Two Little Girls Exploring (closed)

[Anonymous]

"Yes, I meant the food," Mairwen confirmed. "And I hope that if you get used to this place, you can stay. We'd all love to have you stay. Speaking of which, what are you going to wear to dinner with Caspian?"

"Would you like us to help you get ready?" giggled Priscilla. "He'll think you're lovely no matter what you wear, of course, but..."

The girls had another motive, too. They really wanted to see Lena's closet for themselves. Priscilla had not yet begun to wear makeup when their parents died and she wanted to be taught. And Mairwen... well... she just liked to look at pretty things, especially dresses.

[Anonymous]

The thought of staying in one place for a long while, though, and so close to her father's properties, made her nervous and caused her to bite her lip to keep from dashing the hopefulness the words of Mairwen were spoken with. Even with how much she was enjoying herself, she was not sure yet just how long she might stay. It was easy, though, for Lena to see through the question the girls asked about what she would wear to dinner for the smiling faces they showed and the easy giggles. Smiling herself, she hated to be the bearer of unpleasant news. "Well, I must be honest with you girls, and the truth is that I've only kept a single dress with me that might do. Goodness, it has been a long while since I've dressed up for anything..." Lena felt a bit nervous as she thought about her life at home, how different it had been from her life now. The dress she'd decided to keep with her was the only real material thing she had from before the time she ran away from her father; a dark green beauty that she could not part with for all that it was her favorite as well as a present from her dear brother who had helped her escape.

Thinking about the dress and the memories it brought back to her left Lena a little teary-eyed, but she quickly wiped the moisture away and smiled to the girls. "I don't have much, but I do have a few things I could show you, and I would love to have you girls help," she answered finally, hoping that they might like even the small evidence she'd kept of a flashy, carefree like. "Let's go to my room, I'll show you all that I have."

ooc: I'm so sorry I took this long to get around to this. :[ I've been really busy lately, I hope it's still okay.

[Anonymous]

(OOC: it's OK, me too.)

"It'll be all right," said Priscilla. "Like I said, he'd think you were lovely no matter what you wore." The girls finished their meal quickly and followed Lena back to her room, where they wasted no time in looking through her closet. Mairwen squealed when she saw the green dress and immediately took it out and lay it on the bed. Priscilla was looking through Lena's makeup, trying to judge which shade would complement the dress best. That left Lena to find something to do. Both girls wondered if she had any jewelry and what she would wear with the dress.

[Anonymous]

Watching as the girls went about the room looking at what remnants of a formal life she'd brought, Lena could not help but smile at the sight of their happy, yet seemingly determined, expressions. Going to the closet that Mairwen had pulled the dress from Lena pulled open the door and pulled out the small pouch she'd hidden in a corner that contained a matching set of earrings, two bracelets, a necklace, and two anklets that she only had ever worn twice in her life. The set was made of some of the finest metals and jewels that, she hated to admit, were valuable things she'd taken when she'd left home. Surprisingly she'd never found it within herself to sell them no matter how tight on money she'd gotten. The jewelry was fairly thin compared to some, for she hated gaudy things, and contained delicate and cleverly intricate lines in which clear diamonds and a few emeralds were housed.

For all of the beauty the pieces beheld they also had a special meaning for Lena that she felt, should the time ever come where her relationship with either the girls or Caspian ever grew to hold a deeply ingrained sense of trust, she might share with them the story behind such jewels. Smiling to herself as she stared at the necklace, which was now in her hand, she decided that the single piece from the set would be enough for the dinner she would be having tonight. After securing the top of the pouch and hiding it once more she turned, closed the closet door, and with the necklace in hand she made her way over to the bed where the girls were. "What do you think of this, Mairwen? Priscilla?" she asked with a giggle. She set the necklace on top of the dress and looked down at the makeup Priscilla was looking through. "There isn't much there...gotta travel light I'm afraid, but there might be a powder that might suit your skin if you'd like to try wearing some. I've always preferred subtle makeup if I wear it so I won't need much."

Stepping around Priscilla she went to the washbowl that was set by her bedside table and proceeded to wash her face, wanting to look as best as she could manage with what she had. When she was done she went back to the girls with a small towel in hand as she wiped her face. Looking to the dress again she giggled. "I suppose you two like the dress?"

[Anonymous]

"You look beautiful, Lena," breathed Mairwen. "Caspian will think you're stunning. He won't be able to keep his eyes off of you. " It was clear that this was what both girls wished for. They'd love for their brother to find the love of his life so they could have a real family again, of sorts.

Priscilla was looking through the makeup. She found some powder and wanted to put it on her face, but she wasn't sure how much she should take. "I've never worn makeup before, Lena. Could you help me, please?"

[Anonymous]

Lena slipped out of the simple dress she'd been wearing before putting on the one she would be wearing to dinner. After adjusting all the ties and smoothing out the fabric she sat down to brush out her hair and then slip the necklace around her neck. While she made it even in a mirror she blushed at Mairwen's comment, though it made her smile, and she turned to pat the girl. "Thank you, that's very kind of you to say." As Priscilla asked for her help, though, she turned to her and gave a friendly nod. "Of course!" With that she hopped down from the bed and knelt in front of the girl as she gently took the small brush from her hand. Dipping it into the container first to get some of the light powder on the tips, she airily applied a little for her before turning towards the mirror. "Here, see? Watch how I move the brush...would you like to try it too?"

With a caring expression, Lena handed the brush back to Priscilla and watched her to make sure she'd gotten the motion right to apply the makeup. "It will get easier as you practice, too, so as my gift you can keep that one and the brush if you like it...or if you want something different, whatever you like." Before she stood up she stowed the backpack she'd been carrying before under the bed, out of habit, and then turned to Mairwen. "As you for you...is there any one thing of mine you're particularly fond of?" she asked. "Oh and my shoes..." She roamed off to the closet again to get the shoes that went along with the dress she was wearing and quickly exchanged them for the ones she'd been wearing out all day.

Once she was ready she smoothed out the fabrics of her dress again and took a deep breath before facing them. "Well, I guess this will have to do since I don't really have many options...let's hope that he likes green, right?" Lena giggled, though more in nervousness than anything as she wondered about her odd, yet pleasant way of happening upon the three siblings.

[Anonymous]

On the other side of the castle, Caspian was taking just as much care in getting ready for dinner with Lena. He wanted her to think he was handsome. He had removed his armor and was dressed in a white shirt and black pants, black shoes, and a green velvet vest. His hair had been freshly combed and the shirt showed off his well-toned muscles. He gave himself one last once-over in the mirror and went to find Lena's room
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"I don't need anything, but..." Mairwen ran her fingers longingly over the tube of one of Lena's lipsticks. "I'd like to have this.  Mama never let me wear any of hers."

Priscilla was slowly getting the hang of the powder and felt her throat tighten when Lena let her keep it. She'd never actually had anyone show her how to be a woman, so to speak. She hoped that Lena would stay more than ever now.

Just as she was about to cry, Priscilla heard a knock at the door and went to open it. On the other side stood Caspian, and his eyes went immediately to Lena. She looked stunning, and he grinned hugely as he entered the room. "Ready to go, ladies?" Caspian asked.

[Anonymous]

Lena chuckled as she watched the girls and how captivated they appeared; it seemed that they had not had much of a chance to experiment at home. A grin formed as she listened to Mairwen, nodding as the girl touched one of the tubes of lipstick. "You can have it, it's all right," she insisted, plucking it from the bag and then holding it out for her. "I'll help you girls if you ever need it. It took me a little while to get the hang of makeup, to tell you the truth, so I understand." When she heard the knock at the door Lena jumped before she realized that they should have been expecting Caspian to come anyway. Letting out a soft sigh, she quickly ran her hands through her hair and across her dress one last time as she eyed Priscilla walking to the door.

As the door was opened and she saw Caspian come into view Lena could not help but smile his way before turning to hide her flushed cheeks. She had thought him a fairly handsome face among his armor before but looking at him now caused her to become a tad nervous and feeling a bit inferior to how well he had cleaned up. At his prompting she closed up the makeup bag and set it on the bedside table before walking to the door. Looking up at the knight for a the duration of the briefest glance, Lena let out a soft, teasing giggle as she passed him to exit the room. "So, Caspian, where will you be taking us? Some secret knights' hideaway?" she asked teasingly.

[Anonymous]

"No, but you're not far off, my lady," he said with a grin. Caspian led Lena and the girls outside, where a table with a small umbrella and some chairs had been set up, in full view of the dawning moon. The smells of hot food were carried on the wind toward them, and both girls heard their stomachs growl. Caspian pulled out the chairs for the girls and then stood by the chair meant for Lena. "Do you find this to your liking?"

[Anonymous]

Following along, she wondered what kind of place they might be heading to tonight. Being led outside was a bit surprising for her, but she was excited nonetheless for having a chance to share a meal with others for a change. The scenery was beautiful, something Lena had expected of such a majestic place but had not hoped to have a chance to properly enjoy so soon after her arrival. She stopped as the girls were being seated, taking the time to look around, but the smells of food, especially meat, put her heart at ease for meats had always been her weak-point due to her born nature.

Sighing gently, she nodded to Caspian when he spoke to her again. "Yes, it's very nice, thank you for asking me to come along," she said cheerily, flashing him a smile as she took her seat at the table. "How about you, Mairwen? Priscilla? Doesn't it look delicious?" Lena could not help but feel excited with tonight being the first time since she had run away that she would have a meal like this. She felt very fortunate to have happened upon the siblings so soon, that there might be friendly faces during her stay.

[Anonymous]

"It does smell delicious," Priscilla agreed, eagerly filling her plate and helping Mairwen with hers.

"May I assist you, my lady?" Caspian asked Lena. He sliced a generous piece off the roast that sat in the middle of the table and offered it to her. He had noticed her eyeing it hungrily. "It seems we both share a great love of meat. "

He was too taken by her to eat at the moment. She was stunning before, but in the moonlight, she looked... heavenly. She was so pure and sublime he could not have put it into words.

[Anonymous]

Lena nodded, holding out her plate for Caspian as she turned her head in embarrassment. "Ah...you noticed that." She gently set down the plate again and glanced at the meat before looking over to the girls. They seemed occupied enough, with Priscilla helping her sister, so she aimed her gaze at the food again. After staring at the roast for a long while, unsure if she should really start eating it for fear that things might get out of hand due to the amount of time that had lapsed since her last meal of quality meats, she began to feel like she was being watched. Tensing, she slowly raised her head to look across the table to Caspian. Nervous under his gaze, she gave a brief smile before looking away from him. "Sir Brendan...is something wrong?" she asked softly, thinking she might have done something odd to have him staring at her like he was.

[Anonymous]

"No, no... in fact everything is perfect," he assured her. "It's just that...you look so lovely, I cannot keep myself from staring at you."

The girls giggled, and Caspian blushed. "If it bothers you, I will look away." It seemed he was not accustomed to being in the presence of women other than his sisters. He wasn't, really. Every girl he seemed to meet in this place was either married or engaged, and at his age, there seemed to be little hope for him ever finding a bride. Of course, he said none of these things as he looked at Lena, but how would she have reacted if he had?

[Anonymous]

Lena blushed as she heard Caspian's rather candid response to her question. She looked down at her lap where she saw that her hands were tightly coiled out of her nervousness. "Ah, um...well, I'm sorry...and thank you very much, I just thought I might have been doing something wrong or being strange again for you to be staring; I didn't know that you thought of me as...lovely," she said softly, not looking to any of the siblings out embarrassment. Wanting to keep herself occupied to avoid saying anything else, Lena carefully picked up utensils from the table and sliced a piece of the roast before popping it into her mouth to chew. After a few moments, though, she felt that things might become awkward if she did not speak again.

"How long have you been a knight of this castle, Sir Brendan?" she asked politely, raising her head to look at him.

[Anonymous]

"Not very long. Only a few months, really. I was actually here on the day my parents died because I had been accepted about a week prior. By the time I received word of their deaths, there was little I could do but to request that the girls be sent here."

Of course, it hadn't been that easy to even get them sent here. In fact, it had required another royal guard to come along to escort the girls to their new home, and the girls had only arrived last night. In his absence, his only other living relatives, two spinster aunts who lived together who were less than pleasant, had taken the girls and forced them to work in their house. That was a matter Caspian still had to bring before someone in authority. First of all, the girls should not have been taken against their will. Second of all, they should not have been forced to work as servants. And third of all, Caspian had his suspicions that Aunt Ursula and Aunt Damiana had taken several of his parents' most valuable possessions. But though the situation troubled him, he did not want to risk upsetting the girls, who were trying so hard to act like the children they were (a fact he was rather proud of them for), so he said nothing more.

[Anonymous]

Lena felt a little bad about thinking so much about how the girls were feeling; she had not realized until then that Caspian had been away from home when his parents had died. After taking a few more bites of her meal she nodded sympathetically. "That is a great misfortune, Sir Brendan, but I'm glad that the girls were brought here because I wouldn't have met you all otherwise, hm?" She smiled at him before looking over to the girls but, not wanting to bother them, she quickly turned back to Caspian. "You must see a lot of nobles and the like, though, right? Being a knight of such a grand castle and all..."

She felt a bit odd mentioning nobles at all, since she was one, rather had been. She doubted that she would ever be accepted by any high society again, even if she ever did return home. Running away like she had was as bad as eloping and the well-kept secret of her family would certainly count her out completely if the chance came about again to rightfully be called a lady.

[Anonymous]

"Very fortunate indeed. I have no idea what would have happened to them if they would have stayed where they were...." Caspian almost whispered the last part of the sentence, as if he were talking to himself.  He cleared his throat. "Yes, I do see a lot of nobles. It's to be expected when you're working in a castle. But the women I have met thus far are all either married or engaged," he said, and his eyes turned sad. "I am twenty-two, and I feel at this point that there is little hope of changing my single status. I've been called a disgrace to the family."

It was true, though it hadn't been his parents who had said that. It had been Aunt Ursula and Aunt Damiana. But it still stung nonetheless. "But enough of talk like that. You do look lovely, my lady. Is the food to your liking?"

[Anonymous]

Lena nodded as she listened to what Caspian had to say, knowing how true what he was saying was. She knew all too well how many noblemen paraded their new brides around while they were occupied with business just to show off who they had managed to marry. Shaking her head and smiling as she thought about her father, she found that the one thing she was thankful for was that he had not forced her into a marriage, no matter how many times he'd try to arrange things for her. "For a man, your age is not so bad for marrying, Sir Brendan," she observed. "But I do understand your circumstances...my father often called me the same when I would not marry men of his choosing, thus I too have remained single." Lena paused from her speech to take another bite of her food. When Caspian complemented her again, though, she flushed and looked down at the table as she rushed to swallow what was in her mouth.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you to say about me. If I may be so bold, I must admit that you look quite well yourself," her voice faded a bit on her last words, not wanting to embarrass herself so much as she knew she could. "And yes, I do love it, thank you for inviting me." Giving a shy smile, she set down her utensils and set her hands in her lap. "Would it be possible to take a walk at night or is that something not advised around here?"

[Anonymous]

"I'd love to, but the girls are probably tired," he said. For the first time, it dawned on Caspian just how big of a responsibility being a surrogate parent was, no matter how old the children were.

"It's no matter," said Priscilla. "We'll go back ourselves, and there are servants to make sure everything is to our liking before we go to bed." She flashed a conspiratorial wink at Caspian. This was his chance, and Priscilla saw it better than anyone.

He thought about it. Girls should not be running about the palace unescorted. But it wasn't like they'd be too far away, so it wouldn't be for long, and he did so want to get to know Lena better.

"Okay," he finally agreed. He kissed each of his sisters on the cheek and hugged them goodnight,  then turned to Lena.

"Where would you like to go?"

[Anonymous]

She was a bit disappointed at first, knowing he had other responsibilities and couldn't be her own personal guide whenever she wanted. After watching the exchange between siblings, though, her expression warmed and a smile appeared. "Ah, thank you, that's very nice of you girls," she commented quietly, her eyes showing her thanks to them as she watched them go.

"I didn't really have anywhere in mind, but since it's dark probably somewhere closer to the castle... Is there anywhere you particularly like? Like a garden or something?" she asked, unsure herself if she even felt like having a destination. "Or anywhere, I don't really mind. I really only wanted to see around the castle a bit more," she explained.