InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "alice says..."

algreengrass (algreengrass) wrote in pandorarpg,
@ 2012-02-16 20:45:00

Entry tags:

!status: complete, ^date: november 16 2003, character: astoria greengrass, character: zacharias smith

Who: Astoria Greengrass and Zacharias Smith, with NPC Arabesque Greengrass
What: Afternoon tea with ulterior motives
Where: Greengrass Manor in Gloucestershire
When: 1:30 pm Nov. 16
Rating: PG most likely, definitely worksafe

Astoria was sitting at the vanity in her room, looking at her reflection in the mirror. Things were getting stranger by the day, for many reasons, and not all of them bad. She'd met the Undersecretary the other day, who had seemed interested in helping her to further her career, she'd learned Samara was returning to the department, which promised to be helpful to her, she'd met a bloke who made her question so many things in her life, but in a good way, and now her mother had invited Zacharias Smith to tea this afternoon, quite out of the blue. She was pretty sure her mother was up to no good.

Still, custom required her to put on her game face and put her well learned Pureblood manners to use when he came around. She was just setting the headband in her hair when the buttler announced their company had arrived and she was forced to decend from her room into whatever plans her mother was setting in motion. She closed the door to her bedroom behind her and went downstairs where her mother was already inviting him into the sitting room and having a servant bring in tea and a few things to eat.

"Ah, Astoria, there you are dear," Arabesque said, motioning for her to enter the room and take a seat near where Zarcharias was sitting.

Astoria walked over and offered him an honest smile. "Hello, Zacharias, so nice of you to join us."

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overlooked
2012-02-19 11:24 pm UTC (link)

"We don't have to be engaged right away. People are allowed to date, to consider their options." On his end, he knew his mother would be momentarily quelled by the fact he had an appropriate girlfriend. However, he was aware how quickly meddling mothers could try to speed up that timeline. Zacharias knew how to manage his mother and he seemed able to put Astoria's at a state of unease. So, he wasn't really too worried.

"I also have no intention of getting married anytime soon, and I think that is a point that could work in our favor." They could even claim they were going to do it right. But Zacharias knew he wasn't the only one making the decision here. He didn't even want to make it at all. "However, the choice is yours."

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algreengrass
2012-02-19 11:38 pm UTC (link)

She sat very quietly in the wake of his words, really thinking about what this all meant, what she would have to do. She wanted to say no, wanted to laugh it off, appologize for wasting his time, but she knew if she turned down yet another suitor, she would never hear the end of it, and rather than being given some semblance of a choice, she would be forced into something by her mother. At least this left her some freedom, at least this wasn't real. It was the best option she had right now, possibly the best she would ever get.

"Very well," she said with a small nod. "Fine, we can put on a show for our parents, make it look real. Make them think that we're going along with their plans, but only in public. Because otherwise it will be too real, and I'm not comfortable with that." She wanted to run away right now, run to someone who would understand. She wasn't sure though if she would run for Daphne, or for Justin. She just wanted to run.

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overlooked
2012-02-20 12:13 am UTC (link)

"That's fine with me. I sincerely doubt that you could handle me in private anyway," he said with a bit of a smirk. Certainly not if she couldn't even stand up to her mother. No, he needed something a bit rougher and there were few women out there that could truly give him what he wanted in that regards.

Standing up, he cleared his throat so his voice might carry. "Astoria, it has been a pleasure and I do hope that we can get together again soon. Dinner perhaps?" He would leave her to fill in what was happening to her mother. Zacharias had little interest in sticking around, they knew the plan and now it was just a matter of making the right rules.

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algreengrass
2012-02-20 12:34 am UTC (link)

Astoria fought the urge to scoff at his words. "You have no idea what I am capable of," she said without looking at him, not really giving a damn what he thought about that. She had no urge to prove his opinion otherwise, so he would have to decide on his own whether to believe her or not, but he didn't scare her.

Astoria stood as well and dipped her head in acknowledgement. "Yes, I would very much enjoy that. I look forward to our next meeting." With that, she considered her required duties completed and with a quick, forced smile, she turned away and left the room to inform her mother of what had happened, though no doubt she was making her own assumptions. After that, she planned on finding sollace elsewhere.

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