Her family was scattered across the multiverse. Ishmerai was in Faerie once again (at least by his choice this time); Sapphire was back in her own time and dimension with her mother, father, and a serious boyfriend Jewell wasn’t quite so sure about; and Mallory was in RhyDin, busy with god only knew what, but Jewell was often not, wandering wherever the cosmic wind took her.
Every time they parted, she gave each of them a hug, a kiss, and one request aside from being as safe as they could be: Please keep in touch.
Keep in Touch
Moderators: Bailey Raptis, JewellRavenlock
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JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
-
JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
Re: Keep in Touch
Interdimensional time-travel texting was wild.
Jewell to Lil Blue: Don’t overreact but I slept with Kal last night.
Lil Blue to Mama Blue: You WHAT!?!?!?!?
Interdimensional time-travel phone calls were even wilder. The phone started to vibrate in her hand and played the opening notes of one of Sapphire’s favorite songs from the Punk Town Locals. Jewell swiped the screen with her thumb and walked towards the windows in her living room as she raised the device to her ear, “Hello, you have reached the most fabulous Empress–”
“YOU WHAT?” Jewell cringed and pulled the phone away, holding it at arm’s length as she was treated to a very high pitched and incredibly vulgar diatribe. “Have you ****ing lost your totally ****ed **** mind?” She brushed her free fingers over the leaves of a spider plant. “After watching you cry your eyes out for months over that pig-headed mother ****ing **** head of a ****!” She didn’t quite hum as she moved over to the basil plant, pinching back a few leaves and enjoying the rich smell. “...and you almost ended up dead again and totally ****ed because that no good **** of a ****ing ****--”
“There you go,” Jewell murmured quietly, out of range of the phone’s speaker, as she moved a ladybug off the ledge and onto one of the plants.
“--and **** me ****ing **** purple if he didn’t stab you in the ****ing heart with IRON!”
“Well, it was effective at the time,” Jewell interjected reasonably, taking advantage of the moment Sapphire needed to gather her breath.
She got a snort in response, breaking the tension. “Yeah, except it rotted your heart away after.”
“He didn’t know it would do that.” In the momentary silence that followed, she could hear Sapphire’s disbelief from 20 some odd years and however many dimensions away. “He didn’t. We didn’t even know for months, remember?” She ran a basil-scented hand through her hair. She’d really rather not recall those long weeks when her heart was slowly failing inside her chest. The breathlessness. The sense of mortality. The inevitableness of it all. But the memories were there all the same.
She twisted a piece of her hair between her fingers, trying to repack those thoughts into the locked box they belonged in, completely missing the first part of what Sapphire was saying. She picked up the thread of the conversation on, “--and you really slept with him again after all of that? Weren’t you scared he’d shank you again?”
“Well,” she could see her cat ate the canary grin reflected in the window, “I mean that was kind of the point wasn’t it?”
“Aaargh,” Sapphire made a noise of absolute disgust and frustration. “How did this even happen?”
“If you really must know,” she didn’t even attempt to kill the smile evident in her voice. “I saw him last night at the duels. It’s been years now, you know. He looked good.”
“Uh huh.”
“He called me darlin’ again.”
All Sapphire could do was sigh out her name, “Mama…”
“It was just like all that mess had never even happened.”
“But it did,” the younger Faerie bit out. Silence hovered between them as Jewell finally turned away from the window and threw herself onto the couch, gathering up a pillow to her chest and squishing it. “So what was the context of him calling you darlin’?”
“What?”
“Like… how did he say it? Did he say, ‘Sorry darlin’ for stabbin’ ye in the heart and then leavin’ ye to deal with the fallout on yer own and tellin’ ye I couldna ever love ye,’?”
“Your impersonation is terrible.”
“So he didn’t say sorry.”
Jewell snapped at her, “He has nothing to apologize for.”
“Bullshit! Nothing to apologize for? In case you’ve forgotten–”
“I haven’t forgotten! I haven’t forgotten a single second of that entire year.” She was shouting now, heedless of the neighbors downstairs as that little box sprang open inside her. “I still see it when I close my eyes. Still taste the blood of my friends on my lips. Forget it? I live it every damn day.”
The other side of the line was quiet before Sapphire offered a subdued, “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply–”
“Yes you did. But let me tell you something Lil Blue.” Jewell lowered her voice, but it contained even more fury. “It’s the same thing I’ll tell him if he ever asks me. There is and has never been anything to forgive him for. Kal saved me that night at my request. I asked him to do that. And he…” she choked on the sudden lump in her throat, pausing until the swell of emotion passed. “He doesn’t even know how much he saved me from. But you know. You saw my medical records. You heard me on the Perihelion. You know what they made me do. What they did to me.” Her heart was racing as hard as it had in the months after that fateful Valentine's Day. “So if you think for one second that I hold him responsible, that I’ve ever been angry with him, after he freed me from that… that hell.” She came to an abrupt stop, breathing heavily and holding onto the pillow for dear life.
Sapphire’s voice was small, contrite, “But he left you after that. When you needed him.”
She released the pillow so she could scrub at her face, “Sapphire, I didn’t need him. I wanted him. But even that…it doesn’t matter now and it all worked out fine in the end.”
That earned another snort, “Seems like a bit of an overstatement.”
Jewell finally smiled again, “Maybe a little.”
“And that doesn’t mean you should have jumped right back into his bed at the first darlin’!”
The Faerie had to consciously release the tension from her muscles, stretching out her legs along the couch and wiggling her toenails with their sparkly blue polish. She was alive. She was safe. She had control over her own body. Everything was fine. “No, but it felt right somehow. Good.”
“Well I certainly hope it felt good.”
“Sapphire!”
“What? I’m just saying if I slept with a guy who had tossed me aside years ago, it had better be mind-blowingly good.”
Jewell grinned, “Maybe it was.”
“Stop! STOP! I do not want to hear the details.” Jewell’s laughter was her only response. “Mother of Nature,” she groaned, “I can’t wait to tell Mallory. The look on her face, I bet it’s totally worth a visit to see it.”
“Oh no. No no no. You do not get to tell Mallory.”
“What? Why not? That’s so unfair!”
“Too bad. I’m going to tell her myself.”
“Mphm. Fine. Whatever. You’re still crazy. Unless he miraculously changed, you’re just setting yourself up for heartbreak again.”
“Sapphire,” she chided softly, “I’m not. And he hasn’t changed. I wouldn’t really want him to. But I have. You know I have.”
“Yeah…well, at least it was just a one-time thing.” Silence. “It was just a one-time thing, wasn’t it?”
Jewell practically giggled, “Maybe a two-time thing? I mean, he travels a lot for work and he’s probably leaving again soon, but the man owes me dinner, drinks, and dancing. We never got past me picking out a dress last night.”
“Mother of Nature, I didn’t need to know that,” Sapphire grumbled to herself. “Okay, well at least it’s only a two-time thing then and he’ll be gone.”
“Sure.” Jewell paused before dragging out the next word, “Except…I did tell him he’s welcome to crash at my place whenever he’s in town.”
“Crash into you, you mean…”
“Sapphire!”
Jewell to Lil Blue: Don’t overreact but I slept with Kal last night.
Lil Blue to Mama Blue: You WHAT!?!?!?!?
Interdimensional time-travel phone calls were even wilder. The phone started to vibrate in her hand and played the opening notes of one of Sapphire’s favorite songs from the Punk Town Locals. Jewell swiped the screen with her thumb and walked towards the windows in her living room as she raised the device to her ear, “Hello, you have reached the most fabulous Empress–”
“YOU WHAT?” Jewell cringed and pulled the phone away, holding it at arm’s length as she was treated to a very high pitched and incredibly vulgar diatribe. “Have you ****ing lost your totally ****ed **** mind?” She brushed her free fingers over the leaves of a spider plant. “After watching you cry your eyes out for months over that pig-headed mother ****ing **** head of a ****!” She didn’t quite hum as she moved over to the basil plant, pinching back a few leaves and enjoying the rich smell. “...and you almost ended up dead again and totally ****ed because that no good **** of a ****ing ****--”
“There you go,” Jewell murmured quietly, out of range of the phone’s speaker, as she moved a ladybug off the ledge and onto one of the plants.
“--and **** me ****ing **** purple if he didn’t stab you in the ****ing heart with IRON!”
“Well, it was effective at the time,” Jewell interjected reasonably, taking advantage of the moment Sapphire needed to gather her breath.
She got a snort in response, breaking the tension. “Yeah, except it rotted your heart away after.”
“He didn’t know it would do that.” In the momentary silence that followed, she could hear Sapphire’s disbelief from 20 some odd years and however many dimensions away. “He didn’t. We didn’t even know for months, remember?” She ran a basil-scented hand through her hair. She’d really rather not recall those long weeks when her heart was slowly failing inside her chest. The breathlessness. The sense of mortality. The inevitableness of it all. But the memories were there all the same.
She twisted a piece of her hair between her fingers, trying to repack those thoughts into the locked box they belonged in, completely missing the first part of what Sapphire was saying. She picked up the thread of the conversation on, “--and you really slept with him again after all of that? Weren’t you scared he’d shank you again?”
“Well,” she could see her cat ate the canary grin reflected in the window, “I mean that was kind of the point wasn’t it?”
“Aaargh,” Sapphire made a noise of absolute disgust and frustration. “How did this even happen?”
“If you really must know,” she didn’t even attempt to kill the smile evident in her voice. “I saw him last night at the duels. It’s been years now, you know. He looked good.”
“Uh huh.”
“He called me darlin’ again.”
All Sapphire could do was sigh out her name, “Mama…”
“It was just like all that mess had never even happened.”
“But it did,” the younger Faerie bit out. Silence hovered between them as Jewell finally turned away from the window and threw herself onto the couch, gathering up a pillow to her chest and squishing it. “So what was the context of him calling you darlin’?”
“What?”
“Like… how did he say it? Did he say, ‘Sorry darlin’ for stabbin’ ye in the heart and then leavin’ ye to deal with the fallout on yer own and tellin’ ye I couldna ever love ye,’?”
“Your impersonation is terrible.”
“So he didn’t say sorry.”
Jewell snapped at her, “He has nothing to apologize for.”
“Bullshit! Nothing to apologize for? In case you’ve forgotten–”
“I haven’t forgotten! I haven’t forgotten a single second of that entire year.” She was shouting now, heedless of the neighbors downstairs as that little box sprang open inside her. “I still see it when I close my eyes. Still taste the blood of my friends on my lips. Forget it? I live it every damn day.”
The other side of the line was quiet before Sapphire offered a subdued, “I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to imply–”
“Yes you did. But let me tell you something Lil Blue.” Jewell lowered her voice, but it contained even more fury. “It’s the same thing I’ll tell him if he ever asks me. There is and has never been anything to forgive him for. Kal saved me that night at my request. I asked him to do that. And he…” she choked on the sudden lump in her throat, pausing until the swell of emotion passed. “He doesn’t even know how much he saved me from. But you know. You saw my medical records. You heard me on the Perihelion. You know what they made me do. What they did to me.” Her heart was racing as hard as it had in the months after that fateful Valentine's Day. “So if you think for one second that I hold him responsible, that I’ve ever been angry with him, after he freed me from that… that hell.” She came to an abrupt stop, breathing heavily and holding onto the pillow for dear life.
Sapphire’s voice was small, contrite, “But he left you after that. When you needed him.”
She released the pillow so she could scrub at her face, “Sapphire, I didn’t need him. I wanted him. But even that…it doesn’t matter now and it all worked out fine in the end.”
That earned another snort, “Seems like a bit of an overstatement.”
Jewell finally smiled again, “Maybe a little.”
“And that doesn’t mean you should have jumped right back into his bed at the first darlin’!”
The Faerie had to consciously release the tension from her muscles, stretching out her legs along the couch and wiggling her toenails with their sparkly blue polish. She was alive. She was safe. She had control over her own body. Everything was fine. “No, but it felt right somehow. Good.”
“Well I certainly hope it felt good.”
“Sapphire!”
“What? I’m just saying if I slept with a guy who had tossed me aside years ago, it had better be mind-blowingly good.”
Jewell grinned, “Maybe it was.”
“Stop! STOP! I do not want to hear the details.” Jewell’s laughter was her only response. “Mother of Nature,” she groaned, “I can’t wait to tell Mallory. The look on her face, I bet it’s totally worth a visit to see it.”
“Oh no. No no no. You do not get to tell Mallory.”
“What? Why not? That’s so unfair!”
“Too bad. I’m going to tell her myself.”
“Mphm. Fine. Whatever. You’re still crazy. Unless he miraculously changed, you’re just setting yourself up for heartbreak again.”
“Sapphire,” she chided softly, “I’m not. And he hasn’t changed. I wouldn’t really want him to. But I have. You know I have.”
“Yeah…well, at least it was just a one-time thing.” Silence. “It was just a one-time thing, wasn’t it?”
Jewell practically giggled, “Maybe a two-time thing? I mean, he travels a lot for work and he’s probably leaving again soon, but the man owes me dinner, drinks, and dancing. We never got past me picking out a dress last night.”
“Mother of Nature, I didn’t need to know that,” Sapphire grumbled to herself. “Okay, well at least it’s only a two-time thing then and he’ll be gone.”
“Sure.” Jewell paused before dragging out the next word, “Except…I did tell him he’s welcome to crash at my place whenever he’s in town.”
“Crash into you, you mean…”
“Sapphire!”
-
JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
Re: Keep in Touch
It was mid-morning Saturday when a courier knocked on her door, delivering a letter sealed with the Ta-Neer crest but addressed to her in Ishmerai’s fine hand. As glad as she was to see it–she did not hesitate to grab her mug of fresh tea and curl up in her reading chair in a spot of sunlight to read it right away–such epistles unfailingly reminded her of why they were needed. Of why he wasn’t there with her.
It was about three years ago when she had come home to find the knight staring at a letter in his hand. She peered over his shoulder in passing. “What is it Merai? Something terrible? Even your scales look pale!” Jewell paused, frowning as she glanced at the text, not reading it but still recognizing its form. “Is that from Lorelei?” she asked as she continued into the kitchen, kicking her heels off in an inconvenient place where he was sure to trip over them later. “If she’s trying to lure you back again, I’ll set her straight. Bitch needs to learn her place.” So said the former heir about the current Queen of the Ta-Neer Court.
The door to the ice chest slamming shut shook him from his thoughts. He moved towards the kitchen, artfully dodging her shoes this time only with much experience, and met her with the dining peninsula between them. “It is from Lady Lorelei, yes.”
She rolled her eyes. “Another gracious invitation for a visit, is it? What a snake!” Jewell lifted her glass for a sip.
It was just water, the knight noticed. She was probably going to need something stronger than that. “Mira, I must tell you something.”
She frowned at the serious intonations. “Is everything all right? Is there trouble?” Her stomach twisted. Jewell wasn’t ready for more trouble.
“All is well. It is just–” his hesitation did nothing to ease her nerves. “When I was last in Faerie, Mira, Lorelei and I lay together.”
She paused with the glass half-raised to her mouth, mouth open and staring at him. “You what?”
“We–”
She slammed the glass down, “I heard you just fine,” she spit out. “Are you seriously telling me you fucked my cousin?” She immediately held her left hand up to forestall any explanation. She didn’t want to hear it. The fingers of her right hand curled tightly around the glass of water, frost springing up beneath them and crawling up towards the rim. Jewell stared at it instead of him, but she only saw the images her mind presented her: Lorelei and Ishmerai, locked in a loving embrace. Ishmerai kissing her lips, her neck, her bare shoulder… “Did you enjoy it?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“Just answer it, Ishmerai.”
She had a way of saying his full name that made him want to wring her pretty little neck. So cold and haughty! He practically growled out his response, “Of course I enjoyed it. Is that what you wished to hear? Lorelei is a beautiful and charming woman.” He watched the redness creep up her neck and into her face with only a little satisfaction. “Need I remind you that I was facing the mortal span of Mallory’s life alone in Faerie? Without you.” He let that sink in a moment. “So I apologize, my lady, if I found company and solace where I could.”
The reproof was effective. She looked away from him, releasing her frosty hold on the water glass and wiping her hand on her pants before crossing her arms. “Did she…did she force you to, Merai? Command you to lay with her?” It wasn’t unheard of in the courts between the gentry and those who served them. Had she not taken the life of her aunt’s steward and long-time lover? But Antipholous had gone willingly to Conventina’s bed, she was sure of it. If Ishmerai had been forced… Her cold fingers bit into her upper arms. She’d never forgive herself if he had.
He was quick to reassure her, although it may not soothe her jealous feelings, “No, Mira. You need not worry about that. She left it up to me to accept her invitation. Although she was very persistent.”
She nodded, feeling numb inside and completely unequal to the task of finding something, anything, to say. Jewell quickly took up her glass of water again, sipping it slowly to give herself as much time as possible to process what he had revealed and come to terms with her initial feelings. Mother of Nature, she wanted to punch something. Lorelei. She wanted to punch Lorelei. When she finally set her glass down, more gently than earlier, and gave him her full attention, she found him waiting in anxious anticipation. This was an unprecedented situation between them for all their years together. He clearly did not know how she was going to react. That was fine, neither did she. “Well, what’s done is done, no?” She gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes but bled some of the tension out of his shoulders all the same. “We’re here together now. That’s all that matters.” She said it as much for his benefit as her own. He was hers. That’s all that mattered. “Now what do you want for dinner? I’m starving.” She turned towards the ice chest again to see if she could use her rudimentary-at-best skills to make something edible for them.
“There is one more thing, Mira.” She didn’t move, fingers wrapped around the handle of the chest but not pulling it open. Her back remained to him to protect herself from whatever came next. He continued before his courage failed him, “Our joining has resulted in a child. A little girl. The heir to Ta-Neer.”
Jewell took a sip of her tea, setting it within reach on a side table before breaking the wax seal and unfolding the paper. The salutation made her smile.
My Mira,
I hope this letter finds you well. I have directed it be sent to RhyDin in accord with your plans last you wrote to me. I hope that those have not changed–though I know you well enough by now that they can and will change at the merest whim you have–and that this reaches you in a timely manner. Have you then arrived safely in the City? Are you enjoying yourself? You are always happiest when in RhyDin, despite the memories that linger around each corner and the stink of iron.
He went on in his matter-of-fact, brief manner to describe several recent parties, the happenings in the Court of the Ta-Neer family, and the acquisition of a new horse. As much as she enjoyed these bits and pieces of his daily life, she scanned the letter for what she most urgently wanted to read. The matter closest to his heart.
The little Lady Ta-Neer is becoming quite the grown up girl and a fine rider. Despite her grandfather’s admonition that I serve her and she is therefore not to be familiar with me, she calls me Merai, just as you, Sapphire, and Mallory do. Everyone who visits is quite taken with her. They say how much she looks like Lorelei, ever the more so with each passing day. I suppose this must be true and her hair is indeed dark like her mother’s. However, when I look at her, I see you.
I apologize for the lack of excitement in my letter, yet I trust you will far from make up the lack when you write me back. Please do so soon. While Lamont does an excellent job of keeping me apprised of all matters in Little Elfhame, I still like best to hear from you, Mira. Do you plan to stay through the spring and for Beltane in RhyDin? My heart misgives me when I think of you there alone on February 14th. I hope you will not be overly troubled by the past on that day. Know that my thoughts are always with you and extend my fondest regards and love to both Sapphire and Mallory. I promise to write them both when next I have a spare moment.
Be well and safe my lady. If the need should arise, you know you must only call upon the name of your devoted knight.
Ishmerai
It was about three years ago when she had come home to find the knight staring at a letter in his hand. She peered over his shoulder in passing. “What is it Merai? Something terrible? Even your scales look pale!” Jewell paused, frowning as she glanced at the text, not reading it but still recognizing its form. “Is that from Lorelei?” she asked as she continued into the kitchen, kicking her heels off in an inconvenient place where he was sure to trip over them later. “If she’s trying to lure you back again, I’ll set her straight. Bitch needs to learn her place.” So said the former heir about the current Queen of the Ta-Neer Court.
The door to the ice chest slamming shut shook him from his thoughts. He moved towards the kitchen, artfully dodging her shoes this time only with much experience, and met her with the dining peninsula between them. “It is from Lady Lorelei, yes.”
She rolled her eyes. “Another gracious invitation for a visit, is it? What a snake!” Jewell lifted her glass for a sip.
It was just water, the knight noticed. She was probably going to need something stronger than that. “Mira, I must tell you something.”
She frowned at the serious intonations. “Is everything all right? Is there trouble?” Her stomach twisted. Jewell wasn’t ready for more trouble.
“All is well. It is just–” his hesitation did nothing to ease her nerves. “When I was last in Faerie, Mira, Lorelei and I lay together.”
She paused with the glass half-raised to her mouth, mouth open and staring at him. “You what?”
“We–”
She slammed the glass down, “I heard you just fine,” she spit out. “Are you seriously telling me you fucked my cousin?” She immediately held her left hand up to forestall any explanation. She didn’t want to hear it. The fingers of her right hand curled tightly around the glass of water, frost springing up beneath them and crawling up towards the rim. Jewell stared at it instead of him, but she only saw the images her mind presented her: Lorelei and Ishmerai, locked in a loving embrace. Ishmerai kissing her lips, her neck, her bare shoulder… “Did you enjoy it?”
“What kind of question is that?”
“Just answer it, Ishmerai.”
She had a way of saying his full name that made him want to wring her pretty little neck. So cold and haughty! He practically growled out his response, “Of course I enjoyed it. Is that what you wished to hear? Lorelei is a beautiful and charming woman.” He watched the redness creep up her neck and into her face with only a little satisfaction. “Need I remind you that I was facing the mortal span of Mallory’s life alone in Faerie? Without you.” He let that sink in a moment. “So I apologize, my lady, if I found company and solace where I could.”
The reproof was effective. She looked away from him, releasing her frosty hold on the water glass and wiping her hand on her pants before crossing her arms. “Did she…did she force you to, Merai? Command you to lay with her?” It wasn’t unheard of in the courts between the gentry and those who served them. Had she not taken the life of her aunt’s steward and long-time lover? But Antipholous had gone willingly to Conventina’s bed, she was sure of it. If Ishmerai had been forced… Her cold fingers bit into her upper arms. She’d never forgive herself if he had.
He was quick to reassure her, although it may not soothe her jealous feelings, “No, Mira. You need not worry about that. She left it up to me to accept her invitation. Although she was very persistent.”
She nodded, feeling numb inside and completely unequal to the task of finding something, anything, to say. Jewell quickly took up her glass of water again, sipping it slowly to give herself as much time as possible to process what he had revealed and come to terms with her initial feelings. Mother of Nature, she wanted to punch something. Lorelei. She wanted to punch Lorelei. When she finally set her glass down, more gently than earlier, and gave him her full attention, she found him waiting in anxious anticipation. This was an unprecedented situation between them for all their years together. He clearly did not know how she was going to react. That was fine, neither did she. “Well, what’s done is done, no?” She gave him a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes but bled some of the tension out of his shoulders all the same. “We’re here together now. That’s all that matters.” She said it as much for his benefit as her own. He was hers. That’s all that mattered. “Now what do you want for dinner? I’m starving.” She turned towards the ice chest again to see if she could use her rudimentary-at-best skills to make something edible for them.
“There is one more thing, Mira.” She didn’t move, fingers wrapped around the handle of the chest but not pulling it open. Her back remained to him to protect herself from whatever came next. He continued before his courage failed him, “Our joining has resulted in a child. A little girl. The heir to Ta-Neer.”
Jewell took a sip of her tea, setting it within reach on a side table before breaking the wax seal and unfolding the paper. The salutation made her smile.
My Mira,
I hope this letter finds you well. I have directed it be sent to RhyDin in accord with your plans last you wrote to me. I hope that those have not changed–though I know you well enough by now that they can and will change at the merest whim you have–and that this reaches you in a timely manner. Have you then arrived safely in the City? Are you enjoying yourself? You are always happiest when in RhyDin, despite the memories that linger around each corner and the stink of iron.
He went on in his matter-of-fact, brief manner to describe several recent parties, the happenings in the Court of the Ta-Neer family, and the acquisition of a new horse. As much as she enjoyed these bits and pieces of his daily life, she scanned the letter for what she most urgently wanted to read. The matter closest to his heart.
The little Lady Ta-Neer is becoming quite the grown up girl and a fine rider. Despite her grandfather’s admonition that I serve her and she is therefore not to be familiar with me, she calls me Merai, just as you, Sapphire, and Mallory do. Everyone who visits is quite taken with her. They say how much she looks like Lorelei, ever the more so with each passing day. I suppose this must be true and her hair is indeed dark like her mother’s. However, when I look at her, I see you.
I apologize for the lack of excitement in my letter, yet I trust you will far from make up the lack when you write me back. Please do so soon. While Lamont does an excellent job of keeping me apprised of all matters in Little Elfhame, I still like best to hear from you, Mira. Do you plan to stay through the spring and for Beltane in RhyDin? My heart misgives me when I think of you there alone on February 14th. I hope you will not be overly troubled by the past on that day. Know that my thoughts are always with you and extend my fondest regards and love to both Sapphire and Mallory. I promise to write them both when next I have a spare moment.
Be well and safe my lady. If the need should arise, you know you must only call upon the name of your devoted knight.
Ishmerai
-
JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
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- Posts: 2475
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Re: Keep in Touch
When she missed him (which was always), she only had herself to blame.
They opened a bottle of some of the good stuff she kept on hand–spirits strong enough to get even the two fae-kind intoxicated–to celebrate the birth of Ishmerai’s daughter and to quell the irrational sense of betrayal and jealousy Jewell couldn’t escape sober.
They drank several glasses, taking turns giving elaborate faerie toasts before each one. Drying the tears from her eyes after Ishmerai’s latest hommage–a mockery of the speeches her Uncle Dylan was want to give when he’d been in his cups too much–she blurted out, “Oh I will miss you, Merai.”
“Miss me when?” he asked with a smile and a laugh, playfully reaching over to move the bottle of alcohol away from her. The message was clear–I think you’ve had enough now, Mira.
She smiled back, but it was sad enough to break his heart. “When you leave for Faerie,” Jewell gestured beyond the city skyline twinkling in front of them. “When you go to her… to your daughter.” And Lorelei.
Ishmerai scoffed, “What madness is this, Mira? I cannot leave you. Will not. And for what? She will not be raised as my own. She is the heir. I can be nothing to her. I am nothing to her.”
“You can be her knight,” she said quietly.
“I am your knight.”
“You are.” She sat upright on the patio lounge chair, swinging her legs around so she was facing him and reached out to grasp his right hand (the blighted one) in both of hers. “And dearer to me than anyone in the world save Sapphire.” She took a deep breath for strength. “You have sacrificed enough for me, Merai. I will not have you lose this too.”
He pulled his hand free, irritated that he could not think clearly. “Lose what?”
“The opportunity to be a part of her life. Even if it is in the shadows. To see her first steps. Hear her first words.” She reached out for his hand once again, squeezing it. “This is my gift to you, dearest knight, and it will cost me. Even then, I give it freely. Go with my blessing and love. Watch over her while she needs you.”
He grasped for the words and arguments that would not come. “And what of you, my Mira?”
“Me?” She gave him the sweetest smile. “I will always need you.”
Yes, she only had herself to blame. She had willingly given him up, and she did not regret it. Not completely. The dozens of letters between them weren’t enough, though, but she tried anyway. She wrote him once a week to keep him abreast of all the trivial, daily occurrences that he missed: every IFL fight she cheered on and joining the Diamond Quest. What she wore and what she ate. How things were going in Little Elfhame and plans she had for the future. She had her friends, her teammates, and Sapphire, but he was the only one in her life who would find this stream of mundane details of interest or even feign attention. She had no mother, no spouse. There was only Ishmerai.
Time worked differently in Faerie though. Sometimes his responses came quickly. Sometimes it was months without a word. Today, she received two. The first came in the morning and was nothing unusual. The knight asked after her friends, the color of the hot pants she wore to the IFL Finals and the Powerhouse Party, and if she had chosen a barony to pursue yet. Her brow furrowed as she opened the hastily addressed missive that arrived in the afternoon.
Mira,
It cheered my heart to hear from you in such good spirits, but I write to you with some urgency now. Lamont mentioned something in his correspondence with me that I find incredibly strange as it did not earn even a passing mention in your own letters. I thought perhaps that I had overlooked it (for surely you would never purposely keep something of such import from me), but upon checking again, it seems you indeed did fail to mention a most interesting occurrence, namely a public meeting with one Kalamere Ar’Din.
It is said you left the IFL Garden in Lord Ar’Din’s company on the evening of January 18th and were seen out in public at least once more together. Lamont was kind enough to send me a clipping from one of the less reputable papers, and I am thankful for such forethought. There is no mistaking your face and hair, the way you hang on his arm, or that smile on your lips. Please refrain from offering up any argument. Indeed, I can see you now as if you were before me, fashioning a likely story that this photographic evidence must be years old, used to create a flutter of sensational gossip. I wish it were so, but I am sure of the report’s veracity. I admit to not wanting to believe it, but my dear lady, there is no mistaking the scar left behind on your breast by the Starlight Basin.
What do you mean by this, Mira? And what do you mean by keeping it from me?
I expect to hear from you soon.
-Ishmerai
Damn
The Empress groaned, curling forward to bury her face against a pillow. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn the barrister. What did he mean by meddling in her personal affairs? Damn the tabloid papers for following her wherever she went, waiting for her to do something ridiculous. Damn her penchant for showing off the scar on her chest. And damn that little black dress she had worn dancing (though she didn’t really regret that when she remembered the look on Kal’s face).
Jewell sat back upright, face red and hair tousled. Well, she supposed it was time for confession. “Oh bless me, Merai, for I have sinned,” she mumbled to herself as she got up from the couch in search of a pen and paper. A little grin tugged at the corner of her lips as she unearthed her favorite stationery, “Several times, in fact.”
They opened a bottle of some of the good stuff she kept on hand–spirits strong enough to get even the two fae-kind intoxicated–to celebrate the birth of Ishmerai’s daughter and to quell the irrational sense of betrayal and jealousy Jewell couldn’t escape sober.
They drank several glasses, taking turns giving elaborate faerie toasts before each one. Drying the tears from her eyes after Ishmerai’s latest hommage–a mockery of the speeches her Uncle Dylan was want to give when he’d been in his cups too much–she blurted out, “Oh I will miss you, Merai.”
“Miss me when?” he asked with a smile and a laugh, playfully reaching over to move the bottle of alcohol away from her. The message was clear–I think you’ve had enough now, Mira.
She smiled back, but it was sad enough to break his heart. “When you leave for Faerie,” Jewell gestured beyond the city skyline twinkling in front of them. “When you go to her… to your daughter.” And Lorelei.
Ishmerai scoffed, “What madness is this, Mira? I cannot leave you. Will not. And for what? She will not be raised as my own. She is the heir. I can be nothing to her. I am nothing to her.”
“You can be her knight,” she said quietly.
“I am your knight.”
“You are.” She sat upright on the patio lounge chair, swinging her legs around so she was facing him and reached out to grasp his right hand (the blighted one) in both of hers. “And dearer to me than anyone in the world save Sapphire.” She took a deep breath for strength. “You have sacrificed enough for me, Merai. I will not have you lose this too.”
He pulled his hand free, irritated that he could not think clearly. “Lose what?”
“The opportunity to be a part of her life. Even if it is in the shadows. To see her first steps. Hear her first words.” She reached out for his hand once again, squeezing it. “This is my gift to you, dearest knight, and it will cost me. Even then, I give it freely. Go with my blessing and love. Watch over her while she needs you.”
He grasped for the words and arguments that would not come. “And what of you, my Mira?”
“Me?” She gave him the sweetest smile. “I will always need you.”
Yes, she only had herself to blame. She had willingly given him up, and she did not regret it. Not completely. The dozens of letters between them weren’t enough, though, but she tried anyway. She wrote him once a week to keep him abreast of all the trivial, daily occurrences that he missed: every IFL fight she cheered on and joining the Diamond Quest. What she wore and what she ate. How things were going in Little Elfhame and plans she had for the future. She had her friends, her teammates, and Sapphire, but he was the only one in her life who would find this stream of mundane details of interest or even feign attention. She had no mother, no spouse. There was only Ishmerai.
Time worked differently in Faerie though. Sometimes his responses came quickly. Sometimes it was months without a word. Today, she received two. The first came in the morning and was nothing unusual. The knight asked after her friends, the color of the hot pants she wore to the IFL Finals and the Powerhouse Party, and if she had chosen a barony to pursue yet. Her brow furrowed as she opened the hastily addressed missive that arrived in the afternoon.
Mira,
It cheered my heart to hear from you in such good spirits, but I write to you with some urgency now. Lamont mentioned something in his correspondence with me that I find incredibly strange as it did not earn even a passing mention in your own letters. I thought perhaps that I had overlooked it (for surely you would never purposely keep something of such import from me), but upon checking again, it seems you indeed did fail to mention a most interesting occurrence, namely a public meeting with one Kalamere Ar’Din.
It is said you left the IFL Garden in Lord Ar’Din’s company on the evening of January 18th and were seen out in public at least once more together. Lamont was kind enough to send me a clipping from one of the less reputable papers, and I am thankful for such forethought. There is no mistaking your face and hair, the way you hang on his arm, or that smile on your lips. Please refrain from offering up any argument. Indeed, I can see you now as if you were before me, fashioning a likely story that this photographic evidence must be years old, used to create a flutter of sensational gossip. I wish it were so, but I am sure of the report’s veracity. I admit to not wanting to believe it, but my dear lady, there is no mistaking the scar left behind on your breast by the Starlight Basin.
What do you mean by this, Mira? And what do you mean by keeping it from me?
I expect to hear from you soon.
-Ishmerai
Damn
The Empress groaned, curling forward to bury her face against a pillow. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn the barrister. What did he mean by meddling in her personal affairs? Damn the tabloid papers for following her wherever she went, waiting for her to do something ridiculous. Damn her penchant for showing off the scar on her chest. And damn that little black dress she had worn dancing (though she didn’t really regret that when she remembered the look on Kal’s face).
Jewell sat back upright, face red and hair tousled. Well, she supposed it was time for confession. “Oh bless me, Merai, for I have sinned,” she mumbled to herself as she got up from the couch in search of a pen and paper. A little grin tugged at the corner of her lips as she unearthed her favorite stationery, “Several times, in fact.”
-
JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
Re: Keep in Touch
Ishmerai,
I do not owe you any explanation. Much like you were facing a life without me and sought comfort with Lorelei, I will seek comfort and companionship wherever and with whomever I so desire.
-Jewell
She stared at the cold words, knowing she could never send such a terse response to her knight. These were the type of words meant to be shouted at him, hurled back into his face in the heat of an argument. To pen them, reread them, and seal them up before sending them away? There was time enough for satisfaction to fade and regret to set in.
No, she could not send him such a letter. Jewell folded the paper and tucked it away in the drawer of her desk. It had been cathartic to release those thoughts from her mind, but now she had the more difficult and daunting task: she had to be honest with Ishmerai.
Ishmerai,
I have never been able to number all the things I lost six years ago. I lose count every time I try. Most I will never get back. Even without the 14th of February looming before me as it does today, peace of mind and spirit elude me. I have never again spoken to Alain. I lost Lirssa. Blood will forever stain my hands just as the ghost of the preceding night spent chained with iron and tortured in body has marked my soul.
Can you then blame me, Merai, if I take back just one thing that I lost that night? I would take it all back if I could, but it was this one thing that was offered to me. Do you know, I didn't even hesitate. I swear that it is only the distance between us now that has you so concerned, for if you could have but seen how I smiled, your worries would have all but disappeared.
I may have lost much in the last few years, dear knight, but I like to think that I have gained some measure of sense and prudence. Trust me, if you can. All will be well.
With the deepest affection,
Your Jewell
I do not owe you any explanation. Much like you were facing a life without me and sought comfort with Lorelei, I will seek comfort and companionship wherever and with whomever I so desire.
-Jewell
She stared at the cold words, knowing she could never send such a terse response to her knight. These were the type of words meant to be shouted at him, hurled back into his face in the heat of an argument. To pen them, reread them, and seal them up before sending them away? There was time enough for satisfaction to fade and regret to set in.
No, she could not send him such a letter. Jewell folded the paper and tucked it away in the drawer of her desk. It had been cathartic to release those thoughts from her mind, but now she had the more difficult and daunting task: she had to be honest with Ishmerai.
Ishmerai,
I have never been able to number all the things I lost six years ago. I lose count every time I try. Most I will never get back. Even without the 14th of February looming before me as it does today, peace of mind and spirit elude me. I have never again spoken to Alain. I lost Lirssa. Blood will forever stain my hands just as the ghost of the preceding night spent chained with iron and tortured in body has marked my soul.
Can you then blame me, Merai, if I take back just one thing that I lost that night? I would take it all back if I could, but it was this one thing that was offered to me. Do you know, I didn't even hesitate. I swear that it is only the distance between us now that has you so concerned, for if you could have but seen how I smiled, your worries would have all but disappeared.
I may have lost much in the last few years, dear knight, but I like to think that I have gained some measure of sense and prudence. Trust me, if you can. All will be well.
With the deepest affection,
Your Jewell
Last edited by JewellRavenlock on Fri Feb 10, 2023 6:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
-
JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
Re: Keep in Touch
Sapphire to Mama Blue: I know I’ve asked you like 20 times already but are you SURE you dont want me to come for the weekend and stay through VDay?
Jewell to Lil Blue: Think it was closer to 30
Sapphire to Mama Blue: Whatev [eye-roll emoji] what do you think? I don’t mind. Got my bracelets ready.
Jewell to Lil Blue: Not necessary. I’m going to The Deadwood in a little bit
Sapphire to Mama Blue: that bad already?
Jewell to Lil Blue: yes. I keep dreaming of the calling taking hold and blowing the doors apart. I can hear my Name as a whisper on the air. Nothing is blocking it out and it doesn’t matter that it's not even mine anymore. It'll only get worse from here
Sapphire to Mama Blue: Sorry mama. That sucks. Let me know if you change your mind. We can go to the beach or something.
Jewell to Lil Blue: Okay. I think it’ll be okay there. I'll be safe. Sin’s wards are solid and between both of our illusions.. idk I think it’ll be okay. As much as it can be at least
Sapphire to Mama Blue: Safe and with someone who you think can restrain you if needed
Jewell to Lil Blue: Yeah. I mean, obviously it wont be. It always just feels like it though. Like it could happen all over again even if it can't
Sapphire to Mama Blue: I remember how freaked out you were last year. At least Sin’s not likely to stab you in the heart to stop you
Jewell to Lil Blue: At least there’s that
Sapphire to Mama Blue: Stay safe mama and call me when it’s over and tell me you’re okay
Jewell to Lil Blue: I will Lil Blue. Have fun on your date. Send me a pic of the outfit you decide on
Sapphire to Mama Blue: You got it xoxoxoxo
Jewell to Lil Blue: Love you
Jewell to Lil Blue: Think it was closer to 30
Sapphire to Mama Blue: Whatev [eye-roll emoji] what do you think? I don’t mind. Got my bracelets ready.
Jewell to Lil Blue: Not necessary. I’m going to The Deadwood in a little bit
Sapphire to Mama Blue: that bad already?
Jewell to Lil Blue: yes. I keep dreaming of the calling taking hold and blowing the doors apart. I can hear my Name as a whisper on the air. Nothing is blocking it out and it doesn’t matter that it's not even mine anymore. It'll only get worse from here
Sapphire to Mama Blue: Sorry mama. That sucks. Let me know if you change your mind. We can go to the beach or something.
Jewell to Lil Blue: Okay. I think it’ll be okay there. I'll be safe. Sin’s wards are solid and between both of our illusions.. idk I think it’ll be okay. As much as it can be at least
Sapphire to Mama Blue: Safe and with someone who you think can restrain you if needed
Jewell to Lil Blue: Yeah. I mean, obviously it wont be. It always just feels like it though. Like it could happen all over again even if it can't
Sapphire to Mama Blue: I remember how freaked out you were last year. At least Sin’s not likely to stab you in the heart to stop you
Jewell to Lil Blue: At least there’s that
Sapphire to Mama Blue: Stay safe mama and call me when it’s over and tell me you’re okay
Jewell to Lil Blue: I will Lil Blue. Have fun on your date. Send me a pic of the outfit you decide on
Sapphire to Mama Blue: You got it xoxoxoxo
Jewell to Lil Blue: Love you
-
JewellRavenlock
- Legendary Adventurer
- The Empress
- Posts: 2475
- Joined: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:26 pm
- Location: Little Elfhame, Old Market
- Contact:
Re: Keep in Touch
Sapphire to Mama Blue: are you ever going to answer my texts? What is going on over there? Do I need to literally drag myself through TIME and the MULTIVERSE just to see how you're doing?
Jewell to Lil Blue: not like you haven't done it before
Sapphire to Mama Blue: ..I'm not joking.
Jewell to Lil Blue: I know. Fine I wasn't going to tell you yet but I've met someone
Sapphire to Mama Blue: I KNEW IT! Mal owes me so much coin. I told her that I just knew you were seeing someone cause you've been so quiet but she's too busy being a mom and goddess or whatever to tell me what the tabloids say about you
Jewell to Lil Blue: not the only reason I've been quiet but I'll call you and tell you about the other stuff when I'm ready
Sapphire to Mama Blue: sure sure so give me the deets–name, height, hair color, position preferences.. I NEED DETAILS WOMAN!! Occupation?
Jewell to Lil Blue: His name is Lupton and he is an emperor
Sapphire to Mama Blue: definitely a step above a bookie
Jewell to Lil Blue: He looks good in a cloak [heart eye emoji]
Sapphire to Mama Blue: you and your weird cloak fetish
Jewell to Lil Blue: Not a fetish
Sapphire to Mama Blue: sure sure. So how likely is he to stab you?
Jewell to Lil Blue: mmm let's say 2 out of 10
Sapphire to Mama Blue: Decent odds
Sapphire to Mama Blue: is it serious?
Jewell to Lil Blue: ahhh.. kind of? Maybe? I really like him a lot. I feel like I can be myself around him
Sapphire to Mama Blue: that's awesome!! what'd Merai say?
Jewell to Lil Blue: I haven't told him yet. I wasn't sure if it was worth mentioning and I don't even know what to say. Like ahh I don't know
Sapphire to Mama Blue: If he's not just another name on your see you when I see you and fuck you when I see you list then you know he'll want to know
Jewell to Lil Blue: you're the worst
Jewell to Lil Blue: but you're right too. I'm just nervous. he might leave soon and I don't want to be the one making a big deal out of something that's nothing. He wasn't intending to stick around. He's got a life and home elsewhere.
Sapphire to Mama Blue: ahh
Jewell to Lil Blue: And he's human
Sapphire to Mama Blue: well that'll get complicated but later. You really know how to pick em though, huh?
Jewell to Lil Blue: yeeep though you know I feel like he may have picked me
Sapphire to Mama Blue: whatever. more important—when do I get to meet him?
Jewell to Lil Blue: not like you haven't done it before
Sapphire to Mama Blue: ..I'm not joking.
Jewell to Lil Blue: I know. Fine I wasn't going to tell you yet but I've met someone
Sapphire to Mama Blue: I KNEW IT! Mal owes me so much coin. I told her that I just knew you were seeing someone cause you've been so quiet but she's too busy being a mom and goddess or whatever to tell me what the tabloids say about you
Jewell to Lil Blue: not the only reason I've been quiet but I'll call you and tell you about the other stuff when I'm ready
Sapphire to Mama Blue: sure sure so give me the deets–name, height, hair color, position preferences.. I NEED DETAILS WOMAN!! Occupation?
Jewell to Lil Blue: His name is Lupton and he is an emperor
Sapphire to Mama Blue: definitely a step above a bookie
Jewell to Lil Blue: He looks good in a cloak [heart eye emoji]
Sapphire to Mama Blue: you and your weird cloak fetish
Jewell to Lil Blue: Not a fetish
Sapphire to Mama Blue: sure sure. So how likely is he to stab you?
Jewell to Lil Blue: mmm let's say 2 out of 10
Sapphire to Mama Blue: Decent odds
Sapphire to Mama Blue: is it serious?
Jewell to Lil Blue: ahhh.. kind of? Maybe? I really like him a lot. I feel like I can be myself around him
Sapphire to Mama Blue: that's awesome!! what'd Merai say?
Jewell to Lil Blue: I haven't told him yet. I wasn't sure if it was worth mentioning and I don't even know what to say. Like ahh I don't know
Sapphire to Mama Blue: If he's not just another name on your see you when I see you and fuck you when I see you list then you know he'll want to know
Jewell to Lil Blue: you're the worst
Jewell to Lil Blue: but you're right too. I'm just nervous. he might leave soon and I don't want to be the one making a big deal out of something that's nothing. He wasn't intending to stick around. He's got a life and home elsewhere.
Sapphire to Mama Blue: ahh
Jewell to Lil Blue: And he's human
Sapphire to Mama Blue: well that'll get complicated but later. You really know how to pick em though, huh?
Jewell to Lil Blue: yeeep though you know I feel like he may have picked me
Sapphire to Mama Blue: whatever. more important—when do I get to meet him?
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