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✫age: 20xx✫gender: ♀xx✫wealth: 9xx✫kingdom: nearonxx✫location: gardensxx✫mentions/tags: theodoreElegancy was not the first word that popped into Annalise's mind upon thinking of herself, but she took that as a mighty fine compliment; perhaps those years of exhausting "proper lady" training brought on by her mother finally paid off. Oh, but if only he knew. She supposed he did, to a degree; half of the cuts and scrapes she'd received as a child often came from whatever adventure her younger self would take on when alongside Theodore. Of course, he, the more level-headed of the two, didn't ruin nearly as many outfits as she had, but she liked to consider them near-disasters as children. She still lacked a lot of the pretty manners every proper lady was supposed to have, and Theodore had turned into this picture-perfect bachelor, but people progressed at different times. Annie acted gracefully when she had a show to put on. The frantic running wasn't exactly supposed to be a show, it was just her overthinking mind plucking out every wrong card that led to her decision to flee, but so be it. It was just Theo, anyway. And it wasn't super muddy, so she didn't have to worry about ruining anything on her end. Her parents weren't around to scold her if that did happen, though it wouldn't surprise her if they'd hired someone to keep an eye out on her. Then there would be trouble. Nevertheless, that was not the case, and Annalise was happy to continue on without the nagging thoughts of her stern parents.
Her head drew back and she gawked at him. "Mister Theodore Lefeuvret, I beg your pardon!" she gasped mockingly, stepping back as if he had seriously hurt her. "Oh, you wound me. I am not small, do not flatter yourself!" Though she supposed there were quite a few leggy women here, Annalise wouldn't consider herself short. Average, more or less. Peyton was an impressive five foot nine and Irina was a comfortable five foot six, but at least their mother was petite. Annalise lacked the body she had, the type where she- and Peyton, too- could pretty much put both hands on their hips and touch their fingers together without sucking their tummies in, and lacked the artistic curves her older sister had; Annalise was pretty average all around. Average Annalise. That seemed suiting. Annie hadn't ever minded either, for she'd never really tried throwing her looks out there to attract a man. The only person she knew that really did that was Peyton; that girl knew had to lure in every man in the room. It was so much that Annie failed to find it impressive anymore, really.
She let out a dramatic sigh and let her body droop a bit. "Oh, how I wish to trade in this heavy dress for a pair of breeches," she breathed. "You will never truly understand what we women are put through for fashion. I bet you never have to worry about ripping or tripping over any part of your clothing. I'm envious, truly." She eyed him a moment later. Cutting her hair and disguising herself as a man sounded thrilling, blood-pumping, but she knew that was far too risky to even dream of. Theodore had much more freedom. He could sprint anywhere he wanted, if he really wanted to do such a thing. She bet if he was up for it, he could fall asleep comfortably in an outfit like that. He could ride in those clothes. She hated side-saddle. According to her mother, it looked pretty, but it was so uncomfortable. Riding with two legs gripping the horse not only gave the rider more power, but they could gallop for hours without feeling numbness in their legs. And unless men had something similar to a corset that Annalise didn't know about, she assumed someone like Theodore could appreciate a good, belly laugh without experiencing the feeling of what seemed to be crushed ribs. How lucky they were.
Her eyes shifted back to his gaze, skimming over it as he pondered to himself. A thoughtful expression had sunk into his warm expression, though there wasn't enough visually for Annie to figure out if he was leaning towards the positive or negative side of the spectrum. "I think you make an excellent point," she said in an honest manner. She couldn't have said it better herself. "I do believe it might be more difficult to love someone you are forced to be with, though I suppose we both are lucky enough in the sense that we have enough power to step away from this person if we want to." Her freedom was a bit tighter than his, for her parents decided the whole thing, but she had to think positively for him. He was running the Lefeuvret side now, he could marry whenever he pleased, with whomever he decided. There were no restrictions; as long as he was satisfied and pleased with the woman, he was set to go. Annalise, for Theodore's sake, really hoped he would marry out of love, and she hoped his marriage would bring him everlasting joy. He deserved to be happy. Based on what he said, though, Annalise took he didn't find his partner as intriguing as she'd feared. She wasn't sure why that bugged her, but it did. Selfishly, she supposed that was because she didn't wish to lose her close friend. Some women did that to friendships.
"Yes," she responded simply, little hesitation in her voice. She watched her thumbs as they twiddled under the fabric of her hat for a second. "Mother and Father never loved each other, but I know love exists. I've seen it with Colin and his lady, and with Irina, too. I think... I think I just do not quite understand how to accept it, if that makes sense. Or embrace it. But love is a beautiful thing, isn't it? The only problem for me is-" her gentle smile faltered, "-I am on a tight time schedule. My parents warned me that if I did not return with a name of a suitor, they'd arrange a marriage with a man they know. An actual arranged marriage, because, you know, nobody wishes to marry a woman once they pass twenty." She gave a limp shrug, forcing a more cheery smile on her face before reaching her gloved hand out to take his arm. "But, if I must fake, I will fake. I will learn to get used to him one way or another. I just hope for you, you are truly happy with the woman you settle with, if and when you decided to take that step."
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♚age: 22xx♚gender: ♂xx♚wealth: 5xx♚kingdom: arkleyxx♚location: back roomxx♚mentions/tags: elizabethLauren quite enjoyed the sight of the consideration that sprawled across her delicate features. She was evidently thinking, rolling his words over in his mind. She wasn't making random things up (or if she was, he was impressed by how sincere and real they appeared!), and she wasn't doing that typical flirty thing every desperate woman seemed to do. The giddy smile, the twirling of the hair, if any strands were left down. It was a semi-intellectual talk and Lauren enjoyed that; small-talk bored him and would most certainly be the thing to take him to his death bed, if his reckless behaviour when rallied up didn't first.
He scoffed a laugh, though it wasn't rude, nor was it towards her and her choice of words. "As much as I agree with you there, and as much as I wish that was always true, money does quite the trick, too. Everyone is desperate for an extra few pounds in their pocket, and I believe that is why so many awful decisions are made and saught out. Some people have thoughts that eventually turn to reality, and some simply aren't..." He paused, tilting his head as he tried searching for the right word. "...adequate, I suppose. Agreeable? I'm not too sure which word I would use to fit the description spot-on, but I am sure you know exactly what I am talking about. Like," he continued in a more confident tone again, motioning to her, "deciding to put off women's education, as one example. I'm sure someone had to get that idea from somewhere. Human minds truly are captivating, but nobody's opinions can please everyone. Wouldn't that make life easier." Another scoff came about, a sarcastic laugh under his breath, though it held a sense of longing. It would truly make the world such an easier place to live within, if everyone got along. Though, on the contrary, what good did that do? After all, arguments and debates were what allowed more people to open their eyes to something bigger than what they originally believed. In conclusion, there would never be a win-win situation when it came to satisfaction within the world of human beings. That was one thing Lauren was certain about.
"I was born to a man who despised women," Lauren told her, figuring it was easiest to stick to the topic of women, seeing how both seemed to enjoy it. He felt comfortable enough to reveal that, too. After all, it didn't touch on him and the traumatic experiences he had as a little boy. Not really, anyway. "If you've driven them away, chances are, you've proven them wrong and they are simply sore losers. Your words are not offensive in the least; their scurring is an issue on their end." He shrugged as if it was something already to be known, then reached for his tea again. An enigma. That was a first, though Lauren actually did like it. A walking puzzle, he could consider himself to be. And he had no issues with that. "And you are quite astute," he returned, deciding not to comment on her chosen nickname.
He tipped his head towards her in a touché way, though not before adding in his defense, "And that was because you chose to settle yourself at the same table as I, and my mind could not seem to concentrate on my newspaper with a figure in the corner of my peripheral." And then, upon realizing how much that sounded like his frisky friends, he added in more of a mutter, "I am no rake; I meant that in no relation to you in particular. Just another distraction in general." That was the truth, too; Lauren had always seemed to find it so awkward, doing his own thing whilst someone was close by. He didn't care much for rumours or gossip and therefore didn't care if the person nearby was indeed judging him, but it was always more difficult to concentrate on the specific thing he was originally in the room for, especially if the figure was close enough that he was able to catch sight of every movement. And especially if he was reading. That was difficult enough to do without the distraction of anything or anyone around him.
He didn't take offense to the mask comment, and was rather surprised to find himself preparing for it to come. It was only last night that he had been very grateful to have a mask to hide who he was, but now that her words were out there, Lauren supposed he was keener on hiding his physical appearance, not his personality. His lack of enthusiasm right off the bat often scared people away before anyone could truly figure out who he was, anyway. She clearly had the same idea. Peering at her through the brim of his teacup, he didn't say a word for a second, despite his agreement. When the tea washed down his throat, he shifted back towards her. "Are you wearing that mask?" he asked lowly. Some could call that teasing, something that wasn't often pushed out of Lauren quickly. He showed no signs of laughter though, despite his light words, and felt he needed to elaborate before the words hit a nerve; "You've yet to give me a name. Surely you must be hiding something." And then he did let another ghostly smile onto his face to show he didn't mean anything seriously, though, admittedly, he had been waiting for an introduction. But, if she didn't wish to reveal her name, he was more than happy to keep that to himself, too.
