Welcome to Charming, where swirling petticoats, the language of flowers, and old-fashioned duels are only the beginning of what is lying underneath…
After a magical attempt on her life in 1877, Queen Victoria launched a crusade against magic that, while tidied up by the Ministry of Magic, saw the Wizarding community exiled to Hogsmeade, previously little more than a crossroad near the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. In the years that have passed since, Hogsmeade has suffered plagues, fires, and Victorian hypocrisy but is still standing firm.
Thethe year is now 1895. It’s time to join us and immerse yourself in scandal and drama interlaced with magic both light and dark.
Complete a thread started and set every month for twelve consecutive months. Each thread must have at least ten posts, and at least three must be your own.
Did You Know?
Did you know? Jewelry of jet was the haute jewelry of the Victorian era. — Fallin
December 20th, 1888 - Destiny Hotel, London; The Destiny Christmas Ball; Evening
Yet another party, and Regina was loving the new amount of social activity. So much better than her first season. Even if it wasn't the season yet, it was still nice to go out and socialize. And maybe she will get to see Mr. Gladstone again. The very thought made butterflies appear in her stomach, though not literally of course. Still, she wasn't about to make a fool of herself. If she saw him, she saw him. If not, she would simply get on with her evening and have fun.
Skating was rather exciting, though she didn't do too much of it this evening. Not yet at least. The bonfires were far more welcoming that the crisp air around her. At the moment she was relaxing by the fire with a beverage that was given to her shortly after she had sat down. It was quite nice to look at all of the décor that she could see from her spot. And what a surprise that the very man that made butterflies flutter in her stomach was approaching as she finished her drink and set it down. "Mr. Gladstone, what a nice surprise. How are you?" She said with a smile.
Richard wasn't really one to go to a lot of events but he had been told that he needed to put in a little more effort so here he was. He wasn't regretting his choice, he found. He was absolutely enjoying the little bonfires and the excellent displays of magic put into tonight. Richard was especially fond of the living ice sculptures, admiring one of the ice reindeer as it moved past him. He had yet to go on the ice, however.
Soon enough, his gaze caught onto a familiar face. Miss Lacey had always been pleasant company in the past so he saw now reason to approach her. "I am doing quite well, Miss Lacey. And you? Are you enjoying your night?" Richard asked as he took a steaming mug of hot cocoa from a passing footman.
Even now, Regina remembered the advise that Avril had told her during their talk regarding Mr. Glandstone. But could she really bring herself to tell him? Not at the moment, obviously. That would be certainly stupid. They had just started speaking. Just the sight of him made her wish to talk about anything that was more pleasant to discuss. The very idea of upsetting him put a sour taste in her mouth. But still, she ignored the feeling as he approached. She could always ease into such a topic.
"I am, though I haven't skated that much this evening." How was she even able to ease into something like this? For all she knew, the rumors of him having a crush on Bella could have been false this entire time anyway. Especially since she had never received a reply.
"Oh, how remiss. No one has asked you to dance?" Richard asked when she admitted that she had not skated much. There were a variety of people dancing about the ice, not all of them very well but their effort was admirable. Besides, most seemed to be still having fun with it anyway. The healer was utterly oblivious to the thoughts racing around the young womans head and truthfully, probably would not even know what she was talking about if she were to bring it up.
"I cannot promise to be the most graceful dancer on skates but it seems a shame for you to not have a decent turn about the dance pond," Richard said as he put his half drunk mug of hot cocoa down at the table.
She shook her head no. Some in society might have recognized her as the 'best friend' of Annabelle Scrimgeour. Though that didn’t seem to be too accurate these days. Bella seemed to hate her. Others might see her as the 'rude dancer' from that odd mask ball. Though she was quite sure that the masks were causing all of them to act odd. Why else had that man grabbed her for no real reason. Even if it had been by her hand.
Even if this was mostly Witch Weekly, some people took that magazine to heart. Regina wasn’t one of them. It didn’t seem like too trustworthy of a news outlet. But perhaps some saw it differently. Those not negatively affected by such articles.
The blonde smiled kindly, gratefully, at the man who offered her to dance. The man who made figurative butterflies go wild in her stomach. The man who seemed so polite and kind. "I would love to dance with you." She said honestly. Had that been too forward? Too honest? She didn’t know or care.
Well, that seemed a shame. A debutante was meant to be dancing with potential suitors at a ball, weren't they? He was glad to help rectify that though he had no idea how she might fare on skates nor how he would, really. He had practiced a bit but he did have a full time job.
"How are you on skates?" He asked her as he held out his hand to lead her over to where the skates were being provided. It seemed a dangerous thing to do but most seemed to be faring well.
It would be quite ideal if Regina was to find a suitor. One to take her away from her troubled home life when they married. But this was not the case now. Would it ever be? She didn't know.
"Well, I'm able to keep myself from falling over fairly well. Though I wouldn't call myself graceful." She admitted. She hadn't fallen over tonight so far. That was good.
"Well, I suppose we'll just have to see what happens," Richard said optimistically as they got the skates put onto their feet. Heading out on the ice, he held his hand out to help support Miss Lacey. "I take it you don't skate very often," he said, referencing off of what she had said her ability to be. The ice was quite.. slippery. Even with skates. This was going to be more of a challenge than he had thought it would be but he was quite determined to soldier on.
It wasn't as though she had been allowed to leave the house often enough to skate regularly last winter. But now was different. She had practiced when she could after hearing about the party. "I suppose we will." She agreed. The conversation with Avril slipped from her mind as she talked to him. How could troubled thoughts linger when she was thinking of him? Talking to him? About to dance with him? "Not as often as I would prefer." She answered. She had taken his hand, and was soon on the slippery ice. So far she was fine. But they hadn't gotten very far yet either.
It sounded like they were both about to be in for quite rough time then but he hoped it would be fun at the very least. Figuring he should probably actually get to know the young woman considering how moderately well acquainted they were with each other by now, Richard focused his attention on the blond. "So tell me about yourself, Miss Lacey. I feel like we've met many times and yet I feel I know so little." They were doing okay so far with the skating though they were also going pretty slowly.
Personal questions? She had to remind herself to keep things simple. Of course he wouldn't want to know all of her family and friend drama. The small stuff was far easier. "I must say that we know little of each other, Mr. Gladstone. We should both change that." She stated in reply. Glancing down at her skates briefly, she couldn't help but be a tiny bit nervous that she might make a fool of herself by falling. "I love horses. My guardian has a fear of the creatures though, so I don't get many chances to go riding. Which disappoints me."
"I quite agree," he said when Miss Lacey said that they should change how little they knew of one another. He listened in keen interest as she spoke of loving horses. "The Addinbury Boxing Hunt on the twenty-sixth would be the perfect event to let you enjoy some riding," Richard opined. He knew that horses were being provided to those that did not have their own. The fox hunt might not be to her tastes but the steeple chase was always a fun time. "I was a Hufflepuff when I was in school. I was never much of an athlete, however, I do ride pretty well," he said, watching his own feet.
The hunt! She remembered it from last year. One of the few events that she had convinced her guardian to allow her to attend. Though it had been with him. This time she would most certainly have her current, more kind chaperone. "I went last year. The hostess was kind enough to allow me to borrow a horse. Perhaps we may see each other there." The fox hunt was fascinating last year, though she hadn't been one of the main ones to participate. She did have a part of her own to play. "I was a Gryffindor. Though I'm not sure how brave I am compared to some of those that have been in the same house." She had glanced at him when he had looked down. It was nice to talk to him, to learn more about him.
"Perhaps we may," Richard said in agreement when she said they might see each other at the hunt. He was planning to attend already and it was much less daunting to know that a familiar face would be there. "There's more to being a Gryffindor than just brave," Richard opined. There were other traits each house was said to value though he personally embodied his very much.
It felt nice to know that she wouldn't have to struggle too hard to find someone to talk to. People seemed to only see her as 'the friend of that Scrimgeour girl', or the girl that had hidden away for her first season. But Mr. Gladstone, he never mentioned either. It was quite refreshing. Did he even know about either situation? Perhaps. Perhaps he was being a kind person, not caring at all about the troubles of her past. Or he could simply not see them as troubles to begin with.
Smiling even more at what he said, her eyes softened slightly. "Was that a compliment, Mr. Gladstone? Or simply a statement of an opinion?" Had she really just said that out loud? That was meant for her head. Hopefully she wasn't making a fool of herself with what she was saying. Did he find her interesting? Or did he find all of the other party guests to simply be even more boring? There was a difference.
"I suppose you could say that it is both compliment and statement of opinion," Richard said with a smile. Richard didn't know much about Miss Lacey but she did seem to have her wits about her. He could appreciate that. She was also pretty kind which he valued in a person. Caught up in their conversation, he had momentarily forgotten that they were in the midst of skating on ice so he ended up stumbling slightly, bumping the young blonde slightly. "My apologies," he said with a flush. "Dancing while skating is a lot more than I bargained for."
