Fate - First Reply Laws exist to be broken

[Varys]

He smiled back at her, one more genuine than those he'd offered before. Not to imply that his previous kindness was insincere, but it had always been tainted with an air of forcedness. There was no forcing this smile. It felt wonderful to just... talk. A part of him did deeply miss his home, but now more than ever his resolve was steeled. He had to press on, for he needed the answers to what he truly was.

He laughs lightly, almost a whisper. Her life was the opposite... that made too much sense. She didn't even need to say it, he'd felt it earlier, but he wasn't able to put into words what it was about her that seemed so off. Now though, it came together.

She was elegant, and proper. He also shifts to his side to face her now, speaking in a hushed tone, as if keeping her secret between them.

"You weren't always a peasant, were you? You come from wealth. I can tell by the way you move."

Another laugh escapes his throat, this one a bit louder. It was more directed at himself, who only now said what he knew inside since he'd met her. It takes one to know one after all, and he could tell she hadn't been one long.

"I'm... I'm sorry. It's rude of me to laugh at that. It's just kind of funny how two opposite ends have met, wouldn't you say? It's a bit selfish of me, but I'm glad you are who you are now, elsewise this meeting wouldn't have likely occurred. I tend to avoid nobles..."

He nods his head thoughtfully.

"Yes, This meeting, however brief it may be, I'm glad it's happened."

Amazing, he thought to himself, how relative strangers could help you in ways you didn't know you need helped. His spirit was renewed, refreshed from one evening of being Varys The Urchin instead of Varys The Apprentice.

Charlotte Beaufort

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

Instead of taking offence like many might of for being laughed at for being nobility, Lottie smiled. It scrunched up her nose, dimpled her cheeks, and brought out an inner light in her pale green eyes. She could indeed see how funny it was that two people from different walks of life, starting off at polar ends of the social scale in fact, had fallen and risen in such a way that they could meet and share a moment like this. Perhaps that was why it felt so comfortable to talk with him.

"My mother will be so proud that I have kept the walk, all those hours with books on my head," she managed to keep a straight face for at least the majority of the sentence before descending into a string of giggles. Once they died down she ran her fingers through the grass between them and plucked a flower, twirling it slowly. "My sisters are quite a bit older than me and they wanted to leave the life of nobility from a young age but they stuck around for me. They didn't want to leave me with my parents. They used to sneak out though and help with the peasants as much as they could, stealing things from our house and selling them to give the money to people to help. Pay for medicine, food... Then when I was older they decided to take me with them. So we've hung out here ever since."

She smiled and then blew on the dandelion to send the small little seeds flying in the air.

"I much prefer this life."

 

[Varys]

Varys was unable to resist the temptation to laugh right along with her. He didn't know what unfortunate situation had driven her to life in hiding, and even though he was very grateful for this encounter, a small part of him thought that she deserved a better hand than what she'd been dealt. He watches the flower between her fingers, his eyes moving between her and it as she shared a bit of her story.

Her sisters had denounced the life of wealth, and convinced her to join them. He admired the sense of right and wrong it took to leave the lavish life that came with stature to willingly help raise others above you.

It was certainly something he'd never been strong enough to do.

When he was without shelter, it was all about him. If he had to step on toes to eat that night, he was more than happy to. Now that he thought of it, he'd probably done a lot of things that were quite unkind in retrospect. Perhaps it wasn't fair to himself, but the brief shift in his expression, as his eyes lowered from the flower spoke to how her words made him think.

"I wish I'd helped others in my position the way you do, and I may very well have to start. I'm not hurting for money anymore, but there are aspects of it that I miss. There was always some excitement in not knowing if you'd make it through the day, morbid as that sounds."

He looked up at the sky. The sun would set soon, and he could only imagine the heckling he would get from Jonathan and Hob for being out with somebody alone for so long...

Turning to her, he clears his throat.

"This might be weird to ask, but... We're returning here in a week, like I mentioned. Would it be possible for me to come and see you again?"

Charlotte Beaufort

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

Lottie's head listed to the side as she listened to him explain the thrill of survival. She thought that her sister Blanche probably felt quite similar given her desire to throw herself into the worst possible situations. Then again, when she thought back to her night with Raziel she wondered if she didn't also hold onto a bit of that careless recklessness too. It made you feel more alive. Given he didn't have much else in life she couldn't say she blamed him. For a while they both used the silence that grew between them to meander through their own thoughts and feelings on the mists of the past. It wasn't an uncomfortable thing despite the pangs of sadness at things left undone or paths not taken. Lottie was trying to remember the last time she felt so comfortable around someone outside of her sisters to lay like this and simply reflect.

His words brought her out of her daydream. For a moment all she could do was blink at him and then her lips twisted into a brilliant smile that brought out the dimple in one cheek.

"I would like that very much Varys," the city itself would be heaving which was a blessing and a curse. She didn't imagine she would be able to resist going to watch the show especially if there were fireworks though. "I'd love to come and see your show," her eyes lit up like a childs. "Maybe we can grab something to eat after?"

 

[Varys]

He sits up, holding himself straight with his hands. One of the chief concerns that his Master had often had was his difficulty in opening up to people. It was only natural; Varys had been raised by a cruel man, shown little in the way of affection or love. He'd matured into a bitter, reclusive teen. Today though, from the journey out of town, to Dick and his cronies, and now to this singular moment where everything seemed to be just right...

Today had been fun.

He couldn't remember actively using that term very much before. Living with his uncaring father hadn't been fun. Living on the streets and living off petty theft hadn't been fun. Even travelling with Jonathan and Hob, while far from a bad experience, wasn't especially fun. There was always work to do, and always another town they had to move to.

For one day, he had thrown away the idea of caring about that. He'd basically stolen his Master's wagon to go on an adventure with a stranger. There was no worrying about anything, and even when things had looked bad, he'd been smiling. He wasn't sure what exactly it meant, that he found it so easy to speak with her.

But he was already looking forward to doing it again.

He nods, his smile widening as though it wanted to match her own, and he swore he had to squint to see through how brightly she'd lit up. "That sounds perfect. I'm already looking forward to it."

He sighs, giving their surroundings a look around. He'd forgotten the drinks, but it turned out they didn't really need them after all. He had to be going soon, but he found himself reluctant.

"What's next though? For you, I mean. All this talk of our pasts and who we were... What do you see happening next for you? What would you like to do?"

Charlotte Beaufort

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

When Varys asked his question Lottie stopped twirling the flower between her fingers. She held his gaze for a pregnant pause before casting her eyes over his shoulder to the smudge of the city skyline that could be seen from their position. There was something about her that changed with the question. Her soft smile grew tight, her body stiff, her eyes lost their sparkle and was replaced by a hard look of hatred. Of anger. Of past memories that she would never be able to let go that had shaped her. For whilst she had told him the truth she hadn't told him the whole truth about why her sisters and she had fled their noble life. They had wanted to go, they had stayed for her, but the night that they had dived into the darkness of the forest had been...

"I want to tear it all down," even her voice was at odds with how she had been until now. It was cold. Calculating. Uncaring. "How they treat people here..." her hand curled into a fist and crumpled the flower she had been holding. "How they treat people is disgusting, like they are nothing more than toys. The poor, women, other races," she shook her head.

"Oban and her people deserve to be free."

 

[Varys]

It went without saying that Varys was a bit surprised by this sudden change in demeanor from her. Gone was that innocence and playfulness that had filled her voice so wonderfully. It was replaced by a very dark expression, one that spoke of thoughts she'd rather forget. It was a look that he knew too well. After all, he must have made that same expression for most of his life up to this point. It was anger; Not at any one person, but at the world. It was resentment towards a land that had taken so much and given nothing back.

Seeing her like this, after they'd talked at such length about their lives and experiences, and after opening up to one another as wholeheartedly as they had...

It made a ball of sadness well up inside of the elf.

He knew how that sort of rage felt, and nobody deserved to feel it, least of all Lottie. Even so, he understood the point she was making. Oban wasn't a good standard to be set for the rest of Arethil. It's policies were archaic, and to a point despotic. While he was unaware of Lottie's personal experience with Oban's corruption, he definitely shared in her emotion.

He takes a step forward, reaching out to place a hand on her shoulder gently. If there was one thing he'd learned, it's that seething in isolation would eventually drive you mad, no matter what. Lottie of course had her sisters, but right now they weren't here. Varys needed to say something, he couldn't not support her.

"The injustices in Oban are undisputable, and the anger you feel isn't misplaced."

He takes a moment, attempting to choose his next words carefully... His head tilts and he looks down at her, meeting her eyes.

"I believe that you can do it. I know that you can do it. It might not be this week, month or year. It will happen though. I see that in your eyes. You can't let that hatred overtake you though, you have to keep yourself. Anger will lead to mistakes, which will lead to suffering. I don't want to see you suffer, I want to see you free Oban. I'll be the first one by your side when the time comes. Or... the third one I suppose. Behind your sisters."

Charlotte Beaufort

 

[Lottie Beaufort]

Lottie met his gaze and held it for a long, tense moment after he had finished speaking. The anger had turned her eyes into a swirling maelstrom but bit by bit they eased now. It was like watching the clouds disappear to reveal the sun on a crisp spring day. She took a breath and let them close for a moment as she pushed down the thoughts and memories that had driven her to the edge.

"You're right... It's just so hard sometimes," a faint, shaky smile graced her lips and she took another breath. With each deep inhale she felt a little more like herself and a less like a person who secretly wanted to watch the world burn. "They've just taken so much from people," a slow shake of the head. "I hope one day you can see what Oban should be, what it could be. Then we won't have to sneak around to have a drink," she laughed.

 

[Varys]

Varys' smile held it's place on his face, only growing as her eyes lit back up into the ones he'd seen earlier. It was easy to lose yourself, when your emotions got the better of you. It was coming back to reality that made you strong, it was the ability to remain who you really were, and persevere. Lottie was obviously dealing with a fair deal of pent emotion, just the same as Varys was.

"I know. It's so hard, and that's why there's no shame in faltering every now and then. That we recognize our failures is what separates us from the terrible souls of the world."

Was it unnecessarily deep? Probably. A sigh passes over his thin lips, but he smiles when she offers the idea of a second outing. "And next time I'll actually remember to bring the drinks?" He gives a sheepish chuckle, biting the inside of his cheek... "I really need to go. It's too late for me to be out... I"ll see you soon, okay?" Aware that it might earn him a fate similar to their good friend Dick, he pulls her into a light hug for a brief moment, before letting go. "Thank you for tonight."

Charlotte Beaufort