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Welcome to Charming, the year is now 1894. It’s time to join us and immerse yourself in scandal and drama interlaced with magic both light and dark.

Where will you fall?

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Queen Victoria was known for putting jackets and dresses on her pups, causing clothing for dogs to become so popular that fashion houses for just dog clothes started popping up all over Paris. — Fox
It would be easy to assume that Evangeline came to the Lady Morgana only to pick fights. That wasn't true at all. They also had very good biscuits.
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Into the Woods
#1
December 19th, 1890
It was a Friday and Zelda was not on call for work at the MA&C, which would have been something to celebrate if she was allowed to go anywhere or do anything fun. Since that was out of the question, she instead took the floo network to Katia's house (allowed) to take Lily to the zoo. Yes, she had ulterior motives, but it wasn't like anyone could accuse Zelda of planning to make out with someone while she had a seven year old in tow.

It took several exhibits to spot the familiar redhead, but seeing her at all had been a bit of a longshot. Lily was standing on her toes to look at the Diricawl. Zelda waved to get the Magizoologist's attention.

"Miss Evans," Zelda called cheerfully.




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AMAZING set by MJ
#2
The day didn't have it's say until Amelia's feet hurt from multiple turns about the diricawl enclosure attempting to assemble Bastien and the other Diricawls. At least it was entertaining to the children watching, though Amelia had to wonder at what point her dignity would start poking at her conscious.

If there were anything to pull her out of that, it was certainly hearing her name and turning to see the sister of the man she was courting standing at the enclosure. Slightly flushed, Amelia brushed her apron off as much as possible and walked toward Miss Fisk. She raised her hand in greeting. "Miss Fisk, what a pleasant surprise!" she said as she approached; a quick scuffle behind her told her Bastien was on her heels to welcome the visitors.



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#3
"It's nice to see you!" Zelda said cheerfully. She gestured to the redheaded child next to her. "I thought I'd bring my niece to the zoo today. Lily, say hello!"

Lily, who was more interested in the diricawl than either woman, turned around and gave a lazy wave before spinning back to face the exhibit. She stood on her toes again and waved at the bird.

"Katia's youngest," Zelda explained. "The Meadowes live over in Swallowbury."




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AMAZING set by MJ
#4
Amelia was used to spontaneously transforming into a wall when small children were around animals. It was as if the world had lost all meaning to them except the creature in front of them. Bastien was rather familiar with this phenomenon and basked in the glory of attention. As Lily approached the enclosure, Bastien flitted up to the glass to peer at the small human. "We're so happy you happened to stop by," Amelia replied with a wave at Lily in return before turning her attention to Miss Fisk.

"I trust you have been enjoying yourselves today, cold as it may be?" At least it wasn't raining - the sun was out, however it showed no sign of attempting to melt the snow that was scattered around them.



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#5
The arrival of Bastien caused Lily's mouth to pop into a little 'o' of surprise; she took a step back and waved, delightedly, at the bird. Zelda and Amelia may as well have not existed. That was sort of ideal for Zelda, she supposed - they weren't really going to talk about anything secret, but Zelda didn't necessarily want Katia hearing about things, either.

"Oh, we're having a lot of fun," Zelda agreed. In a whisper - she didn't want Lily catching on yet - she explained: "I'm going to take her for hot chocolate after."




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AMAZING set by MJ
#6
Amelia had more than enough confidence in Penny to help keep her preoccupied as long as she didn't start to try and herd the girl — not the first time it would happen, and Amelia prayed it didn't happen today. The last thing she needed was Miss Fisk going home with the tale of Penny nipping at Lily's heels trying to get her into the pen with Bastien.

As the child was content to play with the animals, Amelia was both grateful and nervous. Zelda Fisk was the sister of the man who held Amelia's affections and she so wanted to make a good impression. That Miss Fisk was friendly right now bode well for her, didn't it? She smiled jovially in response and nodded conspiratorially. "Well, the teashop does have the most decadent chocolate in all of Irvingly!" she responded, wiping her hands on her apron. "Though I s'pose that's a simple proclamation given Irvingly's size."



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#7
Zelda laughed. "In the absence of Honeyduke's, we'll take best in all of Irvingly," she said, still in an undertone. Zelda was generally rather annoyed with Kons, at the moment, but she liked Miss Evans so far - at the very least, Miss Evans knew how to play along with a joke. Maybe Konstantin would be more fun the longer she was around.

"So - I don't know who you've met other than me. There's Ari, he's the oldest, then Lily's mum Katia, then Konstantin, of course," Zelda said, as if there had been any segue into this before. "Followed by Roslyn, Leonid and Xena, who are twins, then Dorian, and then Nemo. And then me."

Zelda eyed Miss Evans, trying to gauge her response to the info dump.




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AMAZING set by MJ
#8
"Well, luckily for all of us, Irvingly's treats are still quite good!" she replied with a laugh, taking her apron and cleaning her hands off briefly, before placing a hand on the fence.

Luckily she did so, for Miss Fisk's next question caught her by mild surprise. Of course, she knew about the vastness of Konstantin's family. Even if she'd been still living with her mother and father, by comparison, it would still be quite a lot to take in. And now, when she'd spent most of her adult life around her aunt and uncle it was possibly even more to take in. It was hard not to be overwhelmed.

A small crease in her brow formed as she tried to keep track of all the names Miss Fisk was listing off. Twins ran in his family; that was a bit of information she'd forgotten. As she opened her mouth to respond, Amelia prayed her tone came off as more intrigued than anything. God forbid she sound judgemental. " I believe it's been just you, so far," she said, with an almost apologetic smile. "It must have been quite interesting for you, growing up in such a large family." Amelia decided upon perhaps using Miss Fisk as the anchor point in this conversation.



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#9
Zelda laughed; in her experience, interesting was what people said about the Fisks when they meant 'terrifying' or 'unsettling' or 'chaotic' but were too afraid to say it. She didn't take it personally, though - she couldn't really blame Miss Evans for that impression. "Well, I'm the youngest," she said simply, "So it's not as if I've had experience with anything else. Most of them don't live at home anymore, besides, so things are much less busy than they used to be."




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AMAZING set by MJ
#10
This talk of siblings made Amelia wonder how her family were doing — as expected, she hadn't heard anything from her mother, father or sister since she'd left Hogwarts. Really, after the burning letter she sent, she didn't expect to hear anything. "I expect now the house may also seem a great deal quieter than before!" she responded as Penny emitted a soft woof as she pranced around with the small child.



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#11
"Oh, definitely," Zelda agreed; the bustling noise of her childhood had settled into a much quieter buzz a few years ago. "But it's not like they're that far away. What's your family like?" She wanted to know more about Miss Evans - certainly more than was in the public eye - especially if she was eventually going to be calling her sister-in-law.




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AMAZING set by MJ
#12
The smile on her face faltered a fraction and Amelia nervously pursed her lips slightly. That...was a different matter altogether, and not one she wanted to recount in the middle of work; certainly not in the public eye either. Regardless, she tried her best to recover. She didn't want Miss Fisk to think she was misleading her, but it was a subject to be treated with no small amount of delicacy. "I haven't spoken to my mother and father since before I graduated." It was...the truth, just not...all of it.

"My aunt and uncle however are a different matter; I think your family and them would get on quite well."



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#13
"Oh, I'm sorry," Zelda said, because what else were you supposed to say to that? She was glad that Miss Evans pivoted almost immediately to her aunt and uncle, because it saved her putting her foot in her mouth more than she already had. "I'm glad to hear that - they'll have to come over sometime," Zelda said, with a bright smile, hoping to make up for it, "Maybe not when everyone's there, that can be a lot, but sometime."




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AMAZING set by MJ
#14
Amelia quickly shook her head, hoping to silently dispel any embarrassment that Miss Fisk might feel at the mention of her parents. "I'm sure they'd love that." she replied, now worrying that she'd offended Miss Fisk in some way or another. "They're both lovely people, and I think my aunt and your sister — Mrs. Ross — would get on quite well, as she's a florist and adores gardening." One of Aunt Cornelia's favorite places to be was the gardens they had here at the zoo. Nothing compared to the roses they had here.

Amelia bit her lip, wondering if it was now her turn to ask Miss Fisk something in return. "How - how is your work treating you?" she inquired, stumbling over her question. "You work at the Ministry, yes?"



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#15
Roslyn can be difficult, is what Zelda wanted to say, but perhaps that was actually just with Alfred. No, Ros would probably actually like Miss Evans, even though Miss Evans was working class. She shoved her feelings about this into a little mental box, which was easier to leave them in when Miss Evans asked about her job.

Zelda beamed. "Magical Accidents & Catastrophes," she said brightly, "It's going well, I've worked there for four and a half years now. But I love it."




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AMAZING set by MJ
#16
"Four and a half years," Amelia echoed, impressed as she tried to think back to what she was doing four and a half years ago. Magical Accidents & Catastrophes seemed a broad scope to cover; it must have kept her busy especially to be in the field that long.

"What sort of work do you get called to fix?" she asked, thinking of all the adventures Miss Fisk must get to go on.



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