Altair Laurent (shotinthedark) wrote in emillion, @ 2013-07-17 01:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !log, !thread, altair laurent, genevieve albrecht |
Wouldn't it be loverly?
Who: Altair and Vivi
What: Scouting a location for Altair's Finishing School for Ladies
Where: The Snuggly Duckling
When: Today
Rating: PG
Status: Complete!
Altair set out on Tuesday morning with a sense of purpose. Things were looking up. His business with Wil was taking off (pun not intended), the murderer in the red light district had been caught and a new crop of rumors had sprung up to take the place of the one about his arrest, and one of his dearest friends had finally come to her senses, having asked him to help her rejoin society.
It was this last event that brought him to the Snuggly Duckling. As confident as he was in his own powers of transformation, he lacked the resources to attend to it with the secrecy that it needed. He trusted Vivi implicitly, though, and had no compunctions about involving her.
When he arrived, Colin was cleaning something and noticed him immediately. “Are you looking for Genevieve?” he asked, and when Altair nodded, he said, “Upstairs.”
“Thanks, Colin,” Altair said, and headed up. He could hear some sort of rustling behind the door as he approached. After tapping on it, he opened it slowly and called out, “Vivi? It’s me.”
It was not often that Almalexia contacted her outside of Church, so it had come as somewhat of a surprise to receive her network missive. Genevieve could not deny a curiosity over who the accessory would go to, but there was no need to push. After all, she and Almalexia were not particularly close, and this was, of course, a business venture. Though she supposed she would need to start prodding about, see why she had seen an influx of customers she had not previously had before.
She was going through the chest that stored the strength augments - Almalexia had said the recipient was a fighter, though she had not specified class - when the knock came. Straightening, she wiped her hands upon her trousers and called out, “Do come in.”
Altair closed the door behind himself and regarded Vivi with some measure of curiosity. She appeared to be looking for something. If she was working, it would likely be best to get straight to the point so that she could get back to it.
“I won’t keep you long,” he said. “I have a request, of sorts, and perhaps some surprising news that I felt would be best delivered in person.” He firmly believed that all potentially shocking news ought to be delivered in public, whenever possible. To do otherwise seemed, well, rude.
He motioned toward the nearest chair. “It would be best if you sat for the news, I think.” Vivi was no shrinking violet, and he wasn’t worried that she would faint, but when he had found out, he’d felt like he’d seen a ghost. Vivi had really seen a ghost lately, and Altair had no desire to repeat that feeling for her so soon.
She raised her eyebrows, but did as suggested. “I do hope this has nothing to do with the vile rumors floating about,” she said, smoothing her hands over the fabric of the armchair. The request, she was certain, would be accomplished with minimal fuss once he asked it of her, but the thought of more potentially shocking news was simply exhausting.
For just one week, she wished she could hear nothing, that there would be no ridiculous attacks upon the city or outside of it. Just one week of quietude that she had not seemed to have for months.
She indicated the seat across from hers, in case he wished to sit as well. “Tell me this news,” she prompted, steeling herself for unpleasantness.
“I believe you’ll find this to be good news,” Altair said, and then because he could think of no other way to soften it other than to just say it, he did. “Alys Coulombe is alive.” He knew Vivi would remember the Coulombe family, and he knew she knew what happened to them. He had no further backstory to give, so he merely said it and waited for her reaction.
The words washed over her and it took a moment for her to understand them. After a moment, however, she smiled. “Ah, yes. Audrey has chosen to speak with you of it, then?” She had thought she’d seen a ghost the first time she had run into Audrey, having been under the same impression of everyone that only Juliette had survived.
Audrey had not seemed to desire much to do with her noble heritage after, and Genevieve could not blame the girl. Alys had died and Audrey had grown up, free to do as she pleased. It was an unspoken agreement that they never spoke of the truth, though Audrey knew that Genevieve was aware of her true identity.
Perhaps it was why she worried for the girl so much.
“Well, yes,” Altair admitted, “but really, I’ve known since I was thirteen and joined the guild. We are the same age, and it had only been a few years since I’d last seen her. I was willing to call her Audrey, but I refused to pretend we hadn’t grown up on the same street in the Nobles District. It always bothered her when I made some reference to that time, but I don’t approve of pretending the past doesn’t exist.”
He scratched his arm absently. He should have known Vivi, of all people, would already know Audrey’s secret.
“I’m certain you’ve heard the rumors about Juliette and Storm,” he went on. “I’ve made a point to visit the Demiels periodically to check up on Juliette and report back to Audrey. This time she was worried they were considering marrying her off, and her concerns turned out not to be entirely unfounded. That and Leila’s death have made Audrey consider returning to her former life.”
Those blasted rumors again, though she could not say she was surprised by the existence of that particular one. Faram forbid two children dance together without word of their impending marriage spreading. It also was not terribly shocking that the Demiels were contemplating her betrothal as well; her majority was fast approaching, and they were not overly fond of the girl. It was a pity, though; Juliette was still quite young. Perhaps she should have a talk with Lady Demiel in the future.
“Is that so?” She had not anticipated Audrey wishing to return to her former station. All things considered, Genevieve was wary in believing that the girl could. It would be easy enough to prove her lineage, and she would by far not be the most scandalous - Genevieve believed that between herself, Domina and Divina, there were few more gossip-worthy - but Audrey had grown up among the common folk. An entire re-education would be necessary.
“And what would you ask of me?”
“Audrey asked me to teach her how to be a lady.” Altair smiled a bit when he said that: he couldn’t help but find it a bit funny. “I am, of course, happy to spend the time working with her to help her recoup the knowledge of custom and manners that she missed during the past fifteen years.” That was putting it mildly, admittedly. Altair never could resist a challenge. The same impulse that had prompted him to immediately set to work picking Nate’s “unpickable” locks had him positively giddy over the prospect of trying to turn someone like Audrey into a Lady Alys Coulombe. Still, it wouldn’t due to make this too much about himself. Audrey was his oldest friend, and her well-being had to come first.
“I need a place to work with her,” Altair said, getting back to the point of his visit. “I can’t take her to Highcombe, obviously. The entire Nobles District is a cesspool of gossip and intrigue, and she needs to have the freedom to do this at her own pace without anyone outing her before she is ready. There is no privacy at all in the Sapphire, and the Thieves Guild warehouses and safehouses and whatnot lack the amenities I would need to effectively teach her what she needs to know.”
It was somewhat comforting that Audrey did not believe that she could simply walk straight back into Alys’ life, and that Altair was willing to help her. Still, the problem of locale was challenging. She was loathe to offer her own estate for several reasons, first and foremost being that it offered quite the same problem as using Highcombe.
She stood and looked around the space that they were in at the moment. It would be no trouble to provide the tools necessary for Audrey’s education, and no one would think twice of the young woman or Altair coming to The Duckling; Audrey was known to be a heavy drinker, and her acquaintance with Altair was well known.
“I am willing to offer the tavern,” she told him, explaining her rationale regarding tools and privacy. “This room will be at your disposal, and for the more art-oriented education, the tables downstairs can be cleared away so that she may learn the proper dances after hours. There would be little to gossip about.”
“That is exactly what I was hoping you would say,” Altair said, smiling in relief. “The Duckling is perfect. We are both here often enough anyway that it shouldn’t arouse any suspicion, and I do believe we could come at whatever hour is easiest for you.” Altair had never been a thief, as such, but any member of the guild was used to keeping odd hours. Thieving and its related endeavors were night work as often as not.
“It is going to be a significant undertaking, and Audrey prefers to start as soon as possible. When do you think we could begin?”
“If you wish to begin immediately, you may begin to have access to this room tomorrow eve. I shall inform Colin and Robyn to allow you in should I not be around.” There were a few things she would need to move around - not because she did not trust them, but because the accessories were often unstable until Nathaniel had time to look at them.
“I believe that would be acceptable,” Altair agreed readily. “Thank you, Vivi.” He had gotten what he’d come in for, but he was loath to leave without her advice as well. He hesitated, and then added, “I believe I shall begin with tea. What do you think?” He paused, and then added, “What do you think of all of this?” That was the question he really wanted the answer to.
Her initial reaction was to say that it was a good idea, but she knew that it was not so simple. “It shall be difficult,” she started thoughtfully. “She has been out of touch with high society for some time, and her mannerisms will broadcast such. It will be nigh impossible to correct them.” It was not a bad thing, exactly, but it would make Audrey’s reintroduction more difficult.
“Tea would be a decent start,” she continued. High teas were quite common amongst the upper class, and though Genevieve enjoyed tea a great deal, the formal teas she received invitations to were always quite tedious. “She will be bored, however.
“A reward system, perhaps,” she mused. “For every skill she masters, a prize. Make a game of it, incentivize it.”
"That does sound like more fun than what I was planning to do," Altair mused. "I was going to tell her that all there is to being nobility is lying about how you really feel about everything at all times." He and Audrey both enjoyed lying, so he assumed she would enjoy thinking of it that way. Besides, it was entirely true.
She nodded. It was quite true; it was truly a miracle there were so few nobles in the Thieves Guild as a whole. “If there is some way to assist, do let me know.” If there was any way she could help ease Audrey back into noble life, then she would endeavor to accommodate them. She would need to keep an eye on Juliette, however; there was little doubt that the news that her deceased sister was, in fact, not dead would be hard on the girl.
“I will,” Altair promised. “I might ask you to join us when she is further along for a test or some such thing.” He straightened up and said, “I will let you get back to your work. But I appreciate your help.” He certainly wouldn’t have trusted anyone else with such a delicate issue.
“You are quite welcome,” she replied, standing. “I shall speak with you soon.” There were a few preparations she would have to make before they began their lessons. She only hoped that it would do Audrey and Juliette good.