Phase 1: Complete [Miss Raines] on Labyrinth Gardens

Preston Stratford

September 04, 2011 12:54 AM

Phase 1: Complete [Miss Raines] by Preston Stratford

Preston Stratford had taken a lot of time to set this up, but when he returned for the start of the new term he didn’t have enough information to go through with the promise he had made with Miss Raines at the end of last year. He knew it was horribly impolite to do what he had done, but he preferred to be impolite than look stupid in front of Sara Raines. His father had been adamant on him having a friendship with her; it wasn’t hard, because he actually liked her and found her very interesting. It was the perfect combination to follow through with his father’s plan, but since he hadn’t found any useful information about girls and asking them out at the library, he had to wait until midterm to talk about that particular topic with his older brother, Victor. He knew a lot about girls and stuff related to that, he was currently dating Shelby Sinclair, and he had heard rumors of a betrothal. The current second-year was a tad bit nervous about keeping his word, Sara was older, which just helped to build his nervousness about the whole affair.

So, after a very long and awkward talk with his older brother, he finally had the information he needed about girls to move on with his ~~date~~ research project. His mother had even given him input on how to treat her, and it was all very confusing. Preston didn’t understand why girls had to be so complicated. There were so many things one had to look at to successfully woo a girl. It was very very complicated, but he liked challenges, and the prospect of learning something new was always exciting. The redheaded boy had prepared a picnic with the help of the praire-elves, the basket was filled with every imaginable food he could think of, since he didn’t know what Miss Raines would like. It was better to be prepared for every possible scenario.

Earlier on the week, he had sent Sara an owl inviting her to have lunch with him in the Labyrinth Gardens. He had told her to meet him outside the entrance, he would have waited for her outside her commons, but he didn’t know where they were. Meeting her at the Gardens was the best alternative. The date was set for Saturday at noon. He was sure it was an acceptable time to meet with Miss Raines, they had to catch up, and he needed to invite her to the Ball at the end of the year. Preston wasn’t particularly interested on the Ball, but his father had insisted on his attendance with Miss Raines on his arm. He supposed it would be fun, whatever fun was. His idea of fun was to read in the silence of his room or library.

Anyways, he was standing at the entrance of the gardens waiting for Miss Raines to arrive. Preston was clad in one of his best navy-blue robes, his shoes were perfectly shinned, and his red-hair was perfectly combed. He was ready for whatever this little outing would bring. He smiled when he saw her approaching, once she was in front of him, he bowed a little bit and kissed the back of her hand, “Good day, Miss Raines.” His mother had been insistent of that gesture. He offered her his hand, “Are you ready? I have a picnic basket for us to enjoy.” Preston offered her his right arm and used his left to carry the picnic basket.

0 Preston Stratford Phase 1: Complete [Miss Raines] 0 Preston Stratford 1 5

Sara Raines

September 17, 2011 1:16 AM

So what's Phase Two? by Sara Raines

Sara prided herself on being neat, on being a person who behaved with restraint and at least some consideration for the people around her, but when she left her dorm room on the day Mr. Stratford had asked her to meet him in the Gardens, she left her side of the chamber she shared with Sophie but which still, even after three years, to her eyes looked a little small for even one person in a mess. She had re-locked and put the charms back on the box that held her few pieces of jewelry, but the dresser was still scattered with cosmetics and hair things, the bed just as littered with castoff outfits, the floor almost as perilous with discarded shoes. Even without taking the time to straighten up properly, she was still leaving a few minutes later than she had meant to.

That bothered her, even though some of the wisdom she had gleaned from listening to older girls and women talk suggested that it wasn’t always bad to keep boys waiting a little. She was even more punctual than she was neat; at home, anything she missed or didn’t have time for in her environment would be taken care of by someone else, but Mother had taught her from birth that a lady always honored her obligations, and was always punctual about it. And after she had already started to think that she’d gotten it all wrong about Preston Stratford and was going to have to either try to reel someone above her social status in very quickly or else try to keep her head up while turning up at the ball alone….

At least she looked, or felt confident she looked, very near perfect. She had on just enough makeup to highlight her best points and minimize her worst without it being obvious she was wearing anything – it was vulgar, at her age, to wear too much, and plus, she knew what it looked like when someone did; sometimes, poor Catherine didn’t look quite real – and after an eternity of tinkering and alternating between different kinds of curl, her brown hair fell perfectly to her shoulders, falling back just far enough from her face to reveal modestly-sized diamond stud earrings. Her robes were light, good for moving around outside, and a blue on the lighter end of medium, which she thought set off her coloring very well. Her shoes were flat, since his sex and age made it almost good that she was as tiny as she was.

They were also thin, though, for walking on the paths, and she could feel bits of gravel through the soles, so she was glad when she reached him even if he was also wearing blue. Navy did look good with his coloring, though, so while she almost wished, again, that she’d gone with the rose or the green, she was prepared to overlook it if he was. She smiled as he bowed over her hand.

“That sounds lovely,” she said, taking his arm. “I’m sure you’ve picked out a wonderful spot.”

As they walked, she started the conversation, trying to feel like her mother. Mother was always so graceful, so poised. She always said the right things. “Have you been well, Mr. Stratford? It seems like it’s been a long time since we spoke.”

OOC: So sorry for the delay!

0 Sara Raines So what's Phase Two? 179 Sara Raines 0 5

Preston

October 02, 2011 6:54 PM

I am still figuring it out! by Preston

Preston couldn’t not notice that Sara was wearing blue, a different kind of blue, but blue nonetheless. He tilted his head to the side, he found this coincidence pretty amusing, but restrained from commenting in it. Victor had told him that one couldn’t go saying stuff like that to girls, because they would get upset, it was better to just compliment them on how they looked. So, he did, “You look lovely today, Miss Raines.” The words felt weird coming out of his mouth. It wasn’t a lie, but these niceties were unknown to the second-year. Interacting with girls was too complicated, which was why he decided to see Sara not as a girl, but as a project. Something he was going to learn from. Maybe if he wrote a book about girl behaviour in the future, he would become super famous!

The redhead smiled at his picnic companion, it was easy to see Sara as something else other than a girl. Yes, girls were complicated. “The prairie-elves packed us quite the lunch,” he commented as he began to walk with Sara on his arm. Preston began wondering if this was too formal for her, if it would be better to just let go for a little while, it was an interesting idea, but one he wasn’t sure he would be able to do. He was just so used to be formal, that it would take a lot of will power to try and change.

He blushed when Sara mentioned that it had been a long time since they had last spoken. End of last term, if he was being honest. He had promised a full story of his wandering through Greece, but he had been too scared to owl her before. He needed reassure from Victor and his mother to continue with whatever they had going. Sara was nice and interesting and fun to be with and girl. The last attribute was the most daunting of them all.

“Yes, sorry about that. School happened,” he excused himself. It was a pretty lame excuse, but he couldn’t say the real reason, it would be too embarrassing. “I have been well. Had a lovely summer exploring Greece, a busy first half of term and a nice family Christmas. How about you?” he said. Preston stopped when they reached the spot the prairie-elves had set up for them. A red blanket was on a particularly green spot of grass. Preston helped Sara sit down and then followed her. He left the picnic basket between them, that way they would be able to reach for anything inside of it.

OOC: I apologize for mine -_-

0 Preston I am still figuring it out! 0 Preston 0 5

Sara

October 04, 2011 1:12 AM

I have faith in you by Sara

Sara nodded gravely as Preston said school had happened. "Mostly the same," she said when asked how things had been for her. Adjusting to the few Intermediate classes she had taken up had been something that took effort on her part, and her holidays were just getting busier as she got older. "I spent a few weeks of the summer in Switzerland with my father's cousin Margaret, we had a lovely time, but then it was back to Illinois and about half of my mother's summer parties."

Half, but still more than she'd ever attended before. Her success at last year's Sinclair party had impressed her parents more than she'd realized at the time. She was also a little further along in her education than she had really realized. Next year, she would be a fourth year, and Mother had hinted at maybe letting her have the primary responsibility for planning a very small summer party during the spring of it.

Perhaps, if things went well, she'd invite Mr. Stratford and his family, and Fae and hers. Many guests would be local, of course, or tied to Father or Mother somehow, but it would be nice to slip some of her own friends in, let them enjoy her family's hospitality and see her at her best, in a moment of victory. That would be very nice.

Like the spot Preston had found for the picnic. Sara smiled, pleased, as she sat and carefully adjusted her skirts. One of the last things she wanted was to ruin everything by moving just the wrong way and ending up showing an improper amount of leg.

"This is a beautiful spot," she said once she'd settled herself, looking over at him with a smile. "Do you come out to the Gardens often?"

0 Sara I have faith in you 0 Sara 0 5

Preston

October 11, 2011 4:27 PM

Why thank you! by Preston

It was nice to have distractions when one was in the process of growing up. School proved to be a very good one, and even when it was required of him, Preston had always liked learning. It was simple and easy, unlike other aspects of the human life. He was positive he was doing a good job on the social front, he was with Sara, and he had a somewhat civil relationship with his roommates. He wasn’t a social butterfly, not he would ever be, but he was doing okay. At least he had friends or acquaintances, it didn’t matter what he called them. The fact was that he was capable of conversation with other human beings, not just his books, since the redhead had the habit of mumbling to himself when he was reading. His family found that particular quirk weird and unnerving. He tried to keep the mumbling to a minimum when he was at school, since it would be embarrassing to have people see him like that.

“Thankfully we found some time to catch up,” he said in response to what Sara had said. School could be hard, especially for her. Preston was still at beginners’ level whereas she was now an intermediate student. Another thing that emphasized their age difference, and in theory, Sara knew more about magic than he did. Something that made him feel somewhat inferior to her. Having an older friend was hard.

Preston watched Sara sit down with the grace of a lady. She reminded him of his mother and how she posed herself in polite company. Sara would become a proper lady of society once she grew up enough to be part of the Adult World. It was nothing surprising, really, since she came from an affluent family, an important one that his father wanted to have connections with.

The Aladren properly looked around the spot the praire-elves had chosen for them; it was indeed a beautiful spot. He hadn’t realized it, he had been worried about his companion than the actual place. “Yes it is,” he smiled back at her. He raised his eyebrows at the last question that came out of her mouth, “No, not really.” He looked down at his hands, “I suffer from some allergies and the gardens make them worse.” Preston shrugged, “but I took my potions. They don’t bother me when I take them, but they taste so badly that I prefer to stay away from the gardens.” He blinked. Maybe it hadn’t been the best thing to say to her. He cleared his throat, “Do you spend a lot of time in the gardens?” Preston opened the picnic basket and grabbed a pumpkin juice and offered it to her.

0 Preston Why thank you! 0 Preston 0 5

Sara

October 15, 2011 11:08 PM

You're very welcome by Sara

So Preston had allergies. That was too bad anyway, but she thought it would be especially bad during some party seasons. She imagined his family didn't hold as many parties outdoors as Aunt Lila did, or wouldn't once he was old enough to be expected regularly at family events, if that was even the fashion in Vermont. She didn't know much about the place, not the details, though she should probably do something about that.

"I'm sorry to hear that," she said. "My father's cousin Charles has them, too, especially in the spring and fall." Though summer wasn't very good, either. Aunt Lila didn't seem to consider her husband's asthmatic tendencies a problem. Perhaps Preston's family would also have their outdoor parties regularly anyway, even with the medicine tasting bad. Maybe saying that about Uncle Charles would make him feel better about it, though; the man's immediate family had its scandals, his family money in general wasn't old, and he was not a very imposing figure at the best of times, but he was rich to the point where he didn't even have to be especially modest about it. People wanted to have that, preferably on their own but through marrying one of his maybe-daughters if they had to. Allergies weren't much to be concerned about as a bar in life.

Sara accepted the pumpkin juice he offered her. "Thank you," she said, taking a sip. "And not really," she admitted when asked about her own garden visiting frequency. "I come out for a walk sometimes on Sunday evenings, the way Mother likes to at home, but then it's not very far." She cast her brown eyes down for a moment, then looked up again with a self-deprecating little smile. "Really, I'm a little afraid of getting lost on my own. The maze can get so complicated in places."

0 Sara You're very welcome 0 Sara 0 5