[Para] Vienna and Maxwell [Demo - April 14th, 2014]
It had been a quiet past few days for Maxwell, sitting largely in his villa, a little afraid to go outside. Meeting Sarah Turner had affected him deeply, seeing the ghost of his beloved in her eyes even though that was impossible. He didn't feel like seeing anybody, however, and for the first time he had withdrawn from the friends he had made there at Orenda, from people like Andrea, Delilah and of course, Vienna, who he had come to increasingly adore over the last couple of weeks. Vienna with her sharp yet knowing eyes, youthful face yet an edge of maturity that indicated that she had seen a bit too much in her young life. An opposite of the sheltered Maxwell who knew nothing of the world until Anna came bounding into it, tearing it apart, making it new, making it clearer than it ever was before before taking it all away with her death. Everything came back to Anna, and it was paralyzing and it needed to stop.
He forced himself out of bed that day, however. An hour of sitting and drinking tea in front of an audience, to do whatever was required of him for the sake of VIenna's protection. He hadn't wanted to take part in the demo, until he had realized it could be a good way to ensure that Vienna remained safe and she was not forced to do anything she did not want to do. It was a pity it would earn her no points, however, as he wanted her to obtain the greater freedom supplied by higher status.
He gathered up the supplies - namely the tea set and the premium tea he had promised her. Then he went to collect her in the dorm, planting a kiss on her cheek and giving her a cheerful smile as he said hello. "Ready to go?" he asked, holding out his arm for her. All traces of the man who had sat in his room staring into the distance all weekend had already vanished, leaving only the highly affable man she and everyone else would be familiar with.