princess calliope avery (musicalliope) wrote in praesidio_rpg, @ 2018-10-05 22:39:00 |
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Entry tags: | brianne avery, calliope avery, tiberius avery |
Who: Princess Calliope, Princess Brianne, Prince Tiberius
What: Discussing Brianne’s infatuation
Where: Calliope’s quarters
When: BACKDATED September 19, evening
Status: Closed, Complete
Rating: Low
Calliope hadn’t intended to let such a long period of time go by before confronting Brianne over her irresponsible behaviour. Fear of the unknown was a potent motivator, yet too much dulled the impact. But she and Tiberius had needed time after Killick’s disgusting revelations, and the fall of France had occupied the rest of their days.
And truthfully, she wasn’t entirely sure what to say to her daughter. Brianne, who had always been the responsible, dutiful twin. Brianne had always done what they asked of her, living up to their expectations. To stumble upon her hidden on a balcony at the Lieutenants’ Ball, where anyone could see a princess of the royal family touching and whispering sweet words to a Merchant brat — Calliope dearly wished she could turn back the months and keep Brianne from ever hosting that infernal fundraiser at Killick’s pub. Or that she’d been more attentive rather than hands-off. Her aim had been to let Brianne develop confidence at throwing a fundraiser herself, only to have it backfire.
This morning, Calliope had sent a handwritten note to Brianne, notifying her she was expected in her mother’s private sitting room at 7 o’clock. She was the picture of calm as she waited for Brianne to arrive, a glass of cognac on the side table near her. Much like with their interrogation of Killick, Calliope would start this talk. Tiberius was in their quarters, but had decided to wait until it was time to discuss Brianne’s punishment.
“Come in,” she called when she heard Brianne’s knock on the door.
**
The first few days following the Lieutenants’ Ball had seen Bri secluded in her room, refusing to attend meals with the family, refusing to see anyone but those required members of staff and Apollo(who had been staying with her at least until she had fallen asleep at night. When she felt she was able to sleep, that is. A week had passed before she’d dared leave her room at all, and even then, it was only to be in the music room, hours upon hours spent at her cello. Which, in turn, had prompted the meaningless public part of the journal entry that had sparked the idea to try and become more familiar with her betrothed. She’d made certain the two most notoriously gossip-prone members of her staff had been the ones she had mentioned his visit to, wanting to be sure the news reached her parents.
The note from her mother was far from a surprise, though the amount of time it had taken for it to arrive had been - but then, perhaps that had been their intention. Either way, Brianne had expected some kind of meeting or talk, something to acknowledge what Calliope had interrupted. There was no way it would be ignored, not after the way her voice had sounded as she had addressed Fiona that evening, the way she had looked at her... For the moment, it seemed she would only be meeting with her mother - a small mercy, as thinking of her father’s response to her actions still made her nauseous.
Given permission to enter the sitting room, Brianne grasped the door handle and stepped through, closing it gently behind her before moving to stand before her with her court mask in place. “Good evening, mother,” Bri spoke quietly, meeting her mother’s gaze calmly as if she weren’t expecting wrath incarnate to come clawing for her. She wouldn’t sit until she was given leave, and didn’t intend on speaking unless she was spoken to; she knew she was in trouble, and this was nothing to the prior mischievous wrongdoings of her childhood.
*
One look at Brianne’s face -- that court smile she’d trained into her from a toddler in place, a useful mask over her feelings -- gave Calliope a good indicator as to how this “talk” would go. If her daughter thought perfect behaviour would help her now, she hadn’t spent nearly enough of that time in her rooms planning for ways to soften the sting of her betrayal. Calliope knew all about Castor’s visit, as Brianne had intended, but it carried very little weight right now.
“Good evening, Brianne,” Calliope replied pleasantly, looking up at her. She didn’t invite Brianne to sit. The usual power imbalance from a height or level difference didn’t play here. “I trust you’ve had plenty of time to think over the past few weeks.” She paused to pick up the glass of cognac and take a leisurely sip. “What do you have to say for yourself?” Calliope asked, voice as calm as if she were asking about the weather.
**
Brianne moved her hands from her sides to lightly clasp them in front of her, settling in to wait where she stood as Calliope made it clear she wasn’t permitted to do otherwise. She willed herself not to look away from the gaze her mother fixed her with, stomach knotting. “What do you want me to say, Mother? I reached for something that made me happy. Someone that made me happy. I’m not going to lie and say I regret it,” She added, and a faint frown creased her brow as she continued. “What you saw on the balcony that evening? I was telling Fiona goodbye. That I wouldn’t see her again,” She used her name on purpose, immediately having to fight past a lump in her throat at the mention and the memory of those last moments. She didn’t know what her honesty was going to earn her, but nothing good was going to come from this encounter. Of that, she was certain.
*
From Killick’s drugged lips, Calliope had heard what Brianne thought of the girl. Hearing such, and hearing Killick loved her daughter had filled her with the same cold fury she’d felt upon finding them in the first place. Hearing directly from Brianne how deeply she cared for Fiona brought that same fury back to the surface. Calliope didn’t hide it, her eyes narrowing, every movement sharp, and her tone as cold as ice. “You’re right on that, at least. You won’t be seeing her again.” Her smile was cruel. Hurting Brianne now would only help her in the long run. Brianne needed to focus on her upcoming marriage, not some fantasy love with a Merchant. “How could you be so careless as to express affection at a palace event? Anyone could have seen you with Fiona and drawn the same conclusions I did.”
“You are getting married in mere months, Brianne. I do not want to hear some Merchant brat made you happy.”
**
“Anyone would have thought that I was consoling the girl over the fate her family suffered in the attack on Diagon, Mother. Caring for a subject is hardly criminal...” Brianne trailed off, angry tears pricking the corners of her eyes from the first statement Calliope had made. She refused to let them well up, and pushed the emotion back as she spoke the next few words, eyes still on her mother’s. “I could hardly forget my upcoming marriage. I take it that is what you would like to discuss?” This question was stronger, as she attempted to change the subject of the conversation - every mention of Fiona made her heart clench. Calliope had only requested her presence here, and there had been no mention of the direct subject in her note. Brianne shifted slightly in place, her mouth drying slightly as a certain word registered. Months.
*
“That was not simply comforting a subject. Fiona’s reaction gave you away.” Calliope’s left eyebrow arched as she looked up at Brianne. “All the more reason not to defile yourself with a commoner. They don’t know how to act in our world. If anyone else had happened upon you two”--she shook her head in disgust--“I’d be cleaning up a scandal right now. Apollo has always tested your Father and I. But you? I expected better of you, Brianne.”
“It seems as if you did forget your upcoming marriage, if you had enough time to ‘find happiness’ with a barmaid.” Relaxing further against the chair, Calliope looked her daughter over for a moment, drawing out what she had to say, well aware of her Brianne’s misgivings on the marriage actually happening. “Yes. Your Father and I have decided on early December for your wedding. I’ll allow you to pick the exact date, but no more dawdling.”
**
Brianne finally allowed her eyes to lower to the carpet when the words ‘expected better’ were uttered, unable to keep her will against her mother, especially not while she was being told she was a disappointment. She knew she was, of course, but hearing it spoken was different than telling herself. Her mother’s next statement had Brianne eyes snapping back to meet hers, noting the inflection on those words and filing that information away - it was a clue into Fiona’s visit the day prior, or at least she thought it might be, but she couldn’t ask outright what had happened. That would open the door to more punishments.
The pause Calliope lended to the conversation was daunting, and when the axe finally fell, Brianne could have sworn she felt her skin cool with the way the colour drained from her cheeks. December… Less than three months away. “I-I,” she had to clear her throat lightly here, before she could actually continue. “Early December… Shall it be a Saturday or a Sunday?” It was a feeble question, but at the moment, it was the only one she could bring to mind that wouldn’t upset her mother more than she already had.
*
Displeasure was such a powerful tool. Much like letting Brianne linger in fear of what might happen to Fiona. Brianne had experienced Calliope’s disappointment so rarely, with her status as the good daughter, so perhaps it was even more effective now. When Brianne looked back up, Calliope gave her an indifferent stare, which likely wasn’t much better for her than the angry one.
She saw and heard the news hit Brianne, exactly as hoped. Even without the impetus of Killick, they had given her a lot of time to become accustomed to the marriage. Too much time, clearly. “Either will be fine,” Calliope said generously. “Provided it’s on or before the 15th. I’ve already talked with Bellatrix and told her it will be a winter wedding, which she’s thrilled about. Castor is happy that you’ll finally have a date for him, too.”
Now that Calliope had cracked her daughter’s court shield, she went back to their first topic. “For the foreseeable future, you are confined to the palace. Wedding planning is the exception. If I hear any rumours about Apollo seeking out the girl, Fiona will be punished.” With that threat hanging in the air, Calliope rose smoothly to her feet and strode to the door that led to Tiberius’ section. “Tiberius?” she called, pitching her voice a tad higher.
**
After Killick’s interrogation, Tiberius raged -- not simply because a Merchant barmaid somehow managed to ensnare his daughter or even because Brianne had betrayed everything he and Calliope tried so hard to instill in her. It hurt him to think he'd trusted her without questioning, that he hadn’t anticipated the possibility she’d express herself in such a way. How foolish they’d been. They should have expected some sort of significant rebellion out of her -- they indulged how she dragged her feet on the wedding for far too long.
Calliope’s call pulled Tiberius out of his thoughts. Swallowing down the last bit of cognac, he pushed up from his chair and crossed the room to enter her attached quarters. The sight of Brianne, face pale but otherwise revealing nothing, drew forth a wave of disappointment. “Your mother has already discussed the terms of your punishment, I trust? And you’ve chosen a date for your happy nuptials?” His voice lacked the warmth that Brianne always seemed to lure out of him.
**
The confinement to the palace was nothing short of expected - hadn’t she already been, as of late? But the threat that her mother left lingering between the two of them took any remaining colour from Brianne’s cheeks, and she lowered her eyes again as her mother called for her father. It was cowardly, but the indifference that her mother had last met her with was nothing to her apprehension of seeing the look on his face when he entered the room. She heard his footsteps before his voice, and the tone leveled at her made her heart clench. She had spent most of her years seeking his approval, trying to prove her worth in a world where sons would always matter more. Trying to prove that she was more than a bargaining chip. The betrothal had been proof of her failure in that regard, and now she had in turn failed him - them - in being who she should be.
Bri forced herself to look up, but her gaze stopped before she met his eyes, too scared of what she might find waiting there. “Yes father, she has. I had thought to discuss the date with Lord Castor before making a decision, with your permission,” She replied, voice still quiet, her stomach in knots - surely his presence meant more than being on the receiving end of simple questions?
*
Calliope settled next to her husband, staying on her feet. Confronted with the displeasure of both of them and the news that she couldn’t delay her marriage any longer, Brianne looked suitably cowed. She noticed how their daughter couldn’t even look Tiberius in the eye.
“You may, but we want an answer soon. There’s an immense amount of planning to do.” Calliope answered for both of them, knowing how displeased Tiberius still was. “You’ll be spending a lot of time with me taking care of that planning,” she added, hinting that she would be keeping a closer eye on Brianne for the future. Even confined to the palace, Brianne might still take it into her head to try and do something for Killick, or worse. A steady reminder of her parents’ disapproval would be good for her.