Make me a princess. [Tag Jessica and Mara; Sports room.] on Magical Arts Room and Sports

Leonor De Matteo

February 26, 2020 9:10 PM

Make me a princess. [Tag Jessica and Mara; Sports room.] by Leonor De Matteo

All in all, Leonor hated this idea. Unfortunately, she couldn't think of any better ones. She had momentarily entertained the idea of asking Felipe, but they weren't really talking much right now. As Leonor made her way from her dormitory to the MARS rooms, she couldn't help be a little sad about that. Most of the time, she didn't take the time to be sad. There were other things to do and other things to think about. Just then, however, she didn't have anything else to think about. Nothing that kept her attention so much as the melancholy that had been sticking to her like burrs. She was eleven years old and had bags under her eyes for Pete's sake.

So she set up the sports room, thinking of the first time she had learned about competitive modeling and body painting and such. She wasn't exactly sure whether that was a sport, or whether the room would be able to meet her needs, but it was probably her best bet. Besides, she was sure that Jessica or Mara would have something better long term. She just didn't want to start this whole thing by being a mooch.

Leonor entered the room and looked around with a sense of awe coloring her cheeks. Her dark eyes shined a little more as she surveyed the stations set up around the room with makeup, hair supplies, and dresses - from costumes to everyday wear - and a pedestal in the center, with mirrors and better lighting than she could have really dreamt up. It was the sort of thing that she doubted even Muggle technology would be able to achieve, although she didn't know enough about it to be sure.

As the amazement wore off, so too did thoughts of Felipe. Instead, Leonor looked down at her hands and waited, uncomfortable. She needed to work on keeping a more neutral expression - that was one thing she had learned from Felipe - but right now she was alone. Was Felipe neutral when he was alone?

Leonor had sent owls to Mara and Jessica both, asking them to meet her in the sports room if they had time, but not to worry about dressing for sports. I have something I want to ask you both about, and I'd love your help! It was much sweeter than Leonor normally spoke, which made her wonder if the sisters would think it was fake. She hoped that wasn't the case, and was relieved when the door opened.

"Hola," Leonor said, happy to have a safe person and to let her guard down a little. Just a little. "Long story short, mama y papa said I can be the heir since Felipe doesn't wanna and I don't know how to look right." She gestured around the room, using it as an excuse to break eye contact and postpone the questions that were inevitably coming. "Will you help me?"

22 Leonor De Matteo Make me a princess. [Tag Jessica and Mara; Sports room.] 1471 1 5

Mara Morales

February 27, 2020 10:58 AM

I think that's more something you just...are. by Mara Morales

Jessica paused awkwardly near MARS, almost at the same moment that her sister did the same thing on the other side of the door. They had not spoken, after all, since they had left home.

Nothing was really wrong, of course. They had had sharp words after that dinner at the house, but they had pretended it hadn’t happened ever since. That was how conflicts were resolved in their family. If you wanted to keep fighting, you did; if you wanted to forgive and be forgiven, you never said anything about it again. They had said nothing about it since and had gone on doing normal things with each other and their three parents and Lola, so therefore, it was over and was not something that should affect this mystery meeting with Leonor at all.

“Any idea what this is about?” she asked.

“Not a clue,” said Mara, and opened the door of the room. They walked through the lobby essentially together to the sports room.

“Hey, what’s up?” asked Jessica, switching to Spanish.

And then Leonor answered. And Jessica froze.

Mara glanced at her sister automatically, and tried to figure out if there was a discreet way to put out a hand to stop Jessica from digging her nails into her arm. Unfortunately, as long as Jessica didn’t actually bring blood, Mara was pretty sure it was less attention-getting for Jessica to look like she was just holding her forearms – as she often did even when she wasn’t tense – than to interrupt her. It was one of those things, after all, which Mara and her mother and Robert all knew about and tried to keep Jessica from doing, but which Dad and Mrs. H had never seemed to notice. Since she and her mother and Robert knew Jessica better than anyone else, she thought it was fair to regard Dad and Mrs. H’s reaction as more normal and therefore the one Leonor was more likely to have.

“What does that mean?” she asked, picking up for Jessica.

Jessica blinked slightly and came back to the real world, picking up before Mara could think how to proceed with this line of questioning. “We are not dressing you like Felipe,” said Jessica in Spanish, with a slightly strained nervous chuckle. “You’re too pretty to dress like a man.”

“Jezi,” scolded Mara, rolling her eyes. Jessica was totally out of step with the times in that regard, she thought – Jessica had her aesthetics and seemed at best bemused and at worst dismissive of other ideas there, and seemed utterly unable to comprehend that there could be a good reason for a woman, at least, to deliberately not look ‘pretty,’ as she called it. She switched languages too. “Ignore her – she has eyeshadow dust in her brain,” she joked. "But we'll help you in any way we can."

She did not hesitate to speak for them both in this, despite the strain over midterm. Her sister nodded, which did not surprise her at all. Some things, at least, seemed to always stay the same.

“Like Mara said, though - what does that mean? What is an heir supposed to look like?” Jessica explained, and it was Mara’s turn to feel a moment of gratitude. “I used to have these little suits – but not all the time. Just at some of the company events. So…what are you supposed to do?”

That, Mara thought, was a loaded question if there even was one. She hoped that Leonor just took it at face value, at least for now. Later, maybe, they could talk more, but the lack of eye contact made her suspect that right this minute, at least, wasn't quite the time.

16 Mara Morales I think that's more something you just...are. 1472 0 5

Leonor De Matteo

February 27, 2020 2:02 PM

I checked that box a long time ago then. by Leonor De Matteo

Leonor smiled, both at Jessica's terrible joke, at the image of wearing a button up and chinos, and at Mara scolding her older sister for the comment. "I'd prefer to be much prettier than Felipe, even on his good days." She wrinkled her nose. "Which he doesn't have very many of. I've definitely got better hair than him."

It made Leonor feel warm and happy that they were willing to help, but it also brought them to a more difficult question because she wasn't really sure what an heir - heiress? - was supposed to look like either. However, she thought it was a bit odd that Jessica and Mara didn't, of all people.

"Well," Leonor said, wondering if she should avoid this topic since they seemed to be doing the same. "I mean . . . you I guess. You're an heiress. But I'm just sort of smaller and more . . . Mexican? So I'd look a little different . . ." Her voice trailed off as she came to the undeniable conclusion that she wasn't really wanting to look different so much as she was wanting to look the part. Perhaps if she looked the part, if she got a taste of all the fanciness and beauty that came with this new life, she'd actually start being happy about the life she was going to lead. Besides, her appearance was one of the few things she had a say over in the foreseeable future. "I'm not really sure." She gestured around the room. "I guess we can try everything?"

22 Leonor De Matteo I checked that box a long time ago then. 1471 0 5

Jessica Hayles

March 01, 2020 5:12 PM

Acting the part, though, can be a little trickier. by Jessica Hayles

Felipe doesn't wanna.

Jessica heard the other words which both Mara and Leonor said. She responded when and as appropriate. It all felt rather as if someone else was hearing and responding, though - someone who was not stuck on that one, casually dropped, trinity of grenades.

Felipe doesn't wanna.

Over the past half-year, Jessica had lost a lot of respect for her sometime friend. At times, remembering how he had reacted (or rather, not reacted) to Zara insulting her family last year, she had even wondered what she had seen in him in the first place - what in the name of Pete had possessed her to ever make the disastrous decision he was someone she could trust with a confidence, after a lifetime of very carefully letting nobody in, nobody too close. Not until this moment, however, had she felt actual revulsion toward him.

Felipe doesn't wanna.

Well, good for him - but what, exactly, did what Felipe did or didn't want have to do with anything? He had responsibilities because of who he was, just as Jessica had once had responsibilities because of who she was. His parents - just like her parents - had invested countless resources into him to prepare him for those responsibilities. They had trusted him. And now - because he didn't wanna - he was just going to throw all those gifts back in their faces?

Jessica's heart was pounding uncomfortably in her chest. Her usual forearm-squeezing trick wasn't working, and trying to alter it by imagining she was squeezing Felipe's neck instead didn't help any more than just trying to divert her attention to her physical discomfort was. Maybe, she thought, it was a good thing that her parents had written her off as a loss, because she clearly had no ability whatsoever to judge people. She had thought she'd found a kindred spirit, but it turned out that he was just as much of an arrogant, entitled, ungrateful jackass as -

Oh.

Oh.

Over the summer, Jessica's mother had had an utterly mortifying conversation with her. Part of it came back to her now, her mother's voice as clear as if she were saying it right now: "Give him the least bit of encouragement, baby, and you can get most straight boys to follow you barefoot right on into Hell. The tricky thing is making sure he doesn't get you into staying there with him."

This, Jessica assumed, was what her mother had meant, then. Interesting. Mommy hadn't said anything, though, about staying in Hell voluntarily because you thought it was a swell place and took your John Milton far too literally. Only someone with serious problems could actually, through thought alone, make a heaven of Hell.

She didn't have time to think about that right now, though. She had to focus.

"All that makes someone an heiress is having an inheritance," said Jessica. "It's different filling a role. Like - if I were at the company on the business side, I'd wear a business suit to work - a skirt and blazer. If I went in the lab, though, I'd have gloves and different clothes - and if I'm going to company event at night, then I wear an evening dress and some diamonds, you know? And of course I wear whatever I want when I'm just at home with my parents. There's not any one look that I'd wear. That's what I meant about what you were supposed to do. Exactly what kind of events do you have to go to...now that you're the heiress? Do you...go in the village when you're home, on rotations or something? Do you go to galas or business meetings? You have to dress to your occasions," she explained.

16 Jessica Hayles Acting the part, though, can be a little trickier. 1442 0 5

Leonor De Matteo

March 02, 2020 9:40 PM

But . . . but what else am I supposed to do? by Leonor De Matteo

Leonor swallowed hard. She had a distinct memory of Felipe being fitted for various outfits for various meetings and the look behind his eyes that had said he hated all of it. She hadn't understood it at the time; how could you not want fancy clothes and fancy people and fancy occasions? How could you not want that life? How could you not want to be important? Leonor had had to make herself important. Except now, she was important by virtue of who she was, just like Felipe had been. And Felipe wasn't. What was she supposed to do with that?

A thought was threatening to bubble forth but she refused to allow it to take shape. If she did, she might have to ask who she was supposed to be if the sort of important she'd made herself into wasn't important anymore, and if Felipe was going to have the life she'd settled for. If she was jealous, what did that mean?

More than that, Jessica's comments weren't encouraging. If Leonor couldn't get this right - if she couldn't dress right and act right - then what? She wanted to answer Jessica's question but she didn't really have an answer yet. What did heiresses go to? What was she going to be doing? So far, she was mostly catching up on records from Los Jardines de Plata and trying to figure out how best to engage with other local communities. Did she have to be kissing babies? Did she have to be pardoning criminals? Or hanging them? She wasn't ready fo-- no. This was not an idea she was going to humor.

She flashed a self-satisfied smile, although her eyes didn't show any of the same mirth that the rest of her expression did, and she shrugged a little. "I don't think there are many galas in Ciudad de Matteo." She tried to remember what her mother usually wore. Honestly, it was mostly meant to make her a good housewife. Would that be what was expected of Leonor now? "I'd like to look better than I do now, though. I think that it would be good to look more grownup."

Leonor turned to the nearest mirror, glad that she could look there without having to see Mara or Jessica in it, although she did also did her best to avoid making eye contact with herself. The last of these endeavors was less successful. She took a moment to look at her hair and her simple linen clothes. "What can I do in everyday situations to look the part? Like . . . people at home would know who I was just by how I looked?"

She tried to ignore the hint of desperation in her voice, or the panic in her chest. She tried to replace it with a love of the game. That was a feeling she knew well, and it felt like adventure and power and anger and those were easier. Perhaps everything would be okay after all.

22 Leonor De Matteo But . . . but what else am I supposed to do? 1471 0 5

Mara Morales

March 03, 2020 4:52 PM

Wear earrings, apparently. by Mara Morales

"Really?" asked Jessica when Leonor observed that there weren't many galas on Leonor's estate, and even Mara could not tell for sure if her sister was being facetious or - horrible thought - some flavor of not-quite-blonde-dumb-blonde serious. "Well - your first policy change should be to start some, then!"

That part, at least, was probably at least half-earnest. Mara rolled her eyes, more or less discreetly.

"In the meantime, though..." she prompted, before Jessica could get too outright and over-the-top rich white girl ridiculous.

When Leonor articulated her real goal, Mara saw a subtle change in her sister's expression. Jessica nodded thoughtfully, her eyes slightly narrowed, as if she were looking at some mock campaign Dad had put in front of them to analyze and critique. That was one of the business areas Mara thought Jessica had some real talent for; if she had been in Mara's position, where she had the opportunity to go into business but wasn't expected to be the head of the business, Mara thought she might have done well in the advertising apartment.

"That's better," said Jessica, sounding satisfied. The fact Leonor's eyes did not go with the rest of her expression either went unnoticed or was put aside as irrelevant to the campaign's success. "That's something we can work with. "The key to looking the part day to day, that's usually contrast - kind of," she hedged. "To a point. Daddy used to tell me to look at the English princesses. Like - if a duchess goes to a nature preserve for something that isn't too ceremonial, then she's not going to wear a ballgown. She wears one of those puffy vests and a turtleneck and jeans and boots or whatever, yeah? But the quality of all those things will usually be a lot higher than what everyone else has on. Designer puffy vests," said Jessica, with a momentary giggle - probably feeling she had just uttered an oxymoron. "But even if she mixes in some regular items - that's where you get to accessorization. Earrings would be the best things in this nature center situation - and probably yours, but let's talk about a duchess - she might wear a pair of earrings the queen gave her for her birthday, or some sapphires that used to belong to a Princess of Wales. Put that with whatever engagement ring she's got, and maybe another nice ring that goes with the colors in her outfit - then you can tell, this person isn't like the other people here, you know? Part of it's the walk, of course, but also just - she's kind of relatable because she's wearing jeans, but she's not one of the people she's with."

Jessica almost sounded cheery by the end of this, clearly enjoying explaining her thoughts. Mara glanced between the other two girls. "Though that's just on show, though," she added. "You're not just out on a limb by yourself all the time - right, Jezi?"

Jessica, to her exasperation and then concern, hesitated fractionally before shaking her head. "Of course not. But if you're going to obviously fit a role, you have to know how to be appropriate and stand out at the same time, any time it's possible people might see you in your...role, and need to know who you are," she said. "When you're just at home alone you can wear whatever is comfortable, of course."

16 Mara Morales Wear earrings, apparently. 1472 0 5

Leonor De Matteo

March 04, 2020 12:11 PM

I like your list better than your sister's. by Leonor De Matteo

Leonor had regrets. She was starting to think that she probably should have asked Mara without Jessica present, and then ask Jessica after they had come to an agreement about what it was Leonor was really trying to ask. Maybe she wasn't really trying to ask anything, though, and was simply hoping her closet might offer the bandages she needed to keep herself together. As it was turning out, that seemed unlikely.

Mara looked like she was having some thoughts and feelings that she wasn't quite going to put words to, and Leonor couldn't help empathising. She loved Jessica in many ways, but the girl could talk. She didn't seem to have the ability to check with her conversation partner to make sure they were following, but just continued off on whatever tangent she was going on until she was all done. Then it was the other person's turn to agree. Perhaps that was the sort of thing Leonor should be picking up more than fashion advice. Was that just how important people talked to other people? She didn't think that would fly when your family business was altruism.

She didn't respond to Jessica's surprise over there not being any galas at home, picking up on Mara's eyeroll as a sign that perhaps this was a subject best left unaddressed. She did do some thinking about what Jessica was saying about duchesses though. Naturally, Leonor had an extensive knowledge about royalty and pageantry, but somehow she'd missed the lesson on when the duchess should wear boots. Or jeans. Jeans. She stifled a scoff, although her surprise was probably evident regardless.

"We don't wear jeans at home," she said. She looked down again at her linen dress. It was simple, which was meant to mean she could relate to her people. It also showed the De Matteos' consistent dedication to giving, as the beading that might have adorned her dress had she been able to choose was notably absent, in favor of having given such products to the people, and given the time it would have taken to sew them on to the people. Of course, with magic, it would not have taken very long. But her people did not know that. "It's also warm most of the time, so I think the boots and vests can stay behind."

Glad to have found something she did indeed have an opinion on, she still wasn't trying to shoot down Jessica's ideas on the whole, particularly since Leonor was the one who had asked for help in the first place. "But I see what you mean about fitting in and then using contrast to show off a little bit." Gosh it was exhausting being this nice to people. Some people just made it more difficult, too, even if they were actually reasonably pleasant people. Thinking of others was not one of Leonor's strengths. She was pretty sure she would make a terrible mother some day, but it was fine because she could just pay other people to watch her kids. Tutors and things if nothing else.

"I think the problem is that the people I am trying to fit in with and the jobs I have need something a little more practical than diamonds, too. We-- I will be expected to be working side by side with our people. My father . . . he usually wears the same things that everyone else does, but lighter. He can change more often because he has more clothes, so his clothes are cleaner and finer than other people's."

Mara had asked Jessica a question and Leonor's skin crawled when Jessica answered. Whatever that life was, Leonor didn't want it. However, now that she was getting everything she had ever wanted, she would just have to make sure her life was better than that. Perhaps she could find reasons to wear a few diamonds now and then . . .

"What kind of jewelry would look good on me?"

22 Leonor De Matteo I like your list better than your sister's. 1471 0 5

Jessica Hayles

March 10, 2020 7:44 AM

Hey, you asked. by Jessica Hayles

Jessica nodded when Leonor noted it was usually too warm where she lived for vests. "Just an example," she said. "Basically just - the same as what the people around you are wearing, only better."

She bit the inside of her mouth when Leonor talked about working alongside her employees, doing the same things they did and being distinguishable mainly on the grounds that they could change clothes more often. For one thing, she wanted to point out how very screwed up the fact that apparently they were so feudal that their serfs didn't have adequate clean clothes was, and suggest that Leonor could perhaps make the role her own by not being basically a self-righteous parody of a slave driver, but even she could tell this probably wasn't quite the time for that. They could get to policy discussions later, if Leonor continued to be less of a pigheaded jerk than her brother...

Jessica realized she was gripping her arm again and made herself let go. She could not waste her time and energy on that. If he ever spoke to her again, she'd certainly take the opportunity to tell him exactly what she thought about him now, but she had offered an olive branch and he had thrown it back in her face, and now, with this, had proven himself thoroughly unworthy of having been made said offer. Best just to pretend he didn't exist.

There was another issue, though, which was relevant to this discussion right now. "Another thing you might have to deal with," she said. "You're a girl. It's going to be a lot different for you than it would be for your papa. Men - they can do some of that stuff, being more casual, but it's hard enough to get men to respect you or me anyway."

"Plus, if you're going to dig in a garden or whatever, you really shouldn't wear that either," interjected Mara, gesturing toward Leonor's plain dress. "You'd do a better job in the jeans."

"She has a point," agreed Jessica. "If you're just doing the groundbreaking - just turning some dirt over with a shovel - then you can wear a skirt suit or a pantsuit, but even if you need a photo op that makes it look like you're really doing manual work, then decent clothes really aren't going to work. That's why it's easier for men to do those ops. You should probably stick to groundbreakings as much as you can. Mommy always says that women like us - and you now - we have to work twice as hard as everyone else, but have to make sure nobody can ever tell we're working at all, if we want anyone to respect us."

Mara made a noise as though she was going to say something else, but stopped when Jessica looked over at her, confused. Leonor, happily, seemed to be catching on, though, so Jessica forgot about it.

"Depends...what do you think, Em? Slightly slightly warm-leaning? Compared to us, anyway?"

"Definitely compared to you, but you practically look blue if someone does the paper test on you during the winter," joked Mara.

"This is true," conceded Jessica. She strode over to a rack and pulled down a white sweater. "White looks good on everyone," she said matter-of-factly. "One of the first things you'll want to get is a pearl set for formal occasions - probably freshwater, as close to true white as you can. You're not tall enough for South Seas yet and Akoyas are tinted pink - it's only just barely, but on some skin tones...." She held the sweater up beside Leonor's face. "Yeah, I'm thinking...very very slightly warm-leaning neutral, though, which means you can probably wear gold or white gold. Do you have a preference?" she asked, lowering the sweater.

16 Jessica Hayles Hey, you asked. 1442 0 5

Leonor De Matteo

March 13, 2020 9:20 AM

I might have asked the wrong question. by Leonor De Matteo

Okay so asking about jewelry had also been the wrong decision. Maybe this whole conversation just shouldn't have happened. She wasn't sure how to explain that her life was never going to look like whatever Jessica was envisioning. She was also a little surprised when even Mara suggested jeans. That just... Wasn't done. Leonor was a girl. Jessica had come to visit; had she not noticed that all the women and girls wore dresses or skirts? They had folds and layers and we're just fine for digging or working on the land. And who the heck wanted a photo op of Leonor holding a shovel of dirt?

"White gold," she said, picking at random. "I think I need to clarify. I don't have to promote anything, or... I don't need to take any pictures or worry about any of that stuff. I don't need to look wealthier than our people. If I had anything like pearls or diamonds or gold, we would give it to the people or trade it someplace and give them the money from that. I just... never got some of the lessons about diplomacy or etiquette that Felipe has. I want to hold my own and look the part, but it's all private affairs." She cocked her head, looking from one sibling to the other. "Do you know that we aren't rich?"

22 Leonor De Matteo I might have asked the wrong question. 1471 0 5

Mara Morales

March 13, 2020 12:01 PM

Seems likely. by Mara Morales

In a movie, Mara thought, there definitely would have been a sound effect right now. An abrupt stop to the ambient music, maybe, or even a record screech. She and Jessica both stared blankly at Leonor and, almost as one, said, “what?”

They glanced at each other, but found the other equally clueless, so Jessica took the lead. “Are you...um, joking and we’re missing it?” she asked, sounding a bit vacuous to Mara’s ear, but it was genuinely puzzling. “Or teasing Em?” she added in a lower, but still clearly audible, tone. “I’ve seen your house. And back when we were friends, your brother told me about how you travel and how many languages you’ve learned and how the, er - “ she gave Mara another sideways look, strangely, this one apprehensive of all things - “economy around Los Jardines de la Plata works. Which - yeah, we can talk about the details of that another time,” she said quickly, with another glance toward Mara, and for the first time, Mara felt shut out.

Jessica was speaking to Leonor about the kinds of things powerful people spoke to each other about, but shielded the general public from. The public which would never lead anything and therefore had no need to know…

Mara knew she would never have had a shot at the top job at Arvale even had she not been sent to a school that would never get her into business school. She had known that for as long as she understood how her family was different from other families, and why, on the rare occasions they were together outside the houses, she called her father ‘Mr. Hayles’ instead of ‘Dad.’ Never, however, had it crossed her mind that she might ever just be...a person. Dad had always taught her about how to be a person of significance just like Jessica. She had always assumed she would have the option of going into business or politics as she chose - though Dad had often warned her she tended too much toward blunt assertiveness and should really focus on developing her diplomacy skills. Since Jessica tended to flinch under pressures, he had planned to make sure they both went to high schools with Model United Nations and strong YBLA programs, and had encouraged them to run for class offices in fourth and fifth grade, so they could have novel and meaningful scenarios to dig their teeth into and to combat their weaknesses with. Mara had always leapt at that kind of thing despite her distaste for the very idea shoving herself into the mold of a polite Southern lady, eager to learn, eager to win, eager to do everything she needed to do to get ready to make her mark on the world - because it had never occurred to her to even think that she wouldn’t be one of the people who did that. But unless she was reading too much into it (which was, of course, possible), Jessica had just acted as though she was.

Jessica, either untroubled by such thoughts or putting them aside, had continued as though that last sentence had simply not been spoken and the accompanying glance not given. “But - point is, you really don’t look or act like - what you said,” she said, to which Mara nodded in firm agreement. “Or live like it, as far as I can tell. So I think we’re missing something here. If none of your events are public, who are you supposed to use all this etiquette and diplomacy with?”

16 Mara Morales Seems likely. 1472 0 5

Leonor De Matteo

March 13, 2020 12:41 PM

Also, my brother is an idiot. by Leonor De Matteo

Leonor stifled a few choice swear words before they could come out and settled for a heavy sigh. "Felipe is very dumb. My great grandparents built that house. Also, they were magic, so that wasn't terribly hard with the right resources. It used to house a lot more people, which is why it's so big, but my papa was an only child so he didn't have to share with any siblings or anything." She held up her fingers to tick off each item as she addressed it. "I don't know what he told you about the economy, but he's probably wrong because he's dumb." To be fair, he probably wasn't wrong because he may be dumb but he did know his numbers. He probably knew them better than Leonor, although she wouldn't admit it.

"We trade with other local people and places, but there's not much by way of money coming going. Plus, most of what we collect as a family we give back to the people of Ciudad de Matteo. We learned languages as a matter of necessity for trade agreements with other powers in other countries, and we traveled to those places mostly on gestures of good will before whatever deal was being made was done. We did have tutors and that was probably the biggest expense, but my family is very frugal in other ways so it wasn't a problem." She wrinkled her nose at a thought. "If we were rich, our people wouldn't be so poor. Abuelo had a lot of money but papa spent it on new equipment and home repairs for our people."

Truth be told, Leonor had high hopes that things would change in the future. Her grandfather had been a cruel man but he'd been a wealthy one, and her father had swung so far the other way that it almost seemed ridiculous sometimes. Felipe and Leonor didn't even get Christmas gifts, for Pete's sake. Leonor hoped to find a middle ground somewhere, if for no other reason than that she still had a paid, live-in nanny on her mind.

"Diplomacy and etiquette is important for settling disputes between farmers and others of our people, and for trading and working with other local populations," she added. "We're not supposed to just go hexing people."

Really, she thought this should have been more obvious to Jessica in particular. They didn't live like she did at all. They didn't have any live-in staff or servants or whatever, they didn't have any real fineries or decor except the natural flora of the area and some tapestries and things that had been passed down. They had more books than most people had, and more space, but their house functioned as a meeting space for town events, a gathering spot during emergencies, an official location for court proceedings such as they were, and more. They were better off than many of their people, but they certainly weren't Hayleses.

Leonor shrugged. "We're altruists, not philanthropists."

22 Leonor De Matteo Also, my brother is an idiot. 1471 0 5

Jessica Hayles

March 14, 2020 3:16 PM

So is society. by Jessica Hayles

Jessica had a feeling she was skating on thin ice, and not just because of the issues she did not really want to bring up in front of her sister. There was also the issue of how to speak to someone who was clearly very very naïve, but whose willingness to rectify this problem was something Jessica found it hard to gauge.

Felipe, she recalled, had been unwilling to even hear ideas that didn’t align perfectly with what his parents did. He had planned to carry on everything exactly as it was, despite having it pointed out to him that a lot of it was, at the very least, questionable by current century ethics. Jessica had spent her whole life preparing to carry on her family’s legacy, but had known this would involve changing some things in time – a business that changed with every breeze that blew past would never survive, of course, but neither would one which continued to stubbornly do things the way Ariana had back at the turn of the last century. Balance was the key to success and longevity, and Felipe was either too stupid or too screwed up to hear it.

His sister, though, was at least not as much of a jackass about the existence of ideas she had not previously encountered, as demonstrated by her acknowledging that Mara was in fact Jessica’s sister and remaining on speaking terms with them both. This did not, however, mean she would respond well to new ideas being thrown at her when she already clearly had no clue what was she was doing and also seemed at least somewhat aware of that. This was going to take a delicate touch, and Jessica cursed the luck which had yanked her away from home before she had had a chance to enroll in the classes and clubs that specifically dealt with how to manipulate people properly.

She tried to think of anything she could remember. Body language, that was important. She had even mentioned it to Leonor earlier – the walk. She carefully adjusted hers now, making sure her body was open and that she was making eye contact.

“There’s more kinds of wealth than just money, Leonor,” she said kindly. “Just having resources under your control, that’s wealth, too. Mommy’s family is more land rich than dollar rich – they’re a lot like your family, if…anything Felipe told me was right. Or they used to be, anyway. If you have enough resources to trade with 'powers in other nations'? You’re not a campesina, even if your papa wants you to live like you are. And maybe you need to look one way at home, but you’ll need to do something different if you start dealing with the world stage.”

Mara nodded. “She’s not wrong,” she said. “At least, not about how it is at home. At home, Dad’s always said – we’d have to look twice as intimidating as the men, unless we were trying to make them underestimate us, because people usually only respect a woman with the personality of a bulldozer in business.” She frowned slightly. “Except y’all don’t have bulldozers, do you…do you have anything, like a vehicle, that can knock down trees? A personality like that.” Mara’s frown deepened. “Of course, it doesn’t make any sense for it to be the same way here,” she grumbled. “We got wands the same as the dudes. I’m better at the Defense class stuff than some of the guys. But from what I’ve seen in your books and papers…it’s also kinda the same here.”

Jessica glanced at her. “You’ve been reading wizard newspapers?” she asked.

Mara shrugged. “They have them in my common room,” she said. “I think it’s part of the nerd house thing.”

“Oh. Cool,” said Jessica, then glanced back at Leonor. “Sorry,” she apologized. “What I’m saying is…I can probably teach you the walk, and the look, but diplomacy and negotiation…we don’t learn that in elementary school at home. I would have learned that stuff when I was middle and high school, but I never had a chance. Etiquette…I mean, I passed the first level of etiquette school at home, but I have no idea what the manners here are. So I’m not sure I can help you with that stuff,” she concluded, hating to admit she couldn’t do something, but seeing no reasonable way around it.

16 Jessica Hayles So is society. 1442 0 5

Leonor De Matteo

March 15, 2020 3:23 PM

At least we agree on something. by Leonor De Matteo

Initially, Leonor could feel frustration and . . . was that embarrassment? Her feelings welled up and threatened to make her blush, or worse, to make her cry. Why didn't they understand? Why couldn't either of them seem to understand that they had nothing that was their own? Their house was a shared space, their lives were dedicated to other people, and there was no control about any of it. It wasn't as if Leonor could just up and leave now; the people would undoubtedly not survive without everything the De Matteos did for them, but just the same, the De Matteos wouldn't know the first thing about surviving without their people.

"Trading with people in other countries is not difficult with magic," she pointed out, "and hardly requires wealth to do so. Besides, there aren't exactly a lot of wizarding families with their own subjects to work for, and global trading is necessitated by that fact." It wasn't exactly true, as traveling across country borders, and particularly transcontinentally, still required some amount of know-how and a level of wealth that could be a barrier for some, but it was true enough. However, Leonor did regret her phrasing. "I don't know that much about what it's like for non-magical families and organisations," she admitted, hoping to make it clear she'd been clarifying, not degrading. "But global interaction isn't 'the world stage' the same way as I think you're thinking it is maybe."

That was true, wasn't it? Leonor felt as if she were a fish, learning to walk on land without having first traded in her gills for lungs. Was she disagreeing because she had a different perspective and experience? Or because she just didn't know enough about any of this yet? What would Felipe have said? Was their father spending massive amounts of money and they just didn't know it? She had a hard time accepting that.

The topic circled back again to the idea of men and women and Leonor frowned, giving in to the thought. "I don't understand why you keep bringing up women trying to get respect from men," she said, thinking of the way her parents interacted. Generally speaking, they were equals, weren't they? Different duties, different family lines, but one unit. Sure, Leonor's opinions hadn't always been respected at home, but that was because of her rank, not her gender. She couldn't think of any time when that wasn't true. Why would Leonor ever have to prove herself to a man, just by changing her clothes? That didn't make any sense at all.
Even the men in town had always been nice and respectful to Leonor and her mother. Sure, her life experience was mostly limited to various estates and her interactions were mostly limited to servants, staff, and hosting families, but it wasn't like she hadn't seen different things. Everyone had always been perfectly nice to her and her mother. What did it matter what sort of things they had under their clothes, or what sort of clothes they wore for that matter? Why would anyone be less respected just because they had a different job to do than their husbands? "Do men not listen to women? Why wouldn't they?"

22 Leonor De Matteo At least we agree on something. 1471 0 5