i will remember you, you will remember me Who: Hippolyta Flynn & Juliette Coulombe What: Flowers, babbling and tea -- in that order. Where: The Albrecht estate, guesthouse When: Afternoon Rating: A for Awkward Status: Complete!
Fifty fucking red roses. Who sent someone fifty Faram-damned roses?
Evidently, someone who would have the gall to write, Beautiful Alys, I am most delighted at your recovery, and hope it may be swift as the coursing river. May these roses brighten that which is not already brightened by your— Flynn couldn't read the entire thing without wanting to gag.
Her arms were ridiculously full of flowers, wrapped in light paper so as not to be disturbed by the weather, as she made her way for the Albrecht estate. This wasn't her first visit there; Alys, Audrey as she knew her, clearly had more suitors than humely possible, each with notes more ridiculous than the next. There were admissions in there she would never, never forget.
The woman who often took her deliveries was absent from the estate, it seemed, so once she had been allowed within the grounds, she beelined for her destination, attempting not to slip on ice along the way. Fucking mess that would be. ‘Hello, here are your flowers, do you like them half-crushed?'
Audrey really needed to put these guys in a room and lock them away from normal society.
Ms. Han had left for the grocers, and Alys, who had been cooped up indoors so long, was also out. The afternoon found Juliette alone on the sitting room couch, curled up with one of the books Storm had sent her way, enjoying the quiet and the fresh pot of tea at her elbow. The ringing of the bell was an unwanted distraction; she sighed as she marked her place and set the book on the coffee table before making her way down the hall.
She saw the roses first, and barely held back a second sigh; it was not the florist's fault, of course, that a large number of gentlemen wished to wed her sister, but the house had smelled semi-permanently of roses since the moment their address had been made public, and she was becoming quite weary of these transparent attempts to win the heiress' favor.
The sight of the face behind the oversized bouquet, however, had her gasping, hand flying to her mouth. It was the woman — the one with the strange healing magic — what was she doing delivering flowers?
"I..." she managed before the words deserted her entirely; she stood there, blinking stupidly as though the next time her eyes opened this scenario would begin to make some semblance of sense.
The door had opened, and there appeared a person, but no words came out of their mouth for some reason. Brow furrowing in confusion, Flynn peered around the shortest roses, hoping for a face and getting one — but it was familiar, too. This wasn't that woman; this was Audrey's sister. Juliette?
"Delivery for Alys Coulombe," were her automatic, rehearsed and (more than slightly) bored-sounding words. "Not to sound, uh, rude or anything, but can we get these put down somewhere? I've got a thing for you to sign, too."
"Yes!" the word exploded from Juliette's lips with, perhaps, a bit more force than necessary. "Of course! Please, come in."
She reached to take the flowers — the bouquet was massive but not prohibitively heavy — and turned to take them into the kitchen. A few weeks ago, someone had sent something of similar size with an accompanying vase, hadn't they? She didn't want to use the bucket Ms. Han kept under the sink.
"I do apologize," she babbled on, as she set the flowers on the counter and went hunting for the vase. "For my startlement. You...that is, why...that is, of all people I thought I might see at our door..."
The mage rearranged her coat, smoothing it down now that there was no more bouquet to haul around. "My mom owns a flower shop, in the Bazaar. Dahlia's? If you've ever seen it," she supplied, rooting through her messenger bag for the clipboard and pen. "I do deliveries for her when things get too busy, or she wants me to freeze to death."
She edged forward, holding out both board and pen. "Sign and initial at the X."
"Oh," Juliette said, "but why -" and then promptly snapped her mouth shut.
People had all manner of complex circumstances. Didn't she know the truth of this statement from personal experience.
"Apologies." Scarlet now, she finally unearthed the vase, filling it with water and settling the roses within. She ignored the note in favor of the paper proffered by the other young woman. "I will sign, of course."
Her pen paused over the signature line a moment and she said, hesitantly, "I...it would be amiss if I did not take this opportunity to thank you. You saved someone who is...very precious to me." Her signature was scrawled across the line then, as a thoughtful look crossed her face.
Why was it that she endlessly found herself in situations for which etiquette had no answer?
"Would you...like a cup of tea, perhaps?" she offered after a moment. It was indeed cold outside, and tea was hot, and one of the only things to come immediately to mind. "We have cookies. Or..."
Flynn's face was carefully kept still, a mask to hide how tedious these thank yous had become. Maybe she was underestimating the whole scope of this, but she didn't need people coming to her mother's shop with gift offerings, nor did she need that angry twist in her chest that said oh, finally, something her mother could be proud of her for.
She wasn't much of a fan of etiquette, so she scratched at her nose, seeming to consider the other. Say yes and stay, or say no and run away? Juliette was so polite, and this idolization of her was growing tiresome. Her decision made itself for her.
"Yeah, I'll take tea and cookies. Thanks." Who could say no to cookies? "Except I've gotta get back pretty soon, so is tea to go out of the question? If you could, like... put it in a thing, I can get it back to you next time I'm here."
Which was going to be soon, she knew.
"A...oh yes, I have just the thing." Another quick hunt through the kitchen had her turning around with her thermos in hand, the one she carried with her to training on particularly chilly days. "I have tea freshly brewed. Do you like mint in your tea?" She certainly hoped the answer was yes — otherwise she would have to make new tea entirely, and the healer was in a hurry...
"Sure," Flynn shrugged with a shoulder, trying ever so valiantly not to appear as awkward as she felt.
A dash was made to the living room to fetch the teapot. "Sugar?" she asked as she returned and began to pour, all but bursting with her eagerness to please. "I will wrap up the cookies for you, as well. You needn't return the thermos if it suits you — that is — all I can offer is the thermos and the cookies, but they are yours if you want them, of course."
She could always get a new thermos. Who knew if she would get a second opportunity to thank her sister's savior?
Oh, excellent, a thermos gift. Because really, she needed more gifts, after all the ones she'd received. The redhead waved her hands, even if Juliette couldn't see her. "Hey, no, I'll get it back to you, no problem. It's like, no trouble at all."
"If you're certain." She closed up the thermos — no sugar — wrapped the cookies in a colorful cloth with quick, certain hands, and dug around in her pocket for her purse to withdraw a sizable tip (one tipped delivery people, after all, and so what if 80% of the likely cost of the flowers was a bit much?). "Here you go," she said; then, once again, "Thank you."
All this thanking was going to drive Flynn crazy, she knew it would, but she accepted the gift and tip with a forced smile, doing her utmost best to be the good delivery girl her mother wanted her to be. With a nod, she shoved the gil into her pocket.
"Right, you're welcome. I don't mind showing myself out, so uh, say hi to—" Alys, Alys, Alys, not Audrey. "Alys for me. And thanks for—" She lifted the thermos and cookies, offered one last parting (painful) smile, and scurried for the door.