eswareinmal | 3rd Orb - 19th of Rebirth's Decline; Evening

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3rd Orb - 19th of Rebirth's Decline; Evening

[It's been a long day. Too many long days, but today was particularly taxing between being set free from a curse and injuring the two people she loves most in the process, briefly attending a farce posing as a wedding, and returning as many of her ill-gained goods as possible.

That Ginia happened to find a piano in one of the rooms of the castle was perhaps one of the best things to happen all day. So seated at the piano, having traded her armor and dark clothes for a dress and the only jewelry a beautiful emerald and silver necklace, Ginia sets the orb on the piano, offering the briefest of smiles, being she begins to play.

After she finishes the first song, she pauses before she begins playing her next song.

There's another pause before her third song. It's one that takes a bit of thought and she's not even sure if the person who she wants to hear it is listening, but even if he isn't, maybe someone else will get the message for themselves. So taking a deep breath, Ginia begins to sing and play.

Her fourth, and final song, may be a little strange to anyone familiar with it. However, as Ginia sings and plays Silver Bells, it's intended for one recipient only. Everyone else can simply enjoy it.

Once she's finished, she bows her head modestly and smile as the orb.]

I hope you all enjoyed that. If... you'd like to hear more, I'd be happy to oblige.

((ooc; Yes, that's right, Ginia is talking. As per this log, Helios enchanted a necklace (picked out by Giles) that allows her to talk. The necklace only works if she's wearing it, magic-canceling abilities will prevent the necklace from working.))

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[Understanding and closeness and an acceptance of growing love between two people who thought they'd never feel it again.]

Yes, it was.

...but, um...don't sell yourself short, of course. Gotten any positive response?

A few compliments. The castle staff keeps wandering in and out, at least one local lord flirted with me.

[But the one that matters the most to her is his comment, his response, his approval. She looks away from the orb, fiddles lightly with her sleeve, suddenly unable to look at him again. ]

Rupert? Can I come home? [Her voice doesn't dare rise above a whisper out of lingering fear he'll still reject or cast her aside.]

[...Giles lets out his breath in a long, tired sigh. It's a question he's hoped to hear for a few days, now, and for all that he still hadn't been expecting it, and for a moment he doesn't know what to say.

Not because he'd ever reject her or cast her aside. But because he wants to dispel those lingering doubts, and has never been good at that.]

I've...I've missed you.

And we...I've wanted you back, more than anything.

S-So, um...yes, Ginia. You can.

You always could.

[Ginia knows the house was always open to her, but the reassurance things were okay was what she needs. She's still a far way from making amends and forgiving herself, but this is a good start. A smile breaks across her face, her eyes light up again. A warm laugh leaves her lips.]

Then I'll come home, as quickly as possible. I've missed you so much. You and Helios. Especially you.

Thank you.

And thank you.

[For the first time in so many days...everything is okay, and it's the best feeling in the world. Giles smiles, even through the last of the tears.]

We, um...w-we should have dinner. Properly, I mean - the three of us. No, no dashing about after jobs, or anything like that. I mean, um, at the least, I, I still have a lot to report.

That sounds like a wonderful idea. I'll cook for you two. I'm sure I can find a merchant with some stock to sell, or make do with what we have at the home. [Sorry, Giles, you know how Ginia can get when she latches onto any idea. However,she catches herself and smiles sheepishly. There are ways to apologize and bonding is one such way.]

Or we can all cook together. Though I insist on bringing home dessert.

We can all cook together. [Gentle, but firm. He knows he can't stop Ginia castigating herself over this, much as he might like to. But they, all three of them...they need the experience of just being in the kitchen together and making something. Giles knows this, and so is going to be firm on it.

Up to a point.]

Dessert, however, would be most welcome.

I'm sure I can find a bakery that's still open at this hour. Or maybe see if the castle kitchen would wrangle up something. [Or maybe steal one of the leftover and unused wedding cakes. Maybe it's not entirely passe, but it would be a shame to waste good cake.]

There's a bakery. I, um, I've patronized them, every so often, on late night patrols. [Some habits do die very hard, after all. Patrolling for monsters in the dark is one of them. And, after the new moon, it had stopped seeming quite so foolish.

Besides that, selfishly, he doesn't want her to have to stay in the castle much longer.]

When can we expect you back, then?

[Old habits do die hard. Why else would Ginia stalk the streets at night as a hooded guardian?] Is there? Good to know. Could you give me the approximate location? And... oh, I suppose I can be back within the hour. Less depending on how quickly I find the place and what they have in stock.

[Giles passes along the location - around about the center of the market, a little booth with a green roof and smoke pouring out from the sides from the wood burning stove. It's on the way home, at least, and at this time of night the market shouldn't be too crowded.

It's sooner than he thought he'd see her, but he's certainly not complaining. In fact, he ducks his head to hide a smile. Giles never wanted to rush her home, he understood that she needed some time away...but she sounds okay, and so he doesn't let himself feel too guilty.]

Well, um, we'd appreciate whatever you can find.

...see you soon.

((ooc: Want to skip ahead to after the dinner for their talk?))

[Ginia makes quick note of the location. Even wearing a dress, she can still use shadows to jump short distances to cut off a bit more time. While he ducks his head, she graces him with one last smile, gentle and warm and a promise she will return.]

See you soon.

[From there it's out of the castle and to the bakery. The castle servants and guards persistently insist on finding a carriage or at least a horse for her - 'Dear lady, there is a thief about in the night! You might be senselessly robbed!' - but she pays them no mind as she walks on, only shadow stepping once she's far enough away. The bakery, thankfully still open and not too many around, is easy enough to find. Ginia picks up a beautifully frosted vanilla cake with fruit filling, an assortment of cookies, some pastries, and some bread for the morning. Overkill? Perhaps, but she needs to make it up to them, as forgiving as they are.

Arms full, Ginia can only walk the rest of the way home, shyly knocking on the door and waiting to be invited in. When Giles opens the door, she sets the bags down to throw her arms around him, squeezing him tightly and burying her face against his neck, whispering her apologies as she holds onto him.

Dinner is a lovely thing between the three of them, simple, friendly, the three of them all getting in each others way as they cook and all helping each other out. It's friendly, family, homey, everything it should be. And after dinner is eaten, dessert devoured, and the dishes set aside for later, they all retire to their rooms.

In the privacy of their bedroom, Ginia loops her arms around Giles, holding him close and resting her head on his shoulder.]

We really should have dinner together more often.

We will.

[Or so he hopes. Because it was everything he'd hoped for, and everything they'd all needed.

And maybe it's something to do with being a Sage, and maybe it's just bitter life experience, but he can't imagine that life is going to get much easier from here. There's still what he found outside of Schwanheim to consider. The thorns will have advanced even further while they were sorting this out.

Giles kisses Ginia softly on the forehead, trying to banish the dark though.]

I'm glad you're back. Um...are, um, are you s-staying, then?

[Ginia kisses his cheek before she untangles and takes his hand, leading him to the bed. There are things she wants to talk about and sort out and it would be better for the two of them to sit. That they sit on their bed, a location that belongs so very intimately to them, strikes her as oddly fitting and amusing.]

Yes, I am. At least, um, at least I intend on staying. [Her hands seek out one of his, holding on and looking at the scars and wrinkles across his hand. In some way, it's almost as much a distraction for herself as one for him - he can't clean and fiddle with his glasses as much if she holds on.]

...Rupert... I have something I want to ask you. [Realizing how that statement always sounds, Ginia quickly follows up with:] Just something I'm curious about. Something I need to know. ...It's nothing bad.

[Although he never got around to saying as much in so many words, it's a huge sign of trust that Giles lets Ginia hold his hands this long, especially during what apparently promises to be a serious talk. He has his nervous ticks and his habits and he's old enough now that they're probably never going to go away. They're how he deals.

...but that was before he was in a relationship like this. And Ginia deserves his focus. So even if it might occasionally make him fidget, Giles squeezes her hands gently in turn.]

I didn't think it was.

So, um...w-what did you want to know?

Why... Why do you love me?

[It's a silly sounding question to ask and it makes Ginia feel like a giggly adolescent all over again, but it's a question beyond those five words. It's a question of reassurance, of curiosity, of a reflection of her own failings and low self-esteem hiding under an outwardly bold and fearless personality. It's the actions of the last few day finally rearing up and wrapping her in a layer of doubt and uncertainty because people have always loved her and she still can't see why.]

[It's not a bad question, no. Not as such.

It still hits Giles like one of many blows to the head, though, and he looks honestly off guard. He almost visibly falters, even sitting beside her on the bed.]

...why?

[It's a very, very long time since he's considered that question at all. Probably it last happened before that Christmas night, when they'd danced together in the snow and sung that song together.

Why does he love Ginia? Giles almost can't remember a time when he didn't. Or maybe it's simply that he doesn't want to. Either way, the former Watcher looks at a loss.

But, he tries.]

I felt...I, I felt as though I was on equal footing, with you. Always have.

[It's closer to an answer to "why did you fall in love with me?" but, it's also true. Thinking back to everyone he was close to in Luceti before Ginia came into his life...they loved him, and he loved them, more than his own life, but there was always a slight element of distance there, a wall put up by his own age and experience and brokenness.

He never felt that, with her.]

[It may be a surprise to Giles, but it was the sort of answer Ginia was looking for. She didn't expect him to wax poetic on her beauty and intelligence and graces and everything about that. He could, that she didn't doubt, and in Luceti there were pages of poems to prove it, but to voice it when put on the spot? No, she didn't expect that from him.

Because equal footing was something that mattered a lot to her.]

...I see.

[Ginia falls into silence again, still holding his hand, still lightly stroking his fingers. When she speaks, it's quiet and almost more to herself than to him, though the words are certainly for him.]

I was engaged once.

...oh.

[Five years. She was gone for five years. And Ginia is an honestly remarkable woman.

It shouldn't be a surprise.

But he also knows that she wouldn't tell him this without a purpose. And so, albeit with a very great effort, Giles keeps his gaze steady on her face, and his expression calm.]

...what happened?

I broke it off. He was... [It takes as much effort to keep her gaze steady on Giles' face, though her hands release his so she lace them back together and fidget as she tries to find her words again. The memory hurts a little, a small dull ache of what could have been, but not so much regret.

There is only one place to begin, and it is the beginning. She closes her eyes as she traces all the faded and tangled memories back to the start.]

Nicholas Lapointe. French, from Marseille. We met through work, one of the finest con men I've ever met and had the pleasure of working with. Very handsome, very charming, very intelligent, one of the top in the field. A shameless flirt and womanizer, to no surprise.

I don't know why it was different with me. Sure, he flirted with me, we teased each other, but he was always very kind and quite the gentleman to me. Professional boundaries, perhaps. We worked together for months. Then I suppose he fell in love with me. He'd take me out to the finest restaurants, pull me away from my work to show me a place in town I would always like. Let me think there was work in Argentina when it was really tango lessons, a beautiful night of dinner and dancing, and a private villa to rest in. Flew us from Tokyo to Paris in order to have proper crepes and proper French desserts.

[She sighs and shakes her head.] He was a very romantic man. Very extravagant too.

...were you happy with him?

[There are so many things Giles could say to that, but this question seems, somehow, to be the most important.

If she'd been torn away from her engagement by coming back here, that would be one thing. But she said she'd broken it off. Had she done so of her own free will?

...it sounds wonderful, and Giles can't understand why she would have.

His hands clench and unclench slightly, at the sudden loss of contact. Giles stares down at them, at all the scars and signs of age, before he looks back up at Ginia and waits for her to find the words.]

[There's no way to answer the question without possibly hurting Giles in some slight way. She knows it must be as difficult for him to hear about the seemingly perfect life she had with another man, a life that could have been and almost was.

However, the key fact was it wasn't and never would be.]

I was. I was very happy and I enjoyed his company very much, and yes, I suppose even I couldn't resist his charm and romancing. When he proposed, I said yes.

But as we began planning and discussing things, I realized I didn't really love him. He was a wonderful man, one of the best I've ever known, but I never shake the feeling I was some... prize or treasure placed on a pedestal. Before we began dating, there were a few times I'd walk into a bar or a club not knowing he was there. I've seen him chatting up a woman and charming her completely, then dropped her immediately if he saw me. He put me in front of everyone else, he admitted that much himself. He would have given me the world if I asked for it.

But I could never stop thinking about the other women and wonder if I would ever be in that position. If some other person was to catch his attention. He put me on a pedestal of perfection and I was afraid of disappointing him.

And maybe in the end, I loved the idea of him. Romantic, carefree, an exquisite lover, I loved all of that, but I didn't love him. So I returned the ring and said goodbye.

[Ginia closes her eyes again and sighs heavily, trying to banish Nicholas' face from her memory, the stunned hurt when she gave back his ring and told him goodbye. When she opens them again, she looks at Giles, memorizing his face. Her expression cracks, but before it can crumble completely, she throws her arms around him and hugs him fiercely.]

...I'm telling you because I love you. Because I want to be with you. I want a man who I can be on equal footing with, someone I can trust completely, who knows me in and out, who loves me for me, flaws and all.

Nichols was always ready to catch me if I fell and carry me off to safety. You catch me and put me back on my feet.

[If she hadn't hugged him there and then, Giles would have done so in another couple of seconds. And so, even if he's surprised by the sudden movement, and gasps a bit as Ginia wraps her arms around him, it's only an instant before he recovers himself and embraces her fiercely to him in turn.]

...I can always promise you that much.

[His voice is low and soft but perfectly sincere. Equal footing. As long as he's with her and as long as he's himself. It's the least she deserves, but it's the most he can promise her int he tumultuous existence they've found themselves in. And so, he does.

It's important to him, too.]

Th-Thank you, Ginia. For...for telling me this.

[He can tell it must have been an enormous effort for her, but he feels like he understands her...this new, five-years-older her...better than he did before. And it's almost, almost funny. All this time, Giles had never thought that she'd ever worry about being on equal footing with him.

He'll hold her until she gives any sign of wanting him to let go. She can talk, now, so at the least he doesn't have to worry about obstructing her hands.]

[It's too long since they've been together like this, if at all. All Ginia wants to do is stay in his arms and savor the moment. Her death still remains on her mind, the knowledge any moment this could end and when it does, there will be nothing left.]

Of course, Rupert. Honestly, I should have told you sooner, but it never seemed important. It was the past, it was irrelevant, it was never appropriate, I didn't want to drive you off, etcetera,etcetera . It was almost easier to pretend it never happened. I suppose I only mention it now since... everything. ['Everything' including the point up to her return from death a new woman at thirty-seven to now.]

[Everything. Everything that, if he's honest with himself, he's been trying to ignore, too. But here, with her in his arms and him stroking her hair gently, it's just a bit easier to bear.

They're both dead, back in the world. That should balance it out, really, but...it doesn't. It just doesn't.]

You, you're, um, you're under no obligation to tell me anything, about your life. Not if, um, if you don't want to.

[It's something he'd assumed she knew, but perhaps it bore repeating. This seemed to be a night of reassurances, for him and for her.]

But, um...it, it did happen. And...I, I hope you don't mind my saying, Ginia, but you do yourself a, a discourtesy, to try and pretend otherwise.

[Giles has always been a man better at giving advice than taking it.]

3rd Orb - 19th of Rebirth's Decline; Evening

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