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Post by Sky on Jun 4, 2006 21:52:24 GMT -5
Feeling anxious for Christine's health, Sky cast a quick glance toward the drawing room doors, unconsciously willing the butler to enter and announce that Dr. Witherspoon had arrived. But the butler did not enter and the silence that hung over the room seemed to only grow more oppressive.
Closing his eyes, Sky mentally berated himself for bringing Christine to his home. Doubtlessly, her injury was acting up because of stress, which she most likely had had several very strong doses of since they had first arrived an hour ago.
As he opened his eyes to look at the clock, certain that more than a quarter of an hour had passed, Sky sighed as he realized that it had barely been five minutes since Christine had been taken upstairs. In dire need of a distraction, Sky examined his companion out of the corner of his eye; surprise, surprise, Sky thought sarcastically - the countess still looked like the picture of tranquility. Of course she would look like that even after a night of hell with his parents - his mother wouldn't have selected her as the 'perfect' woman for him if she had had displayed even a hint of humanity. For pete's sake - was that her only expression? And did she honestly not have a personality? Or a vocabulary that included words other than 'thank you' or 'your majesties'?
With another inward sigh, Sky shook his head; he wasn't being fair to the countess. He had only just met her and here he was passing judgment on her just like his mother passed judgment on Christine without bothering to try to get to know her. And the last thing he wanted right now was to be like his mother. Deciding that it was pointless to put his mother's guest through any more discomfort than she had already experienced, Sky turned to her as he asked politely, "My mother tells me that you attend Alfea; do you like it there?"
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Post by Alice on Jun 4, 2006 22:14:55 GMT -5
Relieved to have something to focus her attention on, Alice nodded slightly as she replied with a soft smile, "Yes, I do like it very much; I admit, sometimes I feel a bit overwhelmed by the incredibly vast amount of knowledge the instructors seem to possess, but in the time that I've attended Alfea, I've learned so much more about myself and my abilities, so its definitely worth feeling minuscule and utterly uneducated every once in a while."
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Post by Sky on Jun 5, 2006 14:27:22 GMT -5
"I know that feeling quite well," Sky replied with a thin smile. "I can only speak for myself, but attending Red Fountain has challenged me in unimaginable ways; I remember my first year there everything seemed and, in reality, was so difficult, but I know if I took those same classes now, they would be a walk in the park. I suppose it really does go to show that education really is about growth and that it doesn't happen over night, unfortunately."
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Post by Alice on Jun 5, 2006 14:40:15 GMT -5
"Why do you say 'unfortunately'?" Alice asked curiously. "Call me traditional, but I should think that part of the beauty of education is that you do not have to go from being someone who is ill-informed to transforming into a sage of some sort over night. In my opinion, a slow accumulation of knowledge is preferable - because otherwise I would imagine," Alice added, her eyes twinkling merrily, "that you would wake up with quite the massive headache from having so much information crammed into your mind in such a short period of time."
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Post by Sky on Jun 5, 2006 14:55:30 GMT -5
 At this, Aldrich chuckled as he interjected, "I can tell you why he says 'unfortunately,' Lady Winfield. Sky's finally realizing that it probably would have been wise of him to enroll in some classes that do not solely challenge his physical strength and endurance - you know, heroics, dragon wrangling, and so forth - but also those that would challenge his mind. Now he's trying to take classes like International Relations and foreign languages, but he knows if he's going to have even a slight chance of catching up, it's going to take him many nights of cramming." Jovially, Aldrich asked, "Isn't that right, Sky?" Sky smiled wryly as he replied, "Guilty." |
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Post by Alice on Jun 5, 2006 15:13:37 GMT -5
Seeing the look on Sky's face, one that seemed to mildly resemble defeat, Alice said encouragingly, "Don't be disheartened; I'm sure you could do it if you really wanted to. You would just need the right tools - and perhaps a tutor? I won't lie and say that I could help you with politics, but I could probably help with foreign languages - at least a few of them. It's something that has always interested me since I was a little girl; you see, my father used to take me to operas quite often, and, as I'm sure you already know, they are usually performed in some type of foreign language. Well, that intrigued me and over time it wasn't enough for me to just listen to the sounds of the songs; I wanted to know what was actually being said, so I convinced my papa to hire a governess for me who could teach me what I wanted to know. I mean, I'm certainly no expert, but in my experience, there is a certain way that a language should be learned and even if I couldn't help you with a specific language, I could help you with the process." With a slight blush, Alice looked away as she said, "Anyway, it was just a thought."
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Post by Sky on Jun 5, 2006 18:22:34 GMT -5
With a courteous bow of his head, Sky replied, "That is very kind of you, Lady Winfield, but I would hate to impose myself on you; I imagine that you must already be very busy with your own studies and extracurricular activities as it is and the last thing I would want to do is burden you with my own academic problems -"
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Post by Alice on Jun 6, 2006 15:30:42 GMT -5
"I truly don't mind," Alice interjected. In a mildly teasing tone, she added, trying to lighten the mood, "In fact, believe it or not, I might actually enjoy it; I suppose I'm strange like that."
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Post by Sky on Jun 6, 2006 20:26:57 GMT -5
"You're not strange at all," Sky said assuringly. With a faint smile, he added, "And I guess, since you insist and all, I just might take you up on your offer; I mean, I suppose there isn't shame in saying that I could use all the help I can get -"
At this Sky let his words trail off as the butler entered the room and announced that Dr. Witherspoon had arrived to check on the Lady Strongheart. Quickly rising to his feet, Sky greeted the doctor as he said, "Follow me; I'll take you up to her."
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Jun 6, 2006 20:33:18 GMT -5
Christine had been sleeping soundly when she heard voices outside her door, well, the door to the room she was currently in. She slowly opened her eyes, blinking the sleep out of her eyes when Sky and who she assumed was the doctor entered.
"Hey," she said quietly.
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Post by Sky on Jun 6, 2006 20:43:22 GMT -5
Holding his medical bag, Dr. Witherspoon turned to Sky and kindly patted his hand. "Thank you for accompanying me upstairs, my boy; however, I must request that you wait outside for the sake of propriety." As Sky stepped out into the hallway, Dr. Witherspoon approached Christine's bedside and drew up a chair. Seating himself, he asked gently, his grey eyebrows drawing together with concern, "Now, lassie, what seems to be the problem?"
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Jun 6, 2006 20:46:18 GMT -5
Christine looked up at him. "I had some pain here," she said, gesturning to where she had been wounded. "I had gotten into a fight with someone and they had played rather dirty and injured me there." She gave a soft groan. "I don't know why it started hurting today though. All I was doing was having dinner with their majesties."
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Post by Sky on Jun 6, 2006 23:55:39 GMT -5
Removing his glasses, Dr. Witherspoon rubbed the lenses on the end of his shirt as he thought for a few moments. "Just having dinner?" he asked, furrowing his brow. "And how did that go?" With a soft chuckle, he elaborated, "You see, I've been the trusted family doctor for - ah, how did you put it? Their majesties? In any event, I've been their doctor for going on twenty-five years and I know them about as well as anyone could. I love them to death and I won't tolerate anyone speaking ill of them - they're good people at heart - but I also know that they can be a bit . . . difficult for outsiders to get along with. Especially the queen - she's a bit high strung. Now, I'm saying this for a reason, and not because I gossip like the likes of those servants who run around this palace. See, it is my belief that whatever pain you are experiencing may be a direct result of, well, stress. So tell me, Lady Strongheart - did anything happen tonight that may have caused you any anxiety? If so, I think it would be safe to say that I needn't check for any other causes for the pain."
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Post by Alice on Jun 7, 2006 0:39:16 GMT -5
After Sky had dashed upstairs, practically dragging the doctor behind him, the silence once again seemed to slip over the drawing room. Quietly, Alice sipped her drink, deciding that it probably wasn't a good idea to try to start some sort of small talk with the king and queen. Because they - or at least, the queen - wore an expression that was so far beyond mild irritation. And poor detective that she was, she had a pretty good suspicion that the queen's expression was directly related to the speed by which Sky had rushed to Christine's bedside upon the doctor's arrival.
With a wry smile, Alice had to admit to herself that she too wasn't that ecstatic about Sky's seeming lack of interest in her. She didn't know what exactly she had been expecting out of this evening . . . but she was sure that it wasn't this. Actually, she did know. She had wanted it to be like something out of a fairytale. The thing was, neither Sky nor his parents knew that prior to this meeting, she had already harbored a little crush on him. She had seen him at some of the schools' functions and he, despite the rumors about his ineptitudes when it came to relationships, had attracted her. He seemed like such a gentleman - and tonight had only served to reinforce her opinion. He had been a perfect host; he had been courteous and he had conversed like a gentleman.
And he had also treated that other girl with an immense amount of respect and care.
And she was jealous. True, she probably didn't have the right to be, but she was. Guys like that didn't come around very often and when they did, of course they were taken - or at least on the verge of being taken. With a silent sigh, Alice wished that for once, she could be the girl who was scooping up the treasure and not the girl who was left watching it float away.
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Post by Chris Strongheart on Jun 7, 2006 6:33:55 GMT -5
Removing his glasses, Dr. Witherspoon rubbed the lenses on the end of his shirt as he thought for a few moments. "Just having dinner?" he asked, furrowing his brow. "And how did that go?" With a soft chuckle, he elaborated, "You see, I've been the trusted family doctor for - ah, how did you put it? Their majesties? In any event, I've been their doctor for going on twenty-five years and I know them about as well as anyone could. I love them to death and I won't tolerate anyone speaking ill of them - they're good people at heart - but I also know that they can be a bit . . . difficult for outsiders to get along with. Especially the queen - she's a bit high strung. Now, I'm saying this for a reason, and not because I gossip like the likes of those servants who run around this palace. See, it is my belief that whatever pain you are experiencing may be a direct result of, well, stress. So tell me, Lady Strongheart - did anything happen tonight that may have caused you any anxiety? If so, I think it would be safe to say that I needn't check for any other causes for the pain." "Just a little stress from dealing with her majesty. She's not overly fond of me," Christine admitted. "But I wasn't feeling too well when we got here. We used a travel spell and those tend to make me a little ill as well." She winced as the pain came back. |
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