[FIN] Distressed Damsel in Disguise {Allison and Marie}

[LoveByLetters]

Marie would be the last person to doubt that there is a place for hedge witches -- after all, isn't it a hedge witch who has just rescued her? Who knows all the answers that she has been craving? No matter that not all hedge witches are so informed, for the next few days at least Marie will be willing to swear that they are miraculous beings, without which everyone would probably fall apart.

She thinks on Alice's answer over the next several bites of stew, and finally nods. " .. I think that is what I will do, then. There is -- I have been thinking about it, ever since I first .. first was able to think of anything at all," anything other than the tree and her waiting totem, she means. "And I could not think of anything that would not cause more trouble than it was worth. I know at least that if I can return mama will keep very quiet about it, in Palisade."  

[Nyx Argyros]

Lovely. Another one who wanted to pretend that nothing had happened. Some help she would be to the other Chosen. No matter. It was only a matter of time until the noblewoman's Guardian emerged from its totem. When that happened, her life would be well and irrevocably changed. Even if Marie tried to ignore her calling then, it would be nigh impossible to stay out of things entirely. Assuming her Guardian followed its natural inclinations to meddle in the affairs of wolves, that is.

"You will hardly be able to hide your Guardian once it emerges," she pointed out, polishing the last of her stew off with a bit of bread.  

[LoveByLetters]

"Oh, no, Miss Allison. It isn't the Guardian I am worried about; there are others who have them. It is quite the thing to have a Guardian, these days. It is that I was gone, and alone, unchaperoned! Why, what people would say if they knew!" She actually shudders, as if the very idea gives her a chill, and if the idea sounds rather odd -- that people would accept a Guardian but not accept that that very Guardian was her reason for being gone -- it is. Even Marie seems to realize it, and gives her a little half-smile of apology to have broached such an absurd notion. "I am of an age where I am yet hoping to find a suitable husband, you see. I dare not ruin my chances."  

[Nyx Argyros]

By the spirits, Alice could hardly believe the girl. All this fuss over the mere act of being unchaperoned for a few days? As though that were scandalous enough to worry over! The hedge witch would only find the notion even more absurd if the knew of Marie's...reputation in Palisade. Of course, being who she was, from the long line of women that she came from, Alice had never really adhered to society's expectations. In fact, she hardly paused to take notice of them. It would not be so surprising, then, if she sometimes forgot that there were women who were bound by such expectations.

"If they knew the details of your trip, I doubt they would be able to accuse you of anything at all," she said. "But it is your story to do with what you will."  

[LoveByLetters]

Other than that confused hiccup, Marie proves a surprisingly easy guest for one of her station -- perhaps her disastrous journey through the woods has done her some good after all. It has left her much subdued, eager to please, and more than a little over-awed by the brave hedge-witch, though her encounters with Hecate remain terrifying at best.

She will sleep deeply overnight, wake early, and nearly be in tears with gratitude when it is time to go, swearing profusely that she will send some manner of payment or gift once she has reached home. And though Alice may little believe it when Marie disappears down the trail, waving furiously, the silly little girl is as good as her word. A few weeks later a parcel will make its way to her, wrapped tightly up in brown paper and canvas.

Inside is an old tome on the history of hedge witches (it is very dusty, as if it's been pulled off a forgotten shelf), a length of ribbon the color of Hecate's eyes (richly dyed and probably expensive), a bundle of dyed forget-me-nots tied with a green ribbon, and a delicate water-paint image of a small fawn looking adoringly up at the artist. It is not an incredible work, nor a very detailed one, but the amateur hand that painted it is not without talent, and the striking markings very much stand out.  

[Nyx Argyros]

Indeed, it came as a surprise when the package arrived. Alice was not accustomed to receiving mail. Still, when she sat down at her table with Hecate, each peering at it with great attention, she could not help but be a tad touched by the sentiment. When she opened the package, sorting through each piece with care, well, there was no one around to witness it if she happened to smile with something akin to shy, girlish pleasure.

The forget-me-nots found their way into a little glass vase atop the mantle. The lovely little painting - and it was lovely, Alice did not mind the lack of sophistication in technique - was hung in her bedroom. The fine ribbon became a new collar for Hecate. As for the tome, the hedge witch ran her hand gently over the cover and took it to her most comfortable chair in the main room, content to read the evening away.