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Post by Circe on Jul 20, 2019 16:58:31 GMT -6
"This did not go as planned." Catherine muttered under her breath. Ideally everything she sent should have been proof of her identity, but it seemed that someone at court had seen fit to turn away the messenger. At least they hadn't shot him, that would have taken more explaining than she was willing to do. Anyone with even limited knowledge should have known the McBride crest, and the key; keys were things that very few of the nobility held. 'Whose brilliant idea was this anyway?' She thought, not remembering a single word she had said previous to arriving in the realm.
Like Tyrus, she was in a similar situation, except most of her things had been hastily thrown together without any consideration for necessity or need. Alexander had tried, but ultimately didn't quite understand that she didn't need suits or off duty clothing. Instead he had grabbed her go-bag that she kept for packed for emergencies like Mezar instead of this one, and added a few extra items.
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Post by demikara on Jul 20, 2019 17:03:58 GMT -6
"I thought we'd be staying at the farm." He said. "And we only came here to take advantage of the time dilation. We only have so long to get everything under control." And they'd need every second of it. Catherine continued to be scared of her own magic, despite him attempting to talk it out of her. Well, now they didn't have too much of a choice but to stay in close quarters and work through the mess that was Catherine's relationship with magic and her control.
They had needed the time dilation. Her emergency contact had been the queen here, which was a little bit of madness, but it had given him the idea. He hadn't actually thought he'd be meeting said emergency contact. "I'm assuming you know your way around here. You're in charge. I'm here as back up." And medical support and magical support in case she had a fit or something similar.
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Post by Circe on Jul 20, 2019 17:17:15 GMT -6
"Whose idea was it to come here anyway? I somehow cannot remember that being part of the terms with the Council." She also wondered who had told Tyrus who her contact in the fae realms was. That was generally something she kept private and to herself, as her job with MCU wasn't exactly good for making friends. Instead, things had reached new levels of ridiculousness, and she blamed Tyrus for the entire mess.
Crossing her arms over her chest, she looked down at her watch and scowled. Mundane time pieces didn't exactly track well in the fae world, and the normally durable glass had been cracked and broken. Catherine couldn't even remember when that had happened, and felt like she was loosing her mind. Unable to remember or think much beyond sleeping, eating, and Tyrus's drills, she was understandably frustrated. It felt like she was never going to come up for air, and instead had settled for a status quo she didn't recall agreeing to.
"I do... however I have not been here in some time. Pwyll being turned away was not what I had planned on."
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Post by demikara on Jul 20, 2019 17:22:55 GMT -6
"Mine. Kasimir gave use 12 weeks. I need six months with you. A place with almost no minds for you to have to deal with where time flowed differently? Molly brags about her farm if you get her talking about her family." It seemed like a good idea. "If it makes you feel better, blame Kasimir. He's the one who dug into your personnel file." When all else failed, blame Kasimir. It worked well as far as he was concerned.
"You were too out of it to protest. I'm a little surprised you're up and moving." She had been knocked for a loop. He was actually surprised her hadn't been torn a new one yet. Next time, he reminded himself, at least inform her of what was going on first.
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Post by Circe on Jul 20, 2019 17:54:05 GMT -6
"I am exhausted beyond measure, Tyrus, but I am not incapacitated." She ground out, shooting the mage a glare. English was taxing, and required way more thought than she was willing to put into it. Except Tyrus kept using it, and it was starting to wear away what little patience she had left. "I blame Kasimir for much.. though this is beyond his meddling." Catherine added as she presented her groups token.
The quartet looked out of place among the silks and finery of Seelie court. Tyrus in his suit was the only thing close, with the rest of them either dressed like peasantry or mundanes. "The Lord Rahal and Lady McBride to see her majesty." She ground out to the footmen and guards at the door. Catherine was clearly unamused by the treatment that her messenger and message had received. Catherine knew that it wasn't the queen's doing, but perhaps one of her advisors that still rankled at the fact that she had assumed her Father's title and position. It could have also stemmed from the fact that no one really knew the family anymore, they were in many ways parts of the nobility that many had assumed long since perished. Although, somehow someone still held their lands and title.
With that, the four were announced to the inner court and admitted into the reception room ornately decorated with roses of every imaginable shade from the most delicate whites to deepest blood reds. The floor was of white marble with golden veins running across it, and the walls draped in colored silk that matched the mist rising from the forest on a summer morning. This was clearly a seat of old and powerful magic, the seelie fae were the keepers and guardians of the veil since time immemorial.
A dias with a throne sat directly in front of the group, with a beautiful woman of indeterminate age sitting atop, skirts of pink silk trimmed with lace, bullion, and pearls billowing out. She wore a bored expression, obviously not interested in whatever this next group was here to plead for. "Your Majesty, forgive my..." Catherine started to say stiffly, before she was interrupted by the queen.
"Catherine, my dear! Oh what a wonderful surprise!" Tatiana exclaimed clearly delighted to see the other.
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Post by demikara on Jul 20, 2019 18:01:00 GMT -6
Tyrus was going to respond, he really was. He appreciated being introduced appropriately, but this. This was entertaining. Oh being surrounded by fae was new, and the styles were different, but he recognized the air of a court all too well. At least this one wasn't overtly violent. He'd take small things. The mage remained silent, but he glanced between the queen and Catherine and mirth was in his eyes.
This. She was no living this down at all. Tatiana had gushed at seeing her. Oh no, this was just as good as if Catherine had ever been there when he dropped by the dragon court unexpectedly. Not that that was something he could currently do, given the state of everything right now, but the point remained.
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Post by Circe on Jul 20, 2019 18:17:33 GMT -6
"Forgive me for not contacting you sooner, I sent a messenger but he was turned away." Catherine replied offering a slight bob of a curtsy as the queen approached. She had tried to not make a scene, and instead do things quietly, but her hand had been forced. In some ways she felt bad about not saying something sooner, but there never was a good time it seemed. "Really? How curious. You will be here for awhile, will you not my dear?" Tatianna asked as she embraced the other warmly. There was clearly no affection lost between the two, but there would be no avoiding the questions now; no matter how cryptic Catherine tried to be.
"Yes. But, may we talk about this in private?" She asked, cognizant of the potential rumor mill that would be begun by her sudden arrival. The seelie like their cousins the unseelie, thrived on drama, and more than likely this had just become the most interesting thing that week. Especially since the Lady McBride had shown up with a human, and two peasants.
"Of course my dear." Titanna replied as she walked out of the room. Catherine and the group were to follow, soon finding themselves in the queen's private garden. They would be free to talk there without fear of intrusion of eaves dropping.
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Post by demikara on Jul 20, 2019 18:25:22 GMT -6
Tyrus gave a bow as he assumed was expected and followed them on to the garden. Which looked rather familiar. He looked around is and smiled slightly. "This must have been your inspiration Catherine." And it was beautiful. "I can see why you chose to re-direct your magic to this. It's beautiful." The compliment came easily and honestly. Catherine must be very familiar with these gardens to be able to replicate them so faithfully.
Pwyll, hanging back, looked around himself wide eyed. Zander very carefully did not touch anything cognizant of the fact that he was definitely out of place here. They should have escaped when they still had the chance. Then again, given all the fancy clothes they had left behind them, he could see why Pwyll was turned away.
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Recovery
Jul 20, 2019 18:49:52 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Circe on Jul 20, 2019 18:49:52 GMT -6
Catherine offered Tyrus a smile, it wasn't a tense or uneasy one either It was one that showed relief at being in a place she understood and was comfortable. "Not sure what you mean, but I have loved this garden since I was a child." She replied. What she had produced in the Council's chambers was a weak comparison to the actual thing. The Queen's private garden had more than just roses, but also a host of a multitude of many other flowers.
"Now, what is this about you staying?" The queen asked smiling at Catherine, clearly happy to have her there for as long as necessary.
"... there was an incident, and Council decided it best that I return home to recover." This would be the first time anyone had ever heard Catherine refer to anything as home. It was always the house, the office, or the apartment. Never was the word home used so freely.
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Post by demikara on Jul 20, 2019 18:54:53 GMT -6
"When you lost control, you redirected your magic. It reproduced this." He said simply. "Forgive me your majesty. It was more than an incident. The binding on her magic has been removed, but the magic overwhelmed her. We have twelve weeks of human time to rebuild control." That was nowhere near enough time, but he was hoping it would work. She had some control already otherwise everything would have been leveled here. Now he just had to convince her she had control and could use her magic without it overwhelming her.
That was going to be the hardest part. Having seen what happened when she did lose control, he understood why it was going to be hard. But it would be done.
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Recovery
Jul 20, 2019 19:32:31 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by Circe on Jul 20, 2019 19:32:31 GMT -6
Catherine colored as Tyrus mentioned what had happened, she had never meant for her own internal thoughts to be reflected so publicly and in front of the Council no less.
"Oh Catherine..." Tatianna looked concerned, the other had struggled even as a child. Part of it was perhaps that she had been born to such unusual circumstances, and another may have been how she had been treated early on. Fear was something that she had learned.
"I now see why they sent you here with your friend to help. This will be good for you, you know I never approved of that horrible thing."
The queen could be an astute observer, and could sense that Tyrus shared some of the same gifts as the other.
"It was not my idea. It was demanded after Dah's passing!" Catherine protested. Maybe she was sweeping some details under the rug, but there still were things she was in no mood to talk about.
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Post by demikara on Jul 21, 2019 7:29:26 GMT -6
"It's gone now." Tyrus said simply. And good riddance to the rubbish that it was. He was glad it was gone and more than happy he had played a part in getting rid of it. "And so long as we get you redirecting your magic when you're not in full control of yourself, it'll stay gone." And he could help with that. Control was something he taught all the time. Besides, she was an adult. Surely she'd be easierto teach than a bunch of kids.
Of course, that came with its own challenges, but he hoped he'd be able to help with them. To start with, how the hell was he supposed to get her to the point where she was emotional enough to lose control at all. Baby steps, he reminded himself. Start with getting her more comfortable with using her magic casually. That was going to be fun, given how scared she was of her own magic. The exercises they had been doing had clearly helped some, but not enough. No, he'd need to come up with something new.
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Post by Circe on Jul 21, 2019 10:43:49 GMT -6
"And that was difficult for all of us my dear." Tatiana said gently. The court had been plunged into darkness for sometime, and it was only just recently that things had begun to turn around. She had very quickly had to learn who her friends and enemies were, and with the unseelie constantly testing their luck along the borders, it made everything that much more difficult. "And I know it was especially so for you." While Sir William had come from a long lived race, they were not immortal like some fae and others in the unseen. He had always been very clear with Catherine that wouldn't be for a very long time. Unfortunately, he had been wrong like many others that had been lost that day.
Catherine meanwhile was silent in response to Tyrus's remarks. Saying something now would only have resulted in hurt feelings and more problems. So instead she chose to push it down, shove it aside, and ignore it like so many other things. While time was a small luxury that they had within the fae realm, it was one that they didn't have much of.
"I believe that this will be good for you Catherine, I admit that your tutors may have neglected teaching you.. properly. But, at the same time they were more tasked with getting your other gifts in check quicker." The queen explained patiently. She had never considered Catherine's abilities as wrong, simply different. If anything they fed the seelie fae curiosity about things beyond their realm.
As difficult as it may have been for Catherine to hear it, it was the truth. The fae were predominately a magically gifted race, and had little idea what to do with someone with psionic magics as strong as hers. It hadn't been uncommon for her to complain of people talking who weren't there or frighten her governesses with making every toy in the nursery levitate. Magic they could counteract, but the psionics had taken them a great deal of time and research to manage.
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