โ ๐๐๐๐ , marius . . . girls , come on , ๐๐๐๐'๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ , โ wendy called out into the still night air. not a working street light in sight apart from the apartment building lit up like a chirstmas tree. her brothers , namely wren , used to torment wendy as children. no matter how high she would pull the covers over her head or scurry from one dark room to the next until she was back in the safety of her bed , one creak in the floorboard was enough to make her jump as high as she stood in height. ๐ช๐ฏ๐ค๐ช๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ข๐ด๐ฏโ๐ต ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ ๐ต๐ข๐ญ๐ญ.ย โ luca , come on , did you put this girls up to this ? โ she pleaded with yet again no reply to the sound that broke the silence.ย her green eyes fluttered about in search of movement until her gaze fixated on a tall figure move , even if it had been minute. โ luca youโre getting an article published about all your phone calls i overheard if you donโt knock it off and stop lurking. people are going to start thinking youโre the french. โย ย
ย ย ย ย โย okay but do i haveย to come with you?ย โ marius groaned. he was being dramatic, as usual. he didnโt actually care what it was wendy was dragging him to this time, but that didnโt mean he didnโt like to bug her and drag his feet once in a while.ย โย we both know iโm going to, but do i have to?ย โ { @wcndvโ }
โ ๐๐, โ wendy stated as she simultaneously nodded her head yes ,ย โ but youโd never hear the end of how you broke my heart and will have to work a lifetime to make it up to me. โ she fluttered her lashes as if to further her point, even it hadnโt had the same response as it did when she was a child; maybe it had been the flower clips and pigtails.ย โ so, do you want to help find potted flowers and carry them up to my apartment ? โ wendy left out the minor detail that marius also just volunteered to help care for a few of them.ย
๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ the best way to run into someone;ย mouth full of food, eyes glued to the subject wendy had leaned a little too close to, when two men with shifting eyes began to chatter in hushed whispers, and ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ unaware of how it may have appeared to anyone else. actually, it was exactly how it looked and that was the problem. curious glances kept her occupied, unaware just how close she was to someone that wendy once considered a friend. but that was once upon a time when france hadnโt become the boogyman of her nightmares and villain of her own princess story, taking the protagonists companion from her youth like a thief in the night. never mind her own hand in a friendship faded. with a screech of the chair legs against the floor in an effort to move closer, wendyโs gaze flickered up with the intent to catch sight of her subjects again only to see fanni. bright blue eyes, icy blonde hair andโwendy coughed, nearly choking on her food in the process. the first time theyโd had seen each other in years, nearly spoken in years and this was not how wendy imagined it would happen, burying her face in her napkin.
โyour second favorite?โ luca asks, managing to steel his face into something akin to disappointment,ย โhow much did wren pay you to say that?โ he takes a few seconds to take in that heโs about to walk into yet another impromptu interview. it wouldnโt be the first time wendyโs reaching for a voice recorder in the middle of a conversation, and it certainly wouldnโt be the last. he smiled about it,ย โyou could try stefania czartoryska, weโre friends again and she and her daughter were in a hiking group? or maybe the americans? theyโll talk to anyone, iโm sure they can carve out a half hour for you. i heard the younger one broke herโฆ ankle? iโm not sure - i let vitaliya handle any broken bones, they freak me out.โ he paused, sighing,ย โon the record, i think youโre a giant nerd. please send this to your boss, even though i know that the luxemborger wort doesnโt think that highly of my opinion.โ after a few seconds of laughing at his own joke, he recounts his story of the night, carefully omitting the details of where he was when it began - as wendy is sure to sniff out something is amiss with any lie he makes up, and he will not be revealing his relationship to his sisterย on the record (or at all, for the foreseeable future).ย
an eye-roll came effortlessly despite losing any effectiveness with the ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ she couldnโt hide.ย โ guess you missed that itโs a family trait. โ wendy grabbed her tape recorded just before the tale of her brotherโs treacherous journey in the argentinean mountains,ย โ note,โ she spoke into the device,ย โ luca needs an article written about his lack of self awareness. pictures encouraged to get the point across. โ but as always, the jokes faded and wendyโs attention focused in on the story. she never joked or played around when there was a story she needed to get her hands on, and the list luca gave her was just the start.ย โ protection programย perilsย : newfound dangers or undisclosed liability . . . โ she spoke up after a minute of silence when his story had finished and the recorded continued to blink red.ย โ title needs work, but i might have something. do you have an old contract from when you joined ?ย phone calls recorded ? e-mails ? โ and just like that, wendy went from a relaxing time in tokyo where she might be able to spend one of those nights at one of those parties to the next big story. well, that and . . .ย โย did you know france was here when you agreed to come ? โ
โExcuse me,โ Noemรญ addressed the person several paces ahead of her, inclining her head towards what looked to be a credit card on the ground between them.ย โIs that yours?โ
๐๐๐๐ for @hshqstartersโ
๐๐๐ ย ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ up from the laptop, merciless key strokes creating a story sheโd immersed herself in had been replaced by not even so much as a flick of her wrist. a ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐. one that the person sheโd addressed shook their head at the sight of and promptly questioned wendy on noemรญโs behalf. โย i havenโt moved,ย โ wendy clarified only to do just that as she reached to grab her bag that had been placed by the chair leg on her left. โย and neither has my . . .ย โ her forehead creased and hand began to move frantically, feeling around for the familiar leather object before she finally stole a glance under the table. โย th-there was a bag here.ย โ the alarm in her voice was unmistakable. because it wasnโt just a bag, inside she had notes, article ideas, her entire career in a notebook.ย โย have you seen a bag ? brown, leather,ย โ she chewed on the bottom of her lip as the details of the coveted item failed to come to mind.
niara raised her eyes to the person standing by her table in the small cafรฉ, before shaking her head at the question posed. โ i think you have me confused with someone else. perhaps youโve mixed your times up. โย
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ with the palms of her hands pressed clad against her skirt. they were clammy and her heartbeat only began to slow when she came to the notion she didnโt need to attempt to butcher the japanese language again.ย โย umm, no i just, did you understand any of that ?ย โ because something told her,ย โ is this seat taken โ wasnโt what came out of her mouth.ย
elbow now free, the pain relief is immediate.ย โ thank you, โย tekla breathes out finally.ย โย it is my argentinean hike souvenir yeah. took the hit dodging what might have been a cracked skull. i hate that thereโs no real female form of the word knight, because you have saved me from a world of pain.ย โย herย free hand reaches to brush blonde locks back into place, pristine blues, surveying the other.ย โ you seem new. just joined us ? โ
"ย maybe the word ๐๐๐๐๐ just encompasses it all already so we donโt need specical terms for it,ย โ wendy was quick to add. and given she spent far too much of her time with words, that very comment had been a thought that crossed her mind often. but back to the more important affairs . . .ย โย sounds painful. i heard a lot of people werenโt so lucky,ย โ wendy surveyed the womanโs injury,ย โ do you remember what you were thinking happened before you realized it was an earthquake ?ย or what abouโ ๐ ๐๐. after hearing about argentina i couldnโt let my brother stay alone.ย โ and neither could wren. โย ๐๐๐๐ ๐'๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐,ย โ wendy finally took a seat near her injured company.ย โย heโs my brother, or one of.ย โ wren was a whole other introduction of interesting.ย
โgod, i knew i shouldโve made you all get your own last names,โ luca comments, the joke dumber than his usual fare, but he still makes it. itโs his job, he reasons, as the embarrassing older brother.ย โiโll have to make sure they donโt give another to wren - dear god, heโll never leave me alone. you should probably do the same thing, before he gets a copy of your key, too. iโm scared he might disappear half of my socks again, that was a terrible few weeks.โ luca had spent the time wearing mismatched socks and absolutely hating it.ย โthe girls are going to be so excited that theyโre staying with their favorite aunt, and iโm finally going to get ten minutes of peace,โ he pauses, for a second. wendy had no idea how close she was to an actual scandal, โoh, they definitely are. you wonโt believe half the stuff people get up to around hereโฆโ he pauses,ย โthereโs plenty of people around who were there. i mean - iโm right here, i was basically taking care of everyone, wendy.โย
"ย and as my ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ . . .ย โ the younger of the two teased with an expression that held no obvious emotion,ย at least for a moment, it wasnโt all that easy around luca for wendy to keep a poker face. around others ? sure, just not around her brother, with him she was like an open book and no amount of denying it could prove otherwise.ย โย iโll even give you twenty minutes.ย โ soon wendy had returned to her seat, the cup of tea still in her grasp without even so much as a drop spilled, yet.ย โย mhm,ย โ she sounded with a sip.ย โย but for credibility purposes i need people who arenโt related to me too.ย โ and sheโd wait to talk or well ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ whoever she could.ย โย but iโll guess youโll do, for now.ย โ she huffed, a dramatic sigh that was all for show and reached for not her phone, but his to set up the recorder which was then placed on the table nearest them. wendy sat up on her legs to give herself a few added centimeters in height and gestured towards lucaโs phone.ย โย when youโre ready.ย โ
โthank you for at least knocking. i still have no idea how wren broke in the other day,โ luca starts, offering up the cup of fresh tea. heโd missed his sister the most, he had to admit. he and wendy spent hours upon hours talking about nothing in his library at home - and heโd missed that,ย โso what convinced you, if i couldnโt for almost a year. please tell me it was my darling children, your favorite nieces! i need a new babysitter, their nanny is going insane having to put up with lizaโs antics.โย
โย key card,ย โ wendy explained as she shifted around in her seat to reach for the very same card in question from the back pocket of her dark wash denim. โย i think itโs the last name,ย โ she teased with a wave of the plastic,ย โย because it was very easy to get.ย โ but unlike theirย brother, wendy always knocked before she attempted method number two. the card was soon replaced by the welcomed cup of fresh tea. held in her grasp as wendy soon circled around lucaโs apartment with sips of the hot beverage along the way.ย โย i heard all the stories were here, oh and . . . i canโt let you live through something like argentina again without a little support, or my favorite nieces. and babysitting, thatโs another conversation and you know it.ย โ speaking of,ย โย do you know anyone who would be willing to talk about what happened ? maybe someone who got stuck on that hike ?ย โ
Nuan hadย purposefully postponed arriving in Japan until after everyone else was supposed to, and attempted to get up to her apartment as quickly as possible to avoid the chaosย ๏น soon enough, however, hunger prompted her to venture back down to the main foyer. The hubbub and rush of people proved to be just as overwhelming as she had feared, but her desire to leave was complicated by the fact that she had no idea where her actual destination might be. A moment to muster up her courage, then:ย โExcuse me ย โโ ย her voice was soft, and could quite possibly have gone unnoticed had she not moved to stand in front of the person near her. ย โIโm sorry to bother you, but I seem to have gotten a bit lost. Do you happen to know where a main eating area would be? Or if there even is one?โ
the smile wendy conveyed was contagious. once she had returned the twins to her elder brother, luca, she was free to explore the building and well soon, the city. a new country with new people and new stories, it was like a child in a candy store and wendy had first pick. but just a few steps shy of the door and wendy had slowed her steps, soon coming face to face with the soft spoken brunette.ย โย i think . . .ย โ the luxembourg princess glanced behind her with faltered gesture, was there even one ?ย โย the apartments have a small kitchen, but i was going to go out and see what is out there, did you want to come ?ย โ wendy asked tentatively.ย โย we could find something good to eat i bet.ย โ better than what sheโd be able to cook up without any food in the small fridge.ย โย maybe we can even get some local recommendations.ย โ
taking her satin blazer off to adjust her shoulder brace by herself whilst alone had been possibly the worst plan she had come up with. the movement was hurting, the sleeve now twists the wrong way, and she can barely reach the strap โ- embarrassing to say the least.ย โ hi ? โย thereโs a shadow behind her.ย โ i canโt see you, do you mind giving me a hand ? the brace is too tight, itโs cutting off the blood flow to my hands, iโm pretty sure and my elbowโs in the way of this sleeve ? โย [ @wcndvโ ]โ
wendyโs head whipped towards the sound and luckily so. her attention had been preoccupied, fixated on the local newspaper sheโd swiped from an unoccupied table. theyโd get it back, eventually.ย โย hi . . .ย โ wendy dragged out the syllable. she placed the paper atop the satin blazer mistakenly and quickly reached to help the blonde with the contraption.ย โย was this from the earthquake in argentina ?ย โ wendy couldnโt help but pry while she carefully maneuvered the sleeve and strap that had managed to get all tangled up together.ย โย there,ย how is that ?ย โ the question came when the princess had finally moved into the blondeโs view.ย โย all better ?ย โ
diana again, back with number two. i missed her too much so wendy is back! itโs also now canon wendy keeps missing all the good stories on account of ( my terrible timing ) but also hers. and just reblogging her old intro with a few minor edits cuz iโm lazy.ย
&&. announcing her royal highness, ( wendy juliette dโansembourg ), the ( 31 ) year old ( princess ) of ( luxembourg ). she is often confused with ( emily browning ). some say that she is ( fanciful & invasive ), but she is actually ( inquisitive & affectionate ).ย
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wendy was born the second child to the dโansembourg royal family, a decade after the eldest child luca, but certainly not the last nor the most peculiar of what would be four ( a set of twins to come when she had reached ten ) but wendy was a happy child, loved by her family with her head in the clouds. her world was flowers and fairytales and as she grew so would that tender heart she wore on her sleeve.
not to mention that nose for news, anything that could lead to the truth was something wendy went after. asking too many questions and lending an ear to a conversation intended for another . . . which also happened to be how she got into writing. asking too many questions to too many people, one in particular who happened to be a professor who, after finding her eavesdropping on a conversations concerning a controversial boarding school policy, highly encouraged her to use that curiosity for something beneficial, like the school newspaper. sure, sheโd written stories and force her siblings to sit around and listen to them before, but this was different and itโd come to be a lifelong affair.
but not the first, her first lifelong affair was with the idea of being in love, something that sheโd become known for in the public eye. there was the palace boy when she was a child and probably her most humiliating heartbreak to date, he rejected the flowers she collected. the ones from the garden she tended to with her mother. there was also a prince or two, one who wouldnโt even give her the time of day once she had become attached and that was just the beginning. after wendy graduated from university and began her job writing columns for the luxemburger wort it was safe to say her public heartbreak incidents were on par with her best articles.
well, until the age of twenty four, when her father passed. wendyโs biggest heartbreak that shattered her world and that the world had come to know. she had lost herself, numb to everything but the pain that so often left her with dreams that her father had returned, only to wake alone. her sweetest nightmare. it took four years for her to become herself again, to feel like herself but those four years came and took another life, nathalie ( lucaโs wife & someone who was dear to wendyโs heart ) and once again, she felt broken but this time, became the shoulder to cry on for her brother.
but life went on, or so she was told. her focus became her hobbies : gardening, reading conspiracy theories with snacks, daydreaming about love, traveling, the occasional attempt at dancing ( that one of her closest friends, a professional ballerina, always made appear effortless ) and of course, writing. wendyโs career as a journalist blossomed, much like the flowers she was so meticulous about tending to in her garden, she was faced with another public heartbreak which caused her to return home from her time spent in spain . . . and then the french invaded. kept to the confines of her home country, wendy and her younger sister lara did their best to organize on the domestic front, which included leaked information in the papers under a pseudonym : j. m. bly, a combination of j. m. barrie and nellie bly. along with publications under her own name outsourced to major international publications.
when the war ended and the french retreated wendy found herself lacking something, news, at least the type that could garner such interest as the war stories had. and while she loved her home, sitting around waiting for a story and indulging in one too many of those american chocolate chip cookies wasnโt going to cut it. after one phone conversation to luca concerning the earthquake that rocked the mountains of argentina wendy knew what was next, where the next big story would be, the program. so she took a sabbatical from the newspaper and found herself part of the protection program, looking for the next big story and maybe trying her hand at being a little more present at royal events.ย then she left . . . to chase a story before returning back and missing well, just about all the good stories.ย
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐
wendy has a notebook filled with notes on specific flowers from her garden and hands it off to her younger brother every so often to draw the pictures
her garden had a two page spread in a local magazine
scooby gangย ;ย the daphne of the group, wendy has a career as a journalist and a nose for news, but she always gets into trouble without fail.ย
love sickย ;ย she has had many a public heartbreak over the years , so angst & drama much appreciated. ( maybe some drama of : she liked this person but this person like another person and that person didnโt like either of them or someone else )ย
someone to catch wendy snooping for a story , maybe on them ?
she has a thing for reading random conspiracy theories/watching videos of them, with snacks ofc. join in on that.ย
someone to help her learn an instrument ; someone to teach her anything new reallyย
a situation / people who were the subject of one of her articles & not shown in a favorable light
she has a vendetta against this person because when they visited luxembourg & toured the grounds they walked on some of her flowers
friends ofc ! she also has a canon bestie who is a ballerina so if anyone fits that
enemies we love angsty connections , anyone who favored the french during the invasionย