An Evening Stroll (Open to all)

[Valentina Audley]

Valentina smiles in amusement, Helen's enthusiasm for everything infecting her.

"Dear Francis has already promised to have a little word with the cause my my annoyance, though I thank you for your concern." She smiles happily, it's clear she trusts Francis to resolve the matter.

"I look forward to your visit then! Talking clothes is one of my favourite things after all... I do like your Elysium outfit though darling, the colours suit you so." Valentina is sincere in her praise. It might not be the latest style, but Valentina always has admiration for well dressed people, no matter what the current fashion might be.

Talk of Helen's usual outfit drags her mind back to the last Elysium and with mild concern she inquires "I trust you are not still suffering lapses in memory?"

[annabelle]

Helen pouts with disappointment “That’s fine Miss Audley but you strip me from a great gossip and I am curious, really curious…I would have offered a gossip in return but I am afraid it won’t be something you won’t already know….Francis…yes…such a great Master Harpy and a respectable gentleman. Assisting you so selflessly without waiting nothing in return, truly admirable. You should consider him as a potential husband Miss Audley.” And he winks at Valentina whilst covering his mouth to not make the giggle apparent to the crowd.

“But what am I saying, I am sure your heart was stolen by the Ruler of London. Platonically of course. Who can blame you Miss Audley. Such a man in all the ways, I understand a Lady like yourself can be trapped by those mesmerizing eyes. But please be careful my Lady, don’t give anything before you walk the isle….”

William chuckles more and makes a mental note to hang out with Valentina more. It was good from time to time to make a light conversation and forget all the issues haunting her with each step. And in fact, Valentina was actually nice! Who would have known!

“…I do like your Elysium outfit though darling, the colours suit you so…”

William shines bright with the compliment “Oh! A compliment from you is a serious business, thank you! It doesn’t have the colours of my lineage unfortunately…Porfyra and gold are the colours of my human bloodline. Profyra used to be fundamental back then in many ways. I need to find a way to show you the appropriate colour when I visit. You see in Byzantium, royals were wearing a shade of purple that is closer to wine red. Back then it was as valuable as gold but I assume now humans found other ways to imitate this colour. I believe the concept of purple being the royal colour came from porfyra but then the shades used now days are different. I remember it clearly though so I can find the perfect match if I see it.”

Helen stops there, she could talk about the colours and their historical meaning forever but she was sure Valentina was going to get bored soon.

"I trust you are not still suffering lapses in memory?"

William rubs his chin again “Hmm…I am not actually sure about that. Just in case I stopped any kind of substance. Maybe that was the cause of my memory issues. Time will tell. Just in case, I have my real form locked somewhere…”

...over the rainbow…

He then sobers from his playful tone and whispers again “Or maybe I should encourage memory loss just in case something like Reggie’s case happens again. Jackdaw…how dare he trying to harm a Primogen? Terrible! I am curious though...Verity said he've send a call for help through Auspex, I am wondering though, do you need Auspex to hear the call?”

[Valentina Audley]

Valentina laughs gaily. "Not a great gossip in the slightest darling. A trifling annoyance that I shouldn't dream of troubling a harpy of any ilk with. I only mentioned it in passing to Francis as part of my account of Elysium, as he inquired when I saw him last." She doesn't mention where she saw him last. Let Helen draw her own conclusions.

"As for my choosing a husband... I can't begin to imagine why you think I'd want one darling. I am more than capable of running my own affairs and besides... Marriage would either last eons or not at all, depending on your viewpoint."

She giggles suddenly, a memory of Villon flashing into her mind. "If I were to take one, I can think of a prettier Prince to wed!"

The talk of colours and dresses sends Valentina dreamy eyed as she mentally designs an entire new royal wardrobe for Helen and a retainers outfit for the body she currently wears. "Nor winks the gold fin in the porphyry font" She quotes softly, before coming back to herself with a little startle in time to hear Helen talk about having stopped consuming and safeguarding her physical form.

"Do you think having your form locked away will help? Surely if it is a problem in your consciousness, it matters not what form you inhabit?" Valentina's eyebrow quirks upwards in curiosity.

"As for Jackdaw, I understand he is also claiming memory loss." Valentina's tone is neutral but she can't quite stop another little flash of disapproval.

In answer to Helen's question she thinks for a moment. "I do not believe so, if the sender is as skilled as Reggie. He is rather practised darling..."

[annabelle]

Helen​ looks comically shocked.
"A husband is essential Miss Audley! Every woman's destination should lead to a wedding. I didn't expect you to be such a wild spirit. Oh Mon Dieu!" and William uses his palm as a fan for his non existent blushing.

"A prettier Prince? I can introduce you to my Sire, Prince Mustafa of Constantinople, lovely chap and attractive if you find the middle eastern virtues appealing. He certainly can bath you in jewels and expensive fabrics my dear, the finest one can find, I am pretty sure you are his type. Oh...But what do I say? We have a prettier Prince somewhere near don't we? Have you met Prince Uriah? Such a handsome man, not my type, but I can recognize the appeal. He owns me a trivial boon I think, any ideas on how to utilize it?"

Helen watches Valentina's concealed excitement for her dress with amusement. "You can take some of my memories and you can create something that will fit the Victorian standards but also stay true to the Byzantine patterns! You can add in your list that you created a dress for a Princess of the Byzantine Empire. Of course don't mention I am a neonate or...well....my name in general....because well...nothing fancy there, I am a mess, bad reputation and all. Just keep it vague." and with that she starts laughing with all her heart.

"Hmmm...Well if someone drugged me and they try to do it again they will drug this body because no one knows where my real form is located, so it should be fine. But then...who knows...now days strange things happen we cannot predict. Do you feel the electricity in the air Valentina? Like the atmosphere before the storm?"

She then nods about her assessment on Reggie's experience

"Yeah, memory loss...like it is hard to find out if he is lying or not...I'll leave this for the Primogen Council to judge. I am just a neonate, I can only make assumptions quietly."

[Valentina Audley]

"If husbands are so essential, who are you setting your cap at darling?" Valentina can't help the laugh that follows the statement.

"As for pretty Princes, I was visiting Prince Uriah last month. He has always been very kind to me, but I rather fancy his eyes are drawn to one more beautiful than I. No, I was more thinking Prince Villon of Paris. Have you seen him? The man is pure perfection of looks! And his eyes... So dazzlingly green..." Valentina lapses into a moments silence, the blush once again flooding her cheeks as she remembers her trip to Paris.

"Dare I inquire as to middle eastern virtues? I'm afraid I'm rather ignorant about other countries. They all seemed so far away when I was young and now I lack the time required to study..." She sounds regretful.

Growing sober, she sighs wistfully and says "the storm has been growing for some long nights now. I had hoped the night of fire would cleanse the air but alas, we seem to have swapped one set of problems for a whole bushel of new ones! It's very vexing darling, really it is."

[annabelle]

William looks shocked, one can say offended. He stares around terrified, the mortals walking past them and the shame apparent in his gaze.
“Miss Audley…What are you implying? That.I.am.tipping.the.VELVET?!” his hand on his mouth “I don’t want the police to get me! I am fond of ladies like any other respectable gentleman! No God will approve a union between two men, I couldn’t possibly take a husband.” And then he abandons the theatre and snorts with a giggle

“I am afraid I haven’t seen that Prince. Reggie mentioned him before, what else is dazzling except his green eyes?” she asks with curiosity and then waives her hand.

“Hmmm…middle east, well. They entertain a good harem most of the times but then…many of our kind here do the same. The rich ones are bathed in jewellery as well, they don’t know limit. The more the merrier. Sometimes is hard to walk…”

Or to run

“…with these. Truly unnecessary. But then with age our kind changes and nationality becomes secondary and sometimes it vanishes. We end up a weird mix of our roots and experiences after centuries. I think you have plenty of time to explore the world, especially with Reggie by your side. He is a great travel company, I am sure you know this know more than me.”

"the storm has been growing for some long nights now.”

Helen nods with sobriety and just walks silently and thoughtfully. Her silly mood seems vanished in thin air and she stares something, somewhere. “I’ve been here before. The sense of something bubbling under your feet, this threatening breeze. It lasted for years centuries ago…”

Helen (or the human) seems like she is getting lost in her memories, her words a distant whisper “I've spend my time getting into pitiful fights with my family, the stress of the upcoming storm consuming my life, ruining everything. I’ve spend so much time arguing with them…god…how much I regret it…I could have enjoyed these last years with them….and what did I do? Created regrets, plenty of them. Call it stubbornness, pride, possessiveness, ego, arrogance all sorts of things. And then everything was gone, ashes in the eastern wind.”

She stares at Valentina and gives her a sincere smile “Learned my lesson though. Before you argue with the ones dear to you consider if this is something worth arguing after they are gone. If not, let it go, because they might disappear one day and you won’t be able to go back to fix this. You might even disappear and they will have to live with their own regrets. Unfortunate but something that can be avoided easily. This is an advice free of charge, might be useless or not, doesn’t matter, its given freely and sincerely.”

The human extends his hands welcoming and smiles some more “We can only do our best, fight as much as we can and be thankful of what we have. The rest is fate.” he then smells Valentina's flowers with a peaceful cheerful smile.

"They smell divine."

[Valentina Audley]

Valentina can't help the giggles that come to her with William's offended face. "Dear Mr Smith, anyone can see that you are clearly the most upright of gentlemen!" She giggles again.

"Villon is... Is everything that is beauty and grace combined. You've seen the white marble Grecian statues, yes? Think like that but come alive, His form is pure beauty and his clothes accentuate all that is glorious about him..." It's clear that a) Valentina is having a hard time articulating exactly what it is about Villon's looks that's so appealing and b) her memories of him are replaying in her mind as she talks, given that she stumbles into silence, before rapidly changing the subject. It's clear that the Parisian Prince must have made quite the impression on the Ancilla.

"Ah, really? I might pass on the middle east then... I'm not sure I have the right temperament to fit in to harem life." She comments drily. "Though, if you are geographically inclined, is Persia in the middle east? I really am a dunce for geography!" She laughs again as she says this, clearly not minding her lack of knowledge.

She listens carefully to Helen's slightly folorn talk of arguments, and sighs softly with her talk of not arguing with dear ones. Her thoughts track over the Rose War and how she is likely being played by both sides. "I try not to argue with those dear to me." She admits carefully. "Though sometimes it seems unavoidable, alas."

When the talk turns to flowers she admires the roses she's carrying and grins at Helen. "I have ever loved roses, even before my Sire was a known part of my life. The are such beautiful, dressy flowers, each one adorned as for a ball. No common place petals to be seen here!"

[annabelle]

William raises his eyebrows, was Valentina dominated by that Villon? Or propably it was presence. Or he was just that impressive...Who knew!

So she just nods and smiles politely without commenting further. "Yes Persia is in middle east and I am not sure how useful geography is. My knowledge is excellent of the world of four centuries ago and now might be useless. Not sure how borders and names changed. I don't even know what is considered Greece nowdays. I've heard they created a small country that hardly resembles anything. Time is a peculiar notion if you slept for too long."

She touches softly one of the petals, feeling the silky texture "In Greek mytholody roses are the representation of rebirth. Some claim Aphrodite was the creator of Roses, cliche right? My sister used to love these, I never cared about flowers though. Now I do. You mentioned your sire. Was he kind to you?"

[Valentina Audley]

"My Sire?" Valentina blinks in surprise. She rarely thinks on Andrew these days. How to explain in a way that doesn't compromise anything or raise questions? Hrm...

"Much like your eastern princes, he gave me jewels and fabulous fabrics darling." She smiles lightly, remembering balls from long ago. "We had some wonderful times together."

No word of an untruth there and her conscience thus clear, she smiles genially at her companion. Part of her wishes to ask the same question, but Valentina has a vague notion that time in a harem, no matter how pretty, probably wasn't all that fun, so she refrains.

Instead she asks "And what flowers do you favour darling?"

[annabelle]

Helen doesn’t push the topic of their Sires. It was obvious Valentina was going to stick to the surface and Helen had no intention to talk about this either. Flowers…that was a safe topic.

“I never specifically liked flowers, there were many reasons behind that. But don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I used to despise them, not at all, they were just indifferent to me as a human. I was indifferent of many things, including the riches as well. However, I’ve seen a flower once, a painting of a bloomed version and a dried version of it. I think it was called Kadu…Kadupul I think, strange name, its origin from east, far east, further than Constantinople or Persia.

The painting was a gift from a performer accompanied by a poem and a bottle of perfume. I don’t remember the poem but I remember the description. They called it Queen of the Night though it was blooming at midnight and perishing at dawn. Such a unique flower but it had cactus roots and once picked up it was dying within minutes, a truly magnificent flower with a mesmerising scent but an extremely short life span. That’s why they used to call it the flower that cannot be bought.

I am not sure if it still exists, but you can take the image from my head and if you like it, it might become an inspiration for a dress. Who knows!” and she smiles with enthusiasm.