Lucy Argencourt

[phabblebabbles]

Lucy Argencourt: flower circle

Life advice that you’ve learned from experience?Your entire world can change in an instant. 

[panoramamelodrama-deactivated20]

Poldark S3 Episode 7

[lorlucy]

A Turn About the Gardens

Lucy looked down the walkway as Christopher headed back towards the palace. They chose their moments to be alone together with care and, in Lucy’s opinion, they were far too brief. This carefully orchestrated moment involved Lucy sitting with her book for nearly half an hour before Christopher “happened” to pass by. Were these precautions absolutely necessary? Perhaps not. Perhaps Lucy thought she was being watched much more closely than she actually ever was, but still it made her less nervous if they acted as if each moment was being watched by many prying eyes.

Glancing back the opposite direction, she looked upon another figured coming her direction. Lucy recognized the face as Lady Diana, a woman who she’d met years ago at the palace in Catalonia. She’d remembered there had seemed to be something about the woman that said she’d might burst with excitement at any moment, which Lucy had found quite endearing.

“Lady Diana,” Lucy rose as the woman approached her, offering a small smile. “I did hope we might have the chance to meet again. It has been,” she paused to think, “I suppose at least four years since you visited us in Catalonia?”

[lorthomas]

ooc | Thomas & Lucy

[lorlucy]

lorthomas:

Okay, so Thomas is BFFs with Christopher and I feel like there is a good chance that he knows about Chris/Lucy and their plans to elope??? Honestly, Thomas is a HUGE romantic and he also just really wants Chris to be super happy, so I think that he’s definitely 100% on board with this plan and has probably also offered his assistance, in any way he might help??? 

Also, I feel like he would adore Lucy and he definitely believes that she and Chris are perfect for each other and can’t wait until they are happy and settled <333 

I can also see where he may at some point, confide in Lucy his feelings for her cousin Rora? And possibly even ask her lots of questions about her (probably even being like “has she mentioned me at all?!?!?!?”) Anyway, idk what Lucy would think about him trying to pursue Rora???? 

Oh yes! I do think he would know about their plans... I’m sure Lucy would be insistent Christopher have his own confidant, since she’s obviously told Dot everything. And while I don’t think she trusts many people, if Christopher trusts Thomas, she will instantly trust him as well!

Honestly... I’m not sure she really would know how to react to him having a thing for her cousin? haha. I don’t think Lucy really feels like she knows Rora at all, but I do think she would believe she could do no better than Thomas!! And I could 100% see her being like “of yes, of course she has!” even if she’s only just said “oh and that is Thomas” XD

[lorarabella]

Arrival | Lucy & Arabella

[lorlucy]

lorarabella:

Arabella smoothed the front of her dress with one hand before checking to make certain her hair was still in place with the other. The Argencourts, the Waynfletes, and the Godophins had all arrived within days of each other and Arabella was finding the task of playing hostess to all of them almost as overwhelming as she found it to be Queen. (Although, she supposed, it was because she was Queen that made being a good hostess especially difficult). 

She’d met all of them, now, formally, but she was also eager to speak to each of them separately and, more importantly, in a less formal setting than her throne room. 

Arabella was announced. She was informed that Dorothy was resting and would join them shortly (until Arabella insisted that she be left alone), but Lucy was there came to meet her. 

“I hope you are your sister are settling in comfortably?” She asked, after they greeted one another, “If there is anything either of you need, I trust you shall let me know?” 

For the first time in her entire life, Lucy felt as if she were actually the ruler of a country and not just some noble who should be honored by the fact she’d been brought to the Catalonian court. She’d never been treated poorly by her benefactors, but she always felt that the fact that she and Dot were duchesses was somewhat downplayed.

But here she was standing across from the new queen of Avenia, speaking with her as a representation of the country she called home but didn’t remember. Lucy was endlessly fascinated by the new queen-- the first female ruler beside herself and Dot in ages. It seemed like there was already an unspoken camaraderie between the two simply due to that fact.

“We’ve been settling in quite comfortably, thank you,” Lucy replied with a smile. “I must confess... I’ve been wandering around as if in a dream these past few days. I spent so much of my childhood reading about this palace and was always so eager to have a chance to see it in person... Its so good of you all to open your home to all of us. Its such an... an honor to be witness to such a historic occasion,” she concluded. 

If Lucy sounded as if she were reciting a well rehearsed speech, it was because she was in a way. She’d never been coached on what to say by anyone from the court, but both she and Dot knew they needed to speak and act a certain way simply to keep the peace. 

“I am sure you must be quite exhausted from all the activities. It doesn’t appear as if there will be much time for rest.”

[lorlucy]

Settling In || Lucy + Ria

[lorlucy]

lorhonoria: 

Strolling leisurely through the palace, Ria inspected each fine portrait and every spectacular table and chair she passed.  It seemed the place was somehow casual in its formality, as though this were the way all things ought to be and all else was simply mistaken.  

As she walked, she wondered what a thing it must be to own all of this grandeur, to be a Queen in her own right.  From her own vantage in this life, Ria stood very close to a throne, herself, but it was a princely coronet and not even her own but one she held in the honor of her brother.  And Catalonia, for all its own native beauties, was so much smaller than Avenia.  She’d often wondered the same thing about the Argencourt girls - ruling their own nation - but she had put off any personal comparison with the remembrance that they’d not set foot in the place for nearly as long as they’d lived, whereas Ria spent most of her time in he own country.  This, though, this could not be ignored.  She thought, for one cruel moment, I should like very much to be the mistress of all this, but dismissed the thought.  It would mean being without her brother, her last living family, and that was something she simply could not endure.

Seeing the doors into the suite of rooms furnished for the convenience of the Catalonian contingent, Ria decided to go back in and, opening the door, she strolled inside.  A true smile brightened her features when she spotted Lucy and she went to her, immediately.  “They are quite luxurious,” she replied.  “In truth, I think I could grow quite accustomed to these accommodations.  I trust yours are equally comfortable?  I anticipate a rather lengthy stay.”

Ria was glad that, although representing Farnley, the Argencourts were able to share the Catalonian suite (something David had had specifically requested via a pamphlet signed by the Archduchesses, Ria had no doubt) as it meant she was able to see more of them.  Though Ria did not like to admit it, she felt strangely homesick and seeing her dear friends, she found, soothed the ache tremendously.

“It has indeed earned the name of palace, I must say,” replied Ria, standing again to ring for tea.  “I can only imagine the immensity of planning that must have gone into the building of this place.  Such an undertaking much have been terribly daunting.  But, then, a fine project is always amusing, I suppose.”

As Lucy spoke, Ria glanced around the sumptuous apartments they occupied.  “They are rather lavish, aren’t they?” she agreed, tilting her head as she sank into a chair beside her friend.  Her smile turned bemused when Lucy pronounced them intimidating.  In fact, Ria somewhat agreed, but she was never one to admit to such things and, more to the point, her fears always spurred her ambitions and she found, more and more, that she wanted this for herself.  After all, were this her own, she would not feel intimidated by it.  Leaning close to Lucy, she arched a brow.  “I, for one,” said Ria with a mischievous grin.  “Like to rise to the challenge.”

Ria and Lucy had vastly different opinions of the palace. Lucy found it grand, of course, and was so pleased to have the chance to see it all so intimately. She would never, however, wish to be the mistress of such a place. She hardly felt she was even suited to live in the castle back in Farnley, though she of course knew little of the place.

“They are exceedingly comfortable, yes,” Lucy replied to Ria’s question. “Though I feel as though I might break something. It all seems so... important. Historic. I should hate to disturb anything.”

Lucy suppressed a sigh. She wondered what it would be like if she and Dot had their own quarters, with their own party from Farnley. David had approached her and Dot with the letter to the Avenians requesting they reside alongside their Catalonia companions. Lucy assumed the rumors of The Godolphins emerging in Avenia were part of the reasoning behind the pamphlet. She signed because Dot did-- in anything even vaguely political, Lucy deferred to what her sister chose to do. Dot was much better in those sorts of situations that Lucy thought she might ever be. 

Lucy watched Ria as she rang for the tea. The woman had never been anything but kind to her, yet Lucy felt the smallest twinges of resentment towards her, towards her entire family, growing. They had always been there, she supposed, though buried, never acknowledged. Something about being here, out of their insular little world back in Vaillere, was making her situation in life a constant plague on her thoughts. 

Pushing her worries aside, she smiled again as Ria returned to her seat. “As I am quite well aware,” she answered. “David has not told me-- do you have an idea of how long we shall be staying?” Coronations were not this elaborate in Catalonia-- at least, not currently. The balance of power was too delicate, undoubtedly, to hold such a grand, public affair. 

“Not that I am eager to leave immediately, of course,” she added quickly. What she truly wanted to know was how much of a window they might have to enact the plan for she and Christopher to disappear.

“With Dot,” Lucy thought to herself. She would not leave without her sister. It was all or nothing with the pair, in her mind.

[lorlucy]

Far From Home || Lucy + Dot

[lorlucy]

lordorothy:

It was nothing new to have her younger sister shaking her awake at a god-forsaken hour of the morning. Yet Dot found herself even more afflicted than usual as she had barely managed to fall asleep not a half hour earlier. (For being the leader of a small island country, she’d hardly ever gotten the knack for falling asleep on boats. The rocking was supposedly meant to soothe and yet it only ever gave Dot the utter feeling that she was about to be sick.)

“I’m awake, I’m awake, there’s no need to shove, Lu.” Dot said with a soft sigh and a gentle smile.

Yet, the insistence of her sister that they must go above deck seemed serious, so she quickly wrapped herself in the shawl and lit an extra candle to carry along with them.

“What is it, Lu? Is everything all right?” She asked with a tremor in her voice. If anything were to happen to her sister, to this crew… It would break her inside.

And yet everything seemed at peace when they finally stepped upon the sturdy boards of the deck of the ship. Lucy pulling gently at her hand to bring her port-side and pointing to the lights in the distance.

As the lights became clearer, Dot’s heart felt like it would rend itself in half.

Tears welled in her eyes and breath caught in her throat as memories flashed before her eyes. Remembrances of her father taking her upon his knee and telling her of the great responsibility she had not only to her country and her people, but to her family. To keep her sister safe, to make her parents proud.

A hand clutched tighter at her shawl as she turned away, squeezing her eyes shut from the pain of knowing she perhaps would never see its shores again. Not if all was to go to plan.

She barely heard her sister’s questions, and took a minute to respond as another flash of pain struck through her chest.

“I cannot say.” Dot finally replied, voice just as quiet as her sister’s. “With all my heart, I wish them to be true, of course, but I…” She left out a sigh and took one of Lucy’s hands in her own, squeezing it gently and turning her sister so that they might look each other in the eye. “I would not suggest that you hold out for such hopes. They have been gone for years now, and we have not had a single word.”

Not even from James… Another flash of pain. This would all be too much.

“If they had written us, if they had given us any knowledge of their safety and well-being, I would say otherwise, yet no such thing has occurred.” Dot reached up and brushed a curl from her sister’s cheek. “I know that you have many fond memories of our time with Alexander and James, but I do not wish you to be harmed by false hopes. We must… remember what the world has become now. There is such little room for fairy tale endings now. I would not trade you yours for one of my own.” Another sad smile crossed her lips as she squeezed Lucy’s hand and led her gently away from the cool winds of the side of the ship.

“Speaking of fairy tale endings, have you heard recently from Christopher? Has he said if he would be arriving for the coronation?” Her blue eyes glanced over her sister’s face. “I hope that you still have trust in me that I have begun devising how we might be able to spirit the two of you away in all the commotion…”

The light from the moon caught the tears hanging in the corners of her sister’s eye and Lucy immediately felt guilty. She had been so thrilled at the idea of seeing Farnley, even just the light from a distance, it had never occured to her that it might be too painful for Dot. Dot was strong, Dot was steady, Dot was the rock between the pair and it almost terrified the younger sister whenever she saw her break, even a bit.

“Why shouldn’t we be hopeful?” Lucy asked as Dot pulled her from the side of the ship, away again from Farnley. “They may have written us, Dot, you never know! Who’s to say there isn’t an entire box full of letters from James and Alexander telling us about all their adventures that the Waynflete’s have simply hidden away before we might see them? And you know just as well as I do that the world can change in an instant,” Lu protested, pulling her own jacket more tightly around her as the wind whipped about the deck of the ship. Perhaps she was so eager to think things might change in their favor she was creating fairy tales in her head, but Lucy didn’t want to think that way. She wanted to think-- no, to know that one day soon she and Dot would be on a ship, just like this one, sailing for home and setting foot on Farnleian soil once again. 

“He said he would be sailing today as well, though he probably would not arrive for a day or so after us,” Lucy said quietly in response to her sister’s question. With the plan for the pair to slip away in Avenia, Christopher had made excuses to return to Vercellana to set a few things in order. She already felt as if he’d been gone for months, though it had only been days. 

“I know you’ll move heaven and earth for Christopher and I to be together, Dot, but I do wish you’d consider what I said the other night. You can come with us. I don’t care what the laws say. If we can just... just get out of Avenia and over to Farnley I know that our people would protect us.”

She absolutely didn’t know that at all, she just assumed. She wanted that to be real, for the citizens of their tiny island nation to rally to protect their leaders. Lucy, however, didn’t really know what the citizens of Farnley were even like in reality. 

“I love Christopher more than anything in this world, Dot, but I could never be happy knowing I’d lose you,” she told her in all seriousness as the pair ascended back below deck. Lucy was shivering, regretting her decision not to bring out her shawl as well. The last thing she needed was to become ill once again while they were abroad. 

“Can I stay in here tonight?” Lucy asked as they stood outside of the door to Dot’s room. She knew she must seem foolish asking such a question at her age, when she and her sister had been talking her own potential elopement moments earlier. “At least for a little bit,” she amended her request quickly, knowing Dot undoubtedly wanted to sleep.

[dreamyfilms]

[jamesginortonblog]

[lorlucy]

A Familiar Face || Hugh + Lucy

[lorlucy]

lorhugh:

As she spoke, his mouth went dry.  Flickers of memories, bleached of color by use and use and use - thoughts of happier times continuously called up over the years - assaulted him like the sun rising from behind dark storm clouds.  His lips moved, tried to speak, but he couldn’t make a sound, couldn’t interrupt her.  The sound of her childish laughter seemed to echo across his brain as he stared at her in half-disbelief.

“Lucy?” he whispered, half-incredulous.  There had been rumors, of course, rumors that the Argencourts would be here, but the real thing - to actually meet with her and so suddenly - took his breath away.  

Hugh stood frozen, staring at the space she occupied as if it could not be real, before his eyes landed on her face again.  She had been little more than a toddler when last he’d seen her, but looking at her, now, he saw her: the tumbling cascades of hair so carefully caught up on her head were the same hue as the unruly bundle of bouncing curls he remembered; the grey hues were the same large, guileless eyes he’d known in the child; the apples of her cheeks were as warm and welcoming as ever they had been.  Yes, the differences were striking, as well  - her voice had lost its childish lisp, her form was tall and straight, her carriage that of a ruler - but still every part of her, every part of her bore with it the little girl he had once known.  And then she said her name, confirming it all.

“Lucy!” he exclaimed, laughing happily, half-disbelieving, entirely overwhelmed.  Taking two long strides towards her, he caught up her up in his arms delightedly, twirling her around once, twice, before setting her back down on her feet.  “Look at you!  I can hardly believe it!”  Taking a step back, he shook his head, shrugged uselessly.  He felt half as though he should cry.  “I’m sorry,” he said, suddenly.  “I-I wish I’d said goodbye.”

He remembered well Prince Felix’s throne room, sixteen years ago.  The Prince stood with utter agitation, one hand still on his throne.  Outside, all was chaos.  ‘My son,’ Felix had whispered, his eyes fever-bright with desperation.  ‘My grandsons.  Warn them.  Hugh!  Warn them!’  Turning blindly, Hugh had dashed from the room.  He hadn’t looked back, he hadn’t even said goodbye, hadn’t thought of anything but the command, until it was much too late.  There was now no way he could ever make it up to the Prince, but he could make his amends, at long last, to Lucy and Dot.  “Better yet,” he added, softly, taking her hand in his.  “I wish against anything we’d taken you with us.“

Laughing fondly as he thought of her reminiscences, he nodded.  “Oh, yes, we always did win at hide-and-seek, didn’t we?”  He remembered well hoisting the child up on his shoulders, illicitly feeding her the lemon cakes she so loved after she was meant to be asleep.  “And there were those forts we would build on the rare occasions it would snow - do you remember?  I was always amazed that you were such an expert architect at so young an age.  You put me quite to shame.”

Lucy nodded as he spoke her name. He did remember her. She was overcome with so many emotions at that moment and felt tears of happiness welling up in her eyes. But then Hugh crossed the room and lifted her off the ground, spinning her around and around and, for the briefest of moments, she felt like she was a girl again and nothing in the world mattered.

“Look at you!” she replied, grasping onto his arms to steady herself as he returned her to the ground. Her voice lighter and happier that it had been in months as she stared up at him with the brightest of smiles. He was exactly how she imagined he would be as a man, tall and strong yet still with that twinkle in his eye that made you think there was always a chance he might break into a sprint or climb the nearest tree without warning.  

“Don’t,” Lucy shook her head at his words, his regrets regarding the past. She didn’t want to think about their what ifs and how it could have been– they’d all had sixteen years to do that. “We cannnot…” she paused, trying to pick her words, squeezing his hands as he grasped her own. “Dot and I… we understand,” she assured him, hoping to quell his fears that the sisters held any feelings of anger towards Hugh and the Godolphins. 

“I think you may be exaggerating some things,” Lucy said with a laugh at his comment. She had a small memory of snow and running in the courtyard with her childhood friends. Despite being so much older than her, she remembered how Hugh had always taken care to make sure she wasn’t left behind. “If I’m not mistaken, I would simply make a pile of snow upon a rock and name it Skyhold.”

She wanted to know everything– where they all had been all this time, what sort of adventures they’d gotten up to, how they’d manage to survive. Lucy also knew that moments like these would be rare– the Waynfletes would be horrified if they knew Lucy was with Hugh at that moment..

“Come, keep me company while I play,” Lucy crossed back towards the piano, sitting herself on the bench once again, her fingers lightly moving across the keys. She looked up at Hugh once he’d joined her. The walls had ears and she hoped the pretense of the pair enjoying music might be enough of a guise should anyone come upon them.

“Where have you been?” she asked quietly as she played softly. “Alexander… James… they are well?” she added quickly, though all rumors reported the brothers were quite well, hence the Waynflete’s fears regarding their position on the thrown. 

[lorarabella]

ooc | Arabella & Lucy

[lorlucy]

lorarabella:

Kate!!!! So idk if Arabella and Lucy have ever met before or not???? But she’d definitely considers the Argencourts to be basically family since they all have a shared cousin in Rora!

Anyway, I feel like Bella would adore!! Lucy if/when she gets to know her. I feel like they would have been fast friends, if they ever did meet as children (bella spent a lot of her free time exploring the grounds around her childhood home and going on lots of ~adventures w/ rora!) 

She also knows that Lucy is a complete innocent in all of this and whatever Arabella decides to do/who to support, it will have a huge impact on her. She’s honestly v undecided at the moment about what the right thing is, b/c she knows that Avenia needs to come first, but sh also knows that so many lives hang in the balance and it isn’t a fun choice to make!!

Oh my gosh, I agree! If they’d known each other as kids, they’d probably have gotten up to all sorts of trouble. (ugh, lost childhood FEELS) 

Literally everything is so awkward?? for everyone?? just all looking at each other like ‘let’s not offend each other and inadvertently start a war?!” i do think lucy will be quite eager to meet arabella, seeing as she is another female ruler out there in the world like dot and lucy (well, like dot and lucy SHOULD be) and i think she really could understand the whole “my country first” idea, because she and dot sort of have always had that same mentality? Otherwise, they probably would have run off years ago, but they would never want to abandon farnley

i feel like if they have met in the past, it was probably fairly brief? since dot + lu haven’t left catalonia before now and all meetings with outsiders would have taken place under the watchful eyes of the waynfletes, i imagine any interaction was heavily scrutinized and, therefore, probably not a true representation of EITHER of them. 

[lorlucy]

Settling In || Lucy + Ria

Lucy smiled as Honoria entered the room, rising from her seat as she did so. They had been in Avenia at the palace for a short time, yet had seen hardly anyone beyond their party. Their hosts had hoped they would have time to settle in before the banquet that evening. 

“Is everything to your liking in your rooms?” Lucy inquired, crossing the room to join Ria. Her room was equisite, elaborate tapestries adorning the walls and the softest bed Lucy had ever felt. Once alone, she’d dropped all pretenses and fallen into the bed just to test it out. 

“I know everyone has always told me how large the Glorianus Palace is, but I couldn’t have imagined it,” she continued, looking around the sitting room that had been provided for the party from Catalonia to use. Of course the palace back in Valliere was grand, but nothing like this. 

“Its almost intimidating, isn’t it?” she commented, looking back at Ria. 

[lorcecil]

Another Dance | Cecil & Lucy

[lorlucy]

lorcecil:

Balls and banquets and pageants and processions…Cecil could hardly catch his breath.  For days and weeks on end the coronation celebrations stretched on, feting both the new reign and the foreign dignitaries who had arrived to witness it.  Though he had, in many ways, begun his political career as a diplomat, Cecil was more given to behind-the-scenes politics than to the more public variety and he felt uncomfortable with all the monotonous socializing.  

Noting a chance to step back from the constant dancing of the evening, Cecil retired to the spot behind a few curtains where some chairs and a banquet of food was arrayed to take a deep breath.  It felt as though it had been weeks since he had had a moment to himself, although in truth it had been closer to several hours.

Further from the torches and the press of swirling bodies, the spot behind the curtains was cooler as well and Cecil breathed deeply, closing his eyes with exhausted contentment.  Opening them again, however, he spotted someone already occupying one of the chairs.  Cecil jumped.  Swallowing hard, Cecil approached her, bowing politely.  “Your Grace,” he greeted the Archduchess, quickly.  “I’m sorry if I’ve disturbed you.”  He gestured towards the dancing, forced a smile.  “I thought I’d take a moment’s leave from dancing to catch my breath.”

The pace of the dance was furious, laughter and talking reverberating about the Great Hall in turbulent cacophony.  “It, uh,” he cleared his throat.  “It seems everyone is having a wonderful time.”  It seemed like the thing to say, but he had little sense as to what he ought to say next, so he tried a smile and stopped.  Something else occurred to him that he ought to say.  “I hope, madam, you are enjoying the festivities?”

Lucy Argencourt knew that, in another life, she would have adored balls such as these endlessly. Even tonight, as she sat with Dot as her sister finished getting ready for that evening, Lucy had been excited about the prospect of the evening. Arriving with her party, she’d managed to position herself near Christopher, stealing glances that only Dot might be able to distinguishing as having any further meaning. The pair even managed a dance despite Dot’s urging Lucy not to over exert herself. 

As she moved, weaving in and out amongst the other guests on the dance floor, thoughts began plaguing her. Did they know, the other guests, about her situation? Did they all look at her and Dot with pity? Did they see her, a girl in her prime, and know that she was supposed to end her days an unmarried old maid?

Did any of them even contemplating helping the two sisters?

She’d tripped on the hem of her dress as she danced, Christopher catching her before she’d had a chance to fall. Dot was otherwise occupied, thankfully, so Christopher walked her to the sitting area away from the noise of the party. She wanted to beg him to stay at her side, but knew he could not and he left to find Dot once she had assured him she just needed a rest. When the curtain moved, she expected to see Dot hurrying inside but was met with a much taller stature. 

“Please, do not apologize Lord Montbatten,” Lucy replied with a kind smile. She had met the man before her once in the past, during a diplomatic meeting in Catalonia, and again upon their arrival at the palace. Beyond the fact he tended to look exceedingly uncomfortable at all times, she knew little else about him. “I believe we’ve come here for the same reasons.”

She watched him as he hoovered just inside the small room and wished,desperately, that either of them might walk away from such an uncomfortable conversation without seeming rude.

“It is a wonderful event,” Lucy agreed, nodding slowly. “We’ve never had anything even half as grand in Catalonia,” she continued. Was that the appropriate thing to say? She knew Ria and David wouldn’t want their hosts thinking Catalonia wasn’t able to throw a party equal to that of the Avenians. “But one would expect nothing less in honor of the Queen’s coronation,” Lucy added quickly.

“Tell me,” she asked, attempting to cover her potential blunder. “Do you enjoy dancing?”

[lorlucy]

A Familiar Face || Hugh + Lucy

[lorlucy]

lorhugh:

Hugh felt something of an outcast, today.  Alexander was taking a nap and James was locked in intimate conversation with Elizabeth, leaving Hugh entirely to his own devices.  For so long, it had been the three of them against the world and Hugh found he hardly knew what to do with himself, here in this foreign country, without them.  He did not know how to behave.  After all, Avenia’s stance in terms of Catalonia remained a growing question in all of their minds and there was a resulting fear that the young Queen might take it into her head, if charmed by the Waynfletes, to turn over the Godolphins to their inadequate mercy.  In truth, Hugh did not know how Alexander could sleep at all, under such conditions.  Hugh could catch hardly a wink.

His intention, this afternoon, had been to take a walk, but no sooner had he stepped outside than a torrential downpour drenched Caermara and he’d been forced to flee indoors.  Thus had begun his aimless wanderings.  Hugh ventured first one way, then the next, lost in thought and having hardly a care for his surroundings.  Each new corridor seemed open upon the next, a kaleidoscope of confusion, but he hardly minded.  In truth, it was a kind of diversion.

Strolling down one corridor, he chanced to hear music, its tones lovely and mesmerizing.  As he came closer and closer, able to piece more of it together, he stopped dead.  It was a tune he knew well: a tune he’d long since left behind in Catalonia.  Creeping closer, he felt it as well as hearing it.  He saw home flutter before his eyes: its waters lapping gently against the footbridges, songs bouncing off the gentle waves.  He heard nanny singing and the sounds of the Godolphins and Argencourts laughing together as children.  Hugh drifted nearer and ever nearer.  His heart felt heavy and sick.  He wondered, deep down, if he would ever see home again.

The door to room was ajar.  Hugh rested one hand against its breadth, hesitated, and then he pushed - the softest of pressures.  The door swung open.  A young woman sat at the pianoforte, playing with passion and Hugh stopped again, as she started up, exclaiming a name.  He was struck dumb as her eyes found his, his mouth falling open before he remembered to shut it.  I know that face, he thought, hazily.  But where?

“Think nothing of it, madam,” replied Hugh, hastily.  “I must crave forgiveness, myself.  I did not mean to intrude, only the music I heard just now was so…familiar…I’ve not heard it since childhood.  I wonder…Might I inquire: are you Catalonian?”  He paused, glancing down, and laughed.  “How strange you must think me.  It is only that I spent my childhood there before I…before I took another path.”  

Laughing again, Hugh shook his head merrily.  His eyes danced with amusement.  “Please, do not apologize.  I confess, I feel quite the same.  If I may, as there is no one here to introduce us…I am Hugh of Pembourne in Catalonia.  Would you be so good as to tell me your name?  I feel that I know you…”

“No... not strange at all...” Lucy answered, standing back up slowly. She felt like she could hear her heart beating as she came to realize just why she knew the face standing in front of her. It was much older than when she had last seen it, but the name lifted the veil of confusion. It seemed foolish not to have even thought for a moment that if James and Alexander Godolphin were in Avenia that Hugh Verdun would not be as well. 

“You... you used to sit me up on your shoulders in the garden so that I could peek over the hedges to spy on my sister and James and Alexander... Its how we always won at hide and seek...” she hoped that memory was as true in reality as it was in her mind. “And you’d... you’d sneak me those little lemon candies after dinner, since I was always cross for being sent to bed earlier than everyone else,” she continued, daring to take a step forward. She’d lost all sense of decorum in this moment. “Our nanny used to play that song... the one I was playing... she’d play it in the nursery.”

She searched his face for a glimmer of recognition. Did he remember her? Was there truth to these stories or had she made it all up over the years they’d been apart? 

“I’ve come from Catalonia but I’m not Catalonian...” she paused, smiling brightly. She didn’t mean to tease or confuse him, she just could not believe that after so many years they were standing in front of one another again. 

“My name is Lucy and I come from Farnley. I could give you the titles if you wish, but, even after all these years, I feel like they might be quite unnecessary.”

[lorlucy]

Far From Home || Lucy + Dot

“Dot. Dot, wake up!”

Lucy was kneeling down at the side of Dot’s bed when her older sister finally opened her eyes. It was dark, the only light emitting from the small candle Lucy had managed to find in her cabin.

The party from Catalonia had been scheduled to set off from their port hours earlier, but the weather had not been in their favor. Not wanting to be late for the coronation festivities, they’d boarded the ship just after sunset and set out after dark with promises from the captain they would arrive in Avenia with plenty of time to spare. Everyone had retired to their cabins and turned in for the evening, but Lucy had forced herself to stay awake. She’d spoken to the captain and he’d confirmed exactly what she suspected and when she finally saw a speck of light in the dark, she hurried to her sister’s side as quietly as possible. 

“We have to go up to deck,” she whispered, her eyes brighter than they had been in ages. She pulled Dot’s shawl from the end of her bed, handing it to her sister before grabbing her hand, pulling her towards the door. Once up on deck, Lucy pulled Dot towards the side of the ship, the lights growing in number in the distance.

“That’s it,” Lucy said quietly, leaning over the railing of the ship slightly, as if that might bring her closer. “That’s Farnley. The captain said we’d be able to see the lights from the city...” she looked over to her sister with a sad smile on her face. “We would have been able to see land if we’d left during the day. Perhaps even Carhall...”

Lucy turned back to the already fading lights as the ship moved quickly away from the tiny island. Lucy wanted to watch it until she couldn’t see any of her homeland. This moment was the closest either of them had been to Farnley since they were children.

“Do you think the rumors are true?” Lucy’s voice was barely above a whisper at this point, undoubtedly drowned out by the wind and the crashing of the waves. “Do you really think Alexander and James will be at the palace when we reach Caermara?”

[lorlucy]

A Familiar Face || Hugh + Lucy

Lucy knew it was no different that when she was back in Catalonia, but she felt more free in Avenia than she had in recent memory. Perhaps it was the size of the Glorianus Palace that made her feel like she could disappear and no one could find her. She wasn’t ignorant to the fact that at least one of the guards that had accompanied them from Catalonia had to know her current whereabouts, but at that moment she didn’t care. 

Most of her companions had retired for the afternoon, taking a rest before the ball that evening. Dot had insisted Lucy do the same-- with her condition, she needed to rest whenever possible. She couldn’t though, not after having been cooped up on the ship, not after being introduced to scores of new faces, and not after the rumors had finally reached her ears of who else was at the palace celebrating the coronation of Queen Arabella.

The Godolphins. The rumors were real. They were alive, they were well, she and Dot could be reunited with them once again. Lucy had imagined this day since the rumor of the Godolphins reemerging had slipped from her sister’s lips. At her lowest, she’d imagined greeting them coldly, demanding to know how they could have left the Argencourt sisters behind? She knew, though, that such an idea was unfounded, that they never would have left them unless absolutely necessary. No, this reunion would be joyous-- or, at least, as joyous as it could be under the watchful eye of their current leaders.

Lucy’s mind wandered through all these thoughts as her feet lead her to wander down the halls of the palace. Like a moth to a flame, she seemed drawn to the music room. She sat down immediately, her fingers timidly, at first, pressing the keys until single notes turned into a melody. She didn’t know how long she was there playing until the sound of the door opening caused her to stop. She caught a glimpse of a male form and, without thinking properly, immediately stood.

“Christopher?” she asked brightly, but the man who turned the corner as not the familiar face of her betrothed-- thought something about the face ran familiar to her.

“I am so terribly sorry,” she apologized quickly, taking a step back towards the piano. “I thought you were someone else,” she explained, her voice trailing off as she stared at him. Who was he? Had he come to the palace in Catalonia recently? Something about it seemed unlikely. She was silent for a full minute, staring at him in, what she realized, was quite a rude fashion.

“I apologize, again... Your face is just so familiar to me, but I cannot place it,” she confessed, seating herself at the piano once again.

[lorhonoria]

OOC | Ria & Lucy

[lorlucy]

lorhonoria:

So when the Waynfletes came to the throne, Ria was ten and Lucy was five and they’ve been together ever since!!  Ofc, it was under some terrible circumstances which wouldn’t exactly have endeared the Waynfletes to the Argencourts, but for what it’s worth, Ria was just as horrified by how it happened as Lucy was (except that yknoW she didn’t regard the late Prince as her father!!) and she still feels guilty about that!!

In any case, what with the arrangement for David to marry Dot, Ria considers the Argencourts her extended family.  She adores them!!  That being said, she feels rather dreadful about their situation, though she doesn’t feel there’s anything to be done about it whatsoever, and in fact if she had any idea that Lucy was trying to run off w Christopher Fortescue, Ria would absolutely try to stop them bc she’d be afraid for the life of her brother, so her feelings of guilt don’t really stop her at all.  That being said, she is intensely protective of them and wants good things for them always!!

How do you think Lucy might feel about Ria?

My gosh, I feel like out of everyone, Lucy has the MOST complicated relationship (at least internally!) with Ria! Like on one hand she realizes that Ria can’t be blamed for her family’s actions (its not like she was riding in there, slicing down people and taking over the country!) but part of her knows that despite everything, Ria isn’t her family and is always going to put her brothers first. (Which, lets be real, is the same for Lucy regarding dot!) 

Despite all that, I do think Lucy realizes that Ria has some genuine care for her and returns the sentiment as well. They have spent so much of their lives together, clearly some bond has formed between them! I’m not sure she considers Ria her family in the same way Ria might with her, but she is kinda and devoted to her, in a sense. Regarding her relationship with Christopher though-- I think Lu might be terribly worried Ria, of all people, might pick up on something between the two! At some point, perhaps, she might have tried to test the waters with ria re her and christopher and if she ever thought it might be a possibility, but that time has passed... How perceptive do you think she might be regarding their relationship?