Updates
Welcome to Charming
Welcome to Charming, the year is now 1895. It’s time to join us and immerse yourself in scandal and drama interlaced with magic both light and dark.

Where will you fall?

Featured Stamp

Add it to your collection...

Did You Know?
Did you know? Jewelry of jet was the haute jewelry of the Victorian era. — Fallin
What she got was the opposite of what she wanted, also known as the subtitle to her marriage.
all dolled up with you


Open
may you always be satisfied
#1
20 March 1894 — Potts/Grimstone Wedding; Plunkett Farm

The deed was done, and Irene walked aimlessly amongst the crowd gathered to celebrate the happy couple. Laughter ricocheted incessantly around her, along with the thick, heavy perfume of flowers that had been provided for the event. For having attended one of her first events back out in society after her recovery, Irene felt rather proud at having accomplished the seemingly banal task she’d given herself: being in the middle of a crowd without panicking. Ever since she’d left St. Mungo’s, a crowd of more than 20 bodies had proved to be overly excessive; it introduced an intense pressure in her chest that grew and grew until she walked away. Even after having left, the nightmares were always more intense in the following days.

So now, being amongst a large body of people hadn’t seemed like something she was prepared for, and had seen her shoulders draw tensely as she’d entered the wedding; but now that the atmosphere had considerably relaxed, so did Irene. She felt less trapped being around people now, and even with her corset tightened, her heart fluttering against her breastbone, she felt at ease to walk around freely. She’d conversed with a few of the guests and paid her respects to the newlyweds. Up until now though, it felt as if a transparent curtain had been lowered in front of her, muddling her view of everyone she came across. Her answers were pleasant; bordering on detached; automatic sometimes, and she kept catching her gaze wandering elsewhere; not fully present and on more than one occasion she’d reached up to tuck her hair behind her ears.

They had needed to cut it when and come to St. Mungo’s, and it brushed the tops of her shoulders easily ruffling in the spring breeze. She would have let them grow it out by magic, and yet it seemed…appropriate to let it fall where it wanted. She had lost something in all those months she’d been unconscious, and though she wasn’t sure what it was, it felt warranted that she let her hair grow back on its own accord. Even so, that meant her hair wasn’t long enough to put up in the bun she was so used to. It even escaped a low chignon, and try as she might for the wedding, quite a few strands had escaped on the walk over. In a way they felt nice, tickling the sides of her neck and brushing against the tops of her cheekbones, and she had accepted that this would be part of her appearance from now on.

Straightening her gloves, Irene fiddled with the teacup saucer in her hand, and sipped on whatever liquid she’d been handed by someone, content to watch the crowd mill about. Perhaps before the dragon attack she’d have recognized more than half the people here, but now when she looked at them, all she could see were new faces that occasionally looked her way, recognition sparking across their features, which then gave way to confusion when she didn’t return their smiles. She tried to wave, at least to meet them halfway. Something told her that the Irene before Italy would have done more.

It was a particularly sunny day; a good luck sign if they’d ever seen one, people had murmured around her. Good luck for what, Irene hadn’t the foggiest, but she nevertheless took off her hat, ignoring the startled stares from people around her, and canted her chin towards the rafters of the barn, closing her eyes and leaning against a nearby post to breathe in the warm air that wafted through. After a few moments of peace, the restlessness returned, seated low in the pit of her stomach. It was something that she’d dealt with since she woke up back in December. A need to move, to do something instead of stay in one place. Something that began as a small nudge at the back of her mind and escalated until Irene moved her feet towards the open barn doors; the feeling only seemed to retreat when she stepped back out into the sun again and leaned against the side of the barn outside. Only once she was outside again, her hair whipping about her face in the wind, did she realize she’d dropped her hat somewhere amongst the crowd.

But the feeling of restlessness had just begun to cease, so she stayed outside for a while before digging in her reticule and pulling out: a pack of cigarettes. Bringing the tip of one of them to her lips, she lit it with her wand and inhaled, suddenly feeling the urgency fade away. Exhaling, the cloud of smoke billowed in front of her. She watched the curls of smoke dance through the air, searching for release and finally evaporating in front of her. A noise sounded to her left and as she took another pull, she glanced towards it as a figure appeared around the corner.


The following 4 users Like Irene Crawley's post:
   Elias Grimstone, Millie Potts, Penelope Fawcett, Vincent Iago

[Image: 9EDhNw4.png]
#2
Evangeline genuinely wasn't sure how she felt today. On the one hand, if you had asked her a few years ago how she would feel on the occasion of Elias' wedding, she likely would have said distraught. But their entanglement had been a long time ago now, and for better or worse, Eva was a very different person now than she had been at eighteen. And she had moved on, and she was happy, in a way she didn't think she'd ever really been before. And all she wanted for Elias was for him to be happy.

Still. Some part of her was still a little sad today, and she thought that was probably only natural. Eva could be happy for Elias and his new bride and be sad for her own past all at the same time. The feelings, it turned out, were not mutually exclusive.

Needless to say, taking a break from being surrounded by other people celebrating the nuptials certainly felt like a wise idea for Eva's own sanity. Cognitive dissonance, it turned out, was emotionally draining, and not at all a good state of mind for celebrating. It was fine. Of course it was fine. But she needed a break.

As it happened, she was not the only person who had had this idea, because when Evangeline made her way outside, she found that she was not alone. She noted the woman's cigarette and her identity specifically in that order, which probably said something or other about her. Ah, well. "Could I bother you for one of those?"


The following 2 users Like Evangeline Rowle's post:
   Daffodil Grimstone, Elias Grimstone

[Image: Evangeline-Sig.png]
Set by Bee <3
#3
The jolt of recognition hit her first as Irene realized who had just come to join her. And then it left as soon as it came. Irene blinked at the woman, certain that she knew her. It was a maddening feeling, one that she’d been plagued with ever since she left the hospital back in December. Some days were better than others, but clearly today wasn’t keen on making things easy for her. There was a pause, perhaps a bit too long, before she snapped out of her reverie. “Oh, yes, of course,” She nodded, hurrying to open her reticule again to fish out a cigarette for the other woman. I know you, I know you, I know you, her mind chanted, and as Irene handed her the cigarette, it hit her.

“Evangeline.”

Er - shit. “Mrs. Rowle.”

Yes that’s where Irene knew her from. Yes. It was coming back to her, bit by bit. But she couldn’t just wait for the memories to gather like a flock of birds above her head and leave Mrs. Rowle standing there, could she? Irene took a breath. “My apologies,” She said, as the excuse she’d had to give time and time again flew from her lips. “I…had an accident last winter and my memory is still...recovering.” That was one way of putting it.



[Image: 9EDhNw4.png]
#4
Evangeline smiled awkwardly as she accepted the cigarette. "It's all right," she said. "I am hard to offend," she added lightly, trying to put the other woman at ease.

Lighting her cigarette with the end of her wand, Eva took a long drag before turning back to ask, "Miss Crawley--is it still Miss?" She didn't think she'd heard anything to contrary, but in fairness, aside from regularly reading notices in the paper, Eva wouldn't have had much call for knowing that sort of thing. "Are you here to support the bride or the groom?"



[Image: Evangeline-Sig.png]
Set by Bee <3
#5
Her lips pressed into a line at the hit delivered. Mrs. Rowle might be hard to offend, but something about is it still Miss? felt like a poke in the ribs, though she couldn’t for the life of her figure out why. As if there was something just on the other side of a wall of ice. Irene took another drag on her cigarette, keeping both her response and the smoke in before letting it out slowly. Leaning against the wall, she struggled to respond to the simple question. When she thought of answering, it was as if she was supposed to be reading off a card in front of her and it suddenly went blank. So to simply fill the elongating silence, she heard herself say, “Both, I suppose. I’m not sure.”

Looking over at Mrs. Rowle, “And yourself?” her eyebrow winged up in askance.



[Image: 9EDhNw4.png]
#6
Eva took a drag of her own cigarette. "The groom." She wondered, somewhat idly, if there was anyone who would still care about her past relationship. Aside from, obviously, the people involved. The answer was probably no, or Evangeline wouldn't have come. She might be a lover of drama, but she would never inflict that on Elias. Never intentionally. "I've only met the new Mrs. Grimstone once before, I'm afraid."



[Image: Evangeline-Sig.png]
Set by Bee <3
#7
So she was here for Elias. Irene nodded. She might have had her memory wiped, but in her search through her old possessions the journal she’d found helped her fill in the gaps. Thankfully there had been a section about Mrs. Rowle - then Miss Asperhand - and what had gone on between her and Elias. Irene pressed her lips together, fiddling with the slowly shortening cigarette. Not all of her memories about Daffodil hadn’t gotten erased; from what she could recall for the most part, the younger girl had been a dear.

“I’ve met her a few times, though I suppose I have more connections to Eli - Mr. Grimstone than his wife.” She may have been smoking, but the words still tasted like ash on her tongue, and the nagging feeling that she was forgetting something started to build. “He and I were good friends back when I lived in Hogsmeade.”



[Image: 9EDhNw4.png]
#8
Evangeline noticed the near slip, but didn't think to comment. Who was she to do so, anyway? "They do make a handsome couple, don't they?" she said instead. "And very happy together." As they--or any newlywed couple, for that matter--should be, of course.



[Image: Evangeline-Sig.png]
Set by Bee <3
#9
At this question, Irene hesitated, though for whatever reason she hadn’t the foggiest. She felt uncomfortable suddenly. So she pulled on her cigarette again and paused as she exhaled.

“As any couple should be on their wedding day, I suppose,” was her response; belatedly, Irene noticed a dull tug in her chest. She frowned, raising her hand and placing it over the spot. Another pull, and she exhaled more smoke. “To be honest, I don’t believe I know what to look for at a wedding when it comes to good luck signs.”

And then there was that earlier comment about it being a nice day and how it was surely a sign. Sign of what, she still wasn’t sure, given in this country there were as many chances of it being rainy and overcast as there were of it being sunny; especially during this time of year.



[Image: 9EDhNw4.png]
#10
"I'm sure I don't either," Eva mused, taking another drag on her cigarette. "But I think it's usually a good sign if the couple is at least happy when they reach the altar." It was hard not to think of her own wedding at times like this. No one had believed she was happy to be there, but she'd had to put on a good face for it anyway.

She was happy Elias got to have a better experience than she did. She was happy. But Eva was also sad. Mostly for herself. Evangeline thought that her own experiences had made her too bitter to appreciate a day like this the way it deserved. If she ever found herself in a position to remarry, it would be fundamentally be colored by her earlier experience. Another reason to hate Edward Rowle, as though Eva didn't have enough already.



[Image: Evangeline-Sig.png]
Set by Bee <3
#11
She was right, of course. Irene felt hesitant to admit it, for whatever reason, and she nodded as she surveyed the other woman. “They did look quite happy.” She said, and again it felt like the words had to be pulled out of her mouth by some great force.

She said nothing after that, though wondered how Evangeline had felt at her own wedding. As for Irene, well it was clear the only experience with weddings she had weren’t the kind one looked over with fondness. Only bitterness.

It was with this bitterness set in her chest that she opened her bag to fish out another cigarette, only to completely fumble and drop her bag on the ground. Letting out an oath, she knelt down to pick up the contents of her bag. Scraps of paper, her cigarette tin, lighter, a few pencils, and pressed flowers from the ceremony.



[Image: 9EDhNw4.png]
#12
Oh, dear. Evangeline stooped to lend Miss Crawley a hand in picking up her scattered items. She didn't know anything of Miss Crawley's situation--and it wasn't any of her business to ask, anyway--but Eva had the feeling that whatever the reason, she wasn't the only one having an odd night.

Handing the other woman's items back to her, Eva asked, "Are you all right?" The answer seemed to be no, but it seemed rude not to at least inquire.



[Image: Evangeline-Sig.png]
Set by Bee <3
#13
The question had been expected, and still Irene gritted her teeth. “I suppose not,” She heard herself say, surprising even herself when the words were out of her mouth. The tone was harsh, reflecting the tightness that had been fettering in her chest. Sarcastic, bitter, frustrated, pained, however it sounded, Irene struggled with the fact that hiding her emotions hadn’t been easy when it came to this wedding. Just last week she’d snapped at a client, and she almost never did that.

“Thank you, but I think I must go.” She continued in a hurry, plucking the remaining items and struggling to stuff them all in her purse. In her haste, a few papers fluttered out and went unnoticed by her as she took out her wand. “My apologies, please give the…please have a good rest of your night, Mrs. Rowle.” And with that she disapparated, leaving an extremely legible letter lying open on the ground.



[Image: 9EDhNw4.png]
#14
Evangeline watched Miss Crawley leave, feeling perplexed, but well, it wasn't any of her business, she supposed. Not like she wasn't having her own strange night that she didn't want other people's comments on.

It was as she was snuffing out her cigarette and turning to go that she realized there was still something left on the ground. Stooping to pick it up, Eva didn't mean to read its contents. Honest she didn't. But Miss Crawley had gone, and unless it was something that would be life-threatening for the other woman to lose, she probably wouldn't have gone to the trouble to tracking her down to return it. But as Eva straightened up, she'd seen who the letter was addressed to, and before she knew it, she was half-way through. She couldn't help herself.

Well, Evangeline thought as she folded the letter back up. That was a thing.


The following 1 user Likes Evangeline Rowle's post:
   Irene Crawley

[Image: Evangeline-Sig.png]
Set by Bee <3

View a Printable Version


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)
Forum Jump:
·