November 18, 1177
It was refreshing to see Rona around her old crowd again--chatting, laughing, comfortable. For all she could lament that nobody cared, Hilla and Riona had stuck by, and her mother and stepfather doted on her as just as they did the rest of their children. The only person in the room who didn't love her was her own self and Ashe suspected that everyone there knew it, but at least they could make her forget that for a while.
Aspen had been blessed with that ability too, or so he was starting to think, but that talent must have been lost that night at the pond. Maybe it had been tied to one of those things he didn't miss so much, like the menstrual cramps. Well, if it had meant he could make Rona just a little happier, he would have taken those back without a second thought.
Aspen had been blessed with that ability too, or so he was starting to think, but that talent must have been lost that night at the pond. Maybe it had been tied to one of those things he didn't miss so much, like the menstrual cramps. Well, if it had meant he could make Rona just a little happier, he would have taken those back without a second thought.
But he supposed that his being here meant that someone was free to tend the fire while everyone else did the one thing he couldn't. Who knew--it might have been a different evening in the cold and dark. Would Rona still be drilling Hilla on all things Baby Gualtiero? Would Bernardo and Sir Ovrean still place wagers on some upcoming tournament in Dovia, and would Isidro still let his fingers dance over Riona's firm middle? Would the duchess...?
"Ashe?"
He turned his head to see Rona's mother heading toward him, red skirts swishing against the hardwood. Forty-five years old and she could have passed for one of her own daughters. Rona would age even more gracefully, he was sure of it. "My lady."
"Ashe?"
He turned his head to see Rona's mother heading toward him, red skirts swishing against the hardwood. Forty-five years old and she could have passed for one of her own daughters. Rona would age even more gracefully, he was sure of it. "My lady."
She shook her head as she stopped at his side. "Please--call me Celina. And you don't need to be standing here prodding at the hearth, you know." Her fingers pried his off the handle of the poker and she set it aside. So much for his one use. "Are you all right? You seem quiet."
"I'm fine."
He got the sense that she didn't believe him, but she didn't say it--not outright, at least. "You know... I imagine Hilla's quite annoyed when my daughter. If you took your eyes off that fire for a few minutes, you might catch her stealing glances this way."
Was that her way of trying to make him feel better? It wasn't working, but he supposed he could appreciate the effort. "Rona wouldn't be stealing glances at me."
Again, she didn't argue. Not in the way most people argued. "You do know she talks about you all the time, right?"
Well--if that couldn't pry his gaze from the flames, nothing would. "You're joking."
"I'm fine."
He got the sense that she didn't believe him, but she didn't say it--not outright, at least. "You know... I imagine Hilla's quite annoyed when my daughter. If you took your eyes off that fire for a few minutes, you might catch her stealing glances this way."
Was that her way of trying to make him feel better? It wasn't working, but he supposed he could appreciate the effort. "Rona wouldn't be stealing glances at me."
Again, she didn't argue. Not in the way most people argued. "You do know she talks about you all the time, right?"
Well--if that couldn't pry his gaze from the flames, nothing would. "You're joking."
The duchess shook her head, chestnut curls bouncing as Rona's often did. "She's not going to be happy that I told you, but it was originally supposed to be just you and her at this dinner. She was so excited about it, but then at the start of the month she got cold feet and asked if she could invite her friends and their husbands as well."
Ashe squinted. Had she been anyone else, he wouldn't have believed her, but the duchess was not a liar; everyone knew that. "Really?"
Ashe squinted. Had she been anyone else, he wouldn't have believed her, but the duchess was not a liar; everyone knew that. "Really?"
"Really." Her brown eyes lit like Rona's did, or at least like Rona's had not all that long ago. The duchess had been widowed once, Ashe reminded himself. She'd also lost a child. Those eyes must have lost that spark at times. How had they found it again? "She's still young. And she's very stubborn. If she's giving you a hard time, a lot of it probably has to do with her not wanting to admit that Lorn's silly tournament got her a good man after all. And the rest of it is that she's still figuring out what she wants and she doesn't want to make any life-changing decisions before she knows for sure."
Life-changing decisions--she had that right. Sometimes a person couldn't guess the consequences. Sometimes they didn't even know what they were choosing. "I hope I'm not putting any pressure on her."
"No, from what I gather you've been suitably patient. Just don't panic if Christmas comes and goes and she asks for more time; she really is just a kid, you know."
"No, from what I gather you've been suitably patient. Just don't panic if Christmas comes and goes and she asks for more time; she really is just a kid, you know."
A small smile emerging, she gave a knowing sniff. "And so are you."
And in a strange way--after all these years of orphanhood and independence--it was kind of nice to be reminded of that. "I guess you're right."
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9 comments:
I ran into so many of my photography pet-peeves while taking these shots, most notably lining up great angle shots only to press "Tab" and find that there's a light fixture in the way, plus background Sims disagreeing on absolutely everything no matter how high you jack up their relationship and storming away from each other in order to stand around doing nothing (dammit, Bernardo and Ovrean, you were in one picture!).
Still. I think this is the best lighting I've had on this computer?
Also, all of my old pictures look like shit on this screen. I suspect Photobucket might have upped their compression again >:(
I thought the lighting was lovely but if you're running into chandelier blockage issues, maybe just work with floor, table and wall lights? Also, have you checked out Imgur? Photobucket's interface was really starting to annoy me so I made the switch some months back.
This chapter gave me warm fuzzies, Van! And Celina looks so pretty in that forth image.
I've thought about Imgur--I do use it for banner images--but I would have to play around with the sizing in either that or Blogger, since Photobucket shrinks my images for me and I do like the size they give me. Something to look into during my otherwise empty reading week?
I've had the chandelier issue before, but I don't know if there's really any way around not using it. Most of the table and wall lights don't give nearly enough light, and I like to keep my floors as uncluttered as possible due to the absurdly claustrophobic Sim walking patterns. I can usually work around the chandeliers, but every so often... :S
Thanks Pen! And I actually made that shot Celina's new profile image, since hers hadn't been updated in a while.
Aww. Celina being sweet as usual. I think she wins the award for "Wisest Lady of Naroni." She's been around and she's seen a lot and she knows who she is, what she's doing, where she's going ... and she can make very, very intelligent guesses about who everybody else is and where they're going and what they're doing. Especially her own children.
She's also got a good point about Ashe still being just a kid. Especially since he switched genders not even six months ago and is still making that adjustment.
I love how Rona wanted this dinner to just be her and Ashe at first. :) Even if she did get cold feet in the end, it's still awesome.
And your pictures look fine to me, Van -- maybe it's one of those things the taker can see but the viewer can't?
Celina is definitely the lady her acquaintances go to when they need advice. She's smart, she's intuitive, she's a good reader of people and she's definitely been around the block. Remember when she first came to Naroni, back when she was pregnant with Lorn? She was as insecure as Rona back then, but look at her now :)
But yeah, I think Ashe sometimes forgets that he's only a year and a half older than Rona, even if he does generally think of her as an adult. And you're right, he's still very much in the adjustment phase. I think he needed to hear that.
Heheh... some of the really old, really dark ones just look like a mess of pixels. I swear they look fine on my old computer XD
Celina's words of wisdom :3
I hope Ashe can somehow get closer to Rona, or more so I hope she lets him. They are going to make such cute babies, :3 I'M SAH EXCITED FOR THE BEHBIES.
She does give good advice, that lady :)
I think he's closer than he thinks he is ;)
Babies? A little early to be thinking about babies, isn't it? :P
NEVER to early to be thinking about babies!!!!
Eheheh... XD
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