Party in the palais [Open]

Subject: Party in the palais [Open] Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:31 pm

(Let's get some activity going in this section)

The wind was biting cold on her cheeks as she walked across the courtyard of palais jardin du luxembourg. She could feel the stares of the guards on her back and hear the screaming of the people outside the gates but the closer she got to the entrance the music from inside overpowered the protests. It was odd how inside it was like an entirely different world and she could see why the nobles were so desperately trying to cling onto it. The revolution had only just begun as the year was 1791 but already there had been so much death and carnage. Vivienne knew her dear Paris was falling apart rapidly but she could only watch and keep up with her duties as an assassin as there was not much else for her to do.

So that was what she was doing right at that very moment she strode up the steps to the palais wearing a heavy light blue ballgown with a floral pattern on it and three bows on the corset's front. She was doing her duties as an assassin and infiltrating a party filled with slightly drunken nobles (and wealthy people in general) of which some happened to be templars. However Vivienne was not there to kill templars, well at least not tonight or she would have brought her rifle with her. The mission was just to steal some important letters that had been sent between high ranking templars from a small office located somewhere in the palais. She was not entirely sure where but she had plenty of time to find them. She knew these kinds of parties dragged on for excruciating amounts of time after all.

Making her way inside Vivienne was met by the grand staircase and the lavish interior of the palais. Something she had expected of course but she couldn't refrain from being slightly awestruck by it. Another thing she had also expected was how horribly she stood out. She was probably the only black person in the building according to her estimates and also one of the very few not wearing a wig. But she hoped that would not be a big problem since she had enough hair to make one of the elaborate hairstyles people wearing wigs were sporting she even had the big white feathers in it and everything. Ah well at least she had make up on, red lips and rosy cheeks and all.

Now Vivienne knew this wasn't the best mission for her since she was not exactly the ideal person to blend into high society (she had already had a hard time getting past the guards at the gates) and that was confirmed yet when she felt eyes on her yet again. This time by both guards trying to be discreet and by already slightly drunk nobles not bothering much to hide their gaze. She could hear mumbles as she walked up the grand staircase and had a faint idea what they were about but she just kept her head held high and hands clasped in front of her. Trying to ignore the musket she had strapped to her thigh (just in case things went horribly wrong). She just imagined they were jealous of her pretty blue dress (even though she knew that wasn't the case at all) and kept her eyes focused on the paintins in the palais or the decorations occasionally giving some incredibly indiscreet staring nobles a small nod of recognition and trying to keep the smile off her face when they hastily averted their gaze.

Now maybe this wasn't going to be such a catastrophe... As long as at least she could steer clear of the main hall where people at the moment were laughing and waltzing the night away like nothing bad was happening.

Now where could those letters be?

Regular Posts : 54 Join date : 2015-01-11 Location : UK

[ Yes, let's do that \o/ ]

He arrived punctually and as suavely dressed as the rest in attendance. The dress code was simply ‘fashionable’, a formality which Vincent Durand had taken care to ignore. The young nobleman was not so much ushered but allowed to find his own way into opulent halls in his dark attire- it was understated but, as some would whisper, a morbid and warlike scheme of colours and he was easily picked out amongst the flamboyant rich and their peacocking behaviour. But, as if compensating for the lack of brevity assumed with his clothing, he output with a charming countenance and smooth behaviour which had him attracting all manner of men and women to his dances and drinking circles. It was an art of course, the more genuine of his counterparts were trying to match such a magnetic outage but genuine emotion could only stretch so far and that was their flaw; their performing ability was just not accomplished enough.

The room was lavishly decorated, white marble walls with silvery veins studded with high windows framed in oak accented with gold. The bruised plum of twilight would soon give way to the navy night scape but it was difficult to see anything but reflections of money and candlelight due to the bright illumination pollution. From within the halls it was as if any of the 'revolutionaries' to be seen were drowning in an ocean of light; suffocating and compressed by gold, diamonds and decadence. Any tables were long and polished, as were the ornamental candlesticks and the all else upon their glossed surfaces. There was music present at the back of the hall and the natural acoustics made it travel well enough yet it was soft enough to not detract from conversation, and the conversation flowed like the wine as the rage of the commoners outside was as dry and angry as their throats. Vincent was encapsulated in opulence and suffice to say it was an extremely comfortable space of being. It was one of his spheres of dominance.

And the King was in tune with the subtle social ripples in his refined tranquillity.

At first he followed her only with eyes and found himself soon following her with his whole being; curiosity feeding the hunter like a trail of blood on the forest floor. He wasn’t in any way obtuse but followed with his keen sense concealed behind his façade of civility, casually leaving his emptied chalice on a side counter as he trailed his prize upstairs and about the labyrinthine corridors.

The click of his boot was muffled by remaining on the slim carpet stretching languidly along the centre of those stone arteries, and his clicked the tongue he kept behind a mischievous smile.

“Now now…where could you be going little songbird,” he crooned to himself in an abstract manner, intending on following her trail until he found her in her temporary nest.

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Wed Jan 14, 2015 6:08 pm

(Yeah! ^O^)

Continuing upwards in the building Vivienne felt the weight of her dress in combination with her incredibly uncomfortable shoes starting to make her slightly regret the decision she had made to start on the uppermost level of the palais and then going downwards as she searched for the letters. She had no idea how noblewomen could run around in these kinds of clothes all day they were incredibly heavy and impractical but then again all noblewomen seemed to do was drink wine and look pretty.

Finally reaching the end of the last staircase she had to ascend to get to the top floor of the building Vivienne could not stop herself from letting out a small and almost inaudible sigh of relief.

Her weariness was short lived however as she got a glimpse of the magnificent gardens through one of the windows. Carefully crossing the corridor she observed the guards patrolling between the hedges, making a mental note not to attempt to flee through there should things go awry. But even with armed men patrolling around the gardens looked exquisite and she took her time admiring before yet again focusing on the mission at hand and continuing on with her search for a small office.

Something that struck her as she wandered through the halls of the uppermost floor was that there was not many people on it. Well at least not compared to how many it was downstairs, so far she had only passed a few men playing billiard and even they had averted their gaze from the game to stare at her for a brief moment. And also some people on the balcony looking over the main hall where she also slowed her pace down for a fleeting moment (she didn't want to stop since she had already wasted time admiring the gardens) observing the chattering and waltzing going on there.

Continuing on she found something that almost made her skid to a halt.

An entirely empty corridor.

Now that was surprising. No guards no nothing. It was almost too perfect. Now if she only had the luck to find the office hopefully situated somewhere along the corridor as well.

But alas, as she reached the end of it it turned out there was just one door there and it lead to a bedroom with no sign of a desk containing any sorts of letters. So she simply closed the door with a sigh and before she walked all the way back up that damn corridor she briefly stopped at a window again and had the time to wonder if she was going to have the privilege of observing any fireworks tonight whilst also using the reflection of herself in the glass to push a lock of unruly hair out of her face.

Regular Posts : 54 Join date : 2015-01-11 Location : UK

The serpent wound its way after the odd woman who had gone to such efforts to fit that she had placed herself in that equally odd state of both belonging and not simultaneously. It was a subtle oddity, like an quiet infant or empty streets, not entirely uncommon, but uncommon enough to strike a cord of dissonance every once in a while. Some were total oblivious to such nuance, living through their lives unaware of the bedewed and bloodied spider web upon which they tread so delicately, but others, those more attuned to the uncommon were those such as Vincent and his quarry in equal measures.

He didn't do much slither or stalk but move purposefully; shading his character with normalcy as that indeed was his character. At least outwardly. The snake always lay beneath the flower did not a man once write.

The halls, being more his territory then hers, as evidenced by her particular route, enabling him to continue his great game of cat and unwitting mouse whilst hiding in plain sight; forgoing a trip to the balcony and instead opting for the parallel path through the corridor highly vaulted and as lavishly embellished with gold and curvature as the next. Thick, gilded curtains only partially open when they hid a secretive coupling, allowed him to catch sight of her movements in slivers of pastel blue and honeyed caramel against the deepening night. The rarity of those glimpses only heightened his lust for such a chase, it had been a while since anything remotely this interesting had stirred his stagnating social circles.

A look at the garden. She couldn't possibly be searching for the guards as opposed to the possibility of fireworks now could she?

His green eyes narrowed. What breed of creature was he aiming to trap?

Perhaps a game of pretend would help him analyse further as he rounded into the deserted hallways as soon as she got her dismay at life not giving an easy option, not even once, the old miser that it was. When she turned he had the full intention of her seeing him there, although not as an apparent hostility as the smile he wore and the laughter naturally caught in those green orbs were present and denoted nought but casual pleasantries.

"You're not lost are you mademoiselle?" he asked with the apparent sincerity of any truehearted gentleman. "I myself found the palais a dreadful place to navigate. How many aimless corridors could a man need lest he felt the need to compensate."

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Thu Jan 15, 2015 9:51 am

Vivienne hastily averted her gaze from her own reflection and met those friendly green orbs with her own brown ones. She was immediately struck by how gorgeous the man was, well groomed, broad shouldered and tall (she estimated he towered over her by at least a foot). She guessed he would have looked intimidating if he was any less groomed or nicely dressed. He looked like he was bred, born and raised for these kinds of events even if his choice of clothing wasn't as.. pompous as some of the attires many nobles had chosen to wear. She was almost slightly jealous of how easy it seemed he would be able to fit in with such ease whilst she had to go to great lengths to even look remotely like she belonged. But then again she was not sure if she wanted to look like she led a life where she was vastly ignorant of what was going on around her and just sat around drinking wine all day and then attending soirees at night.

Briefly she wondered if it was really her he had spoken to so politely, she hadn't expected anyone to speak with her at all during the evening and especially not in a polite manner. And while she did admit it was nice being acknowledged by such a handsome man it did make things harder for her since she would have preferred being left alone as she searched.

Ah well a little bit of conversation never hurt and she could slip away after a while so she could return to her search and he to the party.

A warm smile spread over her face as she refrained from chuckling at his remark. "Indeed monsieur. However I wouldn't say I am so much lost as I am curious." In reality she was pretty lost but she couldn't admit that now could she?

"I can also agree on that it's not the easiest to navigate, very much like a maze if perhaps a bit more lavish."

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She had returned his smile with one of her own, and that pleased the hunter to no end. How the tiger felt when the deer wobbled into its ferocious embrace mustn’t have been so far disconnected from the more ‘civilised’ emotion he felt running alongside his blood. She had proven more than just a pretty dress, as the body it fit to along the ribbed torso and the face which presided over all had some exotic opulence all of its own; the full lips painted a deeper shade for the circumstances, the dark eyes that shade of brown that one assumed with wisdom in the old fairy tales, and the hair she had left in all its untamed volume which intrigued him to no end. Perhaps, he wondered as his eyes followed one of the feathers with which she had decorated her mane, there could more truth to his wild metaphors than what he had thought beforehand. Was he in fact dealing with a cleverly concealed predator rather than a dim sheep belonging to the herd waltzing in the ballrooms below?

His blood was thrilled at the prospect at such an unconventional beauty being a match for him in the grand game of shadows.

Yet one would never know; his thoughts were as deftly concealed as those of a heavenly host. Rather, all smiles and benevolence were his responses, and whenever he advanced he did so with the polite tentativeness of a gentleman.

“Curious if the maze has any monsters?” He smirked, laughter in his voice, “most of them are in the hall drinking themselves stupid-“ a pause, “-more stupid. I stand corrected.”

He offered her a little bow of his head, “my manners are wasted on me,” he began in a lightly chastising tone, “I’m Vincent, and am more than willing to help you navigate if you know where in this labyrinth you wish to be; wouldn’t want you running into the bull-headed host alone, he can be quite boorish.”

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Thu Jan 15, 2015 3:53 pm

She had to keep herself from frowning at the odd question he asked, not exactly what she had expected but she found it amusing how he then poked fun at his fellow nobles. A small chuckle escaped her throat as before she averted her gaze to her hands and murmured "Oh, I'm sure there are plenty of them." she knew there were templars attending the party after all and from her experiences they were as close to real monsters it could get. Her watchful eyes then turned their attention back to the beautiful man in front of her and a thought of slight suspicion went through her head as her mind wandered back to the question. It was innocent if perhaps not a bit mischievous, it made her wonder if the gentleman in front of her had an ulterior motive of some sort. Had she already blown her cover as an assassin in a palais filled with templars?

No she couldn't have. Not this early into the night. She was probably simply reading into things a tad too much like usual. She simply drew the conclusion that even if he had an ulterior motive it was probably not of a wicked nature.

Still she decided she'd not let herself get too comfortable around him, one could never be too careful after all.

As he introduced himself and offered to help her navigate the palais Vivienne couldn't stop the smile from spreading on her face. He really was too kind.

"Oh is he now? Well I wouldn't want to run into the minotaur by myself. I'm naught but a frail woman after all." She said (quite pleased with her pun mind you) and then bobbed him a curtsy before she introduced herself. "My name is Vivienne. Pleasure to meet you Vincent." She thought back on his offer to help her navigate and her mind briefly went back to the gardens. However she wasn't sure it would be entirely pleasant wandering around in them with such dim lighting and cold wind.

"I am not however entirely sure where i wish to be in this magnificent building." she stated even though she knew exactly where she wanted to be and that was in the small office with the letters so that she could grab them and get out, but she couldn't ask him to take her to a bloody office. He'd think she was mad so she simply continued with "Do you perhaps have any recommendations where a lady like me would find something interesting? If not then I'm content with just a walk where I do not get lost" he seemed like he had been here before after all and she didn't want to seem suspicious by rejecting his offer.

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“The pleasure is all mine Vivienne I assure you,” he smiled, delighted at her wordplay, as he approached and offered his arm as was customary and traditionally sophisticated. Yet, even if his conformation to chivalry would have been assumed to extend to an acceptance of preordained gender stereotypes which abounded their age, an age that still dare call itself enlightened, then one would be sorely mistaken.

“And please, a fragile woman? There is no such thing in my experience,” his eyes remained on her face and that caramel skin he found so pleasantly odd in their surroundings. “All very dangerous creatures, I was raised in a house full of them. Or should I say ‘a den’?” A smile before his eyes wandered to a movement of bodies outside a nearby window; two men, probably discussing politics or religion or other such topics not suitable for celebration. Oh the life of a French scholar, how awfully privileged. Doesn’t the heart just bleed for them?

A small concealed snicker at his own train of thought before he resumed thinking in the present and not the abstract. “Well, it all looks very much the same, but I hear the master of the establishment has hoarded all the best art and alcohol away in his office like a little rodent.”

His eyes shone with a mischievous devilment, yet a devilment that only showed the side he wished her to see. “Does make one empathise with the revolutionaries does it not? When someone keeps the best for themselves.”

Well boil his tongue in oil, his Templar associates would holler from the chandeliers, he sounds like an assassin, a dirty, wretched murderous assassin! As Vincent saw it, if it was a sin to be educated on both views and how to play them, them there would be no hope in trying to repent now.

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Fri Jan 16, 2015 3:24 pm

Vivienne gladly accepted as he offered his arm and didn't waste much time linking hers with his, placing her hand on his lower arm. She couldn't remember the last time she had walked like this with such a handsome gentleman. She almost felt a bit like a giddy young girl who had finally gotten the attention of the object of her affections. But then again she didn't fancy this man enough to give him her affection but she still found him incredibly attractive. Maybe it was the way he spoke with such ease and confidence, or how his eyes held laughter and warmth. Very charming indeed. She estimated that a number of women were probably smitten with him and if he continued like he was doing then she could probably be added to that bunch of women as well.

Hearing him talk about his experiences with women made a wide smile spread over her features that escalated to a slight chuckle as she heard his wordplay. She wouldn't mind sticking around him for a bit longer than planned she decided right at that very moment. He was really unlike any noble she had come across before. Well the ones she usually came in contact with were not alive for very long afterwards since she almost only met them during missions where her objective was most likely to end their life.

But then again those nobles were also templars so it didn't surprise her they were unpleasant to say the least.

Her ears perked up at the mention of an office. Now that did sound like the place she wanted to be in this palais. "Well that certainly sounds interesting, I do enjoy art myself after all. However, it does not surprise me that he is greedy. It seems that it is the most common vice nowadays. Well. Maybe with the exception of lust that is but it often seems those two are very closely linked together." she mused before continuing briskly continuing with:

"I must confess I do empathize with the revolutionaries at time to time, the king has not treated them with much care lately. Not a very wise choice if you ask me since it only prolongs an already bloody revolution." and she had a feeling it was only going to get worse and more brutal the longer it continued.

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“The vices are all interlinked in some fashion,” he agreed as he walked with her; a leisurely pace, one that spoke of no real hurry but no bloated idleness – treading that balance as easily as they kept their feet upon the rug. He refrained on such a morbid remark as how all the vices were like arteries leading to one sick and swollen heart, a striking metaphor for the aristocracy and royalty, as they passed by one gilded wall after another. Occasionally there was an open door revealing a drawing or living room where those who deemed themselves more intellectual were ‘relaxing’ with their wine or other such sparkling nectars to suit their bitterly refined palettes. Too bad that they had to drink such liquid gold in order to remove the perpetual taste of their own bile.

The simple pleasures of walking linked with such a beauty would be lost upon them.

Vincent could not imagine a more wretched existence.

The master’s office was just along the balcony which overlooked the main ballroom where the tigers and tigresses of wealth flashed their stripes and luxurious colours in extravagant waltz’s.

No claws of course. Most nobles were now more akin to housecats than their wild brethren; growing fat on the best cream and the most silken of cushions.

Vincent slowed a little, ghosting his hand along the golden ledge to casually observe. He kept Vivienne close in the vaulted shadows, glancing at her and then down upon the gathered peoples as if a hawk from a height.

“I couldn’t agree with you more,” he spoke in a conspiratorial tone of hush, as if they were locked in a secret of some kind, some predatory secret that could spook the pompous prey if they caught the scent of secrecy. “That Englishman, Newton, stated that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The hellish onslaught is an accumulation of decades upon decades of depravation.” A sigh, as if it pained him like some necessary evil. “If you ask me, it was never a question of if, but when.”

A small chuckle, to alleviate the shadows that had pressed in a little too close as if eavesdropping on such spoken thoughts. “What a morbid state of affairs, shall we change subject?” A smile and he looked down onto the floor below. “Madame le Croix seems to have poured herself into her dress this evening – the shoulders look like bread baking around twine.”

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Fri Jan 16, 2015 8:01 pm

As they walked Vivienne took her time taking in the sights of the palais, such as the reflection of light coming off the neatly polished marble tiles, how the chandeliers swayed slightly, the sounds of people clanking their chalices together for a toast and of course the way some aristocrats walked like they had a board tied to their back but yet wobbled as they turned and how that mostly depended on the excessive drinking they had already done (some of the ladies that were really intoxicated almost tipped over due to their beautiful but incredibly heavy wigs).

It was quite the amusing sight.

Noticing that Vincent had slowed down and that they were at the balcony looking over the main hall she glanced down at the nobles having a good time below them chatting as they drank and danced, she strangely enough didn't feel jealous at all. She knew that if she even tried to go down there she'd stand out like a fly that had managed to get into a bucket of milk.

She was an awful dancer anyway so she had no urge to indulge in that pastime even if it looked pleasant.

Her attention was drawn back to Vincent as he spoke of Newton and deprivation in a hushed tone Vivienne could not help but to nod and silently murmur "Indeed." in agreement to his statements. One thing she also agreed on was that a change of subject would be nice.

Hearing the slightly unexpected comment on that poor woman's figure drew a snigger from her (not out of cruelty just from the sheer surprise of what he had decided to say) as she glanced over the railing of the balcony at the woman in question before she turned her attention to her companion again and tried to keep the smile off her face as she spoke.

"Now, now Vincent, don't be cruel. Look at the gentleman to her right, you don't see him complaining. In fact he can barely keep his eyes off her! Beauty is in the eye of the beholder mon amie."

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He tilted his head a little, identifying whom she was talking of, the man with his eyes on the woman who seemed in a permanent juxtaposing states of both liquid and solid. He smirked childishly at her equally girlish snigger and nodded;

“What if I were to tell you that beauty seems to be in the partially blind eyes of our dear monsieur Bonner?” He moved along a little, to stop the energy he felt stagnating. “You could probably dress an ass as an aristocrat and he would be upon one knee waxing lyrical.” A so-so gesture he made with his hand and a small sound of erring, “as long as you positioned the creature to his …left, I believe. He’d face the revolutionaries as if defending the honour of Helen of Troy.” A smile, “but there I am being cruel again, I really am terrible.”

He looked at her fully, turning towards her and away from the ballroom as much as was respectable. “odd people aren’t they? No wonder the master holds all the best to himself. He probably believes the fine art and food would vanish as soon as exposed to common air.”

Another gesture of his hand, illustrating dust floating away into twilit oblivion, before resting it back upon the ledge at his hip. “If you’ll permit my curiosity, what brings you here tonight? Are you as avid a people watcher as I?”

Another light hearted snicker and look down, “more fascinating than any zoo.”

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Sat Jan 17, 2015 12:03 pm

Vivienne couldn't help but smile as Vincent spoke of the man. And even if she felt slightly sorry for him she couldn't help but to put a hand over her mouth as she tried to keep herself from laughing outright, something she only barely managed before collecting herself again and as she pushed the same lock of hair that had come loose before back into position yet again she looked up at Vincent with an amused expression.

"Oh you are indeed terrible, poor monsieur Bonner." she said it playfully but with a small hint of empathy for the man in question as she strode alongside Vincent, meeting his gaze with her own as he turned to her. She nodded in agreement to his first statement but raised her eyebrow at the second one however she decided not to say anything about it, she needed to thread carefully not to expose herself as a "commoner".

As questioned why she was there Vivienne was drawn out of her thoughts and felt relieved she had thought up an answer for just that question before she even got to the party, even if she hadn't expected anyone would talk to her. So she answered calmly.

"Well I'm not certain I'm as keen on it as you but I find it enjoyable nonetheless. However that is not my primary reason for being here tonight." she paused to shoot a glance at a couple not so subtly showing their affection to one another with caresses and murmurs on the verge of indecent before they promptly separated as what Vivienne assumed to be the woman's husband appeared with a face red of anger came and dragged the man away.

She continued "If I'm going to be entirely honest with you I was not very eager to attend but I was obliged to due to me being the only one in the household with the opportunity to go. So I more or less had no choice but to attend." Which was not far from the truth really.

Her eyebrow rose again as he compared the aristocrats to animals at a zoo and shook her head slightly before asking "Do you have any particular reason to be here tonight then? Or did you just attend to observe your fellow aristocrats make asses of themselves?"

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“Then it appears we share a reason,” he smiled as they walked from shadow to shadow, with the light from the hanging chandeliers and their prismatic glass tears intersecting with thick lines of soft light along the balcony. It was a very comfortable light, like that of twilight spent alongside the Seine, and one he enjoyed listening to her within. He started to believe she was a very thoughtful orator, feeling the tremors of such thought in the ether between them as adept at detecting nuance as he was.

“No choice but to attend,” a small shrug and he found his hand upon hers as they walked along linked by the arm; “after all, I personally could watch the nobility act like asses most of the time but from the comfort of a chaise or café. Braying and heehawing.”

A chuckle, “but one can’t be a bachelor forever in this day and age without maternal disapproval so…here I am. On the hunt you could say” He patted one of her knuckles with an idle manner, as if assuring her safety with a boyish smirk. “Your circumstance doesn’t sound so dire however, which household would that be which has made you attend the watering hole?”

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Sat Jan 17, 2015 9:06 pm

A slight smile slowly made its way onto her features as she felt the warmth of his hand upon her own, it was an enjoyable feeling to say the least, if not a bit soothing at the same time. It was subtle but sweet at the same time according to her and she was slowly starting to wish it wasn't just a mission and that she actually was a part of high society so she had an excuse to go to more of these parties and possibly meet up with this wonderful man again. She would gladly put up with uncomfortable shoes just so she could speak to him.

She silently chuckled at his wordplay as he yet again made fun of his fellow aristocrats before she almost tripped over her own feet out of shock at what came next. And so it took her a while to gather her thoughts that had ran wild for a moment so that she could speak properly without just blurting out words.

"Now, I find it very hard to believe a gentleman such as yourself could be a bachelor. Surely you must be courting someone!"

She hoped her shock wasn't all too evident in her voice as she really had made a great effort to sound collected but the very idea of him being a bachelor was preposterous to her.

The question that came after it made her calm down significantly, now Vivienne being herself had thought up an answer to it as well beforehand but she was not convinced it was the best answer. But it was an answer nonetheless.

"Does de la Roche ring a bell?" hoping not to stay on the subject for too long she added whilst looking around "Now are you sure we haven't passed the office already or am I mistaken?"

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Her smile delighted him and he would have you believe it was out of the sincerity and good nature of his heart. A shame then, that often the most charming serpents were the most venomous; cold blooded creatures that magnetised the warm and the genuine to leech their heat and steal their hearts for raw and bloody sustenance.

"As a physician there is often little time for courtship, which is incredibly disappointing considering the chase is always a love of mine. Romantic at heart truly I assure you."

A shame indeed. If only he had been born not quite so disconnected from the emotions of his fellow men and women.

He was quite charming. A waste really, and almost entirely self-serving. The sliver of warmth Vivienne felt was merely a portion of the gratification it gave he himself, and the natural rose in her cheeks which hid behind the faux flowers painted upon them, was risen by a reflection of her own life.

As complex an animal as Vincent was, one thing was certain.

He was intelligent. Almost to a frightening degree.

The name didn't ring a loud enough bell for him to put it to a collection of faces and thus he pulled an embarrassed expression, sucking air through the teeth exposed in a crookedly rueful smile, and shrugging; "I recall the name but not the house, you'll have to pardon me-"

Her question concerning the office broke him from his sentence and he looked himself despite knowing it was just around the next corner. Despite their seemingly idle chatter, Vincent was one to keep multiple things in his brain, neatly compartmentalised; a mechanism developed to keep the predator ahead of the his prey in whatever circumstance.

"Just about the corner, a large, gilded 'compensatory' door," he remarked and the descended into a conspiratorial hush again, "you don't happen to have any pins in that lovely blue bustle do you my dear Vivienne?"

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:49 am

Physician? Now that was slightly unusual. You didn't see an aristocrat with a profession every day. The majority of them had no need to work after all.

She let her eyes scan over him. He didn't look like the kind of man that would work, but then again no aristocrat did. Then again working with medicine wasn't exactly heavy body labor unless you worked out in the field according to what she had heard. She was quite sure his hands were softer than her calloused ones as well. But maybe ridiculously soft hands were a part of being an aristocrat.

Vivienne however decided not to speak any of her thoughts (especially not on how soft his hand was) so she remained silent and focused her gaze elsewhere.

She felt a wave of relief wash over her as he didn't question the name, she couldn't use her real one since she was certain it would get recognized in a bad way. Her parents had been pretty active assassins after all and the palais was filled with templars.

Noting he said they were near their destination Vivienne nodded and then felt her cheeks warm up as her heart skipped a beat when he spoke to her so sweetly. She always had a weakness for that and she hoped she didn't sound affected by it when she spoke in an equally quiet hush.

"Why, of course there are mon amie. Frankly I'm surprised people haven't mistaken me for a walking pincushion."

Regular Posts : 54 Join date : 2015-01-11 Location : UK

“Then I must commend you for hiding your sharpness so well,” he chuckled lightly as they came before the door, lit from either side by the flickering dance of gas lamps, and illuminated in an empty corridor as if it was begging to be plundered like some exotic crypt in the tall-tales of mad men. Furtive glances which became him in an unusual fashion meant their safety was guaranteed for brief moments and they were henceforth locked in secrecy together; like naughty children scheming to steal the baker’s croissants in the innocence of early morning.

Her excitement fed his own in turn, not much escaping his notice in her voice as he crouched just a little and brought the pair of them closer together due to the conspiratorial positioning. “Will mademoiselle pincushion allow me a few?” He smiled with a devilish mischief about him, “I’m about to do something that isn’t very sensible.”

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Sun Jan 18, 2015 4:39 pm

Vivienne felt a smile tug at her lips at the mention of her hiding her sharpness well. "Why thank you, I try my best." she replied playfully whilst her thoughts briefly went to how that wasn't the only thing she was hiding at the moment. The gun strapped to her thigh was another for example.

Seeing the door she raised an eyebrow, why did one even need that kind of door? And to an office as well! Especially an office that was this hidden away. She found that the door would probably be a better fit for the master bedroom or something of the sort. But then it hit her that it was the master's office they were standing outside of.

The door was still a bit too pompous for it really.

She was drawn out of her thoughts quite abruptly when she realized they were now closer than before and felt her poor heart skip a beat yet again. She tried to calm herself down by putting on what she hoped looked more like a collected smile rather than a flustered grimace.

"Have as many as you need, I do not mind." Vivienne hoped her voice hadn't trembled as bad as she thought as she started fiddling with her skirt.

Regular Posts : 54 Join date : 2015-01-11 Location : UK

"You're an angel," he smirked smoothly, taking her offer and finding the hiding places of those would be instruments of subterfuge with sharp green eyes.

The grace with which he plucked two pins meant that there was hardly even a rustle of fabric against his fingertips, just a smile that promised impish trickery shared the space between them as he took those practically skilled yet softly deft hands to work. Of course, this door was no human body, but within it was a complexity all of its own - with the correct pressures, the correct weighing of measures he could have it playing into his hands as easily as he could mould flesh, bone and blood to act how it wished.

The pins were functional but delicate things, and he poured care into how he treat them once they were turned and pressed within that lock.

A click.

A twist.

Footsteps?

With heart remaining steady in his chest with a surgeons nerves, he nonetheless worked faster, keeping Vivienne close as if he would hide her if he were spotted red handed cheating the lock to the master's office.

The footsteps got closer.

Then closer.

A heavy sound of the lock surrendering itself to his devilish machinations and he slid the metal tools from the gilded sheath and pressed his palm against the door; ushering Vivienne in, in a subtle and hushed manner.

"Go go go!" Vincent refrained from chuckling at their close call and pulled away just a little lest he get a face full of blue fabrics and silks.

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Mon Jan 19, 2015 3:49 pm

Vivienne felt her heart swell at the comment and the warmth that had been previously constricted to her cheeks spread throughout her body, she was very sure she hadn't been called that in many years. In fact she had been called the opposite, sometimes for her actions (to be fair putting a blade through someone's neck isn't very angelic but it's her profession what else can she do?) and sometimes just because of the colour of her skin.

Being called angel was much more pleasant really.

She was drawn out of her smitten state and instead watched with fascination as he picked the lock. Now she had no idea where he learnt how to that but she had seen thieves do a worse job at such than he was doing right now.

However she wondered why an aristocrat would need the skill to pick locks. Surely they had access to most things by default?

Still. She had to admire how collected he was when footsteps were nearing. Vivienne would lie if she said her palms weren't starting to get sweaty as the steps got closer and he was still fiddling with the lock. Soon she began to think up possible explanations for their situation.

Then there was a click and she was being ushered in through an open door.

Relief immediately washed over her as she silently slipped inside, a smile finding it's way to her face yet again at the realization they had just broken into the master's office for their own amusement.

Soon enough as the initial ruse of the accomplishment wore off her eyes were drawn elsewhere, the office wasn't exactly as large as she had expected it to be, not a size one would brag about in fact. However that had not stopped the owner of it from cramming the walls full with artwork, expensive such as well. Some paintings were of grand ships others of biblical motives with a mix of portraits here and there whilst and many other ones (some were borderline erotic but she ignored those). You could barely see the wallpaper due to how covered the walls were. She was surprised he hadn't hung paintings over the windows looking over the gardens as well really.

She also noted the large polished wooden desk in the middle of the room but realized it would have been peculiar for her to rush straight over to it so she simply strode over to a painting and absentmindedly traced her fingers over the lower part of the frame as she spoke.

"Now I'm not sure I've ever seen a room with quite as over-decorated walls as this one. A bit much don't you think, non?"

Regular Posts : 54 Join date : 2015-01-11 Location : UK

He watched her as she moved her gentle way about the room, casting keen but soft eyes upon the splendours this cave of treasures had revealed to her. With his back against the wall he may not have been able to guarantee their total safety, but some semblance of it as he listened for the soft tap of heels round into the corridor they had been ‘up to no good’ in, not even a minute hence.

His spine lost a little of its rigidity as he pressed predominantly with his shoulders just before pushing himself neatly away from that gilded portal and straightened his clothing with swift palms smoothing out any creases. The noble looked up from his vain work at the woman’s observation and canted his head with that same mischievous smile, even if it was a little sobered by the attaining of their goal.

“Ouais,” he drawled informally, seeming to be wrapped in this sphere of private decadence almost as much as she was but in his own way. Naturally, his eyes drifted more to the suggestive pieces of art and although he didn’t voice his particular knowledge upon such paintings in much depth, that didn’t mean he was in any way ashamed of such a thing. Quite the contrary, he found the human body in all its raw vulnerability an extraordinary thing and yet possessed the character to show restraint when presented with such. After all, he worked with flesh and blood for a living, the human body was his business and he endeavoured to turn his particular profession into an art.

He almost echoed her steps like a mirror phantom. Finding a moment in that comfortable space edged with the thrill of wrongdoing in being here at all, he lit a lamp sitting upon the edge of a walnut dresser and moved it to the more central position of the masters desk; a magnificent symbol of inexhaustible wealth with its polished surfaces and rich scent.

The light was a mere glow, but it was enough for basic navigation about the space and to not risk being seen.

“A shame don’t you think,” he began, taking a special interest in a particular painting, “that he can keep all these expressions of love to himself.”

“Vertumnus et Pomona, Francois Boucher…” He named the painting and artist with ease, trying to remember the mythos that was behind the women painted thusly. It was a Grecian tale he believed, wood nymphs, and the artist who was some fifteen or so years dead at this time had certainly given them justice.

A soft hum of approval after his appraisal; “très beau.”

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Mon Jan 19, 2015 6:46 pm

Her eyes had fallen on a particular painting in the room as he lit the lamp. It was of a beautiful woman admiring herself in a mirror, clearly being meant to come off as vain. Vivienne scowled at the canvas, how come that when women were painted for others pleasure to look at it was a work of art but when women admired themselves it was vain?

Shaking her head she refrained from sighing out of frustration and instead turned her attention elsewhere.

Such as the desk. Well the documents on the desk. Now she was sure he himself understood where he had everything due to an odd way of organizing but to her it just looked like a jumbled mess of papers. She let her eyes scan over them, sometimes glancing up at Vincent to see he was still observing the paintings and not her.

Seeing she didn't have his attention on her at the moment she carefully shifted the papers, trying to keep the rustling to a minimum. Now she didn't really find anything interesting except a few personal letters, of which some were from a mistress, but nothing she was looking for yet. Whilst she acknowledged his statements by muttering a low "En effet." only briefly glancing up to view the painting he was referring to.

As she hadn't found anything of interest to the creed she kept slowly shuffling the documents around, feeling the tight bodice of her dress hinder her movements slightly as she tried bending over to get a better position (she was sure she was going to have a sore ribcage the next day) before deciding to give up on her search for a while and return to admiring the artwork.

However she found herself staring out the large windows and not at the artwork as she asked "Say, do you think we'll have the pleasure of seeing fireworks tonight?"

Regular Posts : 54 Join date : 2015-01-11 Location : UK

The lamp he had seemingly so casually placed upon the desk had thrown Vivienne’s multitude of reflection in the vaulted glass of the windows behind the desk, into light so he could casually observe her quiet rummaging whilst his back was turned. It was all mirrors and illusions.

Surprisingly however, he did nothing, feigned ignorance to the point where he was far beyond the opportunity for some dastardly reveal.

He allowed her to peek and shuffle the papers documents.

And did nothing.

Vincent was impressed. If hadn’t have placed his trap so cleverly he would have never have heard. Such a light touch which belonged to a phantom surely. Yet no, there she was, righting herself and asking a casual question about the fireworks.

With a turn which saw him appear as though he had just been pulled from a pleasant reverie, he approached the window and leaned forward, angling himself with hands clasped against the small of his back, so as to see as much sky as possible.

“I believe we can still make it to the balcony mademoiselle,” he smiled, drawing back from the dull window, “wouldn’t want to miss the spectacle. Rumour is they’ve been transported from China.”

Making his way over to the desk once more to extinguish the light and plunge the room into velvet darkness, he chuckled lightly before;

“Although they wouldn’t be the only exotic beauties I’d have seen tonight.”

Subject: Re: Party in the palais [Open] Tue Jan 20, 2015 6:24 pm

She observed him walk over to the window and silently admired how well the light defined his features as he looked up at the darkened sky. She really wished she could have spent more time with him but she would soon have to take her leave and allow him to return to his usual associates and for her to seriously go back to work.

But a little more time together wouldn't hurt right? But just a little bit. She would definitely slip away after the fireworks.

She put on one of her more winsome smiles as she replied. "Well then the balcony it is. Wouldn't want to miss something that's traveled such a long way after all."

Her mind briefly went to how she would manage to slip away after it, she could simply leave him standing there whilst she disappeared into the crowds as well as she could but that would be a bit rude or she could excuse herself and exit the scene to wander off and disappear in one of the many corridors and rooms.

Slowly she started taking a few careful steps towards the door, a shame they had to leave so quickly, she really could stay and observe the paintings some more and if not rummage through the desk a bit more thoroughly. Even if it didn't seem to contain the documents she sought she could still be wrong about that claim or even find something else of interest. Oh well, she could always return later.

She skid to a halt at his remark and felt the warmth return to her face. He couldn't be talking about her could he? Surely not. She had lived all her life in France after all (except for those few months in the beginning of her life she spent on Cuba) hardly all that exotic really.

Her face was calm as she turned to look at him but she had to hide her slightly trembling hands behind her back as she spoke.

"Oh really now? Anyone I would know of?"

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