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Post by Sky on Jul 5, 2006 19:26:36 GMT -5
 Squeezing the bridge of his nose, Demetrius took in a few sharp breaths before he looked back up at Aurelie. In a hoarse voice, he answered, "You're right. This is my fault. I knew what I was getting myself into; I knew what could happen but I never thought for a moment that it actually would. Not for a moment. And now . . . I don't know." Closing his eyes, wishing that he could block out the reality of what was happening to him, he continued, "I've messed things up. There's no way around it." Pausing for a moment, he then said, "I like you Aurelie. I think that you're beautiful and intelligent and I've enjoyed your company thoroughly but . . . but you're not my wife. All this time I've been fooling myself into thinking that I wasn't doing anything wrong, but I was. God, I was." Losing himself in his thoughts, Demetrius muttered under his breath, "I've got to tell her. She deserves to know. I can't keep something like this from her." His head hanging in shame, Demetrius finally said softly, "But what's done is done. We did this. Now I have to be a man and live up to it. You're not going away. You're not going to do this on your own." |
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Post by Random NPC on Jul 5, 2006 19:51:34 GMT -5
 : "I won't have your reputation tarnished, Demetrius," she said quietly. "It'll be better if I leave. My brother said I could stay with him until the child's old enough to attend school. I could find a job somewhere else." |
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Post by Sky on Jul 5, 2006 19:59:19 GMT -5
With a faint smile, Demetrius shook his head. "You forget that I'm just a guard, Aurelie. No one cares about what I do. Well, besides Their Majesties . . . but as unfair as it may sound, I suspect that though you will lose your position, I will not lose mine. They'll simply turn their heads to what's going on because of the fact that I've been serving them since I was eighteen years old." |
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Post by Random NPC on Jul 5, 2006 20:23:09 GMT -5
: "Which seems quite unfair when you think about it," Aurelie said quietly. "So, now what do we do? Exactly how do we keep people from spreading rumors before we want anyone to know what transpired?" |
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Post by Sky on Jul 5, 2006 21:05:27 GMT -5
"Maybe, maybe not," Demetrius replied. "The thing is, I've got seniority so my actions are more excusable, but you've only been at the palace for what? A year or two?" With a thin smile, he continued, "You're simply not a part of the elite group of servants, guards, etc. that the king and queen trust. And by elite, I mean elite. In fact, it's probably more of a trio than a group. Me, the head butler Jennings, and Mrs. Craikheart, who oversees all the household maids." Lapsing into silence as he thought, he finally replied, "As for what to do now, we need to keep it quiet until I can speak to Philomena. The last thing I want to do is to hurt her even more by having her find out about this through stupid gossip. I need to be the one to tell her. Fortunately, she's going to be coming for a visit in about three days so that I can see my boys . . ." At the mention of his two young sons, Demetrius winced. He didn't know what he was going to tell them or if he was even going to tell them anything. They were young - only ten and eight. Would they even understand? Did he want them to understand? He wasn't sure but he was going to have to figure it all out in the next seventy-two hours. |
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Post by Random NPC on Jul 5, 2006 21:08:38 GMT -5
: "Do you want me to stay in my quarters until after your wife leaves?" she asked softly. "The queen hasn't required my services for the past few days, having all but put my time and efforts into watching over the, how did you put it, chit the young prince is smitten by?" |
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Post by Sky on Jul 5, 2006 21:17:48 GMT -5
With a sigh, Demetrius shook his head. "I don't know what you should do; it would probably be better for you to remain there, but if I know Philomena, she will want to see you. She'll tell me that her mind will never be at peace until she knows who you are and there will be nothing I can do to change her mind." With a wistful smile, he continued, "Philomena's not usually the stubborn type, but on the rare occasion when she is, nothing can sway her." As a hundred images flashed through his mind of his beautiful wife - her laughing, her smiling up at him, her playing with their children - Demetrius felt his heart wrench. That life was gone. Before he had gone down that path of adultery, there had always been a chance that things could have returned to the way they had been when they had first fallen in love. But now that this had happened - now that he was to have a child with another woman - that ideal life he had wanted for himself and Philomena was forever out of reach. He had ruined his chances of ever having the one thing he had truly wanted. Now, he had to live with the consequences of his actions. Forever. |
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Post by Random NPC on Jul 6, 2006 11:19:34 GMT -5
: "If you think that is wise," she said softly, tilting her head a bit. "Then I will abide by your descion." She exhaled softly. "Now, do we tell your other son?" That son - that son was named Sky. |
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Post by Sky on Jul 6, 2006 15:09:01 GMT -5
Demetrius frowned as he wondered why Aurelie would ask such a question. As close as he was to Sky, he and the prince didn't really talk about his personal life in detail; it was more the other way around - Sky always coming to him to discuss the pains of being young. Giving Aurelie a wry smile, Demetrius finally answered, "He doesn't need to know anything; and even if he was told, it wouldn't make any difference to him. He's got too many of his own issues to deal with." |
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Post by Random NPC on Jul 6, 2006 20:18:53 GMT -5
: "The only reason I asked was because I thought you'd want to tell him so he didn't hear anything that would jeopardize your relationship with him," she admitted. She winced slightly. "Although, the one thing I'm looking forward about meeting your wife is finding out hard it is to carry a baby. This is, after all, my first," she admitted shyly. |
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Post by Sky on Jul 6, 2006 21:08:07 GMT -5
Demetrius grimaced at Aurelie's seeming naivety; from the way it looked to him, she thought that his wife would be all smiles and full of congratulations on her pregnancy. But he knew that that was the last thing that was going to happen; he knew that Philomena would be too distraught to even fathom sharing her experiences on the ups and downs of pregnancy. With a sigh, Demetrius wondered to himself, and who would be able to blame her? |
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Post by Random NPC on Jul 7, 2006 6:30:10 GMT -5
: "I said something wrong, didn't I?" Aurelie asked softly. She had this feeling and it wasn't quite going away. |
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Post by Sky on Jul 7, 2006 14:49:19 GMT -5
Hesitating for a moment, Demetrius finally answered, choosing his words carefully, "Just please don't expect that Philomena is going to like you." |
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Post by Random NPC on Jul 7, 2006 23:23:27 GMT -5
: Aurelie nodded. "I would be surprised if she did like me," she said quietly. |
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Post by Sky on Jul 7, 2006 23:59:55 GMT -5
Quietly, he replied, "But I think you'll end up liking her . . . well, if you ever get to see the real her. Most everyone does - like her, that is. She's sweet, and gentle, and compassionate - except, when she's been wronged, of course. But to tell the truth, I don't know how she'll react to you. I think it depends on when she first meets you - depends on if she has had time to process what has happened. If she has had adequate time, she probably won't be as severe as I've made her out to be. But then again . . ." Demetrius trailed off before he continued, "I guess what I'm saying is that you should just be prepared for anything." |
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