Electra Malfoy (hippogriff) wrote in brightyoungprg, @ 2015-07-29 15:01:00 |
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Entry tags: | character: eleanora kavanaugh, character: emrys potter, location: peverell palace |
WHO: Eleanora and Emrys
WHEN: Wednesday Evening
WHERE: Emrys’ Study in Peverell Palace
SUMMARY: A confrontation about recent behavior leads to a rocky road and realizations.
WARNINGS: There is threats of violence, a slap, and violence against ceramics.
STATUS: Complete and Closed
Eleanora was not sure what was going on. But a normally close knit group of advisors, she had been sensing tension. And Adara wasn’t herself. She was done. She was absolutely done. No ruler was absolute - at least none that lasted. And with the time he was working - she could only assume what while her husband was surrounding himself with smart people - he wasn’t listening to them. At least not in a productive manner.
Straightening her dress - she marched into his private study and narrowed her eyes at Emrys - her hands were fisted on her hips, “Emrys, do you have a moment - I have some concerns I would like to discuss with you.” Her words said ‘discuss’ her tone said ‘strong advice’. She wasn’t going to play nice and sweet tonight.
Tonight he would hear her and he would hear her clearly.
~~
Emrys did not look up when he heard someone come into his study. There were only a select few that had access to his rooms and anyone that was not supposed to be there would have been stopped well before then. Finishing his report from an informant in the south west of England, he looked up to see his wife standing there.
Merely raising an eyebrow at Eleanora’s tone, he put down the report and indicated that she should take a seat. “Is that so?”
~~
Pursing her lips, she shook her head, “I think I will stand, thank you all the same.” She crossed her arms at her husband, mentally reminding herself that her concerns were valid and she had the right to bring them up to him. Because biting her tongue and being supportive clearly wasn’t working. The overall feeling seemed to be getting worse.
“Yes, it is true.” Studying him for a sign, a sign that the reasonable man that she had been getting to know upon her arrival was here tonight. The one that had had such an inviting environment. The invitation was gone now - replaced with tension.
“What’s changed Emrys? What is so different now than before the wedding? Where is the man that took an afternoon to show and teach me about hippogriffs? Where is the inviting feeling that used to permeate this office?” Staring at him she motioned around, “Normally Osgar would be in here - or your brother. You would be discussing things or enjoying a quiet moment.”
~~
Emrys nodded, but otherwise did not respond. Eleanora could suit herself. He had tried to be courteous, but if she did not want to accept it, then she could suffer the consequences. “They are otherwise occupied,” he answered her shortly. He was not a nursemaid nor did he require one. “I had no use of them this evening.”
There were reports to read. Temperatures of the realm to take. The coronation was only a few short weeks away. When that milestone was complete he could take on the Ministry and that quagmire. “What has changed is that time is running out. There will only be a short window in which I will have a grace period with the people on my side before old tensions and cronies take over.”
He missed the time she spoke of, when he could slip away to the paddock to meet with his animals. When was the last time he had been able to visit? Too long. But there was the issue of time. It was running out, like he said.
~~
“Running out? Time is just starting….” She moved closer to his desk, “Emrys, this isn’t all you. You don’t have to do this alone. You have a good group of people to help you utilize your time. To take advantage of these windows of time.”
Eleanora took a breath, “You aren’t good to anyone if you work too much and are burned out before the real fights begin. Let this wait till morning. If you burn out too soon you won’t be the King you need to be. Why don’t we head home on Wednesday. You can spend the morning or the entire day with your animals. Let your advisors do their jobs and you can recharge.”
“Please - you need this. You need to recharge or you won’t be ready for the fights that are coming.”
~~
Emrys jaw ticked. He did not need her lecturing him on behavior. He had been conducting himself as the defacto monarch since before Eleanora had stepped on the shores of Britannia. “Thank you for your consideration. I will take it under advisement.”
Just because he took it under advisement did not mean he would follow through. There were reports to read, reports he did not trust with others. He had already instructed his advisers to carry out duties he could trust them with. “They are already doing what I need them to do, but I am sure they will be gratified that you considered them.”
He would call his elf soon for some coffee. It would be a long night.
~~
She had dealt with enough men to know when she was being blown off - and that sent her closer to the edge of losing her temper than she had been since her arrival. She clenched her fists, “What you need them to do? Are you hearing yourself Emrys? Really? These are people YOU selected. One of them is your brother, another is as good as and you make them sound like they have to earn something all over again…”
Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly, “No man can rule alone and be successful. Not and do it well. I learned that when I had to all but take over when my father got sick. I was met with resistance - but I made them come around. I could be of use Emrys and you shut me out.”
She looked at him, her hand slamming onto his desk, “Dammit I am worried, you are not the same man who just a few short weeks ago, gave me my first kiss in the study so it wouldn’t have to be in front of god and the world. THAT man - with dry humor and a clear mind - him I thought ready to be king. But this one in front of me...who pushes people away that want to help? Who upsets his baby sister - whom everyone knows he loves? This man in front of me is not that man.”
Eleanora took a slow shuddering breath, “Power corrupts Emrys, gods don’t let it even start with you. Please, let them back in.”
~~
Emmys looked up sharply when her hand cracked against the desk. His eyes narrowed in what some may have considered annoyance, but for those who knew Emrys it was a sign of his temper rapidly fraying. “Thank you, Princess,” his voice, so cool it chilled the room, was quiet. He stressed her title for she was not get his queen and if things continued as they were going, it was unlikely that she would ever become so. Princess Consort was an acceptable role for a king’s wife. “While I certainly understand and empathize with the plight of having to take over one’s father’s duties while he is infirm and dying, the last I checked your grandfather still wore the Crown.”
Standing, Emrys gestured to the door. He was quite tired of being lectured and second guessed, especially by a woman he barely knew. “I have done nothing I would not stand in front of my God and feel guilt for. The kingdom is on a precipice, madam, and if we do not pull back and steady ourselves we could end up like Russia!” The wizarding monarchy of the vast kingdom was weak and prone to the tide of muggle revolution. “We have survived almost a millenia and I will not be the one to let all that my ancestors built crumble to dust.”
He turned away from her, calling for his elf. First, coffee and then, if Eleanora would not leave, he would have his elf remove her for him. Elves, such clever and loyal creatures. He knew those who had a fondness for human servants, and while they had their uses, he much preferred the house elf. Magically bound to their master, they were the ones you could really trust.
~~
The sneer in his voice, his attitude….it was enough. She may only have the title of Princess but she had made choices and calls that Emrys would not even think of. She had stood against a cabinet that had wanted her brother in her place. She was the Crown Princess of Eire, his Wife and he would NOT treat her like an insignificant person of so little importance. Without even thinking she picked up an empty vase - one she had brought with her as a gift for his office - and winged it at his head. It made a very satisfying shattering sound.
“The Kingdom may be on a precipice - but SO ARE YOU.” Her voice was steel and fire, her eyes were raging and her spine was stiff, “You don’t even SEE it. You haven’t done a thing YET - but that is the precipice you are standing on you foolish MAN. Because Emrys, I hate to break it to you, you are just a MAN. Just as fallible and prone to error as the rest of us. All of your reports, your doubts of others, all it does is show the court, those that would shove you over the WRONG side of the precipice just how fallible you are…”
“I may be just a princess. But don’t you EVER speak to me like that. Ever. My grandfather may have worn the crown - but that was because I was betrothed to you. I was there for every meeting, I took on a Court, I have taken on Cabinets. I know how to stand against the ebb of a tide that wants you to fail - but because I didn’t wear a crown you belittle those accomplishments?”
Her fists were shaking as she glared at him, “A king who doesn’t embrace his advisors, a king who thinks he alone has the answers and the power? They fall Emrys. They fall hard and they fall fast. It’s never pretty and it never ends well.”
~~
Emrys did not flinch when the vase went sailing, though he snatched up his wand to repair the object. It held no real sentimental value, but there was the principal of the matter to consider. One did not arbitrarily throw things at their king and expect to get away with that sort of behavior. “I am not a violent man, Eleanora, but if you do not act with proper decorum…” He let the threat hang in the air for a moment.
“You are dismissed. Do not bother to wait up for me. I will find my evening’s peace in another chamber.” Turning away from his wife for the second time, Emrys summoned his elf. He was done with these petty squabbles when there was real work to be done.
~~
Decorum?! Dismissed?! Oh, if he thought he could send her to her room like a child….
“You sanctimonious….” Her voice was icy cold as she came around his desk, before she could think, she acted and her hand came up and cracked across his cheek. Her face was pale except for two brilliant red spots on her cheeks.
“You are fallible Emrys Potter. And all the decorum and propriety in the world isn’t going to save you from your own ego and blindness.” Her hands were fisted on her hips, “I will leave when I am ready to.”
Taking a deep breath her eyes landed on the mark on his cheek from her palm and she began to think that possibly counting to ten might have been a better option. But she didn’t regret it. Not one glorious moment of it. Perhaps the strike would bring back some of the Emrys she had been getting to know before the wedding. She wasn’t hopeful, but there was always a chance.
~~
Whatever control Emrys might have had over his temper snapped. “You will leave. Now.” His tone brooked little room for argument, but he did not give her a chance to respond as he seized the offending wrist. “I gave you a chance, Princess, yet you refused to take it.”
He strode across the room, dragging the woman behind him. The door opened with barely a touch of his hand before he tossed Eleanora into the hall. “You will be moved to new quarters as soon as I speak with my elf so you will not have to suffer my sanctimonious personality. An elf will find you when they are ready.”
If he had a need to her he would summon for her, but Emrys suspected that would be a long time coming. He had given her the stables to occupy her time and certainly there had to be gossip between his sister and his soon to be sister-in-law. She should be plenty busy. Locking the door behind him and making sure it was only keyed to his magical signature, Emrys settled into his chair. It would be no more coffee tonight. He now needed a bottle of firewhiskey.
~~
Staring at the door, the steel left her and Eleanora found herself sagging against the wall. She brought her hands up to her face and took deep breaths. If he had been like this from the beginning this wouldn’t hurt so much. But there had been a glimmer of hope in the beginning. Something that said that this might not be the end of the world as she knew it. But ….
What had changed? There had been no sign of this in the over a year and a half she had been here. her hands trembled over her face and she stood up straighter. Something just was NOT adding up. Her grandfather would have seen this side of him and ended things. He wouldn’t want Eire tied to this kind of tunnel vision. Something just….
Ogar and Charlus. She had to involve the two men that knew him best. Because if she could see it and was frustrated - then they had to see it too. If the three of them put their heads together….but she had to tell them first. Pushing off from the wall she looked at the door and headed off down the hall with a plan forming in her mind.
First, Irish Firewhiskey, then an owl, and possibly more firewhiskey.
It was going to be a long night…