Effie Arbon
September 09, 2012 1:03 PM
Ladylike relaxtion by Effie Arbon
School was certainly different to what Effie had expected. The fact that it was riddled with Muggleborns and dangerously liberal attitudes was something for which she had been most thoroughly prepared. But other things which she had felt prepared for had been far harder than she was expecting. She was making a good go of talking to others but it was definitely harder in real life than when she had been practising in her lessons. At the end of her first week, Effie decided to combine two activities that gave her pleasure, and were therapeutic in their capacity for affording her thinking space. With her travel sewing basket over one arm, she set out for a walk. Their island at home had plenty of space for walking and, being the only occupants, there was no possibility of running into unsavoury company. She and sisters would often take long walks, the safety of the island meaning that they were permitted to do so unaccompanied. Effie did not find her life restrictive, as she had no idea that there was an alternative – not one in which she wished to engage, anyway – but she did enjoy the freedom of those ranging walks with her sisters.The paths of Sonora provided a far different landscape. They were tamed. Her home had landscaped gardens, of course, but beyond those was countryside. Beyond that, there was the ocean. She knew she would miss both of those things dearly but the cultivated gardens here extended far enough to amuse her for now. It was also strange to be venturing out alone. Araceli did not always accompany them on their longer walks as she could not cope with the same distances as her two older sisters but Effie and Delphine were always together. The safety from unsavoury people was also not guaranteed in this environment.
Effie would save venturing a long way for another day. For now, she merely took herself far enough into the grounds to find a bench from which there was a pleasant vista. She was working on an embroidery sampler and took this from her basket now. It was necessary for a young lady to produce a sampler showcasing her needlework, although in reality she would be unlikely to need to do any stitching for practical purposes. When finished, the sampler would show her family crest at the top and her name underneath. The outline of the crest was completed, as was her name, although the former needed some filling stitches. She had also completed the Roman alphabet and was currently half way through the runic one. She was also completing a border of common potion plants in stages, as doing it for long periods could become tedious, and she decided to continue this now. She threaded her needle with a dark green, preparing to fill in some stalks, appropriately enough using stem stitch. If she tired, she could fill in some of the flowers. The wolfsbane still needing doing, and that was a cheering purple.
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Effie Arbon
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