Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau
September 20, 2013 9:09 PM
MIDSUMMER'S FAIR by Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau
Kiva waited for the students to gather just outside of the school in the early morning hours of one of their last Saturdays at school. An announcement had been made that breakfast would be served outside during the fair and students were advised to be up and ready to start the day by eight in the morning. She was sure that there would be people upset by this news, but it was what it was. They had a lot of things happening that day and they couldn’t waste a moment of the day.“Good Morning, Everyone.” Kiva greeted the student body, charming her voice to be heard. “As you can see from here, the rides have all been set up overnight on the pitch. They will begin running shortly after breakfast has finished. For those of you who did not join a booth, you have from eight am to ten am to have breakfast and look around. Everyone who is running a booth, set up will be at nine. You will have an hour to prepare. I hope everyone has their schedules that were given to you at dinner last night. These will help you to know what booths are being run at any given time. It also tells you when lunch will be served and as well as dinner. These specified times are the only times when these particular meals will be served. There are vendors who have Fair food that you can eat during the festivities, but if you want a full meal, you need to be sure to come to the tent.
“Please be kind to one another throughout the day and support your schoolmates with their booths. Our Vendors have made this fair possible and our providing us with their time and equipment. Treat them with respect.” Kiva was aware that there were students who felt they were more superior than others due to blood, money, or looks. She did not want anyone to mistreat their vendors because of this prejudice that many old blood families tended to still maintain.
“Before we head off, I do have some announcements to make. “ This was nothing unusual and most people were probably very eager to learn about a few results. “I’d like to first mention some very sad news. Our wonderful Deputy Headmistress and Quidditch Coach has decided that this year would be her final year at Sonora.” Kiva clapped politely and gave her colleague a smile. “I have had the honor of working with her since my return to Sonora and she has helped me a great deal these last few years. She will be missed and I hope you all make sure to tell her that today.” Kiva announced to the students. She felt Amelia deserved a proper farewell. “I’m sure all of you are excited to find out the results of the Head Girl and Head Boy ballots. Without making you wait any further, I’d like you all to give a warm cheer to Nora Dobson and Linus Macaulay. If the two of you could make it to the front, please.” Kiva waited for them to come to the front to acknowledge their win before continuing on with the day.
“At the end of the Fair, there will be a celebration with dinner and a local Tumbleweed band will be performing. Make sure you are in the Tent promptly at seven o’clock. You will also receive your yearbooks at that time. Follow me to the tent, after which you can enjoy your breakfast and the rest of the day.” Kiva stated.
OOC: The yearbook is located here. The House Cup winners will be announced on the OOC board as well once all points have been added. The schedule for the booths is here
Subthreads: Tagging Lucille by Evan Brockert with Lucille Carey, Lucille
Ending with a quiet bang. by Maximilian Joshua McLachlan with Henny B-F-R, Josh McLachlan
Aimless wandering. by Jorge Garcia
I'm not sure where to go. by Charlotte Spencer with Emrys Lucan, Charlotte
A group date? (Linus, Valerie, and whoever) by Brianna Japos with Linus Macaulay, Brianna
It's nearly the end (Arnold) by Fae Sinclair with Arnold Carey, Fae
Archery Booth by Keme RunningBear with Ji-Eun Park
Making Friends. (Alicia, Theresa, and/or others) by Cepheus Princeton with Alicia Bauer, Theresa Carey, Cepheus
Petting Zoo!! Come love some animals! by Chloe and Emery Jareau
Giving a gift (Derry) by Regina Parker
The last meal before summer. by Aria Yale
Baking Club Booth! by Waverly Canterbury
Losses, bacon, and friends. by Michael Grosvenor with Mellie Goodwin
Crushed by Hope Brockert
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Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau
MIDSUMMER'S FAIR
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Headmistress Kijewski-Jareau
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Fae Sinclair
September 24, 2013 8:16 PM
It's nearly the end (Arnold) by Fae Sinclair
This was Fae’s last hurrah while at Sonora. It was really strange of her to believe that she would be graduating in just a few short days. Summer would be her time with Sara and helping her prepare for her wedding in any way that she could. It would also be helping Eleanor prepare for the baby. Fae still couldn’t believe that she was going to be an aunt. Both of her siblings had been married for a couple of years now, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise that they would be starting families, but it was not something that Fae had actually thought about until the news came that Elle was with-child. Fae was happy for her brother and for her sister-in-law as she was sure they would make wonderful parents, but it just made her realize that she was an adult now and would soon be married and starting a family of her own. Well, presumably, she had no idea what Arnold wanted and she was too afraid to ask him. Arnold seemed to get very anxious at the idea of a future.She didn’t know what it was exactly about the future that Arnold seemed nervous about. Perhaps it was the idea of marrying her that had him on edge, but she would think that spending time together over the last couple of years and getting used to the idea of being betrothed would have given him time to get used to it. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn’t sure what he wanted to do after he graduated or he feared he would not be able to provide for her? Fae didn’t worry about those things. She knew they would be okay. Arnold would find his stride again as he had with Quidditch and Fae would support him like she was supposed to.
He still had another year to think about it since they weren’t getting married until next summer. Her mother told her that she was going to have the year to acquaint herself with Arnold’s family. That made her more nervous than the wedding did. Fae loved Arnold, so marrying him didn’t upset her like it once did. But she was not sure how to conduct herself around his family to where they would possibly like her. She thought she did alright around Arthur, but he was terribly difficult for her to read. Fae was not perfect in the way that Sara was, so she knew she would have to work harder to be the proper young daughter-in-law that Arnold’s parents would want for their son.
She didn’t want to worry about that now. She smoothed out the front of her dress as she stood amongst the crowd and listened to the Headmistress speak. Fae was small, just barely five foot one, so standing in a crowd of people made it impossible to see anything. Most of the boys were taller than her and there were plenty of girls who were too. Since she could do nothing more than listen, Fae clapped when appropriate to do so, but otherwise did not take in much of what was being said. Whatever was happening wasn’t going to affect her any since she was graduating, but she still had to be polite and pretend that she cared.
Fae didn’t realize the speech was over until the people around her surged forward to head towards the pitch. Fae was jostled along with the crowd, rubbing her arm that had been knocked into rather painfully. As they moved, Fae nearly lost her footing. She had worn flats but, being stepped on or knocked into was not helping her balance and all she wanted to do was find Arnold and get away from everyone. She thought she spotted him ahead of her and called out to him, trying to squeeze her way through the other students to reach him. “Arnold!” She said, finally reaching him. “I guess people are hungry.” She muttered, trying to catch herself from falling. “Did you have any plans today?” She asked him.
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Fae Sinclair
It's nearly the end (Arnold)
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Fae Sinclair
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Arnold Carey
September 25, 2013 9:35 PM
Hopefully not the end of the world as we know it. by Arnold Carey
He was still here, but already, Arnold thought as he looked around the place where he had spent the best moments of his years at Sonora, everything was changing. For the first time since – he didn’t even know how long, that was how long it had been – he didn’t want to be on the Quidditch Pitch. If that didn’t mean the whole world had changed, he didn’t know what could.All year, there had been a mission, a purpose, so strong it had crowded out every worry about his future: he had known he had to finish his classes, pass his RATS, and bring home the Quidditch Cup again, and he had to do it all without permanently alienating anybody. That had kept him going, no matter how stressful things had gotten. Knowing that he had to do these things, that there was no option, had let him bludgeon his way through nights when the stack of work to be done seemed as though it would never end, practice dives when his vision was blurring with exhaustion, make time for Fae and take his bad temper out on no one but Arthur, who had taken to acting more like his mother than his brother but had gotten them both through all right in the end. And then, suddenly, all of that had been gone. The game had been over, the RATS had been over, and he had been off-center ever since, his moods swinging constantly up and down without warning, his mind still trying to get him to do what was already done and not accepting that there wasn’t a lot of purpose for him here anymore.
Today had started off well enough, but coming out to the Pitch and not having a broom and an opponent to beat had thrown him into a gloom, a gloom only exacerbated by hearing that Coach Pierce was leaving, too, as stupid as that was, considering that it was of no consequence to him anymore what happened in Quidditch here. He guessed he would have liked to imagine that everything would still be the same even without him, that he could in theory just slip back in, undetected, if he had to, if being out there didn’t work out for him….
Stupid anyway, he thought moodily as the crowd began to break up for the beginning of the Fair. Everyone would have noticed. You’re Arnold Carey, the Aladren Seeker.
Well, you were, anyway.
He kicked at a clump of grass, then looked up when he thought he heard his name and smiled when he saw Fae – at least until he noticed how hard a time she was having, anyway. Then he waded toward her through the crowd, putting an arm out to steady her when they met up.
“They need to watch where they’re going anyway,” he muttered, giving a few of them an attempt at a dirty look, which no doubt went unnoticed. “Are you all right?” He shrugged over his day. "Not really. Is there anything you want to do, or should we just wander around and see what looks interesting?"
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Arnold Carey
Hopefully not the end of the world as we know it.
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Arnold Carey
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Fae
September 26, 2013 7:43 PM
Well, that's gloomy. by Fae
Fae was relieved to find that it was Arnold to whom she was looking at and smiled when he saw her. There was a moment of a girlish glee when he changed course and made his way through the crowd to her and offered her his arm to help instead of making her suffer and excuse herself through a throng of people too distracted by everything around them to notice the fact that they were stepping all over her. That was one of the many things she liked about him. He was chivalrous in a way that seemed to be accidental. She was pretty sure that was how they had come to be together in the first place. Arnold was being polite and gentlemanly and helping her out with the Moon Calf, which had turned him into her protector. She wasn’t sure if she had labeled him that or if he had just felt compelled to do it, but she was always so glad that he was looking out for her.Fae shuffled in so close to him that she could feel the heat of his body. Amused by his distaste in their classmates, Fae simply shrugged. “I’m alright. You get used to being trampled when you are in a crowd of people who are taller than you.” Fae advised him. She found it all quite annoying, but she didn’t want to have Arnold put off because of something that would never really stop.
She slid her hand down his arm and grasped his hand. She knew it was more proper for them to remain linked by their arms, but she enjoyed holding his hand. She felt like they were more of a couple this way rather than just another betrothed couple. It was something as simple as holding his hand that made her feel happy and okay about their future.
Fae didn’t really have anything in particular in mind. The only other Fair she had been to was the last one at the school, but that had been in Tumbleweed and not quite the same. “I’d like to see if I can win one of the games and maybe ride one of the rides?” She did not want to go on the scary rides that she was sure Arnold would want to try out. He had a death wish. She did not. “Oh and the picture booth? It would be nice to have a souvenir.” Fae commented feeling good about the day.
“Is Arthur going to come too or did you two have a fight?” The two of them arguing was not much of a surprise for Fae. Their seventh year had been a struggle and stressful and she wasn’t even in half of their classes. It wouldn’t come as a surprise if they finally had an out. Not that she could ever complain of being on a date with Arnold "Not that I want him to come along. I like having you to myself." Arthur always made Fae a little uncomfortable. It was like he always knew what everyone was thinking. “Unless he decided to keep Alice company for the day. She doesn’t do to well with crowds.”
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Fae
Well, that's gloomy.
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Fae
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Arnold
September 26, 2013 9:48 PM
Hey, I said I hoped it <i>wasn't</i>.... by Arnold
Arnold glanced around at the crowd, most of the male older members of which were taller than him, too. And some of the girls, though not as many of those. “I haven’t, yet, but I guess I am a little taller than you,” he said.Not that he was overjoyed about it. His cousins sometimes made comments about his being short, but he didn’t mind, because size wasn’t really one of the things which a Seeker wanted to obtain too much of. Arthur could, if they ever got into a physical brawl – something Arnold couldn’t imagine them really doing, but say they did – probably pick him up off the floor and then thrash him within an inch of his life, but Arnold could outfly him any day of the week. Being small and agile had its advantages in the air.
“That sounds good,” he said to Fae’s list of suggestions, though he was a little surprised to hear her mention rides. Given how Fae felt about Quidditch, he hadn’t expected her to have any interest in rides. Maybe it was because they would, he was assuming, be fastened into rides, so there wouldn’t be any falls to worry about, and no Bludgers flying around, so they wouldn’t have to pay attention to everything at once the way it was in the Game? Or maybe she was just indulging him. He thought he had better follow her lead until he figured out which one she meant. “What do you want to do first? Pictures might make sense before rides, in case, you know, it messes your hair up or anything.” One thing Arnold had learned was that vigorous activity did not lend itself to looking your best. Mother had gotten on to him more than once for coming to family events at their house having visibly just gotten off his broom.
He laughed when Fae pointed out the possible advantage to herself which could come from him fighting with Arthur. “I’m glad he didn’t hear that,” he said. “He might think he was being a good influence on you.” He glanced around, then, just to make sure Arthur hadn’t heard that. “We’re not fighting, but I lost track of him on the way down. I’m guessing he went to find a place to read.” Arthur did not care for this kind of social event in the slightest; he wasn’t Henry, of course, but just saw the whole thing as distasteful and preferred to avoid it. "So I guess you're stuck with me on your own for now."
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Arnold
Hey, I said I hoped it <i>wasn't</i>....
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Arnold
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Fae
September 28, 2013 6:02 PM
You were still thinking about it. by Fae
Fae smiled up at him while he assessed the situation. She was aware that Arnold was not the tallest male in their class and that people probably found Arthur to be more attractive than him in a couple of different ways, but what Arnold lacked physically, he overflowed with in personality and charms. Of course, Fae found him pleasing to the eye in a boyish way when he gave awkward or uncertain smiles in complicated situations, but she may just know him on a deeper level than others. Fae was okay knowing this. Arnold was popular at the school whether he knew it or not. He was the famous Seeker who only lost one game the entire time he was at school. He was a Carey. More so than just being athletic, Arnold was personable. He could put someone at ease by smiling. Fae didn’t think anyone would hate him. No, Arnold was not tall, but she was certain that if she let him loose in the world as a professional Quidditch player, he’d have groupies tagging along everywhere. “Well, you’re tall enough for me and no one would dare step on Arnold Carey.” She commented teasingly.Of the twins, Arthur was obviously the more intellectual one and good looking, but Fae felt she ended up with the better catch. Arthur, at least in Fae’s opinion, seemed like the sort of person who always needed to be in control and disliked someone heavily if they were not on par with him intellectually (which Fae was well aware that she was not). She didn’t think he even liked people in general, except for Arnold and half the time Fae suspected that if they weren’t twins, Arthur may not look twice at him. She could be wrong, of course. It wasn’t like she spent long hours of her day alone with him. Only on small occasion did she happen to be and he was always polite to her. Most of her opinion came from how much time he demanded of his family for studying and such. Or watching him and Arnold together. Fae never proclaimed any of her opinions were accurate (except for those of Preston), so she would never voice them outloud.
Fae’s eyes grew wide when she realized that Arnold was correct about her hair. “Oh no! I didn’t even think of that when I was preparing this morning.” She stated, clearly horrified at the prospect of looking a mess after the rides. She should have worn her hair up. Fae hated wearing her hair up, she felt like it made her cheeks look fat, so it never occurred to her to do that. Fae chewed on her lip for a moment while she thought on what to do about it. “Pictures first, that’ll be best.” She finally said.
She had thought after saying it that it probably wasn’t proper to have said that, but Arnold laughed, so she didn’t feel completely foolish about it. Fae also looked around to be sure that Arthur hadn’t heard. She didn’t want to offend him in any way. She laughed at his comment, “Oh what a terribly dull afternoon it’ll be for me then.” She teased. “So, I guess this means we will have a proper date then. It’ll prepare us for the many our mothers will set us on for the next year.”
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Fae
You were still thinking about it.
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Fae
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Arnold
September 29, 2013 7:25 PM
True. Okay, I'll try to do better now. by Arnold
Arnold laughed, a little awkwardly, at the use of his first and last name together. He wasn’t sure it was that good of a thing in general – what if it was setting up expectations for him outside of school which he would never be able to fulfill? – but he had to admit, at least to himself, that he did kind of like that Fae, at least, still thought of him that way – as someone who still stuck out, in a good way. At least, he hoped it was a good way, one she didn’t mind too much being with. “They’d better not,” he joked.His brothers, Arnold had always known, were going to be the great men of the family – well, if Grandfather didn’t kill Arthur sometime, anyway. Arthur was brilliant and very serious, Anthony was the heir – it was inevitable that they would do well in life, or very nearly so. It would be hard, he thought, to produce the set of circumstances within their lives to break them down so that they didn’t live up to all which was expected of them. No one except Grandfather, however, had ever seemed to expect as much from Arnold, and Grandfather, he had come to suspect, had only done it out of a distaste for Arthur, born partially of Arthur being the sort who snooped and asked questions, both activities of which Grandfather deeply disapproved, and of Arthur being the minutes-younger of the inconveniently-timed set of twins who had disrupted the neat row of eldest-son Anthonies. After all that, he didn’t really know what to do with the fact he had ended up good at something by accident and now sort of liked the measure of respect it afforded him. Nor was he sure about the problem of even accepting it. The only way to keep it, after all, would be to stay in the game, and that came with other issues.
A moment after mentioning how their hair might get messed up on rides, it occurred to Arnold that she could possibly take offense to that remark, but Fae seemed more concerned with the actual fact. He noted this attitude toward her appearance for future reference. “You’d look great anyway,” he assured her. “But we wouldn’t want our, uh, stricter relatives complaining if they ever saw it.”
He raised his eyebrows when she mentioned one of his stricter relatives. “Your mother’s in on it, too?” he asked. “It’s like they don’t trust us. Are they working together, d’you think? Mine mostly made it sound like she wants us to attend all her at-homes so you can meet more of the family.”
That kindness from Mother had surprised him, but Arnold saw it as an encouraging sign. Throwing Fae into the family as abruptly as a lot of new girls came into it, without any chance to acquaint herself with everyone before they all became really interested in her, would, he was sure, have been…bad. Arnold could protect her from rampaging livestock and inconsiderate fellow classmates, but he was helpless in the face of the mass of aunts, cousins, and other various in-laws, specifically female in-laws, she might have been put against.
He decided, though, that he should most likely not mention that, just in case she decided to run away with the circus instead. You could never be too careful. Besides, she might then tell him that her family was just as eager to get to know him very well, and as for that kind of thing, he thought ignorance until knowledge became necessary really was bliss and that he handled things better if he didn't have to worry about them too much beforehand.
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Arnold
True. Okay, I'll try to do better now.
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Arnold
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Fae
September 29, 2013 10:41 PM
I believe in you! by Fae
Fae tried not to let his compliment get the better of her, but she couldn’t help the feeling of pleasure that warmed her at his words. Fae always felt she left people wanting whenever she compared herself to others, most especially to her sister and to Sara. She knew that she was physically pleasing to some people, but not a complete beauty. She was not intelligent and often fumbled over things that should come naturally with a proper young lady. Compliments weren’t a common thing for her and she couldn’t help but be pleased when she did receive them. “Our stricter relatives might think you were doing something improper with me to make me look such a mess since they aren’t likely to believe I rode any sort of attraction ride.” Fae said without really thinking it through.Or course, as soon as the comment was out of her mouth she regretted it. She meant to say it to be funny but realized Arnold might take it to mean people thought him ungentlemanly with her. She blushed, not because of what she had said but rather because it wasn’t far out of the realm of possibilities to happen. She didn’t think Arnold would ever think about doing such a thing or that they would ever be alone long enough before they were married, but Fae knew herself and her feelings so if that day did ever come around, she would not deny him anymore than she would herself. But it was not something a proper girl spoke up about. Not ever. “I’m sorry; I don’t know why I said that.” She said, looking adamantly at the ground.
She smiled when he seemed so surprised by their parents and then nearly had a heart-attack when he stated the purpose of his mother’s was to have her interact with his family. Fae’s family was not close to her extended relatives. She had cousins and aunts and uncles all over Europe and a few of them had traveled into the United States like her father, but they only saw each other during holidays or family gathers like weddings. Her father and Mother stayed in touch with them, but Fae and her siblings never really had to. Jaiden might now being the Heir, but Shelby and her were free of those burdens. Apparently, the Careys were closer than the Sinclairs.
“My mother is worried for me.” Fae said with a shrug. “My parents, well, my family really, think I’m fragile and need looking after. I suppose that’s the downside to being the youngest.” Fae said this all without any malice. It was just how it was and for a long time she had never minded it. “She’s worried that I won’t fit in well with your family or that your family won’t treat me very well. I’m sure she’s in contact with your mother. She did the same with Shelby, so I wouldn’t worry too much about it.” This wasn’t anything Fae felt the need to dwell on. Her parents did whatever they wanted whether she liked it or not. That was, after all, the whole reason the betrothal happened to begin with.
“Does your family host a lot of gatherings?” Fae asked, looking a little worried. “I believe my parents would only want you over for dinner. Victor and Eleanor came for visits every so often just so that we can all get to know them. Victor more than Elle, but that was because Shelby and him were attached to one another. It was really rather obnoxious.” Fae frowned at the memory of it briefly. “They wouldn’t feel it necessary to force you to entertain the extended family, except for possible the family holiday party. But your parents and siblings will likely be invited too, so it might not be as terrible for you.” She said all of this quickly and without any worry. Fae’s parents were pretty laid back so she didn’t think they’d make Arnold suffer too much. His family… she had her reserves about.
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Fae
I believe in you!
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Fae
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Arnold
October 02, 2013 8:42 PM
I appreciate that by Arnold
Arnold’s instinct was to freeze when what Fae had said made its way through his head, but he quickly forced a laugh, hoping she didn’t look too closely at his expression as he did so and that she was actually joking and that her brother and father and, for all he knew, brother-in-law and cousins and uncles and grandfather and great-grandfather and other people he would really rather not interact with in any context which involved more depth of conversation than “yes, sir,” and “thank you very much, sir” did not really think they would do that. Maybe Fae’s family wasn’t the kind which would use him for target practice over it, especially given the circumstances, but…well, it wasn’t as if he hadn’t thought less than gentlemanly things before, and this turn of the conversation was reminding him that he should not have done so, even though considerable nagging on the topic had finally revealed that Arthur had also had less than gentlemanly thoughts on occasion and so confirmed, in Arnold’s mind, that such things were entirely involuntary and had nothing to do with what kind of person you were or anything that kind of person would ever actually do.“’Sokay,” he said when she apologized, giving her hand a squeeze. He tried not to wonder if this meant Fae had also thought about such things before, or to try to guess from it what she thought of the prospect of them. He could never really read her, which could be a problem once they were married and she might feel like she had to go along whether she was really okay with the idea or not. That would...be bad, but the thought of discussing it was mortifying. He wasn't sure the angry relatives were much scarier. So he wasn't sure what to do about the situation.
It really would, he thought, be for the best if Arthur would get himself a girl, a normal girl, not the too-brainy sort he seemed to prefer. Then they could compare notes and provide mutual support. Instead, though….
“It’s not like we haven’t got a whole school as chaperones, right?” he added, smiling awkwardly. “They can vouch for our, uh, good behavior.”
He frowned slightly when Fae said her mother was worried about the family not treating her well. Why would Mrs. Sinclair think that? Henry immediately lept to mind, but that, well...that had been different. Not right, but different. Fae wouldn't have that problem, though, anyway, and what did her mother expect? Usually, Arnold had always been taught, there was nothing to worry about as long as you followed the rules. “I really don't think you have anything to worry about," he said mildly. "If that helps."
He shrugged over whether or not his family had a lot of events and she described what her family would expect of him. “Well, I don't expect anyone to make anything terrible for you," he said. "Though we do have more events than we used to, now that Great-Great-Grandfather’s the top man. But it's more like..." he trailed off, trying to think how to explain something which to him had always just been a part of life. "Everyone visits, you know? You know when everyone's going to be home and not have any company, I mean from outside the family, so if you need to talk to someone about something, or you want to keep up with someone you made friends with at a Reunion, or you know Cousin so-and-so has this really good chocolate torte every other second Wednesday of the month or whatever, you just go drop in for a while, they'll give you something to eat and drink, you play some cards, whatever, and sometimes your kids all play together, and that keeps the family closer, you know? And Mother, she's with the Anthonies, you know, so a lot of people come to see her, so I think she's hoping you can sort of get to know them a little at a time instead of trying to learn the whole family at once."
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Arnold
I appreciate that
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Arnold
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Fae
October 03, 2013 7:11 PM
You are welcome by Fae
By the force of his laugh, Fae knew that what she had said was completely wrong and unacceptable. She really hadn’t meant anything by it, she just said it because she had thought it was funny. No one would have expected her to ride the rides, so it seemed logical for them to conclude that they had been improper with one another. It wasn’t completely unheard of, was it? It just wasn’t spoken about. Or maybe Fae was just strange and no one really ever thought about that sort of thing and there was something completely wrong with her. Normally, she would just talk to Sara or Shelby about this sort of thing, but neither one of them were available to her and so, she just remained in a state of confusion.The squeeze of her hand and the acceptance of her apology had Fae feel better. She smiled to herself and rested her head against his shoulder. She was just tall enough to reach it and heels helped the process. Arnold always seemed to understanding. Even if he did find it an inappropriate comment to have made, especially from a female, he didn’t point it out or make her feel worse for having said it at all. He was uncomfortable about it as she had gathered from his laugh, but not to the point of making her feel ashamed.
“That’s true.” Fae agreed. The whole school was out and about. Plus, she was certain that someone would notice if they weren’t around. Maybe. Everyone might just be too busy with the fair to really notice anything at all. “I don’t actually think you would do anything that would put me in an unflattering light and I don’t believe my parents would just assume something like that of us, but even if they did, we’re betrothed. Unless you had no intention of marrying me, there wouldn’t be much of an issue.” Fae commented as they walked, feeling like that was a logical assessment to make.
Fae listened as Arnold spoke about his family’s social calendar and thought that her heart had plummeted. His family was so much different than her own. Her father was the Heir and often had to go off to Europe with her mother to attend some function or another, but they rarely had people over to their house. She supposed it might have been the fact that her parents’ families were both across the pond whereas Arnold’s all lived here that made the difference, but Fae felt that it was more likely that her parents just didn’t want the hassle. “Your family seems relatively close.” She stated, feeling a little ill at the prospect of having to be paraded around to meet his vast family. “My extended family lives in Europe, so I don’t see them often. Certainly, no one ever just drops by.” Fae sighed.
“Can we just elope and find some hideaway to hold up in until the angry masses find another set of children to force attention on?” She asked him hopefully despite knowing the answer.
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Fae
You are welcome
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Fae
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Arnold
October 04, 2013 12:59 AM
Right, so, we're being optimistic now... by Arnold
“Really no need for them to worry about that,” Arnold said when Fae mentioned her parents potentially not caring if the two of them…did some less than proper stuff, trying to figure out why she would say that. Was it just a general comment, an assurance that he and his head wouldn’t part ways if her hair got messed up, or an oblique invitation? That made some sense, since there was no reason to say it after saying she knew he wouldn’t actually do anything to compromise her reputation if she really believed what she said the first time, but Merlin knew he had never been the best at logic even when the topics weren’t awkward….There were times when Arnold suspected he was just demonstrating his stupidity by wishing that girls hadn’t gotten very complicated minds to go along with better looks than guys had, but at the moment, he strongly suspected that a lot of the other guys would sympathize with his position. At least, the other ones more than a little uneasy with the system, who suspected they were not good enough for their future wives and lived in fear of the day when those girls let them know exactly how inferior they were. The Prestons of the world would probably just laugh at him.
He shrugged over his family. “Well, we try. There’s too many of us for most people to ever really get to know more than ten or so outside their branch, but you keep close to your own people – the closer you’re related, definitely the more you look out for each other.” He had the feeling that explanation was too simple to really get at it, but it was the best he could do.
“Well, sure,” he said, laughing, when Fae proposed eloping, “but we’d be notorious for the rest of our lives after that. They’d tell our great-grandkids about it.” He shut down any line of thought which led back to the logical conclusion that to have great-grandkids, they’d have to have grandkids first, and to have grandkids, they’d have to have kids first. Kids were a scary thought. He did not want to think about them right now. All he knew about babies, after observation of Aunt Gigi periodically appearing with new ones every few years all through his childhood, was that they were tiny and fragile and had breakable places where big people did not so there was no telling what was safe and what was not and that they were often really bad at letting people know what they wanted so the people could give it to them so they would stop crying. Arnold was eighteen, and he didn’t even know how many RATS he had yet, which he thought was an excellent reason not to even think about the subject of babies yet. “So we might be better off just sticking to the plan.” He grinned at her. “Look on the bright side. I think the Pierces all live on one mountain together. At least the only relative whose house we’ll be able to see is maybe the roof of Arthur’s.”
He paused, then decided it had to be made clear. "Is it..You're all right with us visiting each other, right?" he asked. "Me and Arthur, I mean. I know we won't see each other as much then as we do now, but..." he shrugged. "He's my brother, you know?" he said, unable to articulate his feelings on the matter much further than that.
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Arnold
Right, so, we're being optimistic now...
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Arnold
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Fae
October 04, 2013 10:22 PM
I think I lost that. by Fae
“Yes, I know.” Fae said, her voice sounding slightly flat. She didn’t want any of her frustration to be heard. Sometimes Arnold made things more complicated than they ought to be. She couldn’t very well be angry with him. She knew he was just Arnold being Arnold. He was a gentleman in every way. And, that was great. She couldn’t fault him for that. He was raised correctly. And Fae loved that about him, she did. But… she couldn’t very well tell him that she was okay with moving things along. That would make her look trampy. Which she wasn’t. Arnold was the only boy she’s ever even held hands with. Conversations like this where he seemed so oblivious or refusing to acknowledge her hints (however out of character they started from), made her feel like it just wasn’t something he was interested in. Was he not attracted to her? Was he just pretending to be interested in her to make things easier? Arnold did only admit to liking her when she forced him into a corner. The thought of him only pretending to like her was devastating. She felt the urge to drop his hand but didn’t, mostly because she was really just hoping he was too oblivious or confused by her suggestion rather than just not into her.He was, after all, exactly what her parents wanted in a husband for her. At least, in the sense of how he would treat her. They didn’t know what Arnold was going to do to provide for her and neither did Fae, which did not leave a good taste in either of her parents’ mouths but she didn’t want to ask Arnold directly in case it upset him. Arnold didn’t handle talking too well. Or rather, talking about the important things. Not with her anyway. Maybe with Arthur. Fae took a breath and let it drop away. Even if he was only pretending to like her, what was done was done. Their parents had a binding agreement. She would just look at the bright side of it, maybe he didn’t really like her, but it was nice that he was trying. Maybe Fae was the strange one and people didn’t normally think about the things that she did?
The talk of his family just made Fae feel more scared about everything. She was not very good in social situations. She didn’t know how to hold a conversation properly and was so nervous about making the wrong impression that she tended to stumble over her words and look like a fool. She appreciated his mother’s intentions with getting her acquainted with his family on a slower basis than normal, but it didn’t really make her feel any better.
Fae was okay with being notorious if it meant not having to go through all of that. She really was. Let everyone know how much of a coward she was. But she knew that they would never do that. It was a little strange for him to mention even the passing chance of great grandchildren. Fae always assumed that they would have at least one child (and she prayed that she did not have twins), but it wasn’t really something she thought she could just bring up in every day conversation. This was a nice start though. She made a weird sound in the back of her throat at the mention of sharing a mountain like the Pierces. That was like a nightmare.
Arnold’s sudden concern and question had Fae give an abrupt and uncomfortable laugh. She had no idea where it had come from or why she had done it. “I didn’t really think I had a choice in it.” She said after the laugh had gone away. She was really having an off day of emotions. “I always just assumed he’d be there. At the breakfast table and again at dinner. You two carrying on like always and me there being the third wheel in the relationship.” She said all of this in a rather lazy way as though she had thought about this scenario a hundred times and had come to accept it as it was. “Besides, I would be a hypocrite if I said it wasn’t okay since I plan on visiting my sister and brother every once in a while.” Fae informed him, giving him a smile. “Come on, Arnold, did you really think I wouldn’t be alright with that?”
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Fae
I think I lost that.
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Fae
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Arnold
October 05, 2013 1:37 PM
Everything's going to be all right by Arnold
Something was off, Arnold was pretty sure. What was she thinking? What had he said wrong? She had been the one who’d specifically mentioned the circumstance of him having no intention of marrying her, and since he did have such plans, he had meant to be reassuring. Apparently, though, even mentioning the subject that indirectly put her off. “I just meant….” he began, but didn’t know how to go on without incriminating himself, or else possibly – it was impossible to tell, with the flat tone – further offending her. “You know I wouldn’t really…Can we just forget I said anything?”It would be so much easier, he thought, if they could just bluntly say what they were interested in, what they weren’t, and that be it. No matter which way it went, the tension, the uncertainty of what anything meant, wouldn’t be a problem anymore, and that would be a relief. But that sort of talk, that sort of thinking, was absolutely forbidden, at least for the next year. If he really wanted, he could talk about romance and such, but not anything more than that.
He wanted to fly away from the situation, as usual, but he knew that wasn’t a solution. The rest of the world would always be here when he got back, and he’d always have to come back. It was better to stick it out, trust that things would swing back to being okay in a minute, that luck would favor him again.
Arnold felt a strange, uncomfortable mix of shame and anger at what Fae said about what she had expected from the future. He had the sudden vision of himself stretched out so thin trying to keep everyone happy, paying enough attention to all of them, that they wouldn’t even notice if they pulled what was left into pieces. Arthur didn't seem too jealous of Fae - yet - but if he decided to be, then there was no doubt in Arnold's mind that his brother would, at the very least, do his best to make her life a living hell, and her life would be Arnold's, too. He had to try to keep them on good terms, but he didn't know how to do that.
“You just said your family doesn’t visit,” he said, trying to suppress it all, or at least not show anything. “So I didn’t know. It’s going to be your house. I don’t want you to feel like a – what did you call it? A third wheel there." He ran his thumb along the curve of her hand unconsciously. "I just – want everyone to be happy,” he said. "I know it's hard for you, you're not used to anything like my family, and it's hard for me and Arthur, I don't think we've ever gone half a day without seeing each other in our whole lives and now we, me and you, we're going to live in one house and he's leaving the country, and...I don't know," he said, running his free hand through his hair. "But I think we'll be able to make it work. D'you think?"
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Arnold
Everything's going to be all right
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Arnold
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Fae
October 05, 2013 7:38 PM
I sure hope so. by Fae
“It’s fine, Arnold. Forgotten.” She said, very much wanting the subject to end and forget the whole thing. She had originally said it because she had thought it were funny before really thinking about the implications of it. She should have known that Arnold was too good to think those things.Fae closed her eyes as if she were fighting off a headache. Arnold was too sweet for his own good. There wasn’t any foreseeable way where everyone would be happy all the time. Even if Arthur and she were happy, Arnold would be too overwhelmed and anxious to keep them happy, making himself unhappy. Fae had an understanding that relationships last through compromise. It was how his parents managed to stay content in their marriage and how her siblings seemed happy in theirs. And they were all heirs in some way, so their lives were going to be far more complicated than hers and Arnold’s.
“Arnold, my extended family doesn’t visit, but my immediate family is close, just as yours is.” Fae explained to him. Her immediate family wouldn’t drop by unannounced either. They would make plans to meet, but her family respected privacy and would never bother them without good reason. “I have known you since I was eleven years old. I know how you and Arthur are together. He’s the most important person to you and will probably always be.” Fae said to him. “I don’t think you really see how things are or at least, how the relationship is from my end. Your schedule, the things you do, when you have time for me, it’s all based on what Arthur wants from you. I have always been the third wheel in this relationship. Maybe it’s on purpose or just what you are used to, I don’t know, but I have learned to live with it. It makes you happy and I still get time with you. “ Fae shrugged. She thought she would be jealous of how much time Arnold spent with his brother over her, but after so long, she simply accepted it as it was.
“I don’t know what marriage for us will be like. My whole life my family took care of me so that I wouldn’t have to worry. Being on my own, being married, making sure you are happy, being a mother to someone, it all terrifies me.” Fae said quickly, admitting to something she felt was like a dirty secret. “And you never talk to me about any of it, so I just start thinking awful things about how you really don’t want to marry me or that you are repulsed by me or Arthur’s going to keep you away all the time and I’ll be all alone and worried.” Fae was rambling now but the flood gates were open and she needed to get it all out there.
“Or you’ll have a woman on the side that I will have to compete with, which I’m fairly sure is impossible if Arthur’s in the mix too because I really don’t have the energy to fight two people for your affection. Please never have a woman on the side, Arnold, I do not think I’ll handle that very well at all.” Fae pleaded, forcing them to stop walking by stepping directly in front of him to look at him properly. She was feeling frazzled now that she had spilled everything she had kept locked away for a while now and needed his reassurances with everything. “I’ll do my best to keep you happy and I know that keeping you happy means having Arthur around and letting you play Quidditch even though watching you makes me horrified. If you want to live on a mountain with your family, I’ll learn to live with it and if you don’t want to touch me until marriage, that’s fine too. Whatever you want.” Fae dropped his hand to show that she would comply with his wishes.
“I love you, Arnold. I was too scared to say it to you, but it’s the truth. I want us to work, but unless you talk to me, I don’t know what to do. I just end up feeling like a crazy person because I have all these thoughts in my head and I start to panic about everything.” There, she felt better. She just admitted a lot of things to Arnold and quite possibly frightened him in her mini-meltdown, but she was just so exhausted from the worry.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say all of that. I’m just… scared and it all came out of me. This is the exact reason why I find it a terrible idea to have me introduced to your family before we’re married.”
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Fae
I sure hope so.
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Fae
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Arnold
October 06, 2013 3:20 PM
Me, too by Arnold
At first, Arnold was too surprised by Fae’s outburst to do or think anything, but became angry and defensive, both on his own behalf and on Arthur’s, and then stunned again before the whole lot just blended together into a mass of confusion even harder to work through than her speech and he wanted to just yell at the top of his lungs while plummeting toward the ground from eighty feet up just to get out of his own head.Finally, though, it ended and he ran his hands over his face. “I honestly have no idea what to say to all that,” he said. “You…at least, this is what I heard you saying…you think I’m probably a selfish jerk who’s going to make life everything you don’t want it to be, you think I'm going to go running around the first chance I get when I’ve barely ever even looked at a girl besides you, and you think I haven’t got the brains or guts not to let my brother act like a clingy, vindictive girl on the side, and then you say you love me? It’s going to take me a minute to understand that one, Fae.”
He thought he was justified in needing that minute. He couldn’t see any particular reason for loving the guy she had just described, and in fact thought such a guy would do them all a favor just to put himself out of his misery. So either Fae was the biggest masochist on the face of the planet, or…something. He kicked an uneven place in the grass.
“The crazy things is, all this – it’s all stuff I was trying to do so you’d feel – I don’t know – safer with me, more comfortable, whatever,” he said, shaking his head, fighting off the urge to laugh at just how ridiculous life was. “I don’t want you to have to think about the fact I’m scared out of my mind, too, so I’ve got no idea how to do any of this, so I keep my mouth shut and I let Arthur drill me until I want to kill him and me, too, all the time so I can do better on the RATS. I don’t want you to think you’ve got to do anything you don’t want to do because our fathers set this thing up, or that I’m the – sort of I don’t even know what who can’t be in the room with a girl without wanting that, so I’m afraid to even sit too close to you. I….”
He trailed off, choking on his words again. There was just too much. About how he was supposed to always be strong and confident and Good Old Arnold who had no worries, so he couldn’t very well just complain to her, the person he was most supposed to look out for. About how he couldn’t distance himself from his brother, but it was as much because he was afraid of what would happen to Arthur if he didn’t have Arnold as he was of what would happen to him if he didn’t have Arthur. About how he didn’t know if he would be able to bluff his way through all of life when the only thing he had ever done right on his own was catch the Snitch. How he wasn’t even sure if there was anything of substance except what other people wanted to see in him. How was he supposed to talk about that? What was the point of talking about that? It didn’t matter much, not even to him most of the time.
Tell me who to be for you, tell me who this person you think you’re in love with is, and I’ll try to be him, he wanted to beg, but he had enough pride not to go quite that far. “It’s crazy,” he said again. “I’m trying to make you happy, you’re trying to make me happy…I’m sorry. This is my fault for being an idiot. I've just - not wanted you to worry about anything.”
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Arnold
Me, too
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Arnold
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Fae
October 06, 2013 8:44 PM
We'll get there. by Fae
What she had said upset him. Immediately she could tell when he ran his hands over his face. She shouldn’t have let it all come out of her. She didn’t know why she had said that. It seemed like every time she and Arnold were at a point in their lives that she just let out everything she was thinking and feeling even when she knew that it would only end badly. She regretted admitting anything to him and wanted to tell him she was sorry especially as he seemed to have misunderstood the things that she had said. Before she could really do that though, he was kicking the ground in either anger at her or frustration at what she had said. Neither was very good in her opinion and she felt herself take a step back in case he did something worse to the grass or surrounding area.It seemed as though Arnold also had a lot on his mind and Fae listened quietly when he went off on a tangent of his own, unsure as to what to do or think about it. She knew that he was having a difficult time with things. She really had no idea on how he managed or handled any of it, but she knew it wasn’t any easier for him than it was for her. It was an awkward situation and Fae had no idea how people handled it without having some sort of mental break. It was a time like this that she wished Sara was still in school with her. She was always calm and collected about these things.
He ended it by saying he was an idiot and not wanting her to worry. She could have laughed at that if she wasn’t worried of something terrible happening. Forgetting her promise to not touch him, Fae stepped up and wrapped her arms around his torso and held on for a hug whether he wanted it or not. She rested her head against him and tried to think of how to say what she needed to without making this all worse. “You aren’t an idiot, Arnold.” She said into his chest. “We just have issues.” She pulled away far enough to see his face, “I don’t think you are a selfish jerk or a woman chaser or someone who will put me through things that make me unhappy. Those were thoughts that I have when I think too much.”
Fae leaned against him again, hoping he was calming down and not mad at her anymore. “I just get so worried about making you unhappy that my thoughts get all scrambled up and then they fester there. Mother told me I was like this as a child too. I’d have terrors in the night and I’d let them twist me up so much that I started to believe they were real.” She pulled away again and gave him some room. “That’s part of the reason why they kept me from knowing anything.” She gave him an ashamed look. She didn’t really like to admit that she was weak or just how terrible she could let things get.
“I’m sorry for making you feel like this. All this pressure being with me has put on you, I’m really sorry.” Fae pouted as she frowned up at him. “Please don’t be upset with me. I didn’t mean anything by what I was thinking. Arnold, since the moment you saved me from the Moon Calf, you have always taken care of me. I never meant for you to feel so burdened by it.” Fae reached out and tucked some of his hair back into place. “You don’t have to stretch yourself thin to make me happy. I know that I worry about silly things, I’ll try to do better about it, but knowing that I can talk to you will help. Not like these chats where we both blow up, but like really talk. Or you just listen if you don’t want to do any talking.” She added just in case he didn’t like the idea of sharing.
“Do you want to know why I love you so much?” She asked him, smiling a little easier now, “Because of this.” She placed her hand against his chest, over his heart. “You do so much for everyone else to make them happy. Before even really knowing me, you did your best to protect me. I mess everything up and you make me feel better afterward. You’re a gentlemen and polite. You make me laugh. I feel safe with you. When they told me that they had settled a betrothal between you and I, even though I was scared of you hating me, I was happy too because I knew no matter what happened, I would be okay because it would be with you.”
She even knew how corny all of that sounded. He was probably annoyed with her even worse now. “We’ll make it work, Arnold. We’ll find a way to be happy together. If I spew out my thoughts again about all these negative things, just ignore me. I don’t really mean any of it.” She took ahold of both his hands, stood on her tippy toes, and gave him a light kiss on the lips. “We’ll be okay, right?” She asked him.
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Fae
We'll get there.
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Fae
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Arnold
October 08, 2013 10:04 PM
With time, patience, and communication by Arnold
Arnold hated himself as soon as Fae took a step back in response to his taking his temper out on the grass, assuming she thought he was going to hit her. Self-disgust didn’t even begin to describe it. What did she think he was, anyway? And what, what in the name of all the merciless powers, had he done to make her think whatever it was she thought?He had hoped she would laugh at his attempt at smoothing things over, but instead she hugged him. It was a definite improvement from the anger and worry, though, so he was more than a little relieved as he put his arms around her, too, one near her waist and the other closer to her shoulders. It was sort of awkward, because he was pretty sure that half the school was right now wondering why they were doing this, or else just thinking they were a pair of crazy fools, but it felt good, so he held on until she began to pull away, resting his chin on the top of her head for a moment.
He didn’t really understand how she could have thoughts to the point of becoming this upset if she didn’t really believe in what she was worrying about, but at this point was feeling too stressed and frazzled to argue the point. The important part was that he was maybe not an awful person, or thought of as an awful person, or...whatever he thought, or thought she thought, he was when he thought too much. Or at least things weren't being said which he could interpret as accusations, which was a relief by itself.
“You can talk,” he said. “I’ll…try my best, but you can always talk.”
He didn’t think, given how hard it was even when he was upset enough to be not himself, that talking was going to come too easily too him. Not yet, anyway. Maybe it was because he was used to his mother lecturing him on how dumb whatever he’d just done was while she bandaged him up, but it just felt alien and totally threatening to imagine talking like this very often with anyone, even Arthur. It wasn’t a matter, he thought, of trust, just of some…thing, some block between him and every other person on earth. He had always assumed everyone had at least one, and thought, given Arthur’s interesting and complicated relationship with making wholly honest statements, that most people had more.
The things she said were a relief, and he couldn't help but enjoy being called this great guy even as it embarrassed him, but he also couldn’t help but wonder: what if she’s just saying all that now because she thinks I’m going to smack her upside the head if she doesn’t? He tried to not think it, though. At some point, he just had to take her at her word, because otherwise, he was going to drive himself crazy. He didn’t think, somehow, that doing that would help any of his problems.
“We’ll be all right,” he said, giving her a kiss in return before moving back a bit. “So, are we going to go get pictures or what?” he asked with a smile, since that, he remembered dimly, had been their original plan.
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Arnold
With time, patience, and communication
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Arnold
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