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 Posted: Wed Sep 13, 2017 1:05 pm
Remarque had spent the majority of day walking around, looking at things and poking around everywhere he could reach. He’d been in the library for only a short while; already, he’d tucked a good few books away in subspace. He couldn’t understand much of them, but he had no moral issue with removing a few colorful, picture ridden texts from Altea’s shelf.
Or fishing around in the drawers in empty rooms, seeing what strange trinkets he could find. He’d found a few pens and blank sheets of paper, but those were nothing fancy. One of the pens he’d found seemed like it was ceremonial more than functional (so naturally, he’d been unable to resist slipping that one into his possession).
But none of that was as interesting as the tiny chest he’d found, shoved in the dark corner of a room that looked like it hadn’t been used in ages.
Given everything Altea had said, it seemed like it might not have been.
Certainly, it seemed strange that someone could have forgotten their belongings, but the chest was only the size of a loaf of bread and it was dark enough to look like a part of the wall. It seemed as though it might have been lost beneath some extra linen, but he hasn’t hesitated to pull it out. The chest was heavier than it seemed—partially because of the solid material it was made out of, and partially because it still had things in it.
A set of opera gloves, faded in color but softer than any fabric he’d felt in a time. Not his size, but he figured, finders keepers.
Below the opera gloves were a few small baubles—some marbles, clear and glistening, in a bag. Some had small shapes in the center—flowers, and bubbles, and what might have been tiny animals. Some just had little bits of mirrors or crystals. Pretty, but just toys for children.
A bookmark—or, at least, he assumed. It was an ornamental strip of metal that he couldn’t imagine served any other purpose. It had a carved design but it was nothing he recognized and didn’t seem like it had any true value.
Unlike the gems below.
Tucked amidst some papers and wrapped in silk was a necklace that caught his eye like the sky did—because it looked like the sky. He had seen opals and gems on earth that glistened in the light, but there was something different about this one. The two inch oval was black, but within that darkness swirled a strange purple and blue smoke. The gem glistened with a strange depth, and it seemed like the cut had given it the impression that stars were twinkling.
If someone had told Remarque he was looking up into the night sky, he’d have believed them.
He had long since been entranced by the night sky, and he stared at the necklace for a long moment. A man like himself couldn’t carry around jewelry, but thankfully he had a beautiful woman this would look gorgeous on.
The rest of the contents of the chest were temporarily forgotten; Remarque packed them away and dismissed the entire trunk to subspace to go through later. He pocketed the necklace though, careful to keep it safe, and slipped from the room.
He knew his way to Lesath’s room well; he had snuck in many times. His hand was still wrapped around the necklace, stroking its smooth surface, when he knocked on her door. He didn’t wait long; he let himself in.
“Hey,” he greeted, before he’d even scanned the room for her. “I wanna show you something. Are you decent?”
He wouldn’t have minded if she wasn’t, but just in case he closed the door behind him.
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 8:02 pm
Lesath had an issue. She wasn’t quite sure just how big of an issue that it was, or how big of an issue it was going to be…but she clearly had an issue. It seemed that her thumb had been overtaken by some…crystalline fungus. A green crystalline fungus…but…that was the only think she could think that it was. She had been examining the thumb with some morbid fascination and finally sighed. It didn’t come off with scratching or peeling…or biting…so she just had to assume that this was her lot in life for now. She would deal with this…
When Remarque came into the room, she smoothly hid the hand with the infection on it and smiled warmly up at him. “I’m decent enough…and if I wasn’t, so long as it’s you, I don’t really mind. What did you bring me. I hope it’s not another fork, Rem.”
Her hand was underneath her bottom, and she leaned close. “Though, I suppose if we’re playing show and tell, I have something to show you as well, but you go first, I’m excited now.” Hopefully he brought her a nice present…and hopefully he wouldn’t freak out too much from the strange crystals growing on her thumb. Hopefully.
At least…she had a great way to present it to him. She had been working on it since she first noticed the…abnormality.
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Posted: Thu Sep 14, 2017 8:51 pm
“No, no fork this time,” he promised; despite whatever monetary value Remarque was convinced the cutlery had, he had a deep appreciation for all things antique and the apparent effort and technique it had taken to manufacture them. But Lesath liked shiny things, and didn’t care as much for their history.
He didn’t mind.
He was extremely interested in whatever she wanted to show him, but he wasn’t going to worry about that until after he’d gotten to finish his presentation.
“It’s something you’ll like more, I think.”
He withdrew the necklace from his pocket and presented it to her, cupped within both hands. He watched the way the gem glistened, still fascinate with the way it mimicked stars in the night sky. It was almost difficult to pry his eyes from the gem and lift to Lesath’s face, but he wanted to watch her expression.
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Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:09 pm
Lesath’s eyes widened as they took in the necklace. It was without a doubt one of the most stunning pieces that Jett had ever gotten her. “And the cheapest…” The words were a whisper and she grinned at Remarque. “It’s absolutely beautiful…I would ask you to put it on me, but I’m not quite sure this is the best time for that, I don’t want Queenie to get upset that someone here doesn’t know how to keep his hands to himself…but, Rem…I can’t take my eyes off of it…Thank you.”
She could already imagine herself wearing it out, to dinner, to their wedding…everywhere.
With a sigh, Lesath brought herself out of the quick jewelry high she had allowed to happen and gave a rueful smile. “So, Rem. The thing that I had to show you…well. It’s kind of great news, actually. You know how I am kind of horrible with gardening and keeping plants alive because I hate dirt. And I hate mud? Well. Now. We’ll have the best garden in the whole damn city, because look. Your fiancé has a green thumb.”
Pulling the hand with the crystals out, she held it up to Jett, wiggling the digit as best as she could. “See? Isn’t it great. I just sparkle.”
There was worry in her eyes. Worry and a bit of fear. This wasn’t normal, she knew it. But…it would only be worse if she kept worrying about it…besides. She was sure that Remarque would know what to do. Or he could panic. That would make her feel better too. “Chloe’s going to be so excited that Mommy’s got an emerald for a hand. That girl does love precious stones.”
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Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 11:17 am
Remarque stared at Lesath’s thumb for a moment; he was quiet as he processed it; she was making a joke out of it, so she was either not worried about it—probably like her at all; she was vain and prideful and would have seen this as a blemish, most likely.
Or, more likely, she was trying to play it off as a joke so she didn’t have to worry.
He wasn’t going to do anything to make her worry.
“I have to say,” he said slowly, after just a few seconds of examination, “You make green look good.”
He reached out to take her hand and laced fingers with her, brushing his thumb over hers. “Although, I’m sorry to say that I’m not sure you’ll be keeping that stone for a thumb. I’d rather cover your fingers in emerald rings, not actual emeralds.”
He drew her into an embraced and asked, “Did you touch anything strange or did it just appear while you slept?”
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Posted: Mon Sep 18, 2017 10:13 am
“Of course I make green look good. I make everything look good.” Lesath hated the fact that she couldn’t feel his thumb moving across hers. She could see it, but there was no sensation whatsoever. It scared her, a little. “I suppose it started yesterday? I noticed something off with my thumb there, but I thought it was just super dry skin—you know how I feel about my moisturizer. And I haven’t had it for ages now and I swear, Rem. I’m going to need about fifty more bottles when we get home…they should really be in the swing of the fall scents by now, don’t you think? I mean, I know it’s only been a few days…but a few days make all the difference when it comes to marketing…”
She was babbling, she knew it, and she hoped he wouldn’t feel the tremble in her hand, she wasn’t quite sure it was actually a thing, but she wasn’t sure of much, to be honest.
“What about you? Do you have any crystalline thumbs or anything…doesn’t look like you do, but hey. You could be hiding your…uh…thumbs.”
That made utterly no sense what so ever.
“…I want to go home. I want this to be over. I keep trying to act cool and calm but…I don’t know. This is honestly freaking me out…this didn’t happen the last time…and sure, I died the last time but…this seems…worse.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2017 8:53 am
“I know,” Remarque said softly, soothingly. He wrapped his arms around her tighter and just drew her close, tucking her head beneath his chin. “Last time we didn’t have a little girl at home,” he mused. “But you know mom’s taking care of her. It’s only a matter of time before we get out of here, before we get home to her, and all the moisturizer you can handle.”
He stroked his hand down her back thoughtfully as he held her to him; he hadn’t noticed any lack of sensation and he hadn’t seen anything odd growing, but it occurred to him that he hadn’t exactly been paying very close attention. Nothing had been amiss when he’d bathed yesterday morning, but he’d been distracted thinking about mirrors and home.
“You don’t have to worry, though,” he assured. “No one’s going to die, this time, and no matter how gorgeous you look decked out in gemstones, when we get home we’ll make sure it’s all taken care of. Truthfully, I haven’t seen any crystals sprouting up in places they don’t belong but,” he paused and admitted, “I haven’t really checked. Didn’t really occur to me that I should be checking, you know? I feel fine, so I just figured everything was fine.”
…Except, now he was feeling a little paranoid. “…Unless you want to play doctor and give me a check up,” he said, winking for good measure.
Just so he didn’t sound paranoid, too.
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Posted: Fri Sep 22, 2017 9:20 am
Lesath gave a little snort, happy that he was still trying to make her feel better, though…she could kind of see that he was getting a bit worried too. “Well, that’s good at least…and you know I’d be all too happy to check every inch of you for bumps and bruises and cute little crystals.” She paused, then laughed, imagining crystals in some…interesting places.
“…Maybe my mind is too far gone into some dark, unspeakable world for me to really play doctor right now…if you don’t have any crystals, that’s good. Maybe it’s because you’re a princes and this place sees you as her equal? I don’t know.”
She pressed closer to the eternal, snuggling into his chest. “All I do know, is that I’m tired of this place. I want a nice, big Italian dinner…or like, one of those nasty buffet places? I just want to eat all the food and get fat. And I want to maybe go on a vacation and get out of the city for a week or two. On our own terms.”
Nuzzling a bit closer, the last words were almost a sigh. “With our daughter, leaving our damn henshin pens locked away at home. Maybe we should take her to Disney, I think she would like that. Oh, or we could plan a cruise and get married on it. I’d like that.”
It was stupid how her mind always went to happier things when she was in stressful situations…but…that’s where she wanted to be. Safe with her family, as far away from this horrible castle as it was possible to be.
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Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2017 9:34 pm
Remarque just laughed and drew her close; he kept his arm wrapped around her back and rested his chin atop her head. He could always trust Lesath to bring up something like that in a time like this. “I think Chloe would like that. She’s old enough now, she might keep some of those memories. Or,” he paused, and glanced down at Lesath. “…You just want to dress her up in all those princess costumes, don’t you?”
He was teasing, and it made him feel a little better about all of this. Pplanning for the future meant they had a future; she wasn’t giving up on getting out of here and neither was he. “We’ll have to plan for something nice. Maybe I’ll schedule myself some time off from the store when we get back. I wouldn’t mind a vacation. A real vacation. Real food.”
He stroked down her back thoughtfully, closing his eyes as he relaxed with her pressed close to him. “Did you look up prices and scheduling for a cruise? We could do that, if you wanted. Mom’s been talking about wanting to go on a cruise, but I sort of assumed you put the idea in her head. She’s the only family I’ve got,” he mused, perhaps a bit bitterly. “So I’ve got a small guest list in that department. We could do a quiet little thing on a cruise. If there is such a thing.”
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Posted: Sat Sep 23, 2017 10:00 pm
“I want nothing more than to dress her up in princess costumes and plaster those pictures all over the walls.” Lesath looked utterly delighted, clearly picturing Chloe in all of the princess dresses that might be available. “Of course I’ve looked up prices, and I have a few dates in mind, if you’re up to it. We’d only need you, me and Chloe, and your mom along with my parents. In order to get married on the cruise we’d have to get married at the courthouse first, International Waters and all of that…but I think it would be nice. Cozy and private…I’m kind of tired of big groups.”
She fell quiet for a moment, thinking of what might happen if they invited the court to the wedding and shook her head slowly. “I think it would be better if it was just our families. That’s all we really need, anyway. Besides…it’ll be nice to just all be together.” Lesath raised Remarque’s hand to her lips and kissed it. “Your mom is wonderful, and I’m so glad that she’s around…but are you going to invite her boyfriend too, do you think? I think you should. It would make her feel better I’m sure. Besides, you know Chloe adores him too.”
It was so easy to talk about this. This…blip being trapped would be over soon and they could get on with their lives. It would be great.
Perfect.
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Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 8:51 am
A smile twitched onto Remarque's face; he couldn't hide it when she mentioned dressing Chloe up, or that she'd already gone ahead and figured out prices and dates and everything they'd need to do.
Cozy and private sounded fine with him; Remarque might have been flashy, but not when it came to emotional thing. He didn't want to have a large group--didn't want them to see his mother cry or know how much he favored her, or ask why his father wasn't there and just his mother's boyfriend.
Who, Lesath was right; he didn't mind him. In fact, he did like his mother's boyfriend, if only because he was treating her right--spoiling her and taking her on romantic dates and little adventures, and buying her flowers and nice things.
He was making his mother happy, and that made Jet happy.
The only issue was that he'd been man of the house for so long that a part of him felt stepped on, but that was probably a minor thing; not so long ago, Jett had still been living with his mother, taking care of her and supporting her. Now, he had his own household to manage, but it was still something he had to get used to.
"Mom would never let me down if I didn't invite him," he shrugged, pretending like it was no big deal. "And I guess he can come, since Chloe likes him so much."
He was teasing, another small smile on his face as he brushed his fingertips over Lesath's cheek. "If we just invite those four, it means Chloe's grandparents can babysit and you and I can have a romantic cruise getaway. How could I complain about that? It sounds perfect to me."
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Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 9:49 am
Lesath gave a rather relieved sigh and nodded. “Perfect. Then it’s settled and we’ll really jump head first into planning when we get home…so that had better be soon. I’m tired of not being married. I want your ring on my finger and to just…live my happily ever after.”
…which she was starting to have the creeping suspicion did not involve her spending much more time in the court…she was tired of things like this.
Her daughter needed her parents…not to be sent to grandparents all the time. But…that would be something to talk about later. When they were home. Which would be soon.
“Love you, Rem…We’ll be out of here soon, and everything will be okay. You’ll see. We’ll be married and home and it’ll all be perfect…”
Because if this went on too much longer…she would start to get reckless. She knew it.
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Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 10:06 am
Remarque just laughed softly and gave her one more squeeze. “That’s what I’ve been saying this whole time.”
He placed one kiss atop her head and then lightly placed his fingers under her chin to draw her lips closer to his. He was not shy about kissing her—really kissing her; they’d been doing it for years and it just felt natural. He knew that they’d get out of here—alive, and fine, and well.
When his lips parted from hers, he wrapped his hand behind her and drew her towards the bed.
He’d had enough of being separated for today; they could spend tonight together.
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