france
PEACE
say i am wonderful ♥
Posts: 103
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Post by france on Oct 10, 2010 22:53:17 GMT -5
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Post by great britain on Oct 10, 2010 23:11:58 GMT -5
The careful melody of the first movement of Mozart's Concerto No. 9 resonated flawlessly throughout the estate of Albert Cassius Wilkerson. The man's attendants were nowhere to be found, perhaps drinking their lives away in the lounge that was set up specifically for them. Though a stern, no-nonsense man, Albert was no dictator; his servants were free to do as they pleased throughout the estate, save set it on fire or cause irreplaceable damage. The rain, which tapped lightly and rhythmically against the window of the parlour, was rather soothing.
What wasn't soothing was the spontaneous rapping at the doors of his estate, and this sudden noise caused Albert to pause mid-stroke on the keys of the piano, resulting in a rather dark and ugly noise.
Who would bother him during such a rainstorm? Only one with a death wish - or at least the wish of a deathbed - would brave the rain, unless he or she was dressed appropriately. Still, the twenty-two-year-old was baffled, and as he stood from his spot at the marvellous grand piano, closing its cover and manoeuvring from it and the bench, Albert merely stood in place for a moment. Finally, after the partially expected (and not-in-the-least appreciated) ringing of the doorbell, he straightened out his black military uniform and proceeded toward the foyer of his estate, flicking the lights of the parlour off before leaving the room.
After all, rich people had to save electricity, too.
When Albert approached the doors, he cleared his throat and cursed under his breath, reminding himself to have a word with his servants later. (Just because it was raining didn't mean they could slack around.) Placing a hand on the knob of a single door, he twisted it and pulled the door open. Oh my. Pursing his lips slightly, Great Britain's dark eyes surveyed the soaked form of France, a sense of pity never crossing his emotions.
"May I help you?" he asked rather coldly, his hand remaining on the knob of the door in case he decided to close it without inviting Josephine into his home. After all, he wasn't known for being the most hospitable of people, and just because the two were allies didn't mean that he had to practice kindness. [/blockquote] |
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france
PEACE
say i am wonderful ♥
Posts: 103
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Post by france on Oct 10, 2010 23:19:10 GMT -5
 because we are all miraclesWRAPPED UP IN CHEMICALSoh god. she was just waiting for him to bring it down on her -- "so, josephine, enjoying the rain?" or something along those lines. not that she thought he was that kind of guy -- perhaps spending time with crass denmark altered what she thought people's initial responses to be. maybe she just expected england to laugh in her face about the whole thing and slam the door and leave her in the rain to fend for herself.
well, she certainly wouldn't put it past him.
"angleterre," she repeated, wiping a few drops of rain from her face with the hem of her sleeve. she only succeeded in smearing more water on her face, and tried to blink the droplets of rain from her eyelashes. "i..." dieu, this was hard. she swallowed thickly and coughed, trying to gather what she wanted to say and then think of how to say it with the dignity and poise she usually possessed. how was she supposed to ask him if she could stay until the storm was over? how was she supposed to admit that she was totally lost in a place that she should have known?
with a heavy sigh, humbled by her situation, josephine cleared her throat and tried to start again. "i... got lost," she explained, wearily. "there are no cabs out. i don't know where to go." it was practically killing her ego inside to do this, but she had no other choice. cheeks burning even in the coldness of the storm, she took in another heavy breath and tried to brave her next sentence: "i-i... can i stay here?"
and that, dear friends, was the astonishingly short life of josephine's dignity.
TAGGED ★ england !
LYRICS ★ wonderful - gary go
NOTES ★ ksdaj[/div] |
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Post by great britain on Oct 10, 2010 23:36:38 GMT -5
Great Britain wasn't heartless, per se; he definitely had a heart, and it had been shared with France long ago. Actually, come to think of it, one could argue that not much heart was involved at all, and that was exactly what Albert would argue if the topic was brought up. The fact that the object of his partnership showed up at his doorstep ... well, he wasn't sure whether to find it unnerving or funny. Perhaps it was a mixture of both. Perhaps it was neither, and the frustration of his peaceful evening being interrupted clouded his true emotional contemplations.
"Angleterre."
Leave it to France to ... well, speak French in England. Her hesitation somewhat astounded Albert, and he was momentarily at a loss of words himself. How exactly did one respond in this situation? He wasn't simply going to invite her with a cheery laugh and pour her some tea while she warmed by the fireplace. Likely, a similar course of actions would result in this unforeseen meeting, but Albert neither thought of this nor wanted to think of this. In his moment of hesitation, he retracted his arm and crossed both over his chest as he gazed down at the wet creature on his doorstep.
Lost? In England? Albert was momentarily surprised on the one hand; Josephine should have known this place like the back of her hand -- or at least better than the average tourist. She had, after all, spent a lot of time here. "Lost," Great Britain repeated, quietly and derisively. When she said she didn't know where to go, the man almost suggested exactly where she could go -- and none of his suggestions involved his estate. And then she asked a God-forsaken question that Albert was hoping she would not ask.
"... Can I stay here?"
The answer that screamed from his mind, that clawed its way up his throat was a hearty no, but it didn't manage to win. As previously stated, Great Britain was not heartless -- and France was his ally. While he didn't owe her anything, the last thing he needed was constant ridicule from his allies, and while he didn't know whether or not denying Josephine a few comfortable hours to flee the elements would lead to this ridicule, he was taking no chanced.
With a role of the eyes, Albert opened the door more and turned on his heels, holding up a hand. "Wait in the foyer," he said nonchalantly, moving toward a side hallway where he stored spare towels for such things as these. He grabbed the roughest, raggediest one he could find - though the woman that was now hopefully waiting in the foyer might or might not have known that this was a meditated decision as opposed to a random choice - and returned to the wet creature. He held the towel out to her.
"If you cause water damage, Josephine," Albert pressed, his eyes narrowed somewhat, "then you shall replace the floor with your own hands." [/blockquote] |
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france
PEACE
say i am wonderful ♥
Posts: 103
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Post by france on Oct 10, 2010 23:46:19 GMT -5
because we are all miraclesWRAPPED UP IN CHEMICALSouch. just stab my in the eye, josephine thought bitterly. yes, they were allies. but she had just swallowed her goddamn dignity for him and all he could do was mention water damage? she knew that she was not particularly liked by the english nation, but they'd shared a marriage long ago. didn't that mean anything anymore? they'd been married for christ's sake, and he had to think about whether or not to let her in?
anger aside, she was grateful. even if she didn't exactly show it right away. she stared at him - a bit surprised that he actually said yes - and then swallowed again before heading inside to the foyer. ah, yes, this was definitely familiar; she'd spent enough time here. surely england remembered, didn't he? this had once been almost hers. almost, but not quite.
taking the towel, she began patting at her face, her hair, etc. "oh, albert," she sighed, rolling her eyes now at him. "you wouldn't make me do that." while she wasn't entirely sure of whether or not he would, she liked to assume the latter. her voice held no arrogance, no vanity, but instead a little bit of sweetness. it was the awkward way of josephine saying thank you for his hospitality -- at least, saying it without embarassing herself. shifting from foot to foot, she cast her gaze away for a moment before giving a slight sigh.
"i know where everything is," she said after a minute. "you can return to what you were doing before, if you like. i remember everything." well if that didn't sound possessive, nothing did! she coughed softly. "that is, assuming you haven't moved anything recently... in which case i will need--" she faltered from that "need" word, and resumed flawlessly, "i'll have you show me where it is, of course."
TAGGED ★ england !
LYRICS ★ wonderful - gary go
NOTES ★ ksdaj [/div] |
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Post by great britain on Oct 11, 2010 0:09:16 GMT -5
The "what could have beens" had often overshadowed Albert's thoughts, though those times were in the past now. He could focus more efficiently on "what will be" and "what is," all of which would be represented by the grandiose nature by which PEACE would become even more beloved than it already was. Infamous ... beloved ... what was the difference, really? Great Britain didn't share its treasures, and it gladly stole the treasures of others. Perhaps he was selfish; perhaps he was tyrannous and unjust. However, no one ever said the world was fair -- and those who did were often the ones who were shot down at the hands of more powerful forces.
"Oh, Albert, you wouldn't make me do that."
A cold smile tugged at the aforementioned man's lips. "Wouldn't I, Josephine?" he asked, his question every bit rhetorical. Maybe he wouldn't force Josephine to do such manual labour, but a metaphorical substitute would have been befitting of the situation. If he so desired, he wouldn't hesitate to make France work for her place in Great Britain's home. The fact, however, rested in whether or not this desire crossed him, and the truth held this fact to be devoid of any such desire.
The woman standing before Albert seemed to sigh a lot, but such seemed to be the innate nature of France. When she proceeded to explain her knowledge of his estate, he considered the situation. Leave France alone in his home? Allies or not, he wasn't sure whether to trust her alone. Of course, that was a very plausible explanation ... but part of him might also have wanted her to be near him simply because she was here now, and while he wasn't the most thrilled person to have her in his home, Albert wasn't going to leave a guest all alone. That would make him a terrible host.
"No," Great Britain stated rather flatly. "You shall accompany me to whichever destination is necessary, once you have dried yourself." The parlour and the sitting room were really the only two rooms that he felt like occupying for the time being, and while he was paying his servants despite their lack of activity, he didn't mind giving them a break. He was a capable man, and he didn't need other human beings tending to his needs every second of the day. Albert gestured with his hand toward the grand hallway that led, undoubtedly, to the many different rooms throughout the estate.
"Take your pick, ma -- Josephine." Albert had caught himself rather quickly, his hardwired habit of referring to her as "ma cherie" threatening to flee his lips, which had pushed themselves together rather forcefully after completing France's name. "Everything is the same ... and even if it isn't, it's not as though you'll be staying for very long." [/blockquote] |
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france
PEACE
say i am wonderful ♥
Posts: 103
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Post by france on Oct 11, 2010 0:48:27 GMT -5
because we are all miraclesWRAPPED UP IN CHEMICALSa coy smile came on to the face of the frenchwoman at albert's words. not only was she thoroughly bemused by this comment, but she was also surprised that albert would let himself slip up like that. hadn't he lived with her long enough to know that the simplest phrase, even with the most innocent of intentions, could be twisted into something not so innocent if perceived as so by josephine? surely, surely he knew that by now. if he didn't, josephine didn't know if she'd done anything proper in their whole entire relationship. obviously he wasn't taught well enough.
"well, well, mon cher," she commented, casually as she began heading toward the stairs. "i never knew it would come to this. you will accompany me everywhere, then? even to the bedroom in which i will change?" a perfectly manicured brow arched upward, amusement glittering in her porcelain eyes. "i never knew you to be so forward since we were married." her amusement, however, was short-lived; even if he wished it wasn't so, she heard him, heard what he'd started to say. it was one thing for her to call him "my darling"; but england, who seemed to never hold any sort of semblance of emotion for her, starting to call her that?
it must have been a force of habit, of course. but she couldn't help but be pleased when she thought, briefly -- he still remembers.
"i didn't think it was so bad, you know," she replied after a minute. nonchalantly. "being married to you, i mean, so you don't have to look at me like i'm a monster."
TAGGED ★ england !
LYRICS ★ wonderful - gary go
NOTES ★ ♥ [/div] |
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Post by great britain on Oct 22, 2010 15:58:43 GMT -5
The smile spread now upon Josephine's lips granted no sense of calmness from within Albert, and a mixture of both disappointment for himself and frustration with the woman's coyness. Her unnecessary emphasis on "mon cher" caused the Brit to struggle with holding his tongue. He elected to remain silent, deciding that words were not his best ally at the moment; after all, they had betrayed him only moments before. Josephine's own way with words was able to procure a sense of new emotions at any given time, which made for one confusing state of mind.
"You will accompany me everywhere, then? Even to the bedroom in which I will change?"
The ambiguity of her question may or may not have been intentional, but Albert certainly found it, leading to a rather light blush that he hoped the lighting would successfully mask. The case was probably not true, however. Despite his mistake, Albert maintained a certain sense of stature, and his posture remained erect and his speech nonetheless calm and collected. "You have no clothing left in my home," he said pointedly, and this information was true, "and I don't recall granting permission for you to borrow my clothing." It was a somewhat awkward statement, but it was true nonetheless.
The Frenchwoman's mention of their wedding caused the Brit to again contemplate it, which wasn't at the top of his list. It wasn't really a long marriage, but it was a marriage all the same. "Leave it to you to continually bring up the past," he remarked somewhat coldly. "If you must, return to the door and drop off your sentimentalism; there's no need for it here."
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