As the stableboy darted off to get the requested horses, Marie-Elisabeth couldn’t help the direction her mind was wandering off in. She had thought she would be able to keep her mind out of the gutters, especially considering that its’ previous place there had brought her nothing but trouble and embarrassment. But it appeared as though it was determined to go off and make a home for itself there and it was taking most of her willpower not to let the rest of her pack its’ bags up and move there too.

“All of my attention indeed” she mused, as she watched the servants and stableboys running around doing their various tasks. “As though my attention could possibly be anywhere else at the moment” she thought, glancing over at César “It seems to be firmly fixed on the same thing, despite the rest of me’s best efforts to the contrary”.

She continued to look around while they waited for their horses, realizing quite a few of the boys didn’t look very much older than her own son. That made her even more grateful for the fact that he was safe at home. Though she had to admit she did miss him a great deal, and had seriously been considering brining him to the palace for a visit. She knew he’s enjoy it, and what better way for him to finally put faces on all the important names he was always being told about.

Of course the return of the stableboy with the horses jolted Marie-Elisabeth out of her plans and she carefully walked forward to the horses. She really hadn’t been around the animals much unless they were towing her carriage or she was supervising Charles’ riding lessons, so she was being somewhat cautious.

“What beautiful animals” she said, placing her gloved hand on the gelding's forehead and petting it. It had a lovely golden coat and was being remarkably still and well behaved as she ran her hand up and down its muzzle. In fact, it reminded her a great deal of the horse her father had owned that they used to go out riding together on. Francis had purposely chosen it for its calm and gentle nature, as opposed to the rather fearsome stallion he rode when he was on his own. Marie-Elisabeth made a mental note to acquire a similar one of her very own sometime in the future.

Now the stallion, on the other hand, was not being quite so well behaved. It was making some rather impatient snorting noises and stamping its’ hooves on the floor. She couldn’t help but giggle slightly at that and backed away slightly over to where César was standing.

“Someone looks like he’s a little bit impatient to get started” she said, pulling her gloves up and making sure her hat was securely fastened on her head. The last thing she needed was for it to fly off her head and loose it. She glanced over at the horses and back to César. “I suppose we had better be off then. Would you mind helping me get up onto the horse” she said, another faint trace of her signature smirk making its way back onto her face “I’m afraid he’s rather tall and I don’t want to fall off and make myself look silly”.




(((OOC: Oh dear god, now you've got the image in my head of the lot of them doing terrible disco dancing or something to that song. Thaaaaanks a lot Remind me NOT to ever put the Karaoke machine in any of their houses.....*gets mental picture of César singing Mambo #5 and dies again*

And yes I got a picture for her horse. It's pretty, actually is a gelding (Which I'm ashamed to say I had to look up), and I like it)))

"Lordship. Although really, I do not put overmuch precedence in titles, you may call me Larkin"

Padme stood from her curtsy-ing position and smiled at Larkin. It seemed as if her had been examining her before. Going through a checklist in his head on how she dressed (which was poorly), the way her hair was done, her wealth, etc.

"Mademoiselle"

"A pleasure to meet you, Monsuier Larkin. You may call me Padme." She paused for a moment, thinking of something to say. She was very shy, and that was an understatement. Gazing at a bush of roses, she suddenly remembered that it was goregous outside. Silly me, I got caught up in staring at roses than making conversation. (Something Padme wasn't very good at.)

"Lovely day isn't it? I was inside most of yesterday, so I figured I'd catch up on fresh air."

((sorry, I just got done writing an essay But the narrative will revive me of my expository failure - tehe))

The conversation with the Baroness had been somewhat monotonous, despite efforts on both their parts. Rosaline seemed amicable enough, but there had not been enough to sustain tête-à-tête at that point given that Bella had ventured out to read and Rosaline apparently for a break from mourning. Perhaps things would have been better if they had not been preoccupied to begin with. Still, Bella was sure she’d have another – possibly pleasanter – encounter with the Baroness during her stay at court.

Having given up on the book for now, Bella had walked around aimlessly through the gorgeous green grass carpet that defined the gardens, stopping to smell and feel the flowers and the small intricacies of the ornaments. It’d been somewhat of a solitary morning, most of her company had been derived from silent disclosures imprinted as words on a page while the rest of it had either been fleeting encounters or the beautifully delicate view before her.

She’d somehow made her way back to the palace, absently turning the corner that lead to the great marble staircase as her sight fought free through the window, falling upon the image of Marie-Elisabeth and César walk off into the distance sure to claim their horses or visit them, at least.

Well, that’s… odd, Bella could not help but think as the forms of the Comtesse and Marquis disappeared into the stables. She wondered where the lovely Marquise, Joséphine, was while her husband had apparently taken it upon himself to ensure that Marie-Elisabeth received her share of masculine attentions.

Little did she know that her question was about to be abruptly answered as she turned the corner to the sight of Joséphine and Octavien in mid conversation, arrested in their ascent up the stairway. They both looked somewhat dishevelled as if their own horseback riding venture had backfired somehow and they’d decided to return while César and Marie-Elisabeth continued on. Well, that may have been the case, she supposed.

Bella continued her smooth glide closer to the pair as a small smile of mixed incredulity and admiration flowed upon her mouth. They looked like they’d been attacked by vegetation somewhat with leaves in Joséphine’s hair and matching stains of tree-bark over Octavien’s shirt.

"You know, there's a time, place and attire for adventure....” she could called out to them as she ascended the staircase with the that affable smile still playing over her features. As she ventured closer, her eyes widened in pure shock as she saw the more serious aspects of their state, namely the scratches over the Joséphine’s hands and the steady stream of blood that carried on down Octavien’s shirt. What on Earth…?

“My goodness, are you both alright?” Bella’s voice dropped to the hushed whisper of concern as genuine worry manifested for the wellbeing of her new acquaintances. “Has anyone seen to your injuries?"

Well, the question struck Bella as rather stupid once she'd actually said it. Of course no-one had seen to it yet, otherwise they'd have looked less like victims of some branch-wielding mob.

"We must see to these right away."

(((OOC: Marie-Elisabeth and César haven't left the stables yet, ME's not even on her horse! There's no way she could have seen them riding off)))

(((OOC: Sorry about that, its been fixed so that she saw them go into the stables, in their riding outfits (presumably?) and then saw Octavien and Jo and figured they'd all gone horseback riding and then Octavien and Jo decided to give up on it after maybe falling off the horses or something, so Cesar and ME came back, dropped them off for whatever reason and then headed back without them)))

(((ooc: Since we're still in the re-application stage of the new thread, I didn't want to make things messy by posting my RP post there just yet. Hope that's ok?)))


While waiting for the horses to be brought to them, it seemed Marie-Elisabeth and César both lost themselves to deep thoughts, and for once, rare silence settled between them as they absentmindedly looked around themselves, each with a vision stained by their personalities and experiences in life. Marie-Elisabeth saw the young stableboys, and thought of her son. César saw the magnificent Lippizans, most likely specimens from one of the acclaimed Lahance stud farms, and thought of Octavien, and through association, Joséphine, wondering if everything had gone according to plan, and, more importantly, if Joséphine was alright. During the previous night, intoxicated by hours of fine wine and good company, his plan had seemed a marvelous one, but now, in sober daylight... Not so much. Not only would Joséphine's dignity end up bruised, but most likely so would her delicate frame as well. If she fell, she could end up seriously injured, and on top of it all, if she really was pregnant... He didn't even want to try and imagine what the consequences of this endeavor might be.

When it came to César de la Valliére, it had to be some kind of a record, but for the second time during a single day, he felt guilty. What had he been thinking, asking Joséphine to risk her neck just to maybe successfully boost Octavien's popularity? And not even be around himself, to make sure that she came out of it alright? The fact that it had ultimately been her decision to do it or not didn't feel like it made much of a difference, simply because César knew that she too had an adventurous streak, and was just as disheartened as her husband to see Octavien treated with such disrespect by people ten times more flawed than him. Of course she would agree to do what she could to improve his standing.

Yet, at the same time as he was feeling guilty, he couldn't help but feel that if there was a woman that could pull of a stunt like the one they had planned, it was Joséphine. Her adventurous streak was not just a bad thing, but also provided her with a bit of skill and know-how, and what she lacked in César's amount of experience of similar enterprises, she made up for in the common sense that he lacked.
And, not to be forgotten, there was also Octavien, who would never allow Joséphine to get hurt, if he could help it. So... She was alright, surely? Had something serious happened, a servant would have been sent to fetch César a long time ago. And no such thing had happened. Meaning, Joséphine had to be doing quite fine, and the only thing he should worry about, was making it all up to her. And explaining why he hadn't been there.

His ponderings of how to do that were cut short however, as the sudden clatter of several pairs of hooves against the cobblestones roused both him and Marie-Elisabeth from their thoughts, and had them look up at the two magnificent beasts approaching them, led by the same stableboy that had taken their request. One a gelding as requested, a light brown, almost golden animal that appeared as calm and dependable as the other, a dark brown stallion, appeared restless and moody, dancing slightly in the teenaged boy's firm grip.

"Someone looks like he's a little bit impatient to get started", Marie-Elisabeth said with a soft giggle.

At first, César almost thought she meant him, as he had been paying more attention to her and the way she behaved around the gelding, than he had the stallion. He'd been watching the way she approached the animal, to get an idea of how much out of practice she really was, and had been pleased to find that while she was catious, and maybe just a little but overly so, she didn't appear to be afraid. That was a very good start indeed, as it was a sure sign that they would not have to start from the very beginning; that it was simply her riding skill that needed some refreshing.
Thus, her comment made him blink with momentary surprise, before his eyes fell on the beautiful but impatient stallion, and it dawned on him whom she had really been referring to. It seemed a spirited horse indeed, and César's lips parted slightly in a satisfied smile. He was pleased, to say the least, and knew instantly that he and the stallion would get along quite nicely.

"I suppose we had better be off then", Marie-Elisabeth continued, while seeing to the last details of her attire before turning to César, and if he wasn't mistaken, he did catch a vague glimpse of her trademark smirk as she added; "Would you mind helping me get up onto the horse? I’m afraid he’s rather tall and I don’t want to fall off and make myself look silly."

A request for him to get close to her and assist her in mounting the animal, with all bodily and electrifying contact that could entail? She didn't have to ask him twice!

"Of course, Madame", he said, with his lips curving into a smile rather similar to her own, and he gave a slight bow before moving on to help her into the saddle, taking full advantage of the opportunity to have his hands linger around her waist a moment longer than necessary, and also his arm resting gently against the many layers of fabric covering her thighs, when handing her the reins, and making sure she held them correctly.

Once that was all done and she had assured him twice that she was sitting securely and comfortably in the saddle, César himself mounted his horse with the lithe ease of a young and skilled horseman, and the animals were gently urged into motion. Side by side the couple rode slowly out of the stables, and as they began heading for the gates and the country road beyond, César offered a few pieces of advice in general, since it turned out Marie-Elisabeth had, according to him, been quite modest about her skill.

"Why, Comtesse de Valois", he said, with a tone of gentle and playful reproach in his voice. "I believe you must have played me for a fool when saying you were out of practice. You're doing quite well."

((ooc: Well most of the active members' applications are in already, so I think it's just better if we tried to migrate there and get things going ))

(((ooc: Alrighty then, from now on I'll post in the new one. )))

Posting for non-purge purposes.