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Post by HENRI ROQUEFEUIL-BLANQUEFORT on May 26, 2013 0:39:08 GMT -5
Henri laughed at the girl's criticism of Parisian fashion; it was true, he supposed. The countryside allowed more freedom, and he appreciated that even if he hardly had something to compare it to. Corsets could look good on women, he had to admit that—but he supposed they could hardly be comfortable. He had never had occasion to wear their male equivalent, impractical as they were for the lifestyle he preferred. He was not a dandy by nature, and did not particularly care to follow Parisian fashions any more than it seemed Helene did.
“Breathing is... rather necessary, I suppose,” he answered amidst his laughter. The few soirees his mother insisted on hosting had exposed him to most of the aristocratic girls he had ever met, and the majority seemed preoccupied by those same fashions Helene decried. It was startling that she even wanted to be independent of them, but... refreshing. He could not help but feel a glimmer of hope that she belonged to the forest as much as he did, even if she was less familiar with it.
“Nate and I have explored most of it, I think,” Henri answered quickly. “Not all of it, but it changes all the time anyway.” He knew the immediate surroundings to the estate, Nathaniel's family's holdings, and Barbizon well—better than anything else. Those were the areas they frequented most, and the most important to Henri's understanding of the world since boyhood. It was the far corners of the forest that were more foreign to him, though he had—alongside Nate—ranged much further off that path before. “Parts of it I know better than others. The most distant parts I've only been to a handful of times.”
Henri felt slightly divided. He wanted to show Helene the forest as he knew it, sensed that she was curious and would eagerly share some highlights of his adventures in the forest. The other part felt almost threatened, as if this stranger had stumbled onto a private world that he had thought was safe from all outsiders. Somehow, the former aspect was winning. “...Do you want me to show you around?” Quickly, he added, “I won't take you too far into the forest.”
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Post by HELENE DE ROCHAMBEAU on Jun 10, 2013 15:32:02 GMT -5
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Time, how precious time was and young Helene did not truly understand the concept of time, but she was wary about staying out too long. If it was discovered she had left the grounds, she would be in such trouble she perhaps would not see the light of day before her 30th Birthday. A crease appeared across Helene’s forehead as she gazed at the boy before her, unsure if she should be pleased or upset he found her statement so amusing. She had meant every word she had said, but it seemed the boy…or Henri as he had introduced himself thought her words comical.
Placing her hands on her hips, she cocked her head to one side as she tried to weigh him up, he wasn’t laughing directly at her, but she was worried he thought her words childish. Other girls would rave about such clothing, she had heard them boasting at the way it improved their figures and made many a young man’s head turn, but Helene found such chatter embarrassing and had excused herself from the group as quickly as possible. Subsequently, she soon found herself disliked by the few girls she would see on occasion, most claiming she was stuck up for not conversing with them. Helene preferred it this way; she hadn’t grown up to adore frivolous things, she preferred values.
Helene nodded, looking around her again, it was such a big forest she found it difficult to see the truth in his words, but he was older and no doubt had access to a horse. Sometimes she envied men. Freedom came much more easily to them. She was pleased with his offer of showing her more of the forest, she so wanted to see more, but she was afraid of being caught off the grounds. ‘I would very much like to see more of the forest’ she began, ‘but I must be being missed by now…’ she said, pausing with frustration at her situation. It wasn’t fair!
‘Perhaps we could meet again here sometime? You could show me more then?’ she said, almost pleading with him not to say no. ‘I’ve always looked out of my room and seen the forest, my music tutor used to tell me tales of the creatures that dwelled here’ she said spookily ‘he said a beast lived among the trees and would spirit away all who crossed his path, but I never believed anything so horrendous could live here’ she said brightly. She was jesting as she told the tale, but there was a tone of seriousness to it, as if she were afraid he would think her silly for telling such a story.
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Post by HENRI ROQUEFEUIL-BLANQUEFORT on Jul 14, 2013 20:05:59 GMT -5
The very idea of the girl being missed filled Henri with an unexpected, inexplicable sense of loss. She should have been nothing to him, a stranger whose departure would matter little more than her arrival. But, reasonable or not, he found himself immensely curious about her, interested in knowing anything he might be able to find out. He smiled at her, daring himself to do his best and accepting his own challenge.
“Yes...” he answered, “of course. I'm here... practically every day, really.” He wondered if it might be easiest to pass a letter through some trustworthy servant, to let her know that way about when he might be found in what part of the woods. “Can't I at least walk you home? I've never seen such a beast, but I know much better than to insist no such thing exists.” He couldn't keep himself from smiling at her again, strangely merry. “I know the forest well, but even I cannot claim to know everything about it and every beast that lives here.”
He had heard such stories as a small boy, too, mostly from the older generations of servant women who liked to tell him the tales they had themselves grown up with. He had believed them, once—but they had ceased to frighten him long ago, and many early adventures into the forest had been in search of their legendary beasts. Very rarely had he found anything that might come even close, though sometimes he thought—when he stayed too late, so that the sky was dark and he returned home almost as much by instinct as by sight—that he had heard the distant howling of wolves.
“Tomorrow, perhaps?” he suggested for their next meeting. “Or... I could send one of the servants to tell one of yours...” he felt that their meetings must be kept secret, at least for now. His father at least would not want to know about it, and her guardians likely would be sterner yet. “Quietly, of course. So that neither my father nor yours finds out, nor any governess.”
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Post by HELENE DE ROCHAMBEAU on Aug 30, 2013 12:13:16 GMT -5
[/style][style=width: 463px; height:20; background-color: #DDBBFF; float: center; background-image:url(http://i739.photobucket.com/albums/xx40/tippykazoo/Seamless/merely_cubed.png);] [atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, width: 460px; height: 480px; background-color: ededed; border-top: 10px solid #18002D; border-bottom: 10px solid #18002D;][style=width: 200; height: 15; background-color: DDBBFF;]tagged: Nate, Henri word-count: 366 [/style][style=width: 200; height: 15; background-color: DDBBFF;]notes: [/style] |
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The very idea of a young Lady being alone with a Gentleman un-chaperoned was scandalous, but Helene had never pondered much on the do’s and don’ts of high society. She’d spent far too much of her life locked away safely at home and not enough time out in society experiencing the world of gowns and gossip. Perhaps not growing up in and around the Parisian society had made Helene naive to the world, she saw many things through rose tinted spectacles, always keen to see everything in a positive way.
Helene brightened considerably when Henri stated he was in the forest almost daily, it greatly heightened her chances of seeing him again. It was promising to know that she might have found herself a friend, she was in desperate need of a friend, and it was ever so lonely at home sometimes. ‘You are welcome to walk me home,’ Helene responded as they continued to make their way through the forest, ‘what’s the most unusual thing you’ve seen in the forest?’ Helene asked, peering at Henri curiously.
He was older than her, that was obvious and Helene was very interested in the knowledge Henri had gained in the years he had over her. She found it very exciting knowing he had the full run of the forest and although he’d not seen the beast her stories described she was sure he’d seen many exciting things on his travels. Helene felt completely at ease with the boy and she trudged happily through the undergrowth, daring a glance his way whenever she could.
Butterflies fluttered around her stomach and she paused a moment catching her breath as she looked at him happily. He wanted to see her again and show her the forest! The very thought sent a thrill throughout her and she nodded as he spoke. ‘Tomorrow would be fine, if we agree a time I can find a way to slip out. I don’t quite know if I could trust a servant not to tell my father!’ She explained quickly.
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