Post by Dane Hart on Oct 24, 2017 19:25:26 GMT -5
While Dane had managed to avoid an unpleasant conversation, it seemed like the rest of the table had caught the bug. Large portions of the guests were now in contest, and it seemed like it might escalate. Dane kept his mouth shut and monitored the situation, although it was like listening to people talk about a television show he’d never even seen a commercial for. It was apparent that some of the visiting delegates didn’t have the patience to wait for actual negotiations to begin. As such, a lot of opinions were thrown around.
Angels, wolves, packs and covens. It all sounded like something from a fantasy game. He wondered how it was all supposed to translate, whether Angels and Wolves were gangs. Some sort of widespread syndicate of troublemakers. Though, in his heart, he knew his first hunch was correct. He had seen Vick change into… something. As much as he wanted to throw that memory back into the pond, he could not be rid of it. The very first night he’d slept in his own room in the manor he had woken up, startled by a pale white face in his nightmares. A pair of fangs peeked from her lips. She bore a resemblance to Magdalene.
What little remained of Dane’s appetite was gone by the time the conversation came to a close. He had not touched dessert, and his entree had been carried away, untouched but for a few small veggies and one or two thumbnail sized cuts of meat. Dane regarded the ceiling for a while, as if the plaster and rafters and the entire floor above them would come smashing down soon. Monsters and magic. A story that meant nearly everything he had remembered was a lie. His sister was not a runaway, and he was not a victim of a meaningless shooting. There was much more eating away inside of him.
Reeves, Reeves, Reeves, Reeves. The word bounced back and forth across the table as though they were playing Ping-Pong with it. It made him furious, digging his fingertips into his knees beneath the table. Perhaps it was just the topic bothering him, the distance he perceived between himself and the world. He was sitting on Mars, a funny little martian to them, while they dealt with the very real problems of what sounded like a ruined earth. He wondered what the world beyond New York had turned into. What this Reeves was responsible for that had made things so much worse. A novel, ‘Alas, Babylon’ came to mind, a story of nuclear holocaust. He wondered if that was the earth that he had woken up to.
“It’s a pleasant coterie we’re entertaining tonight,” Dane commented as he rose from his seat. “I feel a bit like the article of an insider’s joke, given the topic.”
Most of the visitors had begun the motions of leaving the room. They filtered out, almost single-file, doing their best to stay with their groups and mind the manor staff leading them to the great doorway they had entered from. One person in particular seemed to be in no rush to depart. Amelia, from the Pennsylvania group, lingered opposite himself and Dane. She was still picking at the remnants of her own plate—nearly full like Dane’s—and sipping occasionally at her wine. He did not miss the way her eyes stole glances at him, and they were alike the eyes of an opponent in a game of chess.
“Finding the evening pleasant?” Dane asked across the table. He’d spoken quietly enough, but he was almost certain that she’d heard him anyways.
The thin smile of hers gave way to a thoughtful pair of pursed lips. After this pause, she spoke, “Everything has been exquisite. Thank you of course, Miss Choiseul, for having us. I only noticed, Mr. Hart, that you didn’t have much to say about the topic of the evening. I hope we weren’t boring you, or putting you at odds with your own ideals.”
Sighing, Dane held his head in his hands for a moment before revealing his face again. He laughed softly, “I’m afraid the former might be true. I’d hoped we could avoid unpleasantness until negotiations began. As for the latter, a gentleman knows when it’s best to let the louder voices have their say, that’s all. It’s too early to weigh in opinions on what’s best for everyone.”
Amelia set her fork aside and moved her quarter-full glass away from her before rising from the table. Across the room, Dane spotted Nadine making a beeline for the Pennsylvanian, along with a young usher. Amelia noticed too. Even at full height, she had to look up at him. Her smile had been replaced by now with a very neutral expression, measuring him with her eyes while goading him with her words. “I would be interested to hear more about your philosophy this evening,” she said. “If you find the fate of the world boring, you must have much more troubling things in your head.”
Nadine reached them shortly afterward. "I'm so sorry, I'm interrupting!" the woman exclaimed, "The others from your party were just looking for you, Miss Amelia. I hope I'm not being pushy, but Colin here was going to show you to the drawing room, if you'd like to go meet with them."
"Ah!" Amelia mocked the other woman with her surprise. "I'm sorry to trouble you. I was picking at my leftovers," she said, eyeing Dane. "I suppose I shouldn't keep them waiting, then. Until later, Mr. Hart, Miss Choiseul."
With that, she departed, her chair scooting loudly across the floor as she pushed it aside. Dane bowed his head to her silently. Once she was gone, very nearly everyone had moved to the far side of the room. The only ones left were once again the youthful manor staff working diligently to clean up the mess and prepare everything for the next stage of the evening. Dane huffed in relief, leaning on his cane. As he hung his head, he looked sideways at Magdalene through a sheaf of his hairs. Nadine looked between the two of them expectantly. Dane breathed his relief and uttered a small word of thanks. She did not immediately dismiss herself.
Turning to Magdalene, he addressed his concerns, “I don’t think I’ve been a very valuable tool for your negotiations. In fact, it looks like I’ve brought more scrutiny to your household than anything else in the case of that one. I’m sorry for that, but I hope the evening has been a little more tolerable with guest.”
He reached over his own chair and stuck a long finger in his pudding, scooping it up and to his lips quickly. The bad mood at dinner had distracted him, but he was realizing how very famished he really was. Of course, Nadine was practically bubbling over at being allowed to remain present for this moment. It was like she was watching a soap opera, attempting to silently will her emotions into the screenplay. Dane ignored her, looking over Magdalene's similarly nibbled-on food, and he could tell in her eyes that it had likely been miserable for her as well. If only they had an excuse to leave.
"I'm sure that will all blow over. You should try and enjoy yourself a little better," said Nadine. She went on to prattle about how well the evening was going, citing names of guests who were having a particularly pleasant time.
Then again, perhaps they did have an excuse. Dane pondered the grounds once again as Nadine began to speak, beyond windows that were bigger than they had any reason to be. It was a stunning visage, the way the faerie lights and the shadows in places they could not reach worked in harmony. It was the perfect place for a discrete stroll. It was the perfect place for an unwanted visitor, as well. Dane thought about this as he stared, quite intensely, over Magdalene’s shoulder. Absently, he put a hand on her as if to move her around behind himself as he looked beyond the manor walls. Nadine seemed to notice, as she trailed off into silence.
“Curious.” He said, his voice dripping with dramatics, “Curiouser, and curiouser."
"What?" Asked Nadine, looking frantically in the direction he was staring. "What's curious?"
"We have an uninvited guest in the gardens," said Dane. His gaze flitted to Magdalene's face, searching for a response before he scanned the grounds once more. Nadine, meanwhile, circled the table to stand just under his arm, as if she could see what he did if she occupied his space. He went on, "A potential breach might alarm the guests... yes, it could ruin the whole party. They'd know something was going on if we had security in a buzz."
Nadine squinted as hard as she could without closing her eyes. "I can't see anything," she whispered, her paranoia tree sprouting leaves quickly. The woman had nearly turned white. "What should we do, Madame Ambassador?"
"Should we go and see who has visited from the rabbit hole, my dear Alice?” asked Dane, following the lines of shadows as if watching someone—something, steadily moving across his field of vision. He couldn’t help it, he began to grin. "Nadine may be able to occupy our guests, until we're positive the grounds are secure."
Angels, wolves, packs and covens. It all sounded like something from a fantasy game. He wondered how it was all supposed to translate, whether Angels and Wolves were gangs. Some sort of widespread syndicate of troublemakers. Though, in his heart, he knew his first hunch was correct. He had seen Vick change into… something. As much as he wanted to throw that memory back into the pond, he could not be rid of it. The very first night he’d slept in his own room in the manor he had woken up, startled by a pale white face in his nightmares. A pair of fangs peeked from her lips. She bore a resemblance to Magdalene.
What little remained of Dane’s appetite was gone by the time the conversation came to a close. He had not touched dessert, and his entree had been carried away, untouched but for a few small veggies and one or two thumbnail sized cuts of meat. Dane regarded the ceiling for a while, as if the plaster and rafters and the entire floor above them would come smashing down soon. Monsters and magic. A story that meant nearly everything he had remembered was a lie. His sister was not a runaway, and he was not a victim of a meaningless shooting. There was much more eating away inside of him.
Reeves, Reeves, Reeves, Reeves. The word bounced back and forth across the table as though they were playing Ping-Pong with it. It made him furious, digging his fingertips into his knees beneath the table. Perhaps it was just the topic bothering him, the distance he perceived between himself and the world. He was sitting on Mars, a funny little martian to them, while they dealt with the very real problems of what sounded like a ruined earth. He wondered what the world beyond New York had turned into. What this Reeves was responsible for that had made things so much worse. A novel, ‘Alas, Babylon’ came to mind, a story of nuclear holocaust. He wondered if that was the earth that he had woken up to.
“It’s a pleasant coterie we’re entertaining tonight,” Dane commented as he rose from his seat. “I feel a bit like the article of an insider’s joke, given the topic.”
Most of the visitors had begun the motions of leaving the room. They filtered out, almost single-file, doing their best to stay with their groups and mind the manor staff leading them to the great doorway they had entered from. One person in particular seemed to be in no rush to depart. Amelia, from the Pennsylvania group, lingered opposite himself and Dane. She was still picking at the remnants of her own plate—nearly full like Dane’s—and sipping occasionally at her wine. He did not miss the way her eyes stole glances at him, and they were alike the eyes of an opponent in a game of chess.
“Finding the evening pleasant?” Dane asked across the table. He’d spoken quietly enough, but he was almost certain that she’d heard him anyways.
The thin smile of hers gave way to a thoughtful pair of pursed lips. After this pause, she spoke, “Everything has been exquisite. Thank you of course, Miss Choiseul, for having us. I only noticed, Mr. Hart, that you didn’t have much to say about the topic of the evening. I hope we weren’t boring you, or putting you at odds with your own ideals.”
Sighing, Dane held his head in his hands for a moment before revealing his face again. He laughed softly, “I’m afraid the former might be true. I’d hoped we could avoid unpleasantness until negotiations began. As for the latter, a gentleman knows when it’s best to let the louder voices have their say, that’s all. It’s too early to weigh in opinions on what’s best for everyone.”
Amelia set her fork aside and moved her quarter-full glass away from her before rising from the table. Across the room, Dane spotted Nadine making a beeline for the Pennsylvanian, along with a young usher. Amelia noticed too. Even at full height, she had to look up at him. Her smile had been replaced by now with a very neutral expression, measuring him with her eyes while goading him with her words. “I would be interested to hear more about your philosophy this evening,” she said. “If you find the fate of the world boring, you must have much more troubling things in your head.”
Nadine reached them shortly afterward. "I'm so sorry, I'm interrupting!" the woman exclaimed, "The others from your party were just looking for you, Miss Amelia. I hope I'm not being pushy, but Colin here was going to show you to the drawing room, if you'd like to go meet with them."
"Ah!" Amelia mocked the other woman with her surprise. "I'm sorry to trouble you. I was picking at my leftovers," she said, eyeing Dane. "I suppose I shouldn't keep them waiting, then. Until later, Mr. Hart, Miss Choiseul."
With that, she departed, her chair scooting loudly across the floor as she pushed it aside. Dane bowed his head to her silently. Once she was gone, very nearly everyone had moved to the far side of the room. The only ones left were once again the youthful manor staff working diligently to clean up the mess and prepare everything for the next stage of the evening. Dane huffed in relief, leaning on his cane. As he hung his head, he looked sideways at Magdalene through a sheaf of his hairs. Nadine looked between the two of them expectantly. Dane breathed his relief and uttered a small word of thanks. She did not immediately dismiss herself.
Turning to Magdalene, he addressed his concerns, “I don’t think I’ve been a very valuable tool for your negotiations. In fact, it looks like I’ve brought more scrutiny to your household than anything else in the case of that one. I’m sorry for that, but I hope the evening has been a little more tolerable with guest.”
He reached over his own chair and stuck a long finger in his pudding, scooping it up and to his lips quickly. The bad mood at dinner had distracted him, but he was realizing how very famished he really was. Of course, Nadine was practically bubbling over at being allowed to remain present for this moment. It was like she was watching a soap opera, attempting to silently will her emotions into the screenplay. Dane ignored her, looking over Magdalene's similarly nibbled-on food, and he could tell in her eyes that it had likely been miserable for her as well. If only they had an excuse to leave.
"I'm sure that will all blow over. You should try and enjoy yourself a little better," said Nadine. She went on to prattle about how well the evening was going, citing names of guests who were having a particularly pleasant time.
Then again, perhaps they did have an excuse. Dane pondered the grounds once again as Nadine began to speak, beyond windows that were bigger than they had any reason to be. It was a stunning visage, the way the faerie lights and the shadows in places they could not reach worked in harmony. It was the perfect place for a discrete stroll. It was the perfect place for an unwanted visitor, as well. Dane thought about this as he stared, quite intensely, over Magdalene’s shoulder. Absently, he put a hand on her as if to move her around behind himself as he looked beyond the manor walls. Nadine seemed to notice, as she trailed off into silence.
“Curious.” He said, his voice dripping with dramatics, “Curiouser, and curiouser."
"What?" Asked Nadine, looking frantically in the direction he was staring. "What's curious?"
"We have an uninvited guest in the gardens," said Dane. His gaze flitted to Magdalene's face, searching for a response before he scanned the grounds once more. Nadine, meanwhile, circled the table to stand just under his arm, as if she could see what he did if she occupied his space. He went on, "A potential breach might alarm the guests... yes, it could ruin the whole party. They'd know something was going on if we had security in a buzz."
Nadine squinted as hard as she could without closing her eyes. "I can't see anything," she whispered, her paranoia tree sprouting leaves quickly. The woman had nearly turned white. "What should we do, Madame Ambassador?"
"Should we go and see who has visited from the rabbit hole, my dear Alice?” asked Dane, following the lines of shadows as if watching someone—something, steadily moving across his field of vision. He couldn’t help it, he began to grin. "Nadine may be able to occupy our guests, until we're positive the grounds are secure."