Renewing Acquaintances
Ysabel stayed in her deep curtsey until the crowd around her dispersed. She had called the Historical Society and they'd been happy to let her start work earlier than scheduled. Tonight had been the first tour she'd done alone, a simple and short tour around the Founder's Tree Square delivering a brief bit of history about each buiding and each of the modest monuments. The tours took half an hour each and she had done three.
She knew at least one member of her audience that time around had been from the Historical Society, on hand to assist her if she required help or to ask leading questions that would remind her of anything she'd forgotten to include, but years at Court had honed her mind to conditioned responses and memorizing speeches, and Ysabel knew she had conducted her tour well, if not exactly flawlessly.
As the people lingered off to dinner or to bed, or to more lively entertainment, she noted one standing still. Closer inspection revealed clothing outdated as hers was and a head of dark dark hair.
Raising her head but remaining in her curtsey, she smiled. "Mister Rigson, how lovely to see you."
((Aaron present with permission))
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"Despite the fact that I was around when most of these buildings were built..." He thought with a small smerk.
"It is a plesure to see your radiant presence once more, Mademoiselle." He continued, stepping over to her and bending down to brush her fingers lightly with his lips.
He was thankfully devoid of a sword tonight, though he did have a long bladed knife hiden inside his coat. If life in this city had tought him anything it was that this city was not safe in any manner of the word.
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"I am glad you remembered where I work, and flattered you decided to show." Ysabel tilted her head slightly, remembering what had almost been an unspoken exchange in the gardens at Vesper. Bearing that in mind, she gestured to the area around them.
"So, did my little tour meet with your approval, sir?"
Her smile didn't waver a bit, but it became just the slightest bit mischievious. If Aaron was truly a kindred spirit, he would understand the deeper meaning she had implied.
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"Ahh, oui mademoiselle. One might even say that it brought back memoies..." He grinned, slipping in his own little subtext as he spoke. It was a bit more obveious than her hint, but still easy to explain away if he was wrong. He strongly suspected that it would not be neccicery.
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She laughed lightly, her smile losing any restraint and becoming entirely open. "I can see conversation with you is never to be dull. But then again, as I recall, words are your trade."
Ysabel referred once again to their meeting at Vesper, remembering Aaron as something of a lawyer and diplomat. She wondered that they had never met before, if their circles had indeed crossed each other a time or two.
"Incidentally," she added, "I'm certain I don't have the depth of knowledge about Nachton that you do. If there was anything you think might be of interest to add when I show this area, I hope you'll feel free to let me know?"
She had no idea how old Aaron might be but regardless, he'd been in Nachton longer than she had, and Ysabel was a diligent actress. She had enjoyed her role tonight and was looking forward to playing the tour guide some more. She didn't mind learning new bits and pieces of information from someone who apparently had firsthand knowledge.
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"No, I think you hit perity much everything that I can think of..." He looked around, then tured back to the woman before him. "At the moment at any rate." He shifted his arms, revealing a coppy of MacBeth, that he had been holding behind his back. Despite haveing read it at least 80 separate times durring his long life, indeed, haveing been around when it was written, he still found it an exciteing and interesting read. Especialy with all the changes that it had undergone over the years.
"I must confess I'm a tad more interested in your history, M'lady... It is not often I meet another of my kind... outside of work, of cource." He had to be careful, there were still a few mortals nerby... useing the termonology could still be dangerous.
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She smiled when she saw his book; Ysabel enjoyed Shakespeare herself as well. It seemed they had plenty in common, something that didn't often happen when you counted your life span in decades and centuries rather than single years.
His words were interesting though. He didn't often meet other vampires? She burned with curiosity to know why, since as a lawyer or diplomat, she wouldhave thought it to his advantage to find out about others. Perhaps he simply worked inside one clan, though, and hadn't had occasion to meet anyone else. She certainly wouldn't question him about it; that would have been unforgivably rude of her. Instead she obliged him and answered him in a similar low voice, although the humans were quickly moving out of earshot.
"My own history has been long and most likely of little interst, sir," she said modestly. Most men would probably find her life quite plain, as she'd complacently taken on a woman's role for so many years and until recently, women had to do any of their work well behind the scenes. "I am a courtier, or I was a courtier, and my responsibility has always been to my family."
It was said with affection but a little sadness. "Unfortunately, these years my talents aren't exactly suited to the way society has gone, and I have found myself a bit at loose ends. My sister fits in much better than I do, but that is the way of things, isn't it? Someday it will be my turn again."
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"Yes, With the destabalization of the old nobility of Europe I found myself rather out of sorts... I was the Duke of Bathgate before my changeing. I kept the title until it would have become suspicious that I was still alive... And before I could assume a new name... well..."
"Thats when a puritanical fanatic ruined me." He thought, though he let his actual sentence trail off into nothingness. He really didn't want to think or talk about those days, it depressed him.
"Might we take a bit of a walk around the square, I find my thoughts are more motivated when My feet move... that is, If you don't have another tour to do."
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"I remember your title, but I do not remember you," she finally admitted. "I think I would have, had we met in the past. If you knew anything of the Yolgrave family then, it might have been my face you recall. We took turns, my family and I, being the heir and heiresses of the Yolgrave estate."
She smiled at him. "The Yolgrave name goes a long way back in English history, but my sister and I didn't enter into it until 1400, when we were adopted into the family after our parents were taken by the plague."
When he asked about her tours, she shook her head. "That was my last one tonight. I would be happy to walk with you a bit, it's far too nice a night for staying in." Ysabel had her cloak on, as usual, since the ight air had just a bit of a nip to it still.
She fell into step beside Aaron, excited to compare mutual acquaintances, if they had any.
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"1400 Hmm? I fear that makes you my elder, m'lady, I wasn't born untill the mid 1500's." Though still, he thought he recalled the name Yolgrave from somewhere... most probobly one of his father's aquantences.
"Yolgrave rings a bell, if only faintly." He fell silent for a moment, collecting his thoughts, before speeking again.
"A most interesting solution to the age old problem, that... Who, if its not too much to ask, changed you?" Was that pretencious of him? Perhaps, but he hadn't got as far as he had without being slightly pretencious.
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She briefly explained to Aaron how she and Dayle had been adopted and the reason for their turning, as succinctly as possible. "So you see, it was Richard who turned Dayle and Elsa who offered the same to me. We were a family in every sense of the word."
Ysabel rather enjoyed relaying her history, as much as she liked hearing others'. "I couldn't imagine Dayle and I being separated. It wasn't a hard decision for me, especially given how little I remembered of life before being adopted. I just wanted to be like mother and father, and stay with Dayle."
She was, of course, curious about his own history, but it was personal to some so she didn't ask. Perhaps he would offer her his story since she'd told hers. Regardless, his interest was flattering and his company was welcome.
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"A touching display of loyalty and trust, m'lady. I was turned by someone close as well... though not by any member of family."
He wasn't entirely shure how deeply he wanted to go into this, but he decided that her divulgion deserved one of his own. He raised his left hand, where he still wore his wedding ring. It held a large, deep red ruby, cut into an octangular shape, with the letter "R" and "B" overlayed across it's polished surface.
"I met an, apparently young, French noblewoman by the name of Jenea Benoit, some years after my father's death, and my inheritence of his title."
Arron explained about the night she had changed him, delving only breifly into the details of the bite itslef, as opposed to the fonication that had precceded it. He also mentioned how he had orrigninaly hated Jenea, how he subsiquently accepted his nature and enterd into Clan Evenhet, and (of cource) how they were married.
He did not, however, make any mention of her death, or his own neer death, or the grusome way in which he enacted his vengance.
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"I was lucky," she acknowledged. "I had it easy, after all. I've never known anything but my family, really. Even through my marriages I had them in one way or another." She gave him a little grin. "I've been married several times. Eleven, to be exact."
She lifted a shoulder, unapologetic. Marriage was a woman's job in their time. She had trouble explaining that to other vampires sometimes, but she thought, given Aaron's age and where he was from, that he might actually understand the reasoning behind it.
"So, Clan Evenhet," she said. While Ysabel tried very hard to maintain an open mind, she still thought of Anantya as the purest blood of all the clans, the ones most closely connected to their roots and origins. "I belong to Anantya," she said with some pride. "They are just as much family to me as my parents and sister."
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"Eleven, eh? Perhaps you would like to upgrade to twelve?" He winked and laughed softly.
His good mood degenerated slightly when she made mention of her clan... He tried very hard not to judge baised purely from political affilitations, but he didn't like Anataya's treatment of humans...
"I see... well... it would be best not to discuss such distinctions too deeply, I think. Such debate may degenerate my good mood." He smiled softly at her, and cast around for a change of subject...
"What, may I ask, prompted you to move here to Nachton?"
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When he mentioned putting aside their relative clan affiliations she managed to dip him a little curtsey as they walked. Ysabel may have been a bit of a snob regarding her clan, but she really had nothing against the others and if her being in Anantya put Aaron off, it wouldn't have been the first time that happened. She didn't bother asking why; the differences between Anantya and Evenhet were pretty clearly delineated for most of the people involved.
"I certainly hope my presence doesn't contribute to the discontinuation of your good mood," she said with a slightly wry tone but good intent nonetheless.
She accepted his change of subject with good grace and simply lifted her shoulders at his inquiry. "My sister came here to work. I came with her. We are very close. I am free of my obligation to the Yolgrave family for the time being, for the first time in a very long time. Exploring Nachton appeals to me, and this way she need not miss me at all."
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He smiled when she spoke of her sister.
"You must be very close. I wouldn't know, of cource, I never had any siblings..."
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"We are very close indeed. We were turned together, and we've lived for over 600 years together."
Aaron had no siblings? That was sad. Ysabel loved having Dayle. "But isn't your clan your family now?" She asked. "One could argue that you have quite a few siblings, if that's the case."
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"I suppose so, yes. A vampire does seem to conect with those of his clan, but thats to be expected, since you spend so much time around them."
He was more interested in her than he was in discussing himself.
"Your sister is of your clan as well I assume?"
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She shook her head, still speculating. "I can't help but be happy to have both families, for if one cannot be there for me the other always can."
When Aaron asked her about her sister she simply gave a shake of her head. "Dayle belongs to Tacharan," she said, her voice carefully neutral. "I do wish we were together in Anantya, but as in all things, you must go where you feel you belong."
Her face was peaceful in the moonlight. "I don't begrudge her the choice. It was always hers to make, and she will be my sister no matter what clan she belongs to."
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"Yes, that is quite a blessing... Most of my family died before I was changed, and then, of cource, my chager died too..."
He shook his head, irritated at himself for being so depressing. He didn't continue that chain of thought.
"Tacheran, hmm?" He frowned for a moment. "I don't ususaly interact with Tacheran, its never really been called for..." He laughed as a thought hit him suddenly. "That makes one from each clan, me from Evenhet, you from Anantya, and your sister from Tacheran... well, technicaly Tacheran isn't a recognized clan, but its close enough."
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He didn't seem to want to dwell on the topic, and Ysabel didn't blame him. She could switch topics as smoothly as anyone, so as their discussion drifted to the topic of her sister and their respective clans, she smiled and shook her head.
"I don't often see what Dayle has in common with the rest of her clan," she admitted hesitantly, loathe to sound disagreeable at all, particularly where her twin was involved. "It must be no surprise to you that I perceive my own clan as the best of them, or else I wouldn't be there."
She lifted her shoulders helplessly. "If she's happy, however, then that's where she should be. I can't see her taking part in the activities I hear about all the time though."
Ysabel's image of the Tacharan was somewhat skewed perhaps, but she had the impression of them all as murderers and mad scientists or something of the like. The way she saw it, Dayle just didn't fit into the equation... but of course, she reasoned, there must be jobs to be done within the unofficial clan of rogues that would suit Dayle nicely and didn't involve any of the above.
"I just hope her affiliation with them doesn't get her into trouble."