royals.

But, as the doleful ceremony progressed, he found his gaze constantly seeking the King, seeing the loss and the grief thereof etched into his every aged feature, even though alot of of it was hidden behind the noble mask the royals were expected to maintain at all times. It was a look that pinched at César's heart, and made it ache for the older man, as it conjured visions of what it would be like to loose one of his own daughters. God forbid that would ever happen. He could only imagine the pain it would bring him, the pain that Edouard must be feeling as he witnessed the casket being lowered into the earth.


After the ceremony, he'd put his arm around Joséphine's waist, and together they had approached Octavien to deliver their condolences, and simply talk, as César wanted to determine what state Octavien was really in. He'd seemed to hold up fairly well the night before, and he had confided in César that despite how things appeared, there had been no love between him and Adalita. He'd cared for her, yes, but he hadn't loved her, nor had she loved him. But he hadn't gone into details of why they had married, but simply saidhe would tell César about it at a later, more appropriate time.
And so, while César knew that Octavien wasn't in fact suffering the torments of someone who had just lost the love of their life, he was suffering the loss of someone whom he had cared for, and that was enough for César to be concerned about him.

However, they hadn't gotten to talk for more than a minute or two, when suddenly the collapse of the Queen had Octavien apparently forgetting all about César and Joséphine. He'd rushed to Isabella's side, and along with the King, the Duc d'Lorraine and that woman César kept seeing everywhere, helped her into one of the royal carriages. As it sped off towards the Palace, the second royal Carriage pulled up for the rest of royal family, and Octavien had only had time to turn and offer the Marquis and Marquise a faint, bleak smile to apologize for his abrupt and rather rude departure, and leave them knowing that he intended for the three of them to meet properly, as soon as things had settled down.

César and Joséphine had returned to the Palace in their own carriage, and César had gone directly to their daughters' room. The events of the afternoon had gotten him thinking of just how much he treasured their round little faces, and how little time he really spent with them. Granted, it was more than most fathers did, yet now, in light of the funeral, seemed so very little to him.

He found them on the floor in the middle of their suite, in a rare moment of playing nicely together, with some of the toys they had gotten to bring with them from home. Though as soon as they had spotted him, toys had gone flying, as they treasured him just as much as he treasured them, and so couldn't get to him fast enough. Sitting down on his heels, César welcomed them both into his arms, and couldn't help but laugh at their enthusiasm.

"My, what a lucky man I am", he said. "To have two girls as pretty as you so happy to see me."

Pressing a loud kiss on each girls' soft cheek, having both of them squeal with delight, he then stood, still holding them both in his arms.

"How would you two like to help me explore the Palace?" he asked, and chuckled again when the question caused another fit of delighted squeals, along with a few moments of excited and absolutely incomprehensible chatter. "Good, for I fear I shall get lost without the help of my two favorite girls."

With that, he placed both daughters safely back on the ground, and together they left the suite to roam the hallways.


(((Most approachable. )))

(((ooc: Poorly written, but I'm in a hurry, as I wanted to get this in before I head off to work. Octavien coming tomorrow, hopefully.
Ghanima - Hope it's ok I godmodded Jo a little bit?)))