A sister remembered. - November, 1997
Blood Red Rose, Gwydianne
Subject: Re: A study in roses. ~ A sister remembered.
From: bloodrdrse@aol.com (BloodRdRse)
Date:20 Nov 1997 00:53:25 EST
Just another evening in one of the estate's busiest offices... until a
head crowned with wheat-gold peeks through the door...
"Just a quick salutation. Good e'en, friend."
Rose's features blossom into a brilliant smile as she glances up from
her stack of ledgers, and she lifts gloved fingertips to her lips, to blow a
delicate kiss. "Good evening, my dear... and how does the night find you?"
Leaning in the doorway, Gwydianne smiles, lifting a shoulder in a
delicate shrug. "Busy. Exploring, conversing. . .but I am glad to have
found you. Tell me, do you have a moment to converse with me tonight?"
"Oh, certainly...," waving the girl in, taking careful note of, and
wondering at, her hesitation.
The girl frowns a bit, choosing her words with care. "I hope I am not
intruding on your time, but you are as yet the only person I have found that
knew my sister."
Propping her feet up on the edge of the desk, a gloved hand extended,
Rose ushers towards one of the comfy, cushy chairs before it. "Please...
come in and make yourself at home..."
Gwydianne finally steps fully into the office, and the flames of the
nearby fireplace leap just a fraction forward, in welcome, as she takes the
hand so graciously offered, feeling like a rube next to this refined lady.
"I'm more than happy to spend the time with one of Sarai's own... I
don't think I ever met a more delightful woman... and that's saying quite a
lot..." Her lips curve into a somewhat amused smirk, as she gives that hand a
delicate squeeze. "I'm afraid that...," with a smile suddenly turned from
serene to wistful, "...the larger part of the household of House Locke, those
who knew your sister, are either dead or missing at this point..."
"Um, er, I uh," Gwydianne stammers, finally deciding to throw tact to
the winds. "What happened?"
"Oh... it's...," her words halting, as she struggles to capture the
story without too much prejudice, "...quite a tragic tale... that of House
Locke..."
"Please, let us not stand on ceremony," trying to divine the reason for
the hesitation.
"I was engaged to marry the Master himself, Kain Locke, at one time...
thus, the reason for my long stay there, and that was when I met your
sister...
"She told me."
"I don't think I've ever known a happier time..." A hint of the pleasant
memory seeps through into the molten emerald of her eyes. "...and that
sister of yours, what a talent she had for making tea..."
The visitor laughs, though her eyes begin to fill. "Yes, I know. She
told me much of your friendship. In fact, I was amazed to discover your. .
.," coloring a bit, "reputation."
"Reputation?" Eyes twinkling with laughter, Rose offers a dismissive
wave. "Yes, I must admit, I don't why Sarai would ever have chosen to
befriend someone in my ... profession..."
"She had a big heart," the girl whispers, accompanying her reply with a
solemn nod.
"Indeed she did... I miss it a great deal... But...," sinking back into
her chair, "...as with all romances, there comes a time when they must end...
and when I left Kain, he allowed the House to fall to ruin... I'm not sure
what happened after that, but I do know that the members of the household
drifted away, one by one... some of the slaves were stolen... some were
sold..."
Gwydianne swipes the back of her hand across her eyes. "Go on."
And so she does...
"I often wished that I could go back... to keep old friendships alive...
but I was not... Well... I was not welcomed..."
"Why not?" At first, she offers a confused frown, and then her eyes
widen, alarmed at her own bluntness. "I'm sorry. It's rude of me to ask."
"Not at all... not at all.. please, ask anything you like...,"
punctuating the reassurance with a gloved hand flattened against the desktop,
and a firm nod, Rose shakes her head, a distant, faraway sobriety dimming the
light in her eyes. "It was Kain... I could never go back there while Kain was
alive..."
A soft smile touches Gwydianne's features, and she looks down, then back
up into Rose's eyes. "Did you know how much Sarai cared for him?"
"For Kain?" a brow lifted in skeptical surprise, "Or for...," the name
escaping her for the moment.
"No, it was Kain," again with that gentle smile. "She probably wouldn't
have wanted me to tell you."
"Well... I suppose I shouldn't be surprised... but I stand firm to my
opinion, nonetheless, that Kain was a lunatic... and highly undeserving of
her affection..."
"She got over it," the girl laughs. "She poured out her caring onto the
rest of the household... She always seemed to fall for lunatics."
Eyes brimming with sudden laughter, Rose offers a tidbit of her own
observation. "It's the way of the world... the lunatics are always the fun
ones..."
"And I agree with you. I don't think there's a man in the universe
deserving of Sarai."
"Elric!" A sudden spark of remembrance causes Rose to sit up straight.
"That was his name..."
Gwydianne's eyes harden to a flinty gray. "Yes. I remembered it, but
the name is like poison on my lips. He is one I choose not to seek out."
"Sorry for the outburst...," and Rose taps a gloved fingertip against
her lower lip, "...I can't say that I blame you..."
"Trust me, to contact him was originally in my design in coming here."
"I'm not even sure that he's still alive..."
At that, Gwydianne sighs heavily. "Vengeance serves no noble purpose
anyway."
"So many have passed on... Even..." A sob catches in her throat, and is
safely pushed back into obscurity. "...even Azrael..."
Gwydianne's eyes widen. "Truly? Sarai had just met him when. . .when
she took her leave, but. . ."
Emerald eyes suddenly find themselves rimmed with the beginnings of
scarlet tears. "He was killed on our wedding night..." Tugging one of her
gloves off in her teeth, she tosses it aside, thrusting her hand forward to
display a simple silver band, crested with a single ruby.
The girl reaches into her pocket and produces a bedraggled but clean
blue bandanna... and how timely, too, as the first unwelcome tear falls,
marring the alabaster of Rose's cheek with a streak of purest crimson.
Trading the bandanna for the proffered hand, Gwydianne remarks, "It's
beautiful."
A whispered "Thank you" is Rose's only reply, and she falls silent for a
long moment.
"Somewhere... somewhere..." The words drift out like so many clouds
rolling ponderously slow across a summer sky... for, truly, she knows not
where. "...there is another like it..."
The girl drops Rose's hand and averts her eyes, unwilling to intrude on
the woman's grief.
"But, again...," Rose continues, sniffing back the remaining tears
before they are allowed to fall, "...all romances must end at some time..." In the next
pregnant silence that follows, Gwydianne fights within herself to ask the
most important question, and, unaware of her struggle, Rose continues on.
"As must all... well, most... lives... it's a shame that Sarai's had to be
ended while she was in her prime..." At that, she dips her chin in somber
remembrance.
Finally, Gwydianne takes a deep breath, and summons up the words.
"There was a slave. . ."
"A slave?" Her original musing forgotten, Rose leans a bit forward, now
intent on the new subject. "Not Rissa...?"
"No, another. One who was killed. . . But her soul put into another
body. My sister was worried about her."
Rose's brow furrows, deep in thought, and her eyes search the desk top,
as though she will find the name she seeks there, somewhere among the pile of
papers and ledgers.
Gwydianne smiles gently. "Rissa I heard about, too. Sarai always
seemed to think she could fend for herself.. A hidden strength, she said. Or
something like that."
"Indeed...," Rose purrs in agreement, "...Rissa was a gem... But the
other girl... I remember the circumstance... but not the name, I'm afraid...
I had very little intercourse with the slaves of House Locke while I was
there... Rissa was the only exception..."
"By the way, you will always have a friend in me, as you did in Sarai.
The D'hekkats do not make false friends."
Rose offers up a wistful smile. "And I thank you... friends are a rare
thing, particularly in my profession... Sarai was... exceptional..."
"I did not think the slave would be known to you, but I had to try."
"Able to love without prejudice... I think that was her greatest
strength... As for this slave... I can make some inquiries, if you like... ?"
The girl bites her lip nervously, hesitant to impose further. "Well, it
is very generous of you to offer, but. . ."
"Not at all...," flattening her palm to the desk top once again. "It's
a simple matter of checking some old records... I'll need an evening or two
to have the files pulled out... Where can I reach you, when I've learned what
I can?"
"Perhaps it is best left alone. I need to put Sarai to rest. . . In my
heart, anyway."
"Certainly...," with a quiet nod, "...then we'll leave the matter to
rest."
"It would be hard to contact me anyway," Gwydianne continues, with a
small smile.
"How so? Have you obtained permanent lodgings yet?"
"Not yet. I am still exploring, wondering where in RhyDin I fit in."
"Well, you know that you are always welcome at the Consortium estate...
for as long as you choose to stay..."
A fierce, hot blush creeps up the girl's face. "I appreciate your
hospitality but. . ."
Rose fixes her with a questioning gaze that invites her to continue...
Gwydianne speaks haltingly, fearing offending her hostess. "I am. . .of
a different mindset than Sarai was. I. . ."
"You object to slavery?"
The girl nods mutely, looking at her boots.
"I'm sorry if I have offended. . ."
Uncharacteristic to her demanding nature, Rose offers a tiny smile.
"You're not alone... you needn't fear offending me... just don't ever try to
stop me in my work..." Dipping her chin, she wags a fingertip, in a gesture
that might be construed as playful, or not...
"I would never. . .I mean I couldn't. . .that would be. . .," stricken
with a horrified look, Gwydianne searches for the right words.
"...unforgivable of me!"
"Ssshhh..." Reaching across, Rose offers a comforting pat to the back of
her hand. "Please, if you should decide to take me up on the offer, just
know that our doors are always open to you... as a *guest*, that is..."
Clearly ashamed of her outburst, the girl glances away. "I'm sorry."
A pleasant smile eases onto Rose's features, as she contemplates how
very like her sister this one is. "Nonsense... nothing to be sorry for."
"And I will remember your offer," a smile suddenly returning to
Gwydianne's features. "And perhaps I can visit sometime?"
"Certainly... you'll always be welcome here... But I'm afraid I must
bring our meeting to a close for now..." Swinging her legs down from the edge
of the desk, she scrabbles through the pile of paperwork, to retrieve her
discarded glove. "I'm afraid that business calls."
"I must go too. But I hope to see you again soon?" she asks, as she
stands, and turns to go.
Winding up from her chair, in a lazy serpentine, Rose steps around the
side of the desk, following towards the door with a hand extended.
"Thank you for your time." Taking the hand in both of hers, Gwydianne
gives it a light squeeze. "I appreciate your friendship."
"As do I appreciate yours." And with a gracious nod, Rose ushers her
visitor out into the night, delaying the other matters that summon her
attention for as long as it takes to form a picture of Sarai in her mind, and
to wonder how it is that she, of all people, should have come to find not one
friend, but two, in the kindred spirits of such pleasant sisters, one newly
arrived... and one never to be forgotten...
@>--->--->---
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