Private Tales Light After Dark

[Audreyn]

Audreyn stuck her tongue out at him once he turned the other way.

"It's really strange. Desert before a meal, but they really want to look thin. It doesn't make sense. You'd think they'd just serve bread and cheese." She didn't mind though, her eyes wide and eager at the concept of deserts. And in the plural.

"Luminious," she exclaimed, conjuring a rather massive ball of light before her. She leaned forward, giving a soft 'aaaaah' into it as if she was speaking into a fan. The colors danced and changed, lighting up the room at the size of it all.

Probably not what he had intended from the spell, but yaaaay she had mastered it quickly? ...That would soon prove to be a problem, he could be sure.

"Young lady!" Gasped Mrs. Simerton. "You're going to catch the drapes on fire!"

 

[Gerrard]

With little more than a lesson in trying to focus the acoustic flare down to a handheld size and, of course, another tea, they had to set off towards the evening event.

A squat, stone building commanded an open space in one of the outer districts of the city. It was larger than the entire row of houses where Gerrard was offered a living space. Purple and gold flags marked the shingle path from the gates.

Gerrard offered a few facts as they rode in a slightly more comfortable breeze than the previous day have provided. It was the third largest property owned by the Luana House and current residence of Duke Carson Luana. It was to be a fairly restrained event. Only eighty people or so would gather in the main hall. Gerrard explained that he had, on the few occasion he had visited, found it a fairly dingy place. Dark wood floors and ceiling, plain stones walls adorned with fading tapestries and not enough candlelight. The food, however, was usually exceptional.

A family had arrived ahead of them in a small carriage and they had to wait their turn. The family were making their way out slowly and would be led up the stairs to meet the Duke and a few members of his family in the entrance hall.

"Just curtsy, smile and nod and then I'll show you around and we'll see if we can fit any food in your corset," Gerrard promised. If nothing else, he hoped this would be a welcome distraction from the thoughts that ailed her.

 

[Audreyn]

Oh, she could get it down to a small size. She just didn't want to. What's so impressive about a small ball...


"Gerrard..." Audreyn breathed, floating besides him as she openly stared around her as if in a dream. "I know I'm not smart and stuff like you, but... I don't think you know what 'dingy' is..."

She trodded almost gracefully up the front stairs. It was amazing what not thinking about falling could do for someone's clumsiness. She drifted closer into his side, taking his arm as the large ... palace? grew in size until it loomed over it. She shifted in apprehension, barely hearing the Duke's boisterous laugh as they approached.

What if the walls fell in on them?

Her attention leveled out the things around them only after they were under the sloping front entrance roof. The world woomphed around her, suddenly feeling small again with that height no longer in sight. The people in front of them stepped in. Audreyn barely had a moment to second guess herself before the Duke's gaze landed on them. His loud greeting would have sent her reeling back, if she wasn't use to such bad manners back at home.

Come to think of it, Gerrard was a really quiet person.

She gave a nervous curtsy, her smile strained and they were approached.

 

[Gerrard]

"Ah Gerrard, Pa said you would be coming. He hasn't arrived yet!"

"Your grace," Gerrard responded with a subtle bow. To him this was a foreign land and he would only afford their titles so much respect. There was a brief glance of shared understanding. It was technically bad form to arrive before the party who had passed on the invite, but everyone knew that Pa Ostland would probably arrive late and already roaring drunk.

"Have you met Magister Ellerio before?" the Duke asked, waving to the next man in line. The frail-looking man wore colourful robes. The kind someone who had seen a picture of a wizard in a book might expect. The kind that maybe a Duke would insist his personal mage wore to be shown off.

"Haven't had the pleasure," Gerrard replied. He offered a hand to the mage and offered as much politeness in his smile as could be mustered.

"You simply must show Gerrard around the laboratories in the east wing!" The Duke declared. Showing off you interest in the magical sciences. "And this is your..." The Duke's gaze briefly fell to their left hands. No one would have batted an eyelid at a man Gerrard's age with a wife as young as Audreyn.

"My new apprentice."

"Excellent...excellent...welcome..." The Duke's eyes seemed to glaze over and his wife was already greeting the next arrivals. Gerrard tilted his head for Audreyn to follow him into the main hall.

 

[Audreyn]

Audreyn didn't catch the tone that was used to regard her, or else there would have been many childish faces and noises of disgust at such a suggestion she was anything other than his apprentice. She had the body of a woman but the lack of courting and pressure for arranged marriages in the countryside had clearly preserved the mindset of a child. Many such things would go over her head tonight, for good or bad.

She was busy staring at the mage even as they walked away. "Did you see that?" She whispered with feverance that could only be described as obvious and rude. "He looked like a something out of the stories." He had surely been dressed the part.

 

[Gerrard]

"And I'm sure he has a very nice laboratory too. If the conversation becomes too dull we can ask for a tour as long as you promise not to touch anything."

He turned his head towards her just a fraction and a silver brow went arching upwards.

"I trust that you're not suggesting that I should dress like that to look like a proper wizard?" he asked.

They stepped out into the main banquet area. There was soft music being played, but dancing would not start for some time. Beyond the end of the last table was a cleared space. There were several trays of food already set out on the tables for guests to pick at until the main meal was called.

 

[Audreyn]

"I mean you already got the beard going for you." She grinned up at him, eyes twinkling.

She released his arm, her expression opening to pure shock as they moved into the banquet itself. There were no words to be said, the way she regarded each person, high ceilings, and piles of unidentifiable food expressed enough. "Whoa." Her breath wooshed out of her. She floated forward, lingering in a blithe way that disrupted others from moving easily. Jewelry caught candle light, glimmering as rich fabrics swayed with movement. Rich scents filled her warmly. The ceiling threatened to swallow her whole and open up to the skies all at once.

Magic crinkled over her skin, responding in turn to her slip in composure.

She couldn't fathom how much this had all costed.

She looked to Gerrard with a slight sheen of moisture to her eyes.

 

[Gerrard]

He laughed at the comment, hand coming up to stroke at his scruff. He'd never thought of it as a particularly 'wizardly' beard. Gerrard had been too distracted looking for someone with wine to notice her first reaction to the surroundings.

At first he enjoyed watching her take the banquet hall in. It wasn't even the grandest in Vel'anir, not by a long way. His enjoyment faltered when he sensed the magic seep through her layer of control.

Gerrard decided not to dwell on it.

"Do you want to sit for a bit and try some food?" he asked. There was just a handful of people around the room, plenty of space at the tables.

 

[Audreyn]

She swallowed hard, nodding and giving a slight 'uh huh' of agreement. She moved for the food table, no longer bothered by such menial things such as heels and excessive cloth. I mean, did you see the food buffet? It was bigger than her.

And soon her plate would be too, piled full with bits of everything until she was catching sliding pastries and trying to balance them over tiny quiches while she reached for just one more square thing with something green on top.

The worrying magic had long since fizzled away, its presence unnoticed by her in all her excitement.

"You gonna get anything?" She asked eagerly. Like maybe some of that triangle stuff she couldn't fit on her plate? He received a set of wide eyes pleading up at him.

 

[Gerrard]

"Yes, yes, but pace yourself!" he laughed. Gerrard picked a few delicate looking pastries and set them on his plate.

"They will keep bringing snacks out for another hour. Then every sits down for three or four courses. Then a break to let it go down with a few drinks before the dancing. Then more food brought out after the main dancing is done. You're getting into the twilight hours then when only the most serious socialites are on the dance floor.

"Ah, wine!" went Gerrard enthusiastically as someone placed a mug down before him. He picked up a morsel of food between finger and thumb. Popping it into his mouth he found that wrapped inside the pastry was an explosion of flavours. Sweetened berries into some kind of soft mix. He nodded his appreciation towards Audreyn.

 

[Audreyn]

Audreyn smirked at his delight over the wine. "You are so peculiar over drinks." The food in her mouth was barely tasted as she spoke, the next delicious thing being taken in as well.

Corsets? Puft. Watch her eat a horse.

"Why don't you have food like this?" She stopped herself mind way from licking her finger, making it a point to wipe them off on the cloth napkin by her. See! She had manners!

 

[Gerrard]

Fortunately table manners of the time only extended to not using your hands to grab a piece of food you weren't going to eat. Grabbing the body of a chicken whilst you ripped off its leg was frowned upon.

"Because I don't have a personal chef?" he offered with a grin. "Used to live somewhere a little smaller than this, before Elbion stripped me of my titles.

"And there is nothing peculiar about enjoying wine."

 

[Audreyn]

Audreyn shook her head, grinning as she did so. "We need a personal chief. Please? Pretty please? I'll do extra chores around the house. I'll... fetch firewood and... well water and..." Well there wasn't much to do around a non-farm, really. Besides dust.

"I bet he'll get all the best wines for you. Imagine it. Pastries. Everyday..." Her voice was dreamy, caught up in the energy of the room.

 

[Gerrard]

"I don't have estates or land any more," he said with a shrug. A part of him missed them, missed the prestige that had come with the titles. Yet he was mostly focused on his work.

"My brother sends enough to live comfortably and continue the research. Vel'Anir houses are quite accommodating too. It's not enough for a household I'm afraid. But if you really enjoy tonight I'll see if we can't get an invitation to the Celeste gala next week. They have the most amazing kitchen staff."

And the best wine cellar.

 

[Audreyn]

Audreyn beamed. "Deal!" Clearly the levity of all she was eating had not hit her yet. She had never eaten so much butter in her life. Never mind the sugar consumption that would be sure to follow.

Was there a puke bucket near by....? Anyone?

Her fevored chewing began to slow, her plate going no where and more platters still being brought up to keep the tables fresh and overflowing.

"Do you miss it? Being rich."

 

[Gerrard]

"Don't eat so quickly Audreyn," Gerrard warned in a slightly more serious tone. He really didn't want to see her popping the seams of that corset. Or finding out that it had more strength than her stomach.

"I was never very good at being rich. You're supposed to be diplomatic and courteous. I've always been better at telling people what I really think. My brother is actually better at managing the estates anyway. He's always been a much...softer person than me." He spared a glance for the entrance.

"Won't be long before we have to make conversation," he bemoaned. People were starting to arrive in numbers now. As if that thought pressed him on, he downed his mug and held it up for a refill.

 

[Audreyn]

Audreyn watched in amazement as the glass was promptly refilled. She hadn't even seen a server nearby. She watched they slip away, curious to where they had come from.

She held up her plate. It was taken away just as briskly. No second servings followed. She frowned, realizing she had gotten the semantics of that exchange down wrong.

"At least we got the good food before its all out," she soothed, slouching down into the seat. She gave a tired blink, plucking at her dress as the weight of everything settled inside of her. Her eyes followed the slow stream of people drifting in, curiously looking over every one of them.

"Are you friends with any of them?"

 

[Gerrard]

"Hmm. You'll find I don't maintain a particularly wide range of friends. There are so many boring people here."

There were, in fact, many fantastically eccentric and interesting people here. Many took pride in telling stories or performing music over a few drinks. Gerrard could be quite crotchety in public. He liked to think he was above the gossip of the court. It could be almost exhausting feigning indifference.

"Would you like me to name some as they come in?" he asked.

 

[Audreyn]

"No that's okay, it's not like I'll remember..." She dismissed absentmindedly, watching one woman with an exceedingly voluptuous dress walk like a floating cloud. Magic....

She yawned, then straightened with a spark. "Hey, does that mean I'm interesting? You maintain me." She grinned at him almost devilishly, pinning him into a compliment. Even under those layers of rich fabric, her hair twisted all out of sorts, Audreyn still looked remarkably like herself, twinkling grin and all.

 

[Gerrard]

His eyes narrow a fraction as he feigned surprise at being backed into the corner. "Audreyn, there is absolutely no way that I could describe having you travelling with me as uninteresting."

Already he had a slightly pleasant buzz from the wine. It would be so easy to over indulge in the drink when such vintage was freely available. One had to ask nicely for a truly exceptional bottle to be opened and Gerrard was not in such favour with the host do do so.

This was quite a pleasant start to the evening, he decided. No one was bothering them, Audreyn could watch the guests arrive in all their splendour and he would not be left wanting for food or drink. Already more food was being brought to the tables.

"The food will keep coming all evening you understand," he laughed. "Save yourself until after the dancing unless you want to spend the late evening trying not to be sick."

 

[Audreyn]

"I think I'm already there," she laughed, leaning on her elbows and picking at a fresh platter brought out. She couldn't help herself, most of the dishes she had never seen before.

A particularly 'pretty boy' entered the room, escorted by two others aged enough to clearly be his parents. Audreyn gaped, the morsel of food slipping from her fingers and crumbling onto the platter.

"Hey..." She asked, tossing her voice carefully to the side. "When do I get to do my magic..."

 

[Gerrard]

"Not yet," he replied with a wave. "This is that awkward time of the evening where everyone arrives and works out who they know and make idle chat about business, and..." he trailed off.

"When everyone's had a few drinks and some food it all becomes a bit more casual. We could take a turn in the gardens? Walk off some food before the main meal?" he grinned at that, knowing she definitely didn't have room for the main courses that were yet to come.

 

[Audreyn]

"Oh please if you could walk off pounds you would have walked off yours yeeears ago." Her voice had the high thrill of one of those snotty rich nobles in the dress shop. A glance to the side would find her beaming up at him, clearly pleased at her impersonation.

She leaned in, whispering conspiratorially. "I think I'm good at this rich thing."

 

[Gerrard]

Gerrard actually looked down at his waistline at her comment. He looked back up with a grin and a shake of his head. He was of an age where you either moderated your food or simply bought clothes to try and hide the paunch.

"Just a little more disdain needed in your tone," he laughed. "But I was thinking a little movement to let the food past your cinched waist before the dancing," he added.

 

[Audreyn]

Audreyn grimaced.

"Is that why I'm so full? It's stuck in my chest. Science is weird." She plucked at the corset again in disdain. She gave a subsequent yawn, then stretched and nodded in agreement.

She went to stand, blinking up in shock as a lingering waitstaff pulled her seat back for her as she did so. "...Thanks." She edged herself and the material of her skirts out from between the table and went to Gerrards side, skimming the room as she noticed the waitstaff now.

"They're like shadows," she whispered, conspiratorially.