Meghan Vael (glaodhaire) wrote in angellogs, @ 2020-09-27 03:09:00 |
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Current mood: | surprised |
Entry tags: | !complete, meghan vael, noah fon ronsenburg |
Who: Noah, Meghan Vael
When: Current
Where: A bakery on the night shift, in Edinburgh, Scotland
What: Noah's showing Meghan his job.
Rating/Warnings:
Status: Complete
The bakery's pretty quiet. Noah's got the order sheet set up, and a teapot with some cups and a little table and chairs. The plan was that Meghan could show up, learn a bit about how things work, watch him work a bit, and then head back if she wanted. He'd promised her tea and a snack if she'd like.
Meghan’s honestly really glad she’s got the offer of a job for when she’s out of school and week-ends. It’s an easier prospect than hanging around Craigcrook for certain, and there’s plenty of things she’ll want money for. The tiara she ordered came in and it’s perfect, but it’s also the sort of thing that she’s glad to have the chance to make up the cost of so no one has to know anything about it if they ask questions about her supply of cash. Not that it was all that expensive, she’d gone for tasteful and appropriate to what her place would be if she still had one, but, it’s also nothing anyone would GET, so it’s better not to have to explain it.
There’s also the fact that even though no one is going to think of it but her, and possibly Alec, since he’s just gotten here, the matter of a costume for Satinalia, which, if nothing else, she can claim is for the Halloween dance at school. They’re close enough in time, and Courfeyrac WOULD actually help her find someone to go with, so it works. It’s just not the sort of thing, either of those, that you mention to people, or bring up, and while she’s still working on the fact that being here means a lot of...well, nothing exciting in terms of holidays or feasts, she knows that everyone else is happy with the way things are and there’s no use upsetting that too much.
Besides, she’s got to plan for finishing school, so having money now, in order to leave the arrival stipend alone to put towards a first term at a university, and maybe earn more to put aside for it just seems like a solid plan. So far, so good, though, as the bakery seems pleasant enough and while he’s intimidating, Ser Noah, it’s not in the same way the rest of them are. There’s the knowledge that he COULD, quite easily, given his position, really badly impact her future, but he also WOULDN’T. That’s become clear as time goes on, which makes it more comfortable by far. And besides that, Aedan’s said he’s good, and she’ll go with Aedan’s word on nearly anything. It’s a calming enough thought she’s actually smiling as she arrives, and giving him a little wave.
"Hello there, Mistress Meghan," Noah said. "I'm in the middle of weighing loaves for the first batch here, so let me get these proving, and I can set you up comfortably. I was thinking about winter." Admittedly, the shop's warm enough. There's a fan going, but it's pretty humid and warm from the ovens and in general. "I'm not sure if Ellie's talked much to you about things, but I bought her a few things she might like for winter, last year, and I have zero idea how your tastes go for clothing. It was considered good luck, at home. Starkhaven had a fancy dress ball I think. We had a little with Ellie last time. I think Balthier got her some jewelry."
That’s...an interesting thought, actually. “Has that? I remember a bit about the Hogmanay last year. “ She’d been living in that odd dream world that had made a lot of people very happy for a few weeks and then had faded, but admittedly some of that was a bit overshadowed by the fact her aunt had appeared during that time, for her father and it hadn’t been terrible in the same way his running around with anyone else was. It’d been a nice thought, that she wouldn’t have had to worry about that too, and then she’d been the heir in her own dream world, so the thought had blinded her to other things. And before that...things had mostly just...gone on.
“Granted, last year was also horrible.” Meghan grins a little, shaking her head. “It’s GOOD to be out of that school.” That’s a nice way to put it, and to be fair, it wasn’t like anyone in the family had any idea. Ellie hadn’t been able to go, and no one else was in the position.
“There were a few of those sorts of things at home.” she adds. “But around the eleventh month was especially big for that.”
"It sounds like that school was awful. It'd be nice to hear about stuff like that? I'd have to pass the information around to people to change things, but still -" Noah shrugs. "Sometimes it can feel like nothing can be done when you're in the middle of things." He slides the tray in to the steamy proving box and moved to wash his hands. "Would you like tea and a bun? There's also sausage rolls, and some experimental ones. Eleventh month festivities might be something Alec's interested in, and you could help me discuss what he might like and what you might like. Seasonal things are different, but there's no reason why we can't do things that make us happy as traditions to keep."
“It’s better now, at least.” Which helps a lot. She doesn’t have any actual friends yet, but Meghan’s also not having to go through life under a constant scrutiny, or much judgement which helps a lot. “Probably as there’s so many more transfers in, it’d be stupid to worry over everything that’s not an issue of life and death. And thank you, I would.” She’s considering that possibility.
“It’d be worth the looking into, certainly. I’ll admit the lack of things here has been…” she’s trying to find a word that isn’t going to look too terrible here. “Jarring. But I’d like that, at least checking.”
"Then I'll do that. I can show you what's on the docket for the night. I've got some time. The next batch of dough is resting." Noah puts the kettle on. "The cafe here is meant that you could pick up your bread, get a cup of tea, and a snack sort of thing. Usually closed at night, but well - you're here."
“Aye, that I would be.” Meghan says, nodding. “Depending on what needs helping when. Travel time’s not quite an issue with the transporters too, which helps a lot, I’d imagine. And I’d be willing to work nearly anything it’s possible to. I’m no sure if there’s anything legally that’d be an issue, but...at the least it’d free up someone else for that sort of a thing.”
"It's not that much age for this. There's some lessons in how to do it safely. Food safety things." Noah pours the tea for her and leans to take a sip of his own cup. "It's not easy work, but it's peaceful. The night shift is a lot of this. I'm making wholemeal bread, and white bread."
“Fair enough if there’s training for it.” Meghan nods. “I’m willing. Can’t be impossible, after all. It’d help for the moment. I mean, I’ve looked at ideas for the future and even if uni scholarships come through, they don’t cover everything, do they no? It’ll be...a long road ahead so all the help I can get’s good, as soon as I can. I don’t intend on…” How to put it that she knows she’s got a shelf life here, and it’s rapidly fading? She’d wasted the last one, after all.
“Well, let’s say I ken I won’t be around here forever?” she says, at last.
"Why not? I'd be happy to help with university stuff. I'm no genius when it comes to health and children, but I can repeat things. Money wise -" Noah thinks about it. "I could probably help you fund it. I don't have a lot of expenses myself."
“That’s simply...how it goes.” Meghan says, with a little shrug, since she’s tried to convince herself it doesn’t matter enough that she can pull it off. “I’m...well, no’ like the rest of you now. I don’t...everything changed when the coup happened. I ken verra well what I’m not anymore.”
"Not sure what the rest of us thing is? I think your father's seeming to have issues tilling his row, but what are you looking for?" Noah moves back to get back to work.
“I mean…” Meghan’s glancing down, tracing a circle on the table in front of her. “As much as it was...fine that I found myself here, I suppose I’d thought some chance to go back to what I was was going to happen, it’d be more like King Alistair. When he was discovered, and the Warden brought him back to rule...he stopped being some...random stableboy turned Warden. Even Prince Sebastian...he didn’t stay a simple chantry brother. It must not have been easy but...he got to go back, to what he was. And if the chantry hadn’t approved of it, they’d have at least sent him along on his way, not...dangled an entire life filled with everything he could no longer have in front of him. “
She takes a breath. “I realize there’s Aedan now, that I can never be what I was, when it would have already been over if there’d ever been a true heir, but knowing everyone else here didn’t lose their titles, no matter how removed from it they are, that even death didn’t ruin that, and it’s a foregone loss for me…” She bites her lip.
“Well, I am the odd one out. The...hanger on. I’ve made my way once. I can again. Some things…I’m trying to get on with that. The times I’ve tried explaining it...well, no one else has lost what they’ve earned for themselves, and what they’d thought they’d maybe have again. When I got here, I thought, even realizing I’d lost my place, I’d still at least be something. Even Amadis, who led a mercenary company long before any of us were even born, her father was not first in line, was still a princess, still a part of...not some outsider graciously allowed inside out of the cold.”
She’d still belonged to something, after all. And since Meghan is no longer a midwife, no longer a princess, no longer really a Vael...well, it’s clear to her at least.
“I ken there’s no’ a way around it.” she adds. “But you see why the idea of anything other than being out of here soon as I can, that anyone here thought of me as more than just taking up space for the real family... that’s shocking.”
"Why do you think you're an outsider?" Noah asks. "You're a Vael, and even if you weren't, you're living with us. I thought you were getting along with Aedan and Ellie. You were spending time too with Morgan. I thought you were pretty happy with your falcon and your plans for college and the better school."
“That IS something, the plan for after,” Meghan nods. “It’s something solid I can hold to. I just...thought I would be doing it on my own. “ It’s a little weird to think that might not be the case. “I’d no idea it really mattered, the rest of it, to anyone. But, I’m trying. Someday it won’t matter.”
Noah works on scooping out the bread from the mixer and starting to weigh another batch. "Buns, this one, so they're smaller. They'll rise faster though. I do think you matter. After all, we're here, aren't we? This isn't easy work, but I enjoy the quiet and there's - you get something done at the end. There's less simple stuff. Cake decorating or cake making, but quiet work in the day might be possible for you. Fourteen is the youngest for a part time job, but it'd need to not interfere with school work. Night shift might count as too exhausting for school."
Meghan’s nodding and watching as that happens, trying to note the size. “It’s...that does help to know.” She smiles a bit. “And aye, seemed like this was a flexible way of doing some of that. And there’s week-ends if that’s something.”
"Legally, if you're still in school, you can't take more than part time work until you're older than sixteen. I think post sixteen it matters if you're graduated schooling." Noah shrugs. "So this scale here gives me the numbers, and I've got a list that buns are this many grams and so on. They go in to rise, and then I get to mix a batch of bread, let it rise, take a break until the first batch is ready and then it'll be baking and forming the next batch. I could make pie crust if they managed to get the fat in for it. So, could I help you with university? Would you let me?"
“I did find out last year that I could have left in the spring, but got talked into trying this option out.” Meghan says, since she had been planning on taking that option, as no one had been that likely to notice it until she’d managed to catch her father at a spare moment and the rest came up.
“Seems like that helps a bit, with the scale to it. More of a help than baking was at home. And that is...I would appreciate it, if it comes to that.” She smiles. “Thank you.”
"So, are there other things you're worried about? I don't want to pry things out of you like you're a child, but you can ask for help with things." Noah shrugs. "If you'd prefer, I can tell someone else to ask, but - I'm here. It's worrying to hear you think we'd say nope, and kick you out."
Meghan’s considering the question. It’s honestly a relief that anyone IS noticing, to tell the truth. “It’s felt so much like I’m just….here existing, apart from things, for so long. But this is...it does help.”
"Well, what do you want changed?" Noah waves a hand. "I'm more or less a spymaster, from a warzone. I'm pretty happy with having very little of excitement."
There’s a lot of things that come to mind, to be honest, but some of those it’s far too late for during the current year, so it makes no sense to bring them up at the moment. Maybe if something works with Satinalia, it’ll be possible to bring up other things, so that, right there is at least a start. There’s not really a way to make Summerday happen here and now, which was part of what’s made this feel much worse, but some of it seems like it can be worked around. It’s frankly weird to Meghan that one of her cousins didn’t bring that up at the time too, before she got here, but it was probably the least of their concerns, considering.
“It’s less the excitement more the inclusion.” she admits. “I don’t like being the odd one out. Nothing to my name. Everyone’s acting as if it doesn’t matter, having a title, and I can’t wrap my head around it. Once you’ve had and lost something, you ken what it’s worth, I suppose.”
"I can't exactly give you a title that's relevant politically," Noah points out. "I'm just a baker, after all."
“It’s less about the relevance to here and now.” Meghan says, nodding. “That’d have no bearing on ...it’s the belonging to something that matters somewhere, even outside of this world. It’s knowing where you come from, what you are. But, I can work on letting that go. I’ve survived this long, after all.”
"Aren't you legally a princess? Or is it that you're not the direct heir?" Noah tilts his head. "I don't know how Starkhaven's stuff works for inheritance."
“Not that I know of, legally. The heir bits…” she shrugs. “Those hardly matter anymore. That took...about a week, but logically speaking, that was something that was always up for change. Not in the way it happened, but...it’s not as if anyone could predict the Flint company coming through...If I still am, I haven’t heard about it, if I’ve retained a right toward anything. The thought of being the awkward hanger on, sticking out or being out…”
She’s not sure what’s worse of those options, really.
“It’s difficult. And I know perfectly well that if, well, when, though that was after me, the prince was going to be brought back home...the process to restore what you’ve lost...it’s not exactly automatic. Wouldn’t have been even if no one had been killed but my grandfather and Uncle Calum was the prince and brought him home.”
"Have you talked to Sebastian about it? I know he said that he still felt strongly about politics having a duty to people." Noah sets the buns to rise and digs out the scale for the flour. "Okay, I need to clean everything down here before I start on the next batch. This'll be a bit. It sounds like you want to know what your rights are to the Vael properties?"
“It’s less the properties as such…” Meghan says, “Or the idea of...it’s not about the money either.” She’s watching now. “It’s about what I can and can’t use, where it fits, what I am when there’s anything happening here.” She’s sucking in a deep breath. “If I AM anything anymore.” And it’d be better to do something so…
“Need help with this? The others seemed more something to do once you know what you’re doing but cleaning up’s easy enough.”
"There's a plastic apron over there, but you'll need to put a hairnet on? Do you hate mopping more than washing tables, or vice versa?" Noah leans to get the bowl for the mixer to carry over to the sink. "Well, what you can use sounds like a Sebastian or Calum thing. Maybe Alec? He'd know better what you'd want to know. I'm an expert in Archadian politics and things like that, but that doesn't mean I know Starkhaven politics."
“That would be all right. And either’s fine, really.” He does have a point with that as far as people are concerned. “That’s a decent enough point.” One of the two known quantities in that should be able to help at least. “That’s...thank you for listening.”
"No harm in talking. I'm happy to listen." Noah offers her the apron. "May I tie this on you? There's a bit of splashing while I'm washing up, so it'll protect you."
“Please.” Meghan’s already gotten her hands clean so it’s a help. She’s smiling as he goes to help.
He helped her with the hair net, explained about the generalized fears of getting hair in baked goods, and showed her the almost invisible line of his. They've got beard covers too, but both of them don't have to worry about that. "So, the general rule is you completely clean the tools, work surface and floor between batches. You don't want a caramel sausage bun or something like that. Not that I don't think it would be awful, just surprising."
“That WOULD be a bit...experimental.” Meghan laughs a bit. “I can see it working well if people KNEW of course, but obviously someone allergic to some part of that would have a problem, not knowing, wouldn’t they?” It’s easy enough to get her hair enclosed, since she’d done a quick braid after school. It’s funny how much easier it is to do that sort of thing when she knows it’s not a requirement for no reason, like at the last school which had about five approved hairstyles. And then she’s settling into the pattern, feeling at least a little better that she’d mentioned some of this. It’s not that she knows anything will change for certain but at least she’s gotten it out and telling someone DOES feel better. It may not be a crown, or a place in the family line again, but it’s a start, at least.