February 20th, 1891 - Ari and Dio's

Zelda woke up after Xena, that morning - this was not surprising considering how late she had been with Alfred in the garden. There was not really any urgency to her wanderings until she was dressed and in the washroom and happened to catch sight of herself in the mirror. There was a large, purpleish bruise on the side of her neck, and she knew exactly what it was from.

She wasn't on call for work, so she had nowhere to be. This was actually worse, she felt, because at work she could have come up with an excuse to be outside with a scarf and coat all day. And - Zelda's heart sank - today was Shabbat. It wasn't unlikely that she would have extra siblings in the house this evening, and she couldn't make herself scarce all day to figure this out.

She stood in the washroom, calculating.

1. Pretend that this was a bruise from something else. This could have been fine, although she suspected that she would be called out by probably Leonid or definitely Dorian. So. No.
2. Pretend to be sick all day, risk someone coming into the bedroom to help her.
3. Find somewhere to hide so that she could try to come up with something.

Three was the obvious best option, although there were only so many places she could plausibly go. Julian was out because he would probably accidentally tell someone; Roslyn would simply murder her on the spot; Katia would tell Roslyn. She wasn't sure Brannon would buy her going to Dorian's flat for a social call.

So. That left her with... Dionisia and Ari.

This would probably go terribly, but Zelda could not come up with a better way to delay her suffering. Also - well, Dionisia was a mediwitch. Maybe she would know something about how to deal with this? Or maybe Ari (or Elliott's father, whichever) had left bruises on her neck before, and she had actual experience hiding them? Zelda had to hope.

She hustled back to her room, stole a scarf from Xena's side, and wound it around her neck. Her coat was downstairs - Zelda got it off the hook and put it on, raising the collar. She left a note on the table: Ari's house! See you soon! and let one of the maids know that she was going to use the floo network. (The most embarrassing part of this whole situation - people watched to see what address she was using for the floo network.)

And she was gone, wearing a scarf and her coat even though she was going to another house, and at least the maid hadn't called her on that.

"I need your help with something," Zelda hissed, as she arrived in a rush of green fire. She was relieved to find Dionisia and not Ari, although frankly either of them were better options than her father. This was not, actually, what she wanted to ask Dionisia for help with - but what else was she supposed to do?

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Dionisia Fisk Holly Scrimgeour
Elias Grimstone Ari Fisk invitational ;)

The following 3 users Like Zelda Darrow's post:3 users Like Zelda Darrow's post
   Dionisia Fisk, Fallon Hatchitt, J. Alfred Darrow

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The month had gone by and there was still a question of what she intended to do about quite literally everything.

She'd told Ari that she intended to find someone to have an affair with, but that wasn't true, and she knew it would only be a matter of time before he asked her about it if only because she'd tied her affair to a want for a baby (a terrible decision, really). She also still had the matter of Elliott's biological father to deal with, and - well, there were still questions about when or if.

Fortunately the turmoil had smoothed for the most part, and she was able to return to her regular routine without changes that anyone might find suspicious. She worked, came home, spent time with Elliott, ate dinner, put him to bed, promptly fell asleep herself, and then repeated the process. Routine and predictability were staples of a happy life, so at least she had those. There were other variables she would have to deal with eventually, but until there was no choice to acknowledge them she would continue in her bliss—which at the moment looked like her on her loveseat, Elliott passed out on the floor after breakfast, and a book in her hand. It was ridiculous how difficult it was to find time to herself nowadays; she'd had the book for three weeks and she was just able to open it.

And then she closed it promptly, the sound of the fireplace triggering the protective maternal instincts that she hadn't been able to rid of even a year and a half after giving birth. Only - it was Zelda. She took a breath and sat back in her chair, her brows furrowed in confusion. Zelda did not usually seek her out for help.

"I assume it's urgent?" she asked. It must have; otherwise Zelda would have told her she was coming.

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Now that she was here in her scarf and coat, Zelda almost regretted coming. Since she was here she would have to explain why to Dionisia - only part of why, of course - and that was going to be incredibly awkward.

She didn't even know how to explain it. She'd known better than to let things with Alfred go so far - she'd been sober, and she'd known the stakes, and Alfred had been drunk. If anyone was more responsible in this situation, it was Zelda, who had known exactly what she should do the whole time. But - despite the danger, she hadn't wanted to stop - all she had wanted last night was Alfred.

She didn't know how to explain that, to herself or to Dionisia.

Still, she was here. And she'd been right - she didn't have any other options. Zelda brushed the ash off of her coat and stepped away from the fireplace. Looking nervous, she tugged her scarf down to expose the purple mark on her neck.

"Help," she said, flushing pink and pulling her scarf back up after a few seconds.

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Dio watched Zelda closely, her eyebrows knitting together as she realized Zelda seemed nervous for some reason. She couldn't really think of any reasons Zelda should be nervous, but then again she hadn't been properly in the loop in such a long time. But then Zelda removed her scarf, and everything suddenly made sense.

"Oh," she said in a high-pitched, surprised voice. He cheeks pinkened, just a little; she'd almost forgotten that Zelda was courting Mr. Darrow, and she knew both of them reasonably well enough to feel embarrassed at the thought of them doing whatever had led to that. (Unless she was wrong and Zelda had been bitten by a magical bat. She did not think that was the problem, though.). "I... see." Dionisia stood up and stepped closer to Zelda, her eyes narrowed in mild concern as the bruising came clearer into view. Then, as quickly as the scarf had come down, it went back up.

"That's... something." Awkward as it was, the concern melted off her face and was replaced by an embarrassed smile. "I can get you a salve, but - really, Zelda, you shouldn't have let him. Your neckline will hardly cover it."

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He’d heard the fireplace as he finished shaving. Then voices downstairs, although neither he nor Dionisia had been expecting company.

His pace slowed as he padded down the stairs and the conversation became clearer, now recognising the visitor’s voice as Zelda’s and feeling quite happily surprised that she and Dionisia seemed to be on good terms again. (He had done his best to nudge them towards each other from time to time to try and bridge their differences, but it hadn’t done much good, especially not when one was as good at nursing grudges as his sisters were.) Help, Zelda said, and as he rounded the doorway he was expecting to see some kind of injury - but even if he hadn’t seen the luridly obvious mark on her neck, Dionisia’s embarrassed look and reproach of shouldn’t have let him would have given him a fair clue.

How she had gotten that when she was supposed to be under the family’s careful supervision at all times, he didn’t yet know.

“Hello, Zelda,” Ari greeted, to announce himself, catching sight of Elliott dozing and being sure to keep an even tone in spite of the temptation to raise it. Pity. His eyes narrowed slightly, but he continued to feign pleasantness as he perched on the arm of a chair. “Cover what?”

Ari already knew the answer, but he was interested to see if she would try and lie about it.

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   Bella Scrimgeour

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She was about to respond and say I know, I wasn't thinking, because even if she had been thinking she did know, when Ari announced his arrival to the parlor.

Zelda stared straight at Dio, tempted to blurt help! yet again.

Maybe if she never moved or spoke, Ari would forget she was here. She would just be a statue, unmoving and left alone, and then eventually Ari would wander off and Dionisia could get the salve and then it would be like there had never been a mark on her neck at all. Of course, Ari was far more observant than that, and that he was here probably meant that her being caught was inevitable.

At least, Zelda thought weakly, reminding herself, Ari isn't Roslyn.

She had evaluated her risks, after all, and she had chose to risk exactly this. But knowing she would probably have to face it made her wish, distantly, that she had tried out Katia.

"A... pimple," she said weakly, because she could neither out and say it nor could she stay frozen in the parlor like a frightened rabbit. She was still just staring at Dio, though "Very ugly."

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This could have been an easy situation. Right through the kitchen was the backdoor, where she kept a miniature greenhouse that had some of the soothing salve that she used whenever she got cuts of burns. It would have taken five, maybe ten minutes tops. She turned around to head in that direction, already mentally preparing the directions to tell Zelda, then... Ari. Dionisia stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him with a stiff, straight-faced expression.

He knew. She knew he did. She may not be in love with him, but living with someone for a while—especially a man who did not shy away from showing emotion—made it easy to figure out what he was feeling. There was a cadence to his greeting that sounded almost like victory, like he was already preparing to say something. She knew it, but she couldn't tell Zelda, who was already lying. She had to lie and hoped Ari—her husband—understood the importance of sisterhood.

"It is not a matter a man should concern himself with," she replied. It was technically the truth. She moved forward, as if she was about to pass him, then stopped and placed a gentle hand on his arm. It might have looked affectionate, but it was a warning. A plead.

Don't do this.

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The following 2 users Like Dionisia Fisk's post:2 users Like Dionisia Fisk's post
   Ari Fisk, Zelda Darrow

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To her credit, Dio’s touch and pleading look did give him pause. That she had covered for Zelda, he didn’t mind - it was a healer’s instinct to tend towards confidentiality, after all - and if they had repaired things between themselves, she would not want to jeopardise that. On the other hand, if Dionisia knew Zelda’s secrets again to keep them, who knew whether this was even the first time something like this had happened in recent weeks?

Even so. He could say nothing, believe the lame lie that had come out of his sister’s mouth, let things continue as they were without intervening. Maybe if he had not been privy to the depth of trouble into which Zelda had previously gotten herself, he might have been able to - and perhaps she had forgotten all that since, but he certainly hadn’t.

He covered Dio’s hand with his own briefly and glanced her way with a half-smile to say I am sorry about this, but then returned his gaze to his sister. He was loath to always be this brother - but then Zelda had come here, so he didn’t have much choice. 

“Oh?” Ari echoed, brow furrowed, in answer to his wife’s remark. “But it seems like Mr. Darrow was quite concerned with Zelda’s neck.” He folded his arms, his stare still trained on Zelda. “And our father might be interested to hear about that, too.”

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   Dionisia Fisk, J. Alfred Darrow

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Zelda only looked away from Dio when Dio moved, training her stare instead on somewhere other than Ari's face - the collar of his shirt, maybe.

There was some loaded married-people conversation happening in front of her, and as soon as Ari spoke again, Zelda understood it. She shouldn't have lied; shouldn't have come here, either, taken her chance with someone else. Should have called things off in the garden earlier. Unconsciously, she reached up to twist the scarf in her hands, desperately needing something to hold onto while things spun out in front of her.

Sometimes she and Ari were allies, Zelda thought; the thing was, it was rare now, and Zelda never knew whether or not they were on the same team until Ari decided.

"Ari please," Zelda said, still in that distant voice; she couldn't find the ability to beg for it, because all the bravery she had was keeping her stuck to the floor. She wanted to bolt, but where would she even go? "We didn't -" she cut herself off. She didn't know if it was going to be better or worse if she told Ari it was just her neck, and there was a part of her that doubted - would he even believe her?

"We didn't do anything else," Zelda finished, still looking at Ari's collar instead of at his face.

It wasn't just Ari's stare - she had not looked at his eyes but she could feel it on her face - keeping her stuck begging in the sitting room. It was a stark realization: Zelda wasn't sure if she could do this, the whole courtship thing, the way it made her feel small and trapped and unlike herself, if it was about to get harder.

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The following 2 users Like Zelda Darrow's post:2 users Like Zelda Darrow's post
   Ari Fisk, J. Alfred Darrow

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Ari had clearly woken up that morning and decided to choose violence.

A frown fell on her face as he spoke to Zelda in what seemed like an uncharacteristic taunt. Her husband was usually gentle, mild-mannered, and avoided confrontation at least with her, but it was clear that his feelings towards Zelda's... situation brought forth a side of him Dionisia did not frequently see.

"Ari," she warned. She was less gentle this time; though she understood the brotherly need to protect his sister's virtue, he was also in a position of influence within the family and could make or break her happiness by a single conversation with their father. As Zelda's friend—and Ari's wife, for that matter—Dionisia was in a place where she felt uncomfortable minding her business.

"There is no reason to bring this up to your father," she almost scolded, her gaze flickering between the two. Her voice lowered, and she turned so she was by Ari's side, facing Zelda. "If you fear for her virtue, clearly you should urge Mr. Darrow to have her hand." She did not think Zelda should be forced into marriage, and she had not talked to Zelda about marriage, but Zelda and Mr. Darrow were engaged in a tentative courtship and a hickey was a clear indication of their affection.

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The following 3 users Like Dionisia Fisk's post:3 users Like Dionisia Fisk's post
   Ari Fisk, J. Alfred Darrow, Zelda Darrow

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Zelda sounded like she was sorry for it now, regretted it - and that was something, he felt a little sorry for her too - but it wasn’t enough to be sorry after the fact. Still, she insisted they hadn’t done anything else. Ari took a breath, observed his sister, decided he ought to trust that she had learned her lesson there, and trust her on that.

But then Dionisia felt the need to step in, as though he were being entirely unfair; Ari gritted his teeth and reminded himself, too, that if she was talking about fearing for her virtue then Zelda had not shared all her secrets with her friend. From Dio’s perspective, he didn’t know how unreasonable he looked, how unlike himself - nor did he much like being reprimanded, something he could not recall having happened to him for decades - so perhaps it was for her sake that he reined himself in now, chewing on his words before he spoke so frustration could not get the better of him, trying to drum up patience where he had none.

“Believe me, I don’t want to bring it up with him,” he replied quietly, about the threat of telling Brannon, and he sincerely did not: he wanted Zelda to be aware of the consequences here - and appropriately concerned about them - but he did not want to be the reason her courtship was ruined, or responsible for her eternal misery. He did want her to be happy out of this; he hoped she could see that, somehow. “But Zelda knows this wasn’t part of the deal.”

A deal he had so far supported, helped to establish, after her surprise announcement of courtship when everyone in the family had been furious. No sneaking off alone: was that really so hard to accomplish? His gaze slid meaningfully from Dio back to Zelda at this, hoping his sister understood where he was coming from even if his wife did not have the whole story. The mark on her neck was nothing at all, in comparison. “And if anyone else found out about this - if anyone knew half of what I did - they wouldn’t let Mr. Darrow anywhere near your hand. You realise that, don’t you? They wouldn’t let you see him again.”

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   Cassius Lestrange, J. Alfred Darrow

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Zelda was a little surprised, and a little pleased, that Dionisia was taking her side - but didn't get the time to relish it, because then Dio mentioned virtue, and Zelda's heart may as well have stopped. She didn't want to talk about virtue; didn't want to think about it, mostly, because Zelda knew she had gotten lucky. No one really knew, she hadn't been pregnant, she had options that didn't involve an - apparently random marriage.

Zelda finally actually looked at Ari, made eye contact; if she wasn't so frozen here, stuck with the sense that everything was spinning out of her control, she would have had the audacity to look sheepish. As it was, her face was expressionless.

"I know," Zelda said, because what else was there to say, really? She certainly couldn't tell Ari that Alfred proposed to her almost every time they were alone; she certainly couldn't tell him that it was only her reluctance to bring scandal to the family that kept her unmarried. Zelda thought the offer spoke to Alfred's commitment, but it was probably guaranteed to give Alfred an aneurysm.

Everyone was so angry with her, all the time. At least this time it was deserved.

"I know, alright?" Zelda said, her voice came out more defensive than she wanted it to. "They don't want me to see him now, they wouldn't let me if they knew, and they're never going to bend on anything."

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The following 1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post:1 user Likes Zelda Darrow's post
   Ari Fisk

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There was clearly some disagreement between brother and sister that was outside the realm of a hickey, and although Dionisia tried to piece it together through their exchange of words she couldn't help but feel there was a piece of the puzzle that she was missing. Whether it was her business to piece together was another story, but for now she knew two things: (1) Zelda had been intimate enough with Mr. Darrow to end up with that, and (2) that there was some sort of deal and Zelda had broken it. She knew the Fisks were not fond of Mr. Darrow, and in this situation Dio's (mostly positive) feelings towards him were irrelevant. Still, there was a part in her—the mediwitch within, or the best friend she'd once been—who wanted this conversation to end and stay within their home.

"Let me put some salve on it." She was not sure if her comment was more directed at Zelda or Ari. "So it will heal before it can be noticed." She would find out what had happened, she decided, and the details of the deal. She would hear it from Zelda, and only Zelda.

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He was obviously not the only one frustrated by this.

Ari sighed.

“Thank you,” he agreed with a grateful nod at Dio’s suggestion. Best to let Dionisia begin to help, as she had wanted to; best to show Zelda plainly that he did not mean to frogmarch her back to the family home to show her up, though maybe he should have. At any rate, perhaps the salve would soothe more than just the bruise. He gave Dio a small smile as she moved to fetch it, and then returned his attentions towards Zelda, reconsidering the words of her last outburst.

“What do you mean, they won’t bend?” Ari asked, his brow creased. “Of course they will. He’s been courting you all this time - you’ve been behaving.” (He’d thought they’d been behaving.) All they had to do was have a little patience, didn’t they? He was not their only chaperon at events, though, had not seen every interaction between Darrow and the Fisks, had not really broached the subject with any of his siblings or their father recently. He had merely assumed, that in spite of the shock of the ‘courtship’ in the manner it had come, the rest of the family would slowly get used to it: begin to like Darrow, perhaps, or at least begrudgingly accept the engagement as an eventuality and try to pretend to.

Or maybe that had been a misguided hope on Ari’s part - as if the family’s eventual acceptance would absolve him for that Passover when he had first helped Darrow shoot his own chances at happy introductions in the foot. (In the balance of things, he still felt bad for that.) Nor could the rest of the family have the same reasons for wariness as he had about the man’s character - some general questions about it, to be sure, and about his occupation and the lifestyle he might offer her - but nothing irrevocable. And, admittedly, even burdened with that knowledge, Ari could tell Zelda was nonetheless rather in love with him.

And Darrow had proven himself willing to put himself through the scrutiny of a courtship, hadn’t he, where he might have continued what they had without any attempt at proper commitment to her. Perhaps he deserved some credit for that.

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Oh. With a grateful look to Dionisia, and Ari's pronouncement that she could get the salve, Zelda let go of her nervous grip on her scarf. She also stopped standing still; she stepped over to one of the other armchairs and perched on the arm of it, unwilling to properly sit but also unwilling to stand rigidly in waiting.

"It's like Konstantin and Nemo think I'm courting him to be spiteful," Zelda said. Now that she knew Ari wasn't going to haul her back home in front of Brannon, it was easier to share this. And - well, it wasn't as if Zelda had never acted out of spite, but she couldn't imagine going through all this work just to prove a point. "I don't know what Ros thinks, but I'm sure it's not good - and even if Dorian and Leonid and Katia have come around, it's not as if father listens to them."

She sighed. "And he doesn't chaperon me, ever. So he just hears from Kons and Nemo that I'm being willful, or whatever, even if all I did was look uncomfortable at a party, and I've been doing that my whole entire life," Zelda said; she was venting properly, now, and while she didn't know if her brothers had said such a thing to Brannon, she could only assume. "And I don't want to fight them, because then I'm just being more willful, even though - I never wanted to be a debutante, you have to understand that."

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   J. Alfred Darrow

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AMAZING set by MJ

Dionisia took her time retrieving the salve, in part to give time to give the Fisk siblings a chance to speak and in part because she was determined to do more than merely cure the physical wound that Zelda had sustained. Clearly she was in love—Dionisia did not need to be in loving marriage to recognize it—and clearly the rest of her family did not approve of the courtship. That was about all that Dionisia did know.

She eyed the salve on the shelf in the tiny greenhouse, and then the plants that sat near it, and then the small jars of miscellaneous ingredients. Her gaze continued down the shelf until it landed on the small notepad and self-inking quill.

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   Cassius Lestrange

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