Atlantic Roleplay Community Boards

[Ariana Lenoir]

---

The communication crystal on the desk beeped softly as the soft red glow intensified. Ariana looked up from her paperwork as a glimmer of mild annoyance reflected briefly in her ice blue eyes. She extended a hand, resting her manicured fingertips upon the crystalline surface.

"W'at is it, Jasper?" she asked, any sound of annoyance that danced in her thoughts was completely absent from her voice.

"Miss Asteby to see you, Your Grace, " the guards gruff voice responded.

Ariana studied the reflective surface of the crystal, "Tell 'er I'll be right down. T'at is all."

"Yes, Your Grace, " came the trained response and the crystal darkened again as the connection downstairs was closed. She took her time as she arranged the paperwork on her desk, capping the ink well and checking her appearance in the vanity mirror before making her way downstairs. The black silk of her dress glided down each stone step silently as she gracefully descended.

Tierna curtsied as Ariana walked into the sitting room. Ariana acknowledged the show of reverence with a slight nod as her eyes turned to study Catherine. The four year old was dressed in a fancy dress, clutching a small bound ream of parchment. She looked up at her mother and their eyes locked for a long moment before Catherine bowed her head and imitated Tierna's curtsy as best as she could.

"Good evenin', Catherine, " Ariana said as she acknowledged the child's curtsy with a graceful nod of her head.

"Mother." the young girl said as she looked up at her mother and smiled angelically. "Would you like to see what I learned?"

Ariana motioned her daughter to sit on the couch and she sat down beside her. "Indeed." Catherine opened her workbook and began explaining each page in detail. Her mother smiled gently as she appeared to be giving the child her full attention, even though her voice gave an indication her attentions were elsewhere, "W'at is it ye wish t'ask, Miss Asteby?" She didn't even look at the young woman as she smiled and nodded as Catherine pointed to different marks on the paper.

"The Princess wishes to go... " she paused a moment as if the simple act of saying the words to follow would infect her with filth, "... trick or treating, Your Grace."

"An'?" came Ariana blunt reply as her physical attention remained on Catherine's show and tell.

Tierna cleared her throat slightly, "A thousand apologies, Your Grace. My throat has been congested of late and perhaps you may not have heard me. I said the Princess wishes to go trick or treating."

Ariana pointed at a crude drawing of a man in armor and smiled, nodding gently in approval as Catherine's eyes lit up with the silent praise. "I assure ye Miss Asteby, there is naythin' wrong with my 'earin'. I 'eard ye."

The seconds turned into minutes as Ariana continued to show interest in the child's drawings and her sense with numbers. Tierna slowly shifted her weight as the fifth minute passed. She opened her mouth several times, closing it thereafter as of thinking better of speaking. Finally, after the tenth minute had gnawed at her impatience she spoke, "So..."

Ariana looked up at her for a moment and smiled calmly at Tierna's expectant face. "So... ye take the Princess trick or treatin'..."

Tierna's mouth went slack slightly as she gaped at Ariana in disbelief. She shook her head as if to free herself from shock before stammering, "But... it isn't proper for a Princess to... peasants, farmers and their ilk, of course... but not the sort of place one takes such an influential mind."

Ariana continued to smile calmly and the tone of her voice sounding warm and gentle, although her words clearly threatened otherwise, "Are ye questionin' my answer on this, Miss Asteby?"

Tierna paled slightly, "Of course not, Your Grace." She lowered her voice to a harsh whisper, "However, she could catch a sickness from one of them..."

Ariana's facial expression stayed absolute with the purity of pleasantness as she spoke, "... t'en I would strongly suggest, ye see t'it t'at she recovers. The children in the city get sick often, but rarely is it fatal wit' proper medical care. I would 'ope ye are nay suggestin' t'at my child is inferior t'those spawned from inbred parents an' born in a pigsty."

Tierna became deathly pale, "Of course not, Your Grace. Absolutely not. I will take the Princess as you instructed."

"Lovely, "Ariana said simply and turned back to Catherine whom was grinning widely up at Tierna's pale face. "Miss Asteby is goin' t'take ye trick o' treating. Go wit' 'er back t'er estate s'that ye might get ready."

Catherine looked at her mother, still grinning, "Yes, Mother." She closed her workbook and hopped off the couch. "Come on, Miss Asteby. Candy awaits us!"
_________________

[Bryelle Vaughn]

---

“Vas Rel Por”. Hand in hand, Tierna and Catherine found themselves stepping out of a gate and through the doors of Restless Hinges. The good sized manor would be sold soon; boxes and moving crates were now scattered along the length of the entryway and halfway up the stairs.

“Come, Catherine. We need to find you a suitable costume. If you are to..,” Tierna paused trying to swallow back the nausea she felt with the term, “Trick or Treat, we cannot have you dressed like the other children. “ Taking the teleporter to the second floor, she grazed her hand across the long row of chests against the wall. Stopping at the third chest she pulled from it a dress of deep blue. The sleeves, sheer though they were, were long and pointed with a finger loop at the edge. The bodice was matching shade of intense dark blue made entirely of velvet. The dress portion began slightly higher than the waist and flowed in silken bundles to just above where the soles of Catherine’s shoes would be.

“Yes, I think this will do nicely.” Tierna handed the child the dress and motioned toward the other room for her to change into. Catherine’s brows arched as if in question.

“It’s a pretty dress, Miss Asteby. What is it?” Catherine cocked her head to the side looking the dress up and down.

Tierna knew good and well what the little girl meant by her comment. However this was a perfect time for a lesson. “You must learn to phrase your questions so there can be no misunderstanding. Vagueness is only used for manipulating the weak. As I am neither, my dear, you will restate your question.”
Slightly chastised, Catherine bit her bottom lip momentarily and respoke. “What will I be going as for Trick or Treat?”

Tierna smiled as she watched her charge do as she had asked. The corners of her mouth turned up in irony as she explained. “You will be going as a Vampire Princess.” And with that stated Tierna muttered something under her breath that Catherine could not make out. Taking her hand ever so gently she reached into the only metal chest in the house and pulled out a jeweled circlet, placing it softly on the child’s head.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Once she had the child dressed in soft leather shoes and matching velvet cape lined in previously living Lycan fur, they made their way to New Haven for Catherine’s much anticipated first round of Trick or Treat. “It is customary for children to use some sort of..” Tierna paused once again to swallow the bile in her mouth at the taste of the words, “sack in which to place their treats. As a princess however, that is beneath you. Therefore I have procured for your use a hand crafted basket made of oak.” Catherine gave a small smile as if in an effort of appreciation that she really didn’t understand and without missing a beat began tugging Tierna away from the front gate of New Haven.

“Let’s go to the horse place.” An excited squeal escaped the tiny lips as they approached the stables. Without the slightest hint that this was the first time she had done this, Catherine strode directly up to the animal trainer. “Trick or Treat!” Libby, the animal trainer smiled at the pretty little girl she saw before her and handed her a set of green lollipops. It was her first sugar bounty! Remembering her manners she thanked Libby and proceeded to Charmaine and to Ogden, the vet. Both instances netted her two cinnamon rolls and some kind of colorful looking rock candy. Similar goodies could be found at the inn, the bank, and the armory. All of which earned both a small smile and a polite thanks from Catherine’s well taught manners. All in all Tierna thought it was going fairly well. Her young charge had not seemed to catch any degree of disease and the germs were at a minimum. Perhaps, Tierna pondered, this evening may not turn into the horror she imagined.

Wanting to expose Catherine to a bit of fresh water Tierna decided to head for the docks. Standing just at the end of the wooden platform was Waldo. Basket in hand Catherine strode once again up as she had been practicing and requested her Trick or Treat.

“I have no candy to give you,” came Waldo’s reply. This was not a response Catherine had been prepared for and she quirked her head in quiet thought. Suddenly as if a light came on within her tiny brain she answered his statement with one of her own. “That’s right, you’re poor. No wonder you have no candy. It must really be bad to be you, “ She said it in a matter of fact way. Tierna, while shocked that those words had come out of her mouth, could not rightly blame the little girl. She was after all correct, whether it should have been said or not.

“Come, Catherine. Let us find some better endowed townsfolk. “

“Listen Lady, I don’t know who you think you or this brat are..” Tierna cut him off at that statement.

“Corp por.” A huge mass of energy began to collect at her fingertips. The fisherman’s eyes grew wide and Catherine smiled hoping secretly that her governess would make their own personal bonfire. Tierna’s eyes, glazed over and intensity took hold. The fisherman’s shoulder’s began to shake and his boots began to backslide on the wooden platform. Having gotten her point across, Tierna took the little girls hand once more and led her back into the main part of town.
They were almost to the edge of the entrance when Catherine remembered the small bottle of conflagaration point she had smuggled into the one pocket the dress actually had. It hadn’t been easy, especially under Miss Asteby’s ever watchful gaze. A grin chased itself across her tiny features and with a natural aim she pitched the bottle back onto the wooden platform, igniting not only Waldo the fisherman, but the wooden crates and fishing nets as well. That will teach him who to call a brat, she countered mentally.

If Miss Asteby had noticed the flames begin behind them she never said a word. Trick or Treat continued in the town Miss Asteby had called Trinsic. Catherine didn’t know anything about it other than the fact that it had an awful lot of cows and it smelled bad. That had to be the reason her Mother kept her in clean environments, she was afraid of that stench. A total of 3 hours later, exhausted, basket full and heavy, they returned to Restless Hinges.
_________________
Ariana Lenoir[3:53 pm] She has all the subtlety of a rampaging elephant.